is there any more pie?

off to mqx

Posted on April 11, 2018 by is there any more pie?

MQX is a national quilt show, the Machine Quilters Expo. I haven’t been in years, so this is very exciting. Many years ago I drove up to Nashua, NH and spent a wonderful day up there gawking at internationally prize-winning quilts and shopping at the vendor mall. I stayed with my friend Sharon, who lives up north, and convinced her to go with me.

The Year of the Endless Finger Surgeries left me bandaged and grumpy pretty much all the time, so it was a surprise when Banjo Man offered to drive me up to New Hampshire for a day of quilts and fabric shopping.

Best. Medicine. Ever.

Another year MQX moved the show to Providence, which meant I could take classes. I drove up there three days in a row and had the thrill of taking a four hour machine quilting class with one of the masters, Sharon McTavish. I was one of a handful of students who kept stitching until the end of the class. I just couldn’t resist making more feathers and swirls and loops–all very, very tiny. My eyes were so shot I had trouble driving out of the parking garage.

Here’s a link to some of her work on Pinterest:

Not only was she a great and inspiring teacher, but she has tattoos of her quilted feathers on her arms.

Impressive.

So this morning, my friend Ruth and I are heading to New Hampshire. I’m taking a four hour hands-on machine class using rulers with my “domestic sit down sewing machine” (vs. longarm machine) this afternoon from 1-5.

We’re spending the night, so we get to shop and stroll this evening.

Tomorrow we’ll take more classes (Ruth is taking one of those four hour, hands-on classes herself), then we’ll drive home tomorrow night.

Here’s another photo of one of my very first machine-quilted projects, a “Chinese Boxes” lap quilt. I finished it up and gave it to Nancy for her birthday last week. She loves purple.

Here’s the back. The tops of the boxes were made from one piece of fabric, cut in four identical layers and pieced together in a kaleidoscope way.

See you Friday!

Posted in quilting, rhode island | 3 Comments

a party for #92

Posted on April 10, 2018 by is there any more pie?

Ginny made this “s’mores” cake. Yum.

Mom turned 92 yesterday, so on Sunday we had a little dinner party with seafood gumbo and birthday cake (always a good combination for a woman born in New Orleans).

I broke out the ruby-flashed glasses and matching napkins.

The magnolia napkin rings were purchased at an outlet store 20 years ago. I must have gotten a really good deal because I bought a lot of them.

And then I put them away and never used them. In my “death cleaning” this winter I pulled them out of the closet where they’d been safely and carefully stored in one of my beloved plastic containers. I vowed to use them this year or give them away.

So here they are. Why haven’t I used them before? Out of sight, out of mind, I guess.

I have no excuse.

It was a lovely afternoon, though we missed our friends Mayme and George (housebound with health issues) very much.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Posted in family, food, friends, rhode island | 1 Comment

movies worth the time

Posted on April 6, 2018 by is there any more pie?

We splurged on a couple of months of HBO via Amazon Prime, so these movies came via that subscription. We’ll be watching a few more offerings on this channel before we cancel it and become frugal again.

Last night we watched this movie:

hidden figures

I love based-on-true-events stories and this one was a jaw-dropping look into the 1960’s, with all of its unimaginable prejudices and faults. Three African American women–math geniuses–work for NASA and the race to get John Glenn into space. Fabulous! The best part was the end, when the credits rolled and we learned what happened to these women and how much they accomplished in their lives.

We loved it.

Wednesday night we watched this movie:

gifted

I wasn’t expecting much–but as I said to Banjo Man, “We know it will be better than ‘Hector’.”

He agreed, so we settled in with our salads and I clicked “play”.

This story centered on an uncle’s determination to give his seven-year old math-genius niece a real life, one with friends and Girl Scouts and normalcy. He has good reasons for doing so, but his mother has other ideas. The relationship between the uncle and the niece is absolutely adorable without being sappy. We couldn’t anticipate how they would all get to a happy ending, but of course eventually it worked out. Lots of little twists and turns along the way and lots of believable dialogue and characters.

In other words, a pleasure.

Tonight’s film could be “Lion”, starring Nicole Kidman. Banjo Man’s been resisting this one, but I think it’s time. Son Will has recommended “Captain America” (the first one), so that is also an option (but we have to pay to rent it).

Spring is not here in Rhode Island, so we’re still in “Winter Evenings on the Couch” mode. Snow is forecast for tomorrow night and the wind blows cold every day. To be fair, this state is not known for its lovely springs. One day I’ll wake up and it will be 80 degrees with 90% humidity, the beaches will be open and the tourists will be clogging the roads.

And in 62 days I’ll be back at the lake.

Posted in movies, rhode island | 5 Comments

hector, please go home

Posted on April 4, 2018 by is there any more pie?

hector

Banjo Man and I couldn’t decide what to watch last night, so as I was browsing through Netflix I saw this movie, “Hector”, set in Scotland. What the heck. It’s Scotland. We’ll love the scenery and the accents.

Oops.

The good news: this movie is only 1 hour and 27 minutes long.

The bad news: this movie feels like it’s 3 hours and 27 minutes long.

Here’s the description from IMDB:

“A portrait of an invisible man and an authentic account of homelessness within contemporary Britain, Hec McAdam is at once a powerful character study and an insight into the lives of those on the margins. Hec has been living around the motorways with transient friends for years. After so long on the move, he hopes to have left his past far behind. Our story follows his annual pilgrimage, on the roads and in the cities, from Scotland to a shelter in London to be with his temporary Christmas family . But his clock is ticking and he is compelled to try to reconnect with his real family he last saw 15 years before.”

Hector is a likable guy, always polite to his friends and strangers. He has a bad leg and walks with a crutch as he drags his blue suitcase with him everywhere he travels. He’s on the road. And living on the road is not easy, as you see for a very long hour and a half of Hector’s endlessly depressing road trip.

The movie really shows what being homeless is like, but as the movie goes on we see that Hector has always had options. And yet being homeless and not dealing with the grief of his past has turned Hector into a weak character (although at first you think he is a hell of a strong guy). Hector has Issues. He also has a pension and National Health Care.

Go figure.

I loved the “kindness of strangers” bits, the people who so sweetly offered food and clothing and shelter and rides. Those scenes were the bright spots in an otherwise dreary tale. Too many scenes of Hector hitchhiking, sleeping on sidewalks and limping in pain along the sides of roads made me want to dig out the tequila and self-medicate.

I resisted. The maple-flavored pumpkin seeds sufficed as Hector bought a new suitcase and fur-trimmed hat, then donned a donated jacket and decent shoes.

I wished him well, but I didn’t want to see any more of him.

Neither did Banjo Man.

Posted in movies | Leave a comment

45 thumbs up

Posted on April 3, 2018 by is there any more pie?

A funny thing happened last Christmas when I was trying to come up with dinners the family would like.

I get tired of making the same things over and over again, though everyone insists they like lasagna and enchiladas and meatballs. Maybe they are just being polite. Maybe they long for a change. Maybe they wish Mom would–please God–make something else.

Banjo Man suggested a Blast From the Past, Shepherd’s Pie, something I made when the kids were all home and around the dining room table every night.

So I did and it was such a hit! The Funny Grandson was suspicious at first and balked at eating the unknown casserole, but he choked it down and later admitted it was “okay”.

The rest of the family had seconds and fought over the leftovers.

So during March’s visit, I made another shepherd’s pie. It disappeared quickly, much to Will’s disappointment. It turned out to be the perfect lunch for him to take to work and heat up in “the pit” at Black’s.

The Funny Grandson shoveled in two helpings and gave it an enthusiastic rating of “45 thumbs up”.

We all fought over the leftovers.

So I made another one.

Shepherd’s Pie, 2018.

And then I got sick, so all cooking came to a screeching halt. The day before I finally headed home, Will picked up the ingredients for a third pie. I felt well enough to make another one, so here it is.

The recipe is embarrassingly simple, but if you want to relive the 1980’s, be my guest.

SHEPHERD’S PIE

2 pounds of lean hamburger
2 packets of taco seasoning
water (follow the directions on the seasoning packet).

Brown the hamburger, drain the grease, add the packets and follow the directions on the packet. Simmer for 10 minutes or so.

Press into a 13 x 9 pan.

For the mashed potatoes, follow the directions on the instant potato box. I use 6 cups water, 3 cups milk, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 stick butter. And add 6 cups of potato flakes. Follow the directions on the box. I also stir in an 8 oz package of cream cheese (cubed) to give the potatoes more body and flavor, but that’s optional. It melts nicely when you stir it in with half of the flakes before adding the rest of the flakes.

Spread the potatoes on top of the meat. Then I shred about a cup of cheddar cheese and sprinkle on top.

Bake uncovered at 350 for about 45 minutes, until hot and the cheese has melted.

I know some people add corn to the burger, but when the kids were small they liked their corn “on the side”. I served this year’s Shepherd’s Pie with fancy green salads instead of a vegetable.

Just put this in the “Comfort Food” category.

Posted in food, texas | 2 Comments

but it’s april!!!

Posted on April 2, 2018 by is there any more pie?

This is so wrong. In so many ways.

We’re supposed to get about 4″. Tomorrow it will melt. And then?

Could we please see some daffodils? Please?

Posted in rhode island | 1 Comment

birthday wishes

Posted on April 1, 2018 by is there any more pie?

I’m guessing this was taken in 1993.

Happy Birthday to my daughter! Yes, she was born on April 1st. So her birthday is very easy to remember…and we never, ever play tricks on her on her birthday.

Don’t you love that smile?

Happy Easter, everyone. We are grateful that there is no snow on the ground here in Rhode Island.

Banjo Man is still recovering from the Texas Virus, but I have pretty much bounced back. We are now together again in Rhode Island, after my very uneventful and ear-pain-free flights home.

Today we will be celebrating Easter at my mother’s lovely assisted living facility. They have a beautiful dining room and special plans for Easter dinner. Since I’ve been contributing food for or in charge of cooking Easter dinners since I was nineteen, this is going to be very different.

In a good way.

We’ll be having birthday cake and presents after dinner. Hurray for parties!

Nancy and her best friend of many years, Keeley.

Posted in family, rhode island | 1 Comment

home alone

Posted on March 26, 2018 by is there any more pie?

Banjo Man is no longer in his favorite spot at the Continental Club. See how happy he looks? He was waiting for Hey Bale to begin playing.

He’s back in Rhode Island now, suffering from the same virus I have. We talk on the phone and cough together.

I’m still in Texas. I changed my flight home again after seeing a doctor today. My ears are getting better, but aren’t ready for changes in altitude quite yet. So now Thursday is hopefully when I will head home.

I hope.

I think we’ve postponed Easter for a week. I’m still thinking of making gumbo instead of ham as we celebrate Mom’s 92nd birthday.

Meanwhile, here in Austin, Will and I are experimenting with making chocolate covered coffee beans.

But that’s another story….

Posted in austin, family | Leave a comment

coughing in austin

Posted on March 21, 2018 by is there any more pie?

Yes, that’s what I’m doing here in Texas. Banjo Man headed home yesterday and we are hoping that neither he or Son Will gets this nasty virus. Son Ben and the Funny Grandson are both sick with the same thing and on antibiotics.

Sometimes I think Texas is a very, very germy state. The last four times I have been sick was because of Texas.

Oh, dear.

I went to a local walk in clinic on Monday. They have beautiful state of the art clinics here, by the way. Probably because everyone is always sick. The doctor said I had a virus (acute upper respiratory tract infection), prescribed some codeine cough syrup and seemed bored. An hour later I had a massive head cold. Or is it a sinus infection?

I was clearly not getting on a plane Tuesday afternoon.

This is not fun.

I would feel better if I had antibiotics, so if I don’t feel a lot healthier tomorrow I will head to another clinic and beg for some.

I really want to feel better and fly home. ASAP. Son Will is taking good care of me but I don’t want him to get this virus either, so I stay in my room tucked into bed with tissues, tea and my Kindle. I am quite cozy.

Back in Rhode Island, Banjo Man is preparing for another snow storm.

Other news: thank goodness the Austin bomber is no more. That was the good news this morning, though we’ve been warned there could be more packages out there.

Time for a nap. It’s a beautiful day here and I wish I could take a walk and enjoy the sun. Maybe tomorrow!