Christmas Card

We just finished our Christmas cards.  This year we tried something new and went vintage.  Yes, thats me, at least fifty years ago.  I have fuzzy memories of waiting in line to sit on Santa's lap.

And here is my husband Pete some sixty years ago.  I found these photos and framed them both for Pete last year at Christmas.   If you keep the spirit, we are always young at Christmas!

Most Beautiful Felted Slippers

Materials:  

• 1 skien Berroco Peruvia 100% wool for slippers.  I made these slippers with other brands of wool but love the way the Peruvia feels and it felts beautifully.  The available colors are lovely as well.  A few yards of scrap wool yarn are needed for petals, leaves and french knots.
• Size 10 straight knitting needle
• Yarn needle
• Mesh bag for felting in the washing machine

Slippers:

• Cast on 42 stitches and knit stockinette stitch for 7 1/2 inches
• Knit 4 rows
• K5, k2tog and repeat till end of row (36 stitches)
• K next 3 rows
• K4, k2tog and repeat till end of row (30 stitches)
• K next 3 rows
• K3, k2tog and repeat till end of row (24 stitches)
• K next 3 rows
• K2, k2tog and repeat till end of row (18 stitches)
• K next 3 rows
• K1, k2tog and repeat till end of row (12 stitches)
• K next 3 rows
• k2tog (6 stitches)
• K next row
• Thread 20 inch tail through last 6 stitches and weave end in body.

Flower petals:

• Cast on 9 stitches
• Knit first 3 stitches (leaving remaining 6 for next two petals), turn
• Purl 3, turn
• K1, increase 1, K2, turn (4 stitches)
• P4 , turn
• K1, inc 1, K1 inc 1, K2, turn (6 stitches)
• P6 , turn
• K1 inc 1, K1, inc 1, K1, inc 1, K1, inc 1, K2, turn (10 stitches)
• P10, turn
• K1, K2together, K1 K2tog, K1, K2tog, K1(7 stitches), turn
• P7, turn
• K1 K2tog, K1, K2tog, K1 (5 stitches), turn
• P5, turn
• K1, K2tog, K2tog (3 stitches), turn
• Purl 3 stitches
• Cast off remaining three stitches and using yarn needle weave loose yarn into petal

Using a new piece of yarn, repeat above with the next 3 stitches on needle and then again a third time with the last three.
After felted, you can use the purl side if you like the curled petal look or the knit side if you prefer smooth petals.  The slippers above have just one three petal flower but it also looked nice with two layers of petals with one color slightly varied from the other.

Leaf
Same as above but with just a single group of 3 cast on stitches.  You can knit a couple extra rows of 3 on one end for a stem if you like.


Felting
Set washing machine on hot water and extra small load.  I used a small amount of laundry soap (Meyers basil scent - mmm!) but have successfully felted without adding soap as well.  Place slippers and flower parts in mesh bag and agitate 3 minutes and check size, resetting to beginning of agitation cycle each time.   Mine took 3-3 minute cycles but I have found the time varies by yarn.

When the slippers looked the right size, I tried them on to make sure.  When they are the right size,  rinse them with cold water, gently wring out and roll in a thick bath towel to remove excess moisture.  Shape slipper including pointed toe and stuff lightly with newspaper or paper.  When dry, layer the leaf and petals on the front of the slipper and attach with a grouping of French knots -  I used black yarn.

Great Book for Felted Knitting Patterns

Knit One Felt Too is a great resources for felting patterns.  It is full of patterns for hats, mittens, slippers, baby and household items.  I noticed that the book is was available on Amazon new and used for just $4.00 - a worth while investment!   Here are a few of the slippers I made:

The best part of knitting these were that my niece, daughter and I sat by the fire, drank tea and knit them over Thanksgiving weekend.  I was impressed with my nieces resourcefulness as she taught herself to knit the week before on UTube and came ready to make something!  Way to go Emily!

Eight Gifts

My neighbor shared this lovely verse from Anita Silvert of the Chicago Jewish Community Center in Chicago.  It is meant for Hanakkah, though it seems to be relavent to many of us of other faiths.  We are reading on gift each evening this week - I changed the last gift to faith to give it broader meaning.


Below are eight “free” gifts, in no particular order. We encourage you to read them, adapt the language to fit your family situation if you’d like, and share them with your loved ones this year around the Hanukkah hannukiah (menorah). One suggestion is to print them out on cards and laminate them, to read year after year.

Each night, pick one to read, beginning by saying, “Tonight I (or we) give you the gift of___________”


Tonight I give you the gift of LOVE
This is the first gift first. I love you. I will always love you. This is unconditional and non-negotiable. Gibraltar may crumble, the Rockies may tumble, but I will love you always and forever, no matter what.

Tonight I give you the gift of HOME
As in, you can always come home. As in, you can bring your friends home. As in, this is your home. You have a place in the world, with us, a shelter, both physical and psychological. It looks just like any other home, maybe more chaotic than some, but it is your home, your safe place, where you started and where you can come back to.

Tonight I give you the gift of FAMILY
This is the other part of your roots, the groundedness you get when you know who you are and whose models you can follow. This is what can make you feel both suffocated and free, alone and never alone. This is your blessing. This is your four beloved grandparents, whether alive or not. This is the family we choose for ourselves, and the family that we’re born into. This is the extended relations that seem endless, but are so dear to us, that every chance we get, we gather together. This is the other departed members of our family whom you hear us talk about. This is what you will be to your children. This is the people who show up to celebrate moments with you. This is growing up in a setting where we try hard every day to show you how a parent and a child, a grandparent and a parent, a Mom and a Dad, should treat each other.

