Just Stuff

It's a cold, damp day here at the resort.  The kind of day that makes me want to read for about five minutes and then curl up under my blanket and take a nap!  Which I did.  We have leftover Summer Squash Skillet for dinner made with the last of the zucchini and crookneck from the garden.  It wasn't a very good year for our plantings but we did get some squash.  

Meanwhile, the poplars in the backyard are in full fall color.  So beautiful!!

Carpet of gold!

The boxelder tree outside our bedroom has also burst into color.  It amazes me each year.

Inside, Dan has been continuing his exercises.  A visit to the orthopedist this morning left him with a big smile when he was told he was six weeks ahead of schedule!  Here's a photo I snapped the other morning of him working at getting the last degrees of straightness in that knee.  His right leg, the one with the new knee, is 3/8" longer than his left, always has been, and because of that and his knee problem, has probably not been straight in fifty years!  But Dan is determined to get those last few degrees (less than 5) beat!

He hangs his legs over the edge of the bed and then uses his left foot to push down on his right foot for ten minutes three times a day.  (He says it's very boring!)

We went to Keaton's soccer games on Thursday and Saturday.  They won both games and we spectators froze!!  There we all sat, huddled in our chairs under blankets, with heavy coats, mittens, scarves and hats. And it's only early October!  I felt bad for the boys out there in their shorts and jerseys. Keat did have on Under Armour leggings and long sleeved shirt under his uniform.  But still!!!  (Cam says it's kind of strange to just be an observer after all his years of playing.)

I'm just setting the heel in my second sock.  With all our cold weather, I've been wearing ones I've previously knit every day and they are keeping me nice and toasty warm.  

It's fall, y'all!  

Update on the Grandsons

Since I missed over a year in my blogging, I want to catch my readers up on my grandsons who are featured here now and then.  They are growing up!

Grandson Ryan, the oldest of our four, son of Matt and Amy, graduated from high school in May of 2017, and is currently a sophomore at Notre Dame.  Here's a photo of him giving his valedictory speech:

That same spring, our youngest, Daniel, son of Ann and Eric, graduated from kindergarten.  Here he is in his little graduation gown (be still my heart!):

And this year, Cameron, Ann and Eric's oldest, graduated.  He also was valedictorian of his class.  We have some bright grandsons!  Cameron has adopted an excellent British tradition and is taking a gap year and working while he ponders his college major.  

And lest we forget Keaton, Ann and Eric's second, here he is receiving an award at the Awards Ceremony last spring as he finished his sophomore year of high school:

And it hardly needs to be said that each of these boys (with the exception of Daniel--for now!) tower over their Grammy.  Waaay over!  I sure am blessed by each of these wonderful young men.  

From Soup to Socks

It's a gorgeous, gorgeous fall day.  The windows are open and I can hear the neighbors' rooster crowing and I can't stop telling Dan how beautiful it is and how much I love hearing that rooster.  It's a perfect day!

A blogger I have followed for years and years, Judy of Patchwork Times, has shifted her crafting focus from quilting to knitting.  (She's also the one who alerted me to the joys of the InstantPot.)  It's been a while since I picked up my knitting needles for anything other than an occasional kitchen dish cloth, but this week she inspired me with some links to a series of knitting videos.  I finished my last dish cloth and looked at my stash of sock yarn, picked one, and cast on.  

This was an, ahem, expensive yarn I ordered probably five years ago, and it's so soft and beautiful.  On a day like today, I love knitting in the sunshine so I can see all the colors this hand-dyed yarn has in it.  

I've been knitting away all week and have made much progress.  I turned the heel yesterday and am almost done with the gusset.  It's been at least four years since I've done a sock, so I'm sticking close to the pattern, which I see I downloaded in 2010.  Here's where I am today:

While I'm knitting, I can look up to my favorite corner of the living room.  It's decorated for fall, and I just love how it looks.

And here's a bright showing from one of our pots of gerbera daisies out on the deck.  

Wishing you all a beautiful fall!

Back in the Kitchen

I seem to move back and forth from the sewing room to the kitchen.  As you can see, life at the resort is very exciting!!  (Actually, it's just the way I like it.)  And now that fall truly seems to be here, both by weather and calendar, I deemed it pot-of-soup time.  

Monday morning I said as much to Dan and decided the soup of choice would be potato.  He immediately volunteered to be my potato peeler.  I think he was in the mood for soup, too.  Because I knew I was going to use my InstantPot, I told him we had some time so I puttered and he worked on his exercises.  His knee continues to do amazingly well, and I'm sure it's in part because of his dedication to the exercise regime his physical therapist has him on.  

About four-thirty I declared it potato time and hauled out my six-quart pot. Dan got out the potatoes and we went to work.  One of the sites I found when I first got my electric pressure cooker was Pressure Cooking Today (link on sidebar).  I was excited when she announced she'd written a cookbook and I ordered one immediately.  It has not disappointed!  Her recipe for chunky potato cheese soup is sooo good!  

