DID YOUR MARCH COME IN LIKE A LION???

Well did your March come in like a LION??? Mine sure didn't, we were expecting snow and wind today but it has done nothing.... I am not happy!!! I even told all the Kindergarten kids to cross their fingers that it would come in like a Lion!!! Wait until I see those kids tomorrow...LOL

It has been another "COUCH" weekend. I haven't even gotten out of my pajamas today. I'm glad no one has come to visit... LOL I worked all evening last night and got up this morning and started in again.

I am really getting good at using a tack hammer and a tack puller.. Put the fabric on and take it off... I SAID IT IS LIKE HAVING A 500 PIECE PUZZLE WITH OUT THE PICTURE TO GO BY. So It is just one step at a time and if it doesn't look right I change it. But things are finally starting to look like something. I may even have it finished by next weekend it all goes well.

I could not do this as a profession, no wonder they charge so much. I am worn out!!

The arms are what I was having so much trouble with but I think I have things worked out with them... Thank God...

The back side of the arms below the roll are the checked fabric...

I'm not real pleased with the checked fabric on the arms, I wanted to use the flowered fabric. But I bought the fabric as a remnant piece and there just wasn't enough. The red fabric on the back was also something I had here at the house, so there was no more of it either. I wanted to use the flowered for the center of the arm end and checked for the cording around it. Oh well I guess it will just have to do...

I just couldn't resist putting a button on the arms....

I always say "It's all about the DETAIL"

My husband just laughed at me...

I can't wait until I can put the back, back on... Then I know it is finished. But for now it just sits there.

Have a Great Week,

Lynn

PS This is still a Flower Blog... So here's the flowers and my baby bird from last spring!!!

Foodie Friday...

It's the 2nd Foodie Friday... by Designs by Gollum
http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/

So go check out all of this weeks goodies, I'm sure there will be plenty!!

This is an easy quick meal for the weekend. My entire family loves this one, I have made it for years. I can't even remember what cookbook it came from. My husband laughs every time I come home with a new cookbook,because I have a few to say the least. Some people collect frogs I collect Cookbooks. LOL This is part of my dinningroom table I painted back in 1995. There is a different scene on all four sides, all Amish children.




Chicken Tetrazzini


2/3 c. Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. celery salt
Dash of Pepper
2 c. milk
7 ozs. spaghetti, broken into thirds, cooked, and drained
2 c. chopped chicken or turkey
3/4 c. (3oz.) Kraft 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 4oz. can mushrooms drained
2 Tbs. chopped pimento (optional)
2 c. fresh bread cubes
3 Tbs. Margarine, melted

Combine salad dressing,flour and seasonings in med. saucepan. Gradually add milk. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until thickened. Add spaghetti, chicken,1/2 c. cheese, mushrooms and pimento; mix lightly. spoon into 2 qt. casserole. Toss bread cubes with margarine and remaining cheese; top casserole. Bake at 350, 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes



Enjoy and have a great weekend,

Lynn

Back to working on the couch...

I have pondered long enough, I came home from work tonight and I knew I just had to lay down for a few minutes.... As soon as I hit the couch I knew sleep was not in the picture. My mind was going 5000 miles an hour... But sometimes that is a good thing. My mentor from the fabric store that has been giving me a few ideas on how to go about covering something I have never seen before! She said to start with covering it with some cotton fabric first, it is like a trial run. None the less it is working for me. If I mess up I just take it off and try again, and again and again!!! LOL It is working. It is just such a strange piece since both the arms go up and down like a chase lounge outside. You know the old kind that the back went up and down and with each inch it caught on a latch and set at different levels... Both arms do this.... So there is the issue of the fabric being tight when the arms are up and down, if that makes any sense to you. Then covering the mechanism so none of the fabric gets caught. Just too much to think about all at once. Of course it has too look cute at the same time. Right now it is just a red cotton fabric, something my mother-in-law just had a piece of and gave me. I have to make cuts on the fabric to make it fit around things, so I used a swatch of fabric to make a template and try it out. I just hope it will work on the real fabric....



BUT I AM GOING TO WIN THIS BATTLE !!!

Of course it might take until spring, and I may not be able to eat in my dinning room for weeks to come, BUT IT WILL GET DONE!!!


Here are a few shots of the progress...