Tonight I give you the gift of KNOWLEDGE
This includes both schooling and street smarts, a house full of books, and the give and take of active debate. We read. You read. You take classes and so do we. But it also includes the music, the museums, the dance and the theater, the family trips and the family conversations. It’s the richness of every experience whether it’s camping or hammering, baking or doing your own laundry, giving tzedakah, or donating clothes. We are filling your minds all the time, even when you don’t know it. This gift you can keep giving yourself all the rest of your life.

Tonight I give you the gift of SECURITY
Well, at least as much as is possible. Your true, long-range security has to come from within, from being and becoming trustworthy. Meanwhile, we will do all we can to give you the foundation of composure, of knowing without question that you are capable. We are proud of your innate abilities and goodness; your good sense, and your willingness to try. You do not have to follow the crowd to gain self-esteem, because you already have from us, and from within yourself, the seeds of true confidence. Just nurture them.

Tonight I give you the gift of OPTIMISM
This includes both a sense of perspective and a sense of joy. Life will be hard enough, so relish the good moments. Be a joyous presence in the world. These other gifts will help you stay strong in the face of adversity, this one will help you savor its absence. Focus on hope, calmness, and a positive outlook, instead of worry and pessimism.. Count your blessings. Have fun.

Tonight I give you the gift of FREEDOM
Freedom within boundaries that stretch as you get older, and freedom within guidelines you can keep using as you mature. It seems this gift comes, for now, in painfully measured doses. But by the time you are an adult, and out in the world of unlimited independence, you will know how to use it, and how to be true to your own standards.

Tonight I give you the gift of FAITH
We give you Faith, your own personal connection with your heritage. This great gift comes with spiritual strength, stories, a strong moral code and values, and an incredible gift for survival. Faith gives you inspiration, scholarship, protection, compassion, a way to live and a community to belong to, wherever life takes you.


Anita Silvert

Lentil Soup - Italian Style

Even though Mulligatawny is my favorite lentil dish (see http://nancyberlin.blogspot.com/2009/11/mulligatawny-soup.html), this is a close second.  It is the rather basic lentil soup I made years ago.  It is still just as good on a snowy day.

1 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 c celery
1 c sliced carrots
1 lb lentils
6 c water
2 tbsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 large can Italian plum tomatoes

Saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil.  Add the celery carrots, lentils and water and cook until the lentils are soft - about 30 minutes.  Some recipes tell you to blend the cooked soup in a food processor, but I like the texture of the lentils and leave it as is.  Add the tomatoes and cook about 5 minutes more.

They're Following Me!

If they didn't make me laugh, with their eerie expressions I could make a good suspense story out of them.  It must have been the first snowfall yesterday that made me giddy.  On my walk down to Lake Michigan I saw things I never saw before, even thought I was on the same path.  The dusting of snow added certain beauty.  On this snow-giddy day though, I found sticks, rocks and seaweed in the shape of the alphabet, so I started a new hobby collecting all twenty-six (I suspect "G" and "Q" are going to be difficult....)  And the trees were watching me - I saw them everywhere!  So I started collecting tree mugs as well.

Here are some of the characters along the path.  Can you see them?   I am working on some sketches that I will post on my art blog later. (http://www.lizetteberlin.blogger.com)

Can't you hear him howling?

This photo is a bit blurry but the ghost like figure seems like it should be, don't you think?

Nice mustache!

Pontificating

Jimmi

Best Birthday Cake

Now, I don't even like cake, especially yellow cake.  This one breaks all the rules. It is incredible!   Thanks to dear Mary and dear Connie for sharing the recipe.   The only thing I changed was using blackberries instead of chestnuts on the top and (blush...) using cream instead of milk in the frosting.

2 c sugar
4 eggs
1 c vegetable oil
1 c dry white wine
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 35o an grease and four two 9 inch round cake pans.  Beat the sugar and eggs until light (about a minute.)  Add the remaining ingredients and mix another minute.  Bake about 3o minutes or until knife comes out clean.  Cool and frost with this delightful frosting:

1 1/2 c chocolate chips
1/2 c unsalted butter
2/3 c of milk or cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 c powdered sugar

Fresh blackberries

Melt butter and chips in microwave, 30 seconds at a time, stirring until melted.  Stir in cream and vanilla and then gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture is smooth with electric mixer - it will be runny.  Refrigerate for an hour , beating the frosting every 15 minutes.  Frost cake and top with fresh blackberries.

Romancing the Ordinary

Hepaticas

It's the secret to life.  Or one of them anyway:  find joy in the simple things.

A year after my husband died I felt especially down.    I was in one of those "nothing is good, everything is hard, poor me" sort of moods.  I stubbornly pushed myself to come up with one good thing, maybe two.  It was spring and I remember thinking "well, at least I can walk out my door and be in the woods."  So I did.  The hepatica's were blooming.  Sweet little lavender flowers with tri-lobe fuzzy stemmed leaves.  Everywhere.  Dotting the forest with little peeps of joy.  On my way home, I remember thinking "at least every spring the hepaticas bloom."   Then it was as if I noticed for the first time that "I really like the color blue when its in the sky."  That little hike was what got me on to healing.  I know people have animals as totems, but mine would have to be a hepatica.

Today, that deep sadness seems miles away.  I can come up with a long list of good things, some I am sure would make people wonder.  Gathering beach glass, looking inside a flower, the color and texture of ground cover in the woods, hearing the waves on Lake Michigan from my bed.   Romancing the Ordinary.

