T Stands for Tuesday - Weaving Update & at the Hummingbird Feeders

 Hello everyone,

    Welcome to our weekly T Stands for Tuesday event where we gather and link up at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog and share a drink related photo in our post. See link in sidebar.

   Wow June is almost over and we will be into July and our Independence Day celebrations here in the States over the weekend. The lake will be having numerous events with loads of fireworks up and down the lake.  I have a front row seat as there are several neighbors across from us that so far have always put on a huge display-last year was spectacular with over 8 hours non stop fireworks. If interested check out my previous post for cast iron saturdays for recipe ideas for the up coming weekend.

   Weaving Update:

      Over the weekend I did finish the towels. I wasn't super pleased with one towel so I turned that into two hot pads for the table using double thickness of the weaving and a very thick felted down wool shirt.  I also had enough warp to weave a little more so it would not all be wasted yarns-I sewed that up into a little bag for my purse for my keys -- my keys are always sinking to the bottom so I can't find them-this will be perfect.

  The four towels ready to hand hem. I decided I did not like the second towel from the left-didn't care for the plain weave border, and there was a loose thread that couldn't get woven back in on the back.

Hemming the towels while Larry was reading on the deck-We were enjoying ice tea and watching the boats and blue herons

Below are the three finished towels-this was a new way for me to finish the edges. I usually zig zag a few times and then leave a short fringe.  I just really love this old twill pattern and these towels are so soft and absorbent-Love them! no more Wal mart towels ever again.

I took this photo to show how close I wove to where the harnesses are to weave a little more. a little dark but the back is about 2 inches away from the heddles, and the front I wove as far I could go

This was the extra woven piece

Below is the little bag I made It fits snuggly into a corner of my purse where I can drop the keys in.

The too hot pads I made from that one towel I didn't like The corners are a bit rounded-this was thick to sew through and I didn't want to clip the corners inside, but I love the way they turned out and will get used for sure.

The back with felted down wool-reclaimed shirt

The stack of hot pads.  The woven placemats that you can see, are really old. My Mom had them made for us by the rug weaver she used when she retired and moved back to the family farm-back 25-30 years ago or so. You can also see a couple of the lake coasters I picked up.

    I decided on my next weaving project last night-while going through  my stash of older Handwoven magazines. 

     I decided on another set of towels.  A totally new pattern for me. I searched my stash and found the white cotton for the warp (threaded on the loom) and found a couple yellow cottons to switch off with the blues and browns I have for the weft-which will show off the pattern.  I think these towels will be pretty

  This warping board is easier to use hanging on the wall-but I don't really have the space for that any more-so I just sit on the floor. This will be 8 yards long and should give me 6 towels perhaps 7. 

  Yep those of you that know me are probably thinking-Kathy's using white-she doesn't like white-haha This is true. When I checked my stash I found two of these that look like the right weight of cotton-I had picked these up at a yard sale years ago. Since the pattern is calling for white thought a good way to use up this yarn.

I found this big cone of yellow 100%  cotton in my stash. a  pretty yellow and very soft too

    Below image you can see the towel's pattern a little better-this was a shiny page. I don't think that white will be standing out as allot of white in this pattern.

   If you haven't gotten totally bored with my weaving projects-I wanted to share a few bird photos visiting the hummingbird feeders.  These all visited within several minutes Sunday morning.

   We have a couple hummingbird pairs that have now found my two feeders-the youngsters are beginning to visit too.

    We had to get out our bird books to discover who this visitor was-This is a male orchard oriole. In the sunlight one can see lovely auburn brown colors in his wings. His mate is suppose to be all yellow but we have not seen her yet. He visits every day.

I hadn't seen this woodpecker in awhile-so was happy he came by for a visit.

 Breakfast ready to take out to the deck-decaf coffee with cream and eggs over easy with black pepper and a no salt herb-spice blend.

Happy T Day everyone. If celebrating-enjoy the 4th it's our Independence Day!

   Started seeing the eagles again a couple times during the week

a little update Sunday night-I spent a couple hours at the warping board after 100 ends I ran into lots of knots-no good-in the trash it all went So I just bought the 8/2 cotton un mercerized  from Webs online-they always give good discounts too.  After I got into that yarn, it felt also like it wasn't all cotton-burn test showed it wasn't. so the knots were a good thing so I wouldn't use it.  That would have been a disappointment for sure.

