Yummy Onions

Recently, as part of the preparations for Heidelbeere's wedding, we were making tortellini soup.  This was for the wedding luncheon so we needed a lot of soup.  And, as you may know, tortellini soup includes yummy onions.  Heidelbeere was planning on about 55 people for the luncheon; lots of onions. Yep, and somebody had to chop up all those onions.

We have a cute little vegetable chopper at our house, but we hadn't taken it with us when we'd traveled out to the wedding.  Fortunately, Heidelbeere has exactly the same kind of cute little chopper.  They are wonderful for chopping veggies, including onions.  Anything to make chopping onions go quicker is welcome, so we got her chopper out and got to work.

This chopper is exactly the kind of thing that attracts kids, its fun to use.  So Heidelbeere's oldest wanted to use it.  However, she soon discovered that onions have a curious affect on anyone in the room when they're being chopped; they make you cry.  You know, syn-propanethial-S-oxide, the stuff that stimulates the eyes' lachrymal glands so they release tears.  Yeah, that stuff.  Personally, I can make it through about two onions before my eyes start watering.  Not so with most others. We had a whole bag of onions to chop, around ten or 15 of the wonderful little orbs.  And the onions that Heidelbeere was using were particularly potent.  

Undiscouraged, however, the little lady still wanted to use the chopper, even though everyone in the room was crying.  So she put some thought into it and came up with a plan to protect herself from the effects of chopping all those onions.

Alas, she soon discovered the goggles did not do much to protect her from crying.  Still it was fun to watch her try.  And in the end, she got to use the chopper as much as she wanted; she didn't last even two whole onions.  But she was happy, so success, right?  Right!

The Sewing Lesson

While we were out visiting Hiedelbeere recently there was a little time so Brombeere ended up giving Hiedelbeere's oldest a sewing lesson.  The thoughtful young lady wanted to make something for her brother and had an idea in her head of what she wanted so she came to her grandma and asked for help making it.  That turned into a sewing lesson.

The first thing was to get an idea of what the young lady was thinking about.  That involved drawing a couple of pictures before Brombeere felt like she had a good idea of what she was thinking of and the young lady agreed.  Then, while she was at school, Brombeere went to the store and got some fabric that would be appropriate.  Then, after school, the little lady drew out a picture that could be used for a pattern and they cut it out. 

Then, once she had it all cut out, she stitched on the eyes.  Kind of cute looking, even at that point.

Then it was time to sit down at the  machine.  Brombeere hadn't brought her machine so they used one Heidlebeere had.

Slow and steady they got sewing at it.

Pretty soon it began to take shape and come together.

A little hand stitching at the end, after putting the stuffing in, and they were done.

And the young man that got it was pretty pleased with it!  He called it his "Blobby" and he was a happy young man!  We love it when a plan comes together!

Christmas, Christmas!

The last few years we've ended up celebrating Christmas in shifts, to be able to spend time with as many of the kids as possible, while letting them do their own Christmas traditions. Some times they come to our house, sometimes we go to their houses. We make it work as much as possible. Yeah, so we ended up spreading Christmas across several days, which is perfectly fine. In some ways it's more fun since we get to have several little "mini-celebrations", which is fun.

So this year it began when Blaubeere and all her family came over and had dinner with us. We didn't actually open presents with them, they took them back to be incorporated into their family celebration on Christmas day. But we did spend some time making some fun Christmas decorations.

The decorations we made were stars. Brombeere had cut all the material out before hand.

So each person picked the material they wanted to use and folded each piece into triangles.

Then they were placed together just right and, with a button on it as a guide, the three pieces were stitched together to make make a star. This young man did pretty good at threading his own needle, I was impressed.

Then you sew a loop in the tip to use to hang it on the tree and you end up with a pretty nice little Christmas ornament. Pretty slick! Everybody did at least one, some made two. It was a fun time.

The next installment was a few days later, on Christmas Eve, when a host of kids converged on our home.  Maulbeere, Himbeere, Schwarzbeere, and Stachelbeere were all there, including Schwartzbeere's whole family.

Normally, Christmas Eve is not a gift opening day in our family but this was our time with Himbeere, they were spending Christmas day with the other side of the family, so we opened their gifts on Christmas Eve.  And, because the first words out of the mouth of Schwarzbeere's oldest, as he came in the door to our house, where, "Can we open presents now?" we decided to let each of the kids open one gift as well.  

So the kids got to open a gift each, everyone got to open at least one gift.  That made the kids happy but still saved the majority of the gifts for Christmas morning, which is more the tradition at our house.

Stachelbeere and friend had come the farthest, they had flown in from California the day before and were staying several days before heading back out west with us. They'd spent a few days with her family before coming to our house.

So we all opened gifts and enjoyed the good company before digging into the Christmas feast.

Brombeere had put on a spectacular spread of goodies for dinner. Yeah, it wasn't all sweets and candy, there was good, healthy stuff available for those that wanted it (crazy, huh!?). So we gabbed, ate, gabbed, and played for a while. Then the Himbeere's had to head out. But everyone else was staying for Christmas day. That was a nice thing.

The plan had been to frost cookies with the kids while they were here but it didn't quite happen that way. The kids were worn out and went to bed but the grown-ups still wanted to do cookies so we got everything out anyway.

We had made the cookies before hand so it was just a matter of whipping up some frosting and getting out all the usual sprinkles and decorations to go on the cookies, just basic sugar cookies.  Those are the best kind, after all, especially at Christmas.

So we all got to it.  We used oversized popsicle sticks to spread the frosting.  It actually worked quite well.

So, gathered around the kitchen table, we exercised our artistic skills and talked and talked, into the night.  It was a good time.

And in the end, we had some pretty nice looking cookies.

They were creative, if nothing else. Have to admit, a few got eaten right away as well, but we saved most so the kids could enjoy them on Christmas. Then there was nothing left but to go to bed so jolly ol' St Nick could come.

A short time later the stockings were filled and set out ...

... as was a table full of more goodies (including some good, healthy stuff).  After all, at our house, food on Christmas Day is pretty much do-it-yourself and no meals are prepared.  Just lots of good stuff available all day whenever you feel like getting something.

And so, with everything ready for the morning, we all headed off to bed.

Nobody was in any kind of a hurry to get up Christmas morning, not even the kids. Some of us were even able to get up and grab a quick shower before the festivities began. That never used to happen when our kids were little. But it was nice to have happen this year. So we got up, opened presents, and had a very nice morning.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the fun things we all got and just visiting. And "grazing".  They say that's a poor eating practice but for Christmas Day, when there's so many fun, yummy, and unusual things available, it's the way to go. Besides, who wants to spend time fixing meals when there new stuff to be played with!

Christmas day, Friday, Schwartzbeere and family had to take off to go do some celebrating with the other side of the family. Maubeere stayed until Saturday before they went back home. Stachelbeere was staying with us until it was time to head west to see Mosebeere and Heidlebeere, they actually were going to travel back with us.  So Saturday and Sunday were quiet days at our house.  Then Monday came bright and early.

All things considered, we actually got started Monday morning in pretty good time. The drive was pretty uneventful, except for a little weather we ran into in western Nebraska. But that only slowed us down, it didn't stop us like has happened on other winter trips out west.

So we drove and drove and drove and drove, with an occasional stop for gas, food, or to stretch, plus an over night stop, and finally, Tuesday evening, we pulled into Moosbeere's place. When we went out to visit last September we were able to isolate before going, which allowed us to stay with Moosbeere for the first part of our visit.  This time we were unable to do that.

So our Christmas celebration with Moosbeere's family was a "porch visit" out in their driveway.

But it was a good visit, we opened gifts and talked and talked, bundled up against the cold, out in the driveway.

It was fun, although I have to admit that the kids disappeared not too long after the gifts were opened because of the cold. But the adults continued talking and visiting, knowing this was all we were going to get. But eventually the cold won out and after over an hour we had to bring it to an end.

The next stop was Heidlebeere's place.  Our Christmas celebration with them was the next morning.

And it was a good time, there were, after all, little kids involved again. 

So after a period of excitement, chaos, opening, and enjoying, the room was a mess and the celebration was a good time.  

Alas, every year, Christmas season comes and goes too fast. But that was it. We were able to see all of our kids and grandkids except Erdbeere and her family but they are close enough that we're hoping to be able to make up for all the missed visits during the coming summer and the rest of the year after that, once things move closer to normal. Once again, it's been a great Christmas and a lot of fun, lots of travel, lots of scattering about, and lots of fun with family. That is, after all, a lot of what Christmas is all about!

The Blankie

Brombeere likes to sew, there's no doubt about that. Over the years that I've known her she's sewn clothes, blankets, placemats, table runners, wall hangings, doll clothes; all kinds of stuff.  Kids and grandkids provide an excellent excuse to sew.  And so she does.  Initially it was a great way to save money.  Now, if she had a hobby, we would have to say it was sewing. 

