The Other Aussie is not a sewer - nor a quilter - but when we said we were going to get together and make the same quilt for ourselves, she wanted in on the fun. The Other Aussie knows how to sew though, taught by her mother who could sew gossamer wings out of the trash those idiots on Project Runway make. But because her mother is such a master with needle and thread - she never wanted to be...at least that's my theory...and I'm sure if she ended up on Frasier Crane's couch he would agree with me. Speaking of shrink's sofas...the boy saw the good doctor this week...he now fondly refers to her as his "Golf Therapist." He is playing in another golf tournament tomorrow and decided he would do what the pros do and consult a therapist to help him with his game...the good doctor was happy to oblige, seeing as he had insurance and all! I'm not sure how she "therapized" him but he said he is CERTAIN he will win tomorrow! (I believe that's wind-talker code for SHE will be blamed if he CHOKES!) Wow, am I off topic! So the Other Aussie...she made a quilt - borrowed a sewing machine and worked along with us, up to a point. We had to cajole and prod her to come and finish the quilt - and to her credit, she did...and she even pieced the back!
Getting her quilt quilted was a whole 'nuther matter...she was going to send it off to be done, but since it was her birthday, I decided I would quilt it for her...hoping she would like my big all-over stipple.
And she loved it...she's SO easy to please! I sewed on the binding for her but left it for her to sew down...if I was a REALLY GREAT friend I would have finished it up for her...but whatever, I'll settle for being a good friend. Happy Birthday to the Other Aussie!
I have about 2 dozen favorite quilts - but this one is right up there near the top. Because it's hand appliqued and hand-quilted, I've spent quite a bit of time with this beauty...
It's boggling to me to think I actually had the patience to applique all of those little circles...48 of them! I think this was during my "dark period"...when I had teenagers in the house...they'll make you crazy - crazy enough to spend hours sewing on little circles the size of pennies...
This quilt was from a pattern called Christmas or Not and while it has a prominent place during the holidays it is never put away...I like the "not" part and leave it out all year long. I altered the blocks, even creating a few of my own - and it was quilted one inch apart - I had intentions of quilting a cross-hatch design but then I came to my senses.
As you can see by the label - it took me TWO YEARS to finish this quilt! Several of my quilt friends made this quilt, too - and theirs turned out beautifully. But their quilts didn't have the one thing that makes my quilt truly mine...for a reason...they don't make mistakes! Look closely at the pic above left...notice the little strip of WHITE above the tan fabric? THAT'S A SELVEDGE EDGE!!! I didn't even notice it until I was quilting that part!!! Like the Amish, who intentionally sew a mistake into their quilts for good luck, I do it naturally, so that must count for something!
"Home is a gift to be opened every day." ~ Mary Anne Radmacher
I was late to the yogurt party...didn't like the sound of it, the word itself, and didn't really like the taste. Even frozen yogurt was a mystery to me. Not until I realized what a great marinade yogurt can be, or how it's addition to a salad dressing can make an ordinary dressing like catnip for me, did yogurt and I become friendly. And we are friendly. When I serve something to the mister that has yogurt in it, he thinks he's eating diet food so he feels compelled to eat twice as much. When he comes with me to the grocery store he'll always stop at the yogurt isle and load up the cart - with all the "dessert" yogurt - which he thinks will help him lose weight...sorry mister, not when you eat THREE at bedtime! When I put a large container of plain whole-milk yogurt in the cart he is practically giddy - visualizing an immediate drop in weight...alas, he is sadly mistaken...yogurt is not a miracle weight-loss food...it's simply a miracle.
The grill pan was an okay substitute for the real grill...unfortunately I'm not Chris at Nibble Me This, who would use his grill in the middle of a hurricane/tornado and think nothing of it. At the first sign of clouds or one little drop of rain, I pull out the grill pan...which, seeing how I live in Seattle, gets more than it's fair share of use. The girl was here visiting when I made this and she HATES spice in any form...so I was certain she would make a run to McDonald's for her dinner...but she surprised me and not only ate this, she said she loved it! It's a great week-night recipe and can be on the table in under 30 minutes, including the marinating time. A word about the cucumber salad...it's fresh with a bit of a zing - and the perfect accompaniment to this chicken. I'd make this salad to serve by itself - I liked it that much! Please try this one...you'll thank me! It's dang, dang, dang, dang good...yep, 4 dangs!
