I've been busy

So far this winter, either it's been too cold to go out for long or it's been snowing. So, I've had a little extra time to work on some projects that I had been planning to do.

I came across a recipe for home-made Marshmallows a while back, but didn't do it because I didn't have gelatin and I wan't sure if my large saucepan would work. Finally I got some gelatin, so I decided to go ahead and try it. 

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. 

I though it would be scary because it involves boiling sugar until it reaches 250 degrees, then pouring it into the mixer bowl. No problem and it resulted in this fluffy, sweet, preservative-free treat. We put them in our hot chocolate and my favorite way to eat them was to put them on a graham cracker and put them under the broiler. S'mores without the mess!

Just used up the last three tonight...I'll be making s'more ; ) 

And yes, it has been really cold, but on the third of January, 

it was warm enough to hang out my laundry! 

The last time I remember using a clothesline was when I was tiny, back in Florida. Since then we've only used a dryer. But, some families in our church were telling us just how much they were saving on their utilities and we really liked how that sounded. And it also appealed to us because we want to do what we can, in any small way, to help the environment.

So, Daddy put up this beautiful clothesline (with some help from his assistant)

Mom and I cannot wait until Spring, when the sun is shining and the weather is nice and warm...

Even on January 3rd, my sheets dried and once I made up my bed, my whole room smelled like 

sun-dried linens. Nice.

I guess it's the cold weather that's turned me into a knitting fool! It has gotten so that I need a project going all the time...so, I've made Natalie a matching set of a hat, scarf, and mittens.

I also wanted to make a sweater from a pattern for my little chihuahua. I had made two for her already, but I just made them up and they weren't that cute. So I went online and found this gem:

 It's called the Ruffled A-line sweater dress. Designed with 3 pound chihuahuas in mind.

Just getting started with my hot chocolate close by.

Here she is modeling the basic sweater, pre-trim.

And here it is complete with hand-dyed(by me!) mauve/pink mohair trim.

Spoiled princess? Maybe. She's just so cute!

We all have been getting a little stir-crazy with all the snow, especially miss ants-in-the-pants. I try to come up with projects to do with her, but they all involve paper and sitting down. I love it, and she does for a while, but she needs to move!

So mom suggested we bring in the little rebounder we have off the front porch. It was a hit! She went straight to it and started jumping- and jumping- and jumping- and jumping. For a good amount of time. We put some lively kid music on and as long as she had an audience, she was great. Gave me a chance to read my book some ; )

My birthday is fast approaching and last year mom did a Gooney Bird Pie for me but I've decided to make myself a cake this time. 

I love the flavor combination of chocolate and mint. So, my plan is to make a decadent chocolate layer cake and fill and ice it with mint buttercream. Yum! 

For decorating, I love the look of blue and brown. I pulled these pics off the internet for inspiration:

I'll use chocolate buttercream to make all of the beautiful scrolls.

Of course my cake won't be tiered like these, but I do plan on making a square cake.

We'll see how it turns out : )

This is how my dad measures the amount of snow we've gotten so far ; )

And it's still falling as I type!

This is a gorgeous shot off our front porch that my dad got one morning. Looks good enough for a jigsaw puzzle. I love the 5 trees lined up in the center. Click on it to see the full-sized image.

Lovely sunrise. And the sun will be rising again; sooner than I'd like.

Goodnight.