Getting Together

Yesterday I drove to Greenwood, a little town that has several antique/vintage shops

 as well as a pretty tea room.  (With delicious food, I should add.)

Some cute little bits and pieces did come home with me.

But the best part of the day was getting to meet a blogging friend:

Twyla, from Two Crazy Crafters!!

Twyla, you are such a sweetheart.  

Thank you for the soft slippers, inspirational book and tea towel and other goodies! 

How glad I was to have this opportunity to meet you in real life!

Let's get together again soon!

Paperdolls from Tami

I want to show you the paperdolls that Tami (Vintage Connections) gave to me.

Each time we've met in real life, she has arrived with the sweetest gifts in hand.

Baby Grows Up-  Whitman 1955

Aren't these darling?

The cutest little baby paperdolls! 

 I'm old enough to remember wearing clothes very similar to these.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles- Tom Tierney,  Dover Publications 1985

Any other Princess Diana fans out there besides me?

  I remember every single one of the outfits pictured in this book

and can probably even tell you where she was when she wore them.

I still get a lump in my throat when I think of the tragic way her life ended. 

Thank you, Tami,  for these wonderful additions to my paperdoll collection! 

You are too sweet!

And I love them!

The Goodies That Came Home With Me

Yesterday was so much fun!

I got to tag along on an adventure with Tami from Vintage Connections!

We stopped in at several antique/vintage/retro/gift shops, all of them new to me.

One was so huge, we only got through half of it.

(Yes, I do hope to go back and browse through the other half, very soon.)

I tend to gravitate towards retro/vintage rather than antique;

often things that remind me of my childhood.

So these are the little goodies that came home with me:

Pale blue gingham apron with smocking and ric-rac trim.

Long string of vintage mercury glass beads

Two Christmas tree brooches to add to my collection

Aluminum heart molds

Green and red felt/chenille/spun-head ornaments

Cornflower (Corning Ware) loaf pan 

Thank you so much for making my Saturday so much fun, Tami! 

I can't wait to get together again soon!

* * *

PS- Be sure to check back later this week.
I need to show you the sweet paperdolls that Tami gave to me.

Herbal Pantry Luncheon at Fire Lake Camp

I had an opportunity to take an Herbal Pantry class 

with Martha, of Lines From Linderhoff, yesterday. 

The setting at Fire Lake Camp was idyllic!  

Beautiful home and barn, with sweeping lawn down to the lake.

Tables set with jadeite dishes and milk glass vases filled with zinnias. 

 Julie was the sweetest hostess one could ever meet.  

We gathered around the kitchen island and

Martha showed us how to make herbal vinegar, jam, honey 

flour, sugar, salt, butter and pesto.

Each of those things was then incorporated into the lunch we were served.

It was all so fresh and beautifully presented.

 Scrumpdillyicious!

Pesto pasta

Carrot and cranberry salad with lavender honey vinaigrette

Lettuce, basil and tomato salad with basil vinaigrette 

Biscuits, with chive butter and peach rosemary jam 

Blueberry basil jam cake with icing

Lavender sugar cookies 

I enjoyed chatting with all the wonderful ladies at our table. 

And what a delight to meet Martha in person!

Such a pleasant and happy way to spend part of my Saturday!

Blondie!

A couple of weeks ago I received a package in the mail from Tammy (Tammy's in Love).

She found these wonderful paperdolls and thought I would appreciate them.

I sure do!

It's Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead!  

And their children Alexander and Cookie.

Do you remember the Blondie comic strip by Chic Young?

This particular set of paperdolls was published by Whitman in 1954.

I love all these fantastic 50's fashions.  Don't you?

In researching Blondie paperdolls, I discovered All Paperdolled Up.

 This web page shows seven different Blondie paperdoll sets published between 1941-1954.

It's so fun to see how their looks evolved.

If you are a Blondie fan, or a paperdoll fan, be sure to take a peek.

Thank you so much, Tammy!

I'm having a lot of fun with these. 

Thank You, Baukje and Tami!

Two quick "thank you's".

Baukje sent me this beautiful blue and white crocheted potholder from France,

to go with the potholder collection I posted about a couple of weeks ago.

Also two lovely napkin pouches.  I had never seen these before.

If I understand correctly, each member of a French family has their own pouch, 

which they keep at the table to store their cloth napkin between meals.  

And then on laundry day, it all gets washed.

I really appreciate beautifully embroidered linens, so this was a real treat!

Thank you for thinking of me, Baukje.  

I love it all!

You can visit Baukje at Busy Bee Free.

 I had an opportunity to meet fellow blogger, Tami, a couple weeks ago.

We decided to meet for breakfast at a local restaurant.

