a gypsy caravan

don bosco

Christopher makes his confirmation this coming spring. He's chosen his brother, Ben, to be his sponsor. There was a saint pagaent recently where each of the candidates for confirmation were to dress as their patron saint. Chris chose St. John Bosco as his patron which has always been his favorite saint for a number of reasons including Don Bosco's love of juggling and magic tricks. Blurry iPhone snapshots but you get the gist.  

Borrowed cassock and homemade biretta made from this pattern. It is made from cardboard and spraypainted black. 

squall hat

I haven't been knitting much lately. Not sure why but we've just been busy.  I did manage to finish the Squall Hat which I was making for myself. Turns out I have an exceedingly large head and it didn't even come close to fitting me. So I gave it to Anne, who looks ravishing in that blue. Don'tcha think?

Here is the pattern. I'm gypsycaravan on Ravelry though I often forget to post my projects. The yarn is Sweet Georgia's Superwash Chunky in the Hush colorway. Though I think they should rename the color "Exactly Anne's Eyes". 

sauerkraut 2

We ended up with 64 pints. Will have to make it every year! Delicious!

applesauce/applebutter

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I don't remember when I haven't put up food for the winter.  Usually,  I get the produce for free or little cost. Applesauce this year was made from free apples in the orchard behind our home which belongs to the county historical society.  We picked three wheelbarrows full. I also picked at my aunt's home. She doesn't use her apples and was happy to let us have them. 

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If you are interested in canning applesauce/apple butter but don't know where to obtain free apples, know that many people who have trees on their property are often happy to have you remove the apples for them. Just drive down the road in the country and you will often see trees laden with apples. The elderly or just plain busy are sometimes overwhelmed with the prospect of cleaning up windfall apples from their grass but don't know to whom to turn to do the job. Windfall apples attract yellow jackets and canadian geese so people are happy to have them picked before the fruit falls. The historical society where we picked this year has one maintenance man who has plenty to do without having to pick up apples before he mows the grass. He was happy to have us pick the trees before everything fell to the ground. After the applesauce was made, I shared several quarts with him in thanksgiving.  

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The apples are first washed, quartered and cooked until soft.  Then, they are put through a Squeezo machine. The Squeezo is a most helpful investment if you plan to can regularly. It can be purchased for less on eBay or at a garage sale if you are lucky enough to find one. The Squeezo separates the peels, seeds and stems from the apple pulp, which comes out a different chute. Easy peasy! When I first started making applesauce, I used to peel, core and chop the apples which was horribly time consuming. 

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Applebutter is simply applesauce which has been cooked down to remove excess water with spices added for flavor. We love it on toast or bagels. 

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All in all, we made 99 quarts of applesauce and 25 pints of applebutter, all from free apples.

sauerkraut

I have a feeling that some of you might be tired of hearing about canning food. It's what we do in the summer though I'm sure it might get boring to read about. We made saurkraut today. Seventy pounds of sauerkraut, to be exact. :)

First, the cabbage is grated using a mandolin, which is, essentially, a wooden shredding board with two serrated blades.  It is made specifically for shredding cabbage.

The cabbage is shredded into a large stone crock. 

This seven year old angel singlehandedly shredded twenty pounds of cabbage. 

(Yes, we made saurkraut in my friend Nicole's basement.) You see, the crock alone weighs 50 lbs. Once you add the cabbage, there's no moving it for six to eight weeks.  So it's important to put it somewhere out of the way while the cabbage ferments. (Unless you want a huge crock of fermenting cabbage in your living room.) 

The cabbage is then layered with salt. The salt draws the water and juices from the cabbage and forms the brine. 

Then it is tamped down. 

Once all of the cabbage is shredded, salted and tamped, it will be weighed down with a plate or other heavy object and allowed to ferment for several weeks.

I'll post more photos when it's done. 

peaches

My friend Nicole and I canned 150 quarts of peaches last week.  My basement pantry shelves are filling up quickly. I'm enjoying the canning break this week before tackling tomatoes and, then, applesauce. I hope all of you are enjoying your summer. 

 

honey

I had a medium sized box of ten frames that were strictly capped honey. I guess I waited a while to long because when I went to harvest the honey a few days later, the queen had gotten through the excluder and into the honey super. She had layed eggs in six of the ten frames and I was only able to harvest the remaining four. This gave us eight pints of honey which is a far cry from the dozens of pounds I was expecting. 

Needless to say, it was an educational process for all of us. Anne was the most helpful once the honey was brought into the house. She is so proud of those little jars of honey. :)

pickles and hungarian peppers

Pickle recipe here. 

Hot packed Hungarian wax/banana pepper rings:

Add the following to each pint jar-

1 tsp salt

1 TBLS olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp oregano

Cut tops off peppers and seed. Slice into rings. Pack jars with pepper rings. Add the above to each jar. Boil an equal ratio of vinegar and water. Fill jars with boiling vinegar mixture. Place lid and ring on jar. No need to do a hot water bath because jars will seal within minutes. 

