Thimbleanna

Month: September 2010

A New Kitty

41 Comments / February 22, 2011 / Family, Store

Well Hello!  Did all you kids in the US have a nice long weekend?  We had a wonderful time with TheSecondChild and his very sweet friend.  We had friends and family over for a cookout and had lots of fun.  And there was some oohing and aahing over his new little kitty too.  Meet Mufasa.  Moofie for short.

moofie

Moofie is 4 months old and cute as can be.  A little ferocious too — he gave Scruff and Paul a run for their money.  Needless to say, there was a lot of hissing.

Other than that, there’s not much new to report.  I made a quick birthday banner for a co-worker’s computer.  I tested it out on our computer tonight.  Would it cheer you up to see that little banner on your computer at work?  I made it from fabric scraps, diluted glue and some divine twine.  Speaking of which, I’ve added black and orange to my little store — just in time for Halloween (a-a-and it’s still on sale).

Birthday Banner

Did you see the cool new google page today? Those dancing balls were fun to play with. There was lots of speculation about what they meant — I read somewhere this morning that google said it was not to celebrate their birthday. I also read that some people think they’ll have a big announcement at some convention tomorrow. I love google!

Ok — must run and watch the end of Neal Caffrey Eye Candy White Collar.  Have a good week!

XOXO,
Anna

Blueberries

43 Comments / February 22, 2011 / Recipes

Awwww. Thanks so much for all of your wonderful comments about my little baseball-loving boy. It was fun to see what so many of you have in common with us. Isn’t it sad when our babies grow up? Oh well, no crying over grown babies…moving right along!

I’ve been in blueberry mode this last month, so I thought I’d tell you about three very successful blueberry treats here in ThimbleannaLand. First up was blueberry jam, which looks remarkably like the raspberry-cherry jam MeMum and I made a few weeks ago. We used the same recipe, with three cups of crushed blueberries in the place of the raspberries and cherries and 3/4 cup of water in the place of the cherry juice.

Blueberry Yummies

Next were blueberry scones.  Now, I’m not a scone expert like so many of you in Europe and Australia, but I’ve had bad scones (to my tastebuds – lead rocks) and excellent scones (light and fluffy).  This month I found a fantastic new recipe for blueberry scones – they’re light and flaky and ooooh-so-good!

Blueberry Yummies

I found the recipe in a Cooks Illustrated magazine — it’s available on-line here.  The secret is in the way they mix the ingredients.  They grate frozen butter and knead lightly.  Then, after chilling the dough, they roll the blueberries up in it like you would roll cinnamon rolls.  I thought that was pretty cool — no more squished blueberries.  If you like blueberries and scones, you should give this recipe a try.

Blueberry Yummies

Speaking of liking blueberries, I wouldn’t touch them until a few years ago.  Then I read somewhere that they’re a superfood and I decided I should try to like them.  Now, oddly,  I can’t get enough of them.  Anyway, the third recipe I tried was for a blueberry almond cookie from The English Kitchen (love her blog!).

Blueberry Yummies

I’m a BIG (as in cookie size) cookie baker and I resisted the urge to make these cookies twice as big as recommended in the recipe.  It turned out to be a good decision, as these little gems are pretty rich.  Marie says they might possibly be the best cookie you’ve ever had, and it’s definitely in my top five.  How can you turn down drizzled white chocolate???

Blueberry Yummies

Yum..Yum!  Don’t say I never gave you anything.  The calories alone in this post, have to be worth something!  Now I’m off to jump-start the weekend.  My littlest angel, TheSecondChild is coming home for a few days with a new little friend — I must get cleaning!

Happy Labor Day in the US and Father’s Day in Australia!
XOXO,
Anna