This and That and Kitchen Stuff

Ack!  Not exactly a few days later.  Well, in my defense, I've been busy!  My big Bernina 830 sewing machine was in need of a spa treatment and the best technician lives in Montana.  He does come over to the Spokane area once a week to pick up machines at several designated drop-off points so we had taken Moby Stitch (the great white Bernina!) up earlier and we picked it up last week.  That's a day out of town, but there is a Trader Joe's up there which is, of course, a mandatory stop.  :-)

We've had Daniel over each Sunday night through Monday dinnertime since the beginning of August until this week as Ann had to be back to work at school, prepping for the new year.  He's so easy to have, but still it seemed like the days went differently when he was here as we visited and found things to do.  School started last week on Wednesday so he's back to learning.  Fifth grade this year!  Where does the time go?

Last Monday it finally worked out for Dan to have my birthday party and Ann and family showed up with pizza to share dinner and cake with me. Such a fun, wonderful time we had!  

Since my machine was back, I have ventured into my sewing room and have started a new round of bibs.  I had only two left in my gift pile and they were both for girls.  I've embroidered five new ones and cut out about twenty blanks to work on next.  

But enough on this stuff.  I mentioned in my last post that I'd do a kitchen post, so here goes.  

In May when we were at Costco I stopped to look at a Ninja Foodi Flip Air Fryer they had for sale.  I have friends who love their smaller air fryers but I didn't have a space for one, either on my counter or in my pantry, and I draw the line at storing kitchen items in the garage! The foodie is made to flip up and take up a smaller amount of counter space when not being used.  As I pondered the display, Dan picked one up and put it in the cart. "Happy Mother's Day!" he said.  Okay!

It took a bit of figuring to decide where to put it in my crazily designed kitchen but I finally put it in the corner where my mixer has lived and moved the mixer next to the frig.  It works, and somehow it seems I have even more room in that corner than I did before.  And we love our Foodi!  I've always loved the Mexi-fries at Taco Time and now I can make my own.  Score!  And the Foodi is more than an air fryer, it is a convection oven, a toaster and can broil, too.  It has a much bigger capacity than the usual air fryer and so is great for families.  I made little pizzas last week using ciabatta bread from Costco and they were so good using the air broil feature on low.  And it's perfect for reheating things like pizza or crispy casseroles so they aren't soggy the second time around.  

In its down position, otherwise up against the side wall

Yummy ciabatta bread pizzas!

And in other kitchen news, we are awash with zucchini!  Awash I say!  Last year we could hardly get any to grow and this year Dan brings up four or five (or more!) a day.  I'm working hard to be a good zucchini steward and use it all, so varied recipes have been used.  One winner was a chocolate cupcake recipe found in the August Costco magazine.  Oh my!  As I've told all my friends, it received rave reviews from everyone who ate it (I made it into a cake).  The zucchini chips featured in the article are good, too!

This cake from the Six Sisters is also a winner. And last week I found this recipe for zucchini onion pie.  I did change it a little; I caramelized the onions instead of adding them raw.  We loved it! Of course we've already had multiple dinners using my old stand-by summer squash skillet. Zucchini bread?  Of course!  

And thus ends this summer's zucchini themed post!  ♥

Catchin' Up . . . Again

This summer has just whizzed by.  Between those three weeks of subbing at the church office and a few other things, it seems like I've kinda missed the whole season. Better catch up quick the rest of this month!  :-)  Soon it will be time to replace all my Americana decorations with fall ones.  

So, some summer pictures.  First up one from June taken in an Oregon friend's backyard when Ann and Daniel visited for a few days.  The perfect picture of summer fun!

Next up, a couple of not the best pictures of our newest great nephew, Kirsten's little Luke Clay whom we got to meet a couple of weeks ago.  

And last, a finished picture of my Pumpkin Patch counted cross stitch picture.  I had such a good time stitching it!  Now to get it framed so I can hang it when I change things out for fall.  

And that's about it for today.  I'll be back in a couple for a kitchen update!  

