JuSt fOr Fun FRidAy

JuSt fOr Fun FRidAy

sometimes quilty...

sometimes not...

My kobo ereader had a meltdown last night....

Dear Spouse took me shopping before work this morning...

(and very smart too...nipped my day of 'whining' right in the budski!)

He's a Keeper!

Now if I could only find 45 minutes...I might try this kindle cover...we shall see.

Memorial Day

Remembering with Gratitude and Pride

All Those Who Served and Sacrificed

For Our Country and Our Freedom

My Dear Dad - WWII Veteran

He was so very proud to have served

Skinny Sunday - Summertime

Summer doesn't officially start until June 21st...

but here in Floreedah with temps in the 90's...

and my favorite summertime treat hitting the markets...

I'm convinced it's already here!

There is nothing I love more than nice sweet icey cold watermelon....

seedless of course - except I see seeds...I've never understood that.

My watermelon is now all trimmed and cut...
ready for the week...
4 containers worth!

We will eat watermelon....

with our meals...

in between our meals...

sometimes even as a meal!

The only thing better...

might be this...

It's a watermelon Cake!

I found this yesterday at one of our local Publix's....

I ran in to buy an apple after working two back to back WW meetings...

needed a little snack for the drive back to the quilt shop....

NO...the cake did not go home with me...lol

They say you should shop the outer perimeter of the grocery store...

That's where you'll find the "good foods"...

fresh foods like fruits and veggies...

In theory that should work...

except...

Bakeries are most often on the outer fringes too...

And now that I think about it...

in most of the Publix's you have to walk THRU the Bakery to get to the fruit...

They are sneaky that way!

Still...

I stuck to the plan...

grabbed the apple and ran!

Success!!!

Wishing you a wonderful successful week too!

Bloggers Quilt Festival Spring 2014

I am so thrilled to be entering a quilt
for the very first time in

Amy's Creative Side Bloggers Quilt Festival Spring 2014
happening now, over at Amy's Creative Side.

Everyone has a chance of winning some 
pretty nifty giveaways from the festivals awesome sponsors!
So when you're finished here...
remember to check out the Festival link for more details.

Thank you so much Amy Ellis for giving all of us a chance to participate!

This quilt festival isn't about 'judging'...
it's purely for inspiration
and to share what we love...quilting!

Be sure to click the link above (or below...they are everywhere) to visit the Festival...
it's a feast for the eyes...it will feed your creative spirit!

I am entering just one quilt....
and very excited to share our girl...
"Magnolia Blossom"

I made this as a memory quilt after we lost our sweet
"Magnolia Blossom" early last year.
(aka: "Maggie" to her friends)

It was the first time I'd ever tried a more realistic portrait quilt
completely from scratch.
I worked from a few different photo's of Maggie...
below was one of the last ones I had of her, only a day before she passed.

I made a sketch...

I found a free wallpaper design online of magnolia blossoms,
scanned my sketch, and imposed it over the wallpaper
to get a feel for the design.

I then dug into my stash....and played.

Originally started for the "Say It With Flowers" blog hop last year,
you can read more details here - it remained as you see below,
for almost 8 months.
(photo'd on a piece of the purple batik used in the skinny border)

The machine applique stitching was all done...
but the top was in 'lim-bone' after the first border.
I really didn't want to make it much larger...
just didn't know how I wanted to end it.

And then....
On Jan.23rd, the one year anniversary of Maggie's passing...
 I received the most exciting email of my life!
Ricky Tims had chosen our sweet girl
to be included in an article he was writing for
"The Quilt Life"

I was over the moon!
Alas...the quilt was not done
but of course I wasn't going to let this chance of a lifetime
pass me by!

So on that Jan 23rd...a day I dreaded,
knowing the memories would make me weepy...
I hustled and bustled like a crazy woman...
dancing and smiling all the way...
and by late afternoon
Magnolia Blossom was finished, save for the binding
which was finished that evening.

The overall quilt measures approx. 20"x 24".

I used batiks for the background, borders and binding.
Lot's of scraps from my stash for the applique design.

Bob stippled the center on his longarm...
I stitched all the ditches and borders on my trusty ole Pfaff.

There's a lovely label on the backside...
you can see that and read more about Maggie's "Coming Out Party"
just click on the image below

I was not sure which category to enter my quilt.
There is a category for small quilts...she fits there....
one for applique...machine or hand...plenty of that...
one for Art...express yourself with fabric...I did...
Then I saw the perfect spot...

Maggie will be listed in...
Original Designs Quilts

Because not only IS this design straight out of my head....
Maggie was definitely an original!

Photo Credit: Ricky Tims 2014

Maggie's quilt was professionally photographed in La Veta, Colorado by
The Man Himself...Thank you Ricky Tims!
What an honor...I am so blessed!

Photo Credit: Ricky Tims 2014

Voting for your favorites will begin May 23rd
Bloggers Quilt Festival Spring 2014

There are so many awesome quilts...
I hope Maggie gets a few votes...
but really and truly...
just getting to share our girl in "The Quilt Life"
and now with you...
that's winning enough!

Skinny Sunday.... A new dish...Fab Crab!

We tried something new this week from

"Point-less" Meals

a wonderful blog...

all recipes are clearly written and weight watcher friendly!

'Points Plus' values are given...

Serving 'size' is also stated!

(nothing worse than finding a recipe that says it make 105 servings

but leaves you guessing what the serving size actually is)

Friday night the Spouse prepared their
Crab Cakes 

This was his plate....mine looked the same!

