Good Goods

This was one of the most appreciated gifts that C and I received for Christmas this year:

This marvelous photo journal of a pair of Red Shouldered Hawks and their four summers of returning to nest in the same tree comes highly recommended. The photos are great, but it's the story behind it that really gets to me. Diane Samdahl, the photographer and author, is a good friend of Letty, the gal whose tree the hawks return to each year. Letty a naturalist and now retired Middle School Science teacher, is suffering from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease. I think it's quite phenomenal that these birds should choose to make their home and raise their young in Letty's tree where she can enjoy their activities....once maybe, but four years running? WOW!! Diane says that she is by no means a professional photographer, but she has done a fabulous job. A portion of the sale of this book ($8.50 to be exact) goes to the huge noninsured portion of Letty's medical bills and daily upkeep. If you are interested in procuring a copy for your own enjoyment, please go here and click on "shop" to find it.

Yesterday afternoon C and I were headed back to GainesVegas from the condo with a backseat full of squirming doggies....well, there were only two, I confess, but it seemed like there were a dozen! We both had stops that we just had to make, so the poor hounds were left to entertain themselves for several hours. They did well, and managed to not totally destroy my car during the four hour trip with oh so many interruptions. Rayna had told me about this fabulous shop and so I had to go check it out for myself. She was right....of course! And then of course, there was so much to see and learn about, and two doggies and one husband in the car in the parking lot! Sheesh!!! I'll just have to go back, there's no two ways about it!! Here are a few of the goodies I ran off with:

Dont' worry, I did stop and pay for them! Jan Girot, one of the owners, waited on me and explained the uses and techniques for a lot of the embellishment items I had heard about but not actually laid my eyes upon before yesterday. She is very nice and a wealth of information. I had wanted to try out the Superior Threads "Glitter" and they actually have it in stock!!! (I've tried it now....and it is very, very nice!). I hadn't been able to find a local supplier of Esterita Austin's Misty Fuse, and was pleased to see that Jan was carrying it! And then there are the beads and buttons.....what an assortment! I had to have the wonderful dragonfly button!! I also picked up a couple of packages of "Fantasy Film" and am looking forward to trying it out tomorrow. I am all new to Lutrador, but of course Jan had a bunch of it in stock. If you have used it and had great results, please don't be shy about sharing your techniques and results with me. I cannot wait to begin playing with it. I have a few personal deadlines that I am hoping to meet by the end of the year....YIKES, I've got about 24 hours left!!!...and then I will reward myself with some play time.

Take care, be safe and go order that hawk book!!!

Boxing Day

Yesterday was our family get together holiday celebration, which always just happens to fall on Boxing Day, or the Feast of St. Stephen, if you prefer. Years ago when Kristin was just a wee child (oh that makes her sound soooo ancient, doesn't it?) and we had just moved to Georgia, I felt overwhelmed to entertain extended family for dinner on Christmas Day, so we all made the very adult decision to move the feast to the 26th. I would serve a marvelous Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom Sauce. The recipe had been shared with me by my neighbor Carmella, who is a fabulous cook. Craig's cousin Heather would bring our family recipe for Christmas Potatoes and also a great Christmas Trifle. Well, as years have gone by, I have taken the liberty to stray from the tenderloin since we have a Standing Rib Roast (my mother's favorite) on Christmas Day. This year I served another family favorite: C's mother's Ham Loaf with Whipped Cream/Horseradish sauce. I can feel my arteries doing a little clogging number as I write!
We also now enjoy having several friends join us. It adds to the hilarity (see pictures below) of the occasion.....and I just love seeing how our family and friends enjoy eachother's company!!

Here are John and Troy, arriving with two lovely floral arrangements. John loves working with flowers and does a lot of the altar flowers at our church, plus decorating and flowers for many folks in the area. They are both great friends of ours, and I am overjoyed that they have come into our lives!

Now here is an interesting crowd of folks: seated is cousin Catherine, undoubtedly just having let loose with some dry wit, which she is so famous for these days! Standing behind her is Sherrie, sans theatrics! In turquoise with the stunning pin (I should have taken a closeup of that, darn!) is Molly. Her pesonality is just as colorful as her wonderful red hair! Next is Lorry...need I say more Lorry???? Lorry has the very difficult but I think somewhat rewarding task of trying to keep Sherrie walking the line! He does a fairly good job of it, but I know it is tough for him! Next to Lorry is the love of my life (all sweetness and light!) Craig, wearing his festive frolicmeister hat...which he only wears on the 26th, lest you become concerned!!! I think it is fair to say that by the time this photo was taken, a bit of wine had been consumed!!!

