Knotted Apronstrings

Ivey's Patchwork Stocking

2010-12-17T05:58:00.000-08:00

I just finsihed making Ivey's Christmas stocking. While making hers I cut out Robert's and will not wait until next Decemeber to start sewing on it. Somehow I got busy and forgot about Ivey's, so I had to put myself into high gear to get it finished to hang beside Suzi's. AHHHH....one more project finished! I have several more to get done before Christmas Eve..... I love what I'm doing and it won't be difficult to get them completed. More on the other projects later. I have a secret I have to keep.

Mammie's Rescued Quilt

2010-05-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

This quilt identification patch tells part of the story. There is much more to the story of how I rescued my grandmother's partially finished quilt. While visiting my aunt and uncle in Orangeburg in 1997 they pulled out an ancient, water stained, dusty paper grocery bag filled with some sort of fabric. They identified the contents of the bag as a quilt my grandmother had started, but not completed. Because my grandmother was such an important part of my life, anything that once belonged to her held a strong attraction for me. At that time I had taken a quilting class, but was far from being a competent quilter. I took a look at the dusty, old quilt and surprised them and myself by offering to attempt to salvage and complete it. My aunt and uncle were pleased with my offer and sent me home with my new project in hand.

I had no idea what a job I had bargained for. When I got home I carefully removed the quilt from the bag to discover that it was more damaged than I had realized. It had been left in a barn where water had gotten to it. It had been damp for so many years that there were mildew stains and, to be honest, it smelled horrible. Mammie had completed the quilt top and made a backing for the quilt from many small pieces of old muslin fabric. The batting, I soon discovered was one of the most interesting parts of the quilt. The batting had been homemade on the farm as it still contained pieces of cotton seed. There was such a strong, musty odor caused from water damage that I had no choice except to take the layers apart and remove the batting. Mammie had hand sewn the layers of the quilt sandwich together with some type of heavy red thread and a large needle. Tears rolled down my face as I clipped the stitching and pulled the layers apart. I cried because I was afraid I would never get the quilt back together as much as because I could imagine my grandmother's hands sewing it together all those years ago.

Having taken the quilt apart, I knew the next step was to wash it as gently as possible. Once it was clean and dry I started the time consuming task of repairing each block. That accomplished, I took the quilt to Hendersonville, NC to seek out a quilting authority. I called ahead to Georgia Bonesteel's Quilt Corner to be sure when she would be there. Georgia loved the quilt and advised me to have it machine quilted rather than attempting to hand quilt something so fragile. She also advised me to replace the old backing with new, but to save the old to use for binding the quilt. Machine quilting took two weeks and was well worth the wait. All I had left to do was bind it and deliver it, which I did the following week. My aunt and uncle were thrilled to have the quilt back and told me that one day it would be mine.

Last week that day came. My aunt and uncle moved into assisted living facility and gave Mammie's quilt to me. It is a treasure that I will cherish and pass on to generations to come. Here is the quilt stretched out on my living room floor in front of my great-grandmother's fainting couch. The fainting couch, we believe, could have been built by my great-grandfather who was a Confederate soldier and a furniture builder by trade, but I'll save that story for later.

Apple Picking with Mama Susie and Suzi

2009-09-02T07:42:00.000-07:00

Suzi, Mama Susie, Foster and I drove up to Bryson's U-Pick

near Long Creek to get some apples. This was a first for both

Suzi and her great-grandma. Bryson's was the perfect place to go...the orchards are well kept

and mowed and there were PLENTY of apples at a good price.

They even have a restroom!

There were lots of varieties to choose from.

Many of the trees had apples hanging low enough for Suzi to reach.

Suzi picked the biggest apple of all!

She was proud of her bucket of apples.

She felt silly standing bebside the scarecrow, but it did make a cute picture.

No telling what was going on in the backseat on the way home.

She fell asleep just before we got home. . . .
one tired little applepicker.

Ivey Has Arrived!

2009-08-16T05:30:00.000-07:00

We have had a few very busy and exciting days. Ivey arrived on Wednesday afternoon at 3:58, after what her parents tell us what a beautiful labor and birth experience. Jenny will blog the birth story soon I'm sure. We weren't there as Suzi was at our house that day.

Suzi loved the Ragedy Ann doll I made and gave to her on the day Ivey was born. She promptly named her new doll Rosie after Caillou's little sister.

Then she taught Rosie how to play her bodhran,

Suzi was thrilled to meet her new sister. She loved her immediately and sang "Happy Birthday" to Ivey within the first few minutes. We all know what a wonderful big sister she is going to be.

I couldn't wait to hold our new little granddaughter.

They say she has my nose . . . God bless her.

Then Grandpa got his turn.

My favoritie picture . . .

our precious babies together.

The Last Flowers of Summer

2009-08-08T05:29:00.001-07:00

We picked the last of Suzi's zinnias ans sunflowers.

She was so pleased with them that we decided to snap a picture.

My Gift from Jenny

2009-08-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

This week Jenny gave me one of the most special gifts I have ever received. It is a bowl, a very specific kind of bowl. She made it just for me. It is a bowl made of a plaster cast of her belly . . .pregnant with Ivey! She made the cast, trimmed it, finished the edges and painted it in my favorite colors with a hydrangea (grandmother's flower) and ,of course, a butterfly.

The colors went so well that I took these pictures on a chair in the sunroom. I haven't decided just where to put it to show it off best, but I doubt if I will put anything in it. It's just too pretty to cover up.

I have always been pleased with the fact that all three of my children realize that gifts don't need to be expensive, store bought items to be very special and much appreciated. I believe I still have every handprint in clay, painted flower pot, drawing and painting that they gave me as children. These treasures number too many to keep on display, but they are my most prized possessions.

Waiting for Ivey

2009-08-04T19:49:00.001-07:00

Now that I have finished making Suzi's Ragedy Ann, I think I can safely say that we are ready for Ivey to arrive. Ragedy Ann will be Suzi's special gift from Grandma and Grandpa on the day Ivey is born. I made one for Jenny when she was 2 years old and placed a musical button under her heart that played "It's a Small World". The button was guaranteed to play 10,000 times. When Jenny wore it out about 20 years ago, I searched everywhere for a replacement. When I finally found a source for them I ordered half a dozen, gave Jenny's a doll a transplant, carefully put the rest away and prayed for granddaughters. Suzi's doll has one of those buttons under her heart. I have already started on Ivey's doll for for when she's 2 years old.

Today Suzi and Jenny spent time on the porch blowing lots and lots of bubbles.

Suzi and Grandpa wrote on the driveway with sidewalk chalk.

Jenny checked her email while she and Jordan waited for supper.

Suzi and Grandpa practiced nursery rhymes and

I snapped pics of everyone so that I could blog tonight.

Ivey, we are officially ready for you!

Family, Fun, Food and a Fantastic 4th

2009-07-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

My cousin Lila came up from Goose Creek to spend the July 4th weekend with us. For starters, she and Suzi had a great time decorating a bank she to brought Suzi.

We took Lila to Mountain Rest to see some real hillbillies. We had never been to Hillbilly Day before, but thought there must be something going on there after reading that this was the 50th annual celebration. When we arrived we saw a little boy attempting to climb the greased pole. It was a valiant effort, but he wasn't getting very far.

We checked out some of the displays and vendors. Lila and I joked about the fact that some of our ancestors might have really loved to get a taste of the "moonshine" from this still.

We couldn't resist the temptation to purchase some jewelry from Walhalla designer Cyndy Wheeler. I bought Jenny a gorgeous amber necklace for her birthday as well. The quality of Cyndy's jewelry is excellent and her prices are competitive. Check out her web site at http://www.beaditdesign.vpweb.com/.

We browsed lots of other interesting arts and crafts.

Foster followed us around so patiently . . . then he got his wish . . .a plate of BBQ for lunch.

After lunch we looked around a while longer. You can't tell what you might find at Hillbilly Day. How about a "Ride to Eternity" in a heasre drawn behind a Harley?

