honeyflake

ready to winter like its 1984

finished one. finished the other. two twenty-six inch long tubes. lots and lots of knit one/purl one/knit one/purl one/knit one/purl one... i'm glad to say that last week i finished up the legwarmers that i've been working on for myself. i actually started them back in february and have been toting them around with me for months knitting a bit here and a bit there (that rib stitch was a bit tedious, good thing that yarn was so dreamy). the pattern i chose came from here  — i knew as soon as i saw them in all their comfy, slouchyness on the back cover, that i wanted to make a pair of my very own. so, finally last week i cast off. now they're ready to wear. just in time for the autumn chill, i suppose. however, they're even pretty awesome on an august afternoon, whatever the decade. 

summer travels

we did a little more summer travelling last weekend, taking a trip to the chesapeake bay. thought i'd post a few images from the adventure. i liked the pairing of the first two photos — a wooden pier piling and a wooden crab mallet. same shape, same material, etc... below are just a few of the maryland crabs —all that orange-red of the crabs and spices! i liked these very simplistic images because somehow together they capture so much about one of our favorite summer pastimes of picking crabs. we can't imagine a summer without a crab-get-together and are so thankful for last weekend.

in other travelling news, yesterday i hopped over to grace's blog as a guest blogger. she's hosted a great series of posts celebrating all that summer is. it really is a great colllection of the essence of the season. stop over to read a few if you have the chance.

as for the big three day weekend that is coming up, the one where many people hit the road one for one last summer getaway, we're planning on spending it at home. and i'm really looking forward to it. hopefully i'll be able to catch up here on the blog, (can't believe it has been a week since i last posted something) and post about a few projects i've finished up this week.

ebb tide

as the ocean receded this afternoon, to our delight, many sparkling shells were revealed...

made in the shade

the library books were returned. the csa vegetables were picked up. we had our lunch. margaret was happily involved in playing, buzzing about. ahhhh... before the evenings activities started (cooking dinner, cleaning up from the day, out to yoga class) i embraced a few minutes of this late summer heat filled afternoon to retreat to the shade. seems i spend the greater part of the season seeking out the sun, but today i went for the shade. much much cooler. (the august heat has arrived.) the yard chair was moved to the shadiest, quietest corner and there i sat with my knitting (same old legwarmers which i'm so focused on finishing lately. i'd say that i'm 75% there. one is complete and the other is about half way. inch by inch it is coming along.) just so very nice to have those few quiet moments to break up the day. to notice the calendula that's popped up in the garden, to notice the blueberry bush that is now officially blueberry-less until next year, to notice the clouds and the breeze... all while the needles were clicking away. in the shade. of course, i must admit that this time was not without it's interruptions. you know, things were happening — such as margaret's excitement and need for me due to the dragonfly she thought followed her into the house (a full search was immediately done and i have yet to see any winged creature turn up) and events of the like. good summery interruptions — because think about it, how often is it in february that we run around the house (camera in hand of course just in case) searching for a renegade dragonfly?

and now here we are, at the end of the post, at the end of the afternoon. i'm off now to check on my dough, get dinner together and eventually i'll grab my mat and head out to class. here's to the spirit of the season, cool breezes and shadey backyard nooks. i'll let you know if that dragonfly turns up on my pillow tonight. be well.

a pleasant elevation

mountains in summertime... we just got back from several days and nights of tenting in the green mountains of vermont. surrounded by fresh, fresh air and greenery we spent the week enjoying all that goes with the life of a forest dweller. pretty nice. walks amongst the trees, hopping over brooks, raindrops falling on the leaves at night, looking out to see mile after mile, looking down to see mushroom after mushroom...

a dough that's good to know

care to meet my new friend galette dough? we've only know each other for just over a week now, but our relationship is so exciting i though i should share our story so if you're not yet acquainted with this wonderful dough already, you may be introduced now. 

our meeting was quick i suppose — i had lots of vegetables accumulating from our csa and garden, then i hear from my mom about a very good savory galette she recently made. yum. that was it - i had to make one too. first i needed a dough recipe. enter google. whatever search that i had typed in quickly led me to here (scroll down at that link for the recipe). and that is how it happened. 

once the dough was established, i went about the filling, just using what i had on hand: garden sun golds, garden basil, csa potatoes (sliced thin first and sautéed with olive oil and garlic), csa eggplant (cubed, salted and sautéed with olive oil) and gorgonzola cheese. all that was wrapped in dough, brushed with an egg wash and baked for twenty or so minutes.... a very super-fantastic veggie solution was now in my dinner-making vocabulary. (i've made a second one too using some of our first green garden peppers.) it just makes so much sense — make a good dough, wrap up what seasonal veggies you have — no real rules, which is a big part of why i love this — and cook 'em up. and this dough recipe is so good (i don't know if i've ever used egg in a dough before?). so good i thought i'd blog about it and share it here. perhaps it might be just the right lunch/dinner idea someone else might be looking for. i hope so.

we got the beets

or so we're hoping. we planted some beet seeds for the first time. i was surprised with how fast they emerged — with adorable miniature beet-red stems. so cool. it should be fun to see how they do.

