Memories in food form

 It’s been a little over a year since my dad passed and I’ve been thinking about this dish for weeks now. He didn’t cook very many things or very often but the things he made were so good and left the family with great memories. He called this Italian rice & beans, there was a pot of this on his stove every week growing up during the depression. It’s a very simple dish but tastes so good. It’s also great to make the day before grocery shopping because it’s mostly from the pantry.

Sauté a diced onion in olive oil, add a few cloves of chopped garlic, red pepper flake, salt & pepper. When it’s soft add a can of tomato paste and a small can of diced tomatoes. Stir in 2 cups of uncooked rice, 4 cups of broth or water and 2 cans drained cannelini beans. Cook covered for 20 minutes, add a big handful of fresh herbs, a few handfuls of grated pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil on top of your bowl.
This is pure comfort food ❤️
PS- as most Italian dishes, this feeds an army.

Yard sweet yard

To say that we love our yard would be an understatement! It really is like having our own little vacation spot May through mid September. We are so fortunate to have the space that we do living in a neighborhood with houses close together and are able to create a few different areas to enjoy. Come along, I'll show you what I mean.

Ahh, The Lounge. In the late afternoon it's a great place for an outdoor nap amidst the lush green plants, a shady tree up above just listening to the birds. After dinner it's a cozy place to enjoy the fire.

Last post you met our kegerator which is on this patio. This is the work area, my outdoor kitchen with a fridge and sink (not pictured)

The deck is the busy spot, it's the center of everything! Pool, dining and lots of potted plants.

And this gorgeous view!

Last but not least is the back, back yard that is still in progress but coming along nicely. It can be overflow for big parties or just nice to sit and look at the birds and perennial gardens. 

Thanks for visiting!

Fidget remedy

I like to relax with my family; however, I am super fidgety. I always feel the need to accomplish something during waking hours, it really is no fun!
Enter crochet dishcloths:

Cotton yarn is cheap, crocheting a square is mindless, making this a perfect remedy for fidgety fingers. I am slowly giving away dishcloths to everyone I know because my cotton yarn/dirty dishes ratio is not balanced. To those of you with ants in your pants like me...learn basic crochet and make some dishcloths, it's a win, win!
Have a happy day.
Carol

It's not oilcloth!

A cute little baby gift for Sheena at JoAnn Fabrics. I have mentioned Sheena before but I'll refresh for any new readers. Sheena is a super-friendly young lady that works at my nearby JoAnns. She has a smile that lights the entire store and talks to everyone that she sees and if she really likes you she will hug you hello and goodbye. (she must like me cuz she's always hugging me!) Sheena is having a baby girl in a few weeks and they are giving her a little baby shower today in the store. I whipped these up last night while watching CSI. I tend to avoid pink gifts because it's usually been done to death.
Hope she loves it!


While I have you, I would like to talk about a new series that I will be chatting about called "Life downstairs". I live upstairs from my parents, you can call them Frank and Ro. This adds a bit of interest to my daily life. Here is an excerpt:
Tomato plants were "buy one get one free" last week...this is huge in "life downstairs".
Frank- Hey Ro, I'll go buy 2 and then when I come home you go buy another 2 and then when the shifts change I'll go get another 2.
Ro- *grumblegrumble* OhforcryinoutloudFrank!
Later that day Ro realizes that Frank bought yellow tomatoes and now has cause to torture him all day.
Frank- Hey Ro, I think we should plant these now
Ro-*grumblegrumble*OhforcryinoutloudFrank! It's too soon, even the idiot on the news said so.
After an entire day of heated discussion Frank has a plan.
Frank- Hey Ro, let's keep the tomatoes in the wheely cart in the garage and bring them out during the day.
Ro-*grumblegrumble*OhforcryinoutloudFrank! Fine.
So, everyday at 9:00 am the tomatoes come out and Frank lets Ro know when the sun moves so she can wheel the tomatoes to it. Every night at 5:00 the tomatoes get put back in the garage.
This is life downstairs.

overheard conversation

15 year old daughter sitting on porch waiting for her ride, her grandmother (my mom) sitting on the porch knitting.

Grandma- "Sam, how long before your ride gets here?"
Sam-"I don't know, they are running a little late"
Grandma-"Do you want to learn to knit?"
Sam- "why????"
Grandma-"Maybe someday when you have a boyfriend you can knit him a nice sweater"
Sam- silent and texting
Grandma-"what are you doing?"
Sam- "Asking Rachael to please hurry because my grandmother is threatening to teach me to knit"

and they're off...

School's back for all 3 girls now. Talk about getting slammed back into life, sheesh! I feel like a hamster on a wheel, just running for my life and never going anywhere. It's hotter than hell here in CT, but the effects of Hurricane Hanna should blow all that away tomorrow. Luckily we aren't getting the full storm.
I'll be sitting in my leaky sewing room, sewing away again this weekend. I whipped up this cute little pincushion last week when I couldn't find mine.


