Good Food Ahead

It's been a busy morning. Already, I have a flank steak marinating for tonight's dinner, and I've churned some homemade strawberry ice cream. Mmm, mmm, mmm.

But let's just back up to yesterday morning, shall we? When I went downstairs after writing yesterday's post, I found Smitty resting up for the day ahead.

It's the time of year when my mornings start with a walk around the garden to see what new things are blooming. When I'd nearly come full circle, I found these blooming cat tails. They were busy snarfing down their morning blades of grass.

They thought this new gopher mound might show some promise too.

But there was no time to waste because I had strawberries to deal with. We just say "no" to seeds here at the Three Cats Ranch...unless they're garden seeds, of course. As for berry seeds, that's a definite no-no. Mike is the one sensitive to the seeds, and I can't bear to give up strawberries any more than I can bear to eat them in front of him when he can't have any. So, several years back, I devised a method for cutting the seeds off the sides. They're hulled as usual. Then, I cut off the point, making the berry relatively square. Then I can shave the seeds off the sides with a paring knife.

The now seedless strawberries go into the bowl.

The seedy sides go into a jug for making strawberry-infused vodka. This can be done with any clear liquor. I just happen to like vodka. You just pour a fifth of vodka over the fruit, let it sit on the counter at room temperature for 36 hours, strain out the fruit, funnel it back into the bottle, and voila! 

Mine still has several hours to go before it's ready to go back into the bottle. Of course, I'll show you a picture in tomorrow's post. It's tasty over rocks or else it can be substituted for any mixed drink that uses vodka to make a "Strawberry-Whatever-It-Is" cocktail. I happen to like it in a Lemon Drop.

So, you might not know it from reading this post, but it was mid-afternoon by then. I had some time left in the day for sewing. I managed to finish off all the fusing and tracing on the 11th of 12 blocks for Dancing Chickens and Flying Pigs.

It still needs top-stitching. I'll get to work on that today, and then I'll set it aside until I've finished with my current embroidery project.

Of course, I had plenty of help from Smitty for this effort. He helped me stay organized.

And then he helped me clean up.

Sadie discovered the fireplace had been left on the night before, and so she sacked out there for the afternoon.

She needed some time to chill. She's mystified by the new Litter Robot. After a cat leaves the litter box, it waits about 10 minutes before it does its rotation and litter scooping job. (The 10 minutes gives the clumping litter time to clump.) When it starts running, she charges into the laundry room to see what it's doing.

It's all very mysterious. The litter robot is working well, and it's a dream come true for Mike, the chief pooper scooper. As I've said before, if a thing can be measured, an engineer will measure it. The litter robot has its own app, and Mike gives me regular updates on the number of times a cat has entered and exited the box, how much poop has been deposited, and a host of other fun facts about kitty poop. He's very entertained by it. I am, in turn, entertained by him.

Okay, so we've discussed how we're going to spend our day today. We may need to go to the bank to take care of some business. And we may decide to go pick up a wine shipment. And we may decide to visit Adelman's Peony Gardens since they're close to the winery. And we may do none of the above. If it's none of the above, then I'll get to work on the top-stitching for the Dancing Chickens piece. When that's finished, I can get started on my next challenge quilt for The Endeavourers. 

The next prompt is "Opposites Attract." I've decided what I'm going to do, and I just need to get going on it. I can only give you a peek for now.

It'll use some of the cut-off scraps from the background fabric for Pieces of the Past. Intriguing, no? (Yeah...I always say that.)

Okay...so it's a mystery day ahead, but there will be some good food involved. I can't wait to dig into that strawberry ice cream. We'll try not to eat it all in one sitting.