The Cat's Pyjamas Blog

Progress in the studio....

We got so much done in the studio this weekend!! The bathroom is pretty much done. I have to paint the door, but that will get done when I'm painting the trim in the next room. I painted my office too! I was getting nervous about the color, but once I started painting, I remembered how pretty it was! We took the windows out and I decided to get some trim paint for the outside and paint the outside of the windows too while they were out. So my goal this week is to get the trim and windows painted and the windows put back in. I got the ceiling & walls painted & new light fixture installed in my office. It has a closet in there that will be just for all my supplies for sale. Right now they are so unorganized because I don't have enough room for it all. So that closet will have lots of shelves with boxes and labels....even Martha Stewart would be impressed with what I have planned!! haha! If you want to see more pictures of my bathroom, click here or click the link on the left! I have a picture of what it used to look like too....you'll love that! Here's what my office looks like right now....we still have lots of work to do, but we're getting there!

I have a new kitty hanging around--he showed up yesterday and was still here tonight. He's really sweet, but kind of rough like he's been in a few fights in his life. If he sticks around, he'll get to visit the vet to get all fixed up, if you know what I mean! ;) Here's his picture--he's a handsome fella! We've been calling him Todd...remember that band Big Head Todd and the Monsters? Well...this is a big ol' kitty with a big head (I love big-headed Tom cats!) so we call him Big Head Todd, Todd for short! :)

 

Luke needed a ride....

So last Sunday Luke was coming from Georgia to his foster home in Mississippi. He was coming right through Scottsboro, so I had to give him a ride! He was so sweet--he mostly laid in my back seat and slept. A few times he poked his head between the seats so I could rub his head. I was tired after driving about 5 hours, so I know he had to be tired by the time he got to his new home. Hope he got plenty of rest and lovin' when he got there!!

 

It is soooo cold here--its 20 degrees and it even snowed earlier today! So I haven't worked on my studio for a couple of days. I'm ready to get back to work over there as soon as it gets warm enough!!

Dollies have been getting new outfits tonight--I think by next weekend I will start having new patterns ready! Its about time, huh???

Did y'all know I have a new blog? Its www.2friendsblog.com --I started it for our graphics/web design customers to introduce their businesses. We just started, but its fun to look through all the links on there.....

Pizza, Pizza!

I found an old issue of Taunton's Fine Cooking (March 2002) and found a recipe for an easy pizza dough. I tried it and it is delicious (and really is easy--especially when you just grab it out of the freezer)! So I thought I would share the recipe....I did have to add extra flour to the dough, don't know if I wasn't paying attention and didn't add enough to start with or what. (I was talking and measuring at the same time!) I have been making it without sauce....with freshly grated parmesean, green olives and mushrooms. Yum! Oh,  and I barely stretch the dough, put in an oiled black skillet and press into the pan.

Easy Pizza Dough

You can make the dough a day or a couple of weeks ahead. Put the individual balls in zip-top bags and refrigerate overnight or freeze for longer.

Ingredients

1 package (2-1/4 tsp.) active-dry yeast
1-1/2 cups very warm water (110°F)
18 oz. (4 cups) all-purpose flour; more for dusting
1-1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. olive oil

Directions

Making and dividing the dough

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and set aside (a Pyrex 2-cup measure makes for easy pouring; be sure the cup isn't cold). Meanwhile, put the flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade; process briefly to mix. With the machine running, add the water-yeast mixture in a steady stream. Turn the processor off and add the oil. Pulse a few times to mix in the oil.

Scrape the soft dough out of the processor and onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, quickly knead the dough into a mass, incorporating any bits of flour or dough from the processor bowl that weren't mixed in. Cut the dough into four equal pieces with a knife or a dough scraper. Roll each piece into a tight, smooth ball, kneading to push the air out.

Rising and storing the dough

What you do next depends on whether you want to make pizza right way or at a later date.

If you want to bake the pizzas as soon as possible, put the dough balls on a lightly floured surface, cover them with a clean dishtowel, and let them rise until they almost double in size, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, turn your oven on, with the baking stone in it, to let the stone fully heat.

