Rain and Ice, But Warm and Sweet Inside

Turkey Tracks: December 22, 2021

Rain and Ice, But Warm and Sweet Inside

The warm and sweet includes a beautiful beef stew, which I made Sunday.

I’ll tell how I make a tender beef stew in a little over an hour below this message.

Friend Rosie Pilkerton’s Christmas card came yesterday, and as is her sweet habit, included was one of her Christmas stocking ornaments. I have many from her over the years, but these four are handily available and I will keep them nearby for the holidays next year. (I went through the Christmas decorations last summer and isolated the special ornaments in boxes that are now in dry storage upstairs—and the rest of Rosie’s stockings are up there.)

My friend in town who sends me pictures of the wild life critters that come into her yard, which backs up to the Mt. Battie woods, sent this picture yesterday. (Remember the fox pics from yesterday?) This beautiful deer was eating her junipers. Deer have been a real problem for me this past year as well. And it is early for the deer to be eating shrubs like the junipers—which usually happens in the extreme cold and lots of snow that *used to* come in January and February.

AC and I ventured out in the light fluffy snow yesterday as we both needed exercise and fresh air. AC’s chasing of his ball in the snow turned out to be really fun for both of us. We both had to watch really carefully to see where the ball landed as it would go ”plop” into the snow. That action produced a mystery for AC that he delighted in solving until he found the ball.

While at the Snow Bowl athletic field we also saw a cherished neighbor and had a little visit.

And now, we have passed over the Solstice, and the light will begin to return, ever so slowly, but it will return.

***

Beef Stew

I use an Instant Pot to cook the beef and savory part of the stew.

I cook the small whole unpeeled potatoes and carrots separately, and I cut up the potatoes into bite-size pieces when they are cool enough to handle. How you cut up the carrots is up to you. You can cook both potatoes and carrots in the same big pot if you like. The carrots will get done before the potatoes, but you can just dip them out when done.

The cooked potatoes and carrots go into a bowl big enough to handle the whole stew, and when the beef part is done, I just pour it all over the veggies and mix them together. What ever green veggie I add is also cooked separately. BUT, as the warm dish sat in the bowl and after I had eaten one meal, I thought it would be good to add some frozen peas, which I did. And, yes, they were a nice addition. They more or less defrost in the warm stew, and if they need it, they cook more when one reheats one’s portion of stew for the next meal. I don’t reheat the whole stew when I want to eat some—just the portion I want for my meal. (I also froze about half of the stew for other meals.)

For this stew I sautéed 2 small onions, one celery stick, and 6 thin leeks (about 1 inch thick—so just under 2 cups?) in leftover lamb fat in the Instant Pot. (I don’t use veggie oils for this step as they—except for coconut oil—are too fragile and many are not healthy fats. Beef tallow would be a good choice too.) Add some herbs and salt. That first sauté does take a bit of prep time—maybe 20 minutes—I sauté and stir occasionally while I do other tasks until I start to see bits of brown in the sweated veggies. I remove those onto something like a plate, add a bit more fat (this time I used some ghee), and put in the cubes of beef that I had dried well in paper towels. Add more herbs, chopped garlic, and salt. As the beef sautés in the Instant Pot it will exude a fair amount of liquid. You want to cook down that liquid a little, which will begin to let the beef brown a little.

When the beef is ready, I add just under a quarter cup of thickener. I used sprouted brown rice flour as I can’t eat wheat. Mix it well with the meat. Add about 3 cups of water or stock and the savory veggies. I set the Instant Pot for 35 minutes and when it has stopped, I let it sit for 15 minutes before I release the steam.

The rest is easy—just pour the beef mixture over the veggies, mix them up, and serve up a bowl of your beautiful beef stew—knowing you have LEFTOVERS and some to freeze.

Enjoy!

Brrrr Cold, But Sunny

Turkey Tracks: December 20, 2021

Brrr Cold, But Sunny

The weekend was snowy and cloudy, and we got enough snow to cover the ground.

This morning it was 18 degrees on the north side of my house. AC returned from his morning run with VERY cold ears. I blew warm air on them to warm them up a little. He’ll be 4 in late March 2022 and handles indoor days better now, but he still is and always will be a very active fellow.

Our weather on Wednesday will warm and there will be RAIN! I hope that forecast doesn’t pan out and the snow can stay for a White Christmas. Low temps return on Thursday, so there is hope. What could occur I suppose is…icy roads and walks.

A friend whose house backs up to the Mount Battie woods sends me wonderful pictures of local wildlife that appear in her yard. This weekend, there was this beautiful fox:

I had some good sewing time. I’ve gotten two sides of the binding on the big log cabin quilt sewn down. At 96-inches square, that task takes…time…and I don’t feel a need to rush through it.

I’ve been piecing this scrappy quilt using the lively and interesting Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society stash fabrics—the pattern, ”Whirlygig,” is featured in the most recent issue of Simply Modern magazine—and I’ll give more info when I get further along. It is, I now realize, similar to the funky wedding ring quilt I did not that long ago. I think I have enough of the butterfly fabric for the backing. Not sure about binding yet. Will keep this one at 49 inches square and will not add a border. I want it to stay modern. I want it to be used and washed and dragged around and loved.

To remind, here’s the ”Funky” wedding ring quilt—it has the big cross, but not the inner ”Whirlygig.”

Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice—followed by each day gaining more light.

Don’t forget to take some time to acknowledge this darkest night of the year that marks the turning toward light returning.

Betsy Maislen’s Fun Pillows

Turkey Tracks: December 17, 2021

Betsy Maislen’s Fun Pillows

Betsy spent a chunk of last winter having fun making some foundation pieced patterns that she liked.

But, what to do with them?

How about 20-inch gift pillows for loved ones? How about keeping some too?

This quail was the first pillow, which sent her on to the next pillows. The hand-stitching quilting was her first effort with this skill, and she liked what happened.

The woodpecker came next:

Then the hot peppers:

And on to the peach:

She is keeping this New York Beauty block pillow, and I’m wondering if we’ll see more of these blocks down Betsy’s quilting road.

This chicken is staying with Betsy as well. And I look forward to seeing the pillow she makes. Isn’t the feather fabric terrific?

Question? Is Betsy done, or will she go back to this well?

Refrigerators and AC’s ”Chase Me: I Have the Ball”

Turkey Tracks: December 16, 2021

Refrigerators and AC’s ”Chase Me: I Have the Ball”

Can I just say that NO ONE in my life has ever told me it is really important to take off the front grill on the bottom of your refrigerator and to vacuum out the dust balls that accumulate there? Even better, after vacuuming from the front, pull out the refrigerator and take a shop vacuum and blow beneath the refrigerator from front to back.

I was hesitant to reach beneath the refrigerator with the vacuum as I didn’t know what kind of electrical connections could be present there, but it turns out, nothing to worry about under there.

And can I just also say that getting appliance fix-it people to come fix something up here in rural Maine is not an easy task. Most are tremendously overworked and super busy.

But…

No one told me…

Ever…

And I think it might be that I am a military brat, and we always moved pretty often, so maybe my mother didn’t ever do this task.

I have learned the hard way, and right now I’m feeling really lucky that doing those two tasks (vacuum and shop vac blowing out) allowed my refrigerator to once again run its fan and to cool to the proper temperatures.

If you don’t have a shop vacuum and have a garage, I’d highly recommend you get one. I have used the one John bought more than I would have thought. But, mostly for tasks in the garage.

Of course I can’t get that front grill back on. There are these two pesky clips, and I don’t see how or where they work. But help is on the way next Thursday, and meanwhile, all seems good again.

So, today is a rainy day, and AC hates rainy days. We did take a ride out to the post office to mail something, but AC doesn’t think that ride counted. He wants to RUN, to chase his ball at the Snow Bowl field.

AC is all about play—of all kinds—especially if balls are involved. ”Chase Me I Have the Ball” is his favorite game. Unless it’s ”Chase Me: I Have the Stick,” which happens when I walk down to get the mail.

Anyway, here’s a little video of AC inviting me to play with him—taken a few days ago AFTER he had a good run.

Floyd the Cat Travels to Florida in Style

Turkey Tracks: December 12, 2021

Floyd the Cat Travels to Florida in Style

First, there is a back story about the lush-looking bed Floyd the Cat is sitting on.

About two years ago I was tempted to order this dog bed after seeing ads for it on Facebook. It took months and months to come and was way, way smaller than a 45 pound dog would need. I put it inside an existing bed, but AC doggie thought it was an animal and immediately tried to chew it up. So, it sat in a storage space in a plastic bag for over another year.

Then, for some reason about a month ago, I cleaned out all the ”extras” in that storage space, which included several items for small dogs. About that time, friend Margaret was getting ready to head to Florida for the winter, and I offered her the bed for her ”traveling cat,” Floyd.

Floyd was born in Florida and appeared at Margaret’s house there as a feral kitten about 2 years ago. They bonded, and Floyd returned to Maine with Margaret, where he hunted small game all night, and thrived. So now he goes back and forth each year.

Floyd likes to sit up straight or stand and watch the traffic as Margaret drives.

The bed worked really well this last trip, said Margaret, who made this last trip with a friend. She could tuck it between the two seats or they could put it on a lap, and Floyd loved it all.

So, the expensive and lush bed got rehomed where it is loved by a 4-legged fur creature and his human friend.

And, after two other poor buying experiences on Facebook, I won’t do it again.

I’m cured.

“Sunny” Top Is Finished

Turkey Tracks: December 11, 2021

“Sunny” Top is Finished

Here it is:

I’m really pleased with how it came out.

I chose to keep the reds and oranges to the sunburst/half circle and use the other fabrics for background. And I wanted to use LOTS of the two yellows—at least one version is in every row. I added in Kona Snow and, I think, the light grey is Lighthouse—but I won’t sweat to it. I wanted to keep this top light and airy, and I think it is.

