Waffle of Insane Greatness

Confession. Back in my newlywed days, I served hubby Eggo Waffles. I am nothing if not honest. But then I ventured out into a box of Bisquick. Yes, he still loves me. Next, I found a homemade version of a dry mix  that I could make up ahead of time and keep in a Tupperware container. With a growing family, we went through it fast. I've flipped lots of pancakes and whipped out a lot of waffles in my time.

Now  that we are empty nesters, the demand has decreased greatly and with our new eating habits, I don't think we've eaten a pancake or waffle in a couple of years, with the exception of when I make them for the crew.

I cook breakfast every morning...mostly for hubby, because I'm not a big fan of eggs for breakfast unless they're mixed up with good stuff and in the form of a breakfast burrito. :) But a few weeks ago, when I asked him what sounded good for breakfast, he said, waffles? That DID sound good. However, I did not want to make up a huge batch and I was feeling adventurous. This empty nest thing is all about trying new things so I turned to trusty Google. Google is a gamble. Well, this time we hit the jackpot.

In all honesty, the name of these waffles was what made me want to try them. I mean, how can you fail with Waffle of Insane Greatness? That is an awesome name! And we think these are awesome waffles!

My waffle iron makes regular waffles. We're just not fans of the Belgian waffles. The waffle-syrup ratio is  off for us :) These take a little longer than your average mix and pour waffle recipe and if you're looking for healthy, this is not your recipe. but then again, waffles don't generally wind up in that category  anyway.  But if you want to start out your Sunday  morning on a good note, these are the way to go. Just pencil in a good long hike later in the day.

Waffle of Insane Greatness

3/4 C flour
1/4 C cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C buttermilk
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla

*In a medium bowl, combine the flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well.

* Add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg, sugar, and vanilla and mix well.

* Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.

Preheat your waffle iron. I used the highest setting on mine for a crispy waffle. No soggy waffles allowed. The recipe which I found here, says not to spray your waffle iron since there is plenty of oil in the batter, but I did spray it the first time. We do not care for overly sweet waffles since syrup is sweet enough. I have a homemade syrup recipe too, but there's a buttermilk syrup I'm going to try next.

Easy Street is Finished

Last year...ummm...make that year BEFORE last... :) Bonnie Hunter rolled out her annual mystery quilt and I jumped in. This was my first mystery quilt so I played it safe and followed her color scheme even though it was way out of my comfort zone. Bonnie is a big proponent of using your stash, but I sure didn't have much of anything in these colors so I shopped and boy did I have fun! I needed a variety of black on white prints and I didn't have even one in my stash. Who knew there were so many fun prints out there? Well, needless to say, I now have a stash of black on white prints in my stash. :)

                               

Each week, Bonnie released a clue and I tried to keep up, but I don't have a lot of sewing time, so I just stitched what I could and it was so much fun watching the pieces grow.

When I had completed the top, I spent a  long time pressing it and I realized just how clever Bonnie is in her designing. It's a very cool pattern.

                               

And once again, Jackie worked her magic on it:

  I started binding it during the Olympics, but I didn't get to finish it, so when I spent last week in Texas, visiting my Mom and tending to her personal and business taxes, I managed to finish it as we visited in the evenings.

I had planned to take pictures off of her deck, but we had so much to do that there just wasn't time so I once again turned to my trusty chicken coop:

And took advantage of a day without 50 mph winds and flying dirt. That chicken print is my hands down favorite:

Easy Street measures 96 x 96. Seems I have a hard time making small quilts. :) This is my first finish of 2014, and it feels good to cross one off of the UFO list.

 I'm now working on binding another quilt on that list that I'm really excited to finish and show you, but for now, let's let Easy Street have her day:

Trotting in Circles With Both Eyes Crossed and My Feet Tied

Yep. That pretty much sums up my days at the Sale Barn. I love the work and the people, but I am not sure which way is up at the end of the day. The work is not difficult, but they are are training me in 6 different jobs and I might do 1 or 2 or three in the course of a day and then I may not be called to do one of them again for months. Well, heck. By then, I have forgotten what that particular job entailed. Can't recall whether this buyer wants this amount for freight for this client or whether this person is assigned this commission or whether Benny gets the green  and cream copies or the white and yellow ones. And I haven't a clue which pens to assign for which head. There is a definite method to the madness, but I can't make heads of tails of it. When I think its a head, its a tail. And we won't even go in to the dreams I've been having since I've hired on! LOL.

And lest you think I'm complaining, I am not. It's been an adventure and I'm bound and determined to make sense of it all, although I may very well be senseless when that time comes. :)

They had a special sale 2 Saturdays ago and I trained in a new position that I flew solo in yesterday. I kept hearing, "We do this today, but you won't have to do this on Monday." And I told the buyers to be sure and bring their patience with them on Monday and if they didn't appreciate Dana now, they were REALLY going to appreciate her when she got back! One of the girls is going to Egypt for 3 weeks this month. I told her I would greatly appreciate daily prayer.

