The cat in the (birthday) hat ... AND a birthday GIVE AWAY !!!!

Yesterday (Nov. 14th) was my birthday ! It was also Daisy's birthday (Daisy is my little stray kitty -- she showed up on the construction site of our house about 3 years ago -- the carpenters started feeding her and she decided to move in! Anyhow, since she's a stray and I didn't know when her real birthday is, I decided to share mine with her.) So, we started the celebration with our birthday treats -- a little cake, a little Fancy Feast kitty food. Then, of course, there has to be a birthday crown/hat. (I don't think Daisy's much of a hat person...... but Evan didn't mind modeling the little pink birthday crown .... actually, when he's playing a computer game, he's pretty oblivious to his surroundings, so I don't think he even knew I put that crown on him !)

Anyway, as one of my sister's friends insists ..... there always has to be ACTIVITIES and PRIZES for birthdays!! (Daisy likes to combine her activities and prizes --- her activity is playing with her new kitty toys -- her "prizes"). My birthday ACTIVITY was popping in to my friend Kelly's quilt shop,The Quiltery and picking out some fun PRIZES for me and........ for YOU !!! (YES !! In honor of Daisy's and my birthday, I'm having a GIVE AWAY !!!!) I also went shopping at a few other stores to fill up the goody bags --- I pretty much went along saying "one for me, one for you, one for me, one for you....... There's a Gooseberry Patch cookbook "More Gifts for Giving", some fat quarters of beautiful fabric, a pack of colored pencils , a Godiva milk chocolate bar (hang on a second while I wipe up my drool), and I just had to include that Santa Pez !!!! (don't you just love Pez in a cool Pez dispenser?!? What a HOOT!!) Soooooo......Here's how you can all participate in my "Birthday Activities and Prizes "celebration ----- your "Activity" is to leave a comment --- and Daisy will do a random drawing on Tuesday Nov. 20th (in the evening) -- and the lucky winner will get the "Prizes" !!!!

OK -- now I'm going to go tear into that Godiva bar (mine, not yours !!!) Don't forget to leave a comment!! GOOD LUCK !!!

(P.S. oh, by the way .... just because it was my birthday it doesn't mean I'm getting older --- I'm still just 29 ........ again !!!!!)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

WAIT !! I'm NOT ready to start Christmas yet !!!!!!

OK.....so... the magazines are telling me, the malls and stores are telling me and the zillions of catalogs that come in the mail are telling me , even the weather here in Pa is telling me (we had light snow for the first time this season on Friday into Saturday -- it stuck to trees in the higher elevations )--- it's time to prepare/panic for Christmas (actually, all of the above have been blaring it in my/our faces since before Halloween!) Well, as one who is always "a day late and a dollar short", I'm NOT ready to start Christmas yet !!!! SHEESH !!! I barely got my Halloween decorations up in time for that holiday and now , supposedly, it's time to take that stuff down and replace it all with Rudolph and company. Well, since Autumn is my favorite season, and I feel it gets short changed because of Christmas breathing down it's neck, (and because I haven't finished my Fall projects yet....and because I'm never organized enough to start Xmas shopping until after Thanksgiving -- but NEVER on Black Friday... YIKES!) I'm going to try and block out the "Christmas " bombardment until after Thanksgiving, and try to continue to enjoy the season that we're presently in . (of course all of you who are and have been doing Christmas shopping and working on handmade Christmas projects will definately have the last laugh on me when you're all relaxed on Christmas Eve , sitting in front of the fireplace with the tree all decorated and the gifts all wrapped, and the cookies all baked, etc -- and I'm running around like a crazed lunatic , mumbling under my breath something about those damn elves didn't show up again to help me with all this stuff, and everybody is getting an I.O.U. note again with their yet again unfinished handmade gift from me, and my Pillsbury slice and bake cookies are burning in the oven, and nothing is wrapped and the tree is tilting sideways because the cats are jumping up to reach the ornaments that are only on the top half of the tree because that's all the farther I got with the decorating, etc. etc. etc.)

