January nesting

50 degrees

8 degrees

It's a strange January.  50 degrees one day and 8 degrees the next.  Rain one day and snow the next. I guess this is El Nino in the Midwest.

Enjoying road trip to Dunkin' Donuts in the Jeep

And you know what snow means???  A trip to Dunkin'' Donuts!  We started this tradition a couple of years ago.  A new snowfall gives you "permission" to eat donuts.  What can I say?  We try to make the best out of winter.

Breakfast with Foghorn Leghorn

Preparing a meal

We started the new year with our friend Stan visiting us for several days.  Stan joined us for a  great New Year's Eve party with our friends Brian and Stacy.

We cooked meals together, watched a lot of football, and Stan and Mike completed a few chores around the house.







I may have a slight case of cabin fever as I continue to fight this crud(cold? pneumonia? sinus infection?).  I decided to tackle a few projects that have been waiting for me.

 I added rug binding to a latch hook my mom made for me.

Cutting mesh to 1 inch wide

Folding mesh over and using iron on rug binding to secure

Finished latch hook rug ready for hanging

I also pulled out a needlepoint project that I'm sure I haven't touched for at least 20 years.  I've been working on it at night while watching television. Somehow that makes me feel productive and less of a couch potato!

Side view

I asked Mike to make me a wooden box for the mantle.  I saw this idea on the Thrifty Decor Chick blog, and I thought it would be fun.

Mike used leftover pieces of red cedar from our screen porch to build a 37 inch long box.

I found these silver balls on sale at Pier One, and they add some great texture to the mantle.

Box on mantle

And I've been in a cooking frenzy this week.  Chili, barbeque pork chops in the crock pot and banana bread to name a few.  And this morning we had steel cut oats in the crock pot, a recipe from the Nita Dances blog.  Yum!  Here's the easy recipe if you want to try it.

Crock Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal
3.5 cups of water
1/2 cup milk
1 cup steel cut oats
Put in small crock pot (at least 6 cup) overnight on low heat.
In the morning stir the oats and serve.
We added brown sugar, cinnamon, dried cranberries and pecans.

I've also been enjoying reading more this month.  I finished the book "Trident" by Jason Redman.  He was a Navy Seal in Afghanistan and Iraq, this is his story.  I would highly recommend this book for an inside glimpse of a true American hero.

Winter sunsets are amazing!

So, here we are. Half way through January.  And a few projects await. I'm getting ready to start sewing some valences for my mom.  I purchased the fabric this week, and it's been pre-washed and is ready to go.  And then there's a book in progress and my 20 year old needlework project.  Hopefully that will get me through this longest month of winter...

Have a great week!
Diane