Merry Christmas

This is getting to be a Holiday blog I am so infrequent posting updates.

Lots of changes since October.

Mom has successfully transitioned to a long-term care facility and Dad has had the paperwork done as well. Hopefully this will enable them to be together in a facility. It is hard top be separated when you have been married nearly 67 years.

Since I was so busy settling parents the past few months Christmas cards etc. went by the wayside. I will  be back on track next year though.
We are even dining at The Westin this evening for our Christmas meal.

I have managed to sew though and the Quiltville mystery, Roll Roll Cotton Boll is in various stages in my sewing room.

The girls, Claire and Anna give us lots of joy, we just spent the very early morning with them watching gifts being unwrapped. Santa was very successful finding their house.


Next year the home in Toronto will have a little one that Santa will have to pay a visit to.

George and Gracie continue to grow and make sure we don't sit for any length of time, they are great walkers and sniff lots of trees and poles on every occasion.

 May you all have a healthy  holiday season and a Happy New Year with family and friends.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if "peace" could have a chance.

Happy Thanksgiving

It is a beautiful autumn day here, cool this morning for DH to walk George and Gracie but they didn't seem to object.

 We enjoyed our Turkey dinner on Friday and two meals made their way to Mom and Dad. She still in hospital and he is bacheloring it!
Leftovers ruled most of our meals this weekend.

 I have been machine appliquing the top part of The Great Pumpkin wall hanging. http://pumpkinpatchprimitivequiltshoppe.blogspot.com/2009/09/great-pumpkin.html You can see a photo of it on this site.
This is a 4 or 5 year project. I expect when I complete the applique part this week it will be put away until I drag it out again next year. Then I shall put it all together. Frankly I am getting sick of looking at it after intensively working on it for the past 6 weeks.

I am starting to paper piece the diamonds for the Twelve Days of Christmas Mystery from Esther Aliu.www.estheraliu.com Six of twelve diamonds made and I hope to complete them today. Then I will start Part 2, I am only a week late with this mystery and I hope to catch up.

The newlyweds had their first anniversary on Sunday, congratulations to a great couple. Next year they will have a little person to help them celebrate.

Remember this?  It is at the long-arm quilters, should be ready in a week or two.

Curried Zucchini Soup

 2 tbsp butter, preferably unsalted
1 medium onion,coarsely chopped
 2 tbsp curry powder, depends on your preferences as to how "hot" you like it
 6 cups chicken broth
2 medium potatoes peeled and cubed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
8 cups zucchini, washed and seeded, cut in chunks
1/2 cup table cream.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onions and cook until they soften. Add the curry powder, chicken broth, potatoes salt, pepper and zucchini. Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer until the vegetables are cooked. Transfer ingredients to a blender and puree. Blend in batches and be careful the hot soup doesn't splatter and burn you! Or use an immersion blender and puree in the saucepan.
Add the cream last.

Serve in heated bowls with a dollop of sour cream or plain Balkan or Mediterranean style yogurt with croutons scattered on top.

Serves: 6 healthy servings.

I had a huge zucchini, added about 6 new medium potatoes and used two boxes of chicken broth, 1 liter each, so I had lots of soup. I froze some and will add the cream when it is reheated.

Another monthly post

Since I don't seem to manage more than one a month these days...
However plenty to comment about.

 Hurricane Earl dropped in on the weekend, and by the time he was near HRM he was downgraded to a mere tropical storm. G&G spent most of the time on the balcony watching and trying to gobble up any leaves that came their way. A few trees in the woods behind fell, but they were derelict anyway, and on the streetscape some of the young ash, birch, maple planted by the developer succumbed.
However no one appeared to have structural damage.

Not so in Christchurch, NZ  All family there seemed to have fared okay with loss of bits and pieces and knicknacks. Louise was without power after the 'quake and I hope it has been restored. Mother Nature has certainly been making her presence known around the globe. She is displeased!

Mom fell on Friday morning, luckily her a Home Care worker was with her when her knees just seemed to buckle and down she went,  fracturing her right hip, so she spent most of Saturday waiting to go to the OR, because of power interruptions she was bumped to Sunday and finally went around 430 PM.
She came through with flying colours, a little confused from the whole deal, but that is understandable.
It wasn't a bad break so a simple DHS was the only necessary intervention.
Time will tell now as to her post-op mobility.

The Cassia Bud pickles are bottled and some already eaten, they are good. A few bottles were gifts to my neighbours who plied me with goodies post-op.

I thought I'd post a photo, so here is one of Anna. I borrowed this from Patti's FB page. She is adorable.

Recipe for Cassia Bud Pickles

Kathie I have been meaning to post this recipe for you for months. They are lovely , kind of take a while to make but well worth it  IMHO.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  The total amount of sugar is only 6 cups, don't add anymore after Day 10. I was able to get 13 pint bottles from my nearly 8 pounds of pickling cukes.
I buy my Cassia Buds from Bulk Barn, they usually have them in stock.



              Cassia Bud Pickles                                                       Yield 8 – 10 pint and quart bottles


Approx 8 lbs of pickling cucumbers, 2 – 3 inch, washed, scrubbed both ends removed. Cut in half and half again.


Brine: 4 qts. Boiling water in which 2 cups of pickling salt has been dissolved.

Put cucumbers in large crock. Cover with brine and then with plate which is weighed down. I usually use Mason jars filled with water.
Let stand in a cool place for one week. Remove  any scum form top of brine daily.

7th Day: Drain
      cover with boiling water, and again with the weighted lid. Let stand 24 hours

8th Day: Drain, cover with boiling water and 1 tsp. Powdered alum. Cover again with weighted lid.

9th Day: Drain and cover with hot syrup for 24 hours
    6 cups white pickling vinegar
    5 cups white sugar
1 ounce cassia buds
1 tsp. Celery seeds
A few whole cloves

10th Day: drain and save the syrup liquid, add 1 cup of white sugar. Heat to boiling and pour over cucumbers. Recover with weighted pot lid.

11th and 12th Days: repeat Day 11.

13th Day: Drain, bring syrup to boil. Pack cucumbers in sterile jars. Cover with boiling syrup, seal and enjoy.

Recuperating

Since the last missive I had emergency bowel surgery, everything went well and now I am home. I have nothing but great praise for my colleagues at the Dartmouth General, they are the best from ER/OR/PAR/ and the Surgery floor in this whole province.

Now I recuperate, along with Home Care visits from VON .


DH held down the fort and G&G had a few days wondering where I was, they are hanging pretty tight to me since I arrived home.

I am thinking this may be the time to start handquilting the Autumn Leaves wall-hanging that has been basted for 2 years and completed for 3 and started in 1997. What do you think?
I can't sit to machine quilting for any great length of time.

The Big Kid arrives home on the Redeye Friday morning, I'm anxious to see him.

It's July?

How did that happen? I was sure I just blogged recently.
Seriously though life was busy and Pastiche was along way down on the list.


 I did go to Toronto for ten wonderful days of R&R visiting the newlyweds. I love TO, especially exploring the King St. E neighbourhood, and the multitude of restaurants. We sampled lots of different cuisines, Thai, Japanese, Italian, Chinese. I explored the fabric shops along Queen St. W, didn't buy a thing but looked at lots.

 Arrived home to family crisis with my parents so the paper work has been started for long-term care placement for Mom. Dad has finally realized that he is unable to keep up the pace. It will be better for both of them and Mom will get much more outside stimulation and fresh faces to see daily. Now we sit and wait, the process usually takes 3 - 6 months.

Claire was four years old and she had a tea party for some of her friends, we enjoyed pizza and cake in the evening with the family.

Anna had a good time swinging away! She is growing like a weed, and a very contented baby.

Char and Faeyque were home for 10 days and just headed back to TO, and the heat last weekend. Luckily they missed the G8, G20 mess and chaos. We had a lovely visit and F saw more of NS. They also went to PEI  and of course the pilgrimage to Pictou County.

The sewing room is tidied and not in use, in preparation for more visitors this weekend and in August. I have some handwork to keep me occupied though.

It is really quite hot here this week so  I am enjoying cool drinks, popsicles and the fan.

I almost forgot to mention George and Gracie, they are sweet little dogs, I didn't think they were going to bark but George let out a few one day when a strange thing was on the bed. It was my  bright yellow purse. He was adamant that he would not go into the room until he had my attention and he knew what was lurking. They are plunked down in front of the fan now, catching a few zzzzz's.