just be

Those quiet days after Christmas...when something inside you might be wanting to get back to the normal schedules of your life, yet it is quite delightful to just throw away the schedule and just be.

My beloved MIL has a birthday the day after New Years, therefore, we are venturing to her house tomorrow a couple of hours away to spend some time with her. I baked a devil's foods cake  selected from the Vintage Cakes cookbook by Jane Brocket. Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a Devil's Food and a Chocolate Cake? It is obvious to the baker when you add a double amount of baking soda  in proportion to the amount of baking powder in the cake mixture. This extra dose of baking soda will raise the ph level causing the cake to be darker and fluffier, along with the addition of cocoa powder and coffee  which also ups the intensity of richness and fluffiness to the cake. Since Claire had made my husband a birthday cake last week using a buttercream frosting which tasted so delicious, I decided on this simple chocolate buttercream recipe. I have all the ingredients on my pantry shelf and the butter is softening on my kitchen counter even as I type this.

the ongoing advent of Jesus, our Savior

The trappings are fun, the holiday exciting, but more than that, I feel it has significance not lost in the glitter, not really.

It is the birthday of Jesus. And it is good to remember that the carpenter's son was born, and taught, and died so long ago and yet is so alive, that we celebrate His birthday.

Gladys Taber

Stillmeadow Daybook

Merry Christmas! 

  Christ Jesus, we celebrate your first advent and await  your second one with great expectation.

Immanuel, God with us.

sugar plum fairy

"There was something in her movements that made you think she never walked but always danced".

Rilla of Ingleside

L.M. Montgomery

Another season of the Nutcracker has come and gone. And while I find myself humming the music from the Sugar Plum Fairy as I go about my day, still it feels like a dream that another year's production is finally over, and that this year I had the unsurpassed joy of watching Charlotte beautifully dance the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

She was sewn into the dress before every performance . This is done on a precautionary note with any dance that involves a cavalier lifting a dancer, there must not be any opportunity for his hand to get caught in  the back of her dress with any of the lifts.

Since I am privileged to be a part of the costume execution and coordination team, which basically means I rip apart, sew, and help with the fittings of the many costumes for all the dancers, I am back stage for some of the performances. The following pics were some I snapped prior to Saturday evening's performance. Not good photo quality at all, but I do appreciate the concentration in her face as she is gets alone to warm up before going on stage.

And after a full week of tiring late nights and then the culmination of four stage performances, all can truthfully say that is was worth every bit of hard work that putting on such a show like this entails.

a day of bursting light and promise

After two days of staying home due to the snowy weather, today promises to be different and have daily life ventures carry on. Yet Charlotte asks, "Do you think you can get out of our driveway?"

This morning I enjoyed seeing the sunshine glaring bright on the white crisp snow, my feathered friends feasting on last evening's sunflower seeds that were just tossed onto the snow frequently  throughout the past two days. Time enough to go back to filling the feeders twice a day.

 We received an email that Nutcracker rehearsals will resume tonight. Sigh with gratifying relief. I will pick Breanna up at 3:30 since she too is dancing...a mouse and an angel... on stage  for the first time this year!

snowy days

A world transformed into monochrome,

An aerosol sky spraying its white foam,

Floating in breathless, boundless speed,

Submerging all with voracious greed.

                                           The Silence of Snow

                                        Ruth D. Velenski

We did not doubt when the weather forecasters said 100%  chance of snow with a predicted accumulation of 8-12 Inches. But it still seemed Unbelievable for this time of year; I can honestly say I do not ever remember having this much snow before Christmas...ever! But am I loving it! 

I am warm and snug in my kitchen as I am creating soups and baking bread with the sound of Christmas carols in the background, while my eyes are never far from frequently looking outside the window to stare at the falling, twirling snow.

As the afternoon came, my mind would not release the thought of Little Women, an all -time favorite movie for us to watch every Christmas. But today I decided I would instead view Masterpiece's 2017 Little Women, and I am so glad I did. It is very good. The cinematography was beautiful, and I must admit some of the characters I might even prefer over the 1994 version, but that particular award winning version will still be one I will not give up watching anytime soon.

