No Salt

Three years ago I gave up table salt.

For the most part I don't miss it but

there's times food just needs a little extra flavor.

I cut this recipe out of yesterdays paper

and hope it's good.

Salt Substitute

5 teaspoons onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

b



pot scrubbers

My newest fun is making pot scrubbers.

I dug out that bolt of red nylon netting that I saved
 from my days in the variety store business.

And with cotton yarn on one side it's a great way to use up

 the bits and pieces from my dishrag knitting.

Pot scrubbers work great on hard to clean dishes

 and are quick, easy and fun to crochet.

I can work one up in 15-20 minutes.

Thanks for the pattern info sis!

 I'll invite you over sometime to do dishes.

I painted this old frog in 1975 at a ceramics class I took.

He has been watching me do dishes for 36 years! b

relax

I hope you're having a great day...

pretending like you don't have a care in the world.

Try to remember what it was like to be a child.

Have you ever noticed that the best things in life are free?

b

pumpkin living

Peter Peter pumpkin eater

had a wife and couldn't keep her...

he put her in a pumpkin shell

and there he kept her very well.

I sang this nursery rhyme to the granddaughters

as we passed the pumpkin field on our way to pick apples.

Makes me wonder who came up with these jingles?

Why couldn't Peter keep his wife?

and who lives in a pumpkin shell?

One of the girls says,

"Grama, that's just silly...do it again." ha.

After our apple picking we headed out to the pumpkin patch

and picked the three best pumpkins!

And all you wives out there...

behave yourselves or be ready to spend your life

in a pumpkin shell.

b

apple pick'n

It's apple season here in South Dakota...

and I guess just about everywhere else for that matter.

We spent a beautiful fall day at an apple orchard

 with our granddaughters and their parents Saturday.

We got to pick our apples right off the trees.

And what's more fun than eating an apple you just picked yourself?

Or prettier than an antique bowl of apples?

b



favorite friday!

September 23...

my favorite day of the year as the calendar square

reads autumn begins.

But guess what else happened on this date 39 years ago?

Me and my Mr said "I do"

We were very young - only 19.

It was a beautiful fall day like today.

And it was a pretty wedding.

Life has been good...

in fact very good. b



fall in

Have you fallen into fall yet?

We enjoyed acorn squash last night...

 and while the oven was on baking squash

I decided someone may soon need the mittens I've been knitting...

we were scraping heavy frost off the windshield this morning!

This Noro Iro yarn was one crazy skein!

It definitely didn't make a matching pair of mittens.

I enjoy working with variegated yarn,

every other round a different color appears on your needles.

Have I said I love fall yet? b



domestic diva

How far would you go for a bowl of tomato soup?

To the pantry for a can of Campbell's?

Or are you a bit of a diva and demand only the best?

At noon I decided a bowl of tomato soup sounded good...

but when I passed a pan of fresh garden tomatoes my palate turned on me and an hour later I'm waiting for my homemade tomato basil soup to cook through a little longer.

I finished up sweet Daisy last night while watching

The Biggest Loser and Glee.

Gotta run...

soups on.

b



gourds

I'm slowly

(slower than usual)

 rounding up a few items for fall decorating.

With inflation, (50 cents a gourd!),

I won't have as many gourds to decorate with this year.

But don't you wish all your holiday decorating was as easy as this?

I love that it involves mainly natural elements...

gourds, corn, pumpkins, nuts, leaves,

all to be thrown on the compost pile when the season is over.

b



checks

I went a little out of my way this weekend

to get a picture of my newest bag.

But a drive in the country

 is always just what the dr. ordered.

I was disappointed that the sun was too bright for a good shot...

but very glad to see the sun again.

This is a bit better...

I love the large checkered lining I used in it.

b



the coronet

It's homecoming day here today...

going to be chilly for the marching band and others.

That includes me taking pictures for the local newspaper.

This coronet started out in the hands of mr. b's brother,

who died as a young man in a road construction accident.

Well, then mr. b marched with it as a teenager...

and then our daughter marched with it in high school.

Don't you just love family heirlooms?

It needs some serious polishing and oiling

 before the next generation marches with it.

Still in the case is her 1992-93 band performance schedule

and music selections including -

Gonna Make You Sweat,

Wipe Out,

She Drives Me Crazy,

Funkytown,

Talking in Your Sleep

and Cute...

all which pretty much describe her high school years.

Oh yes, she made her dad sweat, she wiped out a vehicle or two,

  she could drive us both crazy at times,

and she was very cute.

But believe me...

 we enjoyed every minute of our two kids high school years

and miss it terribly (every now and then).

b

Did you?

Did you make homemade soup?

Did you get your flannels out?

Did you cover up your plants last night?

Did you throw a quilt on the bed?

Our temps dropped into the 30's last night...

it feels great!

This was my first attempt at making a quilt.

Really, it was over 20 years ago.

Tiny 2" squares, all scissor cut!

