Spring at Old Tucson

Today was a wonderful day for the company I work for to have our end of season company picnic. This year we took over Old Tucson, one of the top five "must see" Tucson tourist attractions. I've been going there since I was in high school. I have great memories of sharing the fun with my son. Sadly, the Old Tucson I knew burned in an arson fire (no one ever arrested). It's been reconstructed but so many of the old movie props are lost forever.

It was especially fun today as the park is large enough it wasn't crowded. A great opportunity to photograph the sights without having people blocking the views. There are a few people here and there, mostly the sights of Old Tucson.

Enjoy the Smilebox!

This free picture slideshow created with Smilebox

Velcro Puppy

 

My sleep schedule has been all messed up this past week. Overtime and I've been coming home, falling asleep watching TV and then waling in the middle of the night. So I've been working on my quilt for a couple hours. That pattern continued Saturday only I didn't go back to sleep. I stayed awake until I finished the binding. All done!

After realizing I wasn't going to come back to bed, Sargeant came out and snuggled net to me. He doesn't mind being covered by whatever quilt I'm working on. Of course, as soon as I took this photo he went from deep sleep to looking at me. Food? Need me? Getting up? None of those? Then back to sleep.

As I type this he's snuggled next to me. A big sigh announced he was going to another level of sleep. In a few minutes I'll be ready to head to bed. He'll follow, of course. That's what a velcro dog does ... stick to you like velcro! I wouldn't have it any other way.

Blockbuster Month 2

 

I took a break from sewing on the binding on my Floral Fantasy quilt. I was working last Saturday and unable to attend the presentation so paid to get the block. Picked it up Saturday and had the chance to get Jean Biddick's new book and get it autographed by all the Tucson folks who are represented.

With this second block I have more clues on how the blocks will be designed. The theme is movie stars so the blocks are stars. Fabrics are batik and colors look like jewel tones (blues, greens, purples).

I picked up a few more batiks Saturday. My design concept is to use my spinning sun fabric fussy cut in the center. For the star points I'll use another yellow (I have several). Blues, the fuschia and purple, and perhaps some green will be my other colors. As I continue designing I'll plan to use one to three similar fabrics in the blocks, though the similar fabrics may vary from one block to another. It will be consistently scrappy!

I'm enjoying this very much. It gives me a chance to work on techniques in fabrics and a color palatte I like. I'm also getting some Electric Quilt 6 practice as I recreate the blocks and play with various color combinations.

Cabbage Casserole

Dinner tonight - very easy to make!

1 cup boiling water
1 cup quick-cooking brown rice, uncooked
1 14-oz bag of coleslaw mix with carrots
1 pound Jennie-O Italian seasoned ground turkey
1 tsp chopped garlic (I actually use about 2 Tbsp minced from a jar)
1 tep (or more to taste) Kirkland Organic No-Salt Seasoning
1 can heart healthy (low salt) condensed tomato soup
1/2 soup can water

Preheat oven to 340 degrees. Spray a 2-qt covered casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Add rice and the 1 cup boiling water. Cover.

Spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray and add the coleslaw mix. Stir-fry until limp then add to the casserole. Don't stir yet.

Brown the ground turkey in the same skillet with the garlic and seasoning. Spread over cabbage in casserole.

Mix soup with water then pour over the casserole. Mix gently. Cover casserole and bake for 55 minutes.

Makes four 2-cup servings, approximately 350 calories.

Adapted from a recipe published in Everyday Cheapskate.

Enjoy! Easy and healthy!

Cat Approved

 

I've spent almost all of Easter Sunday, from about 5:30 am, working on my Floral Fantasy quilt. Finished quilting all the blocks (99) and a bit over one quarter of the border. Tucked a casserole in the oven (it will soon be too hot to use the oven!) and am now collapsed on the couch watching The Amazing Race. Hopefully I can stay awake for Undercover Boss. If not, the DVR is set.

I'm on track for getting the quilt completely finished by next Sunday. Mizzy Paws has definitely adopted it as hers. She can snooze on it until I call "Bed! Bed!" and she'll come running to collect her spot on the pillow next to mine.

Wishing everyone a blessed Easter!

-- Joanna