Over thirty years ago my mother gave me the last quilt top my grandmother ever made. Not too long after piecing it she had a stroke and came to live with us. When her home in small town Pawnee, Illinois, got cleaned out, Mom found the quilt top, kept it, and passed it on to me when I was newly married.
I bought a quilt frame, purchased batting, pinned the top to a backing, and began the project. It was slow going. I guess thirty years is very very slow! A baby came along, the quilt frame came down, and a crib took it's place. Time went by, and the quilt stayed folded neatly in the linen closet. Until November 2007.
That is when, through MaryJane'sFarm website, I found a wonderful business called HomeMade Stitches. A group of Mennonite and Amish women in Minnesota and Wisconsin finish quilts and also make custom quilts as a business - and everything is done by hand. Out of the linen closet came grandma's quilt, still pinned and only slightly sewn together. Back to the mid-west it travelled and a few short months later, it is now a finished work of art. To me anyway.
This quilt was pieced together with what was once my grandmother's housedresses. When they wore out, she used them for quilting. I know that because the first time I saw it, I immediately could see her in those dresses which were usually covered with an apron...and I think there are apron pieces in there too.
When the box came home to me in the mail two days ago, my granddaughter was with me. We opened it together and drew out this quilt, and I felt the threads of time literally piecing our lives together - grandmother to grandmother, I stood with the woman who made that last quilt top.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Spring has Sprung and all is Dusty Yellow!
Today is a glorious day! I took a mile walk, and now I am watering the garden we planted yesterday. The nursery was a busy place on a sunny Palm Sunday! Hubby and I got tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. After getting them in the ground, I fertilized my snap peas and harvested some more broccoli. I am letting the broccoli bloom out a lot, though, because the bees LOVE the flowers, and that will bring precious pollinators to my new little tomato plants, some of which already have tiny blooms. Broccoli has the loveliest, most delicate yellow bloom; they are really pretty and edible!
But the air is yellow! Really, I mean really yellow. I have a blue car, and the Oak pollen has coated it as if it needed talcum. When I drive, some of it blows off, and when it rains, everyone has a polka dot car. Driving country roads, one can see what looks like a dust cloud from a recent car, but it is just clouds of pollen blowing out of Oaks. And here in the deep south, there are a zillion big old Oaks!
The photo I posted below is of little Abigail and Hannah, watching their favorite show, Calliou. They can watch 1/2 hour of TV at my house on Wednesday, when they visit me. This is their choice, and they cozy up together and it gives me time to make the lunch!!! There is a method to my madness, but it is their first choice of shows, too.
There they sit, in my hubby's grandma's rocker, which makes it their great-great-grandmother's rocker. I do not have anything that belonged to my great-great grandmothers, so I hope to keep it for them to have someday.
Well, back outside now to move the sprinklers!
But the air is yellow! Really, I mean really yellow. I have a blue car, and the Oak pollen has coated it as if it needed talcum. When I drive, some of it blows off, and when it rains, everyone has a polka dot car. Driving country roads, one can see what looks like a dust cloud from a recent car, but it is just clouds of pollen blowing out of Oaks. And here in the deep south, there are a zillion big old Oaks!
The photo I posted below is of little Abigail and Hannah, watching their favorite show, Calliou. They can watch 1/2 hour of TV at my house on Wednesday, when they visit me. This is their choice, and they cozy up together and it gives me time to make the lunch!!! There is a method to my madness, but it is their first choice of shows, too.
There they sit, in my hubby's grandma's rocker, which makes it their great-great-grandmother's rocker. I do not have anything that belonged to my great-great grandmothers, so I hope to keep it for them to have someday.
Well, back outside now to move the sprinklers!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
The Windy Month of March
That phrase is certainly proving true this year for us in North Florida. Today...clear, blue, cold but warm in the sun, but the wind is strong enough to blow you over! If this wind was part of a tropical system, I would be one nervous cat, but it is a winter wind and full of spring, and so I am enjoying it.
My favorite poem (or one of them) is by Robert Frost, and here it is:
Wind and Window Flower
Lovers, forget your love,
And list to the love of these,
She a window flower,
And he a winter breeze.
When the frosty window veil
Was melted down at noon,
And the cage-ed yellow bird
Hung over her in tune,
He marked her through the pane,
He could not help but mark,
And only passed her by
To come again at dark.
He was a winter wind,
Concerned with ice and snow,
Dead weeds and unmated birds,
And little of love could know.
But he sighed upon the sill,
He gave the sash a shake,
As witness all within
Who lay that night awake.
Perchance he half prevailed
To win her for the flight
From the firelit looking-glass
And warm stove-window light.
But the flower leaned aside
And thought of naught to say,
And morning found the winter breeze
A hundred miles away.