I am not the first.   Sarah Ban Breathnach wrote a delightful book seven years ago: Romancing the Ordinary - A Year of Simple Splendor  - goodness, it's only $.03 on Amazon!   If you are having a hard time coming up with your mental list, this one is sure to jump start it.

Beach Gems

My bounty!

It goes without saying that it is always a delight to walk a beach.   I used to gather one striped stone for each walk and then put them in my garden;  this past year I started gathering beach glass as I hike along Lake Michigan.  Some days the beach is "dry, and others like today I get a handful - 63 pieces!

It strikes me as odd to find pleasure in treasures that are the result of littering. Once Lake Michigan does its trick though, my finds are indeed gems.  I like the notion that they are priceless beauties - like peering at the colors inside a flower - hidden joys always there for us.  I silently delight in finding the rare red, blue or aqua piece.  I wonder too,  how is it that while walking a good clip and deep in thought that my eyes catch the glow of green no bigger then a piece of sand?

It's peaceful and meditative.

I slip each jewel in my pocket.  Someday I'll create a mosaic and capture the energy of the wind in my face and colors on my mind.

Spoiled rotten - my backyard

Cranberry Salsa - A Gift from the Bog

One of the rites of fall is stocking up on cranberries.  When I lived up north, I loved the trip to the bog to gather them.  I usually can and freeze them for use all year long - why just eat them in the fall?  This year I purchased them - but at least they are a local Wisconsin gift from the bog!

This recipe from the Michigan Extension Service is my first attempt at cranberry salsa.   It is flavorful - but next round I'd add a few more Serrano peppers.  Also, in case you are curious...here is a good reference for "understanding" peppers:  http://www.missvickie.com/howto/spices/peppers/peppersdict.html.

6 c red onion chopped
4 large Serrano peppers, finely chopped (more!)
1 1/2 c water
1 1/2 c apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp salt
2 c sugar
6 tbsp honey
12 c or 3 lbs whole cranberries, rinsed

I chopped the onions and peppers in my food processor.  Place all ingredients but the cranberries in a large pot and boil gently for 5 minutes.  Add the cranberries, reduce heat slightly and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Ladle the salsa into clean hot canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch free at the top.  Twist on covers and rings and boil in a canner for 15 minutes.

Chocolate Irish Cream Cake

"Eggs at room temperature"

I haven't made this recipe for ten years or more, until this weekend.  Now, I wonder why I waited so long!  The process of this recipe is enjoyable and the final product exquisite for a dinner party or celebration.

12 oz chocolate chips
1/2 c unsalted butter
6 eggs at room temperature, separated
1 c sugar
1/2 c walnuts or pecans very finely chopped
4 tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of cream of tarter
2 c whipping cream
1/4 c powdered sugar
4 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream
2 oz chocolate curls

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease and flour a 9 or 10 inch springform pan.  Melt chocolate chips and butter in double boiler or microwave.  Beat egg yolks until thick about 5 minutes.  Add 1/2 c sugar 1 tbsp at a time into the eggs.  Add melted chocolate, nuts, Irish Cream and vanilla.
Beat egg whites with cream of tarter.  Gradually add remaining 1/2 c sugar once stiff peaks form.  Gently fold a quarter of egg whites into chocolate and then fold chocolate mixture into remaining whites.  Pour into prepared spring form pan.
Bake 30 minutes, reduce oven to 275F and bake 30 minutes more.  Turn off oven and let cake stand 30 minutes with oven door ajar.  Remove cake from oven.  Dampen  a light dishtowel and place on top of cake for 5 minutes (cake will crack and fall.)  Cool cake in pan.
Remove springform and transfer to a cake plate.  Beat whipping cream then add powdered sugar and irish Cream.  Spoon whipped cream onto top of cake evenly.  To make chocolate curls, it helps to have chocolate warm - I heated in microwave to just before melting, and skim with vegetable peeler.

Step Right In, Sit Right Down

This table used to sit n my Grandma's basement.  My uncle tells me it used to have five leaves!

...Baby let your mind roll on.  Remember that one?

That is what I can do, now that I have a drawing room. My studio, if you will.  Thanks to Ali for donating her room, my brother Jay for donating my Grandmothers table and Pete for refinishing the table.  Having a space to work in has turned my desire into action.  That part of my brain, sat dormant, alive only in doodles these past twenty years as I pursued a career and raised a family.

My first memory of my love of art is drawing with my mother at age three or four while my younger siblings napped.  At age five I won a coloring contest.  In second grade the nuns rolled out shelving paper so I could paint murals.  That must have been my classical period as I painted crucifictions and church scenes.   The University of Minnesota's "Young Peoples Symphony Art Program" encouraged students to paint to music.  That made an impression me as I recall feeling proud to appear in school those days with a dress instead of my uniform and to be picked up by my parents early to view my compositions on the walls of Northrup Auditorium.  My first "exhibition" was a "contemporary piece" of swirly tempra on red construction paper painted to Aaron Copland's Rodeo.  Later a water color and then a Paul Klee-esk pastel with ink.  Though being competitive is not in my nature, from second grade through my sophomore year in college I was always the best of my peers when it came to art.

In college I majored in both art and biology and found they each took all of me, so my junior year I focused on the later.   Creativity snuck out in sketch books and other forms such as quilting, weaving, knitting and an occasional painting.  Mostly though it was all in limbo, until now.

My intent when I retired eighteen months ago was to resurrect my skills.  It puzzled me why I was doing everything but.  I realize now it was like searching for a box in the back of the attic.  I just found it and am slowly unpacking it.

