Good to be Back!

Well, it sure has been some time since I have blogged. Lately I've been busy just looking at Pinterest. It is sooooo addicting. I'm now starting to get ready for fall. I'm taking out all of my Halloween decorations and deciding where everything needs to be. I also want to start my fall garden. My chickens have dwindled down to 7 hens, hopefully I will get some more but we will need a bigger chicken coop. I tried a new recipe which  my whole family has requested I bake again. Here it is:

PECAN PIE MUFFINS- makes 12 muffins

1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper liners in muffin tin and spray with canola oil.
In large bowl combine pecans, brown sugar and flour. Mix and make a well.
In separate bowl beat the eggs until foamy. Add melted butter and stir to combine well. Pour the egg mixture into well of flour mixture. Stir until moistened.  Spoon batter into the cup liners. Bake until toothpick comes out clean.  About 20 min.

TIME FLYS BY FAST

It has been some time since I last posted. Blogger has changed and my computer is acting strange. The weather here has been great and I can't wait to start my flower gardens.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Irma   ~(:>3)=

I DID NOT RAISE HER THAT WAY

I did not raise her that way...I just don't know what happened. I did not raise her to become a cannibal... and she is starting to set a bad influence on Ethyl. Now Lucy has been conspiring with Ethyl to join her evil ways. I just don't know what to do. I have been listening for her cackle every morning and I rush out to try to save those eggs. Some days I'm lucky and some days she beats me in recovering those precious eggs and she just flips her little beak up in the air as to say ... eggs, what eggs, there are no eggs in this nest today. I had been wondering for a while why I was not finding Lucy and Ethyl's eggs until one day I caught her (Lucy) in the act...pecking away at the eggs. Right now she doesn't know how lucky she is in getting away with this act. If DH finds out I'm for sure she will become next Sunday's dinner. Yep.....she just doesn't know how lucky she is.

Irma :)

Holiday Fun For Everyone

If you are in the area of Eagle Lake, Texas this Saturday Dec. 18th...come by and enjoy a fantastic Christmas Holiday Event. There will be a Christmas Mall & Live Music during the day and a Parade of Lights in the evening. There will be a Street Dance after the conclusion of the Parade until Midnight.

I will have a craft booth in their Christmas Mall, stop by and say "Hello".

Happy Holidays!

Irma

MY SISTER ROCKS!!!!!

I just returned from San Antonio, I was there to help cheer my little sister Michelle and her team "RBR" in their first 1/2 Marathon Run. It was all soooo exciting to see so many runners, 30,000 + runners.

Congrats to Michelle and her teammates "RBR"!!!

Great run....she finished at 2:59:54.

After all the walking my Aunt Dorothy and I did (which was no where near the 13.1 miles my sister ran... LOL), it felt as if we had run the marathon. We were sooo tired that as soon as we got home we fell asleep.

SPOOKIFY ME SATURDAYS

I'm linking up at Val's "SPOOKIFY ME SATURDAYS" for a howling of a ghoul time! Click http://yarnigras.blogspot.com to join the party.

I showed this tutorial last year. Check my "Labels" under Tootsie Roll Spider or my October 19, 2009 post on my "Tutorials" on how to make this fun spider craft.


Hope you have fun making these spiders.

Irma :)

I LOVE PURSES

I just love purses, especially if you can eat them.... (Now don't pay attention to the background). My sister Michelle has been taking cake decorating classes, so we decided to have a bake-off and decorate these cakes.

Have a wonderful day!

Irma :)

Rooster Party 2010

Barb at Bella Vista http://barbsgoodlife.blogspot.com/ is hosting her 2nd Annual Rooster Party. Please go and visit her and get the list of all the participants.








This is Julio Iglesias. He has grown into such a lovely Rooster. Showed him off last year and just had to show him again. He just loves to strut and sing to his hens. I know they love him because every time he sings they just go GAGA over him and lay an egg.

Thanks for stopping by now go and check out all of the other parties going on.

Irma :)

I LOVE THE SMELL OF BREAD BAKING

Today I tried out a new recipe for bread and also made some rolls. I really liked this recipe and it was so easy.

I just love the way the house smells when there is fresh bread baking in the oven.

POTATOE BREAD RECIPE:

7 to 8 cups bread flour

1 cup mashed potatoe flakes

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 pkg. active dry yeast

2 cups water

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Grease three 8x4 loaf pans for loaves of bread or if making the rolls grease baking sheet.

In large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups bread flour, potatoe flakes, salt and yeast, blend well. In meadium saucepan, heat water, milk and margarine or butter until warm (120 to 130 F). Add warm liquid to flour mixture slowly. Blend at low speed until moistened, beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Stir in an additional 4 to 5 cups flour until dough pulls cleanly away from sides of bowl.

On floured surface, knead in 3/4 to 1 1/4 cups bread flour until dough is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Place dough in greased bowl; cover loosely with plastic and cloth towel. let rise in warm place until doubles in size. About 1 hr.

Punch down dough several times to remove all air bubbles. Allow to rest on counter covered with inverted bowl for 15 minutes. Divide dough into 6 equal parts if making the three loafs of bread. Shape each part into 10 inch rope. Twist 2 ropes together; pinch ends firmly to seal. Repeat with remaining ropes. Place in prepared pans. Cover, let rise in warm place until dough fills pans about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 35 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped. Remove from pans immediately, brush with melted margarine or butter.

If making rolls shape in balls and place on greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise , about 10 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted margarine or butter while still warm.

Enjoy! They are very tasty!

Hugs :)

Irma

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES !!!

