little bits and a bit of reminiscing

Surroundings:

 Here in the living room I sit gazing at a "not live" Christmas tree that has been set in its stand since last night. It is naked of baubles, balls, ornaments and garland. Not even an angel or star is donning the top of this tree.

Yesterday I collected all Thanksgiving and autumn decor to carry upstairs to be stored in the awaiting bins in the attic.  After several trips up  and down two flights of stairs I thought I should at the least start bringing down some of the Christmas decorations as I was planning to begin decorating in earnest this coming weekend. The tree is always the first thing we bring down and decorate so I thought we could at least set it up with just the lights and I then could imagine it being as an evergreen tree natural -like for the next several days.

But this afternoon I am just not buying that far fetched idea. It frankly looks out of place and pitiful.  The weekend will be here soon enough I daresay.

Reading:

I had to get out the house rather early this morning as I had my annual eye appointment scheduled. I carried along a book to read while in the waiting room. I can remember, and it was not really that many years ago, that you could count on having magazines to read while you waited for any appointment be it doctor, hair, dentist, etc. I actually looked forward to the waiting room experiences because of these magazines. Do you remember this?

But this morning I grabbed my newest read. And it was an air of sybaritism I felt to have the opportunity to read in the early morning hours even if it was in the eye doctors waiting and examining room. I am finding the book, No One Gardens Alone, the biography of Elizabeth Lawrence. a very enjoyable  read. She lived in North Carolina and reading the historical parts of her life in regard to what was happening in the state I find interesting. I discovered this book as well as a book written by Lawrence, Through the Garden Gate, at a library book sale back in September.  I consider both of them excellent finds.

Hemming:

My husband bought a pair of dress slacks that are 2 1/2" too long in the hem. He was actually going to take them back! But he quickly took me up on the suggestion I made to hem them myself. (I thought this was rather odd since I have hemmed his pants many times). Today my memory is sparked from this humble task of the countless times I've hemmed mens' black dress pants in Christmas's past when I was an integral part of the costume execution team for the  production of "The Nutcracker" performed by Charlotte's dance group. It has been three years since she graduated and I realize how much more time I have on my hands now that I am not spending countless evenings and Saturdays sewing and altering costumes. But those were priceless, happy times that I feel very fortunate to have had the experience to be a part and there is truly no equal exchange for them.

 

   A 2011 photo of the basement where we ladies sewed.

comfort food menu

                       "Eating is an agricultural act"

                                                   ~Wendell Berry

The study of Exodus has come to an end, an insightful as always Bible study. We gather to fellowship at my home tomorrow. I love being with these eight women that I have shared Friday mornings with for the past  eleven weeks.

It is going to be cold outside, plenty of  firewood stacked.

Menu:

Homemade tomato soup

Grilled cheese sandwiches with sourdough bread and  raw cheddar cheese

Lettuce/Kale salad with dried cranberries, nuts and pears

served with a citrus vinaigrette

Apple crisp with vanilla ice cream fro dessert.

thanksgiving weekend

 Adding two days to a weekend, specifically a holiday weekend, may sometimes direct the way in which you find yourselves spending the time. Of course, the people that surround you get a voice and certain circumstances can also play a major part in what you will in fact find yourself doing.

This year my husband and I were alone on these two days. My idea was we take the day after Thanksgiving and just relax, you know like actually take a no-work day.  However, he did not buy that scenario one little bit, he had  plans to accomplish much, many things on his to do list  both outside and across the street at the little cottage we are renovating. He mentioned going to the cottage to clean out the gutters  and since  I did not think it was a wise idea for him to be up on a ladder alone I went along. I sat in the red truck and sewed on my newest and most engaging project while he removed all the leaves and goo from the gutters.

Last winter I created a quilt, a "nap-sized" one, sewn with my father's pajama fabric I was left with when he came to live in my home before he died. I love bundling my legs in this soft quilt almost every morning  and it is the perfect quilt to wrap up in when you need that afternoon nap. It was pieced on the machine, but on long winter evenings and cold afternoons I looked forward to picking up my needle and thimble to spend hours hand quilting. What contentment. It is a simple design and it certainly has its share of mistakes, a true quilter would be appalled. But I had no intention of creating a masterpiece. My goal from start to finish was to merely use something that had great sentimental value and make it into something useful. Mission accomplished and I love it!