Since setting up my studio, I draw almost daily. I am not as rusty as I thought, but certainly only a fraction of what I hope to be.  I reflect on how crafts take eight years of apprenticeship, and I feel as though I am in year one.  In my teens and early twenties I drew one to four hours I day - I hope to rekindle those habits.

I started an art blog.  You can follow my progress at http://nancylizette.blogspot.com/.  There, now I am committed!

Mulligatawny Soup

Golden bliss!

Just look at these ingredients - you know it has got to be good!  I sprinkle a few cashews and golden raisins on rice and spoon the soup on top.  This soup is excellent with naan - and don't forget to squeeze the lemon on top!   I am quite sure they serve this dish in heaven.

4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion
6 cloves finely chopped garlic
3 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1/2 jalapeno, chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp cumin
1/1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 c flour
1 3/4 c red lentils
9 c vegetable broth
3 tbsp minced cilantro, plus leaves for garnish
1 c unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 c fresh lemon juice plus wedges for garnish

Melt the butter and saute the onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeno until browned, about 12 minutes.  Lower the heat and add dry spices, stirring about a minute and then add flour and stir a minute more.  Pour in the broth and lentils and cook 45 minutes, then cool.  When cooled, puree mixture in food processor  and then reheat.  Wisk in the coconut milk, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Reheat and serve in bowls (optionally on top of rice and garnish with cilantro and lemon wedge.)  If the soup thickens more then you like, more water may be added.

BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, if there is one thing I have accomplished in this life, I think it is perfecting the basic Tollhouse Cookie recipe.  I can mix these in about 5 minutes, probably in the the dark - though I haven't tried that yet.

1 c butter flavored crisco or unsalted butter (former is better unfortunately)
3/4 c brown sugar (or use 1 c brown and 1/2 granulated)
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp soda
1 1/2 c unbleached white flour
1/2 c rolled oats
1 1/2 c chocolate chips or better yet broken Dove dark chocolate
1 c chopped walnuts

Cream first five ingredients, then mix in salt, soda and flour.  Add chips and nuts and place in 1 inch drops on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 for 11-2 minutes.   Warning: these are quite addicting, but don't worry, they don't last long.

Siblings

Thanksgving at Aunt Cloettes ca 1964.

This one is for you Nic, Ali and Davyd.

I have said it before, but the best thing my parents ever gave me was my five brothers and sisters.  I remember once realizing that when I called one sib and no one answered, so I called the next, and the next... and realized I had five instant best friends.

Not that we are alike or that we agree, but we do know each other well.  We share our roots and traditions, we chased each other around, we kept each others secrets.  As adults we still love to play, to hear each others stories and we trust each other.  I can't imagine life without the rhythm of "Nancy, Greg, Eric, Jill, Jay and Kathy."

So, when I think of my children and realize that for all the things I have tried to give them...stable values, vacations in beautiful places, healthy lunches, college education...none are as valuable as giving them each other.

Georgia Eat Your Heart Out

The inside of flowers often hold this secret!   Georgia knew this...

Is this beautiful or what?  My neighbor Laurie gave me this hibiscus yesterday.  I was pleased enough with the surprise and the  plant itself.  The true gift though was the gift of color.   How could she have know that color is one of my favorite things?

I have been pouring over watercolor books, looking at color wheels and pallets, testing my watercolors at night before I go to bed.  I am preparing for some paintings about to hatch.   I have bee thinking color, even dreaming  about color.  All this makes me very happy.

Kathy's Birthday Mittens

The cuff yarn "spoke to me" - I had to make something with it!

BASIC ROLLED END MITTEN PATTERN

MATERIALS-- 1 skein Knitting Worsted (I used Lamb's pride Worsted 85% Wool/15% Mohair here - nice!),  and a few yards for contrasting edge and Knitting Needles Size 10.

GAUGE: 6 stitches=1 inch, 9 rows=1 inch

CUFF-- Cast on 48 sts, place them on 4 (or 3) needles, knit contrast yarn for roll about 2 inches then 2 more inches in main color.

 1st increasing round for thumb: increase in next st, k 1, increase in next st, k to end of round. K 2 rounds even.

2nd increasing round: increase in next st (mark this as the first thumb st), k 3, increase in next st (the last thumb st), k to end of round. K 2 rounds even.

3rd increasing round: increase in first thumb st, k 5, increase in last thumb st, k to end of round. K 2 rounds even.

4th increasing round: increase in the first thumb st, k 7, increase in last thumb st, k to end of round. K 2 rounds even.

5th increasing round: increase in first thumb st, k 9, increase in last thumb st, k to end of round. K 2 rounds even.

6th increasing round: increase in first thumb st, k 11, increase in last thumb st, k to end of round (60 sts in round). K 3 rounds even, ending at the first thumb st. Slip the next 15 sts to a strand of yarn, to be held for thumb. Cast on 3 sts at end of last needle (between thumb and hand), k to end of round (48 sts in round). Work even for 4 inches.

1st decreasing round: * k 4, k 2 tog, repeat from * to end of round (8 decrease). K 3 rounds even.

2nd decreasing round: * k 3, k 2 tog, repeat from * to end of round. K 2 rounds even.

3rd decreasing round: * k 2, k 2 tog, repeat from * to end of round. K 1 rond even.

4th decreasing round: * k 1, k 2 tog, repeat from * to end of round. K 1 round even.

5th decreasing round: k 2 tog, 8 times in succession. Break off, leaving an end. Draw end through all 8 sts, draw them together tightly and darn in end.

