turkey feathers

In the Mood for Mud

 

After a week of rain, Saturday was a perfect autumn day.  On that day the sun stayed out long enough for us to venture over to the pumpkin patch to partake in a little mud and madness.  There was quite a lot of mud actually, but it was still a nice break from all the work I've been doing on the upcoming book.  Which, I might add, is coming together quite nicely;  in its own way and on its own time table.  Because, creating a book from scratch (all by yourself) is quite a production, requiring sufficient amounts of chocolate and the occasional happy distraction to keep things moving along.   Having two incredibly creative daughters around also keeps me motivated.  I'm collaborating with them on a couple of other projects.  These projects are basically their idea.  I'm just like the consultant-mom-cheerleader-project manager-person behind the scenes, who on occasion provides assistance when they ask.  Or points them in the right direction when they need a compass.  We hope to reveal more soon, but for now, it's all very hush-hush.  Oh we do love a bit of mystery. 

Other unrelated sweetness that is making me smile right now:

1.   the '09 fall/winter GreenGate catalog 

2.   the first project of the copy cat challenge

3.   Grace's new Petite Patisserie dollhouse sweets collection on flickr

4.  All the funny and uplifiting comments (regarding that last post).  Thank you!  You all deserve a big slice of pie! 

 

Pink House Cafe

   

While out on a country drive Sunday morning, we found ourselves here, at the Pink House Cafe.  It reminded me a little of our own doll house bakery. 

I thought it would be fun to take you on a little tour. 

   

 Standing on the front porch.  There are little tables set up in and around the house in various places. 

 The front door greets you--like stepping inside a doll house. 

As I understand it, the house was built in the late 1800's, and moved twice in order to save it.  I wish I knew what was at the top of the stairs.

The current owner spent years restoring the house to it's former glory, then opened it as a cafe about a month ago.  It's all very warm and inviting.

 

The Mister and I chose to sit on this sunny side-porch.  (Love this darling child-size table set.)

 

The food and service was excellent--prices were also quite reasonable.  If you find yourself in the area, just taking a "country drive" or bicycling through, I highly recommend it.

The Great Outdoors

Summer is breezing along here with one little adventure after another.  We are home again after a little respit in the mountains with twenty other family members visiting from far away places.  A reunion of sorts.  It was fantasic fun, but it's good to be home. 

The air seems heavy here in the valley now.  I am still adjusting to the lower altitude, humidity, and 90+ degree heat---and missing the cool mornings spent drowsily soaking in the hot tub while watching the sunrise through the ponderosas.  And missing the star gazing from same hot tub at day's end.  On our last night, emersed in warm swirling bubbles, just dozing and gazing---a gigantic racoon suddenly appeared.  I  opened my eyes just in time to see him slinking along the top of the fence, then crouching like a coiled spring ready to launch.   I hate to think of what might've happened if I hadn't squawked like a banshee and scared him out of his poor wits (and mine too), sending him scurrying back into the woods. 

 

I love the wildlife, but that was just a little too close for comfort! 

Not All Here

Well, I declare.  It's July already!  Did it creep up on you too?  Time to flip another page on the calendar and slip into summertime bliss.  I'm working on that, because I've been much much too busy lately.  I did finally get around to planting these two matching flower boxes over the weekend though, which are now hanging off the front porch and looking oh-so love-a-lee, reminding me to dial down.  "Dialing down", is my new catch phrase this summer.  That's the kind of lingo one picks up from watching way too much TV golf.  TV golf, is a top-notch dial-down summer "activity" that rocks.

 

Like walking in someone else's shoes.  Summer has surely arrived here, it's already heating up---we're expecting temperatures in the mid-90's today and tomorrow.  Think I'll brew up a half-gallon of Sun Tea for later when I'm melting and ready to put my feet up and delve back into, "The Woman Who Was Not All There" (by Paula Sharp), a thrift-shop book purchase that caught my eye and drew me in--with that intriguing title...hmmm.  I know what you're thinking!  (hee hee) But I assure you I am all here, most of the time anyway.  Turns out, this book is quite entertaining and insightful, full of colorful narration and descriptions.  Like this one, it just cracked me up:  "Marjorie sat down, glancing at the cake as if it were a child she feared might misbehave.  It was heaped with coconut gratings and was a brighter orange than Marjorie had thought."  (Marjorie baked the cake for a neighbor she'd never met, but wanted to impress.) 

  

Kinda reminded me of this cake, that gave me a heap of trouble.  The bottom layer cracked right out of the pan.  Nothing like an extra doll-up of icing to cover a multitude of flaws.  It was tasty however, evidenced here by someone returning for seconds.  BTW, the doll house bakery has some new additions if you are in the market for "petite treats".  Grace has been working on these on and off for months, and finally got them in her shop.  Go look, they'll make you smile and coo.

We've got long-time-no-see relatives (from out-of-state) coming for the 4th, and yet another family reunion coming up next week, so my sewing projects have been set aside for the time being, and this blog will likely gather some cyber dust.  I'll be doing my very best to keep up with pattern and book orders though.  And I did manage to get the JULY 2009 free-with-purchase BONUS embroidery designs finished and up on the website just moments before this post. (Explaining this hodge-podge.)  I actually thought I had another day, but like I said, it crept up on me, so a bit of a rush-around at the very last minute.  I always think I have more time than I actually do. 