Cast Iron Saturdays-for Our Independence Day

    Those of you in the USA are you ready to celebrate our Independence Day July 4th?  This last year has been a rough one for most of us, so I will be getting out the grills and cast iron even if it's just the two of us this year.

   This post brings us to my cast iron recipes postings. You are most welcome to share a grill or cast iron recipe perfect for the 4th this week.

 In my inbox I got an email full of recipes from the Spice House out of Chicago-my new online spice and herb blends online shopping site.  This first one comes from them

Hamburger Sliders with Roasted Garlic Mayo

For vegetarian one could substitute a grilled large portobello mushroom, for gluten free use large firm lettuce leaves instead of bread, or I like Udi's gluten free small buns

  This next recipe is also from the Spice House

Chili Roasted Corn

I thought this corn recipe sounded really good, you could substitute spices for what you have in your pantry Their fire salt sounds good though

Braised Dutch Oven Pulled Pork

 Pulled pork will serve a crowd. This one is braised in a dutch oven in your home oven, or could be done outdoors with coals

  This site also gave several recipe suggestions for your pulled pork, besides sandwiches.

Roasted Red Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary

  Yum I love potatoes like this Potatoes go with most anything you are serving and these are always a hit at bbq's too.

Southern Style Cole Slaw

   This dish is not made in cast iron but could be served in your enamel over cast iron dutch oven type pan.  This recipe sounded delicious and goes perfect with the burgers and pulled pork

And I was looking for simple fish dishes using cast iron-and I found this site with 9 different fish recipes--Here

   Below photo is tilapia, but they also have recipes for salmon, and cod

Can't forget desserts-smiles-

Red White and Blue Cobbler

Gluten free Dairy Free Cherry Clafoutis

and I thought these looked adorable and so good too-not made in cast iron but could be served in a enamel cast iron piece 

  Red White and Blue Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

Happy Cast Iron Saturday and Happy 4th of July if celebrating

T Stands for Tuesday - This and That

     Another week is upon us which brings us to Tuesday's T where we share a drink related photo with friends over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's-link in my side bar as you are most welcome to join in.

   This has been an up and down week for us. I was so busy doing things with our Wisconsin friends that it seemed unusually quiet here-well except for the machines  pounding through rock with the sewer project-haha. 

   The team with this construction crew has been very nice and has done a good job I believe. The crew fixing up the lawn mess took two days to rock our path down to the lake from up on top and planted grass seed.  The sewer crew messed up some of it to finish up a project on Friday, so wondering if they will be back to re straighten things.

   It has been very very very hot and humid here. High 90's F all week, and this Sunday as well. Areas around us hit 100 degrees F. The weather people are saying a cold front with rain moving in on Monday (June 21)  That will  be awesome.

  I am weaving the last towel now, since I had to cut off and retie on to straighten out the tension issue, and there is allot of yarn waste when weaving-we'll see how long I can weave this last towel.  It does feel so good to be weaving again. Next up I think I will go through my yarn stash and weave up some new placemats for our dining table. This will give me more weaving practice before attempting yardage for clothing.

                      as you can see almost to the end of this warp

   I am on a few weaving groups on Facebook, and one is for the Saori style of weaving. I have shared this before as it is a weaving concept to be free of rules and just weave. Most are making garments with their handwovens.

 I wanted to share the 3rd annual Saori Virtual Fashion Show video-great inspiration from all ages of weavers

  I am also on a Facebook group Sewing for Weavers-where they are also making up lovely garments from their handwovens-so I have been inspired for sure.

   The first evening when our Wisconsin friends had arrived we had a very very strong storm-tornado force winds came up out of no where. We watched in disbelief as the large bird house that we had just cleaned and repaired blew apart

  We felt so bad for the bird families that lost their eggs and young ones.  We just bought a new metal martin house-a kit that Larry is putting together to replace this one-so many pieces and tiny screws- haha

   I got a better photo of the pirate ship this week, which travels up and back allot. The ship had it's sails open and was in the middle of the lake so I could really zoom in for a good photo

    I decided with these very hot days it was time to churn up a batch of keto vanilla ice cream, while enjoying a mule-which is vodka (gluten free Tito's for me) ginger beer (which has no alcohol but strong ginger flavors) and a splash of Petron's lime liquor

   This keto ice cream is a time consuming recipe as one needs to make up a keto condensed milk first and then add the rest of the ingredients and chill and churn. This was my best batch yet.

