Welcome to the "new" Country Chatter
 

Calico Kitten Designs is so happy to welcome Country Chatter Newsletter to our website.
The newsletter is just my way of sharing my part of the world with everyone, and helping people with their businesses. I am hoping to make the world just a little bit better for a couple minutes, to bring a laugh or a smile to your face and just a way of saying thanks.

We have had an awful summer out here, hot, hot and more heat.  We had the hottest July on record and you can tell by my electric bill.  So........ one of the reasons that the newsletter has not been around.  You go to work, come home, fix dinner, water the plants and the heat just drains you of all energy.  But it is cooling down, we had no monsoon this summer which means no rain except for when there was a hurricane off of Baja.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend, the last weekend of summer.  Football started on Thursday night and cool weather can not be too far off. The Bears are on Sunday night, so the phone lines between here and Chicago will be ringing off the wall whenever they score a touchdown.  Bandit is ready for football season, he has his pillow set up on the rocking chair in front of the TV and is looking for some Pringles.  I have been trying to teach Trigger how to say "Go Bears" but all he says is pretty pretty.

The house is getting worked on, new floors next weekend in the dining room and kitchen. Furniture to paint, walls to paint, curtains to make and quilts to sew.  But the best thing is I got a new farm table so I can sew again. So if anyone would like to help, just email me.  I am going to have someone finish painting the outside of the house,The Great Vacation is still here, ankle is still not healed but walk like a "fast" old lady now, so no more climbing up on ten foot ladders for me. Morlene and I went to a Concert, and got to see Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire.  After walking 3 blocks from where we parked to the concert, ankle told me to drop dead but when the concert started, you can not seat at the concert, have to get up and dance with the music.  I paid for it the whole weekend with my ankle, talk about feeling like an old lady !!!!

The Magic of Autumn

It's a glorious day with a sun overhead
And maples off yonder in cardinal red
And elms spilling gold on the floor of the world
And the sumacs ablaze, as the picture's unfurled
Oh poor little genius, known as man
Work us such wonders, as this, if you can!

It's a glorious day, with magic of fall
Working its changes too swift for us all
Now the green turns to gold in the glint of the sun
But not one of us knows how the marvel is done
From the high hat of autumn gay ribbons are tossed
And mane merely calls in the work of the frost.

Here's a performance which dazzles the eye
Here are the illusions no magician dare try
Oh, who can detect it, or who can explain
Or who can equal such legerdemain?

The world is a stage, without curtain or wing
Where Autumn performs for the peasant and king
No velvet topped table he needs for his feat
As he scatters his silver and gold at our feet
We see the scenes change in the glint of the sun
But none of us knows how such wonders are done
--- From the collection of Blanche Phillips
 

Activities Around the Valley

This is for my friends who need a little reminder about what is going on around my part of the world.
It is starting to "cool" off and my favorite time of the year is the Fall. 
The evenings are starting to cool down, and time to go out and see the valley.

The Farm at South Mountain is open again.  It closed down for the summer.
If you didn't know that it was there, you would drive right by it.
Check it out at www.thefarmatsouthmountain.com
Claudia and I just love the farm.

Phoenix Community Farmer's Market
Located at 721 N. Central Ave. Phoenix
Hours - Every Wednesday 4pm to 8 pm
Every Saturday 8am to Noon
Worth the trip down to see it.

Sept. 26 - 27 - Peoria Fine Art and Craft Festival
8401 W. Monroe, Peoria, AZ - Peoria City Hall Municipal Grounds\

Sept. 25- 27th Maricopa County Home & Landscape Show
Arizona State Fairgrounds, 19th Ave. & McDowell, Phoenix

Discover Downtown after Night - Downtown Glendale
3rd Friday of each Month - Downtown Glendale
Great Shopping under Gaslights

Oct. 1, 2 & 3 Tucson Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival
Tucson Expo Center - 3750 E. Irvington Rd. Tucson, AZ

Crafter's Corner

Calico Kitten Designs wants to be your place to find everything that you need to make your life just a little bit
more easy for you.  The kittens want to make it the place that you look for recipes (check out all the wonderful new recipes that have been added), patterns for crafts, a newsletter to bring you a laugh or too, links to your favorite websites, ads to help people with their businesses and if you would like to look at some of my crafts and order, thank you.

