Aww shucks.

 Connie of Hartwood Roses  bestowed this lovely award upon me today. Thank you, Connie… for taking the time out of your more than hectic rose-growing, family raising, house renovation filled life to read my ramblings.  I guess I should let you know since we’ve become blog friends that I’ve been coveting your jeep for a while now.  *ahem*  
 I’de like to extend that thank you to everyone who reads and comments on occasion, I love hearing what you have to say and I especially enjoy checking up on your world too…
So.. I’m supposed to tell you 10 things that I love… hard to narrow that down! The given is my family.

I love spending time outdoors with my dogs…

I love walking along the beach on a cool summer evening…this is Elbow Beach in Bermuda a few years back…. it doesn’t get any better…. 
I inhale devour candy apples during fair season…
I love old glass doorknobs on doors with more than a few coats of paint beginning to peel….
My favorite holiday is Halloween… some of my greatest memories of my children’s earlier years are the trick-or-treating walks in the evening autumn air, the smell of damp leaves,  giggles and flashlights…
 I love jeeps… this one would be really awesome. I had a jeep laredo for six years. When it came time to trade her in, we had to pull over about a mile from the dealership.  I cried.  And cried.  And my husband thought I was nuts.  Finally pulled in to the dealership to pick up the new vehicle – a 4runner – HATED IT… and felt like such a traitor.  I cried again as I handed over the keys.  There are some things you should never give up, I believe that jeep was one of them.  *sigh* 
Barn swallows are among my favorite birds…
I love Martha’s Vineyard… for a hundred reasons…
I love glass paperweights… have been collecting them for years… this is a Peter Raos, one of my favorite glass artists…
Horses have been a great love of mine since way before I lived anywhere near one.  This is my horse, Opie…  a trail ride with Opie is my therapist couch.
Now I’de like to bestowe this award on a few talented bloggers who I enjoy following…
Chronicles of a Country Girl
Alice in Paris loves Art and Tea
Ms. Anthropy, Sarcastic Granny  (oh no, Ms. A… you’de better get busy.. bestowed twice!)
Crazy as a Loom
Life is a beautiful gift

Blueberry Buckle

 One of my favorite foods in the whole world are blueberries.  My grandmother Elsie used to make the most awesome pies… blueberry when she knew I’de be there to share it.  On summer evenings we’de sit out on her back porch eating plump blueberries sprinkled with sugar in a bowl full of cream. 

One of my favorite childrens books…(wish I still had my copy)… Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey.
Some random facts about blueberries: 
Did you know…..that early American colonists made grey paint by boiling blueberries in milk.
The blue paint used to paint woodwork in Shaker houses was made from sage blossoms, indigo and blueberry skins, mixed in milk.
Blueberries contain significant quantities of both antibacterial and antiviral compounds, and have a reputation in northern Europe of fighting infections. They may also help protect against heart disease.
The blueberry is the official berry of Nova Scotia.
The blueberry is the official state fruit of New Jersey
Maine produces about 25% of all the blueberries grown in North America (1998, wild and cultivated combined) and is the largest producer of wild blueberries in the world.
Blueberries are literally bursting with nutrients and flavor, yet very low in calories. Recently, researchers at Tufts University analyzed 60 fruits and vegetables for their antioxidant capability. Blueberries came out on top, rating highest in their capacity to destroy free radicals.

 

The recipe below is Martha Stewart’s Blueberry Buckle.  Photos courtesy of google.
1 ten-inch round cake or 2 six-inch round cakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
5 cups wild or cultivated blueberries
Struessel topping (see below)
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a springform baking pan, and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low, and add egg and vanilla, beating until fully combined.
Add reserved flour mixture, alternating with the milk, a little of each at a time, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Remove from mixer. Gently fold in blueberries.
Pour batter into prepared pan; sprinkle streusel topping over cake. Bake until cake tester comes out batter-free, 60 to 70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool for 15 minutes before serving.
From Martha Stewart Living, July/August 2000
 
Struessel topping…
Makes enough for 1 ten-inch cake or 2 six-inch cakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
Directions
In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until fine crumbs form.

