Mersydotes

Mmmmm... so many blog-worthy things going on here (especially in preparation for Christmas!), but I've just got a little moment before bed to say good night. And sweet dreams with little crocheted heart confetti and the sweet smell of pepermint!

I've always felt a bit bad for the sweet potato, which is, in my opinion, a much maligned tuber.  Why should it always be relegated to too much sugar or too much grease?  Why not appreciate it for what it is?! A mild, nutty, sweet, compact meal that is sooo  warming and fulfilling.   Recently, we've been trying to appreciate sweet potatoes and all that they offer.  This was inspired by a magazine article about healthy, but easy dinners, and here's our personal (as always, gluten-free) interpretation:   We wash and pierce one sweet potato per person:    Wrap them up snugly in foil: And then bake them at 350 until you can easily poke a knife all the way through. Then, we split them down the middle, lightly mash the insides, and sprinkle on some goat cheese and a few walnuts.  Tah-dah!   Hope you give it a try- it's truly scrumptious!

(A guest post by Penny) This evening, Mama and Papa tried out Instagram, and they decided to take some practice pictures of the cutest thing in the room- me!  I had just eaten my dinner (kibbly bits, of course!), so I was a little sleepy and was resting on the couch.  Would you like to see how artsy my puppy nap looks when photographed with Instagram?

Recently, my aunt sent out a picture of the favors she's been making for Thanksgiving- adorable! I liked the idea so much, I decided to try my hand at it and make a flock of candy turkeys to take out to the hubby's family. First, I made some turkey heads and added some little googly eyes. The turkeys needed legs too, so I twisted together three short lengths of pipe cleaners and bent the ends to make toes. We decided to use Reese's Pieces (they're glee), and placed a quarter cup into little squares of orange tulle.  Then it all gets tied up to make the tail, and the head and legs get poked through the holes in the tool.  Would you like to see the whole flock?  Here they are: Gobble, Gobble!!

We are just about to head out on our Thanksgiving visit to family, and I've been trying to prepare some treats to take along.  When I was growing up, my grandma showed me how to make these bite-sized treats, and we called them "moose prints".  You need Rolos and pretzels (we use gluten-free ones) and pecan halves.  When I went to buy the Rolos at the grocery store to make these, I saw that they had this recipe on the back, and I was shocked!  The Rolo people didn't invent this recipe- my grandma and the ladies from her church did!  So this is the original recipe, from my grandma!  (It might be identical to the one on the back of the package, but I guarantee it tastes better!) First, cover your pan in parchment paper and lay out the pretzels that you will use.  Then, put one Rolo on top of each pretzel.  Pop the tray into an oven at 350 for 2-3 minutes, until the chocolate is just melty.    Next, press one pecan half into ...

There are some new flowers around here.  One of them is this beautiful orchid that we are caring for while our neighbors are on vacation.  It is so delicate and bright- and each week, it gets watered with three ice cubes.  Easy!  I need to try to take some more pictures when the light is better so you can see the true colors of the petals. There's also a big, new, fabulous, bright, cheery crochet flower!   I made if from Lucy's great tutorial found here .  I think it will be a great way to cheer up my winter jacket! I used 100% cotton yarn (my favorite!) because it's nice and sturdy, and always looks  really fresh and clean.  I was inspired by little Acorn and Butternut Mouse that I made a while back, and I've decided to give amigurumi a try.  It's fun!  I'll post some of the preliminary results of experiment amigurumi soon! ~Bye!

My goodness!  It's been almost a week since I last posted- so sorry to have popped out for so long!  There are many a good crochety thing in the making at the moment, so I thought that even though I need a bit more time to tie up loose ends (haha!  quite literally in this case!), I would go a head and post a few little pictures to show what's going on around these parts. A wee bit of sparkly goodness: Some colorful new cotton (destined for cuteness): And a whole bunch of sparkly snowflakes nearly ready for the arrival of winter:   I promise that I'll be back soon to show you how everything turns out!