A Peak at My Crazy Quilting Project and Thanksgiving Recipes Including The Best Banana Ever From JunkGarden!

Here's a little peak at what I am working on ~ you can see I haven't finished the beading on the leaves but I thought I'd share it anyway!

Isn't stitching over rickrack fun! It always reminds me of my childhood ~ didn't just about everything have rickrack on it in the 1960's?

 There won't be time for stitching today though!

You can see out my bedroom window it's a dreary, rainy day...

just perfect for baking and preparing for Thanksgiving!

The turkey is soaking in it's brine bath until tomorrow morning and one of the busiest days of the year is about to begin for me...baking, cleaning and last minute shopping.

All my babies will be here, Jaci, Cher, Tony,Franky, Ashley.

As I am preparing, my mind always goes back to Thanksgivings past with my Mom, Grama, Frank and aunts, uncles and cousins in Maryland and South Carolina.

All of my traditions come from there and I miss them.

Teddi is already tired and the day had just began.

The guest room is ready for Jaci ......

 Christmas wrap is waiting for it's big debut this week -end .....

and Christmas cards are ready to be addressed.

Here is a gluten free version of Paula Deans Pumpkin Bars that I found on  celiac.com

4 eggs
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups flour (I used white rice, brown rice and tapioca)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 15 ounce can pumpkin

Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl mix the eggs until they are fluffy, add sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and blend until smooth. Bake in an ungreased 9" x 13" nonstick pan and bake for about 30 minutes. I used a greased glass pan and had to bake them a little longer. Cool and frost. I used this cream cheese frosting recipe:

2 ~ 8 ounce packages of cream cheese softened
1 stick of butter softened
2 tablespoons half and half
2 cups confectioners sugar
Blend butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and half and half. Mix until fluffy and frost.

Or how about this amazing dessert from Junk Gardengirl Blog  which she calls

THE BEST BANANA PUDDING EVER!

Click Junk Garden Girl Blog for recipe.

Have a Blessed day of Giving Thanks!

"I do not think of all the misery, but of the glory that remains. Go outside into the fields, nature and the sun, go out and seek happiness in yourself and in God. Think of the beauty that again and again discharges itself within and without you and be happy."- Anne Frank

Lilla, Hershey Chocolate Cake, And A Stroll Through Watch Hill, Rhode Island

Hi Everyone!
Just a quick little post to share something beautiful with you!
This was purchased from Lilla LeVIne  ~ such an amazing artist from Hawaii.
She painted it and printed it on the fabric.
It is large ~ 13 X 11 including the surrounding fabric.
I think it will be a perfect centerpiece for a crazy quilt ~ I am going to take my time planning this one!

Visit Lilla's etsy shop ~ where she has just listed Vintage Lace from Paris !

I thought I'd share the Chocolate Cake Recipe I made for my son last week.

I torn it from a magazine in 1984. For the frosting I use the recipe on the can of Hershey Cocoa.

By the way ~ these are Grama's cake pans ~ the only ones she ever used for a layer cake.

One of my favorite things to do in all the world was to turn those metal strips around and around to loosen the cake.

Since I am making a chocolate cake ~ I used Nestle Quick instead of flour so the cake won't stick to the pan.

Here is the recipe ~ just click here!

Since visiting the town of  Hershey, Pa and seeing the great work they do there ~

I will always use their products.

Milton Hershey founded his school for under privileged children 100 years ago and it is still going strong.

It is a wonderful story ~ follow the link below.

I believe Queen Latvia is now the spokesman for the The Milton Hershey School

Safe in the cabinet from sneaky fingers and a passing fly until after dinner!

My  baby boy  Son gets the first piece to celebrate getting a new truck!

Before we say Good-Bye ~

Take a minute to enjoy some of the beautiful scenery from our drive to

Watch Hill, Rhode Island this week-end.

"Long ago, beneath the crisp stillness of the harvest moon, Montauk braves once paddled northward from

Long Island to pillage the peaceful Niantics who resided at what we now know as Watch Hill."

excerpt from "Watch Hill By River And By Sea"

And on the drive home ~ Rt 1a in Stonington, Ct.

Sea-Fever

By John Masefield (1878-1967)

I must (go) down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.


I must (go) down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.


I must (go) down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

Links You Will Find On This Post ~

Lilla's Blog
Lilla's Etsy Shop
Food Timeline ~ 100's of cake recipes
Nestle Quick Commercial from the 1950's with Roy Rogers
Hershey Cake Recipe
Hershey, Pa
History of Milton Hershey
Watch Hill, Rhode Island
Stonington, Ct

Remembering the Last Days of Summer ~ Yankee Stadium, Rotted Deck and a Great Zucchini Bread Recipe

There is no denying it ~ Fall is in the air in Connecticut.

