Monday, January 30, 2017

Feeling better!


I'm just getting over this stomach bug and then the sinus bug hit me.  
Ugh.
I am feeling better now.  Had to take a few days off from teaching, quilting and crocheting. 

Got back at it last night and I will be teaching today.

Made three hats yesterday that are ready to put in the mail.  
Yes, when I say I'm back at it ... I really mean it.  
LOL

Hope that you all are managing to stay well.

And please remember to be kind to those around you. 
There is not enough kindness in this world. 

And every bit of kindness ... no matter how big or small ... matters.

Love and Blessings my Friends!

I am so glad you stopped by!
Ava Jane

Sunday, January 22, 2017

January 22, 2017 Dog Blankets and Kittens


Hello!
Hope you all had a great day today!

Thought I would share this picture of my neck warmer!  
LOL
Little kitties are the best!
This ones name is Munster ... but his nickname is Monster.  
He's quite a character!



I've been cutting and piecing quilts.  
Yesterday was mainly sewing the pieces together to make the blocks.  
Today will be cutting ... cutting ... and cutting.

Quilting is so fun for me.  I find it relaxing and rewarding.  It is exciting to me to see all of the pieces sewn together ... the blocks formed ... and see it come together.    
These four quilts are especially meaningful because they are memory quilts for someone I went to school with and knew personally.



I still have three kittens that needs homes.  
If any of my local people know of anyone who would like a kitten message me and let's check it out.  They are so sweet and lovable.  Very socialized and ready for homes.

The dogs finally wore out one of their comforters so I decided to cut it up and make smaller dog blankets out of it for them.  That is what I did this evening.  Here it is all laid out on the table.  
There's Cookie standing under the table.  She is a Doberman. 
She's quite the helper.

Got out my trusty sewing tools.
There's my messy pin cushion.
This pin cushion and I have been through a lot of sewing projects together.


Started cutting ...


Did some sewing ...


Did some more cutting ...


Ended up with four dog blankets this size.
They are already enjoying them now.


Thanks for stopping by today!

Come back often! 

Enjoy this day in your life.

Love and Blessings my Friends!
Ava Jane

Friday, January 20, 2017

Foggy Morning

It was a beautiful foggy morning in Hannibal, Missouri this morning.
I think there is something beautiful about the fog.
It is something that is beautiful and eerie at the same time.


I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
Enjoy!








Blessings my friends!

I am so glad you stopped by!
Ava Jane




Thursday, January 19, 2017

Frittata


Today I decided that I was going to make a Frittata.  
I wasn't actually planning to make it today ... but planning a later day to try it.
Instead ... as the day went by ... and I got hungry ... and ...
TaDa!
Today became the day!

Mine is a simple Frittata.  
They can be made to include fruit and vegetables ... rice ... meat ... pretty much whatever you decide you would like to add.  Or even better yet ... check out the left overs in the 'frig and see if they would work as ingredients.
For my frittata I decided to just go simple. 


Eggs, sausage, cheese and some biscuits and gravy on the side. 
I have to say that this made a meal that both Doug and I were very satisfied with.  
It left us our bellies very full and warm. 
I will share with you how I made it. 
I do have to tell you though … I was taught to cook by the eyeball method … meaning you didn’t always measure your ingredients but “eyeballed” it according to what you thought looked right.   There are many times that I will measure … but there are just as many times that I don’t. 


Here are the ingredients that you will need: 
Frittata Ingredients:  11 eggs, 1lb sausage, ¾ cup milk, ¾ cup cheese
Biscuits (we used canned biscuits today)
Gravy Ingredients:  Sausage drippings, Flour , Milk, Salt, Pepper 

I would like to express the joy it brings me to cook with our cast iron skillets.  Pure Joy!  We have five cast iron skillets in various sizes.  
My large one belonged to my Grandma Williams and I know for a fact that it has fed six generations of my family.  I always think of my Grandmother when I am cooking with this pan.  I used it and Doug’s big cast iron pan from the fire pit to cook this meal.  
I used Grandmas skillet for the Frittata and used Doug’s skillet for the gravy.


