What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 Have you ever had one of those days when the stars are aligned, and everything works out exactly as you want? 

That seemed to be the case yesterday. And I have to say that nothing was earth-shattering -- it was just good news all around. 

It started when I got this e-mail. 

While I knew this update was coming, I can now download and install the new software. The last time a new upgrade happened, I had to wait months for my turn. They don't want to overload the support team, so they stagger the updates. We paid a high ...

About having fun with googly eyes, cocktails on a rooftop terrace, chocolate, marble runs and blowing bubbles. XXX Annika Continue reading →

 I have to say that it feels AWESOME to get back to the gym! There are not many people there at 5 AM, but that's OK!! And yes, what I do at the gym could easily do at home - walking and stretching. But I hope to add some weights in there soon. That's not the point - the point is that I've been going to the gym for 40 years! And I like it - it's part of my routine. And you know me - I like routine!

I have to admit that I was a slug yesterday, and ...

Baking is my first creative love beginning with the staff of life, bread. Oh how I enjoy kneading the dough until it’s just the right consistency then there’s that yeasty build up from the moment it goes into the oven when dough and heat combine preparing the bread for consumption. Waiting until the bread has… Continue reading Ruined: The Angel Food Cake Saga

A cute baby or kid's quilt with piglets, designed by me. XXX Annika Continue reading →

When the going gets tough, the tough turn to chocolate, isn’t that right?  I’ve been working on this recipe for some weeks now, and just had to make it several times to be sure.  No, really, I had to.  Testing combinations of shortening and butter, different types of chips took several batches.  Plus, I wanted to make a recipe that didn’t make a lot of cookies.  With just two of us at home, and no one to give them to, I don’t need dozens sitting around, although I did find that these freeze well.

So the ...

Easter report from Rotterdam: chocolate ideas and quilt designs included! XXX Annika Continue reading →

My personal tips for ingredients, flavor combinations and coatings for a mini batch of water based chocolate truffles XXX Annika Continue reading →

A plea to support delicious, locally rooted, fair and sustainable chocolate, if you can afford to! It will make you feel good for several reasons, and there is no risk involved for you. If you don't like a bar, bend the flavor and the texture by turning it into truffles! Very quick and simple... XXX Annika Continue reading →

I call this my 'Chocolate Craving Buster Bowl' for good reason. As many others, I have a thing for chocolate and I try to find a healthy balance to include this in my diet. This smoothie bowl more than satisfies any chocolate cravings and the best part is that once I've had a bowl, I don't want or need anything chocolate for quite some time afterwards. "Life is short. Eat dessert first."

Many years ago I decided to take two years of French in high school. I would have taken a third year but my mom, who was a teacher, wanted me to graduate a year early, so I did. My choice to take French rather than Spanish or Latin was cut and dry as far as I was concerned back then. I had no desire to go to Mexico, and I wasn’t going to be in the medical profession, therefore neither Spanish nor Latin would do me any good (ah, the ignorance of youth). However, I had a great desire ...

OK -- I'll try not to go on and on about my virtual challenge, but I'm loving it. DH thinks I'm obsessing because I talk about it every day. And some people that I talk to think that the four of us are in a race against each other. NO - we're only in a race against ourselves. I have another challenge where I'm walking across Canada. Each day my FitBit transfers the miles that I've walked to the map. Since M lives in Vancouver and that's where I am right now (having started in ...

Even though Rotterdam is a major city, even on global scale, we did not have a decent chocolate shop until recently! Sure, there were already some shops and department stores who sell filled chocolates. But most of them use the … Continue reading →