If you want to bake the pizzas tomorrow, line a baking sheet with a floured dishtowel, put the dough balls on it, and cover them with plastic wrap, giving them room to expand (they'll almost double in size), and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight.

To use dough that has been refrigerated overnight, simply pull it out of the refrigerator about 15 minutes before shaping the dough into a pizza.

To freeze the dough balls, dust each one generously with flour as soon as you've made it, and put each one in a separate zip-top bag. Freeze for up to a month.

It's best to transfer frozen dough from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before (or 10 to 12 hours before) you want to use it. But I've found that dough balls pulled straight from the freezer and left to warm up on the counter will be completely defrosted in about 1-1/2 hours. The dough is practically indestructible.

Shaping your pizza

Put the proofed or thawed ball of dough on a lightly floured wooden board. Sprinkle a little more flour on top of the ball. Using your fingertips, press the ball down into a flat cake about 1/2 inch thick.

Lift the dough and lay it over the back of the fist of one hand. Put your other fist under the dough, right next to your first fist. Now gently stretch the dough by moving your fists away from each other. Each time you do this stretch, rotate the dough. Continue stretching and rotating until the dough is thin, about 1/4 inch, and measures about 9 inches across. Unless your dough is still cold from the freezer, it will be so soft that its own weight will stretch it out. Alternatively, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough thinly on a floured board. If you like a very thin pizza, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Be careful not to make it too thin, and remember that the thinner the pizza, the less topping it can handle.

Rub a bit of flour onto a wooden pizza peel (or the back of a baking sheet). Gently lift the stretched dough onto the floured peel. Top the pizza, scattering the ingredients around to within 1/2 inch of the border.

Top with your favorite toppings....

Baking your pizza

Put a pizza stone or unglazed terra-cotta tiles on the lowest rack of the oven and heat the oven to 500°F. Ideally, let the stone heat in the oven for an hour.

Shake the peel (or baking sheet) gently back and forth to make sure the pizza isn't stuck. If it seems stuck, lift the edges up with a spatula and toss a bit of flour under the dough. Quickly slide the pizza onto the hot baking stone. Bake until the edges are golden, about 8 min. Using a peel, a wide spatula, or tongs, remove the pizza from the oven.

From Fine Cooking 49, pp. 36-39

Antique Store Finds

My husband and I decided to go to one of our favorite antique stores....I haven't been in a while and I found some good stuff!! They were having a sale and I even got the dog photo for half price! The other photos weren't on sale so I had to go through my huge stack and put some back. :( By the way--it is really hard to set up a photo of new stuff when you have so many nosy cats trying to see what you've got!!

I wish I could have gotten a better picture of the dog photo I got! I think its a photo, but it could be a print....I have had my eye on it for a while and its going in my studio!

A crown....I had to have that!!

I got these 3 postcards, the Jesus picture and the one on the far right....I loved the look on the woman's face. (Click on the photo to make it larger so you can see...) She is so stern!

This was my best find--the hooked rug in pinks and roses! It has a small hole in the edge that certainly didn't bother me.... I got it for $18! Its big too!

Also got a vintage doll dress with roses, a printed towel, a cross necklace and old bottle. I think all this is going to my studio....

What about my new mantel decoration?????

I have everything painted in my studio bathroom except the door. I'm so excited!! I have to paint some pictures and I'm looking for a cabinet to hang on the wall. I'll get some pictures for you to see soon, even though the decorating is not done. I guess I can move on to the next room while I'm on the look out for things to decorate the bathroom with.

My new doll designs are all painted now--tonight I'll sand them and start staining. None of them have clothes, so that will be the next step. It seems to take so long these days!!

Last night I was in a cooking mood--I'll share my recipes, but if you're on a diet, you won't want to cook any of this!! I brought my recipe box in here so I could share those recipes and it seems to be buried under a huge pile of dolls! So...after I dig it out, I'm going to share my favorite Sweet Potato Casserole recipe and a recipe for Baked Fried Chicken!

Little lamb....

I don't know how I forgot one of my favorite sayings! When Momma was going to be "right back" she'd say, "I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail." I love it!