The first thing that I did was turn the oven on to 350 degrees.  The next thing was to use Doug’s skillet and fry one pound of sausage.  I dipped the sausage out into a bowl and Doug poured the grease out of the pan.  (He did it for me because these cast iron skillets are so heavy.)  Then I put just a little bit of the sausage back into the skillet and set it aside to use later to make the gravy.


I got Grandma’s cast iron skillet out and set it on the stove for making the frittata.
I got out my big mixing bowl, a whisk and the eggs.


I broke and whisked 11 eggs … added ¾ cup of milk … whisked that together.  I then sprayed my cast iron skillet with non-stick cooking spray and poured the egg and milk mixture into the skillet.  Then added 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese into the egg mixture putting one layer in … pressing it down into the egg mixture with a spoon … and then adding the remaining shredded cheese to the top.  


I cooked this on the stove top for two to three minutes and then put it right into the oven from there. 


(all empty now)


It cooked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.


And here it is all done!


Now it’s time to cook the biscuits and the gravy. 
I got out the flour and the milk.  



On this night I did not have the energy to make biscuits from scratch so we used canned biscuits.  I put them in the oven and turned my attention to making gravy.


Now we are to the part where I really don’t measure but just eyeball it.  So bear with me.

I took the cast iron skillet with the little bit of sausage in it and added three spoons (big ones) of flour to the dry skillet and whisked it together.


I then poured two cups of milk.  
(I ended up using three cups of milk all together)


Add just enough milk to whisk in and make a paste.


Add a little bit more milk and whisk together until smooth.


Add a little bit more milk and whisk until smooth.  You can see in the picture that this time there was enough milk involved to make a smooth mixture that is no longer pasty.


At this point keep adding milk and whisking until you have added the entire remaining milk into the pan and it is smooth.


Now you’re just cooking it so it becomes gravy.  Whisk it and then let it do a few bubbles then whisk again and continue doing this until it reaches the desired thickness that you like for your gravy.  
Each time you whisk you can feel the thickness in the bottom of the pan and you are whisking this back into the milk gravy.


Here’s the gravy all finished to the thickness that I like.


At this time your meal is finished.  
If you hadn’t already gotten your biscuits out it is time to do so (they cook for 10 minutes).


Here is Doug’s plate.  Mmmmm … it looks delicious!


Here is my plate.  I put a little bit of that gravy on my Frittata too!  


Doug is ready for the first bite. 
Apparently someone else is too … look at Buttons (the cat) looking that bite over.  Lol


And now it’s gone!
We have success!



It was a delicious meal!  We are full and happy!  It is definitely something that I will make again!

Thanks for stopping by today!
Come back often! 

I am so glad you stopped by!

Ava Jane

Earlier This Week

Tuesday I was feeling much better although I slept until noon.  Did me some good though.  I have had "the bug" for two days.  Feeling much better today.

My new Bodhran Drum tipper came in the mail today.  I've had this drum ever since I started playing Irish music ... about 15 years now.  I don't play it in group very often but I do play it at home.  Very fun to play.  I also still play my Djembe drum as well.  I love both of my drums.



I plan to set up the hammered dulcimer tomorrow.  Can't leave it set up with all of these kittens running around like crazy.  Little Cutie Pa-Tooties!  They are a lot of fun.

It has been too cloudy for any moon pictures since it's been raining and icy. It's raining yet again today.  We will keep checking the night sky.  Sooner or later it will be clear and we will see the moon.

Yesterday I send this hat to it's new home today!  Now I'm ready to start a messy bun or a pony tail hat.  This will be the first one I have made.  Will be glad to see how it turns out .



Kittens are good ... always playing and running here and there.  One will be leaving this week to her new home.

I think we can go ahead and buy a harness for our kitten and start working on walking on a leash.  We plan to take him to the nursing home for visits ... maybe take his mama too.  She is very sweet.  This should be a very interesting training period.  
Wish us luck.  
lol

Thanks for stopping by today!
Come back often! 

 Love and Blessings my Friends!
Ava Jane


Monday, January 16, 2017

January 16, 2017 Monday

Today it thundered and rained pretty hard for a while.
Then did it again several times through out the day and again this evening.

Poor Dooley, who is afraid of rain, wind and thunder spent most of the time hiding under my desk at my feet, shaking and shaking during it and then for about an hour after it was finished.  Poor little guy.  Thanks to his new supplement he doesn't suffer as much as he used to with his anxiety.


