Sorry For Being Missing......Computer Broke

I had a difficult time with my computer.  Long story short......I bought a new one and when I went to pick it up last nite, they gave me back the wrong USB for my Mouse.  I really can't finagle this thing without a mouse.  Its very difficult for me to get used to.  I will go back to Staples tomorrow on the Parks and Rec bus when I go grocery shopping, and either have them give me the correct USB back or give me a new mouse entirely.
Until then I am limited in using this new contraption.
Have a good day.

Egg Yolk and Potato Salad

Everyone wants potato salad on the hot days of summer.  I make a large bowl of it for myself and eat it as a side dish for several days.
I am not fond of egg whites, hence mine is called Egg Yolk and Potato Salad.

The Ingredients for this batch were:

4 Medium large Russet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 Large eggs, hard boiled
2 small Cucumbers, the less seeds the better
1/4 of a medium Onion, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Yellow Mustard
3 Tablespoons Mayonnaise, heaping
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Above is a photo of said ingredients.

First of all, one must boil the taters.  I peel them and cube them and boil them til just tender.

 Over medium heat they only take about 12 minutes.

I put 7 large eggs in a pan to cook.  I always add one extra in case one of them splits and I have to toss it  out, as happened in this pan of eggs.

I always test my taters with the sharp point of my paring knife because it pierces it nicely.  When it can just enter easily its done.  Next its drain time.

I drain them in colander, rinse about 30 seconds under cold water, shake the excess water out of the colander, place the colander on a plate and stick the whole thing in the fridge to cool.

The eggs are next.  I run them under cold water so they can peel more easily.  Peel them and place them in a bowl and stick in the fridge to cool.

While the main ingredients are cooling in the refrigerator, I wash 2 small cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise, and slice very thinly.  Do not use large wet cukes because the seeds will water down the salad too much.  Try small cukes with tight seeds.  The onion is sliced and chopped into small bits.  I set these aside together in a bowl on the counter awaiting the main dish.

 When the taters and eggs have cooled, its time to get mixing all the ingredients.  I put my yellow mustard in the bottom of a large bowl, add the mayo to it.

Stir both together smoothly til well mixed.  If you do not want too much mustard, you can always reduce the amount you add to less that a tablespoon.  Or just start with less mustard and you can add more after stirring all together evenly.   I like the added tang that the mustard gives.

Toss in the potatoes and stir together with the mayo and mustard.

Removed the yolks from the whites and break them down with a folk.

Add the cukes and onions to the mixture then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.   Stir together gently.


Add your egg yolks to the mixture and stir together very gently.  You do not want to break up the eggs too small so you can have a bit of texture to your salad.

This is my finished product today.  Mmmm good.  I always taste test it before putting it away.

Spoon the potato salad loosely into a covered dish and set in fridge. It will keep fresh several days.

There are of course, different variations on this.  Some add pickle juice and though I love my Causton Dill Spears, I do not like it in my salad.  The cucumbers are pickles in their original form which I much prefer.  Some like to add finely chopped celery.  Others do not want onions added at all.  This is a salad one can tailor to their preferences.  Some use the whole egg, both yolk and white  Its a dish one can make according to one's favorite flavors.

Enjoy.  Have a great day.

June 18, 2019 Brings Us Colorful Flowers

It getting close to summertime so the gardens are flourishing with spring color.

This little plot around some of my favorite birches, is a treasure trove of Siberian Iris.

Someone has a couple of pots of tomatoes this year.  Whenever I go past them, I shake the limbs a bit so the pollen can distribute to make more tomatoes.

A view of the garden towards the raised beds.

Here is the other plot of garden on the other side of the pathway.

A closer view of the little flowers.

I love Iris, even Siberian Iris and these dark purples are lovely today.

As for white Iris, what could be more beautiful on a summer's day.  As you can see in the background, our wild rose border along the dirt roadway is also blooming in its lovely shade of pink.

The Ascot Races from England ran today.  They are ahead of us in time so they are already finished, but I recorded them so I could watch them this afternoon.  Its four and a half hours of racing for me for the afternoon.
What color will the Queen be wearing today?  My guess is turquoise.  They bet on that as well as the horses.  Imagine at her age getting out and about for the Ascot races all week long.  I hope I have some of her energy in my 90s.  I just love the scenery at Ascot and the dresses and flowery hats on the ladies and the tall silk hats on the gentlemen in their formal dresswear.  Its a glorious day to be out and about.

Have a good day.

Yellow Rose Stained Glass Started

I love Stained Glass so I am making a stained glass wall hanging by quilting it.

Here is the drawing.  I actually copied this idea from the computer and printed it out in sections to give me a larger drawing.  Its not exact since I just took the idea and went with it a bit further.
I have a neutral background and it will be square when finished.

So far I have tacked down the frame and the leaves.  Next will be the roses themselves and lastly the leading needed to make this a stained glass piece of art before satin stitching to make the effect of stained glass.
I needed a change from what I was doing, the fabric collage, and this piece has been on the drawing board for over a year.  It deserved my attention today.

