"And the Winner IS"....

Hi Everyone,

thanks to those of you who entered my little "Mummers Give Away" on my Business Facebook Page...

The winner of the wall hanging is:
Margaret Ayad of Bay Roberts, NL.

Please keep looking at my page for more excitement later in the New Year...May be a series of those small wall hangings and maybe new mats to display...

A Variety

Hello Fellow Bloggers...Since I wrote my last post, my Brother, Prosper, passed away from kidney failure. It has been a rough road but in between, there was a happy time with our son, Dale, being sworn into office as MHA (Member of the House of Assembly) for the NDP party. While Prosper was ill, which was eight weeks, Dale was campaigning in our Provincial Election in St. John's, NL., where he resides and was successful in his endeavours. Needless to say, we are very proud of his efforts and hard work and I am sure he will continue to work hard for the people who had faith in him and trusted him enough to elect him as their member.

Enough said on those two important items.

I am posting a picture of my "Give Away" on my Facebook Page named: "Anne's Original Hooked Rugs". There is just one week left for those of you who would like to visit my page and click the "LIKE" Button on the top right of the page; your name will be automatically entered to be drawn for this 14"x14" Mummers wall hanging. A few of you have already done so...There is absolutely no commitment and I WILL post it to you wherever you live...I just started this new page as a Business one a short time ago and for my visitors I thought it a good gesture, on the advice of others, to do that. Do take the time to click...more people make it more interesting....

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American Friends...hope you are enjoying this wonderful day...We have plenty to be thankful for


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Have You Forgotten Me?

Hi Everyone:

"Life" has gotten in my way over the past couple of months. My brother is ill and I have been away from Home for some time, off and on...Besides that, this time of year is really busy for us with Harvesting, Canning, etc., etc., etc.

I said some time ago that I was hooking a mat for a project and I would show it when the Exhibit was over. The Exhibit was at "The Five Island Art Gallery" in Tors Cove, Newfoundland. It was to show our Irish / Newfoundland connection and was held in September until October 21st. Some artists and guests from Ireland attended this great event but because of my brother's illness, I could not attend; however, I was pleased to have been given the opportunity to have my mat displayed among the others there. Although this picture does not do justice to it, I am posting it anyways. Some day I may learn to use the camera...I need lessons...any pointers? :) :)

My Facebook Page

Want to let my blogger friends know that if you click on the Facebook tab on top of my page, you will go to a Personal Page I have set up on Facebook for my Mats, only. You will be entered in a draw for a small mat on Dec. 1st...details are there...I will post ANYWHERE in the World..

I have to inform you all who visits this new page of mine that in order for your name to be entered for my little "give away", you will have to click on the "Like" button at the top of the page or under one of my photos in order for your name to be entered. You can then leave a comment if you wish. This is an automatic number/name system that I am not familiar with...Learning as I go...Sorry about that :)

Gift for My Aunt

In August, my Aunt Frances visited with her two daughters, Marie & Stella and a grand-daughter, Michelle, for her 83rd birthday. She was born and spent part of her years here before beginning her new life in N.S. I found this old photo on Facebook of the house where she was born & raised and her Father's horse. I decided to hook a small wall hanging for her.



This is the result..





She remembered the horse's name and needless to say, was very pleased with her little gift...

Work and More WORK!!!!

Finally, Hay-making is over with..I feel that I could compete with any woman wrestler anywhere in the world as I have more muscle build up than I ever thought was possible...not counting the calloused hands, the strained arm and oh yes, the aches and pains......:)

From the hay-making, I delved into the vegetable garden. Today was an exceptionally busy one with blanching. I have a husband who insists on growing enough vegetables to feed an army, literally. Here is a photo of the kale and spinach that is growing.......



Now, do you believe the above statement that I made?

Then there is the cauliflower...well, that is another story... I went to the garden this morning at ten o'clock to gather it to blanch. I was so pleased that I had this amount ready



and of course, cleaned it (that being a major part of the process) and got it all blanched:




and waiting for it to cool...so, in the meantime, I want to blanch some of that kale. Off I go to the garden again...only to discover another FIVE heads that I had overlooked in another portion of the garden...Oh Me Nerves!!!! Yes, I DID blanch these, too:




The end result was three bags of kale and SIX large bags of cauliflower. I have already done nine bags of broccoli in between times of hay-making.

