My entry for the Modern Quilt Guild Riley Blake Challenge, Back to Basics, made the top 10 finalist. Oh my goodness!!!. There were 390 entries total, wow!!! I can not begin to explain how honored and humbled and excited I am to be a finalist. There were so many incredible entries I can't even begin to imagine how the judges narrowed it down to 10. The top 3 will be chosen and announced next Monday and let me tell you, I am glad I am not a judge. I am amongst some amazing talent. To see all of the top 10 visit the Modern Quilt Guild's Blog ;) So I guess now I just have to wait until Monday, however it turns out though, I am just so incredibly honored to be a finalist, I so love this design and it is so happy making to know that others do as well ;)
And now with that, I want to share a funny little story that happened yesterday while we were forced back to basics without any power. See, most day's not having power is a little inconvenient but you can work around it , right ;) Well Yesterday happened to be my dear Husband's birthday :) Can you see how that would just add a little twist. Here's the story :)
In our house, when it is your Birthday you get to pick the dinner. It can be as crazy out of the box, mom has never made this, as you like. So for Jacob's birthday this year he requested Stuffed Crab Portobello Mushrooms, Asparagus Tips, and Pecan Pie (and then whatever I wanted to make to turn that into a meal). So off to the store I went that morning. I found a lovely ham on sale and planned some cheezy potatoes to round out the meal. I got the ham in the oven after lunch and just then the power flicked off. It came on and off a few times and then stayed off.
At this point, I am a little worried that dinner will be a little late. We were having Jacob's parents to dinner but they are flexible so no worries there. And then we wait, and wait, and I start to worry about the food being out to long and I don't want to open the fridge to try and make space for it all. I am crazy trying to figure out how I can bake mushrooms, potatoes, and ham really quickly. And finally Jacob calls the power company to find that we don't expect to have power until 7:00 that night. Utter defeat. My beautifully planned special Birthday meal is not going to happen. So I wrap everything in tin foil, use the garage step as a fridge and we head out to dinner at a local BBQ restaurant.
Dinner was good and we came home for dessert. Luckily, I made the Pecan Pies in the morning so we could salvage the traditional singing and blowing out the candles tradition. But when I went to get the pies Jacob asked where the whipped cream was. I told him I normally make it right before we eat the pie and as there was no power it looked like there would be no whipped cream. Jacob thought for a minute, smiled and out to the garage he went. He came back in with a battery and wires and another little contraption that had plugs. He was determined to have that whipped cream, even if it meant running the Kitchen Aid off of a battery :)
In the end, he got his Pecan Pie with whipped cream. We sang Happy Birthday and he blew out the candles. Sure the whole dessert was eaten by candle light and flashlight, but it is certainly not going to be easily forgotten ;)
And we spent the rest of the evening just talking and being with one another. No TV, No Internet, No Stereo . . . A little bit of heaven. I think we might have to have some more Back to Basics nights, they can turn out pretty special ;)
Congrats on being a finalist.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your fun story. Great memories for your family.
Congratulations on the top 10! And love your birthday dinner story - glad it all worked out!
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DeleteCongrats on top 10! We were without power for 3 days in the Atlas Blizzard in October and we really learned how to cook for a family with the propane stove.
ReplyDeleteHi!!!! Congrats on top 10!!!! I sure see why it was chosen!!!! Beautiful!!!!! Great the Birthday turned out great in the end!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHuge congratulations! It sounds like you all had a lot of fun and i admire his determination for whipped cream!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Melissa on your top 10 placement, so exciting! Glad to see you were able to improvise to still pull of a special birthday even if it was not what you originally planned. I like your husbands determination to have whipped cream with his pie :) You can't have pie without cream, thats just crazy talk :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on top 10. Its a gorgeous quilt.
ReplyDeletea huge congratulations. I loved those nights when the family was growing. We wound up having one a week. Sometimes upon request it would be two or three. Helps keep family together.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! And I have never seen a mixer powered by a battery... amazing resourcefulness! Glad you had a nice evening in spite of the power loss. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great blog post! Congratulations on being in the top 10 finalists!! That is so exciting. I haven't looked at the others yet, but I follow Christa's blog too and am happy for you both! Each of your quilts is dynamite. Plus I love your story about the revised birthday celebration -- thanks for sharing that one.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a special occasion made even more memorable. The battery powered mixer cracks me up!! I love your tie in to Back to Basics. Very clever - and congrats again on being a finalist. Your quilts are always amazing!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!! It is a beautiful quilt, to be sure!!
