I Apologize For....

....Not posting for a quite a bit of time. I got busy with work and my family's wireless router started having problems. It started blocking my computer and then my parent's Netflix device. I'm not going to promise that it won't happen again because it probably will. I will give you an update on projects. 

First, I have received wonderful thanks and compliments for all three bunnies and pairs of pacifier leashes. I made for the new bundles of joy. I will definitely keep that pattern to use for future gifts.

Right now I am working on making lots of scarves with random skeins of yarn that have been donated to my church knitting/crocheting group. They usually create prayer shawls and lapghans with the donated yarn but there is a lot of single skeins that don't match. So it works great to make scarves. These scarves are single stitched, double stitched or use various fancy stitches. Some have fringe and some don't. There are scarves for women, men and children. All of them will be given out by KARM (Knoxville Area Rescue Ministries). KARM is a wonderful local non-profit that provides meals, housing assistance and a program to help people learn to manage their finances. I am very glad to give the gift of my crocheting to a worthy organization. 

I am trying to find patterns to make Christmas presents and will have lots of projects to share after the Holidays. (I have family and friends that read my blog and I don't want them to find out what they are getting before I give it.) 

I think that is it for now.

Peace!

Doctor Who and Mushroom Quesadilla

Tonight is the night that Doctor Who returns from it's summer break and I will be partaking in fish fingers and custard as well as sue-do jammy dodgers. But I decided to make something more substantial to get me to 9 o'clock. So I opened the fridge and saw some button mushrooms that needed to be used. I was craving something spicy and thought of a quesadilla. Yay for impromptu dinners for one!

Here's a list of ingredients I used but I'm sure they could be changed to whatever you have in your pantry or fridge.

Ingredients

• Button Mushrooms (I used 2 good sized ones)
• Olive Oil
• Mild Cheddar Cheese
• Pensy's Arizona Dream Spice (Taco spice would work too)
• Garlic (I used powder but chopped would work too)
• Tortillas 

I first chopped the mushrooms and then sauteed them with the Olive oil, garlic and Arizona Dream spice. I used a medium heat and it took about 5 minutes. Here is a picture of what they looked like.

It started to smell really good!

I put one tortilla on the griddle plate and shredded some of the cheddar on it and let it melt

 I then added the mushrooms when they were done.

I put the second tortilla on top and flipped it over and let it cook for about 1 minute more.

Here it is on the plate. I added some salsa and sour cream.

It was simple and quick to make. Like I said earlier it can be changed to fit whatever ingredients you have in your pantry or fridge. Corn tortillas would work just as well as flour ones and Monterrey Jack cheese would be good too. You could even add bell peppers and/or onions to the mushrooms. I hope you enjoy my short simple recipe. I have to go bake my fish fingers and enjoy Doctor Who. Let me know what you think of my recipe.

Peace!

Read of the Month: The Help

Since the movie just came out starring Emma Stone and Viola Davis, I felt that I needed to read the book before I saw the movie. The books never fail to be better than the movie so I like to read them before they have a chance of being ruined as a movie. I must be in the same frame of mind as Hank Green  because he just posted a video on YouTube expressing the same thoughts. I wanted to read The Help, by Katherine Sockett, before I even knew they were making a movie.

This is a book written about writing a book. Which is something different in itself but it is also about segregation in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s. The two heroines of this book could be considered complete opposites. Skeeter is a fresh out of college journalist and comes from a well to do white family and Abileen is a 40 something black maid who is still dealing with her only child's death. And yet they become very close through all the trials of getting a book published. Skeeter also has to deal with the difficultly of coming home from college and realizing that it is different than before. Changed and not in a good way for her. Most of her high school friends got married and dropped out of college to make a home for their husbands. She ends up realizing that Jackson is no longer a place where she belongs. Abileen ends up becoming a hero for helping other maids find their own voice. She also realizes that she can start her own life over and over comes the grief of her lost son.

The other characters in the book are also very well developed but I'm going to let you read the book to learn about them. I love the way this book is more about trying to get two different but similar groups of women to start talking to each other. It's not just about race but respect for everyone. I definitely recommend this book to everyone. 

Let me know what you think of the book after you have read it!

Peace!

Oh Baby! Take II

Yes, It's another post on baby items. A beautiful baby girl was born to a couple at my church and I couldn't believe that I forgot to make her a gift. So I decided to crochet another Linguine Bunny but this time I made it with solid colored yarn. I chose this beautiful purple because the little girl has bright red hair. I love purple on redheads. Since the bunny is in purple I embroidered the nose and mouth in pink and used white button eyes. Here is a picture.