Delicious on sandwiches or pizzas. 

three

Mae turned three years old last week. She is so full of life and spunk. She is quite a chatterbox, talking whether anyone is listening or not. Mae is imaginative, playful and kind. She has a hot, short temper--raging one moment and kissing another. She requested a "kitty caramel birthday" which none of us knew how to deliver. Easier were the parties that her sisters used to choose... Barbie birthdays or Dora birthdays. I decided to decorate her cake with bullseye caramels (which she loves) and a tan kitty. She also wanted her cake to have pink frosting and a side of chocolate ice cream. Decisive that one. Her face lit up when she saw the cake. And, in perfect three year old fashion, she sang to happy birthday to herself right along with the rest of us. 

Thank you God for Teresa Mae, who fills our lives with joy. 

happy birthday ben

Ben turned seventeen the other day. This past year he has changed from a round faced boy to a young man. He grew several inches and gained a slimmer, more chiseled physique due to daily trips to the gym.  I can only say these things to you, dear visitor, because when I mention them to him, I get a roll of the eyes, a big smile and some sort of grunting sound followed by, "Cut it out, Mom." 

I so enjoy my son's company. I am proud of the young man that is slowly replacing the chubby cheeked, wooden sword yielding, coonskin cap wearing, bat swinging little boy from years past. The affectionate, shy fellow who used to hide behind my skirt when someone talked to him has many friends. The little boy who loved to work alongside me in the kitchen, yard and garage is now working daily at a job of his own. The boy who swore he would never go to school has finished his third year of public school where he has made the honor roll each and every quarter. 

I've even grown to love his moppy hair. :)

Wishing you a very happy birthday, dear Ben. I'm so thrilled to be your mom. 

correction

I had misspelled Annabelle's name and thus had to reset the link for the new blog. Here is the proper link if you would like to follow along. 

annabelle's diaries

My great grandmother, Anna Mae, was born on September 18, 1892.  She married and had two children, my grandma Dolores (Sis) and a son Clarence (Buster). She was a housewife and had a small farm. While my grandma was living, she told me many stories about her mother who had died in 1966,  four years before I was born. Grandma told me she preferred to be called Annabelle rather than Anna Mae. I recently found several years worth of Annabelle's diaries among my mother's things. I will be recording them daily at a new blog called, appropriately, Annabelle's Diaries.  If you'd like to follow along, feel free. I will start with the first diary in my possession dated 1950.  Many of the diaries have recipes, photos or holy cards within their pages. I will try to include those as possible. 

 

pink rollers and white nightgowns

“Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here.”

--Sue Monk Kidd,  The Secret Life of Bees

Yesterday evening was beautifully slow. It was the kind of evening that I would love to rewind and replay over and over. 

 After dropping the boys off at summer camp, we spent the day swimming, got far too much sun, and, generally, wore ourselves out.  I was looking forward to a relaxing evening. I had the girls shower when we got home from swimming and I slathered Noxzema on their shoulders and faces. (Noxzema is the best for sunburns.) We all put on our cotton nightgowns. It was only suppertime but I knew they'd be cool and comfortable for the rest of the evening if they got in their nighttime clothes. In the winter, the girls and I wear flannel. But, in the summertime, we each have a white, cotton nightgown that make a body cool just by looking at them. 

We went outside and sat on the glider under the tall maple trees. We made some iced coffee, sat, rocked and sipped. Then they played a game where one child sings and the others dance. When the singing stops, the dancer must freeze in position. It was so fun to watch them dancing and hear them sing their songs.

There was a general air of silliness and much laughter happening in the yard. I ran inside to get my camera because I thought the girls looked so pretty with their suntanned faces, wearing their white nightgowns. Of course, no one wanted their photos taken but I snuck a few in anyway. We ate a shrimp cocktail which tasted wonderfully salty on a hot summer evening.

After the singing and dancing game, I put the Glenn Miller station on Pandora. It reminded me of my grandma and how we'd sit outside in her yard in the evenings in our nightgowns when I was a child. She'd play big band music on the record player loudly through the patio screened door so that we could hear it in the yard. 

 Then I rolled the girls' hair and mine in pink foam rollers and went back inside to watch the Great and Powerful Oz. My girls like to their wear pink rollers to bed and wake up with a head of ringlets. I've been setting mine often lately and attempting a lot of the vintage hairstyles from this book. (The vintage makeup book by the same author is fabulous as well.) 

It was an evening that was nothing particularly special yet everything felt special about it. Ever have a day like that? One that you'd like to freeze in time or put in the back of your mind to chew on a while?  

my pleasure

(You'll forgive the out of focus iPhone photos, won't you?)