 

I need to heed my own advice; which is sort of hanging on the wall right in front of me.

We want to thank all the well-wishers who left comments for our home school graduate!  We're still in celebration mode and plan to stay that way for a good long while.  We were over on the college campus yesterday for testing, and so far Grace has passed the first two tests required to obtain her GED.  Woot!  Two down, and three more to go on that front.

 

On another front, it looks like we're just beginning down that same path that leads to being all grown up.  Found, this morning on the eleven-year-old's door.  Sigh.  Seems like only yesterday, she was collecting those bugs. 

We Are Pleased To Announce

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."  ~Anatole France

Exciting news!  We're celebrating another graduation in our house.  Approximately sixteen years since the first one and thirteen years since the last one.  Almost a whole generation apart this time.  Certainly a much different experience--with the former ceremonies being more buttoned down, and official; with a tassel and a diploma.  I was a proud mama then, and I'm a proud mama now, but under completely different circumstances.  About seven years ago, we veered away from traditional schooling and eased into a more relaxed lifestyle of learning at home, together as a family.  There was no grand plan.  We simply found ourselves at a cross-roads one day as our elementary school closed (due to lack of funds for safety repairs), and an opportunity to move rural suddenly came up.  I knew families that home-schooled and always admired their resolute and self-sufficiency, but I really wasn't that confident myself, and didn't have a clue where to begin or even how to DO it.  Given our circumstances though, we decided to try it for a year and go from there.  I won't go into all the details, there are many, enough to fill a book, but eventually--we found our way.  Thanks due in part, with a little help from our friends.  Looking back, it's been an amazing journey for us all.  And now that it has ended, in some respects, for one child, I wanted to commemorate this milestone in her life, in a way that would reflect that journey.  So we did our own grad-photo shoot here in the garden recently and had announcements printed.  I think they turned out exactly right.  The quote at the top is on the upper inside flap, and the announcement details are inside too. 

I used Zazzles, they have good product and fast turn-around, but I was a bit disappointed with their free shipping offer--it seems a box of 50 note cards falls under their criteria for 'over-sized' and does not qualify.  No where on the website does it mention what constitutes "over-size".  (So beware.)  A $13 s/h charge was applied instead.  Their customer service is prompt at responding, but only quoted the obscure "fine print" which still didn't explain how over-size orders are determined.  Small details for sure, but still. Not. Good. Business.  No one likes a 'bait and switch' tactic.  Especially since I had spent four times the amount required to qualify for their "free shipping".  Boo.

Making progress on the potpourri.  Gathered these pretties yesterday from the backyard garden. 

On a final note, thank you for the book orders!  I'm wrapping them all up today (with a special surprise) and hope to get them mailed on Monday.  Have a great weekend!

Quaint February Morning

 

My favorite way to start the day. . .

My new friend Borax

Another busy week, like so many that have come before it.  But also a week with a lovely conclusion; a dinner party at the local country club for company members and their spouses, the rescheduled event that got snowed-out in December. We gathered, we laughed, we wined and dined, and had a great time with the lively group at our table.  I chose the salmon dish with a sort of rice pilaf and steamed baby asparagus spears, and a death-by-chocolate dessert with mounds of chocolate mousse piped on top of squares of dark chocolate panes and garnished with fresh raspberries.  um, guess you can tell I'm still thinking about it. 

(Someone made cupcakes this week too.  Guess who?)  These are just random photos found in my camera from last week.  A week that just sort of went by in a cloud of dust.  As always, so much to be done.  I couldn't ignore my laundry any longer either, or the floors.  And I found out that "housework when done correctly CAN kill you."  Maybe an exaggeration, but there's certain truth to that.  It most definitely can mame you.  I have a pulled ligament and a chipped nail to prove it.  Looking back, I'm wondering why I thought it was a good idea to scrub all 12 sinks in my house on the same day.  Obviously I wasn't thinking about having to clean them when we purchased this house. Or plumbers.  Or hard water stains.  

   

Our water is pumped from an underground well deep within the earth, and is full of minerals that leave deposits on everything.  It's especially hard on *stainless* steel sinks, and thankfully we only have one, up in the laundry room, which unfortunately gets neglected.  It's the closest sink to the girl's art area too and all manner of colorful spatters and paint blobs get deposited on it as a result.  I've tried numerous times and never have I gotten it even moderately clean looking.  Out of desperation, having tried everything else, I grabbed the box of 20 mule team borax sitting on the shelf above the sink, dumped some in and was amazed that it worked so well.  So amazed, in fact, that I felt I must pass this little housekeeping hint on to you right here and now, just in case you didn't know.  Borax really isn't a surprise or a secret, I've been using it regularly as a laundry boosting agent for years, because it really helps with hard water, but I didn't know that it worked so well as an all-purpose household cleanser.  It's safe for septic tanks (which we also have) and plumbing, contains no phosphates, or chlorine (which I react to) and it's earth friendly.  Keep it away from little kids though, it's toxic if ingested.  Here's a booklet download describing the product and all of its many household uses.  Even recipes for preserving flowers using a mixture of white sand or cornmeal. Hadn't heard of that one.  Will try that when the flowers are blooming again.  And it's rather inexpensive.  Truly a housekeeper's friend--especially one with a dozen sinks.     