I would still like to start a Quilting Club for quilters or anyone who would like to give it a try.  I have one person who has joined the group, along with me so we are looking for more wonderful people to join us.  I am looking for classes for quilting here.
I want to start a mailing list of people who would be interested in doing this.  Each month, you will send to one person on the list, four 5 inch squares of fabric of one theme.   We will do this for 3 months with one theme and then choose another theme for the next 3 months.  At the end of the three months, please design something with your fabric and send me a photo and I will put it in the newsletter with your name and website.  If you are interested in doing this, please email the staff at Admin@calicokittendesigns.com and please put quilts in the message line.

Bear is in charge of link exchanges and was wondering if anyone would like to exchange links with Calico Kitten Designs.
You can get in touch with him at admin@calicokittendesigns.com and he will be more than happy to sent you ours.

Recipes

If you would like to have yours in the next issue of Country Chatter, please email Bandit at admin@calicokittendesigns.com
and he just loves samples.  I have learned how to use our grill over the summer, in fact I am using it
just about every night and my son keeps telling me that I can not top what I have made the night before
but I keep doing it.  The first recipe is one that I tried this past week and it is excellent.

Grilled Taco-Spiced Chicken

2 tablespoons of taco seasoning mix (I used half the package)
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons chili sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Heat gas or charcoal grill.  In shallow bowl, mix taco seasoning mix, and oregano. 
Brush chicken with oil; sprinkle with taco seasoning mixture.
Place chicken on grill over medium heat.  Cover grill; cook 10 to 15 minutes, turning
once, until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut.
Meanwhile, in small microwavable bowl, mix barbeque sauce, chili sauce and cumin.
Cover, microwave on High 30 to 60 seconds, or until hot.  Serve sauce over chicken.
 

White Rice Chicken Salad

In small bowl mix:
3T. tarragon - flavored vinegar
1 T Honey Dijon Mustard
1/4 t. salt & pepper

In large skillet heat 1 T. vegetable oil over high heat.  Add boneless, skinless chicken breast,
cut into 1/4" strips.  Sauté 4-6 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove chicken to bowl, cover.
In same skillet, prepare 6 oz. box of white or wild rice mix-following package directions (use very
hot water - about 20 minutes)  Meanwhile in large bowl combine - 2 large celery chopped, 1 gala apple,
cored and chopped, 1/2 cups toasted pecan pieces, 6 green onions, chop 1/2 cup cranberries.  Add
hot rice, chicken and dressing, mix.  Serve warm or cold.
 

Craft Project

Instructions - Scarecrow:
Base paint scarecrow hurricane light peach. Use several coats for smooth finish. Paint large eyes with black and white at bottom area. Paint large nose triangle with blue. Stipple cheek areas with harvest orange. Paint mouth line and add x’s for stitch line on mouth using black. Tear strip of material about 1 1/4” wide and long enough to tie around brim of hat. Glue. Add some pieces of raffia in band. Glue raffia to inside of hat to hang down to resemble hair. Glue to top of hurricane. Cut another strip of material about 3”-4” wide and length to tie around base of hurricane. Tie on with tails in back. Stuff some raffia inside edge of fabric, sticking up toward face.

Instructions - Crow:
Base paint tapered style hurricane black for crow. Dry. Paint large beak in center front using yellow. Paint 2 black commas on beach for nostrils. Paint white dots for eyes and add black at eye on top area and accent with white dot. Paint yellow feet on bottom of hurricane. Using grey, draw a few feather lines above eyes, under stomach area and on sides to resemble wing lines. Use small strips of fabric to tie around small straw hat. Glue to hurricane.
 

Well, I hope that you have made it down to this little part, I love talking about
Arizona, sharing this state with everyone. Tigger and Katie have been yelling all night long, Tigger is excited about the fact that football is coming.  He loves it or it is the noise from the games.  I have been trying to teach him how to say "Go Bears" but ...... he doesn't feel the same about them as I do.
I want to share a part of my world with everyone and doing this newsletter is my way of thanking
everyone for being a friend.  Say a prayer for our Armed Forces and pray that they will be home soon.

Count your blessings, hug your family and friends,
thanks for being a part of Country Chatter
 

Country Chatter
Cindy Kingren
623-210-3511
(after 3 pm - pacific time)
dacarebear@yahoo.com
you can reach the kittens at
admin@calicokittendesigns.com