Happy Easter

 

 

 

 

 

Itsy Bitsy Spider

 

One Dozen Sunsets

 

Busy, busy making the border blocks for the Malibu Sunset quilt. These are the twelve newest ones:

These are all eighteen that have been completed. I have to make 52 blocks all together.

Without the border the quilt will be about 62” X 66”. With the borders, it will be about 71” X 75”. Not all that big, but it sure seems to take up an inordinate amount of space on my design wall. It will feel so good when it finally comes down.

I feel very fortunate to be able to use up some directional prints that have been stored untouched in my stash for many years.

Malibu Sunset

 

Can you believe that this has been hanging on my design wall for about two years? It’s my original paper-pieced design. The blocks are sewn together in vertical strips. Some of the vertical strips are sewn together. Most are not. I have been dragging my feet because I needed to draw out a pattern for the border. Not as easy as it seems since the blocks are trapezoids. The  measurements on the each side differ. The tops and bottoms of the blocks are the same length but are at angles.

I wanted the border to look like the sun’s rays reaching outward. This is what I finally came up with clear back in September. I am just now getting around to making them. Six so far today. Forty-six more to go.

Easy French Bread Soufflé

 

Spring break is a good time to make something yummy for breakfast or brunch. One of my favorites is a recipe I created when I had oodles of French bread going stale on my counter and a quart of milk in my refrigerator that needed to be used very soon. Instead of starting with a temperamental heated sauce that most soufflés require, my recipe begins with a cold mixture that can simply be poured over French bread and baked in the oven. The result is a beautiful poufy casserole. Serve it soon after it comes out of the oven, because the height of the casserole does fall when it cools. It still tastes delicious regardless.

 

Ingredients

16 slices of stale French bread or a medium sized loaf of unsliced French bread. The firmer the texture, the better.

1 quart of milk

6 whole eggs

1 medium jalapeno pepper, diced. I used a red one to add some color.

1/4 teaspoon of parsley

8 ounces of pepper jack cheese or your favorite

salt and pepper to taste

 

1. Arrange the French bread in a deep dish 10 X 10” ceramic or glass dish. The slices can be laid flat. Or if you are using an unsliced loaf, it is fun to cut it into 3” slices and arrange them upright in the dish so that the pretty upper crust is on top, thus forming the upper crust of the casserole.

2. In a larger mixing bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, diced peppers, and parsley together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Pour the mixture over the French bread. The bread will absorb a huge amount of milk. If the top layer of bread is not moistened, add a bit of milk on top.

5. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

6. After 45 minutes, sprinkle the grated cheese over the top. Return the casserole to the oven for an additional 15 minutes or until the casserole rises and firms. It will rise about 3 inches.

7. Remove from the oven and serve right away.

Portraits of Spring

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long Legged Early Girls

 

As some of you might recall, last week I was having a difficult time finding some strong, healthy Early Girl tomato seedlings.  I initially settled for some somewhat overgrown and leggy ones, then a few days later, found these beauties.

Below is one of the leggy ones I bought. It is lying flat against the ground next to the hole in which it will be planted.

Eventually, the long bending center stalk can result in a mature plant with a weak center stem.

The lot of them weren’t all that bad, though, so I took the leggy little girls home. Besides, there is a little trick that can be done to remedy the potential problem of a weak center stem.

When you are ready to transplant the seedlings from their nursery container into your garden, dig the holes extra deep. They should be deep enough so that when each seedling is settled with its root ball at the bottom of the hole, the fill dirt should reach up to just below where the plant becomes leafy.

It is okay to cover up some of the lower leafs if the stems are really elongated. Rather than smothering the plant, this method actually encourages the seedling to send out roots from the buried stem. The increased root system makes the plants more stable.

Water the seedlings after you transplant them. This keeps their roots from being directly exposed to air pockets in the soil. It also helps them adjust more easily to their new home. They might look a tiny bit droopy for a hour or so, but are generally perky by the next morning.

Hidden Treasures

I am still slogging through the dirt in my raised beds this morning, clearing the old plants and weeds in preparation for spring planting. All winter long, I have been pulling a turnip or two for a delicious healthy snack, so I was pretty sure that there were none left.

I had completely forgotten about planting any carrots. Okay, yeah, I probably have too much on my mind.

Anywho, look what I found. Definitely pay dirt.

Gardening Inside and Out

 

This is what I get to quilt on today: Rainy Garden Windows.

But first things first. I rose before dawn to get a good amount of work accomplished in the garden before the sun got too strong. I was reminded of Grandmother’s Rule that my dear friend Janice used to quote to her little students who wanted to do a fun activity instead of wrestling with the details of learning to read. The rule was: Spinach before ice cream.

In my case it was kale.

And a beautiful crop of mustard greens.

The spinach part was turning over the compost in my raised beds in preparation for planting my seedlings.

Even though it is hard work, I kept on smiling. God is good, and my quilt is waiting.

Tomato and Pepper Seedlings

Every year I promise myself that I am just going to stop with two or three six-packs of seedlings for my garden. This year in particular. I have a very busy summer ahead of me, and the last thing I need is to be swimming in produce.

That was all well and good until I got to the nursery.

