My Bit of Earth

The Fair

Going to the fair--as we did last week--always gives me about ten thousand ideas.  

Like, would the chickens like it if a giant bunny came to live with them?  Could we find a really small, quiet goat to live in our backyard?  Should I enter some knitting next year?

And will our loofah gourds really get this big?  Our plants are looking gorgeous, which is no small feat given the temperatures these past few weeks, but we don't have any gourds starting yet.  I have my heart set on having homegrown loofahs to give away for Christmas, so I hope they pick up the pace soon.

Growing Something New

And not a tomato....we're growing a tiny human!

The Peapod--as he or she shall be known in utero, at least--is set to arrive sometime near the end of January.  So far, everything is well.

The day we found out was very exciting, of course, but then there was a definite moment where Sweet Husband and I looked at each other and both were thinking, "What the hell do we do now?"  

So, after a brief celebration at our favorite dinner spot, I started knitting--cause let's face it, this kid will not lack for knitted goods!  Completely frivolous knitting--teensy booties out of pure angora--but aren't they sweet? 

And then I got on a jag and knitted this too:

Only slightly more practical, but...eh!

....And then I was puny and sleepy for a month, and did not do much of anything useful.  But thankfully, I've been feeling better lately, and hearing the small one's heartbeat--which we did for the first time this afternoon--was most helpful.

Our 4th of July

We blew things up.  (Yes, that is Sweet Sister with a blow torch.  What, doesn't everyone use a blowtorch to light fireworks?)

We drank fruity drinks from pineapples and napped and played in the pool.  (Evidentially, Nice Cousin specializes in artistic, served-in-a-pineapple concoctions.  How did I not know this before?)

We were cheerleaders.  (OK, I was a cheerleader.  Sweet Husband and Nice-Sister-In-Law actually ran in the local "Firecracker" 5K, which was considerably more taxing than clapping and yelling for them as they whizzed by.  They are the rock stars to my groupie.)

Summer Movie Festival

A little knitting, a little popcorn, Cary Grant projected onto the side of a building--fun times, fun times!

My Day at Hogwarts

 

I was crushed--crushed--when I found out the grand opening of "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" theme park wasn't going to be open until June 18th--a week after we were scheduled to be in Orlando.  I had heard rumors of an early "soft opening", but only for people staying at a Universal Studios resort.  

The first day we were in Orlando, I called and pleadingly asked, "Is there anyway we can get in?  Pretty please, with butterbeer on top?"  The lady I spoke to, while sympathetic, was obviously constrained from giving me the full skinny.  She advised, "Well, if they were to open it up, it would be to people who got there early and stood in line."  It felt like she was winking at me through the phone, but I couldn't be sure.  And, as it was going to be expensive and time consuming to get to Universal Studios from Disney, I didn't feel I could gamble on such flimsy information.

But then, on our next-to-last day in Disneyworld, Nice Sister-In-Law ran into someone with a "Wizarding World" t-shirt.  "Oh yeah, it's wide open--and the ride is awesome!" he told her.  That was good enough for me--we bought tickets and arranged for transportation the next morning.

We got there early as suggested, and headed straight for Harry Potter.  When we got close, a Universal employee was telling people that no one would be allowed into Harry Potter without a Universal Studios room key.  I wanted to cry, but we decided to keep walking--just to see if we could peek inside, if nothing else.  Just before the entrance, there was another employee advising people that they could wait in line for "if and when" the park opened.  That sounded more promising, so we quickly jumped into the end of the line.  

Less than fifteen minutes later, we were standing in Hogsmeade!

In addition to the ride--The Forbidden Journey, a fantastic, flying-through-Harry-Potter-on-a-broomstick experience that was so awesome we had to do it twice--there were two other roller coasters, the Dragon Challenge and Flight of the Hippogriff.

But a lot of the fun was in just hanging out!

There were butterbeers and monster books.  And bigger bits from the books were everywhere too--e.g. the flying Ford Anglia and Hagrid's Hut.

