Blackberry Rambles

The Biltmore

2009-11-13T07:08:00.003-05:00

I don't really have a list of places I'd like to (or must) go to in my lifetime, but there are a few locations that float around in my brain. However, last year, while reading about the Vanderbilts and seeing pictures of The Biltmore, I did get it into my head that someday I wanted to go tour the Biltmore. I figured it would be about 20 years down the line when the chance arose.

But there we were, sitting in the Charlotte, NC airport, waiting for the rest of the conference attendees to arrive when one of our hosts mentioned quietly that there was the possibility of going to the Biltmore on Saturday. I could not believe my ears! How was it that we ended up in a place 30 minutes from the Biltmore with a conference program that included time for a "field trip" and conference planners who were going to treat us to this tour. I really felt that God had arranged it all just for me.

The Biltmore is billed as America's "Largest Home". It was built by one of the Vanderbilt sons in the last decade of the 19th century. He lived here with his beloved wife until his early death some 15 years after their marriage.

The house itself is amazing. Michael and I love touring historic buildings and we got the audio tours to make sure we didn't miss a thing.

I believe the house includes 43 bathrooms -- all very modern when the house was built. The rooms are sumptiously decorated and the dining room was incredible with its 7-story ceiling and magnificent fireplace that took up the whole width of one wall. I definately felt I could be back in Europe for a few hours.

The view from the back of the house looked out over rolling hills to the mountains beyond (which weren't visible due to the cloud cover).

The house also boasted a large, indoor swimming pool which was heated and lighted, along with an indoor bowling alley and gymnasium.

The house was decorated for Christmas with a Christmas tree and myriads of ornaments on it in each room.

There are many, many acres of grounds surrounding the house but time allowed us only a quick walk closeby.

The green house and walled garden were near enough to have a quick peak.

It's so fun to imagine all the people who visited and the parties that must have been held on this property. Wouldn't it be fun to jump back in time just for a day!

These turkeys in front of the greenhouse were hilarious!

And here is our one picture of the inside of the house, thanks to the Biltmore photographers who made every tourist have their picture.

So, now I can say I've been to the Biltmore. It definately was a special highlight of the weekend. And now I want to read some more books from that era and imagine myself as a house guest.....

The Very Nectar Of Heaven

2009-11-11T08:05:00.002-05:00

What's travel without food? Despite the fact that we took our meals at the conference center cafeteria, there was still plenty of opportunity to observe and try new foods.

Being in the south, the cuisine was definately different from up here in the northern midwest. Every morning, without fail, we were offered bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuits and grits (biscuits and grits are what differ from elsewhere). I took the grits every morning as my "carbohydrate". Decorated with salt and pepper, they were an excellent side kick to the eggs and bacon.

I noticed we had people on both sides of the great divide in our group -- those who put sugar and butter on their grits and those who stick with salt and pepper. A similar war is waged in Scotland over the correct topping for porridge. I happen to be on the sugar side of that war.

Grits aside, there were also some other things that appeared on the menu: fried okra -- I first tasted this in Uganda when we stayed with some missionaries from the south; fried anything and everything (some form of fried meat was available at every dinner), sauteed apples (I think these are meant to go by the name fried apples too, but they looked more like apple pie filling with out the crust); sweet as can be sweet potatoes with brown sugar topping; and one day there appeared a great pan of butter beans.

It was then that I heard a friend utter the phrase, "The very nectar of heaven," as he sat down at our table, his plate more than half covered in the pale, cream-colored beans. "What's the very nectar of heaven?" I asked, eager to learn about some new, wonderful food. "Butter beans are the very nectar of heaven," he repeated with relish. And then proceeded to launch into a weighty argument with another friend about the truth of this statement, all arguments based on the principles of apologetics.

By the time lunch was nearly over I was ready to get past my dislike of most forms of beans and give the butter beans a try. I remember being served some type of huge bean in Scotland which was actually so soft and melting that I didn't mind it. Perhaps the butter beans were the same. So, I tried some. "I'm not sure these qualify as the very nectar of heaven," was my verdict. My friend assured me that, while these beans were very good, they didn't compare with the butter beans his grandmother could make in her pressure cooker.

