Giving Back - making the communities we live in, better - a few hours at a time

As I drove down Clarkes Gap Road (Rt. 662) today, I heard the satisfying *pop* of a black walnut under my tires. It is October now and the leaves have started to fall. My trip through Waterford, VA down the road to where I live in Paeonian Springs is a pretty short jaunt. The first time I ever saw Waterford was when I traveled there from WVU with my graduate school adviser, Emory Kemp, in 1987. He is an eminent Civil Engineer and Historian of Technology. 
I was working under him with the goal of getting a Master's in History/Historic Preservation. At the time, Emory was a consultant working with specialty contractor Rod Dias to restore the Hague Huff House that lies to the north of Bond Street (see top/center of map below) and I got to come along for the ride! 

History Map of Waterford Virginia

Map home

This is a map drawn by Eugene Scheel, a Waterford historian and mapmaker.

Map Copyright © Eugene Scheel

*Map taken from www.waterfordvillage.org*

  For me - there is nothing like the thrill of seeing a house restoration in the works. To see the organic growth of an old house with it's rooms cobbled together, the studs and lath under the plaster,  to read the history of a room in the shape of a stove that was painted around - it is all a puzzle to me just waiting to be solved. 
Yes I did get that degree - thanks to Emory and the Public History Department at WVU. I had an almost custom made graduate program to follow during my years there.

And as fate would have it - a few years later my first husband and I purchased a sweet 1909 house just down the road from Waterford in the little Victorian village of Paeonian Springs. 
The grass outside was 6 feet tall, the house had 2, 15 amp fuses, and 'supposed' cold water to the kitchen sink. There was no source of heat, however it boasted a two seater outhouse. My friend Gary Geiselman said that if I restored it, the place would look like a doll house - and in fact, it does! 

Years passed, I started Bittersweet Design Studio as an all encompassing umbrella to my Interior Design work, Historic Preservation consultation, hand made goods and vintage wares. I applied to and was juried in to the venerable Waterford Fair for 5 years in the mid 1990s. 
Now, as life seems to do, it has come back around and I will be at Waterford again. This time as volunteer docent for the James Moore Steer house - now know as Old Acre. This house is on tour this Friday October 4th. You can read more about it below.  Proceeds from the fair, benefit various preservation programs throughout the town of Waterford.
"Old Acre

James Moore, Jr., probably constructed this house between 1815 and 1838, when he sold it to his nephew James Moore Steer (1810-1874). Steer and his brother-in-law Reuben Schooley operated a series of agricultural manufacturing shops behind the house along Factory Street, giving that street its name. Exterior brickwork indicates that the northern block of Old Acre was built before the southern end, originally a single story."

*Info taken from the website www.waterfordfoundation.org*

I am currently scheduled to be in the kitchen at Old Acre. Come and see me if you get a chance.

Where do you volunteer? Do you have a favorite cause? Tell me about it in the comment section below! Regards, Liz

Cherries wet and heavy on the branches

I should be blogging about all sorts of things right now - but probably not this one.  However, whenever I make this meal for dinner - it takes me back to a most magical moment.  
During college I studied so much about European art, furniture, architecture - that it made my teeth hurt; I wanted to see it so badly.  As an American, I truly feel blessed to have been able to visit Europe (1990) during my lifetime.  I would give my eye teeth to go again.  
The meal - Cassoulet - eaten first  - in Carcassonne, the very south of France.
We arrived in the town around midnight, by train - and made our way to the hotel (the Termini, I believe) - close to the railway station.  The town of Carcassonne is two 'parts'.  The surrounding lower, modern town; the older town, on the fortified mountain above.  These were Roman fortifications that were later made into a town by the Visigoths.   This town was the first recorded 'exercise' in Historic Preservation.  Viollet le Duc, a French architect and theorist, was the man who spear-headed the preservation of this amazing place in 1853.  Having a degree in Historic Preservation simply meant I had to see this place.  Oh, I was in heaven.  We spent all of our first day in 'old town' walking the cobblestone streets, and exploring every nook and cranny.  Before we left to go back to the hotel in the afternoon, we made reservations at one of the restaurants in the restored mountain fortifications of Carcassonne. 
Early evening falls.  Storm clouds gather.  As we walk the paths winding up the mountain, the wind picks up, and the rain drenches us.  But - who cares?  We are in France.  The image that stays with me so strongly from this moment - is the cherry trees along the mountainside.  There are lights in odd places along the pathways - and the cherries are so heavy on the branches - that with the wind and the rain -the wet, bright red cherries, bob in and out of the light.  It is the most dramatic and fabulous sight - in my memory for all time.
At the restaurant, I believe it was the Auberge des Duc's d'Oc, we sat at a table for two, in a stone building with low ceilings and wonderful atmosphere.  
I ordered the cassoulet.  There were no words...

 I won't give the recipe here - but I use Martha Stewart's that I got out of her magazine years ago.  You can look there.  It is fairly long and complicated, but so worth it.  Because I know what it is supposed to taste like, I cheat when needed.  I rarely have confit of duck close by... 

 The dry, crusty bread (4 cups) is tossed with 4 tablespoons of butter - and put on top of the cassoulet towards the end.

 I do all of my cooking on this 1920s Oriole gas stove.  My favorite appliance in my home.

The cassoulet during one of it's liquid checks...

 

 The toasty crunchy bread on top; the bread underneath has absorbed some of the delicious broth.

Ready to savor, served in my antique ironstone soup bowls.  Because it is so rich and complex in flavors - a hearty red wine is recommended to compliment it.  
Enjoy - and with me, think of cherry trees, branches heavy with cherries, bowing and swaying in a May rainstorm.


Love, Elizabeth