A Fiesta in the Country!

¡Viva, La Fiesta!

I had a Fiesta for my April Birthday Celebration. My family is scattered all over the country; about half of us live on the east coast and most of the rest in the great Southwest with a few sprinkled in the mid-west. As a result, birthday gifts will often arrive over a period of several days - NOT a problem! and therefore, our birthdays are Fiestas.  ¡Arriba!

This was my Fiesta Menu:

   Tamale Pie (My own recipe)

   Authentic Guacamole (My mom's recipe)
   Chile con Queso (my recipe) a wee bit spicy!
   Salsa with Chips (Thank you Señor Pace)
   Biscochitos (Cookies traditionally made at Christmas time in Mexican homes. The     Biscochito is the OFFICIAL COOKIE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO  per LEGISLATION).

   We used napkins that I made from a 'hot' chili pepper cotton print.  My birthday cake was not of "fiesta" origin; rather my mom's 'famous' Christmas Cake with the most delicious Cooked Brown Sugar Icing you've ever had (Brown Sugar ANYTHING is to ME what Chocolate is to Choco-holics). 

   Of course, we had  beverages: Ginger Ale or Peach Margaritas (Instead of the traditional salt on regular margarita glasses, we rimmed them with  lime and dipped in red sugar).  We used wine glass charms with little Red Chili Peppers that I fashioned from Fimo™ Clay then I added a small wooden heart with each guest's name printed on it; both attached to a hooked wire loop and around the glass stem .. no mixing up who's margarita glass was who's. 

   Those were fun to make and practical.  I have a can of Black Blackboard Paint (thank you Free Cycle), so I painted the simple little wooden hearts with that. Then, I penned each guest's name on them with Chalk Ink™. This medium will wipe off with a damp cloth, so the charms can be reused.

   We talked. laughed, and ate; and yes, I received a lot of wonderful gifts.

   If you need help with your Fiesta, I'll be glad to share recipes with you;

 just send me a message or an email.

  Have a great weekend whether you live in the country, or just wish you did!

© 2012 Cat Brennan

Chicks and Plants

Spring is here and most of the time the days are pleasant and sunny with cool nights. The days are getting longer, the grass is beautiful and it's almost time to get the veggies and flowers out. As you may recall, I live in an apartment, so I really don't have a huge garden, but I will make the most of it.  I firmly believe that life is not about what you have, rather how you live it. 

I went to 'my' Southern States™ store a few days ago. I call it mine because it's not too far away, nor is it the only one in the Richmond area. Love that store!! They have their baby chicks in the store lobby in 3 or 4 different open containers.  As soon as I walked in the door, I heard the peeping. Now THAT was music to my ears. 
My dad used to take me to Ravel Brother's Feed Store (Isleta Blvd., South Valley, Albuquerque, NM) when I was a youngster.  I'm sure he went there to buy chicken feed or food for the milk cow and beef steer, but all I saw were the baby chicks. It was like going to the zoo for free.  Give me a blank check and the choice between dress shopping or Southern States - look out baby chicks, here I come.
After playing with and admiring the fuzzy little critters, I wandered around the store and out into the garden and plant section.  I picked up a few plants, including some succulents, sweet yellow banana peppers, dill and lavender. And lo and behold! I got a 4 inch pot of New Mexico Chile Peppers with 2 plants in it. Pure gold to me!  In addition to cucumber and onion seeds and the plants purchased, I received a FREE Topsy Turvy™ Tomato Planter that I'm going to try. 
May 1st is my date with the dirt and all these little guys are going outside.  I have a wild assortment of containers for my various plants including kitty litter buckets, a 5 gallon painter bucket a storage tub and some "actual" planter pots.  I've drilled holes in ALL for good drainage, so we're good to go.
On the days that are really nice, I set these babies out to harden off, so they should be happy when put into their new homes outside in just a couple of weeks.
Have a great weekend while you're enjoying your life, whether you live in the country or simply wish you did.

© 2012 Cat Brennan

Country Can Do

 

Borrowing just a bit from an old Hank Williams, Jr. song, A Country Girl Can Survive!  And I really enjoy going beyond survival.  Recently, I saw a post online that I simply HAD to try.  I made a small ironing station to sit beside my sewing machine, repurposed an old wooden TV snack tray that I picked up for a song.  First, I covered the tray top with and inexpensive Ironing Board Cover and Pad set which I had cut in half and made to fit.  Next, I used my handy-dandy staple gun to  attach to the underside of the tray and woo hoo!  Now I can press as I sew with more ease. Pressing-as-you-go is essential to sewing, but takes a lot of time when the ironing board is in one room and the sewing machine is in another. 
You can see my new project at the CAT LITTER page. Just click at the top of this page on Cat Litter. You're welcome to "scoop out" any of my ideas! (yes, I know, bad pun)!
This mini pressing station folds up and will fit in the car when I go away from home to sewing events.  Wish I could give credit to the one I saw, but I've seen several. This little item works for all but the largest of clothing pieces, and gets me through what ever my current project is.

© 2012 Cat Brennan

Country News

There's no need to reinvent the wheel, when someone else has already done it so well. Therefore, let me share with you a really great website: Still Tasty: Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide Guide. This site breaks down your questions into food groups and has some wonderful answers to questions such as, "Is it okay to put hot food directly in the fridge?" or "Are eggs still safe after the expiration date?"  These and many more questions can be found at this user-friendly site. Just click RIGHT HERE to find a plethora of food stability facts.

