Dregs of the Day

It was kind of a dull day. There wasn't enough time either before or after my dermatologist appointment to accomplish much. I needed to pick up eggs, and it didn't make a lot of sense to come home in between, and so I considered ways to kill time between the two.

For one thing, I could have the pattern created for the scrub jay quilt enlarged. I've been going to FedEx-Kinkos for this. My experience with those folks has always been good. I walk in with my graying hair and glasses and say, "I'm kind of helpless with these machines, and so I was hoping you'd help me with this." They're always so kind...treating me like the little old lady that I am, and they do the whole job. All I have to do is pull out my debit card, and the thing is done. So, I had two regular-sized copies made of my pattern and one that was enlarged by 250%. Now, I have it pinned to a foam core board, mainly just to flatten it out, and to remind myself that I'm just dying to make this into a quilt. The enlargement (and the finished quilt) is about 35 x 28 inches.

There are some very small pieces, which could have been bigger if I'd enlarged it more. I wanted a good wall-hanging size. As Ann Shaw said in our class, "Sometimes you just have to suck it up." That's good advice. I've worked with smaller pieces than this.

The doctor didn't find anything on my skin...always a happy day...and then I drove home. The traffic wasn't even very bad, but it was still harrowing. I rarely drive to downtown Portland any more, but when I do, I'm only good for a nap when I get home. Fortunately, this was on Sadie's agenda too.

On the way home, I picked up some stuff to make a Chicken Caesar salad. Remember my pancake loaf of bread from last week?

Chicken Caesar seemed like a good time to make croutons from the flattest of the two loaves. (The other one has long since been devoured.) My friend Wendy shared with me that Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle makes good croutons, and I just happened to already have a bottle. I think it might have come as a free sample with a previous Penzey's order. They tell you how to make croutons right on their website.

I did them the suggested "low fat" way...mainly because it seemed the easiest. First, I sprayed them with olive oil spray, and then sprinkled the sandwich sprinkle over them and mixed them up a bit. Then I baked them in my toaster oven at 375°F for 10 minutes, stirring them halfway through. They were so nice and crunchy and tasty.

Mike loved them, but made the suggestion of a little more garlic. Next time I might shake a little garlic powder over them in addition to the sandwich spread. This only used about 1/3 of my loaf, and so I cut up the rest and froze them for future use.

So that was pretty much my low-key day...harrowing, though it was. The croutons topped it off nicely. Ha! Get it? "Topped it off?" Sometimes I'm so funny I can barely stand myself.

Finally, it's time to announce this month's winner of the needle threader for the

Spinning the Random Number Generator wheel, I've come up with:

#4--Judy

Congratulations, Judy! I've sent you an email, so check your inbox. Keep on stitching, Bag Ladies. With just a few participants, everybody is destined to win a needle threader sooner or later.

There's no rain in the forecast today, and so I'll probably get out and do a little more weeding in the garden. Then I'm determined to get those eight 9-patch blocks done for the Welcome Home small quilt mystery. And then...(cue scary music) I'll start sewing together the Quiltmaker's Garden. I'm shivering in my shoes at the thought of it.