On the Sticks, In the Sticks

Girly Camping

A few weeks ago, I went on a wonderful campout on the grounds of Powell House, in Old Chatham, NY. It's not too far from here. How cool it was to go camping with new friends and old, a really diverse bunch of women, so close to home. The campout was put on by a women's group here called Wellspring Haven -" a haven for women's creativity, spirituality, leadership and vision".  You can find out more by emailing info@wellspringhaven.org .

The great thing that made this possible for me was that it was so close by. This was actually the FIRST time I have been away overnight from my family BY MYSELF since we had kids. It was great! It was great to have that whole 24 hours to myself where I could indulge in whatever was going on without worrying about anyone else! We called it Girly Camping, because it's not quite roughing it. It's a combination actually of rough and not so rough. There are all these little camping spots tucked away in the woods, a big fire circle, outhouses, a pond to swim in, etc. Then there's an open pavilion with ELECTRICITY :), so we had a small plugged in refridge as well as a shower with hot and cold running water.

I wish I had pictures to show you. I brought the camera, but didn't end up taking any pictures...having so much fun!

There is a Labyrinth at Powell House, that we walked together that first afternoon. I had never walked a labyrinth before and this was such an amazing experience. The labyrinth at Powell House was constructed using bricks to outline the shape of the paths in the grass. At first I was just really concentrating on finding the way the path went - it was a little overgrown - and worrying a little that I wouldn't find my way to the center, but just keep wandering on the same paths! But then I saw that people ahead of me had made it to the center and I knew I'd get there too. That's when I was able to let go of any anxiety and just focus on the walk. It was a really cool feeling to be walking, head down, focused on the path, and be able to hear the whisper of other people's feet all around me walking the same path. I didn't want to look up and actually see everybody - I was in my own experience - but at the same time I knew I wasn't alone...and the parallel to life was definitely not lost on me. I knew that just like in life, where I must walk my own path, I am surrounded and supported all the time by lots of caring people, some i know, some I don't. I am never alone.

Even though I love the outdoors, I wondered as I made my way down to my tent by myself that night by flashlight if I'd be a little nervous to be alone out in the woods in my tent. Not a chance! I got in my tent, with my flashlight on, zipped up, laid down, read, but not for long. The full moon rising in the back window of the tent was too enchanting. I turned off my light and soon fell fast asleep, feeling safe in my little dome.

In the morning I rose knowing I wanted to go down to the pond and take a swim. I knew if I didn't do it then, I might not get the chance, as we would be leaving at noon. I thought I might encounter people down there, walking or meditating, but there was no one. I had the whole place to myself. The sun was shining, the water was amazingly warm. I made my way in and swam with delight for nearly twenty minutes. I was in heaven!

I could go on about so much more, but I'll save it for now. The last special thing I'll share is about our closing circle. We stood together in a circle...I think there were about 17 of us...and first shared anything we wanted to about the weekend, what was special to us. Then we held hands. From one person to the next,one at a time we passed a blessing. We took our right hand,together with that of the person to our right, touched our heart and said "From my heart, to yours". And so it went, around the circle. I don't think there was a dry eye there. It felt very special.

Summer Storms

Yesterday morning, it must have been around 4am, I woke to the sound of rolling thunder and pouring rain. I love thunderstorms, and I love waking to them during the night and just lying there and listening. This one was wild. When I woke it was pretty close, and the lightning was flashing almost constantly. The thunder would start rolling near our house, but then you could hear it keep rolling and rolling off into the distance. I pictured it rolling it's way in a line from our house, down the valley, and bumping into other mountains along the way...it just kept rolling. Sometimes it even sounded like it started far away and kept right on rolling up this way!

Now, I have to be honest... there came the point when the storm must have been right overhead and I started to make myself a little nervous...picturing a tree falling on our house. I sent out a little prayer to the universe to just keep us safe. No sooner had I thought it, when it was like someone had turned down the volume. The rain, which had been pounding suddenly quieted, you could hear it happen. And the thunder, while still close by, sounded like someone had muted it, so I could go back to enjoying it again. Really!

It was a day of thunderstorms, as it turns out. One in the afternoon brought hubby home from work early. Another, after dinner, had him going out to check on the new gutters he just started putting up over the weekend. Well, that gave the kids a great idea. They came tearing through the house all excited, and came charging back out a  couple minutes later, busted out the back door and started jumping around in the rain in sheer delight! Is there anything better than playing in your swimsuits in the warm summer rain?!

Now how's that for happy?!

Saturday, Shane finished up Little League for the summer. He's going to go to a one week baseball  day camp in town starting at the end of this week. He can't wait! Here he is at the awards ceremony.

In knitting news, I still keep procrastinating on finishing up the Birthday Socks for Mom. A touch of Second Sock Syndrome I'd say. What usually works is setting a goal of knitting maybe 10 rounds a day. i need to remind my brain how simple it is. Then my mind thinks, "Oh yeah. That's not so much! We can do that!" And at that rate, with 10 rows being about 1", my mind realizes that it really wouldn't take that long to finish up these beautiful socks ( and get to move on to something else new and exciting!)

Or old and exciting. I was reading yesterday about the UFOlympics challenge. That link'll take you to the ravelry group. The challenge is to finish some of those UFO's you have hanging around. Between Aug 8 when the Summer Olympics start and Aug 24 when the flame goes out. The rules are all there. I'm in! Now...what to finish?!

Put on a happy face!

 (Ack! Don't you hate it when you write a whole post, press the SAVE button, and it erases your whole post?! )

Anyway...

I found this happy little face smiling up at me this morning as Zach and I headed out for our walk first thing this morning. Don't you love little signs from the universe like that?

I've been playing with making different kinds of quilt blocks this week. I found Bonnie Hunter's site, called Quiltville. Bonnie's got a great site full of quilting how to's, free patterns and more. You really get a sense of both her love of quilting, her love of sharing it with others, and the real sense of community among quilter's, just like there is among knitters.

These two blocks-in-progress are pieced together from what Bonnie calls "crumbs", leftover fabric scraps. (Now I know what to do with the little scraps I've been making. Before this I was regretfully throwing them away, thinking "Oh, I'll never use these." I like the idea of recycling them like this much better!) It's quick, simple, and fun! Three words I like!

You piece scraps together until you get a big enough block, then you can cut it into a square (the easiest way is with a rotary cutter and plastic square ruler, say 4, 5, or 6"...but it really could be even bigger if you want). These two blocks are waiting to be cut.  Piece enough of these Crumb Blocks together and you've got yourself a quilt. If you want to learn more, follow this link, or when you're on the Quiltville site, scroll down on the left side until you see the Free Patterns section. Look for "Crumbs, Crumbs, Crumbs".

Another block I tried is from the Quilter's Cache site. I did this with directions for How to Speed Piece a Nine Patch. You start with two squares of fabric, and within several minutes end up with two blocks like this...

I love this butterfly print, and I love the two fabrics together.

Seeing as how a trip to the LQS (local quilt store) could be rather dangerous (in much the same way that a trip to the LYS could be dangerous...to the pocketbook!) I came up with the idea the other day to put a request on the local Freecycle site. My "WANTED: Quilting fabrics, fabric scraps and a quilting hoop" brought several offers. Today I'm hoping to take a ride to pick up some fabric and a hoop. Yay! That and get new tires put on the car. Bet the kids are going to love this...BORING! :)

Have a great day!

Sunday Morning Mix

The last several days I've been doing something I don't often take the time to do - clicking on that little button  Knitting Blogs button on my sidebar and going in search of new knitting blogs I haven't checked out before! When I'm reading my Bloglines blogs, I follow links all the time. It occurred to me the other day, as I was adding a couple newfound blogs to my list that it'd be fun to take time to check out links from those cute buttons I put there! And while I  was out there cruising Knitting Blogs I clicked a link that took me to Flint Knits where I found this great tutorial for her Recycled Sweater Jacket. Really cool!

Methinks I just passed my 1-year blogiversary on Friday! Happy Blogiversary to me! And thanks to all of you who stop by to check out my ramblings. I have a lot of fun doing this!

I stopped by Mom's yesterday afternoon for a bit, while Winter was at a ballet rehearsal for today's recital. When it was time to leave, she was heading out too, and I was admiring the hat she had on. It's one she made recently, and designed for herself. She said she'd tried making another just a little smaller, but felt like it'd come out too small. I tried it on and it fit me just right. It looked great! She told me to take it, and we spent the next few minutes admiring it with words like " I love it!" " Oh I'm so tickled it fits you!" "That looks great!" "I was dreading having to rip it back and...reknit it longer...".

I got home and reminded myself how unphotogenic I find myself, but for the sake of the blog, here's a picture of the hat that I think looks much better in person! (Or actually, it's me that looks much better in person. The hat looks great either way!)

 

Pretty knitting in the snow. This is my square in progress for the blanket for Elisa's dad.

And one more pretty snow picture, with brave chickadee. (The titmice were not so happy that I was standing out there near the feeder waiting to snap their picture!)

Have a great day!

Take the Nasty with the Nice - Weather, that is

Boy, what a nasty storm passed through here yesterday...and what beauty it left in it's wake. Tuesday night we got 5" of snow (which is not bad) followed by rain all day yesterday, with temps just cold enough to coat everything with ice.

Even still, the kids and I were out there at least twice...playing! And soaked to the skin by the time we came in. But having fun all the same.

Check out these rhodies! No, the picture is not sideways. The leaves and the icicles were blown horizontal as they formed! Wild, eh?!

And the birches.

I'll tell you what, though. With all the rain we got yesterday...and we got A. LOT...all that drainage we put in last fall seems to be holding. Yee Haw! Big time! The only place where water was coming in is our garage, which is also under the house, but it's coming in from a stone wall that abutts the garage, which is a different matter. Thanks goodness for the Shop-Vac there. And we know what we'll be working on this spring, along with the leaky gutters.

I promise crafty photos soon. Got crafty stuff to show, just keep forgetting to photo is in the daylight hours.

Goodnight for now. And Happy Valentine's Day!

Two Cool Things

I've got two cool things to show you.

One is these tracks. Check 'em out! I was out for a walk Wednesday morning with the dog, when he stopped to sniff something. I looked down and saw these tracks. Now, I know this picture doesn't do justice to the size of the tracks, so....

Check this out! That's my size ten sneaker next to that track! Which makes it about 5 inches long or so! Yes, these were big tracks. I haven't looked them up online yet, but I'm thinking it was our neighborhood bear (whom I have yet to see, but whom the neighbors have seen plenty of, especially in the springtime). At first I was thinking of the possibility of big cat, as in wild cat, but I think bear is more likely.

And the other cool thing is these funky hats.

For a while now, I've been wondering, what can I do to help contribute to the family income. I kept wondering and letting go, wondering and letting it go. A while back, the pastor at our church told me about these funky hats and bags she sews, and if I'd ever like to, she could use the help sewing them. I can sew alright, but at the time, I wasn't sure how I'd find the time, or if I could do it well enough, or if I wanted to. So I let it go for then. About a week ago I was talking to Janet again, and telling her that Billy's work is slow. Again, she offered the sewing. She said if I'd be interested, she could really use my help, because she has more orders than she can keep up with. I gladly accepted her offer this time.

And these are the funky, beautiful results. Don't you love them?

For me, this is another one of those times that shows me that if I just let go, ask for help, and be willing to do the footwork, answers will come. Thanks, HP!

I've finished 20 of them over the last few days, and I'll be picking up more tomorrow. Soon she'll be showing me how to do the bags, too. Can't wait to share them with you, too. They're great - and just as funky!

