Hello my friends,
I hope everyone has had a good week!
Today my BF M and I had lunch with J -- this is an annual event. J teaches high school physics and is busy during the school year, so once a year, during the summer vacation, we three girls get together and eat and talk and talk and talk. M and J go to the same church so they get to see one another often but I don't have that fortune. I did see J and her husband and grandchildren when they drove out to participate in my church's Christmas program. She told me again just how much they all enjoyed our drive-through Christmas pageant and the following cookies, hot chocolate, and carol singing. They are already looking forward to the Dec. 09 presentation.

During our visit we talked about a variety of things, including computer use and things like blogs, Facebook, etc. J pointed out that she has seen several people post that they were going away on vacation, giving dates and times. She reminded us that posting such information could leave us vulnerable to those people who prey on unsuspecting people. She's right, of course. we assume that we have privacy but there are people who either have or know how to get the information necessary to find our empty houses. Something to think about!

During our lunch, which was at The Bagel Cafe, only a mile from my house, we were thrilled to see it pour rain for at least 1/2 hour. Alas, it did not rain at my house!! Oh, the sidewalk got wet, barely, but by the time I got home it was pretty much dry. I know we are told that it rains on the just as well as the unjust, and I just have to wonder what third category exists that doesn't get any rain! Does anybody know?

My quilting group meets on Monday and I'm really ready. I have worked on the baby quilt and it is now ready to square up and sew the binding on. I plan to have it ready to deliver to the family of the new baby by Sunday, August 9. Just 4 months past the original date I had planned on, but the baby won't care. At least it will be a UFO that is finished and delivered. I made a label and entitled it "A Patchwork of Love" and listed baby's name and birth date as well as our names (Sweetie's and mine) I am sure it will get a lot of use.

Tomorrow is August and by the end of the month school will be starting. I had great plans for tutoring my GD V on her reading this summer but that hasn't happened. I do plan to have her eyes examined before school starts. I think that she may need glasses. I've watched her read and there appears to be a problem that wearing my reading glasses seem to help with. So, we will see what a doctor thinks.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone, and drop a comment if you get a chance!

This was one of the more interesting quilts at last week's quilt show. This was a group effort and someone did a wonderful job of combining 90 different blocks into a quilt. Each block was unique and the joining was cleverly done. Below that are pictured two close-ups -- one is of the braid looking pieces shown in the top left of the picture below. We thought it was rather interesting. The last picture is the block done by our friend, C, who is 90+ years old. Each person put their name on their piece.

We just finished dinner and I decided I'd share a recipe with you guys. Tonight I cooked a pork loin and I added a cranberry/onion topping.

While the loin begins to cook you should combine the following:
1 small bottle of Kraft Catalina Salad Dressing
1 package of dry Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 can of whole cranberry sauce.

Mix these together and then heat them -- I suggest using the microwave so that it doesn't stick in a stove-top pan.
When the loin is about 3/4 cooked pour a generous portion of the cranberry mix on top and return to the oven uncovered to finish cooking. (Watch and don't let the topping burn.)
Save the remainder of the topping to pour over the meat, if desired, during the meal.

This topping is especially good on pork, turkey, and chicken.

I don't usually like sweet flavors on meat but this has just enough of a tang to make it sweet and tart at the same time.

Hope you enjoy it if you give it a try!

This quilt was interesting -- at a family reunion each attendee traced the outline of his/her hand with name and a message in the middle. Then the quilt maker spent quite a bit of time , perhaps a year, embroidering around the hand and adding the messages. Not as attractive as some quilts but quite a memory-maker and priceless from a family history standpoint.

For those of you who follow our Irish friend, Molly has delivered!

Had a really nice day -- went to a quilt show with a couple of friends. We really enjoyed seeing all the beautiful quilts and visiting the vendor booths. I will be sharing pictures of the quilts a few at a time. After the show we ate lunch at La Madelaine -- I had quiche. I always enjoy that.

