Turkey Time

Hopefully I'll be able to update this with photos in the days to come, but Solish/Siegel Thanksgiving went off smoothly this year.  Though I'm not sure anyone actually reads this, I will weave a story for you that reaches back to Thanksgiving 2010.

I arrived in San Francisco at about 10pm Monday night, having left Corning at 5pm after working for most of the day.  My flights went off without a hitch, my spirits were pretty high, but I was crispy fried and ready for a bed.  I'm not very good at sleeping when I fly west, at least, not the first night.  I usually come home, munch something tasty from the fridge, and then end up reading, on my computer, or "cleaning"/rediscovering things in my bedroom.  My sister and I stayed up until about midnight, her reading a book for school, me sorting through bags and boxes from my last visit home.  I kept at it for another hour and finally fell into bed.

A quick caveat about my bed:  it's wonderful.  It might only be a twin, and the mattress might be the one I got for my original "big girl" bed, but there's a quilted mattress pad that makes it soft and cozy.  On top of that I have delicious Pure Beech sheets (this time in a soft green), and a down comforter.  Over everything, I have a hand sewn quilt bought at a craft fair in Maine, a gift from my aunt Jo and uncle Sam.  It's blue and done in the log cabin style.  I love it.

The next day my mom and I drove my sister to school, after eating breakfast with my dad.  My mom had some work to finish up and at about noon got frustrated enough to throw in the towel for the day.  I'd been buzzing around the house, cleaning, exploring, knitting, etc.  We drove to Filoli Estate but they were closed for the season.  We then decided to conduct a driving architectural tour of the area near our house, with a focus on seeing the Woodside Store.  This place is one I remember from my childhood; a 3rd or 4th grade trip on which we learned about tin-punch lanterns and striking redwood shingles using a "froe".  I'm sure we also used the 2-man saw with a lethal blade, patterned to sweep wood chips out of the cut!  We continued to explore, and then went to pick up my sister.  My mom drove me up the peninsula to meet one of my dearest childhood friends, Daniella, at Copenhagen Bakery.  Bakery, coffee, food... delicious!  She had a banana surprise (chocolate covered banana on top of cream, jam and a cookie/biscuit!) and I had an almond croissant.

When my father came to pick me up, she gave me a bottle of home brewed mead, and my dad and I hit the grocery store to grab things for dinner.  Dinner was amazing.  Mashed butternut squash, pork loin, corn and pepper cakes, and roasted root veggies.   The next day I focused on getting ready to ride to the Ranch, and getting crafty things around.  I picked my sister up from school around noon and we stopped at a great local, authentic Mexican restaurant for burritos!

We arrived at the Ranch around 6pm and had vegetarian pasta with bread, butter, sauteed broccoli, and salad for dinner.  Thursday was a bit subdued, as we were remembering last year.  We made Turkey, a roast, amazing chestnut stuffing, pies, and most importantly, Grandma's vegetable soup.  I couldn't go without it.  Last year, she was very sick, but she waited until everyone had eaten dinner before she decided it was her time to leave us.  Thankfully she was in little pain until the end, and the only person who was late was aunt Jo who couldn't get away from work easily.  It was very hard and everyone was a blatant mess about it. Of course, flights were changed/cancelled, there were tears and a hush over the house.  I'll never forget how her breathing would stop for a few seconds longer and Papa would look up with tears in his eyes, struggling not to go with her.  His heart was breaking for all of us to see and parts of our hearts were breaking too.

So this year, we made her turkey, and her roast, and her vegetable soup using her good dishes and celebrated family and her life.   We had Thanksgiving the way we have had it for many many years (the roast added after she developed an avian protein allergy).  We spend much of Friday, remembering her.  Papa has spent the last year, cleaning the garage and working on projects with his newly clean space to celebrate Grandma.  He's created a beautiful arbor with benches, a fountain, a magnolia tree, a rock (waiting for a plaque), and holes for grape vines to be planted in.  He's thought up mosaic projects to honor her and written a beautiful poem that he shared with us at a ceremony we started in that special memorial spot at the Ranch.  We said a prayer and read his poem and words from my mom, and then proceeded to the cemetery to say Kaddish, more words, place Ranch stones, and to release monarch butterflies for her.  We feasted afterward with fish and chips at our favorite place, The Little Hut in Morro Bay.