Zonko's joke shop--where there were fanged frisbees, sneak-o-scopes, remembralls, and pygmy puffs.

And Honeydukes!  Truly a magical-seeming place, with chocolate frogs, licorice wands, and, of course, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans!

We also stopped in at Olivander's, which was more like a show than a shop.  Small groups were allowed in, and one child from each group was chosen to select a wand.  Then at the end of the performance, everyone could buy wands if they wanted, which I did...'cause, yes, I am that big of a geek!

There was also an Owl Post where I got my post cards stamped with a "Hogsmeade" postmark. And Filch's Emporium, which had Maurader's Maps, along with t-shirts and the like.  We also caught a performance of the Hogwarts choir (complete with chirping toads).

Basically, it was awesome!  If you're in that neck of the woods and you're a fan, you simply must go!

M-I-C-K-E-Y....

Hey there mouseketeers!  I apologize for my absence.  I actually took a computer and camera and everything to Disneyworld, intending to blog a bit about the trip, but ended up being so plum worn out at the end of each day that I couldn't even think of it.

It was a magical and slightly overwhelming place!  We spent a whole day in each of the four parks (the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, the Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios) and I still felt like there was a lot that we missed.  And also, if you were not aware, Florida is sunny and hot!  But it was good to spend some time with the family and, of course, hobnob with Mickey and the gang.  (We also scaled the walls of Hogwarts, but the details of that will be revealed tomorrow!)

Some highlights....

Most of the gang in front of Cinderella's Castle.

Cheesy, yes?  But I never ceased to be delighted at the Mickey shaped food!  There were waffles and ice cream pops and pasta...anything you could imagine, all with mouse ears!

The fireworks over Cinderella's castle--as you can imagine, Disney is big on fireworks.  I think some nights there are up to three shows going on at once. 

The Electric Light Parade--I remember seeing this in Disneyland as a little girl with Nice Dad, so it tickled me to no end that it still goes on every night.

Sweet Husband and Sweet Sister in front of "Spaceship Earth".  It was so weird to see the big dome in person.

Sweet Sister and I in front of "Buckingham Palace" in Epcot's World Showcase.  I have to confess, I was a little disappointed in the showcase.  All the buildings were neat, but, on the whole, it was mostly just a lot of places to shop.  (Although, they did have Pocky in the Japanese showcase, so that makes up for a lot.)

The greenhouse tour at Epcot.  (Yes, I had to go see the gardens!)  While it was certainly more of what I call "garden porn" than anything (i.e. really cool stuff that you really can't do at home), it was still pretty darned cool.  And, yes, those are Brussels sprouts dangling from the ceiling.

Sweet Sister with Jasmine and Aladdin--between Sweet Sister and Cutie Niece we did a lot of princess hunting!

Eating with Sweet Sister and Nice In-Laws at the Sci-Fi Diner.  Yes, we ate in a car--with a carhop and funny old movies and everything.

Sweet Sister being flirted with by Donald at Chef Mickey's.  How could he help himself?  She's gorgeous!

More Fun With Great Grandma Minnie

My aunt and I were going through a box of textiles at my Grandmother's house when I lifted one up to my nose.

"Mmm, this smells like Grandma-Great's house...."

"You mean, like mothballs?"

"Oh....(giggle) yeah, I guess that's it, isn't it?"

I ended up bringing home a quilt, a few tablecloths, and a whole stack of doilies, but I didn't really get a chance to look at them until last weekend.  

I had just piled everything into our spare bedroom and shut the door until I had time to sort through it.  When I opened the door back up a few days later, the entire room was starting to smell like mothballs. I wrapped everything in a big ball and bundled it out to the clothesline for some much needed airing out.

 

I had noticed the quilt had names embroidered on each square, but I hadn't taken time to read them.  There it was, right in front of me:

Not only that, but both of my great-aunts names are on squares, and there are some family last names that I recognize, as well.  It's literally a family quilt, and it's in wonderful condition too!  Squeee!

As for the tablecloths, they've already been put to good use--and even received a baptism in red wine--and I hope to turn the doilies into this sometime soon.

