Six Down, Six To Go!

With Phil's encouragement I finished Block 6 last night! I am now officially at the halfway point! Woohoo!

Here is a shot of the entire Village so far...

It's nice to have it out of the Q-Snaps so it can "stretch it's legs"! I'm taking my Village with me to Florida so hopefully we'll see some more progress soon!

Back to packing! We leave bright and early tomorrow morning!

 

Gangnam Style

The blacksmith shop has only been open for a short while but Mr. Huffer already has his first customer! There are three more cowboys approaching on invisible horses. I think they've been watching too many Psy videos! Either that or they're members of Monty Python's Flying Circus and will be followed by porters tapping coconuts together as they "ride"!

Grand Opening

The sign is up at the blacksmith shop and we're expecting customers to start arriving soon! Hopefully they can overlook a few gaps in the woodwork!

Old Dog, New Trick

 

Many of you may recognize these. For those of you who don't, they are curling stones. Phil and I enjoyed watching the Olympic curling so much that we decided to attend a "Learn To Curl" event held by a local curling club. We learned all the basics and got to play two ends against another group of beginners. I had an absolute blast despite taking one unfortunate "spill" while delivering my first stone. (My daughter was there and managed to capture the moment on her phone so I fully expect the video of me sliding down the ice on my belly while hanging onto a chunk of granite to go viral on YouTube.) 

Here we are getting ready to sweep the path of a stone. It is so much harder than it looks on TV! I used muscles I forgot I had! 

A happy curler! 

I hope everyone had a fun weekend! I plan to work on my VoHRH today so stay tuned for another progress picture!

 

Kale Chips: A Guest Post

I am Paisley's daughter, Sarah. I am super smart. I am going to be a med tech and cure you of your ailments from behind the scenes. You will never see me but you will know I'm there. Like Batman.

Let's make some kale chips.

Make sure your kale is really leafy and green. Inspect your leaves for debris such as bugs and bird droppings. Wash it thoroughly and use a salad spinner to spin them dry. Remove the stems. Like, all of them. Not just the part below the leaves but the part between the leaves as well. Cut or tear the leaves into bite sized pieces. I usually use about 5-6 large leaves. Throw them in a large mixing bowl and drizzle on about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Olive oil is okay if you like the flavor. Mix thoroughly to coat the leaves. Season as you like. I use salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder. I also like turmeric because it makes the kale chips taste like roasted pumpkin seeds. Mix again. Spread them onto a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for about ten minutes. Keep an eye on them. They'll shrink a bunch and look crispy. That's how you'll know they're done. Remove from oven and serve in a bowl.

Enjoy!

Make faces!

I eat these almost every day. Recently when I went to donate blood they told me my iron level was very good.

Eat kale chips. Donate blood. Save lives. Be like Batman.

Block 6 Continued

The fire has been built and a curl of smoke can be seen rising from the chimney! It's time for Mr. Huffer to hang out his shingle!

 

Harry has been keeping me company while I stitch. He found himself a nice patch of sunshine to take a bath in. If you look close you can see a tiny bit of his tongue sticking out. 


 I'm exhausted!

Thursday's Progress

And now for the big reveal! Just how much did I get done yesterday?

 

The horse has his mane and looks a little less awkward! And the chimney and fireplace are almost completely bricked! Once I get the final four in place I will move on to the fire itself! Realllllly looking forward to getting this block finished since it will mark the halfway point in my Village!

Maybe this will be the year I can finally call it done!

On a Wednesday

I have fallen woefully behind in my stitching and blogging so I have decided to dedicate the remainder of today to at least the stitching part!

I give you my Village of Hawk Run Hollow, Block 6, as it stands this morning...

 

The walls and roof are up on the blacksmith's shop but Mr. Huffer can hardly be expected to ply his trade without a fireplace and chimney. I will get to work building it brick by brick ASAP but first I think that poor horse could use some attention. Without his mane he just looks... well... odd.

We are back in MI for the rest of the month and then will be returning to Florida until spring officially creeps over our window sill! This has been one cold winter and I'm so grateful we could abandon ship and head south!

I will be back tomorrow with a progress picture!