Let's Catch Up

Last week was just tiring. For all of my January getting things done and not feeling like most of the people I read out there saying how long it was; February may have turned out to be my January. It has been busy, gloomy weather, etc.

Let's catch up.

Last Wednesday, in the midst of business I stopped to bake a Valentine's brownie for my small group that night. Two purposes, well maybe three. One was Valentine's Day was coming and I love to bake, two was one of the members had just had her 60th birthday. About half of us are having that number arrive this year. The other half have already had it. Jeff is our wee baby being 9 months younger than me, he won't see 60 until next year. The third reason is I really really wanted to use my heart shaped pan.
I had planned to make a chocolate sauce and just use a pastry bag and drizzle it in strips across the brownie. Much to my dismay, about half way through my bag which was a disposable one just burst. Hasn't happened before. I don't know if I didn't let the sauce cool enough or got into big a hurry, so it turned into a layer of frosting.

I served it with some fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream. I can't eat anything other than homemade now that I know how easy it is to make.

I somehow deleted my cute picture of it on the kitchen island with all the cups of strawberries out and a bowl of candy.

Oh well, it was good and all eaten. We are studying Daniel in our small group. Whew, this one has kept Jeff and I on our toes preparing for it.

I took some pictures of my back porch plants Thursday morning. Know how I remember? The white plate I served the heart shaped brownie on is still in the dish drainer from the night before.

I got up early and watered my back deck plants. My geraniums have survived the winter which means I don't have to buy new ones this year. The reason is I moved them inside around the kitchen table when the weather dropped below about 39 degrees F. That wasn't too many days as we have had a very mild winter. It helped that this year I have followed through with downsizing the number of plants I have. This is it on the back of the house other than plants in the ground. I don't have any downstairs on the lower deck. I kept some pots for jalapeños this summer, but those are easy peasy to grow.

See the white platter behind the taller geranium?

New growth coming out all around.

Even a bloom.

The inside location for plants is around the table. The ones you see around the table on stands are always there. Often this is a place I bring a dying one to nurse it back to health. 

One I rooted when I couldn't find one anywhere in stores. He is finally doing good. I do love growing things.

Jeff and I skipped off to Auburn for the weekend. We took in a baseball game on Saturday. The weather was cool but sunny so I enjoyed the game immensely. Sunday was rainy and yucky up there and at home in Fort Walton Beach, so mostly we stayed in and watched a movie on TV. We watched Ford and Ferrari which I thought was quite good.

I hung some stitching up at the Auburn house. The downstairs room got the Family Registry Sampler and I also took a piece I have never shared before. 

Second from right.

The larger piece is something I stitched back while Jeff and I were engaged for his mother. It has been in a closet since we moved in our current home in 2002. When I was doing my BIG purge in January, I had it sitting out trying to decide what to do with it since it was specific to her. I had almost decided to pull it out of the frame and just keep the frame. I sat on that idea for a couple of days and then it came to me to take it for my wall in the downstairs bedroom at Auburn. I think it worked out nicely. 

My plan is to add more stitches with TIME. Some sampler type or Bible verses. I actually have one bought for in there. I will need to change out the colors for it to match the room. More on that later. Stay tuned.

In the upstairs master there, I took my mockingbird. She looks lonely but absolutely perfect on that wall color. I will be adding at least two more birds stitched on that linen from that same designer soon. It will be one of my new starts very soon.

I love love love the wall color in that room. It is called "Atmospheric" by Behr. I walk in that room and just melt with love for it. I know that when Jeff retires and we spend more time there that I will be adding a chair and lamp for stitching in that room.

I am love with her. Maybe one of my favorites ever!

Now, for one more picture. I finished Tucker's name.

I plan to show some closeups later in the week. It turned out so cute. I will go into more details on it and Lindsay and I need to head to the frame shop together to pick out the frame for it.

I will be back with more at another time.

I have my own doctor's appointment in the morning. I knew I felt off the last few weeks. I had my bloodwork drawn last Monday. I finally looked at the results Friday on the way to Auburn. My thyroid numbers are all over the place. Explains a whole lot. Anyway, I am very glad to go to the doctor in the morning .

Where is the sun in February? Please return even if it is colder. I am in need of it!

Sandy

The bloom was further along today when we arrived home.

Stitching, Baking, Daily Life

Let's do some life posting.

The Tucker piece seems like it is coming along slow. It is. I have lots of outside of the home activities which have kind of tuckered me out in the evenings and then the fact that I am kind of designing this as I go it has made it a wee bit slow. If I did something like this again, it would probably be worth the extra effort to draw it out completely on some graph paper. I didn't - so it is just stitch and think and repeat.

Here is my progress.

I am doing my best not to look around at what others are stitching and stay focused. So far so good!

Last week was Tyler's birthday. Lindsay asked him what kind of cake he wanted and he asked for a red velvet. She was going to go buy one, but I said I would absolutely love to do it. Baking is therapy for me. I don't really love to cook, but bake ---oh yes.

I have never made a red velvet so I went to my cookbook closet. Surprising with all those cookbooks there weren't a ton of them, but I knew as soon as I saw the one I used that it was the winner. I love a cake that uses buttermilk, sifts flour, and adds those two ingredients in small bits beginning and ending with flour. It is almost always a winner. The only snag for me was the vegetable oil. I don't use so much of that anymore. I use coconut oil in brownie mixes and can't tell the difference so I took a leap of faith and used mostly coconut oil in the recipe. It was fabulous. I didn't tell anyone except Lindsay because I could hear them all saying they could taste it. Not one person said anything other than it was delicious. Win!!!!

Here is a picture of the recipe and I used a standard cream cheese icing. I did not add nuts per Tyler's directions. I would have added nuts!

Coconut oil for the win and the bottle I assumed was a small plastic one, but I just added until I thought it looked right. Less is best was my thinking.

The weekend was very nice so Jeff and I took a hike on the Florida Trail in Crestview just north of us. It was typical north Florida pines, scrub oaks, and palmettos.

I was really tired for some reason on Sunday evening and slept through most of the Super Bowl on the recliner. You know when you sleep like that you need it.
I missed all the hoopla about the halftime show. I do not feel I missed a thing.

I noticed many saying out there in Internet World how long January was. I think I was so productive and then dealing with Mom being sick that I didn't feel that way at all. It was cold and I stayed inside and busily took care of some long needed tasks. My pile has been donated.

The weather started off for February spring like, so Tucker and I spent some time outside. Today is rainy and it is supposed to be cloudy and wet for the next few days, so more inside tasks to be done.
We enjoyed it while it lasted though.

Some glimpses of life with him...

No stroller, Grammie. I can walk. AND great winter pots. The secret to pansies and dianthus is weekly fertilizing.

I can use PaPa's car wash brush.

A little TV.

The new dog bed was supposed to be for Lemony, but Tucker likes it more.

Mother starts vertigo therapy on Monday. She did this about two years ago and it was very helpful in more ways than just vertigo. Just moving her body. The doctor says the ear infections probably started those crystals to moving around again. We are still trying to finish up a few more appointments. She is not driving so I am shuffling her around. She is not liking that and ready to get herself back to independence, but I feel we may be just moving into a phase when I am a lot more active in that, so I am preparing myself for that and trying to take care of myself as well.

I don't know how I got so lucky, but I am married to a good man who is so helpful. I never ever want to take that for granted.

That is about it for the last week around here.

Watching rain,
Sandy