Mr. Wonderful & the Hat

Going Native in the Alps

A few months ago when Rob and I

were traveling through Europe I

kept noticing how handsome the men

were in their native attire.  Great hats with

feathers and brushes and good woolens

with horn buttons.

By the time we were in Salzburg,

Austria I think I had finally persuaded

Rob to get a Tyrolean hat, with feathers.

Then Rob spotted this man and

he looked smashing in his woolens

and hat, with feathers.  That convinced

him, we went hat shopping.

He got a beautiful gray hat with

feathers and cording and a

lovely Austrian badge.

When we got back to our boat,

the hat was a big hit with our

friends, he was loving it.

A few days later we were traveling

by ourselves in Germany and we

visited Schloss Neuschwanstein up in

the snowy Alps.  I had noticed two

hot, twenty-something girls were

checking out Rob but it's okay, that

happens and it doesn't bother me.

Once we are inside, waiting on line to

go on the tour, who should happen to

be right in front of us but the girls.

They both turned around and smiled

so I said, "hi".  Well, that broke the ice...

They started asking Rob if he got his

hat here, they had been noticing how

good he looked in it, it just suits him so

perfectly and on and on...

I just said," Yeah Murphy, you're

rockin' that hat ~ aren't ya?"

He smiled for the rest of the day!

I think we'd look quite

fetching in these outfits.

Maybe next time?



Civil War Remembered ~ Block 9

Birds in the Air

We are in Week 9 of Barbara

Brackman's 2011 Civil War Quilt. 

This is how I made my block.

 Cut 2 dark & 3 light 3 1/2"

squares, then cut on the diagonal.

Then cut 1 - 8 7/8" square &

cut on the diagonal.

Sew 3 light and dark squares as

shown, mine squared up to 3 1/8".

Sew units together as shown.

I found that pressing seams

as shown above is the best

option to achieve precise points.

Especially that center seam, notice

those seams are pressed in opposite

directions, they will lock together

when you pin the seam.  After

sewing this seam, I pressed the

seam open to reduce bulk.

Sew the final light triangle to

the light & dark unit.  Next you

have to trim the long edge of this

triangle, take care to leave 1/4"

from the points of the dark triangles.

Then sew the above units together

along the long edge of the triangles.

Press seam to the solid triangle

and square to 8 1/2".

Here is another one I made

using different fabrics for the

dark triangles.

This is another with

different fabrics.

Check out everyone's blocks

at Dustin's site:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/civilwarquilts2011/

The Shoe Store of the Nuns & Hookers

Shopping for Shoes in Madrid

We were strolling through the

shopping streets just off Sol Square

in Madrid and came upon a shoe

store that had beautiful men's loafers.

We went in to look around and of course,

I looked at the women's shoes...

I sat down next to Rob and with a heavy

sigh, exclaimed, "they only have shoes

for nuns and hookers!"

With that in come 2 little nuns, looking at

the nuns shoes, not the hooker area.

We moved on and while out on the

street we noticed there were lots

of hookers around.  As it was early

afternoon I remarked I thought it was

sort of early for hookers to be out.  My then

14 year old son pointed out to me, it

was Siesta time.

How true, yet still a bit disconcerting

to have your 14 year old think of that!

A few days later while in the area,

I convinced Rob to get a few pair of

loafers.  We went back to this store

and as we waited for the salesman

to return with the shoes, in comes

a "lady of the evening afternoon."

We knew this since she was dressed

in canary yellow hot pants with a

matching halter top and fishnet stockings.

As the weather was turning very

Spring-like she would need those new silver

lame strappy sandals instead of her

thigh high boots.

I just looked at Rob with the

"I told ya so" look.

Oh yeah, after seeing her...

I bought the nuns shoes.

Good vs. Evil in Casa Murphy

Angel Child/Devil Child?

This is Brennan.

My Angel Child.

This is Kate.

Though I have often called her

my Devil Child,

I don't really mean that.

We are terribly alike: fiercely, but quietly

competitive, we both have a wicked

sense of humor, we are creative and artistic,

love the same music (remember I introduced

you to The Clash, Kate!), even like the

same type of men.

So to call her a Devil Child would

be calling myself the same thing.

It would be safe to say however, she has

"a bit of the Irish Divil" in her.

Strangely, I am the only one who

 has to suffer the divilments of

Katie Rose Murphy...

In our apartment in Spain there was

the most frightening looking doll that

ever existed.  After a few days of me saying,

"that doll gives me the creeps" every time

I walked past it, the divil child had a plan.

I'd pull back the covers of my bed, there

was doll, open my suitcase ~ there was

doll, open the microwave ~ yup, you

guessed it, doll.

And every time, she got me, I'd scream!

The only reason I was happy to leave

Spain was to get away from Doll.