Grilled Yogurt Chicken With Cucumber Salad ~ Adapted From Sunset Magazine, April 2010
12 chicken tenders
1 1/4 cups plain whole-milk yogurt (I like to use Greek yogurt for that extra zip!)
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 English cucumber, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 tablespoons minced shallot (about 1 medium)
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
freshly ground black pepper to taste
In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, cumin, lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon salt, the chile flakes and turmeric. Set aside 1/2 cup yogurt mixture. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Add chicken to bowl, flip to coat on both sides, and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Make salad by combining, in a serving bowl, the cucumber, shallot, mint, reserved 1/2 cup yogurt mixture, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time. Prepare a grill for direct high heat (where
you can hold your hand above the grill for about 2 to 3 seconds before
your skin peels off!) If using a grill pan, put your burners on high. Transfer chicken to a plate, shaking off excess marinade. Using metal tongs, wipe cooking grate with oiled paper toweling or spray with a cooking spray. Grill chicken, covered, 3 minutes, then turn over and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to a clean plate and season with salt. Serve chicken with cucumber salad. Serves 4.
"There is more to life than increasing its speed." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
When I was flat down with the ghombue, I sent the boy to buy me some baby things for a shower...he got everything I asked for and then some. I told him to buy a package of infant socks...ONE PACKAGE...he came home with 18 pairs of infant socks. He's thorough to a fault. After I got better, I was going to return the socks, then I remembered this:
Baby socks rolled up into "roses" and pinned to greenery...it was very pretty on the table. Of course, that only used about a half dozen socks...so what to do with the others? I played around with them for a bit and then I remembered seeing socks as cupcakes at Pleasant Home! So I "borrowed" her idea and made these:
(Take a minute and check out Pleasant Home, she's one clever gal.) My local grocery store bakery gave me the plastic cupcake container - sometimes they sell them for a buck a piece - a small price to pay for a cute idea, no?
Michaels craft store had these darling wooden flowers, butterflies, bees and dragonflies - already painted - that adorned the cake. They were 59 cents each! Pretty ribbon held the diapers together and the layers just sit on top of each other - no pins, no magic. Easy to assemble, easy to take apart. The little bear peeking out from the top finished off the cake. It's sitting on a glass cake stand - hard to see - but with the stand this cake was about 3 feet high! I used 66 newborn diapers - which is probably one week's worth!
The mom to be didn't know what she was having so pink and blue cookies were the favors...as it turned out, Kjarsta, who's baby wasn't due for three weeks, had a LITTLE GIRL just 3 days after the shower! Must have been all the excitement from opening all those wonderful gifts! Congratulations Kjarsta!!
If you need a fabulous diaper cake and don't have the time to assemble one yourself, check out the Diaper Cakes from ediapercakes.com - they are absolutely adorable!
The mister loves pasta, as does the boy - they must eat it about 6 times a week - however their idea of pasta is a bit different from mine. The boy loves the little blue box...Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, what can I say? It was the only food he would eat for about two years straight...now it's his "go-to" snack, morning, noon and night. The mister prefers his pasta in the form of elbow macaroni and canned tomatoes...with salt. Their idea of REAL pasta is eating at Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill or Maggiano's. When I make pasta at home, store-bought pasta, they are always thrilled and there are never any leftovers. So why risk letting them know there is something better?!? Infinitely better? Call it a momentary lapse in judgment. Because now that Homemade Pasta Godzilla is out of his cage I fear there is no going back.