A Pretty Party

Tossed together a wee dinner party this weekend.  Two very old friends, and two very new friends that feel like very old friends. While we can squeeze six in the dining room, it was the first nice day in weeks so I decided to set up outside.  

We have this awkward concrete pad outside our back door that I've been trying to figure out what to do with for a few months now.  As we sat down to dinner, I thought, "Aha!  This is what we do with it--throw as many summer dinner parties as we can!"

It just so happens that I hate to put together "menus", but I love appetizer-y, snack-y foods.  So that's just what we had--a whole dinner full of starters.  I think the winner was this strawberry salad.  I will be making it once a week at least for as long as strawberries are in season.  

Also yummy, these fancified twice baked potatoes, a platter of beef carpaccio, and a beautiful salad that Nice Friend brought and I need to get a recipe for--cherry tomatoes, asparagus, feta, and baby mozzarella, all in the most perfect vinaigrette.

Then, after dinner, a little fire in the fire ring--yes the weed burner was used to start it!--chocolate cake, and much-too-much wine.  Yes, we do need to do that again soon!

Great-Grandma Minnie's Knitting Needles and Cake

Over this past week, my family has been cleaning out my grandma's house.  She's been in assisted living for a bit now, and, for various reasons, decided it was time to start sorting through her worldly goods.

As I suspect would be the case with anyone who's lived in a house for over 50 years, there was way more than any of us could or wanted to take.  But--vintagey nut that I am--I did find a few treasures, and,slowly but surely, I want to take the time to tell the stories of them.

We were all sitting in the basement going through an old trunk full of pictures and souvenirs--many of which seemed to be from my grandpa's Navy days--when someone pulled aside a bit of clothing to reveal these.  I was almost too excited to talk, but eked out, "Oh, can I please, please take these?"

"What are they?"  my dad asked, with a puzzled look.

"They're knitting needles!"

Judging from the rest of the items found in the trunk, we guessed they belonged to Grandpa's mother, Minnie.  From them, I was able to add another few tidbits to my store of knowledge about her.  

First, she wraps her double pointed needles in string from the last project she worked on, just like I do.  Second, she was a good knitter.  The needles are sizes 0 and 2--good for knitting socks and lace, not just chunky beginner scarves.

That's a lot to add, considering that I only knew about three things about Grandma Minnie before.

I knew that her great-grandfather was a tailor for the King of Sweden, and her grandfather worked in the King's gardens.  Her father, David, married her mother, Bengta--who worked in the palace brewery--and they immigrated to the United States in the 1880's.

According to my grandmother, who would have been Minnie's daughter-in-law, she was fairly meek and submissive to my great-grandfather--refusing to spend money on even small household goods without his permission.  But to the extent I remember him talking about her, I got a definite sense that my grandfather, her younger son and the baby of the family, adored her.

One summer--I must have been 10 or 11--my step-mother and I connived to surprise my dad with a picnic dinner.  I decided to make him a cake from a book of family recipes, and settled on one submitted by "Minnie", unaware that she was my great-grandmother.

Somehow, I ended up putting in far too much shortening--I think I must have switched the amount of shortening and the amount of sugar.  The picnic surprise came off perfectly, but then my dad bit into the cake.  

What you have to understand about Nice Dad is, he was wonderful about eating what I cooked with a smile, no matter what.  But this was so bad, even he couldn't fake it.  "Is this a joke?" he sputtered, as he spit the piece of cake out.  I quickly took a bite myself, and--there was no help for it--the cake tasted like a spoonful of straight Crisco.

When we next saw Grandpa, I recounted the story of the "Crisco cake".  It was he who informed me that "Minnie" was my great-grandma.  He said he remembered her making that cake all the time, and smiled fondly as he told me how he used to love it.

Looking at Grandma Minnie's knitting needles the other day, I got to thinking about that cake.  I pulled out the book of family recipes and decided to give it another try.

