Placemats and Christmas Quilts

I made four placemats each for Laura and Sallie to go with their Vintage Kitchen Recipes blog.  I also got a couple quilts made for friends to give to their husbands as Christmas presents.  And one for teenage friend. However, I somehow forgot to get a picture of one of them.   I'll get one from the new owner. In my own defense, I finished the binding at 2:30 am and just didn't think of it.

 This is the Elvis quilt.  Jen's husband is nuts for Elvis.  She saw this fabric and asked if I'd make him a quilt for Christmas. I think it turned out super.  I told her if he didn't like it, I knew a good home for it.

A close up of the cool early Elvis pictures.  Nobody ever made black leather look so good.

Ashley likes blue.  I had most of this done already from times I just wanted to sew and didn't want to think about a pattern.  I like the look.  This is the fourth one I've made with just strips.  One pink, one purple, and two blue.  Full width strips, various widths, cut from lots of fabrics from my stash.

Adoptee Seamus, Now KJ

This is why we foster.  Julie, another foster mom, and I received a wonderful email today from the lady, Barb, who adopted one of my fosters.  He was Seamus, but they've renamed him KJ.  We love getting emails like this and pictures.  It truly makes us all warm and fuzzy inside.  Thank you, Barb, for taking the time to write and send the pictures.  I did tell Barb that if I'd known KJ gave back rubs, he'd still be at my house, but she said I couldn't have him back.

Barb and Julie,

Happy New Year from KJ and his big brother Reggie.   I wanted to send some pictures earlier but he I couldn't get very good pictures of him.  He's so sweet--the best cat we've every had.  It's like he read his list of things I wanted and filled everyone of them and more.  Because of that, I call him robo cat which upsets Dave b/c he thinks it's a negative. I mean he's perfect. 

For some reason, he still doesn't jump up, he cries to be put on the counter and jumps from there.  We have a chair by the bed so he can pull himself up and jump to the bed.  I had the vet tech as the pet sitter in Nov. for a week to observe him.  She said she thinks that's just him.   KJ gives back rubs!  When he jumps on the bed, I turn on my side and he kneads the small of my back!!  I don't know who taught him that but it's the weirdest thing and he'll do it every time w/o me doing anything but rolling on my side. 

Reggie still can't get used to a cat rubbing up against him instead of smacking him. 

Happy New Year.  Enjoy the pictures.  We love KJ!

 

Barb and Dave

 

                                Isn't it nice that Barb provided a cat bed for KJ.

KJ and his canine buddy, Reggie, who's still getting used to a friendly cat.

Morty the Christmas Elf

Jeanne, Morty's mom, sent me a picture of him in his Christmas elf outfit.  What a character he is!  Note his stylish red slippers.  If you're new to my blog, you'll have to go back to November and read the three posts about our quilt retreat.  No, it's not nearly as boring as people think, and Jeanne certainly livened things up this year.  Thanks for the great photo, Jeanne.















These are three of my Christmas presents.  I think Morty might be Morticia.  I've had lots of litters of kittens at my house, but this is my first litter of monkeys.  Through the miracle of the Internet, it took me 5 seconds to learn that a group of monkeys is called a troop.  So, I have my very own troop of monkeys.  They're about 5" tall and the same size as 3-day-old kittens.

 The first one was given to me by Reba, one of our Tuesday guild gals who was at the retreat.  She also gave me a pair of actual socks that the monkeys are made from.  The same day I got it, Kathy, from my Wednesday girls came by with the blue one.  Then, my daughter Laura gave me the one with "Jessica."  The "Barb" ones were gone, so she got this one.  Thank you all for thinking of me.  But, I'm not starting a collection of sock monkey dolls. 

Nephews Evan and Graham

Another bright spot today was getting to see my nephew Jeff, his wife, Dana, and their two boys, Evan, 3, and Graham, 10 months.  They live in Evansville, IN, and we don't get to see them very often.  It was late last night when they got to my mom's house.  The boys are so cute.  Evan is a very bright boy, and I think Jeff and Dana will have their hands full keeping one step ahead of him.

Out of the Mouth of Babes:   Evan asked me to do something, and I told him I couldn't because I was old.  He immediately went over to Mom's piano, asked if I wanted to hear him play, and said I could sit on the bench because I was old.  We all agreed that I walked into that one.

Jeff said they boys never have shoes or socks on.  Before he can put the second sock on them, they have the first one off.  And putting shoes on to keep the socks on is a joke.  When they were getting ready to leave, I put socks on Graham twice in 30 seconds.  Jeff just wrapped his bare feet in a blanket in his carseat, and took him out to the car.  I think he's done this before.