My favorite poem (or one of them) is by Robert Frost, and here it is:
Wind and Window Flower
Lovers, forget your love,
And list to the love of these,
She a window flower,
And he a winter breeze.
When the frosty window veil
Was melted down at noon,
And the cage-ed yellow bird
Hung over her in tune,
He marked her through the pane,
He could not help but mark,
And only passed her by
To come again at dark.
He was a winter wind,
Concerned with ice and snow,
Dead weeds and unmated birds,
And little of love could know.
But he sighed upon the sill,
He gave the sash a shake,
As witness all within
Who lay that night awake.
Perchance he half prevailed
To win her for the flight
From the firelit looking-glass
And warm stove-window light.
But the flower leaned aside
And thought of naught to say,
And morning found the winter breeze
A hundred miles away.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Living on Leftovers
for 5 nights now and loving it!
Tomorrow night it will be spaghetti. I make my sauce from scratch. It is so easy, here is the recipe:
Sirloin beef, cut into small cubes. I buy stew meat or use my leftover roast or steaks
one small onion, minced
2 T. Olive oil
1 can organic stewed tomatoes, spiced with basil and oregano if available
2 small cans organic tomato sauce
1 large bay leaf broken into three pieces
oregano to taste ( and I sprinkle the top of my sauce generously several times)
a pinch of sweet basil, crushed in my palm and sprinkled over sauce once
salt and pepper to taste
Saute meat and onion in olive oil in a large sauce pan or deep skillet until brown.
Add remaining ingredients, and stir together. Bring to a small boil.
If the sauce is too "watery" for you, add a small amount of flour over the top, gently spreading it into the sauce to prevent lumps. We like our not so thick.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer 4 hours
This keeps in the fridge for a good while. I sometimes even add to it. The stew meat is different, I know, but it sure gives a nice beef taste to the sauce, better than hamburger.
Tomorrow night it will be spaghetti. I make my sauce from scratch. It is so easy, here is the recipe:
Sirloin beef, cut into small cubes. I buy stew meat or use my leftover roast or steaks
one small onion, minced
2 T. Olive oil
1 can organic stewed tomatoes, spiced with basil and oregano if available
2 small cans organic tomato sauce
1 large bay leaf broken into three pieces
oregano to taste ( and I sprinkle the top of my sauce generously several times)
a pinch of sweet basil, crushed in my palm and sprinkled over sauce once
salt and pepper to taste
Saute meat and onion in olive oil in a large sauce pan or deep skillet until brown.
Add remaining ingredients, and stir together. Bring to a small boil.
If the sauce is too "watery" for you, add a small amount of flour over the top, gently spreading it into the sauce to prevent lumps. We like our not so thick.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer 4 hours
This keeps in the fridge for a good while. I sometimes even add to it. The stew meat is different, I know, but it sure gives a nice beef taste to the sauce, better than hamburger.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Hubby and I love the Appalachians. We try to visit about once a year. This was taken last November. In Jonesboro, Tennessee, the oldest town in that state. We had just finished the most fantastic bowl of home-made chicken noodle soup with corn bread at a nearby cafe. It was a great day. And the colors were breathtaking at that time. Autumn - my favorite season.
Good Gravy
Well, in all the cooking I did last week, I made a crockpot turkey recipe I really enjoy. And then I thought, hmmmm......you cannot have turkey without gravy, so I made some. And it was different but yummy. Here is the whole recipe:
two 3-lb turkey breasts, boneless
2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup honey
4 strips uncooked bacon, laid over the turkey breasts
1 small onion, sliced
a pinch of sweet basil sprinkled on top
Put all into a large crockpot and cook for 8-10 hours.
When the crockpot has been going for about 7 hours or more, remove the lid long enough to take out about 1 cup broth mixture.
Mix 1 cup milk and about 3/4 cup flour in a shaker until blended.
Add mixture to the broth, stirring in a saucepan until it thickens. You can add/adjust the ingredients as you stir to achieve the thickness you want.
Have you ever had Turkey-Bacon-Honey gravy? Boy, is it good!!!
two 3-lb turkey breasts, boneless
2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup honey
4 strips uncooked bacon, laid over the turkey breasts
1 small onion, sliced
a pinch of sweet basil sprinkled on top
Put all into a large crockpot and cook for 8-10 hours.
When the crockpot has been going for about 7 hours or more, remove the lid long enough to take out about 1 cup broth mixture.
Mix 1 cup milk and about 3/4 cup flour in a shaker until blended.
Add mixture to the broth, stirring in a saucepan until it thickens. You can add/adjust the ingredients as you stir to achieve the thickness you want.
Have you ever had Turkey-Bacon-Honey gravy? Boy, is it good!!!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Addicted already
I think I am really going to like blogging! It has me so excited.
