Christmas Stockings

My Project List was created over a year ago and I finally finished one of them and it felt so good to cross it off the list.  My sister requested last Christmas for two Christmas Stockings for her twin girls.  My neices are 3 1/2 and now have their very own custom made stocking for this Christmas and many more in their future.  I didn't want to do anything too childish where they would grow out of. So, I chose some fabric that I had from making stockings last year plus some more fabric from after Christmas sales last year.   This is how they turned out.  I think Ellie & Clara will like them.  My sister like them so much she requested two more for next year for her and my brother in law.  The request has been added to my 2013 project list.

Pineapple Delight

This is a table runner that I made for my friend Amy who LOVES pineapples!  It was suppose to be a Christmas gift last year, but I couldn't get around to finishing it.  I finally finished the binding and was able to gift it to her on her birthday in August.  I found the pineapple fabric in St. Louis when I was there shopping with my sister-in-law a couple years ago.  I saw it and just had to make something for Amy with it.  She loved it!

Top - Double Hour Glass Pattern

Back - With another Double Hour Glass

Apple Cranberry Jam

My second attempt to make jam.  Early this summer my friend Amy and I made Strawberry Rhubarb and it was delicious. Only bad thing was that the recipe only made 4 half pints.  Mike & I brought home apples from his parents tree and had to do something with them.  My dad and I made an attempt to make Apple Cranberry Jam and it was fabulous.  It yielded 11 half pints which will make it perfect Christmas gifts.  There was a bit of leftovers so we toasted up some bread and ate it while it was still warm!!!  I got the recipe from the book Food in Jars http://www.foodinjars.com/the-cookbook/ , which was a birthday gift from the McG's.  Amy swears by this ladies canning techniques and food combination.  I think I'll enjoy the book!  I also made some Rosemary Salt as a rub on meat.  Tried it on chicken and it was very salty, will have to watch how much I actually use.  Below are pictures of the Apple Cranberry Jam Making!

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My Dad's Madonna Pose

Home Preparation

Hello Fall!  I love this time of year, even the cold and rainy days.  1 1/2 months then Mike & I will be Married!!!  Definitely looking forward to moving in and making a home with Mike.  His house is in great need of a crafty woman's touch.  I have been doing google searches and Pinterest scrolling and have found many great ideas for home efficiencies, office and closet organization, sewing room ideas, recipes, natural cleaning tips and a whole lot more.  I'm lucky to say that I just get to move in.  I don't have the headache of buying a home since Mike has already done that hard part six years ago. 
 
This week we have painted the remainder of the rooms upstairs.  I like to go in there and just imagine how things will be when everything is in it's place.  This may take a few more months of getting the home how we like it.  Pictures will come soon!

My herb garden keeps growing despite the chilly temperatures.  I clipped a few Rosemary leaves and placed them in water this week just to see what it would be like.  I let it sit there overnight in the fridge and it's quite a refreshing flavored water.  I made more last night. I want to try some lavender for the next batch.

I also altered an apple crisp recipe to accommodate for Mike's gluten free intolerance and it turned out to be delicious.  I just substituted coconut flour instead of regular all purpose flour.  The gluten free flour doesn't get as crispy on top but it's still delicious.   

Rosemary Water

Gluten Free Apple Crisp

Peppers, Onions & Herbs

 Garden Update:

Mike got mono in August and the garden suffered some.  He hadn't been out in a few weeks and when he does, he find an enormous amount of purple and green bell peppers.  He cut them up and we froze them all.  The onions shown below have been harvested for some time now and Mike has been caring for them but we noticed that some were getting bad so we decided to cut them up and freeze them too.  We just got a deep freezer this summer and it's wonderful! So many things from the garden will be there all winter long.

My herb garden went a bit crazy too.  I harvested Rosemary, Sage and Lemon Balm this weekend and now they are hanging up drying.  The office is full of fragrance, which isn't so bad.  I would say that my first attempt of gardening went off fine.  You get what you put into it.  I'm sure I'll be more active next year since I'll actually be living there.

Purple & Green Bell Peppers

Cut and Ready for the Freezer

Onion Harvest

Ready for cutting

Sliced

and Diced

Harvested Rosemary, Sage and Lemon Balm

Indy TT

The Indy TT was the last race of the season for me.  It was a time trial, which meant one person started every minute and you race against the clock.  That way 50 riders aren't sent into the trails together which makes passing easier since it's more difficult on these trails to do so.

