Workin' for the weekend...

Well, it's been a productive weekend so far.

In addition to getting all of the middle strips for my homespun nine-patches done, I finished up the second fleece blanket. It went much quicker after I decided to do just the one reverse applique letter instead of a bunch.

More fleecy goodness passing inspection

Both blankets got wrapped up and delivered upstairs to baby Kiera and her big brother Ryan, who immediately put his on as a cape and flew around the living room. I think it was appreciated.

But the big achievement of the weekend has been food. Specifically, breakfast.

I discovered Corner Bakery's Swiss Oatmeal a few weeks ago, and have been fighting cravings for it ever since. Not only is it calorie-packed (the website says 300 calories, but I swear the one I had said 500), at $3.99 a pop it's a little pricey for the number of times a week I'd really like to eat it.

So I set about trying to make my own. And after a few Google searches and discovering that I wasn't the only one trying to replicate this concoction, I came up with my own version. It may not photograph well, but it's mighty tasty!

Call it Summer Oatmeal, call it muesli, call it whatever you want, I'm calling it delicious!

Swiss Oatmeal

1/2 cup whole oats, uncooked
1 cup plain non/low-fat yogurt
1/4 skim milk (or less, depending on consistency preference)
1 tablespoon honey
1 apple, peeled and diced (I used a Granny Smith)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 banana (whose next stop in two days may be banana bread or, say, the dumpster), diced
cinnamon to taste
a pinch of salt

Some of the recipes I found called for partially cooking the oats, others for just letting everything sit for a few minutes before eating. I got the best results by mixing the yogurt, honey and oats together and putting it in the refrigerator overnight. If you like your dried cranberries a little less chewy, mix those in the night before as well.

Add the milk to your desired consistency in the morning, along with the rest of the fruit and salt; dust with cinnamon and enjoy!

Though the apples provided a good crunch, I'll probably add either chopped almonds or walnuts next time.

And then start working on a new exercise regimen.

Fleece frenzy

I went to JoAnn's yesterday for a spool of thread (just thread!), and well, their fleece was on sale. So was a bunch of other stuff, and I came away laden with bags of more things (dare I say crap?) I really didn't need.

I have had a love/hate relationship with JoAnn ever since she expanded and exposed me to several other crafts I really had no business getting into with an apartment the size of mine (Fimo, for example). I was a knitter before I was a quilter, so I was happy about her yarn selection, but do I really need a pasta machine exclusively for rolling polymer clay? I think she and her brother Michael are conspiring to suck the disposable income from people like me who have an incredibly low resistance to anything even remotely cute and creative.

And yes, I believe that, in order to complete any successful clay project, one does, in fact, need a pasta machine. I'm such a sucker.

Fleecy goodness!

My neighbors have been keeping my plants alive during my many vacations this summer, and I thought blankies for a busy mom of two would be a nice treat. I had bought them Mackinac Island fudge in August but ended up eating it out of frustration during a construction jam in Indiana on the return trip. So this is Plan B:

Gratuitous shot of Archie

I spent more time on this than I intended, so the second is still under construction. If I get home from work early enough today (say, before 8pm -- it is Monday, after all), I can probably finish it up and get back to my homespuns!