Catalina Salad

This has been a family favorite for close to 30 years. I don't even remember where it came from. I've served it as a side dish for barbecue and grilled chicken, but we often just make a meal out of it. It was requested on Sunday and made a perfect addition to our fried fish dinner.

And, no, it does not photograph well, but I promise it tastes better than it looks. 😂

Catalina Salad

I large hd Iceberg lettuce, torn into pieces

Freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese

Diced tomato

1 can Ranch-style beans

Fritos

Catalina dressing

*And yes, I know that there are no measurements. This is one of those recipies where you just measure with your heart. 😉

This can't really be made ahead of time because the beans and deessing will make the Fritos soggy so only make as much as you think you will eat.

Father's Day Fish Fry

 On Sunday I wanted to celebrate the incredible Dads in our family and DH suggested a fish fry. A few weeks ago he had gone to visit his younger brother in Texas and he took him fishing

We figured Sunday was a good day to taste test their catch. Our son and his family came in the morning so the boys could work on fence. Yes, they worked on Father's Day. LOL. My in-laws came too and then we put the boys to work as the official fish fryers

E kept everyone entertained as we put the finishing touches on dinner

Around here it's all hands on deck to keep everyone fed

The menu included fried fish, hush puppies (my 1st attempt was successful), corn on the cob, cole slaw and Catalina Salad 

with Summer Berry Pie for dessert.

I got busy and forgot to take more pictures, but I'm always so grateful for time spent with family.

Jungle Jam Quilt

 Today I've got a baby quilt finish to share. It started with this bright jungle print I've had in my stash for over a decade. 

It's a magical jungle with unicorns and dinosaurs and walruses and horses mixed in with typical jungle animals, but when you're little, anything goes and I thought it was a cute print with fun primary colors. Plus, I remember it was in the clearance bin of 1 yard cuts at the local quilt shop. The backing stripe also came from the same bin.

I just pulled fabrics from my stash for the coordinating fabrics. Sandy used a fun variegated thread and quilted it using a design called Quirky.

I actually pieced the top probably 6 or 7 years ago, but I wasn't thrilled with the design and it sat in the back of the closet until last month. When I packed it as we moved last fall, I decided it was time to finish it.

It's 40 x 40, smaller than I usually make.

Our little local library is staffed entirely by volunteers and supported 100% by the thrift store next door, but they welcome donations that they raffle off so I'm thinking I'll donate this little quilt to them.

Nachos

 I cook quite a bit, but living an hour from town, it's kind of a necessity if you want to eat. And I like to cook, but sometimes I need a break. I love a good sandwich, but we hardly ever eat them. On occasion, we love a good Reuben, or a Philly Cheese Steak, or a BLT, but for the most part, I cook. We eat our big meal at noon and then DH will eat something small at night.

However, a few years back I was visiting our girl and she made these nachos one night and they became an instant favorite for a treat at night once in a while or as part of a Mexican dinner when we have friends or family over. It really is a meal all by itself though. And if we eat it with an avocado, it's healthier. 😂

They are too good not to share.

Nachos

Tortilla Chips

Freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese

Hot breakfast sausage, cooked

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Tbsp of diced red onion

Pickled jalapenos

*Line a rimmed baking pan with parchment paper. Top with tortilla chips. Sprinkle liberally with freshly grated cheese. It just melts better than the pre-grated cheese. Sprinkle with sausage and black beans. Add red onion, pickled jalapenos, and cover with more grated cheese. Pop into a pre-heated oven (250) for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and dig in!

Jumping into June

 Our son has been out the last 2 days, helping DH build fence

They're making good progress

And that means I've had a special helper in the kitchen 

She was so intent on helping, but was not about to relinquish that cookie. 😂

We introduced her to the new barn kittens

That are settling in nicely

We collected special rocks 

for the 'soup' she makes every time she visits

She's also my library buddy

Having them closer has been such a blessing

 and we're both really good at wearing each other out. 😉

 

I managed to recharge overnight and sneak in some sewing time

And progress is being made on my Land of Enchantment project

On the Bookshelf

 I am a voracious reader. We are a family of avid readers. I always have one audio book, one physical book, and one Kindle book going. 

I read a variety of books. I love memoir, biography, historical fiction and non- fiction and mystery / thriller (no gore please), and literary fiction. I'm not a big fan of fantasy (but loved The Ten Thousand Doors of January) or Science Fiction (but loved Project Hail Mary).

A few of my recent (the last 5 or 6 years) favorites off the top of my head are Cold Sassy Tree, Ordinary Grace, Whistling Past the Graveyard, Half Broke Horses, The Nightingale, The Lake House, and The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery.

A few years ago, I read The Dry, by Jane Harper and loved it. I love Harper's writing and that along with a good story that transported me to Australia made for a great reading experience.

So I popped into the library the other day and checked out The Lost Man - also by Jane Harper - and read it in two days - another great read for me.

