Tuesday Morning Surprise

My daughter Amy called me yesterday and asked if we'd be up to seeing them early this morning for a quick visit. Of course! Their family drove all night long from Phoenix and were heading to Salt Lake for Dano's sister's wedding. With two little boys in tow, they drove at night hoping the boys would sleep. Realizing they would be passing through St. George around 7 am, Dano was nice enough to suggest they stop to let us kiss on these faces.
With the boys all bundled up in their pajamas, they made a grandma and papa very happy.
Noah was still a little sleepy at first.

Isaak was happy, happy, happy. Happy to get out of the car seat. Happy to see his papa (who he's all about) and happy to race back and forth and back and forth in the family room.
I made them breakfast and kissed some more on these faces.

Why is it the boys always get the long dark eyelashes?

Amy and Dano are such wonderful parents. They were pretty tired from driving all night, but they didn't even show it.
I noticed Dano had grown a mustache! When I asked him about it he said it was a joke. They will be taking formal family pictures for his sister's wedding, and she hates mustache's. Two of the brothers are coming from out of town, and both grew these just to shock her. (Doesn't matter how old they get, brothers just love to tease, don't they?) I'm guessing she will be handing them a razor the minute they walk in.

We only had two hours together, but Noah wanted to get caught up on the latest news. You never know what can happen in the world between midnight and 7 am. Or maybe he's checking out the ads. Look out Amy, you may have a coupon clipper in the family.

Now I have to wait until Christmas to see these beautiful faces again.

I don't know how I'm going to make it.

How Do You Quilt?

What kind of environment do you create when you quilt? Do you like to watch TV, or do you like it quiet? Is there a certain kind of music you listen to?
I love to watch DVD's as I work on a project. I've never been much of a TV watcher, but I love a good movie. One of my favorite places to find great movies is the local library. I especially like this process because its free! I also like to listen to books on tape on my IPOD. I get books on tape from our library too. (Love that free part again.)

My latest find at the library has been old seasons of the TV show "Monk". I never watched it when it was on TV, but now that I can watch multiple episodes commercial free I've become a big fan.
For those who have never watched the show, Mr. Monk is a detective who helps solve crimes as an advisor to the San Francisco police department. He's also had OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and is hysterically funny. Mr. Cactus and I have been watching episodes together and laughing our guts out.
Why do I like Monk? For one, the actor Tony Shalhoub is brilliant in his performance. I also appreciate that the show is family oriented. It may revolve around a crime, but the writers keep the content clean. Another thing I appreciate about the show is that the main characters are all nice people. They care sincerely about each other and despite their personal flaws, are compassionate human beings. How refreshing when so much of TV today only shows the worst in people.
"Monk" is a show we watch as a family. It's a show my 17 year old son loves, and it gives us another topic we can talk about, and laugh about together.
Plus, I think I have a small part of Monk in me. I love things clean and organized. (Eliciting groans from the above mentioned teenager).

Mr. Cactus was out of town for a few days. I had a Monk Marathon and put together most of the inside on the Bridget Millar quilt. My favorite way to work on a quilt.

How about you?

Chocolate Cake in a Mug

A friend sent me this cake in a mug recipe. I think this is such a fun idea to cook with small children or grandchildren. Or it would be a fun treat to fix with the family for Family Home Evening.
5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 T. flour
4 T. sugar
2 T. cocoa
1 egg
3 T. milk
3 T. oil
3 T. chocolate chips (optional)
splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Put in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed.
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate.

First mix the dry ingredients in the mug

Stir in the egg, and then add the rest of the wet ingredients

As it cooks, it rises over the top. Once it's done, it pulls away from the edge of the mug.
Tip out onto plate


I made this with the chocolate chips and noticed they mainly settled to the bottom of the mug. I'm not sure I'd add them next time.
I googled Mug Cake recipes and noticed most started with a ready made cake mix. I liked this one because I was able to use ingredients from scratch.
Also, I felt it would be even better if I had drizzled a frosting over the top. Below is my favorite Ganache frosting recipe that is very easy to do.
Ganache Frosting
20 oz. milk chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 C. heavy cream
Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth. Allow the ganache to cool.

10 More Baskets

"Quilting connects the past with the present and the future."
I've completed 10 more baskets towards my "Satchels" quilt. I've become quite attached to them. Just love looking at the variety of Kaffe fabrics. Only 13 more to go and I can start putting them together. This has been a very relaxing and fun quilt to work on.

A New Find

Don't laugh. Vanna I'm not. But I have a new find that has made my life easier, and I wanted to share it with you. I'm at that age where reading glasses are a must. And not only that, but I must have good lighting to quilt or read. (Anybody else with me at this point? If not skip this post). I found these very cool LED clip on lights for my reading glasses, and I'm telling you, they work in a variety of situations. And besides that I look oh so stylin'. (not)

My friends teased me until they tried them and now everyone wants a pair.

Do you use a great big clip on light on your sewing machine? Another cord to be plugged in, or another item to be dragged around when you take a class? No longer needed.

Do you need better lighting on an airplane when you want to do hand work?

How about reading in the car or wanting to do handwork as the sun goes down?

On a personal note, I bring these out at night when I can't sleep and want to read. The light directs only to the book and doesn't disturb Mr. Cactus snoring away.

They clip right on the side of any glasses, and rotate up to 360 degrees for more precision. They are light weight and have the equivalent brightness of a 40 watt bulb. If you've seen any of the new LED flashlights you know how bright the light shines. I'm now an LED fan.

You can google "Veratti Attachable LED light". I also found them under "Encon Attachable LED light". Or you can go to http://www.labsafety.com/ The package comes with 6 lithium batteries.