Bubble, bubble

 Over the weekend Resident Chef and I tried making Roasted Garlic and Onion Relish/Jam as you can see....

...and here is the recipe if you'd like to try it for yourself.  Sure tastes yummy on hamburgers!

ROASTED GARLIC & ONION RELISH/JAM

5 whole garlic bulbs                       3 T. unsalted butter
5 c. chopped onions                       ½ c. balsamic vinegar
1 c. cider vinegar                              3 c. white sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin 
  Slice ½” off the top of each garlic bulb & place each on a
separate piece of foil.  Sprinkle each with 1 T. water.  Loosely
wrap & pinch to seal. Place on baking sheet & roast 45 mins. at 400degrees.
Unwrap & cool 15 mins. Squeeze garlic into bowl and set aside.
Melt butter over medium heat.  Add onion, reduce heat to
medium low and sauté til tender and light golden (about 15 mins)
Do not let onion brown.  Add balsamic vinegar & cook, stirring
frequently, 5 mins.   Add garlic & cider vinegar & gradually
stir in sugar.  Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly,
until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to med-high & bring to a full
rolling boil, stirring constantly, and boil for 1 minute.  Remove
from heat and add pectin.  Let cool 5 mins, stirring constantly. 
Ladle into hot jars, seal and process in boiling water bath
10 minutes.  Remove and cool on a wire rack. Makes approx.
six 250 ml jars.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Today's quote..."Illiteracy in the 21st century will not be about reading and writing, but about those who cannot unlearn what they were led to believe"

no words are necessary

 

R.I.P. Queen Elizabeth II

43 years ago

 43 years ago this man (commonly known as Resident Chef) saw fit to marry me.  It's been a heck of a ride ever since!  

Love you, always and forever!

Well, at least one hand might be warm!

 Half of a pair of mittens made to go with the hat I showed you in my previous post.  Think I'm going to win the game of yarn chicken!  

Today's quote is from Oprah Winfrey..."Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down"

Reversal of frogging

 Yes, over the weekend I managed to reverse my frogging of the hat and came up with this one...

Something else for the Christmas box.

Pattern is THIS one and I used Paton's Astra which is a DK weight.  At least the grey is Astra - the red is a mystery yarn out of my stash (I think it's probably Paton's Canadiana).  Now I plan to play yarn chicken.  Do I have enough of each yarn to make a matching pair of mittens??  Stay tuned....

- Here's a little hint that I do so thought I'd share....if you have problems with dry and cracking hands...  1.  Slather your hands really heavily with a good hand cream, put on a pair of rubber gloves and wash your dishes in the hottest water you can stand.  The heat helps 'drive' the cream into your hands.  2.  At bedtime, I often use a really good coating of vaseline and then wear a pair of cotton gloves overnight.  You can try the vaseline process on your feet too and just wear a pair of old socks to bed.

Today's quote..."Creativity is making marvelous out of the discarded"

w-e-llllll......

 I WOULD have had a picture to share with you.  Seriously.  However....when I checked the measurements of a child's head against the pattern I was using to make a hat I came to the realization that what I was doing simply wouldn't fit.  So....

Meet my friend the frog.
He and I are better friends than I care to admit.

And...no I won't mention the fact that I 
cast on 108 stitches and promptly managed to
trip over my yarn and pull half the stitches
off the needles....no....won't mention that

Today the quote is from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee..."It is important for knitters to know two things about frogging:  that cats are capable of this knitting action, and even seem to enjoy it and seek opportunities to do it; and that foul language is a normal, healthy accompaniment to frogging, whether it is you or the cat that accomplished the task"

Just mumblings

 I'm sorry to say that I don't have any pictures for you of anything I've been working on.  Never fear, there ARE things happening but none of them are photo-worthy as yet.  

I know!  How about I show you something our #2 son has created?

He's making charcuterie boards using Mediterranean olive wood.  

Today's quote:  "Strength doesn't come from what you can do.  It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't"

A busy cauldron, and flying knitting needles

 Over the weekend we made two batches of zucchini relish as you can see from these.....

And...my knitting needles have been busy creating three little pumpkin hats for three grandies.  

Pattern is THIS one.  I changed it up for the boys and did a ribbed bottom rather than the rolled bottom as the pattern shows.  Caron Simply Soft yarn once again.

