Day 203 of 365

Someone asked me the other day if I know the family I'm making these latest kids quilts for, the ones with the pictures in them.

Nope. Though, after making these quilts, I kind of feel like I do. The pictures in the quilts tell the story.

The family has a black and white dog. The oldest girl has a nice, new bicycle. She and her dad have been to a butterfly garden. The little boy plays with a set of jumbo Legos. Dad is in the Army, like Folgers coffee, and once got his red truck stuck in the mud.

But right now dad won't be helping with the bike riding, won't be playing Legos, and won't be getting his truck stuck in the mud. Dad is deployed and the kids are missing him.

So quilts are on the way. Quilts with sewn-in pictures of the kids and their daddy. Quilts that will, hopefully, help them remember their dad until he gets back home.

I feel blessed to be part of such an important project. I've decided this will be my go-to quilt charity and am requesting to "adopt" another family.

If you have any interest in joining me, visit Operation Kid Comfort to let them know you'd like to help. You can use your own fabrics to make the quilt or you can request one of their free fabric kits. The quilts are quick and easy to put together and are a great opportunity for us to support the children of deployed servicemen and women.

Frozen Lemonade Pie - Day 202 of 365, Tutorial Tuesday

I often wonder how family traditions get started.

We have the Christmas Eve book opening tradition, the Mexican-feast-during-tree-trimming-time tradition. The muffin and juice breakfast on Christmas morning tradition. And for Thanksgiving, we always have the same foods. Sometimes we might add an extra side dish or an extra dessert, but the core menu always stays the same. Always.

Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, rolls. Pumpkin pie, cherry pie, lemonade pie.

I'm not sure how the lemonade pie tradition started. I do know it started when I was young, probably still in high school or junior high. Since it's made from lemonade and it's a frozen pie, it seems quite odd that it has wound up on our Thanksgiving table - when the weather is cool - every year since.

We rarely have it any other time. But it might fit well as a cool, tart, refreshing treat on a hot summer day. Although summer is waning we still have warm temperatures hanging around here, so I decided to make one.

Decided to make one and film it. Tutorial Tuesday is one of the easiest pies out there. Lemonade pie. (Unfortunately, after taking the picture I also found out it makes a nice substitute for my morning Cheerios. Gotta make sure I don't do that again!)

Half a can of frozen lemonade (thawed), a can of sweetened condensed milk, and a container of whipped topping. Mix it all together, put into a prepared graham cracker crust and freeze overnight.

Click the video below for the directions: