10/10/13

Early Start

Help me decide on a case for my new phone.
See the choices right here.

Last night was a much better night, and apparently I'm so excited about heading out to the MQX quilt show that I could hardly wait to get out of bed. Smitty and I were up at a little past five. Smitty always flies out of bed in the morning ready and willing to face a day of harassing the birds. For my birthday way back in May, I asked for a bird cam. After doing some investigating, Mike informed me that it would be a good idea to wait for the newest version. Apparently, there were some problems with the old one. I was happy to do that and the new camera finally shipped just yesterday. Here's a promotional video about it, if you're interested in such things:




I'm bringing this up because I'm curious how many of my bird cam photos will include Smitty hunting birds.

Well, in my sleep-deprived haze yesterday, I totally forgot to tell you about the muffins I baked. They were so yummy.


These are Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffins. I found the recipe at Mel's Kitchen Cafe. They were so quick to mix up, and they were moist and delicious. Mel notes that they freeze well, and she recommends freezing them and warming them one at a time for a quick snack. They contain very little sugar and fat, and the oatmeal gives them a nice little crunch. The recipe calls for either dried cranberries or raisins. I used golden raisins in mine...not that I have anything against brown raisins. I just don't like them in cooking. They tend to swell up and remind me of little rabbit oofies, if you know what I mean. Not that I have anything against rabbit oofies. Much.

Here's an observation about the recipe, and you can take it for what it's worth (from me...probably not a whole lot, but it's totally free to you on my blog today). The recipe calls for both baking powder and baking soda, but here's what I know about baking soda: it requires something acidic to activate it. And so in a recipe with buttermilk or citrus, it's a good choice of a leavener. But since this recipe doesn't contain any high acid ingredients, I was suspicious about how high they would rise. Despite being delicious, they were wimpy in their height. The next time I try this (and I will), I think I will substitute buttermilk for the milk and see if they rise any higher. I'm all for taking the high road when it comes to baked goods.

And now I'm off to get ready for the quilt show. I have a busy day ahead. I'm going to go down to my favorite little breakfast spot at the South Store Cafe for my favorite bowl of oatmeal before heading off to the show.


It won't look like that today since it's cloudy and gray outside. Then, on orders of my physical therapist, I need to stop into the New Balance store and switch out my old shoes for some new ones. (I intended to do that before we went on our trip, and just didn't make it over there.) Then, I need to make a quick stop at the grocery store. We're celebrating Erik's birthday on Saturday. Since they are spending the day moving, I've stepped up to make them some lunch. I need to pick up a few things and get going making some of Erik's favorite salads. He hasn't had my crockpot pulled chicken sandwiches yet, and I'm just betting he's going to love them. They're a good choice for a day of moving too.

But before I go, it's time to turn up the heat again on our esteemed (guffaw!) members of Congress with my NP4 protest. Yesterday I tried appealing to their shame, but clearly, they have none. Today I'm heating things up with this image of Saguaro National Park East in Tucson, Arizona. Saguaro National Park consists of an East and a West side. The West side includes the Sonoran Desert Museum, a combination zoo and botanical garden that is a must-see if you ever find yourself in Tucson. Oh yes, and Power to the people!!


Have a lovely day today!

9 comments:

gpc said...

What a great birthday gift! I can't wait to see your photos. The muffins look wonderful, despite being low sugar (my suspicious mind). Never knew that about baking soda but it explains a lot. And I've enjoyed the radical opposition visits to the National Park. This People is right behind you! :)

quiltzyx said...

Just like most everything edible you post, the muffins look quite yummy! I think I need to eat some lunch now. Sounds like Eric is going to have a great lunch this weekend... :)
Hope you found some excellent shoes & I'm looking forward to seeing the quilt show when you get back.

Janarama said...

Rabbit oofies? ROFLMAO That's a new one to me. Too funny.

The muffins look sooooo good. That bird cam looks pretty neat. Now we'll get to see Smitty in action. ; )

Hope you had a great time at the quilt show.

Kate said...

Hope you got all your errands taken care of and enjoyed the show. The muffins look yummy, even if they didn't rise well.

Brown Family said...

THose muffins look very good. Having just started Weight Watchers, I am now hungry for any thing sweet! I hope the MQX show was enjoyable!

Tami C said...

That's a great birthday gift! I'm sure you will get lots of entertainment out of it. It's really sweet of you to do lunch for the movers. It's always great not to have to do that yourself when you're moving. Let us know what should you end up with. That sure is a nice picture of Saguaro National Park East. Power to the people!!

Anonymous said...

Saguaro NP is a new one to me! Nice indirect way to get info. My daughter met some European travelers who had planned their trip way ahead, of course. Most of it was National Parks. What a disappointment for them! I've read the estimates about lost income for the shops etc around the NPs. One could wish dissent worked as well when applied to worthy causes.

Meanwhile, I'm heading to MQX tomorrow. In that crowd, it would be amazing if we bumped into each other.

Kitchener Quilter said...

Love all your NP photos. I presume you took them yourself. Nice travelling and photographing you do. Thanks for posting your protest.

kc said...

I actually watched & listened to that whole video - what a treat! Be like having a ringside seat! We have 4 hummingbird feeders and 2 birdbaths set up in our backyard, and they're all within view of the patio, the dining table & the bedroom, so we sit and watch them all the time! In fact, some days, we don't get anything done 'cuz we're watching birds! We are having aerial dog fights right now between hummingbirds (and each other) and blue jays. There's an awful lot of activity here, unlike DC, where only oofies reign. (Driver won't eat olives because they too look like little rabbit oofies, only that's not what he calls 'em.)