OK, in this next photo are my two "chilluns" (well, one by birth and the oher by marriage), Kristin and Dave and also Kristin's Godmother (aka the Godmother of Soul) Heather. Heather is C's cousin and also the mother of Catherine-of-the-Dry-Wit, in the photo above. Heather is also the wife of Scott, the saner member of that family, but we'll get to him in a minute. Heather ain't such a slacker in the wit dept. either! As you can see, these three have also gotten into the hat thingy, and don't seem to be the least bit shy about it!!! The white fabric you see hanging down in the background is a fabulous wedding kimono that C brought me back from Japan several years ago. As you may be able to tell, the silk has an irridescence to it, and the tediously embroidered storks on it play with the different light angles. It is one of my favorite things. But I digress. Oh, and I've just noticed, Heather is wearing a jacket that I dyed for her for Christmas!!! ;-) And I've digressed once more!!!!Next we have my good friend Bobbie. She does some marvelous things, including serving as a Lay Eucharistic Minister at our church, and bringing Holy Communion to my mother once a month. C and I love Bobbie for many reasons, but one has to be her great cooking!! In a previous life she was a caterer....and boy does she know the business! Here she is serving up dishes of her famous Christmas Trifle. Look at how trim and fit she is!!!! She eats well, trust me, but she also gets up at dark-o-thirty and runs a gazillion miles every morning before she heads off to work in Atlanta! Hats off to you, darlin'!! No pun intended, but where is her hat???
And here is my dear Troy. This guy knows color...look at that fabulous sweater! If he doesn't watch out, I may just invade his closet and grab it for myself!!!! Troy is another great cook and baker extrodinaire. See, it's important to have these folks in your life, to help your dinner parties running smoothly! LOL Troy is part of the church's cooking team that brings lunch to the homeless shelter once a week. He is indispensable to C and the ministry that he manages, but he and John are also indispensable in our circle of friends.And here again we have my darling Craig....36 years and we're still having fun!!! I think he's smiling so brightly because he thinks he's going to get away with that huge piece of Troy's cake, yeah, the one with all of the icing, right Craig??? Little did he know that as soon as I put down the camera I was going to make him share it with me....but then we also shared a plate of Bobbie's yummy Trifle....no calories there, right????
Well, I thought I had a photo of Heather's better half, Scott, on here, but apparently blogger has denied me. I'll post again and add another bunch of pics....Scott will be the one holding the camera, having just taken a picture of yours truly. Scott is a philosopher and leads a class in amongst other things, the philosophy of science at the University of Georgia....don't ask me, you'll have to ask him!! Oh, and he drives a wonderful black Ferrari!!!!!

Stayed tuned for more pictures and a bit of commentary (I just can't help myself!!)

Boxing Day Continued

Heather and Bobbie, with Bobbie's fabulous Christmas Trifle in the foreground:
Heather, Kristin, Dave and Lorry:
Troy:
Dave and Kristin (or Huey and Louis??):
One view of the table with John's beautiful flower arrangements:
Keith and Scott are in the next photo. Keith is married to Molly and they have two great kids Katie and Patrick. Keith is another very stylish dresser and we often enjoy seeing him perform in the local theater productions. Scott is married to Heather....and I think I've said enough about him in my previous post to get me into trouble!!

Hope you've enjoyed these pics as much as I've enjoyed taking them and sharing a bit of our family customs with you. As Ronnie Milsap said, "I wouldn't have missed it for the world"!!

Traditions

I love holidays and the traditions that accompany them. C is big on the Christmas Cookie traditions of his youth. When his Mom passed away, we inherited the wonderful old wooden handled cookie cutters that C remembered using as a child. We still put them to the task every December. When Kristin was in college, we would wait until Christmas Eve morning to decorate our cookies. Now we just do it whenever it is convenient for her and Dave to be here. Yesterday happened to be the day.

Here are the cookies, naked as jaybirds, waiting for their ornamentation. I use C's Mom's dough recipe, letting it sit overnight in the fridge, and then roll and cut them all out. It is somewhat relaxing and gives me time to reflect on the season and what it's really all about...definitely not the cookies!!!


As you can see, there were a few accidents this year. The cookies seemed "shorter" than usual, but you know, they taste every bit as good as ever!!!
I also follow C's Mom's recipe for icing, but instead of "real" egg whites, I use powdered ones, because the outcome seems to be a bit more predictable, with the icing hardening rather than remaining soggy for hours or sometimes days. It seems that the idea behind this cookie decorating in this household is to see just how much of the little sugar bits can be fit upon each cookie. Craig and Kristin get right into the foray, but Dave, bless his heart, is new to the family and is still a bit standoffish, well, just a bit!! I am the one who has the honor of spreading the icing onto the cookies first. It is an honor, because it is such a messy job, that I end up with almost as much on my fingers, hands, and arms as on the cookies themselves. YUMMMMM!

