Pin It Wednesdays

Back on Pinterest I discovered that there are more ideas than a girl can stand!  So tonight it was all about the gardening.....you know, that hobby I love from a distance.  I really do love gardens and flowers, but I've found gardening to be, well, work.  

I'm sorry to say that the most actual gardening I've done in the last couple of years has been little to none, with the exception of pulling a few weeds when they've taken over so badly that we can't see the flowers.  Thank goodness my darling husband truly enjoys the work. 

Because I enjoy looking at gardens, I'm finding that Pinterest makes for a very nice "stroll" through other people's beautiful spaces.  Join me, won't you?  These are some of my favorite sights.   

I have some of these lighter pink roses.  They are growing wild and taking over every part of the bed they're in.  We've attempted to control them, but that's not happening.  I'm hoping to convince Richard to build something for them to climb and then move them.  I love the look and the fact that I can forget about them, but goodness it's difficult to keep them from eating up the other plants. 

While we doing pink, check this out.  I think they are cherry trees, but don't ask me where they are.  I have a whole board just on tress!  Yes, crazy, no?  Ah well, there you have it: I have an eclectic   mix of boards.  

Because it feels very much like I'm cheating by "borrowing" from my Pinterest board, I'll leave you with a photo from that board that is originally my own pic.  It's one I took last year when the catabla trees were in bloom.  (I know, I know, it's on the wrong board.)

Happy gardening, uhm, I meant quilting.  We'll get back to Houston in a day or so.  I just needed a break from organizing the photos.  

Mary

Back to Houston

that's a virtual return to Houston, of course.  I have enough photos to last a while and my feet are still too tired to go through that again.  I sat for a little while to work on some more photos for you and made a big discovery: I can compress, edit and load photos in bulk!  

That means that all the photos are now compressed, something that I have to do to be able to upload them to blogger.  I haven't gotten brave enough to attempt editing in bulk, with the exception of adding brightness.  My camera settings are off somewhat, so I have to brighten everything until I figure out how to correct the settings.

I made another discovery while organizing the photos: I took photos of the winning quilts, but the camera automatically sets up file folders and puts the pics in the appropriate folder.  I had taken enough photos that it just built another folder and started using it. 

I looked in one folder but it turns out there are pics in two folders.  I've now put all of the photos from the show in one folder on the computer, which makes them much easier to find, edit and upload.


 While I enjoy the newly found features of my camera, you enjoy the quilts.  These are from the AAQI booth, where they were making lots of noise and getting lots of attention.  

The name in white on this quilt runner on the outside of the AAQI booth is my mom's name.  I wrote her name on the piece of fabric last year while at the booth and this year it appeared, like magic, with rows and rows of other names of Alzheimer's patients.


And from here we go to photos of landscape quilts, followed by a few avian photos.  I wish I could remember something about the quilts, but there are too many--quilts and photos! 

On to birds......

Happy Quilting,
Mary

Houston Quilt Festival Return

World of Beauty winner

I am so tired, but it's a good tired.  You know, the kind of tired that means you had a good day.  

Long perhaps, difficult maybe, but still good.  Our day began at 4:30, which would make the day difficult just based on that one fact since I am as far from a morning person as one is allowed to be.  On the road at 5 a.m. and we were well on our way after picking up my sister, Angie.

By ten o'clock we were in Houston, but forced to make a big circle around a parade route.  Since there were no quilts involved, we just figured out the shortest route back to the convention center.

I made two mistakes: first, I forgot my phone in my school bag in the car and second, I accidentally dropped my keys.  That meant no connection to either Richard or Angie, so as soon as we got separated, I was on my own.  Of course, it was after we got separated that I realized that I didn't have a phone nor did I have a way into the car to get said phone.  

One of the $5,000 winners

We still managed to find each other when it was time to go home.  Having a standard meet-at-the-entry-where-we-came-in plan works quite well at the end of the day.  

I spent most of my time looking at the quilts, analyzing the techniques, taking pictures, talking to other quilters, and then I did a bit of shopping.  These photos are just a small, small percent.  

I spent a little time trying to organize the photos, but I haven't made a dent.  I now realize that it's going to require much more time than an afternoon or two.  I'll have to try to figure out how to organize and edit them more efficiently.  In the meantime, enjoy these few.

Founder's Award winner

Sorry this next $5,000 winner is so blurred.  There were so many people around that I got bumped a few times.  I got a couple of good close-ups though.

And let's wrap it up with a couple of photos of some quilted garments.  They are pretty impressive.

I know I got some shots of the overall winner, but I can't seem to find it.  I'll try to post it in a day or so.
Happy Quilting,
Mary

Miniseries Review: World Without End

Do you remember how much I love historical fiction?  It's my favorite genre and the longer the novel, the more I love it!  It's getting lost in a whole sweeping world, getting to know the characters so very well, the opportunity to learn about another time.  It's just everything that does it for me, and once I get hooked....well, then there's no hope for me!

