A Day to Relax

It was a lazy day for me and Fidget, really welcome after the school week hit its zenith in the karate belt test yesterday. Today we took it easy, had some friends over, and just played. For the kids, it was being inside and out, eating popcorn and playing ninjas among other things. For the moms, it was having tea, talking about art and baking yeast breads. Breads are one of my all-time favorite things to make. There's an entrancing mystery about the life of yeast that pulls me in several times a week, just to work with it, knead dough, and get a whiff of that heady yeasty aroma. Today my friend Kim and I made two batches of regular white bread with wheat germ, and some adorable peanut butter turtle rolls. They are all gone but one, and Fidget has dibs on it for breakfast.

Rosy Hedges and Rosy Outlook

Update on my Pink Hedges socks, from Jane Cochran's pattern Jane's Hedgerow Socks available on Knitter's Review. I finished these last night and will be blocking today to send them out shortly after. Unfortunately I cannot give such an optimistic update of the Pres' Father's Day socks.

Here is as far as I got before I tried it on myself to try estimating how long to make the foot. The sad news is it barely fit my foot. I guess the nylon in the yarn is making it tighter than normal yarn. I discovered this two days ago and have not known what to do. I considered making the pair and giving them to someone small. But I picked this yarn for the Pres and think he would get a lot of use out of socks from it because of the muted masculine colors. So this morning I decided to frog it, that is, take it all apart, and start over with larger needles. There's no way I'll finish by Father's Day but at least I will still get to give him a thoughtful present fairly soon. 


Yesterday I had a knit and bake day with dear friends from Bible study. I will miss them when we move but am so happy I get to store up memories of sweet fellowship before we go. God is so good.

Rejoice and Be Glad- Harbor View's 2nd Annual Appetizer Weekend

I recently realized it had been over a year since our family's first annual Appetizer Weekend. It was a smash with our family and helped me focus on celebrating our family. Lately I've been busy making lots of baby booties for friends' babies, and this causes me to think about our family as well. God made our family, each of us, to be here together, and these people are such a blessing to me. I want them to know I am pleased to be the wife and mom that God made me to be. So, naturally, that means it's party time!

Here are the mini crab cakes before frying. The recipe said it made 32 but it made more like 40.

Rotel cheese dip (Fidget's request) simmering in back and in front pan, ground pork for steamed dumplings and spring rolls.

Hot stuffies (stuffed quahogs or clams- see this month's Martha Stewart Magazine, p. 140, for the recipe I'm going to try next time) from Anthony's of Aquidneck seafood market. Delicious!

Mini crab cakes frying in a few tablespoons of butter. The recipe I have looks like it came from Bon Appetit, but it isn't listed in their online recipe index.

Steaming the dumplings. A recipe I picked up on one of those twirly racks in the produce section at Walmart probably 10 or more years ago. 

The first of the golden shrimp and pork spring rolls.

Here is one of the Spicy Asian Lettuce Wraps. I couldn't find chile paste anywhere in town, so I used hoisin sauce and these were so good I am going to make them again soon.  

Here's the menu from this weekend's Harbor View 2nd Annual Appetizer Weekend: 
Fresh Cut Veg with ranch dip
Hot Stuffies (stuffed clams with chorizo sausage)
Mini Crab Cakes
Steamed Dumplings
Spring Rolls
Artichoke-Stuffed Mushrooms
Spicy Asian Lettuce Wraps
Spinach-Parmesan Dip with Bagel Bites
Rotel and Cheese Dip with Nacho Chips

 I love to practice hospitality. And I love giving. In all that I don't want my family to get lost in the busyness of serving others and showing them the love of Christ. So though I make dinner every day, sometimes I like to practice hospitality on my family and show them how special they are to me.  

Seize the day, I say. After all, This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24

Harbor View Bakery Days

A new friend came to bake a couple weeks ago. She came for tea this weekend and we decided to have another baking day this week, with knitting lessons. Here are the first bake day photos which she took and emailed me later. We had such fun and it was sweet to both our souls to have this fellowship. God is good!

