Things I Like Thursdays Jul 26

Greetings!

Well, things are almost back to normal after being so sick for a month.  Still have to do breathing treatments 4 x day which I'm grateful for, but have to take with me to my daughters house while taking care of my grandson again 3 days a week.
Today, he goes to the high school for picture ID day.  It will be his first time there. All those kids will be quite a shock but he is excited to see what we are talking about.
 Also, my daughter got him a "Gizmo" phone which is for young kids (contains a GPS). We  have 2 weeks to teach him how to use it and learn to communicate where he is and what he's doing in case of emergencies. It's a watch which is on his right arm (which he does not use due to a stroke at 2 weeks old). But, he can use his left fingers to push a button to call mom, dad or me which is pre programmed. Technology is so vital for special needs persons. I'm in awe.
 I hope this works well for him as we are all so concerned for his safety in a public high school. He was in kindergarten through 8th grade in one public school where everyone knew him all those years. This will be different for him.  He will be in one classroom for the 4 years, tho. Just wanted to share an insight to our little world.

In the meantime, I have a few other "likes" this week:

1. Chocolate banana ice cream.  The recipe is at joybauer.com.

Very easy,healthy,  made mostly with bananas and can be dairy free if you use alternate milk products. It was very tasty.

2.  Backing for the "Patched and Squares" quilt. I did not have any backing that "fit" so I went through my leftover layer cakes from projects over the years and barely made a backing big enough:

I laid out 30 layer cakes and just sewed them together.  THAT was pretty easy and used up stash. I'll share a finished project later.

3. Bicycle place mats.  I still had some scraps leftover from the Bicycle quilt, so I made some place mats to match, but I wish I'd made them bigger.

 I think they're about 11 x 15 inches- too small. But, they're awfully cute. Talk about a "squirrel" project.  I had the leftover fabric pieces still on the cutting table.  I dropped everything and sewed 2 place mats. done. I still have fabric pieces left.  Maybe some more  will be made in the future, but not right now, when I'm so busy.

That's it for me this week, gotta get ready to leave.  Please join us at Lee Anna's post:Not Afraid of Color for more"likes".

Stay cool friends!
mary

Things I like Thursdays Jul 19

Greetings!

Hope everyone is keeping cool.  This has been a crazy summer of weather for sure. We are in the throes of monsoon here so the humidity is high which is playing havoc on my breathing.  But, I have several "likes" to share with you this week:

1. My new DASH machine.  So I went to Bed Bath and Beyond for a weight scale on sale and ended up with this little 4 inch electric griddle.  I can cook an egg on it, a large chocolate chip cookie, grilled cheese English muffin, etc.  But, what I wanted it for is making small Parmesan cheese snacks.

Yes, another kitchen appliance, but I've used this several times already in just a few days. And, no turning the oven on to heat up the house!  Here's a photo of my Parm chips:

Just fresh grated Parmesan cheese-cooked in a minute.  I also made some combined with cheddar but I liked the Parm better.

I ate more than I stored in an air- tight container for snacks later. They are about 50 calories with 4 grams protein. They are a little chewy but good.

2. My Lulu Lane finished quilt.

It's 57 x 57 inches made with  the Charms on Point pattern from MSQC. here's the backing:

Doesn't it look like a pieced backing?  It's from MSQC (on a great sale) called Spring Bunny Fun by Stacy lest Hsu for Moda.  I wish I purchased more of this fabric. This will probably be a donation quilt 'cause it'so cheery.

3. Egg roll in a bowl. This recipe can be found at tiphero.com .  So, so easy-basically browned pork sausage with shredded cabbage mix and a simple Asian sauce. Just like the insides of an egg roll.

This was so good I ate it right out of the pot! I love Chinese food but can't have soy sauce;  so I made my sauce with the substitute Coco Aminos which turned out perfect.

My health is gradually improving so I'm back to sewing and enjoying my days more.  I couldn't care for my grandson for a month.  Next week I return to taking care of my him  3 days a week, so I'll be busy.  Luckily, he is a joy to tutor and play with. I can't believe he starts high school in 3 weeks! This will be such a dramatic change in his life.  I will be meeting him after school at home this year for the first time, so that will be new also. Life is always changing. ( I'm so grateful for a good lung doctor and meds to improve my breathing). Life is good.

I hope you will join us at Lee Anna's post: Not Afraid of Color for more "likes" which we  need to affirm during these really disturbing times in our American history. I'll just leave that there for now.

Anyway, all of you have a great day and please leave comments - as I enjoy them!
mary😏

Things I like Thursdays Jul 12

Greetings!