Before I knew how much work goes into a quilt

and that light from a window will fade colors.

It's hand quilted, no kidding!

b

garbage

Today I'm digging through my fridge produce drawer,

onions, carrots, celery, garlic, cabbage...

all looking a little past it's prime.

Add to that garden tomatoes and peppers needing to be used.

I'm thinking it's time to make soup?

and my new Rachel Ray garbage bowl is up for the job.

What a silly concept...

 a cupboard full of bowls and I wanted one specifically for garbage.

I love the speckled red color.

b



a rose

With cooler temperatures in the forecast I am reminded to stop and smell the roses...

These could be the end of my roses with jack frost promising to visit soon.

I could have photoshopped these photos but why?

Could they be any more lovely?

 a rose is a rose is a rose is a rose...

b



handmade

We (my daughter, sister and mother) had such an enjoyable Saturday morning looking

at all the beautiful wares for sale at the Sioux Falls main street art festival.

No one appreciates handmade items like someone who does a bit of it themselves.

This clothesline of aprons was so pretty.

It's time consuming work that is hard to make a living from.

Or I would definitely hang up my daytime job to stay home and sew!

Daughter knit and pearl gave me this beautiful

 quilted table mat for my birthday.

I love the colors she chose for it...

and the fancy machine stitching she did on the seams.

She gave me this pottery piece that matched it perfectly.

b



another year wiser?

We're back from a fantastic weekend

 to celebrate my birthday with our family.

( I prefer to think of it as only being another year wiser.)

Now I know you're thinking that is one strange birthday plate,

but it was a pirate party at the Ramada Inn.

And us four girls,

myself, daughter and two granddaughters,

had a great time in the pirate pool.

Thanks to my family for making it such a wonderful day.

b

good luck

What do you do with a couple of chili plants

 in your garden that produce lots of fruit?

You make yourself a chili ristra!

Ristra means string in Spanish.

Traditionally they are hung near the entrance of a home

 symbolizing an abundant harvest.

Hanging a ristra brings good luck.

I'm looking forward to a bowl of thick chili

 out of my cast iron pot as the weather gets cooler.

Happy Friday everyone! b



good morning

This is kind of a strange pillowcase don't you think?

But I just couldn't stop myself

 from buying this fabric...

I love all things chicken!

(and eggs in antique bowls)

hmmm, maybe I should have made a table runner instead?

Aren't these chick salt and pepper shakers just the sweetest?

Mr b's mother collected shakers, and she had quite a collection.

She turned 91 a few days ago, wow huh?

Happy Birthday Jessie.

b



dreadlocks

I ordered myself a birthday present this week...

Noro Iro yarn, made in Japan.

It's a wool/silk blend in beautiful colors.

I would have to say it reminds me of dreadlocks and almost looks recycled.

 Like it's been knit once, washed numerous times and now ready to reknit.

The yarn is a present to myself...

I'm making mittens to gift.

 Almost like a recycled present don't you think?

One of these skeins is for daughter knit and pearl...

She's getting a lesson in knitting in the round

on double pointed needles this weekend.

b



tomatoes

The tomatoes in my garden are ripening quickly all of the sudden...

and it's about time.

I just plant a small raised garden so never have enough of anything to can all at the same time.

When I have a dishpan full of tomatoes I skin them and put them into quart sized freezer bags. I love the taste of garden ripe tomatoes in pasta or chili recipes.

And I love serving up a big bowl of pasta in these bowls

 I happened upon in a dollar store a few years ago.

Aren't they great? Each one has as different picture of a chef on it.

 And only a dollar each! I wish I would have bought 4 more.

This goulash is always a favorite at our house. b



zoo day

We goofed off a few days over the long weekend

and went to the zoo.

 Seeing the zoo through a child's eye is so much more fun.

First we had to stop and play in the egg.

The granddaughters know their way around the zoo,

 they're season pass holders.

The little ducks were very hungry.

And so was this Billy goat...

Only mr b was interested in feeding this guy!

I would have to say the highlight of my day was when the male zebra called out to his wife who in turn called back to him. She was penned up alone across the zoo awaiting the birth of their baby. The volume of their calls was awesome and a little sad knowing that they missed each other.

How was your labor day holiday? b



lost and found

I think us girls need to educate Grandpa
 about the importance of a girl's Tinker Bell?

Tinker Bell is a delicate fairy not to be left laying around anywhere...

where she might end up in the bottom of the toy box

where her delicate wings could be damaged,

or worse yet... left near an open door or window where she might get outdoors!

It's a dangerous world out there for fairies.

b

hello

Well hello dolly...

Got her legs sewed on...

gave her eyes (too wide)

and a mouth (too little)

put her little nappy on (in case of an accident),

no ears!

 (don't want her hearing words the Mr. is using

 as he puts this new floor down)

Just need to knit her a little dress and bonnet,

give her a little hair, tie some ribbons

 and dolly is done. b