EAGLES AND STITCHES!

Good Morning all my blog friends!  It's a beautiful dark Sunday morning in California, with NO rain on the horizon.  Even with yesterday's sunny weather, nothing dried out.  I think we are good for today, with another round starting tomorrow.  

It's okay ... we need to fill the reservoirs for irrigation water.  That's how it works here ... catch rain behind the dams, then let the water out to the farmers in the summer.  How much we could plant depended wholly on how much rain we got and what our share of water for the ranch would be.  Not enough water and we had to buy hay for the cattle and horses.  That usually meant a loss that year since it cost more to feed them than we made when they sold.  That's how you go bankrupt.

Mr. Cooper was sound asleep after being up for an hour.  It's hard work chasing the ball around, not to mention chasing Mom who steals his toys.  That's his second favorite game.   

Some of you may have heard about the bald eagles in Big Bear California.  They have a live eagle cam set up to watch every year.  I don't think this couple had any kids last year ... but THIS year, they had triplets!! You don't get to see them much yet because Mom and Dad are busy keeping them warm in the snow storms we keep having.  

Poor babies ... they sit there motionless through snow and wind ... they must be freezing!!  But those babies .. they seem to be warm and toasty.  Not sure if this is Mom, but she is looking down at a little grey spot.  That's the head of baby #1.  It's fascinating to watch, especially when you catch them feeding the babies.

Play time was over however ... it was time to get to work.  My stack of things to be quilted was building up.  I haven't done any of this in probably six months, so I was a little reticent.  Wasn't I surprised to find that all of my settings had disappeared.  

I don't leave it plugged in, even with a surge protector, because this stuff is too sensitive to electricity.  I have also learned that many of the computers used with them have had bulging battery problems from being left plugged in, or ON all the time.  Luckily that has not been my problem.

It took a bit to remember how to do the basics ... let alone the programming.  I quilted this one first because it was a "doesn't matter" quilt.  It doesn't matter if I mess it up.  In the end, it came out fine since I was able to find some of my settings.  It was Cooper approved!!

Next up ... my first Veterans quilt.  I'm unsure about this one.  It should have more of that golden color, but alas, Joann's fabric store who HAD that color, is out of business.  That leaves me Hobby Lobby and my quilt store, neither of which had anything that even remotely matched.

Does this look okay?  It's a lot of red, white and blue, but it's what I have.  It came out perfect since I was able to find where my settings were ... after searching for 20 minutes.  Like a needle in a haystack it was.  I also think these are just a tad too small.  I need to add another border.

Two down, two to go.  Time for a little sustenance.  Yes ... yes I did ... I burned them!  These are ham and cheese sliders with honey mustard sauce.  Hawaiian King rolls are smothered in garlic butter, filled with whatever is your favorite, and baked in the oven.  I set the timer, but got distracted. 

Mr. Cooper began scratching at my leg, which means I need to go out NOW Mom!!  Out we went, but by the time I got back, I could smell the burn.  Oh well ... they look worse than they were, and they tasted YUMMY!!

As for the other HELLO FRESH meals, I got my last one yesterday.  I think they deliver around noon, but I usually receive an email.  I got nothing.  At 2:00 I went to check, and there sat my box.  I opened it up to find four badly packed meals just thrown in with NO frozen block of ice to keep it cold.  There on the bottom were two of those ice packs, completely thawed out.  WHAT THE HECK?

I wonder how long it was sitting there?  It was in the shade next to the house and a cool 60 degrees out, so it should not have melted.  I'm a little hesitant to eat them!  That's it.  I was DONE!  I called them up and cancelled.  That makes TWO of these food services I've tried since the first of February and both were terrible.  RATS!  Now I have to go back to actually thinking about what to cook and what groceries to buy!  Let's face it, I was spoiled for a while there.

So here we are late into the night.  Yup Cooper is asleep once again while I'm sewing binding on that Veterans quilt.  I should finish it up today.  

Then it's back to the quilting machine since I have TWO more to quilt today.  Fingers crossed it's as easy as yesterday!!  My stack of "this needs binding" is getting taller by the day.

So let's see ... what am I going to cook now?