LaVieEnRosie

Potluck

As in... I have a couple of quick little things to share before I head to Kansas and Missouri for what I hope will be a fun week of hanging out with quilters and pretending that I know more than I do. 

I ran across a cartoon I saved...

I remember when it was a HUGE event that Krispy Kreme was opening in Phoenix.  Within a week, if you hadn't been there, then you just weren't cool enough to associate with.  When the franchises closed, I don't know if anybody even noticed.  They're back and if they hadn't been giving away free donuts to everyone getting on my Southwest flight that morning, I probably wouldn't have known it.  (Now there's a great idea... give a box of two donuts to every man, woman and CHILD getting on an airplane for a three hour flight... yeah, what marketing genius came up with that idea.)

Schnibbles.  Have you seen the Year of Schnibbles that Sinta and Sherry have created?  I suppose this means I have to make some new quilts and patterns, doesn't it?  And I suppose I should probably come up with some kind of exclusive quilt project... and something for a giveaway or two... and probably something for anyone who manages to make all twelve of the quilts. 

Cooking.  I tried a new recipe ~ The Pioneer Woman's recipe for Coq Au Vin.  Oh.  My.  It's awesome.  And it's surprisingly easy to make!  I've made Coq Au Vin before and this is by far the easiest ~ and the best! ~ recipe I've used.  You won't be sorry... I promise.   

While searching for an address, I ran across another one of my favorite dog-related cards...

Sewing.  I finished a quilt that may be a new pattern or might wait until next Spring so that I can teach it again in February.  And I have a couple of new Schnibbles that are ready to go to the printer ~ I should have pictures soon.  Mostly I've been getting quilts packed for trunk shows and my trip, and getting ready to get the floor in the family room refinished. 

And, no, I won't be going to Fall Market this year.  Boo hoo... okay, not really.  I know I'm going to miss all sorts of wonderful goings-on and I'll totally regret not being there when it's going on. 

While I won't be taking my laptop to on my trip, I will be taking my camera.  I promise to take pictures as I am going to a couple of quilt shops while I'm there and I promise to share when I get back.  Let it suffice to say that I have a couple of friends who have volunteered to be my traveling assistant... which would be a pretty hilarious turn of events.  Both Judy and Sue are better piecers than I am so they should be teaching and I should be assisting... or paying attention!

Okay... I'm off.  I have to go play with Rosie a bit.  As soon as she saw the suitcases, she started moping... and I keep bumping into her since she's right on my heels.  Yes... I'm feeling very guilty and very glum about it all.

See you soon!

Would you? Could you?

That was the title of an e-mail my friend Sue sent me yesterday.

Do you get all those e-mails that make their way around the Internet?  Oh wait... of course you get them.  If you have e-mail, you get them.  Every one of us has at least one friend who likes to forward this sort of e-mail.  But do you open them?  I open some... it depends on who sent it.  I open the e-mails that Sue sends because she doesn't send too many.  And the ones she does send often have dog pictures in them, usually Golden Retriever pictures.  This one didn't but I still wanted to share it.

Have you seen the pictures of the glass public toilets ~ the ones made of one-way glass?

This is what it looks like from the outside...

This is what it looks like from the inside...

How unnerving would this be?

What if you were in there and someone you knew walked by?

What if George Clooney walked by?

What if your favorite author walked by with an armload of their books... arranged in sequence?

Oh... don't be too surprised.  I had to get to the authors, books, reading and the giveaway.  I wasn't sure how I was going to get from there to here but I made it! 

Thank you!  That was so much fun!  Thank you!  Thank you for taking the time to tell me ~ and everyone else ~ about the books you love and what kind of reader you are.  I really enjoyed reading what everyone else is reading and I've got a list of new authors, books and series to read. 

I also want to thank you for making me feel a whole lot less odd about needing to read books in order.  It seemed a bit compulsive, and well, maybe it is, but I now know that I am far from being alone in that compulsiveness so I thank you!

A couple of things to mention ~ Janet Evanovich and Stephanie Plum.  I've read them all ~ in order! ~ and while I still enjoy them, I'm also starting to get a "been there, read it" place with them.  I'll keep reading but I'm hoping that Janet finds some new ideas.  And as someone wrote... Steph... make a choice!  Morelli... Ranger... just PICK ONE!

Daniel Silva... okay, I sort of cheated on this one and read a couple of them out of order.  I have two of the middle books still to read but I've already read Secret Servant, Moscow Rules and The Defector.  Loved all three of them and I'm looking forward to the next one!

