My Brother Brian

This is my brother Brian with his granddaughter Meran

Brian was almost exactly 4 years younger than me, minus 4 days, and although through the years we hadn't been close, for which I was always sad.  We went to see him in February and I found it quite extraordinary how alike we are.  I suppose I should have expected it as we shared the same parents but siblings aren't always alike.  We look alike and were very alike in so many ways.

I had known my brother has been dying for quite some time.  He was given 3-6 months almost 6 years ago when he was told he had stage IV cancer and had had it for at least 3-5 years before it was discovered quite by chance.

Like me, Brian believed in finding a doctor who was proactive rather than being reactive and such doctors aren't so easy to find.  But he managed to find one that kept him alive for almost 6 years.

The growth was on the outside of his stomach and he decided to go an unusual route insofar as after interviewing quite a few Oncologists he decided on an Oncologist who specialised in Pancreatic Cancer as this Oncologist gave him the best chance of a cure.

But his route was not an easy one as the treatment was for Pancreatic Cancer and not Stomach Cancer so his insurance company refused to pay for it.  Brian paid for it himself for the next 5 years at over $1,000 a week.

A year later when he was in hospital having half his stomach, and the tumour, removed the nurses couldn't figure out why he was so happy. He explained that this was because he was still alive when he shouldn't be.

Because of his determination in beating this cancer and the route he took this medication is now funded by insurance companies in the US for Stomach and Bowel cancer as well as Pancreatic.

I'm sorry if this email is disjointed but I couldn't read it and put it together properly because my brother passed away last Friday and was buried on Sunday as our religion dictates.

Brian you beat the odds.  You didn't just last 3 or 6 months but almost 6 years.  You fought long and hard until the very end.  We came to see you in February and we spent every day with you and Sue (your wife) and my nieces and nephews and great niece.  It was the best time we had ever had and I will always remember it and be grateful that I came to see you when I did.

Brian Michael Lemberger you were one very very special person that touched many lives as the Rabbis said at your funeral and my life a life.  I respected you as man, as a brother, husband and a father.

I miss you my brother and will until the day I die

Pat xxx
American by birth and MOUTH
but British in every other way

Miss C & Mr R

As you all know we (almost said I there) have 4 grandchildren.  The youngest of which is Miss C.  My darling son and daughter-in-love introduced their best friends quite a few years ago and they got married and had 3 sons.  The middle son is called Rafi.  Here is a photo of Rafi with our youngest Chloe soon after she was born:

So he loves her.  He would hug her all the time and kiss her cheek.  Now roll forward a year and this is what we had:

They are snogging.  He's holding her and she's holding him in a full on clinch and they are kissing for all they're worth.  Almost full on snogging (it might have been because we can't see between them).

Okay so roll on another year until yesterday and this is what happened:

  

Now we have a problem (not really)!  She has instigated this one.  It's so cute and all I've said is I love it and hope I live long enough to see them get married.  So Daddy (DS) said to his best friend all in caps "tell your son to get his hands off of my princess!"  But from where I'm sitting it's she that is attacking him this time and not the other way around.  Grandpa said "I hope he can afford to keep her".  Me?  I replied that I hope so too but if he can't then she will just have to work like the rest of us.

I can't wait to see what next year brings.  I will bring you photos of either the rest of the children whom I adore with all my might or else some knitting or piecing or something.  Might even be stitching.

See you soon
Patti xxx
American by birth and MOUTH
but British in every other way

No Tear Paper Piecing

This is the BEST paper piecing TUTORIAL EVER!

You may have to turn up the sound a lot or use some speakers but it is so worth it.  I LOVE paper piecing with a vengeance because of its accuracy but hate having to remove the paper afterwards.  If you are like me you so NEED to see this tutorial.

I know I haven't posted in the longest time but so much crap is happening in my life right now and I really don't want to talk about it but suffice it to say that since returning from LA there has been no sewing, no knitting, no top-making and no quilting done in this house.  Just buying and looking online and drooling but no making of anything.  Maybe soon.

See you soon
Patti xxx
American by birth and MOUTH
but British in every other way

I need another hobby, don't I????

Okay so I don't need another hobby.  But as most of you know, if you read this little blog of mine that is, that I love Craftsy.  When they said they had this knitting Afghan class I thought why not?  I mean it's not everyday you get to make a knitted Afghan and as I've completely forgotten how to crochet - and no I don't know how this happened because I once crocheted two shawls as Chanukah presents - one of my mother and one for my mother-in-law.  Anyway I kept on looking at this class

and thought to myself 'yeah why not, cause you don't have enough of other kinds of stash do you?'  Umm well maybe I do but hey what's another project.  I think this one will be super yummy.  My only real problem is they don't really sell Lion Yarns in England so I'm kinda up the creek without a paddle.  But no worries I shall find some yarn that is equivalent, eventually.  Please wish me luck with that.  I am so going to sell my cross stitching stash because I really don't need it as I have enough on my plate with hobbies and him upstairs is sick of all my stash.  So eBay I shall be coming.