Evan

Graham

Evan and Graham

Evan and Graham

Jeff, Graham and Evan

Bittersweet New Years Day

Happy New Year to everyone, even though it's almost over.  It was a very good day and a not so good day.  On the good side, Cary Grant got adopted today.  On the bad side, Cary Grant got adopted today.  Cary is one of those kittens that could stay with me forever, but this is what I get for having everybody on the Heartland website, facebook, and my blog.  A young lady saw him online and came over with her mom to see him.  Even though Cary tried his best to be contrary, wild, and unruly, Renee saw right through him and wanted him anyway.  Darn.  Nice try, Cary. 

This is Cary lounging around before Renee came over. He's such a handsome boy, I can't understand why no one has adopted him on one of his eight trips up to Petsmart.

 Then he got up and moved by Meg.

Cary with his new mom, Renee.  I know he'll be a good companion for her and keep her laughing with his antics.  He's such a silly kitten.

On a little sad note, this is Cary's mom, Delcy, after he left.  After Cary was in his new carrier to leave, I put it on the floor by Delcy so she could see that Cary was in it.  She came over and sniffed and rubbed on it.  I wanted her to, hopefully, understand that Cary was leaving alive and didn't disappear because he died.  I haven't done this before, but Delcy and Cary have had more of a mother/son bond than others, and he was her last kitten to be adopted.  I do know that cats grieve.  I've seen it many times.  Delcy did seem more quiet this afternoon.  Who knows what cats think and how much they understand, but it's probably more than we give them credit for.  She'll get some extra cuddle time for a few days.

Saturday Photo Hunt Word - GATHER

Today's photo hunt word is Gather.  Sandy used to own the Whistle Stop Cafe, as in Fried Green Tomatoes, http://whistlestopphotohunt.blogspot.com/.  Each week she posts a word on her website and bloggers can post a picture to theirs that depicts the word.  Since I couldn't decide between the two photos, I picked both.  The first one is Minnie's five kittens from last summer.  This is, so far, the most beautiful litter of kittens I've had in the four years I've been fostering.  I wanted to adopt all of them myself.

The second picture is three different groups of cats/kittens.  Around here, if you want to eat, you share the bowl or plate.

Happy New Year to everyone.

Barb, John, Lucy, Xena, Buster, and Lilly (the family)

Daisy, Ebony, Zach, Cody, Cary Grant, Eva, Ben, Mike, Toula, Delcy, Trish, Aster, Jilly, Bridgette, Micky, and Meg (the fosters)

Saturday Photo Hunt Word - JOY

I've found a website called the Saturday Photo Hunt.  It gives a particular word each Saturday, and people post a photo on their blog to represent that word.  The word for today is JOY, and this is my photo.  The kittens are from the same litter and were born at my house in August, 2011.  They're four weeks old here, but the adult, Bridgette, is not their mom, Delcy.  Delcy came to my house as a pregnant cat, and the only space I had available was in a room with Bridgette.  They quickly bonded and she became Aunt Bridgette after the kittens were born.  Bridgette really does smile in her photos.  Truly a joyful moment for all.

Pierce, Nita, Cary & Bridgette

Bridgette Plays Hide and Seek

There's nothing unusual about the cats playing, it's who's playing.  Bridgette!  She was rescued from behind a grocery store eating out of a dumpster and spent months hiding under a bed.  One day she escaped from the room when I went in or out, and didn't hiss or growl at anyone loose in the house.  She was allowed to stay out, but never bonded with anyone except Delcy, her kittens, and other kittens in the same room.  Today, she actually PLAYED with the other cats.

Bridgette was laying under the quilt Lucy lays on.

 Meg came over and Bridgette grabbed her.

I don't think Meg expected that from Bridgette.  "What the.....?"

 Bridgette went behind the quilt.

 Delcy, her buddy, and Ebony came to see.

 Then Xena and Micky came.

 Micky and Cary checked things out. Bridgette's foot is barely sticking out of the quilt.

 Cary says, "I know she's under there!"

Lucy layed there the whole time, completely bored.

"She's gotta be?"






"I just know it!"

"There's her tail!  I told you she was here!"

 After that, Bridgette ran out from the other end of the quilt and rested by a scratching post.  But, Cary didn't see her.











 Poor little guy's still looking for her.

Tussle Training 101

The cats have been unusually playful the last few days when we've had gloomy days and on-off rain and drizzle.  I walked in on mom, Delcy, the black cat, wresting with her son, Cary, in the living room.  Mom was teaching her son how to protect himself if he ever got in a real fight.  All part of cat training and passing on the wisdom of millenia.  Here is some of Mom's Sage Advice.

