Table Runner

A year ago I made a goal to finish hand quilting Nolan's quilt by this Thanksgiving.

It didn't happen.

I was well on my way to accomplishing this goal, but

news of my dad's death changed our lives forever.

It took me a while to get back to quilting.

(My dad always asked me how my quilting was going... kind of

hard to get back to it when your accountability partner is gone.)

I decided I needed a break from the current project.

Thankfully I had another in mind.

Back in the spring I bought a table runner kit at a yard sale.

I don't own any table runners.

I'm not a decorating kind of person, except for Christmas.

However, I liked the colors and style of this runner.

It looked like a beginner's kind of quilting project.

Besides, the price was right!

It took several weekends.

It came together rather easily.

I made several mistakes learned a lot.

I even used one of my sewing machine's fancy stitches.

So don't think I made those wavy lines on my own!

It was fun and quick project.

Fallen Angel

These are duck eggs.

It took us about a week to save up a dozen.

It takes a while when you only get two a day (and you keep eating them).

Connor finally decided to forego the omelets to save eggs for an angel food cake.

So I had thirteen eggs to work with.

I'll admit that I had my doubts as to whether or not this would work.

I had read many articles online about using duck eggs in angel food cakes.

Some praised them and said the cakes turned out great.

Others said they were terrible for this kind of cake.

That's not very helpful information,

nor is it a confidence booster.

Good thing I am not afraid to fail in the kitchen.

I'm quite good at that!

So I whipped up the egg whites.

The texture seemed a little different but I kept going.

Can you say fallen angel?

I've made dozens of angel food cakes over the years.

I've never had one fall before.

It fell while it baked and I have no idea why.

The funny part was when it fell out of the pan while it was cooling upside down!

I should have gotten a picture of it.

It was quite funny, especially if you picture an

old fashioned coke bottle sitting in the middle.

(I use the bottle to cool the cake upside down.  It fits perfectly in the center.)

This is quite possibly the saddest angel food cake I've ever made.

It makes me chuckle.

But the redeeming factor is that it tastes good

and it's safe for Connor to eat.

Well son, do you like it?

"Mmmm, oh yes!"

Is it worth saving the duck eggs for?

"YES!"

So I'll have to figure out what happened to my fallen cake and try again.

Duck Eggs

In our excitement over Connor being able to eat duck eggs, we made cookies with chicken eggs.

He's seen us eat these cookies over the years.

I didn't make them often because he couldn't eat them.

This is not a recipe that would turn out well using the egg-replacer stuff.

We love this cookie recipe.

It makes large cookies.

Rich in flavor.

Lots of chocolatey goodness.

Connor was a good sport and had a bite.

We determined that he is in fact allergic to chicken eggs.

(We also had him try scrambled chicken eggs with the same result.)

He's slightly bummed that he can't eat chicken eggs.

The good news is that I can make these cookies with duck eggs.

They look identical and they taste exactly the same.

He devoured one cookie and begged for another.

We are so thankful for duck eggs!

What Do You Carry?

Before I get to the carrying part, I have to share the beautiful weather we've been enjoying.

We knew it wouldn't last long.

And they're probably the last 70+ degree days we'll see until spring.

Kung-fu chicken!

I'm not sure which is funnier,

the fact that's he's doing this with a chicken or that she's letting him!

 So the question of the day is: what do you carry in your wheel-barrow?

Wood?

Straw?

We carry a boy and his chicken.

Seriously, think about this.

Only Connor would do such a thing!

"Are you comfy Hazel?"

There's only one Connor and

he's our chicken whisperer.

Wanna a ride too?