Thanksgiving

 Good morning!  Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.   We had a quiet day with a nice meal, some TV (a bit of the Macy's parade and the National Dog Show), and one walk around the neighborhood.  Today I hope we'll get out for our usual three turns around the neighborhood because I feel the need to walk off a little of what we ate.  I got out a favorite table runner yesterday, made of fragments from a Civil War "layer cake."

My Pilgrim candles remind me of the candles my Dad used to buy me when I was small.  I don't plan to burn them because I remember being so upset at losing their heads way back then!  I'll carefully put them back in the box for next year.  Today I hope to meet up with Samantha to exchange some leftover turkey for a big squash, one of three in the garage.  Maybe I'll work on one of them this weekend.  Today I'll be using leftover squash and mashed potatoes to make a lighter soup for dinner with some cornbread.  

The apple kuchen I made using Burton's recipe turned out really good and not too heavy.  I sent Chris home with some, and we still have plenty for a few more meals.  It would be really good with a dollop of ice cream but plain was good, too.  I love anything with almond flavoring.

I just printed out the first clue of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt, so that's what I'll be dipping into today.  Should be fun!

Easy dinner and great bread

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!  I hope your holiday is a fun one,  how ever you celebrate.  We'll be here with the three of us as was the case last year.  The guys are still waxing poetic about the filet mignon I made then, but we're having ham this time.  I couldn't find a turkey breast, and the turkeys were way too big.  Luckily, Samantha is bringing us some leftovers from the big turkey she got.  In the past, we had T'giving dinner with her and Vicki, when she actually cooked the turkey at her house and brought it here.  What a great friend!  She's even willing to take one of the three gigantic squashes Chris gave me.

In preparation for tomorrow's blow out, this week's dinners have been very easy and low cal.   Some have been vegetarian, and here's one that I really like - Greek nachos for two:

Dressing:  mix 1/3 c. hummus with 2 T. olive oil, 1 T. lemon juice, and a 1/8 t. pepper (the New York Times recipe said this served six, but they must have been small eaters).

Put a layer of pita chips (my new favorite) on two dinner plates.  Top each with chopped Romaine lettuce, chopped vegetables (cucumber, tomatoes, green peppers, whatever appeals), sliced olives, and finish with crumbled feta cheese.

Drizzle hummus dressing over all, and enjoy.  Perhaps offer more chips and hummus on the side.

Right now, I'm making 100% whole wheat bread using a recipe from King Arthur Flour in my bread machine.  I have tried a lot of recipes before recently finding one that really works.  It includes flax seed and a good amount of maple syrup; it rises well, is soft, and makes great toast and sandwiches.  I use the dough setting on the machine, which lets me take it out, shape and rise it again, and then bake it in the oven.   It may seem odd to do it that way, but the machine does a thorough job of heavy kneading for my older hands and allows the first rise to be in a warmer spot than my cool kitchen offers.

Later today, I'll make some winter squash for tomorrow, but mostly I'll be sewing today - perfect!

Heading to California!

 

I woke up early this morning, which seems to be my pattern lately, to find that another quilt had sold on my etsy shop.  What a great surprise!  I love this cheerful, fresh-looking quilt with blocks from a swap and a border adapted from a pattern by Deb Tucker.  The grass green fabric makes it especially bright.

I took this picture by hanging the quilt over the railing of my neighbor's deck.  She went to Florida from October to April, so on good days, I would use that spot to take pictures of quilts that are too big for Paul to hold up by himself.  That neighbor passed away last year and new people have moved in, but they won't mind if I use their deck now and then.   In fact, Dave will probably help Paul hold it up if I ask.  During this COVID crisis, we have become closer as we check in most days in our driveways or the backyard.

Paul and I went to the post office to mail the first of our holiday packages - four to the Netherlands and one to Wisconsin - yesterday.  I wasn't planning on going there again today, but guess I will now.  It is fun and gratifying to have something sell, but also a little bittersweet to see one of my projects leave the safety of my home.

