Time To Make the Cookies with Natalie

This is my niece Natalie. Whenever she comes over we like to make cookies together. This day we made cookies from the Martha Stewart Cookies book. We decided on sugar cookies...
Natalie overseeing the mixer as the butter and sugar cream together. Natalie likes to kneel on a "tool" (stool) to make the cookies.
Nattie is brushing the cookies with some water which gives the cookies a lovely crackles top.
A girl just needs to take a break and sample her baked goods...
Natalie posing in her apron.

Cookies going into the oven.
Cookies just out of the oven.
Nattie peeking over the counter at the pile of sugar cookies...
We packaged the cookies in cellophane bags and tied them with ribbon.
Nattie holding the MS cookbook and showing everyone the recipe we used to make the sugar cookies...

I like to make a note in the cookbook on the recipe page with the date we made the cookies together...I also take a photo and cover it in plastic and add it to the page in the cookbook...

I hope to one day wrap this cookbook in a flourish of paper and bows and tuck it in a box filled with kitchen tools and supplies for cookie making and give it to Natalie at her wedding shower...a great cookbook filled wonderful recipes but better yet with memories of Aunt Beth and Natalie making the recipes together...

Elizabeth

2nd Annual 10K Swim Challenge This Sunday on the Pond

This Sunday we are hosting a swim meet...not just any swim but a 10K swim. That is 6 miles in chilly...no cold water. Ray Gandy is the originator of the swim challenge and he also swims as well. These are elite swimmers who swim very long distances in cold water. The meet starts at 8AM for instructions to the volunteers and swimmers. Refreshments will be served as well. There will be kayaks, jet skis and a float boat along the route to guide and offer assistance as needed. Around 8:30Am volunteers will be released to mount their watercraft and get into position. The swim starts at 9AM. Right now the pond temperature is in the upper 60s...brrrrrrrr!

This is one of the signs my husband made to get people to our island for the meet. Right now we have two days of heavy rain and wind...hopefully this storm is over by Sunday AM.

I will post more pictures after the meet....

Elizabeth

Dad's Roses

My father knows how to grow roses! He has the patience to tend to them and the knowledge as to what they need to produce stems overladen with gorgeous flowers. We have attended roses society shows and competitions and Dad's roses are competition quality for sure. This is Dad this past spring looking over two new tea roses he just planted. I can not grow roses so he is growing them for me (nice deal!). They were purchased from White Flower Farm in Connecticut. One pink and one red.
These are more of his roses planted by a fence...they are spectacular when in full bloom.
Look at how rich the soil is. The foliage is lush and healthy.
These are the two bare root tea roses just planted...the soil is amended with loads of compost, manure and peat moss.

This is the final results of well tended roses...the leaves are deep green and shiny and the roses are perfect. This bouquet is catalog quality! It takes a very special touch to grow roses and my father certainly has the Midas touch.

Take time to smell the roses...

Elizabeth

The Garlic is in for the Fall Planting

Yesterday the doorbell rang and there was the mailman with our delivery of garlic stock from The Garlic Store in Colorado. I ordered it last week. The folks at The Garlic Store are very helpful and the variety of garlic they have is amazing. The garlic is organically grown and they are certified as organic processors/handlers by the Colorado Dept. of Agriculture. I ordered hard neck varieties - Chesnok Red, German White, Italian Purple, Music and a new one for me Pyong Vang Korean. I also ordered two soft neck varieties Susanville and Transylvanian. While where we live in the Northeast hardneck varieties are recommended I have grown Transylvanian without a problem and the description for Susanville indicated it does well in cold climates so I figured I would give it a try.It is a thrill to open the box and see what is inside...lots of good stuff! The garlic is HUGE! WOW this is the best stock I have ever seen. Every variety is gorgeous.
I ordered three pounds of Music a variety I am particularly fond of...look at these bulbs...wonderful!
This is a bulb of Music...I placed a quarter next to it so you can see how big these bulbs are...all the garlic is firm and the cloves are bulging at the "seams".
This is German White...another tasty garlic and the bulbs are simply perfect.
All the garlic is shipped in brown paper bags and labeled with a tag that gives the variety and description of the contents.

It is a bit too warm to plant yet but I must amend the soil first. Garlic is a hearty eater and can deplete the soil where it has "lived and grown". It likes a near neutral pH (~6.5 - 7.5). It also likes well aged manure to provide nitrogen and a source of phosphorus in the form of bone meal. So I need to get my garlic garden bed up to par for these beauties to grow in.

If you have a little extra space in your garden...try growing garlic...it needs little care and the results are so fantastic!