THUMB-- Slip the 15 sts held for thumb to 2 needles, with a 3rd needle pick up and k 4 sts on the 3 cast-on sts between thumb and hand. K even until thumb measures 2 1/4 inches from the cast-on sts; k 2 sts tog at end of last round.

1st decreasing round: * k 2 tog, k 4, repeat from * to end of round. K 1 round even.

2nd decreasing round: * k 2 tog, k 3, repeat from * to end of round. K 1 round even.

3rd decreasing round: k 2 sts tog, 6 times in succession. Break off, leaving an end; draw end through remaining 6 sts, tighten and darn in end.

Grandmas's Hands

My grandmother wasn’t especially pretty…

But she had beautiful hands.

Her hands…

Knit mittens,

Embroidered pillow-cases,

Made cinnamon bread,

Prayed the rosary,

Cheered for the Minnesota Twins,

Planted iris,

Canned jam and pickles,

Braided rugs,

Told stories of days on the farm,

Cooked pot roast and gravy,

Stitched quilts,

All the while singing “tre-de-de-de”

But best of all…

Grandmas’s hands

hugged me.

The Dentist's Library

Besides the whole wellness idea, one thing I like about going to the dentist or doctor - is the magazines you wouldn't otherwise read. I confess to this guilty pleasure and to reading People magazine at my doctors office. My dentist has more "refined" taste. I read Architectural Digest and Traditional Home there today.

I especially liked the short article by designer Barbara Berry on Ways to Nourish the Soul. This is a hybrid list inspired by what I read:

• Light - Let their be light. A house that lets the outside in is a beautiful house.
• Color - I find such joy in color whether it's looking at the inside of a flower or comparing fabrics make a quilt to looking at photos together simply for their color.
• Garden - How can a biologist think it's a miracle that things grow, but I do.
• Farmers Markets - What joy to walk amid all the colors and textures, to meet the farmers and pick your nourishment by hand.
• Hiking - The mind goes to a special place when hiking. It is a good place
• Yoga - Formal practice or just straightening the spine and breathing deeply, it does wonders.
• Nice sheets - Don't skimp on sheets, they hug you all night long.
• Bedtime shower - The days cares go down the drain.
• Tea - Calming cup of tea, inhale the steam and aroma, warm the hands, relax.
• Girlfriends - Energy boost, always.
• Knitting - Is it the rhythm or the slow productivity? Maybe its the colors and tactile sensation.
• Sketching - Like hiking, sketching takes me to another place. I wish I was not so rusty.
• Blank Slate - Having nothing to do is such a blessing. I always told my kids boredom invents creativity.
• Acoustic music - Whatever genre, I like it. A capella, I am in heaven.
• Watercolors - Sketching and watercolors makes a two-for-one piece of tranquility.
• My children's baby pictures - Make me happy. I never tire of them.
• Family - Roots that ground you. Nourish them.
• Home - My castle and where the heart is. No cliche, it's real.
• Outdoor sauna - How I miss mine. Someday....
• Process - Not that I like a regiment but cooking with love, maintenance with with care or design with intent brings satisfaction.

Vacation Socks

Socks relaxing

These are my favorite so far. Knit with Ty-Dy Sock Yarn on # 3 needles with the Uptown Boot Sock pattern from Interweave Press's Favorite Socks book.

To add to the pleasure, they were knit on the road (and ferry) on Vancouver Island and enroute to New York City.

Dishtowels

I can never resist leaves!

It doesn't take much to make me happy. Dishtowels are one of those things. Just out of college and living off $1000 of my remaining savings and pursuing an internship as a wildlife researcher, I discovered that if I could afford to buy fresh mushrooms and a new dishtowel, that I was living the good life.

Time has past, my tastes and savings have evolved. It still feels good when I have fresh mushroom and new dishtowels. These are my new finds from Crate and Barrel. Leaves - I couldn't resist.

After all, isn't this one of the secrets of life? Find joy in the small things.

Why make bread when you can make Zucchini Chocolate Cake?

2 1/2 c flour

½ cup cocoa

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

¾ cup soft butter.

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp orange juice concentrate

2 tsp vanilla

½ c milk

2 c zucchini

Mix dry ingredients and cream the rest in a separate bowl then mix it all together. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan and bake at 350 for one hour.

It's Peachy!

Anticipation!

Here is your postcard from my trip to New York City. We enjoyed the landscapes of four Great Lakes and the Finger Lakes. Historic districts Marshall Michigan, Niagara on the Lake Ontario, and Hudson Ohio were welcome distractions to the miles of roads in between. Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca NY, sushi in Brooklyn and Balthazar - a French Bistro in SOHO made us glad to be hungry. Farmstands graced the roads in Ontario and New York. We stretched our legs from the long drive and walked from Battery Park into Manhattan. My friends sister gave us a personal tour of Ralph Lauren Corporate headquarters on Madison Avenue. I was adopted to experience apartment living in Brooklyn and a home on Long Island. We worked at a Vineyard sampling grapes and bottling Pinot Noir.

The highlight? It was the peaches. Those numerous farm stands had peaches galore and I did my best to eat up to three of them a day. Eyes closed, a deep breath and sweet juice running down your chin...heaven.

Whole Peach Pie

The prize of August since I can remember

I can't let summer go until I have made this recipe. The trick is finding good peaches. I have feasted on good local peaches in the southeast, northwest and northeast - if that matches your zip code, you will be more fortunate then those of us in the Midwest who must wait for the Colorado peaches to arrive in late August. My mother made Whole Peach Pies as long as I can remember, and I plan to do the same - as long as I can still remember!

