Pumpkin Cookies

I like the "Bake at 350 Blog" and this month, her flavor of the month is PUMPKIN!!! My husband and his band of merry co-workers are real pumpkin lovers so I have collected a variety of pumpkin recipes. Last week I made pumpkin bread and had leftover pumpkin. So I tried this recipe which I think is an older recipe. This came in this cute little booklet I got at the "Pick Your Own" farm. The recipe called for faces made with raisins on the cookies but a lot of people in my family are adverse to raisins so I skipped that part.

The cookie alone reminds me more of a scone, it is not overly sweet and balances the orange glaze on it. It reminds me of the cookies and things that my parents ate for "tea" that they did in the evenings. With the glaze, it takes on a new flavor and is good as well. This is a very moist and soft cookie.

Pumpkin Cookies:

1 C sugar

1 C butter

1 egg, beaten

3 1/2 C flour

1 C cooked pumpkin

1/2 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 t nutmeg

1 t cinnamon

1/2 C buttermilk

Cream sugar and butter. Add egg and pumpkin. Stir together flour, soda, and seasonings. Add to wet mixture alternatively with buttermilk. If dough seems too moist, add several teaspoons of flour until no longer sticky. Chill dough several hours. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut out circles with cookie cutter. Keep dough chilled and work quickly. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets in 350 F oven for 10-12 minutes. Frost with orange icing. Use raisins for eyes, nose and mouth.

Orange Icing:

2 C sifted confectioners' sugar

1 T melted butter

1 T grated orange rind

1/4 C orange juice

Stir ingredients together until smooth and spread on cookies.

Because of the amount of baking soda in this recipe, these cookies bake high, so be careful how thick you make yours!

There you are......

Paddie was our only dog for 10 years until we got the boys. I've been trying to take her to different parks--ALONE--like in the old days because she is getting on (12 now). She can be a bit sullen when the boys are around. So seeing her in the park is such a wonderful change and back to the girl I love...

I just love to see her with a swing in her step and a sparkle in her eye. Can you blame me? Look at how pretty she is!!!!!!!!!!!

Happiness

"The sky is taking on light,

though the moon still hangs pale over the water.

Such beauty that for a minute

death and ambition, even love,

doesn't enter into this.

Happiness. It comes on

unexpectedly. And goes beyond, really,

any early morning talk about it."

from Raymond Carver's poem, "Happiness"

My Son the Nun........

Is REALLY confusing the puppies.

Happy Halloween!

Getting Ready for Mr. Miles...

Got another quilt ready for Mr. Miles who is due on November 6! Also put together a box of pee-pee teepees and some bibs. I had already made a fun wallhanging for his room (here). Poor Melanie is pooped and still working although (thankfully!!!) she is no longer working in the school districts. There is definately swine flu in our valley and it has already begun to hit the children.
DH and I were going to take these things down today but Nik is doing something to the house (I think installing the heat pump today). Anyway, DH is stopping over to provide some electrical advice and we will bring presents down later this week.

I'm off the sewing room. My oldest son is going to an Halloween Party tonight and needs a collar or bib thing for his nun's costume. I have no idea if his girlfriend is going as a priest but the two of them have a pretty warped sense of humor so I am sure I will hear a good story later today.....TTFN.....

Dory is having a fest!

Dory from "Dory's Backyard" is having a festival of smiling dogs. As usual, we are late for the party because well I have three dogs and it isn't easy to get them smile together. As a matter of fact, our oldest dog, Paddie says she wants no part in sitting with the boys to get her pic taken:

Seamus, I said "Smile" not "Say AHHHHHHH" !!!!!!

GET BACK HERE YOU CRAZY BAD BOYS!!! Come back to have your picture taken!!!

So here is how it goes, one smiles, the other doesn't and vice versa. Then I realize that I should move them to a more poetic setting, filled with tranquil fall flowers and soft green grass waving in the breeze..........except the rabbits have eaten the flowers, the boys have all but killed off the grass (including my newly sown grass) and I give up.....

FINALLY!

Only for you Dory baby................

Ah Choices........