I immediately realized why--at 10--I had difficulty with it.  It's obvious from reading it that she had it memorized so well that she didn't need basic instructions, like how long to bake it for or at what temperature.  But I took a good guess (350 degrees, start testing at 20 minutes and go until a knife comes out clean), and I can see why it was one of her favorites.  Not too sweet, light but still substantial...my piece didn't even make it long enough to get icing--it was perfect on its own with a big glass o'milk.

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jacks....

 

Thanks to Lovely Friend, I spent yesterday getting nicely sun-crisped at "the K", watching the Royals season opener.  Alas, although we root-root-rooted for the home team, they did not quite pull off the win.  (It was a shame!)  But nonetheless, the company was quite nice and the people watching was riveting.  And can we talk about ball park food for a sec?  A hot dog with ketchup, mustard, relish, kraut and jalapeños--oh my!

What I Did While I Was Away

Worked.  Glorious, unapologetic productivity.  It's a good drug.  I can really understand how people become workaholics, as there is definitely a high that comes with crossing things off your to-do list.

Knitted.  More about that (and pictures) later this week, but I actually ran out of row counters at one point and started using my hand.

Taught someone else to knit.  Again, more about that later, but suffice to say it wasn't Moe or Porter.

Saw Ira Glass.  As in, Ira Glass of This American Life.  You know, I think if I had gone the journalism route (and I did consider it) he would have my dream job--i.e. going around and investigating interesting stories and people in an "every day" sort of way.  And even for a little ol' blogger like me he had some very instructive things to say about the way to tell a story properly.  If he's near you sometime, go listen to him talk--he's fabulous.

Took pictures.  Of an awesome local band called The Latenight Callers.  I haven't edited the shots yet, but as far as just-out-of-the-camera stuff goes, I'm really psyched.  

Watched the snow fall.  Winter just won't quit around here.  I'm OK with that for another week or so, but come March I want to start tackling some outside projects that just can't be done with snow and frozen ground.  Weather gods, please make this your last snowy hurrah, OK? 

Because There Are Signs You Just Can't Ignore

I've found that my thrifting/flea market adventures go better if I start out with a list.  There are always many things I want at our local "everything" shop, and if I don't limit myself to things I need I could go bankrupt in there.

The other day, the items on my list were thus:

1. An old typesetter's drawer to put on the wall for found objects--like this one.
2. A red or blue or black lamp for my office.
3. A dark wood box or tray to contain the stuff on top of Sweet Husband's dresser.

 

I found a perfect typesetter's drawer quite quickly, and was hunting around for the other two items when I ran into the most fabulous pair of butter-colored, pointy-toed boots.

    "I do not need boots.  They are not on the list," I said firmly to myself.

    "Besides, I'll bet they're expensive."  (Flip boots over, discover that they are a mere $15.)

    "Or something must be wrong with them."  (Notice that boots are just barely worn and in fabulous shape.  Actually rub the boots against my cheek because the leather is so soft.)

    "OK, but I'm sure they're not my size."  (Slide off snow galosh, slip into boots, discover they are exactly my size.)

And at just that second, one of the greatest songs ever written--"Red Rubber Ball"--came on the radio.

There are many things I can ignore, but when the universe gives me instructions as clearly as that--on the list or not--the boots came home with me!

 

Keeping Warm

There is only one thing I miss about the old house--the fireplace.  It didn't really put off much heat, but just the light and the smell were so warming in the winter-time.  

A pair of our dearest friends actually moved into the old place, and I've seriously thought about knocking on their door with a bundle of wood and some matches.  But that would require walking through the snow, which kinda defeats the purpose.

This year--as chilly and drafty as hundred year old houses can be, and as bitter cold as our winter has been--I've had to find other ways to keep warm.  So far, the things that seem to be working well are:

• Beeswax candles burning everywhere....we've even been having candlelit dinners.  Somehow the candlelight makes the house seem cozy rather than cold.  And the smell is divine.
• Down, flannel, quilts, and really just blankets in general....are flannel sheets and flannel pajamas at the same time too much?  Hells no!
• Scarves....I haven't counted, but if I had to guess I would say there are more than ten in my closet, and I have at least two more in the works.  I find it amazing how a simple piece of cloth wrapped around my neck helps keep me snug.
• Wool socks and slippers....bless those little sheepies and their fabulous wool!
• Hot drinks....Coffee with milk and honey, spiced tea, or sake if I'm in the mood for something stronger.

