Fall Is Here

I love this time of year: the crisp air, the color, the golden light on the trees as the sun sets. Time seems to be moving at a more accelerated pace every year, it seems.

I also wanted to wish everyone a very warm and happy Thanksgiving. :)

Sour Cream Apple Pie

I have been wanting to try making a sour cream apple pie for a while (how time flies!) and finally got the time to try it. It will become part of our holiday recipes from here on out! Creamy and tangy, with the apples still crisp, not too sweet. I cut back on the amount of sugar in the original recipe and substituted low fat sour cream. I also realized I do not own a pie dish, so I used a store bought crust until I remedy that situation. I used five large apples and it was piled really high going into the oven but got to a more reasonable level after it was done. Unfortunately it's not the best photo, but the pie was delicious!!!

Baby Gift

Here is a gift I made for a friend having a baby. It's gender neutral, but in a very cute sort of way. :) Both fabrics are 100% cotton flannel, and it's oversized in case it's used for swaddling.

Illustration Friday: Vacant

One of the first exercises that we did in painting class was a visit to blind contour drawing. We had to draw each other without looking at the paper, and of course that always has some rather interesting results. Then we had to take our drawing and transfer it to canvas and paint it. Our instructor actually encouraged us to push the boundaries even more and use strong colors, so I ended up wiping off the face and attempting to re-do it in our next session, but didn't get very far. I was originally not going to post this painting because it's really not the type of style I paint, but it was such a perfect illustration of Illustration Friday's "Vacant" theme that I decided to just get over it and post it. I've been thinking about adding a pair of eyes to the original painting and call it "Eyes Without A Face" after the Billy Idol song. It's painted in oils on canvas.

Blue Ridge Parkway

This past weekend we traveled to Asheville to see the leaves change color. I took this off one of the stops along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The weather was perfect and the colors were gorgeous.

Bebeh Squirrel

The weather was quite nice yesterday late afternoon and DH and I decided to spend a little time enjoying our yard. We heard a shrill noise coming from one of our trees and could not quite put a finger on whether it was a bird or what. Walking around we figured out what tree it was coming from, a large oak near the back of the house. We were standing under it looking up and an object dropped on the grass under the tree in front of us and a large owl flew away. It was a baby squirrel, and it was what was making that shrill noise. The poor thing. I wasn't sure it would survive such a large drop and we stood there not quite knowing what to do. We thought about it for a while and could see the little guy was still breathing. We stepped away a ways to see if his mom was coming to get him but after several minutes, nothing happened. After a while DH picked it up and I hit the internet to see what to do. I immediately found a local site with a number to call for volunteers who take care of the little guys and called them and left a message. Meanwhile another site said what to do. DH opted to warm up the little guy in his hands while I made some homemade pedialyte and looked for a dropper to rehydrate him. I fed him a few droppers full and he perked up considerably, though he started rooting around DH's hand nibbling him trying to nurse.

I microwaved some small towels and put them in a box and then lined them with a soft kitchen towel and tucked him in. He fell asleep right away.

An hour later we got a call from the place and they took our location, an hour after that we heard back from a volunteer a few miles away where we took the little guy. The volunteer wondered whether we wanted to raise him ourselves, but I'd need to go get one or two others to raise with him so he wouldn't get too tame. At the end, I knew my boss would likely kill me if I brought baby squirrels to the office to feed, so we opted to just leave the little guy with other ones at the care of the volunteer. I hope he makes it, the volunteer coordinator who took him said he looked pretty good. :)
So that was our good deed of the day for yesterday: baby squirrel rescue. Considering how much squirrels love to dig up and kill my potted plants, well... but how could anyone resist such a cute little guy?

The Latest Doll Quilt

This one is called "Australian Dreams" and made for an exchange:

The recipient loves deep colors and aboriginal art, particularly from Australia. It is machine assembled, the kangaroo is hand embroidered and appliquéd (with a little wax colors added) and hand quilted, with traditional binding.

I am loving making these little quilts. I would love to do a little hexagon quilt, a little cathedral windows one, and a few other ideas using the scraps in my stash.

Illustration Friday: Clique

The fruit theme continues! Here is the latest oil on canvas (8x6"):

Yogurt Herb Loaf

I borrowed a copy of the Enchanted Broccoli Forest from the library and baked a loaf of their yogurt herb quick bread.


It turned out great! Tender and tangy, simply perfect! I must make this one again.

Mmmm, Chocolate

The most popular cake I make shouldn't even be called a cake, because it's incredibly dense and moist, more like a torte than a cake. It's chocolate cake with chocolate chips and chocolate icing, and has just made an appearance at the office potluck by request.


It's the Darn Good Chocolate Cake from the Cake Mix Doctor, except I usually substitute fat free sour cream (or yogurt), and add more chocolate chips than the recipe calls for and drizzle with melted chocolate icing, because you can never have too much chocolate. It's not completely made from scratch, but no one ever complains.

Another Doll Quilt!

I made this little doll quilt for another friend I was exchanging handmade things with. It's made from leftover scraps from a larger quilt I'd cut out a year an a half ago. I called it Hydrangea because the palette is based on the colors of hydrangeas.


It's machine assembled and hand quilted (stitch in the ditch) with traditional binding.

Back to Fruit

I'm back to my comfort zone and it shows! I was much happier painting yesterday's piece.

Oil painting, 8x8" canvas.

No Need to Knead

So I tried my hand as this no-knead bread thing and it worked! I of course substituted whole wheat flour for the regular flour it called for, but it turned out better than I expected!

Perfect with a little brie and a glass of wine!

Maybe I Should Stick to Fruit

Had a frustrating landscape painting day. I have admitted that landscape painting is not my forte, and this week's painting definitely shows it.


I told my instructor I'm taking a break from landscapes for now and going back to fruit next week.

Colorful Chickies

I am not into chickens or roosters, though I inherited a few hens and a rooster when I bought my first home years ago - the sellers even put them in the contract! It was quite the adventure figuring out how to care for them and watching all the chicken drama they got into. They each had their own personality. I wasn't all that good at country living and the chickens were left with the house's new owners when it was sold. I can't believe I actually miss having chickens sometimes, particularly after having been so dead set against them when I got that house.

I couldn't help but smile when I saw these little guys in the store. They were so colorful that I couldn't resist them, and I don't even like knickknacks or figurines (due to a strong aversion to dusting.) A lady walked by as I was picking them out (still surprised at myself that I liked them so much) and exclaimed, "Those chickens! I couldn't resist them either and had to get some last time I was here!" Well, at least I wasn't the only one!


Now they roost on the studio windowsill and make me smile every time I see them.