Happy July.  Besides the fact I am still laying low mostly cause I can't breathe, I have several things to share with you that I like:

1. Air conditioning .  I know, pretty simple- but the summers here really are brutal:

I don't know if you can see it in this photo but this was at 8 AM last Saturday. Since I have emphysema and now bronchitis, it is vital I keep the temperature cool and dry  now that we are in monsoon season. Luckily it rained Monday night but then the humidity was actually higher than the temp.  This means the A.C. is running non stop which in turn costs me 150% higher per month. But, I couldn't live without it. So thankful it has not failed. Must be a well-built one.

2.  Mini Meatloaf from my mini crock pot!.  I had defrosted 3/4 lb hamburger and couldn't use the oven because it's too hot. I have a huge crock pot I leave on the counter all the time cause it's too heavy to move and use it all the time but this week has been way too hot to run that one.  Then I remembered my mini crock pot (like maybe a quart size). I made a mini round meat loaf:

It is fantastic and took 2.5 hours on high, no heat in the kitchen. I still got 3 meals out of this.  It's the little things, people.

3.  My new "Vortex Scrap" quilting. I have been so miserable with breathing issues, have to stay home for 4 days on meds,  I haven't felt like sewing but I missed it and knew that scrap sewing would be easy on me so I set up my spare machine in the kitchen:

For those of you who follow Amanda Jean at "Crazy Mom Quilts" you will remember her "Vortex Scrap" quilt.  I thought I would try it- so I pulled out most of my scrap bins, turned a movie on and started improv sewing:

First, I just sewed groups of 2 in small sizes.  This is just 2 hours worth and made 100 pieces. Talk about "no think" sewing. It was fun and a great escape from my woes. Then I sewed a hundred more the next day! Finally on the third day I started joining those duals into blocks:

I have 6 blocks already ( I'm gonna pull that pastel block and make a mug rug or something).  This was such fun to use up scraps and be creative with no joined seams. When I've used up the scraps that I've pulled for this small project, then I'll press the blocks, square them to 10 or 11 inches  and join them.  Who knows what that will become.

4. A 'GREAT HEART".  Doesn't that sound nice? As most of you know I have been getting progressively worse with my health since April.  So, as usual, the doctors went crazy ordering tests and letting me "visit" specialists. One of those was a cardiologist. He had me run the Nuclear Stress Test (treadmill) and I got an Echo (ultra sound) of my heart.  After waiting a week for results (and worrying of course), I went for the follow up.  I kid you not, the doctor walked in the room and said " You have a great heart. I see you finished the treadmill, too".  I said "thank you". A great relief.  I just found it funny that he entered the room that way.
What was not funny was the fact it took 5 full minutes for me to catch my breath after the treadmill test. So, it's a pulmonary issue I'm dealing with after all.

5. Thai Cave Boys safe and sound.  I am so very happy to see those 12 boys, their coach and the rescue teams all out safe from that nightmare of a cave. What a miracle rescue.  It was so sad to hear that a diver lost his life there trying to help.
 Today, I noticed the boys in the hospital are looking antsy to get out and home.Typical teenagers.


I hope you all are enjoying the summer and please join us at Lee Anna's post: Not Afraid of Color for more "likes".

Keep cool! It's 167 days till Christmas. Just sayin.
mary🎄

Things i Like Thursdays Jul 5

Greetings!

I'm posting this on Wednesday as I will be busy on Thursday. I hope all of you are enjoying summer and of course, here in the U.S., Independence Day. Here are a few of my likes from this week:

1. Being American: Even though I am not proud of the behavior of many Americans lately, I am proud to be a part of this country:

Happy Independence Day!
There was a new Gallup poll this week:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This Fourth of July marks a low point in U.S. patriotism. For the first time in Gallup's 18-year history asking U.S. adults how proud they are to be Americans, fewer than a majority say they are "extremely proud." Currently, 47% describe themselves this way, down from 51% in 2017 and well below the peak of 70% in 2003.

How sad.  I don't have solutions for the actual state of affairs we have ourselves in and certainly do not want to turn this post political, but I must hope this is temporary.

On a happier note, here is a salad I made for the 4th:

It's Refreshing Watermelon Cucumber salad at allrecipes.com. I omitted the cheese and onions as we don't care for them.  But, this salad was really good, easy  and refreshing. You're welcome.

2. French Toast with Peanut Butter.

So, many of you may already be aware of this delicacy, but this was a first for me. Yummmm.

3. Blogger site improving.  It's not fixed, but at least I'm getting comments notifications in my email.

Unfortunately, several comments are "no reply blogger' on my email so I am trying to reply individually on that post instead. 

4. The Martin Auto Museum in Phoenix.  We took Thomas to the auto museum and he was so happy.  The staff are so inviting and helpful- they even let him sit in an old Studebaker:

It was the cutest moment. He will remember this for a long time.  

Unfortunately, it's time  to start chores so I can drive to daughter's home later for family fun.  Hope everyone enjoys this day!

I love to hear your comments and also hope you will join us at Lee Anna's post for more likes:Not Afraid of Color.

mary🎆