"The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet."
-- William Gibson
"The denunciation of the young is a necessary part of the hygiene of older people, and greatly assists in the circulation of their blood."
-- Logan Pearsall Smith
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thoughts to Ponder . . .
Few people can see genius in someone who has offended them."
-- Robertson Davies
"For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three."
-- Alice Kahn
"There must be more to life than having everything."
-- Maurice Sendak
-- Robertson Davies
"For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three."
-- Alice Kahn
"There must be more to life than having everything."
-- Maurice Sendak
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Crazy Quilts and Kindly Husbands . . .
Although my fabric cupboards are no where near the 'bare' stage, my husband has proposed a trip to the fabric warehouse with a lunch date included! No worries about the teens wanting to tag along. Lunch out isn't worth their mother's browsing through bolts and bolts of fabric.
I'm finishing a quilt I'm making for a friend's birthday. I just have the border and some applique to finish. I'm still working on a new rail fence scrap project. I have three varieties of colors in this one. Twelve of the squares are in every shade of green I could find in my scrap box; six of them are in pinks and six are in blues.
My trip to the fabric warehouse will have some added interest tomorrow. A friend is going out of town but asked me (trusting my taste!) to get her a yard and a half of six different fabrics. A challenge of tastes AND friendship?!
My husband's one rule about bringing more fabric into the house is that I have room for it. In the middle of my sewing, I realized this might pose a problem. Before I knew it, I had everything out on the table and discovered I had been hanging on to a lot of fabric scraps and lengths that weren't 100% cotton or were really ugly colors that someone gave me. I 'let' go even if there was a slight memory involved and sorted out quite a lot for the charity bag. I feel 'light' and a bit smug when I will be able to put away my new finds within minutes of coming home tomorrow.
I'm finishing a quilt I'm making for a friend's birthday. I just have the border and some applique to finish. I'm still working on a new rail fence scrap project. I have three varieties of colors in this one. Twelve of the squares are in every shade of green I could find in my scrap box; six of them are in pinks and six are in blues.
My trip to the fabric warehouse will have some added interest tomorrow. A friend is going out of town but asked me (trusting my taste!) to get her a yard and a half of six different fabrics. A challenge of tastes AND friendship?!
My husband's one rule about bringing more fabric into the house is that I have room for it. In the middle of my sewing, I realized this might pose a problem. Before I knew it, I had everything out on the table and discovered I had been hanging on to a lot of fabric scraps and lengths that weren't 100% cotton or were really ugly colors that someone gave me. I 'let' go even if there was a slight memory involved and sorted out quite a lot for the charity bag. I feel 'light' and a bit smug when I will be able to put away my new finds within minutes of coming home tomorrow.
Enhancing the Usual . . .
Homemade chicken or beef soup is always a welcoming scent in the kitchen especially when a hungry husband is heading in the door. I've never had much of a fight in getting my children to eat it. While rice or pasta is a great addition to either soup, homemade noodles might get you a mother of the year award . . . at least in your own family! It takes minimal ingredients with a little effort.
Fat, Homemade Noodles
3 eggs, slightly beaten
Enough all-purpose flour stirred in to form a workable dough.
One teaspoon salt (optional)
Thoroughly mix in the dry ingredients until you have a dough you can roll out relatively easily. Divide you dough into three pieces. Take one piece and roll out as thin as you can on a well-floured board. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into fat strips and place on a baking sheet, one layer deep. Continue with the rest of the dough.
Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Add a tablespoon of oil and gradually add in your noodles, stirring to keep them from sticking. It shouldn't take more than five minutes or so until they are cooked through depending on how thick you rolled them out. Drain and add to your soup.
It's cheaper than buying enough pasta for a large family and even the children can get involved in rolling out the dough. The noodles can also be thoroughly dried, bagged and kept for a day or two.
One of my college daughters loves these noodles and reduces the recipe to make herself just enough for a one-person meal.
You can also take the fresh noodles, deep fry them and dust them with cinnamon and sugar.
