Mom is coming today, Delta to Detroit.  We're ready!!

It's not Halloween!

Noel wanted a facial too!  What a hoot!

New East Lansing Burger Joint

We had supper tonight at a new East Lansing burger joint called Bagger Dave's.  I had a BLT and I believe it is the best one I've ever had.  It was served on sour dough bread and in addition to the usual BLT and mayo, it also had guacamole in it.  I added a side of very thin and crispy sweet potato fries. Yum yum!

Too Good To Be True

I went to Meijer today to buy a vegetable scrapper.  I expected it to cost 79 cents.  Ha!  $7.79!!!  While I was debating with myself whether I really needed a vegetable scrapper, I saw and was intrigued by a small rubber kitchen thingie.  It was labeled as an egg poacher.  I love poached eggs but hate the messy protein cleanup in the pan.  It was less costly than the vegetable scraper so I bought it.  I washed it and decided poached eggs sounded great for supper.  The directions on the package were in French.  I did have a couple of years of high school French and the Latin roots should have helped me translate,  but NOT!   As near as I could tell, the eggs went into the yellow thingie and and yellow thingie went into boiling water for about 5 minutes.  After 12 minutes, the eggs were still very slimy so I gave up with the yellow thingie. 

So, So Sorry, Shirley

We had an empty seat at our sewing group today.  Our friend, Shirley, was called urgently to California this week.  Her seven-year old grand daughter had cancer surgery.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you.  We miss you but know what a comfort it must be to your son and daughter-in-law to have you there.

OK, I am an Apple convert!

I have had my Droid HTC phone for nearly two years.  I have loved it from the moment I got it - the internet access, the calendar,and all of the other features I use.  I recently received an email from Verizon reminding me that I would be eligible for a phone upgrade on April 14th.  They also very kindly suggested a new iPhone.  I looked at iPhones several years ago, but because then you had to use AT&T, I said no.

Several weeks ago, my grandson became the owner of an iPad.  I have played with it and love the intuitiveness of operation and the camera and graphics.

So.......while I was at the Verizon store (only to browse) at new phone options, I was directed to the new iPhone with its voice-activated messaging plus many other options. The salesman went so very kindly through the finer points of the phone. Needless to say, I now own a new iPhone, without AT&T, and with a lower monthly cellular bill!  I am a so impressed with this phone and the iPad that I imagine my next computer may be a Apple product!

I'm Smokin'!!

Today, although very chilly, the sun was out, so.......I set up the smoker and smoked salmon.  I had a few rough bumps with the smoker (directly related to my ability to read directions). The smoker works by feeding wood bisquettes onto a heating creating the smoke.  Each bisquette will smoke for 20 minutes.  I did not add enough bisquettes to the chimney and for about 20 minutes, there was not smoking going on.  The salmon turned out pretty good.  I am not sure what I will do with it.  I smoked two huge fillets!  It tastes pretty good.  Tomorrow night, I will make smoked salmon pasta salad.

My Bradley Smoker

I completed my chores and shopped for my meat. By Friday, I was absolutely ready to season and use my new smoker for the first time.  I planned to smoke salmon and chicken for my trial run.  Mother Nature has not been cooperative.  It has rained every day since I put the smoker outside.  I ended up roasting the chicken for dinner Sunday and will need to have the salmon today or tomorrow.  It can't rain forever, right?

In the olden days.....

I remember my elementary teachers showing us, repetitively, how to diagram sentences.  Nouns, verbs, conjunctions and prepositional phrases.  Noel is having some difficulty at school with speech related to those things.  No surprise, sentence diagramming died near about the time of dinosaurs so the very young teacher says.....). But that's OK.  There is an even cooler way to learn grammar.....it's an iPad app called Sentence Builder.  Beth and Billy are being very proactive and have engaged Sylvan Learning Center teachers as tutors for Noel.  I will be his transportation twice per week.  After his very first visit, he left the center singing and skipping.  Last night on the way home, he said, "Grandma, I love Sylvan!"  They used iPads (his current most favorite thing) and the Sentence Builder app.  I downloaded it for him today on his iPad as a surprise. I am very impressed with Sylvan.

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Easter Sunday

It was a relaxed, easy kind of day.  Lots of sun, wind but not particularly warm  I worked most of the day putting the binding on this quilt.

Beth and Billy had a family Easter dinner.  It was a great meal.....ham, mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli, applesauce and blueberry pie for dessert.  It was wonderful to eat someone else's cooking!

Les Miserables

I thoroughly enjoyed Les Miserables at the MSU Wharton Center today with friends.  The talent and passion were incredible!

Rachel Ray's Ground Turkey Meatloaf

I like using ground turkey rather than ground beef, but for meatloaf, it has always been too dry and crumbly...... not at all good for cold meatloaf sandwiches.  While I was in Florida, we watched a Rachel Ray program where she made ground turkey meatloaf but had interesting ingredients to keep it moist and hold together.  In addition to the usual bread crumbs and eggs, her recipe also includes shredded carrots.  I added two teaspoons of horseradish for a little zip (and an equal amount of minced garlic just because).  The end product was a nice firm, very tasty meatloaf.  Thanks, Rachel Ray!

The final day of spring break.....

Noel has such a wide variety of interests.  He wanted me to take him to a shooting range.  I picked one out close to home, but he talked me into going to the MSU Demmer Archery and Shooting range.  What a wonderful facility.  For $15, he spent three hours shooting, some of the time with members of the MSU archery team.  There were two instructors present who were very keen on safety and took the time to provide personal instruction.  It's another awesome facility at MSU!

His Own iPad

Noel has been talking about having an iPad for weeks.  He now has an iPad2 and it has become his best friend.  In the first few minutes he had it, he found a notepad and began to list his spelling words....great use of the device!  Of course, the first evening he had it, the internet service was out and he was very limited.  This morning, he found movies and tonight he bought a game to play.  He is treating it respectfully and seems to be grateful to have. Tonight, he fell asleep in the chair with it.  When he's happy, Gram is happy! 

Spring Break 2012

Some people travel to warm places for spring break.  Noel is spending his spring break with me!  Yesterday, he went fishing in the pond out back.  No bites, no fish.  But, he "accidentally" kicked his shoe off in the pond, totally snafu'd the fishing line so badly I had to cut it (twice) and during his last cast, half the pole went with the line into to pond!  He said he had a good time fishing!!

He's such an angel....when he's asleep!

Finished the Spools Quilt Top with Applique Border

Edyta Sitar designs beautiful quilt patterns. I finished the Spools Quilt top at the retreat this weekend including a machine appliqued border.

It really did snow!

Quilting Retreat at Kettenum

Once again I am attending the quilting retreat at the Kettunen Center in Tustin, near Cadillac, Michigan. The group is a little smaller this time....about 34 quilters from around the m id-Michigan area.  We left spring like weather at home and woke here this morning to snow and an accumulation of about 3-4 inches!  I have been working on several projects this weekend.  The quilt top I would like to finish is the Spools Quilt pattern (from Edyta Sitar's book).  I am making good progress.

Roast Chicken via the Crockpot

I popped a plump chicken seasoned with rosemary, paprika, salt, pepper and garlic into the crock pot this morning.  After six hours on low temperature, the chicken was fall-off-the-bone done.  But, look at the stock it made!  Wow!  That's just homemade chicken stock waiting for a hearty homemade soup!

Seafood Ravioli with Creamy Tomato Mushroom Sauce

I adapted a recipe for ravioli from the Food Network website.  Instead of lobster ravioli, I made salmon ravioli.  The ravioli filling included poached salmon, lump crab and shrimp along with ricotta cheese, shallots, butter, garlic and salt & pepper.  The sauce was made from tomato sauce, mushrooms, shallots, garlic, salt, pepper, lump crap meat with a little heavy cream for good measure.  I used won-ton wraps for the ravioli wrappers. I made the ravioli a little bigger than the usual so that ample seafood was available for each portion.  I had some filling leftover.  I think salmon patties might be on the docket for supper tomorrow!

Farmhouse Quilt

I finished this quilt top in time for the Lansing Area Patchers Quilt Show in May.  It is one of Edyta Sitar's patterns that includes both piecing and applique.  The fabrics are all batiks.

Peace River Fish Market

Today we went into Cleveland, Florida for a late lunch at the Peace River Fish Market. It's rustic.  They serve wine in little plastic cups (no NOT red solo cups!) and dinner is served in plastic baskets....but the food was delicious!  I had the grilled grouper sandwich.  It came with a small ear of sweetcorn and red potato.  I tasted the crab cake which was also sumptuous.  Lunch was made more wonderful by sitting outside and enjoying the nice breeze.

Orange You Glad You're in Florida?

I've been in Florida for the past week and enjoying the balmy weather, blue skies, unrelenting sunshine and oranges!  I've had an orange off the tree every day.  Sometimes, the orange is soaking in a Blue Moon beverage. Sometimes I eat it "just plain."  This is the orange I choose to eat today!

Behind the Beautiful Forevers

I just finished reading the book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo.  I first read about this book in the Lansing State Journal several weeks ago. It captured my attention because the summary said the story took place in the slums of Mumbai, India.  I was very moved watching the move, City of Joy, with Patrick Swayze, which also took place in Indian slums.  I was moved, both in the book I just finished and the movie, at the human spirit, and the conditions under which humans can and do survive.  I read the Nook version of Behind the Beautiful Forevers and was fortunate to be able see snipits of home movies made by the author as she was researching the book.  It is a book I would highly recommend reading.