5/31/20

Raindrops on Roses

It rained a good part of the day yesterday. It would have been a good day to catch up on housework, but I didn't. Today, I simply must do some...not that I want to...and it's another gray day in any case. 

It seems there was time for a little of everything else, however. My fondest desire for the day was to finish off the snowflake embroidery. I first needed to finish the outside line of silver stitching.


When that was finished, I needed to sew on the beads.


Oh, but it still wasn't finished. I needed to rinse away the Sticky Fabri-Solvy and add a hot fix crystal in the center. Then it was finished. This is the 10th of 12 Snowflake blocks from Mary Corbet's Needle 'n Thread.


There are just two more snowflakes to make before I'll be able to sew them into a quilt. I'll miss them when they're all finished. Today being Sunday, I'll link up to:


During a break in the rain, I checked outside to see if the peony had bloomed...no...but I noticed this one little rose hiding among the foliage on the one rose bush. The deer missed it. It's a small rose, but very fragrant.


The peony really looks no different from the previous days. I didn't take a picture yesterday, but this is the most recent one I have. Bear with me because I want to show you something. See the tight red petals in the center?


Well, I looked up the old photo I took the day we visited the Adelman Peony Gardens. This is how it will look when it opens:


See how you can see the tight red petals in the center in this one too? What I'm really waiting for are those white petals around the outside. It has also occurred to me that I might be witnessing what I've read about peonies; i.e., that their blossoms aren't as big the first year. There's still lots of time, and so I haven't given up on it yet. 

Also, for grins, I'm going to show you the second bud I've been watching.



This is the one we saw at the peony gardens last year:


Back inside, I baked these little Apricot-Cherry Upside-Down Mini Cakes. I make them every year when I can find cherries and apricots. So yummy. We ate two last night, and we have two more for tonight.


We serve them with a dollop of whipped cream on top, and they are a nice light dessert. It pains me to say this recipe was first published in Cooking Light in 2004, so I've been making these every year for 16 years. I coulda pretty much raised a whole child in that time. Sheesh. I'm old.

So anyway...back to sewing. I was working on the second cat for the Ties & Tails quilt. When I uploaded this picture of my progress, I realized I'd sewed the "tie section" upside down. The darker brown of the cat should be at the bottom, and the contrast at the top.


I gave this one a pink nose, because...you know. He should probably have green eyes too.


So, I'll fix that tie portion today and then, hopefully, finish the rest before the day is over.

Also, I mentioned I was trying a new meat loaf recipe yesterday. The recipe is actually for a meat loaf sandwich. This was last night's dinner of Bulgogi Meat Loaf Sandwich. It's a Korean way of doing things. One first makes the meat loaf. It cools in its pan for 20 minutes. Then, you cut thick slices and fry them on each side, so that both sides of the slice have a crust.


I used a crusty sourdough bread for the sandwich. This is some I purchased at the grocery store. The bread is spread with some kimchi (which I happen to love), and some Gochujang, which is Korean hot pepper paste...kind of like Korean ketchup. It's a little spicier than our American version of ketchup.


When it's served up, it looks like this. (The Bon Appetit photo was a little more liberal with its application of kimchi than I was.)


And it was pretty good! Tonight I want to use the leftover meat loaf to remake a recipe for the Korean-Style Grain Bowls with Spicy Marinated Steak. You might remember I tried this a week or so ago. My only complaint from the last try was that the flanken cut ribs we tried were a little difficult to cut in a bowl. I think this meatloaf, crumbled over the top, might be another good way to go.

Okay, so that's about it from the Three Cats Ranch for the day. I haven't checked the peony yet this morning. Frankly, with the sad news from our country recently, I'm not sure I can take any more heartache, even if it is just a slow-to-bloom flower. Let's stick together, my friends. Despite all the bad news, I'm remain optimistic that better days are ahead.

14 comments:

Julierose said...

The News is getting harder and harder to watch these days...so sad...
Your peony with the raspberry center is so gorgeous...I hope it unfurls for you soon.

Beautiful finish on your snowflake..I like the addition of the beads...
I am thinking about adding some beads to my butterflies after all the embroidery is done--that'll be a while :000

We had leftover meatloat here too--for noon meal today...yum
Stay safe, be careful
Julierose

Cathy said...

Um, that slow peony bloom looks odd to me. Are we sure that it’s fully developed? I don’t see the outer petals leafing out. But I know less than nothing about peonies, so I’m just opining. On the other hand, your tenth snowflake is gorgeous! I love Mary Corbett’s website.

Karrin Hurd said...

Gorgeous snowflake, and your flowers are lovely. That meatloaf sandwich looks scrumptious!

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

OK, now I am hungry, LOL!!
I am beginning to think your peony bloom is stunted somehow, do they always take so long to open? I'm hoping it progresses soon!

Kim said...

Oh how pretty your snowflake block is; so pretty in blue. Your cat's little pink nose is sweet. Watching a flower to bloom does sometimes seem to take forever. I hope that in a few days your peony will open and bring a smile to your day.

CathieJ said...

That snowflake is so very beautiful as are your flowers. Those mini-cakes look delicious. Hey, I've been making recipes that were published in magazines in the 1980s. I think I am older. Haha. So glad you enjoyed your new meat loaf recipe.

Darla H said...

I am wondering if your peony might be a victim of a late frost. That's what happened to mine.
There are a lot of round buds that seem to be frozen in time. I pinched one today and it was sort of hollow. Stopped in that stage of development. My other later blooming peony has already finished bloomkng.

Faye said...

What a gorgeous snowflake!

piecefulwendy said...

Love that snowflake, I think it's my favorite of all of the ones you've made. Yes, heartbreaking weekend. I had a bit of a meltdown this weekend, I have to admit. I'm so overwhelmed with everything happening here. It's just so sad. This has been a very heavy year, and I'm ready for happier, kinder, gentler days.

Nancy said...

Your embroidery is exquisite! Two blocks to go? What an accomplishment. How refreshing to see your flower photos, too.

Lyndsey said...

Your snowflake is beautiful. I'm looking forward to seeing all of them in a quilt. Your meat loaf looks delicious. I haven't made a meat loaf of any sort for quite a while so I'll add it to our recipes for June. I rushed past the desserts as I've put on weight in lockdown and need to avoid little tasty morsels.

SJSM said...

Reading your blog is a ritual that brings calm in my world. Seeing you go about your day to day life making little bits of progress each day helps me think of ordinary life, which is a good thing. You carry on on the top of your hill creating a little world of normalcy.

I do like those snowflakes. I can’t wait to see how you will incorporate them in your quilt. Knowing nothing of peonies, I’ll watch vicariously. It’s like a marketing plan to make anticipation build until the day of reveal....how Apple used to have huge lines when the newest product hit the store. I will be waiting in anticipation to see this blossom.

Meanwhile living on the edge of a large city we are SIP and for the next 7days under curfew from 8:30 PM to 5:00AM. Well there go our flashlight walks. It was a way to exercise, wrap up the day and be walking with little chance of any contact.

Kate said...

The snowflake block turned out beautifully. That's going to be such a gorgeous quilt when you have it finished. Those sandwiches look really amazing.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Your snowflake turned out so pretty - blue is my favourite colour so of course I would like it! And that sandwich looks SOOOOOO delicious! I love meatloaf and we often have it in a sandwich.