We spent two hours talking and discovered we had so many things in common.

She gave me this sweet Carnation Ice Cream paperdoll!

Thank you, Tami!  

I'm really enjoyed meeting you and am looking forward to seeing you again this summer!

You can visit Tami at Vintage Connections.

Wow.  I am so lucky to have met such delightful friends in the world of blogging!  

A Surprise!

Oh my goodness!  

Today I received a surprise!  

Another box, full of absolutely beautifully made gifts, from my swap partner,  

Cindy at Prairie's Edge Farm.  

Look at all these gorgeous things!!

 A sweet blue peat pot Easter basket

 A linen and lace basket with pink rose bud handle

 A glittery yellow chick and daisy tag with pierced edges

A tiny embroidered wool felt pin cushion.  It even has a daisy pin in it.

And beautiful lace trims tied up with silk ribbon

I can't get over how talented she is.

If you haven't visited her blog yet, you really must.

THANK YOU Cindy!  It's all so pretty and I LOVE it! 

Easter Spoolie Swap

Isn't this little green birdie pincushion adorable?

Cindy from Prairie's Edge Farm 

made this for me as part of the Easter Spoolie Swap we were partnered in.

She sent a whole shaker box full of delightful hand crafted goodies to me.

 A darling, pink, lop-eared bunny with a fluffy tail.

A sweet little daisy embroidered and appliqued easter egg.

And this gorgeous Easter tag. 

And I can't forget to mention the chocolate easter eggs and jellybeans 

which I've already been munching on.

THANK YOU so much Cindy!  I love all of it!

And next I have to show you the spoolies I made for Cindy.

This ducky version used tiny tart pans and a vintage pastry blender. 

(This one was inspired by her love for gardening and making pies.)

The little yellow duck can come out of the nest.

I had so many ideas running through my head after looking through her blog, 

I just had to make another one for her.

The second spoolie I made for her was a tomato pincushion.
(Inspired once again by the gardening theme, and her love
for quilting and all sorts of needle-crafts.)

I also crocheted a small blue basket to hold some of the goodies
 that I sent along to fill the box.


I want to say THANK YOU to Sandy for hosting this swap.
It was so much fun!  And a great excuse to get creative.
I encourage those of you who have never tried a swap, to go for it!

Little Chicken Cup

Several months ago,  I found this darling little chicken cup

 over at Julie Whitmore Pottery. 

Julie is amazing!  She makes the most delightful and unique pottery pieces,

 featuring the cutest little animals and beautiful flowers.

You can't help but smile when you see her painted faience pottery.

This little hen has apparently gotten into the mistresses flower garden

 and pinched a posy to take back to her coop.

I can't say that I blame her.  

I'm looking forward to pretty flowers that bloom in the spring, myself.

But we just keep getting more snow, not flowers.

I just love everything that Julie makes.

And I hope you have time to stop by her blog.

* * *
Linking to Claudia's  A Favorite Thing

Flowery Cups and Linens

I enjoyed a nice hot cup of Irish Breakfast tea this morning.
Using some of my prettiest flowery cups and linens
helped to put a smile on my face.

Whether it's sipping tea from a pretty cup,
or reading a good book, or having lunch with a friend,
I hope you find a way to treat yourself to something nice today.

Pale green cup and saucer -  Paragon China, made in England (pattern name not known)

Tablecloth-  Queen Anne 

Sunflower Tea cozy-  made by Claire at Sweet Birdy Love

Joining Terri  and Martha for Teacup Tuesday

and Sandi for Tea Time Tuesday
and Ruth at Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Three Thank You's.

Look at the sweet surprise I received in the mail the other day! 

Lady Linda wrote to tell me she had found something that needed to come to my house. 

Oh, I do think she was right!

She's the cutest little blue and white pottery doll 

wearing a headscarf and carrying a basket of berries.

The stamp underneath says she was made in the USSR.

She is so similar to the Polish cheese ladies I collect.

She looks perfectly happy here with her "cousins"from across the border.

Thank you, Linda!

I love her!

I'm making pretty good progress with my Giant Granny afghan.

After that first disastrous attempt, I read all your suggestions and started over. 

I ditched two yarn colors, loosened my tension and added an extra chain to the corners.

I am still getting a bit of a twist,  so it's not perfectly square.

But it's not nearly as wonky as before.

I'm on row twenty-something and I like the way it looks.

Thank you so much for all your help!

And last, but not least....
Do you know what these two words say?

No?  Me neither.

