The Best Laid Plans....

You know the saying..  "The best laid plans o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley"  meaning no matter how carefully you prepare and plan for something, things can (and often do) go wrong. Well that seems to be the case here lately.
Issue #1,  camera problems. Since my fall in Prague last July when both my camera and I crashed to the cobblestones, I've been worried that the crack in the camera body would eventually be an issue. This week that worry re-surfaced when I seem to have lost all photos taken in the last few days. This would include better photos of my recently completed blue quilt before I gave it away, and all photos from our Guild closing meeting with Show and Tell and 2014 Challenge. When I went to load them to the computer on Wednesday, it said "No Images". There appeared to be nothing on the memory card. So I took a few test photos- they appeared on the camera screen, but were not "saving" to the card. And when I tried to load them to the computer, again - No Images. Great! Just great! (actually I was thinking something a little stronger than that...) So, I'm just back from visiting my go-to guy at the camera shop, with new memory card in hand. He thinks it's an issue with the card, not the camera. I hope he's right. The next few days will tell the tale. Hopefully they will be able to retrieve this week's photos from the defective card. This is my second if not third time now with a defective card. If there's a defective card in the lot, it's the one I pick, it seems...
Issue #2, my miniature quilt. I was hoping to have it finished for Tuesday night's meeting. It didn't happen. I want to add a narrow corded piping to my binding, with the use of a new-to-me tool by Susan Cleveland. To make the corded piping she suggests the use of either a grooved pintuck foot or a zipper foot. Well the 7 groove foot I have was not large enough for the cording, and the zipper foot did not get close enough to satisfy me. So it's not done yet. Thank goodness for good friends who are also Bernina owners. My friend Carole has loaned me her 3 groove and her 5 groove feet, so surely one of those two will do the trick. Stay tuned....
Issue #3, Life! Sometimes life throws you a curve ball or two. I'm juggling a lot right now, and blogging has had to take a backseat. That will likely continue for a few more weeks so just be patient with my probable sporadic posting. Some days I feel like I'm having a hard time keeping all balls in the air....

If you've hung in there to read this far, how about a yummy recipe as a reward? I'm sorry I don't have a photo (it's among those lost this week, and of course the squares are long gone), you'll just have to trust me that these squares are SO delicious - you definitely will want to add them to your "Yummy Squares" list!! (EDIT: the photos have been retrieved!) I got the recipe from my friend Anne in New Glasgow, NS so I'm calling them Anne's Squares. (She calls them Mom's Funeral Squares, as they were her Mom's go-to recipe when she had to make sweets for a funeral reception at her church.)

Anne's Squares

Base and Topping:
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
1/2 cup toasted coconut
1/2 cup melted butter
Mix all dry ingredients together, then add melted butter, mix well. Reserve 1/3 of crumb mixture for topping, place remaining 2/3 of mixture in greased 8"x8" pan, pat down well.

Filling:
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
grated zest of 1 lemon
Mix together- it will seem very "runny" at first but will thicken up with stirring. Spread over base, top with reserved crumbs and pat down gently. Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned - no more than 25 minutes, Anne advises.

Trust me- these are SO GOOD!!!!

Peace,
Linda

“Changes are inevitable and not always controllable. What can be controlled is how you manage, react to and work through the change process.”   ~ Kelly A. Morgan