A Busy Week with a new start

 YAY!  I have another finish to report.  I can't remember when I started it, but I can report it is now finished.  I hand quilted it so that is why you don't any close ups.  LOL. 

Still it is good to have a UFO finish and I can hang it up.  That led me on to another project.  This next one is my Merry Christmas Reindeer runner.  I was debating on whether or not to put a border on but the fabric I liked for the border would make it hard to match up for the binding.

The two fabrics I was look at are shown at the bottom of the above picture.  I decided that I liked the grey feathered fabric better but it would be hard to use it as a border and to figure out what to use for a binding.  So I decided to nix the idea of doing a border and will see if I have enough of the feathered fabric to use for the backing and then wrap it around for the binding.  The green fabric will go back into my stash.  I'll let you know how it all goes.  When I finish this runner it won't be used as a runner.  It's too cute, in my not so humble opinion, to cover it up by using it as a table runner or dresser scarf.  Instead I will probably try to hang it up on the wall so everybody can see it.

So this week I will take on another Rose of Sharon block and start to stitch it.  Also I will start a new table runner.  It is Esther Aliu's Easter Runner.  I'm not sure how old it is but it will be another UFO started.   It has a lot of pinks in it as well as greens.  Here is a hint at some of the colors that I pulled out to narrow down.

The other little project that I will start is my May block for the swap.  I was going to make a flower block since April showers due bring May Flowers.  I looked for a pattern that I wanted to make but before I could decide on the flower I ran across a cute bluebird.  So I pulled out my fabric and think I will make the bluebird.  Here are the blues that  I'm looking at.

This will be a combination block.  Hand applique for the bird and then hand embroidery for the vine with leaves etc.  It was suggested by a good friend to use the light blue (marbled blue on left) for the body.  I don't know who my partner will be yet but at least I know what I want to do.  I like to start out month with knowing what block to make and then take a couple of weeks to finish the block.

What do you think of my plan?  Wish me luck!

Update:  I managed to finish my block for the swap.  Don't know who my partner will be but I love how my bluebird turned out and had to share.  I didn't even wait to press and trim down to the 12 1/2" size that it needs to be.  LOL.  I will do that before mailing it out once I get the name for my partner in the swap.  Ready?  Here it is!

I started writing this post earlier in the week and there have been a few changes.  I haven't started a new Rose of Sharon block yet so that will be pushed off to another week.  The other change I had was the Merry Christmas Runner.  It is still on schedule to be quilted, somehow, but the two fabrics that are pictured with it I couldn't use.  Not enough fabric. So that meant going back to my stash and I came up with this fabric instead.  It is red with gold swirls in it.  

I'm not the happiest with it but it is from my stash and it will go ok.  Perhaps I'm not the happiest because it wasn't my first choice?  We'll see.  The Reindeer, especially Suzie, will keep me in line and convince me it is ok to use.

While I was scrolling through the internet to find some inspiration, I came across this picture.

It was done with 2 1/2 inch squares.  I thought it would be a good stash buster project sometime.  I don't have a pattern for it but I could come close by looking at it and know the squares are 2 1/2".  It is something to think on anyway.  

Everybody have a great week and I'll see you back here next Thursday.  :)  Bye for now!

It's Menu Accountability Time and Again

 I know it is a little early but I have a busy day planned for tomorrow.  Here is this weeks recipes as well as comments from how I did last week.  First up is last week comments and notes.

Wednesday - Fried Rice - Love this.  I had a pork chop that I cooked up and used in the Fried Rice.  When I make Fried Rice, I make a huge batch.  This time it was enough for 4 meals with left over veggies and leftover rice.  I thought I might use those in a pot pie.

These are all the things I put into the fried rice.  My veggies were all canned since I had to rotate stock in the pantry.  That is another reason why I made so much.  So for veggies I have carrots, green beans, and corn.  As mentioned before, I fried up a pork chop and diced it and I also scrambled some eggs.  Obviously rice is also included.  Spices?  Just general ones...salt, pepper, minced garlic, a little bit of olive oil, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. 

As usual, what I like doesn't always photograph well.  Fried Rice is such an example.  That's ok though.  It tasted VERY good and I looked forward to the leftovers.

Thursday - Leftovers - Obviously Fried Rice Leftovers were the leftovers of the day.  Love them. 

Friday - Shepherd Pie or Pot Pie  - I changed this up for Spaghetti or Chili Mac as some would say.  The Spaghetti Sauce but instead of Spaghetti noodles, I used up noodles from my leftover container.  You know those little bits and bobs of noodles that you have leftover from a box of noodles.  I put them all into a container so they get mixed up and then will use them for dishes like this.  This batch has around 4 different types of noodles in it.

