Absence, and permission

I've been absent for a couple of weeks. I gave myself permission to take a small vacation from writing. This is not to say I don't love writing my blog, because I do.

Absence is good for the soul, and, on occasion, makes the heart grow fonder. So they say.

I've been working like a fiend, which is so not like me. I'm working at my retirement job, bartending for a fancy resort near where I live. I absolutely love doing it. There's that. And I don't really want to work full time, which they try to accommodate because they appreciate me. How wonderful is that?! All said, the opportunity came up a couple of months ago to work at the bar next to the hotel swimming pool, which is part of the membership Club and is a very cool place. I have to wo-man the bar Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Not a problem, right?

Well, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday is really 10:00a.m. until 7:30 or so p.m., given bar setup and take-down and paperwork, etc. Whew, that's a long day. It's 9+ hours on your feet and by the time I'm done, I'm not good for much else. Then I go home and Wayne, who has been on his own all day (and all weekend) would like some attention and maybe dinner. That's where I've been, and then recuperating Monday through Thursday.

These sound like excuses and, truly, they are. I took a break and now I'm back. My gig at the pool bar has been so much fun that I feel it needs to be celebrated. I get to be creative - special drinks, increasing sales, making the whole experience fun - and get rewarded (great tips, great sales figures, pats on the back) on top of it.

Here are a couple of the cool special drinks my co-bartender Rolando and I came up with. Perhaps they'll help you make the transition from summer to fall!

Cucumber-Mint Martini

Cut a fat slice of cucumber into quarters and muddle it with several mint leaves and a squirt of sweet and sour mix in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and 2 oz. of vodka (we use Tito's). Shake, shake, shake, until the shaker feels really cold. Then strain into an ice-filled glass (or plastic, as we use around the pool) and garnish with a slice of . . . you guessed it, cucumber!!!

The Norma

Fill a glass (or plastic cup) with ice. Pour in 2 oz. of Patron Silver tequila. Fill the glass with Fevertree ginger beer. Stir well, garnish with a slice of lime, and serve with a long straw.

Le Creuset is on my good list!

I have maybe eleven or twelve Le Creuset pots and skillets - it's all really good cookware that I've had forever. I love these pots - they are very colorful and they cook great, enameled cast iron. Cast iron pots are fabulous heat conductors and very fun to use. One pot, though, the sweet little green Dutch oven, has had some problems. Its inside bottom was wearing out - cast iron showing through chipped enamel.

Well, I've had the little green pot for about 20 years, and I used it almost every day. It was a workhorse. And I must admit I burned it once or twice, although it always came clean. But then the bottom started to wear through.

Le Creuset has a lifetime guarantee of their cookware. After a long time, I looked them up on the internet. Then I called them, just a few weeks ago. They gave me a claim number and told me to send the little pot in. If it looked like a problem with the product, they would replace it. And, if they sent me a new one, what color would I like? The color I had was no longer made - it was from another era. I decided on Caribbean Blue. If it looked like the problem was my use of the pot, then they'd offer me a new one at a discounted price.

OK, I sent my little pot in, even though I hated to. I didn't know how I would get along without it, since I used it almost every day. Here it is in its box, ready to go on a journey.

Of course I expected them to offer me a discount, since in fact I had burned it once or twice. What a surprise when two weeks later, without even a phone call or an email, a box arrived with a new pot inside, Caribbean Blue. It's perfect, no chips, brand new.

These pots cost a lot of money. I priced this one online at around $100. I didn't pay that for any of my Le Creusets - I bought them on sale or at outlet stores, and it was a long time ago. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with Le Creuset and their lifetime guarantee. I'd buy their products again and I'd recommend them to anyone!

Thank you, Le Creuset. Way to be!

How to make zebra cushions

It's really easy to make your own cushions and accent pillows, so why are they so expensive to buy? Beats me. I can't justify it, and I often make my own. Here's some I just made for my outdoor chairs using a zebra-print fabric I bought online. So cute, don't you think?

Of course, you can use any print you want. I happen to like zebras. The most important factors to consider are durability and whether they are likely to fade in the sun. This zebra fabric is a light canvas, so it's a medium weight cotton fabric and pretty durable, although it's not so heavy that it's hard to work with. The black stripes are supposed to be sun-resistant. Time will tell.

Meanwhile I'm pretty crazy about them.

In case you want to make some of your own, here's how to make these cushions, which are called "knife-edge" because the edges come to a point all around the cushion. It's the easiest of all the cushion and pillow shapes to make.

I used black piping all the way around the edges of my knife-edge zebra cushion. Piping makes a cushion look so finished and professional, don't you think? And my method of sewing piping is fool-proof. Read on to find out how . . .

First make a pattern for your cushions. Cut a piece of wrapping paper or tracing paper a little larger than your chair seat. Then lay the paper on the chair and mark the edges of the seat. Cut along your marking and you have a pattern you can use every time you want to make cushions for this kind of chair.

Tip: It's smart to write on the pattern which chairs this pattern matches. That way, when you want to make new cushions in a couple of years, you have a pattern available without taking apart one of the old cushions. Also you won't accidentally make a cushion for a different chair that doesn't fit.