I regularly surf the net and love it when I find useful information like the above.  I grew up with no less than three sets of encyclopedias and several dictionaries in our home.  It was so much fun to open an encyclopedia to look up information on some subject and then get lost, sometimes for hours, in that one book that held a world of knowledge within its covers, and that was only one book of fifteen or more in just one set. I often went down that same path in the dictionary; look up one word only to wander among so many others that were new to me!  What wonderful fun that was! So, is it any wonder that I "get lost" on the Internet just as easily?

What has this to do with Country living?  Country life is, at least in part, about self sufficiency!  I believe that if I can make "it", not only cheaper, but as good or better and with the resources at hand, that is the way to go.  This helps to preserve my resources and be a good steward of the the things He has provided for me. That is self-sufficiency and that is Country living.

I have found so many answers to questions on the 'net.  I use Bing for my search engine - that's not a sales pitch, just my preference - and I can type in a question with as many or as few words that describe the information I'm seeking and voila!  my answer cometh! And it arrives with lightening speed!  ("google" has become a universal word meaning "to search the 'net", and I expect that one day it will be included in our dictionaries as such). 

If you're still wondering, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?", google it! 

And finally, just for fun, I've been told: BING = Because It's Not Google, and GOOGLE = Go Ogle. Who knows?

© 2012 Cat Brennan

Country Easy

Does this look delicious, or what?!?  I got this recipe from my sister, June, who writes, "Cat, I got this recipe from my friend and quilt buddy, Beth Sprayberry." . It's called 3-2-1 Cake. 
I have not  yet tried this recipe, but only because I don't have an angel food cake mix in the house.  Go to the CAT FOOD page above for the complete recipe.  Proper credit is with the recipe, and it sounds, not only easy, but fun, and delicious too. 

I titled this blog Country Easy because this recipe just sounds so easy.  Let me know what you think of the recipe and please, do try it. This seems like one of those ideas that was long in coming and short on work. I'm going to make this and it will be so handy when someone drops in unannounced.

Click on the CAT FOOD page right now to see this easy dessert.

© 2012 Cat Brennan

Winter in the Country

Winter has come to Central Virginia; since it's the middle of February, I shouldn't complain. Of course, the operative word in that sentence is shouldn't. I don't mind rain and/or snow, but, I do NOT like being cold and right now, at approximately 4:00 PM, the thermometer outside my apartment reads 38°. brrrrr.. 

We had just enough snow yesterday for me to snap a picture, and then it went away. In its wake, we had whistling winds and cold temperatures. If you look closely, you can see the snow falling which was kind of pretty. The temperature registered 43° when I took this photo.
So, like any normal  Country woman, I stayed inside, made Beef Stew and cut out a few projects to sew.  I'll keep you posted on those as I get to the cushions that I'm recovering with a "Log Cabin" pattern.  I'm recycling some denim jeans for this project (thank you all who have provided me with your unwearable jeans).
Christmas was delightful for me again this year.  I  posted some new photos of Christmas gifts that I made.  One is the ornament that I made this year for my family and friends; it's a little ski-guy constructed from gum-ball tree pods from Maryland (in my daughter's yard) and acorns from Virginia (in a friend's yard).  The little skis are actually doll house roofing shingles split in half and the little guy wears a scarf of Home Spun cotton.
Next is a Cupcake Pincushion that I gifted to friends and family members who sew, and yes, I actually made one for myself. Some were "frosted" in chocolate and some are topped with pink "marshmallow frosting".
You'll find the little ornament on Cat's CHRISTMAS Country Style page and the Cupcake Pincushion on the CAT FUR to KITTEN BRITCHES page - all of the page "buttons" are at the top of this blog in the "green area".
Stay warm and have a great week. If you have a Valentine in your life, give him or her an extra hug and kiss and be kind as well (a box of chocolates wouldn't hurt, either).

© 2012 Cat Brennan

Country Organizing

 We're approaching another weekend in the Country.  Just in time, an organizing idea I've found useful. Interestingly, I've seen this idea pop up lately in several locations, including Martha Stewart's online tips.  This is a great way to save space and it keeps all of your spray-bottles handy.  I've been doing this since I moved into my apartment more than three years ago.  Since the "big gun gurus" of homemaking and organizing have published this tip as a "new" idea, I thought I should put in my (old idea) 2¢ worth.  You can see that I've labeled ALL of my spray bottles, even the commercial products, with a trusty permanent marker - I can locate at a glance which one I need. The other 4 spray bottles (my home-brew cleaning products) contain (from Left to Right) Vinegar/Water - in a 50/50 ratio for all-purpose light-duty kitchen cleaning, next LOC, an Amway bio-degradable product I've used for 40+ years, third, an Ammonia mixture for window care and lastly, a Three-part Mixture for treating stains on clothing (this works so much better than any of the commercial stain-treatment products). These are all within easy reach just off my kitchen area. Simply hang the bottles by their "triggers" slipped over your apparatus.

In my apartment, the utility room and all the closets are fitted with these white rack and shelving units that you see above.
Martha's tip included installing a spring-loaded "curtain rod" under your sink for these bottles.  The idea is to get the bottles with their "trigger-like handles" off the floor or shelf to make room for other items.

© 2012 Cat Brennan