The next day, while sitting in the airport awaiting our flight home, our friends happened to walk by. We decided we'd all sit together to wait the time out and our friend excitedly declared, "We're going to have Carolina barbecue for lunch. Now THAT is the very nectar of heaven." Somehow I believed him a bit more than I had with the butter beans.

We waited all morning for the lunch hour, sitting in front of the Carolina BBQ sign.

And then it was finally time to order: barbecue, hush puppies, greens, green beans, coleslaw, mashed potatoes and even a fried pickle.

This time I had to agree -- this food was good, even if it was served in an airport. Imagine the taste if our friend's grandmother had made it!!!!

The barbecue had flavor, was not dry, and appropriately covered in coleslaw, was delicious! And cooked greens -- so good!!! (Maybe that's how my friend felt about the butter beans.) Not to mention everything else.

So I really did get to have something authentic while we were away!!!

Bonclarken

2009-11-09T07:47:00.002-05:00

Last weekend Michael and I traveled to North Carolina to attend a retreat for pastors and their wives put on by the Home Mission Board. We stayed at a lovely place called Bonclarken where the scent of pine hung heavy in the fresh, October air.

I found it very strange to be seeing fall leaves on the trees and azaleas blooming on the ground. The timing of those has never mixed before in my world.

We stayed in nice little hotel-like rooms in one of the guest houses and walked every mealtime to the dining hall, past this beautiful view:

Friday and part of Saturday were spent hearing talks from Dr. Curto, a minister in the OPC (Orthodox Presbyterian Church). It turned out that Dr. Curto and his wife were the missionaries to start the mission work in Karamoja, Uganda where two of the girls from our church are (or will be soon) serving. Not only that, but the mission the Curtos were with ended up buying the mission compound in Mbale, Uganda that I visited as a teenager when friends of ours from a different mission group lived there! Small world, really.

Dr. Curto's talks were encouraging and the fellowship with all the other pastors and their wives was very special. I think we all benefitted from that part of the weekend.

This is the house at the center of the retreat center. It was built in the late 1800's and is just gorgeous inside. It goes on and on forever with little bedrooms and sitting rooms tucked in every little corner.

Another view:

Here is a picture of what the house looked like before they added the dining hall (which makes the left part of the house hard to see now). It was built by a man for his Swiss wife, thus the European look.

Next time I post I'll have to fill you in on the food we ate!

Christmas Tea

2009-11-07T09:31:00.005-05:00

This blog has been silent for a long time! Life has been very full around here and priorities must be kept! Between our 5 days away last weekend, hospitality, homeschool, ballet, housework, and the cooking blog, there is not much time left for other things. :)

Yesterday we headed to Christina's house for "Christmas Tea." We used to have this at the beginning of September and begin planning what we would make for Christmas presents.

Christina had a beautiful table set:

She tried out the pumpkin bars from TCND but made them with brown rice flour instead of wheat flour. Excellent! No compromise here for being gluten-free.

Mom had seasonal note pads for everyone!

And Christina made it very festive with gingerbread and lemon sauce:

The kids enjoyed themselves:

And they even started making lists of presents to make. :)

We decided to draw names for presents this year -- which was hilarious, really. It was obvious JK and Michael would take each other and that left Christina, Emily and I to match up. Easily done with one little draw.

I have lots to show and tell about our trip last weekend -- where we stayed, what we eat (very important) and the surprise tour we got to take! Hopefully I'll be posting soon!

Fall Life

2009-10-27T15:19:00.005-04:00

Sometimes one just has to stop and smell the roses, or the fallen leaves. Last Wednesday I decided we just needed to stop life and go to the park before the beauty of fall fades away. We have one of the largest city parks in the nation just 3 miles down the road and it makes me sad that we don't make more use of it. Of course the entrance fee is probably what puts me off.