Isn't it a thing of beauty?!? As I was taking it out of the packaging (I ordered it from Amazon, $36 for this amazing machine!) the mister walked in. Usually when he sees something new in the manse he'll ask, in his sarcastic manner, "Do we need that?" Of course, the answer is always yes! But on this day, he stopped himself, probably bite his tongue in two and said, "Wow! Is that ours?" He was duly impressed. And instantly he started drooling as he pictured himself being served vats of hot, steaming homemade pasta...he was banished from the kitchen, only to creep back a half dozen times to check to see if I was REALLY making him homemade pasta. Listen, this machine is my key to retail therapy...I can see NOTHING that I purchase in the future that will illicit a sarcastic remark from the mister - not with this baby around!
Homemade pasta, with a machine or not, is about the easiest thing you could ever make. I kid you not. Three ingredients, a bit of kneading and that's it. I pulled off pieces of the dough, ran it through the machine a few times and just like that I had myself a batch of Fettuccine! FETTUCCINE! It was as if the ceiling opened up and the angels sang - miraculous!
Homemade pasta cannot be served with a sauce from a jar...oh no...it needs a nice little Bolognese sauce, gently poured over the top...it's enough to make your head spin! You will notice the difference between store bought pasta and homemade pasta with the first bite...it's so, so good! And when it's cooked al dente (firm to the bite) it's a bit more chewy, has more substance and it will hold whatever sauce you smother it in - or if you just toss it in butter, you'll be in for a treat!
Homemade Pasta Dough
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
Ragu Alla Bolognese - Adapted From Real Italian, April 2010
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 medium carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 medium rib celery, finely diced
1 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. thinly sliced prosciutto de Parma, very finely diced
freshly ground black pepper (no salt is added because of the saltiness of the chicken broth and Parmesan cheese)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 (28 oz.) can Italian plum tomatoes with their juices
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup hot milk
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Make the Sauce first, as it takes a while to cook: Heat the butter and oil in a Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed sauce-pan over medium heat. When the butter begins to foam, add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until they're lightly golden and soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Raise the heat to high and add the pork and prosciutto, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring and breaking up the pork with a large spoon until the meat loses it's raw color and just begins to brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the wine and basil, cook, stirring, until it's almost completely reduced, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the broth. As soon as the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook the sauce (uncovered) at a bare simmer for 2 hours. Add the hot milk and Parmesan cheese and simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point, the sauce should have a thick but saucy consistency and a light reddish-brown color. If the sauce has thickened before the cooking time is up, cover the pot. If the sauce is still too thin at the end of cooking, continue to simmer gently, uncovered, until it's thick. Spoon sauce over pasta. Serves 6 to 8.
To make the pasta: Pour flour into a mixing bowl and make a "well" in the center. Add the water and oil into the well. Using a fork, slowly blend the flour and liquid until they are well blended. Continue until the dough becomes sticky and too difficult to work with a fork. Use your hands to form the dough into a mound, shape and over with a damp towel. It is important to let the dough now rest for 15 minutes to allow the ingredients to blend together. After the dough has rested, cut off a small piece, about the size of a golf ball. Re-cover remaining dough with damp towel. If using a pasta machine, follow machine directions for rolling the dough. If doing this by hand, roll the dough out to desired thickness, and then cut into 1/4-inch strips. The pasta has to dry before being cooked - either lay it out on a lightly floured surface or place on a drying rack for about 15 minutes to dry before cooking. Cook pasta in 2 quarts of rapidly boiling water with 2 teaspoons of salt. Cooking time will vary based on the size of your pasta, but begin checking after 3 to 4 minutes. It is better for the pasta to be undercooked than overcooked. Once pasta is cooked, drain it but never rinse. Makes about 6 servings.
The best recipes are the ones that have been around forever...handed down from generation to generation...this is one of those recipes. Several weeks ago I had Food Network on while I was cleaning my bedroom...as I walked in and out of the room, returning books to their shelves, taking sheets to the laundry room, dishes to the kitchen...yes, we're THOSE kind of people...I happened to hear a few words that caught my attention: "Mexico's most famous dessert..." Really? More famous than say Sopapita's? Fried Ice Cream? (These are the ONLY two Mexican desserts I've ever had.) I might have been tempted right then and there to forget about the vacuuming and run to the kitchen to make this cake but then I remembered the last time I had flan...my SIL was going to make it for me - said she had a great recipe and that I would love it...and I might have except that she cooked it in a convection oven WITHOUT the fan on...it was quite pitiful. The pic on the left is the end result. Failed Flan still in my brain.
As I continued cleaning, the host of Mexican Made Easy, Marcella, continued talking about this cake...when I heard her say it was her family's favorite and had been for at least 100 years I was sold! Handed down through the generations and made for every Christmas...any dessert that lasts a hundred years has to be something special.
Think of the nerve it must take to tinker with a hundred year old recipe...but I worked myself up and tinkered away...just a tad. The chocolate cake was good
but only had a mild chocolate flavor, so I added espresso powder which
really bumped it up and I used Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder, which also added more flavor. The cake will have a moist, dense crumb and the flan is creamy and rich - they compliment each other perfectly! Cinco Dangs mi amigos!
Choco-Flan Cake ~ Adapted from Marcella Valladolid/Mexican Made Easy
To make this recipe you will need a 12-cup capacity Bundt pan. Coat the pan with softened butter.
For the Cake:
1/4 cup Cajeta (Mexican caramel sauce) or any other caramel sauce, homemade or store bought
10 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
For the Flan:
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Garnish:
1/4 cup Cajeta or caramel sauce
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Put an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Coat
a Bundt pan all over with butter. Pour 1/4 of cajeta sauce or other caramel sauce in the bottom of the Bundt pan. Place the Bundt pan in a large roasting pan. (The roasting pan will serve as a water bath during baking.)
For the
cake: In the bowl of an electric mix add the butter and sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa; mixing well with a whisk. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk in the batter, beginning and ending with flour. Mix only until incorporated.
For the flan:
In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, cream
cheese, eggs and vanilla. Blend on high for 30 seconds.
Scoop
the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan (over the cajeta/caramel sauce) and spread evenly.
Slowly pour the flan mixture over the cake batter. (The flan will end up on the bottom of the pan so when it is inverted it will be on the top!) Cover with foil and
add enough water to the roasting pan to come up a little less than half way on the Bundt pan.
Carefully
slide the pan into the oven, and bake 1 hour, until the surface of the
cake is firm to the touch, or an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Depending on your oven you may need to bake the cake for an hour and ten minutes. When cake is done, remove from the water bath and cool completely to
room temperature, about 1 hour. It is important that the cake be cooled before being removed and inverted from the pan.
Using a knife, carefully go around edges of the cake/pan to loosen, especially around the center. Invert a
large, rimmed serving platter over the Bundt pan, grasp tightly
together, jiggle a little and flip over. Remove the pan and scrape any
remaining sauce/flan from the pan onto the cake, garnish with more cajeta/caramel sauce and chopped
pecans.
Cook's Notes: The first time I made this cake I had to cook it a bit longer than the recipe called for. The second time I made it it cooked for 65 minutes. So start checking the cake after an hour. Traditionally, this cake is
chilled 24 hours before serving but it's also very good served warm.
Flan is a rich, creamy, cooked egg custard. It is often flavored with vanilla and baked in a water bath to retain its delicacy.
Cajeta
is a thick and creamy spread or paste made with caramelized sugar and
milk. It is used as a desert on its own or as a topping. Also known as
"dolce de leche," it is sold in many supermarkets, Latin specialty
markets or online. It can be substituted with a thick caramel sauce.
He is TWO!! It seems like yesterday we were all on pins and needles waiting for him to arrive...
Our once tiny little baby is now huge in comparison...and so, so busy! He was just here visiting and my house looks like a tornado hit! One little boy - a whirlwind of fun - sweet as sweet can be - and the cutest thing in the world! In my humble opinion, of course!
He LOVES the slide! He's truly as happy - all the time - as he looks in these pictures...we couldn't love him more!
Max wouldn't pose for a pic in his birthday hat - but don't you just love those curls?! Here's a pic of the top of the hat...luckily the gumball machine had no trouble posing...
The girl is throwing him a big birthday bash on Friday with all of his peeps...he's going to love it, especially since it's an "Alphabet" party...Max loves his A-B-C's and knows all the letters!
What could signal spring better than strawberries? Nothing - save it be the mister removing all of his "winter wool sweaters" out of his armoire and putting his "spring/summer sweaters" in. It's an annual event...he carefully removes his sweaters, one by one...never two at at time...and gently squishes them into the bottom of the armoire...then he neatly refolds every single "spring/summer sweater" and places it carefully onto his shelf...smoothing as he goes. It is a ritual I never get tired of watching...he's so "Rain Man" about the whole thing and it fascinates me! I like to remind him, every third sweater or so, that Spring in the Northwest is still winter...but he scoffs. He thinks just by him WEARING a lighter-weight sweater that the weather will cooperate...never-mind that it SNOWED for the first time all year just the other day! He's such a creature of habit...no, make that just a creature - because it could be a blizzard outside, snow, sleet or hail, but if the calendar says April then those sweaters must be switched! To celebrate the arrival of his Spring sweaters onto the scene, I made him this Brown Sugar Strawberry Pie...definitely NOT the kind of thing to eat if you want to wear sweaters! But...I say nothing.
Okay, listen up...this is an "anyone-can-make-it-pie. No lie. I'd rather die than to lie about pie. I know I tell you this all the time, but this is truly worth 5 dangs...'cause it's dang, dang, dang, dang, dang good. And when you throw an EASY and FAST on top of a 5-danger, well folks, we're talking about something that is going to become a family favorite...and recipe to pass down to the youngin's...something special to make if Oprah ever comes to tea...she would LOVE this!
Here's all I know about strawberries...they don't last only a few days so keep them covered and in the refrigerator and DON'T wash them until right before using. Also, try to buy deep-red strawberries because they DON'T ripen after they're picked! Look for glossy, sweet-smelling berries - most grocers will let you sample one before buying - so do!
Brown Sugar Strawberry Tart ~ Adapted From Sunset Magazine, April 2010
1 cup flour
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, divided
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla, divided
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream
12 oz. strawberries, hulled and sliced
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, whirl flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, the cornstarch, and salt until combined. Add butter and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and pulse until fine crumbs form and dough just begins to come together. Press evenly into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable rim. Bake until edges are golden, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool on a rack, then gently push tart crust from pan rim; set on a plate. In a bowl with a mixer on high speed, beat sour cream, cream, remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla until thick. Spread in cooled crust. Arrange strawberries in circles on top, alternating cut sides down and up. Chill, loosely covered, up to 4 hours. Serves 8.
"Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" ~Robin Williams
There were 68 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
10. Erin D.
Timestamp: 2010-04-10 03:42:55 UTC
Erin said: "I don't have a remedy for a cold, but I do for hiccups. Drink water
while your ears are plugged. Works for me every time! If you don't have
anyone to assist with the drinking, just use a straw. I hope you feel
better!"
I had NO IDEA there were so many home remedies for a sore throat! Here's a few of my favorites:
~ Tying a rag (as a kid my mom used one of dad's socks) around your neck after it's been smeared with Vick's Vapor Rub.
~ A good stiff drink...whiskey seemed to be the odds on favorite to cure most everything.
~ Gargling with warm salt water was mentioned a lot...whiskey sounds better.
~ The old stand-by...chicken noodle soup...no whiskey was mentioned.
~ Sex, shopping and a new pair of shoes...Hellow!!??? For a sore throat?!? Which one first and pass the whiskey!
~ Eucalyptus drops under the tongue...won't that just attract koalas?
~ Hot tea - any kind apparently, as long as it's accompanied by a quilt and a good movie.
~ Cayenne pepper, honey, a bit of vinegar and water...warmed and then sipped...what, no whiskey?
