Christmas quilting day . . .

A sudden idea, last week, has come together pretty well for me. I like it when an inspiration is possible in fabric. It is frustrating when you have a concept in mind but your hands, mind, or fabric at hand won't work with you. This one is approaching the finishing point and it came pretty close to the vision in my mind. So sales on this one! It is a Christmas gift.

Interesting, much as I like this particular quilt, I started it with a certain person in mind which kind of separate me from the 'wants' because I went into it with a definite friend getting this for Christmas. I guess it is my way of letting go otherwise I'd be stacked to the rafters with quilts. . . . okay, I do have a lot of quilts already on hand but they have no way reached the rafters . . . yet!

The pictures of the Holy Family were one fabric and the background was pieced from three different fabrics that I hand sewed into place. I usually top stitch this sort of applique but didn't want the star pattern to be off track with other stitches already in the scene.

Albert Einstein says . . .

If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?

Albert Einstein

Sad commentary on those who are supposed to represent us . . .

I caught the speech  delivered by Jimmy Hoffa Jr. at a union rally. In his speech, he basically declared war on the Tea Party and called them 'sons of b . . . ' fill in the blank yourself. His speech prefaced the next speech by the president of the United States. Mr. Hoffa was praised by the president with not a bit of reprimand at the use of his foul language in reference to fellow Americans. Only Democracy for the chosen few? Does this mean that anyone who has a difference of opinion than that of the president and his cohorts is fair game to slander and ridicule? The president came forth with a speech on 'civility' a year or so ago. I have to take it he meant that one faction has to be civil to the other but it doesn't have to be reciprocated. I wonder about the people who listened to this speech about civilty and the speech by Hoffa, yesterday, and still 'believed'. Something is very wrong here.

Why is the Tea Party so feared by the liberals? What have they said or done that goes against the foundation of this country? Their wants are simple and basically less big government in their lives, reasonable taxes, and freedom. Don't the liberals realize that the Tea Party evolved in opposition to the encroachment of liberal agendas into our lives? Is that the liberal fear - that their plans are so transparent?

Meanwhile, the president, who was elected to be a fair representative of this country, has not kept his promises and stands by while American values are eroded. Name calling seems to be a right of the left! We have the power of prayer but prayer only helps when it prevails throughout our lives. When you vote a liberal into office and ignore the values of life he dismisses, where do your prayers go and exactly what were you praying for in the first place?

Wild in the kitchen . . .

Since we incurred some expense on putting in a new air conditioning unit, I've been doubly careful about stocking the kitchen cupboards. I'm actually having fun trying to make 'something our of nothing' when it comes to meal preparation. Yesterday, I had asparagus from a bargain shopping trip, however, my younger son dislikes the stuff. He will eat it but doesn't enjoy it. In fact, he hates the tender tips and will cut them off and just eat the stem! Anyway, the asparagus got crisp-steamed, chilled, and served with a dollop of Asian dressing. In order to make a holiday meal enjoyable for my son, too, I scrambled through the vegetables and came up with a carrot, cranberry, apple combination. It was my wild card for the day but it won approval.

First, I peeled and diagonally sliced several carrots. I put them in a pot with a pat of butter, a bit of brown sugar, chili flakes (to taste), and 1/4 cup fresh orange juice. I let them simmer until they were almost just starting to get tender. I threw in a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Then I added a generous quarter cup of frozen cranberries and give them five minutes to defrost and get warm. About ten minutes before serving, I put in an unpeeled, diced apple, turned up the heat, and stirred to get the juices evenly coated and cooked down a bit . . . and served! Leftover vegetables rescued from the refrigerator tasted pretty good.

I think that is where people go 'wrong' in the kitchen. Sometimes, you have to take a chance and if you use your instincts about what you think will taste good, you are usually right.

Hey, it's hard to be humble . . .

“A truly humble person never believes that he can be wronged in anything. Truly, we ought to be ashamed to resent whatever is said or done against us; for it is the greatest shame in the world to see that our Creator bears so many insults from His creatures, and that we resent even a little word that is contradictory.” ~St. Teresa of Avila

Quotes with a grain of truth . . .

"You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic."
-- Doris Egan

"It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose yours."
-- Harry S Truman

"The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn."
-- David Russell

"The first half of our lives is ruined by our parents, and the second half by our children."
-- Clarence Darrow