Ramblings From Randi, The Wild Rose Quilter
My adventures in quilting and other tidbits of my life at Casa de Ortega.
To getting it together for the wedding. Suits, shirts and ties have been chosen and purchased for my handsome groom and his best man.
Haven’t decided for sure if we want to go with this pocket square for Efren or a solid ivory one. We bought both. This one actually looks like a closer match to the shirt in person than it looks in the photo. The ivory one is a perfect match, but so plain. I like the character the stripes give. Just a little more fun. I think.
We love our salsa hot! It is freezing, literally freezing, outside. Last time I checked it was 7 degrees outside with a windchill of -13. Brrrrr. We had snow flurries on and off all day. A perfect day to cook up some homemade salsa, rice and a big pot of albondigas (meatball soup).
I boiled the jalapeños and tomatoes, and I had a handful of tomatillos leftover from a previous batch, so I went ahead and roasted them and threw them in the blender, as well. Added some garlic, cilantro and salt.
I leave the pepper seeds in for extra heat. A bowl of albondigas….
with a generous spoonful of rice stirred in….
along with a spoonful or two of the salsa and a squeeze of lime, eaten with warm corn tortillas….is good stuff! Just right for a day like this. Actually, there aren’t many days I wouldn’t eat this. It’s becoming a favorite of mine. I also had cooked a pot of pinto beans in the slow cooker overnight and I made a pan of frijoles refritos to have on the side. Mmmmm! I’m ready for leftovers!
I spent most of the day in the kitchen, but at the end of the day I managed to squeeze in a bit of quilting. I cut the binding strips for Caleb’s quilt. It’s going to look awesome in this navy and white striped fabric, but cutting it made me a little dizzy!
Then I did some hand stitching on the binding of another quilt. Now, I think I’ll lay me down to sleep. Goodnight!
So, I’m taking some vacation time til after the first. Efren, aka “mi Papi”😊, is also taking a few days off , and we are enjoying a week long visit with his 15 yr old son, Christian. He lives roughly ten hours away with his mom, so visits are precious time. I caught an upper respiratory thing from Efren had last week and have felt pretty blah the last two days.
I played it up for all it was worth, though (JK😂) and let this crew do all the cooking last night.
My son Derek, Efren and Christian. Derek’s family was still at his inlaws, so it was just me and the boys.
Once I started feeling better this afternoon, I decided to try out a pumpkin empanada recipe I found on the web. I love a good pumpkin empanada. I love pumpkins, in general. One of my favorite things for some reason. They are just so darn cute. Anyway, this recipe was easy and I’m quite pleased with how they turned out. I expected more difficulty, because ya know….that whole dough making part. These were truly a piece of cake to put together.
I can’t make a thing without making a huge mess along with, it seems.
You make these cute little dough balls and roll them out. Then you put this yummy, as in so good I wanted to get a big spoon and sit down and eat it right out of the bowl just like it was kind of yummy, filling in the center of your flattened dough ball.
Then moisten the edge, seal them up, and bake!
Pretty dang good!
You can find the recipe here.
I guess that was just too much success for one day, because immediately after that I broke the only really nice crystal vase I owned. Oopsie.
But, that’s a small loss in the grand scheme. Totally inconsequential, actually. Replaceable. My biggest concern was keeping Miss Bella out of it with her big paws and nosy nose while I was cleaning it up.
I missed Christmas blogging, so tonight I will leave you with a cute pic of her under the tree before the holiday season is long gone and the decorations packed away for another year. Would have been nice if she hadn’t rearranged the tree skirt before striking an accidental pose that I couldn’t resist snapping a pic of right fast. Oh well! Just adds to the charm, right?! 😄
Well! Hello all. I’ve been a bad blogger this year. I have lots to tell, tho! I was determined that 2014 was going to be about focusing on positives, and a happier and healthier new me. It’s been quite a year, for sure. Where to start…
I got a tattoo. A memorial tattoo with angel wings and Greg’s “G” in his own handwriting. I love it and no regrets. Would like to have another someday.
On the fitness front, I became more dedicated and consistent with my workouts than I had been in forever, along with eating a healthier diet. Always saving some calories for chocolate!! I actually went past my goal weight I had set in my mind, and reached my ideal weight of 125, which I had previously decided was never ever going to happen again. And, I wasn’t “skinny”. I put on some lean healthy muscle, too. That was earlier this year. Before I had a problem with my ankle come up, and before another new development in my life happened. A great big upheaval named Efren. 😊
Efren came along in May of this year. Let me introduce you.
Efren has been a wonderful addition to my life, but wasn’t so good for the diet 😂 He was born in Mexico, and loves the traditional, authentic Mexican food, as do I. Now, I’m cooking a bit more and eating it all, too. We went through that “new relationship and eat everything in sight together” stage, lol. He has a regular workout routine, too, and now we are both trying to undo the damage we did together. In time for….THE WEDDING!! In MARCH!!
Yes! I said yes! When he proposed in August!
We had a great summer together!
Building a life with a new partner after 14 years of happily married and being widowed does have its challenges. But, the rewards are great and I am so thankful to be twice blessed with a special love!
Do the blessings stop there? Not at all! Many of my favorite moments this year were from times shared with my 4 yr old grandson. He has blessed me more than I can say. And then, on September 9th his precious baby brother made his arrival into the family! On my mom’s birthday! So special! I absolutely love being their “Mammy”!! It’s truly awesomeness! Sorry, but I won’t be sharing pics of the grands on my public blog. Their mom isn’t completely comfortable with that, and I totally understand, as I have my own reservations about that, as well.
My son Derek graduated college with his bachelor’s degree this month. I am so proud of him! He kept up with his studies online for the past 2.5 years after getting married, and working full time, and being a full time husband and father. So happy to see him complete that goal! Here is with my beautiful daughter-in-lawlove, Amanda.
I have been quilting a bit, too!! Working on this for
my four year old grandson. Quilting is all done. Binding is next! It’s something like 110″ X 99″.
On another note, my parents are struggling a bit. Daddy has Alzheimer’s or some type of dementia. It’s so stinking cruel. Mom seems to be developing some confusion of her own. We are in the process of getting them relocated here, in a brand new home of their own. They currently live an hour away from me, and I was so relieved when they finally agreed to make the move. It will be so much easier to help them! That will take place in April, most likely. Once the new house construction is completed. That can’t get here quickly enough!
Oh! I can’t forget the new puppy! Meet Bella, pronounced Bay-ya. Efren wanted her so I got her as one of his Christmas gifts. She has added a lot of action around here and keeps me on my toes!
So….after compete silence for months, I come back with a mini novel! Lol. I’m off to do 45 minutes on the elliptical now. I have a wedding dress to fit into!! 😄
Happy New Year to you all!! I hope to be keeping in touch a bit better! Just so busy living LIFE!!
Ramblings From Randi, The Wild Rose Quilter 