Remember this is a flower blog, can you see those seeds growing in the background under the lights???

Ok I'm tired now,

NITE ALL,

Lynn

Mish Mosh Day....

A day of just doing some odds and ends of things.

I messed with the seeds today, just checking out what is coming up and what's not. The first to come up was the Butterfly Weed. Then some Gazania, Coleus and Sweet Peas... So the new plant stand is getting a work out! Just did a little watering...

I wasn't able to do anything on the couch today so I thought I may as well cook...

I have been looking at some very good Blogs that have really really great looking recipes...

I have been trying a few, this one was great.

This one is Pumpkin Sticky Buns...

All ready to pop in the oven....

Right out of the oven, just turn them over and all the good stuff just pours out over them....

You'll have to stop by Cooking In Cleveland and check it out... http://cookingincleveland.blogspot.com/

I really need to stop looking at all the cooking blogs and focus on Flowers, they are a lot less fattening.

Have A Good One,

Lynn

Calgon TAKE ME AWAY!!!

I need one of those Calgon take me away days.....

I have been working on the couch I am reupholstering all day. You know the one I have no idea what I am doing. All the springs are tied down, the cotton is all on and now it is time to put the fabric on.... So what am I waiting for? I have to make that first cut and I am so afraid I will do it wrong. I only have a limited amount of fabric and I can't screw it up!!!. I just wish I knew how it was put together the first time, because who ever redid it last did it wrong, now I have nothing to go by...

BUT I AM NOT GOING TO LET IT GET TO ME... I WILL FIGURE IT OUT....

I just need to ponder on it a little...

So lets just stroll through the gardens for a while and maybe when I come back to it, it will work better...

I remember this one last summer, I took this picture and the next night the deer had the sweet potato vine for dinner...He trimmed it back quite nicely... lol

Spring can't come to soon,,,

Keep wishing for it,

Lynn

Foodie Friday

OK everyone I have gone from a Garden Blog to a Sewing Blog even to a Pet Blog, but now to a


Cooking Blog!



Gollum is Hosting the first ever " Foodie Friday" At "Designs by Gollum". She has this magical Blog I have gotten hooked on. It has absolutely beautiful Tablescapes and Food to die for...
http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/

SO HERE WE GO....

You never know what is going to be next here since it is winter and there isn't much to talk about with the gardens. I thought it would be fun to play along. So many Bloggers have different things they do like Wordless Wednesday, Tablescape Thursday and now Foodie Friday! You know I love food, so I thought

WHY NOT!!!

OK as soon as I finish stirring the frosting for the cake we will get started!!!

Just one quick jump and I'll be on my feet again... LOL

WHILE I'M COOKING HERE'S A LITTLE APPETIZER TO START US OFF...

On yet another snowy week in the North East.....

These little penguins are so quick and easy...

Just slice an opening down the front of some large olives and stuff with cream cheese....


Slice some carrots and cut a small wedge out of each, saving it for the beak

Now put a toothpick in your carrot, add your large stuffed olive, next are your small olives with the beak inserted.....

Tie a chive or some sliced green onion tops around his cute little neck and we are ready to dig in!!!

Line them up and it is HAPPY FEET ALL OVER AGAIN!!! CAN YOU HERE THE MUSIC?

I THINK THEY'RE DANCING!!! LOL

Maybe we can start with a little bit of Ribs....

Barbecue Ribs....


4 lb. baby back or meaty spareribs
1/4 tsp. pepper
salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. celery seed
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 c. vinegar
Few drops of hot sauce (more if you want ! )
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
1 c. catsup
1 c. water
"I always at least doubled this to
have enough to add extra or dip."
IN FACT I USUALLY MAKE 4-5 RECIPES AND MAKE LOTS!!!!

Marinade:
2 pkg. McCormick Grill Mates Montreal steak Marinade

Mix Marinade with 1/4 c. water, 1/4 c. vegetable. oil, 2 tbs. vinegar
Pour over ribs and let set 1 hr.
If using baby back ribs set ribs up right, in pan with apple wedges between to separate ribs. Add about 2 inches of water to pan, cover and let cook for about 3-3 1/2 hrs. until ribs are really tender. I usually do this day before and refrigerate over night.