Now about those two remaining boxes... the random number generator thing picked two high numbers! 

No. 131 ~ Jocelyn who posted at 8:02 PM on August 16th... Jocelyn can read a little bit unless it captures her, reads all the books by an author in sequence and Jane Austen is her absolute favorite. 

And No. 100 ~ Sandy who posted at 7:55 AM on August 16th... Sandy's favorite author is Sydney Shelton, doesn't read books in order and can read just a little each day. 

If you'll both leave me a comment on this post, I'll e-mail you to get your mailing addresses.

And thank you to everyone else... just so you know, I'll have another anniversary coming up in mid-October to celebrate when I actually did my first post.  And then I suppose I might be able to do a giveaway for my birthday... that comes up later this year too.  And Rosie has a birthday in September! 

One last picture... This is a picture of a bathroom with a very usually painted floor.

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Imagine you are at a party...

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It is the 10th floor of a high-rise building...

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You have to use the restroom...

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You open the door...

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Would you be able to step into ~ onto ~ this floor?

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Would you immediately step on it... or would you kinda sorta test it first... just to make sure?

I suppose that would depend on how many glasses of wine you'd had...

And how badly you needed to use the facilities. 

Toodles.

Postscript ~ The bathroom shown in the first two pictures is "supposedly" located in Houston, Texas, but it isn't.  The public bathroom is located in Switzerland.

As for the last picture of the 10th floor bathroom... The image is an entry in a Worth1000 Photoshop contest.  It was titled "Big Step and it was created by Photoshop artist, Harry122.  It isn't real, it is a digitally created image using a base photograph.  It's still pretty cool and it would certainly give you pause if it really did exist. 

86.

That is the temperature right now ~ and it is absolutely glorious. 

Not too long after I posted on Wednesday night, a storm moved through the Valley... thunder, lightning, and some rain.  In fact, we got a slow, light, steady rain that lasted until about 7:00 am Thursday morning.  While it didn't exactly get "cool" here, it was definitely cool-er.  Mostly, it was a lovely respite from the usual triple-digits. 

It meant that this was really happy.

I saw this while out on the patio this morning.  It made me smile and while there is a part of me that considered pulling it out because it was growing where it shouldn't be growing, I let it be for exactly the same reason.  It's the part of my brain that likes randomness.  I do wonder where the seeds blew in from though as we haven't had any of these flowers for a couple of years. 

Thank you for all the anniversary, birthday, blogaversary, anniverblogasary and so on wishes.  It's been a lot of fun and ALL of that is due to you!  So thank you!

As for the box...

Number 23?  Deb S.?  Friend of Amy?  Posted on Thursday, August 13th at 4:04 AM in the morning?  Where are you?

If you'll post a comment to this post, I'll e-mail you and get your snail-mail address so I can get this box on it's way to you.   

But to everyone who isn't Deb S... funny thing about that "99" the other day.  It was my 99th post and I think that makes this my 100th post.  And I don't know about you but I think that means it's a cause to celebrate so I have another box. 

Actually, I have two more...

Oh please... like you're surprised!  It's been a year!  You should know how I operate by now!

The one on the top is Deb's.  The other two are going to [as yet to be determined].

But this time, I want you to tell me something about yourself. 

I stayed up really late last night finishing a book.  I started reading it on Thursday while hanging out waiting for my Mom and I can't leave a good book "hanging".  I'm a start-to-finish kind of reader... it's probably the OCD in me.  I've never been able to read a chapter or two before bed and make a book last for a week or so.  If I'm enjoying it, I have to read until I'm finished... no matter how late it gets.  Which probably wasn't a good thing years ago when I was reading all of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles... you try going to bed at 3:00 in the morning after finishing a book about vampires.  Yeah, Carrie... leaving all those lights on was really going to save you if a vampire came a-calling...

And if I really like an author, I have to read all their books, and I have to read them in order of publication ~ especially if there are recurring characters in the books.  It makes me crazy to read them out of order... though I admit it, it also makes me crazy when authors then repeat so much stuff from the prior books to "fill it in" for new readers. 

So if you're interested in one of the other two boxes, this is what I want to you to tell me in your comment ~ and, no, you won't be disqualified if you don't answer every question. 

• Can you read a little bit or do you have to keep reading until you're finished?
• If you like an author, do you then have to read all their books?
• In order or out-of-sequence?
• Favorite author or genre?

