Fall Fiber Festival at Montpelier

When I am not making terrariums during the winter months, I am knitting. I like to stock up on the goods at the Fall Fiber Festival - held at James Madison's Montpelier every October. I am also a fan of the sheep dog trials. Each year we threaten to bring our handsome and smart Otis (half border collie) to the event, to let him loose and see what he can wrangle or herd up!

I picked up some brown alpaca wool for future Willa sweaters from Blue Ridge Yarns and some Bracken green wool for (possible) felted baby booties from Carodan Farm. Once the darkness falls, post daylight-savings-time, I will be blissfully parked in front of our wood stove most evenings. My own version of hibernation.

P.S. Montpelier has spectacular walled gardens and majestic old trees that are worth seeing in and of themselves. Their Fall Big Woods Walk is being offered on October 19th.

Off Topic: Settling Into the Sleepy, Cicada Song Drone of August

Friend, blogger and fellow C-villian, That Girl, got me hip to this New Classics Reading Challenge and the timing couldn't be better. I am trying to turn off the TV and spend more time creating (in the garden, in the sewing room, in the kitchen) . . . and reading.

I agree with That Girl that this isn't the end-all-be-all list for me, yet the New Classics List gives me some new ideas. With vacations planned for a lake up in Michigan and a beach on the East Coast, these should weather airport layovers and sand-in-between-the-pages nicely. Oh, and I actually have until January 2009 to finish all six.

First, what I have read.

2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)

And, the six-book list for my challenge.

5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)

And, what I have on my bedside table right now. To finish before the challenge.

Crossing to Safety, Wallace Stegner
Second Nature: A Gardener's Education, Michael Pollan

Garden Glimpses :: From The Hollow

*Finally* figuring out the power of my new camera. Capturing garden moments from our weekend. From the top . . .

Our cutting flower patch brings me so much happiness these days. I get out in the early morning and pluck here and pluck there. Corey's office is near the patch and he caught a glimpse of me merrily picking out a bouquet and offered to set me up with a larger swatch of land for next spring. Offering to make things happen with the tractor and a pile of compost. This is the best kind of gift he can give me. I think he's starting to get that.

Mint harvested from our container garden and blackberries picked from our land. I have blackberry syrup on the brain - to drizzle over pancakes and waffles, ice cream and . . . a summer-induced need for it to be poured over shaved ice. Like a good Snoopy Sno-Cone!

A maidenhair fern found a home in my newest terrarium-slash-greenhouse. My maidenhair ferns usually dry up and fizzle. I am hoping that the extra humidity from the glass enclosure will prolong this one's life beyond a few weeks.

Not from the garden, but garden inspired. A dress for Willa with tiny flower prints. When the air-conditioning chases me inside - I have been mustering up the courage to work at the sewing machine. I buy the inexpensive fat quilting material quarters at the fabric store ($1.29) and that will make one dress. Or, um, multiple, practice versions of the same dress. (~Smirk.~)

The Slower Hum of Summer

A little time indoors. A little time outdoors. Some time daydreaming. Some time with a nose in a book or an ear to the ground. Lately enjoying . . .




1. The Endless Feast - my end-of-the-day eye candy. This PBS show focuses on local foods. The crew visits different parts of the country and they plan feasts around what is in-season. Mile-long tables are set up in the middle of a farm field and guests eat to their heart's content in the evening sun.

2. Soy yarn in Geranium and green flower buttons for Willa's first fall sweater. I am never going to bother with knitting adult sweaters eva-again. When baby things are so easy to knit up - in a flash! Ha - so satisfying.


3. Baby swing smocks and bloomers from Angry Chicken (a.k.a. Bend the Rules sewing guru Amy Karol). Ditto on the adult clothing racket. Zip-zip-zip. My sewing machine feels like magic!


4. Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden by Emily Whaley - I bought this while on our Charleston honeymoon several years ago and made the pilgrimage to Mrs. Whaley's garden that same week. This sweet book is charming and has some interesting Southern recipes. Perfect mid-afternoon hammock-swinging (or air-conditioning) read. This photo is from gardentraveler.com.

5. During our commute home to Sugar Hollow, Lynne Rossetto Kasper keeps me company via podcast. The Splendid Table takes me to far away places and then, brings me back down to earth, to test things out in my own kitchen. She has a new part of the program on locavores and the Sterns' Road Food bit sends me on a mini-foodie vacation every time. Complete with the craving for something fried and a malted milkshake.


