Quilting, sorting, organizing . . .

 
I made myself organize my fabric stash before letting myself get into any sewing. It has paid off in that I now have more than enough hand sewing to do and lots of inspirations running through my head. My husband figures that my favorite aspects of quilting are the idea and the last stitch.

I keep telling myself to finish everything before starting a new project but what if the idea escapes me by then? Think of the loss to the world? :-) Fortunately, holiday seasons will be here sooner than we think so I'm already planning on making quilted banners and Christmas stockings for selling and gift giving. It will get me off the quilt making . . . for awhile!

Friday NIght Pasta . . .

A favorite around here is vegetable pasta sauce. Ever since I discovered this recipe, that has been the favored stuff the family wants spooned over their plates of spaghetti. It also makes a good soup base for tomato soup. Just because this is a relatively easy recipe to throw together as it just needs to simmer on the stove, I put some bread to rise. After all, one cannot have an Italian meal without some garlic bread on the side, right?

Oh, by the way, the recipe for this sauce was posted a few months ago. It was posted April 19, 2009 under Low-Maintenance Italian Sauce. I always double the recipe so I can freeze a few containers for emergency, last-minute meals.

Television vs. psychiatry . . .

"Television has done much for psychiatry by spreading information about it, as well as contributing to the need for it."
       -- Alfred Hitchcock

 

Besides that, the commercials now advertise just about any medication to take care of those problems in addition to a multitude of others! Sadly, there are probably a lot of people who take the commercials for gospel, want to apply them to their ailments, and convince their doctors to prescribe for them. You have to wonder how many people actually need what they want . . . but, then, that could apply to just abut anything in our lives!

Where are we failing . . . ?

 
Although I may have mentioned this before, I'm still floored by what people do not understand about their Faith. This morning, we were coming to the Consecration of the Mass. The priest was about to say the words of Consecration and bring our Lord into our presence in an even more perfect way. The congregation is quiet, attention is focused on the altar . . . And then this woman comes clattering into the church. She stops at the votive lights at the back of the church and we can all clearly hear her slide in her quarters for the candle donation. She is not through yet. She goes the entire length of the church to the front. There is another votive light stand to the left of the altar. Again, she dumps in a noisy amount of quarters and stands in prayer in front of the picture of Our Lady of Guadeloupe. She is seemingly oblivious to the fact that there is 'something' going on here and she might be a disruption. Abruptly completing her prayer petitions to the Blessed Mother, she turns and heads back down the aisle . . . just as the Consecration takes place!

Yes, Mary is the Mother of Jesus but Jesus IS God and it was HIS Mass taking place. Granted, this woman was looking for some solace in the confines of the church but how sad she didn't seem to acknowledge or understand was she was missing.

Quilting in spite of the heat . . .

 
In spite of the very warm temperatures, today, I managed to get started on two, new quilts. Under the green-bordered quilt in progress are three that still need a lot of hand sewing. The colorful balloon quilt is slated to be a baby-sized one. No particular reason for making this one except I liked the colors of the fabric I had on hand.

Summer is here!

 

The first benefit of summer . . . fresh fruit at reasonable prices! My dessert is a melding of the old and the new. The strawberries were on sale and I had one, last bag of frozen peaches from our tree last year. I decided that something tall and cool was called for since the California summer is starting to make itself known. I have a layer of crushed strawberries, peach whipped cream, peach sauce, whipped cream, and topped with a drizzle of the peach sauce and a fresh strawberry. My husband has a wearing schedule the next two days so I decided to 'build up' his strength a bit.

Interesting quotes . . .

 

"There's no secret about success. Did you ever know a successful man who didn't tell you about it?"
-- Kin Hubbard

"When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: 'Whose?'"
-- Don Marquis

"Everything is funny as long as it is happening to Somebody Else."
-- Will Rogers