Another trip around the sun

I had a very nice birthday yesterday although I did nothing very special.  We went out for groceries quite early, and then I got busy making a blueberry pie.  Paul was picking berries as I was working on it, but we still have plenty left.  He thinks we'll get another quart or so tomorrow.  What neighbor will I "gift" them to?  We've already given some away.  

I used the recipe for Triple Berry Pie that's available at Sally's Baking Addiction, my go-to site for all things baking.   I wish I'd put in a little more corn starch because the all-blueberry filling was still a bit runny, even though I didn't remove the pie from the oven until it reached the 200 degree temperature in the recipe.  But it was delicious!  Not too sweet with a nice crust, albeit made from a box.

We had planned to go to the Asian Gourmet restaurant with Chris for dinner, but in the afternoon we had off and on torrential rain.  The city was preparing sandbags for businesses to use in case Main Street flooded (it didn't), and, since the restaurant is right downtown, we decided to postpone our dinner to tonight.  That was OK with me as we had leftover curry chicken salad and, of course, the pie with some vanilla gelato on top.

I did a little reading and some more quilting on the Christmas round robin quilt, which I will continue with today.  I talked with Mom and enjoyed lots of emails, text messages, and Facebook well wishes throughout the day.  Just a nice way to greet age 76!

75 Feels Fine

 

I had a great birthday on Monday!  I had invited about 20 old friends and neighbors for an afternoon "tea."  Two batches of cupcakes, one gluten/dairy free, were decorated and were accompanied by cookies, a cheese board, fruit, punch, and iced tea.  

I had asked for "no gifts," but Donna brought her famous cheese dip and a funny button for me to wear.  Carol, from two doors down, brought the sweetest little bouquet from her garden.  I see her out there working all the time while I do practically nothing outside.  It is obvious that her hard work pays off - and I should do more!

Bill wrote a funny poem which he read to those assembled, and he also worked hard at getting people who didn't know each other to talk.  "Tell me how you and Marianne met," he asked, and everyone chimed in with a different story.  Karen arrived with another bouquet which is still looking very nice on our dining room table.  Pam's bouquet is on the mantle.  How lucky am I!?!

Earlier in the day, I had phone calls from Paul's sister Pat, my mom, and my sister Jenny.  During the party, Marty, husband of our dear friend Yve who passed away in 2018, called as he always does.  Birthdays are a time to reconnect as well as a time to look forward.  As I told my brother Rob, who  celebrated his 66th birthday four days before, "75 feels fine."  I have lots of things left to do, plenty of books to read, and quilts to make.  

A super day

My birthday always sneaks up on me, although I do look forward to it every year.  Yesterday, I slept late (til 6 am!), dilly dallied around, opened a bunch of cards and packages.  I love the fat quarters I received from my online quilting group - purple batiks!

These should go well with the swap blocks I'll be receiving by the end of September.  Everyone participating in the swap is making 6" blocks of their choice in the color(s) of the receiver's choice.  So I asked for purples on the cream background everyone will be using.  I thought I might use plain squares in between the pieced blocks in order to make the resulting quilt a little bigger.  We'll see.

I received some wonderful gifts also.  Mom and Jenny sent things they picked up at the Rocky Mountain Quit Museum gift shop, including two charm packs that I'll have fun using.  Mom sent an intriguing scarf that I had to ask her how to tie.  It turns out that it's a flowy vest to dress up a plain outfit... for whenever I need something dressy... after COVID?

Paul, who always knows what I like, gave me a gift certificate to A Quilters Garden, knowing I would use it immediately.  After our usual morning walk, I hit the road for my annual birthday spree.  Paula carefully tackled my stack of purchases - maybe 25 yards' worth of backgrounds, sashings, and fun fabrics, along with a quilt batt - and applied the birthday discount to those not already on sale at 1/3 off.  It pays to get older there where my discount this year was 36% (half my age)!

Once home, I sorted out the reds that I like to prewash and put away most of the rest before working on a few quilt blocks for the "Sisters Quilt Along."  It's a block of the month program that features a 12" and a similar 6" block each month.  I have only been working on my blocks for a couple of weeks, so I'm playing catch up, which is fine with me.  I really like quilts with different sized blocks, and these are a bit challenging.  Great for getting my mind off the rather upsetting time we are living in.