As we left we had to stop and watch a group of young ladies giving their all in a team effort to climb to the top of the greased pole. Lots of work for a prize of only $30.

Back at home Jordan volunteered to make is famous homemade potato chips . . .the potatoes are special . . . straight from is grandfather's farm.

It doesn't get much better than this!

Suzi agreed wholeheartedly.

Then it was all over except for a late supper of steaks and salad. The kids stayed late to visit, Foster called it a day and Lila and I stayed up until almost midnight talking. She's still asleep and I just finished my least favorite job . . . cleaning the fryer. It wasn't so bad once I realized that good old baking soda and cider vinegar will cut the the sticky, cooked on oil right off . . .no need for toxic cleaning supplies! A refrigerator full of leftovers will keep us out of the kitchen today. The only thing that could have made the weekend better would have been more of our family here to share it.

Suzi's First Blooms

2009-06-26T07:02:00.001-07:00

It has been a while . . . sorry about that. We've been busy. Mama Susie and Paul were here the first week of June, but we somehow missed getting pictures. I have started going to exercise class at 8:00 each morning. Grandpa goes for his walk as soon as I get back. After that it's all Suzi until 2:30 and we wouldn't have it any other way. We often go places . . . she likes Sam's almost as much as she likes her weekly trip to storytime at the library. The other day when we were in Bed, Bath and Beyond Suzi wanted to know where the toys were. When we told her that store had no toys, she called out loudly, "TOYS, where are you . . . TOYS, where are you?" She is a character.

Remember when Suzi planted her flower seeds?

Now she's proudly showing off her first blooms.

The little pool on the deck . . .under the umbrella . . .has helped cool off the hot afternoons.

Suzi is still drumming with Grandpa.

Uncle Brad stopped by to spent one night on his way to the low country.

Until next time . . . . try to stay cool!

She's got the rhythm of the beat!

2009-06-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

The Greater Greenville Highland Games took place this weekend. Part of the entertainment on Friday evening was the Ceilidh (pronouced kay-lee) in the amphitheatre near the Peace Center. Several of our favorite Celtic bands were performing. After hemming and hawing over what we thought the weather might do, we decided to go. It was a great decision!

Suzi got a little bodhran drum and tipper of her own for her second birthday. She had been drumming on oatmeal cans, pots and pans, and bowls since she was could hold a wooden spoon, so it was time to give her an instrument. Her little eight inch bodhran drum is made of willow and has a goat skin head. She's actually very good at drumming to the beat. Sometimes she sings, dances and drums all at once. She likes her little drum, but she LOVES Grandpa's big bodhran.

She loves to sing and drum . . .

and lead Grandpa in parades around the house.

Come on, Grandpa . . .follow me!

Practice, practice, practice.

Everyone was happy . . .we had clear skies and great seats.

Her first chance to play her drum in public.

Grandpa and Grandma were glad they could enjoy the concert with her.

She tried out a new technique . . . drumming with her hands . . .
after watching a drummer onstage.

After a little encouragement from her new friend,

Suzi joined her as she danced to the music.

She played with the"big girls" who sat near us.

Coyote Run performed a fantastic drum piece at the end of their show. Jordan took Suzi right down in front of the stage so that she could see, hear and feel the beat. She was amazed.

Nobody needed to encourage her to go to sleep that night. She was sound asleep in her car seat before we knew it.

Suzi's Flowers

2009-05-24T03:54:00.000-07:00

Suzi and I are ready to take advantage of the warm sunshine.

We're going to be outdoors more.

She loves feeling the warm wood of the deck on her bare feet.

Suzi planted a package of mixed flower seeds . . .

watered her garden every day and . . .

blew lots and lots of bubbles . . .

discovered and played with her shadow and . .

at last . . . some of Suzi's flowers sprouted!

She is going to have a wonderful time watching them grow.

Jordan's Chocolate Cake in a Mug

2009-05-11T09:02:00.001-07:00

My favorite son-in-law, Jordan, and granddaughter, Suzi, at the Cabbage Patch last September.

On Mother's Day afternoon Jenny and I were wishing for chocolate. Jordan made this for us. It was just what we needed.

Chocolate Cake in a Mug
(this takes 5 minutes to make)
In a small bowl …..
(it can actually be made in the mug, but it's difficult to stir)

Mix: ¼ cup sugar
¼ cup plain flour
2 tablespoons cocoa

Add: 1 egg
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons milk
1 splash vanilla flavoring
Chocolate chips or broken bits of candy bar (optional)

Spray a large mug with oil spray and pour in mixture.
Microwave for 2 ½ minutes in a 1100 watt microwave
(3 minutes in a 1000 watt microwave . . . or adjust to yours).

Don't panic when it rises over the edge of the mug, it will be fine.
Let cake sit in mug for a few minutes before serving.
Serve warm with ice cream on top. Drizzle on chocolate syrup, if you like.

This recipe makes two very generous servings or four small servings.

Suzi in the Springtime

2009-04-15T06:26:00.000-07:00

Jenny and Suzi at Grandma and Grandpa's after church.

Suzi was glad to share her goodies.

She borrowed her daddy's tie.

She enjoyed all the Easter cards she received.
She loved the sticker activities in this one from Aunt Lila.

Suzi has a style all her own.

Suzi's Response to Daylight Saving Time

2009-03-09T12:34:00.000-07:00

Suzi didn't really care much for Daylight Saving Time this morning. When her dad brought her in she just kept on sleeping. For a while she slept on the loveseat, then in Grandma's arms and finally in Grandpa's arms. When she finally decided to wake up it was almost 10 am.

We are so fortunate to be able to have her with us almost every day. We are thankful that we can watch her grow, hear her speak and see first hand all that she is learning each day. Few grandparents are so priviledged. We are truly blessed.

What Suzi Said . . . to Grandma and Grandpa

2009-02-13T19:25:00.000-08:00

One day last week we took Suzi to Ashley Dearing Park for a little while. She was having a great time on the swing and all the climbing toys that she really wasn't ready to leave.

When we finally insisted that it was time to leave the park, she definitely didn't agree. When Grandpa put her in her car seat she wasn't exactly happy about it. See what I mean?
She arched her back and pushed her tummy out so that he could hardly fasten her into her car seat. I just had to ask, "Young lady, What do you think you're doing?" And she gave me a very honest answer, "I pitch a fit!" For what good it did her, she really did pitch one. But Grandpa and Grandma proceeded to latch her in - fit or no fit. She was asleep in her car seat before we had been a mile. She has a lot to learn . . . . .

Grandma's Little Helper

2009-01-17T06:54:00.000-08:00

It has been so cold this week that Suzi, Grandpa and I have spent a lot of time at home. She and Grandpa have played with the barnyard, and her orange and purple "feet"ball and enjoyed watching her new "Winnie the Pooh" movie. She told me she wanted to "clean-up" and did a great job on the kitchen floor with the Swivel Sweeper. We baked oatmeal-raisin cookies using the recipe inside the lid of the Quaker Oatmeal box, adding mini M&Ms to part of the batch for Suzi to take home as a treat for her mama. Jenny enjoys her chocolate as much as Suzi loves enjoys cooking. She wears the little apron I made for her with Sesame Street characters on it - fusses when she needs to take it off.

Jenny told me the other day that while reading up on child development she had found that most children Suzi's age have a vocabulary of around 50 words. I started a list of the words Suzi uses and so far there are way over 100. She uses sentences like: "I don't like that!", "I've got it!" and "Get that out now." She'll tell you in a skinny minute exactly what she wants to eat - anything from French toast to waffles, pancakes, eggs, yogurt, apple, banana, chicken, donuts, "choc-lit" and, of course, macaroni and cheese. Her drink of choice is iced tea which (don't panic, Jenny) she only gets when we go out to eat. She has no trouble expressing her opinion . . . .wonder where she gets that?