Stitchin' Stuff

I'm making headway with the pumpkin cross stitch.  All the words are done, now I'm beginning on the stitch heavy scene that's the bottom third of the picture.  

Years ago I splurged on a tin box containing a package of Nestles chocolate chips.  I just checked online and it appears you can buy one on ebay for ten dollars.  Another site had ones listed for around seven but said they were sold out.  The listing says it was 1987's collectible tin.  

I have used mine for years as my cross stitch project thread keeper.  Here's a view of it for my current project, with my fancy envelope method of thread storage.  

Each color has an envelope with a small piece of the thread taped to the front next to its corresponding DMC color number.  Primitive, but it works great. I photocopied this project's thread colors and their symbols and keep it here, too, because the pattern is so large that the colors don't show when it's folded to the section I'm working on. Scissors and extra needles are also stored here.  

Since I'm a linear stitcher, I don't need a bunch of project bags because it's one at a time for me.  I have some small file containers where my whole stash of embroidery floss is filed in numerical order, so it's easy to find what I have and pull for each project as I go.  ♥

Busy, Busy!

Who knew when you get old-er (haha), working, even part-time, would leave one with so little time.  I'm still filling in for our church secretary but I think tomorrow will be my last day.  And I'm ready!  

We did spend Monday and Tuesday of this week in McCall visiting with Bruder Bear and family.  Niece Jennifer from Oklahoma with her two boys and nephew JR and wife Mariah, along with their two boys were all there, too.  They were camping, but we choose to stay in a hotel.  :-)  Ann and Daniel went along with us as Ann loves to get together with her cousins and Daniel and Jenny's oldest are just eighteen days apart in age.  We had a great time of visiting, meeting JR's baby Wes for the first time, and celebrating his son Bennett's second birthday. And even though camping, Karen came up with fabulous meals.  She's amazing!

I'm well along on my new counted cross stitch picture and I'm enjoying it so much.  Here's a shot of where I was a couple of days ago.

I'm down a couple more lines of text as of today but I'm too lazy right now to take another photo and upload it.  

This is all for now as I'm going to join Dan out on the deck.  It's smoky from all the fires around us, but not bad enough for us to miss a night out there just relaxing and reading.  ♥

Progress!

I finished my little autumn picture and it's ready to frame.  So cute!

I found an old package of 14-count oatmeal Aida cloth that will work for my next project and got it ready to go last night.  It's another Prairie Schooler design.  

I'm doing the big one on the left.  It's been a long, long time since I've done anything bigger than the one I just finished and it's like I'm learning all over again.  Right now I have it on a needlework frame which I'm finding a little awkward to work with.  I'll just keep plugging along and see how it goes.  There's always the hoop option.  

I got D's first pair of boxers made and delivered. He wanted them to be longer than the length on the pattern so I measured him and did a little pattern adjusting which, thankfully, worked out just right.  

I'm started on the second pair and hopefully will get time to work on them today.  I'm substituting for our church secretary while she's on vacation so my stitching time is limited right now.  

And that's it for now!  ♥

Amazingly, I'm Back!

The 4th of July weekend is upon us and it has cooled down from the triple digits to the nineties which seem much cooler in comparison.  We were even able to open all the windows last night, which I love to be able to do.  

I continue to work on my autumn cross stitch picture and here's where I was earlier today:

Isn't that just the cutest house?  As I mentioned in my last post, simple but with details that take it a step above primitive.  

And here are a couple pictures of the completed Christmas tree quilt top.  So glad to finally be done with it! I do like it very much in spite of the fussy nature of all the triangles.  

Of course it still needs to be quilted, but I can wait on that.  Now it's on to making Daniel some new boxers for his jammies.  They're all cut out and ready to go.  

Maybe I'll get going on them tomorrow. That sounds like a good 4th of July project!  Too hot to be outside much and my sewing room is air conditioned.  :-)  

And that's it from the resort today!  ♥

Meanwhile . . .

Yes, April came and went, and so did May and now we're on the last day of June.  Boy, time sure flies when you just puttering along!