ReplyDeleteThat birthday celebration will be one relived and treasured over the years, for sure. :)
Jacob and the batteries--so awesome! Glad it was memorable for sure. And, congrats on the quilt! What an accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt and such a fun day!
ReplyDeleteGood for you on your top 10!! The power goes out for long stretches here in Ohio every once in a while. Thank goodness for the generator!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to you on the top 10, and to your husband for his dessert garnish determination ;o)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on top 10. Sounds like your husbands special dinner and family time was a little slice of heaven topped with whipped cream!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on making the Top 10 -- how exciting!! Not fun at the time, but you'll look back and smile about the birthday dessert by candlelight. :o)
ReplyDeleteSo much to say! LOL! Congrats on top 10! And shush and say it ain't so... Honeyman's birthday (my husband Tom) is ALSO on the 19th (yesterday)! As are my best friends twin boys (who turned 18 yesterday and I said it can't be so because she and I CAN'T be that old!)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Pretty sure I would have let out a squeal too, if I were in your shoes. Or would that be slippers at that hour of the morning? One of the reasons we enjoy camping so much, in our tent, is that electronics don't go with us. Well, except for our phones, but we often can't get cell service, so they don't really count. It's great fun to just be together and not stare at a screen the whole time.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on making it to the top ten! You have what it takes! Talent, a good eye, skill and perseverance. I wouldn't be surprised if you make the top three. Enjoy, you've more than earned it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great blog post! Congratulations on being in the top 10 finalists!! That is so exciting. I haven't looked at the others yet, but I follow Christa's blog too and am happy for you both! Each of your quilts is dynamite. Plus I love your story about the revised birthday celebration -- thanks for sharing that one.
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Congrats on being in the top 10, What a great birthday story. Being without power for a few hours is nice with no electronics. Only problem here is it also means no water and no flushing!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on being a top ten finalist! Your quilt is absolutely gorgeous! Nice to know another family has the same tradition of special birthday dinners. My mom did this while I was growing up and I carried it on with my children. They get super excited and try to fit all their favorites into one meal. One year my daughter who was turning 5 asked for tacos, homemade mashed potatoes and corn on the cob! Needless to say we all ate it with smiles on our faces and topped the evening off with a all lemon birthday cake!!! Good luck with the contest.
ReplyDeleteYay! Congrats for getting into the top 10. What an achievement, and I loved reading about the birthday memories. That definitely is not going to be one forgotten anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on being a finalist. It's a great quilt. xx
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the happy news. And I had to chuckle about the whipped cream. The birthday boy was not going to be denied. LOL It is something my hubby would have come up with too.
ReplyDeleteI was thrilled to see your quilt as a finalist...so exciting!
ReplyDeleteGreat story too.
Congrats on being a finalist!! I love that quilt design and fingers crossed for Monday :)
ReplyDeleteBelated congratulations for getting in the Top 10 with your lovely quilt. I was so happy for you when I read about it on Christas blog. Imlaughed about your whipped cream. In our house we use an egg beater to whip cream. No problem when there are power cuts here.
ReplyDeletecongratulations on being in the top 10: how wonderful!!! And the dinner: so stressful!! but I'm glad you all got to enjoy some QUALITY time together!! And thinking of hooking up the mixer to a battery: brilliant!! Tell your hubby happy birthday!! Hugs, H
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on being in the top 10. I used to live where the electricity went out all the time and sometimes took a couple days before it was back on. One Thanksgiving it went out just as the turkey was put in the oven. Fortunately it only stayed out a couple of hours as I am sure that all the guys fixing it wanted their dinners also. You and your family are always going to have a great memory of the pecan pie eaten by candlelight. I love how your husband solved the whip cream issue. I have a couple of wire whips that I probably would have used but it is so much easier with a mixer.
ReplyDeletewe live in a 200 year old converted barn and the lights regularly go out during dinner parties. It happened so regularly we used to joke we had a ghost playing games!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on being a top ten contender!