Cabin Time

I spent the last week at my brother's cabin with my folks and their 2 cats. It was truly wonderful. I didn't get as much done as I had anticipated, on the other hand I did get most of 2 rows of my Dear Jane quilt cut out. I did take books to read and my knitting to do as well... but I think I got 5 pages read and maybe 2 rows knitted!
My Dad wants to be on the go, so we compromised with him and said that we would go out for coffee or lunch every other day. That was ok. The weather was sunny and cold. High about 38 and low about 24 most of the time. I chose to sleep in the loft - the ladder/stairs I am not used too and it took a couple of sore days to get used too!
The best part of the week were the eagles. At any time we saw from 1 to 3 of them. They would arrive at about breakfast and stay until about 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Sometimes just sitting on a branch of the tree or a rock across the river. On Wed though, they were playing! They were playing "king of the hill". There were 3 of them and one was on the rock and the 2nd would come in and knock the first one off and then the 3rd would come in and knock him off and then it would repeat! It was funny to watch. This went on for some time before the game ended. Then one of the eagles just sat there for a long time. This was a real treat to watch.
I came home with new ideas and while I was sick all week, I did come home refreshed in many ways. I have many things to do and many ideas.
I think this week I will get things ready to sew a scrappy bargello with the online group at Quiltville.com. I also have a baby quilt that needs to be done and several other things that need attending too. Time to get back into the saddle and start quilting!!
Talk at you later,
Cheryl

New Items

Quick Note:
I also added a list of books that I've been reading- they are really good. We also saw the Bucket List and it's absolutely wonderful. I've seen it twice now and it will go down as one of my all time favorites!

I have added a Link to Anita's BedofRoses blog. I recommend it- she is wonderful, has lots to say and is very talented! She taught me that knitting is NOT impossible!!
Also thru the end of this month there is a virtual quilt show going on at Quilt University. If you go to the home page- the link is on the right hand side about 1/2 way down. It's called Beating the Blues. There are some wonderful quilts in there. The idea was to brighten up the grey days of January.
For anyone who is interested, they also have wonderful online classes. I've been taking classes there for a couple of years and love it. It's the only quilt class I can attend in my pj's, show up when I want to (during the proper dates) and meet new friends from all over the world.
talk to you later,
Cheryl

New Pizza Sauce

Due to many allergies and health issues in our family, I've been re-doing some of my recipes. One that I just did yesterday was pizza. Needed to come up with a pizza sauce with no tomatoes, and toppings that didn't include pepper. So borrowing the hamburger sausage recipe from my neighbor Pegi (thanks Pegi!)- and making a spinach pesto it turned out really well. Here is the recipe:

1. Brown 1/2 lb hamburger with 1 T fennel, 1 tsp of dried oregano, and 1 tsp of basil (or adjust to taste). Also add a bit of salt, 1/2 chopped onion, and 1 clove of garlic, minced. Drain well. Can be made up ahead of time and refrig. or frozen until ready.
2. In a food processor add: 4 cups of firmly pressed fresh spinach leaves, 1 clove of garlic, 1 T basil (or 1/2 cup fresh if you have it), little bit of salt, Process until coarsely chopped. Then drizzle 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil in until mixture is finely chopped. Then blend, by hand, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese. Mix well. This can also be made ahead of time and stand in the refrig. This can also be frozen.
3.Make up your favorite pizza dough- we use one for the bread machine and add Italian seasoning to it for more flavor. When it is done with the first rising, punch down, and divide into 2. Roll each out into a circle to fit your pan. Cover and let rise 30 min. in a warm place. (turn oven on to warm, turn off and place dough in oven).
4. Divide the spinach pesto between the two crusts, divide the hamburger mixture between the two pizzas, then add sliced onion, sliced mushrooms, feta cheese and grated parmesan cheese.
5. Wrap foil around the edges to keep from over cooking. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 15-20 min. Let cool about 5 min before serving.
6. Enjoy!! Refrig. any leftover pizza for breakfast or lunch! (if there is any)

One thing that I am in search of is a salad dressing. The key is that is cannot have any citrus, vinegar, tomato, pepper of any kind, nuts, soy or mayonaise. It also must be homemade, as many of the preservatives are a problem. If anyone can help out I would truly appreciate it.

I have also been packing. I am headed for my brother's cabin next week to sew, read and play cards with my parents. Molly will be holding down the fort for everyone here. Auntie E will keep her belly fed during the day and daddy will keep her belly rubbed at night...
I should have lots to talk about when I get back as I will be offline until then. No phone, no internet, no tv... quiet.
see you later and I hope you get a chance to try the pizza
Cheryl

Daisy's Garden Blog

I've been wanting to start a blog for sometime and thought today was as good a time as any.
Let me introduce you to Molly. She is my closest friend. Her favorite thing is bellyrubs and naps in my lap during the day. She goes everywhere with us. When our daughter got married, she even walked her down the aisle! If you keep up with me, you will get to know and love Molly as much as I do. She just turned 6 and shares the house with 2 cats- Graham (about 8 yrs old) and Rosie (11 yrs old) both of whom are bigger than she is.
The things that keep me busy here are my quilting, reading and cooking. My 3 favorite things. I will be posting more about all of that in the future as well. I am in the middle of working on new recipes. I cook for 3 of us- all with different needs. I am in a position of relearning and rewriting most of my recipes to fit those needs. I will share some of those here. I hope to get my website up and running better so that I can do that as well.
I have 3 goals. I want to share the books that I read and tell others about them. I want to share my quilting and what I am doing and I want to share my journey in cooking. I am hoping to write a cookbook soon. Whether it will be published or whether I just put it together for a few friends will remain to be seen.
But I hope that anyone who reads this and wishes to comment or ask questions- will. I will do my best to answer.
Tonight I still have to finish my lesson at Quilt University- I am taking an Electric Quilt (EQ6) class on drawing quilt blocks. (Building Blocks). Must do my homework! This way I can turn around and teach what I know in the spring.
goodnight
Cheryl