Quilt for Baby K, Next Phase--Ideas, Anyone?

Progress has been made on Baby K's quilt, according to kind suggestions received here!
(My apologies for the lame photo--the quilt top is actually quite square in real life!)

I think the two new borders set it off well--the new white border brings out the blocks, and the scrap border seems to frame the whole thing. I've also chosen the fabric for the back--think it ties the top together very nicely.

Now for the next phase--with the addition of the borders, the quilt will be 36" by36"--a little on the small side still. Another border? Two? Pieced? Single fabric? White? Print? Would another border or borders add or detract? I'll let the ideas incubate.

Any input?

Fall Food Rituals--Fire Roasted Green Chiles

Late last month I indulged in my favorite of all fall food rituals--putting away my annual supply of fire-roasted green chiles.

I'm happy to say that beautiful, fresh green chiles are available locally here now--not too long ago, my dad would ship them to me from New Mexico via UPS (and I imagine the UPS truck smelled wonderful!) and I'd roast them on the charcoal grill. This year's local chiles were particularly delightful--very flavorful, and hot enough but not too hot.


We bought two burlap bags of chiles--about two bushels--which the vendor roasted for us in his rotary cage: the most wonderful fragrance in the world! After letting them steam in plastic bags for a while, the blackened peels slip right off, and we then freeze the chiles in bags of five or six, ready to use. We'll enjoy their smoky flavor in our southwest-style dishes throughout the winter!



Credit to 'Inside Nanabread's Head' for the photos!

Fall Food Rituals--Onions

Last week I indulged in one of my favorite ways of celebrating the fall season--my annual purchase of a very big bag of onions.

Onions seem to me to be the essence of the fall harvest--I look forward to the 25-pound bags appearing in the produce department of my favorite small grocery store. The texture of the onions and of the bag make me happy--and I simply adore the labels and graphics!

(I will admit right here that I am developing quite a collection of onion bag labels--many of them definitely deserve to be recycled and celebrated, and a couple of projects are swirling around in the back of my mind. We will see what comes out!)

While I was horrified to note that my bag of onions this year cost $6.00 (much more than I've paid in the past), it still comes out to only $.25 a pound--a definite good buy!

A 25 pound bag gives me plenty of onions to share and cook with for some time to come, though it's sometimes a race to use them all before they start sprouting in late winter or early spring. It then becomes a challenge!

Now to bring out my collection of onion recipes: onion soup, baked onions, onion pie, grilled onions. . . what else?

Peach Harvest

This week we picked four big boxes of beautiful peaches from my old, faithful peach tree--we had a very late spring this year and I was afraid the frost would come before they ripened, but my old friend came through again--one last time.

Many years ago my dad found a peach pit growing in his yard, nurtured it along with his wonderful green thumb, and then brought it 600 miles to plant it in my yard. Although it's hard to predict how a wild peach tree will produce, Dad was right--the little tree faithfully brought forth many bounteous crops of sweet and juicy peaches that ripened late in the season, as well as shading my kids (and then their kids) as they played and climbed.

I'm sad to say this will be its last harvest. Time, weather, and insects have taken their toll, and although we have babied it along, we now have to say goodby. There will be a big gap in our garden--how we will miss its fruit and shade!

My dad loved trees, and continued to plant them well into his eighties. He too is gone now, leaving a hole in our lives, but we still have his strong roots...the more lasting kind of roots we can keep and pass on!

Thanks, Daddy! I'm eating a peach for you. . .

Thrift Thursday--It Was Cabbage Day at the Thrift Store

Just when I thought I must already have a ceramic example of each and every item found in the produce section. . .

. . .a bok choy leaf--a bok choy leaf divided relish dish! It's about 10 inches in diameter, divided in four sections by the raised ribs, and that perfect yellow-green bok choy color and texture. There are no marks on the back, but it's really very nicely made, and cost $1.50. It delights me!

We had just picked up the fabulous majolica cabbage teapot that I posted earlier, and then on the way to the door spotted a little cabbage creamer pitcher which had seen better days and stayed at the store. Cabbage Day at the thrift store! It almost seems like a sign from the Yard Sale Gods. . .but what could it mean?

If the little cabbage creamer is still there next time, it's coming home with me.

Scraping Wallpaper..and Scraping...and Scraping...

I'm facing the consequences of past deeds--I need to replace the carpet in the bedroom, but before I can do that I have to paint. Sadly enough, before I can paint I have to deal with that dated 80's wallpaper. I've put it off too long.

I really don't get to complain at all. I chose the paper and I pasted it up, and now I must take it down. I can say, though, that I wish I hadn't done such a thorough job--the paper was pre-pasted, but I used a good-quality paste as well, just to make it last. And it did--not a single lifted seam or dangling spot. Both of which I could use at this point!

I can no longer lie in the bed each morning, staring with dread at the wall. I've made a goal to remove a few square feet a day. Each morning, I will take my old towel and red plastic Betty Crocker dough scraper ($1.00 at Dollar Tree), and soak and scrape away for an hour.

It's a contemplative job--plenty of time to think and plan the new decor!

Miniatures Monday--Pea Pod Salt and Pepper

Our family does love the thrift store--the adventure, the quest, the surprises! We sometimes declare a contest as to who can come up with the most needed, the most delightful, the most useful, or even the most bizarre find on any particular trip.

This trip daughter Ibu wins the Most Delightful Find Ever prize! Salt and pepper shakers--two tiny ceramic peas in a pod. I have to admit that in my rather extensive ceramic-fruits-and-vegetables collection, I haven't had a single example of peas, or their pods, and Ibu has magnanimously allowed me to add it to my collection.

Each little pea is one inch in diameter and nestles perfectly into the charming pod, which is very nicely detailed. They have a delightfully fresh-from-the-garden green color and texture and are beautifully made.

There are no markings, but the shakers have plastic plugs so they can't be too terribly old. I can hardly resist picking them up and enjoying them!