I made yogurt!

I can't believe how easy it is to make yogurt in a crockpot!  I found the recipe/directions at this wonderful blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html and decided to give it a try since I'm not overly fond of store bought yogurt.  Since I only have a huge crockpot I started keeping my eyes open at yardsales for a smaller one and a couple of weeks ago I picked one up t for a whole $2.00.  The recipe was for a larger batch than my little crock would hold so I just halved it and it turned out fine!  Stephanie also mentioned starting out using whole milk until you get the hang of making yogurt...well, all I had was 2% so that's what I used and it turned out just fine! 

Doesn't it look pretty?  After it was made I took a CLEAN tea towel and lined my collander and dumped the yogut in to get rid of some of the whey.  I know I could have used it in cooking but this was my first time and I just didn't know what to use it for.  I let it chill in the refrigerator overnight and the next morning I cut up some fresh strawberries and put them in small containers with some of the yogurt.  The littles had spent the night so I let them have the fun of adding their own sweetner.  I a small amount of powdered sugar in a little bitty bowl and gave them a teeny tiny spoon to sprinkle the sugar into their yogurt...they had lots of fun doing it and ate their yogurt right up!  Bri even asked for 2nds!!!  I put Splenda in the rest of it along with some more cut up strawberries and let it sit for a few days and man 'o man is it ever yummy!  Good thing I kept a little bit out for my started on my next batch!!!

It was so good that I decided I need a bigger (medium sized) crockpot to make it in!  Try it...I promise you will LOVE it!!!

What I've Been Up To...

Oh my goodness! I can't believe it's been a month since my last post!  I've not been lazing around doing nothing for the past month though...I've been busy I tell ya!  I've gone yard sailing a couple of Saturdays (and found great things), spent time with the grands, done some quilting, sewn some more doll outfits and moved things around in the quilting studio...not to mention the regular day to day stuff of work, laundry, etc, etc, etc.  I AM very lucky to be able to afford to hire my almost daughter-in-law to come over and clean the house for me every couple of weeks.  That frees up about 4 hours of my weekend and gives her some spending money.  Double win! 

My oldest son and his family moved to Oregon last month so I've been a bit down about that. Here's a picture of his son sitting in his bathtub...he loves this duck!

Now if he could just figure out how to get it into the bathtub he'd be in business (clothing optional!)...

I just figured out how to Skype last night and spent some time on it with them...Hunter was so excited to talk to me and waved and blew me kisses.  Gosh I miss him!  I guess Sammi has been Skyping with her other Gma and Uncle so at 6 yrs old she's a pro at it.  We had tons of fun catching up on her new friends and her going to the circus.

I had a Nana/Mia night when Bri went to a Daddy/Daughter night a few weekends ago.  Me and Mia went to Walmart and McD's before coming home for the evening.  At Walmart she picked out some Barney movies and nail stickers for her fun evening.  Here's a picture of her putting them on:

I can't believe she's 4 yrs old already! 

I believe I mentioned moving around my quilting room and yard sailing...well here's a picture that pertains to both:

We have dedicated the formal living room for my quilting studio.  When we first moved into the house the room seemed HUGE!  Now, 3 years later, I've been trying to find a way to fit a nice comfy chair in the room so I can either sit and do hand work OR have a place for someone else to sit and visit with me...soooo I moved the midarm and table on a diagonal and it really opened up the room for more possibilites.  This chair was purchased a couple of years ago at a yardsale. It is antique oak and set me back $100 but it's very solid and gorgeous and worth it to me.  I picked up the little table/storage basket thingy last weekend for a whole 2 bucks...can you believe it!?!  It was dirty...the kind of dirt that sticks (I'm thinking it was in a bathroom and hairspray is on it) so I'm going to spray paint it in a couple of weekends.  It's sitting there now for me to try and decide if I want to leave it there or move it someplace else (like the bathroom), and paint it white again or perhaps a nice warm brown.  The fabric on the baskets and top are temporary.  The little figurines on top also came from yardsales for a dollar or less.  Some of the other things I've found lately are a couple of Raggedy Ann dolls, books for the grands, a book on CD for me, bathroom accessories for almost DDIL, a tub of misc sewing accessories like thread and bobbins, a bunch of little teddy bears that the girls can play with their 18" dolls with, puzzles (for me),  a couple of dolls for the grands, and a little table that looks like it's for a kitchen but I'm putting next to the BBQ just to name a few...sorry I don't have pictures of all of this! 

I finished up a quilt for an upcoming baby shower and made some burp cloths to go with it.  I'm really excited about the gift because it all came from stash!  I'll try to get a picture and post it later.

I'm currently working on 36 churn dash blocks for an exchange I'm in.  We are doing red & white blocks.  I'd love to work on them this weekend but I kind of doubt I'll have time. 

I wish I had more time to blog but gosh there are only so many hours in a day...sooo I can either sew and spend time with the family OR I can blog about it!  My first choice is always sewing and family hence the few and far between posts sometimes.  Speaking of family, here's a picture of the youngest grandson.  He's wearing a hat that was on one of the dolls I bought last weekend...silly cute boy!

As of right now we have 8 grands and 1 on the way and all are 6 years and under...I'm a very blessed Nana!!!

I'm linking up with Karen at sewmanyways.blogspot.com.  If you've never visited her blog you need to head over there right away because you are missing out on some very intense awesomeness!!!http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/