Using hands, squeeze together most of the mixture to form large clumps.

No man is an island…

 It took many men to put this house back together, and while it’s true there have been glitches and bumps and fist fights  disagreements along the way, there has also been a fantastic collaboration of real talent among these men to make This Old House what it is becoming. I see the weariness in their faces now… many long months of working on top of and around and underneath each other, and when the going got tough, sometimes the tough got psychotic   coffee!…  but look what they’ve done.  I hope they know how good they are….how well their talents are coming together.  

Jeff working on trim …

and island issues….there were a few.
The Klausen crew in front of one of their works of art…
Steve Seeley on top of his work of art…. he’s almost through the roof!
Pete, Mike’s right-hand man ….
Mike S. is new on the job…here he is installing shelving in the kitchen pantry.  Hey Mike.. a word to the wise… don’t move Steve’s rocks, like..ever… or ask Jeff to move his truck. 
Just sayin.
We’ve tried to find fixtures that were vintage looking….
Floor grates…

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

 Now there’s a good book, and I bet you thought this might be a very interesting post.   I wish I had something witty to write here, but alas, the reason it sits up there as the post title is because these fountains I’ve been drooling over at the local garden center remind me of those old Savannah gardens.

One of my most favorite things to do this time of year is browse the local greenhouses.  I rarely leave empty-handed, and today it took much willpower to walk away from these fountains without a purchase.  Could have something to do with the fact that it would require a second mortgage or a big lottery win.  

   Savannah… Someday I’ll get there for atleast a visit… it’s on my list.  Perhaps I can convince the Man that it would be cheaper to just buy the  fountain. …for now.

Shutter Island

   I haven’t seen the movie yet, but the book is mind-bendin. If you’re looking for a page turner that keeps you on the edge of your seat, this is it.  I also read Mystic River by the same author, Dennis Lehane.   A good read, but not quite like this.   What surprises me is that the movie has already come and gone in  theatres without a huge amount of fanfare.  The book is often better than the movie and this might be the case with Shutter Island.. however I’m finding that hard to believe. The cast seems a perfect fit  and the mood created by Martin Scorsese is legendary.

Taken for Granite

Yesterday the granite was installed in the kitchen and I love it. We opted for the “leather” finish, which really means it wasn’t polished to a high sheen, left in its more natural state.   The granite guy was aghast at my choice because he said it had alot of imperfections..as in huge veins and blotches of different stone and colors within the granite.  That’s exactly why I love it.
I found these funky reworked wood mirrors in the restoration hardware catalog.  Installed yesterday in the master bath. Now that the floors are laid down, the vanity has been installed too.
This morning I hijacked various perennials  from my current garden….
and put them here…
Thank you, Advil, for making it all possible.

Learning to be still….

  The first year there was a lone goose.  He or she stood out there in the front field day after day in the spring rain and sunshine…waiting?  Longing?  Confused maybe.  Alone for sure.  The next year the goose returned, still alone. 

   This year… not only did he or she arrive with a mate… they moved down to the pond behind the house and started a family.  My son came bounding in the house this afternoon… “Mom, bring your zoom lens!”…
  and we saw this….
 One of the very first things we did as a family when we moved to our current farm was hop on the lawn mower and tractor and go down to the pond to mow.   The grass had grown tall and the phragmites had taken over a large section of the pond and we were anxious to clear it out so that we could lounge around out there and enjoy the peaceful setting.   It occurs to me now that we didn’t do enough of that. We got tangled in the every day race.   We haven’t quite learned yet how to be still.
 Perhaps in This Old House……

Floored

 After a two-week delay, the flooring finally arrived and the crew is working at lightning speed. The boards are made of eastern white pine, from 14 to 18″ wide.  They’ll be installed throughout the house within the next week.  Once that’s done, we can install the kitchen island and toilets, vanities, etc.
Keeping Room into kitchen….
Master Bedroom…
 Mike’s office….. let there be light!
The upstairs hallway between kids bedrooms….
The fireplace in the family room and up into the loft has almost reached the roof…..
The shrubbery for the backyard is waiting to be planted.  There are boxwoods, Lace cap hydrangea, knockout roses, spirea, andromeda and two large evergreen type tree/shrubs that will live on either side of the mammoth window at the back of the house.  I forget their name.
 