So what did I do?  Just the usual.  Cooking, cleaning, baking, you know, the usual household chores.  And reading.  Lot and lots of reading. I've always loved to read and having that Kindle Unlimited subscription just put lots of fun books at my fingertips.  So I indulged.  I'm a fan of cozy mysteries.  A few murders, but no gore, ugly violence or bad words.  Just entertainment.  And I was entertained.  

So now I'm slacking off the reading a little and working on some counted cross stitch.  A number of years ago I did three little Prairie Schooler seasonal scenes and I found the fourth one last winter. Unfortunately I had to buy a booklet that included the ones I had already made to get it. It's an autumn one so I decided to get cracking on it so I'd have it ready when fall comes.  Guess what?  It's as much fun as a cozy mystery!  

Here's a picture showing all of the four seasons:

I'm working on the one in the lower left and here's where I was earlier today:

These little designs just make me happy.  Prairie Schooler is the company that does the yearly St. Nicholas's I have been stitching out for years.  I love the colors they use and the simple yet detailed designs.  Primitive but not excessively so.  (And I love borders!)

The weather here has been hot.  HOT I say!  It was over 107° today and yesterday, and it's supposed to last through the weekend.  I'm so very thankful for air conditioning!  

And finally, what about that Christmas tree quilt I started last winter?  Well, I finally got the last of the top pieced today.  Hopefully I'll be back to share about that soon!  ♥

April Come She Will

There is the sound of lawnmowers in the land!  (I hear one as I type.) The trees are starting to turn green!  The sun has shone for the past four days! We won't go into the snow that fell last week, or the wind that blew and blew and blew.  April has finally arrived!  

Not much else is going on here at the resort.  A little of this, a little of that.  And "that's all she wrote" for now! (My dad's favorite saying for something that was done.) ♥

Sunshine and Snow

A Facebook friend posted this little hummer this morning and it's a perfect fit for this day--we woke up to high winds and snow.  

The sun is out now, but it's still windy and cold. It's a shoes, socks, t-shirt and cozy shirt over the t-shirt, coffee in hand kind of day.  They predicted that we might lose power, but thankfully that did not happen although we have friends on a rural power company and they did lose power late yesterday afternoon.  Of course the problem for them, and also for us when it happens, is that they also lost access to water because they have their own well.  They have horses and she said that fortunately the horse trough was full so they could grab bucketsful and at least make their toilets flush.

  

We've been enjoying watching the Gonzaga Zags basketball team in the March Madness playoffs. Ann and her gang have come over for several of the games which has made for some fun parties, especially when "our" team wins!  We have high hopes for Tuesday night's game!

Bruder Bear and Karen are due to arrive Wednesday for an overnighter on their way to daughter Kirsten's house for Easter so we have more fun in store.  Thankfully we did a good house cleaning last week so no pressure to get it done now.  Ann, Eric and boys will be here for Easter dinner on Sunday.  We'll have our usual ham/salads/pies picnic.  Yum!

So that's the latest from here at the resort.  The quilt has seen quite a bit of progress and I'll do an update soon, but it will most likely be April by then.  ♥

March

March is such a strange month.  Weather all over the place, daylight savings time kicks in (and kicks me!), and it's neither winter nor spring. But, it is what it is.  Even the muse has been missing.

I have been reading lots of fun "cozy mysteries" on my iPad using Kindle Unlimited.  I've kept up the subscription as it's less than ten dollars a month.  You can hardly buy one paperback for that price and the library has been either closed or on weird hours due to the virus, so it's been a treat to be able to prowl for books and download whatever strikes my fancy.  I'm currently on a series in England in the l930s.  

The sewing room has actually been seeing a little of me and I'm working on a Christmas quilt from a kit Dan got me for Christmas.  It's been a little slow going as the template that was sent to use with it had an error in it.  It took some doing to get that settled and then I had to figure out how to line up the different pieces as they're triangles. Tricky to do to get them placed properly before stitching, but now that I've gotten the hang of it, I'm finding it fun.  A learning process for certain though. In the picture below, only the top row of trees is done.  Hard to tell since the white triangles between are the same color as my flannel backdrop.