Today's quote..."Good things come to those who wait.  Better things come to those who don't give up, and the best things come to those who believe"

Another thing off my list

 I had this one knitted for awhile but of course procrastinated on the sewing up part of it.  I love to knit but the finishing, not so much.

The pattern is THIS one and I used Paton's Canadiana yarn.  

Today's quote.."Why is it that you can spend hours cleaning and organizing your craft room, but it only takes one tiny project to make it look like a bomb went off and a tornado hit at the same time?"

...and....there's more!!!

 Two more projects from my crochet hooks to add to the Christmas box...

Hat is THIS one and the cowl is from HERE.  I used Caron Simply Soft for both.

Today's quote is from Sir David Attenborough..."If working apart we're a force powerful enough to destabilize our planet, surely, working together, we are powerful enough to save it"

They're multiplying!

 It seems like one hat from that pattern has turned into three - two for adults and one for our baby grandie.  I left the ear flaps off the adult versions and I didn't include the ties on the baby one, simply because I don't feel that they're particularly safe.  

Today the quote is from Zig Ziglar..."Life is an echo.  What you send out, comes back.  What you sow, you reap.  What you give, you get.  What you see in others, exists in you.  Remember, life is an echo.  It always gets back to you.  So give goodness"

A recipe for you to try

 Resident Chef made these yummy refrigerator pickles and we've very patiently waited the alloted time to give them a taste test and they certainly passed with flying colours.  Thought you might like to give them a try too...

REFRIGERATOR PICKLES

1 c. vinegar (white or apple cider)
1 c. water
1 c. sugar
1 T. of EITHER fresh garlic, sliced chilies, peppercorns, pickling spice, mustard seeds, bay leaves, coriander seeds – or mixture of your choice.
1 heaping tsp. kosher salt
2 lbs. veggies:  cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, pearl onions, sliced red or sweet onions, or carrots

Peel & slice veg’s into ¼” slices & pack into clean jars, leaving about 1” headspace.
Heat water, sugar, spices & salt over medium heat, stirring occasionally until dissolved.  LET COOL COMPLETELY.  Pour cooled brine over veg’s making sure they’re completely covered.  Cover & refrigerate 3 days before serving. Keep refrigerated (unless, of course, you're eating them!).  Makes 2 quart jars.

p.s. if you scroll down to my post of Aug. 12th you'll see a picture of the jars he made.

My crochet hooks have been busy and the latest thing off the hook is this hat...

Pattern is from HERE and I used Paton's Canadiana.  I love that the pattern covers sizing from a baby up to adult (this one is the adult size).The pattern takes a little less than one ball so quite a cheap project to add to the Christmas box.

Today's quote..."We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children"

The great mystery - revealed!

 Lots of people thought I was making hats.  Nope.  It should come as no surprise that it would be something for the grandies though and so here you have it....

Pattern is called the 'Monster Pillow Buddy' and can be found HERE. Yarn is the Bernat Blanket Bright series and used a 9 mm crochet hook.  Not exactly something I plan to make more of because it's quite hard on my hands but it was sure fun to do!  Oh....and they each measure about 30"  tall.  A good addition to the Christmas box!

Today's quote..."A seed grows with no sound but a tree falls with a huge noise.  Destruction has noise, but creation is quiet.  This is the power of silence"

A return

 I have come to the realization that I'd best get my motor revved up if I'm going to stand a chance of completing the projects I have on my list for adding to the Christmas box.  The great mystery project ground to a halt whilst I await a yarn shipment so I hauled out the set-aside cross stitched ornaments.  I'm currently working on one of the Nutcrackers and still have a second one of those plus another chef to stitch before I start putting them together.  

Today's quote is a Native  proverb..."Everything on Earth is borrowed.  There is no "Mine" or "Yours", there is only "Ours".  Even time is borrowed.  We kill over a plot of land that belongs only to our Mother Earth.  All you have is what you came with...and what you will leave with....your Spirit"

An update and a further mystery (or two)

 An update on the great tomato jam debacle - went and got more Certo and did what the Certo web site said to do when jam doesn't set.  Two batches both done the exact same way....one set, one didn't.  Why?????  Oh well, one batch is jam and the other will be eaten either on toast (being watchful for drippages!) or on top of ice cream.  The hunt is on for another recipe that hopefully will work better.  Although why did we make two batches last year with no issues?  T'is a mystery!

