The End of Vacation

Tomorrow I go back to work. I have been so happy all week. Now back to the salt mines.

I thought I would have a ton of things to say, but I am consumed by the thought of going back to work. It isn't a place where I feel wanted and appreciated.

Have a great week.

Think good thoughts.

Thanksgiving dinner

I just finished reading Kim's Big Quilting Adventure. Kim was describing her thanksgiving dinner. So here is mine:

Turkey--a must. I do not stuff my turkey because of the whole food poisoning issue. I do cook it with lemons, carrots, oranges, celery, etc in the cavity if I have them.

stuffing. I am okay with Stove-top Stuffing, but I really like homemade. I make it if I am the cook, but my mother-in-law makes Stove-top for us who refuse to eat stuffing with oysters--me!

mashed potatoes and gravy. I use golden/yellow potatoes.

sweet potatoes--not the kind with the yucky marshmallow on top. I have a recipe from Bon Appetit` that has a topping of brown sugar, pecans, butter and cornflakes.

cranberry sauce. I make my own. It is really good and so simple. I will serve the canned kind.

green bean supreme. Green beans, cream of mushroom soup and French's onions.
rolls (I make my own of these too--see my earlier post for recipe).

Dessert. I am not partial to pumpkin pie, but it is acceptable. I like apple pie a lot!

Wine. Pinot noir--no white wine for us! We like red. A merlot will do nicely also.

I LOVE THANKSGIVING DINNER!

Friends

A funny thing happened. I have a lovely group of friends who I meet with once a month. I see them in between times, and as lovely as that is, I love the times we hang out because there is lots of laughter and togetherness. Now we were supposed to meet in November, but the hosting friend was not feeling well, so we postponed our visit. As I met up with one or another of the little group, I would hear how they all heard from the one who cancelled--everyone except me. All this time it never once occurred to me that I was being slighted or that she didn't care about me. I just figured she knew I would hear from this one or that one and I knew she was ill.

Turns out that I did indeed hear from her. She left a message on my cell phone that I completely missed. I wasn't worried in the least and when I accidentally found the lost message, I laughed! It is so like me to miss a message. I have a cell phone, but I am not in the habit of checking it all the time. I also tend to think all the message are from the daughter and I call her back. This time I missed/accidentally deleted three messages. Two of those people should know me by now (including the friend) and one is from someone who only met me two weeks ago and is probably thinking I am a flake. I will call her back. On my todo list is to call my friend who is probably wondering why she hasn't heard back from me......

As I am writing this, I am munching on a roll that is leftover from dinner. I love these rolls. They are the best--soft inside with a touch of sweetness. The rolls are made from scratch. Now, people tend to think there is so much work in making your own rolls, but these are foolproof and so yummy. Yeast rolls only take time--and a bit of love. These don't even need to be kneaded.

Perfectly Easy Dinner Rolls

1 cup warm water (105* to 115*)
5 teaspoons or 2 packages of active dry yeast
1/2 cup (1 stick) of melted butter
1/2 cup of sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon of salt
4 to 4 1/2 cups flour

Makes 2 dozen rolls

Combine the warm water and yeast in a large bowl. Let the mixture stand until yeast is foamy, approximately 5 minutes. Stir in the butter, sugar, eggs and salt. One cup at a time, add the four until the dough is too stiff to mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours (or up to 4 days). Grease a 13x9-inch pan. Divide dough in 4 equal pieces. Divide each piece into 6 pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth round ball; place the balls in even rows in the prepared pan. Cover and let dough rise until doubled in volume, approximately 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375*F. Bake for 15-20 minutes until rolls are golden brown. May brush rolls with additional melted butter.

I confess that I have never let the dough sit for more than 2 hours and I have never brushed with more butter. Tonight they weren't rising as fast as they should have, but I baked them anyway and it turned out just fine. They are so yummy, but I am a bread person. I bake it, toast it, spread it with jelly or jam. I love sandwiches, french toast and dumplings. Bread is a staple in life. Bread, bread and more bread!

Happy thanksgiving to all! I love the holiday because it means being with family and eating. What could be better????

Today was just fun. I went to Bearpaws and Hollyhocks to take a class from Kim. We "made" wreaths--I cut fabric and shopped--and got lots of ideas for other crafts. I was a little obsessive and cut 300 strips when I only needed 180. On one side of the room were all the women I knew. Opposite us was a very nice woman named Anisse (not sure of spelling) and two other women who were together, Susan and Brenda. I think it is funny that all the people who knew each other sat together. There is a class where the children are grouped by ethnicity. All the Hispanic kids sit together, the black kids sit together and the Russian kids sit together. One time the teacher gave them all new seats and she grouped the special ed students together. We go where we are comfortable--we sit with our friends. Adults do it and then we wonder why the kids do it!

Lindy is having a 35% off sale. It was fantastic. I bought some fabric for a Dear Jane quilt. Sammy from my guild is starting a Dear Jane group. On the first night she announced it, Sammy had 15+ sign-ups. It is ideal. We show up at 6pm--just before the guild meeting--on the 4th Thursday. There is no cost (hurrah!!) and we get patterns each month. Notice patterns with an "S". Sammy is so sweet. We start on the 4th Thursday in January. I can't wait!

