Green Onions

Do you cook? I love to cook and one of the items I like to use are green onions. I have noticed something with green onions. Either people think you only use the white part or you only use the green part. I am here to tell you that the entire onion is usable! REALLY! It kills me to see people throw away the green part which is perfect for throwing on a salad, tossing in an omelet or gracing the top of a pizza. They are edible and give color. I use them in salads all the time--potato, macaroni and chicken salads. The white parts are yummy on a vegetable platter, chopped up in (again) salad. Don't throw it away!

Grow them, eat them, appreciate them!

Easter

It is Easter Sunday. I got up this morning to find that the Easter Bunny came to our home and left us candy. There were the See's candy eggs for the others in the family and there were the peppermints for me! I love those peppermints and I am hoarding them.

The darling daughter made these cookie bouquets for the table center pieces. Don't you just love the bee???

Easter dinner was fabulous! The lamb was fantastic, the rolls made from scratch and the trifle was so good I almost had seconds. The best part was that we had a mystery guest and it was Katherine. It was a wonderful dinner.

I was going to work hard on a project, but I spent all that time making yeast rolls for dinner. Okay, not really. Most of the time is really spent waiting for the dough to rise. I did start sorting through my recipes. My plan is to make the recipes and then either decide to keep or throw it away. We shall see if I follow through......

Have a lovely week!

The Quilt Rush Quilt

Here it is--another year that I didn't do Quilt Rush here in Northern California. Okay, I have never done Quilt Rush. The only part I miss is the quilt. You go to all the quilt shops and get a pattern piece at each one and then you can make a quilt. Last year it was a pink, black and white quilt. Very cute. If you don't visit the shops during Quilt Rush, you don't get the patterns. I lusted after that quilt for the 4 months it hung in the local quilt shop. Yes, I could figure it out myself and I will be making what I call a "Good 'N Plenty" quilt someday. This year it is the cutest pastel flowers. Just adorable. Again--no pattern. Will I ever learn??? I did take a picture.

As it is Good Friday and my last vegetarian Friday (hurrah), we had cheese pizza that we make at home. For Easter we will be having ham and grilled lamb with the green death (mint jelly). I am bringing to the in-laws, a broccoli slaw salad and homemade rolls. We will have a sweet potato dish, deviled eggs and a fruit trifle. There may be other food, but that is what is planned.
For breakfast we are having the Paula Dean breakfast casserole with blueberry muffins and strawberries. No lunch, but appetisers will be served--clam dip and chips, salami roll-ups and the spinach dip in the bread bowl. Yummmm.

I am sure EVERYONE cares what food will grace my table--okay, my mother-in-law's table.....

Have a great Easter all!

finished quilts......

I have spent the last three days in some pursuit of quilting and embroidery.

On Sunday I was SO lucky! I got to bring a top over to my mother-in-law's and use her long arm quilting machine. My friend, Sandy, and I go over to Quilter's Corner for the Saturday Square. I think I have mentioned this in the past, but I am too lazy to check.....Anyhow, to stay on subject, in 2009 we made blocks from a book we had to purchase. There were four to five different versions of the quilt. Both of us made blocks from 30's fabrics in a kit purchased from the quilt shop and then we made the same blocks out of the 1800 reproduction fabrics. The only difference is that Sandy bought her fabrics in a kit from the quilt shop and I used my extensive supply from my Jo's Little Women days. Sandy finished her top with the 1800 reproduction fabrics, had it quilted and it bound and ready for show. I thought, last week, that if I got my act together, I could get my own quilt top quilted (I had made my top sometime last fall, but hadn't gotten it quilted) and we could show them together and show the difference. We both used the same pattern with one minor difference. The pattern called for an extra border around each square. Since I used my own fabrics, I had plenty of fabrics to do this. Sandy used the fabrics provided by the store and couldn't put the extra border around the squares, but other wise it is the same pattern. It was quilted by the same quilter. We did not use the same fabrics. We show them on April 30th and I will take a picture then and you can compare. Mine is not yet bound, but I have this week.

Monday I was at my embroidery group. It was to be our last night. We had a yummy potluck (loved the pasta salad with cherry tomatoes, green onions and smoked mozzarella), a white elephant exchange and a bit of embroidery. Our fearless leader had a surprise for us. She is part owner in a quilt shop that is opening on May 5th in Town and Country Village here in Sacramento (Fabric Garden) and we are invited to bring our group to the new store on our usual evening in May for free. The group will be starting up again in June, but you can be sure we will be there in May. Any time to spend with Shirley, Kim, Imelda, and all the others--wonderful. I understand that Paulette is teaching the beginning quilting class and it will include her wonderful labels. Paulette came to my guild (Golden Valley Quilters) and gave us a fascinating lecture on labels. I really mean the fascinating part. In fact, I am hoping to use one of her ideas for the label for the quilt mentioned above. I think I even have something vintage that I already own to use.

Today, Tuesday, I spent the day at Sandy's. We took a ride over to Quilter's Corner where I purchased the Summer Sampler from Crabapple Hill Studio. I have the Winter Sampler and the Autumn Sampler. All I lack is the Spring Sampler and Nicole has ordered it for the store and could be in my happy hands on April 30th... While Sandy and I were at the quilt shop, we saw another quilter who is going to quilt some very old tops for Sandy and we have an appointment to bring them in and send them on their merry way on Friday.

So much fun......I am on spring break from school and there are five more days to pursue my favorite hobby! Don't forget to stop by for the comparison pics!

A Little Story

My son just came out of his room to tell me what he wants for Christmas. He said he wanted me to be prepared.