The most colorful places to visit in my garden are the places where the mums, hydrangea and morning glory reside.

I love the little Welcome Sign that holds a Mum plant ~ found at Home Depot!

I have to share with you the story of the peaches and grapes pictured below.

Do you remember last year I told you about my neighbor Tino ?

He passed away many years ago but I have never stopped missing him.

He spoke broken Italian ~ I understood his actions more than words.

He pruned my grape vines and planted flowers in my garden next to his house ~ never asking ~ just doing.

I loved watching him tend to his enormous garden in the back.

When he died ~ I pulled up one of the grape vines from his yard and planted it in mine.

Sadly this year ~ it didn't appear to have produced any grapes.

The other day ~ I went in my neighbors yard and noticed Tino's peach tree that borders my yard (but hidden behind a fence) was filled with beautiful peaches!

It was encased with a vine ~ all you could see were bits of peach hitting the ground.

As I got closer ~ the smell of grapes overwhelmed me.

Could it be???? YES!!!!

My grape vine had climbed over my fence and created a huge halo over his peach tree!

Grapes poured down ~ perfect beautiful peaches were below!

I felt Tino's warm smile and loving touch as I filled plastic grocery bags with peaches and grapes!

I could hardly contain myself and burst into his wife Kay's home ~ grabbing bowels from her cabinet and filling them with her beloved Tino's peaches and grapes!

I wish I had taken a picture before I started harvesting ~ my only proof are a few of the peaches I took for myself and a lone bit of grapes I left for the birds.

I did lot's of stitching this summer but have mostly just pile of unfinished projects to show for it.

Here are 2 things I did take photo's of before they went to their new owners.

This is a market bag made for my sister-in-law (and Miss Matty) with a large doily at the bottom ~

perfect for carrying fruit ,apples etc from the Farmers Market.

It's Simple As Can Be ~

You sew a fabric tube as wide as you want your bag to be ~ leaving the bottom open.

Add one fat handle to the top and sew the raw edges of a large doily (doily cut in half) to the bottom.

Then close the bottom of the doily ~ using a strong sturdy stitch.

This was the pouch I made for my Aunt Sarah's birthday ~ crazy quilted and beaded.

Other summer projects included our deck that we had to knock down without notice

because carpenter ants were about to carry it away!

Instead we knocked it down for them ~

and unfortunalty had to carry it away ourselves.

It was the biggest nightmare of my life.

Ummm ~ I mean to say ~

hard work never hurt anyone ;)

My dear brother in law ~ Richard ~who happens to be a carpenter (and not an ant) ~

SAVED THE DAY not only with his expert help but insisting on cutting down the trees that created our moisture problem in the first place.

These maple trees were HUGE ~

and he showed up to cut them down during the hurricane rains that came one Saturday in August!

He is so much fun ~ we lovingly call him our special little garden gnome!

Here are the finished results ~ I am in love with this sweet little deck which I now call our back porch!

I just need 2 of those rocking chairs from The Cracker Barrel for the spot shown below!

We have promised ourselves we'd get them 20 years ago but never had a covered porch ~

NOW we do!!!

My little Teddi Bear is still afraid to climb the new stairs!

The Zinnia's bloomed late but were beautiful this year!

A trip to the The NEW Yankees Stadiumwas an exciting treat just last week-end ~

after Jaci won an auction for them!

We took the Yankee Express train from Connecticut right to the stadium.

This was one of the many street musicians that kept us smiling as we took the short walk from the train to the stadium.

I did some organizing this summer ~ and came across my cross stitch basket that I bought in Dollywood well over 10 years ago.

It was like opening a time capsule!

The Teddy bear Franky (now 26) made for me in middle school ~ it was waiting for him to add the fiberfill ,

A picture Ashley (now almost 21) drew for me in elementary school ~

ticket stubs from Dollywood..........

and many unfinished cross stitch projects!

2009 was a busy, hard working summer but I was able to steal plenty of wonderful moments with family and friends!

Tomorrow we will welcome fall officially.

Still I will visit my flying friends at the beach one or two more times ~ even if I freeze!

As a Good-Bye to Summer Treat ~ how about my recipe for Chocalote Chip Zuchini Bread.

I use my circa 1970's Tupperware grater for this recipe.

Choclate Zucchini Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups grated zucchini
1 bag of chocolate chips

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 ~ 9 by 5-inch loaf pans
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.
Beat the eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar and blend well.
Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, chocolate chips.,
Stir in sifted ingredients.
Bake about 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Farewell Sweet Summertime ~

My Garden Heart's YOU!!!