I had all the squares cut already and the sun was bright through the windows in my sunroom, and the quilt went together quickly.
I finished it by tying the middle of the squares and each corner of the squares with brown embroidery thread.
And because it is Texas after all, I made sure the red print reflected that fact with these little cowboy hats. I had such a peaceful morning, sitting in the sun and sewing this gift for little baby Aidan.
Mike worked his last day with DPS on Friday. His friends and coworkers gave him a very nice reception at the Courthouse. The cake included a replica of the patch worn on the uniform as well as the sergeant's stripes. It was a bittersweet occasion because he has a great love for his job as well as the people he works with. But, he is ready to move into a new phase of his life, in areas with less stress such as mission work with our church. On Saturday we met some family members in San Antonio to celebrate.
I've watched this movie twice since yesterday. "Waitress" is the story of a young, very unhappy, woman who is a master pie-baker. She is saving money in order to leave her abusive husband when she discovers that she is pregnant. She doesn't want the child at all, and she actually doesn't know how to make her life any better. She feels trapped and worthless. She doesn't discover that she is actually rich in life because of her 2 waitress friends, the pie diner's owner Joe, and her extreme baking talent. She doesn't even discover her own self worth until her baby girl is born.
A friend gave me a tiny banana tree at the beginning of summer and look at it now-it has tripled in size. I hope to give it a permanent home somewhere in my yard soon. I'm supposed to cut it back this winter, so I'll probably plant it in the spring. Each new leaf is about 18 inches long. Actually each new leaf is larger than the one before. It is fascinating to me. My friend tells me that he has grown a few bananas on his. That's what I'm counting on!
Over the last week, we have gotten almost 10 inches of rain. That's more than our total for the last 18 months. As you know, it takes a hard rain to make the water run off of the soil, and you can tell how hard it is raining in this picture. Mike braves the storm, yes-it is thundering and lightning, and digs out a runoff area so that the water is diverted into our newly enlarged tank. He already had the "dry creek" built but it was raining so hard that the water was running over the sides. He runs out and shovels out some more dirt and builds up a better dam. It really helps and the tank is now half full of water.
This is my muddy view from the front deck. I can see the water from here! It is very reddish brown from the clay but it will settle. The water will clear up and water plants will start to grow. Then it will be ready for some catfish. Hopefully we will get some more rain and it will finish filling up.
Oh....these are so good!
This is Pecorino Romano since this is the strongest flavored cheese I had in the fridge.
Melt the butter in 400 degree oven, using a 9x13 glass pan. When the pan is hot and the butter is melted, sprinkle the cheese evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place the potatoes, cut side down, over the cheese. Season the skins with sea salt and black pepper.Bake for about 40 minutes.
As you can see, the potatoes oven-fry in the butter, and the cheese becomes a golden brown, crunchy crust.
Cool slightly then turn the potatoes over to reveal the cheesy crust. These are really tasty. I also have used this method with regular russet potatoes but, to me, the fingerlings are better.
You can find Tasty Kitchen here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/, and my first recipe is listed under the bread category. You can find me here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/categories/breads/. I am under the recent recipes section.
I am standing where our new "fishing deck" will be, looking toward what used to be the shallow end.
Amos runs down and then across the bottom of what will be the deep end. He blends in with the dirt and is hard to see.
I stand at the bottom and take a picture looking back toward our house. Hopefully this will be the only time I'll be able to do that. When we do catch some water, I will definitely post a picture!
This is the cast of one of my favorite series ever. (Thanks James for reminding me about it-glad you like it too). I started watching it on BBC during the 2nd season. Last year, I bought the entire series on DVD and we have been watching them over again.
Amos sits where our little bridge once started. This will be the site of our new deck with a fire pit (I hope).
Our friend enlarges the shallow end. It is at least twice as big at this point.
He carefully digs the dirt from the bottom and pushes it up the side to make a bank. He has to be careful not to get the dozer too vertical as he goes.
