From February 2012.

In February, i entered Two quilt contests. not sure why the spirit moved me but i seemed to have the right mix of ''themes'' for the entry.

This was my first entry.   Entered for a Valentines day theme.  There were a total of 31 entries. I consistently placed 6th or 7th throughout the voting period.  Finished 7th by one vote (one more would have tied me for 6th).  While it would have been fun to win,  finishing in the top 10 was quite an accomplishment too.

 Hearts and Flowers

 

Dark Chocolate Brownies with Raspberry Goat Cheese Swirl
Makes about 30 small brownie squares
Raspberries
2 cups raspberries, lightly mashed
2 tablespoons brandy or Kirsch
Brownies
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup milk
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Raspberry Goat Cheese Swirl
8 ounces goat cheese, softened at room temperature for an hour
4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature for an hour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for an hour
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Heat the oven to 350ºF and lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan (or any 3-quart dish, like the gratin dish I use here) with butter or baking spray. Place the raspberries in a bowl and stir in the brandy or Kirsch. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate and butter until liquid in a 3-quart (or larger) saucepan over low heat. When the chocolate is completely melted, remove from the heat, whisk in the milk, and cool for about 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Stir in the eggs one by one. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and fold in until just combined. Fold in about half of the raspberries and spread this brownie batter in the prepared pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with hand beaters, or by hand with a heavy whisk) beat the goat cheese with the cream cheese, butter, egg, sugar, and almond extract until light and fluffy. Gently fold in the other half of the raspberries and their juices. Drop the goat cheese mixture on top of the brownie batter in spoonfuls, then swirl it through the batter with a knife. Bake for 30 minutes or until just barely set. The top will be just turning light brown. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Store at room temperature, well-covered. The flavor and texture of these brownies really bloom when you let them rest overnight.

Time "marches" on.

Hello to the first Sunday in March! 
All sorts of weather happening here in beautiful upper bucks. Sun, Clouds, breeze to gale force winds.  It is still winter with continual teasing  by spring to come.

Quiet for the moment. always interesting to be aware of no traffic for extended periods of time. Almost eerie in the outside silence.

Life is what it is. Reach for the brass ring and hang on.
Grab a cup of coffee, catch up with the news, enjoy a beautiful Sunday.
Spring is getting closer.

Hearts to you

Cute Wax Paper Hearts!

Surprise your sweetie with some cute Valentine’s decorations. All you need is some crayons, a pencil sharpener, wax paper, card stock and some craft paper (or a couple paper bags).

Tear off a piece of wax paper. Remove the label from a crayon and run it through a pencil sharpener so the shavings are distributed across the wax paper.

Use one color or mix the colors if you like.

Use two pieces of craft paper (or cut up pieces of paper bag) to protect the ironing board. Place the wax paper and crayon shavings on top and top that with another piece of wax paper. Take two more pieces of craft paper to protect the iron and melt everything together.

I have a special iron I reserve for craft projects such as this. It was the most inexpensive iron I could buy back in my college days. Sometimes the wax can still bleed through the layers of paper, and it can be difficult to clean, so keep that in mind when doing this project.

Make a heart by folding a piece of card stock in half, drawing half a heart, cutting the shape out and unfolding it. This will be your template.

On your melted wax paper and crayon shavings, trace the heart.

Cut out the hearts using all the different colors.

Use a needle and thread, or a hole punch to attach a string.

Tie the hearts to a curtain rod or tape them to a window, attach them to a present, or slip one in your sweetheart’s lunch for a nice little surprise.