 I also discovered something new from Bob's Red Mill when ordering their gluten free muesli-grain free brownies and also grain free flat bread-I am thinking of trying out the flatbread mix for pizza crust. These use almond flour and cassava flour, The grain free brownies were pretty good and not as sweet as their gluten free brownie mix. This one used coconut sugar which I like to use in my baking too.

  Sadly our week ended with the unexpected loss of a very dear friend. She had gone in for heart surgery, she did have complications with her lungs (autoimmune disease) as well so when we last talked with her she had concerns with her lungs-but she had few choices. The surgery went well but she had gotten pneumonia from the anesthesia. So sad and heartbreaking, she leaves behind her husband and children and her two very young grandchildren that they were now raising do to the loss of their father just a few months ago (motor accident). 

   Sonya was one of the most kindest, caring persons I have ever know-prayers for her family.

   Sonya and one of her other sons drove me to Yellowstone in 2017, I wanted to visit Yellowstone so much back then.  She had called me up one day and said "I will be happy to drive you" and I am in need of a road trip.  That trip meant so much to me, we had allot of fun planning it too the year before. None of us were into the now popular selfies, we each had our cameras-no cell phone photos. In all the photos we never took any photos of us. Sonya had taken a photo of me when I was out on the deck of where we were staying though-spinning with my drop spindle. 

  A couple photos in remembrance

  Our life's journey can be unexpected at times, treasure the moment and memories

Cast Iron Saturdays-Dips in Cast Iron

   Hi everyone, Welcome to my weekly post of recipes using cast iron.

   This is the perfect time of year to sit around a camp fire and cook or bake in cast iron pieces

  . Of course if you don't use cast iron, other cookware will probably work-but since I love all of my cast iron even if it now takes both of my hands and arms to move it around-that's ok for me.

   This week I thought I would search the web for dips or appetizers made in cast iron, perfect if you are out in your backyard with friends or family or off camping. Many of these will be great in the fall as well.

Queso Fundido with Chorizo

  This recipe popped into my email box from a Keto cast iron newsletter, and sounds really delicious

Spinach Artichoke Dip  this one has three different cheeses

Baked Seafood Dip with Crab, Shrimp and Veggies

Cheesy Miso Caramelized Corn and Pineapple Chili Dip

  

  I thought the one above sounded really good and something different too.

Skillet Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Dip

Skillet Smores Dip

When I was searching for recipes-Wow there are pages and pages of them-would be fun to just hunt around for what you would like to make. These can all be baked indoors in your oven as well.

Hope you enjoy these posts as much as I enjoy looking around for new recipes using cast iron

For Fun & Sharing-a Blast From the Past (a Little About Me)

    We have been enjoying watching the different birds here on the deck especially early mornings and evenings when it is cooler.  The days here are really too hot for us to be outdoors do to the high humidity as well.

    I got to thinking-in years past when I held down a full time job with Illinois Bell (at the time-now merged into a different name) I also worked allot of hours in our bird business-About Birds that was in Hebron Illinois-the back of our property was a stone's throw away from the Wisconsin border.  

   We had two large indoor aviaries and a small store on our farm property selling to the retail pet bird trade and also wholesale to the ma and pa pet stores, and mainly to other bird breeders  We had our business for many years thinking close to 20 years or so. My husband learned allot from hands on experiences working at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, Il in his younger years. He was asked to speak about bird husbandry and more at large bird groups when we had our business.  It was interesting times and for me personally I learned allot.  We bred many species of birds, and worked with the Milwaukee Zoo raising rare and endangered bird species to help keep those species alive.

   We did get a first world breeding award from the American Federation of Aviculture for the Celebes Hanging Parrot, and just missed by minutes getting the first world breeding award for the fig parrot.

 Here is an article we wrote after accepting this award-sadly they spelled our last name totally wrong. Larry had designed the breeding box along with the very large and long cages for them.  Sorry the link to the magazine article pdf will not work and that one had several photos. (if interested just type in breeding celebes hanging parrot by Larry and Kathy-and that pdf will come up)

 The Celebes were sweet little birds-here are some photos I found on the web

Our aviaries had special full spectrum lighting and I also set up those garden waterfalls along with soothing music.