Naturally, I found mine 30 seconds after finishing this one but a girl can never have too many!

What's everyone else doing this weekend?

not much new going on

Busy week of work, sewing, haircuts, rained out softball games, church carnival. We had a nice visit with the family last Sunday and went to see the gorgeous home where my sister was staying...WOW!



I managed to sneak in a trip to JoAnn's yesterday. Is it wrong that they run to me and hug me when I walk in?

these will make some cute baby blankets!

I made this little set yesterday, fun!

and look at my baby's big girl haircut, wah!

Finally!

I am as frugal as they get when it comes to my fabric scraps, I only throw pieces away once they are smaller than a 2" x 2" size. I sort each scrap meticulously by size with hopes of finding the perfect use for them. This usually isn't hard with cottons but oilcloth has had me stumped for a while now. I sort oilcloth scraps a little differently according to lunch bag pieces they can become. Once they are smaller than a square-pocket or handle-strip size I toss them in a box together.

(yes, this messes with my OCD nature)I walk past the box and it gives me anxiety because I can't toss it...you never know if you'll need it!
Finally, it dawned on me. I know it's not rocket science or a brilliant idea but I am so excited to use up these scraps:

Thank you tags for my lunchbag orders! As a bonus, I use up ribbon scraps as well. This is therapeutic crafting at it's best.

I am super-excited to see my sister http://debnstuff.blogspot.com/ and family today, it's been a long time. Julia and I just made this yummy edible bouquet for an appetizer:

My boss gave me the idea, so I can't take credit for it but isn't it pretty?
Grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella balls, and basil leaves on skewers. Just stick them in a pretty vase and serve with some olive oil for drizzling...YUM!

interruption-free

Julia spent the weekend on my brother's boat this weekend playing with her little cousin, the 2 big girls were out and about with friends, The Bumble was working, and just look at what I accomplished:


I actually sewed more lunchbags but they are more of the same.
It's amazing how much you can get done when no one is interrrupting you, I had forgotten what it is like...it's been over 15 years! I sat at my sewing machine for 12 hours on Saturday only leaving for coffee and a snack and to list Etsy items. It seemed like no time at all. I did miss my Julia, she is my constant companion and quite a chatterbox.

What did you do this weekend?

Pressure!

Some people love to work under pressure. That kind of people is not me. I like to have some kind of a plan and an ample amount of time. I like to be finished with an assignment well before it is due. It helps me to sleep at night and also keeps me sane. This quilt needs to be finished by 2:00 next Sunday and is causing me a bit of anxiety! *breathes into a paper bag* This would be totally fine and it could be done if my world would stop for a few days.



On the other hand, I am glad that I won't have too much time with it because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it already and I will have a hard time parting with it. After sewing oilcloth every day for a year, it gives me so much pleasure to sink my sewing machine needle into cotton...don't get me wrong, I still loves me some oilcloth but it's not cotton, Amy Butler cotton at that. ahhhhhhhhhhhhh


It was another busy week here at Rick Rack Central; lunch bags are selling, dance recital, softball, summer work party and xrays and doctors appt that I will fill you in on after Monday's visit.

I can do it!

I can make 2 scrapbooks by next Monday, I can, I can!

I probably wrote about this last year but I will again. About 5 years ago I thought it would be a great idea to put together scrapbooks for my kid's teachers from the class. I have each student send in pictures and messages for their page and then I create a personal page for them. This was so much easier when I didn't work 2 jobs and didn't have such busy kids.Anyway, it's become one of those things that once I started it, I can't stop because the teacher's and kids look forward to each year. Oy vay!
Did I mention we are having a heatwave? Did I mention yet this year that we don't have AC? Yeah, I'm pleasant right now.
Last week was so bad, we ran day & night every day. My biggest kid turned 15 on Tuesday and we still haven't had her icecream cake that's sitting in the freezer.

Bad family!
Yesterday, however, was a great day. Julia has been taking voice lessons since February and did so well so quickly that she was asked to be in the recital. She did an amazing job singing "Ten Minutes Ago" from Cinderella and "Maybe" from Annie. To say i cried would be such an understatement.

you still there?

I think this time of the year is more hectic than Christmastime.
Honestly!
Lots of softball, lots of school activiities like today's pinning ceremony:
Gabby and her 7th grade class received their 8th grade pins today. It's such a nice thing. Each 8th grade student "pins" a 7th grade student.




Sorry, no cool crafty pictures, I've been churning out oilcloth bags per usual.
I'll be back soon, I promise!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day to all you moms!



To those of you that aren't moms...go find a mom and give her a hug.

I am off to church where we will have the May Crowning, celebrating the Mother of all Mothers.


Julia and the other communicants get to wear their dresses again and crown The Blessed Mother while singing my favorite church song, "Ave Maria".
*weep*
Have a great day ladies!