Book Report

Since getting the job of quilt fabric sales representative a little over four years ago I have not read a  book according to my husband. 

Instead I have an account with Audible and I listen to books.

  I am read to as I drive the freeways of California and Nevada.

Recently I finished listening to The Burgess Boys by Emily Strout. 

I so enjoyed this book and was sad when it ended.

Its about family dynamics which I think we all can relate and I highly recommend this book.

I am now currently listening to  the fourth book in the series by Robert Bryndza of the Detective Erika Foster novels.

While my criteria for buying Audible books is they must be 10 hours or more I have enjoyed this series and their twist which happen to be just under the 10 hours of enjoyment.

I am constantly looking for good books to read and would love to hear recommendations from others.

Meet Fred

For those of you not in the know I am a sales representative of quilt fabric and am on the road  visiting quilt shops in California and Northern Nevada at least 4 to 5 days of the week.

(I have mentioned to a friend recently I really need to sell automotive parts as I think I would make a whole lot more money.)

I'm in the car A LOT.

The car I had been driving I inherited from the husband when he decided to upgrade and had low mileage.

I have been driving that car for the past four years and managed to get the mileage up to 184,000.

While it has been well maintained it was starting to show its age and mileage and I decided it was time to get a new car.

One that would have all wheel drive so I didn't need to worry so much about the weather conditions going to Nevada and certain parts of California.

Other then that I wanted something appealing to my eye.

 So this is Fred.

  Named after Mr. Rogers of  the wonderful PBS show Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.
Reliable, soothing and always wearing a cardigan.

What more can you ask for from your car?

Here Fred is packed up and ready to go on the road.

I look forward to spending a lot of time with Fred.

We've already managed to spend a little over 2,000 miles together this month.

Dragonfly Pincushion

This past November I took a class with designer Sandra Mollon at Thistle Dew Quilt Shoppe in Fair Oaks, California to make an embroidered pincushion.

In the class Sandra showed us how to use embroidery, beads, memory wire and metallic ink to create a beautiful dragonfly pincushion.

 I used Stof Shabby Chic Linen Blend for my background.

It's taken me a few months to complete but I'm very happy with my finished pincushion.

And no I don't think it will ever be used as an ACTUAL pincushion - it's a work of ART!

Add Flag Making To My Resume

My daughter recently starting working for a family owned candy company in Oklahoma City.

One day she asked if I could make them a flag for their flag pole outside.

Never one to say no to a request from one of my children I said "Sure".

How hard could it be?

First was finding the material to make the flag.

After perusing several possibilities I found ripstock in the colors I needed.

Then to the design.

I had Rachel send me a copy of their logo to try and replicate it.

I went old school.  I grided the logo in inches and then grided on freezer paper three inches to size it up.

Do they still make overhead projectors?

The hardest part to the design was trying to figure out how to make it the same on both sides.

After several sleepless nights, which is normal for me, I came apon a plan.

(I do my best problem solving in the middle of the night. My Fitbit will attest to that.)

And can I just say ripstock is made of nylon and one must be careful with the iron.

I am very happy with the finished product but already have thoughts on how to construct the next one.  Yes there will be a next one.  It's Oklahoma City.  There will be tornadoes and lots of wind.

And no people I'm really not for hire to make flags.  I only do this for love or dark chocolate English toffee from Woody Candy Company.

Just call me Leslie

With a name like mine I get called a lot of variations.

 On my birth certificate it is Johanna Maria Petronella  Vrinds.

I was named after my Dutch father's mother.

I have been called Annemieke by my family and friends all my life.

Or Miek by a select few.

This past week I needed an oil change and so I went to the local automotive center that has been servicing our cars for the last several years.

After my oil change yesterday I noticed I was leaving oil spots behind at the few places I stopped.

I also put some paper under my car when I got home to check.

Yes, I was leaking oil.

This morning I went back in to the automotive center to share it seemed I was leaking oil.

The gentleman that owns the business decided my name was Leslie.

I'm really not sure why.

And I decided it was easier to answer to Leslie then try and correct him and get him to call me Annemieke.

So I now answer to Leslie.

And my car is no longer leaking oil.

 

 

 



Happy Thanksgiving

Taken at the Japanese Botanical Gardens in Fort Worth.

 

Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Take care of each other.

 

 

 

 

Trying Something Different

This past Christmas Jim and I gifted to Rachel, Kelsey and their husbands a month of Blue Apron.

 

For those not in the know Blue Apron is a" nationwide delivery service that sends you a box of pre-portioned meal ingredients with recipes."

Jim and I are a family of two.

I cook from scratch but I have gotten in to a little bit of a rut.

While I would like to be a little more creative generally there is a LOT of left overs.

With that in mind we decided to try Blue Apron for ourselves.

 

Last week we had our first delivery.

 

The box is very well insulated.

 

It's like Christmas finding out what is in the box.

 

 This is three meals of food.

 



 

And of course the state of California has to put it's two cents in.

 

 

The first meal I cooked was curried catfish with coconut rice.

Generally a fish coarse is included with every shipment and it was suggested by a friend who had done Blue Apron to cook that meal first because of spoilage possibilities.

 

I am not a fan of curried dishes so I wasn't sure if we was going to enjoy this dish.  The curry seasoning was used to coat the catfish and the meal was delicious. 

 



 

Thursday night I cooked spicy chicken with Korean rice cakes.

 

 

Again a very well seasoned meal.

Included was plenty of gochujang, a Korean hot pepper paste, to make it as spicy as we wanted.   We had never had Korean rice cakes and it gave a different texture to the meal.

Friday night we had the BBQ pork burgers with corn on the cob.

 

 

 

The burgers were delicious but the BBQ came from the BBQ sauce put on the bun so I do think the name for the menu was a bit misleading.

 

Overall I will say the dinners are very flavorful.

Jim, my meat and potatoes guy, said he would gladly repeat any of the meals again.

The instructions for each meal are well written and easy to follow.

I do think a fresh vegetable side is needed with the meals.

We had fresh raspberries and strawberries with each meal this week.

Once we are out of berry season I will probably add a green salad.

 

A great thing about Blue Apron is you know in advance what you will be receiving each week and you have the "limited" ability to change what meals you will be getting.

You are also able to decide what weeks you want to receive your meals.

Since I am on the road some weeks and I know Jim won't take the time to prepare the meals we can not have deliveries those weeks without any penalties.

 

We are looking forward to another tasty week.