Yesterday I started The Survivors...another promising page turner. I probably ought to listen to these via Audible just for the Australian accent, but if I can get them from the library then I save an Audible credit for something else. If the writing's really good I often prefer a hard copy of the book so that I can savor the carefully crafted words. Other times, like with Project Hail Mary, the audio version brings the story to life for me. I don't think I would have enjoyed that one in book form.

Okay, DH is off helping friends brand today and I've got a deck and a good book calling my name. 😉

Under the Needle: May

Zip. Zip. Blink. Blink. And just like that, another month is behind us, but between daily life projects and activities, I snuck in a few stitches.

DH made a quick trip to visit his brother for a few days this last week and I thought I might get a lot done then, but I ran errands in town on Tuesday, the kids came for a visit on Wednesday (because they thought I might get lonely 😉), and then I got a call that the baby kittens we'd been waiting for were ready to be picked up so another trip to town took place on Thursday, and then DH came home on Friday so not a lot of sewing happened.

But earlier this month I cut out and pieced everything for the I Spy quilt I am making for our grandson.

I also started a new project that's been sitting in a bin for a long time. 

I cut up 10 shirts for a future quilt

And I made myself a new apron

 I finished 2 quilts this month - my Love You S'more camping quilt 

And my Criss-Cross Baskets 

So I feel like I made a bit of progress this month. I've tried to stay focused, but I was tempted by a few new ideas and projects and I enjoyed veering off course for a bit which means my sewing room is a huge mess so I need to take a bit of time to put things back in order before embarking on more projects.

Criss-Cross Baskets Quilt

 I started piecing this quilt in August 2022

It's from the book Scrap Basket Knockouts

There are a number of quilts in it that I hope to make, but I settled on Criss-Cross Baskets for a couple of reasons. I've never made a basket quilt and truth be told, I've never been drawn to them until I saw this mixed up version. 

I had also been needing to pair down my 30's bin in order for the top to close. The original quilt is 56 x 64 but, I made mine bigger - I had a nice variety of happy fabrics to include in the blocks

I also pulled lots of  low volume backgrounds

I cut from every print in my stash so it was quite the undertaking, This would have been SO much easier, if I had a pile of 2 1/2" strips. I do, but I wanted to use 30's prints and I didn't have many of those.

I used the paper plate method of keeping things organized as I paired fabrics and then I just sewed a block or two when I found a bit of time.

Jackie and Sandy quilted it with a pattern called Asian Fan

 and I used a wide gingham on the back and finished it off with a scrappy binding

This one finishes at 84"x 92" 

Scrappy quilts always tug at my heart

And this one will be a fun addition to the guest room until one of the kids walk off with it. 😉

Jumping Down a Rabbit Hole

 Our little local library is staffed entirely by volunteers and the income from the thrift store, next door, funds the library. I stopped in at the library the other day and then took the time to pop into the thrift store to ask them what sort of things they might be able to use. I took a few minutes to browse around and was drawn to some men's shirts. I've been thinking of making a quilt using them for some time. The clothing racks were quite sparse, but I found four 100% cotton shirts...and they were free! They were getting ready to put out spring and summer clothes and were giving away winter merchandise. I love our little library and want to do my part to support it so I left a donation and walked out with these 4 shirts.

There's an older house on our property - the old homestead - and the couple that we purchased this place from lived there for 2 years, when he retired from his practice, while they were building this home. Family and friends would stay there and the home was kept up; although it does need a new roof and septic.

It was still almost fully furnished including some furniture, kitchen items, books on the shelves, and clothes in the closets. I am planning on taking small loads to the thrift shop when we drive that way. 

Then it occurred to me to look through the shirts the doctor had left behind. Bingo! 6 100% cotton shirts, still on wooden hangers.

I'd never deboned a shirt, but I did a little research and started cutting. I knew the key was to get the shirts into usable fabric, but now I'm committed so I think this is only the beginning. 10 free shirts is a good start though.

I wonder if I can sneak some from DH. 😁

New Project: Land of Enchantment

 Last week I was searcbing through project totes when I came across the contents in this one and it said it was ready to become a quilt. And yes, if you're not a quilter, I know that you are making a call to have me evaluated. 😉 I printed the pattern out probably 10+ years ago and I paired it with this fabric from Michelle Watts, a local quilt designer. Someone will ask but, it was a free pattern and I don't remember where it came from. The bottom of the page says Quiltfox Design. I'm sorry I don't have more information.

I added the smokey black fabric and a Toasted Marshmellow Grunge for the background.

And then I stuck it in a bin. The pattern is made up of hsts...lots of them and it does give the option of cutting them from strips, but it doesn't give you the number of strips and the combination of hsts are incorrect and incomplete so I had to refigure what was needed.

Still, I was in the mood to just run a lot of fabric under my needle and this fit the bill...once I made the corrections and filled in the blanks.

I used the essential triangle ruler to cut the hsts, but I was able to decreased my strip width from what the pattern called for to end up with the required size.

I am still digging through my stash in search of a few coordinating fabrics because although I think I have enough fabric, I also think I'd like to make it a little scrappier, but hsts are piling up.

I'm calling this one Land of Enchantment since we live in NM and  we recently caught 2" of rain so it's green and pretty darn enchanting here today.