Breaking in New Toys

2009-01-09T14:55:00.000-08:00

Suzi, Grandpa and I have enjoyed breaking in

some of her Christmas toys this week. She has

enjoyed the big cardboard blocks (made in the

USA by Melissa and Doug Toys).

How on earth am I supposed to teach
her to cook when Grandpa is teaching
her to beat rhythms on her new bowls
with the measuring spoons? Maybe
we're helping to raise a future

percussionist . . . .

Suzi and I took our weekly trip to the library

on Thursday for storyhour. We went early so

that she could try out some new puzzles before

the songs and stories started. Then she did

her art project. Suzi always takes her art project

very seriously. She's learning to name the colors

and trying hard to get the right grip on that crayon.

She's in the scribbling stage, but loves to use all

the colors.

Today we gave her a chalkboard (also a Melissa

and Doug toy made in the USA)for the first
time. She is already teaching her baby.
Boy, do I wish I had a video of the conversation!

Suzi Had a Wonderful Christmas

2009-01-03T17:07:00.000-08:00

The postman brought her packages.

She made a stocking during story hour at the library.

She opened gifts.

Santa brought her a big red wagon.

She and her cousin Olivia posed for a picture together.

Then they opened more gifts.

Suzi sampled the M&M's while we made gingerbread men.

She ate some and shared some with her mom and dad.
Hopefully I will be a better blogger in the new year. One thing is for sure . . . Suzi and I will be busy. There will be lots to share.

50 Uses for Vinegar

2008-10-05T06:12:00.000-07:00

I cannot claim credit for today's blog. Instead, I must thank my college roommate, Nancy, for sharing it with me. If you read my daughter's blog you know that she enjoys using vinegar to rinse her hair. I have tried some of these uses and have been pleased with the results. I intend to try more of them as the need arises. Vinegar is so much better for the environment and so much less expensive than the products I have used before.

1. Kill grass on walks and driveways...
2. Kill weeds - spray full strength on growth until plants have starved...
3. Increase soil acidity - in hard water, one gallon of tap water for watering rhododendrums, gardenias, or azaleas.
4. Deter ants - spray vinegar around doors, appliances, and along other areas where ants are known...
5. Polish car chrome - apply full strength...
6. Remove skunk odor from a dog - rub fur with full strength vinegar; rinse...
7. Keep cats away -sprinkle vinegar on areas you don't want the cat walking, sleeping, or scratching on...
8. Keep dogs from scratching his ears - use a clean, soft cloth dipped in diluted vinegar...
9. Keep chickens from pecking each other - put a little in their drinking water...
10. Tenderize meat - soak in vinegar over night...
11. Freshen vegetables - soak wilted vegetables in 2 cups of water and a tablespoon of vinegar...
12. Boil better eggs - add 2 tablespoons water before boiling eggs, keeps them from cracking...
13. Soothe a bee or jellyfish sting - dot the irritation with vinegar and relieve itching...
14. Relieve sunburn - lightly rub white vinegar; you may have to reapply.
15. Condition hair - add a tablespoon of vinegar to dissolve sticky residue left by shampoo... fight dandruff, after shampooing, rinse with vinegar and 2 cups of warm water...
16. Relieve dry and itchy skin - add 2 tablespoons to bath water...
17. Soothe a sore throat - put a teaspoon of vinegar in a glass of water. Gargle, then swallow...
18. Treat sinus infections and chest colds - add 1/4 cup or more vinegar to the vaporizer...
19. Feel good - teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water, with a bit of honey added for flavor, will take the edge off your appetite and give you an overall healthy feeling...
20. Deodorize the kitchen drain - pour a cup down the drain once a week, let stand 30 minutes and then flush with cold water...
21. Eliminate onion odor - rub on your fingers before and after slicing... 22. Clean and disinfect wood cutting boards - wipe with full strength vinegar...
23. Remove fruit stains from hands - rub with vinegar...
24. Cut grease and odor on dishes - add a tablespoon of vinegar to hot soapy water...
25. Clean a teapot - boil a mixture of water and vinegar in the teapot, wipe away the grime...
26. Freshen a lunchbox - soak a piece of bread in vinegar and let it sit in the lunchbox over night...
27. Clean the refrigerator - wash with a solution of equal parts water and vinegar...
28. Unclog a drain, - pour a handful of baking soda down the drain and add 1/2 cup of vinegar, Rinse with hot water...
29. Clean and deodorize the garbage disposal - make vinegar ice cubes and feed them down the disposal, after grinding, run cold water through...
30. Clean and deodorize jars - rinse mayonnaise, peanut butter, and mustard jars with vinegar when empty...
31. Clean the dishwasher - run a cup of vinegar through the whole cycle once a month to reduce soap build up on the inner mechanisms and on glassware...
32. Clean stainless steel - wipe with a vinegar dampened cloth...
33. Clean china and fine glassware - add a cup of vinegar to a sink of warm water, Gently dip the glass or china in the solution and let dry...
34. Get stains out of pots - fill pot with a solution of 3 tablespoons of vinegar to a pint of water,Boil until stain loosens and can be washed away...
35. Clean the microwave - boil a solution of 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water in the microwave, will loosen splattered on food and deodorize...
36. Dissolve rust from bolts and other metals - soak in full strength vinegar...
37.Get rid of cooking smells - let simmer a small pot of vinegar and water solution...
38. Unclog steam iron - pour equal amounts of vinegar and water into the iron's water chamber, turn to steam and leave the iron on for 5 minutes in an upright position, then unplug and allow to cool, any loose particles should come out when you empty the water...
39. Clean a scorched iron plate - heat equal parts vinegar and salt in a small pan...
40. Rub solution on the cooled iron surface to remove dark or burned stains...
41. Get rid of lint in clothes - add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle...
42. Keep colors from running - immerse clothes in full strength vinegar before washing...
43. Freshen up the washing machine - periodically, pour a cup of vinegar in the machine and let in run through a regular cycle (no clothes added) Will dissolve soap residue...
44. Brighten fabric colors - add a 1/2 cup vinegar to the rinse cycle...
45. Take grease off suede - dip a toothbrush in vinegar and gently brush over grease spot...
46. Remove tough stains - gently rub on fruit, jam, mustard, coffee, tea. Then wash as usual...
47. Get smoke smell out of clothes - add a cup of vinegar to a bath tub of hot water - hang clothes above the steam...
48. Remove decals - brush with a couple coats of vinegar, allow to soak, wash off...
49. Clean eyeglasses - wipe each lens with a drop of vinegar...

I must add #50 - from my junior high school English teacher - spray vinegar on windows,wipe them with newspaper and they will sparkle!

Suzi's Eye - eeeees

2008-09-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

Suzi has become fascinated with glasses. I used to laugh at my grandmother for having a drawer full of glasses for reading, sewing, etc. Now I'm probably even worse than she was. I have reading glasses here, there and yonder throughout the house. Suzi finds them and brings them to me telling me to put on my "eye - eeeees". One of her cousins gave her some pretend glasses as part of her birthday gift and she loves wearing them.

They make her feel so intelligent!

Nothing Can Go To Waste . . . .Not Even Crabapples!

2008-09-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

These are the crabapples on the tree in our backyard. I had been complaining because they are too small to use to make jelly. That was before a friend gave me a bag of crabapples. I certainly couldn't let them go to waste!

Thank goodness for Jenny! She came over Saturday afternoon to help. Jenny decided it made more sense to sit than to stand all afternoon. I usually don't sit, but I must admit it was a good idea. We sat to pick through and remove the blossom ends from the crabapples.

Then we washed, and washed, and washed before boiling the crabapples and squeezing the juice out.

We ended up with 25 half pint jars of tart-sweet jelly.

Where do babies come from? The Cabbage Patch, of course!

2008-09-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

Jenny always loved her baby dolls, so it's not surprising that Suzi is following in her mom's footsteps. We took Suzi and her parents to The Cabbage Patch in Cleveland, GA. on Sunday. Cleveland is only about 70 miles from Clemson, making it a nice day trip. Suzi insisted on carrying her baby with her. The baby had to have a visitor's pass. You can see the sticker on her back.

