Multiplying Onions & The Bag

Hi, Y'all! I trust you had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. We took a little road trip to Virginia for a visit with Youngest & her husband. We shopped Saturday, went to church on Sunday then we were able to get most of her garden planted yesterday before we started home. She wanted tomatoes, onions, corn & pepper plants. Can you guess who forgot to take pictures? Ah well. Here's a look at a few of my multiplying onions that were planted last fall. They look like any other green onions until they start to multiply; then they seed out at the top & you have new sets for your next crop. Isn't that cool. We've been using them all spring since early March. We love these onions so I try to keep a constant supply of them by rotating plantings every season except in the wintertime. I harvested several tops this mornin' to be planted in about a month.
After seeing all the great bags Melanie has made I had to knit one up for myself. I used the Everlasting Bagstopper pattern with Sugar & Cream yarn in their Swimming Pool colorway. Self shot using the bathroom mirror. ;) (How do you like my new pink & green towels...chuckles.)
I wanted a handle that would be hefty enough to grab onto so I double stranded the yarn, used size 5 needles & alternated stockinette with garter stitches. It's 18 inches long & two inches wide. Will it hold much? I'm amazed how much the body of the bag will stretch. Here it's holding 19 balls of yarn & lookin' kinda goofy, but you get the idea.
Have a great springy-knitty week, Y'all! :)

Fly Little Birdies, Fly

Happy Mother's Day, Y'all!
When we got home from church today the sky was dark & the wind was blowing wildly.
I started out the back door to check on the bluebird babies & found two fledglings before I even opened the door. One at the edge of the deck....
One under the grill..(Isn't it cute, holding down the brush for me...the wind had knocked it down. Thanks little birdie. :)
Out in the yard I found number three...
The sun came out briefly as I spotted number four nearby, and it helped to show up the blue on this one. By this point I was being "swooped" by Mama, so I went back inside to let the flying lessons resume. Sigh, it's been an excellent birding spring, so far.
I haven't been knitting much the past few weeks so the tennis elbow is much better! A big thanks to all who wished me well with that in their comments on my last post.
Now, back to knitting....can't wait. Hope all of you have a wonderful Mother's Day! :)

Chicken Cordon Bleu & Bubbles the Fish

Our nice neighbors down the road a bit gave us several kinds of irises last summer. This purple one has a light candy smell.
We had Chicken Cordon Bleu for supper Saturday, and oh, it was good. Goodman had to work all day even though he doesn't like to work on weekends, so this being one of his favorite meals helped a little bit. ;)
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Serves 4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 slices Swiss cheese
4 slices ham, thinly sliced
1/2 stick butter, melted slightly
2 small or 1 lg. garlic clove, minced
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
dash black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F
Pound chicken breast flat with a smooth object. ( I use a Corelle coffee cup, flattening the chicken with the bottom of it. One helpful thing here, it keeps flying chicken debris off the counter, your clothes & your face if you cover the chicken with plastic wrap before pounding...learned that the hard way. ;)
Lay each chicken breast skin side down & top with one slice ham & 1 slice of cheese each.
Mix 1 tablespoon of the slightly melted butter with bread crumbs, sage and black pepper. Place an even amount of crumbs over each chicken breast.
Roll up from narrow end and secure with toothpicks; leave them visible for removing before serving.
Place chicken fold side down in baking dish.
Combine the rest of the butter with minced garlic, stir and pour over chicken.
Place in preheated oven & bake for 40-50 minutes or till done. (Place a tent of aluminum foil over chicken halfway through baking to prevent over browning. Baste with juices about 2 times while baking to prevent drying.
Remove from oven, take out the toothpicks & place on serving dish.
This dish is great served with whole green beans cooked with 1TBLS. bacon drippin's & baked sweet potatoes smothered with butter & brown sugar. (Oh, yayuh ;)

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I'm havin' a little battle with tennis elbow, so my knitting is at an all-time low. I just couldn't resist doing up this little guy though. Isn't he a cutie. Bubbles the Fish by Susan Mrenna can be found here. There's a Bubbles with Fins. And the basic pattern is, also, available in French. Cool, even you don't know a lick of French like me. I used Susan's basic pattern & just added a little ol' eye for him to see with. (Checkout her site as she has several patterns, free & for sale.) I think it'll make a cute washcloth for a baby or small child. I used P&C Pink Lemonade for this one.
Happy Bluebird family peeps are gettin' bigger fast. This little guy heard me tap on the box & nearly leaped out..I'm sure he thought Mama had arrived with a big, juicy worm. Ah well; thanks for the great shot, Junior. I won't bother you again till you start tryin' out your wings. Another of the irises Neighbors gave us. Iris you a happy week, Y'all!