Pie Crust (enough for 4-5 peaches)

1 c Butter-flavored Crisco or unsalted butter

2 c unbleached flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

6 tbsp ice water

Mix the shortening and dry ingredients with pasty blender until it is the texture of course sand. Sprinkle the ice water over and blend together - do not overwork! Divide into 4-5 balls and roll each between waxed paper. Wrap each peach carefully, avoid stretching or tearing the dough. Bake at 375 for about 35 minutes until golden.

4-5 washed Peaches

Honey Sauce

1 c powdered sugar

1/2 c butter

3 tbsp cream

5 tbsp honey

Mix the sauce ingredients and cook on low heat for 30 minutes until golden in color. Pour sauce over peaches just before serving.

Tell me this is not heaven....

It works!

Wow this is too easy!
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Exceptional Apple Cake with Carmel Sauce

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

1 c sugar

1 egg

1 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 large or 4 small tart apples, sliced thin

1/2 c chopped walnuts

1/4 c whipping cream

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1/4 c granulated sugar

1/4 c packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

This is the BEST apple cake I have ever had! Heat the oven to 350 and butter a 9x9 or Swedish loaf pan. Cream the butter sugars and eggs. Mix in the dry ingredients and stir together. Add the apples and nuts and bake for 40-45 minutes. On the stove top heat the cream, butter and sugar until sugar is melted and then boil for one minute. Add vanilla and serve over the top.

Blueberry Galette

1 1/4 c flour
1/4 c cornmeal
2 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick chilled unsalted butter
4 to 5 tbsp ice water

3 c fresh blueberries
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 oz (2 tbsp) butter, chilled
Pinch of cinnamon

2 tsp powdered sugar

Mix the cornmeal, flour, sugar and salt with the butter using a pastry blender until it is the consistency of sand. Then add ice water and roll out into a circle on wax paper. Do not overwork - dough should stay cold, if not chill for up to 2 hours. Transfer to a parchment lined cookie sheet and chill until you are ready to add berries.

Cut the butter in pea sized pieces and mix with the blueberries, sugar and cinnamon. Pour into center of dough leaving about three inches you gently place over the edge of berries. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. Let cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Lost Boy

Davyd was to finish his homework before soccer practice. I called his name, but couldn't locate him. I went outside and this is where I found him. Sometimes being a mom is priceless!

Grand Vacations: Vancouver Island

Consider this a postcard. Yes, we had a great time and we wish you were there! Pete, Davyd and I spent last week on Vancouver Island. I have thought about going there since 1978.

We took the Anacortes ferry to Victoria, British Columbia and explored the southeast quarter of the island. Riding ferries always adds a romantic notion, who doesn't love cruising archipelagos?

We were smitten by the small farms around Cowichan Bay and fell in love with the artisan cheeses and breads at Hillary's Cheese Shop. Walking the labyrinth at Demali Lavender Farm was a sensory delight. My favorite B&B was Arbutus Bluff on Gabriola Island (yes, another ferry ride). We were surprised by a pod of Orcha's just a hundred feet in front of us along the beach there. Next, the origin of my curiosity - Strathcona Provincial Park. We took a seven-mile alpine hike to add to the beach walks on the smaller islands. In between, we ate plenty of fish (halibut-yum) and chips with Canadian ale. A day in Victorian and then Seattle paled compared to the quiet island pace, though I did enjoy the Seattle Art Museum.

If your curiosity is roused, you can get reasonably priced direct flights on Canadian Air from Chicago to Victoria. One could easily make a long weekend of it. Next time, I would definitely stay at Arbutus Bluff again, and add a night and Damali and splurge to stay at Brentwood Bay Lodge/Spa. Don't miss the the bread and cheese in Cowichan Bay enroute. I'd be tempted to make it a couple weeks though to explore the whole island.

Fish Tacos

Looking up - from the deck - while eating fish tacos!

8 Corn tortillas - I prefer white corn if you can find them
1 small Mahi Mahi (or other) fillet, grilled and shredded
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c mayo
1 lime, sectioned

Place the fish and cabbage in the center of the tortillas. Mix the sour cream and mayo and then put in a small baggie, cut a small hole in the tip and "sqiggle" the sauce over the fish and cabbage. Squeeze lime juice over it all and enjoy. Easy, healthy, fast and very very delicious...one of my favorite summer meals!

This I Believe...

• Our first choice should first take care of the earth - we have just one.
• There is no such thing as boredom if you can draw, read, or play an instrument.
• Time with family and friends is never wasted.
• You'll never regret spending money on a vacation.
• The New York Times, the New Yorker and Public Radio can jump start your mind.
• Your home is your castle.
• Be your own best friend.
  
• God is in your heart. Heaven can be on earth.
• Avoid debt - live within you means.
• If you say you are going to do something - do it.
  
• There are just two choices: love or fear.
• Get enough sleep, drink water, take deep breaths and everything will be alright.
• Everything you need to be happy is here, right now. Now, take the next step.
  
• We should all be driving hybrid cars, walking or riding bicycles.
  
• Infants, kittens and puppies should be held as much as possible (between midnight and 6AM.)
• Lake Superior is truly greatest lake in the world.
• Being a mother is one of the greatest privileges.
  
• It's well worth spending extra money on things like original art, Apple computers, local produce, olive oil and Aveda products...

To be continued.....

Going Grey

Going Grey by Anne Kreamer seems to be a Something About My Neck/Nora Ephram wanna be. Kreamer's book doesn't cut it. Ephram's book made me laugh out loud and drew me into her psche. Though drawn out, the points in Kreamer's book rang true.