Later, after the class, we went to the River City Quilter's Guild quilt show. It was smaller than I remembered. There were great vendors. Crazy quilting seems all the rage now. I guess I am not a trend setter, but a trend follower. I am seriously thinking that I will do my crazy quilt in more Victorian colors--using lace, doilies, etc.

I am very tired from all that and am ready for bed at 9pm. I am watching the lovely daughter clean up the kitchen because she doesn't want me to and she is afraid I will if she leaves it until tomorrow. She is probably right. Smart girl.

One project a week

Okay, it has been one month give or take since October 11th when I officially began one project a week. I have finished 3 community service quilt tops, caught up with a 3 month mystery wallhanging project, and completed (with quilting) a Saturday Square quilt. I picked out my fabric for a class next week and am well on my way to finishing the first square of my blue and white quilt.

Tomorrow I go to embroidery class. I have a square that needs to be done by January. That will be my next project. I get so much embroidery done during Dancing With the Stars. I have been putting it off because it has to be done in back stitch and I prefer other stitches, but after tonight, I am dedicated to getting that done. It won't stop my quest to get other quilting projects done. I have a pillow to make for my friend, Sandy. She has already seen the piece, but have I made the pillow? No. Time to stop that!

I want to let you know that there is a little give-away from Tattered Threads and Willing Hands (www.julieisa.blogspot.com). Go there and check it out before Wednesday, Nov 17th at midnight. Leave a comment and tell her where you heard of her give-away.

Julie :)

I love this....

The human heart has hidden treasures
in secret kept, in silence sealed,
The thought, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures,
whose charms were broken if revealed.

This is the language of Jane Eyre

Just as I promised last night, here is the picture of one of the squares. It might be hard to discern, but there are 4 hearts that come together to form a star in the middle. The fabric I have for the sashing is black with bits of color in pink, purple and blue. I guess I should have taken a picture of that too. Tomorrow is a new day. I will get it all out again I am sure.

This is a mystery wallhanging designed by Margaret Ward. She has a knack for design. This one is done for the Golden Valley Quilt Guild. We picked up the center block pattern in September. Last month we picked up the first border. I did mine differently because I have directional fabric and I was not getting it to go in the correct direction. Even though I was told that it didn't matter because the fabric together is so busy, still I will know. Therein lies the rub.

Just a bit of literary reference. I went over to a local store, Runs With Scissors, and picked up 3 fat quarters from fabric called Ephemeral Antiquity--pictures, music notes and words all in French. It looked not so busy when I picked the fat quarters out. It isn't anything like I usually sew on. We will pick up the last border at our meeting in November (11-18-10; 7:00pm at St. Marks Lutheran Church on Kingswood Dr in Citrus Heights) and then display our wallhanging in December at our Christmas Brunch meeting.

I have to say, I consider the wallhanging border one for the done column. I am thinking that tomorrow will bring out the 30's quilt and I do want to finish a friendship star that could go for a community service quilt.

Today my daughter tells me how she and her brother had an argument. At the time she was not speaking to him and he not speaking to her. So she tells me this tale of woe that includes hitting one with a towel, throwing things off the table, unkind words and name calling. After the recital of who did what, I said, "so you are saying there was violence (the towel), name calling and lots of unkind behavior, but was there any blood?" When she agreed there was no blood, I declined to get involved! That is the new rule--if there is no blood, I need not trouble myself with their little squabbles!

One last note: I am reading a great book by Cecelia Lamb called Henry's Sisters. It is very interesting. Such really bad stuff happens, so beware. That is where I am off to now, to read on to find out how it ends with Henry's Sisters.

Goodnight.

Project of the week

I have this goal to finish a project each week. I confess that I started on one of the unfinished gems and then got stuck. I am finishing the heart quilt that I began as a class with Kim of Kim's Big Quilting Adventure. I think it was her very first class. Her original was a small throw. I got excited about a quilt I had on my bed that was similar and I made it into a much bigger quilt. SO I have the blocks sewn into blocks of four and have only to make a decision about the sashing. I am thinking I will bring it to my Thimbleberries group this upcoming Wednesday evening at Quilter's Corner and get some opinions, including Kim's. I had planned on using a black with bright pattern for the sashing. The blocks are hearts in various pinks and a background of cream with small pink dots. It is really PINK. I have to go to bed early tonight, so I will get it out tomorrow evening as I watch Medium and that new show, Bluebloods. I plan on taking pictures and putting it on here tomorrow, so if you want to put your two cents worth in, come back late Friday evening or on Saturday to comment.

I did finish a part of a mystery wall hanging that was supposed to be done by October 28th. I would have gotten November's part done also, but I ran out of fabric. This piece is really busy. Oh well, I have until Saturday evening to finish and make my goal.

Have a lovely day tomorrow. It is Friday!