Long Weekend Preparations

Ryan was supposed to bring a dish to a Thanksgiving feast at school today. I volunteered to make cranberries, because I had already volunteered to bring them to our neighbors house for Thanksgiving dinner along with some pies. I really object to the "Jello" cranberry sauce that comes out of the cans and ends up slapped on a plate vibrating with the can ridges still plainly visible. Instead, I make a pineapple cranberry chutney that is really simple and quite tasty. Best of all, it does not at all resemble a can of any kind. I whipped up a batch last night after I got home from the academic team competition, before writing the binding tutorial. I like recipes with nice even number because they are easier to remember. I saw this book that had all quilt patterns using one layer cake, one charm pack and 1 jelly roll. Easy to shop for and easy to remember. I;m not one to stand in a fabric store with a list saying, "I'll have 3/8 of a yard of the blue floral and 1/3 of a yard on the yellow stripe."

Recipe for Cranberry Pineapple Chutney:
1 bag of fresh cranberries (12 oz)
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1 can of crushed pineapple (14 oz)
a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and or pumpkin pie spice to taste.

1. Dissolve sugar in water and bring to a boil.
2. Add cranberries and reduce to simmer for 5-10 minutes
3. Add pineapple with juice and sprinkle in spices
4. Continue to simmer and stir until well mixed
5. Allow to cool and then chill for up to 2 weeks before serving


I also got my race packet for Sunday's half marathon. My running partner was nice enough to pick it up for me from the running store. He's doing the whole marathon, so I'm going to stick around to see the end, even though I'm only running the first half. I am feeling like such a slacker, but I'm also supposed to be doing a 20 mile training run for the February marathon, so I'll see how that goes.
I just finished up the quilting on number 29. I used random loops and even got the binding sewn on! I used another method of joining the ends, so if I have time tonight, I'll put together another quick tutorial. There is a third method that I have yet to master, but maybe I'll give it a try again. I think math is required. We just got back from a department meeting at school and the kids have already scattered on various play dates. I should go hunt up something for dinner, I cooked last night for everyone else, but never got a chance to eat. I'm supposed to run tonight, but I'm not feeling horribly motivated. I need to put all the grades into the computer that I finished up on Friday. I've been giving a quiz every day just to try to keep the kids doing something before the long weekend. I don't know why I try so hard to keep making more work for myself.