It was refreshing for all of us to be out in nature and alert to everything changing in the woods. Thanks to Brenda's recommendations, I'm reading the Charlotte Mason Companion right now and finding it very beneficial. I haven't done much reading on Charlotte Mason, mostly because I didn't feel up to delving into her original works. The Companion is easier and I'm surprised at how much jells with the way I tend to do things in our school anyway. Not to mention that I love nature......

This morning we woke up to gray skies and misty fog. It wasn't a frightening fog, but rather an inviting one. I decided we needed to take a walk first thing. I love the smell of the woods in the fall -- the musty leaves and wet wood.

Baby John is growing all the time. Apparently he is over 10 pounds now! And he's a very good baby, so we all like that. He came along for the ride on our Wednesday walk.

I think my favorite color is the bright pumpkin orange that is set on fire when the sun shines.

The kids and I love finding Fuzzy Wuzzies when we're out. Michael taught them this hilarious poem yesterday:

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear

Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair

Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy was he?

Of course it doesn't have anything to do with the Fuzzy Wuzzies we see, but they thought it was funny nonetheless.

We went to the apple orchard yesterday. I've been trying to keep us stocked on apples throughout the fall and we were running low. It was a beautiful day to sit in the orchard and watch the kids roll rotten apples down the tractor ruts and run about and play. And now half my fridge will be full of apples again. But I do like the taste of apples from the orchard.

Michael and I are off, ON OUR OWN, for a weekend conference in the hills of North Carolina. I'm hoping the leaves are still at their peak down there and that it will be a very restful and encouraging time. Hopefully I'll bring back pictures.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I felt in dire need of an apple pie after we went to the orchard. So, we made one. We had it for dessert and then for breakfast as a treat. Pretty delicious (and it was very low sugar too).

Another happy note about today, I have a new niece!!! Little Sophie was born this morning to Michael's brother and his wife. We are all pretty excited because girls are rare in the family. :)

I think this bee was a bit stiff. The weather is actually warmer at the end of October than at the beginning. Every day the heating is off is a help.

Bittersweet is a very beautiful part of natural fall. I love seeing it hang from trees as we drive along the rodes (and always wish I could stop and pick some).

About 2/3 of the way through our walk David gave us this look. He was tired out. Poor guy. He made it all the way though, with a bit of prodding from the rest of us.

We've been studying birds in science lately. The kids really enjoy that subject (birds) and we've been on the lookout for them everywhere:

Two more weeks of Art Class and then we'll be finished for the fall. It's going pretty well and the kids are cooperative for the most part. I need to get one class organized and taught before we leave on Thursday.

The gray skies of the morning are seeming a bit depressing in the evening light. One more week and it will be getting dark a whole hour earlier. That's when it's hard to go down and start dinner.

The golden days of fall will soon be fading......

Well, it's rice pilaf and roasted cauliflower and baked mushrooms and chicken for dinner. Recipes will appear before long over at The Cooks Next Door. Have a good week!

Fall Party

2009-10-21T10:09:00.003-04:00

The house was full of people on Monday night for a baby shower. It was a fall-themed shower, and we had lots of fall treats, like this gluten-free pecan walnut tart. (Recipe to be revealed next month on The Cooks Next Door).

This was my first time making these Walnut Acorn Cookies. They were so cute, and very scrumptious:

Then we had a bright orange sun-dried tomato and cummin hummus that went well with blue cornchips:

I didn't get a picture of the delicious cheese fondue that we also had, thanks to a friend.

To drink we had a mulled cider punch, which I may just have to post over at TCND sometime soon:

Mom came over a few hours early and helped transform the house from major disaster into peaceful abode. She also helped with the decorations:

We played "Guess the weight of the pumpkin" and then read out cards with questions or statements like "Don't make your child eat ____________ ".

Oh, and we also enjoyed this amazing pumpkin cake with cream-cheese frosting. Our cake-maker friend (see previous post) provided this cake and I'm thinking we're going to need it for TCND.

We are in the midst of Indian Summer! I think that calls for a trip to the park........

