Just For Fun

Favorite Pork Chop Casserole
I thought it would be nice to share one of our favorite family recipes. Sister Cathy says there is no way to mess this up!! I found this recipe in one of my grandmother's cookbooks about thirty years ago. My apologies to it's author - - I have no recollection of the name of that book!

Baked Pork Chops - Arabian

First make a pot of your favorite wild rice. I use Uncle Ben's. Go ahead and gather the other ingredients:

4 pork chops
1 bell pepper - sliced
1 onion - sliced
1 tomato - sliced

Season the chops with salt and pepper. Seasoned salt is great.

Then place a slice of tomato on top of each pork chop.

Then a big spoonful of the rice . . .

Next comes a slice of onion and green pepper . . .

Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake at 325 degrees F. for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Imagine the aroma in the house.

When it's time to eat, place a slice of cheddar cheese on top of each portion and let it melt briefly.

Voila . . .it's ready for the plate!! Enjoy!

Just for fun!!

I decided to take a break from all my complicated knitting projects and knit a cute dishcloth. Fun, simple, and quick!! I used some leftover cotton yarn ( Blue Sky Alpacas - organic cotton). Pattern by Claudia Lang  is a free download on Ravelry.

Last, but not least, enjoy a photo of the beautiful high tide we had this afternoon . . . so awesome to watch the marsh get covered up!!

Lace Tea Towel

Before . . .

Blocking once again makes a huge impression on me! This is the linen tea towel that I've been working on for a few months. It is not perfect, but I do like the way the linen worked up. It softened and, of course, looked totally transformed after the blocking.

After . . .

                                                                        
I have duplicate stitched a monogram on the lower panel , but not  happy with the results so far. Will post picture once that issue is resolved. Details on yarn, etc. can be found at my ravelry project page.


WATER FESTIVAL

Once again the festivities of the Beaufort Water Festival arrived. Philip, Jr. brought several friends to share the weekend and we had fun spending some time with them at the river.


                                                                                 

Crabs on the dock . . .

Still smilin' . . . after a long day on the river

                                                                                          

                                                   Time to clean it up . . .

We're already lookin' forward to next year's gathering!!                                

Project Update

Fourth of July

It's never too late to celebrate Independance Day!! We had a beautiful day to celebrate with family and friends. There was plenty of barbecue and all the trimmings. Then the fireworks gave us a thrill! Our precious freedom should not be taken lightly (or taken for granted)!! I am so thankful for those who sacrificed for the freedoms that we enjoy everyday!

So what have I been doing in all my spare time??  I finally got to this cute (and quick!) sundress project. It still needs ribbon trim around the hem.

Ashley had requested two pillow shams some time ago. I am really pleased with how these turned out. She had chosen the fabric. . . and once we decided what  to center, they were pretty simple. The measuring and cutting was the most difficult part. I can't wait to see them in the bedroom she is decorating!

There has been a long-time, ongoing project of the "linen tea towel" with linen yarn and pattern from Barbara Sue Brodie's in Aiken, SC. The towel is not extremely impressive at this point, but I can't wait to see how it changes with blocking. You can see I have begun working on the lace edging for the towel. I think I will sew it on and then block it all at one time. The lace is really nice and will add a lot to this project. Knitting the lace has been a little challenging. There is a p4tog (purl 4 together) component that is a little hairy. We will get it done !

Last, but not least, I have cast on a new project . . . Citron by Hillary Smith Callis. This was a Knitty project in Winter 2009. There are many beautiful examples of this on Ravelry. I chose a brightly colored yarn from Creatively Dyed Yarn - Steele in the colorway Vallejo. It is 100% superwash merino and comes from a local artisan in Greer, S. C.

It will be fun to watch this one grow!! Have a happy weekend!!

Fifty-five years . . . and Counting

I am so proud to use a little blog space today to congratulate our parents, Joan and Fred, on FIFTY-FIVE years of marriage. They have quietly put down their roots and been wonderful role models for their children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren. We salute them for all their accomplishments, not the least of which is teaching us how to put FAITH and FAMILY at the forefront!
So on Friday evening, June 25, we gathered to celebrate their milestone.

The table was set . . .

  

 The food was prepared . . .

 The crowd gathered . . .                                                                                                                             

. . . and we enjoyed a great meal together.  Cheers to you both . . . we love you and are thankful for all that you have done for us!! Wishing you many, many more happy days together!!

Fun at Grandmas

Annette and Lee have been visiting for the past few days while their mom and dad have been away at a relative's wedding. We have had so much fun playing and watching them change almost everyday.

Annette is VERY close to crawling . . .

Lee really likes the hammock . . .

And seems to understand what hammocks are all about . . .                                                                    

I have been madly trying to finish Annette's "poncho" or winter cape. Details are on Ravelry. Here is a picture after beginning to bind off. That is such a cute frilly ruffle around the bottom edge. I counted almost 1000 stitches around before I began to bind off. It was a little challenging to push around the needles.

Surely will be finished soon . . . hope to have pictures with a precious little model!!                                     

It's a Wrap

One skein of Noro Sock Yarn has evolved into this lovely lacy wrap.

The pattern is One Skein - a Stole by Katja Jordan. I used colorway S184 which is bright pinks, oranges, and peacock blue.

I am always amazed at how fibers transition with blocking. This is the stole drying on the blocking board.  My version is this interlocking foam puzzle with blocking wires and many T-pins to hold it in place on the foam.

It dried really fast, so I had to give it several sprays with the water bottle.

It is difficult to see the texture change as much as you can feel it. It is less "puffy" with more discrete stitches and the lace "holes" are more open and obvious. It is also longer after blocking . . . my stole is at least 10 inches longer after blocking today. Total about 64 inches long.

The cast on in the pattern calls for 50 stitches. I cast on 75 to make more like a wrap than a scarf.

So what's next you ask???

Check out this beautiful softness from Tess' Designer Yarns. I purchased these 3 skeins of this hand-dyed Angora and Merino at Stitches South in 2009. It seemed I must use it before starting on stuff I got in 2010.

This is the humble beginnings of a poncho-wrap for Baby Annette - who will be a toddler by winter!

It is from a pattern from the Tess website. This is a beautiful website just to explore. The  rainbow of colors is lovely to behold.  This yarn is so soft . . . I think I will have a difficult time putting this project down. I expect it to go very fast. . . More pictures to come!! 

Fish Tales

Just a quick entry, it's getting late!! I am excited to have finished Annette and Lee's smocked "fish" outfits.

Check this post for all the details; here are a few quick pictures!

Annette's . . .

Lee's . . .

That fun is done . . . time to get back to knitting!

And I almost forgot . . . the babies had their first boat trip. I heard "a good time was had by all"!