And a further update on the new dishwasher, christened Louise by Dan (also called Weezy and LuLu).  She continues to perform perfectly!  I'm so happy! ♥

As February Draws to a Close

We had snow in October, snow after Christmas, and now February has brought winter back in full force.  We must have gotten at least a foot of snow last week, and almost every morning since then we've gotten up to more.  Yesterday it snowed and this morning we had snow and wind.

It was amazing to watch.  I'm attempting to insert a video of it, so we'll see how it does.  UPDATE: I published and it seems to work just fine.  It's fun to watch in full screen! Brrrrr!!

In two short days March will be upon us and I think I'm ready.  Spring is starting to sound very good.  ♥

Dishwasher Update

No picture, because how many pictures of a dishwasher do you need to see?  

We finally ran a load. (Is it bigger inside?  Seems like we usually filled Brunhilda every day or two, but it took us four.)  We decided to try the one-hour wash and see how it did before we bit the bullet and went for the two to three hour cycle. There were plates and forks with egg on them, a pyrex pan that had enchiladas baked in it plus having the left-overs run through the microwave, and the usual miscellany of a well-used kitchen. The silverware basket was stuffed.  

So how did it do?  It shut off in exactly an hour and we trooped right into the kitchen to check it out. Everything was spotless and shiny!!  We were thrilled.  We examined every dish and piece of silverware.  Nary a spot. There's rising hope that this new one will be a winner!! 

Changing of the Guard

It is with some sadness that I tell my faithful readers that my beloved dishwasher, known to one and all as Brunhilde, went to that great scrapheap in the sky on Tuesday.  She had performed with great faithfulness and I knew we were on borrowed time.  The service tech who installed the new one today said he thought she was probably original to the house.   That would be forty-two plus years!

I had just set her to run Tuesday morning and stepped over to the stove to finish cleaning up after breakfast when I stepped back into a large puddle of water with more pouring out.  Thank goodness I hadn't gone any further!  

We contemplated trying to see what was wrong and fixing her, but finally decided that we would be afraid to leave the room when she was running.  We'd noticed a spot in the drum where it had rusted through just the day before and Dan had caulked it.  We finally declared total organ failure and went to look for a new one.

The shopping was an eye-opener.  Who knew Covid has played havoc with appliances?  Our local appliance store, the one we've used for thirty-some years,  had a limited number of dishwashers and only two were white.  I knew there was no hope of getting a bisque one to match the other appliances in our kitchen, but had no idea getting a white one would be a problem.  I don't want stainless, I've never liked it.  We finally picked the Whirlpool white model.  We decided if it wasn't up to our standards, we'd put our names on the list for the Bosch model we wanted and donate this one to Habitat for Humanity.  

An interesting comment was made while we were looking.  The lady helping us mentioned that someone had come all the way from Spokane a few days before to get the last white Bosch in stock because there were none to be had up there.  Apparently people building new homes can't do the final closing on their homes without a "working kitchen" including all appliances. Apparently it's a Washington rule and it's causing some problems during this pandemic. 

Well, my new dishwasher is in and we'll be giving it a run in a day or so.  I'll keep you up to date.  Here she is.  

I hope her name doesn't turn out to be Rue. ♥

The Big Snow

For once the forecasters seem to have hit it right. We've had a little snow over the past week, but then we began to hear that a big storm was coming, followed by yet another one.  And we have snow! Over a foot with more to come starting later today.  It's gorgeous and only in the twenties, so we have it much better than the south.  I hear Texas is a mess--single digit temperatures and no power; they're having a very bad time.   

But here at the resort we are enjoying a beautiful, cozy day. Coffee cake for breakfast, cups of warm coffee and tea, a little counted cross stitch and a fun books to read.  The big grandsons have taken off to do some skiing.  Ahh, the young!! Meanwhile, D is enjoying a little sledding.

Here are a couple of pictures from here at the Resort this morning.

View out the back--not a black and white photo!

