Chocolate Crinkles

These chocolate crinkle cookies taste like brownies, and make pretty Christmas cookies.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/chocolate-crinkles/941e22b3-9a48-4fb1-bdb0-27479e76d484

Christmas Cactus

My Christmas cactus is blooming for Thanksgiving. I have seen them blooming in the garden centers and floral departments now. They come in red, pink, white, salmon, lavender, and gold. Red is my favorite.

Tabasco Vinegar

Tabasco vinegar is easy to make. Pour one cup of boiling vinegar over some stemmed
tabasco peppers in a glass cruet. Add 1/8th teaspoon of salt to the cruet . This tabasco vinegar is good
served with collard greens. My Bonnie tabasco pepper plant that I purchased from Lowes has been very productive.

Stocking Stuffers

I saw this tea on sale at the grocery store, and thought it might make good stocking stuffers for Christmas.
A bonus is the free tin inside the box. The sleepy teddy bear on the green box is wearing a red hat.

Pea Soup Cloth

Fall is the time for Split Pea Soup. Soup in the Crockpot is comforting on a rainy day.
Recipe for the Pea Soup dishcloth: Cast on 35 stitches with #7 size knitting needles.
Knit every row in garter stitch until square, and bind off. Cotton yarn is Lily Sugar' n Cream.
Color is Hot Green.

Knitting TV Slippers

I have been knitting TV slippers while I watch television. I was trying to use up some old
discontinued Lion Brand Chunky USA yarn . Pattern is here:
http://www.deborahsknitting.com/Knitting/Cuddlemocs.pdf
I used size 10 knitting needles.

These vintage Vogart transfers (656) would make some cute kitchen dish towels. There is something charming about dancing dishes and animated vegetables. I may try to embroider these musical motifs
with  DMC floss on some white flour sack towels for my  kitchen .(click to enlarge image)

I love Jell-O ! I enjoy making it and eating it during hot weather. My favorite flavor of Jell-O is lime.
I like all the colors and all the flavors. Jell-O is a great retro dessert. For extra jiggle in my Jell-O, I add
a packet of Knox unflavored gelatin to the cup of cold water. Jell-O ad is from 1948.

I am trying a new yellow Summer squash as a companion to my green zucchini this year. This Butterstick hybrid variety got good reviews on the Burpee web site. I have had good luck with Burpee seeds. Burpee has a free seed catalog you can request. Butterstick Zucchini Hybrid Summer Squash Seeds and Plants, Vegetable Gardening at Burpee.com

Zucchini

   I planted some zucchini seeds. This heirloom variety is called Black Beauty. Zucchini grows very fast, and is very productive. It's fun to bake zucchini bread from your own home grown zucchini .

Chocolate Mint Plant

I bought this pot of chocolate mint at Lowes today for my herb garden. The chocolate is for the brown stems. I also bought a pot of spearmint. Butterflies and bees like mint. More info is here: Chocolate Mint - Herbs
Reminds me of Girl Scout cookies!

Shamrock Plant

Last year I bought a shamrock plant at the grocery store. I have managed to keep it alive, and it is still blooming.
Owning the shamrock plant did not improve my luck. The plant is really an Oxalis, but the leaves resemble lucky shamrocks. They are sold around St. Patrick's Day.

February Hat

I used one ball of Lion Brand Jiffy yarn in color country green to knit this roll brim hat. Jiffy is a bulky weight yarn, and fast to knit with on size 10 circular needles. Pattern is Ann Norling's The Big Hat # 18.

Early Daffodils

Daffodils are a welcome sight. This variety of daffodils is February Gold.
The daffodils are blooming early this year due to warm temperatures in January.

Ribbed Neck Warmer

This ribbed neck warmer is knit in the round with a circular needle. It forms a stretchy tube that will fit anyone.
CO 112 stitches with size 7 circular
needle. Knit 2 Purl 2 ribbing for 9 inches-bind off. The neck warmer takes less than one ball of wool-ease
worsted weight yarn.

Spiced Tea Mix

Jars of spiced tea mix (friendship tea)
make great gifts. This orange/lemon
flavored tea mix may even cure a Winter cold. Here is my version:
1 jar of Tang powder
1 cup of Country Time Lemonade mix
1 cup of instant tea powder
1 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
Mix well and divide into gift jars.