A Walk around the yard

Spring is upon us in the North East US.  We've had many days of the most perfect weather imaginable... clear, sunny days and cooler nights.  The sky has been the most amazing shade of blue and the baby maple leaves are a beautiful complement.

I mowed almost all the mow-able property on Wednesday afternoon... and it really could use another mowing again... Yikes!  I can only imagine how quickly it will grow once we get a bit of rain!

As I wandered around checking on the state of the plants and shrubs, I took a few pictures....

This flowering quince was on the property when I moved in 13 years ago.  It needs pruning each year to keep it from encroaching onto the driveway space, which is quite narrow at this point.  It is giving us a very special showing this year.

The pulmonaria used to be in a back garden and I completely missed its blooming a couple of times, so I've moved it to a spot where it gets my attention!

My girl, Gracie, from behind the fence of her exercise yard.  She never has gotten the hang of staying in the unfenced parts without being tied.

Those quince blossoms up close.  Anybody out there have suggestions as to how I can put to use the wonderful fruit they generate later in the year?

Here's Gracie keeping watch on the road.... just in case anything happens that I need to know about.

With Gracie on watch duty, Marco can take a little cat nap. (I call this his cat-erpillar pose.)

Any Excuse to be Outside

It is so beautiful outside today that I can hardly contain myself.

One of the several things that I dabble in is hand-built pottery.  A friend has a studio in her home and we typically meet once a week to "make stuff."  I have been fascinated with tiny, little houses lately and decided to take some pictures on this breezy, slightly chilly, Sunday morning.

The tallest house in 1 1/8 inches tall, the littlest is a mere 3/8 inch tall.  Susan Black's post this morning inspired me to take them outside to a patch of lush moss to photograph them.  (I still need to figure out a good way to get in close to the really tiny ones and still keep them in focus.)
While tromping around my yard looking for photogenic sites, I looked up at my guest room windows...

...where my geraniums flourish all winter long...  reminding me that it is almost time to bring them out into the fresh air and unfiltered sunshine...  almost.  (it was 29 degrees F here last night!)

I've been sewing

Ever since the first week in January, I've been sewing. Sewing clothes for myself mostly. I can't seem to stop, nor do I want to.  I have had a glorious time up in my sewing room with all my incredible fabrics, the sun streaming in the windows and the ideas flowing much faster than I can make them up. The dog and the cats wander in and out to check on me as the day progresses, and I listen to recorded books when I'm doing parts that don't require too much concentration.

I've been wanting some new things in my winter clothes closet.  Things that are little bit different from those found in stores.  Perhaps it's a fabric choice or the style.  I had purchased two pieces of beautiful, double-napped, cotton plaids at the very end of December and wanted tops in styles that are not what you usually find made up in flannel.

My first inspiration was this:

from FLAX, a favorite clothing line of mine. As you can see, it is not a winter garment.

































I took a pattern I had that fits me well, and modified it.  (the pattern I used is Silhouette Patterns #625 Kaitlyn's Blouse)

I made my changes to a copy of the pattern...  changed the shape of the front neckline, shortened the body of the blouse, and added "flounces" to the sleeves and the hem of the body.  I used the Paprika-colored flannel.  Here's the outcome!

It is cozy and soft and cheery.  I have since made the same pattern from a vintage damask tablecloth that had several holes and some stains, but there still were just enough good parts to make the blouse. 

The other flannel is a medium-size black/white/gray Buffalo plaid and I used a commercial Burda pattern, Number 7220, as it was designed!  Another "just right" top!

The office where I work a couple days a week is usually much warmer than I'm comfortable with, so the open necks and loose fit of these tops works perfectly. 















So far (today is February 17) I've completed eleven (that's 11, folks!) garments since January first.  Can't wait to see what the next six weeks produce!

Testing for a friend/fellow Blogger user

a fellow user of Blogger and Internet Explorer is having problems adding pictures to her posts and asked if others using that combination would let her know if it is working for them... I haven't created a post in a very long time, so decided I would experiment for her ...as well as for my own informaton.

a girl and a cat.

Testing, testing 1-2-3 Can you hear me now?

a dear little pedal car graphic. 

A friend/fellow Blogger user asked if others were having trouble including pictures in their posts using Blogger and Internet Explore and I decided to try it to make sure it still works for me. 

Other than that, this is sort of a nonsense post.

By Special Request

I am posting the recipe I used to make the artisanal bread shown in an earlier post:

This turned out every bit as good as I had hoped and is probably the easiest bread I have ever made.  I am going to tape the recipe inside one of my cabinet doors so I don't even have to open my recipe file when I want to make some!

CRUSTY BREAD IN A CAST IRON DUTCH OVEN*

(*NOTE:  You do NOT have to have an enameled cast iron pot. You can use anything with a lid that can take the heat.)

In a large mixing bowl add 3 cups white unbleached flour (I use King Arthur Flour).

  

To the flour add 1 3/4 teaspoon salt (I use kosher salt) and 1/2 teaspoon yeast (I used Fleischmann's Dry Yeast... from a jar).

Whisk the flour, salt and yeast together. (If you are going to add other things to your bread, mix them into the dry ingredients before adding the water.)

 Add    1-1/2 cups of water and mix it in.  (You can do this with a sturdy mixing spoon... no need to haul out your mixer!)

That's it!  The dough will be pretty sticky, but that is the way it should be.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 12 - 18 hours on the counter top.  DON'T REFRIGERATE.  This is not optional.  It takes that much time to do its thing.  The reason you need a large bowl is because the dough will start to rise.

After 12 hours the dough will look somewhat puffy and have some holes.  It's still pretty darn sticky.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.  As soon as it has heated to 450 degrees F, place your empty pot with the lid in the oven and pre-heat the covered pot for 30 minutes.

 It helps if you flour your hands before handling the dough... so it won't stick to your fingers.  Now cover the rounded dough with the same plastic wrap that you used to cover the bowl. 

Remove the pot from the oven, remove the cover, and carefully pick up the ball of dough and drop it into the pot, or roll it into the pot!  You may want to flour your hands again, because the dough is going to still be sticky.  Remember the pan is now 450 degrees hot!  Be careful.  Put the lid on the pot and return it to the oven for 30 minutes.

Isn't that beautiful?  But wait!  There's more! 

Remove the lid from the pot and continue to bake for another 15 minutes.  Right about now your whole house begins to smell very, very good.

This is the finished product.  Remove from the oven and carefully remove bread from the pot.  Remember the pot is HOT.  I used a hot pad and a broad spatula and carefully pulled/pried the loaf out of the pot.

Place the loaf on a cooling rack until completely cooled.  

Variations: 

The loaf shown had  1 ½ cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese added to the dry ingredients.  You can also mix 2 or three different kinds of cheese.   

You can add chopped dried cranberries and nuts or seeds, or lemon zest and your favorite herbs.  The possibilities are limitless.   

 

(I cobbled together this recipe from three sources I found on the internet.  The photos are all mine.  I hope I haven't infringed on anyone's copyrights.)

Morning Flowers

Taken around 9 a.m. this morning along the fence between the house and the big barn

It was suggested that I make my photos larger in my posts, but I have yet to figure out just how to do that! 
I will keep looking....

Added a few minutes later!!!!  I found it!   Now the pictures are either "Large" or "Extra Large"   Ahhhh!