The front view.  Boxwood marshmallows!

  Brrr!! Stay warm!!  ♥

Hello!

Well hello there!  Here it is, Presidents' Day weekend and Valentine's Day all in the same few days.  How quickly February passes.  And today is the birthday of one of our nieces.  Party on!

It's been a beautiful day.  Snow was forecast overnight, but it didn't begin until about daybreak.  It's cold, very cold as in the teens, and so even though it snowed almost all day, we got maybe three inches of very light, fluffy snow. We are supposed to get more over the weekend so we'll see how it goes.  

I don't have a lot of Valentine decorations, but I did make that runner last year with a kit from Shabby Fabrics so this is its first appearance.  I do love it!

I still use the four red hearts on sticks that Daniel gave me when he was five.  They warm my grammy heart each year when I get them out. Treasures, that's what they are.  

And of course, we must have the appropriately colored peanut M&M's in a bowl.  

I'm continuing to stitch away on my counted cross stitch.  I ordered a few more patterns for the Prairie Schooler Santas from more recent years and they came.  I saw a framed piece someone from the Instagram group for the Santas did and I'm hoping to do something similar.  It will probably take me a year or so though, so don't hold your breath!  :-)

And last, I ordered a new Instant Pot cookbook by the Six Sisters and it came.  I think it's going to be a good one!

Hope everyone is keeping warm!  This cold seems to be affecting a large part of our country.  But it is winter! ♥

What Have I Been Up To?

Well, what have I been up to lately?  Usually January is knitting month, but not this year.  I pondered a new project, but then declined.  I've been back at my counted cross stitch.  Apparently cross stitching is having a big moment.  Maybe the virus?  At any rate, it's a big deal crafting wise, and there are all kinds of related things tied to it.  Flosstubes?  What in the world?  Turns out it's videos on YouTube featuring ladies who stitch, either professionally or just for fun, or both.  I've finally watched one or two.  Interesting, but I don't think I'm signing up for the full stitch deal.  

What's that you ask?  Well, pricey fabrics to stitch on.  Hand dyed flosses, some in silk.  Fancy ways to store your flosses for the project you are working on.  Oh, and project bags to store your in-progress works.  I kinda feel old school with my old tin box filled with envelopes marked on the front (some in my daughter's middle school handwriting) with the color number.  And I haven't spent $10 for a magnetic needleminder as running my needle through a corner of the (not pricey) fabrics works just fine.  As a matter of fact, I think I'm taking perverse pleasure in my old school ways.  

On the other hand, I have found some lovely ways to finish my work and that pleases me.  There are some very clever and talented people out there and I'm so happy they are sharing their talents.  I have been stitching the Prairie Schooler yearly Santas for years. I framed four of them years and years ago and now have eight, almost nine that are stitched but homeless.  They deserve to see the light of day for the two months of the year that my house is decorated for Christmas.  Ideas are forming!

This first one is now finished.

And this one below is now in process (note needle stored in upper left corner).

I love the colors used in them and I think of them more as St. Nicholas's rather than Santas, regardless of their titles.  (Rest assured, the one just above will have two arms when done!)

And other than the usual home chores, that's what I've been up to lately! ♥

When Technology Fails

Saturday night both Dan and I were on our computers, on the internet, when WHAM, we weren't.  We are at the end of the cable line, our source for our high-speed internet (our only source due to the location of our house), so it happens occasionally.  Usually we wait a while and it comes back.  So we waited.  And finally went to bed.  We checked again in the morning before we went to church, but alas, no internet.  And none when we returned.  We were also without land-line service for our phone.  Thank goodness for our new phones!

It's amazing how often a need arises to check on something.  What is so and so up to on their blog?  What are the words to that song?  And where can I find the wooden plaque that stitcher used to frame her cross stitch (just what I was looking up when the internet went down)?

We tried rebooting our modem numerous times and after a phone call with Eric, we finally were moved to call our carrier.  I will say that Spectrum, our provider, has always been very helpful, and once again they were.  I spent considerable time with a real person who was patient as he asked us to try several different things.  Finally realizing that it was indeed the modem and that it had died, he set us up with an appointment the very next morning (Monday). Couldn't ask for better than that!

