Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Thanksgiving

It was a wonderful day.

The alarm buzzed at 6:30am.  I immediately got started on making the stuffing, and preparing the turkey.  Yes I am a vegetarian and yes I still cooked a turkey...I am the only one who doesn't eat meat, have to please the masses.

Before I knew it the big football game was about to start...my husbands Green Bay Packers Vs. my Detroit Lions for the Turkey bowl.  This has been a much anticipated football game in my house.

The in-laws came over around 1:30 and the meal was done around 3.  Everything turned out just as I had hoped, delicious.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Counting Down to Thanksgiving...Day 4, 5 and 6!

The decorating and crafts are the fun part of planning a dinner, but half of the preparation is cleaning.

Day four was spent reorganizing the kitchen.  The goal is to have almost nothing on the counters, to give plenty of room to prepare and serve all the food.

Day five, well I took day five off....It is important to take time off for football.  Go Lions!

Day six and another turkey.


The pattern for this turkey came from CraftPassion.com.  The only modifications to the pattern is the head and I did not crochet a back piece. 

Gobble, Gobble...

Friday, November 18, 2011

Counting Down to Thanksgiving...Day 3

Did you know you only have 6 more days to plan for the big feast? 

The trip to the supermarket was not as wonderful as I had hoped.  Unfortunately, the seas were bad and the ships loaded with food were delayed.  So instead of stocked shelves, they were empty.  Produce was very limited....not even one bunch of celery, even the frozen vegetables were hard to come by.  The only milk available was fat free.  I could go on and on, but I will save you my rant, and at least about 75% of my shopping list was found.

Regardless of the difficult shopping trip, my Thanksgiving spirit is still in tact.  When I was able to settle down and relax for the night, I whipped together a Turkey Pot Holder.


I used this pattern....Click Here!  by Yarn Pixie.

The pattern was written very well, but I wanted it a little bigger.  Here are my changes.....

*  I added a fourth row to the body...Ch 2, dc in same stitch, (1 dc in next stitch, 2 dc in next stitch) repeat till end, join with sl st in top of ch 2.

*  I added a fourth feather...on row one I made 25 sc, this includes the sc to join the yarn to the body.  For row two, repeat (sk 2 sts, 7 dc in next st, sk 2 sts, ss in next st) four times, instead of three.  Row three, repeat (hdc, sk next st, 7 dc in next st, sk next st, hdc, sk next st) three times, instead of two.  As you can see, I also used three different yarns for the feathers.

*  I made the head a little bigger.  I started with 6 sc and repeated row 4.  The number of stitches are different than the patterns count, so I just repeated what the patterned called for.  Example:  Pattern says for Row 5 - sc 2 tog, 2 sc, sc 2 tog, ch 1, turn.....I repeated sc 2 tog, 2 sc till I was at the end.

*  I made the legs a little larger.  Ch 6, 6sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc back loop of next ch, repeat down the chain for a total of 4 sc, join to body, fasten off.


If you have any questions about my changes, feel free to email me at hippiemissy@gmail.com

Thank You Yarn Pixie for a wonderful pattern!!!



Thursday, November 17, 2011

Counting Down to Thanksgiving...Day 2

When preparing for a dinner party the first thing you have to decide on is of course the meal.  I have learned the hard way, that when you live on an island, you must buy the holiday food essentials early!  Last year, my family made last minute plans.  This meant that the day before Thanksgiving, I was at the store searching for pumpkin pie mix, pie shells and cool whip.  In the real world this would be ok, not here.  Of the two stores to shop on the island, one was completely sold out of pumpkin pie mix, and whipped cream.  The other store had pumpkin pie mix, but I had to buy whipped cream in the aerosol can.  In the end, we were able to enjoy pumpkin pie, but the shopping trip was not fun.

This year, I made sure to get everyone to make a plan.

The menu......
A Very Traditional Thanksgiving Feast

Turkey
A basic roasted Turkey, smothered in butter and herbs,
cooked on a bed of onions, carrots and celery.

 Prepared inside the turkey and in a casserole pan.

Gravy



This is because vegetarians, like me,
need something more than just side dishes.

Pumpkin Pie


 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Thanksgiving Countdown


There is exactly one week, seven days, 168 hours, or 10,080 minutes to prepare for Thanksgiving! (not counting today and Thanksgiving day)  It is amazing how much preparation goes into a meal that is devoured in less than an hour.  This year, Thanksgiving Day will be celebrated at my home.  This is exciting, because I love hosting dinners and parties.  The planning, the decorating, the cooking....puts me in my happy place. 

Day one of the count down, felt fall leaves to decorate the kitchen counter where the food will be served.  Found the pattern on Martha Stewart.com




Friday, November 11, 2011

Hungry?

Wow you must be hungry!  I haven't shown any new recipes in a very long time.  This is not my favorite page in the book, but it is one of the favorites from the book.  Last weekend I went to the local hardware store and was helped by one of the semi regular poker playing guys. 

"I tried to recreate one of your recipes."  He said.
"Really?  Which one?"
"The Ham and Cheese Bagels.  But I couldn't get them like yours."
Insert slight blush here.  It certainly makes a girl feel good when complemented on her cooking.

These will not disappoint your party guests or family.  So without further ado, the highly requested and easily put together....

Ham and Cheese Pizza Snacks

(Since I made the above recipe page I have modified it slightly)

Ingredients:
Shredded Colby Cheese
Sliced Deli Ham (I use packaged sandwich ham slices)
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Italian Seasoning, Pepper
Bagels, Full Size

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the Cheese, Ham, Mayo, Mustard and seasonings.  Spread over Bagels.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Broil about 6 inches from heat for about 4 minutes, or until cheese starts to turn golden brown. (see picture)  Serve hot.

To serve to a group, divide each bagel into four pieces.


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Something Quick


Another project for the spare room...a stuffed animal hammock.  You have seen them everywhere, this is not a new idea.  These guys were resting on the day bed and needed a place to call their own.  With a ball of t-shirt yarn I whipped this up in less than an hour.

I used the removable hooks, you can buy them at any department store, to hang the hammock.  I liked this idea because then the hooks won't harm the walls.



*Pattern and instructions will be available soon.  If you would like to know how to make this project email me at hippiemissy@gmail.com.


Friday, November 4, 2011

Old Jeans Get a New Life

Old jeans are one of my favorite clothing items to re-purpose.  The material is tough, lays out flat without needing to iron and has supplies lots of odd bits to use like labels, zippers, etc.

In an attempt to get myself back on the treadmill and into shape, the "exercise/guest/storage" room in my house is getting a make over to make it more inviting and comfortable.  In what I will now refer to as the Girl Cave, because why can't we have a one too, is a daybed used as a couch.  For the longest time, all that has covered the futon mattress has been fitted sheets. 

Last night that changed, I pulled out all the old jeans I had stored in the craft room and started cutting out 16" x 16" squares.  I was able to come up with 20 of these squares.  After deciding on the layout to the sewing machine I went.  Just a simple quilt.

A perfect fit!


One more row may be added, so the cover can tuck under the bottom part of the cushion.  Plus a back still needs to be added (or not).

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Not More Knots

Knot, knot, knot, knot......oh yeah and then Knot some more.  Slowly, but steadily the rag rug is coming into shape.  It is about two thirds done.  I have it laying on the floor waiting for my husband to dig thru his closet and find more t-shirts he doesn't wear.  I had not realized how many shirts I would need in order to make the rug as big as it is.  BUT, it looks wonderful!!!!!!

My dog, Kane, has already claimed it as his.  Everytime it is laid on the floor, he makes his way over to it, then stares at me with a "will you finish this thing already" look on his face.