Huge Hugs to you all (if you are actually there)

See you soon
Patti xxx
American by birth and MOUTH
but British in every other way

Recipes - NO photos sorry

It's been my mission in life to provide food for the 5,000!  Anyway I have been making Coca Cola Brisket for years and I knew I'd heard of Coca Cola Chicken.  I was going to make Apricot Chicken but when I went to put the soup mix in I found it couldn't use it as the soup mixture had cheese in it and I forgot to get the right one (I am Kosher) so I needed a different recipe for chicken pieces.  So I thought I would share these three recipes with you as they are so yummy and so easy to make.

COCA-COLA BRISKET

has to be made the day before you need it

(SERVINGS 6-8)

3lb piece of the leanest Brisket you can buy
1 can of full fat Coke (NOT diet)
1/2 jar of Mango Chutney

1. The Brisket has to be unrolled so if you get it rolled up just take the string off and unroll it
2. Cut off as much of the fat as you can see cause you sure don't want this greasy 
3. Get a large roasting pan (I use the tin foil throw away ones)
4. Put the Brisket in the pan and spread the 1/2 jar of Mango Chutney over it
5. Pour over the can of Coke
6. Put in the oven at 150 degrees centigrade for 3 hours
7. Let it cool down
8. Take the cooked brisket out the pan leaving the juice in
9. Slice the brisket as neatly as you can trying to leave it still in one piece
10. I use a fish slice to put the brisket back in the pan
11. Cover and put in the fridge overnight until you need it the next day
12. Cook again for around an hour at 150 degrees centigrade

Apricot Chicken

(Servings 6-8 depending on how large the thighs are - Kosher ones are HUGE)

8-10 chicken pieces (I use chicken thighs)
3 cans of Apricots in LIGHT syrup (DO NOT get Apricots in juice because I won't work)
2 sachets of French Onion Soup

1. Put 1/2 chicken pieces in large oven proof pan
2. Pour over 1 can of Apricots
3. Sprinkle over 1 packet of French Onion Soup
4. Put other 1/2 of chicken pieces on top of first lot
5. Sprinkle over other packet of French Onion Soup
6. Pour over both other cans of Apricots
7. Cook at 150 centigrade for around 3 hours
8. 1/2 way through squidge down as much of the apricots as you can to make the sauce
9. Take the chicken out and squidge down the rest of the apricots because they make a really yummy gravy/sauce

Coca-Cola Chicken

By 

Jamie Geller

I didn't know this was a standard recipe, known to cooks of many countries. I received it via my sister's friend, Jennie, all the way from Israel. I waited five years to get the precise measurements in this recipe, but it was worth it!

Servings

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (10-ounce) bag chopped onions (or 2 large onions, sliced)
• 1 chicken, about 3-1/2 pounds, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup Coca-Cola
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup apricot jam
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place onions in prepared pan.
3. Rinse chicken and pat dry; arrange on top of onions.
4. Season chicken with garlic powder.
5. In a medium bowl, place Coca-Cola, ketchup, apricot jam and soy sauce, and mix well.
6. Pour Coca-Cola mixture over chicken and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Serve warm.

See you soon
Patti xxx
American by birth and MOUTH
but British in every other way

It's been so long

It really has been a very long time since I wrote anything on this blog.  Sorry guys but it's going to be longer still.  We are going to Los Angeles in the morning and will be gone for a little under 2 weeks.

I have made a couple of tops - well most of the tops.  I got the patterns from Moda's website and neither was as large as I would have liked and I was meant to be taking them to California with us but have decided to make them bigger and then I shall show you the tops, then quilt them and show you them again and mail them to LA and hope to g-d they don't get lost.

This is one of the Patterns I've used, and both are by
www.swimbakequilt.com
I am making it for my new Great Niece, daughter
of my Niece and her husband and have
made it using White Kona and Posy by Aneela Hoey
but it isn't big enough and;

This is one of the patterns and I used
White Kona and Wishes by Sweetwater
for my nephew and his lovely bride who
married in San Diego last July and
this wasn't the size I wanted either

I have a couple of new photos to show you of our two youngest grandchildren which I know you are just dying to see.  So here they are and I shall return in around 2 weeks or so.  sorry for the long delay but so much cr*p has been happing and I hate moaning with a total vengeance so quiet time is what I decided.

Mr. O who decided I needed to take
photos of him pulling all kinds of faces
I can show you more if you like

Ms. C with her very large
Hello Kitty stuffed toy wearing her crown
which she got from nursery school for
her 2nd birthday which was in November

See you soon
Patti xxx
American by birth and MOUTH
but British in every other way