Hello friends and happy Friday and happy first day of March. I have a few Friday Favorites I want to share with you.
First I had Sister Lunch with my sister and my niece this past week and then lunch another day with my sister and nephew. Those were very special favorites. I love weeks like that.
A few weeks ago I ordered this paint by number set. Wow have things changed since I did these a few years ago. I love all of these colors and of course I love the cat design. I finally started it today. It is going to take a while to complete this. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I remember when I did these as a kid and they never quite turned out like the picture. I hope this one will be different.
I love all of these colors.
Licorice flavored jelly beans. I love them!!!! I can only find them around Easter time. I will probably buy several bags before they all sell out. I find that most people don’t like these. You either love them or hate them there is no middle ground.
Look at this gorgeous plate I found last week at one of my favorite thrift stores. Remember the tray I didn’t buy a few weeks ago? Well this is similar. Much smaller than the tray but I snagged it before it could get gone. I think it would look great with easter eggs on it.
I think I forgot to show these beautiful flowers my husband sent me for Valentine’s. They lasted for a long time so we were able to enjoy them long after Valentine’s Day. I love the colors.
I made Artisan bread last week. It was pretty good. I have made it a few times. I prefer it sometimes to my sourdough bread.
Just look at these mild temps. That’s definitely a favorite. Spring is on the way!!!
Hello and happy Friday. A full week back at work was a little rough but I left early today to have a late lunch with my friend Lorie. So that was definitely a favorite. We hadn’t seen each other since before Christmas and hadn’t even gotten to share Christmas presents. So we took care of that today. It’s always so good when we get to catch up and solve all the world’s problems.
Here are a few other favorites I want to share with you.
I just had to show you these shoes. I actually bought them last summer. I was in Knoxville with my friend Lorie, yes same one I just mentioned, and we stopped at Ross. Ross is a discount clothing store sort of like T.J Maxx or Marshalls. I found these in the clearance section and I couldn’t believe they were like $13.99. Just my size too. I wore them a couple of weeks ago for the first time. The hearts are just a plus and quite appropriate for Valentine’s Day. They are so comfy and great in wet weather. My husband is not always a fan of my shoes. When I showed him these and told him I had only paid $13.99 for them he said “I can see why”. HA!!! It doesn’t stop me from wearing the shoes I love. I guess that’s what 33 years of marriage does to you.
My favorite Valentine candy is out in the stores. You can pretty much find it everywhere. I had to have a couple of bags. I often place these little candies around the house so my husband will find them. They have really cute sayings. Although some of the sayings on them are quite different from what they used to be, bae, goat, what??? I guess I’m old school.
Isn’t she pretty. I got her from my mother in law’s house. I probably told you that my MIL has moved into an assisted living village. She has her own little room and kitchen area and bathroom. She has been there now for several years. She has never wanted a lot of her things with her. I don’t actually think she remembers now that she has a house. Her dementia is slowly getting worse.
This swan sat on her hearth for as long as I can remember. Probably even when my husband and I were dating. I never really paid much attention to her. She was just always there. Last week we were over at the house doing some things. I told my husband I wanted to bring the swan home and put it on our hearth. I cleaned her up. My niece suggested that I fill her with the yarn balls that I had made at Christmas. I did and I think they look great. I named her Gracie.
You may remember a couple of weeks ago I went to one of my local thrift stores and bought a couple of things. I saw the most beautiful flower patterned platter, that’s a tongue twister. I looked at it, examined it, I walked by and gave it a few sidelong glances. I went back to the same spot in the store several times. This is usually a good indication to me that I should just buy whatever it is I have been looking at. It was only $5.00 but I just didn’t know if I needed another platter. It was sunny looking and reminded of spring. I left without it.
Last week the snow and ice came and left us pretty much snow bound for several days. I don’t know why but I kept thinking about the platter with the flowers on it. As soon as I was able to get out last week I returned to the thrift store. I just knew I was going to march back to the spot and find it. I was already thinking about what I would serve on it. Probably my homemade bread. I went into the store and went back to the spot where the platter had been. It wasn’t there. I looked around and around and around thinking someone had moved it. It wasn’t there. I looked for that platter for several minutes before I admitted it was gone. That’s why you should buy it when you see it. Lesson learned. With all of that said. I did find these four little green vases that I thought were really cute. When I bought groceries today I picked out a small bouquet of fresh flowers. I think these look like spring and sunshine.
I will place these in several areas around the house. I put the bigger one on my table with the kitchen clock. The fresh smell of these flowers are so nice.
I am in the middle of this book by Ann Patchett. It is a collection of essays by her, about her, her family, her writing and a lot of day to day things. It is so good. I am loving it.
I am also loving:
That we are having warmer temps, it almost feels like spring.
