Even More on Soup.....

"Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,

Game, or any other dish?

Who would not give all else for two p

ennyworth only of beautiful Soup?

Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?

Beau~ootiful Soo~oop!

Beau~ootiful Soo~oop!

Soo~oop of the e~e~evening,

Beautiful, beauti~FUL SOUP!"

~from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

by Lewis Carroll

Michaelmas Mushrooms!

My parents happened across these puffball mushrooms as they were strolling through the woods.

 (One of them is particularly enormous!)

~Now I know what I will fry up to serve with our Michaelmas chicken.....;)



Michaelmas Day

Michael, prince of all the angels,

While your legions fill the sky,

All victorious over Satan,

Lift your flaming sword on high;

Shout to all the seas and heavens:

Now the morning is begun;

Now is rescued from the dragon

She whose garment is the sun!

~Michael, Prince Of All The Angels

by M. Owen Lee, C.S.B.

from The New Saint Basil Hymnal

More on Soup...

"THERE IS HARDLY A MAN ALIVE who does not adore soup, particularly when it is homemade. Hot soup on a cold day, cold soup on a hot day, and the smell of soup simmering in the kitchen are fundamental, undoubtedly even atavistic, pleasures and solaces that give a special kind of satisfaction."

~from Mastering The Art Of French Cooking,

by Julia Child and Simone Beck 

Soup, Salad, and Corn Bread

Tonight I made a creamy potato soup, with sausage and mushrooms. I boiled about a dozen potatoes in a large pot of water, and then pureed them (and enough of the cooking water) in the blender until they had reached the velvety~smooth consistency that I desired. While they were getting pureed, I slowly cooked a finely diced onion, and three cloves of minced garlic in butter. Then I poured in the pureed potatoes, sliced sausage, and diced fresh mushrooms.It simmered gently for about twenty minutes before I added salt and pepper to taste, and about one cup of  crème fraîche (which is a combination of two parts heavy cream to one part sour cream that is left to thicken at room temperature for five to six hours)

And then we ate it!

Mmmm!



And my Knight's favorite salad, which was his mother's creation.

It is dressed with just the right combination of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper,Italian herbs, and garlic and onion powders. 

It felt so amazing when I finally mastered it!

The corn bread was left-over from last night....

....but, it was still excessively tasty!



Soup Season

I love the brisk days that Autumn brings. And I love making homemade soup.

Since the two marry so well, I make lots of soup during this season.

You know how I love to experiment, right?

That's one of my favorite things about making soup.

Once you master the basics, there are seemingly endless possibilities....;)

More Hidden Treasures......

.....in the wall by the attic stairs:

An old leather pair of men's shoes;

                                                            An old wooden spindle;

And, my favorite, a beautiful glass basket,

that looks like it will be in perfect condition, once all the grime is removed!



We also found a very old shoe box with detailed instructions on the proper care of leather shoes printed on the inside.( I'm thinking of framing it, and hanging it in my mudroom;)

Handy bits of advice like;

"When shoes are wet or damp they should be dried slowly, away from the fire, as it takes only a short time to burn leather if it is exposed to undue heat when wet or even damp." 

Too neat!

Much of the attic wall remains unexplored, and I told my Knight that before it is sealed off in drywall forever, I think we really should see what else is hidden away.....

Don't you agree?

Who knows what other "treasures" we may discover.

If we don't, I know I'll always wonder!

Busy Little Coffee Pot

                              
 

With the children still recovering from colds and a fever, the last few nights have been pretty hectic. Thank heaven for coffee, right?!

                  

                                                                                      
 My mom made the darling felted cover for my french press pot several years back. Isn't it the sweetest thing? So cheery to look at, first thing in the morning! ;)



Miss Posy's Cheerful Invalid

It appears that poor Miss Raggedy caught whatever has been going around too!

Boots and my Apron

The poor little guy came down with a fever yesterday afternoon, and when I couldn't be sitting with him, he lay quietly fingering my apron. How I love my sweet boy.
Today he is still fighting the fever, but is improved from yesterday. So lots of resting today. He is bearing it like such a little man, it tugs at my heart. I miss my jolly little Boots!

Cute Thrifted Skirt....

......on a cute little Miss. I did very well at the thrift shop today! ;)

Drops of Rain

"These are my two drops of rain

Waiting on the window pane.

I am waiting here to see

Which the winning one will be."