It was such fun watching Suzi try to take in everything she saw.
We could hardly contain her. She wanted to go-go
on her own and explore the whole place.

Each room or area had a theme. Here we are in the school room.
In addition to the bus there was a playground, classroom and cafeteria.

Suzi liked Santa's glasses. She calls everyone's glasses "eyes".

Suzi and her dad checked out some of the
Cabbage Patch Kids in the Christmas area.

She pointed out the noses, eyes, ears and
mouths on the "kids" sitting by the fence.

Then she went shopping! Here she has two Bunny Bees - they're
the ones who sprinkle crystals in the Cabbage Patch to
determine which babies are boys and which are girls.
Bet you didn't know that!

She chose a girl with big green eyes and a tuft of light brown hair.
Once she selected the prefect baby, she was ready to go-go.
She carried it to the check out all by herself.

Grandpa met her there to take care of the paperwork.

She loved her new baby all the way home.

Welcome home Shayla Harmon.

I'm sure there will be more trips to the Cabbage Patch for us. Suzi wasn't at all interested in seeing the action when one of the cabbages had a delivery. I video taped it for her, but she'll want to see it for herself one of these days.

Busy Morning at Grandma and Grandpa's

2008-09-07T05:06:00.000-07:00

Right after breakfast Suzi chooses a book.

One of her favorites is Grandpa's Little One by Billy Crystal. The illustrations are gorgeous.
She's getting to be quite the little climber.

Over and up!
She loves to find pictures of butterflies and animals on her Picture Play Quilt.
She loves to help Grandma clean with the Swivel Sweeper.
That's just the morning. We'll do the afternoon later.

My Favortie Subject . . . Suzi

2008-08-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

Suzi started pulling my magnets off the refrigerator, so I got her some of her own. No, she doesn't recognize the letters yet, but her fine motor skills are improving daily. We'll start on colors soon.

She already knows which animal is which when asked to put them in Noah's ark.

She tries to sing the Noah's ark song and boogies to the beat of the CD.

And she has no trouble putting the plastic coins in the slot on her piggy bank.

She met her little nine month old cousin for the first time this weekend.

Their favorite spot was in the swing.

Suzi also loved the slide.

Grandfather Mtn. Highland Games - Finale

2008-07-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning the Mountain Marathon began in Boone, NC. It is listed as one of the most strenuous marathons in the nation. Our booth was only a few yards from the finish line, so we were able to see the runners just as they came across. I was most interested in documenting the first female to finish.
There were so many events that,even sitting right on the track, we could not possibly see them all. One thing I totally missed on Saturday was the Highland Dancing. I intended to get photos of the dancers on Sunday afternoon, but we had to leave early as I had a horrible headache. Various competitions took place throughout the day. There was a Children's Tent where they could go to participate in all sorts of fun activities. On Sunday there were kilted mile races for several age groups and shorter races for the younger children. Other children's events included wrestling and tugs-of-war.
This little kilted racer was not happy. The baby (beneath the table, out of the sun) had his mama's full attention.

Sunday morning Worship Service was held outside the main gate. Everyone brought folding chairs and blankets for sitting. The service included Kirkin' of the Tartans which is a blessing of the clans. Each clan sends a representative to carry their flag. Foster carried the Clan Wardlaw flag. It's easy to spot because of all the purple in it.
Almost immediately after Worship Service they called for the Parade of Tartans. Here we are in all our Scottish regalia, ready to march in the parade.
Our next Highland Games will be the Loch Hartwell Games in Hartwell, GA this October.

Day Two - Highland Games on Grandfather Mtn.

2008-07-15T04:38:00.001-07:00

Part II of my blog about the Gathering of the Scottish Clans on Grandfather Mtn.

On Friday morning were back at the Highland Games on Grandfather Mountain near Linville, NC. One of the first events we watched was the sheep herding exhibition. It was amazing to see how the Border Collies rounded the sheep up and got them into the pens.

Jenny and Jordan went to explore the clan booths and check out the vendors.

Meanwhile, Suzi and Grandpa watched some of the athletic competition from our tent.

Suzi was ready to go-go, so I put her in her stroller and
took her for a walk around the track. While we were walking
she spied a toy Border Collie and yelled "oof-oof". Of course, She had to have one.

Then we went back to our booth to show him off to Uncle Brad.

Foster and Brad spent most of the day manning our booth, talking to visitors and answering questions.

We watched lots of events. We also watched as the photographers did their best to capture the athletic events. The ground was still soggy from all the rain. Not a job I'd envy.

By the end of the day we were all tired, but happy - especially Suzi.
She fell asleep in her stroller. . . . we did everything we could to keep her comfortable.
Ahhh . . . . . .peace at last.

To be continued . . . .

Part One - Grandfather Mountain Games

2008-07-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Grandfather Mountain on Thursday evening. We were happy to find that our site was located on the edge of the track just about mid-field . . . an excellent place to view all the events. Then it started to rain. . . . . . .

It poured! The corners of the canopy filled with water and had to be dumped. We watched the runners from the five mile uphill run come in. They ran through ankle deep water in front of our tent. And it kept raining. When we finally decided we should call it a night we practically drowned getting back to our van.

Friday dawned sunny and beautiful.

There was still plenty of water in front of our tent as the bicycle race began. Folks asked us what time we planned to have the swimming trials.To be continued tomorrow. . . stay tuned as the weather improves and the field events begin.

2008-07-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

My friend Theresa tagged me. As if I really have the energy to write about myself when I've been chasing a 13 month old for several hours. Of course, I'll gladly oblige 'cause she'd do the same for me.

"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer."

1. What was I doing ten years ago? Let me see...I was still teaching kindergarten at that time, so I was probably preparing for home visits with the families of the children in my new class. Ten years ago this would be the week we spent at the beach with the extended family. While at the beach I was planning Jenny's 14th birthday party.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do lists for today? pick up books being held for me at the library,
make Jenny's skirt for the Highland Games at Grandfather Mountain this weekend, take care of Suzi, purchase a mouse to go with the laptop Jenny loaned me, prepare snack food to take to the Highland Games. It's now after 7 PM . . . .I haven't been too successful. I never did make it to the library, Jenny's skirt is complete except for the hem, Suzi, Grandpa and I survived the day, she and I purchased the mouse at Staples this morning and I still haven't gotten around to preparing our snacks.

3. Snacks I enjoy: Doodle-Nuts (my homemade snack mix - named by my brother-in-law), strawberries, watermelon, peaches, other fruits in season, cucumbers fresh from the garden and CHOCOLATE!

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: I don't believe my lifestyle would change a lot. I wouldn't want to move, but I would like to do some major home improvements. I would continue to support the things I already do. There are many good causes I would support . . . mostly to benefit children and families. I would definitely support our public schools and libraries, and provide assistance to families who have special needs children. It goes without saying that I'd share with my family.

5. Places I have lived: Orangeburg, Gaffney, Clemson, Pendleton and Columbia all in SC.

6. Jobs I have had: When I was 12 I dipped cones of ice cream at a family owned 5 & 10 cent store, at 14 I worked for a chain 5 & 10 cent store, at 15 I went to work in a camera shop and stayed there until I went to college. After that I worked as a secretary, in retail, and in a lab until I started teaching.

7. Five bloggers I am tagging who you will enjoy getting to know better: Would you believe that I don't know Five bloggers? Most of my friends just email and don't blog. I'll do my best:
The Harrison Family,
Babyfingers,
2lilpumpkins

What Flower Are You?

2008-07-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

I am a
Snapdragon

What Flower
Are You?

I've Been Tagged

2008-06-28T04:22:00.000-07:00

Jenny tagged me, so here are the answers:

Two names I've gone by: Julie (after my father, Julian) and JulieAlice (the Alice is after my maternal grandmother and JulieAlice - all in one breath - is what many of my relatives still call me)

Two things I'm wearing right now: only one bears mentioning - my Merrell sandals, one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes I've ever owned.