Here's what you'll need for each cushion:

• A piece of 1" or 1-1/2" foam cut to match the pattern.
• Optional: Cotton batting to wrap around the foam to soften the edges.
• Enough fabric to cover both sides of the cushion - for these cushions I used about 1/2 yard per cushion, or 2 yards for 4 cushions.
  
• Enough matching or contrasting piping to go around each cushion. Measure around the outside of the pattern and multiply by the number of cushions you're making to compute the total inches/yards you need. Look at the piping package to see how many yards of piping it contains and buy as many as you need to get your total, plus a couple of inches. Piecing the piping works just fine, as you'll see in the instructions below.
• Thread to compliment your fabric.

Use your pattern to cut 2 pieces for each cushion, adding 1/2" all the way around for the seam.

Pin the piping all the way around on the right side one of the pieces, lining the unfinished edge up with the fabric edge. Overlap the ends of the piping and angle them slightly to the outside edge. I try to put the overlapped ends on the edge of the cushion that will be to the back of the chair. Sew all the way around as close to the piping as you can.

Pin the two pieces of the cushion together with right sides together. Stitch 3/4 of the way around the cushion on the same line you stitched to attach the piping, stitching just around both corners of the edge that will be to the back of the chair and leaving the back side open. This is where you will insert your foam.



You can either wrap your foam insert with a light layer of cotton batting, or you can cut 2 pieces of cotton batting from the cushion pattern and add them top and bottom to the foam. Or you can use the foam by itself. Whichever you use, fold the foam (and batting in place) roughly in half to insert it into the opening in your fabric 'envelope'. Then manipulate the foam and smooth the fabric and foam out with your hands to fit it in the envelope. Your cover should fit tightly.

Pin the opening shut, folding under the edges, and stitch it closed by hand.

You now have a beautiful piped knife-edge cushion for your chair - zebra or seersucker or covered in hydrangeas, whatever you chose!

The first pickles

Now I know for sure it's summer - I just canned my first two quarts of dill pickles! Aren't they gorgeous?

We have six cucumber plants in pots on the ledge on the front porch, so their vines can hang off the front of the house. They are starting to produce, and I think they're going to be prolific! Yay! More pickles.

My mom made the world's best dill pickles, as I've mentioned on this blog before. She, however, did a proper job of canning and preserving. We go though pickles too fast for that at our house - nothing needs to be preserved for months because it will be eaten long before that. So here's how I do the pickling.

• Sterilize your jars and lids in boiling water for 10 minutes. Then let them sit in the hot water while you prepare the brine.
• In a saucepan, bring a brine to a boil. For two quarts of pickles, I used 2 cups water, 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 3/4 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup good pure sea salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. That's a lot of vinegar, but that's what keeps bacteria from getting in your pickles, just in case you don't eat them right away.
• Take the jars out of the hot water and empty them. Stuff them with cucumbers (cut the flower end off and wash them first), heads of fresh dill, peeled garlic cloves, and a few peppercorns. I've also used dried little hot peppers. Leave an inch or so at the top.
• Ladle or pour the hot brine over the pickles and seasonings in jar. Leave 1/4 inch head room at the top. Seal tightly with your sterilized lids.

Let sit in a cool dark place (I put them in a cabinet in the basement) for two weeks before eating. After you open them, store them in the fridge. If they are too sour for your taste, drain the brine out of the jar you're using (after the two weeks of course) and fill it with water with a bit of sugar dissolved in it. Let it sit in the fridge for a few days and enough of the vinegar will leach out into the water to make them just right! Yum!

I've got my mom's old Ball Jar canning book, which would have been from the 1950s. There are a lot of cool recipes for various pickles and preserves in it, but even better is the "recipe" that's printed on the inside back cover. Here it is:

How to Preserve a Husband

 

Be careful in your selection. Do not choose too young. When selected, give your entire thoughts to preparation for domestic use. Some wives insist upon keeping them in a pickle, others are constantly getting them into hot water. This may make them sour, hard, and sometimes bitter; even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good, by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses. Wrap them in a mantle of charity. Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream. Thus prepared, they will keep for years.

 

Food for thought . . .how cute is that???



Weight watching

Our friend Yasmin Dinar has been staying with us for a few days. Yasmin lives in Denver and has some work in the Bay Area right now so we're lucky to have her with us. Like many attractive 30-somethings, Yasmin likes to look good and takes excellent care of herself. We were surprised to hear that she has been going to Weight Watchers, and that she has lost 10 pounds. Who knew she had 10 extra pounds to lose? Yasmin always looks fabulous.

I've never been interested in weight loss diets, although at 5'4" compared with Yasmin's 5'10", there have been times when I could've taken off a pound or two. I just love to cook and to eat, and have always preferred to exercise more, or to just accept myself as I am. Good or not so good. Diets aren't for me.

When Yasmin arrived carrying two bags of vegetables and fruits from Trader Joe's, I was glad anyway. I love vegetables and fruits. Of course, she bought so many that we could hardly fit them in the fridge.

