Nashville weekend - part one

The Hunt Brothers Christmas celebration was in Nashville over the weekend.

The hotel was in the downtown area. They put us in a suite with great views of the city.

 We really didn't need all this extra room, but it was nice to have a second bathroom when we were getting ready to go to an event.

We were on the 20th floor. Very chilly when you get close to the windows!

One night we did manage to get ourselves locked out of part of the room when one of the connecting doors either closed on it's own or by accident.  It  locked, and we had put the safety bar lock on the other room entry door... so we couldn't get in that way either. The hotel maintenance man had to make three trips up and down the elevator before he was able to get it opened.

Our view included the Nashville Public Library (this is the back). I zoomed in here for a picture to show how they have a courtyard with trees and plants in the middle of the building. There are tables and benches out there too..to sit and read when the weather is nice. 

We opened our "welcome packet" to find tee shirts, Nascar stuff and our name badges.

Thank goodness we didn't actually have to wear the tee shirts for any of the events!

I took a lot of pictures so I will show more tomorrow.

bible class Christmas party

Lonnie and I went to his  bible class Christmas party, which they have each year at the Wildwood Country Club.

 They have a private room where a buffet is set up for dinner. Fried chicken, pork with dressing, mashed potatoes, salad, veggies and rolls. Peach cobbler for dessert.

Everyone brought a wrapped "white elephant" gift to exchange and we played a  game where the wrapped packages were passed around a circle and then you could take turns keeping the package you opened or you could "steal" somone elses.

It's a good way to get rid of an unneeded item..except in this case Lonnie ended up with an item that we had taken for the swap...a picture frame. 

Oh well, we can use it again next year!

finished the quilt

Whew! I did get my quilt finished. It took longer than I expected to take out the unsatisfactory stitching, but once that was behind me it was smooth sailing. I still need to stitch down the name tag and hand stitch the corners closed but that will only take a few minutes.
I will be seeing Olivia's parents this weekend and I will give it to them then.

I noticed that the overall design doesn't show up real well when it's laying flat.

Better if you see it hanging...or from a distance.

And there is a peek of the backside...

The sun was so bright it makes the colors look a bit harsh. It's prettier here in the shade.

I hope little Olivia likes it!

Now, I need to tidy up my sewing room and see what's next.  I have something to get sewn before Christmas but I can't say what it is..
I also have two "block of the month" projects  that need finished up....and I will probably work on charity quilts with one of my quilt groups.

beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I spent an afternoon at my parent's house.  Chatting while I picked stitches I was unhappy with, from the quilt I am quilting.

My parents have been industrious and have their tree up and other Christmas decorations out. My mother likes a little Christmas something in every room...even if it's just a little sun-catcher in the window.

First, the tree. They have new colored lights this year. All different sorts of ornaments including some that were cross stitched by my sister.

In the living room a mini tree. It looks like these dolls are waiting for Santa to bring some presents.

Also an arrangement my mother put together (she's good at that).

In a bedroom, another little tree. Sort of a modern vibe on this one...blue and silver...and a coordinating arrangement nearby.

This isn't for Christmas but while we are in here, take a look at this collection of rescued and revitalized Barbies! All from thrift stores or otherwise abandoned (some of the other dolls too). 

Back to the tour...another bedroom with a little tree...traditional red decor and pine cones.

And the grand finale is the Christmas cactus! It is gorgeous but it has to stay in the laundry room where it's a little cooler and has lot's of light. it's blooming right on schedule.

I am always behind on getting out my decorations and I don't even have that many !

On the drive home...this truck was behind me. Can you see the green headlights?

Are they for Christmas?  Are they even legal?   They look like big green eyes and would be scary to see in the rear view mirror at night!

un-sewing

It's been over a week since I've had a chance to work on this quilt and I need to finish it up in the next few days to give to the recipient.
I got it layered and pinned and ready for quilting. I decided against using a colorful thread...it's colorful enough. I am using a very light green thread for quilting.

