In search of Pearl Onions–and Dad!

Good morning from Quilt villa, VA!

It was one of those crazy pre-holiday shopping days that out of necessity had to happen yesterday -

Yes, the Monday before a major “meal” holiday – Thanksgiving.

I knew it would be a zoo – but I had company all weekend, and there was no room in the fridge at home to buy all of this a week or more ahead and then have to transfer it up here to the mountains.

I wanted items, especially produce to be somewhat fresh – and I’d be picking my Dad up at the airport anyway, so how simple it would be to just make a couple of early afternoon stops before swinging by the airport to pick him up?

A master of time management and organization, I thought I had this nailed!  And then…..

Costco was an absolute madhouse!

What was I thinking?!! They didn't have half the stuff I needed which meant more stores after this one. OH NO!!

What did they not have?  The SMOKED TURKEY!  They were all sold out.  And there were no pearl onions to be found.  ANYWHERE.  Besides, if there were, they’d likely be in industrial size, and I didn’t need that, or a #10 can of cranberry sauce either.  Off to Walmart we go. (All close to the airport)

All of the produce, a few other things for the week – but NO PEARL ONIONS!

It's not just Thanksgiving I was shopping for, it's for the full week ahead at the cabin in Virginia.

Anyone who has followed me for any length of time knows that if dad is coming for the holiday, pearl onions must be found. To be served with cream sauce. The way my Grannie used to make them. It’s just not Thanksgiving without Grannie’s pearl onion recipe!

Dad arrived, we grabbed his luggage and off to the van we went.  He was quite amused at what was loaded into the back of the van – the 3 shelving units for the post office, a bed frame, a few quilts, some project items and all of these groceries (but not the onions!) were arranged like tetris to prevent sliding and shifting and smashing of the very large pumpkin pie from Costco. 

YES!  There is a reason that I drive Moby the Land Barge.  We need to HAUL STUFF!

By this time it was 4:30pm and we headed west toward the Blue Ridge Mountains, stopping in Wilkesboro for a nice dinner and chat at Ruby Tuesdays (Love the salad bar) and Another stop at THAT Walmart so dad could pick up a couple of things he needed (And I scored another crock pot for Quiltville inn!) and still – NO PEARL ONIONS.

There was ONE MORE PLACE to check before we headed up route 16 in the dark toward Jefferson, NC and on up to Mouth of Wilson, VA – Lowes Foods in Wilkesboro.  I remembered I had found them before several years ago when Dad came to visit – would they?  Could they? Still possibly have any???

SCORE!!

Also found – the Parsnips for the roasted root veggies that I love to make for holidays.  Recipe HERE.

(This is funny because on my facebook page comments were coming around like “What is a parsnip? How do you cook a parsnip?” “I’ve never HAD a parsnip!”  Thanks for keeping me in stitches, guys!)

The pearl onion recipe is really easy and very very good and if it makes Dad happy, I’m happy to do it.  You can find that recipe under the side dishes category on my recipes tab . 

Most of my favorite tried and true recipes are found there.  Have you checked it out?

In going through the recipe I noticed that I also forgot the half and half.  Ooops!  That will be picked up as we are out and about today. 

I knew I’d forget something!

Stitching on a hanging sleeve!

A question was asked “Do you put a hanging sleeve on everything?!”  And the answer is simple.  if the quilt will ever be hung for photography, used as a lecture or workshop backdrop, or ever be hung on a wall as décor – YES.  

The easiest way to get a sleeve on there is to do it when finishing the quilt.  Then you don’t ever have to worry about going back to do it should you decide to hang it in a show or something. And usually, it just uses up the leftover backing fabric so there is less to put back in the stash at clean up time.

Label is on too!

And you’ll see the full quilt at some point in the future.

As soon as this posts I’ll be in the kitchen whipping up omelets for breakfasts for us.  We’ve got a busy day ahead – taking dad to see Quiltville Inn for the first time, showing him the post office and my area here, and then if it warms up enough going on the Blue Ridge Parkway and finding some photo op spots, maybe a gentle hike - 

The rest of the family should be coming up tomorrow when jobs are done for the week and the holiday time for them really begins.

Quiltville Quote of the Day.

It may be chaos, but it is never never boring! LOL!

Have a wonderful Tuesday, folks!