If you pick a smaller opponent, you can keep him away with your legs.

If they're distracted, you can knock them over.

Now, we're going to practice headlocks.

Get on your back, grab them around the neck, and go for the belly or neck.

See, like this.

Not bad.

Well done, Grasshopper, but try to make it look less like cuddling.

Pom-Pom Balls and Laundry

Wednesday I went with my Wed friends to the St. Louis Art Museum to see the Monet exhibit.  It was okay, but I'm much more impressed by artists who paint realistic pictures than impressionists.  I feel it takes much more skill and talent to paint a face that really looks like a face than to combine pretty colors on a canvas.  Just my opinion.  We had lunch in the Central West End, a revitalized, trendy older section with lots of restaurants and antique shops.  Ate at Dressler's Restaurant and had a fantastic cheeseburger with onion jelly/jam.  I printed out about 8 recipes from various cooking sites and will be making some next week.  It's like caramelized onions in a sauce.  Awesome!

While I was gone, the cleaning fairies came.  They obviously cleaned under the oven and fridge because this greeted me when I got home.  There were 58 pompom balls, one silk flower and one mouse.

Lilly, Meg, and Cary

I threw a couple handfuls on the floor and after one cat found them, the others sensed fun and came running.  Many are back under the oven.  The rest are scattered throughout the house.

Cary

Later, I was folding laundry and Cary thought it was a wonderful place to play.  Several of the gang love to play with my socks.  John wears the same brand of sock in a larger size, but they only like my socks.  They take them out of the dirty clothes basket and from next to my bed.  Buster is the main culprit.  Some days I'll find 5 or 6 of my socks littered all over the house.  He probably had a great time doing it.  I guess I have stinkier feet than John.

Cary

Cary

Isn't he adorable?

Lucy and Cary

Lucy wanted in on the fun.  Cary had just smacked her on the nose.

Finally, the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

It's no secret among my friends and family that I can't make a decent chocolate chip cookie.  No matter what recipe I try, and I've tried a ton, they all turn out like crepes with chips in them.  Flat as pancakes.  A foster mom, Lisa, did give me a recipe that worked, but it had a box of dry pudding mix in it and really stopped my nose up because I'm allergic to corn, and pudding is mostly cornstarch.

At retreat, Katy brought the best CCC's I've every had in my life.  Thick, chewy, and soft.  It's from a Dierberg's grocery store recipe booklet giveaway, but it's not on their website.  I emailed Katy for the recipe earlier today, but haven't heard from her, yet.  We're going to Darlene's for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow and I was doing my cooking today.  I made dressing, the green bean casserole, cooked some frozen corn, and peeled pounds of apples to cook.  I looked in my stack of printed-from-computer recipes for Sallie's Stewed Apples from her and Laura's Vintage Kitchen Recipes blog.  I pulled it out, but there was another sheet of paper stuck to it.  It was a copy of the Thick and Chewy CCC recipe from Dierberg's that Katy used.  I swear!  I don't even remember how I got it or who from, but there it was.  Like magic!  All because I had some apples that were getting old and needed to be used.  Thanks, Sallie.

I mixed them up and baked one sheet.  I could tell after I added the flour that this dough was different.  It was stiffer, just like my grandma's cookie dough. 

 How's that for a cookie!  You can't believe how impressed I am with myself after 40 years of trying to do this.

The difference is replacing 2/3 of the butter with shortening and using more brown sugar than white.

Is this not magazine perfect?  Okay, I could have used a prettier plate than my 30-year-old Corelle.  And the cookies are as delicious as they look.  My husband was suitably impressed.

Since this recipe was already published in Dierberg's recipe leaflet, Everybody Cooks, and given away free, I don't think there's a problem posting it with credit to them.






Dierberg's Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

4.5 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

1 3/4 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c.  white sugar
1 c. solid shortening (Crisco)
1/2 c. butter (1 stick), softened

3 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 pkg. (24 oz) chocolate chips
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Mix dry ingredients together.  In a large bowl, beat sugars, Crisco, and butter together till light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Beat at low speed until well combined.  Add flour mixture all at once and beat on low until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips (I used the mixer) and nuts.  I don't like nuts in my cookies - I'm a purist.

Drop by heaping tablespoons (I have a scoop) onto a baking sheet.  Bake 375 degrees for 9-10 minutes until edges are lightly browned.  Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute.  Cool completely on wire rack.  Makes about 7 dozen.

NOTE:   The cookies literally slid off the sheet.  Not a crumb stuck.  This is a double recipe from the chocolate chip packages.  My Kitchen-aid mixer came in very handy.