Fall Wedding

2009-10-20T14:13:00.004-04:00

We went to my sister's sister-in-law's wedding this past Saturday. What a perfect time for a wedding! A bright, sunny day with the leaves at their peak and the wedding perfectly decorated with fall flowers.

My mom and sisters did the flowers and you can find much more detail over at Christina's blog. The bridesmaids wore navy, which was a stunny backdrop to the fall flowers.

Flowers aside, the bride herself was just beautiful!

And Baby John slept through the ceremony and behaved himself very well over the whole weekend.

Here is the bride's bouquet:

Our favorite cake-maker friend made another beautiful cake. It was covered in fresh fruit -- some dipped in sugar. It went along with the wedding theme so well!

And the reception was beautifully decorated:

Here are JK and Christina with John in his little vest that Christina knit to match their outfits.

Congratulations to Bethany and Rusty on their marriage!

The Freezer's On A Diet

2009-10-15T20:24:00.003-04:00

My freezer is on a diet. Once my oven was working again, I felt it was time to move onto the freezer, whose gasket was gaping in several places.

"For one thing, ma'm," began the freezer repairman, "this freezer's too full." "Well, don't let my family hear that," I thought. They already think I'm crazy because I keep a decent pantry and I knew I'd be in for more of the same if they heard about the freezer.

Okay, time for a freezer diet. Out came a gallon of frozen milk (to become yogurt). Out came a few bags of frozen grains (note to self: stop buying things like wheat germ in 5 pound bags). A few bags of strawberries made their way to the fridge freezer. And I promised myself no more freezer jam -- everything will have to be canned from now on!

"So I'm getting a quarter of a beef in a few months," I casually told the freezer repairman. "Well then, I suggest you get yourself another freezer, ma'm."

Fortunately, Michael doesn't think I'm crazy (as my family does). He thought a second freezer was a great idea and even offered to put more shelving up in the pantry to help me have more storage space. (Gotta love a guy like that!)

So, today found me driving south to pick up my new freezer -- 16 cubic feet, not frost free (better for meat storage), chest-type, found on Craig's List. It'll be sitting next to the upright in my pantry. The pantry is now a mess, with everything overflowing into the kitchen, all awaiting my attention. But we have the freezer and the new arrangement is going to be great! And, we'll have room for that cow (pictured above and grazing happily just 1 1/2 miles from here). I just need to get the pantry organized before the party I'm hosting happens Monday night!

And before I end, I just have to remind you how wonderful beet greens are -- especially when sauteed in olive oil and browned garlic with balsamic vinegar drizzled over at the end. I wish there were leftovers.....

Oh, and let me also mention that our toilet stopped working downstairs and had to be replaced -- today. And I think I maybe shouldn't have mentioned to the boys that it's the kind that can flush 20 golf balls at once.

The Appearance of Fall

2009-10-13T12:09:00.003-04:00

Fall is certainly here, even though the leaves aren't at their peak. Our heating is on now, and I'm craving lots of tea and soup. I got out Sunday afternoon for a walk:

Some of the kids came with me -- what a wonderful time of year for exploring in the woods:

I can't wait until we see more deep orange and red.

Every now and then one does catch a glimpse of red:

Mushrooms are popping up everywhere.

And there is a bush covered in rosehips that we pass everytime we go walking.

The only flowers we see are these lavendar-colored ones -- scattered everywhere in the woods:

We always stop at this point to admire the water:

Michael is away in Chicago for a seminar and we are busy with school and lots of cooking and baking that needs to be done. The winter clothes are almost all switched in and I'm trying to make order out of my craft closet. I've just finished Ysolda's Ishbel Shawl and it's blocking on the floor of my bathroom right now. Can't wait to show you!

Teaching Art

2009-10-08T15:17:00.002-04:00

Thursday mornings are spent at homeschool co-op right now. This year it is my turn to teach a class, not just be a helper. I was given Art for the 5th and 6th grades. While I am not really an artist, I certainly felt more at home with this than something science-related!

This morning we focused on value (light, medium, and dark) and at the end of the class the kids did a pencil drawing of this:

They did a good job. Three of the six weeks are over, so I'm half way done! Thursdays are nice because after an intense morning, school is finished and we can take it easy for the rest of the day (if we don't have anything else planned).