Two things I have in a relationship (with my husband): my best friend for 43 years and a man who would do anything in the world to make me happy.

Two of my favorite things to do: play with my granddaughter and sit in the warm sunshine and read. I'm teaching her to love books as much as I do so that when she's older we can sit in the warm sunshine and read together.
Two things I did last night: I went to supper with my friends and turned in early.
Two people you last talked to: Foster and my mother - I call her every evening.

Two things you're doing tomorrow: I'll go to church and probably visit a friend in the hospital.

Two longest car rides: to Disney World and the ride alone from here to Charleston when Daddy was in the hospital.

Two favorite holidays: Christmas and Easter

Two favorite drinks: water and coffee with a little Bailey's Irish Creme

Two things about me you may not have known: in high school I was a majorette (baton twirler) and I' m the author of a cookbook for children.

Two jobs I've had in my life: My favorite two jobs were working for a photographer in his camera shop and teaching (kindergarten, first and second grades). My favorite job these days is being a grandma and taking lots of pictures of my granddaughter.

Two movies I would watch over and over: Dirty Dancing and Steel Magnolias

Two favorite foods: Seafood and homemade bread
Two places I'd rather be right now: I'm a happy homebody, but I'd love to be anywhere with all my family. It's so rare to have all of us together these days.

Two people to tag: I'm not going to tag anyone this time. Most of my friends have already been tagged. If anyone would like to share their answers, pick it up and run with it!

Collins Ole Towne

2008-06-27T05:06:00.001-07:00

Last week we attended our next door neighbor's birthday celebration. It was held in the most unique setting . . . . . a 1930's reproduction of a rural community called Collins Ole Towne.
While guests were arriving there was ample space for everyone to visit on the wrap-around porch. During the afternoon guests were invited to explore the village. Each building was filled with items that brought back memories of days gone by.

Carson School House contained ancient typewriters, vintage school books and so much more.
The Blacksmith

The General Store
The candy counter brought back memories.Check out the Barber Shop

Plans are being made to activate the mill and to sell stone ground grits and corn meal.

The sugar cane mill is still in operation and cane syrup is made each year.

Musicians performed during the afternoon.

Country cooking was on the menu as lunch was served in the large dining area. Everyone enjoyed fried chicken, ham, green beans, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, yeast rolls, iced tea and banana pudding. The meal was all made from scratch by members of the Collins family and served buffet style.
It was a birthday to remember!

A Day at the Highland Games

2008-06-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

As the sun was rising over Easley, SC, we were headed for a day at the Greater Greenville Highland Games. Having crawled out of bed before 4:30 to shower, dress in our Highland best, grab a cup of coffee and finish loading the van, we were in for a hot day at the games. The weatherman had told us to expect record breaking temperatures and he hit the nail on the head. As we parked and started to unpack began to realize just how hot.

While setting up our banners, flags and tables we met our "neighbors". To our left were the Montreat Scottish Society and to our right the Clan Colquhoun Society of North America. These folks hailed from Marion, NC and Spartanburg, SC respectively.

Our main table, covered in the Wardlaw tartan, displayed the Clan Wardlaw matriculation document, a brief history of the Wardlaw family, a guest register, Wardlaw geneaology and history books about written by our clan historian, Diane Wardlaw, a Celtic knot design on pink Italian marble created Paul Wardlaw.

During the day we were entertained by pipe and drum corps.

As temperatures soared to near the 100 degrree mark, one-year-old Suzi stayed as cool as possible in the shade, shaking a leg in perfect time to the music and putting her water bottle to the side long enough to clap her hands as each band ended its performance.

We cheered on participants in the children's kilted foot races.

We welcomed a new member of Clan Wardlaw.

After presentation of awards and closing ceremonies, Clan Wardlaw, having endured its hottest day ever at the games, left happy to have been there from start to finish.

Grandma's a Happy Packrat

2008-05-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

Saving things for long periods of time is one of the traits I believe I inherited from the women on my mother's side of the family. I have extreme difficulty disposing of items that were given to me by someone special or that I purchased for a particular purpose, even though they aren't useful to me at the time.

I remember going into my great-grandmother's house with my grandmother and my mother to help clear out stacks of books and magazines she had collected. I also remember my great-grandmother (pictured above -Mother 1950) giving us "down the country". This scene was repeated almost verbatim with the next generation. These days every time I go to visit my mother and see the things she has stored away, I come home and haul at least one load of my collection to the DAR Thrift Shop at Tamassee. You see, I really don't want the cycle to repeat itself, but I'm afraid it's in our blood. I am fairly certain that one day Jenny and Suzi will come to my house and carry off all my treasures to some charity or other. But just for today I'm a happy packrat. I managed to save a couple of things that turned out to be useful and bring joy to myself and others.
When Jenny was born almost 24 years ago I had definite ideas about the highchair I must have for her. It was white, had a large tray and stood on a pedestal with wheels. It was easy to clean . . . I could take it outside and hose it down if need be. I loved that highchair, so when she outgrew it I had my DH put it in the attic. Several people had babies and a few times I was tempted to share it, but I held fast to the hope that one day I'd have a grandchild who would use that chair. Now our little Suzi sits in her mother's chair. It's just like new and Suzi uses it often.

On Christmas morning 1985 Jenny was excited about the Cabbage Patch Train Santa brought her. She rode it, pushed it, stashed everything from toys to snacks and sippy cups in the compartment seat and thoroughly enjoyed it. She outgrew it and it hung in from a rafter in the basement for over twenty years.

Today we brought out the old Cabbage Patch Train, washed it up and gave it to Suzi who rode it, pushed it and put toys in the seat compartment. I'll have to check carefully to be sure goldfish crackers and sippy cups aren't left inside next time she visits.

There are a few other things I've packed away in the attic and around that Suzi might like later. I still have my child-sized roll top desk complete with pigeon holes and lots of drawers, my own highchair that converts to a table and seat . . . oh, there's no telling what treasures might be found in this old packrat's hidey holes.

All Things Bright and Beautiful

2008-05-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

One morning last week I was up early checking my email and happened to glance outside. I decided to try and capture this sunrise from our deck. The picture isn't bad, but the real thing was positively gorgeous.

Several weeks ago when my sister-in-law was here for a visit, we took a trip to the South Carolina Botanical Gardens. We took Suzi along as she loves to visit the duck pond. The azaleas were in full bloom. Our favorite was the Piedmont Azalea pictured below.
This bloom was another that caught our eye . . .
While I'm on the subject of blooms I must slip in this special one - a an indoor variety of Iris that was given to me by my sister-in-law. Our sun room must be the perfect environment for it as it has bloomed several times and looks as if it may bloom again soon.
We had a fun-filled visit to the gardens. After all the fun Suzi fell sound asleep in her stroller.The rest of us would have loved to be in Suzi's place as we plodded back up the hill to head home.
Until next time . . . .

Loin of Wild Boar with Bog Myrtle?????

2008-04-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

Several Sundays ago our church held a Kirking of the Tartans Service. Everyone was requested to bring a Scottish dish for the covered dish luncheon after services. Since my DH is interested in his heritage and all things Scottish, I had purchased a Scottish cookbook a while back. I asked him to choose a recipe for the luncheon. His choice was "Loin of Wild Boar with Bog Myrtle". One look at the recipe told me I had some adjustments to make. Since I was out fresh of loins of wild boar, I sent him to the store for a large pork loin. Then I wondered, what on earth is bog myrtle? Upon closer inspection, I found in the recipe that rosemary could be substituted for bog myrtle. Lucky me! I have rosemary growing in my herb garden. I followed the recipe pretty closely and it turned out well. I've prepared it for company several times since and everyone seems to enjoy it. I thought I'd share it.

