By the Pond - Arlene's Quilting, Writing and Photography Journeys

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Popping Lids

Finished reading Simon Winchester's book, The Man Who Loved China. Alan and I have to lead a discussion at book group on Thursday. Excellent writing; about Joseph Needham. It hs made me want to know more about China.

I canned 6 pints and 6 half pints of spaghetti sauce this afternoon. Made the sauce and pureed it two days ago; it has been in refrigerator. Only took an hour to get the jars into canning pot for processing. Soon I will hear the popping of the lids.

Baby Hat and Booties

I made a baby hat and booties for Allyson's colleague Ashley. I rememebr my Mom use to make booties and blankets for my friends babies. Pass it forward. The hat I made during the Super Bowl!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

BOW of Week for 2/6/11

Here is my 72th Dear Jane block.

E-4 Buffalo Tree Hopper

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Woofs and Meeows! Our Pet Children and Grand Cats

Our pet children we have had over the years and our two grand cats.

Simba - 1st Grand Cat

Pooh Bah meeting Baby Allyson -What have your brought home?

Allyson and Iolanthe

Athena - My Dancing Maytag

Bunter in a Bag - Second Grand Cat

Rudigore - Our Hide and Seeker

Murgatroyd

Arlene-Penny 2000 to 2010 Log Cabin Block Exchange

Got the blocks up on a design wall today. They have been on the floor for two weeks while I played with them. Now I want to do soemthing for the edge. Penny and I want to get it done by December 31, 2011.

36 blocks, 12 x 12 inches made over ten years.

Calfornia sights and smells-Draft

This will be a collage of photos of California. One of the things we like to do is walk across (sometimes with my best friend Nancy from Cal) the SF Golden Gate Bridge. We try to do it once a year. My Mom walked across it when it opened in 1937 and on the 50th anniversary in 1987.

San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge from boat on a trip to Angel Island, June 19, 2010.

Oakland Bay Bridge and San Francisco Skyline from boat June 19, 2010.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Design Wall Update Jan 22, 2011.

Here is my Dear Jane design wall. I keep it covered to protect from dust and light.

March Recipe - Irish Soda Bread

1 c old fashioned oatmeal (2 c)
½ c buttermilk ( 1 c)
1 c flour (2 c)
1T baking powder (1 T)
½ t baking soda (1 t)
1/4 t salt (½ t)
2 T sugar (4 T)
2 T butter, cold (4 T)
1 egg (1 egg)
1/3 to ½ c buttermilk (⅔ c)
½ c currants (1 c)
The whole recipe makes two 8-inch round loaves. The amount in the parenthesis is for a whole recipe. I now make just half the recipe. The egg and the baking powder remain the same for half or whole recipe.
Heat oven to 375 F; butter an 8 inch cake pan. Combine the oatmeal with ½ c buttermilk; let sit for 2 hours or overnight. In a bowl, place the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar; cut in the butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Beat egg slightly; add ⅓ c buttermilk; then add the milk-egg mixture and the oatmeal-milk mixture to the flour; stir with a large fork until blended; add the currants; add more buttermilk if necessary. Turn on board, knead lightly, shape into a round and press dough down into the cake pan. With a sharp knife, cut a shamrock into top of the loaf; sprinkle with green sugar. Bake for 25-20 minutes until lightly brown; don’t over bake as it gets dry very easily.
My husband Alan was served the bread when he was a student at Stanford. He was taking Russian from a Dutch professor. She served the soda bread during a final exam she held at her home. After we were married, Alan told me the story and asked me if I could make it. I got the recipe from Sunset Magazine. I started making soda bread according to my notes in March 1972. When we were working and Allyson was in school, I used to make eight loaves to share.