Maple Sugaring Season Is Here & Shoppe Updates

Good afternoon everyone. It is such a blustery and cold day here today, all day the wind has been whistling and howling through the stove pipe . I've spent the afternoon nice and cozy inside creating while Mark, Michael and Gary have spent the day tapping trees and setting up gathering tanks....Sugaring Season has begun! I was going to be a good wife and bring them hot coffee laced with Bailey's ..they are probably wondering why I haven't as this is something I always do.....but they are too far off in the woods and I need to finish this post...get my newsletter sent and start dinner...so...they will have to go without this year! I'm sure they'll give me a hard time over being to busy for them and tell me that if Kurt was out there with them..I would have been out there three times already with Hot Chocolate! That is true..but he's my son so you can all understand that I am sure!:) Speaking of my sweet Kurt..he is feeling better and the swelling is starting to go down a bit.

Now on to my online shoppe updates; Due to the fact that it completely escaped my mind that February was a short month and that we've had a bit of craziness here..I've only got one item available on each site..These two lovelies in the sneak peek below will be available on The Humble Arts & Simply Primitives tomorrow.

Available on my website tomorrow is a set I've been wanting to make for a while now. I love how it came out! Here's a little sneak peek!

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Have a great night everyone, I'm off to start dinner...chicken fajitas and pasta salad.......stay warm!

Doreen

My Kurt is okay....

Good morning everyone. I just wanted to drop you a note and let you all know that Kurt is okay. He has an extremely severe tooth abscess...he hit his tooth a couple of weeks ago playing hacky sack..he said he bent down ..didn't realize the chair was so close and whacked his tooth...he said it hurt at the time..but hasn't bothered him since....except for feeling a little loose last week...well..i guess it killed the tooth....and when it became loose bacteria built up inside the hollow area and developed an abscess. This past weekend when I was there he said he hadn't been feeling good...but so much is going around...I just assumed it was the flu coming on or something. Wednesday he called and said his tooth was hurting..told me what had happened and what he thought was causing the trouble..he went and saw the campus nurse and she put him on antibiotics and some pain meds and said he would need to get into the dentist within the the next day or two....well,..it got bad faster than we could get him in to the dentist....He was taken to the emergency room in horrible pain...thank goodness Jenna is at school with him.....they gave him a shot of Dilaudid.. which is apparently a "Hydromorphine injection" let's you know exactly how much pain he was in doesn't it! Anyway..he was then taken to an oral surgeon where they drilled a hole in his tooth and drained the abscess. My poor Kurt..you should have seen him...he was literally unrecognizable his face was so swollen and disfigured. I was shocked when I saw him. He was running a high fever, vomiting..it was awful. After the abscess was drained and he slept for the afternoon he was starting to improve thank God. He has to continue on pain meds and antibiotics and as soon as the infection is completely gone and the tooth is "dry" he has to have a root canal!

Thank you all so much for your comments here and for your emails! You are all such wonderful and caring friends! Big hugs to you. Now I'm off to play catch up! Doreen

~E-patterns are now available~

Good afternoon. I am very pleased to announce that E-patterns are now available for sale on my website. I just have two available right now......I'm hoping to get at least one more added today and the rest added tomorrow.....It's time consuming to get everything converted over but I'm doing my best.

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I wanted to thank you all for stopping by for my Grand Opening and for your sweet, sweet emails.....you are all such wonderful friends and I'm so thankful for each one of you! My winter open house went splendidly! I'm so thrilled to have my own little cyber-shop. I'm having a great time with it.

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I'll be away this weekend as I'm headed up to Paul Smith's to visit the kids. Jenna's roommate is moving off campus so Jenna will have a lovely room all to herself..she is quite excited.....SOooo..I will be going up to help her rearrange everything and make a nice little college "Suite". I'll be leaving Saturday morning and won't be back home until Sunday night. Mark was a little dissapointed to hear I would be gone overnight but I have high hopes that he'll make it through the night without me. :) He's probably secretly glad to have the house to himself....he just would never tell me that..:) Jenna called this morning with a big list of things I need to bring...homemade Macaroni and Cheese being one of them....:)..and of course some cookies and snacks..:)...guess I know what i will be doing tomorrow afternoon!