I also finished up my quarterly reports for the school, finally. It's always good to have them out of the way.

Shane's birthday is coming up Wednesday. He'll be turning 7. And...he's learning to read. We're both so excited! More about homeschooling and learning to read another time.

Hope you had a great Turkey Day , and life is treating you well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all had a good one, no matter ow you spent the day. We had Thanksgiving here at home, just the five of us, and it was really nice. And filling! There was turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, stuffed mushrooms and devilled eggs, Green Beans Goldenrod (my Dad's tradition), brocolli, cranberry sauce, gravy, and three kinds of pie - apple with crumb topping, pecan, and pumpkin. Yum!

I wanted to share two recipes with you - one for No-Fail Pie Crust - because I always have trouble with getting the crust to work out right. It's usually too dry. I've used my mom's recipe which, when she uses it, turns out delicious flaky crusts to perfection, and when I use it, turns out dough that is so dry it can't hold together...same exact proportions. Go figure. Then I tried this recipe from a cookbook I've had for a long time called Country Tastes by Beatrice Ojakangas...

She says..."the addtitions of and egg and a little vinegar make this an indestructible pastry which can stand up toa ll kinds of abuse and still bake up light and flaky."  Trust me, this is true! My one note is that the recipe as listed works up into a rather wet dough (is it me?), and I have on occasion added maybe a 1/4 cup or less of additional flour to dry it out a bit - still turns out delicious!

2c all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2/3 c lard or veg shortening ( I use the shortening)

1 T vinegar

1 egg

3-4 T ice water

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the shortening until it resembles course crumbs. In a separate bowl, mix vinegar, egg and 2 T ice water. Drizzle over flour mixture. Toss with a fork until the dough holds together in a ball, adding more water if needed. Wrap and refrigerate 30 min before rolling out (honestly, I'm usually making this crust last minute and don't refrigerate. It works out fine, but refrigerating helps, too). Makes 2 crusts.

Green Beans Goldenrod

My Dad copied this recipe out of an old cookbook of his years ago. He made this recipe for Thanksgiving ever since I can remember. I love it, and io love to make it at Thanksgiving for the memories!

The recipe calls for

2- 10oz pkgs frozen cut green beans (yesterday I used about 1 1/4- 1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, which worked out well also)

2 hard boiled eggs

2 tsp butter

2 tsp flour

1/2 c milk

1/2 c mayo

pepper and salt to taste

Chop up the egg whites.  Chop up the yolks separately.

Cook up the beans, and while they are cooking, make the sauce.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter, then blend in flour. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in the chopped egg whites. Remove from heat and stir in mayo.

Drain beans, place in serving dish. Spoon sauce over the beans then sprinkle egg yolks over the top.

Yum!

Blessings.

I Have Pictures!

I am so excited! I changed the batteries in the camera because I knew they were getting low, then decided to see if by any chance that helped with downloading the pictures to the computer. It did! It did! I really didn't think it would help, because I've never had that problem before, but it worked! Can you tell I'm excited?! My daughter said big deal, mom, but to me, blogs are much more interesting when you have pictures to go along.

Don't have much time right now to put pics on, but for those of you who are not getting much fall color...here's a little taste....RED!

Ditches and River and Rhinebeck, Oh My!

Hi Everyone,

Still can't figure get the camera to download pictures to the computer, so I can't show you all the autumn color that is at it's peak right now! It's been raining for a day or two now, so some of that beauty is coming down and carpeting the ground. It's supposed to stop raining sometime this morning and be sunny this afternoon. I hope so...we're renting an excavator ( a small one) and we're going to be digging a drainage trench around part of our house to stop the flooding in our basement. Yahoo! Cross your fingers that it works! Then we can finish our basement! (It's not flooding right now, but it did in the spring with heavy rains).

So, what's new?