Dinner was Vegetable soup (which I can now make for Jake, having successfully made it without Grandma telling me what to do), and then dad and Elena and I headed back to Palazzo San Carlos so I could fly out at 7am.  It was a hard but beautiful Thanksgiving with everyone there (Sam and Jo too!), and I came back to NY in time for the Shaw/Bloise Hunters dinner and Indy playing sax in the Parade of Lights on Market street.

Yarn and things

I've been very "knit-happy" recently, and finally made some progress!  I managed to spin, skein and wash my first ever hank of handspun wool!  I'm in love with it and believe it wants to be a cozy, lacy hat!

I'm very excited to see how the project turns out, though I'm worried that I won't have enough yarn to make the piece.  I may have to try to make more...

First skein!

I've continued to spin, and been successful at a skinnier "single", though I have yet to skein and wash it.  I have managed to finish a few scarves to sell at a local boutique here in Corning.  Hopefully the sales go better than last year.  I'm not sure that any of my handspun will be sold yet, though I do know that the price of those will be much much higher than that of pieces made with acrylic.  Not astronomical, but if I'm using handspun, I think they're worth more!

These are the beginning of my collection, each one done in a different style.  I'm excited about them, and hopefully they sell!

Past Pickles

Thoughts from early September:

I shared the beginnings of my garden, but not the intervening bits...

I had enough cucumbers between my garden and Jake's Mom's garden that pickles were a new adventure I embarked on this summer.  I made savory, refrigerator pickles which turned out pretty darn good.  However, I learned a valuable lesson the 2nd time around:  let the brine COOOL down.  It really helps in the long run.

Gardens are for Summer

Late September thoughts:

My wonderful, overgrown garden (which has not been featured nearly enough...) is *starting* to wind down.  My tomatoes FINALLY started to ripen!

Obsessed

I really am, and I have no problem admitting it.

I love fiber. Wool, silk, acrylic; yarn, roving, pure fleece.  I love it all.

My mind has been going a-mile-a-minute for the past week or so as I've renewed my efforts to start hand spinning again.  The roadblock in my way?  Several UFO's dying to be finished and posted here or Etsy, or wrapped up for gifts to deserving family members and friends.  I have several scarves, a cross stitch, and a pair of socks to complete; wouldn't it be nice if they were done in time for the holidays?

Usually I try to be very articulate and easily understood, but sometimes my excitement gets the better of me and I send emails or have phone conversations like this one:


"Hi Momma,

I forgot to call this AM.  I've been so preoccupied with work on auto-pilot and "fiber arts" dominating my mind.  

One thing I think I forgot to mention about my mini vacation to the 1000 islands is that there was a farm market/wine festival at Boldt castle.  One of the reasons I was so hot to go that weekend was because of the festival.  I bought DELICIOUS smoked cheddar cheese (which was quickly demolished!) and saw some beautiful knit pieces and SPINNING WHEELS!!!!!

I've decided, well I decided a long time ago, that I wanted a spinning wheel.  I play with the thought of having an angora rabbit too.... (to spin it's fur of course!)  I do have a very cheap drop spindle and some roving (processed wool ready for spinning) that I'm going to play with soon, and look into nicer, better spindles for the interim.  Eventually I will own a house where I can have my very own diana-crafty-yarny-fireplacey heaven.  With comfy furniture of course and walls and walls of books.  Think John Adams library (remember that?) meets woman's solar without lacey pink nonsense.  Oh, and big windows.  probably a window seat or alcove with small pleasure-book book case and chaise lounge.  

See I have it all planned out, you'll have to visit. 

I'll *hopefully* have my hand spinning started by the wedding so that I can really finish up UFO's (unfinished objects) and make more!

Ok, enough of the crazy ramblings.  Love you, xoxoxoxxo,

Diana"

I really can be crazy at times but it's a matter of my excitement and ideas piling onto each other so fast and thick that my mouth can't keep up with my mind and I eventually become incoherent.  If I had any sense at all, I'd carry the kind of notebook that would allow me to jot down and draw all of these fantastic ideas and commit them to paper to clear out my head space a bit. 

Below is an image of the John Adams Library in Quincy, MA that I mention in my email to my mother.  I loved visiting it because of the walls and walls of books.  I am a firm believer in fireplaces accompanying books and fiber arts, as well as leather chairs near the fire place.  I won't have something as large as this, but I loved this space so much so that I wanted to sit down and sketch the entire thing and forget about the rest of the tour...

