Things I like Nov 1

Greetings!

Hello everyone. This has been such a difficult week for our country but I must tell you my "likes" or I'll just be an upset lady everyday. We need to focus on the good in our lives and do what we can to provide good vibes to others..  Please join us at Lee Anna's post Not Afraid of Color for more positive vibes.

Here we go:

1. Journalists and reporters who forge on to report the news of the day.  This cannot be easy when they and their families are being threatened.  If not for them we would not be aware of all that is happening. Granted, it has not been all happy news but we can't live in darkness, either.

2. The amount of love expressed from the survivors, families and friends of the victims of those shootings and bomb threats. I am in awe of their faith and love.

3. The right and responsibility to vote here in the U.S. (Sometimes we need a reminder).

4. My newest "squirrel"  I found a group (16) of QAYG blocks in a drawer that were leftover from a quilt I made my son years ago. It's the only QAYG I've made as I did not like making a quilt that way. I had cut the blocks to the wrong measurement and then just stashed  them away. I took them out and put them on the design wall:

Some of the blocks needed batting attached so I completed them. I knew I could use them all as a center of a quilt and just add borders.  Don't call the quilt police, but that's exactly what I did -without batting.

This made the quilt much lighter which is great for our warm climate.  I just sewed a gray backing to the top -right sides together- and stitched it together. No binding. I turned right sides out and top stitched the edge and quilted righted down the center blocks in a "T". Done and done. I don't think I spent but 3 hours on the whole thing. My grandson will be thrilled as it is on his bed here in my home. And, I cleaned out some stash.

5. "Moon and Back" blocks for a Christmas gift.  I found the panel at my local quilt shop.

 I'm making a book for my great granddaughter who is 10 months old. I've not made a book before but it looks easy. This is my first handmade Christmas present for the season! I'm way behind. That darn cooking and cleaning keeps getting in the way.

6. Donating quilts to the Disaster Relief Team for those affected by Hurricane Florence.  I finally mailed 3 quilts off  after adding labels and washing them.  That felt really good.

As you can see, most of my "likes" this week involved sewing- what a great stress reliever. And, we're providing joy to others.

Best wishes to everyone and stay safe.
mary

Things i like Thursdays Oct 25

Greetings!

I apologize for not posting last week, but I've been sick for 2 weeks with intestinal issues. I  know, TMI. I'm finally feeling better so I have some "likes" to share with you:

1.  A good chiropractor. I have had the same chiro for about 20 years.  The bad part is he does not take medicare insurance.  So, unless I get really bad, I can't afford to see him.  I have tried others over the years who didn't even come close to his knowledge and care.  So, I finally bit the bullet and have seen him 3 times in a week because my back was really messed up.  I cannot tell you how much better I am now that my bones are where they should be!

2. Dairy Free products.  I was already gluten and soy free with my food choices and then had to go dairy free for 3 weeks.  At first, I was so sick, I didn't care- I mostly had a liquid diet for 3 days.  I've used lactose free milk for many years so that helped.  Then I wanted to eat food. I was surprised how many choices there are for dairy free food!

Granted, you are going to pay a lot more, but at least you have choices. The Almond Milk yogurt is even better tasting then regular yogurt, in my opinion.  Since I'm also watching sugar and carbs, I only eat half a container. The cheese slices are palatable.  The mac and cheese was very good.
I have been obsessed with food choices for weeks now.  Hopefully, things will calm down and I can get back to quilting.

3. Specialty yoga on You Tube.  My daughter practices yoga every morning for about 45 minutes and ,trust me, with a special needs teenager she has a very busy morning. But, yoga has transformed her health.  I have dabbled in yoga over the last few years but have been trying more the last few weeks to relieve tension and pain. I got lazy over the summer due to breathing problems but my balance and strength suffered because I wasn't stretching out enough with yoga.  The one site we both like and has a reputable history is
Do Yoga With Me on You Tube.
There are several instructors and many different classes geared to particular issues of the body. I highly recommend this yoga sight.

4. Crock Pot Beef Stew.  Of course, since I started feeling well and doctor advised to get back on to  real food, I craved a comfort meal.  I purchased some beef stew meat and was surprised to see a pretty easy recipe right on the package. The meat said it was "blade tenderized".  I've not seen this before but it works:

This is a photo taken before I added the sauce from the pot.  I dredged the meat but didn't have to brown it. Yay- one less step. I just put vegetables on the bottom of the crock pot, added spices and 1 cup water plus 1 cup beef broth, then the meat on top. Cooked on high 4 hours. Done and good.


