MoJo in the House!

Hello again! I hope everyone had a good week. I can't say that anything super exciting happened around here. We had some more snow showers but no accumulation. One thing that has been a constant is rain!! Everyone around here is so tired of muddy yards along with up and down temperatures!

Infusions are over for a while, anyway. I can't say that I will miss getting up extra early and dragging myself over to the center.

I have been working on A Virtuous Woman and Quaker Bluebirds (using red). Here is an update on Quaker Bluebirds.

Last time I mentioned rotations and have thought hard on it since then. I know myself. If I have too many in the works at once, I get overwhelmed and stop all of them. If I only work on one at a time, I get bored, want a new stitch and put it aside! Right now I am working on two. I have been working on one for 10 hours then I switch over to the other and do the same. So far it has been working fine for me. No less than 2, no more than 3.  I may have found my rotation mojo! I am hoping to have at least one finished or close to a finish by the end of the month! I have even picked out the next several pieces that will be worked on!

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Shame on Me

I had another post written and ready to put up but things change. I am still working on Virtuous Woman. Just not as fast as I would like. It has been a busy week with doctors, errands and just feeling icky so I did not get as much stitching done as I had hoped.

I am still waiting on Little Birds by BBD to arrive with the thread pack. Oh, and the fabric. But I have everything set up to store it all in when it arrives.

Another new stitch will be Quaker Bluebirds by Willow House Samplings. I am not a big fan of Quaker designs but the birds on this piece won me over. Also, I have been wanting to do a solid red sampler for a while but was waiting to find the right one. This is it.

I seldom work on more than one piece at a time but for some reason, I changed it around this year. Several (or more) projects on rotation but in no particular order. Just whatever strikes my fancy to work on. I am playing around with the idea of making weekends, Christmas stitching. Nothing is written in stone so no pressure. It should be interesting to see what happens!

The recipe of the week is Shepard Pie. This is a quick fix but very filling! No need to make any sides other than some bread because all the veggies are in the pie! I use instant mashed potatoes because peeling the potatoes causes hand cramps!

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion chopped (roughly 1/2 cup)
• 1 garlic clove crushed or minced
• 3/4 cup tomato paste one 6-ounce can
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables or about two 10 oz. packages frozen vegetable medley, thawed (carrots, peas, corn, and green beans)
• 1 pound white or russet potatoes peeled and cut into about 1 inch chunks
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese divided

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F and coat a 1.5 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Peel and cut the potatoes into about 1 inch cubes, and place the potatoes and a pinch of salt into a pot of cold water.
• Cover, and bring to boil. Remove cover and boil for 10-12 minutes, until fork tender.
• While the potatoes are cooking, heat a skillet over medium heat.
• Add the ground beef, onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the skillet and cook, breaking up the meat, until it is browned. Drain any excess grease.
• Stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and beef broth. Add vegetables, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10-15 minutes or until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• While the meat mixture is simmering, drain the potatoes and return to the pot.
• Add ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, Greek yogurt or sour cream, milk, and 1 teaspoon salt to the potatoes. With a potato masher or hand mixer, mash to desired consistency.
• Add the meat mixture to the prepared casserole dish, then top with the mashed potatoes and remaining cheese.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until heated through, and cheese and potatoes are slightly browned.

Until next time may you have simple days and an uncluttered heart.

Monday! Again!

Brrrrrrrr! What a cold weekend! We woke up to temps in the lower to mid teens! Not your typical southern winter! I have seen winters when I didn't have to pull out my coat but it got plenty of use this weekend! LOL! I am still keeping my fingers crossed for snow sometime this winter! We are due for a good one!

Once again, I didn't get any stitching done on AAFG for the Let's Stitch SAT! I am starting to get frustrated about it too. Things like grocery shopping and out of town trips have been getting in the way of stitching on Fridays lately (or rather ever since the holidays)! I didn't do very well on my rotation schedule because once again I didn't get around to working on any Christmas ornaments this weekend! I need to get my chosen Christmas design out along with fabric and threads so I will be ready to go next weekend! I may set AAFG where it is more visible and that might prompt me to pick it up even if only for a short while!

One good thing I did this weekend was get the give a way and two PIFs ready for mailing! Hopefully they will go out by the end of the week if not sooner!

Here is a picture of my stitching progress on Victoria's Quaker from my stitching week (rotation schedule) on it! I got 6 more motifs done! Yea! Now to get the rest of my rotation in gear and moving along!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Rotation Hokey Pokey

Barbara was talking about rotations and starting them back up. I have found that I don't work well with rotations. I do have a few small ones that I can handle (and am taking with me into 2009) mainly because they don't take up every day of the week or month.

1. AAFG - every Friday for the Let's Stitch SAT. Now and then, I will also give this piece a Thursday when I have the time and/or desire!

2. HOHRH - The third Tuesday of each month (also at Let's Stitch). I am really in no hurry to get this piece finished off but I know I will be jumping up and down when I do!

3. Victoria's Quaker - The second week of each month (Mon-Thurs).

4. Each weekend is put aside for stitching on or finishing up Christmas ornaments.

This rotation will allow me to work on my WIPs while still giving me plenty of time for other designs I want to stitch on!

My coffee maker died on me yesterday so we made a quick dash to the store last night to pick up another one so I wouldn't have to do without my joe this morning! I definitely would not have been a happy person without my morning coffee! LOL! And DH knew it! LOL! We didn't have time to go out and shop leisurely for one so I didn't find what I would have liked but it does brew coffee so it will do just fine for now!

I have mentioned before that I love little pillows or small ornament size pillows. I fill up bowls and baskets with them! These are a few quilty ones that were gifts a while back but I still treasure!

Now that the holidays (and all that yummy food) are over for another year, I will be making more of an effort to make sure my exercising and healthy eating a bigger part of my regular schedule.

Be watching for my next give a way later this month!