Embrace the Winter Season

It would be so easy to hunker down and "suffer" through the winter months - stay inside, complain about the cold, wish I was somewhere warm. But a better way is to embrace the season with friends. Here we are out for a ladies walk in the woods. Lots of laughs as we did a little slipping and sliding, and the exercise and comraderie put us all in good moods.

What goes down must go up,

 then down again as we navigated a small stream. Yahoo - no one fell in!

What a treat at the end to find a welcoming snowman made by other hearty souls!
So, bundle up, go outside, and then enjoy that cup of something warm on your return, gathered around the fire with great friends.

Weekend Projects- Satisfaction!

It doesn't look very glamorous and "arty" but I dug in and cleaned out the storage space off my sewing studio. Check out the before and after- here is my new, lean and mean storage area.

Where did it all go? Well, 2 huge bags went to the dumpster and a large cardboard box filled with paper went to recycling; another box full lots of pillows, unused frames, a flagpole, and odds 'n ends is headed to our local charity shop while a laundry basket full of paints, canvas, brushes, etc. is headed to my "wet" studio in a diffferent location; two plastic crates will serve me well in my office at Squam Art Workshops- perfect to file all those registrations that will be coming in February. I actually have some unused space on one shelf, and the toilet and shower are now accessible.

 I was surprised that it only took half a day to do (lesson learned- don't procrastinate on the nasty jobs), but amazed at what I had saved and buried....half-finished projects, bits and pieces of batting and fabric too small to really be of any use...and what I found, like a glue gun with lots of sticks that I didn't even remember having!
Ahh, such satisfaction to complete a project so early in 2010 - let's here it for "De-Clutter"!

Can This Space Be Saved?!?

A lot of bloggers are choosing a word for the year - Kathy picked "Delicious" and Mary Beth chose "Spread" ....well, my word would be "Clutter" or rather "De-Clutter"!
Since summer I've been struck by urge to clean out, pare down, simplify my home and space. I've cleaned closets, sorted through the cupboards in my kitchen, tried to organize the paper that comes into the house via the mail (letting magazine subscriptions lapse, shifting to automatic bills and statements, recycling catalogs immediately). But one area I have neglected is my sewing space. I've just kept piling up the stuff until it has overwhelmed me.

Well, thanks to a challenge in the January AARP magazine, I'm ready to tackle this black hole.

What you see is a small bathroom/closet on our third floor that has become my storage area- you may just be able to make out the toilet under a pile of burlap and stuffing! And see the 3 layers of plastic bins blocking the shower?

We don't use this bathroom unless overflowing with company so ....well....I kinda took it over.
So, stay tuned for a makeover which no doubt will entail lots of trips to the trash bin and secnd hand shop.

OK, OK, I'm back.....

Dropped off the blogasphere while battling a wicked cold, so nothing interesting to report except that night cough syrup works- for about 4 hours - and watch the ingredients lists of multiple products as many have acetamitophen and you DON'T want to take too much of that! Pleased to report that I'm on the mend and hope to be back with some news soon. Happy New Year to all, Peg

Diane's Fudge Cookies with a Peppermint Twist!

In preparation for a Cookie Exchange party I dug out some of my favorite standbys.  About 30 years ago my friend Diane gave me her recipe for the BEST FUDGE COOKIES ever! I've made them over and over again, and they are always a big hit.  Super easy, with minimal cleanup due to mixing in a pan and baking on aluminum foil, and you can even safely nibble on the dough as there are no eggs. This recipe makes approximately 2 dozen:
Di's Fudge Cookies
Preheat oven to 350'. Melt 1/2 stick butter and 12 oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chips over medium heat in a heavy fry pan (don't skimp on quality here-use real butter and Ghiradelli or better chips), stirring to mix well until smooth. Turn off the heat and mix in 1 cup white flour, 1 can sweetened condensed milk and 1 tsp vanilla. Optional to add chopped nuts at this stage. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and drop 1 heaping teaspoon of dough for each cookie. As these cookies do not spread much you can postion them closer together than other cookie doughs. Bake 7-10 minutes- do not overbake!! For Christmas this year my variation was to add a peppermint candy to the center of each cookie before baking. These are soft and chewy and oh, so good.

SUPER EASY TOFFEE:  Another fun, nostalgic recipe with just a few ingredients is this one for TOFFEE: Place approx 35 saltine crackers in a single layer on a large cookie sheet that is lightly greased. In a small saucepan melt 1 stick of buttler and 2/3 cup of brown sugar and bring to a boil. Pour over the crackers (I spooned a little over each cracker then spread this around with the back of the spoon). Bake in 350' oven for 7 minutes-watch closely to keep sugar from burning. Sprinkle on 12 oz of chocolate chips, put the cookie sheet back in oven for 1 minute to melt the chips, then spread them around to cover all of the crackers. Sprinkle on about 1 to 1.5 cups of chopped nuts-I used pecans. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour (no more), then break apart into serving pieces. Doesn't this sound like an old-fashion 50's style recipe- you know, from the Campbell soup era? This is real comfort food, and  great emergency recipe for when you need something easy and fast, and other than the hot sugar-butter stage, a good one to make with children.
No wonder I gain 5 lbs at the holidays!

                                       HAPPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

A Spiced-Up Christmas

Between the cold weather coming in and the holidays approaching I decided to get cozy in the kitchen and make up some gifts for friends. What better way to spend a snowy Sunday afternoon! Gathering my packs of spices from Penzeys I set to mixing up some Berbere Spice Mix, a wonderful blend of 9 delicious and aromatic elements: cardamon, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, tumeric, fenugreek, paprika, nutmeg, plus a little cayenne and black pepper.                               

Four ounces of each filled my biggest mixing bowl so I'm madly searching for small jars and expanding my list of recipients! Each jar comes with a card listing the ingredients and a recipe for Ethiopian Inspired Red Lentil Soup from Susan V's Fat Free Vegan website- love her recipes!                              

                                                                                                        

I cut 6" squares of fabric to decorate the jar tops, and put then in small gift bags covered with fabric (wonderunder fused-yes you can do this on paper!).  Ribbons secured the gift card with recipe information.

My kitchen smelled sooooo good! And my friends will have a healthy holiday gift to get them started on their New Year's resolutions to eat better.

Cloth, Paper, Scissors and Me!

I'm so excited to share the news that my August submission to Cloth, paper, Scissors STUDIOS magazine has been published in the Winter 2009 edition! Elizabeth MacCrellish of Squam Art Workshops encouraged me and helped with the photos, so many thanks there. I wanted to show what could be done in a very small space (6'x12') as so many studios featured are larger than many of us can manage. Laurie Coyle's little red bird is seen in 3 photos, and one of my favorite books, a gift from Mary Aarons at Craftside is front and center on my desk. I love being surrounded by my many treasures and can't wait to get cozy in it again this winter.