Cupcake

 

Tomorrow is my birthday. It isn’t a scary one with a zero at the end, but still. I’d be upset if anyone referred to me as “elderly,” but I can no longer legitimately call myself “middle-aged.” If anyone asks my age, I plan to say I’m “well-seasoned.”

"At age 20, we worry what others think of us. At age 40, we don't care what they think of us. At age 60, we discover they haven't been thinking of us at all." – Ann Landers

"Nice to be here? At my age it's nice to be anywhere." – George Burns

"Age is simply the number of years the world has been enjoying you!" – Source Unknown

"Life would be infinitely happier if we could be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen." – Mark Twain

“Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better!” – Ingrid Bergman

Striped Strawberry

 

The vending machine was invented in Ancient Egypt, by a Greek mathematician/engineer. It was designed to dispense holy water inside Egyptian temples. In the 1600’s, small machines in English pubs exchanged tobacco for coins. The country best known for its love of vending machines is Japan, which boasts a machine for every 23 people. Japanese buy hot and cold beverages from vending machines; sometimes both are available from the same unit. They can purchase hot foods like burgers, soba noodles, and curry; refrigerated items like sweet potatoes, sushi and bananas; or frozen treats like mochi, ice cream or popsicles. Their use isn’t limited to food and beverages. In airports, train stations and hotels, vending machines sell face masks, hand sanitizer, and toothbrush/toothpaste kits. And in business districts, there are machines offering socks, neckties, dress shirts and deodorant. There are even solar-powered or hand-crank vending machines for use when the power goes out.

Duck and Ducklings

 

I found this recipe while searching for a side dish to go with our Sunday dinner of chicken kebabs. But the rule of thumb for Sundays here is, “Keep it simple, stupid.” And two dishes – the kebabs and a layered salad – were already on the labor-intensive side. So, I opted for a Caesar salad and veggies with ranch dressing instead. I'll save this for a weeknight instead.

 

Garlic Butter Rice Pilaf

 

1 cup jasmine rice

2 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

 

Rinse rice in a mesh sieve until the water runs clear; drain. Place rice, broth, butter, oil, garlic and thyme in rice cooker. Close and set to “white rice.” When cooker has finished, transfer to serving bowl and garnish with fresh parsley. Serves four.

Hit or Miss

 

Here are a few weird but fun facts to ponder:

The Eiffel Tower can be up to six inches taller in summer, as heat makes the iron expand.

The Philippines consists of 7,641 islands, not counting sandbars that emerge during low tide.

Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts, and she’s from Willows, Wisconsin.

When lightning strikes sand, the heat can create glass structures called fulgurite.

Your circulatory system – veins, arteries and capillaries – is more than 60,000 miles long.

71% of Earth is covered with water, but only 2.5% of that is fresh water. And only 1% of that is accessible, with the rest bound in glaciers and polar ice caps.

Beavers have transparent third eyelids that let them see underwater while protecting their eyes.

There are more pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt, with roughly 250 compared to about 100.

Dead skin cells are a major ingredient in household dust. We shed around 200 million per hour.

Orange House

 

I was ten or eleven when I read Hey, What's Wrong with This One? by Maia Wojciechowska. A lot of years have gone by and I’ve read hundreds of books since then, but this one has stuck with me. It’s about three brothers – Harley, Davidson and Mott – trying to cope with their mother’s absence. One thing they learn is casseroles are good things: easy on the cook and on the dishwasher. Some, like this one, can be comfort food, too.

 

Neiman Marcus Chicken Casserole

 

4 cups cooked shredded chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

2 cups shredded cheddar

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup bacon crumbles

1 teaspoon Cholula

1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

1/2 cup butter, melted

 

Preheat oven to 375F. Coat 9x13” pan with cooking spray. Add first 7 ingredients to pan; stir. In a small bowl, mix together crackers and butter; sprinkle over casserole. Bake 35 minutes.

Flower Show

 

“Do you remember learning about Jesus feeding more than 5,000 people? Jesus had been teaching people all day, and they were hungry. Somewhere in this large group there was a young boy who had five loaves of bread and two small fishes. He knew that this food could not feed very many people, but he decided to give Jesus what he had. Jesus took the food and thanked Heavenly Father for it. That food fed thousands of people! Just as the young boy did not have to figure out how a small amount of bread and fish could feed so many people, you do not need to worry about fixing all the problems around you. Heavenly Father can provide miracles when you simply offer what you have. When you say, ‘Here am I, send me,’ Heavenly Father can take something small and simple and make it great!” – President Susan H. Porter

Forty-Eight Louisiana Blocks

 

I did an inventory in my sewing room this week, and discovered I have seventeen different sets of quilt blocks that are ready for sashing and/or borders. Seventeen. That doesn’t count the tops that are ready to be quilted or the quilts that are waiting to be bound. It’s just blocks. Some are in plastic bins and some are in cardboard boxes. Some are in zipper bags and some in paper grocery sacks. Seventeen is just too many, so I set to work on clearing the backlog. I made the first of these red, cream and blue blocks in November 2022. I didn’t follow a pattern. I was just using up leftover scraps from other projects. If I stitch these blocks together without sashing, add a 2” blue stop border and a 4” red outer border, it would make an excellent donation to Quilts of Valor. One down, sixteen to go.