And can I just add that the gal I work for is just awesome. She is a champion multi-tasker and juggled not only all of her tasks, but my never-ending requests and questions. Everyone I work with is great and I truly appreciate their help and kindness.

I took a batch of Cowboy Cookies and everyone kind of wanders in and out of the office throughout the day and soon the cookies had disappeared. The buyers came to my window with cookies in hand,  and as we conducted their business, they commented on how much they liked them. One buyer requested I leave a batch at his house. They were all very patient and sweet and kind. Cookie power! :) Homemade cookies have been known to soften a curmudgeonly cowman or two in the past and I figured if THAT didn't do it, I could bring out the big guns next week and make them cinnamon rolls. That is IF I still HAVE a job next week!

 If not, I guess I could just sit outside on the curb and sell my cinnamon rolls.

Spring Babies

My two most favorite things about Spring are Spring rains,

  which don't come nearly often enough, and Spring babies,

 which can be counted on each and every year:

And this year is no exception:

This time of the year we keep a sharp eye out for each new arrival:

They truly are like little kids the way they run and play and kick up their heels and swish their little fuzzy tails

I love their little wet noses!

Some are shy and peek out from underneath their Mamas:

And others are gregarious and inquisitive and eager to explore:

Although it isn't long before even they run back to their Mamas for a snack:

And they are always looking for their next meal:

 I could spend hours out here watching them:

When the kids were growing up we would end up with a dogie calf almost every year for some reason or another and it was always a fun chore to feed them:

But its always much better when we DON'T have one because Mama does a much better job of raising her baby than we can with milk replacer. Still, those babies loved us and we fell in love with them:

Here are my first 2 dogie calves after we were married,  Rambo and Trixie. Even after they were weaned, we could drive through the pasture and they would come running when they saw us or heard us call their names:

  So today you get lots of pictures of sweet baby calves because that's the view from my window lately:

After all, who can resist a face like this?

Handmade Cards

In this age of technology, it's still a really nice surprise when you receive an actual card or letter in the mail. I don't think that happens a lot these days and I'm the guiltiest one of all. I write to my aunt in Germany, but not nearly as often as I ought to. My Daddy wrote to her every single week because he knew it was important to her even though they talked on the phone every Sunday. They don't make men like him anymore.

So one of the things I am trying to work on this year, is sending notes and cards and letters. I'm not going to promise anything, but surely I can improve on my past history. I have always had good intentions, but failed miserably.

I like shopping for cards and I have a good stack so I am going to work on sending them out. And I love making cards, although I don't have a very good track record of doing that either. I have a huge stash of paper and card making supplies from back when I worked on scrapbooks. Reminder: Get back to that.

And lately I've been pinning card ideas for inspiration. I'm not a fancy card maker. I tend to lean in the direction of clean and simple and I really like using some photos I've taken. Here's one of my favorites:

I've had this stamp forever and its still one of my favorites. I've never seen them since. I stamped inside to add a little detail:

And this is on the back of the envelope. We have a really nice scrapbook store here and one day, probably 8 years ago, I walked in and the owner jumped up and said, "Have I got something special for YOU!" and she pulled out this stamp. Yep. Perfect.

And I used this really silly photo of me and made a card to send to my Aunt for her birthday earlier this month because I knew it would make her laugh...a lot:

I made lots of these baby shower invitations for the arrival of a special little girl:

And the occasional Birthday card:

I made about 10 of  these Christmas Thank You cards for my Mom to send out a few years ago:

And I made these for me to send last year:

And these the year before:

I made my Mom a set of various cards a few years ago for her birthday and she said it was the best thing I ever gave her and she used every single one.

 So I'm thinking she's about due for another set this year - thus a commencement of card making is in the works and the dining room table has been hijacked.

Am I making 100 cards? No, I'm just a messy crafter, but neat and tidy is not what I am after...a happy heart for the sender and receivers of these cards is!

Snowing and Sewing

I know that many of  you are digging out from yet another winter storm and hoping for an early spring, but here in the desert, this is a cause for jubilation.

OK, its just a skiff so perhaps jubilation is a bit strong, but sometimes my fingers take over and I let them. Full tummies make happy birds:

And happy horses:

Still, we always, always, always celebrate moisture of any kind, and I took advantage of temps well below freezing and settled in behind my machine after melting ice for the critters this morning. The water was frozen solid and at 9°, I'm sure this hot water won't take long to freeze either:

I've got leftovers for dinner so that leaves me time to play. Borders have been added to this floral quilt and I'm piecing a backing and taking it in to Jackie for quilting  next week:

The King of the Jungle Baby quilt is ready for quilting as well:

And more blocks are being added to the Granny Square pile:

I don't have a  design wall, but I think I'm going to begin laying these out and start adding the sashing. Progress!

And I made it through the entire month of January without making any fabric purchases and even though I only sewed 2 days in January, a month without bringing any new fabric into this house is a start.

May your day be filled with warm horsey breath and soft, snowy nuzzles from a good friend: