Cheery Cherries

Good morning, my friends! It was a busy kitchen morning yesterday. Before I went to work, I finished up the first of two blocks I'm making for The Story of My Day quilt. The first one is "Feed the Animals."

When I finished with that, I spent just a little bit of time on the second block. This one is "Wash, Preen, and Clean."

We mopped the kitchen floor, and then headed outside to pick cherries. And, yay! There are still cherries to pick. Only one of our trees produced cherries this year. As you might expect, the best ones are way up high in the top branches.

Not to worry. Our tractor does double-duty as a cherry picker. Just load one husband into the bucket and raise her up.

It's probably safer than standing on a ladder. We picked a small bucket, and left a lot on the tree. There are just a few things I want to make with these babies.

When the kitchen was put back in order and the cherries safely stowed in the refrigerator, the Stanbro Men rested on the deck. I overheard them chatting about the sorts of things one sees when one climbs a tree.

Inside, I went straight to work pitting cherries to make a Cast Iron Skillet Cherry Crisp. This recipe was helpfully supplied by Kroger.

After that, I pitted some more cherries to make cherry sherbet. The mixture has been refrigerated overnight, and I'll churn it this morning. Also, I made a macaroni salad and a sandwich mix for last night's dinner. Then, and only then, did I venture into the sewing room. With all that going on, there was no time for quilting. Instead, I added borders to the "Feed the Animals" block. They're a bit of a puzzle to sew together.

Speaking of animals...there's one now!

It was near dinner time by then. We sat outside for a while, and then decided to move our dinner outside too. I had some leftover Watermelon Salad with Rum and Mint, made with red watermelon this time. It's a summertime favorite. To that I added Egg Salad Lobster Rolls. This is my own recipe adapted from one I found online. I added some hard boiled egg to stretch it out a little bit. Also, we had our favorite Tangy and Creamy Macaroni Salad. Add a nice glass of chardonnay, and that was a relaxing way to end the day.

Today will be a little less busy. I should have plenty of time to get back to my quilting, which hasn't budged an inch since I left it here on Friday.

There's nothing to do housework-wise. I just need to churn the cherry sherbet, and the rest of the day will be my own. I know I can't spend the whole day quilting without breaking myself, and so I'll probably set a one-hour timer. When the timer goes off, I have in mind to spend a little more time planning our Alaska trip. I have a bare-bones route planned out, but I need to figure out what things we'll want to see at the different stops. We're keeping the trip flexible by not making a lot of reservations ahead of time, but there's still some work to be done before I'll feel as if it's finished.

Okay, so pancakes and slow-stitching. That's where I'm heading. Thank you for all your kind comments on my giveaway post. It's always good to hear from the regulars, and I appreciate hearing from some of you who don't comment often.