- A closer look: Cross stitch family sampler

When I realized how many folks were coming to the blog to take a look at the rain chain, I figured I'd better spruce things up a bit.  That included putting an addendum on the original rain chain post, updating my profile, doing some editorial clean up, and making a commitment to resume posting on a more regular basis. I also changed my profile picture to a recent piece of needlework, only to find that the resolution left a lot to be desired ... then changed it again to a recent family picture (which also leaves something to be desired).

In any case, here's a better view of my newest family sampler (the top half only since the piece is too long to photograph effectively as a whole ... for more detail click this link), worked in silk on linen. Note that the second alphabet is in reverse as I'm fond of singing backward ABCs to my grandsons. The random letters at the end of the 4th line are variants on letters that I wasn't entirely happy with the first time around, since this sampler was worked without planning every stitch in advance (much as they did in the 18th century ... but more on my 18th-century needlework adventures in a future post or two).

For those who are interested, the buildings are iconic references to where each of us got married and/or honeymooned: Montauk Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and the University of Texas Tower. And no, I'm afraid the buildings aren't to scale ... sorry UT.

- Eating Texican

Wow ... I haven't posted in forever and now come to find out there have been over 5000 views of the rain chain post.  So, I've put an addendum on the post and belatedly answered those who were kind enough to leave a comment.

Now back to why we're here: a new recipe.  The back story is that we had some pork loin chops in the freezer and I wasn't quite sure what to do with them because they looked really lean (I usually get pork sirloin). After a fair bit of Googling on "green chile pork loin" (which is what I had in mind), I discovered a dichotomy of opinion on how long to braise pork loin.

So, nothing ventured, etc etc ... I cut the meat into cubes, salted and seared it in olive oil two minutes to a side and dumped it into a Pyrex dish.  Then I diced and sauteed some sweet onion, deglazed the pan with a slug of Lobo Negro beer, poured it all over the meat along with a pack of Rick Bayless' Frontera Green Chile Enchilada sauce (I don't usually go for packaged stuff, but this is pretty "clean" with tomatillos, poblano chiles, and no chemicals), a spoonful of cumin, and cup of homemade chicken stock.

After 45 minutes with the lid on at 325 (the time many recipes recommended as an end point), I opened up the door of a fragrant oven only to find very unappealing stew ... the meat was tough beyond prodding and there was a gumbo-like oil slick floating on top. Yuck.

I took off the lid and let it go for another hour ... which made for some significant improvement.  Good thing, as the only other realistic option for dinner was pancakes.  So I put the lid back on, stuck the dish back in the oven to cook some more, and started researching Mexican rice.

Rice Select Royal Blend is a standard in my pantry ... which isn't exactly what you find in most Tex-Mex joints. But I took a chance, sauteed some onion in olive oil, then added in the rice as one would for a pileau. After a couple of minutes, I stirred in some chicken stock, chopped grape tomatoes and finely diced jalapeno, slapped a lid on the pan and left it to simmer. After 15 minutes, I removed the lid and raised the heat, stirring until the excess liquid evaporated.

The stew came out of the oven after about 2.5 hours at 325.  It still wasn't pretty, but the meat fell apart at the nudge of a spoon.  I raided the fridge for some avocado, cilantro, sour cream, and lime ... then pulled a handful of good tortilla chips from the pantry.

A bed of rice, stew on top, liberally dosed with the aforementioned condiments made for a great meal. No picture ... honestly, it didn't look like much.  But with Shiner Bock to help it down, we agreed that it was worth recording ... for the next time.

- Rain chain (revised)

Note: This post was moved to a new URL on August 26, 2015
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I fell in love with a copper rain chain that I saw at an ceramic artist's house, but the price was too dear.  So I started looking at all the silverplate flatware we've inherited over the years and decided to repurpose it (after checking to be sure I wasn't ruining something valuable).  The end result has been more decorative than functional, but then again, it doesn't rain all that much in our neck of the Texas Hill Country.

Addendum (March 9, 2014): 
With apologies for not responding sooner, here's how the rain chain was made. After doing some Googling for ideas on how to bend silver, I used pliers while holding the silverware in chamois cloth in order to twist the fork tines into interesting shapes ... it would have been much easier with sterling silver, but there's no way I would use sterling for this project.