Remember that green blob I showed you the other day?  Well it's been joined by a purple one. I must say working with such bulky yarn isn't easy on my hands, but I am nothing if not stubborn.  Wonder what they will end up being???

Resident Chef is making refrigerator pickles as you can see from this photo...

Going to be hard to wait to give them a
taste test!

Today, for your quote.... (author unknown - if you know, please leave the information in the comments and I will update this)

The Knot's Prayer

Dear God:

Please untie the knots

that are in my mind,

my heart, and my life.

Remove the have nots,

the can nots and the do nots

that I have in my mind.

Erase the will nots,

may nots,

might nots that may find

a home in my heart.

Release me from the could nots,

would nots 

and should nots that obstruct my life.

And most of all, 
dear God,

I ask that you remove from my mind,

my heart and my life all the "am nots"

that I have allowed to hold me back, 

especially the thought

that I am not good enough.

Amen

Bubble, bubble, toil and.....

See these?

Sweet Tomato Jam
At least it's supposed to be.

Unfortunately it refuses to gel.

Made it, jarred it, and decided it looked too runny to even begin to set.  Unjarred it, reboiled, added more Certo and re-jarred it.  STILL refuses to set.  So....today we'll be unjarring once again and reboiling in hopes it will decide to thicken.  Oh yes, and adding some more Certo too.  It's the same recipe we used last year with perfect results so the only thing I can think of it is that maybe last year we used liquid Certo whereas this year we used the powdered version.  T'is a puzzle and an annoying one at that. 

Today's quote..."Why do we close our eyes when we pray, when we cry, when we kiss, when we dream?  Because the most beautiful things in our life are not seen but felt only by the heart"

And....drum roll.....

We have another finished landscape!!

FOR SALE! 

"Somewhere In Saskatchewan"
Inspired by a photo by Dale Stewart
(used with his kind permission)
Measures approx. 29x23"

NOTE: If you're interested in seeing the landscapes
I currently have for sale, click on the 
'Landscapes For Sale' category in
my sidebar

...And....a little mystery is good for the soul, right?  So...what do you suppose this will be??.....

Today's quote..."The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday"

Public Service announcement, maybe? and a UFO finished

 I've noticed a number of people are having issues with their comments showing up as being 'Anonymous' and I thought I'd share what I've discovered that seems to be working (mostly!).  When you click on the area to leave a comment, look just above it and you should (hopefully!) see an option entitled 'Comment As' that includes at least three options.  In my case it gives me an option to click to leave a comment as 'Magpie's Mumblings (Google)', plus there's an 'Anonymous' choice as well as a choice entitled 'Name/URL'.  If you have a blog just click on that and your comment will show up as that name.   You can also, if you would rather, or if you don't have a blog, click on the 'Name/URL' and follow the prompts to leave a comment under your own name.  Hope that helps someone!  I find that I have to keep re-doing this step on some blogs, sometimes for each time I leave a comment and other times it seems to 'last' a few days before reverting to me showing as being anonymous.

I've tried to take a picture of the area in question in hopes that it can help...

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As for the UFO part of this post, some of you might remember me making advent calendars for our grandies last Christmas.  I thought ahead and made one for our then-unborn wee little girl but the ornaments were left incomplete until now.  Each of these had a row of whipped blanket stitch added to the outside edges.

If you want to be reminded of what they looked like, have a peek at THIS post.

Today the quote is from Hans Christian Anderson..."The whole world is a series of miracles, but we're so used to seeing them that we call them ordinary things"

cough, cough.....

Sixty + (cough, cough) years ago
guess who wore these?

And....just for proof of same...

Today's quote is from Reiner Pilz..."What we need is upcycling - where old products are given more value, not less"

Total irrevalance!

 Over the weekend I was searching for a how-to for making sun tea and came across something even better - cold brewed tea.  So simple and delicious (no tannin aftertaste!) so thought I'd share the recipe with you.  Oh so complicated too!!!!!   Proportions are just 1 tea bag added to 1 cup of cold water.  Refrigerate for 12-24 hours and you're done.  I used one Red Rose bag and one oolong and 2 cups of water.  You can taste it and add sugar if you'd like.  I think it would be fun to experiment with different flavoured teas too.  

I don't know if you can see the texture from this latest photo of the landscape, but trust me, it's there.  Try clicking on the image and hopefully it will embiggen enough for you to see.

Your quote today is from Anne of Avonlea (Lucy Maude Montgomery)..."I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string"