Which is why I am pleading with you to
please please please turn "Word Verification" off.
It's so hard to figure out what the letters are.  I type it wrong almost all the time.
It's a huge source of frustration for anyone who wants to leave a comment for you.
I do think it's a good idea to use "Comment Moderation" instead,
and change your blog settings to accept comments from "Registered Users" only.
For a really good explanation about how to turn  "Word Verification" off
and "Comment Moderation" on,  please visit this post over at Run Around Ranch.
Thank you for helping to make Blogville a more pleasant place for all of us.

A Woolly Lamb For Easter Breakfast

I have one last Easter post to share with you....

My little cinnamon-roll Easter lamb.

(This pic was taken before I added the glaze.)

His nose is kinda lumpy looking.  

And I can't seem to roll a straight rectangle.

But none of that matters in the end.

This lamb is so perfect for an Easter brunch, 

or any time you want to have fun with the kiddos.

I've had the recipe for years.

It's from the March 1978 Sunset Magazine.

A Woolly Lamb For Easter Breakfast

This recipe makes enough for two lambs.  One for you.  One to share.   Or if you run out of time like me, one lamb and the rest in a pan.  Two of my neighbors were the recipients of a plate full of cinnamon rolls from this baking session, as there was just no way we could eat this many.

And now here is my slightly-altered-version of the recipe.  (See scans below for the real, unadulterated version.)

Ingredients:

2 packages active dry yeast
2 cups all purpose flour, unsifted

1 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter (cut into chunks)
1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs
additional 2 to 2 1/2 cups flour  (this is approx.)

3 tablespoons melted butter    (I double this)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon mixed with 1/2 cup sugar   (I double this too)

1 egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon water  ( I skip this.)

Orange sugar glaze (recipe follows below)


Directions:

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the yeast and 2 cups of flour.

In a saucepan, heat the milk, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter (it does not need to melt completely) and salt to 120-130 degrees.  (I don't have a thermometer, but i know it just needs to be warm.)   Gradually add to the yeast/flour mixture and blend until smooth.  Add the eggs and beat at medium speed for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally.  Stir in enough of the remaining 2 cups (up to 2 1/2 cups) flour  to form a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and satiny, about 5 minutes.  Add flour as needed to prevent sticking.  Put dough into a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size,  1 1/2 hours - 2 hours.

Punch down dough and divide in half for 2 lambs.  Return one portion to the bowl, cover and let stand at room temperature while you shape the first lamb.  Pinch off about 1/4 of the dough and set aside for the head, ears, nose, eyes, feet and tail.   On a lightly floured board, roll the remaining dough into a 10 x 15 inch rectangle.  Brush with half the melted butter and sprinkle with half the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  (I double this part.)

Starting with the wide edge, roll up dough jelly roll fashion.  Moisten edge with water and pinch snugly against the roll to seal.  With a sharp knife cut roll into 20 slices, each about 3/4 inch thick.

On a large greased baking sheet, arrange the slices side by side in 4 rows (as shown) to make the lambs body. For the face, ears, legs and tail, roll the reserved dough about 1/4 inch thick and cut out the pieces with a sharp knife.  Tuck the legs and tail in under the rolls.  Use scraps to shape the eyes and nose. Position the head next to the body and attach the ears.   Cover the lamb lightly with plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 25 minutes.  Repeat procedure for second lamb.

Brush entire lamb lightly with the egg white mixture.  (I don't even bother to do this.)   Bake in 325 oven for 20-25 minutes, or until nicely browned. (It only takes 20 minutes in my oven.)  If some parts brown too quickly, cover them with pieces of foil.

Remove lamb from oven and carefully loosen from baking sheet by running a long spatula underneath.  Then gently slide lamb off onto cooling rack.  While still warm, drizzle lamb's body with the orange sugar glaze and serve.   (Head and feet can be served with jam.)

Makes two  lambs.

If made ahead:  Let bread cool completely (don't ice it) and wrap airtight.  To reheat, place unwrapped bread on a baking sheet, cover loosely with foil and warm in 350 oven for about 10 minutes.  Then drizzle with the icing and serve.

Make the Orange Sugar Icing:
Mix 1/2 cup unsifted powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk and 1/4 teaspoon orange extract with a fork and drizzle over the cinnamon rolls.  (I don't think this is enough for two lambs, so I double the icing recipe.)

* * *

Sharon at  Sharon's Sunlit Memories

has given me her "Little Sunbeam" award this week.

What a sweetie she is.

Thank you, Sharon!

I hope you all will visit her blog.

Maime Jane's

Anyone recognize this place?

 I had a few minutes to spare on the day of the book signing,

so I popped in real quick.

It's Maime Jane's!

I was happy to see one of these pincushions still available,

and it came home with me. 

I remember when she made them and shared pictures on her blog.

Jane, your booth looks great!  And I need to come back 

when I have more time to poke around and look at all the cool stuff!