I'm feeling really good now and plan to do some entertaining tomorrow night. Two couples will come over to eat brownies and play Chicken Foot. Do any of you like to play chicken foot? We think it is a fun game.

Today I went to the Greater Houston Quilt Guild show. I wanted to put these in a slide show but I can't make that happen. Guess I'll just share the quilts a few at a time.

A prize winner!

Detail -- This quilt was rather whimsical!

One of the quilts that I especially liked.

IT RAINED!! Yes, it actually rained -- twice -- this afternoon. Nothing greatly measurable but certainly more than we've had in a while. Perhaps 15 - 20 minutes each time. Things were genuinely wet!! I love it!

Good morning to everyone --
I've been out and about this morning -- stopped by the grocery and then had my hair cut.
I realized this morning that I am feeling better every day. I have very few episodes of the wobbles now and my eyes don't seem to be as light sensitive. I guess I have it licked! I've been taking an anti-histamine in the mornings and this seems to help with the fluid in my ear. I thought my allergies were doing well this summer but perhaps they were acting in less obvious ways and I just didn't realize it.

Yesterday I spent the day cleaning my closet in the master bedroom as well as two of the upstairs closets. I sorted out two bags of clothing/shoes/purses to give to Katy Christian Ministries, and had another bag of yukky stuff to throw away. I have a bag of empty shoe boxes in the trunk of the car that will go to church for use in the Children's Ministry programs, and also a piece of fabric that will be used for costumes for our Christmas program. One can actually see the floor of my closet now, plus I found a table cloth that had been missing for several months.
It was hiding in plain sight!

One surprise -- I was checking all my old purses to make sure they were empty and found one that wasn't. Inside were, among other things, two 5 dollar bills! Hooray -- I'm ten dollars richer!

Tomorrow I'm going to a quilt show sponsored by the Greater Houston Quilt Guild. What a perfect use for my $10.00! Cathy, Martha and I will go and be totally awed by the talent of the quilters. I'm sure we will be inspired to do greater things.

I am taking a break from the charity baby quilts and am sewing on some personal projects -- making gifts for Christmas. So far I've had a good time. I have a new Olfa circle cutter that is just wonderful! It cuts perfect circles, and fingers, too! I do have a personal gift baby quilt to finish and now that my eyes are working correctly I think I will be able to do that. I'm also going to make hexies for the pot luck that the Great Hexagon Quilt-Along is sponsoring. I have them cut and ready to sew.

Our weather has been a tiny bit cooler but still no rain -- we are 14+ inches behind on our average rainfall in this area and our neighborhood is now on voluntary water conservation.
There is some hope for us to have rain next week but. . . next week is a long way off when it comes to plants with thirsty roots!

Hope all of you are having a great week -- drop a note if you stop by -- I love hearing from you!

What has happened?
There was a time when I could click on an interest listed on my profile, for instance quilting, and I would get a long list of others with the same interest. Now that feature does not work. Have the "powers that be" removed this feature? I really miss it!

By the way....

When I was in the hospital I heard, from time to time, the sound of chimes playing Brahms Lullaby. I wondered what it was for -- the times were so random and they didn't seem to coincide with anything thing, like lunch or med rounds, etc., Finally I asked and found out that in that hospital the chimes are played every time a baby is born. What a neat thing! I prayed for each of the new babies when I heard the chimes.

Today is Friday and I have accomplished many things. I have watered at two houses and have washed the windows on my car and on Sweeties truck . I bought one of those devices shown on TV where one uses a microfiber head on a bendable handle to wash things like car windows. It bends and has a long handle so one can reach the insides of the windows in the car. Seems to have worked! I also sprayed off the car and dried it with an old towel. Sassy (the car) looks pretty good right now!!
I went to Kroger and bought chicken on sale. I oversaw the pickup of the garbage -- neighbors had some special requests and the pickup crew took it all after I explained the need.
Now I'm doing laundry -- that seems to be a never ending job around here.

Wednesday evening our oldest daughter and her husband (from Albuquerque) came and we added youngest daughter and her children to the group and all went to eat Chinese food. It was good to have both our girls together.

