It is Nice to Be Busy

Things have been pretty busy around our house lately.  My Etsy shop Grammas Gifts has picked up again, and that keeps me hooking. I am taking two classes online and am learning to study all over again. Then we did have seven new puppies come along, my Granddaughter brought her dog Daisy for a visit and she decided to stay a bit. I was also trying to get ready for Easter at the new house, the little guys and I will be heading to Montello and the Annual Easter Bunny Parade. This is the fifth year and each year the crowd grows. The kids really look forward to this. Being from the Chicago area, as kids we went to the mall and saw the Easter Bunny. In this area there is no place to take the kids, and the Garden Center has been kind enough to bring the Easter Bunny to the folks of all ages who live here. Now add to that they we are in the process of trying to get my five year old niece here from Tennessee. Visits with social workers and loads of red tape. The probate on my Uncles estate is still hanging open , so yes we are busy here.
Even though all this is going on I had to get ready for spring. I decided to make what I am calling a diabetic Easter wreath, let me give you a peek....here is a link for the peeps

Marshmallow peep like bunnies.....NO SUGAR involved

Nothing fancy, but a touch of spring on my front door.

our seven little puppies are now wide eyed and crawling everywhere!  The Mom is overwhelmed, so many little mouths to feed.

These are our two guys last year when the weather was warm, the snow was gone and it felt like spring. This year we may be wearing snow boots and mittens to hunt for eggs.

I don't Do Well With Changes

For as long as I can remember I do not take change well. I realize that as life goes on things must change, but that doesn't make it any easier for me to adjust to. So much has happened since my last post I am at a loss as to where I should start.

    Probably the biggest change is last week we lost our favorite UNCLE. Uncle Eddie was , perfect. Kind, sweet and as good a guy as you will ever find. The perfect son, brother and uncle. In the past seven years since my Gram has passed away he has been with us for holidays to keep the family going. He is probably best remembered for the line of kids waiting to kiss him goodbye before he left. Some of us got in line more than once, he never minded that! I am handling this much better than I thought because he is with my Gram now and both can chat the days away. In heaven I bet he's bowling again. I will think of thunder in a whole new way from now on. The saddest part is the little ones in the family did not have nearly enough time to get to know him. He will be greatly missed at our house.
   Luckily for me I have a wonderful friend who is more like a sister, Jean for the Teapot Quilt Cottage and Garden Center in Montello. In good times and those awful times she is always there to lend a shoulder and help talk me through the tears.
    I started taking college courses online!  Will I run off and get a career? Maybe, if not I will still show the kids if Gramma can do it so can YOU.
   We are getting ready for a move.  That means packing and unpacking. I did mention I hate change and this will surely add to the stress in the house. On a good not the kids will be out of school and can help. Can help, should help!

  I have also added some new items to the shop and hopefully after catching up on orders can get a few more done.

A holiday weekend ahead with a birthday party and BBQ ( speaking of BBQ, here is a great take along salad recipe from Pioneer Woman ), two small boys 2 puppies, 3 kittens 2 dogs and a cat, it should be a piece of cake! Have a safe weekend!

Good Friends

Well the weather here is chilly and the upcoming days are supposed to be wet and cold so I was happy to spend the day at home with my good friend Jean who own The Teapot Quilt Cottage and Garden Center. We caught up on small talk and things going on in the town. Had tea and chatted while I helped her set up an Etsy shop. Jean has so many beautiful quuilted items and recycled wool and denim things, I can't wait to watch her fill the shop. I will share the link with you when she gets some items listed.

Of course, I have no idea where she finds the time. Jean and her husband have a farm where they grow the produce sold at the garden center, their stand and local farmers markets. Besides running the Teapot Quilt Cottage 7 days a week. The shop is amazing with treasures in every corner. From cookbooks and jellies, fabric and yarn to rag quilts and wool mittens. Amazing

These photos are from last year, they now have replaced the tent with a white gazebo , but there are loads of pumpkins and fall items as well as a shop full of things to see. If you are passing through Montello droop in and see for yourself.

I added another fun hat to the Etsy shop yesterday......and yes I facebooked it and the model was thrilled! NOT

 

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

GINGERSNAPPY CRUST
1	box gingersnaps (about 16 oz.)
1	stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
1/4	cup sugar
1/2	cup pecans, chopped fine
1/4 tsp	cayenne pepper (trust me)
FILLING
3 pkg	(8 oz. each) cream cheese, room temperature (may use low-fat, but do not use fat free)
1 1/4	cups pumpkin puree-- 15oz. can (not pumpkin pie filling)
5 lg	eggs
1	cup sugar
1/2	cup heavy cream
2 tsp	ground cinnamon
1 tsp	ground ginger
1/2 tsp	ground cloves
1/2 tsp	freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp	allspice
1/2 tsp	salt
SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE
1/2	cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2	cup sugar
1/2	stick (1/4 cup) butter
1/3	cup water
1/4	cup heavy cream (can use milk)
1/2 tsp	pure vanilla extract
1/2 to 3/4 tsp	salt (trust me)
	crumbled gingersnaps for garnish
	toasted pecan halves for garnish