The recipe makes 4 crab cakes @ 4pp each.

Ok...yes...the serving size is ONE cake...

What can I say...we were hungry!

I allowed 1pp for the dill sauce....

but really truly according to my WW App...

I used 2 Tablespoons (total - 1 on each crab cake)
 of Fage No Fat Plain Yogurt...
that comes up as "0" pp.

It tasted too good not to be counted....

so I counted an extra point...
just in case.

You'll notice I used a 'balsamic reduction' on our fresh market tomatoes.

The 'reduction' is nothing more than a thickened texture of the
balsamic vinegar and you can make your own very easily...
the thickening process turns your vinegar into a very sweet tasting treat!

Here are easy instructions for making your own.

***A word of warning when preparing your reduction...
be sure to cook in a well ventilated area...
the fumes can be a bit overwhelming  as it simmers***

You can purchase a sweet balsamic 'glaze' already made...
(not the same as the 'reduction')

but be aware the calorie count will be higher and
you could be adding 'points' when using that.

The Spouse and I splurged Big time and felt like we discovered 'gold'
when we found this...

The cost was a little more than $1per year....
but it's so sweet and thick...
no cooking and no 'fumes'!
(that alone was worth the cost)

Notice the red seedless grapes on our plate.
I almost always add a bit of some '0' point fruit
right along with the meal...
I love the little touch of sweetness...
a little touch of excitement....lol

and it helps to s-t-r-e-t-c-h out the eating experience
without adding more points.

What's your favorite tip for adding a bit of thrill to your meal?
Let's hear it!

Thanks for the Visit
&
Have a Great Week!

We have a Winner!

Winner of the June issue of "The Quilt Life"

goes to

Lucky # 7!

Congrats Gail!

Remembering Mom

In honor of Mother's Day

I am forgoing the Skinny Sunday post until next week.

This is the first Mother's Day without my sweet Mom.

I am sad but I know she is always with me...

and I smile knowing she is dancing with the angels...

celebrating this day with her dear Mom  again.

Sadly, I don't have a picture of my maternal grandmother...

but above is my Mom (r) with my Dad's mother...my "Babcia".

Daddy was 25 when he lost his father...

my grandmother remarried...this is her wedding picture.

I have no idea the 'year'...but I'm guessing it's somewhere

between 1945-1948...mom would have been in her late twenties.

She was Always a Beauty!

Mom and me...my jr. high graduation 1969.

We were the 'platform' girls!

Enter the '70s!

Two stylin' chicks!

From the time I was 5yrs old...

my parents made the trek from NH to FL for their yearly vacation...

sometimes twice a year!

In 1983 they invited the Spouse and I to join them....

little did we know two years later...

Bob and I would make Florida our home.

Mom was blessed with almost 94 years on this earth.
Thank you for sharing a few of them with me.

Happy Mothers Day!

Skinny Sunday - Short and Sweet

Welcome to another Skinny Sunday

It's been a crazy week with barely time to stop and catch my breath.

Thankfully no major upsets this week...

actually no minor ones either...

just 100 things on my "to-do" list...

and not enough hours in the day!

So you're in for a treat...

I'm really going to keep this post

"short and sweet"

My aim when choosing a recipe to try,

is finding one with everyday ingredients.

Buttermilk for some of you might not be unusual...

but really truly...it's never been in our fridge.

When recipes call for it, I might do the 'milk & vinegar' thing....

but more often than not....I'll just skip that recipe all together.

So.........

I was very excited to find this

at our local Publix grocery store this week.

Powdered Buttermilk - found in the baking aisle!

Now I'll always have it on hand.

I used it to try a new 'ranch dressing' recipe...

which had a good taste...very low points....

but it was very thin and runny...

The directions said it needed to chill at least an hour to thicken....

It's been FOUR days....

no change...*sigh*....

I'm sure it was me!

I will keep tweeking it...I love a challenge!

Meanwhile...3 of my favorite finds:

The Cranberry Honey Mustard is Awesome...

and usually found in the "Deli" department.

We use it in wraps...

on turkey burgers...

chicken burgers...

veggie burgers...

'burger burgers..

.

I will admit until this post...I didn't know it had 1pp for a Tablespoon

(regular mustards are usually 0 unless you use the whole bottle I imagine)

but a teaspoon would be a tease....I'll take the point!

It's worth it!

The "Ponzu" sauce is Wonderful! 

It also comes "lime" seasoned which we haven't tried.

We use it in place of soy sauce...

it doesn't take much to season our stir fry

and I think adds a much better flavor!

The sodium count is even LOWER than the 

low sodium soy sauce we've used in the past.

Just a Tablespoon or two...0 points.

The Spouse and I are really coffee drinkers...

and I mean REALLY!!!

But at night we enjoy a nice cup of hot tea.

We've never acquired the taste for herbal teas...

but we do love the green teas which have less caffeine than the black

(or so they say)

Served nice and hot...it takes a while to drink...

and curbs my appetite....

Of course...hot tea needs a partner...

my sweetest find to date...

  Bless Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Brownie Bliss Heart!

 Pure Bliss!

Yes, they are small....but I've learned the fine art of nibbling...

I can make one last a really looooooooooong time.

I keep them in the fridge...Best served COLD (imho)

We are lucky because they are often a BOGO item somewhere...

(trust me...at any given moment...

I know when/where they are on sale...

yes...they are now a 'staple')

Okeedokee y'all...

again...a major FAIL for keeping this short and sweet.

It's just not in my nature to be brief...

but I'll keep trying.

Thanks for the Visit....

Have a Great Week!