So....anyhow, I'm subjecting you all to my little continuation of the Autumn season through pictures of more of my Autumn decorations (including that garland I made a few years ago) and a project I started as a Halloween project, but I've just declared it a Thanksgiving project (I figure a pumpkin project could stretch through Thanksgiving....)..... Anyhow, I plan to post more pictures of that pumpkin project as I work on it, along with instructions on how to make it for any of you holiday slackers like me who are still stuck on autumn projects !!! (and please, if I'm the only one, just humor me and don't tell me !!!!HA !!)

P.S. those first 2 pictures were taken yesterday morning in Cascade township, Pa -- about a half hour drive from Williamsport, Pa. ---- BEAUTIFUL scenery !!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Civil War snickerdoodles, why, I do declare !!!!

Why I made these little 'ol cookies with my own two hands. (the next day...)Fiddle DeeDee, Mammy! I did not eat too many of those snickerdoodle cookies that handsome young Yankee soldier made! Can't you make my waist 18" again? (and a few days later....)Rhett, Rhett you wouldn't tell Ashley that I didn't make those cookies -- he just has to believe I can bake as good as that silly ol' Melanie. It's true, that handsome young Yankee soldier,Matthew, made those cookies (for his Civil War class project -- his teacher swears snickerdoodle cookies date back to the Civil War -- must be a recipe from the North )....and lookie there -- Pillsbury slice and bake sugar cookie dough? I do believe he said that was his mamma's "back up plan" in case the cookies from that recipe were only fit to feed to the farm animals. But, as it turns out, those darlin' little snickerdoodles were yummy! I think Aunt Piddy would quite enjoy them. Oh! and lookie there -- that handsome young Yankee soldier left the recipe (and his hat) right there on our dining room table.

Snickerdoodle ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, eggs and vanilla. Blend in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Mix together 2 TBSP sugar and the cinnamon on a plate or in a bowl. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set, but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

Why, I swear, if you make these darlin' little snickerdoodles, all of your friends will be just pea green with envy!!!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

I "Heart" hydrangeas !!!!!

My heart goes pitter patter and my breathing comes in short gasps when I see hydrangeas! They're gorgeous in the summer, but...... come Fall, they're breath taking !!!! I finally clipped these beauties from my hydrangea tree over the weekend. I tied them in 2 bundles and hung them upside down to dry (that's a former pot rack that they're hanging from -- we used it in the kitchen of our old house, but had no place to put it in our new house -- at least not in the kitchen -- so, right now it's being used as a display rack for some of my hankie collection -- compliments of my mother and grandmother). I have a feeling, though, before my hydrangeas are completely dry, they may end up in shreds on the floor -- seems certain family members with 4 paws, a tail and fur coats think those hydrangeas are kitty toys...... anyhow, IF the hydrangeas survive the drying process, I was thinking of making this wreath from the October issue of Country Living Magazine (below the picture, where it has "1->12", click on 12 and you'll see the wreath). (hmmmm...... we'll see!)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

(sloppy) Sewing room Friday

While I was wandering around in Blogland, I came upon the "Sewing Room Friday" post on artsy crafty babe's blog. She says she came across it on a blog called Wee Bit Wonky. What it is, gals, is a challenge -- a challenge to show the world your sewing room in all it's glorious messiness when you're in the midst of a project (or 10 ). When the piles of stuff are piled high; when the piles of stuff are being moved from one flat surface to another; when you're searching under the piles of stuff for your fabric scissors, your pin cushion, your cup of tea, or the cat. So..... here's my "think tank/laboratory" on this "Sewing Room Friday" and the project I was working on. (note: in order for me to work on this project, a pile of stuff had to be moved from point "A ", i.e. that table, to point "B" , the ironing board. So now any ironing/pressing cannot happen until the pile of stuff is moved from point "B" to another location -- possibly point "C", my desk, which already has stuff sitting on it. ....AND, I now cannot sit at my desk to get paperwork done UNTIL the pile of stuff is moved from point "C", my desk, to possibly point "D", the floor , where , of course, there already is another pile of stuff waiting to be dealt with (I think those are bills that should be paid -- maybe I better deal with that pile first ?!? )

OK .... so, since we've been challenged to "Sewing Room Friday", I think we should go all out and do "Laundry Room Saturday" (I cheated because that's a picture of only some of the laundry that is waiting just for me in all it's smelly glory.) OH ! and how about "Gross Bathroom Monday"? (ummmmm, nah --- I don't think I'm that brave!)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Happy Halloween !