Then I bent the handles of the forks and spoons, once again using heavy pliers for leverage and the chamois to protect the silver (I wore gloves, too) ... this definitely took some experimenting to figure out the ideal flex points and I broke several pieces. Once I had a pile of bent forks and spoons, I played around with how best to arrange them before putting the whole thing together.

The top of the rain chain is a copper funnel I found at our local antique store (By the Bridge in Wimberley, Texas). I punched a couple of holes in the funnel with a hammer and nail, then ran a crab pick through the holes (with fond memories blue crab picking on the Eastern Seaboard). The first piece of silverware hooked over the crab pick. After that it was a simple matter of hanging one piece of silverware after the other. Gravity is the only thing holding the chain together and except for the bottom piece or two it has yet to come apart, even on the windiest days.

I'm not a metal-smith and had never done a project like this before (or since), so there may be other/better/safer ways of doing it. If you like what you see, I encourage you to experiment, carefully. Please note that the chain has since weathered to the color of dark copper pennies ... there's no practical way to keep it silvery that I can think of. However, since I'm very much into natural patinas, it suits me.

- Easing the pain

Originally posted in On the Trail ... something for our two toddler grandsons:

One little monkey jumpin' on the bed

He fell off and bumped his head

Momma called the doctor & the doctor said

"Put an All Better Bag right on his head"

All Better Bag - A soft linen and flannel bag filled with rice and stitched with an x (mwah!) in the center. Keep in the freezer to put on bumped heads or warm gently in the microwave for earaches.

Coming soon to a Mom near you.

- Folk art fish growth chart

Originally posted in On the Trail:

Griffin's growth chart was definitely a collaborative effort ... I scanned Pinterest for ideas, from which Meg chose one. Pop Pop cut out the fish from a sketch that I did on waxed paper. After he sanded it down, Meg painted the stripes (rusticly ... if that's a word). I noodged some frou-frou wooden numbers with sand paper to make them a little less loopy, then Pop Pop painted and attached them.

The finishing touches included wood-burned inch marks (Pop Pop), hand twisted gray rope (yours truly), and an octopus tentacle hanger (Meg). Paul got into the act when it came to hanging the fish, which now resides in Griffin's room.

- Eggs a la Wentzville

Meliss made us a wonderful concoction last fall, but I couldn't remember the recipe. When asked for a repeat, here's what she texted:

     "Buttered ramekin, one egg, splash of cream, grated parm, 
       bake 350 for 15 minutes, then top with prosciutto"

I'm glad to see she's working in the family tradition of not being overly rigid when it comes to directions. However, as has been well-documented in the past, I never met a recipe that I didn't change. In this case, after getting clarification on cooking the prosciutto, to wit:

     "Just in a smidge of butter in frying pan"

I decided to freestyle by substituting speck (a smoked prosciutto well worth tracking down) and a generous dose of freshly ground pepper. 

This was the end result, which inspired Don to suggest a spoon rather than a fork as the utensil of choice ... 

- Signs of Fall

Originally published in On the Trail:

The real sign of fall is when the temperature dips below 100 degrees and stays there. We seem to be at that point, thank goodness. This year we have an abundance of Lindheimer's Senna blooming all over the yard along with a variety of tall grasses. As the grasses turn golden the fall should be too.

- B B B Busy

Originally posted in On the Trail

A limited flannel edition of four was just published by the Ackert Home Whinery. Two are currently winging their way to Virginia, while the other two will be hand- delivered to Austin and St Louis in the near future.

- Walk on

Originally posted in On the Trail

I've always preferred strolling to power walking, and now my osteoporosis diagnosis gives me the perfect excuse to go slow. The truth is you see a lot more that way, whether you're on a beach or a roadside.

I'm hoping that today marks the first of many such strolls, to be made with trusty iPhone at hand to capture whatever strikes my fancy. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to capture three turkeys running ... they were too fast for me.  But I did find a beautiful turkey feather, along with some grasses for my windowsill collection and a new (to me) wildflower that will hopefully survive a move into our garden.

- Motivated

Originally posted in On the Trail

On New Year's Day I wrote a one-word resolution: "Create."

Now I find myself with the time to do just that. Already underway is the embellishment of a linen top I bought last fall.

And the moth-balled project to hang a series of collages over the "fireplace" has been resurrected.

Of course, Jackson and Griffin have been motivation in more ways than one, giving my old sewing machine a workout.

And it feels great to be blogging again ...