Many years back there was a time when Microsoft came out with this wonderful computer/gaming system--the X-Box 360. Everyone wanted it. Unfortunately it was nearly impossible to get. Believe me, I tried. I called Best Buy and Circuit City three times a day. One day, after try after try, I actually missed getting one by 20 minutes. I stood in Circuit City and cried...I think sobbed might best describe it. In the end, I told my son I was not going to be able to find one before Christmas and I vowed to never again play that game. I got the X-Box 360 from Costco in March and I let my son stay home from school to play video games.

This weekend.....

I was so surprised to know that I had a comment from someone I don't know. How very exciting. Loved the comment (see Grammar--April 5th). Mandy from Canada made a good point about English being different in other places. How ever did she find me? I went over to her blog (That's So Mandy) and I really liked it. I know if I was to meet her, I would like her just based upon her reading habits. Today is Sunday. I made some community service quilts (three). I read a lot from a book that I was not really loving, but since I like the author, I stuck it out. Now I am on page 303 and am totally hooked. It happens like that sometimes. I have been to the thrift store to look for tea cups for an idea for Secretaries Day--April 27th this year. My idea is to buy small herbs and put the herb in a tea cup. One of our three secretaries loves tea and I try to incorporate that into the gift each year as she is my friend. Another of the secretaries is new this year and I don't know her as well. Who doesn't like herbs??? It is like flowers.......

Grammar

Today you have to go to Kim's Big Quilting Adventure. She has a slightly cranky comment on an anonymous comment left on her blog. She hits on a big problem I have. I can see grammar mistakes. Not that I don't make my own, but the thing that EVERYONE should know, such as numbers under ten are written out. Only when you get to 11 can you just use a number. That kind of thing drives me crazy, but I usually keep it to myself. There are times when it is a good idea to point it out (when editing for my students for one), but most of the time it is nicer to just let it go. Of course, I have to tell someone and that usually ends up being my daughter or a friend who thinks like me. Now there are three of us! The funny part is that I obsessively went back over some of my posts to see if I had committed that unforgivable error. So far, so good! Have a great day today! Julie

If I tell you....

If I say this out loud, then it has to happen......My friend and I go once a month to Quilter's Corner in Sacramento for a block-of-the-month program called the Saturday Square. We have been doing this for a few years now. In 2007 the Saturday Square was a pattern out of a book. We made the same squares, but Elaine offered a variety of palettes to choose from. My friend choose to do two palettes--the 30's prints and 1800 reproduction fabrics. I also did an 1800's reproduction fabric quilt. The difference was that I used my scraps from a program called Jo's Little Women and my friend used the fabrics chosen by the quilt shop. In the end, we ended up making what was called "Kelly's Quilt"--me with my scraps and my friend with her shop bought kits. Her quilt is quilted and being bound. It will be ready to be shown at our next meeting for the Saturday Square. I am thinking I will ask my mother-in-law (who has a quilting business) if I can sneak my quilt in and show it with the other. So, I will call my mother-in-law tomorrow. It is 9:40pm and while my mother-in-law is up, I don't think I will take the chance that I wake my father-in-law. Although, I need to talk to him. I want to make braised short ribs and he may have some good advice! I will be sure to take pictures of both quilts.....

I know, long time no write

I don't even know where I was. I have been reading A LOT! I love to read. I read the newspaper--when I get it from my in-laws, fiction (list below), non-fiction, cookbooks, magazines and whatever I can get my hands on. At night, before bed, I like to read my book and have a Smirnoff Ice, or a glass of red wine--even a cup of tea. I so miss not getting the newspaper, but when my husband pointed out that I was spending $200.00 a year for the Bee, I knew there were more pressing needs for that kind of money. Now, I go over and raid my in-laws pile of paper before they put it in the recycling. Today I got the entire Sunday edition! In the last 15 days or so, I have put binding on a community service quilt (embroidered baskets with 6 seasonal scenes), finished another embroidered square for my blue and white quilt, worked on a baby quilt that is waiting for a border and started whittling away at my large stash of scraps. Yesterday I went to Lafayette here in the Bay Area. I wished I still lived there as I drove through Concord (sigh). My daughter was with me and we stopped at a quilt shop, Cotton Patch, in Lafayette. The shop is in a little house. So sweet. Unfortunately, that is where it ends. The people were nice enough except for the woman who seemed to be following me around. The fabric was just what I would find anywhere. Not much on the walls to excite someone to want to make a project. Frankly, I was disappointed. Not to much in patterns. Books I could get here with a discount. Oh, and the fabric was all $10.99+ per yard. Won't stop i there again soon. We did find the Lafayette Christian Church. The reason for our trip to Lafayette was to attend a memorial for Betty Reineke. She was the mother of my friend, Kim, who I have known for over 30 years. Kim was a surprise baby. Her sister, Sue, went to college when Kim was 6 years old. When we ran around together, Kim's parents were old. Or so I thought. I realized as I sat in the church waiting for the memorial to begin, expect for Kim and her family, my daughter and I were the only ones there under 60 years old. People came over to us and were asking, "How did you know Betty?" Like we were in the wrong place. It was really funny. I recognized a few people--okay mostly their names-- because the Reineke's took me to church with them several times, but obviously I didn't make any kind of impression........ I thought Kim's mother was great. We were pretty much left on our own a lot as Kim's parents went on cruises, playing cards, etc. I did a lot of firsts with Kim because her parents weren't there to tell us no. My parents were always there to direct....They treated Kim like family. She liked that--sometimes. So, hello and now as it is time for bed, good night! Books The Red Thread by Ann Hood Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen The School for Husbands by Wendy Holden Henry's Sisters and Such A Pretty Face -both by Cathy Lamb Night by Elie Weisel (reading it at school with the eighth grade English Class)