Paul got Chinese take out for dinner, Chris joined us, and it was a great end to a perfect birthday for this quilter.

Honeycomb top almost finished

It's been really hot and humid lately so I've either been reading in front of the fan or sewing with the AC on.  The honeycomb quilt top is almost finished.  It just needs a thin border around the piano keys border, and then I'll set it aside for a while.  I have the binding all ready to go whenever I get around to quilting it.  The size is about 55" x 60", so a nice throw.  I like the way it turned out.

Now there are two smaller quilts waiting to be quilted, a large quilt to be bound, and two table runners to be bound.  But I want to get busy and make a tote bag for Diane who will be retiring from her job at the historical society at the end of the month.  She has been a good "boss" to us volunteers.

Meanwhile, my birthday came and went, and it was a nice day.  I opened all the fat quarters from my international swap group, and put them aside with some other blues and beiges for a future quilt.  I'm thinking of Jen Kingwell's "Long Time Gone," but we'll wait and see!

My sister Jenny gave me an adorable soft sculpture.  I hope you can see the three batik stuffed birds sitting on a real branch.

The table cloth sort of hides it.  But I love it and plan to take it to my September guild meeting for show and tell.  I will move it around the house until I settle on a spot.

Turning 70

Yesterday was my birthday and, like Paul and so many friends from high school and beyond, I turned 70.  It seems like just yesterday I was turning 21.  How did the time fly so fast?  I've had plenty of ups and downs, done plenty of interesting and dumb things, and seen a lot of places.  I started yesterday opening up some cards and lovely gifts from Paul, my mom, my sister Jenny, and various family members.

One gift I look forward to every year is a package of fat quarters - quilting fabric - from the online friendship swap group I belong to.  The ladies live in Australia, Canada, England, and all over the US.  We state our preferences and gather others' fat quarters late in December, and then mail them to one willing person who sends them out all year as our birthdays arrive.  This year I must have asked for reds, purples, and black/white prints - it's been so long that I'd forgotten - and I love what came!

Interestingly enough, around mid-day, after our Tuesday morning walk in the town forest, a lovely bouquet arrived from Mom and Jenny.  It contained deep purple gladiolas and carnations, red roses and alstroemeria, and white baby's breath.   Beautiful!

The evening was capped with dinner at the Royal Orchid Thai Restaurant with Paul and son Chris. The crab Rangoon (which really contains crab meat), chicken and basil stir fry, and fried banana with coconut ice cream were just delicious.   Chris gave me a gift certificate to Joann Fabrics which, as Paul says, I visit every Sunday.  I just happen to need some muslin...

And the fun continues this morning when I meet Cindy for breakfast at the Wayside, a Central Vermont landmark and featured in the book Road Food.  I can almost smell the French toast and bacon now.

Birthday fun

I belong to an online group in which we swap fat quarters on our birthdays.  I received a package of FQs from Althea in Wyoming a few weeks ago, and I was happy to open it yesterday.  I had requested neutrals or shirtings, and the variety is just wonderful.  I will enjoy using them all for quilts projects, including cotton and wool applique backgrounds.

It was a fun day.  I made an easy coconut cake which turned out delicious:

  1.  Bake a white cake in the 13" x 9" pan.

  2.  When warm, poke holes in the cake with a fork.  Spread coconut cream (the kind you find in the bar section of the grocery store for pina coladas) over the top.

  3.  When cool, frost the cake with Cool Whip (I suppose whipped cream would be fine, too, although one of my guests has lactose issues).

  4.  Sprinkle sweetened shredded coconut over all.

  5.  Store in refrigerator.

Cindy, Sandy, and Chris joined Paul and me for a cookout later in the day.   There were some rumbles of thunder before they arrived, but the sky cleared right as Paul was about to go grill the burgers.   I made a Caprese salad and coleslaw (with grated apple and Craisins), Sandy brought her own delicious tabouli, and Cindy brought chips.  Delish!  and good company to boot.  Everyone was willing to take some cake home, too, which left us with a manageable amount.

I spent quite a bit of the day quilting my Be My Neighbor quilt and hope to put the two quilted sections together late today or tomorrow.   Quite a nice birthday!