Wild Huckleberry Merlot Cake



key ingredients



The cake mix



The Wine

 

cook for 20 minutes, cool for 10



cooling before being frosted



Have you ever used Merlot instead of water in a cake mix, all I can say is amazing. Micah brought back from Glacier Park a cake mix which calls for wine. Sometime in the near future I am going to try using a regular cake mix and see if I get the same wonderful results. The next time you decided to bake a cake see if you have a bottle of wine sitting around use it instead of water and if you are so incline why not have a glass to enjoy while you are baking your cake:)..

Thanks for reading my blog,  Betty

Let's do this together!

This past month has been very stressful for both Glenn and I. There were times I was wondering if we could handle just one more thing in our lives. Now with all that has been going on, it hasn't been life threatening or any thing like that but just little stressful life situations.

A few days ago I decided to just sit back and look through some magazines that I have not had the time nor the energy to look at. While looking through Whole Living Magazine I am across this article, boy did it hit home. The article reminds you to work with your marriage and remember it's not just about you, you have a partner that might be having just as hard of a time as you. This article gives you 5 steps to build a happy, lasting marriage.

1. Create Rituals - Researchers found that the shared emotional investment in the ritual made the couples feel a closer bond.

2. Be a Daredevil - so go ahead and pursue some exciting activities together.

3. Sleep (well) Together - the better you sleep the more positive you are about life.

4. Support Each Other - When a spouse felt supported even in daily obligations, he or she was significantly happier in marriage.

5. Build your Career - A dual-career marriage is OK!

Just thought I would share these five strategies with you,  if anything reading this reminded I am not the only one feeling the stressful situations that life throws at you from time to time.

Hope you enjoy reading my blog, Betty

Roasted Shrimp with Spaghetti Squash

Roasted Shrimp with Spaghetti Squash

About 2 weeks ago Amanda gave Glenn a spaghetti squash, I am assuming she did not know quite what to do with it well neither did I:). I had heard how good this type of squash tasted but never really cared or explored to find out. I now have a new found desire, yes that would be spaghetti squash!

The texture is amazingly just like noodle spaghetti, hence the name I guess. The taste is nutty and something else I can't really explain. I bet most of you have tasted or cooked with it before so this is nothing new to you. Amanda it is so easy to cook and the following recipe is wonderful.

This is something so easy to make but is very intimidating to try. All you do is slice in open length wise, sprinkle with Himalayan salt and cracked pepper, lay the two pieces face down on a cookie sheet add 1/4 cup water cook for 40 minutes at 350. Cool, take out the seeds then scrape with a fork and "Wa Laaaaa" you have spaghetti. Truly amazing.

So my next step is to find the growing season for spaghetti squash, if it is under 60 days I just might be adding this to my garden. Try the attached recipe it is a keeper.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/roasted-shrimp-with-spaghetti-squash

What a great day to cook and thanks for reading my blog,
Betty

The Positive Enneagram - a new approach to the nine personality types!

Today I was able to attend a 2 day class on emotional intelligence provided by my husbands work. Wow talk about some soul searching or should I say finally I a beginning to understand why I am the way I am, Lol...

The Positive Enneagram/a new approach to the nine personality types - have you ever taken a class about this? Well let me tell you it sure can be an eye opener and as for the question asked so many times, "Why please tell me why I decided to proceed this way or what was I thinking"?? All good questions with some real soul searching answers.

Glenn and I were placed at opposite ends of the room and more then once we looked over and each other, both thinking "so that is why you are like that". This class is designed for us to get a better understanding about the people you work with and also the people you live with, IE, spouse. So far today I am showing up as a 9, a 9 The Storyteller - they are referred to as some one who brings people into harmony, for one example but who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Wish me luck and thanks for reading my blog,
Betty

Snowy Day Off

It's funny the things you find to do when you have 2 days off in a row and you wake up to 6 + inches of snow that you didn't even know was suppose to happen.

 I have had this funny desire to sew and quilt before spring/summer arrives. The attempts I have tried in quilting in the past month, which I might add is my 1st time at this art, have been OK, I guess.

 I saw this pattern in a Martha Stewart magazine for quilted coasters, and that is what I did today while the fire was going in the wood stove and the snow was stacking up outside. Let me show you;

Start of my day, watching Glenn leave for work. Drive safely!



This is in my backyard, look at the snow build up on the rails of our trellis. If you look real close you can see how much snow is coming down.