Rib Sauce: Mix all ingredient for rib sauce, bring to a boil and let simmer on med/low for about 4 hrs.

Put your ribs on the grill just until warm. Brush on rib sauce, cooking on low for about 30 minutes on grill, turning often, until heated through nice.


I could fix this one every weekend and no one would complain here...

Add a little bit of bread...

This Braided Onion filled loaf will do the trick with the ribs...

Braided Filled Onion Loaf

1 pkg. active dry yeast rapid rise
1/4 cup lukewarm water
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 Tbs. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs. sesame seed
1 tsp. garlic salt

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add 2 cups of the flour, sugar, salt water, milk,1/4 cup butter, and egg. Stir until all ingredients are blended. Gradually stir in remaining flour until dough leaves sides of bowl. Place dough in an oiled bowl; turn to oil dough. Cover loosely and place in a warm area to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/4 hours. (Grandma taught me a long time ago to set your bread on a heating pad to rise and it works beautifully every time. Thanks Grandma!!) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together melted butter, onion, Parmesan cheese,sesame seed, and garlic salt. Punch down dough. On a lightly floured board, kneed dough until smooth and elastic. Roll dough to a 12x18 inch rectangle. Spread filling on dough.(not quite all the way to the edges) Cut dough lengthwise into three 4x18 inch strips. Roll up each strip lengthwise; seal edges. On a buttered cookie sheet, braid strips, keeping seam sides down. ( I always start braid in the middle and work my way out). Set bread aside to rise in a draft free area for 1 hour. I brush top with mix of 1 egg and 1 Tbs. water and sprinkle with extra sesame seeds and even garlic if you like. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Throw in a little bit of Cream Cheese and Chive Potatoes...

" What guy doesn't like a little Meat and Potatoes"

4 lbs. potatoes ( about 12 medium potatoes)
1 8oz. Cream Cheese
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/3 c. chopped chives
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 stick oleo

Spray pan with Pam
Pre-heat oven 350 degrees

Cook potatoes and mash.

Add sour cream, salt, pepper, garlic, chives, cream cheese, Beat until fluffy.
Add Butter and mix.

Spoon into casserole.
Sprinkle with paprika

Bake covered 350 for 30 minutes.
They are great to make even 2 days early, than just reheat and serve.


Keeping with the theme of a Snowy Winter Day...

Desert for all...

This could be any cake of your choice, made in a bundt pan...


Drizzle with some powdered sugar frosting, sprinkle with some very snow like sprinkles and make a few white chocolate snowflakes, to make it look like the snow has been falling softly all day sliding down the slopes of some yummy icing....



Now just sit down at that beautiful table you've just sit, grab a beautiful bottle of your favorite wine and enjoy a delightful evening.

It's been fun serving you one of my favorite meals...

I hope you enjoyed this delightful Foodie Friday! It's been so much fun....

On a snowy day in the Mountains of West Virginia when things are quiet and there isn't much going on in the Flower Gardens.

We can "MAKE BELIEVE"

"LIFE IS GOOD TODAY"

God Bless and have a wonderful evening,

Lynn

Happy Valentines Day!!!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Valentines Day... I thought I should at least put a flower on here today, this beautiful Begonia was magnificent last summer. I had never had one like this before.

It has been a long day, I started out at the Dr. with yet another sinus infection only about the 8th this winter. These Kindergarten kids are killing me. It has been a while since I have worked with kids this young... I'm back to catching everything. Only about 34 more days until spring and I will be just fine....

I am at a stand still with the couch I had to order more springs, so I have to wait until they come in. So I figured as long as the sewing machine was up I may as well sew... I had picked up fabric on sale a few weeks ago to redo all the cushions on the front porch. At $2.98 a yard I couldn't pass it up. I know I won't want to sew when the weather gets warm, because I am never inside.

Here is the swing, but it looks so bare without some flowers on the porch... It was snowing again today, not much just enough to be annoying...
Here's my cute little chair a friend gave me last summer, it just needed a little pick me up...
This is my husbands favorite rocker, we have had this one since before we were married. We picked it up at a garage sale. It has been painted so many times I think the paint must be keeping it together... LOLThis is a close up of the little bee fabric on the pillows, not a great picture but you can see them ...

I only have one more rocker to do tomorrow and that is one less project I have to finish!!!