Lovely day here in Maine, in the 70sF and sunny.  I love weather in Maine in the spring, summer and fall.  Of course, I could do with a change in the winter, like maybe a condo in Florida, but that won't happen unless I win the lottery and darn it, for that, I must buy tickets.  So for now, I just stay indoors when its too cold or snowy and enjoy the warmth of my little apartment and doing things I love.

I wish you all a good day.  Hugs.

Romance of the Seahorses is Complete

I was so close to being done, I thought I'd finish it today  Its a nice day outside, sunny and bright so it works well by my sewing machine.

As you can see, my darling seahorses are entwining  in the ocean.  One has a fairy riding its tail.  I love adding fairies to my works.  This measures 19.5 inches by 27 inches and will hang on my front door.  It was fun making Romance of the Seahorses.

I am still undecided on my next work.  Maybe the fancy rooster, maybe it will be the mermaid.  Also the method is undecided if its the mermaid.

I will watch a few BritMysteries like Midsomer Murders today on Britbox.  I am hooked.  I love that show and also Murdoch Mysteries which is another that I can get on my computer at will.  I watch reruns on that show as well.

What's black and white and red all over?  A Zebra with sunburn.

Have a nice day.

Our Spring Gardens

Its May 29th 2019 and I took a walk thru our gardens.  Unfortunately the tulips and the daffodils are gone or nearly gone already.  I missed taking their pictures.  But here are others to enjoy....

This is the back yard pathway to the road.  We have some greenery and a few flowers for spring in the raised beds.

This is the same pathway looking in the opposite direction.  I love those two sets of young birch trees within the garden circles.

The Creeping Phlox is abundant.

My favorites right now are the lilacs. The scent is delicious and I love it.  These are still very young bushes put in about 3 years ago.  They have come a long way since last year when the buds were meager.

For those of us who adore Lilacs, here is that corner closeup.  We have them in a couple of places in the back garden and in the front entrance we have two young ones just sprouting their 2nd year buds which these bushes did sparsely last year.

Another favorite of mine has always been the Columbine.  We only have a few plants and this
one is still blooming.  The pink is very light.

A few more spring time flowers to enjoy.

In this corner we have several blue varieties which are just coming into bloom.

A bit of yellow to brighten one corner of a raised bed.

At the entrance to our building we have a couple of these planters, transplanted with colorful flowers for the season.  As time marches on these huge planters will be bursting with flowers.

Also in front in two shady nooks we have our hosta beds complete with rhodos for now and some lacy hydrangea which we will see as summer arrives.

Those who know about lilacs, know that they get better the following year if they are pruned so to that end, I have cut myself some flowers for my table.   My whole apt. is scented in Lilac.  I love it.  I hope they keep for another couple of weeks so I can cut more as the days progress.

This morning I layered and pinned my Romance of the Sea Horses and made a larger drawing of a mermaid.  I think I still need to go larger so that is on the drawing board for another time.
I have some Midsomer Murder programs to watch.  They are among my favorites and to get them and watch whenever I like, I have added Britbox.com to my computer.  Its a very reasonable cost for someone like me who favors Britcoms and BritMysteries.  I could watch them for hours.
But being such an Anglophile, I also added Acorn.Tv to my computer.  By having two places to go, I can watch all manner of British viewing, including documentaries and movies at any hour of the day or nite and not have to depend on PBS programming as I have in the past with those showing meagerly on Saturdays and a few scattered thru the late evening hours a day or two a week.

Have a nice day.

Romance of the Sea Horses Continues.....

I finally found my mojo and sewed today.  I got my Romance of the Sea Horses wall hanging out and tacked down the subjects onto the background fabric today.

It will be quite large when done but its going on my front door, so that's just fine.

In this one you can see the fairy riding on Blue's tail.  After all, fairies are quite adept at holding their breath for long periods of time so they can enjoy the fun to be had on a sea horse's tail.

Its been so long since I sat at my sewing machine, my back is giving me fits.  That means time to jot some drawings or ideas down for future projects.  I have a mermaid in mind but think it will go better as a Replique with the right fabrics.  I have not quite decided on that yet.  I have a small mermaid drawn but could make it larger if I want to continue with fabric collage, which I love doing.  Its such fun to choose fabrics to add to the theme.

I am in Maine and its been a long time getting into spring weather.  Last weekend we had a day in the mid 80sF which is rare.  Today its going to rain and its cooler.  The A/C is not on yet today.

I made homemade pizza last nite so that's on the menu for lunch today.  

As for the garden, I must take camera in hand if it does not rain tomorrow.  There's Creeping Phlox, tulips, daffodils, and our young (3 yrs old) lilac bushes are bursting with aromatic flowers this year.  I love the scent of Lilac. 

I won $5.00 at Bingo last nite.  I've only been twice and its the first win I've had.  The pots are very small but the idea is to enjoy ourselves, which I did.  I will make a Monday nite date to go to Bingo each week now.

Hoping you all have a fine day.