Oh... I'm almost caught up with reading all of Daniel Silva's books.  My Dad always loved spy novels and he got me hooked on them at an early age.  My Dad was also a start-to-finish, all the books in order kind of reader.  This apple didn't fall too far from the tree. 

And you have to post before Midnight on Monday, August 17th ~ meaning Monday night/Tuesday morning ~ Pacific Time. 

Toodles...

P.S.  I almost forgot... Like several of you, I've made the cracker recipes using oyster crackers and they're awesome.  I've also experimented with different seasonings and combinations, I even added some tabasco to the mix one time.  But the saltines with lots of red pepper flakes are my favorites.   

99.

I'm tired of triple-digits. 

Triple-digit temperatures.  Don't get me wrong, I love hot weather.  I love it when it is in the 90s.  I even like it when it is in the low 100s.  It gives me a "warm in my bones" kind of feeling. 

I was born in the desert and Dallas, Texas is the farthest north I've ever lived.  When I tell friends I'm heading somewhere cold, that's the first thing they say... "it's cold there."  Like I don't know that.  Okay, so I don't have a lot of experience with cold weather and I've said some pretty dumb things related to going to cold-weather places... something about my being able to drive ~ at night in unfamiliar territory ~ to a city whose airport was shut down due to a huge winter storm. 

Do you think I could put it down to my brain being a little fried by the heat?

I didn't think so either but you can't blame a girl for trying.   

Not much is going on in my neck of the palms and cacti.  Sewing?  A little bit... but I haven't finished anything so I don't have anything to show for it.  I did take Madeline and Lincoln to the printer so they can be photographed and get covers in the works. 

I have done a little bit of cooking... okay, one thing is technically cooking and the other isn't... kinda sorta. 

Picture a 2.5 gallon Ziploc bag filled with saltine crackers and "stuff".  That's what this "cooking" is.  I am SO addicted to these crackers it isn't funny.  Spicy Saltine Crackers... that's what they're called. 

Ingredients...

1 box saltine crackers ~ I like the Hint of Salt as the "regular" got too salty for this recipe

1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing Mix ~ the dry mix, not the dip mix, not the buttermilk version

1 1/4 cups canola oil

1 to 2 tsp. garlic powder ~ depending on how well you like garlic

2 to 3 Tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes ~ depending on how much you like red pepper flakes

Put the saltines in a big Ziploc bag ~ really big.  Mix the dry dressing mix, the canola oil, the garlic powder and red pepper flakes in a bowl and whisk until there are no lumps, clumps or bumps of mix.  Pour the oil mixture over the crackers and seal the bag.  Shake the bag.  Invert the bag.  Keep shaking and inverting the bag for a couple of minutes to evenly distribute the oil mixture over the crackers.  Put the bag down and let the crackers sit for a little while... but every time you walk  by the bag, shake and invert it a few times.  Do this for a couple of hours at least.  You can leave the crackers overnight or if you can't stand it anymore, you can start having a few crackers.  After at least four hours, take the crackers out of the bag and put them in a clean Ziploc bag or in an airtight container.  Store them like that until the crackers are all gone.  About two hours or so. 

Rosie loves these too ~ like that's a surprise. 

I also made Not Your Granny's Mac and Cheese from The Pioneer Woman.  Her pictures are WAY better so I won't even try to take a picture of it.  But if you like Mac and Cheese, you have to try this recipe.  Seriously... words cannot adequately convey how awesomely good this is.  It's good when you first make it but it also makes sinfully good leftovers.  This one is definitely a "keeper" and a "make-it-again-er".

I don't know if you've tried any of The Pioneer Woman's recipes but this is the fifth one I've made and they are all terrific.  I have already pre-ordered her cookbook ~ The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  

The last thing to tell you about is this ~ one year ago, on August 13, 2008, I became engaged to Typepad.  It took me a few months before I would make the engagement public, but I would still like to celebrate the official engagement. 

Happy Anniversary to me!

And since anniversaries need gifts, I decided to give one to [as yet to be determined].

This is it.  It's all packed.  It just needs a label.

 

I'm not telling you what's in it other than to say there are some fat quarters, some patterns and some stuff. 

Just leave a comment before Midnight on Friday ~ Pacific Time ~ and I might be able to send this box to your house.

Until then... 

Clipping...

I'll get to that in a moment...

Does anyone know what this is?

More specifically, do you know what it is called?  And do you know where I can get a couple of them?

