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Birthday

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1aswallowgfairy004

Birthday

I have always contended that your birthday holds the most importance to your mother.  She was the one closest to the event, she was the one most profoundly affected by it, she is the one who holds those memories the closest.  In recent generations birthdays have been celebrated in a variety of ways from a simple cake to a “destination” party.  It wasn’t until I gave birth to my own children that I understood the reason for the celebration.  It’s your mother’s celebration. It’s a day of reminiscing about your birth, the stories are told.

I was always amazed that my mother would remember the minute I was born – 5:31 AM on a Saturday.  She would wake me up often at that time to wish me a happy birthday (although in the back of my mind I’m not sure that wasn’t some evil prank).  There was always a cake and a gift or two, the song was sung.  Our celebrations were always pretty subdued – but the story was told.  It helped shape who I am.

I remember the birth of each one of my children like it was yesterday.  Each one unique, each has their own story.  But, it’s not so much their story as it is mine.  You would think that the older they get the more the memories would fade but it’s in the celebration of each child’s birthday that keeps those memories so alive.  It’s in the telling of the stories that gives the events meaning and importance.

My mother has been gone for almost 25 years but she is the one I silently celebrate this day with, I remember the story.

 

 

 

A Burning Question

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140216 Chester snowshoeChester doesn’t care if the snow is too deep to run in, he still wants you to throw that ball.

The photograph looks a little bizarre because he was moving when I released the shutter.  I typed that line and wondered “Are we even releasing a shutter anymore?”  Are we?  This looks like a double exposure to me but I know it’s not.  Hmmmmm . . . .

Fogged

/ handmadebyjo / 6 Comments

140112 Titmouse (1)It has been a struggle for me lately to post to this blog.  I’m sure there is enough to say but I’m feeling as though I am in a thick fog.

I’m going to chalk it up to the weather and a lack of interaction outdoors.  The seeds have arrived and I look out the windows at the feeders and the huge snowbank covering half of the garden and think, meh, I’ll just sit here and think. I seem to have been immobilized by the weather – it’s too cold, too windy, too blah.

There is light at the end of the tunnel.  The days are getting longer and the sun is warmer.  I will have to get things together to start my plants for the garden soon and we will start to think about sugaring in another couple of weeks.  All of these things are huge harbingers of spring.

Yet each morning I get up, look at the thermometer with its single digit numbers and I just want to get back into bed, roll up in those quilts and hibernate for another couple of months – until the leaves are out and the perennials are coming up.  Maybe I just need to visit a greenhouse somewhere and breathe in the air.  A short term fix for what feels like a long term problem.

When the Weather Starts to Warm

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This winter has been brutally cold so far this year.  This past weekend the temperature rose to the mid to upper 30’s and it felt like spring was on its way.  It was the kind of weather when staying indoors is not an option and Bill decided it was time to cut trees.

Saturday’s tree is along the ridge going down to the back forty.  The trees there have always been too close together and because they are on the east side of the garden and quite tall they shade the southern half of the tilled area until almost noon.  There is a tree that we will keep for it’s shade and I will just plan the garden accordingly but this will begin to bring earlier sunshine where it’s needed.

The first thing done when felling trees is to look it over to make sure you have a good idea where it it will fall.  This tree only had limbs on one side of it and was leaning over the bank so it was not difficult to discern where it would go.  Bill made the first cuts on the side the tree would fall then sawed the other side as you can see in the video.

The next phase is to cut the limbs off of the tree

IMG_0099Once that was finished we use the logging winch on the back of the tractor to bring the log up to the spot where we will chunk it up and split it for firewood later.

Okay, originally I thought that this was a really pricey add on to the tractor but after about a month of tractor ownership you realize if you are going to use the bucket for anything you need weight in the back of the tractor.  If you are going to work in wet, muddy areas you probably are going to need to winch yourself out at some point. If you are going to cut down large trees using a winch becomes a safety issue at times. It turns out that what I thought was a pricey toy really is a workhorse and we have never looked back.  As you can see from the last video it has made Bill’s life a lot easier.

Elemental

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Some thoughts from the front lines of the chemical spill in WV.

Eric Waggoner's avatarCultural Slagheap

My dad, a lifelong firefighter, used to teach Hazardous Materials Response and Safety classes to first responders.  The first informational point he covered at the beginning of the course was how to read the classification marks on transportation tankers—the little diamond-shaped signs, usually mounted on the back of the tank, that announce via numerical code what kinds of chemicals are stored in those transport vehicles, and what levels and types of health risks would be associated with a spill in the case of a wreck.  The first homework assignment he gave was for the firefighters to go home and stand on the main cross street in their neighborhoods and home towns for about an hour, and write down the numbers on every tag they saw pass through that intersection, then go look up the numbers.  Dad said that the next week, when those students came back for class, invariably there’d…

View original post 1,967 more words

Back to Weaving

/ handmadebyjo / 1 Comment

140112 Towels (1)I had grand plans over the holiday break to weave some towels as gifts for family and friends.  As often happens the best laid plans . . .

