I just have to share this picture with you--Chunky is about double the size of the puss puss. She sure loves him--I very seldom see him go find her to lay with, but she all the time searches him out to lay down with. She almost always has to be touching him.

I had an appointment with the surgeon that sent me to get the stereotactic biopsy...the appointment was uncalled for in so many ways. I bet it was made just in case there was bad news, we would have been planning my surgery.

My best quilting buddy's mom passed away Monday while being operated on for an aneurysm. They had it repaired but she had a heart attack. They said if they had not did the operation, it was to the point of bursting?<<

I sure did not expect it, and neither did my friend or her sister. Up until this year this lady had bowled on a bowling league, she had been bitten by the quilting bug just a few years ago and was always working on something. She also worked on geneological stuff...loved her computer. She had had old computers up until recently, and she was not afraid to wipe everything out and reformat the things herself.

On to other things....I have the heat kicked on right now. I came home from Terre Haute and was just freezing by the time I got back into my jeans. (I actually put on dress pants to go to the visitation--but they had pockets!)

I have supper half made--it should be called Hungarian/Italian beef. My friend was telling me how she made it and I thought it didn't sound too good, but told her the next time she made it to call me and let me taste it. She did and I have been fixing it ever since. This is not an exact recipe--she didn't give me one. So just sort of learn to flavor it to your own liking. I do prefer chuck roasts and I try to get one without too much fat.

I cut it into 2-3 inch chunks and put in crockpot. Next pour in 15-16 ounce can tomato sauce--that is the part that made me question whether I would like it. Next I sprinkle on 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, sprinkle in plenty of garlic powder, and sprinkle in italian seasonings. Then I fill the tomato sauce can about two-thirds full of water and pour on top of all. Put the lid on and set the crockpot on low and leave till it is real tender--usually 8 or 9 hours is plenty. We always have a loaf of crusty Italian bread to eat it with and just tear the bread! For me there is just something about tearing it rather than slicing it.

Several people have tried this and only one didn't care for it. She is Italian though so I am not sure if she is just used to different flavorings, or I wondered did she not cook long enough or not enough of the garlic, Italian seasonings, etc. When it starts cooking you definitely smell it.

I have been sewing but not quite ready to take a picture yet. The nine blocks are together, but want to add borders. I have some strips sewn together for that...I am hoping to get to sew more on that tonight.

THIS post sure made me think about my mom. She always wore an apron, but only wore the kind without the bib. I have no idea why she didn't want them. Maybe they were hotter. Till I was about 8 years old, mom cooked on the wood burning cook stove. I remember sitting by the stove in the winter mornings, but I don't remember much else about it. I do know she was glad to have the electric stove to do the canning and jellies on once we got one. But everyone always talked about how much better food tasted cooked on the wood stove.

She also always had to have pockets--even in her dresses she wanted pockets. But it was almost a sin with her if someone made an apron that did not have pockets. (Maybe this is where I get my love of pockets.) One of the things mom used her apron for was to gather things in...if we went to the garden and she decided she wanted a mess of something, she would just gather up the end of her apron in one hand and pick beans or okra and drop into the apron. An excellent way to do in my opinion.

In fact, I carried it on in a sense when I worked at the orchard...if I was out checking varieties of apples, and wanted to take some back to the house for everyone else's opinions, I would gather my t-shirt tail up in my hands and pick into that. Of course I had to watch that cause it would gradually stretch the neck till it was almost down to my bra!

We went car shopping yesterday--next weekend by this time we should have a brand new Rav4! Does anyone out there have one and how do you like it? I am so excited to be getting something besides a car. I prefer just a plain old truck in a lot of ways, but since we have the grandkids sometimes and can't quite the bigger sized truck, I am perfectly willing to settle for the Rav4.

I spent the afternoon with my daughter and Nick selling popcorn for cub scouts, while my husband went with Nate's boyscout troop to go check out a park and learn a few trees, etc. After the popcorn stand closed, we stopped by the grocery. My daughter picked up a rotisserie chicken, frozen veggies, chicken broth, half and half, and canned biscuits. She made this fabulous chicken pot pie from this. It was a real hit with all of us!

I hope to get back to my small quilt that I am making with leftover blocks from the last top I worked on. I have nine blocks left and have those sewed together to make three rows of three. And I have the sashing and cornerstones made and pinned to go the other way. It would not take long to sew these together but not sure time will permit tomorrow. But we can always hope.