We've been really busy going to our homeschool groups recently. When we signed up for this second group this fall, I knew we'd be busier, and maybe even overwhelmed. We're not overwhelmed, but we definitely are tired by the time Thursday comes around. (Then I think, kids that go to school are up earlier and go to school 5 days...whew! I know i did it too, and it didn't seem like that much, but we usually want to stay home and sleep in by the time Thursday rolls around)

Last Tuesday, with our CAHN homeschool group (Catskill Area), we participated in Hudson River Snapshot Day, which other school groups also took part in up and down the Hudson River. We were led by folks who helped us take samples and record data about the river that day, so that up and down the river there could be a scientific "snapshot" of a day in the life of the river. It was fun. one of the most interesting things for me was learning the river has high and low tides! The part of the river that we were at, near Catskill NY, in the shadow of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, is known as an "estuary", which is where the salt water from the ocean, meets the freshwater from upriver, like Albany and above.

We've played at this place, a park known as Dutchman's Landing, many times with our group in the last year or more, but it wasn't until Snapshot Day that I noticed the tide going out. It was really cool!

In knitting, I've got several WIPs going (as always). The one i'm concentrating on finidhing now is a scarf that I'm working the long way (as in 250 or so stitches to the row). A couple years ago , I saw a woman in line ahead of me at the grocery store. She was wearing this scarf with the most beautiful colors, autumn colors, olive green, gold, orange (not too bright), burgundy, and an eggplant or plum purple color. I wrote it  down, and now am finally getting around to knitting one for myself with yarn i bought from Morehouse Merino back then. I just bought a skein of "Sunflower" recently to complet the colors I had. It's beautiful.

Speaking of Morehouse Merino, which is right near Rhinebeck, NY, reminds me of the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival aka known as Rhinebeck. It's coming up next weekend - Oct 20th and 21st. I'm hoping to go, but haven't mentioned this to hubby. Drainage ditch has been totally on his mind. Also, winter's birthday party is on that Saturday, so it'd have to be Sunday that I go. Crossing my fingers again! Let me know if you are going, and if I get to , maybe we can meet in person!

Hike To the Fire Tower

The kids and I took a hike yesterday with my mom and Tom.  People have mentioned this hike to me several times since we moved here last year. The trail begins about a mile and a half from our house, and goes up to a fire tower.

Mom and Tom met us at the house and we drove over to the trail. At the bottom, next to the parking lot is and old cemetery that the kids and I explored last year. The markers date back to the early 1800's and maybe even 1700's if I remember right...we didn't look yesterday.

We could choose from a marked foot trail, or a logging road. We took the foot trail. The beginning of the foot trail had been recently added and cleared, and was marked with blue blazes. It soon met up with the rest of the footpath, marked with red blazes.

The hike through the woods was beautiful. The forest was full of ferns. There were log bridges over now dried up brooks...we haven't had a lot of rain lately. Winter and Tom counted all the trail blazes that we saw on the way up, and near the top we all took a guess at how many there would be to the top. Mom and Shane came closest with guesses of 70 and 100. They counted 75. We saw stone walls running through the woods, making me think of farmland up there at some time.  We found a lean-to for hikers partway up...called Chance of Thunder Lean-To...isn't that a great name?!

We hiked the mile up to the fire tower. All but my Mom decided to climb the fire tower. This thing was TALL! and really open. I made it up not quite halfway, and Winter and Shane made it one or two sets of steps higher than me before stopping. Tom and Morgan went all the way to the top. I'll tell you, that made me nervous, but he seemed fine...just kept going, step after step, then back down the same way...with Tom in front, coming down backwards. Maybe fear of heights comes later. I really wanted to see the view from the top, but it just wasn't going to happen.

We found a nice big rock to sit on, near the fire warden's cabin there at the top,  and ate our lunch. Then we headed back down, via the logging trail this time.

I took lots of pictures, but I just realized I'm having troubles downloading them from my camera. As soon as I get them, I'll show you. We had such a great day. It had been overcast in the morning, but was clear and sunny for most of our hike. Just beautiful.

Have a great weekend!