Still a bad blogger

It seems that I have been behind ever since I got home from my parents' a week ago. I have had something going on everyday except Sunday (including four 12 hour shifts at work) and it seems that I am just now getting caught up with everything that needs to be done. I am hoping to take some "urban wildflower" photos...just need to remember to take camera with me when I go out.

Upon the recommendation of the vet (Graycie is getting a little pudgy), the cats are now on a diet. Well, not really a diet, just not unlimited grazing at the self feeder. They actually eat less than I thought. I have been giving them one cup of food (Science Diet dry) a day to share, which is actually less than the recommended amount and they don't even finish it. So maybe what they really need is more exercise (don't we all?). I found this really CUTE food bowl at Petsmart, on clearance for 50% off. Very Mary Engelbreitish, don' t you think?

What a difference a week makes

Yes, I know I have been a very bad blogger. I was out of town for 9 days playing opthalmology nurse. Not my area of expertise, but the patient (my mom :-) was satisfied with the care. When I got home, I was amazed at how the garden had blossomed while I was gone. These are the crape myrtles after I pruned them in February.

And this is them now. They will be full of magenta flowers all summer. The neighbors' tree appears to be doing well, too.


While I bemoan the lack of lilacs and peonies here, there is this amazing plant I never experienced in Wisconsin... wisteria. In two weeks, it goes from looking like this

to looking like this! It gets its leaves after it blooms, and will provide shade over the garden swing all summer (never mind that it's too hot to sit outside).

It has these incredible blooms that have a faint fragrance. I'm glad it blooms when it does so I can actually be outside to enjoy it.

And while the Azalea Trail was almost 3 weeks ago, ours are blooming now.

Another beautiful flowering plant that you won't find in Wisconsin.

On the knitting front, I made my first Itty-Bitty hat. I had seen the book on Sommer Designs and had to have it. This was just a trial run...can't wait to make some more!


Speaking having to have it, I saw this book at It's A Stitch yesterday, then promptly came home and ordered it from Amazon.

Happy Easter, bunny!

This was a candid shot, I promise! If you have cats, you know that they don't pose...

Spring forward

Even though we have been having below normal temperatures, there is no denying that spring is here. The problem with spring in Houston is that it is very short and it is followed by summer, which is verrrrrrry long. I am trying not to dwell on that and just savor the moment. And at the moment, this is what we have blooming in our garden:

Daffodils

Pansies

SnapdragonsHere is an overview of the flower bed and herb garden

And here is the herb gardenI finally found some basil to plant
These are the tomatoes we planted on February 2nd...yes those are blooms! Maybe we will actually get some tomatoes this year.

And here are my Meyer lemon blooms...
look at those little baby lemons :-)

And here are the roses which are thriving after their February pruning

But alas, no lilacs, forsythia or peonies...

Made in the USA

I recently bought this plastic watering can at Target. When I brought it home and took the label off of it I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually made in the USA by Arrow Plastic Manufacturing Company in Elk Grove, IL.
Don't get me wrong, I love foreign made products...Japanese cars, English bone china, Irish wool sweaters, Italian leather shoes...you get the idea. What bothers me is that so many things that used to be made in the USA are now being outsourced to China, India, etc. Coach bags, for example, which were originally made in New York are now made in China and are more outrageously expensive than ever. So I have started a Flickr group for people to share items they have found that are still American made, hopefully so that others may seek them out and support these companies. If you find something that is still made in the USA, please share it there. Thanks!

This is SO cool!

On Amy's blog she posted a link to the Fontifier where for $9 you can get your handwriting made into a font for your computer. I have wanted to do this forever...I remember seeing an ad years ago in an airline magazine for a place that did this, but it was like $150. This is only NINE dollars and only takes couple minutes. You print out a template and fill it out like this:

Then you scan it into your computer and upload like you would any picture, and presto they make you a font...how cool is that? I am such a nerd....

Okay, so it's not really knitted...

...but it's still CUTE! If you missed the Martha Stewart segment on knitted marzipan yesterday, Lauren Ulm has it on her blog. Jackie, Amber will like this...it's vegan!

Mystery project

I decided a bit late in the game that I wanted to make a quilt to give to my brother for his 5oth birthday, which is today. (So if you do read this, Happy Birthday, Jeff!) My initial thought was to make this one I saw at the Quilt Festival. It is made from April Cornell charm packs, which I had conveniently bought at the Quilt Festival.

But I thought that it might be too girly and decided to make a Texas themed quilt. He's not a native Texan, but has been here for almost 40 years, and I thought it would go well with his decor...who else do you know that has had a longhorn skull hanging over their mantel? I used the Yellow Brick Road pattern, which conveniently I also had...imagine that! With the help of the friendly ladies at Quilt 'n Sew in Katy, I picked out these fabrics. The ones on the left I used for the blocks, the ones on the right for the border and backing.