Going Grey chronicles the choice to stop dying hair and become ones authentic self. Been there done that. The author is surprised to learn through a myriad of surveys that others found women that look their age and not faking it more attractive. I appreciated the book jacket: "Anne Kremer considered herself an impossibly youthful forty-nine until a casual glance at a family photograph stopped her in her tracks. There she was behind carefully chosen clothes, meticulously dyed hair and several rounds of botox - looking (horror or horrors) exactly forty-nine."

Something special happens when you turn fifty. For me at least, it was the very first time besides when I was sixteen and got my drivers license, that I actually thought about my age. I felt good about the first fifty and thought about the next fifty. I also observed my urban life... women with under-aged hairstyles, fake nails, and eek few forty-year-olds that didn't have any business wearing anything that exposed their tummies.

True confession: somehow in my forties I started dying my hair. As I approached fifty, I thought, wait a minute "why am I doing this?" How to stop without having a frumpy striped hairline?

I said "tawanda" and let my hair grow out a little and found a good hairdresser. I had my hair cut down to a half inch. My husband loved it. At work someone told me I looked like I owned an art gallery (my secret alter ego). I got more comments on the street from men and women then since my twenties. My twenty-something son liked it. My late-teen aged daughter said I looked like a cancer patient. My five year old said I looked like a boy.

I felt bolder. I felt beautiful. I felt wise. I felt fifty. I felt like me.

Twenty Questions: Decision-making

Write the answers to these questions down – the first thing that comes to mind. Yes write them down, answer every question (“I don’t know” or “doesn’t matter” don’t count) even if the questions seem dumb. Don’t worry about the questions or your answer - just see where they take you in the end. Once you have done this, is anything more obvious?

1. What are your dreams? Is this one of them?
2. If you don’t do it now will you do it later?
3. How could your decision make the world a better place?
4. Will this decision hurt or disappoint anyone? Can you soften the blow?
5. What would your mother say?
6. List the things that are irreversible in this decision. Can you live with them?
7. Think of someone you admire. Would they make the same decision?
8. What happens when you’re nervous? Will you do this more or less?
9. List your three greatest attributes. Will this strengthen them?
10. What is the healthiest thing to do?
11. Will this decision put you in a better place a year from now? In ten years?
12. Christian or not, what would Jesus do?
13. The little people in cartoons on peoples shoulders…what do they say?
14. What would you do if you had one year to live?
15. What would you have done five year ago? Five years from now?
16. Imagine the next six months are you feeling vulnerable or gutsy?
17. What is the financial impact?
18. Where will you get emotional support through the change?
19. What is the worse case scenario? Can you live with it?
20. What is your Plan B?

List five other questions and answer them. Yes write them down.

Lake Superior, Really?

Can you believe these colors? Sunday, after Anna and Jessie's wedding we ventured to Little Girl Point - a Lake Superior beach just across the Michigan line. I have long favored the scenery and smooth dark rocks of Lake Superior's north shore. I made my third circumnavigation of Gittche Gumme last summer with my friend and rock hound Candy, and she introduced me to a few other prize beaches on the south shore.

These little gems (and a few pieces of beach glass) were a treat for the eyes and a relaxing distraction to an already fun weekend.

Let Them Eat Cake

You saw the test cake, posted on July 15, and here is the final gateau. Anna and Jessie's grooms cake turned out lovely, shadowed only by the event itself hosted on Jessie's family farm in northern Wisconsin.

Happy Feet

It is so easy to knit cool socks these days. Gone are the days of my first kniittng life that you had to carry yarn! These summer cotton lovelies were made with Plymouth Socketta yarn in just a few evenings. The yarn comes with the varied colors so the pattern is effortless.

My First Galette's

In anticipation of the release of Julie Julia...I used the recipe for dough and the Cheese and Tomato Galette from Baking With Julia and Joy of Cooking's Apple Galette recipe.

Pastry dough
3 Tbsp sour cream, buttermilk or yogurt
1/3 c ice water
1 c flour
1/4 c cornmeal
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
7 Tbsp unsalted butter

Mix the sour cream and ice water and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients and then cut in the butter with a pastry blender until until the texture of wet sand. Add sour cream mixture a Tbsp at a time till just wet enough to hold dough together. Do not overwork. Divide dough in two and pat each into disk, wrap in wax paper and chill (Julia says an hour, I cheated and put it in the freeze about 25 minutes.) The dough may be sticky so sprinkle parchment paper with flour and roll out to an 11 inch circle on parchment with wax paper on top.

Apple filling
Peel and slice 2 apples in thin slices. Brush the center of the dough with 1 Tbsp of unsalted butter and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp of sugar. Arrange apples in a layered circle leaving 2-3 inches of dough around edges. Layer a few slices in the empty space in the center. Carefully roll the edges of dough over apples, lifting the parchment or floured fingers. Pour 2 Tbsp of melted butter over apples and then a mixture of 3 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Bake at 425F for 20 minutes and then at 350 for 25-30 more minutes until golden.

Cheese and Tomato Filling
Mix 4 oz of mozzarella, jack or aged white cheddar with 1/4 c fresh basil. Thinly slice 2 flavorful tomatoes (heirloom or cocktail tomatoes are my favorite) and spread on rolled dough, leaving 2-3 inches of dough around edge. Carefully roll edges over filling. Bake at 400 for 35 minutes.

And the best part, wait till you taste them!

Summer Salads

We had a traditional Salad Nicoise last night with green beans and fingerling potatoes from our trip to the Madison Farmers Market on Saturday. It was delicious.

