Then there is always another road after that . . .

The road to success is always under construction.

Anonymous

Saturday Afternoon Quilting . . .

 
Even with a shopping trip to the grocery store, I managed lunch and a couple of hours of sewing today. I finally got the binding put on an almost complete quilt as well as the last of the pieces on another quilt. Lots of quilting to do on the sea shell and outerspace quilt but they look promising. I'm excited about the one with the circles. I saw a comparable pattern in a quilting book at the fabric store and almost purchased it for this patten specifically. I thought better of the expenditure, however. I was going through my old, standby books today and discovered this very same pattern featured in it . . . and it seems it has been a long-standing interest as the templates for the circle pattern were tucked in the book! Didn't use any new fabric on the cutting out today. It is one of my more organized scrap quilts and I'm looking forward to sewing on it next week.

Went with manacotti for dinner this evening, those large, tube noodles your stuff with meat? I learned a long time ago that you don't need to cook the noodles first which makes stuffing them a lot easier. And, the fact that you don't cook them and then bake them in the meat, etc., gives you a firmer pasta.

Our poor peach tree was attacked by hungry birds so not a huge harvest this year. We did pick enough to make a peach crisp for dinner.

Hope all the Sundays around the world are wonderful for everyone!

Making every day count . . .

The person who has lived the most is not the one with the most years but the one with the richest experiences.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Had to laugh . . .

A local fast food place handed out flyers about a bring your dog to lunch day. They would be selling the food outside and would have something for the dogs. Not only did we see this as a bad idea as most dogs are not very polite in a mob, but they need some spelling help with their flyer. We just howled when we read, "All dogs must be leased." Between laughter, we all wanted to know where one would lease a dog! I wonder if the company has noticed/been informed that they most likely meant 'leashed'?

Just made my favorite quote list!

Alliance: In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pocket that they cannot separately plunder a third.

Ambrose Bierce

As promised - Apple Cake with Streusel

My local tasting committee aka family gave a hearty thumbs up to this recipe last night. As promised, given their recommendation, I will post it for anyone who would like to add it to their recipe collection.

Apple Streusel Cake

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup chopped apples (green pie apples work best for me)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Dash of cloves
1/2 stick melted butter

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cukp granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup fresh orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9x13 baking pan or two smaller ones.

In a bowl combine the brown sugar, apples, flour, spices, lemon juice and butter. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda & powder. Set aside.

In yet another bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the vanilla, orange juice and flour and beat until just smooth - don't overbeat. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Top with the apple mixture so that it covers the cake batter. Bake at 350degrees for approximately 35-40 minutes. The topping should be just set. Cool on a rack.

The cake portion is less sweet than what you might be used to but it really brings out the apple topping.

Quotes with some depth . . .

"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."
       -- Terry Pratchett

"'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."
       -- Abraham Lincoln

"There are plenty of good five-cent cigars in the country. The trouble is they cost a quarter. What this country needs is a good five-cent nickel."
       -- Franklin P. Adams