1 1/2 c. sugar
2  c. flour
1 1/2 t. soda
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. oil (no subsititute!)
2 c. diced apples
1/2 c. nuts - optional
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla

Combine all in bowl, mix with spoon. Batter will be thick. Makes 4 small loaf pans or bundt. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes

submitted by: M. Miller, Madison, IN

Hudson’s General Store had so many folks with Cabin Fever stop by in February that we decided to open up an extra day! Beginning in March and going through Easter Weekend, Hudson’s will be open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, from 10-5. Stop in and visit! (Click photo to visit the Hudson’s General Store blog.)

Got Cabin Fever? Our 2009 Opening will be
February 13th & 14th!

Come join us for a Mid-Winter Treat! We’ll be bringing out lots of new and needful stuff for your primitive country home, plus folk artist Kim Frey will have special one-of-a-kind Valentine Scherenschnittes, as well as Presidentially-inspired silhouettes and papercuttings! Katie Moose will be here for a book signing of her latest cookbook, God’s Bounty: 365 Days of Inspirational Cooking. Her new book pairs Biblical passages, favorite hymns, and inspirational writing with a recipe for each day of the year And weather permitting, we’ll have Eastern Shore folk carver Rick Fish, furniture maker Pete Micciche, penny rug artist Pat Lynch, and folk painter Suzy Hudson.

February Hours, beginning February 13th…
Fridays & Saturdays, 10 - 5

http://hudsonsgeneralstore.com/about/

Gail and Amy, Rachel and Grace and I drove to Columbus today for Jake’s first birthday party tomorrow. His great grandmother (we all call her GG) and Harry arrived from western PA about the same time we did.

If you are waiting for an ad proof look for it on Monday. I worked on ads on my laptop most of the 7 hour ride, but Amy slept!

We’ll post more photos tomorrow after the big shindig! Grace just can not wait! She is beside herself and can’t sleep. (Of course the nap in the car didn’t help.)

This morning it was so special to find in my mailbox an email from Merle & Gail Taylor of the Country Register inviting me to post a comment on the new blog they have just created.  I can’t say enough about what a wonderful publication the Country Register is.  If you’re traveling to an area of the country where you’ve never been before (and even if you have!), picking up one of these informative and attractive little newspapers is just the ticket to find lots of places to shop and visit.  I never fail to grab one when I see one in a store.  My husband and I love to take day trips and we’ve found so many unique and special little places from the ads in the Country Register.  And there are lots of interesting little articles to read as well while you’re on the road!

What also makes the Register special to me is that Merle & Gail, Amy & David (and other publishers of the Country Register around the country) have included my artwork on the cover several times. It’s always a thrill to pick up one in a store and there’s my artwork, all enlarged and in color!

Right now I’m busy working on several new fabric collections for Clothworks for 2010!  In stores currently you might still find some of my Dear Santa collection and my Just Desserts group too.  We’ve all thought the is perfect for aprons and party table dressings.  Just don’t blame me if you get a craving for chocolates when you sew with it!  ;-)  Just shipping now is Sleepyheads - a soft and cozy flannel collection just perfect for babies and little toddlers and in a couple of months you’ll be able to buy the Summertime group I designed for Clothworks.  We initially wanted something patriotic but because so much of our fabrics are sold internationally we thought creating something more summery that also had a bit of a red,white and blue theme was the way to go.  It has a real picnic-like look and I just love the way the colors turned out.  You can see all of these collections here:   www.clothworkstextiles.com

Thanks again, Merle, for inviting me to participate in your brand new blog.  I wish you lots of fun with it!  I truly enjoy mine especially because I get to “meet” people from all over the world that I’d never have the chance to get to know otherwise.  The blogging community just seems to be able to group people together with similar interests and values and has become such a way of inspiring others to just be their best selves.

Blessings!
Diane Knott
http://dianeknottsmusings.blogspot.com

Yummy! Any cookie iced with caramel frosting is definitely on my list of things to try.
Welcome to Blog Land! I found you through Michelle Palmer’s blog. I think I am going be back to visit often.

Posted by Karin

Editor’s Note: You can find Michelle Palmer’s fabulous blog at:
http://michellepalmerart.blogspot.com/
We’ll figure out how to put a link on our page.

We’ve been thinking for some time about a way to:

1. make more recipes available to readers (one of the most popular items in the paper according to your feedback)
2. give you a voice! (let you tell us what you love about our advertisers, the products they sell and our paper)
3. give our shop owners a fast and easy way to let you know about new products in a little more detail than they might have space for in their ads and/or in between edition dates
4. allow you, our loyal readers, a way to show others the completed projects from The Country Register, your quilts, etc.

Then someone said BLOG…here it is! We’ll be posting some recipes soon and you can start sending them in here whenever you like. Check back often!

Merle, Gail, Amy, Dave & the Girls