Here are the happy decorators! Dave is glad that he has survived another year....and Kristin and her Dad can hardly wait to dig in!!

So that was a fun event for the early evening. After dinner we tuned in to watch the Georgia Tech/Georgia basketball game. It's not quite the rivalry that the Thanksgiving football game is, but it's not bad. My Yellow Jackets beat up on the Bulldogs this year, so it was a most enjoyable event! Here are all of my "kids" watching the final minutes of the game, snuggled up on the loveseat (when it was named loveseat, I wonder if this is what they had in mind?).

At some point in the evening, Barker got down and then attempted to reclaim his position....it was kind of like musical chairs for a minute there! Marley had moved to Barker's old spot, and then Barker tried to muscle Kristin out of the way. He weighs just about as much as she does, so we weren't sure who would win that one!!


Earlier in the afternoon we had taken a nice long walk on the golf course. Marley doesn't get to run free in his Atlanta neighborhood, so he had the best time running around with "Uncle Barker" and exploring all of the natural areas. He was one tired puppy last night, even trying to snuggle up next to his grandpa's feet!

This morning, Mr Fed Ex brought me this gorgeous bouquet of orchids from my lovely niece Katy and her husband Young. Aren't they beautiful! We are having a bunch of friends in on Boxing Day, so these are a welcome addition to my decor!! Thanks Katy!!!

Remember: Peace, Joy and Love!!!

The Calm before the Celebration

I've spent the day frantically trying to catch up and also get ahead....no way Jose!!! I don't know about you, but when I have a lot to do, I often wake up at about 4:00 AM (3:45 to be exact) and can't go back to sleep, so I begin planning my day! I did that this morning....and then fell back to sleep at about 5:00 and had a difficult time getting up at 7:00. Ye Gads!!! Barker had an appointment with a new groomer...he got razor burned badly from his old groomer last month, so we were trying somebody new. What do you think:

I think he looks rather cute. She had put one of those ridiculous bows in his topknot, which made him look like a real sissy, so I clipped that sucker out almost immediately. He still smells of foo-foo water, but that will go away in due time. Going to the groomers must be exhausting for our canine friends....Barker sleeps the rest of the day when he gets home!

Here is a pretty Nandina that I snapped out in my garden yesterday afternoon as I was gathering greenery to bring inside. We are supposed to have heavy rains beginning tonight and lasting for several days, so I got busy and did some clipping early. All of the greens are now soaking in buckets of water in the garage. I will bring them in tomorrow and arrange them around the house. I think I'm getting into the spirit....AT LAST!!!

Remember the gulls I told you about that are here to graze on the Red Finned Shad? Well, here is a picture of them swarming around on the lake yesterday. They are still here, and don't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. I counted 22 Buffleheads this morning, about 15 Canada Geese, 3 Hooded Merganzers, 2 Great Blue Herons, and a slew of Mallards. Lovely!!!

And of course, I always try to squeeze in a bit of time for dyeing and sewing. I'm on a turquoise kick right now...turq and gold to be exact. Here is a piece of silk twill that I've been playing around with:

This is the closeup:

I wrapped gifts, made coffee breads and then cut out and baked cookies this afternoon. Kristin and Dave and their dog Marley are coming up tomorrow afternoon and we will decorate cookies, amongst other things. I am excited at the prospects of seeing them!!

Enjoy your days, peacefully!

Visitors

C and I enjoy our meals looking out on Lake Knickerbocker here in Gainesville, Georgia. We have a small gate-legged table right beside two of the sliding glass doors that open out onto our patio, our yard and then the water. We love watching the waterfowl, and particularly those that migrate during the winter. As we set the table for breakfast this morning we noticed that the Herring Gulls had returned from the ocean to feed on the red finned shad that are now plentiful in our lake. How do these gulls know to come here....particularly since this is a manmade lake that has only been in existence since the 1950s? They arrive every December or January, often camping out in the parking lot of the now gone KMart! If you look carefully, you can see them all huddled in a rather large white mob across the lake.

The closest beaches are a six hour drive for us - both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic - so those red finned shad must be awfully tastey in order to lure the gulls all that way!!!

Below you can see about 14 of one of my very favorite diving ducks, the Buffleheads.

