Banana Cream Pie

I really do love to bake - and it is one of the things I wish I had more time for. Although I also love to eat homemade baked goods - so maybe it is a good thing I don't have more time.
If I had to name a favorite dessert - it would have to be pie. Cream pies especially. Richard asked me to make a pie for him to take to work - and I have gotten in the habit of baking two instead of one. This comes from Jake commenting that I make things for work - but not for home. Plus - I wanted some banana cream pie myself.
Stirring and stirring. . . . . . .
The meringue could have been better on these - but they tasted great. I have better luck with the meringue if I only do one pie at a time. It was late - I was tired - so I hurried and doubled the meringue recipe. I will not do this next time. Especially when I make a butterscotch cream for Thanksgiving. (My absolute favorite!)
I usually go overboard on pies for Thanksgiving - trying to make every one's favorite. This year I am going to make Dutch Apple, Banana Cream, Butterscotch, and Pumpkin - possibly a raisin pie for Richard. Looking at this picture is making me hungry - I may have to bake a pie tonight for dessert - I think I will go for butterscotch.

101 Things I Like

1. Buttons
2. Halloween
3. Patchouli Oil
4. Lip Balm
5. Clothes Lines
6. Coffee Mugs
7. Fireflies
8. Thunderstorms
9. Pink Feather Boas
10. Rag Dolls
11. Old Bottles
12. Antique Door Knobs
13. Hats
14. Old Churches
15. Cemetaries
16. Wine Glasses
17. Body Butter
18. Polka Dots
19. Dr. Pepper
20. Fabric
21. Painted Toenails
22. Book Stores
23. Bags
24. Snowmen
25. Farmer's Markets
26. Movies
27. Rainy Days
28. Wooden Spools
29. Postcards
30. Journals
31. Hydragenas
32. Books
33. Umbrellas
34. Magazines
35. Sunflowers
36. Champagne
37. Flip Flops
38. Quilts
39. Ribbon
40. Composition Books
41. Scarves
42. Night Lights
43. Cigar Boxes
44. Sharpie Markers
45. Lists
46. Cold Beer
47. Peanut Butter
48. Hot Tea
49. Chop Sticks
50. Antique Stores
51. French Doors
52. Embroidered Pillow Cases
53. Sun Bathing
54. Sea Shells
55. Glitter
56. Old Sheet Music
57. Butterscotch Pie
58. Oversized Sweathshirts
59. Wine Labels
60. Pink Christmas Ornaments
61. Sugar Cookies
62. Hammocks
63. Secret Pals
64. Curling Ribbon
65. Beach Towels
66. Gel Pens
67. Samplers
68. Porches
69. Paper Cones
70. Pin Cushions
71. Corks
72. Porch Swings
73. Costumes
74. Text Messages
75. Camp Fires
76. Tea Lights
77. Incense
78. Old Hankies
79. Charm Bracelets
80. Throw Rugs
81. Photographs
82. Apothecary Jars
83. Stars
84. Christmas Stockings
85. Rubber Stamps
86. Casseroles
87. Amethyest
88. Blue Jeans
89. Yarn
90. Winged Hearts
91. Sushi
92. Coffee
93. Baseball
94. Iowa
95. Rosaries
96. Stickers
97. Crossword Puzzles
98. Reruns of MASH
99. Breakfast Burritos
100. Perfume
101. Cigars

Enjoyed my Weekend

I love these little chairs made out of the top of champagne bottles - no matter how many times I see them. Luke will make them for me whenever we have champagne. I have had a few tops sitting around here for awhile - and he picked one up today and made a chair - they are so cute! I will have to remember to hang some on my Christmas tree this year.

"There comes a time in every woman's life when the only thing that helps is a glass of champagne." ~ Bette Davis in Old Acquaintance

I had not planned on doing this - but started messing around with some scraps of yarn last night. I am going to keep adding onto it until I have a piece big enough to make a bag. So fun to work with - and really no rules - I've just been making it up as I go. Also a great way to use up some old yarn.
I also used up my scrap yarn by making a beanie For Luke. I was done with it, but had to weave in all the strings on the inside. It is a pain doing that - but I like how they turn out. I finally just sat and finished weaving in all the tails last night - so it was over and done with.
And then of course I made him take a picture with it on - whether he wanted to or not.
One more project finished this weekend - Luke wanted this plain black beanie with ear flaps - after seeing the one that I made for Mikey.

