First week of the New Year

Once again we have crossed over the threshold of a new year, and finishing up the tail end of a quarter-century. Lots of water under the bridge.

We had to start the New Year with the "good luck" meal of course. Here's a look at our black-eyed peas, (we make a big batch), and our prep method which ensures a tasty batch. We sauté chopped bell pepper, the more colorful the better, plus plenty of onions. Then after softening, add chopped ham bits, minced garlic and continue cooking until they get a little color on them. Add 2 cans partially drained black-eyes, a cup or so of chicken stock, 1T of chipotle sauce and an envelope of onion soup mix. Add a few herbs of your choice and let simmer an hour or so adding additional stock or water if they are looking dry.

Wonderful black-eyed peas, a little on the "wet" side.

We like them a little wet, over rice or cornbread. So good! We had a delicious mid-afternoon meal of smoked pork chops, collards, black-eyed peas/rice and cornbread with some cabernet sauvignon.

Here's the Boss in one of his new tee's
 getting ready to enjoy the meal.

I'm signed up for a craft fair in early February, so I've spent some time making a few more dazzlers and something new - puff trivets. I've been enjoying looking at my puff quilt lately and my brain came up with this idea. They are a good size for a bowl/plate or casserole dish, would  pretty-up the table, and also, unique I think. Any thoughts?

Puff trivets, about 12"x12". Some ppl
might not like my "twirly" trivets.

Bobby-Dazzlers anyone? I stock a few repeats
of the most popular items but hold them back in reserve.

Still getting the good sunrises on those cold, crisp mornings. Here's today's after overnight low's around 37°. 

Not a stunner like some, but still a pleasant surprise.

The Boss got the Colorado Pontoon boat commissioned the other day and while he was taking his test paddle, he got a shot of the swans having a "bottom's-up" feed. Pretty day too.

That's about it for this post. I stopped making New Year's resolutions a long time ago, however, I am planning on doing more stretching, squatting and "body-groove" style dancing to keep my joints limbered and loose. Oh, and I'm planning on laying-off the Christmas cookies one of these days too, lol. 😉😊 Thanks for stopping by and see you next time.

Last minute scramble, a successful craft fair and MOHS

(Haha - did I fool you with the header? Just had to show off my banner.)

We've definitely gotten into the groove back home here and are enjoying some cooler fall weather this week. I've spent some time being productive in the kitchen, making and baking, and have stashed a fair bit in the freezer for coming days when I'm feeling lazy or are too busy to cook. Stuffed peppers was one thing I made with enough filling left over for a few burritos - win, win.

Too busy to cook is how it was leading up to the Mandarin Garden Club Craft Fair. I was in overdrive making up 'Bobby-Dazzlers' in various sizes and price ranges to add to my stock so if I had a really good day I wouldn't run out.

A small sample of some Bobby-Dazzlers

I'll admit to being kind of stressed-out with this being my first solo show. You might remember last fall I shared a booth with my neighbor, (I only had my trivets for that show). Her booth was an inside space but this one was an outside space. I was borrowing her pop-up tent and furnishing it, which was a much bigger deal for me. 😲 Going to all the trouble to set up and stage a booth, making & bringing all the inventory ~ a sure recipe for a big bite in the butt by Murphy's Law. Sure enough it rained (hard) during set up, the tent didn't have side panels although I did have a plastic dropcloth for one side. Well, I was one wet duckling, however, the rain didn't last long, my stuff didn't get too wet and I dried out too.

It was a great day, very successful and encouraging. 🤩🥳 I was one beat-up tired little lady by the time I packed it in and packed it up. Being on my feet all day was hard, but it was much easier to engage with potential customers than I expected ~ my chit-chatty skills are a bit rusty but serviceable. I expect I'll to try to find a few more laid-back venues around town at which to sell my wares.

A so-so shot of the booth

One fun thing I did was to have lunch with my friend Nancy. She was headed to Europe for a river cruise and to spend some time in Paris, but we managed to get together at the Green Papaya. What a fun atmosphere, very snazzy, stylish & sparkly, plus a serving robot brings the food out for the server. Cool, I'd never seen that before.

Serving Robot

Halloween Deco in full swing

And finally, I had to have MOHS surgery to remove a spot of skin cancer (BCC) from my scalp. What a weird feeling when they put the sutures in and then pull them tight like lacing up a corset or something - whew! So that's taken care of, make it #5 for my face/head. (Years of sailing in the Caribbean (or living in FL) will do it to you - I see plenty of walking wounded around here, lol.

Thanks for taking the time to check out what we're up to and feel free to comment.

PS. I read in another person's blog about a spam folder under comments in blogger and when I checked it I did have a few from y'all in there. Sorry about that.