I have since seen people using the red and orange as backgrounds too, and those blocks are awesome. I’d like to play now with the reds and oranges as backgrounds, and I have enough fabric left to do that. I’ll also play with making all the backgrounds more or less dark. Maybe. I never know…

Meanwhile, “Calm,” the light/dark grey BIG long cabin is on Innova. That work is going well. I do love this Innova.

It’s a rainy day—and all the snow is melted out. The grass is still GREEN.

AC doggie, of course, is bored out of his ever loving mind!!

I am happy to have this day to sew.

**A reminder that this Sunny block is designed by Tara Faughnan for Sewtopia’s The Color Collective AND is the first project for Season 4.

A Winter Day in December

Turkey Tracks: December 4, 2021

A Winter Day in December

Today has been all shiny and bright.

But cold.

The sky is the crystal, clear blue we get often in winter.

As I threw AC’s ball for him, the sharp air, laden with the faint smell of wood smoke from nearby houses, cleared all the cobwebs out of my head.

I’ve said it before on this blog, but AC chases his ball with his whole heart. Without a heavy coat, neck scarf, hat, and gloves, it’s hard enough to throw the ball and get a video. This video is the best I could do this morning.

And now I have time to sew, so off I go.

“Sunny” is Happening!

Turkey Tracks: December 2, 2021

“Sunny is Happening!”

The dark grey/light grey BIG long cabin top is done and will go on Innova next.

I bought a 108 wide backing and ordered a king batting, and I will bind with a medium grey solid.

”Calm” is a handsome quilt and has been claimed by my DIL Tami Enright, who also runs The Bee Cause, which has a Facebook page you could check out. This organization is dedicated to preserving bee habitats and to providing hives. Tami now has hives in all 50 states. Many of these hives are demonstration hives in schools and public places, so people can learn all about bees.

There was some drama while this top was still on the design wall: another chipmunk got into the house, the second one this year, and s/he appeared while I was watching nighttime tv and handsewing with AC doggie dead asleep next to me on the couch. When I shrieked, AC leapt up in a flash and trapped the chipmunk in the quilt room—where I shut the door to keep her/him in there. Unfortunately, when AC caught and shook the chipmunk, a spray of blood went across the bottom of the quilt.

What followed was a lot of soaking and blotting the spray with salt, salted water, and OxiClean spray. Finally, the blood all came out, but it took a long time. The blood, even so fresh, was very thick and very red—it was much denser than human blood. Later nurse and quilter Betsy Maislen told me that hydrogen peroxide would have taken the blood right out and would not have harmed the fabric. Good to know. Which is why I’m telling this story.

The fabrics on Innova’s roller bar are for the first project of this season’s online class hosted by Sewtopia, The Color Collective. Designer Tara Faughnan has given us a really fun and colorful “Sunny” block for this first project of the 4th season.

Here is where I am as of this morning:

I followed Tara Faughnan’s method of keeping the reds and oranges to the sunrise and adding neutrals to make the quilt lighter. I added Kona Snow and a Kona soft grey which I think maybe is Quicksilver. Sometimes it is hard to tell exactly from the fabric swatch cards I have.

BUT, I’ve seen some folks in the class using the red and oranges for backgrounds—and those blocks are awesome. I will make some of those when I am done—just because. Maybe a pillow? Maybe just blocks for the parts department bin. I never know when I start down a road like this one. Whatever, making them will be fun, and fun and play should always happen. And a quilt with all darker backgrounds would be so pretty too.

Of course this block can be used to make circles or other intriguing patterns—in that it is like “Tenderoni” the last quilt we made last year, designed by Latifah Saafir. Remember my version?

I pushed all the curved blocks together, whereas Latifah Saafir spread them out by including plain fabric blocks—which made for a beautiful, airy quilt. Maybe this could happen along with making blocks with a darker background for a small wall hanging or table runner of some sort.

Today is a rainy day! Yeah! That means sewing time for me, and all my household ”to do” tasks are done for the week—except for a quick trip to the grocery store today—mostly just to get AC out for a bit. Otherwise he ”dogs” me until we do something together.

First Snow

Turkey Tracks: November 30, 2021

First Snow

It caught me by surprise—this first snow.

And I had not covered the grill and stored it for the winter.

But the first snow is always so beautiful—and means the arrival of real winter.

Here’s a picture from ”Coffee on the Porch,” a local business that publishes beautiful local pictures on Facebook. This one was taken at dawn from across the harbor. The lights are inside our beautiful library. And the town will slowly come awake now to find this first snow.

Here’s a picture taken by gifted photographer Judy Berk, also on Facebook, of her farm field covered by snow. I love the soft colors of the sky and snow-covered field. This picture heralds the peaceful quiet of a winter morning.

Before I wrapped and stored the grill, I cooked one last steak on it.

Delicious—and there are leftovers for another salad lunch.

The placemat is made from the non-printed selvages of quilting fabrics. I just knit them with a garter stitch when I get enough strips to make more rows. It’s kind of an ongoing project.

I love these funky placemats. They wash well and are super sturdy. Whatever bright colored napkin I choose seems to resonate with them.

I have enough placemats now, so maybe I’ll try knitting some sort of small rug for the kitchen or a doorway or, even, a bathroom…