~ from Waiting at the Window,

by A. A. Milne

Peace of Mind

When you have dinner all put together and simmering away in the crock pot........
Ahhhhh.....
Now I can get on to more important things. Like finishing up a knitted dish cloth to go with a bottle of wine for my dear cousin and his wife (who just bought a house). And laundry. Then heading over to our own house to do some more in the clean~up department. Oh, yes, and mixing up a double batch of blueberry muffins for the church potluck tomorrow morning. And, did I mention laundry?;)

Bones of Wood

My Knight in S.A. decided to pull down all the plaster in the old part of our house to make it easier for the drywall crew to do their thing. Last Saturday I spent a long afternoon cleaning up the mess in the dining room, while he and my father worked to remove the plaster from the rooms upstairs.
Now all the plaster is down, and all the bare lath exposed.
A skeleton of wood.
Representing hours of work done by some one's hands years and years ago.
A lost art today, but one that I can still appreciate.

Our Giant Maple

Close to Blue

.......he is such a sweet little guy!

Miss Posy Plays Piano

                                                                                

 She had been doing a lot of this lately...

   Original compositions, of course! 

       ~And here is one of her most devoted fans....;)

"There was an Old Woman.....

                                                                  
                                                            ......who lived in a shoe."

She had so many children,

that she secretly dreamed of living in a house like this:



Blueberry Cheesecake

I made cheesecake for the feast day yesterday, and it was quite a hit. Just a plain cheesecake, but I topped it with a fresh batch of the blueberry syrup/sauce I mentioned here. By yesterday evening, there was only one slice left. I heroically offered it to my Knight in S.A., when he mentioned late last night that he felt like a sweet snack, but he declined and had a bit of ice cream instead.

So, can you guess what I had with my coffee this morning?;)

Happy Feast Day!

"For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of the stars:

being compared with the light, she is found before it."

~Wisdom 7:29

Wind and Rain

There is a cold wind blowing today, along with spatterings of rain. I think a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup is just the thing, don't you? ;)

Result of an Experiment....

Lovely Labor Day....

We had a bit of a cold snap come through last night. After the 90+ degree weather we've been having lately, it feels so wonderful. We sat out around a campfire last night, and this morning when we woke up it was downright chilly (around the mid-50's)! I made waffles with homemade blueberry sauce (which I livened up with a bit of Benedictine Liqueur,.....mmmmm!) and fried eggs. Weather like this makes me want to bake pumpkin pies....and homemade bread.....and cinnamon rolls. It makes me want to stir up a big pot of chili, drink apple cider, dance through a pile of dry leaves, sit in my chair and knit and knit and knit........or curl up with the kids on the couch with piles of warm fuzzy blankets and good books. ~Oh yes, and how could I forget? ~lots of hot tea!

My Knight smiled at me with tolerant affection when I was rattling all this off to him at breakfast....... ~Such a patient man! ;)

Hope you all have a wonderful labor day!

Running Water!

We now have a functional shower/tub in our downstairs bathroom!!!! I was there when they tried it out for the first time this afternoon. So exciting!!!

 My Knight is so proud of his and my father's plumbing job, and I must say that I am very proud of them as well.

Knitting Again

My Knight in S.A.'s Grandmother kindly copied out the instructions for a new kind of knitted dish cloth when we were out visiting. It kept my fingers busy for the majority of the long car trip home. I am currently working to complete my third cloth ~fitting in a row here and there between laundry and housework. But  this third one is a bit of an experiment...... (You know me.....always experimenting;) I am trying a knit-purl configuration instead of just straight knit. So far, I really like it!

For anyone who may be interested, here are the original instructions:

Cast on four stitches-
Row 1 - knit
Row 2 - knit 2, Y.O., knit to end

Repeat  Row 2 until there are 48 or 52 stitches.

Decrease rows next.
Knit 1, Knit 2 together, Y.O., Knit 2  together, Knit to end.
Continue until just four stitches remain, and cast off.


*The recommended needle size is a US#10, paired with 100% cotton 4 ply yarn.

Home From the West

It was wonderful. And it went by like a flash. ~I think Miss Posy's favorite part was getting to ride one of  her grandparents' horses;)

We got in late last night, and today I am sorting through suitcases, and washing giant loads of laundry. I hope to have some semblance of order by the time my Knight in Shining Armor gets home......