Another library, far more sumptuous than that of John Adams, is the one at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. It goes beyond luxury, and is far too much for me, but the raw elements of it are what draws me in.

I love the spiral staircase up to the second level, as well as the huge fireplace.  The windows, if I remember correctly, are large and make the room feel open and airy despite the dark colors and heavy mantle.

In my little world, I'd have something in the middle of these two spaces, with comfortable furniture, large windows, large fireplace, and loads of books.  A spinning wheel in a corner, baskets of projects, hidden storage for supplies and friends and family around with me.  I imagine good food, tea, and excellent conversation.  And now I sound like I belong in the Victorian era.... Time to get back to work!

Memorial Day

How about a blast from the past?


In the not so distant past, we did some work with a bulldozer at Jake's family property in Hornby.  Now, I use we in a very loose manner, since the most work I did was to help paint trim, and sleep.  Jake's friend Nate jumped into the 'dozer cabin and had a glorious 2 days playing with the heavy machinery and moving dirt.


The first day of our adventure opened with the boys tearing down a tree that stood in the middle of the water-logged field between the road and the cabin.  once that was down, Nate began to move dirt around and started to dish out the pond space.  At the end of the day, we had a bit of water starting to take over the small indentation we'd created:

Day two was a bit rough since the top layer of soil was absolute SLUDGE.  And by that I mean super-saturated mud so thick the dozer was sinking quite a bit!

While Jake and Nate were conferring on how to proceed with the mud and dishing out the pond, Indy and I found a useful way to keep ourselves busy!

About 4 days after we'd finished playing in the mud and Nate had made his final passes with the 'dozer, Jake and I came back to investigate the height of the water in our pond hole.  We'd been quite skeptical from the beginning about what height the water would in fact reach, and thought that the picture below would be the view we'd see for years to come....

About 2 weeks later, we saw that there was clearly more water pouring into that old water-logged field than we'd expected!

While we were up there, we started trying to smooth out some of the ruts that the 'dozer had left behind with Jake's pick and the garden hoe.  We made some headway, but mostly I looked around for interesting pictures and frogs.  The water is still so cloudy and green from all the reflected light off the trees that this photo was too good to pass up!

Yeah, I know...

.....Long time, no write.  I've been bad; it's been months.  Needless to say, I have plenty to share in the form of backdated posts, however I will wait to do that and give you a current update.

My major bike ride, the Tour de Cure (in Watkins Glen, NY) will be here in less than two weeks!!! I'm a little apprehensive, since it'll be a very big ride for me, but I'll be having a great time doing it with the wonderful boyfriend in tow.  I have several rides that I've done recently, though most of them don't come with pictures.  Honestly, that doesn't bother me overly much because it simply means that I'll need to do those rides again.  Luckily I haven't found a single route that I don't like.  

About 2 weeks ago, I rode around Keuka lake in the Tour de Keuka.  It's a similar ride to the one I'll be doing in the next couple of weeks, but the funds go to JDRF the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  It was about 97 degrees out and the 46 miles seemed to drag on a bit, but finishing felt incredible.  I spent most of the ride alongside a lawyer, Greg, from Florida.   He was visiting his parents (who have a cottage on Keuka lake) with his wife and kids, and decided to do the ride on a whim.  He had wonderful encouragement and advice for me and helped push me to ride harder and faster (Jake was off with the front of the pack going about a bazillion miles an hour...).  

Bicycling always makes me feel so good about myself, that I often am led to the question of what am I going to eat?!?! (once I get home).   Recently this has blossomed into a few different things.  I made "refrigerator pickles" and promptly fell in love with them.  The recipe came from a blog link on Tastespotting, one of my absolute favorite gold-mines for recipes.  Once I come up with my own spice blend, I'll submit it there and post pictures here!  (Maybe some intermediary ones firsts...)  I also made Amish zucchini bread which is delicious.  I brought some to my cousin Amy's bridal shower, and everyone gobbled it up in the space of an hour or two!

Tonight, I made scones.  I love scones.  The English Rose is one of my favorite places to go when I'm home, and their scones don't have eggs so they became an instant favorite in my house since my grandmother and mother were/are both afflicted with an egg allergy. 

Yes, stolen from the web, but honestly the best shot I could find of the English Rose!
...And to the right, my scones.  Before they were covered in butter and munched!