Todays Easter Bunny Parade

The parade went off very well, the sky clouded up a few times but that did not stop the Bunny from making his 4th annual stroll through the downtown. We gathered candy at some of the local businesses and tried not to tie up traffic too much as we crossed the highway. From little ones in their bunny or duck hats to Ladies in their Easter Bonnets. It was alot of fun. We got a kids head count of 79, a big increase from last year so we are all very happy about that. It would be nice if next year more of the businesses took a minute to join in handing out candy as the kids passed by. Maybe after hearing about the turnout and seeing the write up going in the paper they will. Thanks to B&B, Brandon, The Silver-Smith, Granite Fall, Tambears , Yahooz and The Olde Time Barber Shop for joining in. Also a huge thank you to Jean and Bob from the Garden Center and Teapot Quilt Cottage on Hwy. 22. Without them the Bunny would not have been here!

Thinking of Cherry Pie

   Being home full time now has its up and downs.  As much as I love being able to work in my pajamas and sipping coffee while working here on the computer I do miss a few things from being downtown. Now I don't want to mislead anyone when I say downtown. I live just outside of Montello, Wisconsin so, downtown consists of a few main streets and a handful of shops, a few taverns, beauty shops and gas stations. We do have a pharmacy and a grocery store.



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One of my favorite shops in town I have mentioned before is the Teapot Quilt Cottage and after looking over the February class schedule noticed that on Saturday February 20th they are having Cherry Pie Day.  Seeing that I just had to ask what was going on.  In the past we have had chocolate tastings, a pumpkin pie bakeoff, christmas cookie and others all in the Cottage. People would enter their tasty dishes for a chance to win a gift cerftificate or small prize, bu the real winners were those who stopped in and tasted, then voted on their favorites. So much fun.  This time Jean is giving out Cherry Pie slices on this day. What a nice treat when you stop in and see alll the great things she has. From quilting supplies and yarn to produce in season and plants. You could make an afternoon of it, just in her shop. 
     Jean and I also started the Easter Bunny Parade in town, over the past few years it has grown into quite a fun tradition for the families in town and those visiting Grandmas on that weekend. Since we started the New Montello Group, about four years ago,  we have worked very hard to get visitors to stop in their journey through Montello and see what there is to offer.
   As of late it seems some things have changed and maybe not for the better.   Promoting a small town is an ongoing project, as each small town is working to attract visitors to keep it alive and growing.  Montello has so many great natural resources and such nice people it just needs to say " HEY, look at me" and get some good attention. Just about one hour north of Madison and about four hours from Chicago it is a great place to visit with the family or maybe a girls weekend.  All that said back to cherry pie
  Since reading about the cherry lices, I went to one of my favorite websitres to look for a recipe to try .
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/01/cherry-cake-pudding/
Over the past few weeks I have made about a dozen recipes from this site and all were raved about.
Cherry Cake Pudding

Ingredients
■Cake
■1 cup Sugar
■2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
■1 whole Egg
■1 cup All-purpose Flour
■1 teaspoon Baking Powder
■⅛ teaspoons Salt
■½ cups Whole Milk
■1 can (15 Ounces) Cherries In Syrup (NOT Cherry Pie Filling) Drained, Juice Reserved
■½ cups Pecans, Finely Chopped
■Sauce:
■1 cup Juice From Cherries (add Water To Make 1 Cup If Necessary)
■1 cup Sugar
■1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
■1 Tablespoon Butter
■½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
■Unsweetened Freshly Whipped Cream

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter a square 9 x 9-inch baking dish.
Cream sugar and butter. Add egg and mix well. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt then add to mixing bowl alternatively with milk. Add cherries and chopped nuts and mix gently. Pour batter into buttered pan and smooth out the surface. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown on the surface and no longer jiggly.
While cake is baking, make the sauce by combining cherry juice, sugar, and flour in a small saucepan. Boil for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thick. Turn off heat and stir in 1 tablespoon butter and vanilla extract.
Drizzle 1/3 of the sauce on the cake as soon as you remove it from the oven. Spread to distribute over the surface and wait ten minutes before serving so the sauce will seep into the top of the cake a bit.

Spoon out pieces of warm, sticky cake and top with unsweetened whipped cream

I can't wait for hubby to get back from the store so I can get this in the oven.

by the way Walmart carries The Pioneer Woman new cookbook, a must have!  I ordered mine online from Walmart as our store was out of them.

All of this cooking has cut into my "hooking " time. I am trying to get a good amount of bunny and spring hats done. I have some of them destined for Josephines in Watertown and the others for Grammas Gifts the Etsy shop. I also just signed on for a show on April 8th in Fitchburg so I will need to get busy.