Organized chaos

My sewing room is also our guest room, but we haven't had any house guests since Paul's brother was here for a long weekend last fall.  If guests do come, I will happily clean the nooks and crannies of the room.  I use the double bed as a design wall and a place to organize and sort fabrics for various projects.  Under the bed are tubs for batting scraps, linens (for the bed), and knitting supplies as well as dowels and curtain rods for hanging quilts. 

 Right now, the top of the bed is strewn with boxes and piles of stuff in preparation for Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery quilt extravaganza.  (Sorry the photo is so dark  - it's November)  This year's quilt, beginning on Black Friday, is called Grassy Creek.   I'm making my quilt in different colors than she suggests - cranberry, medium blue, bright green, and pink - but I am using her neutrals and grays.  I have made a little chart and marked the bags with my various fabrics so I don't get too confused about those substitutions.  

My biggest problem with mystery quilts is not knowing how the colors will "play" together.  But I do like the intensity of this particular mystery series.  It gets my mind off the constant nattering on TV and elsewhere about what we should be doing for "the holidays."  

Meanwhile, I am pecking away at the holiday list in my own fashion.  Last week I started knitting some slippers for my sister Jenny.  I got to a slightly difficult section requiring double-pointed needles, but I could see immediately that stitches would slip off too easily.  I have been avoiding trying the "magic loop" method with circular needles but could see that this was really the time to use it.  With trepidation, I tried it Sunday... and it worked!  I'm not going to start using the magic loop to make socks or anything else right away, but I now have a little more confidence in my ability to do it.  

The first slipper took 3 days, and I should finish the second one today after starting it yesterday.  Will try to take a photo when I have them stitched up.  I think I should try to get some suede to sew onto the bottoms to help make them non-slip.   Uh oh - I feel another trip to Joann's coming on.  :-)

Holiday preparations

I have all the gifts I'm planning to mail and some for in-person giving spread out on a card table in the basement.  There's no room to wrap them, but I'll shuffle over the weekend and get them ready to go.  I worry that the ones for the Netherlands will get hung up somewhere, so I like to get them out early.  Once the packages are mailed, I can begin to enjoy the holidays.

Tomorrow I'll be going over to Pauline and Bob's new condo in Burlington (45 min. west of us) to help Pauline clean and settle in before the move over the weekend.   Since it is an older place (30+ years?), they have had to put in new flooring, paint, re-do bathrooms and kitchen, and put up some walls in the basement.  So I imagine it's pretty dusty even with the contractor promising to clean after his work was done.  But it should be fun to see it finished - we saw it mid-construction two months ago.  

As a house-warming gift, I made an insulated table runner out of Christmas tumblers.  They love Christmas, and we usually get together for lunch or dinner before the holidays get going.  This year, we'll probably all do something a little less group-oriented since cases of the virus are growing again.

I have had my fill of tumblers.  I started out the year thinking I'd make holiday tumblers my "leaders and enders" like Bonnie Hunter suggests.  I found I really hated doing that.  The pieces were always in the way.  I like to concentrate on one thing at a time.  So I made another table runner, some Christmas stockings to sell, and some mug rugs for neighbors this summer, all using tumblers,  And now I am soooo finished!!  Next year I'm planning to make some nine- and four-patches in holiday fabrics now and then for use in various projects.

I hope to stop at Trader Joe's before I go to Pauline's.  I love browsing there, but the last time I went (pre-COVID), it was too busy to really enjoy it.  I even have a list of things to look for this time.

Knitting up a storm

I'm glad to have the election resolved to my liking.  No more looking at retirement communities in New Brunswick or wondering if I should get my Dutch citizenship back (it was relinquished when I became a US citizen at age 9).  I realize the days and months ahead will probably be tense, but I hope, with calmer leadership, it will all turn out OK in the end.   All Paul's and my time spent holding signs at downtown honk 'n' waves has been worth it.

I made two Christmas mug rugs yesterday, but mostly I spent my time knitting and checking in with the TV during the day and evening. I'm almost finished knitting the orange/yellow scarf because I'm almost at the end of the yarn.  Next will be something made from a blue/green "cupcake" I got at the same time.  I'm thinking about a shawl and have a pattern, but will I be able to stand working on circular needles?  We'll see!  

