A Sixteenth Birthday Party!

 

Marian and Joy

Our oldest granddaughter turns sixteen next month! She and her cousin, Joy planned a beautiful, joint birthday celebration this past weekend. Their families spend a lot of time together, some of it traveling extensively, and Mari and Joy are not only cousins but they are also best friends.

The girls are avid readers with all the imagination that comes from such. They read many of the same books and The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings must be a favorite between them because they chose a Hobbit theme for their party. They also planned it to be a formal affair. Their mothers and families made all the food, including meat pasties, Hasselback potatoes, green beans and salad. Claire made the Hobbit cake with tiny, divinity mushrooms around the bottom. Appetizers artfully arranged as Hobbit-like delicacies were served in the kitchen and Colleen's sewing room, just off the kitchen, was transformed into a candy room with all sorts of cookies and sweet treats. Two bowls of punch were served from a table placed just outside the party tent where the cool night air kept them chilled. About twenty-five young people dined in the formally-set party tent. They were served throughout the evening by the adults. We carried each course out, returned to collect the empty plates, and then set back out with the next course. The tables were beautifully set with china and glass that Colleen thrifted. This included two punch bowls and enough punch glasses to serve the crowd. 

Before and after dinner and cake there was much dancing in the converted garage where Joy's father normally gives dance lessons. All the young people danced the night away to a variety of dances. There were Virginia reels, line dances, slow dances, and many more. What struck me is that all the guests knew all the dances! There was no awkwardness in choosing a partner as boys and girls paired up within seconds of a dance being announced. No one was left out and everyone had a good time. The ages of the young folk ranged from twelve to nineteen years, from middle-school aged to college aged. There is a wonderful social community among home schooled families and it shined this evening.

Much attention was given to Mari and Joy's birthday speech followed by the singing of "Happy Birthday" and raising a toast of sparkling cider. The happiness and exuberance of being young permeated the evening. It must have rubbed off on me because I found myself full of energy long after 10:00pm. The party went on until midnight but Steve and I returned home before then.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girls! 

What Is Left in the Garden, A Bonfire Birthday

 

We have not had a hard frost yet so there are quite a few things still growing strong. Steve's peppers always outlast everything else. He continues to harvest, brine, and dry hot peppers all through October. His hot sauce has gained popularity over the last three years and he loves to give jars to friends and to those who appreciate hot sauce.

I was surprised to see the lavender start a new set of flowers this late in the season. The potted geraniums also continue to bloom in their south facing sunny spot and the marigolds on the front steps are still vibrant. Lastly, the patchouli plant remains vigorous. I tried drying and distilling it down (as I learned from the internet) into an oil but it smelled too "green" to me so I threw it out. It was a fun experiment even though it failed.  

Both last week and this week graced us with the most beautiful fall weather. On Friday afternoon we lit the bonfire around 4:00pm, thus beginning Tess' thirtieth birthday celebration. We made marinated, grilled chicken skewers, an autumn bisque made with butternut squash and apples, focaccia, caramel apples, roasted pumpkin seeds, and a pumpkin Bundt cake with cream cheese filling and caramel icing. There were hot dogs and marshmallows for roasting over the fire if anyone was still hungry later on. Audrey brought pumpkins for everyone to carve out near the fire. It was the easiest pumpkin carving clean-up we ever had. We just threw the pulp and seeds into the woods for the animals to forage. Claire's family arrived just after dark to join us at the fire. A full moon shone over the fields and everything was drenched in moonlight. We all agreed that sitting outdoors on a chilly autumn night is a joy after the long, hot summer we endured.

We had accumulated ten months worth of wood and brush to burn so the fire was large. Steve stretched hoses out from the house and watered everything down around the perimeter. It is hard work for guys at the start of the fire to keep it all in check while the rest of us look on in awe and just have a good time. Steve is always the last man standing (or sitting) at the end of the night after we have all gone in or sometimes even gone to bed. He stays with the coals until he can douse them and put it safely to bed for the night. 

