Halloween

In preparation for Halloween we had to carve/decorate some pumpkins.

We bought some potato head kits last year and used them this year.

First up was the pirate, we also had a Frankenstein one that I did not get a picture of.

Next we needed to empty some seeds out of pumpkins, Katie's reaction was "ewww" so I got the job.

Katie then started using another light up kit, this required a hammer and Katie really liked that.

Here is that finished pumpkin.

Next I had Katie draw a happy face on the pumpkin and Kevin cut it out, I think it was cute.

A few months ago my Mom and I took Katie to the fabric store to to pick a pattern for her costume. She debated between Alice in Wonderland and a Pirate. In the end the pirate won.

Grandma did most of the sewing. We had to buy white eyelet and dye it black since it was impossible to find black in the right size. It came out adorable.

Katie went to school and had a party, when I picked her up we went to my work potluck. One of my coworkers gave her a big spider which she tried to scare everyone with.

After a nap we visited Great Grandma, the Littlerock Library and then went to the Trunk or Treat. They had a bounce house which Katie got in early.

One of the other families brought a snake which Katie was very to get to hold.

Once everyone was set up Katie went Trick or Treating.

They also had a cake walk, Katie tried forever and did not win until very late. Even after she won she continued to walk around with everyone and jump on empty number.

Later she went back to the bounce house and eventually climbed the ladder and went down the slide, over and over and over again.

It was a long but very enjoyable day, I cant wait till next year!

Playing in the Desert

This last weekend we went with my parents and their metal detecting club on the annual trip to the middle of nowhere. They have a claim that people with 4x4 ability can access and do treasure hunting contest, have a chili cook off and more. We traveled up for the day, Katie was very excited to get to go play in the desert.

Katie and I started the day going for a walk.

We took a shade tent and Katie's cot, soon she put Kitty down for a nap.

Not too long after it was Katie's nap time.

After nap time she played in the dirt a little.

Soon it was time for the big hunt. Basically an area is roped off and a bunch of coins and tokens are planted. The participants are allowed to search for a timed period and keep what they find. Katie was ready to go.

She caught up with her Papa and the rest of the group.

Although Katie did not go through with the hunt she did reap the reward, whatever my parents find goes into Katie's piggy bank.

Katie wandered off singing and glancing back to see how far I would let her go, this was about as far as I was comfortable with!

By the end of the day she had added to her collection lots of bullet casings and come clay pigeons that had not broken in the shooting match. She spent some time sorting out her collection.

It was a great day, we all had fun even though the chili did not win. I figure we will be back again next year.

Canning Part III

Yes it is true...the canning continues. Luckily the tomato harvest has slowed down, for awhile we were getting 12 lbs a week! We have made quite a lot of the Tomato Basil Simmer Sauce mention earlier. This weekend my CSA offered a 20 lb box of Granny Smith for $10, you can not beat that price so it was time to can apples and catch up on the blog.

Lets start with Yellow Pear Tomato Preserves

You might notice the table cloth, Katie picked it for Halloween which of course means it goes on the table now. The recommended serving is to pour it over something like brie and eat it with crackers. Sounds good to me. We found this recipe on the internet.

Tomato Salsa

This is a basic salsa but used up a ton of peppers. It came from Joy of Pickling.

These are Refrigerator Pickled Tomatillos

I have not tried them yet but hear they are pretty good. These also come from Joy of Pickling.

To start off the apple here is Spiced Apple Rings

 These are yummy! The recipe came from You Can Can.

Spiced Apple Chutney

I am really liking these chutney's, this winter we will be making a lot of roasts slathered in these.

Apple Preserves

(the photo is dark, I forgot to get a picture when there was still light outside) We made biscuits tonight and tried these preserves, the taste reminds me of ginger ale, tart and gingery. It comes from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.

Maple Apple Onion Relish

This one I think will be really good. It comes from The Complete Book of Pickling.

Labor Day Weekend Project

Over Labor Day weekend I decided it was time to get started painting the interior of the house. The paint that came in the house is very flat and poor quality. If Katie touches a wall with a dirty hand or anything gets on the wall it is quickly absorbed by the paint and will not come off. Any scrubbing of the walls, even gently removes the paint. Recently Katie decided to write on her bedroom wall with a washable maker, this should not have been a problem but my cleaning it off removed the paint. Another factor was that the color on the walls looked very dark in Katie's room and it really needed to be brightened up. It became clear that it was time to repaint and her room was a good place to start. 

I went with Yolo Colorhouse paint again to try and make it as environmentally friendly as possible. I collected some paint chips and let Katie pick the color. She had originally debated between pink and white but when she saw the paint chips she wanted white, the color is Air 01.

Here you can see a light spot on the wall, that is the new paint color on top of the old.

Katie was of course my willing assistant and really wanted to help.

When we finally got started putting primer on the wall she was having a lot of fun, almost too much fun. After a little while I decided to just put on Sesame Street to keep Katie busy while I worked or we might not get done or there might be paint everywhere.

Here the walls have been primed and the color is starting to go on, it looks yellow against the white but is nice warm light cream when dry.

This is the finished product, the sun was already down so there are some weird shadows but you get the idea.

Her furniture, mostly pink, looks good against the color. I also cut off the coax cables that were sprouting in her walls (when they come drill a hole in the wall and push the cable through) and patched them over. Her room is no longer cable/satellite ready but I do not have to push furniture up against the cables to keep them away from her.

Katie loves it, she kept coming in once the paint was up and telling me it was "so pretty" and that she liked it. Her room is now bright and cheery through the day rather than dark, even at night her little lamp is now enough light for the room. 

Labor Day Finish

I have been posting about this quilt as I went along, I think all together it took about a year and a half to finish, today I finally sewed the last stitch. I am  not sure what craziness overcame me when I decided to hand stitch all of the binding but I am glad I did, it came out looking good. I figured the easiest way to photograph it would be on a bed. 

Here is the finished top:

Some detail:

The binding is white with a pink print.

Here is a look at the back. I used a print from the Moda Sent with Love fabric line (the same fabric collection that is on the front) for the center, two extra rows of squares and some coordinating pink and red at the top and bottom.

Here you can see the quilting pattern I chose, I believe it is "Blown in the Wind", the quilting was done by The Quilt Studio.

The quilt is a little large for my bed but I really like it and I am really glad I finally finished it!

Note: I have now washed and dryed the quilt, it has shrunk a bit and no longer drags on the floor. Of course Katie needs to sleep under it tonight because "its so pretty".