That my nephew still loves my homemade bread and wants me to make it for him and his friends.
The way the rain sounds on the metal roof when I am at work.
Crossword puzzles.
Having kitties sleeping on my lap while I read a good book.
Catching up with my husband after a long day at work.
So what are some of your favorites this week? Have a great weekend.
Happy Friday everyone. I will get to the French Butter Press in Just a moment. It was one of my favorite Christmas presents. But let me show you a few other favorites for this week.
You have probably heard me talk about my Kitty Gus and that he is a very large boy. Probably about 17 pounds. He and Kitty Kitty share a litter box. At one time they each had their own box but they completely stopped using one of them so I took it up. Their box is pretty much the standard size with a domed top. We noticed that Gus was having issues turning around and getting in and out. We bought him this jumbo litter box. It is for both of them. And they love it!!! It is a few extra inches on the sides and the length and the opening is bigger. It was $49.99 from Amazon and totally worth it for their comfort. Especially Gus since he is such a big boy.
Last week a coworker’s mom sent us some leftover treats from Christmas. We love it when she bakes a lot around the holidays. She always sends us the yummiest treats. We call her Martha Stewart. She always packages everything so nicely.
My orchid Zsa Zsa has now become two orchids. Well she really was two all along. She was a gift when my sister passed away almost two years ago. I always suspected that Zsa Zsa might be two orchids but I didn’t find out for sure until I repotted her last night. The repotting was not pleasant and I will tell you more about that in a future post. But now that she is two I have decided to name her after another Gabor sister. I named her Ava.
This was Zsa Zsa before I repotted her. One reason I hadn’t repotted her since I had her was because she had bloomed continuously. Some ofthe base leaves seemed to be crowded together and in distress.
This isn’t the best picture but you can see they are now in two smaller pots. I will tell you there was a lot of root rot at the bottom. I am not sure if they will survive but I feel like this is the only chance they had. ( I still haven’t gotten all of my Christmas decorations put away yet)
I looked out the window this morning and I saw the most beautiful sunrise. I have probably taken pictures of the sunrise in this same spot a million times but it always makes me catch my breath when I see these beautiful colors.
And now for the French Butter Press. I had never heard of one. My nephew and his wife gave it to me for Christmas. I opened the gift and just thought it was a cute urn of some type with a lid. My niece said “do you know what it is?” I didn’t. She told me and explained how it works. You may have one and use it all the time. It is new to me and quite wonderful.
Isn’t it adorable?
The top comes off and you pack butter into the top, the lid. It will hold an entire stick of butter. The bottom of the press is filled about 1/3 full of water. Then you put the top back and it forms an airtight seal. The butter stays soft without becoming rancid. I love real butter. None of that margarine stuff for me. So this keeps the butter nice and spreadable.
It is only about 4in. High.
Here are some great tips when using the French Butter Press taken from the Facebook page of James Sloss Pottery.
How much water and how often do I need to change The water should at least cover the little hole in the cone. Water should be as close to or touching the butter as possible. The water should be changed at least once a week.Do you pack the butter into the crock right out of the refrigerator, or do you wait until the butter reaches room temperature? Also, is there a problem with water getting into the butter, thus onto the bread, etc.? Let the butter warm up a little before packing it in to the lid, but not so long that it is completely soft. Sometime, if I do not have the time to wait, I’ll pack it in right out of the refrigerator. Water and butter (oil) will not mix so there is no problem with water getting into the butter.Put a small amount of salt in the water to stop mold A long time ago a customer bought two butter dishes, one as a present for his sister and one for his himself. He wrote, asking me about mold in his butter dish. He then asked his sister if she had the same problem. She did not, but she was using a different brand of butter. He switched to her brand and the problem went away. I have talked with a woman from the Alsace region in France. She told me her family always added salt to the water in their butter dishes. It came to me that the salt in the butter keeps the mold away. I ran an experiment with two butter dishes using unsalted butter. I put salt in the water of one and not in the other. There was no mold in the butter dish with salted water! There was mold in the other dish! I now always put salt in the water, even with salted butter. So low salt and unsalted butter is causing this problem. A process of evaporation takes place through the pottery (helping to keep the inside slightly cooler). This happens more with some glazes then others, and if adding too much salt it may precipitate to the outside leaving a floury powder.Also, French butter dish user Julie sent this in: I find that if you aren’t careful to keep bread particles out of the butter (kids!), you get mold. HTH–JulieThe butter in my French butter dish started falling into the base, is there something wrong? When the temperature approaches 90′ F the butter will become to soft to stay in the lid. If you do not have air conditioning you will need to put the butter dish in the refrigerator or add ice to the water in the base. Butter mixtures