Everyone will return for Thanksgiving so we talked about making another fire then. It won't be large since we will have to gather a fresh pile of wood but that will make it more manageable and fun for the guys.

Celebrating Tess!

 

Today we celebrate Tess' birthday as she turns thirty! The youngest of our very own, "Little Women", Tess is a blessing to us all. Her sweet and gentle spirit and her ever-present smile are a balm to everyone who meets her. She brings joy to our family every day in all she does. 

I had to reach back into the printed photos for some early pictures. I guess that makes both of us feel a bit older today. We will celebrate on Friday with a bonfire, foods of her choice, and beautiful autumn weather.

 

Sewing Away in the Dining Room

 I have discovered that I can stay up until midnight if I am sewing. Normally that kind of bedtime is unheard of for me. But when I am cutting, pinning, and sewing time slows down and I just keep going! I guess we are never too old to surprise ourselves and change our set ways.

I took this little two-color quilt to Maine with me to hand quilt in the evenings. It is an older pattern from Temecula Quilt Company. It is in one of their mini pattern books of all two-color quilts. I quilted "in the ditch" and carried the lines to the edges. I love the brown cotton fabric and chose it for a little fall quilt.

Next, I machine pieced the center of this pattern called, "Sweet Autumn" from Farmhouse Cottons. It uses fabric by Tilda in their Creating Memories Autumn line. The border is hand appliqued with a vine, acorns, berries, and leaves. This is also a small quilt measuring about 28" x 31". I was doubting my ability to make and stitch those tiny leaves and berries but it worked out okay. I borrowed kay's Applipops to get those tiny berries made. (I must get a set of Applipops. They are amazing!) I dropped this quilt to the long arm quilter because I want it quilted all over ad I have not mastered the art of free motion machine quilting yet. I am not sure if I ever will, although I will get an A+ for trying. 

Last week, my two friends, Kay and Pat, and I took a three day getaway to Mount Jackson, VA to a sweet Airbnb where we all got a lot of sewing done. That is where I did the hand applique on this quilt. On the way home we stopped in a new quilt shop called, Belle and Me Sew Vintage in Staunton, VA. They carry wonderful quilting fabric and we are very excited to have found them.

I am afraid I have set my rug hooking aside for so long now that I have no desire to pick it back up again. I think I got burned out running the rug hooking group and pushing to have so much done every month. I hope that I will pick it up again one day. Perhaps when a pattern catches my eye. The little quilt below was a kit that Kay gave me. It included fabrics and pattern. I wanted to try my hand at making hexagons and this was a fun little way of starting out. The fabrics are a little more primitive in style than I usually make but it is darling and colorful. I bought a little piece of fabric for the backing last week and now I can finish this with some hand quilting.

For fun, I bought some bunny fabric and made Violet a carry bag for her little squishy animals. I also tried out the ByAnne Petit Four Baskets pattern. These are all so cute and the possibilities are endless with different fabric combinations.

 

Finally, the last thing (that I actually made first, before all the others) is a sewing machine cover and a tote bag for the acrylic extension table that goes with it. Back in August I signed up to take a class on free motion quilting. I had nothing to carry my sewing machine to and from the class. I searched for a store bought case but they were very expensive. Steve asked me why I didn't make one? So, I found another By Annie pattern called, "Under Cover". I had to tailor the pattern a little to fit my sewing machine's dimensions but it sewed up great! I bought all the batik fabrics from Sew Batik. The wonderful shop owner of Sew Batik quilted the fabrics for me in one large piece. After I received it, I cut out the pattern and built the cover. With the leftover quilted fabric, I made up a pattern to fit the extension table. There's still a little fabric left over that I can use to make some more stuff. When I was making the sewing machine cover, I thought to myself, "Now I am making stuff for my stuff. " 

A New Perennial Bed

 

