Out and About

Good morning, my friends. We were able to get out for a while yesterday afternoon, and I was able to take advantage of the sale prices I wanted. Nobody died, and so it was a good day. The scariest part of the drive was our driveway right here where there's a "dipsy-doodle" followed by a steep climb up hill. It's scary both coming and going. And since it stays in shade all day long, this is always the last place to melt when the temperature warms.

In our travels, we came across two groupings of cars where someone had slid off the road (driving too fast was our guess), and friends with larger cars were there with ropes trying to pull them out. The only close call we had was when Mike wanted to pull off to the side to admire the view of the valley. I warned him not to because I feared we'd get stuck. "Nah," was his response. And this is one of my favorite kinds of stories because when we tried to leave, indeed, we spun our tires for a few minutes trying to get back on the road. I resisted trmendously the urge to say "I told you so." However, I've learned that the mightiest sword is the one that is never unsheathed. Besides, he'd earned some brownie points for just being willing to drive me into town.

Backing up to earlier in the day, I did my slow-stitching. This one is blanket stitch, backstitch, stem stitch, feather stitch and pistil stitch.

From there, I was ready to do my workout. But first, Miss Sadie was very brave and went outside. She stuck very close to the wall and under the eaves. This outing lasted approximately 21 seconds.

After lunch, I was back at my quilting. For the first leaf, I did some downward trending parallel lines.

Then a hooking meander.

About that time the paws that refresh showed up.

Whatcha doin'? Quilting? Need some help?

Is your tension adjusted correctly?

Just about then, we heard the thunderous sound of snow sliding off the roof.

Holy mousetails! What was that?

Well. He had to go investigate, and that allowed me to finish up the last of this round of leaves. For this one I did two parallel lines, and then a hooking doodad between them.

Finally, this swirling meander.

I took a picture, but it's almost impossible to see the quilting in a picture.

It's hard to see from the back too, but I'm loving the texture.

The temperatures were well above freezing, and snow was crashing down off the roof throughout the day. This was when Mike decided to see if it was possible to make the steep climb out of the driveway. Looking out from Eliza's window, the snow had all come off the greenhouse. It was warm enough inside for the automatic vents to open.

When Mike pronounced it safe to go out, I wasted no time getting into my snowsuit (jeans and a sweatshirt, which I was already wearing). As we were passing through the breezeway from the house to the garage, I noticed these icicles. The longest is about four feet.

Looking in the other direction, snow falling from the roof has nearly filled the breezeway. This is another place that almost never sees the sun, and so this snow will be here for a while. Mike can get his tractor in here, eventually, and he'll just push it out the back into the light where the sun's rays will take care of it.

Later in the evening, we got a pretty view of Mt. St. Helens with a pink tinge from the setting sun.

It was too early for dinner, and too late to start sewing. I spent the rest of the afternoon stitching the Winter Wonder piece. Now, I've filled my hoop and moved to the next position.

For dinner last night, we polished off the last of the shrimp that was on sale last week. This is Shrimp Pad Thai. If you think you can't make Shrimp Pad Thai at home, then think again, because this is a super easy recipe. It was first published in Cooking Light magazine in March of 2011. 

Mike likes some raw bean sprouts and raw green onion served on the side for some added crunch. The original publication included a recipe for an accompanying side salad of cucumbers, red onion, and bell pepper. The salad recipe has become a favorite of ours. I note it isn't included with the link I gave you, and so I'll give it to you here.

Spicy Cucumber Salad

recipe from Cooking Light

serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups cucumber, thinly sliced, peeled and seeded

1 cup red bell pepper, julienned

1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon fish sauce or Hoisin sauce

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions:

Combine cucumber, red bell pepper and onion in a large bowl.  Combine remaining ingredients and pour dressing over vegetables, toss to combine.  Allow to soak app. 30 minutes. (I usually make this in the morning, and allow it to soak all day.)

If you don't want that spice in the salad, you can leave out the crushed red pepper. As it's written here, it isn't terribly spicy, and so even those with tender stomachs can probably tolerate it. And thus ends shrimp week at the Three Cats Ranch.

Okay, so we got another three inches of snow last night. I'm really glad we were able to get out for a while yesterday. Looks like we're stuck inside again for at least a little while longer. Looking outside as I write, more is falling.

The crows in the trees there are looking a little malevolent, aren't they?

As for me, I'll just continue on with my quilting. Today I'll tackle the leaves behind the long skinny ones.

The veins are not as pronounced in these, and that will allow me a little more freedom of movement. When I've done four, I'll get back to the New Mexico Kitchen quilt. There's not much more on the agenda for today, and so there should be plenty of time for sewing. 

Right now, though, it's time for our Sunday morning Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes. It's a good first meal for a new week. Oh yes...the next prompt for Project Quilting will be announced today. If it's something I want to tackle, I'll probably get a start on that too. Stay warm and stay safe my friends.