Graycie helped me with the sandwiching.

And while Purrkins normally wouldn't THINK of getting on the dining room table, he couldn't resist a nap on a folded up quilt, even though it didn't have a binding yet.

Time constraints what they were, I just did a simple diagonal machine quilting stitch.

This is what the back looks like.

And the heartfelt sentiment...

Spring cleaning...

...takes on a whole new meaning when you live on the gulf coast. When we moved down here, no one told us that every few years you have to have your house washed! The heat and high humidity result in a blackish-green moldy mildew growing on everything. I know it sounds gross...it is! So last week we had the house washed. It was a good opportunity to clean and rearrange the screen porch. When we bought this house, this was just a cement patio. Here is what it looked like then (and what the yard looked like before the fence and landscaping).

One of the best things we have done was to screen it in and have the floor tiled.

I took everything out and when the pressure washing was done, I washed and sealed the floor, vacuumed down the wicker furniture, ran the crockery through the dishwasher, washed the rugs and cushions.
This is what it looks like now...it is one of my favorite spaces right now, in early spring when the weather pleasant enough to be outside.


The kitties like it, too :-)

Knitted marzipan?

Apparently Monday on The Martha Stewart Show is going to be "homemade knitwear day." The audience will be full of knitters. And she is going to make this cake that is decorated with knitted marzipan...a little over the top even for Martha, but I'm not going to miss it! Look at those cute cupcakes with little marzipan scarves...

Valentine's dinner redux

I took these pictures of our Valentine's Day dinner, intending to share them much sooner than this, but just now got around to uploading them. I made lamb shanks from Central Market using a recipe from Marcella Says...

Garlic and sundried tomatoes mis en place...

Brussels sprouts using our favorite recipe from our favorite Milwaukee restaurant...this will win over even the most confirmed brussels sprouts haters.

Ristorante Bartolotta Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

1 ½ pounds brussels sprouts
¼ cup (2 ounces) extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup (½ stick) butter
Generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400º.

Trim bottom stems of brussels sprouts, then cut in half. Heat large oven-proof saute' pan over medium-high heat. Add oil and butter to pan. When butter starts bubbling, add brussels sprouts; season with salt and pepper. Saute' until cut sides turn golden brown, 6 to 7 minutes, tossing frequently. Do not overcook or brussels sprouts will burn.

Transfer to oven. Bake 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Makes 4 servings.

Here are the final products, served with saffron risotto.

Brownie hearts with fresh raspberries and truffles for dessert.

Purrkins' 15 minutes of fame

On Fridays the Houston Chronicle has a Pets Page in the Star section, along with the comics, Dear Abby, Sudoku, etc. A week ago last Friday there was some lame picture of a dog sleeping in a cat bed. Remembering this photo of Purrkins, I thought "I can do better than that" and emailed it to them. We were getting ready to leave for work on Friday morning when Mike says, "I can't believe this!" and shows me this:
He said something about me having too much time on hands. I said something about at least I wasn't on eBay. BTW, my latest quilt project is coming along nicely and should be off to its recipient by the end of the week. Then I promise to post pictures.

Happy Valentime's Day

That's what Mike calls it (which drives Kate and me both crazy!) He came home with these last night. I said, "Valentine's Day isn't until tomorrow." He said, "Then don't look at them until tomorrow." I said, "There are more than a dozen. There are a dozen and a half, eighteen, one for each year we have been together. How sweet!" He said, "Uh, right!" It was very sweet of him to bring them home last night so I can enjoy them all day today, since I am working tomorrow and Saturday.

I went to the thrift shop yesterday (I only go on Wednesdays, when their clothes are 50% off :-) I found a few cute things. I have posted some on Thrift Thursday, but here are a couple more:
An April Cornell throw pillow sham for for $2!
And these two crocheted cuties for $1.25.
I thought that they were both pot holders like the ones I have hanging my laundry/sewing/craft(crap) room.

But the one on the right is actually a jar lid cover...how cute is that?

More chocolate, and some citrus

These are to die for! They are just like the ones from Whole Foods...organic, made in France, melt in you mouth delicious. And yes, I did take this picture. The sweet little heart shaped table was made by my dad, probably 20 years ago. It sits next to my front door, usually with a basket full of mail on it, just waiting for Valentine's Day to roll around and be noticed.
Curiosity finally got the best of me and I picked one of my dwarf calamondins. You can see that I wasn't kidding about their diminutive size.
Then I peeled it...
And I shared it with Mike :-) They initially have a very tart flavor, but also have a lingering sweetness. What surprised me is that two of the six segments contained full sized seeds! Wouldn't these be a cute garnish on a cupcake or a little custard filled tart?

The weekend before last we transplanted my Meyer lemon tree from its pot (where it had done nothing) into the ground next to the dwarf calamondin. I am very optimistic...it is already covered with blooms. Hopefully this time next year it will be covered with lemons!