Monday, 3 April 2023

Poor Man Cookies, Quilt Flimsy

Yes, it is April and I wish you all a wonderful month whether it be spring or autumn where you are. I love both seasons! 

Here underfoot is changing. Every walk outside and the ground is different ranging from soft snow to bare earth emerging underneath trees. This morning it was -17 C wind chill so the snow banks were quite frozen and firm enough to walk on which made the walking very smooth. It was brisk but with bright sunshine very beautiful. And an added bonus was being accompanied by many bird songs. The cardinals were singing so sweetly, I kept stopping to listen. At one point, a line of geese flew overhead, honking loudly. It all was quite the early morning spring symphony! 

The female Cardinal at a feeder this morning.

Hubby put in a request for a full English breakfast for lunch on Sunday. It's a 3 frying pan meal and includes eggs, sausages, pancakes and toast with marmalade (I omitted the tinned beans this time). It was all washed down with large cups of tea; a great easy and very filling weekend meal. 

Since the kitchen was dirtied up anyway, I decided to make a batch of these cookies. Have you ever heard of them? There are many variations of Poor Man's cookies. Here is the recipe I tried...Poor Man's Cookies from the Glue Sticks blog. Mine are not especially pretty and I added chocolate chips for Tony. I cut back on the sugar and they are a little lacking in flavour. I think I may have forgotten the vanilla. I have no doubt they will get eaten though.

They are called poor man's because they don't call for eggs, butter or milk. Lots of oats though. They are also popular to make ice cream sandwiches with I read.

I am keen to start spring cleaning and two things about that. I have to clear out one of those very large bottom cupboards that I have to practically crawl into to retrieve things. There are items in it I never use and they don't need to be there anymore, I've decided.  And my laundry cupboard needs a reorganization as I put away the flannel sheets and winter duvet and change over to summer bedding. Neither of these chores will take long and I really should set more goals to get done this week. 

Ultra scrappy Wheel Within A Wheel is at this stage now, a rather large near flimsy...yes I found the lost blocks. 

On our queen sized bed

And in a little sunshine outside to reveal its real colours. Hubby trying to hold it against the breeze and telling me this is his favourite quilt so far. Ned, however, totally unimpressed.
There are still more "wheels" to add, small ones for each corner which I will do this week and of course, border decisions to be made. I would love for this to be a fully finished flimsy this month. Will make it a monthly goal at the Elm Street Quilts  April Monthly Goal party which might spur me on.

In that photo you can see the ice is receding on the deck and also the damage done to the drain pipe by ice. There are mangled bits all around the house. 

Something that I would like to do but don’t …is make a point to look at the night sky and photograph special phases of the moon or the planets, etc. Part of the reason I don’t is I would have to put on a coat and boots and walk away from the house as the trees block sky views for the most part. And at night I’m kind of tired or lazy or maybe even a little afraid of what might be out in those woods, LOL. 

The fall we had trail cams out they captured these three critters over and over during the night, nothing too scary. We were surprised by how busy all three were during hours of darkness. Deer, fox and rabbits.




It also caught the local firestarter out stick collecting...told you I used an Ikea bag. 

Rambled on long enough. Hope your week will be a good one!

Happy to share this post with Songbird DesignsWendy's Quilts and MoreAlycia QuiltsMy Quilt InfatuationCreations, Quilts, Art, It's a Small Town LifeThe Inquiring QuilterConfessions of a Fabric Addict and Quilt Schmilt.




29 comments :

Susan said...

Never heard of the cookies, but I'm going to investigate them. Your wheels quilt is looking great, and I can see why your DH likes it so much. That's a little cold for a spring walk for me, yet, but I would like to take one, too.

Gretchen Weaver said...

The wheels quilt is so pretty! It's very nice and a good use of the stash. Happy stitching!

Libby in TN said...

I love the scrappiness of your wheels quilt!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

the cookies look good - they used to have a lot of recipes in the depression era that called for no eggs - the big breakfast sounds good. The quilts look good. Still snow on the ground for you but I bet it melts fast!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Great photo of the cardinal, Jocelyn! We don't see them this far west, but I recall that they have a very distinctive sound. Wheel within a Wheel is beautiful! Wonderful that your hubby loves it, too. I bet your trail cams are fun to keep track of, and see who's out there!

Deborah said...

I haven't heard of poor man's cookies but did grow up eating poor man's pudding which is very tasty. We still have lots of snow but hopefully with the promise of warmer temperatures it will start to melt quickly.

The Cozy Quilter said...

Your wheel quilt is gorgeous! I love the colours and variety of fabrics you have used. Ned doesn't seem to mind the snow.

Brian's Home Blog said...

That quilt sure is pretty and boy, that big old breakfast sounds like it was wonderful. I hope your full-time Spring shows up soon.

Lin said...

Your flimsy is looking great - lots of lovely colourful fabrics. How nice to hear geese flying over - I miss the cranes we used to hear in France at this time of year. xx

Brenda @ Songbird Designs said...