   That's my blast from the past that you probably did not know about me-Do you have a blast from the past to share??

T Stands for Friends and Wineries

   Happy T for Tuesday, 

       We gather with friends over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's and share a drink  related photo in our blog post. You are most welcome to link up-find link in my sidebar.

    The sewer project here is still craziness, including a major project for us getting the basement bathroom totally changed so it can get hooked in to the sewer system. We knew when we purchased this home that the previous owners did so many things incorrectly that would have to be redone-electric is still a biggie, and the bathroom in the basement as well. That project continues today.

  On the fun side our very dear and long time friends that live in Wisconsin drove down for a long weekend. They are semi retired now and working towards full retirement but they are now able to work part time-working Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday to give them long weekends. So for me especially this was super fun to have them visit. They come every year but do to covid it's been two years now since we have seen them.

  Marie loves to visit small business wineries all over the country. She has a circle of girl friends that will take off for a few days visiting wineries and doing girl stuff-shopping and dining haha. Her husband Rob enjoys it as well. So she came with a list of wineries to visit in a nearby town Stover, Missouri. I have driven through Stover, but never stopped there. It is a very old town surrounded with farms and I had no idea they had wineries. 

   We visited three-my favorite was the first stop Timber Ridge Winery. After the few people that were there left we had the tasting area all to ourselves. Learned allot about the couple, took me down memory lane of places I visited in Wisconsin as a kid. I tasted a few and bought one bottle- their dry elderberry wine. If you are on Facebook they have a better presence there where I found this photo. They cleared the land where this building sits and built the rustic barn. This was a hobby and once retired decided to go into the business they have just recently opened

and this is the only photo I remembered to take-you can see the wine glasses Marie collects.

The next stop Dale Hollow Winery was packed with people as they had live entertainment outdoors, and one could go into their shop to taste the wine and purchase to drink at the event or take home. I thought they were smart as they had allot of bottles chilled. We have been in the 90's f all weekend with high humidity.

    My friends bought a few bottles here and I bought one bottle that was a really different dry white wine.  I tried their lake house white wine and did not like it at all so then tried their Haw Creek dry white because it was so different.  We only stayed long enough to taste and buy wines and her collector wine glass since they were packed with people.

  from their site

  The third winery was Wildlife Ridge Winery  By this time especially since we had only eaten a very small breakfast-cheesecake-haha  I only tasted one wine, I didn't really care for it and I also was not wanting to purchase any more wine than the two I had.  My friends picked up a couple wines here and one of the etched wine glasses. She has one from all of her winery visits.

  I can see why wineries can be an adventure, especially small family run wineries. You are supporting small business's and a fun day out.

  My husband is not up to this sort of thing plus he wanted to work on the sewer project in the basement so he would be further along when our help came back on Monday 

  Of course by this time we needed food.  I had set up food for Larry in the fridge for his lunch and we also brought back food.  

We stopped in Versailles, Mo at Bee's Knees Brewery   My friends ordered a hand tossed, wood fired pizza, and I ordered their Greek Gyro salad-which was huge.

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We also each bought one of these glasses. Rob had their stout beer which he said Larry would have loved. They bought a glass for a friend of theirs that collects beer glasses, and I fell in love with it as the Bees reminded me of Outlander and it was a heavy glass.

   When the owner is there he will give tours but we didn't get to do that this time. Here is a link to their menu

   

  So that was a very busy Saturday for me.  Sunday I helped Larry with the sewer job for a bit in the early morning, and then Marie and I made up a big breakfast-hash browns, eggs, thick bacon, coffee-cheesecake-of course haha.   Sunday some fished off the dock, as the lake was still very busy. Marie and I cooked up a nice dinner, and I also made us fresh mango margaritas-so delicious!! Afterwards, Marie and I chatted for hours and drank wine-a good catch up. a perfect weekend!!

This past week we did spot the eagle visiting.

and wild clouds that looked like a dog sitting

and Larry spotted a rainbow but when I was deleting photos I deleted that one by mistake.

and to close with one more drink-I got this recipe in my inbox from my favorite online spice shop The Spice House-- Cardamon Plum Iced Tea

   Happy new week everyone and Happy T wishes