The barn/garage truss’ are up, rain has slowed the job.
And this is mygoat shed  my chicken coop my painting studio Mike’s garden tool shed.  Notice the old window at the back of the shed… taken from the original Chester house, which is the  portion  you see in the background here..

Stepping out of the Box

I had a mission this morning.  The kitchen is coming together at This Old House and we noticed the area over the stove and under the hood looked mighty bland.  Something needs to go there, but what?  I did a net search of  tile medallions and mosaics, etc, but wasn’t coming up with anything exciting.  Mike wanted grapes.  (sigh… you think this has something to do with the red ? )   and I was thinking something interesting and sort of mediterannean.  Subliminal wishful thinking maybe,  I have no idea.

So anyway… I drove down to the nearest Tile place.  They have a great selection, huge!   I was optimistic that I could put together some sort of  grape-like mediterannean point of interest for over the stove.

I browsed… ..and browsed.   Three saleswomen sitting at  their computers in  the center of  the showroom ignore my browsing and I figure since I’m the only one in the store they’re busy with yesterday’s massive orders and will get to me when they get to me.   After 20 minutes it got to me. 

Finally some assistance.  And this is how it went:

SalesWoman:     You need help?

Me:     Yes, please.  We bought this tile ( simple off-white brick tile in my hand) for our kitchen and I would like to design a simple mosaic or medallion for over the stove in an approximate 20″ x 20″ square.

SW:      With THAT?  THAT tile is very hard to do any sort of design with.  You are stuck with only these few options over here.
 (pointing to small upright rack with about four selections of tile I’m not attracted to. And notice she’s already informed me that I am “stuck” with these choices. She even thinks they’re bad. )

Me:     Why is THIS tile so hard to do something with, it’s got no pattern, is a simple brick shape and easy color and I’m thinking in this whole showroom we should be able to come up with something.

SW:  Well, no, you really can’t.  I think this here is the only stuff you can work with. 
(pointing again to ugly rack) 

Me:  Well why can’t we do something like a border with  this over here…. (pointing out a really cool off-white matte finish border, real simple and the right color)…..and how about this awesome fruit basket medallion over here in the same matte finish and color for the center of the whole thing?

SW:  Oh, I don’t know… they aren’t the same kind of tile. 

Me:  Why do they have to be the same kind of tile? It’s something we are making that is different than the tile all around it, it SHOULD be different??  Atleast it COULD be?  No?….

SW:   No, not really.  This is it.   Well I suppose that might look OK, actually… certainly different.  Yes maybe that would work .  Hmmmm…. 

Me:  *sigh*  OK.. so I also need an accent color in there so it pops out alittle, because so far it’s all the same color as even the cabinets, let alone the backsplash. 

SW: You can’t fit tiles inside there, they won’t fit. 

Me:   What tiles?

SW:  The ones you are using along the wall    (the brick I came in with).

Me:   I’m not USING that inside the mosaic thing, we are going to find something that fits, right? The accent color?

SW:  Oh, ok. Like what?

Me:  You know those little tiles you have on the back wall?… how about something like that?

SW:  That might work.  

We looked through the little tiles on the back wall, I picked glass mosaic tiles with red hues and brown marble squares too… and I think!.. I think and hope and kinda pray… that it’s going to look good when it’s all done.  When she computed all the stuff into the system and ordered the components for the simple medallion/mosaic whatever… one-hour-and-a-half-later (!!!)

 SW:  “I think this is actually going to look good.  Different “

 Me:   “Sometimes it’s good to step out of the box”. 

Stay tuned….