Have a great day everyone...enjoy this sunshine!
Doreen

Some Changes Are Taking Place

~Early Homestead Pin Keep~
Available on Simply Primitives

Good morning everyone. I hope everyone's Valentines Day was a wonderful one. Mark and I went to dinner at our favorite restaurant, The Iron Lantern...mmmm, gosh, the food is so delicious!
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Well, as I am sure you have noticed...the look of things has changed around here.....my new template coordinates with the look of my new website and I just think they look nicer if they match :). It's going to take a bit of getting use to ......right now I feel things are a little crowded..but after a day or two I'll have everything arranged how I like it and all will be well again.

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I'm just about ready for my "Olde Fashioned Winter Open House" this afternoon..I have a couple of last minute things to do and everything will be ready..I'm very excited..I think everything looks wonderful.

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I'm off now to send out my newsletter.......I do apologize....it should have gone out yesterday but I just did not have the time to get it done. Don't forget to stop by Simply Primitives and check out all the new and wonderful offerings. By the way..this sweet gal;

~Miss Crissy Forsythia~

Is available as a finished piece on Simply Primitives and she is also available as a pattern on my website.

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Have a wonderful day everyone, see you all this afternoon!
Hugs,
D
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Good afternoon, it would seem spring is in the air...

A Sweethearts Pin Keep~ A version of these will be available on Sunday for my website grand opening

Good afternoon. I thought I would take a few minutes and say a quick hello to everyone while things are in the oven drying. It's raining and 42* here this afternoon.....It would seem we are having our January thaw a bit late this year.....I stood on the front porch this morning enjoying my coffee and actually heard the spring birds chatting away...I'm not sure if this means we are going to have an early spring or if the little birds are going to have to endure a bit of snow and cold ...we shall see i guess. Mark and his sugaring partner Michael just may have to get their supplies ready a bit early this year...that's what the air smells like to me...Sugaring Time! It will be here very soon!

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I had a little accident this past Saturday which put me slightly out of commission for a day or two.....I drove one of my clay tools through my finger....it went in the bottom and out through the nail...!!!! ..I actually didn't feel it going in.......however, once in there....OH MY LORD...it felt like someone was holding my finger in searing hot oil..........the tissue swelled immediately and I could not take it out myself..of course..I was home alone when I did this very stupid thing..(Mark was in the woods working at his parents house).... fresh out of the shower and with only my robe on...i called my mom in law (she's a nurse ).."Ummm...Mimi...can you come over here..I've stabbed myself with one of my clay tools and I'm not sure what to do".....)..while she was on her way over I tried to get myself dressed as I was NOT going to the dr's in my robe....well..this is not an easy task when you have a 5" long sharp pointy thing sticking out of your finger...the sweat was literally dripping off me and I came close to vomiting more times than I can count..I finally gave up and waited for Ruth.....when she came in the door..she goes..."what happened hon"...I held up my hand..and for a quick second...she had a look of horror on her face...lol....it's funny now to think about it...however, it was not funny at the time!!! Long story short..(i know..too late for that)...clothes on...bumpy road traveled.....finger numbed...pain pills taken.. sharp pointy tool removed....finger bandaged ...tetanus shot injected...crying subsided...lol....and that's the end of that story!!!!

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(a little sneak peek at Miss Hiver ~Available on Sunday, February 15th on my website )

Okay....gotta run and get dinner started...grilled chicken and baked potatoes tonight. Have a wonderful evening everyone.

~Joyous Groundhog Day~Cheddar Corn Chowder

"Away in a meadow all covered with snow,
The little old groundhog looks for his shadow,
The clouds in the sky determine our fate,
If winter will leave us all early or late."
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I for one...am not at all disappointed that the little old groundhog saw his shadow!

I wanted to share a recipe with you to keep you warm during these snowy six more weeks of winter.


Cheddar Corn Chowder

* 8 ounces bacon, chopped
* 1/4 cup good olive oil
* 2 cups chopped red onions
* 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup flour
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 12 cups chicken stock
* 6 cups medium-diced Yukon Gold potatoes, (2 pounds)
* 2 Cans of Creamed Corn
* 2 cups half-and-half
* 8 ounces CABOT cheddar cheese, grated

Directions

In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes,
until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar.

Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Crumble bacon and either stir it into the chowder or serve sprinkled on top of each individual serving. Enjoy!
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The original recipe is from Barefoot Contessa (who I love) but I've altered it a bit to use some of my favorite ingredients. Try it...I promise you will not be disappointed. We just had it one night last week and I'm making it again for dinner tonight as Mom and Dad are coming over for dinner and they are dying to try it.

Enjoy your day
Doreen