Thursday, August 2, 2012

WHAT FUN!

We looked forward to today's activities for a week. This morning we were up early to exercise during the cool hours. About 9:00 Mike put Nellie in her kennel, backed the Barracuda out of the garage, and we were off to Moscow. "Vroooom, chugga chugga chugga." We went by way of the old historic spiral highway.

Our first stop in Moscow was Stitches and Petals, a fabric shop and Bernina dealer. Last week I committed to buy the Artista 630, a discontinued sewing / embroidery model, which was on hold for me.

At the shop, sewists were gathering for a class, and Mike heard first hand what fun we have at these sessions. Mike loaded the machine while I took care of the paperwork. The shop owner seems to think I will step right up to this machine, having worked with my 430 for several years. But of course, she and her staff will be there to help me if I need it.

Then it was on to Winco. I suppose you'd call Winco a discount grocery store. They probably have the lowest grocery prices between Boise and Spokane. We should shop Winco more often. With grocery prices anticipated to rise due to the draught, we discussed the wisdom of stocking up now. However, I didn't feel organized for that today.

One thing we did buy was a supply of PET milk. When I was a girl, we didn't say "evaporated milk." We said "PET milk." These days, PET brand evaporated milk is hard to find, but Winco has it and we stock up when we shop there. We think PET tastes better in our homemade ice cream than other brands, which shall remain nameless.

"That was fun," said Mike as we left the store.

This afternoon I un-boxed the 630, plugged her in, and touched her screen once or twice. I didn't sew, however, having several other obligations.

Mike wasn't too happy with the sound of the Barracuda, so this afternoon he had her exhaust system examined. She has a new muffler now, and he is pleased with the result. She sounds better and she runs better. KW

7 comments:

Chris said...

She looks wonderful sitting there!! The 630 that is, although the Baracuda looks pretty sharp, too. :-) I agree with Karen, you'll step right into this machine. So many features are just like the 430's, and of course, you won't need to hook up your computer to embroider. Too fun!! There are some really cute designs on that machine, too. (They should all be shown in the back of your manual.)

The old spiral highway?? Guess it matches the 'cuda. I don't think I've been on it since the new grade opened about 36 years ago. I remember when we'd come home from Spokane, back when we lived in the valley, and when we got to the top of the hill I felt like we were only half way because we still had such a long and winding way to go.

Yup, I love Winco's prices and hopefully you were early enough to miss the crowd.

M/W said...

We got some ground chicken breasts at Winco and I made patties and grilled them for burgers tonight. They were really tasty. We both agreed they were better than turkey and I think better than beef.

Kathy said...

I will have to familiarize myself with the 630 and experiment with it. I'm not good at experimenting. I want to know how to do everything right now.

I thought the spiral highway, an engineering feat in its day, was in pretty good shape. It's fun to drive it now and then -- feels like old times.

The crowd at Winco was manageable but growing in the late morning timeframe.

Leah said...

If I had ever decided to stick with sewing (even though I have no talent for it) I would have fallen in love with the 630. Since I like computers I would make good friends with a machine like yours. Congratulations!

Don't know if I've ever said anything about canned milk on your blog, but it was used A LOT when I grew up in the 1940's. We passed around recipes with canned milk (evaporated) all the time. To this day, I prefer evaporated milk in mashed potatoes. Richer, fuller flavor.

I have an old recipe (from 1956) with pineapple, marshmallows & whipped evaporated milk. It's yummy. The recipe called for Milnot. Don't know if that's around anymore.

One problem I have today with evaporated milk is the shelf life. The cans stay on my shelf longer now and the expiration date on the can is only a few months away. How do you deal with that when you buy a lot at one time?

Kathy said...

I think it's going to be a lot of fun not hooking machine to my computer. As Chris knows, any issues are between the computer and the machine. It will also be nice not to have to remember my computer (and all the cords) when I go to classes.

I think a lot of people sew these days who perhaps weren't drawn to sewing clothes. Quilts, for instance, can be challenging or just very simple. And the embroidery machine will do the work for you.

Leah, you're right about the shelf life of evaporated milk. I forgot to look at the expiration date until we got home -- October. I only bought a dozen cans, and it will probably be okay a little beyond that date. The supply goes quickly when Mike makes ice cream. Then there's pumpkin pies. And sometimes I use it in place of regular milk, especially on the farm where we need the cold milk for drinking.

Hallie said...

Quite a day! So that will be the machine for the town house and then you'll have the other at the farm?

Kathy said...

That's my plan at this point, Hallie. The 630 will stay in town, but she'll travel for classes. The 430 is already here at the farm. I'm in the process of thinking through what tools and accessories need to be duplicated and what can travel back and forth.