As much as I love gardens, trees, and flowers, I vowed in recent years that it was time to simplify life in respect to upkeep of the property. A garden simplification would mean less beds to weed, less produce to put up, less mulch to spread, less watering, etc. For these reasons, it was a real struggle to make the decision to create a new garden bed. The project grew out of three problems that I aimed to solve. One: The boulders at the burn pile were not proving useful and were mostly in the way. Two: The triangle of grassy area next to our parking area was difficult to mow because grass either blew onto the driveway or onto the planting beds that were already there. Three: The tangled cotoneaster shrubs that were previously located in the dirt area next to the driveway were difficult to weed and had become overgrown with grass. I told my friend what I was struggling with and she suggested I ask ChatGpt to design a garden bed. ChatGpt gave me a fairy tale, gorgeous garden in this space. That was the catalyst to make up my mind to do it. 

I was surprised Steve went along with my (ChatGpt's) plan. He devised a way to move the two, eight hundred pound boulders, he dug up the grass, he agreed to have a load of planting soil be delivered, and he spread the dirt by shovel for me because I complained that the tractor was chewing up the lawn. After he did his part he turned it over to me for planting. Then came the drenching rain. 

What a messy, smelly job it was mucking around in the wet, composted soil to get everything planted. I wanted the plants to have the benefit of the rain so I went ahead and planted in the rain. The plants and shrubs had been sitting around all summer and needed some quick TLC.   The bed is off to a good start which will be finished in the spring. At that point there will be more plantings, mulch, and an edging of pavers to tidy up the lines between gravel and grass and garden lines. 

 

Maine! Bar Harbor to York Harbor

 

Acadia coastline

 September is a wrap! (I am beginning to be alarmed at how quickly time passes. Someone needs to study this. I think time is speeding up.)

September saw us off on our big, beautiful trip to Maine. It was wonderful! We planned it months ago so when the departure date drew near all we needed to do was pack and go. We made this trip with our friends, Tim and Kay. Tim has always wanted to see Maine and I am ALL about Maine, so his wish was the prompt and I put it into motion. We divided the trip into three sections that would allow us to explore the coast from Bar Harbor down to York Harbor. We flew to Bangor, rented a car and drove to our first VRBO in Bar Harbor. We spent three days exploring a ninety mile radius of Bar Harbor with the highlight of this leg being Acadia. Next we drove to Boothbay Harbor to our second Airbnb and did the same, driving and exploring for three days. A highlight of this portion of the trip was our visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and a drive to Freeport to go to LL Bean. Finally, we drove to York Harbor where we stayed at the York Harbor Inn. York Harbor is dear to my heart because we lived there briefly in the late 1980's and our second daughter was born there. We return to this lower section of Maine as often as we can. This leg of the trip was all about relaxing and visiting favorite places.

The view from the deck of our first rental house

 It was fun to explore the beautiful rugged coastline of Maine. Everywhere we turned there was beauty. We walked a lot, ate a lot, drove a lot (over one thousand miles), and rested a little. Kay and I visited every quilt shop that happened to be along our way down the coast. (Sew Chateau in Lisbon Falls was my favorite and Fiddlehead Artisan Supply in Belfast was also fantastic.) Our husbands were gracious and happy to accommodate our stops as we were with their requests to stop at three Irish pubs and one brewery. We also stopped at every antique store we passed, sometimes making u-turns if need be. It was a treat to see shops full of actual antiques. I am still excited to think of all the beautiful antiques we saw. It was a good thing we were flying home or I may have been more tempted to take stuff home with me. As it was, I used my backpack to carry home a piece of Beaumont salt glazed pottery stamped with York, Maine. I cushioned it with a bunch of fat quarters of fabric I purchased. Kay always keeps an eye out for salt glazed the pottery for me since she knows I collect it. She spotted this piece in a shop in Camden. It was a great find for $25. Camden was a darling, vibrant town to walk around in and have our lunch.

Beautiful hydrangeas everywhere

 

Actual antiques inside!