All that does is lead to the big questions: Have you been watching the Reelz miniseries World Without End?  Did you watch the first miniseries based on the Ken Follett novels, Pillars of the Earth?  Because if you did, you have to be watching the sequel as it would be almost impossible to let it get past you.

I had the pleasure of reading both novels a few years ago after my daughter-in-law, Meggan, recommended and gave them to me.  Although I read them in the wrong order, it didn't matter so much.  In fact, just a few days of pleasurable, magnificent reading had me hooked on these rather long novels.    
Add to that wonderful week of reading the weekend discussion with Meggan, who happens to also be an English teacher, and I was a happy woman.  


Ah, but the best was yet to come!  The miniseries, which we recorded on the DVR and watched at our leisure, was stunning and, I'm thrilled to add, followed Pillars quite closely.  Rory and Meggan came for a couple of weekends and we watched the miniseries again with them.  Our discussions so intrigued Adam and Jenny that they joined the party.  

Queen Isabella

Now we're recording and watching World Without End, which is the second novel in the series.  It also follows the novel closely, but just as important is that the miniseries is so well done.  The costumes, the sets and the headpieces are just stunning.  

It's obvious that the researchers did their jobs, as did the many designers and artists.

To view more of these photos from the miniseries, visit the Reelz website.  And absolutely, if you have the opportunity to enjoy the books, grab them up.  They are well worth the hours (and days) of reading that you'll enjoy.

And because he's such a good writer, here's one more plug for Ken Follett's website.

Book Review: The Commoner

John Burnham Schwartz's novel, The Commoner, is masterfully written.  I picked it up after a friend, who shares my literary tastes, recommended the book.  Although I couldn't read it in one sitting--my favorite way to read is to devour--I managed to complete it in three days, very long days of waiting to get back to the book!

The commoner of the novel is Haruko, a young woman in 1950's Japan who marries the Crown Prince.  

Photo of my hardback copy

As the first non-aristocratic Crown Princess, she is met with cruelty at every turn and is handled by those who are in the hand of the Empress.  Years of cruelty and suspicion wreck havoc on young Haruko and she suffers a nervous breakdown, unable to speak.  Over time, Haruko learns how to hold on to her private self and manage her public life.  

"When thirty years later--now Empress herself--she plays a crucial role in persuading another young woman--Keiko, a brilliant foreign servant who dreams of having a career--to accept the marriage proposal of Haruko's son, the Crown Prince, the consequences are tragic and dramatic" (John Burnham Schwartz website)

I highly recommend The Commoner and add that I can barely wait to purchase Reservation Road and it's sequel, Northwest Corner.  

If you've read any of Schwartz's books, leave a note letting us know how you liked it.  I'd certainly like to hear other points of view on these novels.

Praline or Pie?

There's very little that's better than a delicious Louisiana pecan.  That means someone has to go out and pick pecans and yesterday that someone was ME. 

I am sore from bending, squatting, and kneeling.  Rich and I decided that we'd go to my parents' old place and pick a few.  

We stopped on our way home from the cemetery last week and noticed that there were many small pecans on the ground.  One tree in particular has tiny pecans that are full, oily and delicious.  We started picking under that tree.

Unfortunately, when the pecans are so small, it takes many, many pecans to fill a bucket.  We filled a five-gallon bucket!  But these little nuts are going to make a wonderful pie around Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Of course, to get them into a pie, someone has to shell them.  That's been Richard's job so far.  He began shelling pecans last week and after three nights of shelling, he has enough for perhaps three pies.  Since I generally make three pies for each holiday, we'll need more if we hope to have pralines.  And, let's not forget pecan cake.....that is a pretty good treat, too.

I suppose I'll have to find some time to pitch in and help with the shelling.  At least Richard does the cracking.  He has a handy little gadget that makes it easy enough.  It can be adjusted for the different sizes of nuts so that the big ones are squashed to crumbs and the small pecans break.  Imagine trying to crack those little ones with your hands...not easy.

I wanted to add a tip for cleaning the pecans.  If you don't pick out the small pieces of  hull from the meat, it gives your dish a bitter taste.  Although you can use a toothpick or small knife, I just put the shelled pecans in a zip-top baggie and shake it hard.  

The hull pieces fall off the pecan meat and sink to the bottom of the baggie.  I transfer the pecans to a clean baggie before putting them in the freezer; just be careful separating the small pieces from the hull pieces.   

For recipes for an easy pecan pie and one for pralines, click on the recipes tab above or here.  I hope you have ample opportunity to taste Louisiana pecans and to use them in your favorite recipe.