LaVieEnRosie

Merry Merry! Happy Happy!

If I had managed to get any Christmas cards sent, this is what I was sending this year.  

I have the dog.  And I have a Volkswagen.  As for the tree, I did have to bring a rather large tree home a few weeks ago and cords were involved.  Bungee cords - they were to keep the trunk from bouncing up and down onto the approximately two-feet of box still sticking out the trunk.  But it worked and I got the tree home, and that's all that matters, right?

Are you all ready for Christmas?  Stockings hung?  Packages wrapped?  Christmas cards sent?  (Show off.)  

I'm as ready as I'm going to be, which sort of makes me think that Christmas is a lot like Quilt Market.  Even though I've had months to plan, get organized and get  busy... I'm still rushing last minute to finish twenty-seven things I could easily have had done weeks ago.  It seems like I'm spending a fair amount of time waiting for UPS and FedEx, and if you've been to a mall or shopping in the past few days, then you've essentially been to Sample Spree.  And after all the preparation, build-up and running around, it's all over in a flash.  Until next time.  

So what's been going on here?

This seems to be what I've done the most of this past week or so.  Doing the dishes after making a batch of [fill in the blank].   I've been baking and that always seems to mean that I've got a sink full of dishes either waiting to be washed or drying.  When you're baking one batch of cookies right after another, doing the dishes by hand is definitely the fastest and the easiest way to go.  And even though I have an extra bowl for the mixer, I'm going to have to wash it anyway so I always seem to wind up using just the one.  

With my brother coming for Christmas and my not "working" elsewhere this year, my Mom decided that I should be able to get some cookies and quick breads made.  So I baked Chocolate Chip Cookies using the recipe on the bag and Oatmeal Cookies using the recipe from the cannister.  They're not fancy but they always seem to wind up being the recipes I like best.  I made Hermits using the recipe from Sandi in Florida, and I baked Orange Date Nut Bread using a recipe my Mom got from my grandmother years ago.  It's my brother's favorite.  I also made Cranberry Banana Bread.  I also baked some terrific cookies using a recipe from Midwest Living magazine -- Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies.  

This is Midwest Living's picture -- my cookies are in the freezer right now.   

I've also been experimenting with a Meyer Lemon recipe... with much better results than some folks.  

I made Limoncello using Giada's recipe.  And instead of throwing away the rinds, I did what one reviewer suggested and I tossed them with sugar to make candied lemon peel.  I'll let you know how that turned when they're dry. 

With the baking and fermenting out of the way, I've hung Christmas lights outside -- two strings of icicle lights on the brick wall.  The neighbors were a little shocked too.  Of course, it also meant a trip to the hardware store when the outdoor extension cord didn't work, and everything else I had that worked was too short.  The upside is that I got this funny pen with a light bulb at the end that lights up and flickers when you bounce it on the table.  I also managed to get the tree up this year.  Poinsettias?  Check.  Real and faux.  Wreaths?  Check.

My Mom's bathroom is all finished except for the decorating -- she thinks she wants some black & white photographs for the walls.  I think that will have to wait until after Christmas.  The work went really well though just about the point where I was ready to pack my Mom and Rosie in the car and go someplace -- anyplace! -- because I couldn't stand the noise of the jackhammer any longer... it stopped.  And it was over.  The same goes for the craziness of having just one bathroom.  As you can probably guess, the work took a week longer than expected.  Seriously, we're going to have to talk about what "two weeks" means in contractor-speak.  And of course, the cost was a skosh more than anticipated.  But my Mom is happy so that's all that matters.    

As for stitching time... I haven't gotten any.  But lucky me, somebody else did it for me.  I've been enjoying a sweet redwork stitchery this year -- Christmas Treasures designed by Rosalie Quinlan.

If you're wondering if I stitched this... the answer is "no".  Not because I didn't want to.  And not because I couldn't do it... though actually, I couldn't do it because when I showed the pre-printed linen to a dear, sweet friend for her approval, she ripped it from my hands and volunteered to stitch it for me.  And she wouldn't give it back no matter how many times I asked, and no matter how many tears I shed.  

(Yes, that's my story.  And yes, I'm sticking to it.)

Okay.  Because I want to stay on "the big guy from the North's" good side, I'll concede that subconsciously, it is within the realm of possibility that I showed it to her in the hope that she might offer to stitch it for me.  I didn't think about it at the time... but I have to admit that there is no doubt whatsoever that her stitching it means that I get to enjoy this lovely redwork this Christmas instead of Christmas 2017.  And really, she did a much nicer job on it than I probably would have.  That's a given.  