Happy Birthday to my sister Michelle and Happy Birthday to Me! I didn't get to celebrate with my sister this year but we do plan to have an un-Birthday Party when we get together hopefully next month. We both have the same birth date, July 5th. I already have my Mr. Big Bucket (frozen margarita mix) ready...now all I need is to go and buy the Tequila!

Hugs :)

Irma

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Hope everyone is having a great Fourth of July and a safe one. Every 4th the Lodge which DH belongs to participates in the parade which is held by the City of Bellaire. We always take our trailer so that they can decorate it and get the hay so everyone has a place to sit on. This year we were not sure it would be held due to Alex and all of the rain he brought. It turned out to be a nice day, there were a few clouds but it did not rain on our parade.

We threw out a lot of candy and we tried not to eat so much of it, but when you buy your favorite kind it always is a little hard not to eat it or take it back with you. ( I put a few of the tootsie pops in my pocket, don't tell DH).

THERE'S A NEW GIRL IN TOWN

There is a new girl in town. We had to find a buddy for Lucy our Rhode Island Red Hen as all of the other hens are Americaunas and they have their own little click and do not let Lucy join in all of the fun. In fact, Elvis our Rooster has been very mean to Lucy by pecking out all of her feathers on the back of her neck. So now let me introduce Ethyl who will now be Lucy's BFF.

Sorry for the bad picture. I have Lucy and Ethyl in their own cage so that Lucy can re cooperate from her wounds and to keep them away from the other snooty girls for the moment. That's Lucy in the background checking Ethyl out.

Have a great day!

Irma :)

LOVELY PLACES TO VISIT

I want to show you the the Lil Prim Bluebird and devotional I recently won from Lea at Shabby Olde Potting Shed http://shabbyoldepottingshed.blogspot.com/ . I have been reading the devotional and have enjoyed it. Lea has a lovely Prayer Garden Room she has created where she reads her devotional. She has inspired me to try and build my own Prayer Garden. I am so glad I found her blog as I enjoy reading her posts and seeing all of her beautiful pictures of her gardens. Please take a moment and visit her blog...you will truly find it inspirational .

I also won a Boyds Bear Christmas ornament from Sharon at Happenings on Chaos Ranch http://happeningsonchaosranch.blogspot.com during the One World One Heart Giveaways. Please stop and visit her blog and see some of the lovely quilts and beading she has created.

Hugs,

Irma :)

FABULOUS GIVEAWAY TO ENTER!!!

In celebration of her 400th post, Julie at Praire Thistle http://gardenology.blogspot.com is giving away a Madonna and Child Reliquary. Check out her blog and enter the giveaway. Ends 3/21.

FIONA THE FROG

She hopped onto my finger and that is where she will stay until she goes into her little castle to rest and waits for her next outing.



My Auntie D gave me Fiona for Christmas.



I think Fiona is just gorgeous.



Did I tell you how much I just love Frogs.

Irma :)

THE CARROTS ARE IN

Finally we were able to pull out the carrots. We have had so much rain and then we got the cold weather, we just were not able to pull them out until yesterday. Now I need to freeze these babies and store them away. Fresh grown garden carrots are just soooo sweet and very tasty. Yum, can't wait to cook them.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

Irma :)

I JUST LOVE SNOWBALLS!

Especially the ones you can eat. I made this for Valentine's and it was so delicious.




Found the recipe on the Food & Family Magazine.

Here's the recipe:

1 pkg devil's food cake mix
1 pkg. 8oz. cream cheese, softened
1 egg
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 pkg. 3.4 oz. vanilla flavor instant pudding
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cold milk
2 cups thawed cool whip whipped topping
1 cup flake coconut

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake mix as per instructions on box. Pour batter in a 2 1/2 quart ovenproof bowl.
Beat cream cheese, egg and granulated sugar until well blended, spoon into center of batter in bowl. Bake 1 hour and 5 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in bowl 10 min. Invert onto cake plate and make sure it is completely cooled before icing.

ICING: While cake is baking, beat dry pudding mix, powdered sugar and milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min Stir in cool whip. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Frost with pudding mixture. Cover with coconut.

Hope you try this, it is really like a great big snowball cupcake.

Irma :)

A Great Giveaway!

Jen at 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time and Mega Family blog is giving away a Flippin Waffle Maker. See my side bar to enter.

Good Luck!

Irma :)

Finally.... A Post

Wow, It sure has been some time since I last posted. I was having trouble uploading my pics. I did'nt know what to post so I just posted my little Christmas tree. I didn't have time to put up my big tree for Christmas, but I guess it turned out to be OK as I didn't have to spend to much time taking down my decorations. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. I know...I'm a little late. I now need to start thinking of Valentine decorations.

Well, just wanted to let everyone know I'm still here. Hope for a better post tomorrow.

Irma :)

21st Annual Wolfson House Christmas Arts & Crafts Show...and your invited!!!!

Well,its been some time on posting...but this time I have a good excuse. I'm participating in a craft show here in San Antonio, TX and if you live in San Antonio or nearby you are invited to come. This show is held in an old Victorian Home and the show runs all week long. How great is that!

Here's the invite:

TWENTY FIRST ANNUAL WOLFSON HOUSE
CHRISTMAS ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW
415 BROADWAY
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

The Recreation Ministry of San Antonio's First Baptist Church cordially invites you to tour the historic Wolfson House and to visit our Christmas Arts and Crafts Show

Monday, November 16 - Friday, November 20
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, November 21, 10:0 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Free Admission* Free Parking* Free Refreshments

Come and visit my craft booth located upstairs first door to left Booth #294
I will be selling Christmas ornaments and homemade cookies, cakes and candy.

Hope to see you there!

Irma :)