Wellllllll......my little pretties ! You'd better have a happy Halloween, or I'll send the flying monkeys after you ..... and your little dog, too! Ahahahahahahahaha ......

It's time...... time for me to put on my orange and black striped socks, my witchy boots, and my best witchy hat -- and fire up my broom --- I have a Halloween Party to attend here in Blogland (you're invited too !) I'm bringing dead birds in that bird cage for the pot luck dinner, but you don't have to worry about bringing anything, dearie .... just bring yourself .......Ahahahahahahaha.......


Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare, or The Wicked Witch of the West)

Witch's brew & a stitchery too !!!!

OK -- as I was yet again doodling and dawdling and finishing up this latest little drawing, I decided it should have a purpose , a job of some sort, instead of just lying there on a pile of other little drawings on my desk , soon to be covered by cat hair and dust (and the possible hair ball yakked up by one of the 4-legged kids.) Hmmmmm.....but what could it's purpose be???? OH!!! How about a stitchery?!?!?! OK!!! So, I took my little drawing to a copy machine, and enlarged it. Then, I cut out a piece of muslin slightly bigger than an 8 and a half by 11 sheet of paper , and , using my light box and a fine point pigma pen, I transferred the design onto the muslin. THEN, I remembered reading on Leanne's blog that she took a class where the instructor told them to try using colored pencils on fabric. COLORED PENCILS !!!! I LOVE using colored pencils !! That's right up my alley !!!! So, out came my trusty colored pencils and I colored to my heart's content !!! (I probably should have ironed a piece of freezer paper to the back to stabilize it while I colored , but I was having such a good time, I didn't want to stop ... ) If you don't have colored pencils, crayons also work .( check out Monica'scute pumpkin project done with crayons.)

After the coloring was finished, I heat set it with my iron (not sure how colored pencil on fabric would do in the wash, so I thought heat setting it might help keep it from fading away. -- or just don't wash this project ?) Anyhow, as suggested by Natalie of Cinderberry Stitches, I ironed on a piece of light weight fusible pellon interfacing on the back of the stitchery to stabilize it and help hide stray threads. (I just LOVE Natalie's stitcheries and quilts !! She also has a really good tutorial on doing stitcheries -- it's on the upper right corner of her blog page called "let's get started".) For the stitching, I'm using 2 strands of DMC embroidery floss and a backstitch. So, eventually, this stitchery may end up as a little quilted wall hanging of some sort. (and it finally has a job !)

I was hoping to be able to figure out how to post this pattern so any of you who would like to have it could just print it out --- BUT, being computer challenged, and "tech support" having too much homework tonight , plus the fact that I'm realizing I would need a scanner to do this (which I'm putting on my birthday wish list for the "Big Cheese" aka "the husband" ASAP, since there are only about 16 more shopping days until my birthday) -- anyhow, if anybody would like to have this stitchery pattern, just email me your address and I'll be happy to make a copy and send it to you. (I'm thinking it could be done as a stitchery like I'm doing , with or without coloring it in ; or it could be done as applique; or you could just give it to a kid to color as a coloring book page.) Anyway, have fun!

Oh! I almost forgot -- the real "Witch's Brew". I found a recipe for one on Martha's website. (If you scroll down to where it says Holiday recipes, click on Halloween. Keep going through the list, and you'll come to the "Witch's Brew" . -- sorry, I couldn't get that page to "copy and paste" -- maybe Martha put a spell on it ! -- that WITCH !! -- just kidding!)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)