I rode the 11.5 miles in 1 hour and 20 minutes, which may be my fastest for Indy.  These trails are my favorite in the area.  The climbs, gravity dips, logs and downhills are so much fun.  It is some of the most difficult trails in the area and I definitely don't ride them near enough.

I did win the Intermediate Women's Over 30 category.  That is mostly due in part that I was the only Intermediate Woman over 30 racing.  Let's get some more women on mountain bikes.  I would love the competition.

At the Starting Line

And I'm off!

At the Finish!

On the Podium...

MTB Racing Review

I did what I set out to do this spring.  My goal was to race Black Partridge and Farmdale and I did both of those races.  I added one more to the list and raced Wildlife too.  Came in second at BP and first at Wildlife and Farmdale in the Women's Novice 30+ category. 

Yesterday was the Farmdale race.  8 miles of singletrack and 19 other Novice Women!  Great turn out ladies!  During my 10 years of MTBing I've always wanted to race Farmdale and now I have.

I love after the race when all the women riders gather at the finish line cheering all the other ladies in.  Then we talk and celebrate our ride.  That's one of the major differences I've noticed on the racing circuit between men and women.

Mike and I are planning on racing the Illinois Series next year.  To participate in the series, you have to race 6 out of 9 races in order to qualify for any awards at the end of the season.  Now that racing is over for the year, it's time to just ride for fun.  I'd like to do a few more night rides this fall and I'm pretty sure Mike has an extra set of lights I can use.  

Novice Women & Juniors at the Starting Line

Getting ready to Ride!

At the Finish Line

Novice Women Post Race

Novice Women 30+ Podium

Wildlife Wild Race

In the beginning of this years Mountain Bike season, I vowed to race twice.  I added one more to the list last week.  I raced Novice at Wildlife Wild in Kickapoo, IL and didn't do to bad.  First place Overall Women Novice.  There were 10 women that raced (which is alot when it comes to women racers) AND I beat 21 novice men!

Felt strong on the bike and enjoyed it.  I made the 8 miles in 44:10.  Love the women that I meet when I race.  All so interested to talking about mountain biking and life.  It was a perfect Sunday.

At the Starting Line

PAMBA DAY!

This was the turn out for PAMBA Day (Peoria Area Mountain Bike Association).  Members from young kids to adults came out for group rides, potluck and endured the storm that rolled in during the afternoon.  It was a HOT day and I had to bail early on my ride because I got overheated. 
Great day, good food & beer and awesome friends!

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

More canning.  Yesterday Amy McG and I made Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and a few sauces.  Long process for such a small yield, but that's what I'm learning from canning.  We made the jam then had left over strawberries and rhubarb but not enough for another batch so we made some sauce and it's delicious warmed up over vanilla ice cream.  Amazing!

Onions, Blueberries, Peppers and more Tomatoes

Mike & I ventured into canning by ourselves this time.  We used the pressure cooker this time but we learned a few things and probably will be attempting the cold pack method next time.  Oh, the adventures in canning.  Other than more tomatoes, we now have 10lbs of Blueberries in the freezer thanks to my mom.  She has a girl trip every year to Michigan and brings home a car full of blueberries and peaches.  The crop wasn't very large this year so I didn't get any peaches.  However, the blueberries are portioned out and are now frozen in our new deep freezer.  Mike harvested the onion crop last week and they are beautiful.  I was home sick yesterday and decided it was time to cut up our pepper harvest and freeze them too.

And we are Canning!

My mom and dad came over to Mike's house yesterday to help with canning tomatoes.  Mike & I haven't canned in our adult life, so dad was there leading the way.  We didn't have mass amounts of tomatoes but there will be more coming which makes more canning coming too. Looking forward to eating these tomatoes when there's a blizzard outside this winter!

More from the Kitchen

More pizza on the grill.  This is so delicious.  We use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust along with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, black olives (on my half), onions, yellow peppers and cheese.  I hate to brag, but it's some of the best pizza ever!

My first attempt at making Gluten Free Sandwich Bread.  Didn't rise as high as I would have liked but it tasted good as far as GF Bread goes. 

Strawberry Protein Shakes!  Delicious on a hot day.