I also downloaded a pattern to make a heart and a star.  I'll give each a try and see if I like them enough to make some ornaments for the twig tree I have sitting in a sap bucket in the driveway.  Our birch tree out front sheds big branches regularly, and as I've picked them up, I stuck the larger ones into the bucket.  I might buy some plastic icicles at the dollar store to hang on it for the holidays.  Last year's bittersweet didn't stay intact long, so I won't go and collect any this year.  My red outdoor bow is still in good shape.  I hate to rush the holidays, but I'm trying not to eat between meals.  This is keeping my hands busy.  😉

Compost on my mind

Our retired life is rather simple, especially since we've been mostly sheltering at home since early March.  We live in a quiet, semi-rural area and keep busy with our various projects.  For me that means lots of quilting, reading, cooking, and knitting.  But for over two months now, I've been dealing with an annoying problem that just doesn't seem to resolve itself.  And it all involves compost.  I have had a compost bin most of my adult life.  I chucked weeds and clippings in with food scraps and, eventually, spread it on my garden.  Even at the B&B, we had a large plastic bin out back which served us well.  When we moved to a condo, we gave it to our next door neighbor, an avid gardener.  

Our home looks like a house but is attached to the one next door at the garage, so our "units" are shaped like an "L"  The backyard is common land great for neighborhood gatherings, including Friday afternoon croquet games and social time in summer.  This year we even had a movie night outside.  But that leaves no room for a compost pile or bin.  The lawn care guys are willing to pick up branches and clippings from bushes I prune.   But what about food scraps?    We generate quite a few now that we are trying to eat more vegetables and fruits.  I checked into a "green cone" which you bury into the ground with only a small bit sticking up, but they need lots of sun to work well.   Any garden spot next to the house is too small or too shady.

I hate to use the garbage disposal and dump something that could feed the earth into the sewer system.  Several years ago I got a 5 gallon bucket with a tight fitting lid and have been taking my compost about once a month to one of two sites in town.  Their hours are limited, prices vary, and it is a real drag to drive with a smelly bucket in summer or to wash it out in winter.  

At the end of August, feeling my age, I decided to treat us to home pick up.  One company charges $13.99 every two weeks.  Another charges $9.99 a month for bi-weekly pickup.   Over Labor Day weekend, I arranged to go with the latter.  I paid for September and waited for an introductory email.  Nothing.  So I sent an email with a list of questions (e.g., "what day will you pick up?").  I got an answer... eventually.  After three weeks, a bucket was delivered.  Then an email came, telling me that pick ups were delayed due to illness.  Then it was a funeral.  Then it was mechanical failures.  Then a personnel shortage.  Somewhere along the line, another empty bucket was delivered, but nothing has been picked up.   

I cancelled my automatic payment over a month ago and have officially quit the service twice.  But earlier this week I agreed to give them just one more chance after a sad email message from the company.   It's been two days since the last email promising pick up, and two heavy, full buckets of raw compost are still waiting.  I've lost track of the times in the past six weeks that I've taken them to the end of the driveway.  Today I start a new bucket, using my old one.   I'll try not to look at those other buckets and hope they won't be there next spring.

Blocks of the month

 Yesterday was a day to knuckle down and get some blocks of the month for November out of the way.  I want to get busy quilting a little scrap quilt before I start Bonnie Hunter's Grassy Creek Mystery at the end of the month.  

First up were the Sisters blocks for November.  I'm using blue scraps and various cream fabrics for these blocks,  There's a 12" and a 6" block which are similar each month, and now there is just one month to go before it will be time to put them all together.  I have a nice cream fabric with blue writing for setting the blocks.

Then I made some Rainbow Scrappy Challenge blocks.  This month's "assignment" was to use lighter neutrals or miscellaneous fabrics, but I couldn't help making one of a darker fabric (December's assignment).  I used scraps from a box I have marked "Wild Patterns," because everything in the box is multi-colored.  These are three of my favorite fabrics.   It's nice to put them together in a quilt.

For my RSC 20-21, I'm using gray scraps for the backgrounds and making some "Pop Star" blocks each month.  I'm making little blocks to tuck in here and there out of the little triangles I cut off while making the star blocks.