I guess I shouldn't complain when there are so many people in the world who are hungry.
I think I have a DH who doesn't like to see me idle...Idle is not a word I can relate to because my rug hooking is not having justice done this time of year. I did stay up until 3:30 this morning to finish one that I have had in the frame for a month. I was determined to finish it off and here it is at 1:00 at night and I am still going...I must be like the Everready battery....just keeps going and going.....:)
Hope my post is not boring....Take care Everyone...

IN SPITE OF OUR TERRIBLE WEATHER

The Garden is flourishing. Sorry, guys, it has taken me so long to get back to blogging. We have had an extremely "BAD" Summer this year....Rain, Thunder & Lightening Storms, Fog...utter and complete dampness. The flower garden is not doing well and I refuse to post a picture of that. Disgusting is the correct word to use. Hay needs to be cut and made but that is on hold, too.
If you see SUN in either of those photos, that must have been one of the half dozen days it decided to pop out to prove that it is still around. Today, the rain is just pouring and thunder is off into the distance...Great day for hooking!!
















This is Kale and grows very well each year...Makes great Kale muffins...Anyone need a good recipe..???

Our New Grandson

It's been so long since I posted on my blog, that I am almost ashamed to do so. However......

This is a mat I hooked for our dear Grandson, Kieran Arthur Kirby, who was born on May 14th. My DH. and I visited with him and presented him with this( which I hope to be) treasure. I made a special tag for the back telling the information about his Great-Grandmother, who taught me how to hook and his Great-Great-Grandmother, who had taught his G.G. ...a bit of history there for him. All names are included, of course . Hope he is as interested in genealogy as his Grandfather is.



Next post will be an update on our vegetable garden and other things as well...

"Our Extended Family"

Just a few shots of our animal family. The sheep are so happy to be out and about. Each year when they are put to pasture, it seems so "lonely" around the barn because each time we entered the door all you could hear was "baa, baaaaa" , now there is just silence. There is something about that feeling that I can't put my finger on....






Our Pet....he is growing like a hop..... Bottle feeding is agreeing with him, for sure...

Gardening

There is an old saying that goes "time flies when you are having fun" and even though this type of work is back-breaking, Yes, time does fly...

We have completed our Main vegetable garden and here are a few photos to show you what it looks like right now:







Then there is my flower garden and while I am not a" green thumb" person, I feel obligated to work on it nevertheless. These photos are just the beginning and hopefully, as time goes by, I can show some improvement. Of course, that depends largely on the weather which has not been co-operating with us over the past number of weeks. Today is the second sunny day that we have had since May....

My two sisters-in-law bought me these two tan colored garden lights when they came for a visit. Aren't they adorable??? Naturally, I had to shop around and found the little white guy..





Then there is my Inukshuk next to my bleeding heart. I think a solar light or two is needed here. I am in the process, so a lot needs to be done yet.

Remember when I told you that I would post a picture of a "BARREL" of flowers that I have done over the years. I truly love it. I fill the top with Petunia Waves and poke Regular Petunias in the holes in the side. This is what it looked like at some point last summer..

...

Happy Gardening to All of you good people who dare to take on such a task.. to lots of people it is considered "therapy". My therapy is hooking mats and right now, it seems I cannot get to it. Part of the reason is that at night time, I am "head over heels" into watching the HOCKEY games....

Carrot Recipes

These are the two recipes for those delicious Carrot Cakes that I promised some time ago...Sorry it took so long...Enjoy!!!

Moist Carrot Cake:

Ingredients

* 4 eggs

* 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

* 2 cups white sugar

* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* 2 cups all-purpose flour

* 2 teaspoons baking soda

* 2 teaspoons baking powder

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

* 3 cups grated carrots

* 1 cup chopped pecans

*

* 1/2 cup butter, softened

* 8 ounces cream cheese, softened

* 4 cups confectioners' sugar

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.

Surprise Carrot Cake Recipe

* 12-16 Servings

* Prep: 25 min. Bake: 55 min.