Fat, Homemade Noodles
3 eggs, slightly beaten
Enough all-purpose flour stirred in to form a workable dough.
One teaspoon salt (optional)
Thoroughly mix in the dry ingredients until you have a dough you can roll out relatively easily. Divide you dough into three pieces. Take one piece and roll out as thin as you can on a well-floured board. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into fat strips and place on a baking sheet, one layer deep. Continue with the rest of the dough.
Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Add a tablespoon of oil and gradually add in your noodles, stirring to keep them from sticking. It shouldn't take more than five minutes or so until they are cooked through depending on how thick you rolled them out. Drain and add to your soup.
It's cheaper than buying enough pasta for a large family and even the children can get involved in rolling out the dough. The noodles can also be thoroughly dried, bagged and kept for a day or two.
One of my college daughters loves these noodles and reduces the recipe to make herself just enough for a one-person meal.
You can also take the fresh noodles, deep fry them and dust them with cinnamon and sugar.
Ya Got That Right . . .
"The greatest mistake is trying to be more agreeable than you can be."
-- Walter Bagehot
"Nobody talks so constantly about God as those who insist that there is no God."
-- Heywood Broun
-- Walter Bagehot
"Nobody talks so constantly about God as those who insist that there is no God."
-- Heywood Broun
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Where will it all end . . .?
The United States certainly seems to continue in its decline. We still have much to be thankful for as we have one of best countries in which to live. It seems, however, that our political powers that be are doing all they can to stifle creativity, threaten jobs, and overtax our incomes. Although the economy is of importance, our smallest citizens tend to be overlooked in everyone's immediate anxiety - the unborn. We can live without a stable economy. The unborn can't live with abortion.
It puzzles me why our current administration is so set on making wholesale murder so accessible. If our president had been conceived in today's world, his college-age mother most likely would have taken the easy route and aborted him. Fortunately, for him, abortion was against the law in his womb time. There is also a higher percentage of abortions in the black community. Shouldn't a president of a definite ethnic background be concerned?
Now that the embryonic stem cell research has been given a huge green light, how much more danger comes to the unborn. We are cannibalizing our future when the deceased future may have held the answer to the questions we look for through research. The senselessness of embryonic stem cell research sickens me. To date, there have not been any grand successes to validate murder - not that it is ever validated. Meanwhile, adult stem cell research is showing promise and success - no babies harmed in the process.
Our vice president is Catholic. The speaker of the house is Catholic. Our governor and his wife are Catholic. They are all thoroughly in favor of abortion. I know you can't judge what is in a person's heart but when these people present themselves for Holy Communion, the administering priest should refuse to participate in a sacrilege. Their outward signs certainly attest to a lack of heart when they support pre-born infanticide.
And to the many Catholics who supported the president's election to office twice, I wonder if they did their research? President Obama voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act four times, horrifyingly voting against protecting babies who survived abortion and voting in favor of leaving them to die. A vote against this legislation was a vote for infanticide.
It puzzles me why our current administration is so set on making wholesale murder so accessible. If our president had been conceived in today's world, his college-age mother most likely would have taken the easy route and aborted him. Fortunately, for him, abortion was against the law in his womb time. There is also a higher percentage of abortions in the black community. Shouldn't a president of a definite ethnic background be concerned?
Now that the embryonic stem cell research has been given a huge green light, how much more danger comes to the unborn. We are cannibalizing our future when the deceased future may have held the answer to the questions we look for through research. The senselessness of embryonic stem cell research sickens me. To date, there have not been any grand successes to validate murder - not that it is ever validated. Meanwhile, adult stem cell research is showing promise and success - no babies harmed in the process.
Our vice president is Catholic. The speaker of the house is Catholic. Our governor and his wife are Catholic. They are all thoroughly in favor of abortion. I know you can't judge what is in a person's heart but when these people present themselves for Holy Communion, the administering priest should refuse to participate in a sacrilege. Their outward signs certainly attest to a lack of heart when they support pre-born infanticide.