I made blueberry scones tonight (because Jake LOVES blueberries) and they taste fantastic.  I used some  frozen berries picked last year or the year before at Jake's Uncle's property.  We love to go berrying there and I think we're due for another berrying date with Jake's grandmother!

My garden also deserves an update.  I'll have to add photos of the foliage, but as you can see, both my garden (the zukes) and Jake's mom's garden (cukes & pepper) are thriving nicely.  Which really is an understatement but alas, it's too late to take photos outside..

First "Summer" Bike Ride!

Panorama of farmland near the end of your ride.

This past Saturday (5/21), we finally got "summer" weather!  It was sunny, 70-ish, and clear skies (which have been clouded with rain or the threat of rain for weeks now).  Jake took me on a short (8.5 mi) ride through the Watkins Glen hills, partially along the old race path.  I had my butt handed to me on a silver platter as at least 2/3 of the ride was uphill.  I'm not very strong yet on hills, so while it was a bit painful, the ride was awesome and felt wonderful to accomplish.  I am so incredibly thankful that my family helped me get my new bike for my birthday.  I have already seen the improvement in my ability to ride.  Being able to tackle the hills felt great, but another test was to ride one of my favorite Corning, NY rides and see how I compared to last-summer-Diana.

Farmhouse/barn in Watkins Glen

River Road is a beautiful, wooded road that meanders along the Chemung river on the opposite side from the highway.  It's not an overly challenging ride, but the 13 miles used to take me at least 30min longer on my old bike, and my average speed was a little better than half of what it was today.  What's more, Jake's great grandfather, John "BTO" Bloise, has a large garden plot where he plants TONS of strawberries and other delicious things.   It looks like his plot is off to a good start this year, so I can't wait until I can grab some good photos

of all the fruits and veggies he grows!

Wash it Down With a Glass of Burgundy

This weekend was an excellent start to summer.  While "the first day of summer" is a few weeks away (somewhere in mid June), the weather was gorgeous enough to qualify for "summer" days.  

It all started when I arrived home early on friday afternoon, having put in a bunch of extra time in earlier in the week.  Awaiting me was a small box that had been shoved into the mailbox along with the other mail.  It was proof that moms are amazing.  What was in it? Have a look:

My moms sent me funny looking "Onion goggles" which were quite amazing owing to the fact that they are lime green, and just a really neat idea in general.   She also included a literal "taste of home" in the form of M.A.S.H. by M.E.D.S. (Michael and Sharyn's Herbs by Michael, Elena, Diana, and Sharyn.  For as long as I can remember we've grown herbs.  I remember being young, maybe even before Elena was born, and getting thyme.  It was MY thyme and I was so proud of how large the plant got.  We've always grown and dried our own herbs and used them to make some of the best food ever.  I honestly think it's a miracle I'm not heavier than I am.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE food, especially when I've grown some of the things that have gone into what I'm making.  

To that end, I've been trying to grow a few herbs.  My sage died over the winter, so I've been trying to grow it from seed.  So far, I am still waiting on seeds to sprout in my very stylish styrofoam cups... I've also been trying to propagate basil like crazy from a very special mother plant; one Cordelia grew from seed and brought to me from MD!
I have 6 established basil plants and about 6 more in the clear cup near the end of the windowsill.  I bought the parsley after forgetting to take seeds from The Ranch, and its done extremely well.

I've also been trying a bit of an experiment... tomatoes from seed!  Except for the fact that I thought they'd be ok out in the sun all day, they're doing really well.  I lost about half, but a couple have bounced back really really well, and the rest are still working on it.  It's been a really fun thing to do, and I can't wait to be in the same place for a few years to really establish a great garden.  

Jake and I also took an incredible bike ride in the area around the Watkins Glen gorge.  It was only about 8 1/2 miles long, but a good 2/3 of the ride was uphill and thus, kicked my butt in a major way.  Unfortunately, the pictures are on my phone and will have to wait until tomorrow to be posted... 

Tomatoes, Hot Dogs, & Shooting Stars

The last two weeks have been incredible.  I've fallen into step with my new job both being glued to a computer and playing on the job-site for the project I've been working the most on.  Visiting the job-site means trekking up to Corning, inc.'s Sullivan Park complex up on a hill.  The complex (which is huge by the way), backs onto a HUGE amount of acreage covered in trees.  I was able to take a great hike on paths half decimated by the crazy amount of rain we've had, as well as tramping through the woods with no path to follow.  The birds and other animals were out in force and I could almost swear it sounded like there were Velociraptors among them!