This is the first project I have put on the new/used loom I purchased in November.  The photo above is the second towel in progress.  I had some issues with the first one but wove it until the desired length anyway.  It was supposed to be about 27 ppi (this is the number of weft threads per inch – it has to do with the density of the weave) but I think I was only getting about 15 ppi.  I didn’t want to stop halfway through the towel so I just kept weaving.  I have a thing about things being uniform and even.

Once the towel was finished I got out some tools and tightened up every nut, bolt and screw on the loom (something I should have done to begin with). I started the next towel and was relieved that the whole process was much, much better on a much more solid loom.  In my excitement to use the new loom I forgot the most fundamental thing – make sure your loom is solid.

These are the first striped towels I’ve done and the colors are fantastic.  The towels are a nice size too – 23″ x 36″.  They are done in an M and W twill pattern.  I had a difficult time getting into the swing of the treddling initially because it wasn’t making sense to me but I finally got into a rhythm and it went along fine.  This is also a little different to weave because the weft threads are counted to make the design instead of measuring the piece as you weave.  It’s very precise and as you know that is something I love.

Once this towel is finished I will weave the original towel again – it’s an advancing twill treddling pattern.  I’m sure this one will look completely different than the first attempt.  That will teach me not to lose sight of the most basic rules just to get a project going.

 

This is What Happens When Americans are Asked to Label Europe and Brits are Asked to Label the US

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I want to like this 100 times. If I had to name all of the countries in Europe now I couldn’t. Before the breakup of the USSR I knew them all.

twistedsifter's avatarTwistedSifter

 

At the end of last year, the BuzzFeed team asked students and co-workers to label a map. Those in the UK were asked to label a map of the United States, while those in the US were tasked to label a map of Europe.

Yes there is a difference between labelling states of one particular country versus labelling countries in a continent. Sure some people were probably goofing around and not taking the request too seriously. And while many of the attempts will make you chuckle, some of the maps are quite commendable! Before you snicker too hard, maybe quiz yourself and see how you fare?

If you’d like to test yourself, I’ve included blank maps at the bottom of the post. Or you can just click the links below:

Click here for a blank map of the United States
Click here for a blank map of Europe

 

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Something New

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140104 RabbitI received a reminder this morning that it has been a year since I migrated from blogspot and began to blog in earnest.  With that in mind I decided to change the look of the blog.  Next year, or maybe next summer I may do this again.  Until then it is what it is.

A Hogwarts Inspired Dessert

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140104 Potter PastiesAt our little gathering last weekend one of the sweets I made was Pumpkin Pasties.  These were far more delicious than I expected and were incredibly easy to make.

For the filling I made my regular filling for pumpkin pie, baked it until set and then just scooped it out of the baking dish as I filled the pastry.

The dough couldn’t be easier although it requires some work.  It’s 1 1/2 cups of four, a stick of butter and 8 ounces of cream cheese.  The butter is cut into the flour as you do when you make a pie crust.  Once that is done you add the cream cheese and  mix until it sort of holds together.  Dump it out onto a floured surface and knead it until it holds together.  This takes quite a bit of work, I honestly didn’t think it would ever hold together but eventually it did.  Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it for a minimum of an hour – I left it overnight.

I rolled the dough out (quite a bit of work in itself) until it was about 1/8″ thick.  Using a 4 inch round cutter I cut the dough.  This dough is very pliable, easy to roll out and fill.  Putting each round in my hand I filled them with about a tablespoon of filling.  I had beaten an egg with a little water and used my finger spread a little on the edge then pinched the edges together to seal.  After putting them on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper I brushed them with the egg wash and sprinkled them with sparkling sugar.  Then I cut a couple of vents in the top of each one.

Bake them in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. They will be a nice puffy pastry when they come out of the oven, quite beautiful.

Everyone thought these were delicious.  The pumpkin filling was something unexpected in a tiny turnover.  I think I will make these again deviating from the Hogwarts Express pumpkin thing and make them with an apple or blueberry filling.  Maybe we just like our fruit better than our vegetables.

First Blizzard of the Year

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140103 Snow EnfieldLast night on my way to bed I decided to take this photograph while looking out the back window upstairs.  I had taken the dogs out earlier and couldn’t believe how light it was outdoors.  Sophie didn’t need the light on her collar because it was almost as bright as late afternoon.

The light pollution in Enfield is ridiculous, especially in the winter when it snows.  Years ago Caitlyn had to do a project watching a constellation for a period of time for a science class.  In our back yard on the clearest night the only thing you can really see is Venus (and the moon).  Last week in Rowe we were commenting on how amazing the night sky is.  There you can see everything including the Milky Way which is fantastic in itself.

Although I like being able to see where Sophie goes at night I would much rather walk out my back door and be able to see the stars.