Thursday morning I had a Dr. appointment -- everything seems to be ok pending blood work results. I am truly going to live!
After seeing Dr. I met my OD and hubby for breakfast -- then he drove into Houston for his meetings and she and I went shopping. That was fun!
We started at Hancock's Fabrics -- I didn't buy anything but she did. She found a roll of fabric (noodles) and asked, "What ever does one do with something like this?" I told her that it was for quilting and that there were books that gave patterns using things like "noodles." "jelly rolls," etc. She went and found a book and fell in love with one of the patterns. She bought one of the noodle rolls and was happily planning her new quilt. Now that her hand is healing she will be able have full use of it before long.
After Hancock's we went to Katy Mills Mall and walked around, visiting random shops. She went into a shop that I've never visited (Earthbound something or another.) There she bought two pair of earrings and got a third pair free, and a set of magnetic rocks for her son. He will love them!
We stopped by a Kitchen Connection and I bought the window cleaning device. Then we wandered into Books-a-Million -- books are always a hit in our family. I found a great verb book for my ESL class, at a very reasonable price.
By then it was lunch time so we went to the food court at the mall. I had a cheese steak sandwich and she ate a club sandwich at Johnny Rockets. They were gracious and allowed me to bring in my cheese steak even thought I purchased it somewhere else. The service was lousy at Johnny Rockets -- quite a surprise to both of us because they are not normally that way. Oh, well, everyone has a bad day!
After lunch we decided that the next item of business was a nap so we came back home and napped on the couch recliners. She slept quite a bit but I just dozed a little.

SIL thought he might have to dine with clients but that fell through so he showed up and when Sweetie arrived we all went to eat Mexican food. We talked and talked and talked and just had a lovely time. How nice to get to see them -- we are actually doing quite well -- We saw them twice in 2008 and now have already seen them twice in 2009. Since her kids are now in college she had lots of free time (she home schooled her children for about 8 or 9 years so her time was very limited) and will now be able to travel with hubby when he is away on business.

Today is Sweetie's half day so I'm going to fix a nice lunch and then we may just veg around here or we may go to a movie. There is a Women's event at church, this evening, and I may go for it. I don't want to drive after dark (church is about 13 miles out in the country) but Sweetie said he would take me.

That is all that is new and exciting at our house -- life is slowly returning to normal and I am so happy about that! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Our final day of yard work with OGS. Today I sat in the front flower bed and pulled weeds and St. Augustine runners. He pruned the live oak tree in the front. We have long wanted to cut a particular branch but it was what the kids used to get down from the tree after climbing up. Since my last tree climber moved we cut the branch this morning, along with several others that were geting too heavy. It will allow a little more sunlight to hit my front bed. I don't think I ever said, but my agapanthus bloomed this year -- purple. This is only the second time it has bloomed since I bought it, and the first since I moved it from the back to the front. Now that the front bed gets a little more light it may bloom again next year!

It is very hot today, and still no rain.
"Hurry sundown, see what tomorrow bring."

OD is in town with her hubby -- we will get to visit with them! Hooray!!

Squash Dressing

This is one of my favorite recipes made with yellow squash!

2 cups yellow squash, cooked, drained, and mashed

1 large onion, chopped. (I add my onion to the squash while it is cooking.)

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups cornbread, crumbled. (I use a cornbread mix that is not sweet.)

1/2 stick margarine, melted and poured into baking dish.

combine all ingredients. Salt to taste. Pour into baking dish and cook for 30 to 40 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Yes, you see correctly -- this is a wonderful chocolate dessert that looks like brownies, tastes heavenly, and will fool everyone who eats it!

cream together...
1/2 cup soft margarine
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 3/4 cup sugar

add....
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sour milk

mix and add to above:
1 1/2 cups unsifted flour
4 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves

stir in....
2 cups finely diced zucchini

Spoon the batter into a greased, floured, 9 x 12 x 2 inch pan
top with 1/2 cup chocolate chips
bake at 325 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes, or longer, until done.

