At the Doctor's office. AKA what that table paper is really for.

At the Doctor's office. AKA what that table paper is really for.
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

The vision of health. Still a little short - in comparison to those his age (25-ish percentile) & a bit chubby - in comparison (52-ish percentile). So we no longer have to buy whole milk & skim milk. He will continue to eat Yo-Baby that is made with whole milk, but he may be able to try some flavored Kefir - plain is the only one that we could find full fat. He has had a cough which means that he has an ear infection. I am a bit guit ridden about not bringing him in over that earlier, but he is now on Rx & should be fine in no time.

He turns 18 months old today. No, I can not believe it. Everyone was right, time is speeding by. (Except when I think about our cruise...)

We turned the leftover chicken into chicken sandwiches. But we are going to have the last of the chicken tonight. (Who knew your could spread 5 breasts so far.) I am going to make mixed brown rice (I buy Lundberg's brand.) to go with it. I am more excited about the rice...

BTW there is a short poor quality video on flickr of this scene. He really has a good time with that table paper.

Chicken

Last night my husband worked late. So I texted him to find out what he thought of the chicken since he took some for dinner. "Its good" was the reply. HMMMMM was my thought.
Meanwhile I had the rest in our oven "keeping warm/warming up on the keep warm setting - 190 F." (AKA in a manner that quite possibly could have dried out boneless skinless breasts.)

I then cut one breast in half so that Jacob & I could share. I served it with the potatoes that I cooked with the chicken & corn.

The chicken was um how do I say this - chicken. As in nothing special. :o( I had high hopes for the mayo/mustard/garlic sauce....
& I don't know if the problem was my old fingerling potatoes or not, but they did not cook very well either. Especially not the purple ones...

I did get a photo of Jacob eating, but I apparently need a serious JOLT to get me to get any photos off of the camera...

Anyway - leftover chicken for dinner.... (Don't I sound excited?)

Nosey minds want to know & other mindlint

Is there a right way to put a roll of toilet (loo) paper on the dispenser? With the paper going over or dangling under... Why? (Do you feel especially strong about this? Would you change it?) Do you ever wonder about similar trivial issues?

Do you like Chik-fil-a? Do you like Spicy chicken? Go to getspicychicken.com & register for a free sandwich.

Dinner tonight - just happens to be chicken - not chik-fil-a, not even as a sandwich. I cooked the chicken last night, but we were too filled up on ice cream & fruit to eat it. I'll share the recipe after I taste it. It was new to me. I was happy that the potatoes cooked with the chicken.

Now to plan out the rest of the week. I know that we are having sloppy joes one night, beyond that - no idea...

Living room shot

Living room shot
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

That red cat quilt is the one that I submitted to the Blogger's Quilt festival. While the photos are old, the quilt still hangs right there in my hall. (For now hanging above the sofa is my French General quilt.)

red cat quilt

red cat quilt
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

For the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

This is an oldie but a goodie for me. I made this when I was in a quilt guild. Guilds hire teachers - both local & nationally known ones. I took a class with Margaret Miller & made the background. Which I was rather happy with, but....

The sitting cat I made on my own & it was appliqued onto a light blue background waiting to be quilted. The pattern is by Sharon Malec.

Our guild hired Sharon to teach a class. I did the lying down kitty in that class. (I also did a brown lying down kitty - that one is still a UFO.)

I am not sure how or when it happened, but I had a spark & decided to combine the two (actually 3) UFO's together to make 1 quilt.

I had it long armed with an all over feather design in the background & the kitties are McTavished. It hangs on the hall wall near my entry & there is a recessed light right center above it, so when the lights are out in the living room & dim in the hall, It is lit nicely.

My girl cat, Rhapsody, is colored very similarly to the sitting kitty - but the face is all wrong. (I have been told that the quilted cat has a dog face.) The lying down kitty is sort of colored like my boy cat, RB, only RB is more solid... Artistic license, right?

I hope you all enjoy the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

P.S. I have a prize for one lucky commentor. (International Quilter's welcome.)