These guys and gals are rather small and have distinctive black and white markings. Of course, the male is much more distinguished looking than his fairer friend, but that's life in the bird kingdom, isn't it? The Buffleheads scoot along the lake's surface as if on motorized little legs, and then they suddenly disappear for a minute or two. They are great fun to watch.

Here they are again quite close to our shoreline. Last year we had only a few Buffleheads, and not for long, but this year we have a good group. I hope they will stay all winter to entertain us.There's another view of the gulls, camped out across the lake. Moments before I took this shot, they were all flying around and diving madly for the shad. Apparently they had tired themselves out and were busy digesting their breakfasts by the time I got my camera out.

We also have several resident Great Blue Herons, 3-4 pairs of Wood Ducks (be still my heart, they are so gorgeous!), many Mallards, several migrating Hooded Mergansers, one grebe, and occasionaly some Ring Necks and a few other random species. There's always something to see and enjoy outside our windows.

The Homefront

Yesterday our church dedicated our third Habitat for Humanity house: three in three years!

C works hard on these homes, and enjoys being out there with his buddies, doing something constructive, so to speak. So, most weekdays you will find him either cooking for and feeding the homeless or building a habitat house. I am very proud of my man!!!

This is the latest home:



Here is Doug, our rector, during the dedication service, with Deanne the homeowner and her children.

Warrick Dunn, an Atlanta Falcons player, has been nice enough to come in and fully furnish the last two of our homes, both of which were completed just before Christmas. He even stocks the kitchen cabinets with food, and the bathrooms with toiletries!

Speaking of homes, on Saturday, we walked over to check out the new home for Trader Joes. I am so disappointed in their slow progress. However, two others have just opened in Atlanta, so the Midtown location can't be too far behind....can it???? As you can see, it looks pretty much the same as it did the last time I posted a photo of it.


Almost next door to our soon-to-be Trader Joes is MetroFresh, our favorite soup/salad/sandwich joint. Since it was Saturday, we picked up the sale soups and then walked on back to the condo. I thought you'd appreciate MetroFresh's lovely menu board :

Sorry it's not a bigger photo, but you get the general idea. Oh how I love that place!!!

And here is their wonderfully colorful outdoor dining patio furniture....can you believe it's December and we are still enjoying lunches outside???
On our way home to Gainesville, we drive north on West Peachtree Street and pass by one of my all-time favorite buildings. I don't know whose home this is, but it reminds me of shimmering waterfalls.

And for my parting shot for the day, I furnish you with "Mutt and Jeff"! I took this pic of Barker and our friend Walter's Reggie at the Habitat House dedication yesterday. I think Reggie tips the scales at 6 pounds while Barker weighs in at 76!!! They got along beautifully, although here they look a bit unsure of eachother!!

Around About Town

We have been enjoying some exceptionally beautiful weather here in the Atlanta area lately. Friday was no exception, and so after we had finished up a bit of holiday shopping, we decided to explore the "Old Fourth Ward" and see what was going on down there. Back in October, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution had published a rather enticing article entitled "A Diamond in the Rough" about the resurgance of that area, which is not at all far from our little condo. Our daughter Kristin had taken us to dinner at Calavino Donati's "Roman Lily Cafe" in the Old Fourth Ward several times and we had enjoyed it greatly, but had never seen much else that looked appealing. Well, it turns out that things are really coming into their own down there! Hooray!! What used to be crack houses and street corners inhabited by ladies of the night (and day, I'm just guessin') are now turning into funky eating establishments, flower shops, and even a shop featuring hand-sewn sateen lingerie!

This is Power Plant, a great little Vegetarian restaurant, and below is the Irwin Street Market which houses the very vibrant Amber Schoepp's Flower Bar, Jake's Ice Cream, Kristin Sullivan's Picnic and Alexandria White's La Peche Rose. Quite a colorful structure!!
Below is LottaFrutta, which focuses on (what else?) fruit cups. Cute, isn't it?!!
After moseying around the OFW for a while, we set off to find Martha Stewart's new development Hampton Oaks, which is south of the airport. You will note that there are no photos....it was Horrible.....yes, with a capital H!!! The AJC had also had a most enticing article about it, so I couldn't wait to see what old Martha had done. Forget about it! The houses looked to be very poorly constructed with one rather untastefully on top of the next. I dunno, maybe I was just tired, but the place had no appeal. I'd like to say we'll go back when there are trees and flowers, but I doubt it.

So then there we were driving back into town on a Friday afternoon, in the middle of rush hour traffic. Here are a couple of Atlanta sites:

The Capitol with its gold dome....and of course a Delta billboard. Hope that both remain intact for years to come!And above is the Georgia Power main downtown office building, affectionately referred to by many of its employees as "the leaning tower of power"! That is where Kristin's office is located.

