Monday, February 28, 2011

the Snickerdoodle



I have to say, the Snickerdoodle is one of the EASIEST cookies I have ever made.
and I mean easy! This will for sure be on the list to make for the christmas
holidays to hand out to family and friends.

Here's how we made it:

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs

1 tblsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions
Mix together flour, baking powder & salt in medium bowl. In mixer (with paddle attachment) place butter and (first amount) sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs. On low speed, gradually add flour mix.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Combine cinnamon and sugar on small plate. Make small dough balls, 1-2 inches in size, and roll through cinnamon-sugar mix.

Place dough balls on cookie sheet that's been lined with parchment paper, a few inches apart.
Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack.

Mine didn't spread too much, but I've read with different
recipes that sometimes they spread, so watch for that! Enjoy!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Broke

Can you see that? My needle broke last night.
today, hopefully, I'll get around to trying to replace the needle.

I did however get 5 more blocks done...
There's about 15 blocks done. I haven't decided how I'm going to lay out the quilt yet.
5 rows of 5? 5 rows of 6?
I've got the embroidery blocks that make another two rows as well.
I've got about 20 days left to get it totally done...
time to crack down and get to it!


Saturday, February 26, 2011

Zelda's Pup's

So, our pup had 9 little pups on February 13th.
Zelda's not really a pup, she'll be 3 in April.

She had a whopping 9 puppies this time!
last time there was 7, this will be her last litter. We are hoping to get her fixed before
summer time. (summer? what's summer?)

They are starting to lighten up and look more like there Husky Mama!








I'm determined to get a good chunk of sewing done tonight. determined.
I'll let you know how that goes....

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Polaroids

LittleMan has been sick for awhile, so not many photo opportunites have come up.
We've been staying home lots, but his cough is breaking up finally so
hopefully we'll got some more action around here.
what's that on the weather report? we're going to get a little bit warmer?
I'll take warmer weather! even if it is slowly!

In the mean time, I wanted to share this neat photo program with you!
what's even better? it's FREE!
Here's the effect you'll get with it:





Yes - they are polaroid reproductions!
I love this program. did I mention it's free?
It produces high quality photos that you can print (at 400 dpi, excellent)
With the program you get a little polaroid camera on your desktop while the program is open,
choose a photo and drag it over on top of the camera. it'll start to "process" the photo,
and it'll slide out onto your desktop, it'll "process" some more and will make a little chime once it's done.
Right click on the photo once it's done and you'll get the option "show me the file into the desktop"
click on that menu option, and it'll save it for you (mine went into my photos folder).

The programs made by poladroid, you can find it {here}
and it's available for mac or pc!


*I have no affiliation with poladroid, whatsoever. Just thought it was a neat program to share :)



Monday, February 21, 2011


Ingredients:
Water - 8 oz.
White Flour - 2 cups + 2 tbsp
Butter - 2 tbsp
Dry Milk - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1 1/2 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Yeast - 3/4 tsp

Topping - 1 beaten egg

Directions:

Combine ingredients as advised by your breadmaker.
Prepare on "dough" setting.
Once complete (mine takes1.5 hours, yours may me different), divide dough into seperate balls on lightly greased pan. (or parchment paper).
Slightly flatten with your hand.
Let rise for 30 minutes. (I put my oven on the lowest setting for 5 min. turn it off and put them in there).
Brush with egg topping.
Bake for 12-16 minutes, or until golden, at 350 degrees F.

I made mine smaller to make sliders...excellent for {this} recipe!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Big Mans Quilt: Leaf Block

last week I got another block embroidered for bigmans quilt.
now I just have one more to do, that I'll tackle next week - Canadian Dog Tags.
I also took my fabric with me last night and got it all cut up to try and get some more blocks done this weekend. It looks like I might actually get it done by my deadline!