When we moved into our present home my sewing room had to be packed up  and all my stash of fabric, yarns, threads and UFOS (unfinished projects) came rising to the surface. I did rid myself of at least a box worth of things I knew that in my lifetime I would probably not get around to using. In this process I found the fabrics from my mother's sleeping gowns also. This quilt will be different in that I am actually creating it with a particular quilting design, using a 16 inch square block pattern called Fox and Geese. The cotton fabric I cut from her gowns are being pieced with a creamy white cotton fabric that I purchased. I have also decided to hand piece this quilt, hence I was able to sit in the truck and sew. Hand sewing has many attractions, but the best part is the portability.

I was able to do a bit of cleaning up and meal planning as I do have some family members coming Sunday afternoon and a lunch to prepare for my Bible Study ladies on Tuesday. Sadly, my daffodil and tulip bulbs have yet to be planted and the ironing pile is still waiting. 

blessings and gratitude

 "Thanksgiving does mean the giving of thanks to God, and it is a holiday belonging only to our country, reminding us of the Pilgrims who found a day in the midst of their battle for survival to praise God and ask for His blessings".

Gladys Taber  The Stillmeadow Road

Thanksgiving Day never looks the same from year to year in our family unlike it did in years past.  Those years I could always count on going to the same house with the same people and eating the same foods. The place and who we celebrate with now may be different, some not sitting around the table that were here just last year. 

 Charlotte was not with us today and this mama's heart tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to ignore the empty spot at the table with the heavy feeling of her absence grabbing my attention more times than I want to admit.

The foods also may vary a bit from year to year, yet the the main fare definitely does not disappear from the table's offering. The dressing I prepared  this year was different in that I added sausage and apples along with  the usual onions, celery, and sage. I might revisit this in future Thanksgivings. 

Rose had to work a hospital shift of both Wednesday and Thursday nights, so we opted to eat our meal at 2:30 in the afternoon between her sleeping and going back to work. 

After stuffing ourselves properly we walked the land, our blessings are truly felt.

O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy

endureth forever.   

Psalm 136:1

seeing is beholding...eating is tasting

"What you surround yourself with will bring you peace of mind and peace of spirit."

~Stacy London

As October is rounding out itself much like the luminous full moon in the evening sky, I am back at home putting things back in order after being away for four days.

                                  Do you know what this fruit is called?

It is an asian persimmon.  It has absolutely no resemblance to the wild persimmons that grow in the woods or along the hedge rows in the country. It has a surprisingly mild sweet taste. 

 Though my cutting garden is showing sad signs of dryness and extreme tiredness, I was still able to cut several vases worth of zinnias This is my garden haul this morning.The bright orange flowers in the green basket atop the tomatoes are calendula flowers that I am drying for teas, tinctures, and salves.

Two monarch butterflies were seen today. I know they are traveling through and it amuses me to think they make a stop in my garden as they head to Mexico.

The weather turned rather warm while we were away so my fall green bean crop flourished a bit more enabling me to pick a basket of green beans to fix for dinner.

 I sat in the swing on the front porch with this lovely fall view. Everything is quite dry and we are hoping that rainfall is coming in the next few days.

 

four days and a few notes

 A community park aside a mountain rise and brightly hued  trees showing off their splendid autumn apparel.

Mothers with their children, swings, footballs, and couples walking their tail-wagging dogs on leashes. All are without a doubt enjoying this warm day in late October.

We had stopped at a small community park in New Market, Virginia where we ate our lunch.

I walked around the park trail to allow my weary legs a good move before my husband said it was time to go. I wished I had my camera, but then my photography skills fall short of the special views I observed.

Destination: Buffalo, New York. 

The Blue Ridge Mountains along the Shenandoah Valley dotted with prosperous farms never fail to stir a serene feeling to my spirit. It was the most ideal time to drive through the mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania because of the peak of foliage colors.

We decided to stop in a town in Pennsylvania which in times past meant nothing but now has significant meaning for us. A future family member's home town, more on this in a future post.