Ahhh, Jocelyn! Don't you just love the sound of the birds singing in the early morning? I love sitting on the porch with coffee listening to them and soon watching the hummingbirds at the feeder! I've never heard of Poor Man's cookies, but the recipe looks interesting. I'm not a fan of oatmeal cookies but the hubs loves them and I'm sure the grands would! I love your Wheel Within a Wheel quilt! So glad you found your lost blocks! Seeing that ice/snow on your deck makes me cold! It will be in the 80s here today. I hope your winter is almost gone. We are expecting one last cool snap this weekend, but nothing like -17! More like in the 70s for us! I can't say as I blame you for not venturing out in the woods. We have quite the wildlife scurrying about in our woods too. I love seeing the deer in the yard! Have a great week working on your goals, Jocelyn. Thanks for sharing with us at Monday Musings!

Linda said...

I have not heard of poor man's cookies, but they sure look good. Jocelyn that wheel quilt is just spectacular! Doesn't it make you feel good when Hubs loves a quilt? Love those trail cam photos. When we had one on our acreage, we captured deer and birds and the occasional spider and lizard crawling across the lens - lol!

Pamela Dempsey said...

Such a good picture of the cardinal and your quilt! Very pretty 😍

Carol in Texas said...

Cardinals live in widely spread places. We have many at our feeders here in Central Texas. When we lived in Austin, there were pretty rare, but after we moved to the country west of Austin, cardinals were seen daily. They are so striking in the winter when the trees are bare and their bright red stands out vividly. Now the trees are leafed out and you have to search for the red spots among the spring green. They are such a gift! I love to look for the moon. We’ve had so many cloudy nights lately that I cannot keep up with its phase. About a week ago I looked out the bathroom window before going to bed and there was a crescent moon with a brightly glowing Venus straight below……what a gorgeous sight! I look forward to each of your blog entries, Jocelyn!

Jeanna said...

Your Wheels Within A Wheel quilt is so pretty. I love the scrappiness and the colors. I enjoyed all of your wildlife photos, especially the cardinal.

Nann said...

There are many cardinals in our neighborhood. The males sing and sing to establish their territories. How cool to have a trailcam! Your wheels are rolling along. The poor man's cookies would be good to dunk (to moisten them).

Kim said...

Those wheel look very cool! Your husband has good taste. Ned, maybe not so much.

Rosemary Dickinson said...

Beautiful quilt top! I love seeing the different wildlife in your pictures. The cookies sound interesting. I may have to try them!

Jenn Jilks said...

Those cookies sound great. Hubby cannot have dairy, yeast or eggs!
You work is so lovely, not the kindling part, though!
And I haven't ventured out in the dark, either. It's cold. The cats might get out, too!

Robin said...

I love the Wheel within a wheel. What a delight to look at all those fabrics and then see them merge together in such a pleasing way. How I love to hear the geese honk as they fly by in the morning. I always run out and try to catch a glimpse as they fly overhead.

Jackie said...

I have never heard of those cookies, but they would be perfect to make when one is running low on supplies.

Gorgeous quilt top.

God bless.

PaintedThread said...

Those wheels are really coming along! You've reminded me I need to put out my trail cam. I've found I sometimes need more spices when I cut back the sugar in recipes.

Hubblebird said...

Your description of the breakfast request reminded me of when I was a young girl. My mum used to cook a "Friday Fryup" with eggs, bacon, black pudding, sausages, fried bread, fried tomatoes, fried mushrooms - all cooked in the one frying pan. The finale was baked beans poured into the pan after everything else was fried - to warm them through. We loved this Friday treat. And by the way - we were all as thin as sticks! Couldn't contemplate it these days.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Those cookies sound so good, so thank you for the recipe. Already printed and ready for Resident Chef to try them out.
It's nice to hear the birds once again - right now it's a chorus of robins, Canada geese, mourning doves and there's a pileated woodpecker we often hear early in the morning. We have cardinals around but rarely see one.

Anne-Marie said...

Your quilt is looking lovely.

Michelle said...

I haven't heard of these cookies, but I am always on the lookout for a little something sweet to bake. I LOVE the quilt. Nothing like hand sewn items to make a home. Thank you for linking up and have a great weekend.

Michele McLaughlin said...

I love your Wheel within a wheel quilt! It looks fabulous and so happy on your bed! Glad you found the blocks! I also love your trail cam photos. It was always surprising to us what we would see in our city garden when Brad put ours out. Have a wonderful day!

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

I share your husband's opinion, this is a beautiful quilt, and I'm glad that you found the lost blocks ;)
Thank you for sharing, and linking up!

Carol Andrews said...

Hi Jocelyn. As usual I quite enjoyed reading your post. I can hear the birds and geese performing their morning symphony for you and can imagine the smell of your proper breakfast. Your Wheels quilt is incredible. I agree with your Ned. I think it’s my favourite so far. Thank you for linking with To Do Tuesday and sharing another good recipe, too!

Jennifer Fulton Inquiring Quilter said...

Such a lovely top! No wonder it's hubby's favorite. Can't wait to see what sort of borders you add. Nature is always fascinating to me. You certainly get a lot of visitors! I hope the ice melts soon so you can get out more. Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.