~ Olive oil as a moisturizer...hmmmm....intereSTINK.
~ Sleep. By yourself. Amen.
~ Eating a jalapeno....people please...pass the whiskey!
~ Colloidal Silver?!? Seriously? Anything that rhymes, even in part, with hemmorrhoidal is NOT something I'm going to swallow!
Well, you get the idea...of course, eating vats of Vitamin C was mentioned over and over along with drinking a lot of water. I'm going to keep your suggestions close by so when I get sick again I'll know just what to do!Thanks everyone! I'm good as new and will be back tomorrow with a great spring-time dessert!
What, you ask? Is it my birthday? No. My Blogaversary? No. A milestone post? No. Today is the first day I've been able to get myself out of bed! And THAT is worth celebrating! I've been sick, sick, sick...some kind of jungle ghombue...I'm sure there's a medical name for it but the doctor I saw today spoke little English and in his best Indonesian-American accent said I have "Bwranshialitis"; since I have NO voice I didn't ask for a clarification...the itis part was official enough for me. He gave me another round of antibiotics, plus inhalers, to the tune of $95, to say nothing about his bill! Say, just when does our new health care system take effect? So, I'm up and dressed with no where to go, unable to see anyone, and unable to really do much so I decided it's time for a giveaway. And this is what I've got for you!
The Hamilton Beach Hand Blender!
It's a beauty, isn't is? You know how I LOVE hand blenders - or immersion blenders - they are just amazing. It's the one kitchen gadget that really works and is worth it's weight in gold! I just couldn't be happy in the kitchen without one!
The Hamilton Beach Hand Blender comes with it's very own storage case and it includes a blending wand and a whisk! With two speeds and non-slip controls, you'll be able to blend up shakes/drinks right in your glass! And the soups...oh my, you just stick the blender right into the pan - no more transferring hot soup in batches to a counter-top blender! Making blended soups with a hand blender will make you a believer in a nano second!
To win this great prize, all you have to do is leave me ONE comment anytime between 1:30 pm today, Wednesday, PST and 5:00 on Friday, PST, telling me your best home remedy for any type of illness. I recently read that 1/4 cup of vinegar and a 1/4 cup of honey mixed together and taken by the tablespoon every 4 hours is a great remedy for a sore throat...whatever! I tried it and basically burned my already sore throat so much that now nothing fazes it! I'm going to sound like Bette Davis forever! I'll announce a winner Saturday morning. Thanks to my two new best friends, CSN and Cookware.com for donating this great prize!
I'm going to sweeten the deal by throwing in this very fun cookbook - it has all of the recipes you grew up loving in it - plus it's a great read! Also included will be my new favorite whisk by Good Grips and a package of wooden spoons - plus the chefs hat! I don't know about you but I feel SO much better right now - writing about this giveaway has given me new life...if only I didn't have a "produckteed" cough, as my doctor said, (and then he asked something about "color" but I'll not go there)...leave me a comment telling me your best home remedy for ANY illness...I'm sure it will be better than the advice I got today...and cheaper too! P.S. If you blog about this and tell me I'll give you another FIVE entires!
Being a quilter for over 30 years, I've learned one thing that's for sure (as my good friend Ops - short for Oprah - would say) and that's this: You can't go wrong if you buy too much! You will never be forced to have a "close enough" fabric in a quilt again! I've always said that I make 30-foot quilts - or put another way, quilts that look good from 30 feet away! One day I hope to make "inchers." In the meantime, as I struggle to make points match, I'm happily trying to cover every bed, sofa, and chair in my house with a quilt - that's normal, right?
Ahhhh....food....
We may live without poetry, music and art;
We may live without conscience and
live without heart;
We may live without friends;
we may live without books;
But civilized man cannot live without cooks.
He may live without books,
what is knowledge but grieving?
He may live without hope,
What is hope but deceiving?
He may live without love,
What is passion but pining?
But where is the man that can live without dining?
Owen Meredith...or as I like to call him....
The Earl of Sandwich
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