Ice cream is best when eaten with your fingers.

Ice cream is best when eaten with your fingers.
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Which segways nicely into this post idea:

last night marked the start of Shavuot, the Jewish Festival of Weeks... exactly fifty days from the second day of Passover.

It’s a convenient holiday on which to commemorate the Giving of the Law, for which reason it is known as z’man matan torateinu. But it has ancient agricultural roots, being observed at the time of the wheat harvest. It’s when the Israelites would bring their first fruits to the Temple in Jerusalem, a time of great rejoicing.

Back then, having food to eat was reason enough to rejoice.

Nowadays, we eat dairy products (hence the ice cream photo). So last night I made cheese stuffed shells. & This little boy loved them! He also covered his face in the cheese filling! (I got a cute photo, but it is in my camera.) (I use the recipe on the box of Jumbo Shells.) "One explanation for the consumption of dairy foods on this holiday is that the Israelites had not yet received the Torah, with its laws of shechita (ritual slaughtering of animals). As the food they had prepared beforehand was not in accordance with these laws, they opted to eat simple dairy meals to honor the holiday. Some say it harks back to King Solomon's portrayal of the Torah as "honey and milk are under your tongue" (Song of Songs 4:11)." (From wikipedia)
Another reason that I have heard is that not unlike how mother's milk gives an infant everything that he needs, the Torah is also complete & gives you everything that you need.

We also stay up all night studying... (Ahem, that would explain why our house was quiet at 9-9:30)

"One thing that Shavuot is known for is being little-known. It is postulated that among other reasons, its obscurity is related to the gravitas of the Torah itself, with its numerous positive commandments and negative commandments." (From wikipedia, which once again gives a good explanation.)

In the meantime, chag sameach - a Happy Shavuot. (And Happy Pentecost to our Christian friends.)

The completed quilt

The completed quilt
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

My sewing group met this past Sunday & this is our most recent group/gift quilt. I made the Gold Kimono in the upper right hand corner.

We had drizzly weather for the most part & did not really do anything of note. With that said, I did some sewing & some scrap trimming.

Jacob's Modern Pile-up

Jacob's Modern Pile-up
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

This is a photo of my most recent quilt. (The photo was taken by the long armer...)
The pattern is free by Elizabeth Hartman of "Oh, Fransson!" fame. She goes through every step in quiltmaking from color theory to binding to make this sampler. Let me know if you want it, I'll send you a link via reply to your comment. (I am blogging in flickr & can't hyperlink.)

The back

quilt 3
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

The lable & quilting shot.

The lable & quilting shot.
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

"Ms. I want some fish too."

"Ms. I want some fish too."
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

nuff said...

nut crusted fish

nut crusted fish
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Fish Baked in a Walnut Crust
serves 4
Ingredients:
1 large fish fillet, enough for at least 4 portions (I had 3 pieces of tilapia)
1 large egg, beaten
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup ground walnuts (I used ground almonds)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
pinches of fresh or dried herbs: thyme, basil, rosemary (I udes herbs d' provence)
a small handful of chives (I skipped this.)
4 clean, unpeeled garlic cloves (I skipped this too.)
olive oil to drizzle (I have one of those oil misters - that I love!)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350° F, 180° C.
1. If using frozen fish, rinse it and let it sit covered in cold water plus half the lemon juice, for 10 minutes. If using fresh, forgo the lemon water treatment.
2. Put the beaten egg into a large bowl. Swish the fillet around in it, front and back. Make sure all its surface is covered in egg.
3. In another large bowl or large, shallow platter, put the dry ingredients. Mix them up.
4. Lay the fillet on top of the nut mixture, and scooping up more from the sides to pat on top of the fillet. Turn the fillet over. Make sure it’s entirely coated with the dry mixture.
5. Place the fish on a baking tray protected by baking paper. Scatter the chives and garlic on top.
6. Drizzle olive oil over the whole. Be generous but don’t drown the fish. (This is where the mister comes in handy - even when it loses its pressure, the stream of oils is still enough without being too much.)
7. Cover the fish loosely with tin foil. Bake for 30 minutes.
8. Remove the tin foil and bake another 5 minutes to allow the crust to brown. (I forgot to do this...)
Squash the garlic flesh out of the cloves – it will come out of the flat side closest to the root. Put the garlic paste in a small dish and serve to those who like it. You can certainly put more garlic cloves to bake with the fish if you want – just separate them and make sure they get their fair share of olive oil before baking.

