Finding Pleasure In Work

Grape vines grow on our south and north fences. We had an abundance last year. We were able to share a lot with others and have enough for ourselves.  They are delicious to eat fresh off the vine, or as with our latest crop, made into grape juice. Mmmm. It's so sweet without any added sugar.

 I love the flavor of the apples on our tree.  They taste wonderful as caramel apples. We made apple pies, apple bars, and apple bread.

 Apple Bars

2 cups Flour

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 cup Butter

2 Beaten Egg Yolks

Mix the dry ingredients. Add butter. Cut with 2 knives or use a pastry cutter until butter pieces are pea sized. Add eggs and mix well. Spread 2/3 of this mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan for crust. Set aside the remaining 1/3.

Apple Topping

6 Medium Apples pealed and sliced thin

3/4 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Flour

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

Mix topping ingredients and spread over crust. Crumble remaining crust mixture over apples.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.

Frosting

1 cup Powdered Sugar

Milk to moisten

1/4 tsp Vanilla

Drizzle frosting over apple topping after it is cooked.

I haven't found any one yet who doesn't love these flavorful apple bars. Enjoy!

My mother made the wire basket. I use it to harvest vegetables in the garden.  It is so handy to wash the  soiled  produce in.

We got a truckload of apples from a neighbor and used a press to make apple cider. It was delicious, a lot of work, and actually a lot of fun.

Aspiring Homemaker

I found a blog that I am so impressed with and wanted to share it with you. I hope you can take the time to look at it.  The pictures are beautiful, and the comments inspiring. Click on the picture or "button" above.

Braided Rag Rug

Tutorial in pictures.

 

 

   

 The elderly lady across the street, in the large old house with two big maple trees in the front yard, was affectionately called Grandma Hazel. To a little girl her house was a treasure trove. Her china cabinet held everything from antique dolls to beautiful old tea cups, saucers and dishes. She had a small antique cabinet by the front door where she kept crayons and coloring books that she let us have fun with when we came to visit her. The creaky wooden floors were covered with large old braided rugs on which it was evident that her tired, aging dog had napped many times. Wes, the man of the house, had his favorite chair and his pipe stand with pipes and fragrant tobacco in the large living room. I remember seeing him sit there calmly and contentedly smoking his pipe. The stairs to the bedrooms on the second floor always had piles of stuff going up the left side so that there was only enough room for one person at a time to walk up. I always wondered what was up there. Grandma Hazel's kitchen still had the old sink which, if I remember right, was wooden, and perhaps lined with metal. Probably the original sink when the house was built. Her kitchen counters were always-I want to say cluttered- but I don't quite remember what was on the counters. There was just a lot of stuff.  Every inch of her house was a wonder to my young eyes.
 When I look at my braided rug I think of her and the special memories she gave me.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Joining with http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2012/01/this-moment.html

Enjoy Crochet

I love to crochet and sew by copying another article.

I copied this from a child's hat I purchased second hand about twenty years ago.
 

I'm wearing my creation.

 I put flowers where the original had pom poms.
The flowers could be done in pretty colors.

The original

Vienna is adorable. She makes the hat look so cute.

Handmade Christmas 2011

 Many of the gifts we gave each other for Christmas were hand made. I found more joy in making gifts than going to the store and purchasing something. Some gifts would be too difficult to make, like the Bear Grylls Survival Kit I gave to Anthony. I don't think he would have found as much pleasure in a gift I made as he did in that survival kit. This year I knitted two scarves: the one pictured below for Elizabeth, and a narrow, straight scarf with a large tassel at each end. I gave the latter scarf to a friend without photographing it.

Knitted Infinity Scarf

Knitting needle and crochet hook case

Rolled up

I have a red back pack I use when I walk to the store.
I copied it and made this one for my mother.

I tried to make the inside as nice as the out side.
I love the blue fabric an how it looks with the white lining.

                      

 Two quilted potholders.
This one for my 99 year old neighbor Rose.

This one for my mother. I actually took the picture
before I finished it. There are red stitches
around the perimeter of each white piece on the finished product.

One of the pillow cases for my boys

There were a couple other gifts but I gave them away without photographing. I am already trying to decide what to make for birthday and Christmas presents this year. If I start now I can get a lot more made. I am glad to keep my hands busy, and I love creating things. I have always thought that God made us to find joy in creating something because we were created in His image. I think He found joy in creating because when he created the earth and the things in it He said "It is good...." 

TEA FOR... FOUR

I felt like decorating the table for tea. It's funny, I was alone all day but when I decided to use the table Anthony came home with his cousin Israel. They both felt like sitting at the table I was trying to decorate. I didn't mind; I just thought how common that is. Start using something, start doing or making something and you seem to attract attention. When someone starts a project, someone else usually gets motivated to do the same thing or something similar.
I was in a melancholy mood. Decorating the table brought a little cheerfulness into my kitchen, and attracted some nice company.           It's time for tea!