Grandson came back and boy! did we ever work!! My Chinese Elm was leaning over the fence and making the meadow mowing difficult. I don't want to do anything to discourage the mowers from mowing the meadow behind my house so the leaning branches had to go! GS cut them down and hauled them to the place where things rest until they can be cut into smaller pieces for trash pickup. The grasses/weeds/etc., behind the fence are almost as tall as I am so it took some doing to get the cut limbs on the right side of the fence. We absolutely could not leave them on the ground behind the fence. NOT ALLOWED!

This morning I wore my darkest sunglasses and I was able to do some trimming of my own. Today I feel the best I have felt for two weeks and I believe I am going to survive this awful ordeal! My gait is MUCH improved and I wasn't wobbling all over the place when I walked. We only worked for 1-1/2 hours as it was hotter and more humid than the previous day. Poor GS was just dripping sweat! I was hoping that meant some rain but it didn't happen. Alas.
We have one more day -- he promised to come again tomorrow and we will work in the front flower bed -- quite a bit easier than the previous two days. Then I will pay him, praise him lavishly, and let him go and enjoy the fruits of his labor. He should enjoy having some spending money and I will enjoy having some of the wild things out of my gardens.

Well, Praise be! OGS showed up at 8am to help with yard work!! My, my, my. I was surprised.
First I fed him breakfast (Apple Jacks cereal) and then we went out and started our work. He took three good sized branches off of the crepe myrtles in the back, and cut down all the baby trees that had invaded the flower beds. He didn't work too fast but we got a good bit accomplished and I could see improvement. We only lasted 2 hours before it got too hot. He said he will come back again tomorrow! Glory! Perhaps we can cut down the tree branches that are hanging over the back fence, and I'd like to take out the wild (courtesy of a bird "dropping" by) lantana that is tall and gawky and just plain ugly. That should take a couple of hours. I have that much money on hand. If he works a third day I'll have to go to the bank.

I had an interesting e-mail/question from DiahRothman asking about the difference between peppers and capsicum. Hummmm, I confess I didn't have a clue. Wikipedia came to the rescue and I learned a bunch!
Baically, Capsicum is a broad name that includes several different cultivars (plants) which fall under the name peppers and chilies. The most interesting part was that the same plants had so many different names in different countries. (Like Zuchinni and Corgettes -- same plant, different name) For example, in Australia capsicum annuum is strictly what we North Americans call bell peppers. In other places that term can refer to different types of peppers and chilies.

OK, readers, do you have capsicum in your country? Tell us what it looks like and how you use it.

Good morning,

I slept wonderfully well last night! Now that I'm off the steroids I will finally get some sleep.

I posted a picture of some peppers -- because Doug is going to say, "what are poblano chilies?"

The two on the left and right of the picture are bell peppers -- eaten raw or sauted or stuffed. The other 4 are poblano chilies. They have pointed bottoms and don't stand like it appears they do in the picture. The poblano chilies can be mild or hot in flavor. We roast them in the oven, slit them open, clean out the seeds and membrane, and then stuff them full of cooked and chopped chicken, (other meats can be used but we stick with chicken.)

cover them with cheese, and return to the oven to melt the cheese. They are really good.

In our previous life we usually ate long green chilies but here the poblano is king so we have learned to cook and eat them.

Stuffed poblano chilies are the memu for tonight's dinner. Sure will be good -- want to join us?

A busy day today -- Saw the ENT this morning -- he did some testing and I did well on everything. My hearing is normal, I passed all the balance tests. He did give me some exercises to do at home, with my eyes, and said another week should see me through with this! Praise the Lord!!
I shopped at Fiesta after the dr -- bought poblano chilies (99cents/lb) and chicken tenders (1.67/lb) tomatoes, flour, sweet onions, bell peppers, etc.
Went home and made a quick stir-fry with chicken tenders, bell peppers, onions and a couple of small potatoes. Sweetie came in and we ate lunch and then I rested.

