The ol' homestead

that is a line that Caudius says at the end of the mini series (more below)

I have been quite busy so that is the reason that I am using to explain my lack of blogging this week.

I have several things I would like to share with you starting with that special gift for a friend that I said I would show you after I gave it to her after Christmas. I filet crocheted her last name and blocked it and found a suitable frame and here it is done now and on her wall. I will refer to this dear family as the Full House (after all there is 9 in their family!)

And here is mom and dad Full House:

This Saturday while running errands and grocery shopping for the week Randy and I met up with the Full House and had lunch at a recommened vietnamese noodle house called Pho Hoa. We ordered spring rolls to begin with in which I dipped it into red sauce and found out right away that it was dang hot spicy red sauce. The pho noodles came in clear, rice and egg and I ordered the clear which reminded me of gummy noodles after a bit. We all had different pho, mine being chicken (and had little dime sized quail eggs floating around!) But some of the more adventerous had seafood with tripe, brains and squid -not bad but a little rubbery. I loved the sprouts and herbs brought out on a platter to add to the soup and adding lime seemed to enhance the soup. As in the spirit of the culture I only used the chopsticks to eat with and seemed to improve on using them toward the end of the meal. The bowls of noodle soup were really large and I do not believe out of 13 of us not one was able to finish. We laughed and had a great time taking in a whole new culture and I can't wait to do it again. Like mom Full House said -we are making memories here today.....

Here is an article about it in the New York Times  

Yesterday I was at moms and we made bread bread and more bread. I was actually showing her how to make rueben bread and kaiser rolls and sub buns and we just ended up making a lot of bread. We had a great visit and plan to have another go at it in a few weeks. I was pressed for time afterwards for supper as I planned on enchiladas and after making the enchilada sauce, spicy salsa and spanish rice, I remembered why I do not make them very often, they are time consuming, but they were GOOD!

I just started reading Ken Follett's "The Pillars of the Earth". It seems to be good so far and came highly recommended and I just finished Francine Rivers "Voice in the Wind" which was set during the time of the Roman empire and thought it neat that the timeline went along with a 650 minute mini series Randy and I just finished watching called "I Claudius". All I can say is MY. OH. MY. Lots of treachery, poisoning, and immorality going round then....Here is a short take on the series: 

The elderly Roman emperor Claudius writes his memoirs, telling of the history of the Roman empire through his own period of rule. It begins as Augustus is emperor, and his scheming wife Livia will stop at nothing to make her son from a previous marriage Tiberius the next emperor. This conflict sets the stage for a long period of intrigue and double-crosses among the Roman elite, all of it witnessed by Claudius, whose limp and stammer cause everyone to think him simple-minded and thus leave him alone. But Claudius in fact posesses a very keen intellect, and is determined to see justice be done and Rome returned to a Republican form of government. 

Daddy was out of town overnight and so the girls made a surprise dinner for him on his return. The dinnner turned out yummy. We had casserole with corn fritters and chocolate mousse for dessert. Little Miss set a very nice table and made it very special for daddy and we were even waited on and ate by candlelight. Daddy was very appreciative and was glad to be home.

da hot fritters with honey butter...mmm....

I have been giving a sewing class on Fridays over at the Full House for the last three weeks. The kids are doing great and have learned the basics of the sewing machine and have practiced making little things but we have moved along and now have learned to read a pattern, and pin and cut out. This week we are going to start sewing our projects which are aprons and pillows. The kids are so excited about learning to sew and I know this will be a life long skill they will always know and enjoy.

I will have the menu up in a day or so and will share the recipe of a delicious remake of Texas Sheet Cake your gonna love.

I leave you with a picture of The Pink Lady...

What do you think, is this the .38 special for me???? lol.

Blessings to you and yours!