Eagle Days

Spent today out and about, we went to Eagle Days down at the Visitor Center where I volunteer.  The place was packed, they have room for about 70 people each program, and had been completely filled both days.  First we saw a--

 

Red Tailed Hawk.   She was quite comfortable with the audience.  Next we saw a--

 

Gyr Falcon.  She was more excitable, so she wore a hood until she was outside her cage for a while.  She was a lovely white with speckles on her back and wings.  This is the breed of falcon royalty in Europe would hunt with.  Next was a--

 

Screech Owl.  He was hard to photograph because his eyes "glowed" in all my pictures.  He was just a tiny fellow.  Did you know each "ear" is in a different spot on each side of his head?  This helps him locate prey easier.  And last of all was--

 
 

the Bald Eagle.  He was too large for them to hold on their arm while they talked, so he just sat on the floor.  Yes, the kids were pretty close up front.  There were two rows of kids sitting on the floor in front of the chairs.  (if you look you can see that the handlers have ropes that are fastened to the birds legs so they can't get away.)

When you see their talons, you know why the handlers wear heavy leather gloves.  They said their beak is not near as dangerous as the talons! 

There is open running water by the dam year round, so often many eagles sit in the trees waiting to fish or just resting.  Today lots of fishermen were by the dam, so the eagles had moved downriver out of our sight.  But on a quiet day the rangers counted over 65 of them in the trees one morning! 

I live on the migratory flight path for Bald Eagles, and have seen as many as 200 sitting in a corn field (not many trees where they were).  It was quite impressive, they almost looked like short people sitting out there.

 

Sunday Stash Report

My numbers haven't changed this week, 0 bought, and 0 finished. I've stuck at +8 yards for the year--so far!

But I did get a few things done. I made enough of the blue Jacob's ladder blocks I can mail them away tomorrow.

I finished trimming the Christmas Courthouse steps.

They are ready to become a flimsy.

I made homemade laundry soap.

And Ruby went to the spa. (or just had a bath and brush!)

Today we are going to "Eagle Days" in Yankton.  They will be bringing in live Bald Eagles and having a program.  This will be held at the Lewis and Clark Visitor Center above Gavin's Point Dam. 

Motivation Friday

Still not much motivation but I am plodding away.  I have made enough Jacob's ladder blocks to swap, and I like them.  Do I HAVE to mail some away?  

 

I am going to keep working on my goals, but think it's going to be a slow week.  

Wednesday Ramblings

The weather is driving me crazy. Temps go up and down. Hi's and Lo's go over. I ache. Everywhere. Yesterday I got up, and went back to bed! Of course, then I was up all night. But it wasn't all bad, I did some laundry. I also put the last round on my courthouse steps and ironed them. They are now ready to trim. Next I will tackle the last of the Jacob's ladder swap blocks. Here are the first six I made, I like them.

My goals are moving slowly, but they ARE moving! How are you doing??

Monday Goals and Etouffee

Monday goal time again. Last week's goals suffered with all my distractions, but I still did lots of sewing. This week will be---

1. Bind Jane's Star
2. Load another quilt
3. Finish Jacob's Ladder blocks for swap
4. Put last round on and trim Christmas Courthouse Steps
5. Add borders to D9P
6. Work on a UFO
7. Work on blue baby blankets

Now, I don't intend on doing all these. But maybe I can LIMIT myself to these projects!

At the last minute for sign up, I joined a swap of Blue/White Jacob's ladder blocks. I love this block, and think a quilt made in blue/white will be lovely. I could just MAKE the whole quilt myself, but somehow that just isn't as fun! I only need to make 12 blocks, last night I made 6.

I sewed on the Courthouse Steps, I have the last round to do. Soon they can be made into a top. I had to cut 7 more light strips at the end, and I almost didn't have enough. There are plenty of darks, but not lights. It is destined to be a using type quilt, so I'm not worrying about it~!

And that Judy, she is a BAD influence. While looking for Cajun Recipes, I came across this one at Cooks.com. And made it. And talked my relatives into being the guinea pigs! I think it was a bit too greasy and would cut back on the butter, and I didn't use the red bell pepper. I used some green bell pepper I had in the freezer. And I added some boneless cubed pork (after all, it's the other white meat Sarah!) with the chicken thighs. No fresh parsley either. But it was very good, and I will make it again. Oh, I finished mine in the crock pot.

CHICKEN ETOUFFEE (A-2-FAY)

1 stick unsalted butter 2 med. onions, chopped 1/4 c. thinly sliced celery 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 sm. red bell pepper, diced 8 chicken thighs, skinned 1 1/2 tsp. cajun seasoning mix 3 tbsp. flour 2 tbsp. tomato paste 1/4 tsp. Tabasco 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 1/2 c. chicken stock, broth or water 1 c. chopped green onions 1/2 c. fresh parsley, minced Cook, long grain white rice Heat large heavy skillet over medium heat until hot. Melt butter until it smokes. Saute onions, celery and red bell pepper for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, season the thighs with cajun season mix. Add them to skillet after vegetables have sauteed for 5 minutes. Brown thighs, cooking 5 minutes per side. Remove chicken and set aside for later use. Add flour to skillet and stir well. Cook about 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Blend in tomato paste, Tabasco sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add chicken stock and cooked chicken. Cover and cook for 12 minutes. Remove cover and add green onion and parsley and cook uncovered 3 more minutes. Serve over hot rice.

This is my favorite brother in law Paul, he often will test drive my food for me!

And if this wasn't enough, I also found a recipe for beignets, and we had them too. No pictures, we were too busy eating them!

And my sister and I sat and talked, drank coffee, and ate those pesky beignets. Now I am stuffed, I don't think I will sew tonight anymore. Even Ruby ate a beignet. I made then using brioche dough from my Artisan Bread cookbook, and still have some dough left in the fridge. Ahh, think, I could do this every day or two! No, better not!

Just Wondering

As I was cooking tonight, I was thinking about how it compared to quilting. You use a recipe to cook, a pattern to make a quilt. Do you follow the recipe or pattern exactly? Or do you just use them for inspiration/ideas??

I was making the Etouffee tonight, and remembered from reading Judy's posts, that she uses pork in some of her recipes. I had a whole pork loin I was slicing into chops, the thick end into roast, and decided that I would cube some of it for the Etouffee. Tomorrow we will find out if it was a good idea or not! What do you do??

Sunday Stash Report

How fast the weeks go by! This week I am adding 3 yards to my stash. A while back when everyone was making "Happy Blocks" I made "Manly Blocks". You see, I don't buy novelty fabrics. So Pat sent me a small portion of her novelties. Remember those words--small portion!

There are 106 6.5" squares there! And Pat said it barely made a dent in her drawer! There are chickens, beach accessories, princesses, fairs, any kind of novelty you can think of is there! So when I need to make more "Happy Blocks" I am ready! Thank you Pat.

So that's 3 yards in, 0 out, for a year to date total of 8 yards in! Sounds pretty bad for the first month!

But, I think it's okay. This week I finished quilting Jane's quilt, the bottom of it is peeking out under Pat's squares. I put together the centers of two baby quilts.

I have enough 4 patches to make four of these! All from stash, so that's a good thing. And I also trimmed my Christmas Courthouse steps blocks, I have the last two strips to put on. Although my goals suffered, I am still getting things done.

Today is for different projects. Dishes (who LIKES to do dishes~!) and some homemade buttermilk bread. And I am going to try a new recipe for Etouffee and put it in the crock pot for tomorrow. I also have a batch of beignets in the fridge and maybe they will be made later too. Everyone have a great week!