After my rest our neighbors came over to say good-bye. They are moving to North Carolina where he will be the Minister of Music for a large Baptist church. It is an exciting time for this young couple and as much as we hate to lose them as neighbors, I am thrilled that they are having this adventure. Their little boy, whom I have often found sitting in my tree, is now 5'2" and I know that I will barely know him the next time I see them.

Later Sweetie and I went to HEB for a few groceries and then at home I broiled some seasoned chicken thighs, cut them up, added grated cheese, black olives, whole kernel corn, salsa, bell peppers, and made quesadillas. They were yummy! Tomorrow I will roast the poblano peppers and stuff them with more of the chicken from today -- top with cheese, and serve with refried beans, chips, and a salad.

Tomorrow Sweetie wants me to go have a pedicure so I will see if I can get an appointment. I will get to go to church this coming Sunday and am excited about that.

Good morning,

My day is going well -- I'm feeling better. Yesterday wasn't a very good day but today I'm getting a few things accomplished. I came up to wash our bed linens and now have them in the dryer, my mail is answered, my bills paid, etc.

The picture above shows some of the fabric my Mom's best friend gave me. I love this set of pieces, all color blended.

It is lovely fabric and there is lots of it. I have a quilt planned -- finally, a big one for us!

See what you think of it. I've about decided on a star pattern -- will audition several different ones before I decide.

Late last evening, when I wasn't sleeping, I looked at my stash of quilting magazines. I marked those that had things I was immediately interested in and was delighted to see that I had some good, usable things already in my posession. Tote patterns, quilt block designs, etc. I'm glad I had the time to do that.

I have a Dr. appointment this afternoon and I'm debating whether to drive or let my friend take me. She will be glad to. I just don't want to risk having an accident because my equilibrium isn't back to normal.

Thought OGS would show up today to help out in the garden for spending money. Guess he chose to sleep in instead. Too hot now.

Hope all have a great weekend!!

Good morning all,
We are actually getting bits of rain this morning. I was out at 6am doing some hand watering but it has been raining off for a while and on and I'm so pleased. Even if it doesn't last long and even if it does make it humid, we need the all-over wet that I can't do by hand. The temp is still in the mid 70's (F) so it could be worse.

I am more clear headed this morning -- I slept really well last night (the night before I didn't sleep much at all) and I am feeling much better. Sweetie and I went to the grocery store after dark yesterday and it was so good to get out and feel functional again. With the rolling basket to hold onto I was able to walk quite well through the store aisles.

Last night I fixed a pkg of Marie Callendar's frozen lasagna. It was really good. We just had a salad with it. Tonight I plan to oven fry chicken with potatoes and onions. Perhaps okra on the side. A friend called and offered to bring a meal but I turned her down. Cooking is about the only thing I can do right now and I'm managing to keep us fed. (She didn't volunteer to wash windows. That I would have taken her up on! LOL)

Sweetie agreed to let me come upstairs without assistance so I'm going to have an "upstairs" morning. (The doctor cautioned I should have someone assist when climbing stairs.) I will have an opportunity to sort through the fabric my Mom's friend gave me. Some lovely pieces that are will give me an opportunity to be creative. More fun than sitting in a chair and dozing!

I've thought about my Dad a lot since this happened. He looked at his future as being years of just sitting in a chair, unable to do any of the things that were meaningful to him. What a terrible future! Just these few days of being house bound/chair/bed bound, have made me have a great deal of empathy for his situation. I'm sorry we lost him but I am not sorry he didn't have to live years in that condition.

The Ireland/UK blog pals and I have been talking about "grits." In the south USA they are eaten for breakfast. That brings up the subject of different foods in different places. What do YOU eat for breakfast? Care to comment?

Hello to all,
I just got out of the hospital. I have a viral infection of the middle inner ear. Sickest I've ever been.
Can't drive for several more days -- have to stay inside in cool dark room -- this bothers your eyes, also.

Will try to check mail once a day but climbing stairs has to be done with assistance due to dizzy head still.

Love from someone who is really Limpingalong right now!