25 55 80

Ingredients

* 3 cups shredded carrots

* 1-3/4 cups sugar

* 1 cup vegetable oil

* 3 eggs

* 2 cups all-purpose flour

* 2 teaspoons baking soda

* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 1/2 cup chopped pecans

*

FILLING:

* 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

* 1/4 cup sugar

* 1 egg

*

FROSTING:

* 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

* 1/4 cup butter, softened

* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* 4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

* In a large bowl, beat the carrots, sugar, oil and eggs until well blended. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gradually beat into carrot mixture until blended. Stir in the pecans. Pour 3 cups batter into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan.

* In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg. Spoon over batter. Top with remaining batter.

* Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

* For frosting, in a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add confectioners' sugar until smooth. Frost cake. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 12-16 serv

"Hanging Quilts to Dry"

Finally finished my "Hanging Quilts to Dry" Mat. This will be the last large one for a while as there are just too many other things to do.

I hope my rendition of quilts are not an insult to our Great Quilters out there. As you can see, my measurements are "Way" off...Measuring is not a thing I like to do.... :) I did enjoy hooking it, of course, and have others in my mind that I will get to eventually.





I am pleased to say that a piece of my work relating to "Ireland" has been accepted to be submitted to "The Five Island Gallery" in Tors Cove, NL. to be juried. Maybe I will be lucky enough to have it displayed there. Cross your fingers for me and my friend, Paula, whose blog is "Newfoundland Original Hooked Rugs", who also was accepted for an entry.

This is the one I submitted to our very own "Devon House" for a display named "BLUE". I know many of you have already seen it, but for those who haven't, I hope you enjoy seeing it. It is very meaningful to me.





Last, but not least, for today is to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of my followers. I notice a few more have decided to join. Very pleased...

Yesterday's Pleasures

Yes, I enjoy baking and cooking so much that it is indeed a "pleasure" for me...Lots of hours went into this what I am about to show you, but with so much carrots left from last years' crop that I decided to do some baking and freezing....

The first thing in the morning began with "putting bread to rise" as my Mother called it, meaning, of course, making homemade bread...
And this is the end result:



Now, we in Newfoundland can't make bread without having toutons (fried dough) for lunch...Smothered in Molasses, of course...

Then I proceeded to making those carrot muffins:


Then on to a new recipe for me which turned out to be the most moist carrot cake that I have made. Found the recipe on the internet, of course:




Then, I made my favorite, "Surprise Carrot Cake" which contains cream cheese...it is just so delicious and freezes well...




Last, but not least, I topped my day off with a glass of Homemade Blueberry Wine...yep, made by my hubby and & I from blueberries that we picked with our own hands.... :) We have made every kind of wine possible from scratch, rhubarb, bakeapple, cranberries, partridgeberries, parsnips, etc...



Now, isn't that the largest amount of pictures in one post!!!!!

Willing to share my cake recipes......

"NEGLECTFUL ANNE"

Where does "time" go??? I am ashamed that it has been so long between posts. Last Friday I needed to bottle more "marinated carrots" because we still have plenty of fresh carrots left from last season and doesn't want them to spoil.....'waste not, want not', as the saying goes. There is a long process involved in making those carrots. First to cut up all the veggies that goes into the batch.....



Then continue to adding the liquids....




Finally, the result... 14-500ml. jars




Now, when I am canning, my kitchen is in quite an upheavel and I always hope that no one arrives when I am in the midst of it.... :) Lo and Behold!! just as I had the first pot washed(out of about three) and umpteen other bowls, containers, etc., around, my good friend, Melaine (Wooly Hooker at http://woollyhooker.blogspot.com/) dropped by. I was mortified but passed it off and she and I had a great rug hooking chat and a nice' cuppa 'Tetley tea... Melaine saves some used clothing for me but this time had a precious piece of Wool material that she couldn't use...shucks, am I ever lucky!! beautiful purple....plain and plaid...I can just envision it being used in my next Mummers Mat....Thanks a bunch, Melaine!!! She has a lovely blog and you should visit if you have some spare time....Unfortunately, I don't know what that word means...

I have been hooking but one of my Mats cannot be shown right now because I am doing it in the hope that I may have it entered into a Gallery Show...As soon as I can, I will post a picture...

