OK so I have learned something here!!! Yea! I can put pictures in the middle of my post, I had always wondered how people did that. Here I will attempt to put two pictures, one of my granddaughter in here sweater-coat that I knit for her and a picture of the sweater-coat without her in it!!!!

I am reading Tea Teaberry Strangler by Laura Childs. I am a sucker for book with recipes! How about you? And this book is no different. However, there are some recipes in the back that I am definately going to try, like, Pecan Pie Muffins, Haley's Vagabond Vegetable Soup and Butterscotch Scones, to name a few. Here is the recipe for Pecan Pie Muffins, which will be made as soon as I get off the comptuer!!!!

Pecan Pie Muffins

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup flour

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter, melted

Combine brown sugar, flour, pecans, and cinnamon in mixing bowl. Beat eggs well, then stir in melted butter. Add egg adn butter mixture to dry mixture, stirring until moistened. Spoon batter into foil baking cups that have been greased, fillings about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20to 25 minutes or until done Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Yields about 8 or 9 muffins.

I am taking a class on blogging - I wonder if I will keep up any better than before? I hope I learn something, I think I already have, but wait......we'll see.....

Ok, so I think I need lessons on how to keep up! I haven't posted since Oct. What has happened? DD#3 Katie, found a medical coder job at the regional hospital in Evanston, WY and she and mikaya moved there the last weekend of March...boohoo, boohoo.... Kristen DGD#1 finished 4th grade and this summer I took her and her mom Megan, DD#2, on a road trip to Reno, NV., Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, CA, Yosemite, CA, Disneyland and Sea World!!! Then we spent 4 days with Katie and Mikaya in Evanston. I have been home for two weeks and have done nothing, no sewing, no scrapbooking, nothing! I am hoping that I will get more done soon!

It is brisk here this morning - soup weather, so I am making homemade bread, and Spicy Lentil Soup. The stew recipe follows. Of course, because I don't plan well, the bread won't be done until later, but crackers work well. Nothing new on the home front. Mikayas' vocabulary grows with each day. Sucker, I stuck, me brush. I can't beleive the 2 word sentences she is putting together. Well once I get some AA batteries for my camera, (two went into the furnace thermostat this morning. Funny how the furnace won't kick on when the thermostat isn't working!!! Brrrrrrr - 66 degrees in the house this morning!) I will post a picture of the Lentil Stew!

Spicy Lentil Stew
1.5 cups of uncooked lentils, rinsed
5 cups chicken broth (homemade, canned or bouillon-based)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup large carrot pieces
1 cup green pepper, chopped (optional)
1 15oz can diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks (yes sweet potato - put it in, it's a lovely addition)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, depends on how hot you like it
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin.

1. Using a large pot with lid, combine lentils, chicken broth, and garlic. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let oentils sit for 1 hour.

2. In the meantime, prepare remaining ingredients.

3. After 1 hour, turn heat to medium. Add all remaining ingredients. Cook, uncoverd, until carrot adn sweet potato are tender, about 30 minutes. Makes 6 servings.
Variation:Serve over brown rice or other whole grain.

It's Friday the 18th of September, and all is quiet on the home front. Life is never dull here, Mikaya, looked at me on Sunday the 13th, her 18 month birthday and said "Nama"! Then on Monday she said "sucka (sucker)". Everyday she is adding new words and learning new things. We have to find her some wooden puzzles to work. Her problem solving skills are out of this world! On a quilty note, kind of, I am making a purse with 3 compartments. It is slow going, as I can only work on it in the mornings when DD is home to watch the baby. The sewing machine is in the basement and my are there so many things that Mikaya can get into that she shouldn't! :-) I have a color quilt in the works, an altered sweatshirt with cats on it and numerous other projects that need to be done. I am going to try and get something finished that I have started a while ago. hmmmmmmm I wonder which of the many I should work on???
The button to the right is for you scrapbookers, or anyone who loves to read blogs! Kim is giving away some e-books from Ella Publishing. Check them out with the next button down.
Have a great weekend.

Isn't it funny one can go forever and not have anything new or exciting to blog about and here I have two in one day!!! DS and I just returned from a road trip and we both got a dose of CA traffic! We drove north from Ukiah to Willits and then west from Willits to Fort Bragg and then up CA Hwy 1 to Leggett & CA 101 then back down to Ukiah. A total trip of about 200 miles! However 101 North of Santa Rosa is sporadic divided highway, and the 20 from Willits to Fort Bragg and the 1 into Leggett are all 2 laners if you want to call them that! I, the one from S. Cal, didn't realize that the northern mountains of this state are straight up and striaght down! The round trip from Willits was just that all 2 lane, and all twisty curvey mountain roads. Now if I had been driving........................ Thank you Ben for driving! Upon arriving back in Willits there was a typical California traffice jam! 2 miles out from the first stop light in Willits the cars were backed up and slowly inching forward. Willits have 5 stop lights!!!!! geesh - sigh Tomorrow is Ben's interview and then we hit the return road. Such a quick trip. Oh yes, we did stop at a winery, and of all the thousands of wineries in the Napa/Sonoma valley we stopped at the Cohn Winery, I think, thta was formerly owned by the Dobby Brothers! Now how weird is that? sigh bought two bottles of wine for DD#1 and none for me.