Saturday - Leftovers - Leftover Chili Mac...Yummm.

Sunday - BBQ Chicken - Changed it up to Leftovers

Monday - Chili - Changed it up to BBQ Chicken

Tuesday - Leftovers - Today's leftovers was BBQ Chicken

Side notes - Have you heard of Lefse? It is a treat that we would have every year around family gatherings. Lefse (pronounced “LEFF-sa”) are a lot like tortillas or flatbread, but much larger and thinner. For best results, use REAL butter and sugar. Spread the butter on, sprinkle it with sugar; roll it up, and enjoy! I had a Swedish boss who liked it with jelly instead of butter and sugar. Anyway, since it is "like" a tortilla, this week I used tortillas instead of Lefse to see how it would work. It's not the same but it was still good and I will probably make it again. It was nice to have a little treat during the week.

The other treat (snack) was cream cheese spread over tortillas. One time I put Everything Bagel seasoning on top but the other times it was just plain cream cheese.

That brings me to this week's menu.

Wednesday - March 29th - Yumesetti - it was taking up space in the freezer.

Thursday - March 30th - Pork chops with a veggie

Friday - March 31st - Leftovers. Probably Yumesetti since I only thawed out 1 pork chop.

Saturday - April 1st - Potato Soup

Sunday - April 2nd - leftovers

Monday - April 3rd - Spaghetti Casserole

Tuesday - April 4th - Leftovers. Leftovers will always be on the schedule for Tuesdays so that I can clean out the frig before taking out garbage. :)

What's on your menu for this week? Care to take bets on how well I stick to this menu? I don't blame you for not taking that bet. I do change it up a lot but that's ok. It keeps me thinking about what to eat and therefore I don't have a lot of waste.

Wow! What a week!

Hi everybody!

   Where does the week go?  It seems like I just was posting about projects yesterday and now another week has gone by and I'm at it again.  I do have updates today so let's get started.  First up I was able to mail to my swap partner the April block.  I decided to do another applique block and this time it was an umbrella for all of those April showers.  

   For May I will do another applique block and this time it will have flowers on it.  I haven't picked it out yet but that is my plan.  I will get it figured out the first week in April and then get it stitched up so it will be ready to go by the time I find out who my partner will be.

   Since I am talking about applique, here is a picture of my rose of Sharon UFO blocks.  I finished appliqueing the 5th block.  The sixth block is the last of the fused on blocks so soon I will have to start to fuse the blocks before appliqueing.  I hope that the adhesive is still good on them otherwise it will be a pain.

   There are 3 more block but I don't want to do them for the wall hanging.  They are too similar to what I have already done.  I think those last three, if I decide to do them, might be made into a table runner.   Wish me luck.

      According to the calendar, we are now in Spring.  I don't think that Mother Nature got the memo though.  On the other hand, all this crazy weather is not really unusual so perhaps it is really true and Spring is here.  Since it is here I thought I would welcome in spring by changing out some of my wall hangings.  The first change out is the space above the dresser.  Elle the Irish Elephant (grins) was there but now the welcome sign is up.

   Since it has flowers and a bunny on it, I can also keep it up until after Easter.  I might keep it up longer since I do love how it turned out.  Another change up was on the window to my door leading to the porch.  It had the turtle on it but now it has my little cardinal.  

   I did that little table topper YEARS ago.  The blue in from old blue jeans and I wondered how a Cathedral Window would work.  It turned out ok but then I needed something in the middle.  I put a little cardinal in the middle and gave it to mom.  When mom passed away, it was returned to me.  It is pinned up since I didn't put a sleeve on it.  Now that I figured out where I can hang it, it is now time to put the sleeve on.

   The only other thing I have to report on is this weeks Blackwork.  This picture shows weeks 1-12.  I am so happy with how this is turning out.  I'm still not sure how I will finish it but I still have time for that since it is a total of 52 fillers. 

The colors are a little off but at least you can see the designs.  The fabric is an oatmeal color 18 count Aida.  Each one of the small squares is approximately one inch since there are 17 stitches across and 17 stitches down.

   This is it for the updates this week.  I think it is now time for a quick nap.  

   The joys of being retired...you can nap when you want.  

I hope everybody has a safe and great week.

This weeks menu

      Here we are starting out another week of menu ideas.  Last week was different.  Sometimes it seemed like I was changing up the menu more than I was actually keeping to it.  Still, the menu ideas gave me a guide to what to eat so I guess it wasn't so bad.  How did I do?  Let's see.  The menu plan was:

Wednesday - Corned Beef and cabbage - made early so Dan can take some home with him

Thursday - burritos

Friday - tuna quiche

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Lasagna Helper

Monday - Broccoli Potato Soup

Tuesday - Leftovers

     There was only two days that I changed on the menu.  The days that I had the other meals might have changed somewhat but I still kept to what I had in mind.  When Sunday came along, I just stared at the Lasagna Helper and almost barfed.  It just wasn't appealing and since it was also past it's "best if used by" date (by a year) I decided I had the right not to make it.  Instead I cooked up a couple of chicken legs and ate those.  Sunday wasn't any better.  The broccoli Potato Soup just didn't appeal to me so it will go on the menu another time.  Instead I had ramen and cheese.  The recipe that was taken from a ramen cookbook didn't work out.  I still ate it but I will NOT be making that recipe again.  

     I was thinking on what to have for this weeks recipes.  This is what  came up with.

Wednesday - Fried Rice

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Shepherd Pie or Pot Pie

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - BBQ Chicken

Monday - Chili

Tuesday - Leftovers

     Today I need to make up my rice for the fried rice or it won't be happening.  I have one porkchop all thawed out that I might cook up and add to the fried rice.  I always make a HUGE batch of fried rice so I'm sure that it will be featured in Thursday's leftovers.  Sunday's BBQ Chicken might be changed out for something else.  I'm not sure yet.  It too might be a leftover day since my fried rice and shepherd's/pot pie recipes also make a lot.  Right now BBQ Chicken isn't sounding good to me but that is further down the week so who knows how it will sound by the time Sunday rolls around.  I also like to have Tuesday be a day for leftovers.  I put my garbage can out on the streets on Tuesdays since Wednesdays is garbage pick up day.  Because of that Tuesday is also clean out the refrigerator day.  

     Wish me luck with this week's planning.  Now I'm off to print up my Blackwork fill and get to work on that.  Technically I should be doing dishes but I am trying to postpone doing that until later.  Why?  Because I don't like doing dishes.  LOL.

     Everybody have a good and safe day.  I'll see you back here tomorrow when I post my crafting updates.

What a busy woman I was this week!

 Remember when I said I would catch up with my crafting because I didn't finish enough last week?  I did catch up.  So where to begin.  Let's see.   Perhaps with pictures of what I caught up on?  Yes, let's start there.

First up is the blackwork.  This picture shows last weeks fill as well as this weeks fill.  That means I am now totally caught up.

This next picture shows all of what I have done.  There are two more squares to do on the top row and then the squares start to move down the right side.  It will be fun to see it in progress.

That wasn't all I worked on though.  I worked on another Rose of Sharon block.  These pictures show the block with the color of floss I picked out as well as my stitching friend Hermione right in the midst of things to help out.

I always like to take a picture of what floss I decide to use.  It helps me remember when I get to the different parts.  You might see the finished block next week.  I have most of it stitched already.  The only parts left are two sections of leaves.  We'll see.  If not next week then certainly the week after that.

Hmm.  What next to post about?

Oh yeah.  I am working on another UFO.  This UFO is at the sandwiched and ready to quilt stage.  I'll be doing it by hand and doing a medium to big stitch on it.  Why did I decide to use a big stitch to quilt it?  That's easy.  I haven't been able to do smaller stitches yet.  I don't do it that often to get a lot of practice in.  I don't like doing the quilting part but smaller objects I can tolerate.  This one has waited long enough to be finished so it will get done this year.  :)

That's about it for this blog post.  Before I sign off, I want to share a picture of  Miss Callie with you.  Miss Callie has decided to join the other cats at morning mealtime this week.  She is petite and probably was an indoor cat at sometime since she allows you to pet her for a limited time.

Isn't she pretty?  The other cats don't mind her coming to eat and staying in the yard.  We'll see how often she comes.  She is welcome anytime.  Did I tell you I think Miss Smidge might be pregnant again?  That's Sonny's mama.  We'll see later in the year.  I'll keep you updated.

That's it for this week's updates.  Have a wonderful day and stay warm and safe.

Menu for 3.15.23 - 3.21.23 and criques

 Well here we are with another week gone by and it is time for menu planning.  Tomorrow will be a busy day for me so I am posting this tonight.  Best to post a little early rather than not to post at all.

How did I do last week?  I pretty much followed my menu plan but did switch up the days a little.  I cooked up some new recipes and had mixed results with them. 