Ingredients:

a six lb. pork loin
1/2 teaspoon salt (I prefer sea salt)
1 large onion coarsely cut
2-3 carrots peeled and cut in large pieces
4-6 stems of rosemary (3 or 4 inches each)
2/3 cup dry vermouth
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
flour and water (to thicken gravy)
seasoning to taste

What to do:

preheat oven to 425 degrees
coat a large roasting pan with oil spray
place onions carrots and rosemary in the pan
place loin in pan fat side up
rub salt on the loin
place in 425 degree oven (uncovered) and bake for 40 minutes
after 40 minutes at 425 degrees, reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake for 40 additional minutes
remove roast from pan and set aside to rest for 15-20 minutes
drain drippings from pan into sauce pan, stir in the vermouth and mustard
bring this to a boil
mix 1/12 cups cold water into 2 heaping tablespoons flour and add to sauce pan stirring constantly to make gravy

Slice loin to desired thickness and serve with rice or potatoes and gravy. Add a green vegetable and salad for a well balanced meal. Hope you'll like it!

I've been tagged!

2008-04-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged by Babyfingers and requested to share my six word philosophy of life.
This is my philosophy:

Do the math ... count your blessings.

I learned a long time ago that I can either sit and worry about things I can't change, or I can take the time I would spend worrying to count my blessings. Pray instead of worrying, do something nice for someone instead of feeling sorry for yourself, surround yourself with positive people, volunteer, get enough rest . . . see how many uplifting possibilities you can think of and PLEASE share them!

My next task is to tag six others to share their six word philosophy of life. Since I don't have a lot of blogger friends most of mine will be email buddies. Knitting Nonpareil, you are the exception - you have been tagged. You need to share your philosophy on your blog and then tag six others.

Until next time . . . .

Friends, Friends, Friends . . . .

2008-03-27T03:50:00.001-07:00

On Easter Sunday Suzi and her church friends gathered in the nursery. Taking care of this sweet group was an enjoyable task for Miss Lauren and me.

Thomas was the youngest one there.

He left for a while to go to the sanctuary for his Baptism. After all the excitement he came back and took a nap in Miss Lauren's lap.

Aiden is too big for the walker now, but our little sound engineer kept the music box on the walker going to entertain us.

Dulcie loves reading books. She's growing up so fast.

Suzi sat beside Braydon for a long time. She kept "borrowing" the animals from Noah's ark, but he didn't seem to mind. He's such a little gentleman.

Aiden and Suzi sat in my lap. He put his head on her shoulder and almost fell asleep.
Wouldn't it be perfect if these little friends could grow up together and become lifelong members of our church? I think it would.

Suzi's New Butterfly Tent

2008-03-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

After church Jenny, Jordan and Suzi came home with us for lunch. It wasn't exactly a traditional Sunday dinner . . . we watched the basketball game while we ate. When Suzi finished her lunch she was ready to "go-go", so we went out to swing on the front porch.

When we came back inside I decided to give her the pop-up butterfly tent that is part of her Easter surprise from us.

She was having so much fun playing in her new tent that her mama and daddy decided to get in on the act.
Jenny got inside with her first to take a few photos. Then Jordan crawled in and played with her for a while. When they left the room she started taking her toys inside.

It made me happy to see that she is going to enjoy her tent.

Nice Weather for Little Bare Feet

2008-03-13T15:37:00.001-07:00

Today the weather was so beautiful and warm that we had to get outside. We took a trip to the duck pond. This is the first time so far this year Suzi has been outside with bare feet.

We passed the daffodils on the path to the duck pond.

There were NO ducks on the pond! But there were several geese and lots of huge coy (carp) . . . . who had been so well-fed by a school group that they didn't show much interest in our bread. We had not been to the pond in a while and were surprised at the size of the fish. It's hard to believe that these fish were probably once someone's goldfish.
We paused at the pioneer cabin for a minutes to take advantage of the shade on the porch.

Then we walked back up the trail to the swings . . . . where Suzi's daddy proposed to her mama. Suzi and Grandpa enjoyed a few minutes relaxing there and posed for a picture.

We are blessed to be able to see our little Suzi almost every day. The time we spend with her and the memories we make are our most precious treasures.

Born to Make a Joyful Noise

2008-03-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged about my oldest child. There is so much to tell that I hardly know where to start, but I'm going to start with his music. Brad was born to make music. When he was baptized on Christmas Eve 1967 , the 3 month old let out a wail that could be heard all over the church - and probably outside. Fortunately, the minister was our long time minister and family friend, who had a wonderful sense of humor. He predicted that this child would someday be an outstanding choir member. The prediction has more than come true. Brad has loved music since he was a baby. He first sang in in Cherub Choir at age 3 years, his strong voice drowning out most of the others. He enjoyed school music . . . taking part in elementary, middle and high school chorus, high school band, show choir and All-State Chorus.
Always able to multi-task, Brad has never had trouble making time for his interest in music.
He began his college career by studying for a degree in Music Education. Two years later, a summer job opened new possibilities. . . . he changed his major to Therapeutic Recreation. He ended up with a B.S. in Therapeutic Recreation, M.S. in Outdoor T.R and Ph.D. in T.R.. He found musical outlets all along the way. . . .church choirs, college groups, marching band.

He has become a professor and continues to make special places for music in his life. He now sings with the church choir, with a group at the college where he teaches, as well as Knoxville Choral Society. Never satisfied with what he knows, he continues to take classes each semester. . . . . this semester it's conducting.

There's so much more to tell . . . He's still multi-tasking . . . keeping busy with his fiance, teaching, writing, traveling to conferences to present his work and ALWAYS making music!
Next installment soon!

Paul's New Mugs

2008-02-24T15:31:00.001-08:00

My son, Paul just took some new mugs out of the kiln. He sent me these photos taken with the camera on his cell phone. I might be just a bit prejudiced, but I think his mugs are great. He says that folks tell him they are masculine and I'd agree with that. These mugs hold between 12 and 14 ounces. I love the shapes of the mugs, the way he turns the lip out and the way the handle fits your hand. He's a coffee drinker and takes his mugs seriously.

He told me that he was experimenting with some new glazes when he did these, so each one is a different color.

Not only is he a potter, he also works in lots of other media. He has made all sorts of beautiful things. I'm partial to the Celtic designs he creates on glass.

His largest work so far is a one ton life-sized marble sculpture of a Galapagos land tortoise.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg . . . did I tell you that he's also a wood carver, a musician . . .
a wonderful cook . . . and a handsome devil to boot! I'll share more of his work later.

What Do Retired People Do All Day?

2008-02-22T16:34:00.001-08:00

Several friends have told me they missed my blogs. I'll try to do better. Retired people do sometimes have little things that keep them busy. One little thing that keeps me busy is my grandbaby. She and I have lots of very important business that must come before anything else. Every day we must READ. She has her favorite books and I have mine. The one book she must read every day is the Baby Einstein book with mirrors on every page. This photo of her with Grandpa reading is several months old. It took a while for her to realize that she was the image in the mirror. Now she likes to give herself sweet, sloppy kisses as we read each page.
Today she hung on to another Baby Einstein book. This one is a photo album I made for her as part of her Valentine. The five pages are made so that you can insert 4x6 photos and there is a wallet-sized space for her picture on the cover. She loves the handle . . . it's a teething ring. (The pages are made in so that a flap holds the picture in and the moisture out.)
As you can see, she and her things have taken over our living room and we wouldn't have it any other way!

I find time to read my favorite books in the afternoons and evenings when Suzi is at home with her parents. This week I'm reading Down Town by Ferrol Sams. I believe I have read every book Ferrol Sams has written. I started with Run With the Horsemen and I'm still reading everything he writes. He is a humorist and a great storyteller. All of his writings are based, sometimes loosely, on places and events that actually occurred. When I read When All the World Was Young, I could picture my father who served in the Medical Corp as one of his WWII characters and my uncle as another. My uncle wrote a letter home that so closely resembled what Ferrol Sams wrote that it made me wonder of they could have been shipped overseas together.

I'm going to read a few more pages before I turn in! I'lll try to do more blogging next week.