First, our wholesome bagels. The key to them is King Arthur Flour's Non-diastatic Malt Powder. The bagels lost their center holes as they rose but they were delicious.

Basic white bread with a little wheat.

Cinnamon Swirl Loaf from my Fleishmann's Yeast Cookbook. I got it years ago with a couple proofs of purchase and a dollar or two shipping. It is one of my best cookbooks. I love the streusel crust on this bread, and it makes wonderful cinnamon sugar toast or french bread.

Glazed Orange Rolls. These are like cinnamon rolls only with orange glaze. Such a fresh change from cinnamon. 

Next time, photos from today's baking- knitting lunch!

A Young Dreamer

Family is coming in town tomorrow so I have been mowing, raking, grocerying, baking and cleaning. It has been a great few days, including an entire day of baking with my new friend Stacey yesterday. Fidget is beside herself with excitement about the cousins coming.

I have a couple of new knitting projects finished but instead of showing them this evening I wanted to share this video of a little boy's story. With cardboard boxes from his dad's auto parts shop in East L.A., this 9-year old, Caine, created arcade games complete with tickets and prizes. His first customer was so enthused about this young man's creativity and inspiring motivation, he made this little film about Caine and his shop. It is a blessing to see someone so young following his dreams. Enjoy.


Caines Arcade

A Friend at the Elms

Here are some pictures I took at The Elms this weekend, a historic home in Newport, RI. One of my very oldest, dearest friends came for a short visit and we jammed all we could into our time together. We got to knit (she made a sock, I worked on the Whisper sweater), cook (steamed dumplings, minestrone, roasted red pepper calzones, spinach manicotti) and bake together (ethereal bread and cinnamon- blueberry turnovers), and I was finally able to give her the painting of the Belgian post box that I recently made for her. 

She is a photographer and yet she didn't bring her camera. So she is going to have to put up with my snaps of the Elms and anything else I got in focus while she was here. 

Here is the stable, I think. After we left the fine old home we wandered the grounds and there were no signs telling us what was at the back of the property. We imagined being stable hands and living at the top of the building on the right, looking out the verdigris window of the slate roof.

We thought this whole thing made a super setting to a mystery we haven't written yet. We are always imagining mysteries. But now that she is a professional and I am a home schooling mom, we don't write as many stories as we used to. 

What memories we made, listening to the self-guided audio tour and cracking up as we hit the buttons at the exact same time so we could hear everything in tandem.We spent a good time in the butler's pantry, imagining just how we would have liked it- or not- working there, on constant call, choosing the dishes for each gathering and doing all the other tasks necessary for the 8-12 weeks the Elms was open each year. No photography was allowed in the house, unfortunately. But outdoors was another story. We were fascinated by the circular tradesmens' entrance which was covered from above by wisteria vines so residents of the house would not have their view spoiled. 

I hope the fountains will be turned on when we return. I am going to take Fidget for a field trip one day soon. Her eyes are going to goggle when she sees this place. I am sure mine did.

It is already springlike here. I imagine the garden will look even better when the lush bright greens of spring return.

What a blessing is a lifelong friendship. I am so thankful for this week together. It was such a happy time. Fidget cried almost all the way home from the airport after the drop-off. We do hope our dear Aunty visits us again!

I got to have a new friend over today. She admired these cute little planters that Fidgie got as Easter and birthday presents so I thought I'd include a picture of them (they're from the Norfolk Botanical Gardens gift shop). We got to share a lot of things at our first tea date; I got to hear about her miraculous adoption stories. We got to cry a little together as sisters in Christ immediately bound together in Him, talking about the deep things of faith. But we didn't get to pray together before the Pres came home. We did get to the tea and cookies though! I made my favorite chocolate flaxseed cookies with my last cup of flour right before she arrived. What a blessing to have a new friend.


Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:5

Quick Desk View

Here's something I'm working on from a photo I took in Belgium in 2000. I have always loved the look of this old post box. The painting, oil on canvas 16" x 20", is a present for a friend who is coming to visit us soon. I can't wait.

Tea Time

Happy New Year! It is such fun to goof off during the holidays. The past day or so I've been using up my precious scraps of Cascade 220 Superwash Paints Yarn making a tea mitten for my new Brown Betty tea pot. Colors: Juniper Berries and Celtic which are mixes of blue-greens and greens, are perfect for a cheery morning cuppa.

Antique buttons from my dear friend Moke's Aunt Helen's button stash were the perfect finishing touch.

With such a charming way to start the day, who could resist? I hope to host many friends for tea in the coming year.

Cape Cod

Joan and Eddie have been gone almost a week already and I still haven't caught up showing the lovely scenes we witnessed together. We have been catching up on school work and hanging out with the Pres.  These pictures are from our time with Joan and Eddie on Cape Cod last Saturday. 

It was a little cool out, but we still saw a few people beachcombing when we did. I was surprised to see the grasses growing right out to the water. It was so pretty. There were not many shells, but we did find a few old pottery shards. I was amazed! We didn't stay long, as there was so much to see elsewhere.

These are artist shacks in Hyannis Port, a little greenway right past the docks, as you can tell by the boats in the background. Artists rent these shacks and are open on the weekends working in these studios and selling their wares.

It turned into a beautiful day and we saw lots of boats, but most were motor boats, as compared with the hundreds of sailboats we see daily in Newport. We took a tour boat right out of the port and for a little over an hour we heard local history and saw points of interest on the coast. The boat we were on was 101 years old. I didn't get a picture of it, naturally.

While we were on Cape Cod we shopped and sampled at the local brewery (and didn't bring any beer home since it was still early in the day and were told the beer would spoil in the car), toured the Cape Cod Potato Chip factory, and stopped at artist Peter Coes' yard sale and studio. We passed cranberry bogs and made a mental note to come back during the harvest.

 This weekend there is an arts festival here in town but we have been frequenting our low tide haunts instead of buying art work. The things we find are free, and sometimes very exciting! This morning after his devotions, Eddie sent me a verse for the newsletter that I think is perfect for today...

Proverbs 24: 3-4  "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures."

Beauty All Around

The two weeks we had with my in-laws went by so quickly. We ate seafood, barbecued, tried new recipes, and just enjoyed being together. I hardly know how to catch up with showing all we did. These pictures show just one day's events.

 

We went to the Green Animals Topiary Gardens and had a tour of the grand house on the property. Fidget's favorite part were the toy exhibits. One room was all doll houses. The woman who lived there loved children so she hosted a children's party every July. They still carry on her tradition. Too bad we missed it. I wonder if we'll be here for it next year.

There were dozens of animals and people created in topiaries on the property. Fidget delighted in running through them, back and forth. She even hugged the giant bear, right before we were told not to touch the bushes. Oops!

The dahlia garden was exquisite. I could have stayed there all day. There are times when I look back through pictures of all we've done and think, was I really surrounded by all that beauty? 

 The inventive scarecrows welcomed visitors more than scaring any away. 

 Even the gates at the property were distinctive.There was no way to photograph it all!

That same day, we switched gears after lunch and took a boat ride out in the harbor. Not only did we get a closer look at some historic places, we also passed Mirabella V, the tallest-masted sailboat in the world. She was in harbor for the International Boat Show over the weekend. This was the highest-priced boat there, on sale for 49 million euros! I wonder if they had any offers?

  
The first woman light house keeper lived and worked here.  Her father had been keeper of the light before her. I think this sounds like the perfect start to a children's book...

The far boat in this shot, we were told on our boat tour, is the one from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. We knew there was something familiar about it. There were so many beautiful boats and things to see on shore, it was hard to take it all in at once. Looking back, I wish I had more pictures. I am so glad we have at least three more seasons to enjoy here!