China Teacups

We were passing through a popular department store for some reason or another recently; whatever the reason, it has completely slipped my mind. But as we walked by the china department I remembered that Witt and Claire had registered their china pattern and I wanted to see the pattern they had chosen.

A glimpse of a shelf containing mix matched china caught my eye. Three matching teacups and saucers were setting there waiting for me at an unable to be resisted bargain price, almost a steal.

Especially pleased to know it was Waterford.

I am thinking these china teacups cups would make nice gifts, to be given with a special blend of tea, and maybe a little dish of homemade scones on the side, tied up with satin ribbon.

points of view

It's all in the angle. This past weekend the angle of the kitchen rocker was adjusted to look outside the windows at our winter wonderland.

It was a favorite viewing spot throughout the day.

Some of us sat and drank coffee.

While others sat and smocked.

That is when we were not outside viewing this.

An exceptional batch of biscuits

The secret to a very good biscuit, versus a good biscuit, is to cook them on a high temperature. It makes them slightly crusty on the outside and deliciously moist on the inside.

However, there are some other things that make a batch of biscuits rise to higher levels of excellence in taste and texture.

2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup, plus 1 Tablespoon butter, cut into pieces
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat to 500 degrees.

Whisk dry ingredients and cut cold butter into the flour. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add all the buttermilk at once. Now here's another trick, do not over mix the dough, just stir until incorporated, the dough should be sticky. ( If not add more buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time). Pour onto floured surface, knead briskly but gently about 8 times then roll with floured roller to 3/4 inch thickness. Prick the dough with fork tine and cut. Place on baking sheet and bake in hot oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

The bottoms should be brown, but we like our biscuits with the slightest touch of golden glow on top. ( I bake mine 8 minutes).

I fed yesterday morning's leftover biscuits to the neighborhood kids when they came in to get warm from the cold weather. They gobbled them up, absolutely no jelly, honey or butter was necessary!

Purple Toile T- Cozy

Marvelous purple toile waiting for the perfect day to be made into a tea cozy.

I only wished I could have finished it before nightfall and then I would have set it amidst the beautiful snow for photographs.

Something called gimp cord, made by Mettler, was used to create almost a shirr with a strip of fabric; I must say this gives this tea cozy a more formal look in my eyes.

I am dancing a merry step very much like that woman on the right. My family is cozy, and now due to this perfect snowy Saturday, so is my teapot.

The variants in the shades of purple are manual versus automatic focus. The lighting outside would have been so much prettier.

the positive force of making lemonade

"Accentuate the positive,

Eliminate the negative;

Latch on to the affirmative..."

And so the song goes, and I can not but help being reminded of the 1980's TV show" Laverne and Shirley". Do any of the rest of you remember these crazy gals singing this song?

My children have been querulous these days.

I am attempting to grab their focus to do as the song says.

Hopefully, we will be serving tasty lemonade very soon.

Alan's Room

Alan left to head back to college last week after a month long visit at home.Yes, I am aware that appears as an oxymoron, but it seemed like only a visit since he is spending more time away at school than here at home these days.

The instructions for him were to strip his bed the morning of his departure. I finally remade his bed this week and replaced the empty towel racks with clean blue towels in his bathroom. His room will be waiting when he comes for a "visit" in the near future.

Two years ago, in January actually, I started crocheting this afghan. A gift wrapped up and given as a birthday gift to Alan in early April. I was pleased with its log cabin type of pattern and masculine colors.

On one wall are pewter plates the boys received from showing their sheep at the state fair from 1994 to 1998. Fills a blank wall to say the least and what else, may I ask, can one do with these sort of plates?

Boondoggling on the sidelines.

Candlelight Hot Pot

My husband called this evening to inform me he was detained in a business meeting and would be arriving home later. I put Charlotte in the bathtub, fed the girls something quick, but nutritional, and planned a special meal for just the two of us to be eaten by candlelight.

There happens to be a restaurant, a favorite of ours to dine out, that has on the menu a delicious soup called Hot Pot. A soup I honestly believe my husband dreams about in between visits to this restaurant.

I set out to make my own version of hot pot for him tonight. Some key ingredients were not available and I did not make a trip out to the market, but I thought I could still get a very tasty and perhaps pleasing dish with the ingredients that were on the pantry shelves and in the refrigerator:

Shrimp, asparagus, tomatoes, garlic, chicken broth, coconut milk, cremini mushrooms, and some very hot thai sauce.
He was not disappointed to say the least.

Frank sang his classics for us while the candle's glow created a soothing mood, something very needed in my hard working husband's life. How fulfilling it is to be able to offer that to him.

And we discussed the upcoming wedding, and our plans for the rehearsal dinner we will be hosting in May,

as we nibbled chocolate and sipped our coffee.

Classical Homeschooling

The phone rang about 9:15 last night, at the time that I am thinking it is time to be letting the day's activities slow down to a steady drip, yet here was a request made out of desperation. Would I be willing to tutor the Classical Conversations first grade class tomorrow morning?

Maybe I should give a bit of explanation here. I signed Charlotte up for Classical Conversations as a part of her homeschooling this year. We go every Tuesday morning from 9-12 where a tutor gives instruction in history, grammar, science, Latin, math, geography, music and art. Also included is the Veritas time line cards and science experiments. The child's parent is required to attend with the child and is responsible how the material will be used at home as part of homeschooling. I have found this curriculum to be rich in the material offered and I personally love the freedom of using the program in whatever manner I decide.

Weekly presentations are given by each child regarding the material of the past week. Charlotte's presentation today was on Latin noun endings, first declension.

As it turned out, the tutor showed up and I did not have to teach.
So volcanoes, the area of a circle and the rivers in Africa were some of today's lessons addressed by someone other than me, and due to the limited time I had to prepare, that was a very good thing.
I do so love the process of learning and relearning which homeschooling provides.


And after lunch and playground, friends came home with us to play for several hours.

Emma

Two posts in a row...and I use a form of snug in both of them! It must be this cool rainy weather.

steady socking

I have been knitting a brown sock this winter, squeezed in between everything else in life that is good, or even those things that are not so good. It's my ongoing project to carry along life's highways and byways.

Steadfastly I continue knitting this pumpernickel patterned sock while its mate waits patiently as a ball of yarn in a woven basket. Hand-knitted socks seem extravagant to some considering the price of wool yarn and the time devoted to the tiny stitches, yet I can't help but benefit from the thoughts of snugness that comes from knitting woolen socks that keep one's footsies warm and toasty.

A morning at my house

"The sun was not yet visible but the whole morning sky behind the eastern hill of spruces was rose-hued, with gossamer clouds of pale gold strewn over it."

The Road to Yesterday

Lucy Maud Montgomery

It was only the slightest of whispers that escaped me as I slipped out the back door, braving the cold, to capture the beauty of the morning sky. So many things can never be described in words or pictures...but I tried.

A hearty breakfast awaited us as the sun hit its full power.

Doesn't porridge sound so much more appetizing than oatmeal? I like to think it does and the tasty additions of butter, maple syrup, maple candy and cinnamon made our porridge so good! I even enticed Charlotte to eat hers, in a pretty porringer, nonetheless.