Elizabeth

Old Holiday Teaser...Our Antique Snowman Collection

I love old snowmen. I have collected them for years...when the cold weather starts to come around one can't help but think of the holidays. So I thought I would share a little of my snowman collection as a type of teaser for all those that love old Christmas items.I keep all my old snowmen in antique oak vitrines. I have American, Japanese, German, Russian, Czech and many other snowmen of different origins. As you can see they are composed of all types of materials...glass, cotton batting, hard plastic, plaster, cardboard, scrap, paper and more.
I also collect old Christmas trees..feather, brush, glass, hard plastic and more. I also have a few Santas but for some unknown reason Santa just doesn't get to me like a snowman does.
In this vitrine I have more snowmen and as well as our kugel collection...these are glass ornaments...blown glass balls of different colors and silvered . They come in a variety of shapes and colors...some very rare and can be very expensive.
In this china cabinet are more snowmen as well as some old Halloween items. The turkeys were my grandmother's and they are very dear to me.

So I thought I would offer a teaser and give you a glimpse of my collection of old holiday...in the coming weeks I'll open the doors and take some individual photos to share.

Elizabeth

Entered the Martha Stewart Blog Contest

I entered the Martha Stewart blogging contest this morning...I realize my blogging skills are not that sophisticated, I still get a lot of pleasure out of blogging. Living in Rhode Island makes sharing photos and experiences easy as this is such a beautiful place to be every day.

Yesterday we went to Mystic Connecticut and stopped for a coffee. As we were leaving the coffee shop I spied this truck with a window box attached to the front of it...can you believe this...absolutely wonderful...

My husband took the photos...glad we always have our camera with us...this sight is simply a smile maker!

When you have a chance be sure to visit Martha Stewart's blog site...it has a lot of wonderful photographs and you will be sure to learn something there as well.

http://www.themarthablog.com/?rsc=todaysidea_Homepage_Homepage

Elizabeth

Early Dinner on a Perfect September Afternoon and the QE2 too!!!!!

We packed up our cooler, tossed two chairs and vintage folding tables in the back of the van and took off for an early dinner this past Wednesday. The air was clear and the sky was blue, blue, blue! We stopped for a fresh loaf of ciabatta bread and left the mainland behind us as we crossed Narragansett Bay over the bridge to Jamestown. We decided to go to Fort Wetherill a state park that has glorious views of the Atlantic and Narragansett Bay. We meandered about looking for a spot to eat our supper. We came upon a group artists painting a beautiful scene of an inlet. This is a beautiful spot and you can see why it is a favorite scene to be painted. There were artists everywhere doing their thing. All were very talented and it was fun to look at their work.

What a lovely view...great to paint and great for photographers!We found a spot to set up on top of the rocks above the artists on the other side of the inlet. We brought our cooler packed with all the ingredients for a cobb salad...lettuce, tomatoes, applewood smoked bacon, hard cooked eggs, roasted chicken breast, and a vinaigrette with avocado. Keeping the avocado in the dressing prevented the oxidation that occurs when avocado is exposed to air for an extended period of time.

We put our salads together, lit a candle and sat back with our fresh ciabatta bread and simply watched the view and enjoyed our supper...how good is this?!
This is the sign at the entrance of the park. This park was actually a World War I and II coastal defense site, once named Fort Dumpling and sits upon 100 foot high granite cliffs offering spectacular views of Newport Harbor. According to the RIDEM website "the park consists of 61.5 acres, it was formally acquired by the State of Rhode Island in 1972. Known for its spectacular view of Newport Harbor and the East Passage of Narragansett Bay, Fort Wetherill has been a popular sight for viewing the numerous Tall Ship Events and America’s Cup Races.
The spectacular setting of Fort Wetherill has made the site strategically important for more than 200 years. During the American Revolution colonists built an earthworks battery here for control of the east passage, but lost the position to the British during the occupation of Newport. " Visit the website for more interesting facts.

As we sat enjoying the view sailboats passed gracefully by.

A very large power boat whisking across the water surrounded by sails.

My favorite boat...a picnic boat crossed in front of us..we could see a large crowd aboard.
As we were sitting there...we heard the familiar sound of a cruise ship blast...we figured a cruise boat was in and probably dropped passengers off for the day in Newport. Much to our surprise a little while later the QE2 appeared before us.
There she was the Queen Elizabeth 2...slowing making her way out of the harbor to the Atlantic being guided by tugs.
You can see passengers lining the decks...they had to be awestruck by the beauty of our wonderful state.
We went back down to the place where the artists were earlier on and just caught this view of the QE2 leaving...WHAT A SIGHT!!!!!
We had a wonderful afternoon...hope you have an opportunity to spend a little time like this every once in awhile...very good for the soul.

Elizabeth