I'm homebound this week with a head cold/cough thing. Fortunately I had finished what had to be mailed out and now I am just puttering between coughing spells. I pulled out my UFO box and found this ancient 1/2 square triangle top and am now playing with borders. I think my friend Sandra is right, the red is REALLY popping and maybe too much (although I am not sure maybe a thin band might work better?). On the other hand, I really love red and would like to use it more. Ah choices.........
More on this one later.........hitting my cough syrup again.........

Wrapping Up Halloween This Week!

This week I am trying to wrap up the Halloween things that need to be mailed by Thursday. This is in Helena's package. Remember being 5 years old and how wonderful it was to get things in the mail? I like thrilling our girl now that we don't see her often. I thought this shirt would be neat to wear to school:
She loves cats and I am hoping she will like these gloves I got her...

not to mention the cat necklace that lights up and blinks and will be a good thing to wear when she goes Trick or Treating.

67 Days Til Xmas!

I don't know if it is the snow we got this week, the nip in the air, or feeling like I am finally starting to make a dent in the decluttering (a small dent is better than no dent!), but I am feeling buoyant about the upcoming holidays. Our house is tiny and cluttered but for some reason, it decorates well for Christmas. This year I am hoping to do less decorating and more celebrating as we expect the arrival of our new grandson in November.

What do you do to prepare for your holidays? The prep for me includes two main themes: The decorating of the house on the day after Thanksgiving (that way we get to stretch the holidays out as long as we can) and GINGERBREAD!!!

There are gingerbread houses to be decorated, gingerbread people to make, and ginger waffles to prepare. I love the scent, the taste, the everything about ginger! I'm not sure who discovered this wonderful spice but to me, it is ranks higher than chocolate in the wintertime. Perhaps this year, I will go through my stack of recipes that feature this wonderful spice :)

In the meantime, I am dreaming of a white Christmas and getting out the holiday music. Have a safe and restful Sunday!

Our Little Pumpkin.....

It was only five years ago that our granddaughter, Helena, celebrated her first Halloween. This was a costume I found for her. From the day she was born, my husband had nicknamed her "pumpkin" in honor of her strawberry curls. When Helena first began to talk, she would point to me and say, "Nana" and point to him and say "Punkin". The name stuck and they refer to each other as "punkin" now.
So when I saw this at fatcat patterns, I just had to make it for her. Happy Halloween dearest Helena!

Must...............

MUST....

GET...BALL!!!

What Seamus Did Today....

Today, Seamus passed the Therapy Dog Evaluation!!! I have been working with Seamus for the last two months preparing him for the test. Seamus is under two years old and I was concerned if he was ready for this but then this past week, I took him to my Nana's nursing home.
Usually the nursing home is depressing. There is a lot of dementia on her ward (she has it too) and mild alzheimers. Because we were allowed to take our pets there, I thought it would be a good litmus test for Shayme (Seamus' nickname).
I have heard so many times the effect that dogs have in nursing homes but it wasn't until this past week that I actually experienced it. There was an immediate awakening among the residents as they petted and cooed at him. The interest they had in him hits one like a wave, it was a very touching experience to see them awaken like that.
Seamus was a champ, went right up to everyone in their wheelchairs and politely waited to be petted. He was unafraid of the walkers and canes and was just happy to be getting so much attention. I also took Paddie this week and had scheduled her for a test too, but after seeing her at the nursing home, I know she is past her prime to do this, especially with her cataracts. It was a hard decision to make but the right decision for her.
I wasn't sure Seamus would pass what is called, the "TDI Temperament Evaluation" because he is so young. To make it more challenging this was a park with a dog festival going on which excited Seamus to no end (he loves other dogs).
The evaluators are tough. This is a lot of work for a dog as young as Shayme and a lot of work for me too......but it is worth it. My boy is looking forward to bringing happiness to the world via one pet at a time...but for now, he has worked hard, had his treat and is ready to relax....
GOOD BOY!!!

Bummer Dudes

The boys are going to the groomer today to get spruced up. They don't really need a haircut but they are getting a bit--er--fragrant. Paddie isn't so bad so she is relieved to be staying home :)

Checking in......

Things have beeng busy here at 3P and N! Between the sewing, the dog training and the gardening something is always going on! Today Miss Paddie (above) and I did some gardening, filling up the composter and dreamt of small picket fence in the front yard to really define the garden. It would mean a lot of changing of the beds but would be so nice. Now to convince DH of this :)