BigMan does not like going to the fabric store with me. I mean does not like it.
And I love moda fabric precuts but FabricVille doesn't seem to carry them, and I'm always iffy about buying them online as most of the stores are in the states and you have to pay all those extra fees that I still don't understand. anywho, in my research I've found some canadian qult stores that offer free shipping in canada! some have $5 flat rate shipping in canada as well.
and they carry moda fabrics! It was like the clouds opened up and the sun shone down!

check em out ;)







*p.s. these quit shops dont know me and Im not being paid to tell you about them.
I just wanted to share my excitment with you!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Garden Plan: Tomatoes

We're back to dreaming about gardening again.
and guess what? it's suppost to go up to *4* degrees tomorrow! (celcius)
I phoned Stokes yeserday and ordered a catalog, and we're waiting
to hear back about a plot of landing we're looking to rent.
Our yard just isn't big enough this year for all the stuff I want to try..
Black Sea Man Tomato 10 Seeds - Heirloom
Black Sea Man Tomatoes, Heirloom.
Small plants with medium-sized deep brown fruits, rich flavor. Looks incredibly odd when blanched and peeled, revealing skeleton-like veins under the skin. Potato leaf, but determinate, 75 days from transplant
get some seeds {here}

Mr. Stripey
  ...unusually small leaves and a mix of a yellow and red color that can fool some growers into thinking they are picking an unripe tomato. ...it may be considered a "beefsteak". Like other heirlooms, Mr. Stripey has an appearance that differs considerably from other tomatoes...generally somewhat more yellow near the stem and more red towards its underside, with gentle stripes of red and yellow blending into each other along the sides. This coloration may extend into the interior of the fruit, which tends to be more yellow than red.
...fully ripe the taste will be surprisingly sweet and mild, superior to most store bought varieties...when fully ripe is pleasingly sweet when sliced raw - excellent for hors de ouvres...

Sweet Million
Early maturing hybrid cherry type tomato. Clusters of tiny fruit are well rounded, deep red in colour with a delicious sweet flavour. Tolerance to cracking and good holding qualities. Indeterminate plants grow tall and require support. Maturity is 60 days from transplanting

Early Girl Hybrid Tomato 45 Seeds- Blemish Free Skin!
Early Girl
Bears heavy crops extremely early and continues longer than most varieties. Matures in 59 days. Large clusters of 5 oz. fruits. Globe to slightly flattened shape. Bright red and meaty with a lot of flavor and aroma. Indeterminate. get seeds {here}
 we had really good luck with this type last year!

so far, that's all the types I've chosen for tomatoes! I'll be doing more posts on cucumbers, beans, peas and flowers!
*unless other wise stated/linked, seeds are available for order with Stokes.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day!
from the Q farm

LittleMan making BigMans valentine


Sunday, February 6, 2011

Storm Update

We got hit with snow.
big time.
remember the picture of our ice rink? it's been buried.
which by the way never did work.

hopefully the roads will clear up later...we need a few groceries!
and to think just last night, before the storm I was starting to get excited that it was february and it was nowhere but up from here and we were on our way to spring.
I had said that I should be getting to the library and getting some gardening books to start planning our vegetable garden.
Maybe I should go back to those thoughts in a few weeks...

For now, I'll be thinking about some of these projects that make me think of summer.
Hopefully they'll inspire some of you, and give you hope that the snow will end!

scrappy sherbet
scrappy sherbet quilt by Sentimental Stitches {here}


vintage sheet beach blanket by Nest Full of Eggs {here}

toddler t-shirt to dress idea by Samster Mommy {here}
*she has a TON of examples, check out the rest of her blog

handy dad by todd davis {here}
time to start planning out some great projects to do with your kids now!

I'll be spending most of the day dreaming about summer, and these projects and fresh vegetables with a cup of tea. Today seems like a good day to start asembling my backing and batting and quilt top for my winter themed quilt!

Let me know if you plan on making any of these projects! or if you've already made some of these projects, or if you have some summer projects you'd like to share as well!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Backyard Ice Rinks

recently, over the holidays we got to visit my uncles outdoor ice rink.
here's a peek at it....
(is it obvious we're canadian?)

so last year, BigMan decided he had wanted to try and make one himself.
it didn't really turn out, so we just threw some snow over it and forgot about it.
This year, he's trying again...

this time, he bought a kit at canadian tire and it seems to be working out much better!
here it is after we filled it with water from the hose for a few hours, and then left it to freeze overnight...
Hopefully, LittleMan will be able to get out there soon and practice more skating!

The kit he purchased was called "QuikRink" and can be found at Canadian Tire.
I think he said he got it on sale for $29.99 and it's about 10'X20'