Checking In

I honestly do not know just where the last two weeks have gone.  It sure was not doing anything much of a creative bent though I did finally get Donna's lap quilt for one of her nieces quilted once I did a bit of marking.

 I've been knitting a bit--more dish cloths.  It is a good project for when you have to sit and wait which I had to do on Tuesday while they changed my oil, and then the brake pads too.  One, maybe two rear tires I was mentally prepared for as one has had a slow leak for several months now but that just turned out to be a small nail embedded in the tire and they patched it.   (I am still waiting for the GMC people to call back about the recall on the G6.  Apparently there about 300 people on the list, waiting for the parts to come in, the staff said.)    Half a dish cloth was done by the time I left.  I got a few more skeins as I have a lab appointment coming up as well as the 6 month checkup a week later.   Unless they have done something to streamline the lab process better than they have in the past, you can count on a couple hours right there.  I can wait a little more patiently if I have something to occupy myself.

I have read a good bit on the kindle app.  Nothing world shaking, just light reading, mysteries mostly.  I read the books I cared to read on Jane's Kindle finally and returned hers so I am back to using the kindle app on my tablet.

I have played entirely too much free cell on netsolitaire.  I admit it.  But I also spent one full day recently in the office clearing up the paper stuff on my desk, lining up the to-do things, organizing receipts, balancing the checking account and so forth.

I finally gave in and called the plumber to fix the toilet shortly after I most in late October.  Been a pricey two weeks what with the brakes on the car too.  But necessary.  If anything else breaks or quits running, I am apt to be in tears.  How in the world did  he keep things running around here?  Why didn't I pay closer attention to how to fix them?

I binged cooked yesterday and again this morning because the weather had finally cooled enough to not object to having the oven turned on.  It is so hard for me to want to cook without DJ here to enjoy a meal with me.  Mostly it is "why bother" when a sandwich or some convenience meal in the toaster oven is done quickly, with little fuss?  Well here is why I should bother--- I am getting tired of sandwiches and I hate most convenience food . Maybe I had better make my own version of it. This way I can clear out a bit of stuff in the freezer just to add more back into it, LOL.

•  Shrimp Creole and Mama's Cornbread along with two batches of rice in the steamer as I took half the recipe down to the neighbor's.  
• Then I made a version of Shepherd's Pie with some leftovers from the freezer and set those up in three serving portions with half the ground beef.  The other half I turned into Maid Rite loose meat for a few sandwiches down the line. That is not the version of the recipe I use.  Actually I don't use a recipe really.   
• I roasted a couple of sweet potatoes and then made a whipped up casserole version, not sure what it is called really along with Pilgrim's Pride Turkey Loaf from one of those "365 Ways to Cook Hamburger and Other Ground Meats". It was a good thing I was not trying to serve this to anybody else as the loaf fell all apart when I tried to get it out of the pan.  Some remained in chunks and part of it looks more like loose meat!  I already have some homemade cranberry relish up in the freezer so just need to add a veggie.  
• I also tried a new to me recipe from Taste of Home for Butterscotch Pumpkin Mousse submitted by a cook from my area as it turns out.  It would make a nice parfait.
• I've got a ham steak slice to grill later in the week so I made some hashbrown casserole supposedly like Cracker Barrel's.  I don't think so as there is wayyyyy too much sour cream in there.  I think theirs taste more like chicken broth than sour cream.   But there are three serving size dishes for me to use up now and the bag of hash browns has been used up.

This morning---

• my version of Pimento Cheese spread but wayyyyyy less cream cheese and mayo, etc.  Hot sauce instead of jalapenos and a few other minor tweaks.
• Pumpkin Muffins for the freezer with some of the leftover pumpkin from that dessert plus another can for the muffins with some added walnuts and dried cranberries though.  
• Then finally breakfast/brunch  sausage and potato frittata--no recipe there either.  Like Maid Rites, I make this often enough that I don't need one.

Now I am running the dishwasher for the like the 4th time in 3 days.  I think you can see why, LOL.

Glynda asked me yesterday if I would consider helping her with a chair pad cover project.  She has a sewing machine but does not really like to sew and thought maybe I would be interested.  We consulted to a bit .  She has the foam padding to use and in fact, I have a couple of the ones she cut here on the sewing room table.  I offered the dog hammock fabric since I gave up on that thing and have the rest of the bolt the gal gave me for free.  The green will go with her kitchen and I need to do 6 of them.  I don't have to do piping or ties which is a bonus but they do have to be curved a bit at the corners.  I think I know how to proceed with this though I really didn't find a tutorial for what I was considering exactly.   I may make a mock up one first just to see if it is possible before getting too carried away cutting.

I have other stuff I could be doing but what's another week or so?  When it was so cold and blustery for about 4 days recently Oscar was spending more time inside and that translates to me not getting anything done in the back of the house--sewing room or office.  So we toss his toy whatever animal it is around  "Pinkie" and he cuddles up next to me on the couch.   Not a bad thing, right?

I had accidentally dropped the Quaker Oats container as I emptied that last little bit into the new container.  Oscar ran off with it--first to his bed and then to the couch.  Silly pupper!

Since it has turned colder at night, Skyler has been my bed mate.  I turn over and he often will go to the other side where I am facing.  Now if I can just get him to quit licking and scratching..........here he is in the laundry basket last week.  I wish I had had the camera when he was crawling around on the entertainment center the other night in that sort of open spot where DJ's model car replica of a Crown Vic sits.  You can see what I am talking about from a previous post  HERE  just scroll down to the last pictures.

If you want to see some quilt pictures I do have a few, just none that I have made.  Well scratch that---one project I did participate in!  Tell you more about that one in a minute.

First these are ones that Lois turned in and one that we were preparing to pin at Belles recently.

Double 4 patch

Scrappy Diagonal Strips

4 Patch ZigZag

that may not be the correct name--from past Quilter's World

From a Bargello class at JOY Quilters Guild.  Looks like a Billie Lauder version

My mom has been quite busy the past two years and more making full sized quilts for each of the grandkids.  We have 11 and there is a foster daughter too. The 4 oldest grands got their quilts as wedding presents.  This is the last one and it is going to one of my twin nieces, my youngest brother's youngest kids.  Well, they just turned 15 so "kids" doesn't really fit so much anymore but you know what I mean.  The pattern is "Country Cousins" from Judy Martin's Scrap Quilts book.  Mom and I had made this block for the Hands All Around Quilt Guild (central Illinois) monthly block raffle back in 92 or 3.  I won a stack of them and made more.  SO last year when Mom was looking at doing a red quilt for Elizabeth the pattern and blocks came up.  I said she could HAVE the blocks and jump start the project a bit.  Obviously I was going to do anything with them and I mailed them to her once I returned home from my visit.

She liked the more scrappy look as shown in the book and pulled the blocks apart so each of the 4 sections of the block would be different fabrics.  The block might not be what you think it is as when the blocks are joined you see stars or even a version of square in a square but there is a light and dark side.  I drew one up in EQ so you could see it up closer.  It is like a variation of a block called Four Knaves  Brackman #1197  Nancy Cabot 1938 except for the coloration of light and darks.  Martin likened it to a traditional Fox and Geese block (but no center sashing) but said the quilt setting and coloring more strongly resemble Birds in the Air (but less small half square triangles)

And just because she is so darned cute and just about 4 months old now, here is one of the recent pictures her Nana sent me.   Diane keeps me well supplied with Lily pictures and I love it!

Well enough of this pecking at the keys.  It is a decent day weather-wise.  Oscar and I need to go walk, a little "Mama" face time.  Not sure that I will get any cutting done on those chair pads today or not and there is a bit of paperwork I need to tend to anyway.