Visiting my other daughter

I was in Rohrersville, MD this morning, putting the third coat of finish on some of the wood floors in a house my husband and I are restoring. On my way back home I needed to stop at Nichols Hardware in Purcellville, VA. The road that I use to get there (Rt. 690) is near where my younger daughter resides.

It is a beautiful setting - this church has been here from the early settlement days of Loudoun County.

Ketoctin Baptist Church 1751

                      The grounds are very well taken care of. 
                                   You can hardly see her. 
            Her marker is small compared to a 'normal' marker.

   She is off to the left of the marker in the middle of the photo.

This is the oldest part of the cemetery.  It lies behind the church and is surrounded by a wonderful stone wall.

So many cemeteries these days are just windswept fields. We were looking in January of 1996 - they were frozen windswept fields then. The blizzard started the day after she was buried.
When we had to bury Callie I wanted some 'borrowed landscape'.  Something to make her plot feel more 'homey?' and less - of what it really was... 
Callie's plot backs up to the stone wall surrounding the old cemetery. The tall stump you see in the background use to be a huge old evergreen populated by all kinds of birds and squirrels. 

Our dog Cali was with me today - she had never been with me to visit Callie. Cali enjoyed the new wide open space and all of the forest animal smells. And NO - I did not name my dog after my dead daughter. This sweet pup came with that name - 3 years ago, and as my dear friend/sister Jennifer said when she saw Cali on the Best Friends website - "I think she is heaven sent". We agreed!

I didn't bring anything with me to leave at her grave today - but soon it will be time to take a pumpkin or two - so all of the forest creatures can enjoy a special treat.

 And you can imagine all of the animals that might run amok out here. Forest, field, and a creek nearby make a wonderful place to live and play.

Cali keeps company with venerable neighbors. All of the old Loudoun County families are buried here - the Love's, Purcell's, Hutcheson's and more. It is a quiet place, a contemplative place. Birdsong and squirrel chatter are about the only noise you hear.
If you'd like to see what else I did today - take a look at my Facebook Page.

Until later - xo, Liz

Cooking for Two

Talk about different eating styles and you're talking about me and my husband. I am always willing to try foods that are new to me and I have a pretty varied palette. I prefer lighter fare for the most part and love salads of all kinds. I also have a 'picky palette'. If it doesn't taste good - ugh, forget it. And believe it or not - even though I have posted more than once here about food - I am not an eater or a 'foodie'. My husband is pretty much a meat and potatoes guy and won't touch green leafy stuff let alone eat it. He will be more than happy to eat pizza for lunch/dinner - days on end. He is not a food adventurer. Until recently he hadn't ever had the 'american' staple - Chinese food!

Since we have been married I have slowly managed to get him to eat all kinds of Mexican food made at home - and at restaurants, and introduced him to Greek food, both at home and festivals. My daughter left for college last Thursday - and so now I am definitely cooking for two. Which poses a problem. Whereas I might want a small piece of chicken and a salad - I still have to cook big and large for Bob.

Time to experiment. I lost track of time today - and so instead of roasting a whole chicken I only had time to defrost 2 thighs. Now what? A little olive oil in the pan, a small thinly sliced onion, a handful of sliced  grapes, an apple cored, sliced and cut into bite sized pieces. Saute this until the onion is clear and soft, add the chicken and lightly brown on both sides. Add 1/2 cup of beer - mine was a Corona - I drank the rest with a slice of lime. After about 20 minutes - add about 1/2 cup of barbeque sauce. Put the lid on it and let it cook. 

The flavors were savory and just a tiny bit sweet - and tangy. The apple chunks softened and the crisp, tart flavor melded with the onion and grapes. We had rice as a side - as well as veggies - I had spinach, and made mixed vegetables for Bob. He loved the chicken! There may be hope yet...

Until later, Liz

SHOES!

There is a first time for everything.  Ginna and I were separated the first time was when she was about 18 months old. I was going to be away for the weekend and had gotten her Godparents watch her. All through the first afternoon Kay kept watching her, waiting for her to realize that I wasn't around. Nothing. A stroll through the neighborhood. Nothing. Dinner came and went. Nothing. Bath time came. Off came the clothes, shoes, diaper.  Into the tub she went. Uh Oh!

The lip began to quiver, and Kay thought 'here it comes'. The beginnings of tears, more quivering of the lip. Kay thought for sure she would hear Ginna cry "Mommy"!