We recently returned from a vacation to Chicago. The last (and first time) we went to Chicago was 15 years ago when a dear friend got married. My mom, Ben (who was only a toddler) and I spent one or two days in the Windy City and really didn't see much. This time, however, we planned a thorough visit and stayed in the heart of downtown Chicago. The guys wanted to center the trip around baseball which made for a fun time for them. They saw the Cubs, the White Sox and even took a short road trip to Milwaukee to watch a Brewers game. This left plenty of time for the girls and I to go shopping, swimming and have some girly fun.  

I made reservations for lunch at Chicago's American Girl Cafe. I imagined it to be such a special afternoon and the girls and I looked so forward to sharing lunch there. We were told that the girls could bring their dolls and that chairs would be provided for them as well. I wasn't certain whether Mae would sit for a fancy lunch but opted to bring her and her Bitty Baby (whose name is Flower by the way). I am so glad Mae came along. 

As we walked into the restaurant, I felt a certain heaviness in my chest that has become a common feeling since my mom died. So many times, when we are doing something fun or happy, I pause for a moment and wish she were there alongside me and my family. I thought how pleased she'd be with the restaurant, the tea and the day spent with the girls. I didn't want my feelings to ruin the meal or the day but I found myself choking back tears as we sat down to eat.  After we were seated, our waitress brought a small appetizer of vegetables, fruit and cheese stuffed pretzels which the girls really enjoyed. She also placed a small pink box on our table that contained something she called Table Talkers which were, essentially, just small strips of paper that contained a topic for pleasant conversation.  

Mary pulled the first paper from the box and read it aloud, "What is your favorite book and why?".  Then Anne pulled her paper from the box, "What is your favorite childhood memory?" Each of the girls shared a special moment and I choked out, "Drinking tea with my mother." It's funny to me that if I were to have one last hour to spend with my mother, I would spend it sitting across from her at the table drinking one last cup of tea.  Some people might want to do something exciting or adventurous, something truly memorable with their loved one. But tea was a daily sharing for my mom and I and would be my one wish. 

When the box was passed to me, I chose my slip of paper which read, "Describe your dream job." The girls shared a number of things that they might like to be such as a mommy, a marine biologist, a horse lesson teacher, etc.  When it came time for me to give my answer, I stuttered and stumbled about my answer because, as I was speaking, it occurred to me. I am living my dream job.

My dream twenty years ago was to stay home with my children and spend daily time with each of them, to cook for them, clean for them, read stories to them, to braid their hair and play catch with them and cheer them up when they are sad.  And somewhere, along the way, I'd lost sight of the fact that I am living that dream on a daily basis. A huge smile spread across my face and I said, "My dream is to spend each day being your mommy." The girls smiled and laughed and said I was sure lucky to be able to be the mommy of so many children. 

How shortsighted I've been lately, going through my days like a horse with its blinders on.  How apathetic I've been about the opportunity to wake each morning and be doing exactly what I had dreamt of for so many years! I realized that I need to act like I am working at my dream job. My family should know how wonderful my life is by the smile on my face each day. My tone of voice should reflect the happiness in my heart.  I should speak to my children the same way those cheerful, polite Chic-fil-a workers talk to each and every customer! Do you know what I mean? They speak sweetly and respectfully to even the difficult and cantakerous customers! Can I answer each of my children's many demands with "My pleasure" ? Because I should be able to do so daily if I am cognizant that I am living my dream, working my dream job. 

Funny that Mae (who was only one when my mother died and really should have no memory of her) blurted out during our dessert in a sweet voice, "My grandma in heaven would weeeeeeally wuv dis pretty place!" It made me happy that someone other than myself was thinking of her and missing her just a wee bit.  

june happiness

(The porch wants painting, I know. I'm hoping that's on the agenda for this summer.)

This time last spring, we planted 48 strawberry seedlings that were no taller than my thumb. We were told by the friendly older Amish man who sold them to us that we should pinch off the blossoms that first season so that the plants would put more energy into their leaves. This would make for a bumper crop next season (now). We did what we were told.  That man surely knew what he was talking about because our strawberry bed is filled to the brim with berries. Annie wakes every morning and takes her wooden berry basket out for an early picking. We've been having berries for breakfast for the last week and we couldn't be happier. I think after the shell peas are done this season, I am going to plant another bed of strawberries for twice the fun next year. 

We have a friend who redesigns kitchens and he gave us a Sub Zero upright freezer (that someone no longer wanted because it was the wrong color for their new kitchen) for the cost of one homemade pie. Can you imagine? Me neither. We are now the proud owners of a new freezer which is already filling up with produce and other goodies. 

The aforementioned shell peas are growing like gangbusters. The girls have been picking them every day but most are going into their mouths rather than into the freezer. I did manage to put away a quart sized bag before they ate them all. The other night we sat on the porch, rocked and shelled peas together.