I got a treat today--I took my nephew to wal-mart today and while he was eating his Arby's sandwich, we saw this cute little pit bull puppy keep poking its head up in someone's back seat. When we got ready to go in, we saw the owners and told them how cute he was...they got him out for us to pet him. He was so cute & sweet! We agreed we would both love to have one!

I am going to bed early tonight so we can get started on my studio early. I have my new shower curtain that I am dying to put up!!

Being from the South....

We have lots of funny sayings.....I thought I would share a few. Have any of you heard these? Or do you have a favorite saying?

...sweatin' like a pig

...Drunk as Cooter Brown

...old enough to eat cornbread and not choke on it

...nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rockers

...mean as a snake

...easy as pie

...mad as a hornet

....livin' in high cotton

...up the creek without a paddle

Well, those are just a few. Do you have a funny saying? I think I could sit here typing them for hours!! "Git 'er done" is not one of my favorites. I hate that one--half the men here sound like Larry the Cable Guy anyway! ha!

What about favorite southern foods--

buttermilk biscuits ~ chocolate gravy ~ fried taters ~ cornbread ~ sweet iced tea ~ collard greens ~ peach cobbler ~ fried catfish ~ just about anything fried ~ fried okra ~ fried squash ~ pintoes ~ stuff fresh out of your garden

I don't know anyone who eats 'possum or gross stuff like that, but I have heard people say their grandparents ate them. Hopefully that was only because they had to....We have a 'possum that has been sneaking on our porch to eat--he doesn't seem too scared of us and for a second I considered trying to pet him. :) We have nick-named him Leonard....and he won't be anybody's meal!!

Its funny what people think about us Southerners....I actually did live outside Alabama and  even outside the country for a little while. I couldn't believe some of the things people thought. One girl asked me if we have airports in Alabama! ha! I guess she thought we rode our horse and buggy out  of Alabama to the nearest airport. I was only 18 then and I didn't realize what people really thought about the South until I travelled a little.

It is different here--I have to admit that. But I love it--I love our accents and how most people are friendly. Its  more country where I grew up....when you drive down the road, everyone waves, even if you don't know who it is. (You probably know them, they are probably just driving a new truck!) I love that it isn't so busy here, not a lot of traffic and I love all the trees! And I love how when  you meet someone, if you don't know them, after you talk a while you know someone they are related to. It always bugged me when I had a date or a friend coming over and Daddy would ask who their parents were. I'd say, "I don't KNOW!" (Probably rolled my eyes too...) I didn't know why it mattered who someone's parents were. Now I completely understand! Oh, and I love it that I knew everyone in my school. At my elementary & junior high school there were less than 20 people in my class. After the 4th grade, we had two grades in each class and the school only went to the 8th grade. That school is gone--but that's another story for another day.   

I'm still making dolls!!

Well....I thought I should prove to y'all that I haven't stopped making dolls!! Or maybe I'm proving it to myself. It seems like I'm spending more & more time on graphics design and less on everything else! But I have managed to get some new designs started (plus I'm working on one of De's patterns!). So here's a whole pile of dolls I'm working on. I'm just to the good part--putting on the faces and they've been sitting there for days! Strawberry likes it when I stuff the dolls--he always tries to crawl in the box. I really have to watch Elvis around the polyfil--he tries to eat it! Once I had some in my truck and left the windows down....I went to my truck and Elvis popped his head up. He had polyfil hanging out of his mouth and it looked like a white beard!!

I did some paperclay designs too. What do you think of my moon? I am pretty proud of how he turned out! I need a BIG tree for my studio for all these ornaments! If only I had time to get this stuff on my website to sell! I may have to hire someone to do that. I like to do it all myself, but I now have boxes of stuff since I missed my last show. Its kind of hard to hire someone to help you work in the middle of the night. I wonder if I will have to start getting up early like normal people??? lol!! I guess I would have to change out of my pajamas when I get up too, and brush my hair first thing in the morning. Hmmm...I don't know about that!!