Just so you know, I saw this on Rosalie's blog in August and ordered it from Under the Mulberry Tree.  The design is printed on white linen and it comes with a skein of Lecien Cosmo embroidery floss.  

It goes without saying that I hope you and yours have a very safe, happy, joyous holiday -- a very Merry Christmas.  

 

Next week?  I'm really looking forward to a long winter's nap.  

Merry Christmas to all!

 

 

 

 

Jackhammers and other things...

It seems the only "free time" I've had the past few weeks has been in the middle of the night.  

Life here is fine but its been a bit jumbled.  And this week doesn't look to be much better since a jackhammer will be coming into my life.  Don't worry!  I don't have to operate it.  I am going to have to hear it though as it will be in the house... tearing up a bathroom floor.  

I meant to be back last weekend -- the one right after Thanksgiving -- as I wanted to tell you about my turkey experiment.  Tyler Florence, the very cute chef who is now a regular contributor to House Beautiful magazine, had a recipe for a split-breast turkey in the November issue.  It looked interesting and since we were making a small-ish, 12.6 lb. turkey, I decided to give it a whirl.  Since I hadn't boned a whole chicken in... okay, forever, I wasn't exactly sure how difficult it would be to remove the backbone and split the breastbone.  With a good pair of kitchen shears and a big chef's knife, it was actually very easy.  

The rest is just as simple -- whole heads of garlic, bunches of fresh sage, thyme and rosemary, butter and/or olive oil, salt and pepper.  And a turkey, of course.  

Here is the recipe -- Tyler Florence's Split-Roast Turkey Buried in Herbs 

I had already started removing herbs when it occurred to me to take a picture.  Several things about making the turkey this way surprised me.  First - my turkey was roasted and at the proper temperature in less than the 1 hour, 15 minutes recommended cooking time.  And like Martha's Perfect Roast Chicken, it smelled amazing within 5 minutes of being in the oven.  Yes, I'm sure it was the garlic.  Second - the flavor was terrific, even better than expected or hoped for.  And the turkey was very moist.  I had wondered if it might dry out a bit more roasting it this way but it didn't, and the leftovers were still moist the next day.  Third - I loved the extra space in the oven!  Since the turkey didn't rise above the top edge of the roasting pan, I was able to put other dishes on the oven rack above the turkey with space to spare.  That meant only having to use one oven.  Fourth - I wondered whether all the garlic would overpower the pan drippings but that wasn't a problem either.  The flavor was very subtle, to the point that I didn't really notice it when the drippings were added to the gravy.  

Just so you know, I didn't make Tyler's gravy recipe.  Williams-Sonoma Turkey Gravy is the house gravy here.  It's easy.  It's fast.  And it's really, really good.  It just needs a bit of pan drippings.  

The one challenge was carving the two halves.  I wasn't sure where to start but then decided to remove the wing and thigh, then the drumstick.  I removed the entire breast as one piece and then cut it crosswise ala Ina/Barefoot Contessa to make thick slices instead of long thin ones.  It was so good, I'm going to make this again at Christmas.  

In true Thanksgiving weekend tradition, I did some shopping.  Online, of course.  While out shopping a few weeks ago, I bought a beautiful candle by Simpatico-Home and KHall Designs.  The candles have amazingly good scents and come in old-fashioned hobnail glasses that can be re-used and re-cycled.  Being a curious sort of girl, I wanted to see what other scents might be availble so I went online and found the company website.  The candles are also available at Anthropologie.

This is the Christmas scent -- No. 29 Reindeer.  The red of the real glass is so much prettier up close and in person.  And it smells really, really good.  When the candle is gone, I think that glass is going to wind up in my sewing room...  

And, yes, the other thing I got to do over the Thanksgiving was some sewing.  I made this -- Lori Smith - From My Heart to Your Hands -- Quaint Quilts #1. 

Some sweet and generous friends gifted me with a beautiful kit for this quilt -- titled Beth's Medallion -- last year and it has been sitting on my sewing table taunting me ever since.  I was in the mood to make something small, and something different, so I prepped my fabrics and started cutting.  Then I started rooting through my fat quarter and scraps because well... I just had to make a few tiny changes to the kit.  Less rust, more red.  And some green.  And more black.  And really... two background fabrics?  That just isn't "me", not when I have so many beautiful background fabrics that I could add.  I also changed the direction of a couple of the rows of half-triangle squares.  