First up was chili cornbread.  I made this before so I knew that it would be good and stood up to leftovers.  Then I made chicken and white bean soup.  It was "ok" but I think I'd just rather have bean soup.  I ate it all but by the time it was over with, I was a little tired of leftovers.  Friday was supposed to be leftovers but I couldn't wait any longer before I made the crab casserole.  So Friday was crab casserole.  I liked it but I'm not sure if I would like it put in a crockpot and shred the crab instead of chunking it.  Then serve it more of a dip for crackers, etc.  Perhaps next time.  Saturday and Sunday ended up being leftover days.  Monday was Brown butter gnocchi day.  I had potato gnocchi in the freezer so used that.  The recipe called for 3 teaspoon minced garlic and 1 teaspoon of thyme.  It was VERY garlicky and I will cut back on that the next time I make it.  Since it also called for 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese to be added at the end, it was pretty salty.  That might get cut back as well. Tonight, was leftovers instead of pot pie or corned beef.  Technically the corned beef will be on tonight's list since I will put it in the crockpot when I go to bed and let it cook that way.  The pot pie idea just didn't appeal to me so instead I am taking out 3 corn dogs from the freezer and going to eat them.  :)  

That means a new menu to list out for the week of March 15 - March 21, 2023.

Here are the recipes that I plan on making as well as left over days.

Wednesday - Corned Beef and cabbage - made early so Dan can take some home with him

Thursday - burritos

Friday - tuna quiche

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Lasagna Helper

Monday - Broccoli Potato Soup

Tuesday - Leftovers

I'm sure there will be little tweaks here and there but that is what I have planned so far.

I'll see you on Thursday and Report on my crafting projects.  Until then stay safe and warm.

Sigh. I didn't get as much done because...

I didn't get as much done this week because...because I was lazy?  Because I broke my glasses?  Because I lost electricity?  Because I had a monthly SCA report to do?  So many options so choose all that apply.  That would be three out of the four excuses.  LOL.

My day started out with firmly telling a couple of dogs to get off my porch and stop barking.  That led to all the cats disappeared because they weren't going to be around barking dogs.  I don't blame them.  Still eventually they came back and had breakfast.  The other day they were quite lazy since it wasn't raining (like today).  Sonny took advantage of it and found his favorite sleeping spot.

Wednesday rolled around, which is one of my favorite days of the week and I was able to watch on Disney+ the latest episodes of Bad Batch and Mandalorian.  Not only that but it was also the day of the week that Purple Peppermint put out the weekly filler for their Blackwork Stitch A Long.  I managed to get around 10 stitches in and then I couldn't keep my eyes open any more and had to stop.  I stitched on the printed cross stitch quilt block but didn't finish that either.  So by next Thursdays I should pictures of you but, unfortunately, not today.  

That doesn't mean I was just a lump on a log.  Oh no.  I managed to be productive and waste time at the same time.  That means, you probably guessed it, I searched for recipes on the internet.  To be more precise, more free kindle books.  I get a daily email featuring free kindle books in the genres that I like from Freebooksy (freebooksy.com).  Today though I decided I wanted to search for some free recipe books.  That was one of the first steps down the rabbit hole.  I didn't find some that I downloaded and that was only with the first two pages.  I downloaded:

  Easy Ramen Noodle Cookbook

  Easy Spice Mixes

  Five Ingredient Cookbook

  Easy Tomato Sauce Cookbook 

  Savory Pies (I had downloaded that the other day)

I also discovered that when I went to Amazon and opened up the book with the (read now) feature, if I found a recipe I wanted to try, I could screen print the recipe.  I found some Ramen Noodle and Savory Pies recipes. 

I'm sure that some of these recipes will make it into my cooking rotation (see meal planning on yesterday's post).   Of course it doesn't take me long to get sidetracked by food.  I was happy to see that the price of eggs came down from around $20 to around $11 for 60 eggs.  I didn't get 60 but if that price holds, I might next month.  I will go through 60 eggs in a month easily.  Oh, speaking of eggs.  Dan went down to see his friend who lives by Memphis and he brought back 18 eggs that he gave me.  His friend raises chickens and ducks and he gave me 6 duck eggs and 12 brown chicken eggs. 

I don't remember having duck eggs before so I was curious about what the difference with them are.  Besides the duck eggs are more nutritious and perhaps a bit creamier egg, I didn't see much difference.

I will use them and am very thankful that I was given them.  