Remember a while back I bought a Halloween sweater for Pumpkin? I said that was the last one...but then I saw this hooded sweater with camoflage. So this is the last one...I swear! They really didn't mind--I think Strawberry liked it!

 

I love this picture of Sweet Pea in the hood....I just want to hug him every time I look at this picture!! Too bad the flash makes him squint. I wonder why? My two white kitties are the only ones that do that!

What about this picture...don't you just want to give Pumpkin a smooch?

Awwwwww....

Yesterday I went to see my sister & her dog, Bama. He is so cute & funny! He's pretty wild when she has company though!! He's a boxer...and I love it that his ears aren't cropped! He's so cute that way!

I was just thinking tonight--Humans aren't the only ones who like to spoon...I know for a fact that Mr. Spock & Bilbo enjoy it.

Friendship Cake & French Onion soup

I guess I was in a cooking mood tonight! First, I made a friendship cake. You know the kind that you get a starter for and you add stuff and stir it for 30 days? One of those....today was the 31st day. So I baked one full size cake and 6 small loafs!! I have 5 starters--anyone need one??? lol! I had to add 12 eggs, 3 yellow cake mixes, 2 c. oil, 3 boxes of vanilla pudding. And all I had was one bite! My husband ate all of a small loaf except a small piece--I teased him and asked him why he didn't carry it to bed with him!

After that, I decided to try a new recipe for French Onion Soup. (That's not mine up there though!) I haven't even gotten to the part where I add the cheese. I cooked it in the crock pot tonight and stuck it in the fridge to finish tomorrow. But I did have a little bowl of it and dipped some french bread in it and it was DELICIOUS!! Here's the recipe:

2 T. butter

1 lb. onions

2½ c. chicken broth

1 bay leaf

salt & pepper to taste

4 slices french bread

1 c. shredded cheddar

Melt butter over medium heat. Add onions & cook 8 minutes, until golden brown. Add broth, bay leaf, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil and transfer to slow cooker for 7-10 hours on low. To serve, preheat broiler to high. Put bread in an oven proof bowl, sprinkle cheese on top, pour soup over the bread & cheese. Place under broiler until cheese is golden.

~~~~~yum!!~~~~~~~

Tomorrow I'm going to Babies 'R Us...no, not for me! My brother & his gf are having a baby in April and her shower is Thursday, so I get to go buy some baby stuff! Just down the road, all in one shopping center, are some of my favorite places to shop & eat--Michael's, PetSmart, Atlanta Bread Co., Kirkland's  & Hancock's fabrics! Maybe I can at least go buy some fresh bread while I'm there! Books-a-Million is in the same building as Babies 'R Us. I should stay outta there--we already have enough books for a library!

Studio update:
Trim is cut for the bathroom--waiting to be painted. I am dying to get my new silver mirror in there that I painted!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I'm here at the office so I don't have any photos of my own to use. Sooooo....I thought I'd make a list of some stuff that I would like to have for Valentine's Day, along with some photos I searched for on the internet. I'm thinking big here...

1. An old truck

 

2. A house like this--built in the woods right down the road from my parents

 

3. A French Bulldog.....I actually want this one! Her name is Doxie and she is up for adoption at http://www.frenchbulldogrescue.org/htdocs/available/doxie.html. I actually saw her somewhere else last year--I think at petfinder.com but she is in Canada and doesn't like cats. :( She is deaf too, but that wouldn't bother me at all. Anyway--I don't think it is meant for me to have her, but its funny that when I was looking for a picture of a French bulldog, I found her on another site! If I ever DO get a French bulldog or any other dog, I would definitely adopt one, not buy one!

 

4. Wine & Cheese...okay, not really wine. But I love cheese--especially Blue cheeses!!

 

5. A whole bunch of feedsacks

 

6. Cash

 

I'm sure I could think of more, but it will be time to go home in about 2 minutes!!

I may be getting myself a little gift--I may be bringing home a couple of cats that were scheduled to be euthanized today. Poor kitties--I guess my motto should be "the more, the merrier!" 

And the winner is....

Congratulations, Michelle! I'll be in touch for your mailing address. I hope you love your new ornament!!