Tonight we were intending to be at at the Theater for the first night of the week-long "tech week" for my daughter's dance studio's annual performance of the Nutcracker. But it was called off due to the weather conditions...how calm we must all remain even knowing how much work on the costumes (my part) still needs to be done, and how important as ever practice on stage is to the dancers as well as for all other tech workers. So much goes into a performance such as this and I am always amazed at the quality that our local studio puts out and how thankful we are for all the community's support. Opening night is this Friday and the show must go on...

And I must say here that this year Charlotte was chosen to dance the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Therefore, she is wanting to get on stage as soon as possible. This has been a huge opportunity for her as she has had to learn not only the lead part, but how to dance with a cavalier (male partner). She does not act nervous, yet I know she is, and I am nervous for her, but I must not under any circumstance act like it!   

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/the-silence-of-the-snow

caps for their heads December yarn along

Knitting caps are to me a Christmasy thing to do, a gift that is easy, quick and makes me think of Little House on the Prairie days when handmade gifts were the only ones to be had during some of those leaner years, unlike the year Ma received the stove.

Breanna and Ivy's hats were knitted with my very own spun Romney wool that I dyed with Country Classic Dye.  The patterns for these hats can be found free on Ravelry, the Herringbone Hat by Ann Mizoguchi for the girls made for some fun color work while watching Hallmark Christmas movies. Since Riley is still a baby, I did not want his little head with significantly less hair to be in direct contact with the 100% wool, therefore, I decided that leftovers of acrylic yarn would do nicely for  knitting the Luuk by Annis Jones for him. I have so far knitted a pair of mittens for Ivy to go along with her hat, hopefully I will whip up some for Breanna too before Christmas.

With the Christmas season bringing extra events and activities, even so I continue to knit, and likewise, I continue to read. So much so that I presently am reading three books. But I wanted to share this particular cookbook with you. After checking it out from the library twice, I decided I must have it for more than its excellent recipes. Ruth Reichel was the former editor of Gourmet Magazine that left not only its loyal readers, but also its staff, lamenting its passing with the decision to stop its publication in 2009.

I am also reading The Substitute Guest, a Christmas story written by Grace Livingston Hill,  on those nights when even the decaf coffee delays sleep, and a book I received when I visited Operation Exodus in New York back in early October, Exodus II: Let My People Go by Steve Lightle. 

All three books are entirely different in content, technique of writing, and purpose but I am enjoying each one immensely.

I look forward to Ginny's Yarnalongs, please feel free to join in and share your latest fiber project and current reads.

a simple glimpse at the end of this autumn season

These last days of November can be tricky. So many of the trees are still clothed in various stages of dress, while others lay naked.

Mondays can be busy days because Charlotte goes to a piano lesson before lunch and a violin lesson in the afternoon. I find things to do such as grocery shopping at Aldi which is near her piano teacher's house, and stopping by the library or a coffee shop while she is having her violin lesson. But  sometimes I find myself waiting in the car as it was today, and as I'm sitting there I was entertained with the row of maples that were showing off outside the church, caught in the beauty of this day.

This is the view toward down town where the Christmas lights have been strung from the lamp posts, now look at that sky!

Earlier that morning before leaving the house, I was sitting at my desk doing some correspondences on my computer and my eyes kept being side-swiped by the falling leaves outside the window. I could not catch them falling no matter how hard I tried...

The end of this autumn season.

the weekender

After days of pouring rain, biting cold, steady gusting winds and what we like to term, "down-right nasty weather", autumn decided to give us the finest of its joys giving excellent opportunity to share my newly blocked hand-knitted sweater, The Weekender by Andrea Mowry.