5.  AAA auto road service and repair.  I'm a single woman who does not like to ask the men (son and son in law) in my family to bail me out with vehicle trouble plus, neither one are technicians).  I joined AAA about 3 years ago ($100 a year!).  I've used the road service I think 3 times for various issues and have been thrilled with their service.  Last week, when I left the chiropractor at 1 in the afternoon, my passenger window made a loud noise and fell to the bottom of the door.  Scared the crap out of me-I thought I'd been shot at. (We have bad road rage here). This is not the first time with power windows trouble with my Ford! I've lost the power mechanism for the windows in all 4 of them, now.
I digress. I was only 2 miles from the nearest AAA repair shop so I turned around and dropped my vehicle off.  I couldn't believe they had it fixed by the next morning. I was lost without my vehicle even for a few hours and had to change my schedule but they had it fixed in less than 24 hours.  I have not had such good results with the dealerships and other repair shops here. Those places  didn't even look at my vehicle the first day.   I am so relieved to have it done and can now tool around in my vehicle. I recommend AAA very highly.  It's the little things, people.

Well, after all this food, I'm hungry.  I hope everyone is having a good day.  Please join us at Lee Anna's post Not Afraid of Color to see everyone's positives for this week!
Thanks for stopping by.
mary

Updated at the last minute:  I am very upset about the bombs  mailed to all those people and organizations  on Wednesday as I'm sure many of you are. These were assassination attempts on 2 presidents, an attack on our free press, attacks on public servants!  What is wrong with people?  I hope they catch the deranged person(s) responsible soon .  I fear for our country if this is our new normal in this divisive, hateful  climate of politics and so- called "governing".  I pray we will be able to change things with the midterm elections.

When it rains it pours

Hi everyone. I've been sick so no posts this week. I'll be back next week.
thanks. mary

I Like Thursdays Oct 11

Greetings!

 This will be a short post as I will be gone all week. Here are just a few of my likes this past week:

1. The Durells in Corfu on PBS:

 Thanks to Lee Anna for suggesting this series since I am already watching other PBS series so much.  This family is quirky and fun.

2.  Creating fabric. 

This is my favorite type of all sewing/quilting.  I just take scraps and start sewing them together to "make fabric'.  In this case, I had saved fabric with an autumn color in one scrap bucket (first photo).  It was overflowing-evidently I like to make autumn quilts, table tops and place mats. My scraps are all rectangles or squares and at least an inch wide.  I just press the scraps, lay them out in piles next to the sewing machine and start sewing them together. I press after joining every piece with an iron on a tv tray next to me. This keeps everything flat and straight. I make blocks at least 10 inch square.  I'll make as many as I can and either store them as squares or use them with other scrap squares for a quilt at a later time.

Unless I'm finishing a different project,  I just leave these scraps out next to the machine for a week or 2 so I can sit any free time I have and throw a block together. I really enjoy that little sew time as it is very creative.

3. Homemade crock pot applesauce.

I just peeled and chopped 6 Gala apples into the crock pot. Added 1/2 c water, 1T lemon juice, 1T cinnamon and a little salt. I cooked it on high for 2 hours and mashed it with a potato masher.  To serve, I added a splash of maple syrup.  Really good and  there's no added sugar while cooking.

Obviously, I had more likes for this week (especially our cooler weather) but I'm in a rush to post this for ya'll's enjoyment.
Have a great week.
mary

Things I like Thursdays Oct 4

Greetings!

Hi all. We're finally drying off after Hurricane Rosa gave us almost 3 inches of rain here in the desert.    That much rain has no where to go with our rock soil so streets were flooding. Our annual rain is 9 inches.  Hopefully by this weekend, we will be back to normal. Other than that, here's a list of my "likes" for this week:

1. "Abbey Charms" quilt almost done.  It just needs a binding.  I hope to join it with others for the Florence relief project. It measures 49 x 48 and is made from the MSQC Charms on Point pattern with 2 charm packs of Lady Sybil Downton Abbey fabric by Andover.  I love this pattern but it finishes into a small quilt:

The backing is a lily pond piece I got at Joann"s many years ago:

I added a 5 inch border to the front from a large piece of beautiful extra wide fabric I had on stash from years ago but I don't know what's wrong with it. It stretched all out of shape. I've never had that happen with cotton before. There was no name on the selvage. weird.

2. My new issue of Quiltfolk.

This one is all about the state of Michigan and all the lovely talented people making quilts there.

3. My 3 new Diabetes books:

I'm borderline diabetic and want to control my blood sugar readings with diet and exercise.  I got a little carried away on my trip to Barnes and Noble. I'm a big Betty Crocker fan so I was really pleased to find that book even  I have other cookbooks from there as well as emails everyday from Betty Crocker on ideas for cooking.

Well- people, gotta run. Hope you are enjoying fall. Please join us at Lee Anna's weekly "likes" post:Not Afraid of Color.

Thanks for stopping by!
mary