This is a wooden whoosiewhatsit for winding embroidery floss, perle cotton or other yarn, floss, whatever.  I bought a couple of them at a shop a few years ago and I love them.  If nothing else, they're kind of cool looking.  The shopowner didn't know what they were called and since she had bought them from an overseas vendor at a show, she didn't know how/where to buy more. 

Of course, maybe she knew and didn't want to tell me... though I can't say I've ever met anyone in the quilting business like that... well, not me, personally... but I've heard...

Which reminds me, I found another one of my favorite "quilting" cartoons... 

 

Hmmm... wonder who JC knows?

Now about that clipping thing... Laurie of Minick and Simpson fame recently wrote about pressing while discussing some random thoughts on piecing.  (By the way, make sure to stop by and say Hello ~ and keep a good thought for Polly and Laurie's brother Jeff.) 

I think you know that I'm a big fan of pressing seams open for some things.  I do what I need to do depending on the situation.  So while finishing up a little quilt using Wiscasset, I realized that I was doing something that I never thought I would do... a little technique that I've come to love.  And I hadn't talked about it... until today. 

Hi, my name is Carrie and I clip seams.

Okay, it isn't really one of those "anonymous" kind of confessions but I sometimes think it should be.  As quilters, it seems as though we're always been told about rules... rules we have to follow or be cast out of the quilting community without hope of salvation.  Why?  Because they are the RULES.  R-U-L-E-S!  And they must not be broken.  Not ever.   

Covet thy neighbor's husband?  Okay... but just don't press those seams open!

So when I heard years ago of a few very brave souls actually clipping into the seam allowance to let a seam flip directions to lay flat... well, I was aghast!  In fact, I think it was the first time I had ever actually been "aghast"!  When I first heard it discussed in public, ladies started making the sign of the scissors and whispering prayers to stave off the "weakening of the seams" and the "destruction of the integrity of the fabric".  I even heard some ladies start making plans to store huge quantities of fabric lest the gods decide to rain boll weevils upon us to destroy our cotton! 

Okay, maybe it wasn't that serious but there were sure a lot of otherwise-normal ladies making it sound as though the consequences of such an action were that dire.

You may know that Jo Morton is a big  fan of clipping seams.  Bet you didn't know Jo was that much of a rebel!  She even writes about it in her books and patterns and refers to it as her "clipping trick".  I admit it... I was still skeptical.  And since I didn't have any issues with pressing seams open, it wasn't like I needed this little trick in my repetoire. 

So I stayed on the fence a bit ~ not exactly a supporter but not entirely dismissive.  It's kind of how I am about ghosts ~ I would really like to have a little more conclusive proof but I'm not going to discount the possibility just in case some "spirit" decides to convince me otherwise. 

But while harassing Jo at The Buggy Barn last year, she said something that made me think "well, DUH!".  The embarassing part is that I should have thought of it before.  I've made almost every wearable garment known to mankind ~ and a few that probably weren't wearable or previously known but we won't go there... it was the 1970s, 'nuff said.  I've done tailoring, heirloom sewing and learned advanced production techniques.  

I've made hundreds of garments with collars, finished necklines, sleeves, finished armholes and such.  And never once in all the times I clipped and graded those seams did I ever have something fray or come apart because I had clipped a seam.  With all the washing, wearing and movement, the seams get a lot of stress.   

Which is going to get more wear and tear on the seams ~ a sleeve or a quilt?    

That's what I thought.

So count me in... or clip me in.

All you have to to is use some really, really sharp scissors with a super sharp point and clip to just short of the seam.  Press the seams in the direction you need them to go. 

That's the back of a new Schnibble quilt made with Wiscasset ~ as soon as the quilt gets photographed next week, I'll show you the front of it.  I think it's going to be called Lincoln Logs.

I might have a picture of Madeline too ~ another new Schnibble.   

Something fun...

I'm sure many of you have already seen these wonderful pin toppers...

Yes, that's the top of a pin! 

You might have seen one here, on Sandi Henderson's ~ Portabellopixie's ~ gorgeous cupcake pincushion pattern.

That little cupcake on the right side of the cupcake?  That's Gigi's.  (And isn't this pincushion amazing!)

Do you remember the little strawberries in this picture?  (Picture shamelessly stolen from this nice lady ~ hey, she takes better pictures than I do anyway!) 

Those are Gigi's pins. 