                      Keats called autumn,

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

                      Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun";

The special November sunlight never fails to soothe me and I am particularly mindful of the constant uniqueness and concentrated beauty involved in the maturing of all things. 

a thanksgiving day in october

As per this post I am making myself an honest lady and giving a brief recount of my trip to Niagara Falls. Of course, we did the touristy thing and rode the Maid of the Mist. You could feel the Falls in more ways than one while while riding the sturdy boat...and yes, we did get wet from head to toe despite the pink ponchos

The next day we drove our rented car into Canada where I must agree the views of the falls were spectacular. And we were surprised to learn it was the Thanksgiving holiday in Canada. We were so delighted to have been seated by the huge glass window overlooking the falls where we were served a traditional, as in American traditional, Thanksgiving meal. Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, roasted root vegetables, pumpkin pie...we ate until we were as full as we were thankful.

more natural dyeing

Looking outside and taking in the autumnal beauty, my mind can not but help to think of natural dyeing. What colors are hidden in the weeds, the faded flowers, the barks, and the lichens? And what about in my kitchen, and those things I observe in my everyday life? Experimentation is the key, and the magic happens when the yarn is lifted from out of the dye bath, rinsed in cold water, and hung to dry.

So two more dye pots were formulated, one with black beans and the other with nasturtium leaves and stems.  I had seen on Pinterest the various colors that come from black beans so I was itching to try it. Dyeing with black beans involves a cold-bath dye which took me a total of four days, two days to make the dye and two more for the wool to process in the dye. I was truly hoping to get a vivid blue yarn, and while it was definitely not blue, it did turn out to be a very lovely gray with the slightest hint of violet.

I waited until the prediction of a frost before I reluctantly pulled up some of my nasturtium plants creating a dye bath from the leaves and stems. (Thankfully, I did not need to pull them all up because the nasturtiums in my garden  on the south side are still blooming beautifully.) I put this dye bath on one afternoon and let it simmer for a couple of hours, then after cooling I immersed the mordanted wool into the dye. I am very pleased with the flaxen-yellow color that resulted from the nasturtiums dye bath.
 

I did, however, apply a tablespoon of vinegar. My spigot water is not neutral(7), but has a higher alkaline reading. Next time I plan to apply a larger amount of vinegar to the black bean dye bath.

As always the photography was mainly done by Charlotte, I always do appreciate her creative bent. And she just seems to catch those in between shots too, like me standing on a chair in my slippers, and of the renowned George looking out through the glass door...appearing somewhat bored  with our going ons.

onion skin dyeing

 A plastic bag full of yellow onion skins was calling my name, onion skins collected over a period of time. Now understand we're talking a fat grocery bags worth crammed with outer onion skins.

 One day, I would muse, I am going to take those skins and make an onion skin dye.

And the time was now.

I gathered my old dye pots and set to boiling the onion skins in water for about an hour. Prior to that I had mordanted my wool with aluminum potassium sulfate, now soaking in a pot of room temperature water. After the dye bath had cooled some what, I strained the onion skins, gently placing the mordanted wool in the dye pot and raised the temp to a simmer for another two hours.  There is a time that the dye is spent, but I wanted to make sure the wool would take in as much as the dye as possible because I was hoping for as orange of a color as I could get.

Then the next day I  thought I would try putting in another skein of mordanted wool to see if the dyebath was entirely exhausted or not, it came out a very pale orange (not shown in true color, the very pale orange looks cream in some of the photos).

                                                 

                  The colors of autumn on a November day.

ordinariness

After returning home from my trip, I woke up Tuesday morning with a scratchy throat and a bit of malaise. That defined form of malaise that is not enough to make you stop and remain in bed or even stay wrapped up with a comforting afghan on the sofa all day, but the sort of malaise that just makes you feel as if you would like to crawl back into bed, and do nothing. Yet you keep on going, doing everyday things, just with a spirit of tiredness. My immune system is fighting hard and I want to think my drinking a concoction of fermented ginger "tea" is helping, along with regular doses of elderberry juice and Vitamin C. This tea is delicious and soothing:  I mix a teaspoon of fermented ginger, 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, and a teaspoon of honey with hot water.

And who expected the storm that was supposing to wham us hard (Hurricane Florence...in my area anyway) did not, but then Hurricane Michael blew in on Thursday afternoon with such  surprisingly strong magnitude, while we sat by the window and watched it blow in and blow out within an hour, leaving messes to clean up and causing many to loose power for several days.  We could not help but  go outside and watch the sky after the storm had passed through...I have never seen such a sky, and I am still rather wordless to describe its stunning uniqueness.