The Early Girl tomatoes, which are my favorite because they are so hardy and disease resistant, didn’t actually look all that good. They were a little leggy and overgrown for their small containers. So I threw some Celebrity and Better Boy seedlings into my little collection on the tray. I did hold myself down to one pack of peppers: Jalapenos! A person can only use so many.

Too many seedlings in light of my original plan, but oh well.



During lunch today, I ran over to RiteAid to grab a few things. And doncha know, they had BEAUTIFUL Early Girl seedlings there. Oh well, throw two six-packs in the basket. Just in case the other ones don’t work out.

I will have to sneak out at dawn this next weekend and get these puppies in the ground.



Meanwhile, more daffodils are blooming.



And the neighbor’s cat has decided that she likes me and my garden very much. Interestingly enough, my cats don’t mind her. I don’t know what her name might be, but it is Amber while she is in my garden because her eyes are amber. This is beginning to remind me of a fellow blogger’s story about a cat who insisted upon adopting her. Suzanne called him NOT MY CAT. He actually ended up being her cat, and a real sweetie.

Moody March

 

Although the skies are wet and gray, the fruit trees in my garden are trying their best to smile through it all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Watermarking Roses

Who knew that there is a voracious appetite for photographs of roses? The moment I began posting mine online, I noticed a frenzy of hits that seemed a bit confusing. I really don’t think my snapshots are all that good, and I certainly don’t claim to be anything other than an amateur photographer.

When I really began to analyze where most of the interest originated, I was bewildered. I had no idea that roses were so popular in a very large unnamed peninsula in Asia. Made me wonder what they might be planning to do with all those photos. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but I did start paying more attention to how other bloggers were protecting their photos. Some recommended purchasing photo-editing software. I checked those out, then realized that there are many similar programs that available for free online. I tried one, which was acceptable, but did have to wade through lots of steps to get a simple watermark on a photo.

Blogger’s recent push for us to download our photos to Picasa, then onto our blogs turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me. I prefer downloading photos directly from my camera. Besides, I wasn’t looking forward to paying online photo storage fees.

One blogger recommended composing my blog posts on Windows Live Writer, which reportedly accepts photos with ease. When the post is finished, it can be shot directly to Blogger for publication.

Fortunately, my lap top came with Windows Live Writer already installed, so I thought I would give it a whirl. Well, it works like a charm. It also has great photo-editing features that are very user-friendly. No more dealing with Blogger’s stubborn refusal to rotate a picture when you know very well that the photo is obviously sideways. Windows Live Writer also allows cropping, watermarking, contrast settings, and the ability to make photo albums.

The long and short of the story is that a certain place in Asia no longer seems to be interested in my roses now that my photos contain a lovely watermark. Go figure.

Shopping Bag Surprise

This past weekend I made a trip to a local fabric store and came home with more than I intended. No, I did not get carried away and buy everything in sight. I kept to my list and spent less than $30. The thing is, when I got home and went to unload my shopping bag, I found something inside that I had not intended to buy: A spool of ribbon.



Trust me, I had not even picked that spool up to look at it while I was in the store. It had obviously been lying on the counter, and the clerk threw it in with my order. I guess. It only ended up costing 35 cents after all the oodles of coupons and guild cards I used, so it’s not like I lost a lot of money. Driving it clear across town to return it would cost 6 times that much in gas. Maybe more.

So, I will keep it. Thank goodness it is black, and I will probably be able to use it on something.

Now I really sweep those store counters clear when I make a purchase. No more surprises for me!

All Eyes On The Spuds!

Okay. It was a moment of weakness. I was in the feed store getting a sack of grain and a salt block for my horse. But since I was putting the purchase on my debit card, I really didn’t want to run it through for less than $20. Besides, there was this bag of Yukon Gold seed potatoes calling my name. (Good thing no one else in the store heard it.)

I grabbed the bag. All five pounds.



I have only grown potatoes once before. It has been so long that I actually had to read the instructions on the bag.

Here is what the seed potatoes look like just out of the bag.



The first task is to cut them into “sets”, which means chunks that contain at least one or two eyes on them. The eyes are the little indentations on the outside of the potato where the sprouts emerge.

Here is a close-up of some of the eyes. These sprouts are ready to go.



After cutting the potatoes into sets, they must dry for a day or two so that the cut end can dry and scab over. That helps prevent the potato from rotting in the ground before it gets a chance to develop roots and a stem.

I cut the seed potatoes into fairly good-sized chunks. I don’t have a lot of room to grow them so didn’t want to end up with more sets than I can handle. The very small seed potatoes, I left intact.



It’s definitely starting to feel like spring.

No Time For Spring Fever

It was a glorious day today that filled me with a bit of envy when one friend after another said that they had been overcome by spring fever and were perfectly content with their state of being. With so much on my plate, I didn’t dare cave into my yearning to cast my cares to the wind and let my mind wander among my emotions, both poignant and sweet. 

I did sneak out to my garden to water the budding fruit trees. The camellias were in full bloom. Even the very elderly man next door was sitting out in his sunny front yard, chatting amicably with his attentive nurse. Every season, I expect to be his last, but he somehow manages to cling to the here and now. He is almost one hundred years old.

I snapped a few pictures of the vibrant camellias, then went back inside. My quilts were waiting.