I practiced quilting a swirl design on a scrap until I felt like I could do it well enough on the actual quilt.  What I didn't do was practice the design BIG enough. When I started quilting the quilt I realized the stitched lines are so close together that it was making the quilt stiff instead of soft and drapey.

I kept going with it a little while longer but I knew I wouldn't be happy with a stiff quilt...so I am picking all those stitches out.

It will take FORever...but I think I can still get it finished.  I will switch back to using the meandering design I have been using for quilting. That will be faster since I'm used to it.

I think the problem is  that my practice scrap needs to be bigger so I can practice making larger designs. This one I have been using is only about 12" x 24" and that makes me sew smaller shapes.

Really the practice could be done mostly with paper and pencil.  It's just getting your brain and your hands trained to make the design...before you try it on your quilt!

tres leches (three milks) cake

I seem to be in the mood to try new recipes and I tried a new and different one for Sunday dessert.
This recipe is Mexican or South American in origin, but it must have been around in the US for quite awhile, since I first saw it in an older cook book of mine.
This version is from allrecipes.com website.


Tres Leches
1 1/2  cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups whole milk
1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups whipping cream
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine flour and baking powder, set aside. Separate egg yolks from whites.

Beat egg whites until they form soft peaks, set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and vanilla; beat well.

Add the flour mixture a little at a time, beating after each addition.  Fold in beaten egg whites until they are fully incorporated into the batter.

Pour into a greased 13" x 9" pan. 

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 - 30 minutes...check it frequently and don't overbake.

Allow to cool...then poke a whole lot of holes in the top of the cake with an ice pick.

this orange handled ice pick is older than my children!

Meanwhile, mix the 3 milks... whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. Pour this mixture over cooled cake...slowly so it soaks in through the holes.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night. 

Before serving, beat whipping cream, adding in the powdered sugar and remaining vanilla after it starts to stiffen up.

Spread whip cream layer over cake.

It's ready to slice and serve!

It's a very "different" type of cake. The thing I like about it... it's just a simple, sweetly good cake. Just a cream and sugar taste. Not heavy or overly sweet.

It takes a little getting used to that "wet" texture of the cake, though. Three out of four of my family members liked it...the other said it was too much like cake that had gotten soggy from the icing.

It was fun to try this but it won't go in to my rotation of desserts. I will make it if anyone asks for it though.

spiced garbanzo beans

This is a recipe that I tore out of a  Penzy's Spices catalog several months ago. Canned garbanzo beans are made in to a crunchy snack.

It looked interesting but it's a little unusual and I didn't try it right away.  Then, last night I was sorting through some papers and came across the recipe.
I was ready to toss it in the trash, but then I decided I would just go ahead and try it since I had the ingredients.

Spiced Garbanzo Beans
1.  15 oz. can garbanzo beans, well drained
2 Tblsp. vegetable oil ( I used olive oil)
1 Tblsp. flour
Spices...the original recipe calls for 1 tsp. ground coriander, 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper and  
1/4 tsp. salt.  I didn't have coriander so I just substituted a seasoned salt blend .

In a bowl, combine beans, oil, flour and spices. Toss with a spoon to fully coat beans.

Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 30 minutes or until crisp.  I stirred the beans around a couple of times during baking.

Allow to cool then munch away on them.  They do shrink up a bit.

Lonnie and I both liked them. Crunchy and slightly nutty...sort of like the Corn Nuts you buy at the store but not quite so hard. A somewhat healthy snack because of the fiber and protein of the beans.

I wonder if you could make a sweet version using sugar and cinnamon or would the sugar burn before the beans got crunchy?

Oooh...what if you used some of that wasabi powder?  It would be like those wasabi peas...which are probably baked about like the beans in this recipe.

I will be picking up a few cans of garbanzos at the grocery to try a couple of variations of this recipe.