A quick decision to drive up to Niagara Falls on Saturday afternoon.

remembering summer

REMEMBERING SUMMER

Being too warm the old lady said to me

is better than being too cold I think now

in between is the best because you never

give it a thought but it goes by too fast

I remember the winter how cold it got

I could never get warm wherever I was

but I don’t remember the summer heat like that

only the long days the breathing of the trees

the evenings with the hens still talking in the lane

and the light getting longer in the valley

the sound of a bell from down there somewhere

I can sit here now still listening to it.

~W.S. Merwin

I think of this time of year, the end of August until October 1, as late summer. September being the star month when we are on hold so to speak. But there is a definite easing into the autumn season. The shortening of the days is always the most obvious sign that summer is beyond its peak and shouting goodbye. Whether we are ready for it or not, and I always am more than willing to move on with a high note of anticipation of the wonders of what the next season brings.  Yet sublime remembrances linger. 

 Summer 2023 will be especially remembered as the summer of the butterflies. I planted a cutting/ butterfly attracting garden. I was not disappointed. I have so many photos of the variety of the butterflies that visited my garden this summer. I even began a post titled, "Plant and They Will Come". But who really wants to see my large display of butterfly photos? But I do hope to develop the pictures and place them in a nature study notebook this winter. Some days during the very heat of summer I would walk out into the garden and I was surrounded with butterflies flying all around me. I was beholding one of my Creator's  gifts. The monarchs also visited  drinking from my zinnias as well as the milkweed I planted last year.  I even found a monarch chrysalis then was able to see the completed cycle.  

The  black bear was seen one drizzly Sunday afternoon. We knew black bears lived around here and had been spotted, but seeing one ourselves was...well, quite a late summer spectacle!

the library

“When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”

―Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

 What do they call this room I ask the man showing us the house we purchased last year. It was a room off the living room through double wooden doors. "A parlour?", he suggests. From that very first day I called  this room the library. And plans began forming in my mind almost immediately to the possibilities of making this such a room, walls lined with built in book shelves, an antique bookcase on that wall filled with books, comfy chairs with reading lamps, and maybe even a footstool.  Of course, I've had libraries of sorts all my life, wherever or whatever held my large assortment of books was considered a make-do library. And certainly this past year a majority of books have been stored in boxes on the third floor awaiting my vision to become a reality. At last I have a lovely room that embraces the afternoon sun on cloudless days, making it a perfectly wonderful place to be christened "The Library".

 “Books are delightful society. If you go into a room and find it full of books— even without taking them from the shelves they seem to speak to you, to bid you welcome.”

  ~William Gladstone

I have a friend whose husband was starting a new business and was very capable and interested in building us book shelves.

Some days I have my lunch at the table that sits in the center of the room.

"In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.” 
― Mark Twain

 One Sunday afternoon, a berry clafoutis with hazelnut whipped cream  with "delightful society". My husband was there too😊, and he is certainly delightful society.

"A house that has a library in it has a soul." - Plato

living my life this way now

I enjoy solitude. It's probably selfish, but why bother about it. Life is much too important, as Oscar Wilde said, to be taken seriously. I feel so sorry for those mothers who are devastated by loneliness when their children fly the coop and don't want to live at home anymore. They feel lost, but look what exciting things can be done. Life isn't long enough to do all you could accomplish. And what a privilege to be alive. In spite of all the pollutions and horrors, how beautiful this world is. Supposing you only saw the stars once every year. Think what you would think. The wonder of it!”

~unknown

Sunrise

I sit in the green andiron back chair while still in my robe,  

a mug of coffee in hand savoring a new morning.

A morning's quiet time enjoyed on the front porch.

Still in the garden everyday.

prudent preparation

"It has occurred to me that I am only doing what every housewife did as a matter of course only a generation or two ago. She always preserved food for the coming year as it came into season and bulk-purchased staples such as sugar and vinegar. Our grandmothers did this not because they were paranoid, isolated survivalists, but rather because they had learned from experience that blizzards, crop failures, and epidemics happened. The prudent, prepared household prevailed. Others did not.

As the winter storms howl outside my window and the political, economic, and ecological news goes from bad to worse, I sleep well, knowing I can care for my family during times of plenty and times of want."

