Friday, September 30, 2011

Crash!

Sigh.  Firefox crashed.  So let's start again.

What was I writing about?  Oh!  Cooking.  I was saying we're still getting used to the gluten-free cooking.  It isn't hard really.  It's just that you can't always rely on your lifetime of experience Cooking The Other Way.  At least I can't.  A "natural" cook I am most certainly not.  I have a hard enough time these days getting used to having an electric stove!  Yeesh.

So anyway.....  The other day I baked oatmeal cookies, orange date muffins, and a different sandwich bread.  I used to have a good idea, for instance, when the cookies were ready to come out of the oven.  No more!  The last batch came out like rocks and this batch was soft and fell to pieces.  I can't look at a recipe filled with things like amaranth flour, sorghum flour, quinoa flour,  rice flour, almond flour, flax meal, potato starch, xantham gum (among many other things now in the pantry) and have a clue as to how it will come out....or taste!  Each baking session is an interesting experiment.  The Tramp, bless his heart, eats it all....even the rocks.  And he compliments the cook too.  Smart man.  ;-)



The little fish tanks on the counter are good feng shui.  Or not.....but I like them.  :-)  Actually the blue one belongs to Grand #1.  I was put in charge of Cook....yes, he named it Cook (the reason why is a mystery) .....while the Sailor Son was underway. 

The season is finally changing.  It's going to be almost cold this weekend!  Yay!  In the meantime it's bringing in all the bugs.  Ugh.  The ants are the worst.  The exterminator has treated for them but apparently we have to wait seven days for the full effect.  They're coming in under the wall by Charlie's cage.  It hasn't been too bad in the pantry (on the other side of the dining room doorway) but it's nasty when they swarm all over Charlie's fruit and veg dish.  Ugh, ugh, ugh.  But we shall overcome!!  :-)


At bee the other day, one of the gals showed off her quilt from the retreat last year.  Click on the photo for a better look.  It's marvelous!!!  Mine has flowers all over it, but she went with an Easter theme.  I just love it! 

Even her label is fabulous.


Mom (hiding) has finished her latest Maggie Walker quilt, "Fox Chase."  All needle-turn applique and hand quilting.  Also fabulous!

Another quilt top finished for Patchwork Memories.  These were all sorority t-shirts.  Fun!


And tonight I made up two of the little duffle bags from the pattern Mom bought at stash dash.  Cute!  These are the smallest size.  Just 4"x2"x2".  The strawberry one is for Mom.  I wonder if she's going to want them in all four sizes???


It's a nice pattern, well written.  The bag is nice and firm.  All the raw edges are bound.  It's kind of fiddly, but maybe the larger ones are easier.


But then I never start with the easy version.  Of anything.  Ever.  :-)

3 comments:

Starzie said...

Those little bags are super cute, You made me a bag like that a few years a go and i have it in my handbag to keep all the little fiddly things...awesome when ds loves to empty the contents!
Love nanas new quilt!

Jenny said...

How lucky you are to have a Mum who quilts too. I am the only one in my family who quilts, (no Mum, Grans, Aunties ever quilted that I know of) so I am not really sure where the quilting gene came from!

Bonnie said...

cute, cute, cute... those bags are darling. I bought a new purse pattern last week. It's time to try to make it up. And, I have a cute small change purse type pattern to try too. Thanks for the inspiration.