Suet Feeders Made out of Tree Limbs

I like the rustic look of this suet feeder I made this week and listed some in my etsy shop. Today I'm going to make some homemade suet. I've never made it before and will be rendering beef suet...thinking to myself how hard can it be. 
I use to feed the birds but one winter some critter filled the carburetor on hubby's bike with safflower seeds.  I thought the man was going to kill me. 
So I'm thinking suet cakes should be okay.  We have a lot of chickadees and I always feel bad for them when it's so dang cold up here in Minnesota. 
If the suet turns out I'll post about it.

Clearance and Garage Sales

I'm still busy creating for my upcoming boutique. 

I picked up some flowers on clearance from JoAnn's and

have been having some fun with them.

Garden Flower Girl

Flower Pin

I just love these colors together. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

I scored this cool bedspread at a garage sale and made some cute snowmen & snowgirls.

Off to Caribou Coffee to get my free birthday drink....lalalala!

Yummy Zucchini Cookies Recipe

Don't have a clue what to do with all that zucchini?  Well here is recipe that has chocolate chips, nuts and powdered sugar.  I got the recipe from a neighbor when she gave me some zucchini and I asked her what I was suppose to do with it.  Yeah everybody gets that look when you say zucchini cookies but you can't taste the zucchini.  I made a batch last and was pleasantly surprized to see the container still full when I came home.

Zucchini Cookies         

3/4 cup butter                     2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cup sugar                   1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg                                  1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla                         1 cup nuts

1 1/2 cup grated zucchini     1 cup chocolate chips

2 1/2 cups flour

Bake 350 for 15 minutes Sprinkle with powdered sugar

makes 4 to 5 dozen

I throw the first five ingredients in my mixer until creamy.  Then add the next four and add the nuts and chocolate chips last.  I use more chocolate chips then called for...I like chocolate what can I say.  I used pecans because that's what I had on hand.  Walnuts are my favorite.  I also add some fresh grated nutmeg too.  

                                                

The Brat Boys

The brat boys are getting along today.  Usually two of them gang up on the other one and have a tag team thing going on.  It is never the same one getting picked on either.  The brats must wake up in the morning and have a conference to decide which one will get the wrath of the other two.  This can go on for hours and is down right nasty.  They must be pissed at me today cuz' one of em puked all over my shoe.  I mean... really!

Little Miss

Miss Bella had a bath and a shave today.  Here she is lounging in the backyard after the traumatic event.
The girl is so patient when she gets clipped.  I groom her and let me tell ya her hair is a nightmare to clip.  It goes every which way and  I have to free hand it because the guide won't go thru it.  She usually has several  matted areas (they seem to appear overnight) with grass or twigs in them.  But mainly she is just covered in Brutus spit. eeewww!  you know the crunchy hair syndrome.  Well she's clean for a couple of hours anyway.