I wanted to be supportive, and to keep the fridge functional as well, so I decided to cook three or four vegetables for every dinner, plus a small portion of meat or fish. For breakfast we feast on fruit and oatmeal. It's been great.

You know, it's fun to search out all kinds of new and different vegetable recipes. I've made zucchini with red bell pepper and tomato, served with sauteed portobello mushrooms. Normally, zucchini doesn't appeal to me, but Yasmin bought a box of it, so oh well. The next night we had steamed julienned zucchini and carrots. It was really good. Tonight we're going to have cauliflower with egg and parsley, a recipe I dug out of an old Pierre Franey cookbook, plus more of the stuffed cabbage rolls we made last night. I do love cauliflower, so it will be wonderful. This is the most un-diet diet ever - it's delicious!


I might lose a pound or two, unintentionally, from having Yasmin here. And maybe we'll just keep this veggie-mania going after she leaves on Friday. Thanks, Yasmin!

Hand made cocktail napkins

My friend Berta has moved to a new home, and I'm going over there to see it (and her) next week. Of course I want to bring a "Happy New Home" present, and not just a bottle of wine.

One of my favorite things that I found among my mother's store of linens was a little pile of small napkins.

We would call them "cocktail napkins" because they're much smaller than dinner napkins. I think they were my grandmother's, and I'm guessing she called them "luncheon napkins," because no decent woman would admit to any knowledge of cocktails in her day. They are obviously hand made - they are not a uniform size and they have that delicate pulled-thread decoration around the hemmed edges that women did a hundred years ago. No one has the time or knowledge for it today, which is a pity.

I decided Berta would like some hand made cocktail napkins in her new home. She and I definitely admit to cocktails, or at least wine, so let's call them what they are. And I would be willing to make them, although I'm not willing to start pulling threads.

I shopped around in my stash of fabric and found this fun dotted cotton I used a while ago to make pillow cases. It's a really nice fabric with a good cottony feel to it, and would make very cute cocktail napkins. I had enough left to make a set of six and, even better, I had already washed the fabric before I used it the last time. One less thing to do.

Using a paper cocktail napkin as a template, I cut 6 identical pieces from the fabric, each 11 inches square. This will leave me a 10-inch square napkin after hemming, which is the size of the paper napkin.

Then I started ironing. Yes, it's true - most of the process of making these little napkins involves the steam iron, and only near the last did I touch my sewing machine. This is fortunate for me, because I'm still running my sewing machine with my left foot, my right foot firmly encased in a big space boot because of my healing broken ankle. However, the future looks bright, because next week I'm supposed to try to fit, finally, into a shoe. My shoe. Here's hoping I find one that fits.

The process
Take one of the 11-inch squares and press a 1/4-inch hem on all four sides. Then work your way around and turn the hem a second time 1/4 inches and press each side, using steam to set the folds. Then, to make mitred corners, cut across each corner like this.

Holding the first fold in place, fold the corner up and join the edges of the folds to make the mitre.

This takes some bulk out of the corner's doubled double fold and leaves a nicely finished corner.

Next, press all the folds once again on the wrong side, and sidle on over to your sewing machine. I like to sew on the right side when it shows, because I'm convinced the stitch is more attractive on the top side. You can stitch on the other side if you want to, because it's easier to see that you're catching the fold. Either way will work fine.

I like to open up the length of my stitch a bit, so I set my length at 2.8. It makes for a prettier stitch and a little less bunching.

Sew the hem, whether on the right side or the other side, all the way around, pivoting at the corners. Then press both back and front again, and press into a 5-inch square.

Here's the finished result of the stitching, front and back

And here's the final stack of napkins, ready to be gifted! Hope Berta likes them!

 

My ankle is back!

This is a long process. But it hasn't been as long as it might be, thanks to an innovative surgeon and good bones.  The surgeon, who had performed more than 3000 of these same surgeries, said to me after mine, "for your age, you have very good bones." I am grateful.

Yesterday I graduated from cast to boot, 6 weeks into it. Yay! More freedom...showers can be taken without protective plastic, sometimes my leg and my foot can get fresh air.  OMG.

When I looked at my leg - 6 weeks under plaster and plastic - it was flaking skin in sheets. So dry. I washed it with zinc soap, good for bacteria, and soaked it in heavy-duty moisturizer and then coconut oil and let it absorb. More skin flaked off and I rubbed it with towels and more coconut oil before reapplying the orthopedic sock and the boot. Oh what luxury for my poor skin!

They said "wear the boot for two or three weeks, then try to fit into a shoe." Wow. That means in about two weeks I can wear a shoe. And walk in it. And then maybe I can drive (this is my right foot, so no driving until it is well).

Today I went to my beloved yoga instructor Domonick for a private lesson.  "Tell me what I can do to strengthen this leg and to maintain flexibility and heal." He created a wonderful program for me to follow for the next month or two until I can resume a regular practice.  Stretch. Strengthen. Be peaceful. Breath. Stretch. Strengthen. Heal. Thank you, and bless you, Domonick. Bless you, my leg.

Short story, I'm doing well, thank you. Tomorrow night we're going out to a club, but I might not dance yet.