Oranges and lemons and limes, oh my!

 We’ve gotten some very cold weather in the last few days—freezing at night and bitter winds during the day.  Today, finally, it’s beginning to warm up.  The sun is bright and warm and the wind has died down to bearable. 

While I have not enjoyed this cold weather, the hunters love it.  Ducks and geese fly overhead looking for a place to roost.  Deer are moving around, and wild hogs are plentiful.  Rich has taken Lane on a couple of deer hunts and he bagged his first deer.  He is one proud 13-year-old!

The cold weather is good for the citrus fruit hanging on our baby trees.  Since the first frost last week, every orange, kumquat, lemon and so on has changed color.  I’ve picked a few to enjoy, but they are still more sour than sweet, so I decided to give them a little more time.  I surely hope they sweeten up in a few days because they are so very tempting!  

Thanksgiving 2013

Today certainly felt like a Sunday; it probably had something to do with our going to mass early this morning and eating lunch with the in-laws.  Rich’s mom bakes the best ham.  Couple that with her brown and serve rolls and I could make a complete meal.  Yummy, yummy.

This afternoon I managed to work in a bit of quilting and reading.  Talk about relaxing!  Rich took Lane into the woods to do a little scouting for tomorrow’s big deer hunt, so I had the run of the place and could not have enjoyed it more.

Here’s hoping that you and yours enjoyed Thanksgiving as much as we did.  

Pin It Wednesday #45

Happy Thanksgiving!  I don’t have to cook tomorrow since our family celebrated early.  (Our oldest son works off-shore and is away right now.)  We’ll be visiting with Richard’s family.  

Here’s wishing you a wonderful day with family and friends. 

Family Fun Night

Editing note: For some reason, this post didn’t go out, so I’m resending.   Dinner was last night. 

Whew!  What a great time!  When someone calls and says please make a gumbo for us, it’s hard to resist.  When two sisters gang together, it’s impossible (not that I really wanted to say no to them).  Guess what?

photo from Google images 

A few of my sisters came by for gumbo with rice, sweet potatoes, and cornbread.  Yes we like our starches.  Actually, we like just about anything, but the more fattening it happens to be, the more we tend to like it. 

That means we had both pecan cake and bread pudding for dessert.  Oh, and one sister brought along real butter from the Amish store to slather on the sweet potatoes.  Can you say rich?  I can definitely attest to the fact that there is absolutely no more space in my system.  I am full , stuffed,  and moaning.  I should say we enjoyed the company as much as the food.

straight from the farm

Since I’ve shared my recipe for Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, I’ll share how we bake sweet potatoes.  It’s easy.  First choose your sweet potatoes.  They should, of course, be fresh and firm. Wash the potatoes in cool water and remove any small roots that may still be attached and cut off the tips on each end.   Set the potatoes on paper toweling to dry.  I like to pat the potatoes dry; then cover the outside with margarine or oil.  I simply use my hands to spread the margarine and try not to put too much on each one.  This helps to release the skin when the potatoes are completely done.

right to the table

Bake at 350 degrees for two hours.  I test the potatoes by sticking a fork into the largest ones.  The center should be soft and squishy.  The skin should be easy to remove.  I enjoy the potatoes without any condiments, but Rich always adds butter, sugar and cinnamon to his.   Any potatoes that are left over can be wrapped in foil or placed in freezer bags and frozen, so I always bake a large pan and freeze the extras individually.  They are easy to warm in the microwave.  And are just as good.  

Happy Thanksgiving,

Mary

Erica's Hot Pink Sneak Peek

I am well started on Erica’s commissioned quilt.  It’s such a pretty quilt based on one she happened to see in my Etsy shop some time ago.  She asked me if I could make one in queen size as a wedding quilt for her upcoming nuptials.  Of course, I agreed and we set to work. 

She chose the majority of fabrics, but I added a few that I picked up in Houston that have a modern edge to them.  I love the mix of hot pink and touches of lime green and red.  

Don’t they play well together?  Could they be even a smidge more girly?  If so, I don’t know how.

On Saturday I got busy and started cutting squares.  One small package arrived already cut into four inch squares, but that was too small, so I stitched them into seven inch blocks and cut all the other squares 7 ½ x 7 ½ to match.  Then the fun began.  Although I was careful not to put two squares together, it was really a matter of throwing two squares together and chain stitching as fast as I could.  

Today I started matching rows two by two.  I ended up with an occasional “aww, two like ones together,” but it’s not too bad.  Tonight I am almost ready to load it onto the long arm.

Happy Quilting,

Mary

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: HOT PINK

I’ve begun a new quilt.  Easy squares in pink.  Hot pink.  Really hot pink.  It’s pretty and very girly.  But it’s also lots of pink.  Hot pink.

Thank goodness I’m really liking the fabrics.  Imagine the little granddaughter’s delight when they saw these fabrics.  It was fun until they wanted to play in the pink.  We suddenly had to go in for milk and cookies.  So in honor of these pretties, let’s pin a few pink things.  Enjoy!

happy quilting,

mary

Closing the barn door

The barn quilt is complete: binding and label attached and email sent to the customer.  Hopefully the delivery will take place in the next few days, because I may not want to let this baby go.  It’s quite pretty and I really like it, especially now that the painting and binding are finished.  I do need to take photos and I want to pick up a dowel rod to fit the length, but hopefully all of that will take place tomorrow.  

These photos are process photos from the beginning to end. 

 

It's a Barn Raising

I’m almost finished with the Mayeux Barn Quilt that I’ve been working on.  It’s a mixed media piece based on a photo of a barn somewhere near where my grandparents lived.  I haven’t driven there to see the barn, although Rich and I think we’ve seen it in the past while driving around the parish.  

The structure is unusual for barns in our area.  It’s basically a straight-side, two-story structure with wings on all four sides. Also unusual is that it’s built off the ground like a house would be.

Making it was lots of fun, but I think my favorite part happened tonight while I was adding the paint.  I like to paint in the grass and soil.  

In this case the soil is reddish brown because the barn is on the banks of Bayou des Glaises.  As the bayou overflowed its banks, it left red sandy silt in the region. 

That red soil is rich for farming, but I know it from playing in the fields around my grandparents’ home.  In my memory the soil was always freshly plowed which made it cool and soft.  I’m pretty sure that our 100 degree days made it hard and hot for my bare feet, but I choose to remember the good memories.

Happy Quilting,

Mary