MY HUSBAND SUGGESTED ADDING GRATED PARMESAN - probably a good idea.

This flavorful fish is best served with plain rice and a steamed vegetable. (Duely noted.)

As you can see my son liked this dish. My husband was more wishy washy. I could take it or leave it... (It is nice to have in the repetoire & since it is onion free, I can serve it to my MIL.)

Since I got my tilapia at Costco, we will have one more fish dinner tonight - panko crusted. I'll serve it with pasta & red sauce with mozzarella & it will be "like" an eggplant parmesan...

In case you were wondering - yes, the rice made a BIG mess...

Puzzle!

Puzzle!
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

This kiddo ate edamame last night & his momma couldn't be happier.

The United States Department of Agriculture states that edamame beans are "a soybean that can be eaten fresh and are best known as a snack with a nutritional punch".

Edamame and all preparations of soybeans are rich in carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber, omega fatty acids and micronutrients, particularly folic acid, manganese and vitamin K.

They are good for you!

He liked the mashed potatoes too, but not the tilapia... He even tried using his fork with the mashed potatoes, but fingers, ahem fists, get the food to your mouth quicker.

We are haiving tilapia again tonight - this time coated in nuts... (I'll share the recipe tomorrow if they taste good...)

Latvia

Latvia
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Did I tell you about my weekend? I went to Latvia! (& Romania while my husband went to Cyprus.)

On Saturday the EU Embassys had an open house. We got tuckered out & in general are not line people, so we did not go north enough to visit the GB Embassy which is quite odd since I am an anglophile of sorts & when we headed home on the subway & saw the swag on the guys who did go to that embassy - jealousy is the only explanation... The line to the Greek embassy was impossibly long - I have no idea what they were giving away & with their current crisis I hope it wasn't that "nice." If you know what I mean. Also they are fairly close to the subway, so that might have factored into the line as well. (Ireland - across the street from Greece also had a long line.) I went to Romania - no line & Latvia - short line. My husband waited in a line to go to Cyprus - I sat on the side with Jacob.

Anyway after visiting a couple embassys we got back on the subway & went to Virginia - for 1 of 2 reasons to do so. To get Champagne truffles at Godiva (They can not sell them in MD or DC because of the liquor laws.) for Mother's day.

etc., etc., walk to see the baby geese, hair cut, etc.

My son

My son
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

My son, yes this one in addition to loving books - loves LOX! We had lox bagels last night for dinner (Hey that is no different from having any other breakfast for dinner - a notion I support wholly without reservation.) & made scrambled eggs for Jacob - assuming that he would not want lox. I am not sure who gave him the first bite, but that was not his last bite. Especially not after he started to use his new word - mo (not to be confused with moe - it is actually almost mor - we don't quite have the ore yet...)

Working on...

Working on...
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Anyone who knows me (in a quilterly way), knows that I really like novelty prints.

In the past, I have admitted that I cannot have either one of my cat charm quilts on my bed - I spend too much time looking at the kitties.
I have 2 queen/king sized cat charm quilts where a charm is a piece of fabric that does not repeat. As a consequence, I bought the red, green, blue & yellow versions of each cat print - extrapolated out to how many cat fabric lines were produced. I also have several "hidden kitties." You know the ones where the fabric is a farm print, but there is a barn cat showing...

I'm not 100% sure when it started, but I also started to collect non-cat novelty prints. In a staggeringly large scope of subjects. I also swapped (or was gifted) other prints mostly in the form of 5 inch charms.

