Peach Blueberry Crisp

Happy Wednesday to you!  It's the middle of the week and the countdown is on for those working.
I mentioned that I was making a Peach Blueberry Crisp for our girls Tea Party today, here it is.  Unfortunately little Man has a fever so we are postponing it; no worries though, because I'll cut this up and deliver it to both families.
For those interested here is the recipe:

Peach Blueberry Crisp
4 cups of diced peaches
2 cups of blueberries-I used mostly fresh but didn't have quite enough so added in some frozen
2 Tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup Light Agave nectar(I used dark)
3/4 Teaspoons of ground Cinnamon
2 1/2 Tablespoons of Cornstarch
1 1/4 Cups of Gluten Free Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Xanthin gum-optional
1/8 Teaspoon salt
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup vegetable shortening(I use butter)

~Preheat oven to 375
~Grease 8 x 8" baking dish
~Combine peaches and blueberries with lemon juice and agave nectar.  Toss gently then sprinkle with cinnamon and cornstarch, stirring gently to combine.
~Transfer into baking dish
~Combine the flour, anthem gum, salt and brown sugar. Whisk together, then add in 1/4 teaspoon and oats and toss well
~Melt shortening or butter (30-60 seconds) in microwave and add to dry ingredients, a little at a time; tossing between each addition.  Mix until you have large crumbs, spread on top evenly.
~Bake in center of oven for about 40 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling up around the sides.  Let cool to room temperature before serving.

Enjoy!

Better Late Than Never

This post was supposed to be earlier today, but I got caught up and didn't get it done. So first thing this morning hubby snapped this sunrise photo at the golf course~isn't it pretty!

Well, I am pleased to share that my second Sister's quilt top is finished(needs to be ironed though).  I am happy with the end result, prior to quilting it.  The fabric line was Sea and Sky and that is what this quilt says to me. It reminds me of the Islands, hubby's favorite vacation spot and this is why I choose these colors.  On Saturday, I'm taking a friend down to a quilt store on the way to Estes and going to shop their Batik sale-yeah, a big 25% off for the back.  I'm thinking I might end up with the light blue-green, but I won't know until I'm there.  As for quilting, it will be simple-probably following the design lines.  It will make a nice lap quilt for the cooler weather.  This is what happens when you don't get any instructions from the teacher-you space out and forget that you haven't put the borders on yet.  Glad I didn't post it on FB on the teacher's page...silly me.  So guess I'd better get back to work.

I walked 3.4 miles today and also spent an hour or so at the pool with our youngest and her five.  Such fun!
Tomorrow I will walk with a girlfriend and then in the afternoon we girls will have a tea-party at Carrie's.  I am making a blueberry-peach crisp to take; I promise to get some before photos and will share that with the recipe.  Hope you've had a great day and will have a fantastic Wednesday.
Hugs,
Noreen

Summer Fun At The Lake

Happy Monday to you and Happy August. This weekend our family, minus hubby and I, went camping at a nearby lake. We've been there a few times before, but never with a boat. Carrie's family owns a nice ski boat and although they weren't sure about taking it, they did and what fun everyone had on Saturday. Hubby and I got there by 8:30 and by 9:30 we were on the lake.

The two oldest grandsons went out tubing, as did the two oldest granddaughters.  However, the most fun was seeing Carrie and Kim going tubing.  Although I was on the shore with the kiddos, we could hear them screaming as they bounced over the wake.  It brought back so many memories of their teens, when we owned a Wave Runner and would go out almost every weekend.

Kim and Mr. L.

Usually, when Carrie's family go boating her hubby doesn't get to tube-he's always driving.  Hubby was there so both sil's went together. That was a hoot!

Eric, on the left in the bridge orange t-shirt is such a card.  He keeps us laughing.

Hubby doing what he loves best-driving a boat.  Maybe he loves it second best, golf would come first.

Hubby and Mr. B decided to take a turn.

You wonder why in the world I'm not tubing, well I had a very good reason-again I was on the shore with all the kiddos.  We had lunch at the beach and then hubby had to head into work, so we headed home.  It was such fun that we picked up hot dogs and headed back to the campsite for dinner.  We've shared so many memories and years camping together, we missed it-but not enough for me to sleep on the ground.  Give me an RV and then we'll talk.
Yesterday afternoon it poured and I lamented to my girls that is didn't feel like summer.  Carrie texted back: "Summer is still here and we must enjoy her until the very last minute.  And, then once she leaves, we can let fall come quietly to visit with candles and soft warm days.  But, today is still time to enjoy summer, especially when she drenches us with an afternoon rain shower." Copywrite July 31, 2016

Yes, we will embrace each day we have left; the Cicadas are already chirping and letting us know of the coming season.  For me, I plan on spending some time at the pool today.  Yesterday, I got 26 ears of corn and cut it up for the freezer, packed 3 pounds of green beans in freezer bags and started working on 20 pounds of Palisades Peaches(the best peaches I've ever tasted).
I hope you are enjoying the last weeks of summer and that you will embrace August.
Joy to you!
Noreen

Happy Friday to you!  I've been out and walked 4 miles already; when I started it was cool, but by the time my friend and I got back it was heating up.  After my friend left, I chatted with another neighbor and now just having an iced coffee. I'm waiting for my daughter to arrive to drop off her dog for the weekend. I love having family that you can trade dog sitting with-makes life so much easier. Both families are camping together this weekend; we were supposed to have two other dogs as well, but with Copper being so young yet and not being able to take her to the lake near the campground for the day tomorrow, Carrie decided to board their two.  I really didn't like that idea, but  there could be times when we aren't here and they need to board the dogs.  We don't have plans for today, but tomorrow will go hang out with the family.  Today I will spend at the sewing machine putting squares together with the second quilt I started in Sister's.  My wall hanging is all pinned and ready for quilting; I want to get the second quilt done and pinned as well.  Once football starts I love having a quilt to work on.
I also have Christmas presents I will need to begin.
I hope you have a great day and weekend.
Joy to you!
Noreen

Calling All Hand Quilters

Greetings to you friends!  I hope the week has flown by for those working and been relaxing for those  who aren't.  In my post yesterday, I showed the wall hanging I made from my Sister's class; I have been pondering what type of hand quilting to do on it.  Thankfully, I have a friend whose mom quilted for most of her life and when she passed, my friend inherited her stencils. On Tuesday, I went over to see what she had and what a bonanza!  I found eight possibilities, out of 30+ and came home with them.  I had already picked my favorites, but wanted to really look at them closely.  Well, yesterday I traced the three I choose and am happy with the designs.  For the big snowball block-mostly white, I choose a Dahlia for the center; it's the perfect size for the square.  For the small center of the red square, I choose a small round pattern, with lots of stitching.  The border was easy-a feather pattern.  During our travels, I found that quilt stores just aren't carrying stencils for hand quilters anymore; they say there isn't the demand there once was.  I was so disappointed.  I have a fair number of stencils, but always looking for more.  So for you hand quilters, do you have a source where you get your stencils?

On another subject-the Soberances fire in northern California:  I talked to my girlfriend last night and although they've faced wildfires before, this one is scary.  She has spent two days working with neighbors to cut down undergrowth around the road.  She said that from her back deck all she could see was a wall of flames two ridges over.  "Maybe a mile by how the crow flies".  I can't believe they haven't yet been evacuated, at least last night.  They've had four helicopters flying over the area dropping water, circling continually; I would want to be down the mountain by now.  I had hoped to find a photo of the area of her deck, but can't seem to locate one.  They've done all they can possibly do to protect their home, now it's up to the fire fighters. Here is a pic from Aletha's deck last night, taken by her son.  The flames are behind the far ridge-looks a bit away, but still.....

Noreen

It's outdoor Wednesday and I will be going on a bike ride shortly. I wanted to update you all on the Carmel Valley fire~although I haven't talked to my friend today, as of late last night they were still on call about when they needed, if they needed to evacuate. Although they've lived in the mountains for 20+ years, one never gets used to the threat of wildfires. It was two ridges over from her home-which seems like a lot, but fires can jump ridges in no time. Their forecast is hot and humid, with wind, until Sunday. I'll be calling her soon to check in. I would either be wanting to stay at home or have my car loaded with everything, including the dogs if I needed to run into town. This reminds me to continue to pray for those being impacted by wildfires and for those brave men and women fighting them.

 So on to a different subject~I wanted to share some of the stores we went to in the Bend area. Of course, the first one is a well known store in Sisters, The Stitchin Post. We visited it 16 years ago when we were there; it is just as fun as I remember.

Next is BJ's Quilt Basket; it is a wonderful store that has so much fabric.  We took our first class there; they have a delightful staff and facility.  Loved it.

The Quilter's Attic was a cute, little store. It is for sale and all the fabric was very inexpensive.

Sew Many Quilts was in a warehouse and huge!!! It was two buildings; I got a book there and a panel.  Could have spent hours shopping, but we had the hubby's along and mine was getting antsy.

We enjoyed the upstairs of Quiltworks, where they had a gallery.  So fun to see the different quilts before I got overwhelmed by so many in Sisters.

Well, I haven't yet trimmed the border but here is my first project-I've got to trim it up today and then draw in the patterns I will be quilting. It isn't perfect, but I love it and think it will make a great Christmas wall hanging.  I have a new saying-Perfection is over rated.  I don't want my quilts to look like they were manufactured overseas on a machine.  I strive to do my best, but I have gotten to the point where I'm not going to hide my projects because they aren't award winners.

I hope you have a great day, filled with contentment. If you live near an area that is besieged with fires, please be safe. Hugs,
Noreen

California Wildfires

It is late Tuesday afternoon and I had a different post in mind~that is until I got a text that said there is a wildfire in Carmel Valley.  All the fires in California have me concerned, but this one imparticularly-because my best friend since high school lives in the mountains above Carmel Valley and they are always on the lookout.  I texted her immediately and while the fire is a couple of ridges over, she was being evacuated at the moment.  The hills are covered with shrub oak, dry grasses and dry trees and the fire is too close to them.  How does one evacuate on a moments notice?  Hopefully, for those that live in the mountains, surrounded by trees, you have things ready to be packed in the cars quickly.  I've seen reality shows where they do a fire drill to see just how long it takes to get things loaded and get out.  When we lived in northern Ca. we backed up to open space, we had wildfires that were just too close for comfort.  My heart goes out to all those who are facing this, whether in California or Colorado or another state.  Bless the firefighters and crews working in such dangerous conditions.  May those who have lost their homes be comforted by others.  My angels assist those fighting the blazes and keep them safe.

Noreen