The technician arrived shortly before ten, installed the new modem, and was done before ten-thirty.  We were back in business!!  

Meanwhile, I'm deep into taking down all the remaining Christmas decorations.  Yes, I know it's January 26th.  I read a recent comment by a Norwegian lady who said her mother always kept her things up for twenty days after Christmas, and that her mother-in-law kept hers up until Candlemas (had to look that up), so I guess it's the Norwegian in me that keeps things up to long.  I've been vindicated!!

Phones

Waaay back in the last century, when I was young, as in a child, homes had one centrally located black phone, usually in the kitchen, which was attached to the wall.  I did know a family or two who had a desk phone, also located near, if not in, the kitchen.  The handset was attached to the base by a cord, so the user was limited to a few square feet around the phone when using it. Pulling up a kitchen chair or stool while conversing was helpful in long conversations.  And long distance? Only for special occasions or emergencies.  

I remember our first cordless phone, probably fifteen or so years into our marriage.  Oh the convenience!  I could wander, sit on the sofa, stir the soup.  Amazing!!  And then we got an answering machine! (This was before all the pesky robo-calls and what we call "spam" calls. . .) 

And now?  Most everyone is getting rid of those "land lines" and going to cell phones.  Talk about portable!  Anywhere we go, not just at home. Voice mail, texting, and even the internet at our fingertips! Even calls across the globe! Things the little girl at 5491 could never have imagined.  

Which brings me to this Christmas.  Dan and I both got new phones.  Apple iPhones.  We've been Android for years, thanks to Keaton and Eric gifting us with their phones when they upgraded some years ago.  They were getting old, though, and some apps were super slow in loading.  Eric kept saying we needed new phones but Dan and I waffled, not wanting to have to make decisions on what to buy.  So, Ann and Eric took matters into their own hands and moved us into a new age. Thankfully they both have iPhones now and were able to set us up, even to transferring all our info from old phones to new.  

So, I am the proud owner of a beautiful new white iPhone.  Knowing us well, they picked a simple model and we're adjusting pretty quickly.  When I can't figure something out, I've learned to say, "Hey Siri, how do I . . . " and she leads me to the answer.  Amazing!!

Here is my new toy. 

I ordered a clear case with shiny red edges so I could see that pretty white back which I love.  ♥

And the Tree Comes Down

Yes, I mean the Christmas tree.  We don't usually put up the tree until a week or less before Christmas although all the rest of the house is decorated.  I love the lights in the dark days of the end of December and the beginning of January when we need cheering after the hubbub of the holidays. 

So, today was the day.  I said goodbye to the tree last night and thanked it for being such a lovely one. Longtime readers will know that I always do that.  And it was a beautiful tree although its shape was quite a different one.  Not so tall and quite wide, although it is taller than it looks.  

It was perfect for hanging lots of ornaments, but not for garlands.  It would have looked like a balloon with ruffles.  It was a very sturdy tree and took even heavy ornaments well.  We had our usual mishmash of elegant and goofy.  Treasured and just fun.  Some go back to Dan's and my childhood and then our first years of marriage and ones the kids made when very small, like a red walnut with just a few lingering pieces of glitter. See, treasures!  

It's been the perfect day to take it down--blue sky and sunshine.  We opened the slider and as Dan cut off the branches, I carried them across the deck and tossed them over the side.  We vacuumed up the fallen needles and now he's watching the Packers play football and I'm about to take a little nap.  ♥

Big Day!

Yes, January 9th is a big day in our family.  Dan's and my anniversary and Daniel's birthday.  We're invited to Ann and Eric's tonight to celebrate our 49th and Daniel's 10th.  Yum, bring on the cake!

Here's a little reminder of the day D was born.  

Such a precious bundle, just like his brothers and cousin.  I cried when I realized they'd named him after Dan.  We had no idea.  

January 9th is a day filled with joy!  ♥