I keep knitting on the sampler scarf and enjoying the process while watching TV now and then.  I found a website that offers instructions for easy knitting stitches that I am using so much that I went ahead and ordered the book.  As usual, I have no one to give this scarf to, so it will go to the Salvation Army when done.  That's OK with me.  A former neighbor used to make them hundreds of mittens each year and became known as The Mitten Lady.  I don't think that will happen to me - two or three scarves a year will most likely be my output.  I do have another Lion brand Cupcake in greens and blues that will probably be used for a shawl soon.

"Winter" = mystery quilt time

A beautiful cardinal just landed on the bird feeder by our dining room window, but it took off before I could take a photo.  We woke up to snow yesterday and more fell overnight.  With winter officially here, we filled the bird feeders and hoped the bears are heading for hibernation.   I did see a cat roaming around under the feeder yesterday, but it will probably be foiled soon as the snow gets deeper.  We love to watch the birds who seem to have lunch at the same time we do.

I didn't sew much yesterday, but I did think a lot about joining Bonnie Hunter's 2020 mystery,  Grassy Creek.  Bonnie is one of the busiest quilters on the planet and always designs a complex quilt with weekly clues beginning on Black Friday.  Some years I join in and some I don't, but it is an intense experience when I do.  She'll have participants making thousands of tiny blocks that somehow fit together amazingly.  She encourages scrappy looks and shopping one's stash which I will try to do.  

This year's mystery calls for 5 yards of gray fabric (solids and prints), which I don't have.  So of course, I ordered a bundle.   I am not planning to go with all of Bonnie's colors; instead I'll use some combination of bright/dark green, red-purple, blue (light? bright?), and pink (or maybe aqua).  Today I'll rummage around in my stash to see what I have on hand.  I do have plenty of muslin, which I'll use for the neutrals.  I need to go to A Quilter's Garden on Thursday to deliver a quilt top to Marie for long arming, so I'll see what I can find in the other colors to fill in then.  I'll have to find something to keep all the fabric in and set aside some baggies for the components, too.  All in due time.

Yesterday I baked a loaf of bread, edited a story Paul wrote, worked on a crossword puzzle, took a walk, and finished a cozy mystery et in Australia - Miss Spelled, by Morgana Best.  I'd call it a "throw away," since it is quickly forgotten.  It is the first in a series, but I probably won't be reading more.  What I am reading now is the second in a series about a young writer who has a lot on his plate - a girlfriend trying to pass the bar exam, an autistic brother, and a libel lawsuit against him.  The Shadows We Hide, by Aaron Eskens, has very human, likeable characters facing difficult situations.  The first book, The Life We Bury, was set in winter in Minnesota and very relatable to anyone who lives in a cold climate.

I keep saying I'm not going to watch the election results tonight, but even though it's tension-producing, I probably will.  I am so hoping for a return to sanity after three-plus years of nastiness.  Fingers crossed all the way.

Some other projects

About a month ago, I finished the brown cardigan I had been knitting since January, but I really don't like the way it ended up.  The zipper I put in is too light and I can't find one the right color.  So it sits, waiting for me to remove the zipper and add buttons or something else.  As my mom used to say, "it's fine for around the house."  

I do like to have something to knit while I watch TV, so I made a gray scarf with leftover yarn and then a gray hat for Paul.  Both aren't photogenic, but my current project is.  I was roaming around Joann Fabrics one day and spotted some multicolored yarn on sale.  I decided to make a sampler scarf with different stitch patterns, and it's coming along fairly well now.  I also have a blue/green "cupcake" of yarn to make a shawl next.  

The current scarf and the last two I've knitted will go in my giveaway pile.  I already own four winter scarves, including two I knit, one that was a gift, and another I sewed of old cashmere sweaters.

Yesterday I made up a bunch of chapstick keychains.  These make great stocking stuffers and will also mail well.  It took me an hour to make 8 of them.  They only require a 3.5" x 9" strip of fabric, a keychain ring, and a chapstick.  It took me a while to perfect the "pattern" which I first saw online.

Today's project:  plaid flannel pillowcases for friends of Chris.   They seem to have adopted us into their family, so I have added them to my holiday list which I really need to get out and review soon.