Sugar and spice...

I've been having such a wonderful fall so far. Apple pie, clear crisp skies, and brightly colored leaves.


I like to put raisins in my apple pie and I have a trick which imparts a deep luscious flavor. I put 2 small boxes of raisins in a small sauce cup and cover them with Sugar Maple Liqueur then I bring them to a simmer. As soon as they simmer I turn off the heat and let them soak while I make the crust and pie filling. Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and sugar are all I use otherwise, with a tablespoon of flour. By the time I'm ready to add the raisins to the apples, they've soaked up most of the liqueur.
Here's another little trick that will give your pie a luxurious flavor: put small pats of butter all over the apples before putting the top crust on. Oh, yummmmmm.
Speaking of crust, .5 cup shortening, .25 cup of butter, 2 cups of flour, a small amount of salt and 5-6 Tbls. cold water. Work it as little as possible for a tender crust. It can be harder to lift off the rolling board when so tender but I simply scrape under the rolled out crust with a long metal spatula to release it. Works a charm. I also coat the top of the unbaked crust with a beaten egg and then sprinkle sugar over all.
I think I need to make another pie tomorrow.
The trees above are maples in my yard. So brilliant.
Over the past 24 hours I primed the walls and ceiling of the bird room and put on a coat of paint. I did only one coat of primer and one of paint seeing how it's just the bird room. But I got good coverage with the paint and I'm not sure another coat would improve things all that much. Tomorrow I'll paint the baseboards and go shopping for a piece of vinyl for the floor. I'll cover the vinyl with hay. I have to build some perches, bring in some branches, protect parts of the windows (cut up flashing should work fine) and then the birds can move in. Yippee!

Morning walk ...

I had my cello lesson yesterday via Skype and that didn't leave me enough time for a walk. But I walked today and it was a gorgeous day. What's more appropriate at this time of year than colored leaves?



Beginning Quilting class has ended and all but one row of quilting remains to be sewn on my table runner. I'm very pleased with the result and enjoyed the endeavor so much that I purchased enough fabric--in batik designs--to make a queen-sized quilt in a pattern called "Triple Around The World". There's an image of one here. You can see the similarity between that quilt and the runner I just made. I have learned the requisite techniques. Happy, happy. My fabrics:


I almost didn't get my runner finished during class because in my hurry to leave the house yesterday I forgot to take the electric cord and pedal for my sewing machine. It was after making that discovery in class that I decided to take some time to shop for fabric. To my fortune a classmate let me use her machine to make my last few seams. It was wonderful to use her Janome machine--several hundred dollars vs. my $99 Brother, but I'll continue with my little cheapy until I'm sure I'll be doing much sewing.

Morning walk ...

Tuesday, 9/24/2013



Update #1: The construction crew left today. They are done! All I need do now is prime the walls, paint, and construct some perches, etc. Then I can start on the upstairs.

Update #2: The 3-walk spindle had 132 yards of singles on it. I'll be making it a 2-ply yarn so that translates to 66 yards of yarn in 3 walks! :)

Morning walk ...

I took several pictures this morning but settled on this one to post. I was struck by the bright yellow color.

Monday, 9/23/2013


For the record, this is 3 walks worth of singles. That's 4.5 miles of walking, and when I've wound it off I'll post the yardage.

Inspection day ...

There have been bags of clothes (human and bed) on my bedroom floor since the day the movers delivered my things from NY. I had them plopped there and although I've rummaged through them a few times they've done sat in the same location the whole while. On top of those bags was the heap of my stash which ended up in my bedroom because the cellar where I originally thought to house the stash ended up being too damp what with the soaking spring weather we had.

So for several months now--5 to be exact--my bedroom has looked a bit of a dump. Justification for leaving it in this state was that my room and the spare room would get re-done--paint, etc.--when the birds were moved into their own resort. And both rooms will be re-done in a few weeks--hopefully.

In the meantime--this week--I decided I'd move the harpsichord upstairs to my room because 1) it still needs some work and the budget doesn't allow for it at this time, and 2) the music room feels a tad cramped. The piano, pump organ, harpsichord, 2 bookshelves, and stereo system have chiseled away at the available space for inhabiting the room. Yesterday I bought a bench to put in place of the harpsichord. It's not large and will give the room some seating apart from the stools: piano and organ. At least now, if I am to play for someone, I won't have to ask them to stand there. All I need now is to find someone to help me move the harpsichord upstairs and the bench, which is heavy, in from the car.

In order to get the harpsichord into my room, the heaps of yarn and wool, blankets, and bags of clothes needed some attention. That's what I did today and the travail included my periodical inspection for moth damage. The outcome wasn't too bad; I was expecting worse. There has been an outbreak of moth births in the past few months: The Great Baby Boom of Lepidoptera occurred here--in my new house. The eggs come in on the birdseed you see, and they hatch when the bags of seed are opened. But since there wasn't too much damage I won't complain. Life is full of critters and I've made my peace with them--unless they swarm, gang up on me, or procreate unabashedly and attempt to take over.

After five months it feels good to have a tidier bedroom. If I do say so myself, I think I did a pretty good job of organizing and storing the stash in the closet and--finally--putting my clothes away.

Stash after being picked up off the floor and before storage, all neat and tidy--for how long? Heh!--in the closet. (And I once thought I'd never accumulate a stash)...



A result! ...

Quilting ... progress ...

I have just finished my homework for this week. Wednesday will be final construction time. It's a good thing this pattern is a bit forgiving. By the time the border goes on, all the little discrepancies have added up! I must say it looks surprisingly straight considering.



Feeling a bit melancholy this evening. An impending death. Sadness.

I think I'll go practice the cello for a while and close with this song by dear Elton John.

Morning walk ...

Friday, 9/20/2013