Pumpkin butter is in the crockpot and making the house smell like a Pumpkin Spice Latte.......ahhhhh. Nice counteraction to the heavy rain falling outside and the cool temperatures. I think homemade bread and soup is in order for dinner -- maybe.

Speaking of pumpkin butter, I will be posting a recipe on The Cooks Next Door sometime in the next several weeks. But, if you head over there today or tomorrow, you can sign up for the current give-away, which is a really nice cookbook.

And now, I think it's time for a little rest before gearing up for the rest of the day.

Plenty of Food

2009-10-05T08:00:00.003-04:00

For those of you who enjoy reading my posts about food, you can now do it full-time (well, technically half-time :). Have a look:

www.thecooksnextdoor.wordpress.com

Recently

2009-10-01T16:42:00.003-04:00

Life has been busy recently. We're into the height of soccer season. With both Andrew and James playing, that means possibly two nights of the week with soccer and then Saturday morning. Fortunately, Michael feels responsible for that and takes care of the runs as much as possible. And there is Wednesday night ballet. It does mean strange meal times -- very early or very late. I'm not quite used to it. Besides the funny appetite, meal times are suffering. There are so many wonderful things to cook though, especially at this time of year. Tonight we are having "fake pizza" (from the store) because it sounds so good! :)

We had our first Fall hospitality event last week with a pie night. I realized I better get my house decorated fast. I have a new mantel decoration, but no picture of it yet.

I'm playing around with my new camera, but haven't been able to get it figured out yet. I may need a different lens (I have 14 days to return the one I bought). I need to try a few different settings, but I'm thinking I'm going to have to get that other lens I was thinking about originally.

Michael is away until Saturday night. Hopefully I can do some fun things with the kids while he is away to help pass the time. I think we're going to watch cooking shows and knit tonight. Maybe that will be relaxing. We spent the morning at homeschool group (at which I teach art to the 5th and 6th graders) and then it was home for a quick lunch before heading out to the dr's and then the Knit Shop and then the airport. I think it's time to relax......

We have overnight guests this weekend so I need to get organized for that and of course do some cooking/baking. First off is one more day of school.....

James' Birthday

2009-09-29T19:57:00.004-04:00

James celebrated his 5th birthday this past Saturday. We promised him a trip to the apple orchard to pick apples.

It was a gorgeous day, and there were tons of apples. We all had fun!

Note David's hilarious pose:

There were some wonderful squashes to purchase at the orchard store:

And I couldn't resist this huge Cushaw which is destined to become pies, I think:

We happened to go to the orchard on the weekend of their Fall Fest, so there was lots going on. Suze came along for the ride and helped with all the kids:

Then James amazed us all by learning to ride his bike on his birthday!

Presents were so much anticipated that we had to do them before the cake:

Lightening McQueen is the star of the show:

At James' request we had apple cake:

We love you James!!!!! You are a sweetheart!

The Stove

2009-09-25T08:15:00.003-04:00

My stove is fixed!!!! YAY!! Just in time too, because I need to bake a bunch of pies for company tonight.

Having felt deprived of nice, hot dinners in the last 10 days, I decided we needed to remedy that last night. We had pork and beef meatloaf which turned out a perfect consistency and had such a lovely savory taste (no doubt in part to the added grated apple and onion). This was accompanied by parmesan mashed potatoes and cauliflower roasted to crispy, golden perfection. And there was salad with avacado in it. Oh my! It was all SO good. Oh, and Rachel made baked apples for dessert, their brown sugar goodness enjoyed with pools of cream.

In case you are now feeling hungry, just think of all the dishes that were left and all the time it took to cook that. Oh well. It was worth it. It sure felt nice to have a hot dinner.

And now for a day of school and pie baking and tomorrow we celebrate the 5th birthday of James.

Knitting

2009-09-24T08:30:00.002-04:00

Our first Knit Night of the season was a great success. Lots of knitting, chatter, and tea (or coffee) drinking.

