Tuesday

Figs are relatively new to me, cooking with fresh figs anyhow.  Fresh figs are not something you would typically find up north. After moving here, a few years back a friend gave me some fresh figs and someone else suggested I could make a fig cake... which I had never heard of.  I found a recipe and made a fig cake and I remember it was a really awesome cake.  Time has a way of making a memory become fuzzy sometimes.  I remember making the cake and that it was really good, but that was the extent of my recollection of a fig cake.  Since that time I have tried a few times to grow a fig tree so I could have my own figs, but the cutter ants seemed to like to strip the leaves off before it ever got to the fruit stage.  Since our move here this time, I found a neighbor that has a fig tree hobby and he has offered to give me a couple fig trees, which got me wishing I could get my hands on some fresh figs to try my hand at a fig cake again.  Seems that Sophie, the original source of my figs, just happened to have some fresh figs ready to be picked and dropped off a container of fresh figs yesterday.  When they are freshly picked, they have to be used quickly.

I made a fig cake today.  It was every bit as awesome as I remembered.  I found a super easy recipe online... cause I have no idea where the recipe is that I used way back then. 

On another note we got a problem resolved today.  I was concerned that my dryer was taking too long to dry the clothes.  We investigated and found the dryer vent was a good place for birds to build nests.  We tried to clean out the vent, but there is a closet behind the washer/dryer area, which means the vent goes up and over the bedroom closet before it exits at second story level outside.  We decided that there were likely more nests in the vent than we were capable of getting to, because our efforts didn't improve the drying time.  The vent guy and his helper came this morning and cleaned all of the nests out of the vent... and there were a few.  He used a rotor rooter type tool and a really powerful blower which did the trick. After they left we went to the hardware store and bought a vent cover that has a mesh across the opening to keep the birds out.  I also did a test washload to run through the dryer, and it dried perfectly in half the time.

Let the quilting begin!

This small quilt was finished today for a very dear friend.  The significance of this quilt is it was the first to be completed on my longarm in its new location in my upstairs quilting room.  I now have both my longarm and the embroidery machine up and running.  The quilting room is smaller than either of the previous two locations for my longarm, so it took time to organize the room so all would fit comfortably. We also installed new LED lighting which is awesome. Lighting can make such a difference when paying attention to detail.

It still may be a little longer before I am able to get into any serious quilting, but having my machines set up and ready for action is encouraging.

Blocks and borders are not limited to quilting... counter tops can present an opportunity to create a different kind of masterpiece. This was a joint effort, but I think it turned out marvelous. 

Doors and more...

It will take a while to get things situated where they need to be, but little things can make a new home start to feel more comfortable.  I have several quilts that need to find their place on the walls of my new gallery, so tacks and pre-positioned nails are helping my front entrance to look a little more like home.

  Christmas cactus likes the light that comes through the door, and that silhouette quilt might just stay where it is...  it kind of looks like it belongs there.  I am thinking a quilt needs to go around the corner on the wall above this smaller quilt.  That might take some figuring as I have never hung a quilt around a corner before, nor one quite so high up.

I have two back doors, one goes into the garage and the kitchen has a door to the back porch.  My sister sent me a table topper that has ended up... at least temporarily, as a door topper over my washer and dryer.  Those bi-fold doors are new... previously there were sliding doors that somehow just don't belong in front of a washer and dryer.

 I won't get around to a garden quite yet, but my garden art needed to get out of the garage and my porch said dress me up. Seems there is a good breeze that comes through my back porch and makes my wind chimes sing.

One of our projects will be to replace the outside lights as they are all missing their tops.  Of course this makes the birds happy with a nest protected from the sun and rain, and high enough so the wind is minimal.  The close-up here is from the light fixture by the door and I used a selfie stick with my phone to see if there were any eggs in the nest.  Mamma wasn't too happy, but I didn't disturb anything.  Once the babies have flown the nest, these lights are on their way out. This nest belongs to a dove... the other nests around are barn swallows, of which there are many in the neighborhood. 

Welcome to Our New Home

This is a picture of our new home in Floresville Texas, which was actually taken before we moved in.  It is not a brand new home, but as you can see, not much had been done for landscaping.  This is what we had for a start when we arrived in mid-May.
Now a two story house was not in our plan, but we had both agreed that we could consider a second story, if the master bedroom was downstairs. This is a 4 bedroom house with the master bedroom downstairs.  The master bedroom also has a very large bathroom and 3 closets... a linen closet, a miscellaneous closet and a large walk-in closet.  The master bedroom, with all its amenities, won me over.  There is a bathroom upstairs with the 3 additional bedrooms.  A two car garage is accessed from the back side of the house, and there is room for a small garden. Did I say that we have two porches?

The house is situated in a sub-division on a golf course, only a couple miles from the center of our little town.  It is a quiet neighborhood with a multitude of choices for safe places to walk or ride our bikes.
Moving is lots of work no matter what condition the house is in.  This house was not bad considering renters had been its occupants for many years.  Lots of cosmetic work, inside and out, will have to be done, but in the process we will be able to make this our house... hopefully our home for many years to come. Ron asked if I had documented any of the work we have done so far, and other than a few pictures I have taken here and there... I pretty much have not. 
I figure that we are not that far into this whole new adventure, and that if I start now to try posting our progress... not only will you be able to see what is going on, but we will have something to look back to for reference.