like “Land of Lakes spreadable” have margarine blended into the butter. This makes the butter to oily to stay in the lid. Only pure butter will work in a French Butter Dish. (butter bell)What is the difference between Porcelain and Stoneware?:Stoneware is a little stronger then porcelain but that is only relevant if the pottery is used for cooking. Porcelain is a finer clay body with less impurities then stoneware. The porcelain clay body I use is white when fired and therefore the glazes can be more vibrant and colorful. I use two stoneware clays, a buff white and a high iron red. I use the high iron red for the stony gray (I also sometimes us it for copper red and the odd one of a kind piece. The iron bleeds through the glaze to its surface for the stony effect. I use the same glaze over the buff white stoneware for the stony white butter dishes. To sum it up: the stoneware clay is for earthy colors, the porcelain for brighter and shinier colors.What is the difference between a French Butter Dish and a butter crock or bell There are numerous manufactured versions of the French Butter Dish that use copyrighted names like the “Butter Bell”. The difference is that manufactured versions can not create a cone shaped lid like our hand made butter dishes therefore they must be smaller or the butter will fall out. Is the French butter dish dishwasher safe? Yes, it is dishwasher safeCan I use margarine (or other spreads) in a French Butter Dish? French Butter Dish works best when real butter is used. Margarine does not have a spreadability problem and is then butter s will not stay in the lid very easily. Do not store other processed spreads for any length of time. Processed spreads like cream cheese need refrigeration to stay fresh for extended periods of time. You can use a French Butter Dish for special spreads if you do not plan to store it for long. For example use a French Butter Dish a serving piece at an evening dinner party for a special dip or spread that you create. It also works for Coconut oil.What is the size of your butter dishes They are about 4 1/2″ round by 4″ high. Since they are handmade they are not exactly the same size.
So those are some of my favorites for the week. What have you been enjoying this week?
Hello and happy Friday. Just three days until Christmas!!! I am off for the next three days and I plan to fully enjoy it. I still have a few presents to wrap. I will go to my sister’s house on Christmas Eve and open gifts with her family. My hubs has to work Christmas Eve but he will be home on Christmas Day.
Throughout the week my coworkers and I have been exchanging gifts. We don’t do anything elaborate. So my favorites this week have been some wonderful and thoughtful gifts from my precious work family. I also had lunch today with a sweet friend that I don’t get to see a lot. She is a former coworker who retired several years ago. We have always remained so close. I just love her and cherish our times together. We have been friends so long she is more like family to me and all of my family.
So here are a few of my Christmas presents from friends and coworkers this week. I just have to say “do they get me or what?” Of course I guess they know I love cats because I mention them a few hundred times a day. They also know that I love to knit and crochet. But oh my!!!! This work family is precious to me because they know what I love. You can’t ask for better work friends than that. THEY GET ME!!!!!
This mug is so adorable I had my coffee in it this morning. Aren’t these kitties adorable?? I love it.
Look at this cute kitty bag. Given to me by the same person who gave me the mug. I think I will use this bag for my socks that I am currently knitting. It is the perfect size for socks. It keeps everything together. And who wouldn’t want to knit something out of his bag?
O.K. Stop the clock. Look at this knitting/crochet bag. It has a place to run the yarn through so that you can work on several different colors without getting them tangled. This is very important for me because I am always getting my yarn tangled. It also has a place to keep several knitting or crochet needles. I have already started a scarf and am working on these two colors.
My friend that I had lunch with today gave me a Santa to add to my collection. I love him!!! I don’t have one like him. I am so happy to add him to my collection.
This same friend also got me this Christmas ornament. Isn’t it precious? You know when it comes down to it, family and friends are the most important people to have around you.
Now!!!! My coworker Amber gave me this present this morning. I opened it and at first I thought it was a journal. I love journals. And then I saw the word Yarniss, My breath stopped. I opened it and I think I might have screamed.
Look at this collections of crochet needles. Every size you could hope to have. Plus some stitch markers, darning needles and some very cool scissors. She told me that she had read the rubber grips were better for your hands. I felt like crying. What a wonderful thoughtful gift. I was overwhelmed.
Now if you like chocolate. These Whitman Sampler Candies are on sale at Walgreens. They are $5.00 a box. People this is a great gift to add to something you have already bought or to give to anyone. Grab them before they are gone.
I have to leave you with this very old photo of me and my brother Joe. This was Christmas and I had just gotten this Barbie Doll. I don’t remember the exact year. Joe was my younger brother he passed away in 2017. We grew up together and shared so many Christmas mornings. He still lives in my heart every day. Sometimes Christmas memories can be sad remembering our loved ones who are no longer with us. That is why it is so important to cherish every single day that we have with our loved ones with us.
Southern Patches 