And to the many Catholics who supported the president's election to office twice, I wonder if they did their research? President Obama voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act four times, horrifyingly voting against protecting babies who survived abortion and voting in favor of leaving them to die. A vote against this legislation was a vote for infanticide.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Rainy Days and Mondays . . .
The weatherman here in California forecast morning gloom with afternoon sunshine. As of 11:30, it is overcast and cold. My favorite kind of weather! I have bread rising, the house has been picked up, and an afternoon of quilting is before me.
My Lenten vow to complete projects is working out . . . so far! At least my pile of completed quilts is much higher than my quilts in progress. My husband treated me to six yards of a great floral fabric yesterday so temptation to veer off the set path looms.
Besides the bowls of rising bread dough, I have some boneless pork simmering in barbecue sauce. It is getting a long, slow, all-day cooking so we can have pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. Besides the usual slice of onion and cheese, we complete the sandwich with cole slaw dressed with Asian salad dressing. I know, it sounds odd but it works.
Although we have given up eating out for Lent, we are finding it enjoyable to have 'fast food' night at home. I never think to make tacos as they are easier to obtain already made and hot. Since the beginning of Lent, I'm finding it is more fun to prepare favorites at home and they taste better, too. One of the blessings of Lent? I like to think so.
As I finish up some of my quilts in waiting, ideas are running through me head for yet to be cut fabric. The fan pattern has been a favorite of mine but, recently, the rail fence pattern has been used for three of my quilts. Up until this year, I have never made a quilt with that pattern as it seemed too simple. I was amazed to realize how many nuances can be achieved with it. My favorite quilt was made with every scrap I could find. It was a pattern but it was not a pattern and very cheerful.
It is kind of like people. You don't all have to be one or two of a kind to work together!
My Lenten vow to complete projects is working out . . . so far! At least my pile of completed quilts is much higher than my quilts in progress. My husband treated me to six yards of a great floral fabric yesterday so temptation to veer off the set path looms.
Besides the bowls of rising bread dough, I have some boneless pork simmering in barbecue sauce. It is getting a long, slow, all-day cooking so we can have pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. Besides the usual slice of onion and cheese, we complete the sandwich with cole slaw dressed with Asian salad dressing. I know, it sounds odd but it works.
Although we have given up eating out for Lent, we are finding it enjoyable to have 'fast food' night at home. I never think to make tacos as they are easier to obtain already made and hot. Since the beginning of Lent, I'm finding it is more fun to prepare favorites at home and they taste better, too. One of the blessings of Lent? I like to think so.
As I finish up some of my quilts in waiting, ideas are running through me head for yet to be cut fabric. The fan pattern has been a favorite of mine but, recently, the rail fence pattern has been used for three of my quilts. Up until this year, I have never made a quilt with that pattern as it seemed too simple. I was amazed to realize how many nuances can be achieved with it. My favorite quilt was made with every scrap I could find. It was a pattern but it was not a pattern and very cheerful.
It is kind of like people. You don't all have to be one or two of a kind to work together!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Quotes with meanings . . .
Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real."
-- Iris Murdoch
"I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way."
-- Franklin P. Adams
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."
-- Leo Tolstoy
"The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory."
-- Paul Fix
-- Iris Murdoch
"I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way."
-- Franklin P. Adams
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."
-- Leo Tolstoy
"The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory."
-- Paul Fix
Monday, March 2, 2009
Quotes to laugh or think about . . .
Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles."
-- Frank Lloyd Wright
"If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style."
-- Quentin Crisp
"I don't really trust a sane person."
-- Lyle Alzado
-- Frank Lloyd Wright
"If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style."
-- Quentin Crisp
"I don't really trust a sane person."
-- Lyle Alzado
Sunday, March 1, 2009
A site of interest . . .
Now, I'm speaking soley from an unbiased viewpoint here, but you should check out the following: www.recipescramble.com It is called The Recipe Ranch and it has an unusual but fun way of approaching the subject of cooking/baking. Make sure you go to the blog, too. I think the writer did a great job for a first web page. Oh, yeah . . . That part about the unbiased viewpoint? Forget it! The new web page was done by my daughter! : - )
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