Thursday, December 29, 2011

things are going to the dogs around here...

making dog treats for
 jesse & lucy 
has been on my list
for several days

today.....

they ran out
and they get a little fussy
when their treat jar is empty


this is a super easy recipe with only a few ingredients
and the cost is much less than the junk they
sell in the store

here goes...

1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 cup of peanut butter
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup dried milk prepared
(1/3 cup dried milk to one cup water)

throw everything in your electric mixer
and mix until a dough forms
flour a board and roll the dough
to about 1/4"



the recipe says to cut them out with cookie cutters
jesse & lucy do not care what shape they are 
as long as they get a treat
i roll the dough into a rectangle and cut the 
dough into about 3/4" squares
(this recipe yields about 4 cups)
bake in a 350 degree oven
for 20 minutes or until 
lightly browned and hard




store in your favorite treat jar
and make your furry friends happy


lucy & jesse

guess who is the boss?

~*~


Thursday, December 22, 2011

Merry Christmas Everyone!


wishing you & yours 

a very merry christmas

love,

doug & kate

 ~*~

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

bring on the cold weather!!!!

they are done!
and just in time for the cold weather & snow
that has landed in ohio

my son picked the pattern
the colors of 
scarlet & gray are for his alma mater 
Ohio State

go buckeyes!!!!!!

the cork screw mitten pattern can be purchased
from

it was a fun pattern!

~*~



Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving~


gobble, gobble, gobble

wishing you and yours a very happy thanksgiving

~*~





Monday, October 31, 2011

an autumn walk in the woods~


on what was probably one of our last nice days

the pixie paid us a visit

since the temperatures were on the warm side

we decided to take a walk in our woods

and look for the colors of autumn












The leaves fall,
 the wind blows,
 and the farm country slowly changes
 from the summer cottons
into its winter wools.

~*~











Thursday, October 20, 2011

a perfect day ~


i love a cold, rainy, windy day

(if i don't have to be out & about)

it's the perfect excuse to


throw a log on the fire...

check


pick a project out of the knitting basket ...
check


light a candle...
check


curl up in the chair with a little dog & enjoy the blustery day
check




what do you like to do on blustery days?


~*~






Monday, October 17, 2011

my daughter said these were yummy::



kale chips????
really?
i had never heard of kale chips
sheesh...
i don't think i had heard of kale at all until i had zuppa toscana soup at olive garden
which i loved and googled & found the recipe
gotta love google
the recipe calls for 1 cup of cream
i believe my heart would stop if i consumed that much cream
so i just use a few tablespoons


anyhoo....kale chips

this is a pile of kale
i washed it in cold water with a drop of dish soap
i wash just about all my fruits & veggies in a drop of dawn
because well, you know.....60 minutes had a show about the ports
where ALL your veggies in come in that make it to the grocery and how the men that worked there pee'd
on the produce because they don't have time to go to the bathroom
said bathrooms also didn't provide a place to wash your hands
...ewwwwwwwww

i thought you should know this....

then give it a good chop and a ride in the salad spinner
toss it with some olive oil & sprinkle with
whatever seasoning you like
i used season salt
garlic salt would be good too!
toss it about and put it on a baking sheet with some parchment
&
bake @ 350 for about 7-10 minutes
watch it closely as it can turn to burnt kale chips pretty quick

throw in a bowl & much away!

i thought it was better as soon as it came out of the oven
the girls in my knitting group loved it several hours later

enjoy!

~*~

and last but not least...


the gang

~*~




Friday, October 14, 2011

part three:: the families

* Shannon * Tori * Abby * Hayden *


* Grayson * Adam * Shelden * Abbey * Adelyn *

* Ashlie * Iris * Douglas

Thursday, October 13, 2011

part two:: douglas & ashlie


family picture day is always fun

this day was no exception

here are a few more pictures from that day








meet the barkers

(these are the young barkers..*lol*...doug & i are the old barkers)

ashlie & douglas

~*~


Monday, October 10, 2011

fall family fun...part one:: abbey & adam

it's been a few years since we gathered for family photo's
it was a beautiful fall day (albeit chilly)
and everyone was here
all 15 of us!
everyone carried in a breakfast dish
( you know anything that involves our family, involves food)
we snapped several pictures
then indulged in donuts, mulled cider, blueberry coffee cake, breakfast casserole, & oh so yummy calzones

~*~

we'll begin with the deppens

abbey & adam







~*~

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

On the needles...


~corkscrew mittens~

such a fun pattern!

this pattern is from michelle hunter of the blog "knit purl hunter"

if you haven't been to her blog, check it out


she has wonderful detailed video's
&
fun patterns

these are knit with cascade 220
on magic loop


from one skein of each color
you will get two pairs of mittens in opposite colors
i picked up the pattern & yarn from one of my favorite yarn shops


you can find the pattern from michelle's blog
or on


happy knitting!

~*~



Sunday, September 25, 2011

finally.....a finished knitting project!




my oh my

but this project has been a long time coming!


not that it was a difficult project or pattern

but....

(here come the excuses)

we had a horribly hot summer

and i just was not in the mood to knit

however

with that being said

i finally got these off the needles

the details can be found at these links

the farm what?

we aren't farmers
but for one day
we were wanna be farmers


we put on our boots
and headed to the farm science review

"where farmers go to dream"

it's a small city of all things farming


this kid loved it!
we spent the entire day
looking at all things farming

tractors

planters

plows

and lots of other equipment
that i have no idea what it's used for

and golf carts.......so many golf carts
i didn't realize farmers were so big on golf carts

we didn't know until we were leaving
that you can rent golf carts
to tour this farming city

we certainly got our exercise for the day
but next year
we'll be one of the golf cart farmer wanna be's

~*~