Here is the fabric scrapes I had to work with, as you can probably tell already, the coaster are really for my Husband Glenn to use when he is drinking beer or whatever.

Close up shot of the finished product, cute isn't it.

Take a look at my set of 4. I need to work on my measurements, each one is a different size:(
They were all suppose to be 4" x 4". I guess just like anything else practice makes perfect. But one thing is for sure Glenn will like them and he will use them because he knows that will make me happy.

Here is the link for the pattern I used, just in case you might want to give it a try.

                                      http://www.marthastewart.com/article/quilted-coaster-set

Have a great snowy day, and thanks for reading my blog,
                                                                                          Betty

The Month of January!

I have come to realize I can't wait for the month of January to be over. Why you might ask, I really can't give you one reason or the other but it is just how I feel. I "googled" "the month of January" just to see what was said about this long cold month. It really is a pretty busy time of the year as history states. So take a look at some little snippet's of what time has to say about JANUARY....

Facts about JANUARY

Most of the world uses the Georgian calendar, which has January as the first month of the year. It is named for Janus, a Roman god. Roman legend has it that the the ruler Numa Pompilius added January and February to the end of the 10-month Roman calendar in about 700 B.C. Pompilius gave the month 30 days. Romans later made January the first month. In 46 B.C., the Roman statesman Julius Caesar added a day to January, making it 31 days long. The Anglo-Saxons called the first month Wolfmonth because wolves came into the villages in winter in search of food.


In the northern half of the world, January is the coldest month. Nature is quiet and the birds travel less. The woodchucks and bears sleep day and night, in hibernation. The plants are resting, waiting for the warmer temperatures of the Spring. In the southern half of the world, January is the warmest month. Animals are very active, and plants are growing.






Information taken from World Book Millennium 2000


Also did you know that;

Gold discovered in California, January 24, 1848.


The snowdrop is the flower for the month of January. It often blooms in the snow.



Fairy-tale collector Jakob Grimm born January 4, 1785.



Cicero, Roman statesman, born January 3, 106 B.C.
 

Thomas Paine published his Common Sense, January 10, 1776.


I bet by now you are wondering where I am going with this post. You might say I am trying to show myself that January is as important as any other month of the year and I need to respect that fact. So for those of you that choose to use this month as a "catch all" for your current state of mind; sad, crazy, weird, or just plain bored with life take a second look and ask yourself "really should I be blaming it on the month of January"..? That's what I did, so now on my daily walk I am watching the crocus and the snowdrop flowers poking their stems out of the frozen ground only to turn their buds towards the winter cool sun. So guess what, they only do this  in January (normally). That tells me if they try that hard every year to push their way through frozen ground just to enjoy the month, then maybe I need realign my thoughts...


snowdrop



crocus



yellow crocus

Hope this helps, have a great day and thanks for reading my blog,

Betty Jo



Quilting/log cabin pattern - My first time!

January through May can be a little frustrating if you live in Central Oregon and you are a gardener or you like to be outside but not really found of the winter sports. Well that would be me! Don't get me wrong I love the snow but I don't really partake in skiing or snowboarding. I will occasionally snow shoe but that is really it. So my point here is what do I do with myself after the holidays when everything has really slowed down? This time I have decided to learn how to quilt beginners style.

With Glenn gone camping for a few days (crazy), I put my thoughts together and decided to test my skills at this wonderful art. What inspired me to do so was this article in the Martha Stewart Magazine Jan 2011 issue.

http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/quilting-how-to-make-a-log-cabin-pattern

I really don't have a clue as to what I am doing nor what I will do with the squares when I complete them but I have to say it is really quite fun and boy do you use a part of your brain you don't use a lot, at least it felt like it.

Thanks to Leslie who owns a small fabric store in Redmond I was able to get started. I started going to her store because of the quality and variety of her fabrics, when I talk about her fabric I tell people it is "top shelf":).  I love her assortment, having made Glenn shirts, robes, pjs. they have all worn well. And yes he does wear everything I make for him. He is so good to me, I miss him when he goes camping! Anyways....

If you like to sew or like color/patterns and your in Redmond stop in to see Leslie she is a great lady and will help you with what ever you need when it comes to sewing.  Every Saturday is her SALE day that is a great day to go in.

http://www.superpages.com/bp/Redmond-OR/Material-Girl-Fabrics-L2138821773.htm

So enough said here is my 1st quilting square I have ever made.



My very 1st log cabin block! I can't wait to see what I can do from here:).

Until next time, have a great day!

Thanks for reading my blog, Betty