What you see on my design table are my JACOB prints. I spent my most recent time slot allocated to sewing/cutting/pressing/quilting. Sorting my collection of J, A, C, O, & B prints into sets of Jacob. I have everything from Jello to bell peppers present & ready for this quilt. Which will consist of twelve blocks that are made up of 25 pieces (5 Jacobs each). Now to start sewing & once I do to prevent Jabco, etc.

I also counted how many charms I have for the Mommy I Spy quilt - 475. (I guess I should check how many I "need.")

3 fabric challenge

3 fabric challenge
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

3 fabric challenge

3 fabric challenge
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

My favorite (Is anyone suprised?)

I have cats like these all cut out & waiting... Can you say UFO?

3 fabric challenge

3 fabric challenge
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

3 fabric challenge

3 fabric challenge
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

3 fabric challenge

3 fabric challenge
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

3 fabric challenge

3 fabric challenge
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

3 fabric challenge

3 fabric challenge
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

3 fabric challenge

3 fabric challenge
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

DSC09814
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

The next several quilts are part of this challenge.

I can no longer blog through blogger, nor can I click on blogger links/comment. I can only read from bloglines & post from flickr. With a few exceptions. I am not sure how I feel about posting just a photo (just a series of photos) but I will deal with that as it happens.

I am going to post at least 1 more series like this - probably tomorrow.

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

My favorite.

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

About last night

DSC09775
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

Officially "nothing planned" equals pasta...

This quilt is "no me" (Although I still have 2 Civil War Reproduction UFO's & a CW Repro "stash.") but I love the fussy cut flowers in those setting squares.

For those of you to whom this little quilt speaks (Karen & Kathie specifically - off the top of my head) enjoy.

Would you

Go see the Pioneer Woman?
I thought about it for 1/2 a second.
What's keeping me...
1. I'm kind of tired of her blog - it was so much better 3-ish years ago (Back before she used her real name.)
2. I don't want to buy the cookbook - There are more recipes on her blog for free than I will ever think about trying & many of those I am not interested in trying so I kind of think that the cookbook would be similar. So much stuff that I would not want to cook.
3. I have purchased books written by bloggers & I am about to donate several of them to the Sal. Army. I bought them because they were written by bloggers - that is the wrong reason to buy a book. (now it is almost my reason for not buying - almost.)
4. The location & time of her talk:
WASHINGTON D.C.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
6:00 pm
BORDERS
11054 Lee HwyFairfax,
VA 22030
Not far from my vet & I got out there when the kitties are not well, but my vet is a personal friend & she gives me a discount & I take leave so that I do not have to travel during rush hour.
On a good day during non-rush hour traffic - 54 Minutes according to Google maps. (In rush hour traffic - with construction = no telling.) Compound that with having to pick-up the baby & take with...

So I will be going home - maybe I will make one of her recipes (I doubt it, but I don't have anything planned - so you never know.)

From a local show

DSC09781
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

I guess that I would be completely remiss if I did not share a cat quilt.
Once upon a time ago, I was going to do this - checkerboard - quilt. Only mine would have had 24 different light cats & 25 different dark cats. But that is just how I roll & a reflection of how many cat prints i still have - even though I have been thinning the herd!

An Inch worm

DSC09788
Originally uploaded by aviva_hadas

1. I did not go to the show that I was thinking about going to on Friday.
(Last minute training at work kept me later than anticipated, etc. for excuses.)
2. This one is from the show that I went to the weeked prior.
In addition to all of those buttons & ric rac, the quilter added a measuring tape - hence the name Inch Worm (or something to that effect - I over heard her talking about it...)
3. My baby may be allergic to the sunblock that we used on Saturday - argh. Not something you want to think about when you have a fair skinned child. (Or mother who forgot to apply sunblock to herself & got a little burnt as a consequence...)
4. How do you get your baby/toddler/child to drink water? We have been watering down his apple juice, but he knows how the juice tastes; therefore, he refuses water...