Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Thankful Thoughts

The unthankful heart...discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart...will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.
-Henry Ward Beecher

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.
-Cicero

Psalm 100
A Psalm for thanksgiving

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless his name.
For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations.

He's Baaaacckkk!

Yes, this is the same turkey that crashed our Halloween party. I guess that he is like the annoying distant cousin, 3 times removed, that shows up on every holiday. When we went out for our walk this morning, I heard him and so did Val. We looked up and there he was. She is not a fan because he runs toward us when he sees us. He was still there when we came back, so I grabbed my camera. After Halloween it took him 4 days to find his way 2 blocks home ( I say he because obviously he needed directions and wouldn't ask!), I wonder how long it will take him this time!

Deck Them Halls, Ya'll

It is finally done!!! Yes, we are ready for Black Friday at the Old Lumberyard! No, we are not having any doorbusters and we don't expect anyone to camp out to be the first one in, but we still expect (and hope!) to be very busy.

If you are in the area. please stop by and see us. I will be there Friday night from 5-9 and that is when the lights will go on at the courthouse and at PEC.

Fire Station Festivities

Last Saturday we attended the official opening of our new fire station. It was a gray day, but it was a wonderful gathering with lots of speeches and some traditions that I did not know about. For example, the dispatch came on the speaker and officially put the station into service and then the guys pushed the main engine back into the bay to put it into service. Well, they were supposed to push it, they practiced ahead of time and couldn't do it so the truck was running and had some help from the driver. Anyway... it was still really cool!

Fabulous Fall Muffins!

Here are the muffins I made for an "after work snack" for my hubby, notice the appliqued tea towel (more Accuquilt action!). I got this recipe from a friend who is a Weight Watchers leader and they are great! You combine 1 box of yellow cake mix and 1-15 oz. can of solid pack pumpkin, that is it, nothing else. You may want to use a hand mixer because the mixture is kind of rubbery and you want to get rid of all the lumps. Divide the batter into 12 cupcakes and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. These babies have only 2 points each. For a variation, you can use a spice or chocolate cake mix. YUM-O!

Sassy Chick Pincushion

I have now surpassed the century mark in the production of Sassy Chicks. Yes, I have made over 100 of these gals. This one is a special order and I thought she was especially photogenic!

Selvage Bag

This is a "Heart Desires Bag". I usually make these out of scraps, but I thought it would be really cute out of selvages. The button can make or break the look, of course, I always go for the "blingy" ones!

Selvage Quilt

I have had a really productive couple of days and it feels really great! I made a lot of progress on two customer projects and I also finished a couple of my own items. As I have mentioned before, I have acquired the "Selvage Bug"-much more serious than H1N1! Anyway, I completed my first selvage quilt yesterday. I used my SIL's Accuquilt to cut the Tumblers and after cutting 100 of them, I owe her a new mat since hers now has a hole in it-EEK! The Accuquilt is a really cool gadget and after using hers, I am glad that I do not own one myself, as I would get nothing else done. Oh, the things that I could create!

I used selvages in every other block and misc. black and white fabrics in between. The borders are two different "Quilt Diva" fabrics that different friends have given me and the back is a minkee that is pink, lime and black paisleys on a white background. I quilted freehand, wavy lines vertically on the quilt, as there are some edges that stick up. I broke it in last night watching "House Hunters"!!

Dust Off That Crock Pot!

I recently found this great recipe in the October issue of Southern Living magazine. I have already made it once and I plan to do it again today.

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

1 1/4 lb. ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (1.25 oz.) envelope chili seasoning
1 (12 oz.) can beer
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
3/4 tsp salt

Cook first 4 ingredients in a large skillet until turkey crumbles and is no longer pink. Stir in beer and cook, stirring occassionaly , 2 minutes. Spoon mixture into 5 1/2 quart slow cooker; stir in corn and next 6 ingredients until well blended. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

I used Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes and added 1 TBSP cumin, 1 tsp oregano and 1 TBSP sugar to the mixture. To serve, I put shredded lettuce, diced red onion, avocado and grated cheddar cheese on top of the chili in the bowl. Be sure to have your favorite tortilla chips for dipping! YUM!

After eating this meal, you will not feel like washing dishes! To make cleanup a snap, I like to use the Reynold's Slow Cooker Liners. A cooking bag for the Crock Pot, they can be removed after use and thrown away. Bubble bath, here I come!

I found the neatest item at HEB today. It is made by Libby's and it is a boxed set of pumpkin bread mixes. For $4.99, you get most of the ingredients to make 2 loaves of pumpkin bread, including packets of vanilla frosting drizzle. I am going to make mine in the small, disposable aluminum pans to give away as gifts this holiday season.

Johnson City Update

As some of you already know, my sister in law and I have a retail craft business in Johnson City in the Old Lumberyard Mall. We typically go over 2-3 times per month to "fluff' everything and put out new merchandise. Today we made our first trip with Christmas items and we will have many more in the coming weeks. We had a great lunch at the Silver K Cafe next door and we highly recommend stopping there whenever you are in the area. We also went out to the Blanco Settlement on the Henley loop (rr165) outside of Blanco. It is one of cutest gift shops you will find, a must see! Another must see is the Deutsch Apple Bakery. It is at the turn onto 165, stop in for coffee and a muffin or cookie, you will be glad you did!

Halloween Update

Well here we are, the football player, the cheerleader and the ref. Yes, I know, it is pretty scary! I think the tatoos really add "that certain something" to his costume. The scariest part is that I caught him using my $40 Chanel lipgloss to complete his look! Anyway, we had a great time at our gathering and I think all the guests did as well. We had about 40 trick or treaters, 17 party guests, a fire up the street and a wild turkey decided to roost on our roof. Just another normal night at the Thompson house! Many thanks to all who helped us pull it off and all who attended.