The rest of this ordinary day (Saturday) was spent helping my husband wash the outside windows of the sun room, and then while Witt and Claire went on a much needed "date", we gladly kept  Breanna and Riley.

a trip up north

Packing my suitcase as I have plans to travel with my husband, leaving in less than 48 hours. Now you need to know a bit of inside information about me to fully grasp my present thoughts. I very much like to go places and see things, even the thoughts of traveling to certain places or making definite plans for a trip stirs excitement with a great spirit of adventure oozing out all over the place.  But as the departure day approaches I get anxious, and even though I continue to give myself pep talks along the way...my home body tendencies flare to high volumes those few days prior to leaving home on a trip. Does this happen to you?

Back when I was in high school my parents planned a family vacation to drive to Niagara Falls. I was seventeen years old and intentionally getting into a car with my parents and two younger siblings seemed completely uncool. So I stayed home and never once regretted that rash immature decision. Until...well... about fifteen years ago, and I began to have a serious hankering to see Niagara Falls some time during my life time.

Opportunity has knocked, therefore, we are taking it full throttle.
Now for a question to those of you who've been to Niagara Falls, is there anything I should not miss seeing or doing while there? And, are there eating/dining places you recommend? We will also be going into Canada, so please give options for any Canadian highlights that you know of too. Thank you so much!

I shall post about my trip when I return.

october yarn along,worsted wool,and a garden

Of course, I knit, and I read... no matter what comes my way.

 And I join along with Ginny and other fine ladies from time to time blogging of my experiences as part of the monthly yarn along.

My calendar was flipped this morning, I stepped outside while it was still dark and beheld a luminous waning gibbous moon and several large lights in the sky. Coffee mug in hand the cooler air was inviting as I drew my robe tighter around me.

 A visit to the Salty Sheep Yarn Shop in Swansboro while at the beach in May triggered a decision to knit this sweater, The Weekender, by Andrea Mowry. This little shop, while not my local yarn shop, holds a fond place in my heart for several reasons, one being that I was there the very first spring that it was opened for business in 2008. My friend and I, knitting in hand, joined the local ladies knitting circle one morning sitting  by the opened windows where the salty air stirred our hair. 

 A worsted weight wool from Blue Sky Fibers, Woolstok, was purchased as this wool and pattern seemed destined to be a desirable match for an autumn knit.

After knitting the Swans Island Madison ( I call mine the Amethyst) all summer,  I was very ready to begin a project using a worsted weight yarn. Thus far, I have knitted the bottom ribbing beginning with a tubular cast on, tonight I will begin to join these two pieces as the sweater will be knitted in the round inside out.

Perhaps you have heard of Elizabeth Von Arnim? If Enchanted April rings a bell then you know of her work. Upon first picking up this little gem of a book you are aware of its simple and plain bearing, written as the journal entries of an aristocratic German woman in the late 1800s. She loves her garden, even in the frigid German winters, and she weaves her stories of home life, visitors, and experiences throughout its pages. However, I am thankful that I was not born of a particular class or during a specific time in history that the rules of society possessed such strict restrictions regarding women...gardening demands that one get on their knees, pick up a spade and dig in the dirt!

This book can be read online as a free ebook.

amethyst at the brink of autumn

Must I admit I had to go back to see exactly when I began this project? Maybe it had to do with summer and how my mind goes elsewhere many days of summer holiday, but then a cloud arises in my brain convincing me that this sweater certainly took way too long to complete. Yet I love it, its color, its lightweight feel on the body, and its simple pattern. And this might be the time to admit it is the first time ever I've knitted a lightweight quarter-length sleeve sweater, one that will be worn next to the skin. Yesterday afternoon in 80 degreee weather I went outside for these photos and just around the edges I begin to feel a bit of prickling, but it truly wasn' that bad. So bring it on autumn!

And speaking of autumn... are we literally leaning at the doorstep or what? The storms are over the flood waters are receding, and I am seeing the signs, however small, of its wide-opened wonderfulness.