It's Fall, Y'all

 At least that's what my calendar says.  And the leaves around us attest to that, as well.

But my Christmas cactus apparently didn't get the message.

Actually, I think last year I determined it was a Thanksgiving cactus ...

The Whole World is Asking

 What is Thymely Chicken?

I am happy to provide the answer:

Thymely Chicken

 1 Cup cooked rice
4 Slices bacon
1/4 cup Finely chopped onion
1/4-1/2 tsp Thyme
Bacon drippings
1 Cup (at least) shredded par-boiled or stewed chicken
1 Chicken-flavored bouillon cube
1 packet cream-style chicken Cup-o-Soup
Salt & pepper

 In skillet cook bacon; remove and crumble (save drippings) into rice.   Saute onions in drippings.  Add to rice/bacon + stir.  Add to chicken..  Salt/pepper to taste.  Dissolve bullion and soup in ¾ cup boiling water.  Pour over mixture and stir.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

 

The Importance of Thyme

In a previous life as a family we were struggling to make ends meet.  Without excess funds for recreation, I tried to make "events" at home (not to mention getting help with the workload).  Cooking with the boys was one of those activities.  We found a recipe on Jimmy Dean's Sausage for stuffed zucchini boats.  

First of all, zucchini was totally foreign to us, but I bought some and we tried (and liked!) the recipe.  Secondly, we had never used thyme.  We were so intrigued by the flavor that we came up with a totally new recipe, Thyme-ly Chicken.  I still have that recipe card in my older boy's hand writing!

Well, I made zucchini boats for supper last night and texted a picture to both boys recalling how it made me think of those early days.  

The response from them both was enough to keep this old heart a-ticking for a long thyme!

Never Assume

You know what they say about assumptions ... well I proved it true this week.  

I had seen a free pattern in American Patchwork and Quilting that I thought would be easy for comfort or encouragement quilts.  Since Devo was cancelled on Tuesday, I decided to devote my day to sewing anyway so I headed down to the studio to give the pattern a try.

The pattern calls for 3-1/2" strips and squares, but since I have so many 2-1/2" inch strips and squares I decided to convert the pattern.  I picked a background fabric and some coordinating charm squares that could easily be cut into four 2-1/2" squares.  I made a couple of sample blocks and they were just awful! Certainly not picture-worthy; you'll just have to take my word for it.

Then, as I glanced over my shoulder, I saw a stack of bright squares that would work in this pattern so I set about cutting 2-1/2" strips of a an older background with lots of bright colors.  I stitched enough squares into a strip of threes to make 13 blocks and cut the appropriate number of background pieces.

Once I started combining squares with strips I saw a slight discrepancy in the size between the bright squares and the newly-cut background which I figured I could accommodate in the seams.  Then I realized the error of my assumptions:  The bright squares are 2-5/8" !!!

No way can I accommodate that in the seam when every block has three of those squares right through the center of the block.  

I threw in the towel and poured a glass of wine!  The seam ripper will be busy today.

I know it's been a while since I posted.  I am well and  I've done quite a bit of sewing; it's just a matter of getting the photos into the blog.  I have found a work-around until I have the chance to clean out the cloud. It will be high priority come November!