Just in case there are any other people out there with dogs that suffer with anxiety I will share what has helped us so much.  It was recommended by a friend and we tried it.
Now Pets Pet Relaxant For Dogs and Cats


There were no lessons today since it was a holiday.
It's Martin Luther King Day.
I put one of his quotes on my Facebook page today ...
"The time is always right to do what is right." - Martin Luther King


If we would all live by these words ... the world would be an even better place.
My love and blessings to you all.

I haven't felt well the last few days.  Had a fever, headache and diarrhea ... but I am feeling better now.  
Are we supposed to say diarrhea?  Or are we supposed to say stomach problems?
I chose the other word because the stomach flu is going around and people are vomiting ... which I didn't do. I hope that everyone is feeling better now ... and if not ... that everyone is feeling better soon.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Come back often! 

 Love and Blessings my Friends!

I am so glad you stopped by!
Ava Jane


January 16, 2017

Sunday I made another slouch hat using homespun yarn.
This color is called Mimosa and fills an order that will go to it's new home soon!
I have yet to make myself one using this yarn, but it is on the list to do!
I have two more hats to make and then the next one is for me and it will be just like this one.


Caught the Cutie Pa-Tooties taking a nap.
Yes, they are spoiled.
In my chair ... on a pillow ... with a blanket.
Yes, I sat somewhere else so they could have a nice nap.
Just a note ...
the three tabbies still need homes.


I made some chicken and noodles for supper.
Burnt my tongue eating it because I didn't wait long enough for it to cool.
LOL

We got some of that Ice that's been coming down on a lot of our neighboring towns and areas.
We didn't get as much as some people did.
For that I am thankful.

Doug got some rearranging done since we installed our new tv.
Took the entertainment center out after he cleaned it off.
It is amazing the amount of "stuff" that can collect in an area over a period of time.
My goodness.
Thank you sweetheart for all of the work you did today.



I am still practicing guitar for 20 minutes a day as part of my physical therapy on my hand.  I am hoping that I will be able to play and perform again within the next couple of months.  I can say that it is feeling better each day.  I have so far managed to stick to my rules of not picking up the fiddle until February.  I'm letting the guitar therapy do its thing in limbering up my finger and stretching those tendons.  Right now it hurts pretty badly to play.  When I'm done with my 20 minutes of guitar I am not able to move my fingers ... I have to spend the next five to ten minutes doing stretches with it until I get it working again.
It will get there.
It will get there.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Come back often! 
And please remember to be kind to those around you. 
There is not enough kindness in this world. 
And every bit of kindness ... no matter how big or small ... matters.

I am so glad you stopped by!

Ava Jane





Saturday, January 14, 2017

January 14, 2017 Saturday

We have ice.
Not as much yet as we were forecast to have ... but I won't complain about that.
I don't think it's over yet though.

For now, I'm relaxing in my recliner with my feet up playing my banjo.  
I've been working on some new tunes and new styles of playing.  
I sure do love playing the banjo.  
My tenor banjo is my favorite type of banjo.  
It's just a happy instrument and it always makes me feel good when I play it.


Doug, Chris and I played some music with RagTag Irish Band at Ogriff's on Wednesday.
I didn't get any videos made.
I took the camera ...
Actually remembered to take the tripod ...
Got it all set up ...
No Memory Card!
Dang it!
I take it out and use it at the computer to load pictures and videos
and that is right where I left it.
Oh well!
Had a great night playing music and seeing everyone.


Here are a couple of moon pictures that Doug took for the moon blog.
You're welcome to head on over there and look at them.
Luna Delight
is the name of it.


The kittens are growing and will be 9 weeks old on Monday.


I have increased my physical therapy on my hand to include playing guitar 20+ minutes of guitar a day.  
Oh my goodness it hurts so badly.
But that is what it's going to take to get the ability back again.

In February I start working with the violin and playing it so many minutes a day.
I have really missed playing my Irish Fiddle music.

Enjoy this day in your life. 
Even the bad ones lead to good ones. 
So keep hanging in there!

I am so glad you stopped by!
Ava Jane