What are your favorite ways to keep warm?

Because You Can Only Hunker Down Inside for So Long

More snow tonight.  More tucking in on the couch, under the covers.  

Except this afternoon--home from work early because of the roads again, don't hate me--I just couldn't stay inside anymore.  It was too early to make dinner.  I had already knitted a lot.  I didn't want to watch a movie.

Sweet Husband and the dogs agreed.  Snow or no snow, it was time to get outside.

So we bundled ourselves up--man, woman, and beasts--and trudged down to a nearby park and back.  Surprisingly, I was warmer when we got home than I was when we left.  And we stumbled on about five tiny squirrels looking for dinner and watched them scurry up a tree, so it was a worthwhile walk for the pups as well.

Wheeee!

    

It only took us four days, but we finally made it sledding!  

Silver Skates and Sweethearts

Nice Sis-In-Law brought my favorite girlies up this weekend for some ice skating.  It makes no sense--seeing as we grown-ups have a bit more padding--but I think the kiddos were better at the inevitable "bouncing" part....

No matter how old I get, no matter what happens EVER....

 

....I will never be anything but grateful and filled with joy for a good snow day.

(And you people who live in places where snow is measured in feet, not inches, please do not laugh at the 2-4" that has my office closed today--Sweet Husband said the roads really are nasty!)

Comfort and Joy

Noshing...on cookies (delivered from a friend, which makes them even better), Turkish Delight, and Coke in a glass bottle....

Inhaling...just-in-bloom Paperwhites and Christmas tree....

Snuggling...under the pretty new/old quilt my mama got me for my birthday (and this one's NOT a "project"--hell yes!)....  

Watching...Christmas movies...Did you know I've never properly watched Miracle on 34th Street before today?  Such an incredible movie, and I love Love Actually.  One of my favorite topics of holiday conversation is which love story in that movie is the best one.  (I'm torn between the kid and the Portuguese woman and the lady taking care of her brother...but the guy that falls in love with Keira Knightley is so sweet...and the guy that goes to American is so funny...SEE IT'S HARD!)

Thinking...about baking up a storm this evening...if I make it off the couch!

 

Plugging Sweet Husband By Giving You Stuff

Hey there all you local people!  Be sure and stop by the Lawrence Art Guild's Holiday Art Fair tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Lawrence Art Center.  Sweet Husband and Nice Friend Calley will both be selling their lovely wares (with their powers combined they are "Oread Designs") along with over fifty other local artists.

For all you local people and non-local people alike, in order to drum up some love, I'm going to give away a piece of Sweet Husband's jewelry.

Here's what to do.  Go check out Sweet Husband's etsy shop.  Look around, get comfortable, feel free to stop and shop, but before you leave be sure and pick out your favorite piece of jewelry.  Then come back here and leave a comment telling me what it is.  I'll randomly pick one winner tomorrow morning, and you get whatever you picked!  How's that for fun?

UPDATE: And the winner is Jill!  I'll be in touch for your info Jill.

Some Snow Please

I sometimes think I need to move North.  I don't mind winter at all, but, gosh darn it, I want snow!

I don't care that it makes things difficult.  In fact, I suspect that's part of the reason I love it.  

"Opps, sorry, too much snow.  Must work from home in my jammies!"  

"Drat!  Can't cross all those things off the to-do list--must stay home where it's warm!"

Of course, no matter how bad it is out, nothing could ever stop me from donning thick winter gear and going for a romp in winter wonderland with the dogs.  Let's be sensible, after all, not everything can stop just 'cause the weather's bad!

No major snow for us yet this year--just a little mid-November dusting--but I thought that maybe if I cut up some paper snowflakes Old Man Winter might take a hint!