If you are looking for summer salad ideas the 101 ideas in the NYTimes Minimalist column is great: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?em&emc=eta1 .

If you don't view the Times online - you should! For now it is free and it offers great reads on a myriad of subjects. There is nothing like the Sunday paper, in your mailbox and live and on your lap though. Let's hope they stay in business.

Guilty Pleasures

My friend Dee advised me "don't should on yourself." Still, my inner voice always tells me what I should do. Usually that has to do with getting things done, working harder, improving myself or this world I live in. Those, I know, come from my upbringing. I owe my Type A to my dad - cArl. Since I retired though I am discovering my inner Type B - Betty. Is it always true our parents are our ying and yang?

Still my guilty pleasures these days aren't anything to be ashamed of. I knit. I leisurely read the New Yorker with coffee on Sunday mornings. I walk the beach barefoot thinking of what matters most. I get a massage once in a while and think I should have (oops, there I go....) donated the money to charity.

It's all about balance, right? I am going to pick up the house - then I'll walk the beach.

Speaking of Faith...

Fortunate to have my church located across the street.


I have long known that being outdoors nourishes me. There have been times, in the quietest places that I swear I have heard the "voice" of eternity, truth, something/someone bigger then myself.

Growing up Catholic I came to love and hate rituals. I have peaceful memories of incense, rosary chants, Latin hymns, though these are no longer my practice. During my adolescence awakening though I found much of the doctrine too "hokus pocus." Like a family dinner, the image my five siblings and parents and I filling a pew and singing and praying together was surely a positive force in my life. My journey of truth though started at fourteen when I realized I couldn't believe in virgin birth, though I still liked the story and concept of Mary. And who could deny the power of the myth/reality of Jesus in peoples lives? Living in a small town while raising my kids, choices were very limited - we chose a Lutheran Church. Out of habit and belief in community we still belong, but can I honestly say that is an expression of my faith? No.

I do have to separate Religion and Faith. I must admit my true church these days is found walking the beach solo. NPR's Speaking of Faith http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/) nourishes me more then any book or sermon. Practicing yoga, a walk in the woods and sharing insights and lives with the wonderful people in my life blesses me with inspiration that is no doubt the hand of god, where ever she is.

I Have a Thing for Nuns

My confession: yes I spent eleven years in Catholic schools and glad I did. Ever since writing "I love you" to Sister Mary Henry on my first grade phonics sheets , I have had a thing for nuns. They were mother-like, they were smart and they were the only ones who held boys accountable in my 1960's male dominated growing-up world.

I love the memory of long black and white habits and rosaries flowing in the wind as the nuns jumped rope with us. It calms me to remember sitting in a circle singing folk songs with Sister Jean Baptiste. I am sure part of me was formed by attending an all female high school where indeed "girls ruled."

Though it probably had more to do with wanting to be with my friends , I even paid my own way through three years of parochial high school. Like any teenager, we found ways to rebel by drawing on our saddle shoes and rolling our wool plaid uniforms into miniskirts. Self expression came from colored knee highs and ribbons in our hair - they missed those in the dress code. The sisters had their own form if fiestiness. They taught us how to put on mascara. We had Anti-Vietnam War protests in the gym. My Junior year I took a class "Revolution and Social Change" and studied Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Saul Alinsky.

Though I don't recall the title, years ago I read a book on the history of nuns and their compelling contributions in education, health care and support of those in need. We miss that in society now. Sisterhood also presented an alternative to marriage and a means to have a profession in the era that alternatives did not exist for women.

For a laugh and a great podcast with on nuns by a gay Jewish guy talking about nuns (if that isn't art...), visit: http://www.newyorker.com/online/2009/07/20/090720on_audio_rudnick

A Taste of Monet Anyone?

Had several lovely journeys while at the cabin. My favorites were paddling into Little Boy Lake and hiking down to the creek on Knoll Road. These places nourish me.

Test Cake

Here it is. Your vote Anna???

Davyd's Paddle

I am proud of my nine year old. While at the cabin he paddled a kayak solo for four hours. I had a grand time too. Life is good! Can you hear the White-throated Sparrow?

Carrot Cake

So, Anna asked my to make her and Jessie's wedding cake. Now I am a pie and cookie kind of gal, so the idea of baking and transporting a cake to northern Wisconsin has my spatula shaking. It's true though, I love a challenge. Today is the day - the test cake is in the oven, my kitchen smells like warm cinnamon and brown sugar.

For starters I have my Aunt Annette's carrot cake recipe. Carrots, pineapple, walnuts, coconut - it must be good. Next, I do have a history or decorating layer cakes with wildflowers (kept alive in little plastic test tubes) and they always look great. For an adventure the test cake is in layers, I bought a special cake frosting knife (cream cheese of course) and decorating fondant to try my hand at swirls around the wildflowers.

But first a word about Annette. She is my dads younger sister. As I child I remember her nursing her babies and my Uncle Bob sitting next to her with his arm around her (nice!) She studied nursing and raised six kids. And baked carrot cake. Annette died in far too young of leukemia but her memory and cake lives on.

Carrot Cake (I modified Annette's recipe to use half brown sugar and increased the eggs and cinnamon here.)

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup crushed pineapple (crush fresh in food processor)
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups flour

Mix sugars, oils and eggs and then all other ingredients except flour. Finally add flour and stir by hand until blended. Line two 9 inch cake pans with parchment and spray edges. Bake 30-40 minutes until knife comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 cup powdered sugar
16 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
4 tbsp vanilla

Stay tuned, I'll post a photo of the test cake.