Back at home, Rob has an absolutely

hideous Halloween mask that he has

used to frighten generations of

neighborhood children.

The Divil Child thought this would be

a great substitute for Doll.

So, I'd open my undie drawer ~ scream.

Still half asleep I'd reach for the carton

of OJ and mask would be hanging from it.

Every night before bed I get my face

wash out of the medicine chest ~ she'd

have it rigged so not only would it be

there when I opened the door but would

come flying out at me ~ more screams...

On a long car ride home last year

from Williamsburg, VA she didn't have

doll or mask, so she had to create

something to terrorize tease me with.

And Bottle was born.

She'd hit me on the head with it, slip it

into the front seat as I was sleeping

 so I'd wake up hugging it...

Almost a year later, it is still in the house

and every once in awhile, I'll find it

in my bed, in a shoe, etc.

You may ask, since you are so alike, do you

Ellen also have a bit of the Irish Divil

in you?  Ahhhh, I guess you'd have to ask

my sister how many times my behind

has been tossed out of Book Club...

Elle's Kitchen: Layered Ratatouille

Is This THE Ratatouille

From Ratatouille?

The person who gave me this recipe

said it was from chef Thomas Keller

of Napa's French Laundry Restaurant.

The rumor is, Keller was a consultant for

the film Ratatouille and that is where

this recipe came from.  I have no idea if this

is true but it's a great story, so we will

go with it.  Of course, I wouldn't know

about the film Ratatouille because I

learned a long time ago that if I go

to a children's animated film I

fall into an enchanted and magical

sleep, much like a fairy princess.

So why waste $10 on a nap?

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced

1 1/2 cup tomato puree

2 tabl. olive oil, divided

1 small eggplant (I used the graffiti eggplants)

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 large red bell pepper

sprigs of fresh thyme

salt & pepper

1/4" slices of goat cheese

couscous

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Spray oval casserole with cooking spray.

Place casserole on top of a piece of parchment

paper and trace the outline of the base.

Cut out parchment oval and set aside.

Place the tomato puree in the bottom

of the casserole and add the sliced garlic

and the chopped onions, add one tabl. of

olive oil and season with salt & pepper.  Stir.

Slice the zucchini, yellow squash, red

pepper and eggplant into 1/8" slices.

It is best to slice the eggplant last as it

tends to discolor quickly.  I use a mandoline

slicer set to thick slice.  You don't want

paper thin slices or they will become

too mushy during baking.  I find it is

best to slice the pepper with a knife.

Pick up rounds of eggplant, yellow squash,

zucchini and pepper and layer them around

the edges of the casserole.  Then fill up the

space in the center.  Drizzle the remaining

1 tabl. of olive oil over the veggies and

season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the

leaves of the fresh thyme on top.

I usually have leftover veggies so I make a

small casserole to have for lunch the next day.

Cover with the oval of parchment

paper and gently press down.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes.

The tomato puree should be bubbling

and the veggies should be cooked

but not mush.

If you make the small casserole

it will not need as much time.

I serve this on a bed of couscous

with a slice of goat cheese on top.

I'm So Over It!

Readjusting My Attitude

Sunday was sleet, Monday was snow

and ice, by Tuesday I was in a funk.

I hadn't hiked in 3 days and I guess

my endorphin level was low.

And so was I.

Winter had gotten the better of me.

I admit it, I was weak...

Then I read a note from Helen

about the sweltering weather

down under in Queensland.

That's when I realized, I'm going

to be complaining of the heat in

just a few months, so enjoy the

cold while I can.

I was back on the trail today,

and though it was a skin stinging

25 degrees I was thinking of summer.

And the endorphin rush wasn't bad either...



Me Time ~ February 22

Trying to Chase Away the Winter Blahs

I admit it,

 winter has gotten the better of me.

I'm tired of being cold,

I'm longing to plant pansies

and feel the sun again.

Luckily, others were productive today.

A work in progress.

A needlepunch project.

Irene is working on this quilt for one

 of her son's colleagues in Afganistan.

Dawn is packing for her

Sue Spargo class.

What did I do at Me Time?

I played with the dogs when

they came to visit,  then I

left early because I wanted to get

home to get some things done.

The first picture and this one are

a few projects I made for a class

I taught last year at the shop.

They remind me of Spring and Summer

 ~ I can't wait for better weather.



Elena Maria Likes Old Stuff

Finding Beauty in Everyday Things

As I travel through life,

I love to see grand buildings,

and beautiful pieces of art,

and fabulous fountains.

More importantly though,

I am drawn to the everyday things.

A door that has greeted the occupants

 of this house for hundreds of years.

A doorknob that thousands

of hands have touched.

I imagine the resident of this

house is waiting for their love

to arrive and can't wait to

hear the sound of the door knocker.

How many horses

 were tied up here?

The next time you're out

and about, take notice

of the little things.