Thursday, October 26, 2023

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 ...


Wednesday, October 25, 2023

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.

 


Tuesday, October 24, 2023

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!

Thursday, October 19, 2023

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!