During the entire afternoon sojourn, the faithful Barker was as patient as could be....isn't he handsome!!!!

I am behind on my blogging but wanted to show you a bit of our Friday travels. We had more fun in the city yesterday, and perhaps I will blog about that tomorrow.

My blogger buddy Gerrie and her daughters Lisa and Stephanie are organizing an online auction to aid the James Kim family, and they have asked me to participate. I will furnish you with an address as soon as I have one, and you will be able to go there and bid on your favorite items in order to help the Kims. Remember: buy early and often!!!!

Happy December 17th!!!

Just for laughs

Good Morning!
Dave, my handsome, witty, intelligent, tolerant, and very kind son-in-law (can you tell I'm rather fond of him?) sent me this link today. If you've got a moment and want to experience some real good belly laughs, check it out:
http://www.radarmagazine.com/features/2006/12/toys.php

What a Day!

OK, who can tell me why it is that the older I get, the faster the days seem to go??? This morning began just as peacefuly and serenely as could be, and then WHAM: the phone started ringing and everything began to go just a tad bit akimbo, until there was no salvaging it!!! ARGGGGH!!!!!

I was happily (and peacefully, mind you!) assembling my first-of-the-season Christmas coffee breads. Carol Duval was murmuring away contentedly on HGTV, and life was good! Here are the first fruits of my labor awaiting a quick blast in the convection oven:

And here they are a few moments later, cooling before their brief slumber in the freezer, before heading off to their new homes for Christmas breakfast:

I was still on track at this point, happily watering my orchids, humming away, and thinking that alas, life was indeed good! Look at this wonderful Phalenopsis! She is the first one I ever purchased, and she has sent out 4 big and beautiful bracts for me to enjoy this year!!! MMMMMMM!! My darling daughter Kristin told me how she had transplanted all of her orchids this past year and they were thriving. I witnessed this in person and decided to give it a try too. I am now a believer! See for yourself: said orchid , on the right, is a changed specimen.

Obviously I haven't taken the time to transplant the poor little orchid on the left, but when I do, expect to see wondrous results!

And here below you can see, a testament to sheer stubborness on the part of the plant kingdom! This little darling was given to me by my dear neighbor Deborah, who is a true Orchid Diva (and I say that in all reverence). Debbie can grow orchids....and most anything, truth be told ( we love her arugula, tomatoes, peppers, squash, okra, etc.). She had given up on the below specimen and asked me if I wanted it. I have watered and nurtured this dear one for about five years and was so thrilled when I was finally rewarded with this bract in late summer. Look at it!!! I can hardly believe my eyes!!! Isn't she wonderful?? I am convinced that a large part of my most recent orchid success is due to the fact that we are now home more often and I can devote a bit more time to the watering and feeding rituals that even an orchid seems to enjoy.

So after watering the aforementioned orchids, it was time to head out to my sewing room and tend to the fun in life! I had several projects calling my name, but when I paused and looked up and out, here is what I saw:

In the foreground is a wonderful bird feeder that my friend Jane gave me a few years back. But there on the lake is "Big Blue", our nickname for one of our resident Great Blue Herons. "Blue" is having a grand old time fishing for his midmorning snack on our lakefront. I can never quite get over seeing him/her and his/her other buddies: the local Wood Ducks (ohhh, be still my heart, they are so gorgeous!), the migrating grebes, the funny little Buffleheads, and the incredibly awesome Hooded Mergansers. There are more...but I will bore you with them another time.

After lunch we headed off to Atlanta, to meet up with a new friend, Carolyn. She saw my ad on Craig's List for my wonderful old Horn sewing cabinet and we had scheduled a rendezvous at the famous Varsity:

"What'll ya have, what'll ya have?" If you haven't been there, you've missed the best onion "rangs" in the world and probably the best ever frosted orange to pass your lips!!! I am proud to say that we were strong and were able to resist all temptation! Traffic being what it was, poor Carolyn had to wait on us, but we finally got there, and I said good-bye to my faithful old sewing cabinet. And then we drove through the Georgia Tech campus on our way back up to our condo:

As you can see, it was getting dark and Barker was in no mood to slow down for a photo op (nor was the traffic!), so we skedaddled on northward to 8th and Juniper.

After a walk through the hood with Barker, C and I headed off to dinner at our longtime favorite Agnes and Muriel's, the favorite of many locals and visitors to this fair city.

So, that's it for today! We're in the city for a bit of R&R....and oh, er, and maybe a bit of shopping???? I dunno!