Homemade Babyfood

2008-02-08T16:15:00.001-08:00

Today I made up several batches of babyfood cubes to add to the collection in the freezer. Very simple to prepare and freeze . . . and makes feeding easier than opening commercially packaged babyfood. With the food cubes Suzi can enjoy variety without dealing with leftovers, and I can be sure there are no additives in her food. I sometimes add just a touch of cinnamon to her apples.

Today I worked with carrots, sweet potatoes and apples. I chose fresh fruit and vegetables, peeled (and cored, if necessary) and steamed until tender.

Fruit and vegetables were pureed to desired texture, adding a little of the water from the pot to get the desired consistency. Then spooned into ice trays and frozen until very solid before transferring cubes into freezer containers. I prefer box-style containers as they stack well in the freezer.

Labeling is a good idea. Pears and apples look much alike, as do carrots and sweet potatoes.
To serve: I place several cubes on a plate and microwave for a few seconds at the time until just the right temperature. Stir and double check temperature before serving.

Josephine . . . Our Treasure from the Past

2008-02-02T04:02:00.001-08:00

Making dolls and doll clothes is one of the things I enjoy most. When my daughter was a little girl I loved making clothes for her American Girl dolls. I guess it took me back to my childhood when I had a collection of all sorts of dolls . . .Teri Lee, Tiny Tears, Sissy, Toni (whose hair "grew" when you brushed it) . . . I had no less than 40 in my collection.

I have made and dressed quite a few dolls. Some of them are family keepsakes. This one, Josephine, belonged to my grandfather who was born in 1869. She was made and dressed for him by his grandmother in the early 1870's. He kept her well, leaving her to his family when he passed away in 1946. By the 1930's her clothes had become so ragged that my grandmother redressed her in a dress made from feed sacking. (Josephine in her feed sack dress below.)

When I was a little girl my grandmother allowed me to hold Josephine only when I was sick . . . usually too sick to enjoy holding her. She was one of my grandmother's most prized possessions. In the 1980's my mother inherited Josephine and several years ago, gave her to my daughter as a Christmas gift. By this time her feed sack clothing had deteriorated so much that it was falling apart. It was time for repairs. Since fabric of her vintage was nowhere to be found, my daughter chose light blue batiste (to match the doll's eyes) for her dress and bonnet. I made her bloomers and slip in white batiste trimmed with lace and pintucks. In an effort to preserve Josephine's history, I saved and vacuum packed each article of clothing that was removed. My great-great grandmother had hand-sewn her body from striped ticking and her shoes from green upholstery fabric. I mended her body where the joints were coming loose, marveling that I was actually sewing the same seams by hand that my great-great grandmother had sewn over a century before. Josephine's arms were very tattered. I covered them rather than remove and replace them.

Although she belongs to my daughter, Josephine remains in my home, resting in the hand-built cradle my great-grandfather made for her in the early 1870's. My daughter insists that she will be safer here . . . I believe she knows how special she is to me and doesn't want to take her away from me just yet.

GNOG Brunch Southern Style

2008-01-28T15:25:00.001-08:00

What's a GNOG?
It's what we call our Girls' Night Out Group.

My friend Theresa blogged about having brunch with the GNOGs at my house on Saturday, but forgot to include a picture of the crew. Just so you know we're real, here's proof that GNOGs do exist! The photo was taken in December 2007. If we all look a bit weary it's because one of our daughters had just gotten married and for the past few weeks each of us had been pitching in true GNOG style to support her mother. Between us we managed to do everything except perform the wedding ceremony. We planned, catered, directed, decorated, photographed and cleaned up after. It was beautiful. I think we may have even surprised ourselves.

On Saturday we met at my house at 11:30 for a Southern Style Brunch. I found the complete brunch menu in the Feb. 2008 Southern Living Magazine (beginning on p. 88). We enjoyed all five recipes plus a loaf of my homemade whole wheat bread. The magazine included: banana nut bread with citrus glaze, shrimp and grits, baked pears and Bloody Marys. I added Mimosas and tiny sausage and cheese balls to munch on while I put on the finishing touches. Patty brought over dessert - a decadent chocolate bundt cake with nuts and Godiva chocolate sauce. We topped that off with big two pots of coffee laced with Bailey's Irish Cream and Caramel Cream.

My friends began arriving at 11:30 and stayed until 4:20. My mama would say that's a sure sign that they had a good time.

These are a few of my favorite excerpts from The GRITS Guide to Life by Deborah Ford . . . .

Friends matter. They are sweeter than a Southern accent and more refreshing than iced tea on a sunny veranda . . . They are the jokes that make us laugh until we cry, and the music that stirs our hearts . . . Southern Girls know. . . men may come and go, but friends are forevah! They are there in good times and in bad; they comfort and celebrate; they mature and mourn with us in our own time. The greatest gift in life is to know the true value of a friend.

(food photos by Theresa)

Hats 4 Heroes

2008-01-21T05:59:00.002-08:00

Several months ago DAR chapters around the state received a note requesting help knitting and crocheting "Hats 4 Heroes". Soldiers in Afghanistan had requested caps to wear under their metal helmets to keep their heads warm. Temperatures in Afghanistan are usually less than 20 degrees in winter. Chapters from across the state began knitting and crocheting wool caps. Over 1500 caps have been shipped and another shipment is due to leave in early February. Many touching thank you notes have been received . . . one soldier wrote that he slept in his cap. Others commented on the notes from home written by those who made the caps and by school children. A favorite among the soldiers are small bags of M&Ms that are being placed inside each cap.

Young helpers assist in placing notes from home inside caps prior to shipping.

Amish Country Bread on a Snowy Day

2008-01-17T10:56:00.002-08:00

Last night we got a few inches of snow. Things have been pretty quiet at our house since Jenny couldn't get to work, leaving she and Suzi spending their snowy day at home. I decided to do a few of my favorite things today. I tried to get photos of the cardinals, but they weren't very cooperative, so here's a pic of the birdfeeder. Then I cooked a real breakfast for a change. . . French toast and bacon . . . we usually have cereal. After talking to my "susta" for about an hour, answered my email and decided to bake some bread.

The bread recipe I used was Amish Country Bread. This is one of the simplest bread recipes I've tried. The round loaves would be perfect to use when preparing bread for Communion. The recipe calls for a mixer with a dough hook, but I don't see why you couldn't just knead it by hand. The cut loaf in the picture looks a little flat because my DH was circling like a buzzard waiting for a slice of hot bread. I cut it for him just as it came out of the oven, which left it a little squished. If you'd like to have the recipe, let me know and I'll email it to you.

I think I'm going to dig into my conversational print fabrics to look for prints for Suzi's quilt. Yesterday I plopped her right in the middle of the bed in my sewing room with some fabric to see which ones she liked. She was drawn to the blues and primary colors. Of course, I was pulling for the lavenders and purples, but it's her quilt.

Quilts for Play and Learning

2008-01-15T04:36:00.001-08:00

Several years ago when I was a full-time kindergarten teacher, I came up with an idea. I had several classroom volunteers, and what I really needed them to do was spend some one-on-one time with individual students to promote listening skills and teach basic readiness concepts. I needed a tool, a game, something to use to accomplish this task. I had made classroom quilts with my classes for years. The children were drawn to them and they loved talking about the pictures on the quilts. (When the children and I made quilts, I used their artwork as the squares.) This would be different. First, I
became a collector of conversational quilt fabrics - it's absolutely amazing what you can find on fabric these days! Then a found a quilting book that I loved - Picture Play Quilts - it's still available. It was full of ideas including directions for about 10 games to play with each quilt. I was ready to roll. The best part was that quilts didn't have to be perfect . . . just bright and engaging for the children. I had a ball playing with stitches on my Viking that I wasn't brave enough to try on other things.

