Back to the Day-to-Day

Good morning, my friends. Isn't is great when the holidays are over? I like spending time with family and eating good food as much as the next person, but geez. I always reach January 2nd feeling as if I'm on holiday overload. I'll be glad to have the roads and stores less busy, and I'll be glad not to be making preparations for the next celebratory thing. Of course, there's lots to do between now and then, but I know my thoughts are going to be turning toward our trip to Alaska in May. Our departure date will be on us before we know it.

Keep in mind as I'm writing, that we can all feel safe knowing that Smitty is keeping an eagle eye out for invading forces. There's nothing to worry about my friends. The cat is on the job.

We had a good day yesterday, but it started early. Usually when I make a dinner for some kind of celebration, I plan things I can make ahead. And I could make some of these things "ahead," but only by a few hours. Virtually everything had to be done the "day of." So, I started out bright and early getting some Maple Baked Beans going in my slow cooker. I make them from Ina Garten's recipe. I've figured out, however, they can be done in a slow cooker instead of the oven, and that makes it easier for me. I follow the recipe through where she says to transfer the beans to a Dutch oven. Instead, I load them into my slow cooker, and then cook them on high for 6-8 hours. They can dry out, and so I check them occasionally and add more liquid as necessary. So delicious. 

Next up, I needed to bake this Apple-Cinnamon Upside Down Cake. And I don't know about you, but I love any kind of upside down cake. That gooey brown sugar stuff that ends up on top...mmmmmm...food of the gods. We had that with a little dollop of whipped cream.

Those were the most time-consuming parts of our dinner. There were also deviled eggs. Probably everyone has their own way of making deviled eggs. You can see how I make mine right here.

Next up, my new favorite recipe for copycat KFC Coleslaw. This is the image from the website.

We had a Flame Craft Ham purchased at the grocery store. My only job was to heat it up.

While that was heating, I made some copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits. I gave Mike a choice between cornbread and these biscuits, and the biscuits won out.

So, you can see it was a long day in the kitchen. I had plenty of time for everything, but I was still a pooped pup by the end of the day. In all of that, I had just over an hour to spend in the sewing room. I used my time to do almost all the top-stitching for Block 4 of the Merry, Merry Snowmen.

I still need to stitch around the white snowmen, and then I'll need to do some hand-stitching of their faces. The larger snowman also has a few buttons to sew on.

There should be no problem finishing up that block today. After that, I think I'll get to work on my monthlies. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm doing the Kittens in Cups for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge project this year.

Also, I'll trace out the first block for The Sewing Room BOM from Jenny of Elefantz. You can find all the info about her new BOM right here. There is some applique involved in this year's project, and so that will need to be done first.

Next up on my list of WIP's is to make the final four blocks for the Scrappy Plus quilt project.

I might start there, but I'm more inclined to get a start on the baby quilt I'm making for a friend, if for no other reason than I have all the supplies piled up in the sewing room, and I want to get them out of the way. Besides...baby quilts are fun, while the Scrappy Plus blocks are a painus in the anus. I do like those blocks, and I'll love that quilt. Nevertheless, I'll be glad to have the blocks finished. And since it's time to choose a project for January's 

My goal will be to finish the final four blocks for the Scrappy Plus quilt.

So, I'm happy to be staying home for the next several days. I'm in need of some down time. Probably I'll get in a workout today, but mainly, I'm going to take it easy. Who's with me?