I'm thinking making all the changes says more about me than anything else.  I'm hoping my friends won't mind.  I really did love the kit and all the leftover pieces are going to be part of the back.    

I also made some progress on the stars for the Scrappy Stars Block of the Week I was "supposed" to be making this past summer.

Is it just me, or do those neat little stacks of trimmed half-triangle squares look a little scary?  These pieces are now in finished stars, meaning that I only need 12 more stars and I can finish my quilt top.  

Once the quilt kit was out of the way, the next thing on the "to do" stack were some Primitive Gatherings' wool pincushion kits.  

As with the quilt, each little pincushion has some little thing that I decided to do differently.  Seriously.  I think it's a psychological issue.  

But lest you think every one of my little projects has gone well... I wish.  I get these visions of Martha-like invincibility, only to come crashing back to earth.  For example... while on a recent trip to The Container Store ~ one of the most fun places to shop at Christmas ~ I found these interesting little "candy wrappers".

They are made of thick wool felt and measure about 5" wide x 6" long.  The little diamond cut-outs are what let the ends be gathered tightly.  Pretty cute, right?

This shouldn't be too hard to reproduce... right?  Wrong.  At least it wasn't that easy for me.  Regular felt from Michael's or JoAnn's was too thin.  Not a problem, I can fuse two layers together!  That should work... and it did.  But cutting those diamonds was a little trickier than I would have thought, especially for someone who didn't have a super-sharp Exacto-like blade.  After about a dozen prototypes that looked like they had been on the wrong end of a weed-whacker, I decided that there was a reason why Twinkle Brands could sell three of these for $13.00.  They were worth it.  And the felt was thicker.  

But they still needed a little "something".

Before I forget, I wish I could take credit for the genius "overnight oatmeal" recipe but it isn't mine.  I first read about it here -- Overnight Oatmeal by The Bitten Word.  I think I was looking for the recipe for the Barefoot Contessa's crock pot oatmeal -- good, but not what I want to have for breakfast on a daily basis.  A few months ago, while trying to double-check the amounts, I looked online for the recipe and found this variation -- Overnight Steel Cut Oats by Eggs on Sunday.  

In fact, I should put out the can of oatmeal so I remember to make it tonight.  Tomorrow morning will be busy and with that jackhammer in the house, I'm pretty sure that we'll be getting breakfast on-the-fly this week.  

What?  You're wondering what the jackhammer is for?  My Mom's bathroom is getting a remodel.  Because she's not quite as spry as she used to be, getting into the bathtub has become increasingly difficult so I've wanted to have it torn out and replaced with a walk-in shower.  But trying to find the time to call a contractor, make plans, and then schedule the work has been a challenge.  That's when the Gods decided to put it on the schedule for me.  The Sunday after Thanksgiving, my Mom woke to find water on the floor of her bathroom, the result of a leaky seal in the pipe going into the toilet.  Since the toilet is an old wall-mounted model, I knew that if it needed to be replaced, I would have it replaced with a floor-mounted model.  That means digging up the floor - the foundation - to run a new drain line.  So as long as we were tearing up the floor anyway... it was time to do everything else.  So this past week has meant coordinating with the contractor and his people, then making trips to go choose paint colors, fixtures and lights.

And did I mention that my Mom was in the hospital all week getting a video EEG?  It's a strange world when you're actually hoping someone will have a seizure.  Lucky Mom.  She spent the whole week with 21 electrodes/whatevers stuck to her head and a video-camera trained on her 24/7.  There was also a sleep-deprivation component to the test so starting at Noon on Wednesday, my Mom wasn't allowed to sleep until 4:00 am on Thursday morning.  Because I'm trying to be a good daughter -- and maybe finesse my way onto that "Nice" list somebody is keeping -- I hung out at the hospital until after 1:00 am.  Did my Mom cooperate with a seizure?  Not until Friday afternoon.  A small one, but it was enough to make the doctors happy.  

As for Rosie, she's been a sweetheart through all the disruptions.  She's enjoying the attention from the contractors and she's ecstatic that my Mom came home today.  

I'm hoping this week will be better -- more quiet and a little less hectic -- but I doubt that is going to happen.  My Mom's got appointments and then there is that jackhammer.  

It's going to be a noisy week.