Sweet taters alive!

My family loves biscuits. So when I found this recipe I was excited to try it. It turned out really yummy and with a healthy twist....sweet potatoes!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted cold butter
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cooked mashed potatoes

- Preheat oven to 450
- Combine dry ingredients
- Cut butter in small pieces and add to flour
- Using fingers work butter into flour
- In small bowl, combine milk and sweet potatoes
- Add to flour mixture and stir until it forms a ball
- Turn dough on floured surface and knead 14 times
- Roll dough 1/2 inch thick and cut out biscuits
- Bake 8-10 minutes

Enjoy!!!!!

Interesting random facts

Nonculinary uses of lemons:

• Lemon juice cleans piano keys and copper pots, brightens porcelain, absorbs odors, and removes lipstick and wine stains.

• Half a lemon, from which most of the juice has been squeezed, makes a fresh cleaning pad for faucets and sinks. Use it with a little salt as an abrasive.

• Equal parts lemon juice and beaten egg can be boiled briefly and scented with rose water to make a natural face lotion.

• Undiluted fresh lemon juice is just the thing to clean water spots and stains from your automobile chrome.

Before there were so many lotions and ointments in stores, people relied on commonsense cures. These remedies were recommended in the 1800s:

• If you cut yourself while cooking, apply molasses to the wound to bind it temporarily.

• For relief from a toothache, apply a poultice of gingerroot to your cheek on the side of the tooth pain.

*Copied from the online Farmer's Almanac, August 6, 2009 edition.

Stay tuned....

Wow, it's been a while. I sure have missed blogging. Our computer got infected with a virus and so I have been out of the cyber world for a couple of weeks. So, I have had some time to think (uh-oh) about what to write next. I will have some fun things to post over the next couple of weeks such as recipes, sewing finds, and things God has been teaching me. Keep checking in when you can.
On a different note, I want to send out best wishes for my friends that will be delivering little miracles in the next few days. I am so excited for you and so thankful that God has given you this beautiful opportunity. It's amazing being a mommy and I know you beautiful mamas are going to be fantastic in your births and beyond. I am praying for you ladies and I can't wait to see pictures!!!!!
Have an amazing, God-filled day!

A cute idea

The other day I saw a little girl that we know wearing a cute little dress. I asked her mom where she got it and she replied, "I made it out of a pillowcase." What a cool concept and a great way to recycle pillowcases. That roused my curiosity so I did a little searching on the internet and found a great tutorial posted on one of my favorite blogs, Sew Mama Sew. Here is the link in case you are interested, www.jenleheny.com/pillowcase-dress-instructions.

I ended up making one for a precious 2 year old little girl I babysit. It turned out really cute. I didn't have a pillowcase on hand so I just sewed 2 smaller pieces of fabric together to mimic a pillowcase. I also added a little applique (designed by Jesseca Bellemare of "The Modern Baby Company") on the bottom. It was easy and fun. It's definitely worth a try!

Our little visitor

The other night Stephen found a critter in our back yard. I wonder if that's why my zucchini flowers are disappearing...... He was kind of cute though. ;)

Little pesty problems

About a week ago, I noticed some of my tomatoes were getting holes in them and turning into brown mush...yuck! I didn't know what was going on. Then I picked one and found the answer. It was an earwig. I had no idea they liked tomatoes. After some research, I learned they like to eat tomato leaves and zinnia flowers. Sure enough, so I would have a pretty garden, I had planted zinnia seeds right next to one of my tomato plants.... bummer! Fortunately, they typically don't destroy the plant, they just ruin a few pieces of precious fruit. So I have been experimenting with a couple different things to get rid of these gross bugs. I ended up putting little bowls of soy sauce mixed with veggie oil next to my plants and haven't seen them in a couple days. Another remedy is to use beer because the earwigs like the yeast in it. Then the yeast makes them die. And for you adventurous people out there, you can also go out in the evening/early morning and pick them off by hand.
I also got a recipe for a bug repellant for your garden from the Farmer's Almanac. This solution is good for a lot of bugs that like to "share" the garden with us humans. So, if you are having some similar bug issues, I highly recommend using this solution. Just mix 1 tsp. dishsoap, 1 cup veggie oil, and 1 gallon of warm water. Spray on plants as needed. It won't hurt your plants or veggies, but it should keep the bugs away. Watch out bugs!

Grandma's quilt

My grandmother made me and Stephen this quilt for our belated Christmas present. She made most of it by hand. She is an amazing lady! What an inspiration. I am so proud of it that I wanted to post it. It's definitely going to be in our family for a long time. What a family treasure.