Generosity

 

Weekend Links {Dreaming of Greenhouses}

 

Our weather in WY has finally started to feel ever so slightly spring-like (spring-ish?). Trying not to get my hopes up too much, but I am so excited to see anything green and brave enough to grow in our cold spring weather.

I’ve been dreaming about having a greenhouse for a long while now. What is it about them that is so charming?

Aside from their charm, a greenhouse would extend our growing season nicely. 

What with the windy/snowy/cold springs and early fall frost/snow and all.

These are a few of the beauties I’ve been drooling over pinning to my greenhouse board.  You can see my Pinterest board HERE.

There are less expensive and less permanent greenhouses and kits available at Amazon, too!

These two caught my eye this week.  But there are many more sizes and styles to choose from.

Sadly, though, one of these lovely greenhouses probably is not in my budget this year.

Sigh.  But I can still dream... You never know what God might do if you dream big, right?

Lovely weekend to you all :)

Crochet Pooh Bear

 

He turned out pretty cute! Not exactly like Pooh, but pretty close for a crochet version.

He was kind of time consuming to crochet, but not really too difficult. If you’d like to make your own, I used this pattern on Ravelry for Pooh himself and his red sweater.  I used 2 strands of dark brown yarn to embroider the face.  A picture of Pooh from a book was my guide for placement of his features.

Pooh is ready to take up residence in my newest grandbaby’s nursery :)

Happy crocheting!!

Shop Update

 

Happy Wednesday!

The weather is finally taking a turn for the better.  As least for the next few days…

My girl and I are trying to get a few things done in the yard/garden, but I have some shop updates for you.

Special request baby blanket… I liked the colors she picked for her new niece so much I made another one for Puddin’ Toes.

These are three blankets that I’ve made over quite a few times! The elephants and the cars go almost faster than I can crochet them ;)

 

At the Prairie Cottage, I’ve also remade my colonial flag ripple blanket a few times. . . including a custom baby blanket for a Marine family.  Awww, so sweet!

 

Several new crochet garlands at the cottage.  They seem to be quite popular… The yellow and gray granny/flower garland is my favorite though :)

Blessings to you!

 

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

The recipe calls this poppy seed “bread” but it’s really more “cake” than bread.  Sweet, but not too sweet.  You could probably put some icing on it, but we prefer it without.

It’s really easy and is one of the few recipes I use a mix for.  It makes enough for company or you can freeze one of the loaves for later!

LEMON POPPY SEED BREAD

1 yellow cake mix
1 package (3 oz) instant lemon pudding mix
3 tablespoons flour {high altitude use 4 tablespoons}
2 tablespoons poppy seeds 
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil 

Place dry ingredients into a mixer bowl.  Mix to combine.  Add wet ingredients and beat with a mixer for 2 minutes.  Bake @ 350 in 2 loaf pans or 1 Bundt pan 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out cleanly.

Variations: 
Chocolate Poppy Seed Cake: Substitute chocolate cake mix and chocolate instant pudding. 
Almond Vanilla Poppy Seed Cake: Substitute white cake mix, vanilla instant pudding and add 1 teaspoon almond extract. 

**This bread freezes very well.  We like to freeze it already sliced, but you can freeze it by the loaf too! Wrap in saran wrap and freeze in a freezer container or Ziploc bag.

 

Blessings to you!

Generosity

 

Signs of….. spring?

 

I’m enjoying seeing many of your garden updates this spring! So far there is not much to report here on the high plains…

Snowy pine trees:

 

Daffodils right before the first 10 inches of snow (they may or may not have made a slight miscalculation in when to appear :)

This buried birdhouse is almost 3 feet tall…

And this, THIS is a raised bed – somewhere under there:

We have been blessed with 32 inches of snow {so far} in April 2013… 

While April is our wettest month and we do tend to get some snow along with the rain…. it is usually a LOT warmer in April, in spite of the snow.

This was on my computer a week ago. Notice the {{minus}} before the wind chill. Brrr!!

Oh, and the 40 degrees on Thursday? Got my hopes up, but it. never. happened.

Today we have a  winter storm warning for the next 24 hours, with 6-12 inches more snow expected!

Here are a couple things I’m wishing for considering for the garden (if it every stops snowing)!

For obvious reasons, I would love to have this greenhouse. Or really any greenhouse-type structure…

This pretty thing would be so much easier than the hoop houses I use now!

Has anyone ever tried this Fiskar weeder? It looks so ingenious, but do they really work?