DIY Gingerale

Ever made ginger ale?  I found a recipe online and have made the 'bug' or starter.  This evening I made the ale.  It is supposed to sit out for 2-3 days get fizzy, then you can put in in the fridge indefinitely.  It isn't that bad flat.  Can't wait to see if it actually does fizz.  The starter was a little fizzy but I'm not sure it was enough before making the ale.

Time will tell.

UPDATE:  Nope, the ginger ale never got fizzy. I don't think my starter had gotten yeasty enough.  I think I'll try again later in the year when it is warmer.  Maybe it was just too cool in the house to let it do it's thing.

Merry Christmas!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas day, celebrating the birth of our Lord. Ours was very low key.  Our Christmas Eve dinner with my brother and family was cancelled because they had been fighting the stomach bug.  We saw Darkest Hour on Saturday night and last night we watched It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas, and parts of A Christmas Story. Slept in today, visited our friends with the four children at home, then took off in search of a place to do some target shooting.

We found a place on the Catoosa Wildlife Management area about 50 miles away, but it was a nice drive.  Not many out today on the roads.  Our Christmas present to each other was a Henry .22 lever action repeating rifle.  The reason?  We had, what we believe to be, a coyote snatch our big lovable cat early last week.

This makes the third cat lost this way since we've lived in this location (15 years).  Our neighbor told us he had heard several and seen one.  There are too many around here, so I hope to eliminate at least one.

Not bad!  We set our targets about 30 yards away.  I'm ready for that varmint!

On a lighter note.....Merry Christmas from our little family in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Miss them so.

Rachel

Calligraphy

Don't you just love the newer, imperfect types of calligraphy people are doing?  I sure do.  I wanted to take some cookies to my neighbor.  Just a small gift to let them know we were thinking of them. I pulled some images off google and did this on a gallon Ziplock bag.

I don't think it's too bad for my first try!

Little but hearty breakfast and other musings

My breakfast for years has been a piece of homemade honey wheat bread and various toppings - butter and jam, cheese, peanut butter and honey.  As I age, I'm finding it is SO EASY to gain weight so I am trying to eat a bit, just a bit, more healthy.  I am, by no means, a foodie, or health and fitness nut, although I am trying to keep my weight down and exercise regularly.

Anyway, I've found something that I love for breakfast.  On my workdays I get up at 4:30, have coffee/tea and breakfast, then head to work.  By 8 I'm starving.  Since I've started this, I don't get hungry until about noon.  That means no morning snacking. I like that.

Mamaw's Oatmeal (named by my granddaughter, who also loves this recipe)

1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup milk (and a dash more, of milk or water -- just a tad thick with only 1/4 cup)
Microwave for 1 minute
add 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter (or almond butter)
add about 1 1/2 tsp (almost a T) of Nutella

Stir and eat.  Lately I've also been adding about a 1/2 tsp of coconut oil, to add a healthy fat.  It doesn't make much, but 1/2 cup was too much for me.  This is the perfect amount, for me anyway. And definitely use milk rather than all water.  It is creamy and tastes just like a chocolate oatmeal drop cookie.

Quilting -- I've been asked to make another one block wonder quilt for a magazine!  Yay! So I am looking at various panels, thinking they have the best variation.  Here are a couple I'm considering.  I like one with light, dark, and colors.  The first has a lot of light, which could be good.  The second doesn't really have dark, but I thought the blue and green would make a nice contrast.  If you don't know what I'm talking about when I say One Block Wonder, check this out...

In other news, I received some great pictures from my daughter-in-law.  They took another trip to the highlands and recreated a scene from the James Bond movie, Skyfall.  Although I am not a movie buff, I thought this was neat.

They also posed in the same location as a scene from a Monty Python movie.

They are having such great adventures in Scotland.

Another topic-- anyone have bees?  One of my co-workers retired and is now into bees and has enough honey to sell.  He is using the Flowhive.  I want to do this so bad!  The hubby has said when we get in our new house, with it's big lot, I can have a hive. I know there is lots to learn and it isn't easy but it is so interesting and you get your own local honey!

 The picture below is of me in the early 90's.  My DIL made my day yesterday.  My sister had posted the picture on Facebook and when my DIL saw it she was "weirded out" because she felt like she was looking at an adult Emma (my granddaughter).  Well, goodness gracious, that certainly made my day!  I think she does look like me, but she definitely has her mother's smile and chin.

That's about all I know for today.

We still don't have a Christmas tree up yet......is that bad?  No kids to enjoy it, don't have plans for a Christmas get together here either......

A Whole Lot of Nothing!

That's what I feel like I've done lately --  a whole lot of nothing!  I sold my big sewing table to make room for a new one.  Made me kind of sad to see it go.  The new owners have added trim and it really looks like a nice piece of furniture.  I'm happy for them.

 We had ordered a custom made table for our new home, which we won't be in until late next year.  So, now I'm stuck without a table in my upstairs sewing room.  The new one comes this week but it is so big and heavy we really don't want to move it upstairs just to move it back in less than a year.  I've not got a sewing project going now, and I feel so unproductive.  I've got to figure out how to move the table inside. Certainly don't want to leave it in the garage for months, or store it in a storage unit.  Might just move a bed out of the extra downstairs bedroom and put it there.  Decisions, decisions.

 And, then I might have been spending hours on Pinterest looking at kitchens, bathrooms, paint, dining rooms, and under the stairs offices.  House planning isn't really productive at this time.

 Thanks to my DIL I have some great pictures of my little Emma.  I miss that girl and her little brother so much. I hope to make a trip to see them after Christmas.

 She has started rolling her R's like a true Scottish lassie.

The hubby and I went to eat at a local bistro last night.  Five course meal with friends in a small, quaint atmosphere. It was fun.

We have a few Christmas get togethers planned.  I am an introvert.  I'd much rather stay at home, sewing or on my computer....but I know it is good to have interactions with others......a friend who knows me well sent me this the other day.  I literally laughed out loud.  This is SO ME.

Any of you like that too?  I have a theory about bloggers.  I think lots are introverts.  We'd much rather share our projects, ideas, feelings, to groups of readers by typing them out on a computer than do it face to face.  Comments?