A Better Day

Good morning, my friends. It's a cloudy day here. There's even the tiniest chance of rain. There is also some concern about thunder and lightening, which could set off wildfires. But let's just not borrow trouble, okay? For the most part, our weather has been very nice this summer. We've had a few warm days, but nothing too hot. There's been no rain to speak of, although we're getting to the point that a little rain would be welcomed.

My day started early. I was out to check the trap for the green bean-thieving squirrels. If we catch a squirrel, it will be great. I'd love to end the harvest with lots and lots of green beans. On the other hand, if we catch a squirrel, we don't want to trap him in the hot sun. We're checking the trap often, but so far, nothing. 

The purple hydrangea was looking so pretty in the morning sunlight.

I started dinner in the slow cooker...more about that later. Then, I was thinking about my next art quilt, and what I could do for the next prompt of "Circles and Squares." It caused me to go digging through some stuff in the sewing room to come up with something I could use. I found just the thing I was looking for. And here we go again...just a peek for you...but this is going to work perfectly for my next art quilt.

Mike and I were out whacking things back in the yard. When we moved into our home, there was almost no landscaping. Now, 21 years later, everything we planted is overgrown and the challenge is to keep it from reverting to its former life as a jungle...or something. So, it was after lunch by the time I made my way into the sewing room. There, I finished up Tiny House #29. Yeah...that tire isn't lined up just right. And, as with the rest of these blocks, that gets a big "oh well" from me. When these are all sewn into a quilt, their wonkiness is going to be what makes the quilt so charming.

There was just a little time left at the end of the day. I decided to do August's yellow block for the Homestead quilt. This one is called "Anvil." 

Here's what the pamphlet from Homestead National Historical Park had to say about the Anvil block:

Not only did quilt patterns reflect the daily work of the women who helped to homestead the prairie, they told the story of the challenging work of the men. The Anvil pattern represented one of the necessary and important activities of the early settlers: blacksmithing. Other old-fashioned and basic patterns include Saw-Tooth, Bowknot, Carpenter's Wheel, Compass, and Monkey Wrench.

By 1890, catalogue sales included quilt patterns. If a woman ordered her yard goods from Sears or Wards, she could purchase any of 800 designs for just a dime. By the early 1900's, magazines went a step beyond publishing patterns. Some had a column where readers could share favorite patterns and new ones they had designed. Quilters were no longer restricted to only quilt patterns known in their region. From bustling city to lonely farmhouse, women could be making the same quilt.

 Here are all the blocks I have for this quilt so far. 

It was close to dinner time then. Earlier in the morning, I'd started another new "Ways to Battle the Z Force" recipe. This one is called Slow Cooker Italian Meatball Stew.

The recipe called for one zucchini, but I added two. I figure, why pass up an opportunity? Eight hours later, when I ladled it out into bowls, it looked like this:

My photo wasn't very appetizing. It looks better in the online image:

So we liked this, and I would make it again, with a few changes. First off, there wasn't enough broth to satisfy us. It started with two cups of chicken broth, but when I added the orzo in the end, the orzo completely absorbed what liquid was left. In the future, I would add four cups of chicken broth. Also, it was rather spicy. It has both crushed red pepper and black pepper. I would omit all the crushed red pepper. It tasted good, but our mouths were on fire by the time we were finished.

Already this morning, I'm prepared to do battle with more of the Z force. I've marinated some vegetables for marinated grilled vegetable sandwiches this evening. I'll say more about those in tomorrow's post. And I'm not finished with the Z force yet. Oh no. We have many battles ahead of us.

First on today's list of to-do's, I'm heading out to the farmer's market with Erik and Mae again. I want more beets, and I'm hoping I can find some fresh dill. I believe I've accumulated enough pickling cucumbers to make at least one jar of refrigerator pickles. For those, I'll need some fresh dill sprigs. After that, I'll need to water the annuals, and then, it'll be a mostly sewing day. I'm looking forward to it.