I LIKE Thursday 24.4

I found the above reminder on Sweatpants and Coffee, a page I follow on Facebook! I think it fits the bill of our I Like Thursday friends! I’m joining LeeAnna  at Not Afraid of Color

After our new flooring was installed in our downstairs family, I decorated for Christmas. This space had a purchased “Believe ” quilt hanging there. After I took it down it was really empty and I remembered this Snow Flurries quilt that I made several years ago. It’s been waiting in the closet for extra beads. I hung it beardless and it’s ok. It needs a longer dowel or rod, it’s a bit wrinkled. And it’s been folded for 4 years. Has anyone ever tried Downey Wrinkle Release on a quilt! I use it all the time in the laundry. It doesn’t seem to fade or stain the things I spray! I might try it on the back and see if it works! 

I made Sweet Potato Stoup on Sunday. It fed us twice, plus one bowl leftover for my lunch! I love this stuff. Have I shared the recipe? It’s a Rachael Ray recipe and still available on her website. The full name is Smokey Sweet Potato Chicken Stoup! The only thing I didn’t have in my pantry was dry White wine. So I followed a hint from the internet suggesting a 50/50 white wine vinegar and water! It worked very well! 

I also made sugar cookies using a Betty Crocker mix. There were supposed to be 22-24! I had enough for 26, so I squeezed 13 onto each pan! One has some crushed peppermint candies sprinkled on top, the other pan has yellow sugar sprinkles. They were very good!

My old Christmas cactus has started to bloom! I love that it still manages to do that! It makes me smile. 

January 25 2024

does your family play games? what kinds and are any of them new ones this year? Cards? board games? puzzles? action games like darts or horseshoes etc?

We are a game playing bunch. Except for Mr Busy. He plays card games and he does puzzles, but please don’t invite him to play board games. Not Trivial Pursuit( my personal favorite), or Trouble ( the great grand’s favorite) .   We used to play cards with friends monthly. Rotating houses, sharing a meal and a round of GRAB, a variation of rummy. This year our son sent us Rummikub! We played while he was here, and we want to play again.  Mr. Busy plays tons of games on his iPad, I play Sudoku and Daily Crosswords, Wordle, and Connections.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

I LIKE Thursday!

Some likes and one particular "not like".   This mushroom (fungi) growing in our yard. It's very interesting but when I tried to remove one just like earlier in the week, there was black oily icky all over my hands. I washed well immediately. 

This tiny quilt block was in the quilt to be raffled off by our Wyoming State Quilt Guild. This block amazed me. All the tiny hsts are pieced in this star. 

Here is a photo of the flyer with the quilt on it.   

I'm still trying to wade through Jane Green's  Sister Stardust.  I am not relating to Claire or Cece as she prefers to be called. 

We are still watching THE OFFER on Paramount +.  

We have one last episode and are waiting for an evening when we are all available.  We watch it in sync with our son in California and our daughter and DH and me in Wyoming.  DH and I and just our son  are also watching Season 3 of For All Mankind on AppleTV+.  

Daughter didn't watch Seasons 1 & 2 and doesn't want to catch up. 

Tonight, we will probably watch Thursday Night Football. The Denver Broncos are at home. We are disappointed in the season so far. But to be fair, it's a building year. New coach, new Quarterback, lots of new players. It will take some time. 

This happened Wednesday morning. This is only the 8th time in 258 games that I guessed the word on the second try. 

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color hosts this fun place to tell your likes and maybe even a bit of  of something you don’t particularly like.    This summer she has been adding some prompts. Today..

let’s talk about APPLES!    My favorite apple used to be a Jonathan. It was crisp and tart to taste and was a pretty shiny intense red! But in recent years we have discovered Honey Crisp. A combination of tart and sweet. Still crisp but a bit easier to eat. Mr. Busy and I are big apple lovers.  We often eat them fresh, sharing one,  with lunch.  Mr Busy is the official apple cutter. . He likes wedges with salt and lemon juice. I like mine that way too , but sometimes just salt, sometimes with peanut butter, or chunks of sharp cheddar.  Lately a friend recommended Cosmic Crisp apples. They are good too and not quite as expensive as Honeycrisp. 

Apples do grow here In Wyoming, but we don’t have a tree. A friend will share hers if she gets a bumper crop. I have made crabapple jelly in the past. Lots of crabapples in our small city. And the ones on public lands are free for the taking! If you are up for the work. 

I like apple pie, apple crisp, apple butter, apple cake, and especially my Mom's apple coffee cake. Very simple, really good!

Apple Raisin Coffee Cake

9X9 pan

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup shortening ( my mom always baked with Crisco, but you can use 1/4 cup softened butter)

1 egg

Mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup of milk

Sift together, then add  1 1/2 cups flour

                                      2 teaspoons baking powder

                                      1/2 teaspoon salt

Add last: 1/2 cup raisins

Pour batter into a 9x9 pan. Arrange apple slices ( either peeled or unpeeled) in a fancy design on top of the batter. Then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon mixed with 2 Tbls sugar. 

Bake at  375 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cut in 9 pieces approx 3" square. 

                                   

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy!