Friday Food 07-28-23

It is prime tomato season here in Orange County,  California. And, once again, I didn't plant any this year.  Just procrastinated too long.  Fortunately friends and neighbors were  more forward thinking and now they are reaping their reward.   And sharing  with  me!!  Friend Carol left a  bag  of  four ripe, delicious tomatoes  on my porch.  

These are the three left after I made.....

...a sandwich for lunch. Toasted sourdough bread, sliced hard boiled egg, mayonnaise, a tiny  smear of Dejon, one sliced tomato, a sprinkle of salt and a twist of black pepper. Oh, my goodness, was it ever delicious.  It would have benefited from a layer of lettuce on top, but I didn't  have any.   I'll hit the market tomorrow before lunchtime.  

I searched my photos for tomatoes and confirmed that this is prime tomato season.  This is from July 28, 2022.  These tiny sweet morsels are from volunteer plants. 

And this is from July 27, 2021 - with lettuce.

July 31, 2020

July 30, 2019

I could go back even further!  Tomato season is a big deal for me because I don't buy grocery store tomatoes that have no flavor.   So, the only time I have them at home is in July and August.  When I was growing up in Oregon we always had a garden with different types of tomatoes and a lot of other vegetable.  We canned them, of course, but the best was to pick one, sprinkle it with a little salt from the aluminum salt shaker that sat atop a post and just stand there in the row and eat them.  One of my best childhood memories. 

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Wordless Wednesday 07-26-23

 

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Out to Lunch 07-25-23

One more day of driving Julian to summer school.  I like doing it, but he gets out at Noon which puts a glich in the middle of my day.  It doesn't take long, about an  hour, and I don't really have anything else pressing. But  somehow if I stop working on a project I have a hard time getting back to it after I get home.  And it pretty much precludes going out to lunch, something I haven't done for a month.  So, today after I dropped him off, KoKo and I went to  lunch at one  of my favorite places - Fitness  Grill in Yorba Linda.  We sat on the patio which has fans so it wasn't unbearably hot.  Today was Taco Tuesday, something that a lot of restaurants here do.  Fitness has a special taco menu, I chose the  fried fish and the shredded  chicken.   Tasty!  And since It  wasn't really that much of a meal I ordered to Limoncello cake with white chocolate on top.  It is an attractive plating.  KoKo had the whipped cream and blueberries, and I left the strawberries which bother me.  .  

I had already taken a bite when I thought to take a picture.

It was very refreshing on such a hot day.

KoKo's  portion!

I did some putting away and had a little nap this afternoon.  We didn't go on our  evening walk until 8pm when the temp dropped to 85F - still too hot for me.

Anna, the young woman who has been my "Studio Assistant" this last month or so, came yesterday morning and helped me sort the 100+ 12X12s in TCQC and put them in the acid free storage boxes.  We changed the filing system to alphabetical by maker's last name.  They all fit into these four boxes.  Now I need to change the computer listing to the new system.  And I must find two more of these very large shopping bags.  It is much easier to move the boxes around when they have handles.  

Tomorrow is the last day I will drive for summer school, so I won't be seeing the boys much.  At the rate he is growing Emmanuel might be 7 feet tall by the time he starts high school in September!

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Cactus Blooming 07-24-23

On the next street over these cacti grow in a  tangle of bushes.  In 2021 I was amazed  one day to see them covered with blooms.  It was June 18th.  Last year,2022 I didn't see a single bloom.  This past Saturday, July 22nd, I discovered one flower down near the ground.

(My shadow looks like  cartoon character!)

This one flower is larger than those in 2021. 

Two blooms and a bud in 2021, right at the top of the plant. 

I wonder why the one bloom is so late this year.  I had almost given up checking when we were on our walk.  Because there is more shade on the other side of the street we usually walk there.  And why just one flower this year when there were to many in 2021?  These mysteries keep my mind working.  Trivia, yes, but brain whirls for an answer.  

