birthday joy

Posted on December 11, 2023 by is there any more pie?

This was taken at Ella’s, a beautiful restaurant in Westerly.  Jeff and Angela took us here for a birthday celebration.

I am 72 and proud of it!

As  you see, we are having a great time.

Daughter Nancy arrived earlier with a big bouquet of flowers and my favorite mousse cake (three layers of three flavors of chocolate mousse).   So sweet of her!

On Sunday, Nancy, Banjo Man and I feasted on beef tenderloin, whipped potatoes and green bean casserole.

Tomorrow Nancy is scheduled for a long-awaited tonsillectomy.  We hope her recovery won’t be too painful.  If she’s up to it, we’ll haul her on the plane to Texas with us to finish her recovery.  Fingers crossed for an easy and not-terribly-painful time.  She is staying here with us for the time being and I am prepared, having just made many little bowls of Jello.

Banjo Man is going to make a vat of his homemade applesauce, so she will be well fed despite a painful throat.

In the meantime, I’m thinking about making Christmas cut-out cookies this week. It has been years since I’ve done that, but I dug out my box of 53-year old cookie cutters and it’s tempting to use them again.

It sure brings back memories. My father’s cookie decorating parties in Idaho, when the kids were young, are still highlights of Dancing Mandolin Player’s and My French Friend Janou’s now-grown children. I created dozens upon dozens of cookies for those parties. I made them ahead and froze them between wax paper in white cardboard gift boxes saved from year to year.

All I have to do now is find that old recipe…

Posted in family, food, friends, rhode island | 3 Comments

give me a screwdriver

Posted on December 4, 2023 by is there any more pie?

What is behind that section of my fancy-schmancy sewing machine?

That’s where thread is jamming.

Not the good kind of jamming, like with the Cougar Creek Band. Oh, no, this is the bad, frustrating, miserable kind of jamming in a place on my machine where I can’t get to.

Last spring I had the machine serviced and adjusted for tension and bobbin-winding problems. The first time I sewed with it after that was just a few weeks ago. The “reverse” button was temperamental. And the thread jammed many times when reversing. But not every time.

Free motion quilting was impossible.  I have said many, many bad words because I am trying to create a Christmas gift and time is running out.

Where did I put that seam ripper?

I talked to a repairman on the phone Saturday afternoon and he had no idea what could be happening with the machine.  I asked him to tell me how to take that section apart so I could see if something was stuck.  He gasped and said, “No! No! Just bring it in and I’ll look at it!”

Chicken.

If I could figure out a way in, I would do it.  I downloaded the repair manual and studied it for a while, but it was too complicated and gave me no clues as to how to fix the mysterious problem in the thread path.

I’ve had to redesign the quilting patterns so I would (a) not free motion–damn it– and (b) manipulate the straight stitch quilting so I would not have to reverse too often.

Banjo Man has been hiding downstairs for the past three days.  He knows that Sewing Machine Issues make me grumpy and I am someone to avoid as much as possible.

He feels badly for me, though.  Friday he even bought me a little chocolate cake.  And a ripe pear.  Yesterday’s gift was a bowl of Italian sausage and peppers he’d made.  I didn’t leave my sewing room until 8 PM.  If I finish the quilt, I can take the machine back to the shop (about 45 minutes away) to be fixed before we leave for Texas and be ready for January, my prime sewing month.

I sound a bit obsessed, don’t I.

It’s true.  I am.  

But don’t worry, I have a Plan B.  And a checkbook.

 

 

 

Posted in quilting, rhode island | 4 Comments

a stroll, a ramble and dinner with friends

Posted on December 3, 2023 by is there any more pie?

Welcome to December, little Christmas package. I totally forgot to take pictures during the Holiday Stroll on Thursday night.  Also known as “Ladies Night”, the stroll took place along Main Street in the historic downtown area of Wakefield.   Harley Chick’s family was arriving from Massachusetts to join in the fun and I was invited to tag along.

I was very happy to do so.  Especially since that meant being reunited with Harley Chick’s “Aunt Pat”, a special friend I hadn’t seen since before Covid.

Here we are in 2017, taking a lunch break after quilt shop hopping.

This time there were seven of us, including Harley Chick’s daughter Jackie and granddaughter Kayla.  Kayla is a lot bigger than when she was joining us at quilt shows and riding in her stroller.

In fact, she’s a freshman in high school.

I feel old.

The Massachusetts cousins were great fun and Hot Rod Russ bought us all ice cream at the Apothecary shop down the street from the Thai restaurant.  I did buy a couple of Christmas gifts at the Purple Cow, plus some Turmeric Cinnamon tea for Banjo Man at a new spa shop.

We haven’t tried it yet.

Next up? The Charlestown Holiday Stroll on Friday night.  This time Banjo Man and friends Barb and Rod joined me, though Banjo Man was grumbling a bit too much.

“How are you supposed to stroll in Charlestown?”

He had a point.  There’s no real Main Street, just the Old Post Road.  No sidewalks or streetlights.  Not that many stores, even.  Maybe two?  But Barbara and I were determined, despite the event being more of a “park and drive” kind of thing.  First stop was a little bakery/cafe serving free muffins and coffee.

Upstairs featured a handful of craft tables and free beer.  The husbands immediately perked up and declared the “Stroll” a great success.  We eventually ended up at the General Stanton Inn for dinner…along with complimentary spiked apple cider and some Italian appetizers.

We came home with sourdough bread and a box of pear muffins.  And one more Christmas gift I bought from a sweet young woman selling her art.

I realized I’d missed this, the shopping for gifts that I could see and touch and admire.  The music.  Helpful store owners.  Pretty lights and decorations galore.  Friends to laugh with.  Small town chatter.

Shopping online has become so ingrained, especially since Covid, but I’d been an online shopper for many years before that.  I’d taken advantage of Black Friday online sales and Cyber Monday discounts after Thanksgiving, as always, but I didn’t know what I was missing until a few days ago.  Hitting “click” with the mouse is just not as much fun as it used to be.

Tomorrow I’m going to another locally-owned gift shop (Simple Pleasures, my favorite store in RI) and browse through the rooms filled with many, many lovely things.  I know I will find something I–or a loved one–can’t live without.

Let’s call it a Mini Stroll!  There will be music and decorations and Christmas spirit galore.

I can’t wait.

The world needs more joy, even in such tiny doses.   And we’ve never needed our small businesses more than now, don’t you think?

 

 

 

Posted in friends, rhode island, shopping | Leave a comment

post-turkey days

Posted on November 27, 2023 by is there any more pie?

Friday, after a lovely Thanksgiving gathering, I was back in my sewing room as Banjo Man cleaned up the kitchen.

Thank you, Banjo Man.  You’re the best.

This is the border, pinned to two sides only. The Native American quilters did that a lot and I like the look.

I have never done so much “quilt math” in my life.

And then there was the basting on the kitchen island Sunday afternoon. I always forget what a big job that is.  But when it was finished, hours later, my reward was to stretch out on the couch and watch a new episode of “Homestead Rescue”.  Season 11 has begun and I am so happy about that.  Banjo Man reluctantly watches it with me and does a lot of muttering under his breath.

I love my Home Depot clamps.

And today, as I wait for my new thread (six different colors to match the diamonds on the star points) to be delivered by UPS, the excitement builds. I can’t wait to quilt this!

And since it’s a gift, I won’t post any more photos until after Christmas.

Posted in quilting, rhode island | 2 Comments

just wait until next year

Posted on November 27, 2023 by is there any more pie?

Next year I am buying the gravy and I am not going to make homemade dressing.  No more oven-toasted Italian bread cubes for me!  I’m returning to bags of Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix and calling it good.

Why, you ask?

Neither process went well.  Just ask my daughter Nancy, who did her best to rescue the gravy, add flavor to the dressing and solve the problem of undercooked turkey breasts (it was only on one side and easily fixed with another 20 minutes in the oven, but still…) while happy, hungry friends came through the front door.

But despite all that, a good time was had by all.  I’m so glad Nancy had the brilliant idea to take a picture.

Ah, the food…

There were the usual fabulous desserts. And a new game: Catch Phrase. I’m not sure we were playing it properly, but there were a lot of laughs as we tried.

Every year we are all together for this holiday, I am so, so grateful.

 

Posted in family, food, rhode island | Leave a comment

happy thanksgiving, 2023

Posted on November 23, 2023 by is there any more pie?

We’re ready!

I went with a country theme this year.

Only seven of us around the table this year, but we’re grateful to be together.

Very grateful.

My heart is full, as is my refrigerator.  And my oven soon will be!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.  May you be safe and joyous.

 

Posted in family, rhode island | Leave a comment

friend or foe

Posted on November 22, 2023 by is there any more pie?

After two years I broke down and replaced my old Fitbit, but only because I couldn’t find the charging cord for it.  My major gripe with it had been not being able to see the display when outside.  Call me crazy, but “outside” was where I was walking and I wanted to see my number of steps.

So I ordered a Fitbit Versa 4 fitness watch (pre Black Friday sale price, hurray). The reviews mentioned the easy-to-read large display, which was all I needed to read before I clicked it into my Amazon shopping cart.

Turns out I can see this new display just fine as the watch face is over 1 1/2″ square.  I’ve never worn something so big on my wrist in my life.

And it conveys a lot of information, though I’m not always sure how to access it.  There’s a lot of directional swiping, with an “if all else fails” button on the side.  I have not set up the weather or the GPS (I think it has one, not sure) yet, assuming I’m not going to be lost while hiking the Appalachian Trail anytime soon.

But I’ll get to it eventually, just in case.

One of the numbers featured brightly on the home screen is my heart rate.  The first night I kept waking up seeing a high “resting heart rate” and thinking I was going to have to see a cardiologist in the morning.  Finally around 4 AM I grabbed my Kindle and googled the worrisome number.  To my relief it turned out to be within normal range for my age and I finally got some sleep.

So there is such a thing as too much information.

Another feature is an occasional buzzing when I have not moved enough, a gentle reminder to get up from my chair and walk around the house.  I don’t often pay attention to it, but I think it’s nice of my watch to care.

This morning, the day before Thanksgiving, we’re at the tail end of a major rain and wind storm.  The wind has created problems for the bridges, but so far the electricity has stayed on,

I’m going to iron the tablecloths and napkins now, just in case.  The latest quilt project has been put away and I am ready to iron and cook and decorate.

We love Thanksgiving.  Bring on the turkey and the friends!

 

 

Posted in family, rhode island, shopping | Leave a comment

cookies and birthdays

Posted on November 21, 2023 by is there any more pie?

Happy Birthday, Ben!

He turns 51 today and he still loves cookies. Here we are, forty-seven or so years ago, making cut-out Christmas cookies to decorate. Can you tell how much he loved using the flour sifter?

It might have been a highlight of the cookie-making process.

Different shirt, different year?  Same hair cut!  I think we were selecting cookies to leave out for  Santa.

Ben was a preemie, born at 27 weeks, and fought for his life for many weeks after his birth.  We are forever grateful to have him!

Posted in family | 1 Comment

welcome home

Posted on November 19, 2023 by is there any more pie?

Harley Chick came over Friday for lunch and catching up. I  hadn’t seen her since April, so there was a lot to talk about.

“I bought you a surprise,” she announced, handing me a gift bag.  Inside were two bags of beans from Shipshewana!  Remember the Amish town in Indiana we often stop in while on road trips?  Harley Chick and her husband, Hot Rod Russ, were there a week after we were and they went to the same bulk food store to load up with winter supplies.

White beans are my favorite and pinto beans are Banjo Man’s. Daughter-in-law Amber is the queen of pinto bean cooking, so I am tempted to bring them to Texas for a holiday meal instead of Banjo Man attempting to recreate her recipe.

So, thank you, Harley Chick!

FYI: Harley Chick and Russ have given up motorcycles and now travel the country in a gorgeous motorhome, but their Harley adventures remain legendary.

So do they need new names?????

Posted in food, friends, rhode island | 4 Comments

hanging out with a cousin

Posted on November 15, 2023 by is there any more pie?

Karen, me and daughter Nancy at the Breakers in Newport

Banjo Man once told me he had 40 first cousins.  I found that hard to comprehend.  My side of the family is woefully short of relatives, but a second cousin–on my mother’s side– surfaced in Austin about three years ago and connected with us.  We even ended up having lunch together two years in a row.

Karen–my mother’s grandniece– had never been to Rhode Island and very much wanted to visit, so I picked her up at the airport last Wednesday afternoon and brought her home to our little place in the country. She has always been a city girl, so her first question was, “What kind of wild animals do y’all have here?”

Thursday morning, having survived a quiet night with no wolf attacks, we headed to Newport with daughter Nancy. It wasn’t the most beautiful day–cloudy, cold, rainy–to cross the bridges, but the Vanderbilt’s “The Breakers” awaited.

The ballroom:

We ate lunch at the Brick Alley Pub and shopped the stores lining the cobblestone street behind Memorial Boulevard.  Souvenirs were purchased.  As were cupcakes and coffee.

That evening we were at the Matunuck Oyster Bar with Banjo Man. Followed by family stories and a genealogy lesson. Banjo Man was fascinated with the colorful (to put it mildly), bewildering side of my family, with a cast of characters (bigamists, gamblers, dancers, shrimpers) light years away from his Nebraska roots.

We took her to the train Friday, as she was heading to NYC for a reunion with high school friends from New Orleans.

It’s always fun to play tourist and see this area through the eyes of someone from another part of the country.  Rhode Island has a ton of problems, but if you put those aside and simply enjoy the food and the ocean and the history, well, it’s a good place to visit.

Just ask Karen.

 

 

Posted in family, food, rhode island | Leave a comment