Can't leave without showing you all a picture of our beautiful babies....lambs, that is....they are all doing quite well...just one being bottle fed...




Tomorrow, it is MORE marinated carrots...Groan!!!!!

Exciting Times!!!!

Just HAVE to share this picture of Beauty with you this morning. After some complications, here is what a Young Momma produced...The very first for her....Poor dear....We may have to raise two on milk replacement with a baby bottle but who is complaining? Not me...Hope she does well with those.
As you can see, they had just come into the world and hadn't been cleaned....

Our Miracle Lamb, plus

It has been a long time since I have posted but life gets in the way sometimes...

Those little lambs coming into the world is worth every minute that is spent with them.

Here is the "Miracle Lamb" with His Mother. He is doing quite well and doesn't need any help from us, thankfully.


Here he is again.....Quite independent now.



And lastly, he is here with his sister and another "neighbour"..... :) :) They are ALL gorgeous...Still waiting on Four more sheep to bring theirs into the world...Hope there are no problems...

"And So It Begins"

Just as we thought Spring was around the corner, Mr. Winter decides to come back again and I might add: "with a vengeance"...Just at the time when our Lambs are coming along. Trust me, it is not nice getting back and forth to the barn with the high, cold winds nipping at your cheeks...BUT, it is worth every bit of discomfort..

Our first sheep had numerous amount of problems and Tom & I spent about an hour trying to assist her in her job...poor dear...the result was four lambs, with one being still-born and because she was so distraught and exhausted from the ordeal that she could not pay enough attention to her babies...so one passed on within an hour and we rescued one of the others and brought her to our house...in the workshop area where the furnace is situated..We really didn't think there was much point in "trying" to revive her, but with many trips up and down the stairs to coax her to feed from a bottle, talking to her, nurturing her, we brought her through...here are two photos....and as you can see the poor mother hadn't even had the energy to clean her well....one in the box when she began to brighten up...after several hours; the other when I took her out of the box onto the cement floor...What a beautiful sight to see this little one back to life...She is doing quite well with her Mother now and feeding as she should be...from her Mom....

We have Eleven lambs now and have plenty more to come...Hopefully, the Moms won't have too many problems trying to bring them into the world...

"All In A Day's Work"

Time goes by so swiftly when one is busy and as you can see, I have been busy...This latest creation of mine gave me some problems but I think I mastered them....to a certain extent...now if only I could just stop long enough to learn how to use that camera......!!!!!!!

This mat brings back so many memories of days gone by when my Dad, siblings, just about everyone in the small community that I live in, would arise before Daylight and go approximately ten MILES in to the country to cut fire wood...As we live so near to the Ocean, no wood grows close by so an extensive travel and plenty of hard work was involved...It was a full day's work with a "Boil Up"( as we are so famous for in Newfoundland), at noon and time for a little rest before getting back to the chore of wood cutting... By the way, there is nothing more tasty than tea boiled in a kettle on an open fire and molasses bread...yummy!!! When the wood was cut, then the long walk home...I can remember seeing about ten to twelve horses arriving home with their master and a full load of fire wood...Next day, if weather permitted, they were off to the same chore again...remember there were no ATV's or Skidoos as there are today. People had to be really exhausted at the end of a day such as this, don't you think???

"RECIPE"

Here is the Recipe for those great "Green Tomato Pickles" that I posted the picture of in my last entry. Especially for you, Mary.....

4 pounds of green tomatoes
2 large onions
1 red pepper
1/4 cup pickling salt
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. mustard seed
1 1/2 tsp.celery salt
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Method:
Cut up tomatoes, onions, and pepper; sprinkle with salt and leave over night.
Next day, rinse before combining with boiled vinegar, sugar and spices (brine)
Cook for 10 mins. Put cut up vegetables in brine; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.
Put in jars and seal.
Great with sandwiches or as a condiment

ENJOY!!!!!

NO New Mat

No, no mat to show this time around...working on another that I haven't done before but I just thought I would like to share a few pictures of some of our canning, the majority using our home grown vegetables... Spring is in the air for the past few days now and this brings to mind gardening time...


These are Pickeled Beets and Marinated Carrots, both of which I have to say are quite yummy....




