Friday, November 13, 2009

Quilts for Craft Hope #5

My quilts are on their way via the USPS to their destination for Craft Hope's most recent project, Margaret's Hope Chest.  I can’t wait to hear the results - I think at last count they were getting close to their goal of 400 donated quilts.  It is amazing to think of all the crafters out there who are participating in all of these wonderful projects.  It is amazing to be a tiny part of such a big momentum of love and caring.
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  Go take a look at all of the quilt's pouring in, and I guarantee you will be nothing short of amazed, too.
I did some thrifting recently and came home with a few goodies.  I love old knitting and sewing books, and I was excited to stumble across this vintage booklet for baby knits.  I guess it was marked cheap because it was missing the cover - nonetheless, I am happy to give it a new home!  Look at how cute these sweaters are!
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And this one, too!
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A rather retro-looking nursery rhyme book found it’s way into my cart also.
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The coastal New England states are hunkering down tonight and tomorrow for the remnants of tropical storm Ida.  Definitely a good time to stay inside and curl up with my new-to-me books – let’s hope the four children who also reside at Morning Glory Lane feel the same!
Warm weekend wishes,
Elizabeth

Friday, November 6, 2009

Finally Friday…

I love Friday’s, don’t you?  I love gathering everyone back in at the end of the week and the freedom of the weekend stretching ahead.  (Although at our house our weekends are nearly as busy as our weekdays!)  Walking over to the school this afternoon to pick up the youngest son, I enjoyed this…DSCN4969and this…

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and lots of these…

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crunching underfoot, and blowing and swirling around.  

After work and before school let out , I had just enough time to eat a little lunch and start ironing several feet of this…

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A cup of tea, a few moments of an old movie on the television, and the autumn sun streaming through windows – DSCN4962

a good Friday afternoon, indeed.

Happy Friday to you and yours,

Elizabeth

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

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We took a quick jaunt “down south” to Hartford, CT for a tour of  Mark Twain’s home and museum.  We couldn’t take any pictures in the house, but it was beautiful.  Go see this house if you can.  It is well worth it.  They divide the tour into two parts – the main house and the servant’s wing – both were great.   The servant’s wing gives you an inside view of the kitchen and how such a large house was managed.  The main house is a longer tour, covering more territory, but both tours are filled with wonderful stories of the family.  The tour guides did an excellent job of making the house come to life.

DSCN4581Here’s my version of Rae's Itty Bitty Baby Dress.  This was a gift to my bother and his wife’s new baby daughter – my first niece!  I hope it fits her and that she will get a little bit of wear out of it before the winter.  I bought a  pink onesie turtleneck and some pink tights to go with it (in lieu of the dotted pants) in case it gets cold sooner than later!  I saw her shortly after she was born, but she lives in Chicago, so I’m relying on pictures and emails until we see her at Christmas!  Babies are so sweet.

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  And just in case you feel the need for something sweet, I leave you with some Monster Cookies, mine are missing the M&M’s this time, but with four ever-hungry kids (and hubby),  they still got eaten just the same.

Monster Cookies

2 cups white sugar

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups shortening

1/2 cup peanut butter

4 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoon salt

3 cups oatmeal (you can use old-fashioned, or quick)

6 oz. chocolate chips

6 oz. M&M’s

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugars, shortening, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla.  In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt.  Stir into sugar/shortening mixture.  Add oatmeal and chocolate chips and M&M’s.   Batter will be very stiff.  Drop onto cookie sheet.  You can make these really large (i.e. Monster Cookies), or just regular size.  Bake at 350 degrees.  Time will vary with size.  Regular size is usually around 10 minutes.

Elizabeth