Have you found any new or have any interesting recipes?  I am always on the look for new ones.  For St. Patrick's Day, I will be putting corned beef in the crockpot.  Dan will be over for Easter so I will be doing another crock pot meal.  He had given me two HUGE chicken breasts and said to use them so I will.  I found a recipe for Chicken and Swiss Cheese that I will be doing.  It will have the chicken, the cheese, and also uses stove top (or similar) stuffing.  Are you doing anything for Easter?   Soon I will have to cook up a pork roast so I suppose that will be my next recipe to investigate.  :)

I hope everybody has a safe and good week.  

Menu for 3.8.23 - 3.14.23

 I know that I said I would post on Thursdays, and I will, but I also find myself needing to post on Wednesdays.  I will blame this on my friend Connie.  :)

We were talking the other day and saying how we need to plan out our meals better.  We ae always forgetting to pick up stuff at the grocery store or find ourselves fixing the same things over and over again.   That is when she told me she was going to get back into the habit of  meal planning.  Of course planning it and sticking to it are two different things.  The, hopeful, solution is to tell each other what our meal plans are which will help reinforce it since writing things down is supposed to do that.  Of course one must also remember where they wrote it down and also remember to go look at it.  One step at a time, right?

Since I have a blog, I thought I would write my menu here on Wednesdays.  I still plan on blogging on Thursday as my weekly update for crafting.  Wish me luck!  So, without stalling any longer, here is my proposed meal plan for Wednesday 3-8-23 through Tuesday 3-14-23.

Wednesday - Chili Cornbread Casserole

Thursday - It was Shipwreck Dinner but it is rainy and I am chilled so Chicken and White Bean soup is coming in for a substitution.  Of course having chicken that needs to be eaten up might have something to do with that also.  LOL.

Friday - Leftovers!  Yes, we can't forget leftovers.  Since it is only me and my freezer is full (not that it takes much to achieve that) I have to rely on leftovers.  It's a good thing I don't mind leftovers.

Saturday - Chicken Tamale Casserole

Sunday - Crab Casserole - I am really looking forward to trying this recipe out.

Monday - Leftovers mainly because I don't want to do anything on Mondays.

Tuesday - Pot Pie.

It all sounds ambitious to me when I type it out.  Hopefully things will work out but I plan on making substitutions when the mood strikes.

This will help.  Now to remember to look at it....

It's been a week already?

 FINALLY it's Thursday and I get to post something.  Oh I know I could have posted anytime but I'm trying to keep to a schedule.  It's a new month and it was time to change up the quilts décor.  Since it is March I have greens up this time.  I finally found where to put up my turtle.  She made her way to my door window.

Then, of course, there is Elle the Elephant.    I took two pictures of  that corner of the room.  This first one is an overall one.  It shows Elle which I tested for The Quilt Pattern Magazine.  I love this pattern.  

This second picture of Elle shows a UFO that I want to get done for next year.  The greens stick out in it so I am thinking next year I will put it up with all the other greens.  

This next picture if the runner that George helps guard.  If you look at the previous picture, you'll se a candy dish that is sitting on the runner.  I had to take it off of the runner so that George would stop eating all the candy.  That opened up what was hidden under the candy dish.  It was the coffee cup.  NOW George is looking up at Elle to see if she wants the coffee or if he will take it.

Of course I had to put up Bamboo on the door to the sewing/bedroom.  It fits nicely there.  It and the bookcase runner were also patterns of The Quilt Pattern magazine.  They do have lovely patterns.

That is what I changed up.  It sparked me to finish/catch up with my goals for February.  So, without further ado, let me show you my progress on monthly goals. 

1.  Blackwork.  I caught up with last week's Blackwork and took a picture.  In the picture I had put a ruler next to the Blackwork to give those who do not do this craft an example of how large (or small) it is.  After that is the picture of this week's Blackwork which means that I am all caught up.

Not only did I get caught up on the blackwork, but I also finished the Rose of Sharon UFO Block.  

I'll be picking out another Rose of Sharon block to work on but first I need to finish a stamped cross stitch block which is another UFO block/project.  

I've also been cooking these last two weeks and took some pictures.  Here they are.

This first one is Triple Decker Cheeseburger Quesadilla.  This one is definitely a winner.  I used a smaller size tortilla for it because I wanted to leave room for my spatula to easily get underneath it to help.  I'm glad I did.  I only used half of the meat mixture so I can just add a little more meat to it.  I already promised Dan it so he will get it on Sunday.

THEN I decided to make another recipe.  This one is a chicken enchilada one but instead of the green sauce I used my red enchilada sauce instead.  That is, I used it after I made some more.  It heats up quite nicely too! 

That's it for now.  I hope everybody has a great week!