Today was absolutely beautiful outdoors....over 75 and windy but clear and lovely. I took a long walk. We have a nature area near us. It is called Goose Pond. It is a lowland water pond, and attracts a lot of wildlife. As long as I live in Florida, I will never get used to seeing Blue Herons, White Ibis, Otters, huge snapping turtles and giant Hawks just 1/2 block from my home. I am a mid-western girl by heritage. Growing up we had birds, but nothing exotic. We had wildlife, but not Red Foxes eating biscuits in our backyard. We had farm animals, but not alligators sometimes venturing into the neighborhhood. It is a wonderful world and no matter where we live, we need to really look around and give thanks to God.
Going out on the back porch early this morning, the air was full of bird song. And on a branch near me was a Warbler I had never seen before, singing to his (or her) heart's content.
Yesterday I planted pepper plants, and I have tomatoes and snap peas coming up and broccoli still producing. How I wish I had more land to plant! Here in Florida, I feel I have become a fan of winter more than any other season. It is cold, but not too cold. The bugs are less. There is no snow. It is like summer up north, maybe.
Anyway, Jeannie's Place is encountering a new season, and my back porch is a welcome place for a little while, until the heat and bugs chase me inside.
Today was absolutely beautiful outdoors....over 75 and windy but clear and lovely. I took a long walk. We have a nature area near us. It is called Goose Pond. It is a lowland water pond, and attracts a lot of wildlife. As long as I live in Florida, I will never get used to seeing Blue Herons, White Ibis, Otters, huge snapping turtles and giant Hawks just 1/2 block from my home. I am a mid-western girl by heritage. Growing up we had birds, but nothing exotic. We had wildlife, but not Red Foxes eating biscuits in our backyard. We had farm animals, but not alligators sometimes venturing into the neighborhhood. It is a wonderful world and no matter where we live, we need to really look around and give thanks to God.
Going out on the back porch early this morning, the air was full of bird song. And on a branch near me was a Warbler I had never seen before, singing to his (or her) heart's content.
Yesterday I planted pepper plants, and I have tomatoes and snap peas coming up and broccoli still producing. How I wish I had more land to plant! Here in Florida, I feel I have become a fan of winter more than any other season. It is cold, but not too cold. The bugs are less. There is no snow. It is like summer up north, maybe.
Anyway, Jeannie's Place is encountering a new season, and my back porch is a welcome place for a little while, until the heat and bugs chase me inside.
Getting there!
Hope you enjoy the photos! The one of the four of us had to be resized, and I see it worked. Last night it still looked huge and cut in half!
The photo was taken by my hubby. We were south of Daytona Beach at Ponce Inlet. We went to dinner that night and the girls danced with the band, and had a lot of fun.
The photo was taken by my hubby. We were south of Daytona Beach at Ponce Inlet. We went to dinner that night and the girls danced with the band, and had a lot of fun.
Abigail, Me, Julia and Hannah
With flowers in our hair (except for Hannah who was having none of that, plus she had hardly any hair!)
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Sunday again!
This was a busy week! Last Sunday afternoon, my hubby's father and his lady came to visit us. They live in northern Illinois, so it was a long drive for two folks over 80. It was the first time in 4 years for him and the first time for his lady. My FIL lost his wife of 55 years five years ago, and now he has found a wonderful gal, who went to high school with him. He went to his 60th High School two years ago and met her. Isn't that a great testament to how God will always provide for us? He was so lonely.
Anyway, the weather was clear and beautiful, they got to play golf one day, and I cooked up a storm. Pot roast with potatoes/carrots, pork loin and macaroni and cheese, grilled steaks and french fries, crockpot turkey with sweet potato casserole, spaghetti and salad, all in one week, not to mention lunches and breakfast, and baking a chocolate layer cake. Actually, I loved the time in the kitchen.
My daughter and her family joined us each evening they could, and what a wonderful week of family time!!! Loved it.
I continue to teach myself this blog business, and this afternoon I am going to research the photo tutorial again. When I see the blogs of others, I see I have a long, long way to go. But learning new things is a gift, and I love to learn new things.
Later! :)
Anyway, the weather was clear and beautiful, they got to play golf one day, and I cooked up a storm. Pot roast with potatoes/carrots, pork loin and macaroni and cheese, grilled steaks and french fries, crockpot turkey with sweet potato casserole, spaghetti and salad, all in one week, not to mention lunches and breakfast, and baking a chocolate layer cake. Actually, I loved the time in the kitchen.
My daughter and her family joined us each evening they could, and what a wonderful week of family time!!! Loved it.
I continue to teach myself this blog business, and this afternoon I am going to research the photo tutorial again. When I see the blogs of others, I see I have a long, long way to go. But learning new things is a gift, and I love to learn new things.
Later! :)
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