there's no place like gnome.

Over the course of the last couple months, I’ve added a new item to my craft show inventory. Ever in the colorful and practical way, eye glass cases have made their way into my heart. I keep one in my car for my sunglasses (which before I’d just throw in the cupholder) and another in my office for my blue light blocking glasses. There are some listed in my online store but I’m super excited for them to make their craft show debut, hopefully in the fall when craft shows have resumed. Fingers crossed. In the meantime, I keep plugging along and adding a few to my inventory here and there so I’m ready when the first show arrives.

There is now yarn in my craft room. YARN. I tried knitting years ago; no thank you. This year I decided I would try crochet. Maybe it would help me stay awake when we watch tv on the couch at night? (Otherwise I’m usually drooping by 9:30. Sometimes 9 depending on how exhausting the work day was.) I was inspired by instagram and modern granny square blankets; I thought to myself, I could do that. YouTube will teach you anything days. I think I’m getting the hang of it and rewarded myself with oodles of yarn colors to choose from as I continue on this new crafty adventure.

I finished a heart quilt back in February. It’s backed in minky and is a cuddly couch quilt. It was a kit I bought from Maker Valley in an after-Thanksgiving sale. It was super easy to assemble and, as always, I love the bright colors. Here it is being basted on the sunroom floor –

Every time the conversation has an appropriate opening, I’ve been telling everyone about Iowa Girl Eats. We’ve followed her blog for a couple years now but recently have made a couple more meals that have astounded us. I love her use of unsweetened almond milk and cauliflower rice. While most of her meals are gluten free, because that’s not a necessity for us, we just sub standard ingredients. Here are our favorite Iowa Girl Eats:

• Cheesy Ham and Broccoli rice skillet (We use cauliflower rice.)
• Homemade cream-of-chicken soup (We use this whenever a can of cream-of-soup is required in a recipe.)
• Vietnamese-style Carmelized Ground Pork bowls (We just made this a week ago. It was amazing. While we had to open the windows because the house smelled like fish sauce, we’d still make it again.)
• Breakfast Taco Casserole
• Maple Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast bars (Dave was on a kick for a while where he ate these every morning with a dollop of yogurt. We’d keep them in the freezer and he’d pull one out each day.)
• Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
• Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas with homemade sauce (These are on the menu this week for the first time. I expect they’ll be delicious!)

The other place we’ve gathered recipes that have been nothing but home-runs is King Arthur Flour. I’ve made their 2021 Recipe of the Year a couple times now with nothing but tasty results – Perfectly Pillowy Cinnamon Rolls. Dave gets his bagel recipe from King Arthur and their cheesy pan pizza (2020 Recipe of the Year) is amazing. We picked up their Baker’s Companion at Costco; it’s 500+ pages of recipes, science of baking, and tips. I am convinced they can do no wrong.

Einstein. Little Dog. Sometimes jerk and sometimes cuddler extraordinaire.

Einstein was pretty much not feeling his tip-top self until maybe a month and a half ago. Lots of trips outside, especially in the middle of the night. Special prescription dog food, a couple extra vet appointments, and now he seems to be back on track.

Here’s a list of things he’s ate: a hole in the carpet; part of an old, vintage chair arm (that already had a hole – he was just helping make its appearance more known); sticks; Dave’s wallet; extension cord (that wasn’t plugged in, oh, boy). (To our knowledge, none of these things were connected to his sickness. They were just bonuses.)

Einstein learned how to escape his kennel. His wire, door-latched kennel. I came home one day and Einstein should have been in his kennel … and yet, he greeted me at the door. Huh. I must have not latched the door completely, I thought. But then it happened again. And a third time. Little Houdini unlatches the top latch and somehow sneaks his way out. Because of the dangers involved with the escape, we’ve begun to let the dogs roam when we leave. Nothing has been chewed or destroyed. (Yet.)

He’s a sock stealer and of great annoyance to his older brother. But he’s also pretty darn sweet and cuddly. Smart too. We start obedience classes this week. He continues to get car sick when we reach the one hour mark in motion; still hoping that ceases as he grows older.