I combined photos of the children and conversational prints to make the contents of each quilt as interesting as possible. On each quilt I tried to include blocks that could be used for picture, letter and numeral identification, counting and finding pictures that began nor ended in certain sounds. The quilts can be used at the earliest age just finding things . . "do you see the butterfly?" . . ."point to the butterfly" . . . and later "find something that has wings" . . . "find something that begins with B". The real fun starts when the child is able to use their verbal skills and become the "teacher". My volunteers enjoyed having something special to do and the children responded positively to the one-on-one attention, learning things daily from our look and learn quilts. Just think how much fun parents and grandparents could have with their grandchildren and one of these quilts.
When my cousin's grand child was born, I decided to make a special quilt for her. On this one I made 49 snowball blocks using Steam a Seam II to place the pictures before I stitched them to the blocks. The blocks alternated on each row - every other picture was a family member - the others were conversational prints.

I'm getting ready to start Suzi's first quilt. I think I'll pull out all my conversational fabrics, sit her in the middle of them and see which ones she's drawn to. We're going to have a great day!

Visiting Mama and Jenny's New Project

2008-01-13T11:47:00.000-08:00

Photo - Mama and Me - 1949

I paid Mama a visit this weekend. I had wanted to surprise her and just show up, but she's such a busy lady I decided I had better let her know my plans. Mama would be upset with me if I put anything personal online about her, so I'll keep this very impersonal. She is not like most 84 year old ladies. How many 84 year old ladies do you know who still have jobs? Mama says she's still working half days because she likes having someplace to get up and go every morning, and because she loves what she's doing. She loves the people she works with, and they have all adopted her as their second mama. I love them too, because they are so good to her. In addition to her job, Mama is busy with church activities, garden club, DAR, bridge club, exercise class and daily walks. She also volunteers at the local hospital, crochets caps for our soldiers, and meets once a month for lunch with a group of "girls" she graduated high school with in 1942. She even washes her own car - no carwash for my thrifty mama! I can only hope to to follow in Mama's footsteps as I get older - the trouble is I can scarcely keep up with her now!

When she was in her fifties she discovered that she had hidden talent. She could paint! She took up china painting. Here are two of my favorite pieces :

I was at Mama's when Jenny rang me on my cell phone. She was creating something new and wanted to borrow something from my sewing supplies. She wouldn't tell me what she was making, but she has it posted on her blog now, so you can see for yourself. Jenny told me she had sketched this thing and so forth. I told Mama I couldn't understand it - here 's my daughter getting ready to sew circles around me, drawing her own patterns, etc. Mama told me to remember who raised Jenny. Sure made me feel better to think that just maybe I had a little something to do with her creativity, but I'm sure she had to inherit the artistic part from her daddy.

39 Pints of Pickles on the Counter, 39 Pints of . . . . .

2008-01-11T10:48:00.000-08:00

My house smells like . . . I'm not sure I can describe it, but to me it's an aroma for the Gods. Add to the cabbage and onions of yesterday the pungent scent of apple cider vinegar and spices, make it strong, very strong . . . . When you're in the kitchen working around it, it's not too noticable, but when you go outside and come back in, you can't miss it. This morning I finished up the artichoke relish. As the title says, "39 pints of pickles on the counter." It was a lot of work, I'm tired and I ache, but it was worth it. My DH is always a jewel, but he has been an angel the past couple of days - changing diapers and entertaining Suzi a more than usual so that I could spend more time in the kitchen.

Mammie's photo overlooks the 39 pints of Jerusalem artichoke relish. The photo of her came from the local newspaper when her fruit cake had won first place in the county fair for the 51st consecutive year. She won for the first time in 1925 and in 1976, when she was 78, she entered for the last time. I went to the newspaper office to get a copy of the picture and snitched the blue ribbon sticker to have them framed together for her. She was so surprised. It came back to me when she passed away, and has been hanging in my kitchen ever since. I think I'll take a little time off now. I'll be back the first of the week.

Jerusalem Artichoke Relish - Day 1

2008-01-10T07:41:00.000-08:00

These are Jerusalem artichokes. They don't look too appetizing in this state, but by tomorrow this time they will be a Southern delicacy. Just in case you're wondering, artichokes are tubers and cousins of sunflowers. My mother-in-law once old me that she put some of the flowers from her artichokes in a flower arrangement and received several compliments on them.

So early in the day and I've already found something I slipped up on. Two days ago I misquoted Jeanie's message to me. It should have read, "Dug and washed with love for my susta!" See the picture above. This collection of vegetables will make about 32 pints of artichoke relish. My job today is to scrape all those artichokes with a little knife before chopping them coarsely. I chop everything else in my Cuisinart food processor, but we like the crunchiness of little pieces of artichoke in our relish, so I'll use the new chef's knife my son Paul gave me to chop the artichokes. Hours from now when it's all chopped I'll sprinkle salt over it, cover it in ice cubes and let it sit until tomorrow. If someone comes to visit they'll ask what they smell. The combination of all those onion, cabbage and other veggies produces an aroma you won't soon forget. To me it's a trip down memory lane into Mammie's kitchen and I love it!

By the way, Suzi and I did make the newspaper's photo gallery. Here we are at the Military Heritage Plaza at CU waiting for John Edwards to arrive.

Blueberry Muffins and John Edwards

2008-01-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

Today was Jenny's day off so she and Suzi came over to visit. Knowing that they were coming, I baked blueberry muffins. When we had blueberry muffins a few days ago Suzi had wanted it, but I wasn't about to feed it to her without her mama's permission. Today Suzi had her first blueberry muffin. As you can see she really enjoyed it. We just put it in front of her and let her have at it. I imagine that if you scooped up all the crumbs from the tray, chair and floor and put them back together, you'd see that Suzi may have actually ingested about a teaspoonful. After her adventure with the muffin, she had some of the homemade applesauce I had made for her with her cereal.

After breakfast we decided to get out into the sunshine and 65 degree weather. We rode up to the Military Heritage Plaza at CU to see John Edwards. Suzi's dad, Jordan, took his lunch hour to come down and join us. Suzi was bouncing on my knee, enjoying the music when a reporter snapped a photo of us. We may make the paper tomorrow. Suzi was wearing an Edwards 2008 sticker on her back and turned around to grin at the reporter. She knows how to pose alright. Before John Edwards arrived, all the applause made Suzi nervous, so I walked her away from where we were standing. When we looked up John Edwards was coming out of a door in Tillman Hall. I juggled Suzi in one arm and the camera in the other hand so that we could show you just how close we were. Are you impressed?

Time to Make Jerusalem Artichoke Relish

2008-01-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

Last night Jeanie called to tell me she was sending me a treasure - a peck of Jerusalem artichokes! This morning when I got them there was a note enclosed -"Dug and washed for you with love by your susta." Jeanie isn't actually my sister, but my husband's. We couldn't be closer if we had been born and raised in the same family. She and I are both low country girls raised on farms and have so much in common.

Back to the artichokes . . .My maternal grandmother "Mammie" taught me how to make her famous Jerusalem artichoke relish (some folks might call it chow-chow) while I followed her around the kitchen. I was honored to be the one and only entrusted with her recipe. She sat me down one day when she was in her eighties and jotted down the list of ingredients for me on a used envelope. It started with "2 heads of cabbage the size of grapefruits" and progressed in like terms throughout. She spent a good hour going over the details of the procedure until she was sure I had it down. I still have that tattered envelope with Mammie's handwritten list on it.

I believe that the most important thing Mammie taught me was to share, so I shared a jar of my relish with Jeanie and her DH. He went wild over them. Not only did he eat them with greens and peas , she caught him in the refrigerator in the middle of the night eating them on Ritz crackers or just by the spoonful. I was thrilled and more than a little proud to have such an avid fan of my relish. I continued to share with them until Jeanie asked if I would teach her to make relish, which tickled me pink as an extra pair of hands at pickle making time is wonderful. We have made pickles together for years now and enjoy every minute we spend together in the kitchen. Mammie passed away in 1982 having shared with me her most secret recipe which was "not to leave the family." It hasn't left the family, Mammie - Jeanie's my susta.

My DD Jenny helping make relish last year.