Keep busy and Spring WILL be here soon...

Have A Good One,

Lynn

Update on the couch (and a few flower pictures!!!)

The weather was absolutely beautiful this weekend , I wanted nothing more than to go outside and just play in the flower beds, but there is just too much winter left to start on that...

So while trying to stay out of my flowerbeds this weekend I decided to work on the 1902 Fainting couch. So far I am happy at how things are coming along. It has been a challenge since I have NO idea how this piece looked when it was new, and of course there is the thing that I have never done anything like this before!!!LOL So I figured do the easiest piece first.... The Back....

Now if I just knew where to go next..... I've been trying to research this piece on the Internet, with not much to go on. Other than it was made in 1902 and was in the Sears Catalog. Of course I didn't save that catalog!!! So I can't look it up...

This was the before picture, I have no idea why they only padded the center section, it made no sense, and it was done in a gold velvet fabric....Someone actually has one posted on E-Bay that looks a lot like this one, and she sent me a few pictures.... It did give me a little idea of how mine might have been done...

OK this is a GARDEN BLOG... So here it is last summers flowerbed and my funky flower pots....

Spring will be here soon... JUST KEEP TELLING YOURSELF THAT!!!

HAVE A GOOD ONE,

LYNN

Finally A Warm Day....

It almost felt like spring today. With temperatures almost 60 degrees today and sunny I was in heaven. It felt like I could go outside and start clearing off flowerbeds and start planting. Instead I went to the University Greenhouse and propagated a few things in my t-shirt and soaked in all the sun just like the plants were doing today. We even had to open up the garage doors so we could stand there and plant..... That's my kind of Feb. day... In just a few more weeks I will feel like we are on the down hill slide of winter. We put up the new plant stand my wonderful husband just built me for all my seedlings I am so excited to get planted. I think I will plant a few tomorrow, just a few I know will be slow growers, and some experimental things I want to try. I JUST WANT TO PLANT SOMETHING!!! NOW!!!
Well here it is, just setting ready to have something put on it to GROW!!! This room used to be my dinning room until a few weeks ago when I took it over to redo my old couch project. So why not use it for a greenhouse too...LOL I'm just glad I have a husband that just goes with the flow of crazy things I come up with in the winter months. After I get them up and growing about the first of April they will go outside with the plastic cover that will go over this at that point.

Ok it's been a long day and I am going to bed...

TTYL,

Lynn

HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO!!!

My Birthday couldn't have gone better, it was an absolutely beautiful day with the weather sunny and in the 50's. The beautiful sun melted off all of the driveway just in time for family and friends to arrive for an evening of fun... Friends brought me Steeler necklaces, and a Terrible Towel just in time for the game... At halftime the Steelers were ahead and life was good, I blew out my candles and we ate cake and ice cream. I'm not sure where I put it after all the pizza that was consumed the first half!!! LOL

We sang our Steeler songs and swung our Terrible Towels, screamed and yelled at all the good calls and the bad ones, all the missed passes and the great catches. We laughed at all the great commercials, and even wore our 3D glasses Even though we really looked silly!!!! But win or loose (don't get me wrong I'm glad we won!!!) it was all about a house full of GREAT lifetime friends and wonderful family that I loved the most, just spending some FANTASTIC quality time together..... IT WAS TRULY A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY!!!

Everyone brought pizza toppings and I made a homemade personal pizza for everyone. Someone brought a big beautiful salad and with all the dips,chips,and other munchies it was a good thing we got some exercise swinging our Terrible Towels!!! LOL

Up close and in person... They got a kick out of my Olive Penguins but had no trouble making them disappear. They were just large olives slit down the center and stuffed with cream cheese. A small olive on it's side for the head and carrot slices for the feet. After cutting a small wedge out of the feet you inserted the little wedge into the small olive for his beak and tied a green onion strip around his neck, ( a chive would be good for this too) using a toothpick to keep it all together... I couldn't resist this one with all the snow we have had here lately!!!

See how silly we looked in our glasses watching commercials!!! I'm sure I will look just as silly wearing them to watch Chuck tonight in 3D....

Well I hope this new snow storm misses everyone tonight, although I could use another snow day just to sleep in ONE MORE DAY..... LOL

Have a good one,

Lynn