Thimbleanna – Page 119 – My little online diary.

Happy July 4th!

49 Comments / July 4, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Cupcakes, Holidays

For those of you in the US, Happy Independence Day! We’re off to our neighbor’s house for our annual cookout where we play games and eat, eat, eat. We’ll toss eggs (in the rain), play cornhole (in the rain), hula-hoop (in the rain) and I have a secret new game for the kids — I froze some t-shirts and the first one to get their frozen t-shirt on will win a movie ticket. (Have you ever tried to unpeel frozen fabric??? – the rain will be their friend!) There will be lots of food — we’re taking baked beans, spaghetti salad, and of course, cupcakes!

Happy, Happy Weekend!
XOXO,
Anna

Edited to add: OHMYGOSH! If you’ve never played the frozen t-shirt game you should try it. Take some t-shirts (I found some at Menards for $1.99 each), get them wet, fold them like you’d put them in a dresser, and then freeze them. Then, when you have a bunch of people together, hand them out and make it a race. The first one to get that frozen shirt on wins a prize. We had the best time. Before I even had my instructions out, TheSecondChild was running into the house to throw his in the microwave. My niece was right behind him, and ran to the sink to cover hers with hot water. TheFirstChild ran out onto the wet grass and was on his hands and knees, rubbing that t-shirt back and forth in the grass trying to get it to thaw. The other five participants were doing all sorts of other tricks like sitting on them, squeezing them and prying them apart. They all said when they did get them on, it was freezing cold. It was HYSTERICAL! Highly recommended for a LOT of laughs!!!

Broccoli Salad

48 Comments / June 30, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Recipes

Thanks for all the Grandma-Shirt Love. You guys are all so sweet! I wore that shirt all day on Saturday and it sure is comfortable. I just try not to look in the mirror! ;-) I don’t have much else to report this week. My boss came in to my office at noon today and asked if I could make a quick trip to NJ for a meeting tomorrow, so I’m leaving in 15 minutes to go hop on an airplane. I thought my NJ trips were over for awhile, but I guess not. No time to plan a quickie visit into NYC this time {sigh}.

In the meantime, how about a quick summer recipe for broccoli salad? You probably have a favorite recipe of your own, but just in case, here’s one that I like:

Broccoli Salad

Salad:
2 bunches of broccoli
10 slices bacon (cooked and crumbled)
2/3 cup raisins
1/4 – 1/3 cup purple onion, chopped

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. red wine vinegar

1. Wash and cut broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
2. Combine broccoli, bacon, raisins, and onion in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar. Pour over salad and toss.
4. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving, tossing occasionally.

Easy Peasy. This makes a great salad to take to a 4th of July cookout!

XOXO,
Anna

Summer Sewing

62 Comments / June 27, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Sewing

So, how’s your weekend going? More importantly, how’s your summer going? Can you believe it’s almost July? I feel like it should still be May, at least.

It’s pretty lazy-going here in ThimbleannaLand this summer. I actually dragged out my embroidery machine last week and played with my endless hoop. The endless hoop allows you to embroider long, repeating designs for things like borders and edgings. I bought the hoop 4 or 5 years ago and have never used it — I think I was scared of it. Which, as usual, turned out to be completely unfounded. It’s easy as pie to use.

I was really fun to play with the hoop and watch the machine embroider. I decided to make a summer top and I embroidered a scallop for the edge a neck ruffle and the hem of the sleeves. The pattern is Simplicity 2651. Here’s a close-up of the neck detail.

And here’s the classic bathroom mirror shot of the shirt. The jury’s still out on this top. I feel like I’m wearing one of my grandma’s house coats, cut off at the hips. It’s really comfortable and will be cool for hot summer days, so, if nothing else, I can wear it around the house.

Now, I’m off to go visit BigDaddy and MeMum. Hope you have a good weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

Distracted

52 Comments / June 23, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Books, Chat, Recipes

Well, I’m a little late with a weekend report, but I have a good excuse. I’ve had my nose buried in The Help. I completely avoided the computer last night and sat out on the patio reading until dark, enjoying the last of my peonies and savoring every word.

I couldn’t help myself. I loved this book and haven’t been as excited about a book group book in a long time. I finally finished it today on my lunch break. Fortunately, no one came into my cube to see the tears in my eyes. Yvette commented on my last post about how sad she was to see the book end and I couldn’t have said it better. Except maybe to use PKM’s favorite phrase — it was super delicious. More than super delicious!

Not much else to report from the weekend. Just a teeny little bit of sewing happened, but mostly yard and housework. And we had a Father’s Day cookout on Sunday. The weather was beautiful.

We even had blueberry ice cream using this recipe. Yum Yum! When TheSecondChild was 11 or 12, he wanted an ice cream maker for his birthday, so we gave him one. We’ve hardly ever used it, but making this ice cream was so easy and fast, it won’t be another 10 years before we use it again.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m way behind on blog reading. Hope you’re having a good week!

XOXO,
Anna

Grocery Shopping

63 Comments / June 19, 2009 February 22, 2011 / Books, Chat

Last weekend, TheManoftheHouse came home from his weekly shopping trip (he does the grocery shopping, which works for us — I’d rather be outdoors and, although he wouldn’t admit it, there’s great sightseeing to be had in a grocery store) and told me about this conversation he had with a woman in the checkout line.

She was meticulously placing her groceries in piles on the conveyor belt and he said “Wow, you’re organized.” She explained her system to him and proceeded to show him her shopping list on a sheet of paper torn out of a notebook. So, TheManoftheHouse showed her his shopping book list. He said the lady loved our shopping list, so I thought you might be interested too.

Each January, I buy one of those calendar books that tracks each week in a two-page spread. They’re usually available half-price. Then toward the end of each work week, I plan the meals for the following week. I write the menu for that day right under the day of the week. The groceries are written below the menu, organized by areas of the grocery store (dairy, vegetables, meat, etc.) It’s also a great place to keep notes about recipes, etc.

The book has little tear-corners on each page, so we can always open it up to the correct week. TheManoftheHouse takes the book to the grocery store each week. He keeps a red pen in the spiral spine of the book and he crosses the items off as he puts them in the cart. Then he brings the book home and I use it all week to remember what we’re having for dinner.

It’s been a good system for us for several years now. No lost grocery lists and (in theory) no lost recipes. No standing in front of the pantry after a day at work wondering what we’re going to eat. And when I’m in a menu rut, I can go back to previous years and get some ideas for things we’ve eaten in the past and liked. TheManoftheHouse is an excellent shopper and he’s great at sticking to the list.

How do you handle your menu/shopping? Have any secrets you’d like to share? And while I’m asking questions, do you have any big plans for the weekend? I’m hoping to get a little sewing done and then this sty will need some cleaning as my family is coming over for a Father’s Day cookout. I’m also hoping I don’t get sidetracked — for you readers out there, I’ve just started a new book and I Love it so far — if there’s even a hint of rain, I’m thinking there will be no yardwork and lots of reading. ;-)

Have a great weekend!

XOXO,
Anna