It Is Sunday Again

And it is HOT and dry here. We really need rain again. So, my watering duties have increased. But the new Crape Myrtle tree seems to be doing ok. I’m hoping the daily water when needed will help this new tree develop a good root system and will get it through the summer heat.

Lately, these little rain/tree frogs are in my garden–and around other neighbors’ houses. They are so cute, so vividly green. There is a darker brown version too. I haven’t tried to catch one to see if s/he has suckers on the feet, but it sure looks like they do. The downside: they have huge poops that they leave on the sides of our houses when they seek shelter away from the vegetation.

I googled and now believe these little frogs are American Green Tree Frogs, so yes, there are suckers on their feet. If you want to read more, here is a link. Yes, they can also have a darker brown color.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_green_tree_frog

I finished all the blocks for the big red quilt yesterday, with 18 extras which can be used for a smaller lap quilt. I have some extra fabric as well, so I could have 20 blocks down the road. I’ll cut the violet sashings today–Kona Thistle. The blocks are 10-inches finished, and the sashings will finish at 1 1/2 inches, so this quilt will be 90 1/2 finished. I’m still thinking about wide-back backings–the reds seem an overkill and too traditional. Also, one has to think about thread quilting color when choosing a backing, and I don’t want to quilt with red thread. I’m now wondering about something in the gold tones. Or a darker grey. Or, one of the newsprint backings. I’m going to bind with the Kona Thistle so I have to think about that too,

I have not had a working oven since August 1st. Ugh! The control board on my Kitchen aid froze somehow, and I was unable to turn it off. I had to turn it off with its breaker, in the garage, which also turns off the microwave. This oven is a gas/electric oven. The Whirlpool repair man has been here twice now, and we have the oven on, but locked, which allows me to use the top taps. (Yeah, I can make espresso coffee again.) But on the last visit the oven techie discovered that both bottom sides have damage that one wouldn’t notice until the oven is pulled out. The damage impacts the bottom warming drawer which doesn’t slide in and out properly–and maybe is a factor in the control board, which definitely needs replacing. There will be paperwork from Whirlpool soon.

I’ve put in a warranty ticket with the builder for a replacement oven. It’s clear that it was damaged when it was installed.

This past week, to cope, I bought an Air Fryer to join my grill and my Instant Pot. So, there is now a new learning curve–and most of you know I kind of like learning curves. I have been tempted by friends loving their air fryers for several years now.

When not in use, this appliance can fit in this spot in my kitchen, which was vacant except for Alexis, which I never really use. I like clean counters that don’t have a lot of appliances on them, and the storage in this house allows me to store appliances I’m not using every day. But this one is getting used every day.

I cooked this first meal in 25 minutes right after I unpacked it and read all the instructions. The corn was delicious, and the chicken drum sticks were moist and browned. I cooked the asparagus in the microwave in 3 minutes. (I am not a fan of microwaves, but necessity now makes its use needed.) I cooked 4 ears of corn and took the kernels off the other two ears for use in salads.

I can’t wait to try some handcut French fries with duck fat as the fat, rather than the bad veggie oils on the frozen fries in the grocery store.

Prior to the Air Fryer’s arrival, I used my Instant Pot to cook a whole chicken. I added more liquid so I would have some good broth–and with some of the meat, the broth, some frozen veggies, and some cooked veggies in my refrigerator, I made a whole pot of soup.

The soup was nourishing and made for two days of easy meals. The extra meat I used to vary the soup with some fresh salads.

I am making progress on hand-quilting Traverse, which I’m very much enjoying. I got in a lot of sewing time on it this past week while waiting downstairs for the electric and Whirlpool techies to show up. (Upstairs I can’t hear the doorbell.) I sewed and listened to my favorite music one day and an ongoing book another day.

My stitches are getting better with Tara Faughnan’s quilting method, and the back of the quilt is starting to look interesting. I like my strategy of keeping thread colors quiet on the front since I don’t want to take away or hide the patterns or colors in each row. So far I have most of the right colors for the colors in the quilt.

I’m happy. And now, hungry. It is time to organize my dinner and make my supper salad. I’m going to try roasting some cauliflower and carrot in the Ninja Air Fryer.