It’s just amazing what I learn from my friends! I’m fortunate to be a part of the Friday Night Bee. It meets in my home once a month, and the ladies who make up the rest of the bee are the most prodigious quilters I know. We begin each session with Show and Tell, and although there are only eight of us, it can take half an hour to show and discuss new creations, or antique quilt finds, or new books to be shared.
Red Hat Momma
I’ve been trying for some time to get a picture of my Mother all dolled up in her Red Hat Finery. My brother was in New Orleans and bought her an incredible purple boa to go with the outfit. She wore it for the Red Hat Society brunch that was held at our house last weekend, and was the hit of the day.
Here’s Elegant Mother on May 21st, standing on the sidewalk to our home:
Repairs
The bane of a homeowner’s existence…..repairs! We built our house 16 years ago, and when it was ten years old we reached the point were it was patch, Patch, PATCH! You’d think a new house would stay “new” longer.
One down, one to go
Whewwwwww!
I’ve spent the past three weeks working on my Spring cleaning, and getting ready for two brunches which will be held here. I’ve been “missing in action” from my blog because there was so much work to be done. It’s been worth it.
We held the first gathering today for our Red Hat Society group.
An Italian style Spread
One of my mother’s friends sent a recipe to me for an Italian style spread that’s really yummy.
It’s a layered spread that starts with a layer of cream cheese mixed with goat cheese, spread and pressed into a bowl lined with plastic wrap.
The next layer is a blend of spinach, fresh basil, Parmesan and olive oil and garlic. It makes a dry pesto. This would work best in a food processor, but I was able to chop it finely in a blender.
On top of that you spread roasted pine nuts and finely diced sun-dried tomatoes.
Those layers are repeated and then the final layer is the last of the cream cheese/goat cheese mix.
The spread is chilled to blend the flavors, and then served with crackers. I’ve made this twice for my family, and I plan to make it for the two brunches coming up. It may become a staple at family gatherings. The pesto layer blended with the cheese is wonderful!
Veni, Vedi, Veci Iowa
Actually, that should be WE came, We saw, We conquered Iowa. My mother, one of my nieces and I visited a niece in eastern Iowa this week. It was a totally unstructured weekend. We ate, and shopped, and scrap-booked, played Spite and Malice, quilted, knitted, chatted, ate, drank, ate, and generally had a wonderful time.
Windy City
I was driving home last Thursday, and came around the corner onto the street where we live. There are subdividion signs on either side of that corner, and the landscapers had decorated them with banks of yellow tulips.
It has been incredibly windy for the past few days, and the tulips on the north side of the street had been totally stripped of their blooms. Those on the south side had a six foot block sign protecting them from the wind, and were still blooming.
As we traveled to Iowa and back, we saw similar examples of the wind’s power. I’m ready for that part where “April sighed, and said goodbye, and along came pretty little May!”
Convenience?
I was in the grocery store last week, and I was reminded just how dependent we have become on computers in our lives. I’m old enough to remember when a cashier at the grocery store hit keys on a cash register to ring up the cost of the items. Each item was marked with a price rather than a zebra stripe.
If the electricity went out, they “rang” you up by hand, and you went on about your business. These days, if the computer is malfunctioning, or if the electricity goes off, you’re out of luck. No sale. There is nothing they can do to make a sale.
A new bird!
Saturday, I was in eastern Iowa, visiting with relatives. My niece had planted flower boxes on her deck, and a bird I had never seen visited one of them as we watched.
The bird’s body was a mustardy gold color. It’s wings were barred in black and white, rather like a downy woodpecker’s wings. It was slightly smaller than a robin, and had a similar shape. I didn’t get a good look at it’s beak, but it seems to me that it was long and pointed, rather than the blunter beak of a cardinal or gross-beak.
I browsed through my bird books, and the closest thing I could find to what I saw was a female “Northern” or “Baltimore” Oriole.
Can my birding friends suggest any other birds I might look at that fit that description?
I’ve never seen a deep gold bird before.
Ponderings
When I get back to the computer, I’ll have several things to talk about…..the incredible wind that we’ve had the last two days, along with very chilly weather. One stand of tulips in an unprotected spot were denuded of petals.
I’ve been pondering the drawbacks to having a computerized life, especially for those who have never learned to do things from scratch to begin with. The same problem existed when they tried to teach us “New Math.” It failed because there wasn’t enough focus on the basics. I think that jazz performers have to learn Classical music to be able to depart from the “rules.”
We’re making a trip to Iowa this weekend to commune with the cows and our relatives. I’m looking forward to an unstructured visit, some shopping, good food, and the chance to beat my niece at Spite and Malice. See you Monday!