August 17, 2007

birds, brownies and a bug

Here's my framed Their Song, by Blackbird Designs:



And here are the Mocha Brownies:



These are kinda "cheater" brownies because you start with a mix, but they were very tasty anyway, so who cares. Here we go:

Start with a box of Betty Crocker Triple Chunk Brownie Mix. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1 stick of butter and use a little of it to butter up the bottom of a 13 x 9 baking dish, or if you want thicker brownies, use an 8 or 9 in. pan. In small bowl, dissolve 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules or instant espresso in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, set aside. In medium bowl, combine with brownie mix, 2 large eggs, 1/4 cup buttermilk and the melted butter. Add in the dissolved coffee. Spread into buttered pan. Bake for about 20 minutes if using 13 x 9" pan or 40 minutes if using 8 or 9 inch pan. Test for doneness by inserting toothpick 2 inches from side of pan and if it comes out almost clean, it's done.
Do not over bake.
Cool completely.
Use a plastic knife for easy cutting.
Take the pan with you into nearest unoccupied room and lock the door.

I'm just sayin'.

OK, and how cool is this? I LOVE dragonflies. I mean, really love them. Whenever they cross my path I feel like it's God's little way of saying, "Hello, I love you". They are amazing creatures and so beautiful. I was walking Astro last night before a storm came in and this HUGE "something" buzzed me a couple of times. At first it freaked me out because I thought maybe it was a cicada and OMG, those truly freak me out and I didn't want it landing in my hair.
Swoop, fly-by......goosebumps!

Finally I see "it" land in a bush outside of our house. It was a BIG beautiful dragonfly! I ran in to get DH to show him, hoping it would still be there when we got back out, and it was! We figure it was taking shelter from the coming rain. Well later that night, DH is walking the pup again and he was still out there. So we grabbed the camera and got a couple of shots.




These shots truly don't do this baby justice. I am not a photographer at all, so these hardly capture his beauty.



And using the flash totally sucks, but it's the only way we could see him.

I've never seen one that looks like this. But I like it!

6 comments:

Deb said...

Beautiful stitching and yummy looking brownies, hope the weather didn't get too bad down your way.

Nancy said...

Very cool dragonfly Andrea! They are one of my favorite bugs too.

Your sampler is gorgeous, and I think the frame sets off so nicely. I love this pattern, and of course, really need to stitch it one day.

The brownies. . .oh my do they look wonderful!

Enjoy your weekend,
Nancy

Anonymous said...

i love brownies...but still too hot in houston to use the oven. :(

BBD looks great framed!

hum, i've never seen a dragon fly like that either. almost looks like an albino dragonfly?

one flew near max. and being max he went after it. when it flew out of sight he just couldn't figure out where it went?!

precarious tomato said...

I'm sorry, did you say something after "brownies"?

Sharon said...

Both of your framed finishes are just beautfful. Thanks for the brownie recipe-yum!

Michelle said...

Congrats on your framed Their Song. I just finished mine, so I'm on the hunt for a great frame. Love yours!