Blizzard of 78

Today the south and east coast are getting hammered by a blizzard.  I have to say I am a bit jealous! Crazy, yes, but I never claimed to be anything but....I just love the snow, I could live all year round in snow conditions, I don't mind it at all....and have to say I just loved being in the blizzard of 78 and can remember most of it like it was yesterday. 

Pic is of somewhere in Indiana during that blizzard, but this is similar to what it looked like on my way to work 3 days later, I was a Rural Mail Carrier then and you know nothing much stopped the mail then, so off to work for me.  I loved driving through tunnels of snow all around me...crazy, but it was fun, for me anyway.

Blizzard of 1978

Cobbler or Dump Cake?

Today I ran across an easy recipe for Peach Cobbler, for the Slow Cooker.  I am all about fixing things in the slow cooker so with just 3 ingredients that I actually had in my cabinet I thought this to be a no brainer!

 Below is the link to the recipe I saw online and decided to use.
https://youtu.be/DNboL8klJuM

For some reason I always look at others comments to see if others liked it or not, maybe to see if there is another tip or trick someone used and found it worked better and such, But what I found was totally opposite, there were a few that said it was delicious, but most didn't think it was even Peach Cobbler, there was actually some really nasty complaints that were there.  Most said it was just Dump Cake.

I honestly don't know, but really don't care, its just a dessert and I am going to call it Crockpot Peach Cobbler...cause Dump Cake just sounds awful to me. :)

But I will add some tips.

#1.  Do not use Canned Peaches.
The recipe Clearly calls for Pie Filling Peaches 2~21 ounce cans.
Just because the peaches you have in the cabinet are in cans does not mean they are Pie Filling Peaches unless they say it on the can. And the recipe calling for 21 ounce cans is not a typo like you think, just because the cans you have in the cabinet are 29 ounces.  They are 29 ounces because they are different.
#2.  If you do decide to think you are right and the recipe had a typo, and go ahead and use Canned Peaches, But please drain at least one can....trust me.
#3.  If you want crispy browned Cobbler, don't use this recipe at all.  Use your oven.
#4.  If you do use this recipe, you can use 2~29 ounce canned peaches, without draining.  You can also cook for the time it calls for but will still have to put in oven to finish. Probably because of all the extra liquid in the Canned Peaches.

Overall this was good.  Even with all my mistakes.  My take is Pay Attention to your recipe...something I don't always do. Oh and be sure to get lots of ice cream for topping....I kind of made a mess of this...My mom made the best Peach Cobbler, and I cannot re~create it at all since she has been gone.  I have a recipe in her writing, but it never comes out the same, maybe she forgot to mention something or I am just missing her with it. Or maybe, just maybe, I am not reading the recipe correctly?

Nah....:)

Touchy~Feely Book for Baby

I say there isn't much to sew for a boy except a blanket or quilt, but I am meaning I don't know how to do much else, I don't know how to sew a lot, I just am self taught with what I do sew. I will try just about anything, if I think I can do it.  So when M asked me for a Touchy~Feely Book for Cay's first birthday last year, I decided to give it a try.

I had just been given a few scraps of bright colored material, so decided this would be the perfect project to use them. I also had a lot of scraps from the quilts and blankets I have sewn in the past and I tend to keep everything I think I can use.

I have buckets, baskets and bags that I have scraps in, I keep all and any blue jean material, and any zippers, button, pockets or any kind of embellishments I can pull off of them also. You just never know when you may use them, that's my motto anyhow!

I used this as my front, used some different fabrics for the balloons and name you know for the feely effect!

I had lots of different fabrics and for his 1st Birthday I decided to make a #1 from his older brothers Football number shirt, part of which I had used in his quilt a few years back. I thought if the book survived, he could use the house shoe string to learn to tie.

Just some other fabrics I thought had some "feely" to them like silk, flannel, fleece and felt.

Feathers always good to feel, although I found out later they are way to easy for little ones to pull out!!!  I put the jean pockets in for him to learn to open the snap pocket. 