"If you have only one smile in you give it to the people you love." ~ Maya Angelou

Over all it was a nice relaxing weekend. Luke, Jake, Kasey, and I stayed up to nearly 3:00 last night. I was crocheting - they were cutting out pictues from magazines and making collages. I reminded me of when they were young and we used to stay up late. Luke decided he was hungry and made up the best sandwiches around 1:30 - using chicken tenders, green peppers, onions, and jalepenos. After cooking that he melted cheese on top and served it on sourdough bread. I wish I had taken of picture of those - they were delicous!

At Breakfast

Richard and I had a chance to go out for breakfast this past week - something we never do. This was a good morning - so we probably should take some time to do simple things like this together more often. We are not good about doing things as a couple - I don't think we ever have been. I just never really noticed it. I have been looking at him from across the table for over 27 years. Most of that time things have been good - but we have also had some pretty tough times. Along time ago - I believe in "Happily Ever After". . . I can't really say I believe in that still - but I do believe after all these years - there is something holding us together - even through the tough times.

"Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years. That is what makes a marriage last." ~ Simone Signoret

Lily Bug!

I made this hat for Lily to wear when she was a little older - but when Jennifer was here tonight we had to try it on her. It made us laugh - it was big on her and she looked so silly. I am amazed at how much she has changed in just a week. I guess it has been so long since my boys were babies - that I don't remember.
There is nothing like a baby!

A Day to Crochet

I spent part of today finishing up a project that I had started awhile back. I hate when I put a project down for whatever reason and then don't get back to it for awhile - then I think I avoid doing it because I have to sit down and remember what I was doing and where I was at. I try not to do this - but it does happen. Too many hobbies and ideas - and not enough time. It seems like that is always the case with me. So I love having an extra day off. I can't wait until the week of Thanksgiving - We get the whole week off!!!!! These pictures are not very good - since it is late at night. This wasn't a hard project and it was easy enough to figure out where I left off. It is a scarf that I started last winter for Kasey.

I think I started it toward the end of winter - and didn't pick it up to finish it before the weather warmed up. Now that it is cooler again - and I notice Kasey wearing the jacket that I made it to match - I thought I better get it out and finish it. I only had a few flowers to crochet and then pulling in all the lose ends. I would have gone much faster had I not worked on it while I was watching "Dancing With the Stars".

A kid's hat that I also finished this afternoon - also not a very good picture. Just a quick and easy beanie. I love crocheting flowers. I like this flower - you crochet the first round of petals in the front stitch of the previous round and the second larger round of petals in the back stitch of the same round. This is probably to big for Lily right now - but maybe in a few months it will fit her.

Smile

I sat down at the computer this morning with a quilt around my legs to keep me warm. This is Boo's invitations to come cuddle up. He settled in on the floor next to me and he is still there four hours later.

"There is, incidentally, no way of talking about cats that enables one to come off as a sane person." ~ Dan Greenberg

I found this rag doll for $5 - how could I not buy her and give her a place to sit on this old school desk. She sits sort of back out of the way - and I love catching sight of her smile when I walk by her. I attended a workshop yesterday for work and the speaker talked about the power of smiling. How it can change our own mood and the mood of others instantly. I have enough rag dolls in my home to be reminded to smile often enough.

"Peace begins with a smile." ~ Mother Teresa

Beanie for Mikey

Richard is always saying that I never post pics of him on my blog. I finished the beanie that I was making for one of the teachers at work - and I wanted to post a pic of it. So I made Richard model it for me. I told him he looks like he has pigtails coming out from under the hat - sort of a Willie Nelson look about him now that I think about it.

A Few of my Favorite Things

I have always liked and collected small things. Sometime I think about taking this printer tray down - but I can't bring myself to do it. Some of these items I have had since I was a child - others are things the kids and I have picked up over the years. Some of my favorites - one of my mom's thimbles, a set of three porcelain cats I got when I had my tonsils out (when I was 5), a little doll that my Aunt Sue made out of a spool, and a "Kennedy for President" campaign button. It is a pain to dust - but I will keep it hung up - and keep collecting little treasures .
You can't help but feel a little better when you look at a sunflower. They are big, happy, cheerful flowers.
"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows follow behind you."
~ Maori Proverb
This small trunk means a great deal to me. It belonged to my grandma when she was young. For some reason I never can really picture my grandma as a young girl playing with this trunk - when she talked about her childhood - she did not always have good things to say. I wish now I had asked her what she used this trunk for - what she kept tucked inside. I have been thinking about her a great deal lately - and even though I had moved so far away from her - and did not see her often - I miss her dearly.