My mom's cousin recently sent me this family picture of 3 generations knitting.
Isn't it wonderful?
Pictured are my great Aunt Jane, her granddaughter Lily, daughter-in-law Dayle, and granddaughter Ryan.

First Fall Purse

2009-09-23T12:34:00.001-04:00

I finally finished the first of about 5 fall purses I started. :) We'll see how many get finished. I loved the colors of this one and if it doesn't sell quickly over on my Etsy site, I may just take it back to be my own fall purse. :)

Food, Etc.

2009-09-22T08:16:00.004-04:00

A few more practice shots with the camera. Definately, this is what I need for food photography.

I made some pumpkin butter over the weekend. Very good. Very easy.

Practicing getting the foreground in focus and the background fuzzy.

We have a bowl of apples as our centerpiece right now. Very festive for this time of year.

The garden has done, overall, pretty well for it's first year. The beans were the best investment. I've picked about 10 pounds and paid only $1.69 for the seeds. Lots and lots of yellow tomatoes and one called Mr. Stripey.

And there were pictures of other people and things as well.

My stash, which needs some spare time from me to turn it into beautiful things.

Some newly arrived yarn destined for baby hats:

And my current wall board:

Now it's time for school and Michael and I are headed to see the King Tut exhibit this afternoon (and maybe we'll make it to the camera store?!).

Baby John

2009-09-21T08:24:00.005-04:00

I've been having fun taking pictures with a friend's camera. Mostly I was interested in how it captured food, but I did try it out on my little nephew, John. He's so sweet!

So, it's now my priority to get to the camera store and find out just how much I can get and how much I still need to save for. :) I do want to post a few other pictures (of food) that I took while I had the camera. Unfortunately my oven is still out! And, it may not even be fixed this week! Ugh -- kind of hard too when I'm hosting a pie night on Friday night! It does force creativity........

Looking for September

2009-09-18T16:26:00.003-04:00

I feel like I've been looking for September, and maybe today I finally caught a glimpse of it.

We've had the air-conditioning on to help with seasonal allergies, and the temps have still been climbing to 80 each day, so it's been hard to feel that cool breeze that reminds you fall is just around the corner.

Today I was driving my favorite "back way" and did finally feel like I was seeing signs of fall: harvesting, a few little leaves scattered on the road, the deep blue September sky, and the yellows beginning to appear in the forest and fields.

I love barns, and country scenes. I'm studying color for an art class next month and so I'm trying to notice it all right now. Green and red are complimentary colors -- is that why red barns look so nice in green landscapes? (Although I have to admit, this barn, in person, does have a distinctive pink ring to it.)

Every now and then there are a few leaves starting to turn:

Even the field of drying soybeans with the "disguised" water treament plant managed to look appealing today:

So I was glad of my little drive to help put me in the September mood. I suppose fall comes next week. A fall tea with treacle scones sounds so good to me. I'm a bit down by the fact that my oven isn't going to be fixed for perhaps another 10 days or so. It puts a big wrench in my schedule for what I needed to use it for in the next week or so, but I guess I need to learn to be content......

There's a big to-do list in front of me but somehow I just don't feel like doing very much - -fatigue, fatigue. Oh well. At least I think the kids got some good school done today. :) Have a good weekend!

Emily's New Job

2009-09-15T16:08:00.002-04:00

My sister, Emily, has a new job! When she's not in class, or studying, she'll be waiting tables at Trader's Point Creamery! Yay! We are so excited for her. It seems like such a cool place to work.

I love going to the Creamery to see the cows being milked or just pretend I'm out in the country on a farm. The Creamery raises 100% organic, grass-fed cows. And their milk products are pretty delicious! (Think super delicious yogurt, ice-cream, cheese.)

Last Friday night Em and I took a quick spin up to check out their Farmer's Market and to sit down for a bit of ice-cream: a scoop of mango and a scoop of chocolate. The mango ice-cream is amazing! I wanted to have eaten an Indian meal prior to indulging -- maybe next time. :)

Anyway, the Creamery restaurant has a different menu each week night and I'm having so much fun hearing all about it from Em. Maybe one of these days I'll actually go eat there.....

