Cricket in a Biscuit

Sometimes life gets busy, and my to-do list really begins to weigh me down. When that happens, my tendency is to lengthen the list even further by adding craft projects. I retreat from the things I have to do and settle in with what I'd rather do. Whenever I have a prolific craft week, is is safe to assume it is the result of procrastination at its finest. One thing I could not put off was cooking more pumpkin. When it is time, it is time, so we made another run at the pumpkin patch pie. This time, I kept things nice and simple, and we were pleased with the results.  Roast Pumpkin Dessert Small pie pumpkin(s) 2 large apples (honeycrisp or Braeburn are good) 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp cinnamon  Pinch of nutmeg Wash small pie pumpkin(s), cut off the top and remove the seeds. Peel and slice apples, toss with sugar and spices. Spoon the apple mixture into the pumpkin, replace the lid and bake at 350° F for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until pumpkin ...

Soap, socks, sheep, sewing, sawing and siblings Last week , I mentioned wanting to try an old, but new to me, recipe for pumpkin patch pie. The little girls and I stuffed a pumpkin with apples, dried cranberries, cinnamon and sugar, too much nutmeg and baked it. In the end, it wasn't as good as we'd hoped, but still worth another shot after some adjustments. Our savory fall dish before, during and after baking. I tried a couple new soap recipes. The first was a deodorizing kitchen soap made with coffee. I found the recipe in a book of hot process soaps checked out from the library. Before returning the book, I copied down the most intriguing recipes. The first I tried was a goat milk soap. It was a nice soap, but through it I discovered a preference for cold process. Fortunately, most recipes can be used with either process, so I used cold process for the kitchen soap. It was a large batch. I have a  mold Darren made from a rain gutter, which turns out the perfe...

Can you believe it is October already?! My dad always says time passes more quickly as you get older. Boy, is he ever right! I'm sure having a million things going all the time also contributes. I don't have much to show for crafts this week; my life is being consumed by another large project. However, I did start and finish a pair of mittens and made some progress on a project I haven't touched in a long time: my sweater spin . I am enamored with that project, but so many things keep me from it.  The mitten project has been a lot of fun as well. What little kid doesn't want to wear mittens made from their very own sheep? Handspun, hand-dyed and knit for a young girl from the fleece of her very own sheep. Sweater spin: one single down, many more to go. On the fitness side, I finished Country Heat , which was a great program. I really enjoyed. Over thirty days, I lost five pounds, which I credit mostly to being disciplined with clean eating. I got a l...

Over the course of the week, I've had a chance to ponder and come to conclusions on a couple things. First, I'm going to continue with this video-blog for a while, and just see where it goes. Also, I've decided to call it, the Dahlhouse — not too clever, not too punny. It's how I refer to our home, so it seems an appropriate title for a chronicle of our goings on. With that all covered, it's been a busy week, so let's get started! Finished objects The first Owlie sock is finished. Barely! The toe decreases in the pattern continue until eight stitches are left. I generally don't like to decrease that much. The sock fit at my usual 24 stitches, so that's where I stopped — with less than five yards left! Hopefully the skein for the second sock has better yardage. I also finished knitting the Ignot cowl , which will be donated to our church bazaar. The yarn is a spindle spun 3-ply from a polwarth silk blend by, Darn Knit Anyway, wrapped with baby ...