Canning news.....

 Today I got into the canning thing again with 7 pints squash, and 1 quart & 2 pints tomatoes. All this did was get me in the mood to cook...and eat, I might add...Anyway, for lunch we had blackeyed peas with ham onion & garlic on top of brown rice with cornbread on the side...Yummy... Then we had a bit of rice left, so I thought...Why not?... I've already eaten half of the rice pudding....and I'd be willing to bet that hubby will finish off the rest soon as he gets home.... I can't remember the last time I made rice pudding...It's better than I remembered! I even used skim milk and it still came out great....Hope hubby is planning on a bike ride this evening, I sure need it now!!! LOL!!!

Canning & tatting!

Today's been so nice and much cooler... We had a wonderful 2" rain yesterday evening and it was awesome to sit out under the patio and listen to the rain on the tin roof. Even when it hailed a little, we weren't too upset because we needed the rain so badly.... It sure made for a great night's sleep. Then this morning I finished tatting my homework for the  online Tatting Design class I'm taking. The instructor gave us a pattern for the very center and our task was to design and tat the outer part. Here is what I came up with...

Once the doily was completed, I started a fire in the grill and BBQ'd some chicken breasts, corn on the cob, and veggie packets of yellow squash, zuchinni, onion, pepper and tomato. It was all so yummy! While we were eating out on the patio, a friend of mine came by with a bunch of yellow squash ready to can....so, she and I, along with her granddaughter began the canning process. We filled both pressure canners full... 9 quarts and several pints. I just now took the jars out of the first canner...They're sooo pretty! The tall canner is still too hot to open yet.... Pay no mind to the dirty stove top....it's been working! ;)

Tatting fun....

 I have recently taken up a new hobby... What? Me? Really! This time around it's shuttle tatting. I've needle tatted for a few years and enjoy it...but shuttle tatting is a whole new thing...The only equipment generally needed is tatting shuttles, thread appropriate for tatting, a pair of tiny scissors or nail clippers to cut the thread,  and maybe a tiny crochet hook. This picture is only of a few of the shuttles I use and they all have good points for different types of tatting... I believe the cream ones are Aero's - the clear green one is a Lacis-- and the others are Clover brand. I have them sitting on a 1 inch grid so you can get an idea of their size and I believe the thread on all of these in the picture is size 20 crochet cotton... mostly Lizbeth Brand 100% Egyptian Cotton

This is a tiny doily that I made up the pattern as I went... size 10 crochet cotton.

This can

 be a bookmark, choker, bracelet, headband or anklet...all with just the addition  of a ribbon... also in size 10 crochet cotton.

This and the next picture are split-ring bookmarks of Jane Eborall's design 2004

http://www.e.n.e.btinternet.co.uk/index.htm
These are done in size 10 crochet cotton, but I've also made several in size 20 & 30 crochet cotton... I really love this pattern... I have used many of Jane's free patterns and find they work up very well for me. I've used different treatments for the 'tail' and think I like the split ring with a clover at the end the best...

I have to add pixs of my three grandchildren after their Pa and I took them to the crappie hole we found. This cutie is Jason and he's 'almost' 6 years old. The wind was about 30 mph on the lake the night we went with him and his parents... I'm surprized we caught any fish!!! But, true to form, Jason caught 2 of them and his Pa and Dad caught the others! His Mom & I hung several but couldn't get them in the boat!

The weather

was much better the night Ben & Cara went with us and we were better able to feel the fish hitting the minnows.... but Pa and I had loads of fun with all of them...and I think they had a great time too!