Thanks, Sarah

Thanks, Sarah, for the sweet plant.

If you're thinking about Thanksgiving cooking, or anytime cooking, google "A Year of Slow Cooking." I'm late coming on to the site, despite the urgings of several of my friends. And in fact, my crock pots tend to sit for months at a time, unused. I'm determined to change that, though, since I really need to cook more and better. For Thanksgiving, I'll be making the mashed potatoes recipe. So happy that my newest crockpot has a "warm" setting. How great is that?

And thinking of good stuff, I stumbled on the Private Selection edemame at Kroger yesterday when I was looking for frozen corn (for the crock pot creamed corn.) It's positively yummy, like all the Private Selection brands I've tried.

Years ago, my mother tried to make us eat soybeans from the field, and brats that we were, we wouldn't touch them. I really, really don't think they were anything like these.

Loving IKEA

Not every week, or month, or even every year, I love a trip to IKEA.

You just never know what you'll find in a bin there.

I really loved this kitchen,

guess it sort of reminded me of mine.

The excuse for the trip was to get some inexpensive flower pots, and I actually got what I went for. And other stuff too.

Here We Go Again

So very recently, July 29 to be exact, I bought a new iron for my studio. And yesterday, when I was pressing this block, the iron suddenly started to scorch the fabric and smoke started pouring out of the iron. This morning, it wouldn't heat at all.

So once again, I have a new iron. I know I'm rough on irons in that I have them on for hours at a time, sometimes, but a lifetime of four months? That's crazy - it's not like I buy the cheapest one. Quite fortunately, I have the sales slip and original box from the July iron and have started the warranty process, but I just can't do without an iron. Besides, in some perverse way, I think that the fact that there is another iron waiting will make my new iron last for years.

As for the quilt block, the scorch marks are actually kind of nice for what I'm doing, so there's nothing lost there. Could have been a lot worse.

Wednesday Miscellaneous

Ah, Nora, with a very sore toe. She and I went to Target and got a pair of fur-lined clogs so that she'd have something to wear that would accomodate the swelling. Very cute shoes, from the slipper department but with suede uppers and a regular shoe bottom. And, by last night she was getting around much better. Kids are amazing.

Just started work on an Advent worship banner. Obviously I need to work quickly. Basically, the idea (from the worship material) is to have what looks like a sappling growing out of a crack in concrete. I'm not sure yet just how to do the sappling, but I have a good start on the "concrete" with the crack. I think that the sappling will be pine, because, after all, it's for Advent.

So grateful for the rain, and so grateful that it's not snow. It is the middle of November after all.

Front Only

Just finished this quilt, but we can only admire the front for now. The back is pretty nice too, but to look at it would be to give someone's surprise away. That's all I'm saying.

My Best Boy

On Saturday, my best boy and I spent the afternoon together. His first request was to sew, so we made a sweet tiny Christmas quilt with Santa and John Deere's on the back. His second was to go to the library, so we did that too. Got to do that one now, since in a couple of weeks my library will be closed for a whole month for renovations.

Then we played on my back porch, which he always enjoys, and took a walk to the park at the end of the street. Not much of a park, really, but he has the most fun walking on the curb on the way up, pretending that there is water on one side and "poison idy" on the other. Danger on both sides. He took the precious quilt with him.

On the way back we admired these fake deer in someone's yard. My neighbors say that there is a huge buck that is coming down from the park at night, but I haven't seen it yet.

I thought Aaron might want to go out of eat, or at least pick up a Happy Meal, but no, he wanted to "cook at home." I made grilled cheese but what he really enjoyed was peanut butter on whole wheat crackers. Nora loves those too. Got to remember to get their mom a box of those crackers.

Yes, It Is

Yes, it is, at least I think so, my last rose of summer.

And yes, it is kind of blurry because it's a very breezy Saturday morning.