~ Just in Case: How to Be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Happens

by Kathy Harrison

figs

                                              If I had words to make a day for you, 
                                   I'd sing you a morning golden & true 
                                   I would make this day last for all time 
                                   then fill the night deep in moonshine 

                                    If I had words to make a day for you, 
                                    I'd give you a morning golden & true 
                                    I would make this day last for all time... 
                                    then fill the night deep in moonshine 

It was as if I had written a simple letter with one request, placed a stamp in the right hand corner and dropped it in the mail. 

"Please send a perfect day"

And today the letter was answered.  As I opened the front door and slipped out onto the porch I could not but help sighing with contented happiness. The hot temperatures and humidity of the past week had vanished and instead we had a soothing welcomed coolness. My morning work was already determined, but now I could open the windows and let the fresh air and light breeze fill my kitchen space. 

I have mentioned in a past post a brief intro to my personal fig story.

And I'm still  hoping one day to have a fruit producing fig tree as we have now planted one beside the back screened porch. I have visions of it giving shade to that sunny corner of the porch when it matures. I also have hopes of plenteous figs. It produced two figs this year, since it is yet young I still maintain  reasonable expectations of more fruitfulness in the summers to come.

Yesterday my husband stopped by a friend's house who has three large fig trees loaded with fruit and he was more than happy to share several containers of fresh figs with us.

 My morning's work involved making a batch of fig newtons. As a child I did not like fig newtons, that super sticky sweet paste in a dry crumbly cookie was not desirable to my taste whatsoever. But several years ago wanting to give them another chance, I tried a gourmet fig newton and  immediately I knew there was so much more to a good fig newton than those cookies I remembered from my childhood. Since I could not find a  recipe in any of my cookbooks to the internet I went. By reading what several bakers had done, I somewhat pulled together my own version of several recipes. My jam was not sweet, I added fresh lemon juice, a small amount of brown sugar, a pinch of salt and some water which was cooked  down to a jam consistency. Meanwhile I whipped up the dough. The methods of making the fig newtons varied considerably, I went for what seemed was the easiest method for me, but it still turned out to be a bit tricky. The tricky part was getting the second layer onto the cookie.

 Yet, I could hardly wait for them to cool so I could cut them into squares and give them a proper tasting.  Oh my, how delicious! They certainly are not the prettiest bar, but they are downright bona fide delicious! 

                                           " The fig tree has ripened its figs

                            And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrances."

                                                      Song of Solomon 2:13

green beans to pickle

  Many hours have been gladly spent picking, snapping, cooking and canning green beans this summer, truly just for the past six weeks we have harvested many pickings of this healthy vegetable from our garden. I decided it was high time I preserved a batch of pickled beans to add to my larder.  Here is a recipe that is close to the one I will be using, though I am not calling mine dilly beans because the dill has become rather sparse in my garden, but I will include garlic, mustard seeds, peppercorns and a cayenne pepper.

Ever time I speak to my mother-in-law these days the conversation always includes a chat concerning our garden and she never fails to bring up to me those days of the past when I would pickle green beans. Those plenitudinous years of  green bean production enabled my pantry to be stocked full with all the green beans we would need through the winter months. So with a tribute to this dear sweet lady I am pickling a batch of green beans with a heart of fun and thanksgiving.

But first I must make a run to the store because I just noticed that I do not have enough canning jars! 

 What are you preserving these days?

turning ninety with grace

 My father's brother turned ninety last week and his family rightfully honored him with a birthday party. Of course, we wanted to go to be a part of joyfully celebrating his life; I could not imagine not doing so even with the three hour drive on a Sunday afternoon.

At my brother's funeral several weeks ago I gasped when I saw my uncle because it was like I was seeing my paternal grandfather once again. (He died in 1991 at age 91).  How I love family resemblances. My Uncle Gene is sharp and clear-minded as that family line tends to be as they age. When I mentioned to him how much he looked like Granddaddy, he with his soft -spoken voice said, "I know, sometimes I look in the mirror and I can see him too."

photos 2023...words 1776

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, 

that among these are life,

liberty, 

and the pursuit of happiness..."

"Appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions...."

"With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence..."

