Mission Accomplished

Good morning, my friends. The end is nigh...the end of the year, that is. No need to worry. You'll wake up to a new year on January 1st, and it will be as if nothing has changed at all.

We had grocery shopping to do yesterday. There's nothing particularly notable about that, except that we were also on the hunt for a curtain rod that I could use on a big blank wall to display some of my larger quilts. We found just what we were looking for at Home Depot. I have two of these same rods in my sewing room where I hang the two McKenna Ryan quilts I've made. Mike was Johnny on the spot hanging it on the wall, and now my wintry "Snowflakes" quilt is there showing itself off.

It's a small thing, but it makes me happy. Now I can switch out this big quilt seasonally when I switch out all my table runners and other small wall-hangings.

Now, you might not be aware of the gap in my writing there, but I had to inquire of my friend The Google about the origin of the phrase, "Johnny on the spot." Here's what The Google tells me:

A ‘Johnny on the spot’ is a person who is always available and willing to do whatever needs to be done. He or she is always in the right place when they are needed and great in an emergency. Someone who is the right person in the right place.

The origin of this idiom is unknown. The original meaning seems to have been a person who was on his toes, waiting for an opportunity, and quick to react and in the right place at the right time to take advantage of whatever came his way. It may have its origins in business. Johnny refers to “any person” and never referred to a specific man. It was recorded in print as early as 1896.

Since 1970 “Johnny on the Spot” has been used by a portable toilet company.

You gotta love that last line, right? Okay. I'm glad we've settled that. Have I said lately how much I 💓 the internet?

Before we went on our shopping expedition, I stitched everything in my embroidery hoop.

This piece is 38 inches wide and 18 inches tall. I've started at the left side and I'll work my way from left to right and up and down. So, now I've moved my hoop upward. I wish I could fit the whole thing, but I can't quite get the top of the tree without switching to a larger hoop.

There isn't going to be a lot of stitching on this piece until I move more toward the center, and so I expect to be moving my hoop frequently over the next couple of days.

When we arrived home, I went to work making the freezer paper pattern for the next "When Quilter's Gather" block.

Smitty was there to help.

This block has a lot of sections, lettered all the way from A-Z and then back to AA again. I was able to get sections A-C finished yesterday.

Looking at the picture in the book, I've done this much. Still a long way to go. I don't expect to finish it today, but probably by tomorrow.

For dinner last night, I tried a new recipe for this Lemony Chicken-Feta Meatball Soup With Spinach. Reading the comments, someone noted that even her usually-finicky son liked it and had seconds. And that was enough for me to want to try it. 

It was good, and the addition of a healthy dose of turmeric and lemon juice gave the broth an interesting flavor. The recipe suggested I could end up with 25 meatballs if I made them the right size. I ended up with 20, which was plenty, and I used the whole of a 5 oz. package of baby spinach. We both liked it, and I'd make it again.

I made an error while I was putting it together. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup of old-fashioned oats. I was suppose to divide them, adding just 1/4 cup to the meatballs. And here's my recipe bugaboo: If the list of ingredients doesn't say to "divide" something, I invariably add the entire quantity the first time it's mentioned in the instructions. And that's what I did. The whole 3/4 cup of oats went into the meatballs. I suppose I could have added more to the broth, but I didn't. I just went with what I had done. And then, I revised the recipe to note the "divided" part in the list of ingredients. And since I changed it, I can post it here. Aside from that one change to the recipe, I made it just as written.

All righty then. It's time for a new day. I have a couple of quick housekeeping chores on my to-do list, and I want to do some walking on the treadmill. Aside from that, we're not going anywhere today, and so I should get well along on the When Quilter's Gather block. Is there anything better than a day spent at home? Maybe a day spent at home while also winning the lottery. Sadly, I never play the lottery, and so I'll just have to be satisfied with the day at home for now. It's going to be a good day. I hope you have a good day too.