Saturday Wedding

2009-09-14T08:30:00.002-04:00

Saturday morning we attended a beautiful wedding outdoors.

The weather was perfect, the flowers and dresses gorgeous, and the people happy:

And the couple was happy too:

The reception was on a great big lawn, with plenty of room for the adults to sit and chat and the children to run and play.

It is always fun to see the rings:

And now the week is ahead of us. My oven broke over the weekend, so I'll be needing to sort that out. A broken oven is highly inconvenient, especially when one has a lot planned to bake! :) Hopefully things will sort out quickly.

End of the Week

2009-09-11T16:13:00.003-04:00

Well, it's the end of the week. Thank you all so much for your kind words on the death of our uncle. We've spent the week keeping in touch with my mom and look forward to her return on Monday.

It's the end of the school week, which is nice too. We are taking Fridays for our history, art, and science day, since we just don't get those things done on other days. It does make it more of a day to look forward to.

Everyone is talking about 9/11 today. Eight years means that it was eight years ago that we were packing for Scotland and planning to hop on a plane the next day. Lots has happened since then. I am thankful that God is still in control of everything that happens.

I've been busy working on felted flowers -- all in fall colors.

Although I'm drawn to spring and summer colors, these are warm and inviting, and by some miraculous chance I found a yellow sweater last week!

I've also made 2 dozen minis. Yesterday I made some mini sunflowers (not pictured) which are too cute. These minis are adorable when put on hairclips.

I think I'm tired but there's still work to do and dinner to cook. We have a wedding to attend this weekend, so that should be fun. And a HUGE pile of ironing.......

Uncle Bill

2009-09-07T08:50:00.002-04:00

William Arthur Winterbottom

June 24, 1946 -- September 5, 2009

As a family we are mourning the sudden death of Uncle Bill this past Saturday. After enjoying Maine's "nicest day all summer", rowing in the Yarmouth area with friends, Uncle Bill went home to his camper and apparently suffered a heart attack. We certainly would appreciate your prayers for my mom, as she mourns the last of the Winterbottoms.

I have many memories of Uncle Bill which include:

Waiting forever until Uncle Bill woke up in the mornings so I could bring my legos in and dump them all over the bed to play

The cooler filled with lobster and clams that accompanied Uncle Bill on his trips from Maine to our house in Vermont

Model airplanes, "dope" (glue), and balsa wood

Clamming in front of his house in Maine

Laughing with glee as we "cleaned the kitchen" using an open-topped vitamix, water and plenty of dish soap

Fishing off the coast of Maine and hitting a school of mackerel

Sailing to Jewel Island and camping there for several days

Good food -- always good food: real eggnog, smoked meats, lobster, clams, filet mignon, steaks, blueberry pancakes on the huge stove, clam chowder, taco feeds.....

Staying on his boat in Mattituck, Long Island where "everywhere you look there's a project"

Racing on Uncle Bill's sailboat and being scared to death the boat would tip right over into the water

Making funny commercials for Grey Poupon

Enjoying the holidays together this past year

Watching my kids get to know this funny uncle

Knitted Bear

2009-09-05T08:23:00.002-04:00

I made this sweet little bear last week to give to a friend who is having a baby any day. The bear is from Susan B. Anderson's Itty-Bitty Nursery and is so simple to knit! The entire bear is made of garter stitch (knit every stitch) squares!!!! The only thing slightly difficult is sewing the bear together -- all it takes is a little time.

So, all of you Knit Nighters out there -- you might want to consider making one of these! They make great gifts -- and mine only took one skein of Cotton Classic.

Photo courtesy of Tammy -- thanks!

Spring to Fall

2009-09-03T11:58:00.003-04:00

I decided to take my spring purse:

and change it around a bit for the Fall:

I'm not quite satisified with it, but I'll keep staring at it and see if I think of something else to do. I'm buried under piles of fall felted sweaters, trying to get an order of fall flowers out the door. Lots of fun......