The Declaration of Independence

green bean canning

 As you can tell from my latest posts gardening occupies much of my time. I do receive satisfying joy being and working in my gardens.  Organic vegetable gardening has been our goal for some time and we are working very hard to make it happen, but we realize at the beginning of the process it does not always produce the prolific abundance we remembered our gardens of past years producing (this was over twenty years ago). It is a definite challenge but an equally definite interest to make our soil fertile  while  maintaining pest control without the use of chemicals. 

Today was not my first green bean picking, but it was the first time I had enough to preserve with canning.

Today hollered summer with the heat and humidity, therefore, keeping hydrated was important as I picked my beans. I carried along a jar of iced water with a spurt of lemon balm tincture which refreshed nicely.

This winter when pressure canning was still a dream, I ordered a new pressure canner since mine was rather old and I felt it needed some attention and might not be as safe as I would prefer. I bought mine here, it holds four quarts at a time which is perfect for my canning needs.

I have never owned or used a canner like this one one and it appeared a bit intimidating at first with the screw lock knobs, but as far as the  steam and weight it works just like my other canner.

lavender joy

The bumble bees

love my lavender

They’re on it all the time

Drinking up the pollen

when the weather is sublime.

It felt as if I was a thief of sorts, cutting the lavender stems as I was one morning. The bees swayed and dipped on the profusely blooming lavender. If I were a bee I would most certainly choose the nectar of lavender too as I swayed and dipped drinking lavender juice. This year has been a joy to this particular lady gardener as I had not been able to find a happy lavender spot for over 20 years until now. That is a long time to wait to have a happy lavender growing garden. 

Lavender requires certain things to make it flourish. Well-drained soil, even rocky, and limestone enriched soil also helps lavender to grow strong.

 During the warm afternoons we are sipping... what am I saying?... drinking heartily, lavender lemonade tea. First, you make a lavender syrup by taking 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. Bring this to boil adding 1 cup lavender blooms. As soon as it boils put a lid on your pan and allow to steep for about 10 minutes or so, strain all lavender from your syrup. Add this to freshly brewed black tea and lemonade to taste.

The lavender syrup should be stored in the refrigerator.

• It always seems to me as if the lavender was a little woman in a green dress, with a lavender bonnet and a white kerchief. She’s one of those strong, sweet, wholesome people, who always rest you, and her sweetness lingers long after she goes away. ― Myrtle Reed

march & april & may

 Due to the course of things and the months squeezing in terribly wonderful ways, my own remedy is to create one blog post to embrace the months of March, April and May. Here is my attempt at the highlights keeping in mind I do this as a means for my own form of posterity. And yes, I am posting this the last week of June, of course, though it was began in April!

MARCH

During one of Ivy's spring break days we spent a great deal of time in the woods and then came back to a snack of popcorn, cheese, and warm tea enjoyed outside. She loved borrowing my Canon Rebel camera to take pictures of me😊.

A small gathering of young ladies and mothers for an overnighter beginning with pizza on Friday and ending on Saturday afternoon with a high tea.

Some days in March were unbelievable cold, others were unbelievably warm. On those days of warm temperatures I could not resist taking a little time for tea and stitching on the quilt I began this winter. It is sewn using the fabric of my fathers' pajamas, the ones I inherited when he died in February 2011. During the move I found a bag of his pjs that I intended for creating a lap quilt. This was the winter to make it. I did the piecing on the sewing machine, but the true delight was in the hand stitching on cold winter evenings by the fire.

APRIL

                               Resurrection Sunday gathering

Drying dandelion blossoms for making salve and continuing with  a calendar of firsts journal.

 Embellishing with cast-on flowers and an initial for one of Violet's summer dresses.

And a pair of boots to keep the spring mud off my feet!

Practicality is the key.

MAY

A trip to Louisville to gather Charlotte and her things for coming home during the summer months. This was taken on the walking bridge between Kentucky and Indiana.

A decided place composed in the front lawn to plant a variety of zinnias, calendulas, and sunflowers one bright morning in order that I may enjoy composed moments when they bloom.

An evening watching Breanna dance...oh, how I loved those times of my life with my own children performing, and now I am watching my granddaughter's performance.

Last but not least, on the 29th Charlotte entered into the second decade of her life. Twenty candles were lit with family and friends gathered to celebrate. When she was born I remember thinking how old I would be when she turned twenty. She is twenty...but surely I am not that old!