Striking stand-outs of the week were the amazing hydrangeas we saw everywhere. They were giants compared to how they seem to grow where we live. Also, the cool, fresh air of Maine was invigorating to our heat-weary souls. We had a relentless, hot, dry summer at home and the cool air was a balm to our lungs and health. We were also treated to a glimpse of fall color in the trees. It lifted our spirits to think of the approach of fall when we returned home. We also enjoyed the lighthouses we visited and The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens near Boothbay Harbor are a huge stand-out. 

The one down side of our trip was the crowds of people everywhere, especially in Acadia and downtown Bar Harbor. I guess we expected September to be less crowded since schools were in session, but so did everyone else. So, everywhere we went there were lots of older visitors like ourselves. 

Ending our trip at the York Harbor Inn was special for me. We were young and broke when we first lived in York Harbor all those years ago. Back then, with a toddler and baby in car seats, whenever I drove past the York Harbor Inn I could only imagine what it would be like to stay there. Thirty-nine years later we got to make the dream a reality. There is a beautiful park overlooking the harbor across from the inn and we used our last two days to relax a little more. We visited the iconic Nubble Light and Goldenrod Kisses, ate lobster overlooking Long Sands Beach, took local walks and ate our meals in the pub at the inn. Our final drive was up to Portland for our flight home. It was certainly a memorable vacation and it met all of our expectations. I am sure we will go back again if we are able. We would prefer to drive and take more time to linger at our favorite places.

 

The first rental house had beautifully terraced gardens down to the water line.

We walked on the 3/4 mile long breakwater to see this Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse. I did not like this walk. The cracks between the boulders were large and the moving water on either side made me dizzy. But it was a neat place, nevertheless.

 

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse in Acadia

Portland Head Light

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

Our last stop, the York Harbor Inn

York Harbor from the park across from the Inn.

The iconic Goldenrod Kisses. Steve watches while they make the best salt water taffy ever!

Of course!

Hmm, August Disappeared

 If I had to sum August up in the briefest way, I would say August was the unbearably hot month of tomatoes. We chopped, canned, sauced, baked, and ate tomatoes almost every day of the month. 

 

 

There were other happy ways we spent the month. We had Tuesdays with Violet and those were a delight. I think Violet and I have the same energy. We also like to be a little goofy. We played jacks, pick up sticks, tiddly winks, nerf softball, splashed in the blow-up pool, baked, picked from the garden, sewed, played hide-and-seek, chased each other around the house, swung on the basement swing, and went to the mall once. Violet also turned nine years old this month.  

August was also spent at the sewing machine. The new sewing machine is a game changer. I discovered that sewing gives me the most joy and relaxation. It entirely occupies my thought process and prevents it from running on high speed and thinking in circles, or going off in a million tangents. I can remain focused and therefore have less opportunity to think off and away in the abstract. Sewing is straightforward. For some reason I needed this lately.

The more Steve talks about retiring from full time work, the more I think about aging, what comes next, and how do we approach these last couple of decades of our lives. It certainly brings mixed feelings. I am excited about having more time to do things together. But, ironically, it means time is running out. 

Our last adventure in the month of August was taking the Potamac Eagle train from Romney, WV to Petersburg, WV. This month we celebrated forty-six years of marriage and we booked the Club Car with a light breakfast, lunch, and five-course hors d-oeuvre dinner on board the train. It was a six hour round trip ride with a three hour layover in Petersburg. The train ride itself was lots of fun, the food and service were great, and the club car was very comfortable. The train follows a branch of the Potomac River, through a gorge named "The Trough" by George Washington. Lots of bald eagles live along the river and it was exciting to spot so many along the way. We found that the three hour stop in Petersburg was a little long as there is really nothing to do in Petersburg, WV. There was a cavern tour that we did not book. Had we done that, it might have been time better spent. 

We are on to September!  Here is hoping the temperatures will come down and we can open the windows to let some cool, fresh air into the house!