What came crying out of this little girls mouth instead?                                                                              "Shooooooes"!
After this whenever we would go shoe shopping - I would have to put her on the conveyor belt with the new pair on - because she wouldn't take them off.
It hasn't changed much - except she's too big to go on the conveyor belt now ;)

Last fall, at the Ladies Board Hospital Sale, I found these fabulous vintage gold sandals accented with framed tiles,(Signals by Beacon) for Ginna.  I loved them and I knew she would too! She wore them with her toga for Homecoming week and ever since - I have thought of them as Goddess sandals.
I have silently coveted them since then - but I wear a smaller size, so borrowing them was a no go.
Then TaDa!!  What did I find - but a similar pair - only in off white from StoriedVintage (http://www.etsy.com/shop/StoriedVintage2 ) on Etsy. Lorraine was wonderful to work with.  I just got them today - and after I put them on, I did a happy dance. 
Here we are with our 'matching shoes'. I have the hot pink toes and Ginna has the navy and gold toes (Drexel U. colors). 
We will be separated longer this time - on Thursday I will be taking her off to Philadelphia and moving her into her dorm. 
Wish me luck & no quivering lip or tears. 
Maybe just a cheer of "SHOES"!
xo, Liz

Dinner from Scratch

Not that this is unusual around my house - I usually cook from scratch.  But I ramped it up a notch today.

It had been awhile since I had made pinto beans... I started soaking them yesterday (3/4 of a bag of pintos , 1/4 of a bag of black beans ), and then rinsed them this morning. I had 3 cups of frozen chicken stock (my own) - so I added that to the beans, and started them on a low flame. I chopped a medium onion, and a whole red pepper, and sauteed them in a small amount of bacon grease that was left over from breakfast. 
YEP - sorry you missed bacon and waffles ;)
When the stock was melted I added the onion & pepper. Spices included a generous dash of home grown celery flakes (thanks Tom and Tracy), and the same of cilantro, cumin & fresh cracked black pepper.
I cooked the beans over high heat until they came to a boil, then turned them down to simmer - and went to take a nap for 2 hours. 
Yes - the nap was justified - I woke up from a sorrowful dream at 1:30 last night and then tossed and turned until 4 a.m.  Time to get up.

When I did get up (at 4 a.m.) I opened the package of stew meat, a Corona, cut open a lime, and chopped another onion.
In a bowl I combined the meat, 1/2 a bottle of the beer ( I had the rest with dinner), a dash of extra virgin olive oil,  juice of a whole lime, and the onion. Spices also included cumin, cilantro and pepper.
When I got up after my nap  :) ahhhhhhh...  I stirred the beans and checked the heat - nice and low.
I took the meat out of the marinade and sliced it into smaller, bite sized pieces. Back into the marinade it goes. I warm a pan so that when the meat goes in - it sizzles.  I reserve the marinade until the end. Once the meat has browned and has started to 'dry', I add a chopped heirloom tomato. This gets stirred around until the pan starts to de-glaze - then I add about 1/2 the marinade to finish the de-glazing and to create a bit of a sauce.
All ready!  I served the meat on a flour tortilla sprinkled with shredded cheese, for my husband. For me - the same, only I added lettuce on top. The beans were the perfect tenderness, served on the side with a light sprinkling of finely shredded 'Mexican' cheese as well.
The flavors were complex and delicious. The spices were blended and yet you could still taste the individual flavors. I had the other 1/2 of the Corona with a slice of lime, my husband had iced tea (a staple in our house).

have a great evening - until next time, Liz

Nautical Necklaces

This is another part of my order I sent off to the Cane Garden Bay Surf Shop this past week.

Fun and colorful is what they were asking for - and I had some playful ideas for necklaces.

Some that were simple

Some that were silly

Some that were a little snarky

Some that were a little dark

And last but not least - my message in a bottle - complete with a tiny fish hook, baby shells, AND - a handmade 'treasure map' - my favorite thing to make as a child. Wait... and still is - does this mean something? ;)

Have a great weekend!  Liz

Surf's Up Greeting Cards

Here the cards are - all completed - I just sent the whole box of goodies off today. 

This was the first style of cards I had sent out.

The second style of card had a bit more movement - you can see what the wave shape of the rubber stamp does for the card.

 These were fun to create.

 And of course the great photos help

 Then I had to match up pages to the cards - to make the envelopes!

 Some I love - some I think are just OK - but that's the way with any artist isn't it?

We are sometimes our worst critics!

let's go surfin' now, everybody's learnin' how - come on and safari with me, with me, with me...

until then, Liz

Color on Color

I am working on the preliminary stages of my surf cards and I thought I would show how one color of ink - looks so unique on different colors of card stock. 

This set shows neon pink ink on bright pink and orange cards.

Bright blue ink on kelly green, pale green, lime, and turquoise stock.

Yellow ink on pale yellow and school bus yellow stock, as well as pink ink on coral and school bus yellow stock.

A variety of inks - silver, blue, and multi-hued on the violet/purple family of card stock.

I have already combined the large magazine page (that will become the envelope) with these cards.  Now to find images that coordinate or contrast - for a layering effect over my stamped 'wave'.  I'll share those with you later!

Until then, xo, Liz