The girl is crafty like ice is cold

I've been needing a Kindle cover, but was loath to fork out any cold cash for the deal, so I did a bit of Googling, 'cause I'm crafty that way, and came up with this:

No moolah needed because I already had the yarn and fabric and buttons. Just a simple single crochet rectangle to fit the device, skip a couple of stitches for the buttonholes, and slip-stitched the lining in place. I make it sound easy, don't I? I won't mention how many times I ripped out the stitching on the lining before I got it right!

See, Jeff? I will use all my fabric and yarn stash. Some day!

Jeff and I were apart on Valentine's Day, no doubt our fate for several in the future. But, the next day, I made these brownies, not-from-a-mix, and baked them in some cute heart foil pans I have been forgetting to use for years.
Years, I tell you!
And I took them out to The Ranch the day after.
Yes, there is one missing. And soon there were two.
Why do you ask?

The recipe is quite basic and isn't overly fudgy or caky, but somewhere in between. I like it because it is pretty foolproof, unless you overbake it, which almost happened in the little heart pans.

And just because I'm a giving, sharing, sort of a person, here is the recipe. 

Brownies

Grease a 12x8" pan. Melt 1 c butter and 4x1 oz squares of unsweetened chocolate in a pan. Remove from heat and add 2 c sugar. I cut it down to 1 1/2 c. Stir till shiny. I like that bit.

Add 4 beaten eggs and 1 tsp vanilla. Stir in 1 1/4 c flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 c chopped nuts. Or chocolate chips. Or peanut butter chips. Whatever you please.

Pour into dish and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

And while we're on the subject of craftiness, a piratey girlfriend sent me this lovely beaded thingy to hang in the window at Vista House.

You see, we see the sun almost every day in the winter out there, unlike our main abode.

And at the right time of the afternoon, the beads catch the sunlight just right.

And even when they don't, you can see little upside-down reflections of clouds and snowy mountains in the clear beads.

While I was out there, I cleaned up most of the dried and silk flowers. 

They were everywhere, all dusty and cobwebby and dangling from shelves.

Then I rearranged some existing artifacts.

This is the new-and-improved kitchen wall, which is worlds better than formerly shown on this post. 

We are rather fond of birds, so the theme suits us quite nicely.

And just to prove my point, here are a few things from last year.

Pans of tomatoes and peppers and onions, to be slow-roasted in the oven and added to spaghetti and pizza sauce on cold winter nights.

Pureed tomatoes, alleviating the stress on my poor little freezer.

Still in process, but almost done, bowling ball gazing globe, in colours of the sea.

Lovely strawberry pot, planted with little succulents filched from a friend's pot.

I've been eating a lot of soup lately, with Jeff being gone most of the time.

Sometimes it's a good thing, like this bowl of veggie and sausage soup, which was scrumptious.

Sometimes it's not such a good thing, like the bowl of lentil soup I am working on this week.

And the piece-de-resistance, proof that I am the world's best giant bubble-blower.

I rest my case.