6. Plans for our own gardens continue and I save clippings and images from the garden geniuses of others. The above photo is from The Arbogast Inn in Monterey, Virginia. The owners of the inn tracked the image (and me) down through flickr. To report that a cow crashed through that fence shortly after I snapped the photo!

An Ode To Irish Hair in the Southern Climes

Why-o-why must you torture me?
Charlottesville summers and the humidity.
A humbling time of the year.
Hair product, hair product. Always about the hair product.

But you remain unruly.
The mornings being the worst of it.
I awake, looking like I'm ready go to battle.
Hair accessories of bones and sticks would complete the look.
Like a real Druid.

But now I am pregnant!
And will have bigger things to worry about.
Maybe I'll shave you off altogether.
Then, can we call it a truce?

Lemons, Lemons and More Lemons

A weekend with an urpy stomach resulted in a severe hankering for anything and everything lemon. It roused me from my zombified state to go seek out, purchase and create food items that would squelch this craving. I'm finally sated. (And, thankfully, have office mates who will happily help me out with the surplus of lemon bars.)

Elizabethan Lemon Curd - For scones, tarts or whatever works as a vehicle for the curd. An old-school tea time accompaniment. For so long, the word 'curd' left me guessing. Maybe because curdled wasn't too far removed?! My mom mercifully explained the details to me. I have since been converted.

Lemon Bars from Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook - Tate's Bake Shop (formerly known as Kathleen's Bakeshop) of Southampton, New York was an old haunt of mine. Luckily, I had several jobs at the time, so I worked off the cookies, pies and muffins that essentially had become a fifth-food group. My mom bought me the cookbook a few years back. These bars are extraordinary.

Also, I did not know they SHIPPED goodies these days. Uh-oh.

Steph's Meadow Tea - Fresh mint from the garden, with lots of lemon and sugar. I just replied to a woman in our local garden swap who is giving away mint plants. You know, to keep my habit going, all summer-long. In past summers, I have made a tea similar to this - and have added raspberry syrup. What I love about Steph's recipe - you *mash* the sugar and lemon slices together - before adding it all to the steeped tea.

Faithful Night, Listening

A little pooped today. Trying to stick to low impact activities, like taking mellow strolls in pretty neighborhoods and shopping for new music.

So, it'll be a simple evening of listening to today's music purchases.

The title of this post is actually the title of a song from my most recent favorite music find - Great Lake Swimmers (self-titled album). I also finally got a CD copy of The Basement Tapes - Bob Dylan and The Band (we have it on vinyl - not fully accessible at all times). And the third purchase is local songstress Devon Sproule's newest album - Keep Your Silver Shined.

Back to gardening tomorrow, I promise!

Off-Topic: Subway Stories

While driving home yesterday evening, on this crazily bucolic 11 mile stretch of road through farms and horse country, I was remembering the 5 1/2 years I spent in New York City during my 20's. My commute always involved several subway rides within the day. More if I went out after work (which was every chance I could). I logged in a lot of hours underground.

It was a whole other world down there. And it is a long ways away from Sugar Hollow. Here are some glimpses into subway life and New Yorkers from Overheard in New York. (Be forewarned, this site is definitely not G-rated.)

Why on earth did I ever leave?! (Note: Read with sarcasm.)

***
Conductor: If you see someone trying to steal from you, make a lot of noise, create a big scene, and I'm sure someone will come to your aid.
Man: Clearly this guy is not from New York. Maybe he's from Utah or something. --A train

***
Conductor: Hello, and welcome to the mobile sauna bath.--A train

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Conductor: This is 175th Street. This is an A train to...This is an A train to... to nothing! Hey, does anyone know where we're going?--A train, 175th St

***
The subway doors open. A hobo enters, holding a bottle of Windex in one hand and a tube of toothpaste in the other.
Hobo: Which is the better time to read Dostyevsky? Winter?
He sprays the Windex.
Hobo: Or Spring?
He squeezes toothpaste out of the tube.
Japanese girl: Spring!
Hobo: You are correct.--F train

***
Subway Intercom Speaker: Hello?
Guy: We've been waiting for like an hour. Any trains coming?
Subway Intercom Speaker: Hold on, let me see...Hello, anyone there?
Guy: Yeah, we're here. There any trains coming?
Subway Intercom Speaker: There's a police investigation at Broadway. I think someone got pushed onto the tracks and run over.
Guy: But are there any trains coming? --2nd Avenue station

***
Dude: You're not from New York, are you?
Chick: No, I'm not.
Dude: Thought not. You're too nice.
Chick: That's the second time I've heard that today. --82nd & Columbus

***