Christmas is the busiest time of year, many of the gifts she gives are things she's sewn.  It's not uncommon at all for her to start a Christmas project weeks or even months ahead of Christmas.  This year she decided she wanted to make a camping blanket for Moosbeere (among other gift projects) so she began in June gathering ideas for patterns, material, and designs.  Once she settled on a design she started going through her stash of cloth and thread to see what material she already had and what she needed to get.  It was actually a few weeks later, after picking the pattern and assembling all the cloth, that she actually began sewing.

This quilt was going to be a block quilt so each block had to be sewn.  This blanket was also going to be big enough for a king-sized bed.  So there were quite a few blocks to make.  64 blocks in total.  Then each block has some boarder between them.  Then, once all the individual blocks were done, they all had to be sewn together.  It was a few months after she first began sewing before she had the whole top done.

This quilt was to have a rugged, outdoor theme to it, suitable for camping. This blankie was intended to be a camp quilt so, in addition to a rugged design, it also needed to be of sturdy material.

As the sewing continued, it began to take shape and started looking more and more like a quilt.

Then, around all those blocks, there was a boarder.

At last, with the top all done, it was time to put it on her quilting frames for tying it all together.  

Years ago Brombeere found some pretty nice quilting frames at a yard sale.  All the piece were there but what was real nice was that they fit together on a rack when they weren't in use.  That has turned out to be a pretty nice way to keep track of all the pieces in between uses.  Of course, teh long, cross pieces are anothr matter.  But still ...  And it had been a while since Brombeere had done a quit large enough that she needed them.  

Part of putting a quilt on the frame is putting the different layers together, the top, the batting, and the underside of the quilt.

So it took a while to lay out the top and trim it.

Then she had to lay out the batting and trim it to the top.

Then she needed to attach the bottom of the quilt, which had already been trimmed to fit the other pieces, to the frames. Some frames are made with wood soft enough that you can attach the fabric using thumb tacks.  That holds the material in place while you're tying it.

Alas, the frames Brombeere has are made of hardwood.   Pretty darn hard to get a thumb tack into it.  So years ago she had drilled a series of holes in the boards and now she just sews the material to the frames.  And that's what she did with this one.

That took a while.  But eventually it was done and everything was ready to lay the three layers of fabric together on the frames, ready to start tying.

Getting all three layers together on the frame proved to be a bit challenging, mostly because of the size of the quilt.

Brombeere needed a little more help than I could provide.  So she called Himbeere and they came over.  With four of us to hold the frames while Brombeere put the three layers together we were able to get it done.  The weight of all the cloth kept pulling the frame stands so they would tip over.  So we had to have extra people to hold them upright.  But we were finally able get it done.

Then there was just a little bit more work to make sure all the layers of fabric were laying smooth and wrinkle free, and sufficiently square on the frames, thoroughly pinned together to keep in place. 

It was at this point that Brombeere was able to roll the blanket on the frames so that the entire blanket wasn't out open.  That makes it easier to reach out into the middle of the blanket while doing the tying. Then the slow step of tying it all, individual stiches to hold it all in place during its years of use, rolling it as she went so that the area she was working on was out where she could reach.

It's tying a blanket that everyone usually thinks of when they think of making quilts.  Many people, me included, have memories of playing under the blanket while all the ladies, usually moms, aunts, and grandmas, gathered around the blanket to tie it.  The old fashion "quilting bees", all the hand stitching around quilting frames.  Sometimes the kids under the blanket were actually helping, pushing needles back up to the ladies on the top side.  But usually they were just playing and listening to all the talking among the ladies.  You could learn a lot listening in on such conversation.  It was a great social occasion.

Anyway, once she was done tying while it was on the frame there was still a little detail work to do. So it came off the frame and then began the finish work.

She decided it needed a little more stitching but she would be able to do that with it off the frames.  So she spread it out over the piano bench and across the floor, and put in the extra stitches.

Then she took it back to her machine and did the finish edging.

And at 4:15 pm on November 5th (a Friday) Brombeere pronounced it "done".  And it was.

So we played in it, snuggled in it ...

... curled up in it, and generally enjoyed this marvelous blanket.  And it was good.

So now, seven weeks before Christmas, it was done.  Of course, because it's a Christmas present, I can't really post this until after it's been given and opened.  I wouldn't want to spoil any surprise.  That would be bad form.  So when you're reading this, Merry Christmas!