Although...maybe you'll appreciate what I'm about to tell you even more.  After reading through all the cute comments, poems & stories from the last post--and thank you so much for all that, it totally revived me--I asked myself, how can I choose just one winner? Well, I could not.  You're all simply way too marvelous!  So. Guess what?  Everyone's a winner!  Here's the deal: for a *limited time* I'll be offering the seven animals in aprons motifs that I used to make this baby quilt.  To get it free, just click on the button below and save the PDF to your file or print it out immediately.  

Updated 2/18: Free download offer has expired--thanks to all who participated!

Cat Naps & Nesting

Well, it's all over for another year.  I've been slowly cleaning up.  A pile here, a pile there.  Picking my way through rooms being careful not to step on furry creatures that may be hiding out.  Our Miss Lily would rather I left things alone.  She rather enjoys hunkering down in the middle of it all.  Her own cozy nest.   

The snow is melting and another storm has moved in with wind and rain.  The lights have flickered a couple of times.  I've got candles at the ready and am keeping my fingers crossed that the power stays on.  We had a nice quiet Christmas this year. All parties were called off due to folks being snowed in, so on to plan B--getting together on New Year's Day instead.  So, I've been staying home, winding down with the last few days of 2008, enjoying the peacefulness of winter.  I got completely absorbed in this lovely little book and read it through in a couple of days.  If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it if you crave small town charm, goodwill, and happy endings.  And there's that subtle Fannie Flagg wit that never misses a beat.  I was pleased to find the recipes included at the end of the book from the two friendly rival groups; The Mystic Order of the the Royal Polka Dots Secret Society and The Mystic Order of the Royal Dotted Swiss. I think I'll try a few of them.   Specifically, Dottie Niven's Kentucky Bourbon Pie.  Anyone read the book and/or made the dishes?

Some Christmas generosity.  Half-mittens lovingly made for one sister by the other.  I wish I could give you more details, but I'm not a knitter.  I do know there wasn't a pattern, just some trial and error and somehow it all worked out.  Another Christmas miracle.   

Should I clean up now or allow just one more nap?   

Our Winter Wonderland

After more snow, mixed with freezing rain last night, our neck of the woods has warmed up to a delightful 34 degrees this morning.  When I stepped outside, I could hear the unmistakable sound of thaw; the drip, drip, drip, from every eve, branch, and limb.  A musical symphony heard for miles I'm sure.  It means some people will finally get out of the house to buy food, or maybe get back to work, or just get out--after a week of isolation. 

I watched a fat cottontail creep out and then disappear into the bramble on the other side of the creek.  The birds and small animals instinctively know when it's time to make their move.  I need to remember to hang the suet cages up and fill the feeders, or just toss out some seed.  A non-migratory mixed flock swooped in yesterday and fluttered around the windows, clinging to the sills, I assumed to eat the bugs and spiders that always set up house there.   I stopped to observe them more closely as one little chickadee was actually looking in, peeping at me with it's tiny eye, and seemed to be chirping it's apparent distress.  Makes you wonder sometimes.  Do wild birds knowingly communicate to us, or have I been cooped up too long?  Possibly, true on both accounts. 

The thaw continues for now though, with intermittent snowfall.  Apparently this will continue into the weekend where the weather service has warned that something big this way comes...but they're not exactly sure when.  Or where it will hit the hardest.  Or how long it will last--and finally, ending with an apology that these freak storms are very difficult to predict.  Oboy.   All I know is it's dark and cold and birds seem to be warning me to take cover.  Hmmm...we shall see.  We shall see. 

In the meantime, I'll be leisurely wrapping a few more presents (don't hate me, I do my Christmas shopping early).  Writing news and greetings in Christmas cards to the relatives and long-lost friends.  Baking something sweet.  Untangling the threads in my sewing basket; maybe get around to actually sewing something.  Watch more holiday movies.  Lesley behind small meadow press, reminded me of a good one that I'd forgotten about:  A Child's Christmas in Wales.  Note to self:  Must order to add to our home movie library right now this very minute, before I get busy again and forget.  And two others along this line I just remembered:  Carrie's War, a Masterpiece Theater adaptation of Nina Bawden's book; and An Avonlea Christmas (from the producers of Anne of Green Gables) which followed the TV series with characters from Tales of Avonlea.  All from the 1980's I think, but who could ever forget the irrepressible Hetty King! 

Also finding Daily Routines--a typepad featured blog this week--quite fascinating.  It's about, "How writers, artists, and other interesting people organize their days."  That said, I need to get on with mine. 

Pumpkin Time

The glow of autumn always puts me in a sunny frame of mind. 

And brings on a sudden desire to visit the pumpkin patch.

All Aboard!