Is it an addiction if...

I really enjoy many things,

baking

family

animals

sewing

crocheting

quilting

many other fiber arts

crafts of all kinds

gardening.

OK, so I enjoy lots and lots of things.

But I just discovered that I LOVE

homemade butter pecan ice cream!

I can't seem to make it fast enough.  

I want it every time I go into the kitchen.

I found myself making it for breakfast!

So do you think I need help?

Should I join a group?

While you think about that I think I will go into the kitchen...

Anticipating Ghosts

I sometimes wonder if we have lost the art of anticipation with our fast paced, quick result, on demand lives.

I am happy that it lives on in my family.

One of our family traditions is when I make ghost cookies this time of year.

Only this time of year.

My family looks forward to their arrival.

It seems that each year they look forward to it even more eagerly.

So last month I announced that the one who helped me put up my Halloween decorations this year would get the first call when the cookies were done.

I should not have been surprised then when my grandson helped me

 THE END OF SEPTEMBER.

Beginning in October my granddaughter started calling every day to see if I had baked them yet.

She worried her brother would get too many as he is a growing boy!

And just to be on the safe side her brother took to stopping by every few days.

My daughter is staying with me for a few weeks so she was not worried.

Her brother on the other hand began asking me to babysit his little girl more and more frequently and would use that as an excuse to call just to be sure I was available.

Yeah, I wasn't fooled.

As Halloween nears the visits and calls get more frequent.

To the point that I found someone camped out on my couch last night.

OK, I can take the hint. 

Soooooo I stayed up till 2:00 a.m. baking ghost cookies like the ones I posted about here.

It was definitely worth it.

All the anticipation.

Makes them better than they really are.

Don't tell my family though, because they enjoyed every crumb.

Including the new little granddaughter who got her first ghost cookie.

And of course she had to have her own little ghost costume to wear for the occasion.

As this family grows one batch of cookies this popular is simply not going to be enough.

So I imagine I will be baking more in the next week or two!

I suspect this may well be what I am remembered for.

I am OK with that.

Moroccan Hassock Finished

With the seam repaired, it was time to work on stuffing.

My grandson arrived just in time to take over cutting out the foam.

Even though we both expected it to be the perfect filling we agreed it just did not work.

So I ended up filling it with and old pillow and fiberfill.

Worked well, don't you think?

Here is a close-up so you can see the lovely tooling and colored details even though it is well worn.  I just realized that the star around the central camel looks very much like a popular star quilt block.  Now that is interesting.  I wonder if there is a connection or it is just a coincidence.

New Halloween Treat

I just could not resist trying this Halloween treat that I saw somewhere online. 

Did you notice the 'ghost' in the platter?  

That is of course a reflection of the ghost on the spout of the tea pot.

I made a set of them last year as napkin rings but this one just seemed right on my tea pot.

Oh wait I just remembered.  Thank goodness.  My memory is slowing down but still seems to be working!  Hmmm much like the rest of me.   The recipe can be found here.

My grandson taste tested them and assured me they are great.  I think just a bit sweet but love the sweet/salty/touch of chocolate mixture!

Finding my projects

I had another project present itself. 

Yeah, just what I needed!  

As I was sorting at mom's house this summer I ran across a leather hassock I had sent mom and dad many years ago from Morocco.  It is well worn and had a seam that had burst.  (have to wonder if my little brother had something to do with that)

So I had my son bring over his dad's hand thingy for sail making.  I am sure there is a proper name for it.  Can you spot it in the middle of this picture?

I actually only needed it a couple of times to start the needle through as there were existing holes where it had been machine stitched.

Yes, I could have taken it to a cobbler but I had all the tools to fix it by hand and enjoyed sitting on the patio doing so.

I will post photos when I have completed this project.