They have been featured in a few magazines and rumor has it that they're going to make an appearance in a certain quilt magazine coming out in September.  And since you might want to get some of these for gifts at the holidays or whatever... I wanted to make sure you knew about them before word really gets out.

Me?  I ordered some last week.  And a few the week before that.  And... oh never mind, you already know I've been stockpiling these little beauties before telling you about it...  

But so you can see what sorts of pintoppers Gigi's made, here are a few more shamelessly swiped pictures...

There are more pintoppers ~ there are well over 100 different designs. 

Before you head over, there are a couple of things to tell you.  First, Gigi's Etsy shop is only open on Mondays.  It usually opens at 9:00 am Pacific Time and stays open for 24 hours. 

If you see something you like ~ and trust me, you will! ~ don't worry if it says that only one is available.  All the pintoppers are made to order.  So go ahead and order what you like ~ and if you want to order more than one of something, include that in a message to Gigi.  She'll take care of the rest.  It takes about two weeks to get your pintoppers but they're really worth the wait. 

So here you go... Gigi Minor's Pinks and Needles on Etsy.

Have fun... and don't say I didn't warn you. 

Junk drawer...

I've always wondered... should a "junk drawer" be neat and tidy, perfectly well-organized?  Or would that be wrong?  Shouldn't it be a hodge-podge mess of all the stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else?  I mean, if it's organized, then it's not really a "junk drawer", is it? 

And why am I asking this?  Probably because this is a junk-drawer kind of post.  It's this, that and other stuff.

I did get a little bit of sewing done today ~ I needed a break from what I've been working on so I spent a little bit of time playing with something that I knew would make me happy.  Since I knew I wouldn't get to finish anything, I just decided to get done what I could... so I pulled out my Aster Manor pieces...

A whole bunch of flying geese.  Cut some squares and a little over two hours later...

I know... I'm just a little OCD.  Okay, maybe a lot.  Don't worry... it isn't contagious. 

Another hour or so of pressing everything and this is where I am now.  And where I'll have to be for a little while because I have to get back to other things.  But this is a good stopping point.

I also cleaned off my desk... which had become piled with all sorts of stuff that really needed cleaning out or putting away.  Do you save recipes then wonder why?  I sure seem to do a lot of that. 

I also put away some goodies I brought home from work ~ my other work.  It seems that red and khaki/tan is going to be a more popular color trend this Fall than anybody would have guessed.

It isn't just quilters who are excited about those colors...

 

Hmmm... how do you think that will look with Rouenneries?

Thank goodness I didn't have to wait until October for the towels. 

Yes, I probably would have bought the towels even if they didn't match the fabric.  They're that pretty... but shhhh, don't tell my family.  I've been forbidden from bringing any new towels into the house.  And bowls.  Actually, the list isn't that specific.  All it says is "nothing new from Williams-Sonoma". 

Rosie's stew ~ since I was asked about it, I'm including the recipe for that.  Two things to tell you about it first.  Yes, it is edible for humans but it is pretty tasteless.  Bland.  But Rosie loves it.  She gets this instead of canned dog food, its' purpose is to make her kibble a little more palatable and interesting.  I usually use ground beef, but any ground meat with will, as will any vegetable ~ canned, frozen or fresh.  Second thing, she gets 1 to 2 Tbsp. of it with her kibble. 

Rosie’s Stew

1 to 1 ½ lbs. ground beef

2 to 3 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning mix

2 to 3 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 – 28 oz. can tomato puree or crushed tomatoes

1 – 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 – 16 oz. bag frozen mixed chopped vegetables ~ corn, carrots, green beans, spinach, etc.

2 c. rice, uncooked

 

In a really huge stockpot, bring about 8 cups of water to boil.  When the water is boiling, start dropping in small pieces of the ground beef.  Then add the Italian Seasoning and garlic powder.  Break up pieces of ground beef as much as possible.  Add tomatoes, frozen vegetables and rice and bring the mixture back to a boil.  Turn heat to low and cover.  Simmer about 25 to 30 minutes until rice is soft and cooked.  Turn off heat and put top askew so that stew cools.  It is okay if all or most of the moisture is absorbed.  When the “stew” has cooled, transfer to 4 cup, freezer-safe storage containers.  Store the containers in the freezer for up to three months.  For best results, let the stew thaw at room temperature instead of in the refrigerator.  Store the container in the refrigerator.

 

And that's it for now. 

I'm crossing my fingers ~ Sweet Tea covers should be ready on Tuesday. 

Later...