thrifted for threads

during a quick trip to a local thrift store, over in the back, near the afghans and many crewel kits, i noticed a cardboard box filled with some old fabrics. lots of sweet and slightly dated cotton florals and ginghams. i sorted through the stack and chose a few to bring home (see above) where they were washed and refolded. (they turned out to be larger than i had thought). the more i looked at these second-hand-time-warpish calicos, the more they actually started to grow on me. and then you know, the project ideas soon came to mind. a lining for a bag? a possible fall skirt or shirt for margaret? perhaps something from here? of course, it is all still in the mulling about phase, but if this daydreaming continues, i have a feeling that something of the sort will be added to my project list soon and hopefully these rescued remnants will be turned into something new. eco-crafty-fun.

from the vines

they're red.
they're round.
they're ripe.


they're tomatoes that taste like tomatoes.
they're the first brandywines of the season. 
wild applause!

these are from the seeds we sowed back in the winter and cultivated with care for the past several months. it is so exciting when they actually bear fruit — edible fruit! we've had our eye on these, watching them turn a bit more pink, then red each day. and now here they are, all picked and headed towards the kitchen. 

such goodness. such simplicity. such excitement. it is all why we do this year after year.

unicorns and rainbows

 
almost out of nowhere - a late afternoon thunderstorm popped up and interrupted our sunny friday. so we waited it out in the house. margaret asked me to play with her in her room because it was calm there. so that is what we did (after firstly scurrying around to shut all the windows). together we set up a scene with her wooden figures and simple blocks. our attention was turned from the thunder, lightening, wind, hail and rain outside to this new, quieter land — where the animals came into the castle seeking shelter from a hail storm and the prince, princess and unicorn cooked up a magical tea for all the creatures, made lovingly in the tiniest of teapots from the imaginary hail. 

 

as this indoor micro-world evolved, the summer storm outside sailed further away to the east, the rain slowed and the blue skies were revealed once again. the sun shone brightly through the window as if nothing ever happened. but we were sure it did. so we went out to check for ourselves...

re-cationing (with a pie)

western anemone seedhead.

care to join me on a little summer journey? no need to pack a bag, no need to gas up the car... we're all set to go right now. right here. off to someplace located in the vacinity of, around and down memory lane and back in time...

let's see... imagine summer. circa 2001. pacific northwest, usa.  we're relaxed. we're having fun. we've just completed the first leg of our journey, kayaking around some islands in search of the orca pods, and now we are sure footedly back on land, and we happily check ourselves and our gear into a small seattle hotel. ahhhh... time to now rest, relax and enjoy the emerald city. (care for a coffee? enjoying the trip? excellent. lets journey on...)

we're now heading out on a day trip. a bit outside of town, down rte. 7 to rte 706, for some hiking up on mt. rainier. we've got plenty of film to capture the trees, the wildflowers, the marmots, each other and more wildflowers (oh.... the wildflowers). hmmm, even on the second time around this is still a great day. but we've roamed the mountainside long enough and it is getting dark. we should probably head back... 

the sun has set. the road is quiet. in between the trees up ahead is a light. right there on the right. can you make out that sign... a restaurant? mountain trout? black berry pie? yes, agreed. stop the rental car. 

and here my friends is where we sit together at the counter in this pine-clad, woodsy inn and we have the best, most memorable blackberry pie in all of virtual vacationland. it is good. really really good. the kind of good that adheres to your memory and surfaces every time from here on out, when fresh blackberry season rolls around. please take your time to enjoy the pie and feel free to go back over this paragraph again and again for seconds and thirds... mmmm... pie. ok. when you're feeling ready, let's carry on —back to seattle and then back to today. back to the here and now. back to blackberry season 2008. 

did you return with me? (or did you decide to stay behind?) did you enjoy the ride? wasn't that quite the delightful escape? i hope so...

so it is, every year - every summer - when the blackberries are in season (which is now) my thoughts wander back to this trip. this pie. a few times i've been inspired to recreate this incredible fruit and dough creation. for instance, last week, i tried this recipe. of course — it wasn't the same. it was good (afterall it was pie) but not like what i remember enjoying back up on that mountain road... and that's ok. totally ok. because in this moment even though i didn't duplicate their pie, i really enjoyed thinking once again about all those sweet memories.

well, i enjoyed this little exercise in re-cationing very much— recycling some of our past vacation moments to share presently with all of you. thank you for coming along on this journey. you are all such great travel companions and we'll have to do this again some time soon.

organic orange orbs

small, sweet, warm from the sun and plentiful right now. quite plentiful.

pieces

• dorie. one quilt. cool fabrics. in the mail. 

• saturday. living room floor. stack of library books. 

• coffee cup. bit of afternoon rain and thunder outside.

• page 281. 505 quilt blocks. chapter entitled "traditional". "linked squares" block.

• streaming the newport folk festival. jakob dylan.  acoustic/electric references. she&him. rain there too.

• measure fabric. trim fabric. sew. iron. one practice square. 

• measure fabric. measure fabric again. trim fabric. arrange on floor. trim more fabrics. sew. iron.

• one final "linked squares" square to send off to dorie for our first collaborative quilt.