As Dan peeled, I sauteed diced celery (used in place of onion) in the pot, then we both chunked the potatoes and added them and chicken broth to the celery, along with seasonings.  Soon, very soon, all was cooked and cheese, more chicken broth, half and half and bacon were added.  I use reduced sodium broth and fat free half and half. Mmmm...  We ladled it all into our bowls and practically swooned as we ate.  And then scraped every last drop with our spoons.  

It makes a lot and we'll enjoy our third go-round tonight.  As good as it was the first night, it, like soups seem to do, tastes better with each passing day. 

I can't recommend this book enough.  I've made many recipes from it and each one is excellent.  

Meanwhile, Back in My Sewing Room...

Yes, people, things have been happening in my sewing room.  My last post from there was about a baby quilt and while I pondered starting another, I decided upon a different course of action.  About four years ago, I found a project in a Fons and Porter's Quilting Celebrations magazine that I just loved.  It was a banner for Thanksgiving that simply said, "Thanks."   

I made one and gave it to daughter Ann.  She hung it from her mantle and it was perfect in her house.  While it was in place, Ann hosted a baby shower at her home and our pastor's wife saw it and loved it.  She asked if she could pay me to make one for her.  I declined because I hate to sew for pay--I discovered long ago that it takes all the joy and fun out of it.  I also need to say that at the time I made Ann's, my embroidery machine was giving me fits and it didn't know if it was the digitizing of the designs or my machine.  At any rate, I had no desire to make any more!  

Fast forward three years to last year.  I decided I would try again.  Since I had realized I could hang banners under my dining room window (my fireplace has no mantle), I wanted my own "Thanks." I decided I would stitch on my new (more on this in another post) Brother embroidery machine and see how it liked the digitizing.  The answer?  It did! I hung my banner and loved its message. **

So, back to this year!  I decided to make another banner--a gift for our pastor's wife.  I would make one for her because I wanted to and for that reason only.  I happily stitched out a pile of letters.

These need to be trimmed and a ribbon inserted and then they will look like this:

I just realized that there were two projects in that particular issue and that I wrote about the other one here. I really like Patrick Lose's projects and predict other embroidery designs will soon be purchased for my stitching fun!  And in this link-heavy post, here's a last one--to his designs.

**Note:  It was indeed my machine that caused the problems on my first stitching of these designs.  A trip to the spa straightened everything out, but still I was a bit "buffaloed" to try it again using any of these designs. After stitching the banner pieces on my Brother machine, I decided enough dilly dallying and stitched out a sunflower hot pad, which it hadn't liked either and it did just fine. Boom! Buffalo slain!

Brunhilde

A few years ago when I was down at my parents' house my mother happened to overhear the last of a conversation I was having with my dad and my brother.  "...Brunhilde...she's old and ugly, but she works like a champ!"  From the living room came my mom's voice, saying something to the effect of who in the world was I talking about?!?

Well, the answer was my dishwasher, which I had long ago named Brunhilde.  Don't ask me why, but when I just googled that name, found it refers to a Norse female warrior, and I think it truly fits my Brunhilde.  

When we bought this house nineteen years ago, it came with what were maybe the original appliances in the kitchen.  The stove and refrigerator were replaced almost immediately, and I intended to replace the dishwasher, but it did such a good job of washing the dishes that I kept putting it off.  Over the years I have truly come to love and appreciate Brunhilde, though she is indeed old and ugly.  While those descriptors are true, she is also efficient (as in fast).  Her normal cycle takes forty-five minutes, start to finish (no hot air dry), and my dishes are spotless. Every.Single.Time.  And I never rinse our dishes!

Never mind that her front panel is wrinkled (she came to me that way, but how??), a number of the pegs on her racks are broken off, a rubber molding on her front panel is loose on one side and sort of sticks out, and her insides are orange in places thanks to our well water.  Even with these defects, she chugs on; they are superficial and have no effect on her performance.  She is a champ and I will be broken-hearted when the day comes that she has to be replaced.  I do not hear good things about today's dishwashers.  Hour and a half running times, and still the dishes are not clean?  

Brunhilde the faithful!

Hang in there, Brunhilde, hang in there!!  (And here's where I must say that as I was emptying Brunhilde today, I thought again of how thankful I am to have a dishwasher!  I love to make messes in the kitchen and it's truly a blessing to have a machine that takes care of most of the cleanup.)

Short and Sweet

Heh, heh!  I love the title of this one!  Last night Dan attended the monthly men's dinner at church and when he came home, he handed me a small plate.  One of the wives had made their dessert (the men usually do their own cooking), and I said, "Terry made apple pie!" as I took a bite.  So good!

And then Dan said, "No, it's zucchini!"  What?!?  I kept eating and saying that it tasted just like apple pie, and when I was done, I immediately texted Terry and asked for the recipe.  She texted back and told me to google zucchini cobbler and Taste of Home.  And people, to help you out, click here for the link,  You're welcome!  You won't regret it.  

See, short and sweet.  Get it?