Last just zippers, belt buckles and ties, along with other different things to feel and touch.

and of course the back, made by Nana!  :)

Lego Blankets

I have 5 Grandchildren, all boys.  I love to sew or quilt.  Not so much clothing, but blankets or quilts is my thing.  Not saying I am good at it but I like it all the same.  There is also not much room there in the boy department to sew things unless I sew Blankets or Quilts. So that is what I do for them each year at Christmas Time.  I think I have showed some I have made here before, and this year 2 of the boys were into Lego the Movie, so wanted that as a blanket.  I have a hard time most years trying to find the Themes in the way of fabric that they are into that year...this was no exception. I could find no one to carry Lego fabric at all, which isn't unusual as I find that certain Licensed Fabric is that way.  But that wasn't going to stop this Nana.  LOL

 I was on a mission to find Lego fabric and had poor Shankster take me everywhere I could think of.....nothing surfaced. Then when looking online I finally found 2 twin sized Plush blankets so I grabbed them.  Even though they were plush they were very thin, and these 2 boys get cold at nite and love when I double the plushiness in a blanket...so I was on the hunt...again.  I found a soft cute Plush Fabric that is called Honeycomb,

 but it looked like legos to me with all the little bumps, yes I have a strange imagination, and it was a color that would look good on the back side, and very soft up next to you at nite. I like when I can buy a blanket that the boys like, but can make it my own by adding to it.  Whether its just a different binding or adding an extra layer to the back, I can say it was made with Love by Nana! ( I actually have tags that say this LOL)

The only hard part was the size, these are larger than any I have made the boys so far, but they are ever growing so understandable.  I have no room still to sew but my bed, and was able to use that and stretch the fabric out over the bed to layer it with the backing.  It wasn't that hard with both
fabrics thin it was easy, and I didn't use a binding on these as I thought just folding it over was plenty good.


After hemming, I decided to use bright colored yarn to tie it sporadically like you would on a quilt, this way the fabric wouldn't bunch up too much and hopefully hold up better.

I think it turned out ok, and obviously so did Poppy as he slept under each blanket when I was done, and said it was the warmest blanket he ever had slept under before!  I think the combination of the Honeycomb Plush and the thin Plush fabric worked well together, so am thinking of making us one with this combination.

I also was able to find a smaller throw in the Lego Theme at a different store by chance that was just big enough for a crib for Cay, not sure he knew about Lego the Movie, but he seems to follow in the big brothers footsteps with whatever they are into, so I didn't want to leave him out.  I also didn't want to layer it with a backing, thought that would be to warm for him yet, but decided to use some orange binding that was soft to add a "punch" of color and of course give it a Nana touch

They were easy to wrap up and tie with a Bow!










I think they liked them ok, especially Kob, he threw it on top of him as soon as he opened it.

Guess I had better be checking what the Theme is for next
year!

Hello Again

I started this blog for a few reasons in the beginning.  I had lost a childhood close friend, and wanted to try to put my sorrow into words.  I then lost my mother along with my 2 Aunts inside of 10 months and just wanted to write about how I felt in hopes that others may feel as I do and help me to continue life without  them.  After writing just one post, it seemed to help to get me on the path of just writing about my life.  I've continued to stay in my parents home to care for my dad, and wrote about that as well.  In doing so I came across several bloggers that were also caregivers and became good online friends. So my blog became,  In the words of one of those friends, a blog about life.   

With that being said I also at the time of my last post had lost my 3 online blogger friends in about 5 months and that seemed to be more than I felt I wanted to handle at the time to blog about anything, as they were not just online acquaintances, but had become good friends, one of who had told me my blog was not about me complaining, but was about life. So I miss them all, and even though I have had plenty to write about since then, I just have not had the gumption to do it.   

Until now.

And so here it is.  I find that life can be full of trials and tribulations.  How you choose to handle yourself along the way is up to you.   I choose to look at life through love and laughter.  No matter what my life has dealt me, I just  go on, it may not be pretty, but I just find a way to get past it, deal with it and move on.  Sometimes it can be rough and well most of the time it is rough, who am I kidding?

 So Most Recently life has dealt us diabetes and so I found books to guide us on what to eat, how to cook it and how to exercise. In past years we were also dealt a heart attack, so I knew I had to change a lot of bad habits. (Both of these being my husband) So even though my blog is about life, lately I deal with our well being a lot, for instance,  recipes for diabetics and low sodium recipes.  I bide my time with this along with quilting and sewing for the grandboys, as I now have 5, all boys.... It can also be a challenge to live in a home that is not of my choosing, so I write about this as well. 
I also deal with lots of health issues and now am looking at knee replacements, so life can be a struggle for us all.

So in a nutshell, this blog is about what I am doing at any moment, which is caring for the elderly, cooking for a diabetic & heart patient, how I get by at 60, (yes I turned 60)  and sewing or quilting for my sanity, (cause to be quite honest, what boy do you know that wants something sewn or quilted, unless of course its wrapped around a toy?)

So thanks for the visit, stay a while and know that your comments are welcome and your return is always appreciated~~