Cricut cards

I bought a Cricut Air and have been having fun making cards.  When you add in the machine, paper and software, I could buy $20 cards and really impress people and it would be cheaper for each card I make!  But these are fun to do and I hope the recipients will appreciate them all the more for the time and effort.  I should keep a list of who got which cards, so I don't send them multiples of the same one, but I haven't gotten that organized, yet.

Cricut sends me scads of emails about new options and I was recently suckered into convinced to buy the latest cartridge.  It makes cards that fold flat for mailing, in the All Occasion Box Cards cartridge

 

and then open up into a box for display.

 

This one is nice with flowers that never wilt.  Although it is rather dictatorial.  GET WELL, fer cryin' out loud!

You have to be careful when assembling these cards.  There are no instructions, so I glued all the flowers first. 

 

When I folded the flower strip to fit the box, one of the flowers was facing the wrong direction, so I had to recut it.

 

I also made a Thank You card from Simple Pop-Up cards.  It was a lot easier to assemble than some in that collection.  And very cute, I thought.

Cause they were wooly nice to us!

 

And then I made one for Lee for Valentine's Day.



I have glued things in the wrong place several times.  In some cases, I noticed and fixed the card.  In others, I sent them off before I discovered the error.  Perhaps I will get better, or Cricut will start including instructions on the site.  Either way, future cards should be improved over the first couple of cards I have made.

They are still fun to do and, I hope, fun to receive. 

Some Visitors

The Bed and Breakfast is closed for the winter, but these visitors decided to come anyway.

 

As you can see, they are right off the back porch. 

 

I love that they live on our property.  And that they have a little slice of safety during hunting season.

 

But I don't really like them this close to the house.  Deer carry the ticks that cause Lyme disease, so I prefer they stay in the fields and woods where we don't go. 

 

Once RJ saw them all bets were off and they took off down the hill and towards the woods.  He has had Lyme disease and ehrlichia caused by ticks.  And that is with our using Frontline.  The vet suggested using it more frequently in tick season than the package suggests.

Do you think that is why he likes to chase them off?  Or does he just love to see them run and jump?

Barbeque Pulled Chicken

I need to confess that there is no barbequing in my barbeque pulled chicken.   It is made in a slow cooker and if you like, and I do, you may add some barbeque sauce.  Or not.  Lee liked it plain.

Barbeque Pulled Chicken

2 lbs. chicken breasts
1 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon mustard, your pick
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons paprika

It you like things hot, you may add some crushed red pepper to taste, about 1/4 teaspoon.  I didn't.

 

After you drain the diced tomatoes, add them to a slow cooker.  Then add the onions, cider vinegar, honey, mustard, soy sauce, and paprika to the pot.  You may add the crushed red pepper, if you wish.  Give the whole thing a stir and turn the Crock Pot to low. 

 

I like to trim the fat off the chicken breasts.  Add them to the mix and press the chicken breasts down into the liquid.

 

Put the lid on and go away for about 5 hours.

 

After 5 hours, carefully remove the breasts and place them on a plate.  Take two forks and shred the breasts.  They will be very tender and fall apart easily.

 

Return the breasts to the pot and let it warm up for a bit. 



Use tongs to transfer the whole thing to a serving bowl.  This will allow any excess liquid to drain out.

 

Serve on whole wheat buns.  Drizzle some barbeque sauce of your choice on top, if you like.

 

I made some cole slaw with some dressing and shredded cabbage.  I added a large spoonful to my sandwich.  It was delicious!

   

Because there are only two of us, we still have more of the pulled chicken.  I think I am going to make some pulled chicken tacos.

Baby Visit

Our son and daughter-in-law were kind enough to present us with a granddaughter for Christmas.  I wanted to fly right out there, but I remembered my first baby and how hard those first few weeks were.

So I gave them a break and waited a three weeks.  Not too many.  I'm not a saint!

When I told my daughters that I was going, they decided they wanted to go, too!  Lee had responsibilities here, so we three girls flew out and invaded.  In our defense, I booked a hotel room so we gave them a few scant hours without us.  (Approaching sainthood)  Granted they still didn't get any rest, due to said baby. 

We had a lot of fun with Rachel and forced her to pose for lots of pictures.  It will be a few more years before she will forcibly resist all parental (and grandparental) photo taking.  So we took full advantage of it.

I even have a picture of Tara taking a picture.

 

Does Rachel look like her Aunties?  I wonder what they will be called.  My sister, Robin, ended up being called Auntie Rotten.  And she reveled in it!

 

They can't argue with you about picture taking when they are asleep!  So we have a bunch of those, too.

 

Fortunately, Rachel is a very good baby.  And doesn't seem to mind the constant picture taking.

 

"Alright, Mr. DeMille.  I'm ready for my close-up."