All in a Day's Work

I taught a hearth cooking class today. Gingerbread cake, fried apples, shortbread, and whipped cream--delicious autumn. Anyway, my prep work finished earlier than I expected, and I was able to wander around the farmhouse before the students arrived. I love the soft light that fills the rooms on a sunny day. I snapped a few pics with my cell phone while fully dressed in colonial garb. That must have been a sight. So here's a glimpse of a day in October, 1798.

Might as well face it, you're addicted to love chairs

A while back I wrote a post called Come Sit a Spell. Click on the link to read my admission to the world of my addiction to chairs. Yep, with apologies to Robert Palmer, I may as well face it.

While perusing the local thrift shop, my eyes fell upon this charming creature. She filled all the Curious Acorn requirements (enumerated in the aforementioned post) for coming home with me. Or should I say us--the mister was with me, and he was smitten as well. The seat just shouted COMFY. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO SIT HERE. And the clean upholstery has a retro circle design. I like circles. So needless to say, we brought it home and it placed it where our 100 year old rocker used to be.


The centenarian has been retired to the comfort and quiet of our boudoir. Her wicker bones have been creaking and cracking in increasing measure as of late. She has braved many a year of plopping teenagers and small fry who rocked with the zest of a rodeo rider on a bucking bronco.


We also scored some vintage Pyrex bowls, which has been helpful since we've had a few casualties in that department lately. Oh, and there's that spindle thingy, too. I know I said before that I only thrift things that are useful as well as beautiful. I'm not really certain of its use...*cough* But sometimes pretty to look at is good enough.

Beam me up, Scotty

Counting blessings

450 - Boy, oh boy! I'm grateful. Bless you Lord for technology, for it allowed me to see this gorgeous little Texan, our grandson Rembrandt, even though we live on the East Coast. I received this picture via my cell phone shortly after his birth on Thursday:



451 - And thank you, for it permits me my weekly chats with his big sister, where I'm able to see her dimples and hear her voice shout, "Hel-lo, Ganny!".



452 - And thank you again, for it enabled me to attend my daughter's baby shower in New Zealand via Skype. She's due in two and a half weeks. Wahooooooo!!




As many of you know who come here often, I work on an 18th century farm, interpreting the life of a woman from that period. I love the old ways...of living history. I often think about the lives of people who immigrated to this country and colonized a new land, and of their children and their children's children, many of whom travelled West.

O Pioneers! I can only imagine what it must have been like--the heartbreaking farewells of those who left loved ones to travel across the country or over the sea, understanding that it might be the last time they would ever "see" each other. Having to wait ages before even hearing from them, or about them, by letter or word of mouth.



Yes, I do love the old ways. I often grumble against machines, and the fast pace of the world today. I've heard some people say that they identify with the past so much that they believe they were "mailed" wrong. But God makes no mistakes. Even though some of my children are far away and the grandbabies are time zones from a kiss and a snuggle, the times I live in have provided me with a way to be there instantly, even if virtually. And we can board airplanes to cover distances in hours that not so long ago would have taken months.



453 - Thank you, God, for knowing me inside out.
454 - Thank you for knowing what my heart can take and what it can't. I was born for such a time as this, in more ways than one.





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Favorites

Counting blessings


The Tree, Karle Wilson Baker

My life is a tree,
Yoke-fellow of the earth;
Pledged,
By roots too deep for remembrance,
To stand hard against the storm,
To fill my place.
(But high in the branches of my green tree,
there is a wild bird singing:
Wind-free are the wings of my bird:
she hath built no mortal nest.)

444 - poetry

445 - tree shadows


446 - orange and blue


447 - this time of year


448 - moss on a roof


449 - beautiful handwritten letters from a favorite poet





Joining Ann today

Back to the drawing board

If anyone out there has any sourdough starter experience, I'd love to hear from you. I made the starter, then fed and nurtured it like a good mama. Everything was going along fine.


I was able to get two delicious loaves from the experiment.


The recipe came from here. A nifty little book lent to me by a friend.


Here's the author. Don't you dig the Carol Brady vibe?

Anyways, the other morning I was all prepped to make a couple more loaves. I went to scoop out some starter only to find that it had turned into a moldy, disgusting, oozing mess. I couldn't stop gagging long enough to photograph it (not that you'd really want to see it).

So my question is - what happened? I did everything right - I think.

My second question is - fridge or counter?

After researching sourdough starter on the internet, some people said keep it in the fridge, others said no way, that will kill it. I kept mine on the counter, because for me, out of sight is out of mind.

I'm not ready to give up, so any advice would be most appreciated.


In the meantime, I returned to "old faithful", pictured above.


Works every time.

Still want to learn sourdough, though.

Color, Colour, Curiouser and Curiouser

My daughter Joy who lives at the bottom of the world sent me this little video clip 'cause she knew I'd love it. And I hope that any of you colorlover, seer, curious types (or even if you're not) will give it a look-see. It's very short--almost too short in my opinion since I enjoyed it so much. What he said resonated with me on so many levels that it almost made me weepy. I wanted to sit down at this guy's table, eat pasta, and ask questions.

Now I suppose that Mr. Wolff was coming from a secular point of view, but I pondered over how his perspective is applicable to me as a believer-artist. When I watched this six-minute documentary, I couldn't help but rejoice at how God has wired us as unique individuals, and invites us to participate in His creative fire, to exercise the gifts he gave us. Surrendering my life to Christ has made it all doubly good because He has sanctified my curiousity, appreciation, and imagination, and puts it to use for His purposes. The whole package.

I'd be very interested to know what you think.





Joining Emily today

Bee-attitude gratitude

We were able to christen our brand-spankin' new honey extracting equipment this weekend. While we haven't harvested our own backyard hive yet, friends brought the frames from theirs. We couldn't decide whether to play at being Hobbits at the house of Beorn or characters from the Hundred Acre Wood. Holy beehives, Batman, emptying ten frames of liquid gold was a lot of work, but the satisfying kind. We fortified ourselves with plenty of yummy food, great conversation, and of course, smackerals of H-U-N-N-Y.





Counting blessings

438 - Friendship/fellowship

439 - Divine order witnessed in a beehive

440 - The gentle honey bee

441 - Honey harvest

442 - The more than enough

443 - Bronwyn, who made this little slideshow





Joining Ann today

and Laura