Goals for Week of April 2-8, 2017

Spiritual 
     ADG/Church
     Spiritual Reading

Physical
     Exercise DVD
     Salad for lunch 3X

Quilting
     Take sewing machine in for cleaning and adjustment


     Start cutting out next Scrap Quilt

Reading
     Climate Change and the Health of Nations by Anthony J. McMichael
     In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear 
     Precious and Grace by Alexander McCall Smith

Cooking
     HB Pie
     Stuffed Wieners, Corn
     Schwan's Baked Fish, Oven Roasted Veggies
     Chicken-Rice Bake
     Schwan's Beef Skillet Dinner

Home
     Make appointment to have carpet cleaned

Personal
     Lunch with P&W&C&B 

Maude by Donna Foley Mabry

Maude by Donna Foley Mabry

If you have ever wondered what life was like before modern birth control, before early child marriage was against the law, before compulsory education, before women could control their own lives, do I have the book for you. Really. This book was written by Maude's granddaughter. I couldn't put it down. 

Birds at the Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park

These are from our last trip to the Rio Grande Valley. We will be going again next month. 

Great Kiskadee

Green Jays

Not sure what kind of Woodpecker

chachalaca

Around OakMeadows

JMM and I took a long weekend trip to Washington, D.C. to visit our daughter. We had a perfect visit, alternating sightseeing, resting at her apartment and watching The Great British Bake Off episodes, and eating at some really good restaurants. Dear Daughter was a wonderful hostess and tour guide.

It is with great sadness the I will be removing SchmidleyScribblings from my sidebar. Her daughter posted on her blog that Dianne died from a complication following a stroke.  I never met Dianne in person but she was a dear blog friend and I will miss her lively humor.

I finished reading At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier. It may have been a best seller but I didn't like it at all. It was one grim hardship after another for almost the entire book. I am looking forward to Jacqueline Winspear's new Maisie Dobbs, In This Grave Hour.  I also have an audio book Alexander McCall Smith's latest Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency book Precious and Grace. I like to listen this series because the reader's voice just brings the stories to life.

I finally finished the Sampler Quilt top. I will take it to be machine quilted next weekend.

That's all the news from OakMeadows where the cats are shedding all over the place and the people just live with it.

A Morning at Brazos Bend State Park

Around OakMeadows

It was a lovely foggy morning today.  I love the hushed quiet of the fog and the way things are hidden. And the sunrise was exquisite with the sun glowing peach through the mist.  Even the morning choir of blackbirds was hushed.  

It is so beautiful to see the new green leaves on the trees and the misty green corn and rice fields as the plants are just coming up. The milkweed is coming back from the winter freeze and JMM counted 12 Monarch caterpillars. He has been planting milkweed, Mexican heather, and blue mist flowers all along the path and in the flower beds.  Yesterday I saw a skipper but wasn't able to identify it.  

Speaking of butterflies, JMM and I are planning to make a gift to the National Butterfly Center. I have started a savings fund toward it. Since we will have no grandchildren to provide educational funds for, I want the National Butterfly Center to be our legacy to the future. 

I am making progress on the Sampler Quilt top. Today I started sewing the block strips to the lattice strips. I may be able to finish the top tomorrow. Then I will measure it and make the backing. Unless I find something else, that will finish up all of my UFOs (UnFinished Objects.) I have determined the pattern for the next quilt which will be made from my fabric stash. Also I want to go through the stash and iron everything that is wadded up so that I can fold it all and arrange it by colors. I do not plan to buy any more fabric unless it is needed for backing. 

Last night I re-watched The Blind Side; I really like that movie. Tonight I plan to start watching The Americans. I am reading 3 books: Lindbergh by A.Scott Berg, At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier, and Climate Change and the Health of Nations by Anthony J. McMichael. All are very good although I must admit that the more I read about Lindbergh, the less I like him. 

Now to make scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon, and toast for dinner. 

March Cooking -- Three Bean Salad

1 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
8 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch lengths
8 ounces yellow wax beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch lengths
1 (15.5 ounce) can red kidney beans, rinses
1/2 red onion, chopped medium
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1. Heat the vinegar, sugar, oil, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 4-5 minutes. Pour into salad bowl and set aside.

2. Cook the green and yellow beans in 3 quarts boiling water seasoned with two teaspoons salt until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain and plunge beans immediately into ice water and allow to cool for two minutes before draining.

3. Stir all of the beans, the onion, and the parsley into the vinegar mixture and refrigerate at least 8 hours to let the flavors meld.  Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes and season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.