What's With My Eyes This Summer?

No redness in those eyes today!  Another blingy cap!

Have your eyes been bothering you this summer?  Mine have been particularly bad this year!  Bob's have been pretty bad too.  I think I have mentioned my annual eye infection before in my blogs but if not here is the deal.  Every spring I seem to get a severe eye infection that practically blinds me.  This has been going on since childhood and it took me many years to figure out that it always starts with irritated eyes.  The cause since I have been living up here has been that dratted cotton that comes off the cottonwood trees each spring. 

When I was young I always blamed it on swimming in lakes and keeping my eyes open underwater--that was probably true back then.  One summer when Darcy was around 10 or 11, he and I drove up to Casper to visit Carla, Jim and the boys.  Apparently the cottonwoods were in full blowing cotton.  I got a terrible infection and could barely open my eyes especially outside in the sunshine.  I wore contacts at the time and didn't have any glasses with me.  We went to the movies one night (I think it was the first Pirates of the Caribbean) and I had to hold my hands over my eyes and peek through the cracks of my fingers!  The next day I went to the Emergency Room at the hospital.  (Don't even get me started on Casper's Urgent Care places that won't take Medicare patients even if they choose to pay for the visit.)  The Dr. prescribed the "magic eye drops" that cure the condition in less than 4 days usually.  He also told me to continue putting allergy eye drops in my eyes as long as allergy season lasted and to do it every year. 

The drops were slow to work and it took all 4 days to get better so Darcy and I got to extend our stay because I could not see to drive!  The sun was just too blinding.  When my eyes got better we had an adventure on our drive home but that is another story. 

This was taken in Lake Charles, LA when Bob, Carla and I went to the casino there in March.  Another story! I couldn't resist posting such a pretty picture taken from our room.

This year has been the worst!  We went to Elko,NV to visit JJ in early June.  The cottonwoods were in full glory and I began to feel my eyes itching but did not heed the Casper Dr.'s orders.  By the time I was driving up to Burlington, WA (a 11-12 hour drive) the infection had hit.  My eyelids were itching, my eyes were all red and mattery and I could hardly keep them open they were so swollen.  At least I was wearing glasses so it wasn't as bad as with contacts.  I got the "magic drops" again and picked up some allergy eye drops in case.  This was a week or so after my first signs of allergy.  I figured Burlington would be done with the cottonwoods ,but no, they were just coming out!  Before we left Marianne's I was putting more "magic  drops " in my eyes to get rid of a second infection.

  By the time we got here a week or 2 later, the infection had returned for a third time due to the cottonwoods now in full glory here!  This has been unheard of for me! It is July for heavens sake!  I certainly hope I have seen the last of this infection.  I am diligently putting allergy eye drops in my eyes every day!  When Bob went to get his driver's license the other day, he could barely see the letters in the eye exam box.  His eyes were all mattered up so I gave him a dose of allergy eye drops and it did clear them up enough to read the letters.

A couple views of  the cleaning apron I designed and made

I have been moving right along with my sewing and embroidery for the craft fair.  I never seem to get everything done I want to but hopefully I will have enough examples of some of the things I do, so that people can order them for me to do later.  I will be on hiatus for the 3 weeks I am in Phoenix but after that I hope to get some serious work done!  The ugly bathroom is still calling to me to get started on it too!

Here is the promised recipe.  Mom used to make these but most of my memories of Pickled Eggs come from our visits to Pennsylvania in the summers up in the Laural Highlands.  My mother's family came from Connellsville, PA at the foot of the mountains.  Several of my aunts and uncles had summer cabins up in the mountains and we spent many wonderful summers visiting there.  One of the favorite places to go eat was a family style restaurant called Mom's.  There were always beautiful red pickled eggs on the table as part of the meal.  They really are wonderful.  I never was too fond of just hard boiled eggs but these are different and delicious. Nowadays They are a summer standard at the Manville cabin.

                    Pickled Eggs and Beets
                A Good Pennsylvania Dutch
                                    Recipe

1 Cup vinegar-I use apple cider vinegar
1/2 Cup water
1 Cup beet juice
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp pickling spice
15 or so hard boiled eggs, peeled
1 onion sliced
Pinch of salt
2 cans of beets - sliced, quartered or whole-you can also use fresh ones and cook , peel and quarter them. Save the cooking liquid to use in the recipe.
 
Boil all ingredients together except eggs, onion, and beets for 5 minutes. Layer eggs, beets and onions in a large jar. Pour hot liquid over to cover.  Add more water or beet juice to cover everything. Refrigerate. The longer they wait the better they are!  We usually try to wait a couple days but a week is better.  The color and flavor soaks into the white all the way to the yolk. Very tasty. They keep a long time just like pickles.

Yum!  The eggs and beets are ready!

Making Carla's Jacket

Carla and her dad at the Thai restaurant.  Carla is wearing her new jacket and doesn't Bob look dapper?

About 3 or 4 years ago Carla finally told me what she wanted for her jacket.  I have to go back a little farther to say that several years before, I made myself a teal colored wool jacket embroidered with colorful Jacobean flowers.

My jacket is made from 100% wool I had for my tailoring class in college!  I kept it all those years!

The back and sleeves of my wool jacket.

Then I made Marianne a fleece lined denim jacket with snowflakes on it.  After that Carla and I bought the material for her jacket and decided to think about what to put on it and the style.

The first jacket I made for Marianne using a sweatshirt for fleece lining and denim.

I used snowflake patterns and made up the border.

 Next Marianne called to see if I could make her another quick fleece lined denim jacket with lots of glitz, flowers and fringe, so I did.  Also during the last 5 or 6 years I embroidered pants for Kim and JJ plus a lot of gifts and stuff for my business.

Lots of fringe and crystals on this quilted jacket.

Marianne models the front of her glitzy jacket.

Finally about 2 years ago Carla decided she wanted me to Sashiko the jacket and have cherry blossoms on it.  We got a kind of fitted pattern which I had to adjust to fit her.  I made a muslin jacket and we fitted it to work for her.  I had to make a lot of changes in the pattern in order to Sashiko each piece with the lining, embroider the blossoms, and then sew it together and try to make it so the seams didn't show.

A closer look at the Sashiko pattern on the back.

A closer look at the Sashiko Quilting and the buttons.  Also a look at the cherry blossoms.

It took a lot of doing but I finally got the basic bodice and back parts together and about a year ago she finally got to try it on.  It was a total disaster!  Way too big and very funky looking through the front bodice part.

I decided I had to tear it all apart, and recut the embroidered pieces.  I did get it torn apart but then I was so discouraged and needed to "think about it" for awhile, that I put it away and didn't look at it.  Last summer I finally got it out and just decided to cut out the pattern exactly like the company made it and let the chips fall where they would!  I got it cut out and then my machine broke down and all fall I had problems with it so didn't do any more on it.

This winter when we had to leave the cabin I insisted on bringing my machine with me so I would have something to do while in Casper.  I finally got out the jacket and went to work sewing it back together.  Holding our breaths, Carla tried on the bodice part again.  It fit almost perfectly!!!  At that time we also decided it needed more cherry blossoms so I spent a couple days adding more and then the final fitting test came.

  I had to recut the sleeves, put on all the flounces, bind the front edges, and finally add the sleeves.  Oh, and refinish every seam on the jacket so it wouldn't show!  Carla tried it on and voila!  It fit with just one minor adjustment!  Now to make buttonholes sew on the buttons and figure out how to finish the armseyes (sleeve hole seams).  I think Carla may have a spring jacket very soon!

The back of Carla's jacket shows off  two types of Sashiko.

The front of the jacket.

 A few hours later and the jacket is done!  Carla is planning to wear it out to dinner tonight so I will take pictures.

Carla shows off her new jacket for us.

Lookin' good, Carla.

Time for Another Chicken Recipe

 A tote I made for Danny and Kathi for their anniversary if I ever get it down there to them

A couple weeks ago when JJ and Ozzie were here I put another 6.5 lb. chicken on the grill.  I had butterflied it as suggested in an earlier blog and smoked it with some maple wood chips.  It was wonderful.  Five of us ate our fill and I still had quite a bit of meat left.  I took everything I could off the bones and then boiled the bones to make a really tasty, smoky flavored broth which I made into cream of chicken and vegetable soup.  We used some of the meat sliced rather thinly for chicken sandwiches and then I used some for my favorite, Hot Chicken Salad.  The rest of the chicken I froze to use in enchiladas, tacos or whatever!  I really like using the heavier chickens from our son's farm because we can get so many meals from one chicken!

If you want to learn how to butterfly and grill a chicken here is Kathi's blog on it and I will give you my blog on it so you can read the discussion on smoking it, too.
My blog is the one called Memorial Day Weekend Continued.  The video is on countrychickengirl.blogspot.com, May 20,2010 Raspberry Chipotle Barbecue Chicken.

Here is the recipe for  the Hot Chicken Salad:

Hot Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

2- 2 1/2 Cups cooked chicken cut up into bite size pieces

4 Tbsp. flour

4 Tbsp. butter or margarine 

1 Cup chicken broth

1 Cup celery, diced

2 tsp, chopped onion--I use more because we like it

1/2 Cup coarsely chopped pecans ( I toast them before chopping for best flavor)

2 hard cooked eggs sliced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

3/4 Cup mayonnaise

1 Cup crushed potato chips

Directions:

Melt butter in a sauce pan stir in flour until it is a smooth paste.  Stir in broth and cook until thickened'  Add the rest of the ingredients except the potato chips.  Put a layer of potato chips in a baking dish, then the chicken mixture and finally another layer of potato chips.  Bake a t 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly and the chips are a delicate brown.

To toast pecans, spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Place in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes stirring several times until they are lightly browned.  Watch carefully so you don't burn them!

This will feed 4 to 6 people depending on how much chicken you use and how hungry they are!

Full view of tote

Collapsed tote.  Kinda neat, huh?