Cranberry/ Bankberry Jam....the berries practically grow in our back yard. We did this jam in large containers because we like it very much and is supposed to be a very healthy food. Thanks to Melaine (Woolly Hooker), who gave us a large amount of berries for this...She is a great berry picker.... :) Nothing like that beautiful Newfoundland fresh air and of course the sounds of the sea splashing against the shore while picking those type of berries.... does one's heart good.



Last, but not least, my first try at "Green Tomato Relish", which was a great success...Great on a sandwich or hamburger....Will can some again this year, if the crop is as good as last....

Can Anyone Relate to This Image???

Well, I don't have ALL of my hair pulled out yet but close to it...This Mat sure tested my patience and nerves...I don't know exactly why; Probably because the images are small and many; however, I have done others that have had lots of detail and figures.....Could it be those memories of some cold mornings in a classroom waiting for the Pot Bellied Stove to give out its heat...Remember this, anyone? I'm sure it wasn't just in my area that these stoves, coal buckets, wood boxes, etc. were popular....Popular...don't know about that...That was all People knew and so we got some of our education in this kind of environment...Remember now, there were at least two grades in each classroom. How did the poor teacher ever keep everything straight? The Boys were responsible for bringing in the "splits" (kindling) to get the fire started, then coal would be added...I have added colors under the stove because our mitts, gloves, caps would be wet after walking to school....plow through that snow and there were not many days that we stayed at home because of the snow....When there were, I remember either my brother or father coming to gather us with a Horse and Slide...no such thing as in a vehicle; we didn't have one...And how I LOVED those stormy days when this happened....Loved that old White Horse...

The two girls in the front of the classroom are passing a note from one to the other...We always did that and were quite embarrassed when the teacher caught us and read the note and probably it was about a guy in class that we were admiring...Oh, the red cheeks!!!!!

I am not getting a good picture with this new camera that I have...probably if I read the manual, I would do better...The Border is a Green with just one row of Red....Just double click for a closer shot....hope you enjoy....

Frustration & Helpers

I have been trying to design another mat...one that I hadn't done before and have been at it for three days...The picture is there in my mind and so clear; yet I couldn't seem to get it to the burlap...Talk about Frustration....I thought I should give up on it and not bother...go on to another one...but No Way, I persisted and I have begun to hook it...Not sure if it will be suitable to show after it is completed.... :)

While in a turmoil over this, I dropped some burlap on the floor and when I reached to pick it up, Goldie had planted herself on top...not sure why the picture is so golden color...but here it is anyways...







After three days of brutal mental work, I laid it on the floor, to see what it looked like, or if it should go in the garbage, when Lo and Behold, Spedo decides he would like to rest on it...He was looking at me as if to assure me that the pattern was ok....I praised him for giving me the courage to keep it...:) :)




And some people say: "Animals are dumb"....Not in my house....

Winter STILL

Well, we had a nice sunny day yesterday but nature must have been just torturing us because today we are having a bunch of snow yet again...

I am posting a picture of my beautiful little hometown of approximately 150 people. This is a portion of it. So picturesque...and Winter sure adds its beauty...
The green building is my former Grocery/Convenience Store, which has been converted into a House now and the White two-storey house to the left of it is my mother-in-laws, who passed away a year ago but left it for those members of the family who wishes to visit in the Summer months, or whenever the spirit moves them...such a great gesture...She sure loved her old homestead and worked very hard to keep things together as her husband died at the very early age of 57, as did my Dad, because of an industrial disease..





We managed to open the Root Cellar to get some supplies two days ago...Have to be careful not to let frost get in there...:)


Also, a picture of our Greenhouse..

New Design

Even though there has been plenty of snow to shovel along with every day life chores & activities, I have managed to complete yet another mat....this one being a New Design for me...I have always loved, and still do to this day, seeing clothes hanging and swinging in the wind on a clothesline...Brings back memories of when I was a young girl when Mom would hang the clothes and when it was brought in at evening time, the nice fresh smell would emanate through the house and when we snuggled in our beds, two or three to a bed lots of times, the smell was so heavenly..I swear we all slept much better that night.
At those times, there were no washers & dryers...just a washboard and tub and later a washing machine with a "dasher" and wringer in it...I don't know how many of you can relate to this as I can.....
Happy thoughts for me....