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Karen Miller quilt from Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection 07-23-23

This is one of only two Katazome quilts in the Collection both by Karen Miller. And, I think, it is the only "fishy" quilt there is.   Lots of birds, but no fish or reptiles.  Guess they  are just not my "thing".

"California Gold"  Karen Miller - Corvallis, OR 2007  42"W x 19"L

Cotton and silk fabric, commercial batik fabric.  Stenciled with hand detail.

 Machine pieced and quilted.

Karen uses the ancient technique of Katazome to create her hand stenciled fabrics.  It is a very intricate and time consuming process, but the results are breathtaking.  You may have met Karen at her booth (Nautilus) at some of the larger quilt shows (PIQF, East Bay Heritage Quilters, IQF-LBeach), you could hardly miss her very beautiful fabrics and panels, many of them in indigo.  On her website she demonstrates the process she uses: 

http://www.nautilus-fiberarts.com/NewNFA/01AboutKatazome/index.php 

Look in the gallery section to see her finished work. http://www.nautilus-fiberarts.com/

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Miscellaneous 07-21-23

I have recovered from my three week coughing cold.  Two doctor visits, a Z-pack, an inhaler, lots of water and two boxes of Fisherman's Friend cough drops.  It wasn't bronchitis,  "just a cold".  Doc says to take it easy  for another week or so.  Actually, I can't do much of anything because I have no energy, she says it will come back.  Soon, I hope. 

No matter what, we do our two walks a day.  Sometimes it is just  around  the cul de sacs,which is probably less that half a full loop. Here we  are out one morning rather early.  Our evening walks  are now usually after 7pm and sometimes after 8pm.   Walking when the temp is over about 82 is  more than I can manage.  

The first picture was taken across the street from this towering ghost gum  where it appeared the tree trimmers were getting ready to climb.  I asked them if I should say goodbye to this lovely tree, but they said no, just trimming. 

Later in the day when I drove past they had finished their work!  I wonder if the tree can survive this butchering.  I had talked to the lady of the house recently and she was  talking about taking it out because it drops leaves!  I told  her what a beautiful tree it is and since it grows on the "point" as everyone enters the neighborhood it is a landmark, planted about 50 years ago in front of the model home where she now lives.    The other two trees are an olive on the right and a Chinese elm.  Both of which I am allergic to, but I wouldn't have them removed. 

My gifted day lily is blooming.  Nice color, but still wish it were the solid yellow variety.  There are several bulbs planted close to each other, but I suspect they are all this color. 

We are having hot weather, but not as bad as some parts of the world.  Yesterday  was 102F, but today didn't hit 90F..  And it does cool down at night  - 65F or so. 

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Rosalie Dace quilt in Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection 07-16-23

I have not posted this Rosalie Dace quilt since 2008!  It is nice to see it again and I must unroll  the quilt and enjoy it on my wall for a couple months.  The problem with having so  many quilts is that it is  hard to display them all at once! So, I have to pick and choose.  Right now I only have three quilts  hung because I've had help with rolling and covering all the large quilts.  Soon my friend Anna will help me inventory and organize the 12X12 pieces in their special acid free boxes.  

Another quilt from TCQC 12-14-08

If you see a quilt you would like to buy and it doesn't have a "for sale" sign or a price, just track down the artist and ask. She can say yes or no - you don't know until you ask. She also might offer other similar quilts that are not currently on display and you might like one of those better!

"Durban Dreams" Rosalie Dace 2006 33" square

I saw this quilt in a special exhibit of Rosalie's work at Pacific International Quilt Festival 2006 in Santa Clara. Rosalie was teaching that year, so I went to her classroom during lunch break and asked about this quilt. Fortunately, it was available and I could afford it. She had already promised it for another exhibit, so I had to wait until it was available and she shipped it to me. Her work is unlike that of any artist I know and reminds me of the Hmong applique work, only much richer because Rosalie uses silks and adds beads, rings and other doodads. Interesting quilting.

Here is a detail of the center of the quilt. The square with the pastel 'log cabin' outlined in rose/violet is a loose flap hanging down over the half circle of yellow.

Rosalie's website: www.rosaliedace.net

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