I was browsing on Crochet Pattern Central and found some wonderful toy/pacifier leashes. I don't like the store made leashes with the clips because I feel like little fingers or soft skin is going to be pinched. This leash uses a loop and button to attach the pacifier/toy to the car seat/bib/clothes/stroller. I also learned a new stitch in the process. The Star Stitch is a handy stitch that makes a star pattern. The pattern for the leash can be found here Pacifier Leash.  Here is a picture of the leashes.

I hope to deliver these gifts to the beautiful little girl and her family today. Let me know what you think about these projects.

Peace!

Read of the Month: The Hunger Games

I know I'm cutting it close this month but it's gone by so quickly. I was caught off guard. Trust me, this book will make up for the delay. I started reading it Thursday night and finished Saturday evening. I only stopped reading because I had to go to work.

I first heard of The Hunger Games from John Green (award winning writer) on the VlogBrothers YouTube channel and knew I had to read it. I had a chance to buy it in the Store Closing Sale for Borders. (When I heard that Borders was closing all of it's stores I literally cried.)

The Hunger Games is set in future North America where the government has divided the nation into different districts. Each district products a specific good that defines the district. There used to be 13 districts but when the people rebelled against the government district 13 was destroyed. So to make sure the citizens know their place once a year the Hunger Games are held. Two names are drawn in each district, one boy and one girl. There is only one winner and survivor because it is a fight to the death. When a child turns 12 they are entered in the drawing for the Hunger Games. Each year they are entered in the drawing an extra time until they reach the age of 18 but most children end up being entered more times because they can receive food rations for their family. This is the story of Katniss Everdeen who volunteers to participate so her 12 year old sister won't be forced to compete for her life.

This book is thrilling from page one. Like I said if I didn't have to go to work I would have read it all day and night. The twists and turns constantly surprised me. Collins does a wonderful job of character building and showing that not everything is as it appears. I would recommend this book to everyone. It is a great story about government control and human rights. I am looking forward to reading the final two books in this trilogy.

Peace!

The most amazing pizza I have ever had!

I am a huge carb fan (it comes from my Italian genetics) and pizza is one of my favorite forms. Homemade pizza is my favorite but time is in short supply. My family has been buying take and bake pizzas recently because of the time issue.

Since it is summer time we have been using the grill almost every weekend so my mom suggested trying pizza on the grill. It's something that could easily be made veggie or meat laden. So tonight we made two small grilled pizzas. My mom found some frozen pizza dough at the grocery store so we wouldn't have to make the dough from scratch.

We stretched out the dough and brushed it with olive oil. When the grill was hot we placed the dough directly on the grill to bake before topping it. When the crust started to brown on the bottom we removed it from the grill. I then topped the browned side of the crust with canned tomato sauce, garlic, oregano, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and fresh mushrooms. We have a mini herb garden on the deck and decided to use some basil from it. The pizzas were then placed on the grill to finish baking. They only took a few minutes for the pre-baking and the final baking.

I didn't get a chance to take pictures but next time I will. The pizza was so good that I ate entirely too much of it. The fresh basil was definitely my favorite part of it. I can't wait to make it again! Let me know if you decide to try it for yourself.

Peace!

Read of the Month: Lady of the Forest

Look at me! I'm making my second book review and it's within the next month like I promised!

This month it is all about showing off one of my favorite authors. Jennifer Roberson is a wonderful fantasy author that brings new worlds alive for me. She has written mostly series so I was glad to find a singular book written by her.

Lady of the Forest is Roberson's version of Robin Hood and it is told from Lady Marion's side of the story. I have a love of the Crusades (I don't know why because it was a horrible bloody violent time in history that I am not proud of as a Christian) so Robin Hood is a classic tale for me. The detail she puts into her writing is amazing. Lady Marion discovers who she is and becomes a very strong woman in the process. Robin is shown as a man who hides himself because he was forced to when he was captured in the Crusades. Not only is he physically scared but he is mentally injured as well. He finally finds himself again through meeting and falling in love with Marion. The Sheriff of Nottingham is developed as a twisted conniving man who only wants to advance in the world at any cost. His daughter is a perfect copy of her father and wants Marion out of the picture. But in the end the Lionheart returns just in time to set everything right for a time.

The way Roberson writes, transports me into the story. I felt like I was Lady Marion making the same decisions that she did. This version was a good mixture of fact and fiction. I would recommend this book to someone who doesn't usually read fantasy books. It is a classic tale that everyone knows but with a twist.

I hope you have enjoyed my monthly book review!

Peace!