Since these Raggedy's are nearly the same age as I am - I will not refer to them as old. These were mine when I was a little girl - and I love to see them sitting on this basket - holding memories of my childhood.
If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older. ~Tom Stoppard

This Little Pig went to Market . . .

Even these little feet are beautiful and amazing. - You can't really see the sock on her other foot - but the bottom of her sock reads - "adorable". That says it all.

Lily Bug (Lillian Eva)

She's finally here - and she is beautiful!

"A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities." ~ Eda J. Le Shan

Trick or Treat

The Mad Hatter and Alice.

"No wonder you're late. Why, this watch is exactly two days slow.” ~ Mad Hatter
Group shot - Vinnie is dressed up as "Jake Smith" - and it wouldn't be a group picture without Jake using this jester -
These shorts are so funny - and even more so because they used to wear them like this. At one point he walked into the house with only the shorts on - ??????
Happy Halloween!
I look short next to Luke - I don't think I have ever seen a picture of myself where I thought I looked short.

Kasey getting ready -
It was a little chaotic getting everyone ready and out the door - but I loved it. It reminded me of when the boys were young - and we were doing all the last minute stuff.
Witch and ghost make merry on this last of dear October’s days. ~Author Unknown

Flashback Friday - Smiley Suprise

Richard makes me a bowl of oatmeal everyday to take to work. It is part of our morning routine I guess. I get in the shower - he gets the paper and makes coffee and oatmeal - I iron clothes - he gets in the shower. . . The same routine most mornings. Today when I got to work and opened up my oatmeal to stir the cinnamon - I got this. This is the part of my husband that I love so much after 27 years. It made my day!

Flashback - but not very far back - just to last year.
Last year Sadie was a ladybug. This was before kids rang the bell for Trick or Treat. She must have known something was up. I will have to take pictures of her tonight wearing her bee costume.

Hark! Hark to the wind!
'Tis the night, they say,When all souls come back from the far away-
The dead, forgotten this many a day!~Virna Sheard

Halloween Grins

Each year - I look forward to getting something new for Halloween - to add to my decorations. This was a gift from my friend Marcia. It is such a cute figurine - I was thrilled with it. He sits on my desk at work - and smiles his Jack-O-Lantern grin all day.
Another new doll that I made - the photos make her look a little morbid, but she really is sort of cute in a voodoo sort of way. Her hair has some glittery yarn in it, she has shells around her neck, and some black feather boa material around her waist. I think she is really fun - but then Halloween is my favorite holiday. Jennifer and I named her Melinda.
I had originally painted this doll body black with the intention of painting bones on the doll to look like a skeleton - but I didn't think I could get it to look the way I wanted it to look. So I just turned it into another little spooky Halloween doll. I think they are so much fun to make.
My friend Michelle gave me this yesterday. It is a little glass pot with a live pepper plant in it. Another cute addition to my Halloween decorations. I am going to hate to pack them all up and put them away.

"If there's somethin' strange in your neighborhood / Who ya gonna call?"
— Ray Parker Jr., Theme to Ghostbusters

Baby Girl Colors ~

I finally finished the baby blanket that I started for Lily. It is a little smaller than I thought it would be - I even checked my gauge when I started - (Something I very seldom do) - and I used a much larger hook than it called for. It still turned out on the small side - but it is very dainty looking - so it is fine. Jennifer has seen me working on it - so it will not be a surprise. I do hope she likes it. I originally was going to put brown ribbon through it. I am glad that I chose the lavender instead. It will go with everything that they have.
I also made Lily a little pink beanie this week. Always my favorite things to make - quick and easy. I am putting together a pink bag of stuff together for her. Then I think I will make a lavender bag of baby items - and keep doing different colors. I guess doing that goes along with my color matching issues. It is just so much fun making things for this baby.
The whole world as we experience it visually, comes to us through the mystic realm of color. ~ Hans Hofmann Quotes