I found a treasure at the antique show at our fairgrounds last weekend. Have you ever heard of a Mammy rocker? It is a two or three person rocking chair with a little gate behind which you can lay your baby/toddler and rock them to sleep. They were popular in the Civil War era and I have wanted one since I first became a mother.  The gate is removable if two bigger people want to rock instead of rocking a baby. I outfitted it behind the gate with a little pillow and a woolen blanket for Mae to lay comfortably. 

When I found it at the antique show and saw how little they wanted for it, I welled up with tears which seems silly, I know. But the thought of being able to rock Mae to sleep on the porch on warm summer nights while singing her some lullabies really choked me up. I hope she has fond memories of that green Mammy rocker and her Mama shelling peas while she rocked off to sleep. 

 

a tea with kindred spirits

Our lovely Mary turned ten a while back and had a tea party with her friends to celebrate. She had never had a friend party before so we sat down and thought of party venues such as a park, bowling alley, ice skating rink and the like. Ultimately, we chose a local tea house to which we'd never been but had heard great things about. The girls and I drink tea daily and we were excited to go to an authentic tea house. Mary invited her closest friends and her sister Anne. We were all delighted to get dressed up for the special occasion.

Mary is becoming such a beautiful young lady. She has a big, generous heart and is adored by her little sisters who love to play with her. She has a great imagination and has a knack for making things beautiful. I'm so grateful to have her joyful spirit in our home and family. 

what mae was doing while I wrote that last blog post (or "why I haven't written a post since february")

I often feel badly that I don't write more often here in this space. I really wanted it to be an almost daily journal of our goings on. I hadn't written since February and decided I'd quickly write the April Ruffle post to join in Ginny's fun. I was careful to assign Mae, age 2 1/2, to her sister for a few minutes of watercolor artistry and playing giraffes. Apparently things didn't go as I thought they were going upstairs and her sister (who shall remain nameless) got distracted. Mae was found, seven minutes after I began writing the blog post, on the floor painting her toenails. The child needs Constant. Parental. Supervision.

To her credit, she did not get a single drop on the floor.

Apparently seven minutes is long enough for a pedicure in Mae's Salon. Anyone want to be her second customer? :)

 

april ruffle wrap-yarn along

Warm weather is coming our way here in Northeast Ohio so I am trying to finish my November Ruffle Wrap before the chill is out of the air. Right now the temperatures are in the mid fifties with an occasional jump into the sixties. When the summer months come, I tend to work on smaller projects that aren't quite so warm on my lap. I like the way the charcoal grey is speckled with the lighter weight alpaca. I think I will wear it alot on cold winter nights.

I've been reading The Family Kitchen Garden and really love the way the projects are broken down on a month by month basis. We are in hardiness zone 6 which means I can follow the book as written without adjusting our growing calendar. Ben planted shell peas two weeks ago and they are beginning to sprout out back.  The strawberries also have new leaves. We should have a bumper crop for jam and for eating. 

I plan to put in an herb garden on the west side of the house this spring and am looking for design ideas. I like circular gardens with small paths between plantings so I'm considering that idea.  The Kid's Herb Book has a nice list of medicinal herbs and kitchen herbs that are child friendly plus some easy activities/recipes for children and parents to do together. 

I lost a hive of bees this winter. I heard a lot of people lost bees this year. I'm trying not to feel too badly about it and have ordered replacements to pick up the first week of May. My strong hive last year that subsequently survived this winter were Carnolians and the ones that died were Italians. So I ordered another colony of Carniolans. Here's hoping! In the meantime, I'm going to try to be more diligent to read the beekeeping books that are lying around my home and become a bit more educated in that regard. For those of you who keep bees, do you have a favorite go-to resource to answer your bee questions?

Happy Wednesday, my friends!

You can find more Yarn Alongs at Ginny's. 

mae's owlet

Seems I've been working on her owlet for a looong time. I finally finished it a few days ago but hadn't added the buttons until last night. 

Mae isn't one to sit still or to have her photo taken.  So these are the best pictures I could squeak out with my iPhone camera.

First, she wanted you to see her little hair twists.

She is very fond of the owls' button eyes.

She makes this face a lot.

As I mentioned, she doesn't like to have her photo taken. But she likes to sit on the heater.  She sat on the heater vent for all of thirty seconds and made faces while I tried to capture her in her Owlet sweater. 

More Yarn Alongs at Ginny's. 

remembering my grandmother kathryn

Today I am missing my grandmother, Kathryn, who died peacefully in her sleep yesterday morning. She was a loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother, an avid card player, Jeopardy watcher, quilter and maker of crocheted rugs. Most of all, I will remember her for her humility, her unshakable positive attitude and her tenacity. Safe home, sweet Grandma.

 

 

Many thanks to those of you who have been praying for her and for our family.