finished a crochet project

Back in March of last year, someone dropped off bags and bags of yarn at the extension office for the Homemaker groups to divide up and take what they wanted.

Never one to pass up a freebie, I chose some yarn and stuffed one plastic bag full of skeins to take home.



And I've just now finished the afghan I crocheted with it....

I didn't use a pattern...just went back and forth with a "half double crochet stitch".  I like that stitch because it doesn't leave a lot of open areas or "toe catchers".

 I used nearly all the yarn so it's heavy.  I have to admit - I didn't count stitches and one end is a little narrower than the other.

I like to crochet and it's easier than hand sewing while watching TV with others.  The hand sewing needs more light (which disturbs the other TV viewers) and it just needs more attention than crocheting.

But, no one in my family really likes using crocheted items so I'll probably donate this. 

I found this organization online... Warm up America.  They take crocheted or knitted  items and distribute them to those in need. 

I have a couple of other unfinished crochet projects from years ago. I am going to try to get those finished up next. They are baby afghans so they should be quick to finish.

Chicken recipe, more iced coffee

I tried another recipe from my quilt group's cookbook...Chili Parmesan Chicken...

It was really quick and easy - a good week night dinner.  Mine turned out a bit dry. I think if I made it again, I would coat the chicken breasts in mayonnaise before rolling in the parmesan mixture. I've seen a similar recipe that uses mayonnaise.

Unrelated,  but aren't you tired of seeing everything "pumpkin spice" flavor?

It has worn out it's welcome.  It seems like every restaurant is featuring a limited time drink or dessert that is "pumpkin spice", not to mention all the special edition items at the grocery.

I gave in to the hype and bought this bottle of coffee flavoring syrup.  It has a weird taste in hot coffee but makes really good iced coffee.

No calories and no carbs...but I add a generous splash of whole milk  along with the coffee. 

Lonnie poured a spoonful of it over a slice of custard pie...he said it was pretty tasty like that.

I ordered it on Amazon (Here).   This one bottle is enough for now, but I might consider ordering another next fall.

hummingbird cake, quilting, hens & chicks

I tried out a new recipe from my quilt group's fund-raising cookbook.  It's called Hummingbird Cake.
Of course that leads to all kinds of jokes from my family about how many hummingbirds did I have to harvest to make the cake, ha ha.

I have no idea how it got this name but it's a good cake. It has crushed pineapple and bananas but the flavors blend together so neither is overwhelming.  Cream cheese frosting- which I think you could put on an old shoe and it would make it good enough to eat.

Here is the recipe...submitted by a lady from a different quilt group....

I have been doing some sewing and un-sewing.  I noticed this on my 9 patch quilt...two very similar blocks ended up next to each other ( the blue windowpane check) fortunately it was only sewn on two sides when I discovered it so not a big problem to re-work it.

I have made some good progress on the "America the Beautiful" quilt.  

Take a look at the top center (below). That's supposed to be "purple mountain majesties" up there.

 In the photo I've got some folded fabric stacked there to try out colors.

The instructions were to just cut a solid corner of fabric to represent mountains. I couldn't stop thinking that they looked more like pyramids so I decided to do mine a bit differently...using a quilt block pattern that is actually named "majestic mountains" (below). I think I will like this much better.

I have one more birthday present to tell you about...this one from my parents.  They gave me a strawberry pot planter and some big Hens & Chicks for it and even a bag of soil to fill it up.

They have some Hen & Chick planters like this and these are the Chicks they have removed from theirs. Just enough to fill up my planter with room to develop more Chicks.

Little Miss Deer is still hanging around the yard.

We have had trouble around the house with one thing working when it shouldn't ...the toilet, and another thing not working when it should...the wifi router.     Two of life's necessities!

The toilet problem was easily fixed with a new flapper...but even with a new router, something is still wrong with wifi...specifically streaming Netflix.  The next step is to contact Netflix and/or the TV maker, Vizio.

And, I've started separating more recyclables. I thought cardboard boxes were my main recyclable item but I have found we have a large amount of plastic items that have the recycle logo on them and also a surprising amount of junk mail and catalogs that also meet the criteria.

I am collecting the separated items in the basement so I have the added bonus of climbing stairs a couple more times each day when I take stuff down there...some extra exercise!

Since our garbage pick up doesn't offer recycling service all this stuff will have to be taken to the recycle center. If I dispose of these items there and divide food scraps between the compost pile and the crows...that leaves me with very little for the garbage company to pick up...leading me to wonder if we might be able to cancel with them completely. That would be a nice savings!

I'll need to try it like this for a while and see how it goes.

while the cat's away...

My husband was out of town for a few days and things got pretty wild around here....

Well maybe not really wild.  
I had fabric and quilt stuff strewn throughout three rooms, and it stayed that way for a couple of days.
Usually I keep this type of mess in my sewing room, but I really needed to spread out for this quilt.

Each block is different so it's hard to visualize what fabrics and colors will end up next to each other in the finished quilt.  That's why I've been avoiding working on this one for ...oh...two years or so.

So, I was able to lay the finished parts out on the floor and place small stacks of fabric along side them until I was happy with my choices.   I went ahead and cut fabric for several of the houses and buildings. I'll sew those then take another look at the layout.

Hopefully I won't have to create such chaos next time. My husband will be suspicious if I say, "Honey, aren't you ready to take an out of town trip again?"

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My parents had their annual Fish Fry.   The fish is always so good and there's plenty of it...

And lots of sides...hushpuppies, mini peppers, deviled eggs, potato salad, broccoli slaw, corn cobbettes, Texas slaw....baked beans were there too...and a bag of chips!

After taking the food photos I laid my camera down and forgot to take any more photos at all. Sheesh!

Next time we're all together we need to be sure to get a group photo.

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There has been a small deer up around in the yard all by herself.  Something must have happened to her mother.

She doesn't seem very alert to danger - no adult deer to clue her on what to watch out for.

I think she is still a baby, you can see she still has spots.

At least she is eating well. She likes my Portucula - just the blooms actually, and doesn't like Marigolds at all. 

Hummingbird has been sitting on his swing (that the Sasquatch made).  He is guarding the feeder from all other hummingbirds. 

I don't know if you can make out the photo below. I took it through the window and screen.

Friday when it rained all day, there were several little finches finding shelter on the upstairs window ledges.  I'd never seen them do that before. Surprised me to see them there.

It looks like the one on the left would like me to invite him inside.  Poor waterlogged little birdies!