I've been working on the makings of a summer garden, which mostly includes starting tomatoes from seed!  I've got several seedlings that will be separated into their own styrofoam cups tomorrow so they don't get too crowded.  I also need to start new sage since mine really didn't like winter...  I'm still debating (on the side of 'go for it!' ) about buying a blackcurrant bush.  I love blackcurrant tea which can be made from the leaves and I can only imagine they taste amazing though I've only had red currants.

This weekend was also the opening weekend for the campground at which Jake's mom has a camper.  She and the rest of her household (minus Indy) are spending the night.  We went over to join them for dinner which was campfire-cooked hotdogs and s'mores for dessert.  While we were gabbing around the fire after dinner, I caught a shooting star dash across the sky... Haven't seen one of those in years.

New Job!

Yup, that's right!  I will be gainfully employed as of wednesday!  I'll be using my wonderful degree, that I was beginning to think was good only as a foundation for continued academic study, and the experience I gained working with Rob Wolfe and his small architecture firm.  I'm excited because it'll be an education of what goes behind the walls and above/below the ceiling and floor besides the structure of the building.  I'll go to school and learn about structure, but HVAC, electrical and mechanical systems are new territory for me!  

Childhood

This beautiful image is one of my childhood.  My wonderful mother bought me The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies which powered so much of my imagination.  I could stare for hours at the incredible drawings of gauzy wings and vibrant flowers.  The poems were fun to read as well and were just a "drop in the bucket" where my poetry collection is concerned.  Literature and poetry were a part of everyday life for me growing up.  My first book that I ever read was a rhyming book: Each Peach Pear Plum.  I can still recite the opening lines from memory: "Each peach pear plum, I spy Tom Thumb.  Tom Thumb in the cupboard, I spy Mother Hubbard."  Hands down one of my favorite children's books.  *Beware good friends of mine.... When you have babies, you're getting my favorite children's books!* 

THE SONG OF 
THE FORGET - ME - NOT FAIRY

So small, so blue, in grassy places
My flowers raise
Their tiny faces.
By streams my bigger sisters grow,
And smile in gardens,
In a row.
I've never seen a garden plot;
But though I'm small
Forget me not!


For a reason I can't figure out, the Harebell fairy was my favorite.  Maybe it was the delicate drooping blossoms, or the way the fairy looked so wistful and elegant; I think I wanted her dress... Either way, these fairies and their poems are things I still cherish in the well read pages of that book.

THE SONG OF 
THE HAREBELL FAIRY


O bells, on stems so thin and fine!
No human ear
Your sound can hear,
O lightly chiming bells of mine!


When dim and dewy twilight falls,
Then comes the time
When harebells chime
For fairy feasts and fairy balls.


They tinkle while the fairies play,
With dance and song,
The whole night long,
Till daybreak wakens, cold and grey,
And elfin music fades away.


(The Harebell is the Bluebell of Scotland.)

Madness and Mayhem OR A Weekend of Rugby

This weekend was the Old Goat Alumni Rugby Tournament where the current boys team plays the alum boys and the alums *try* to trounce the younger men... The weekend was a little slice of bliss for me seeing as I stayed in an incredible old B&B and reconnected with so many old friends.  By the end of the weekend, there were so many old friendships rekindled and new ones forged, that I'm reminded of why I joined rugby in the first place.  Part of why I joined was because of Cass, part because I wanted to prove I wouldn't get broken, and part because I knew that the community that Rugby builds is a community for life, much better than any greek system....

Having said that I also realized that I've let some of my dreams slip by the wayside and I've promised myself that I will pursue as many as I possibly can regardless of how scary they might be.  I have that job interview tomorrow, which I'm very excited for.   I don't know what will happen, but I've got my fingers crossed and hope that I get somewhere with it.  I still haven't heard from any school other than UMass, so I'm beginning to plan for my eventual move there.  I'm wondering if I shouldn't try to work something out with UMass if I get this job since I think the job will be incredible.  I'm stuck because on one hand I have family telling me to follow my dreams and we'll make things work out however we can.  On the other I have friends telling me I shouldn't be approaching more schooling without a financial bent to my planning.

My next project is to try to figure out funding, oh joy.

Oh hello brand new start, I was hoping it was you!

It’s supposed to be beautiful out (come on spring!), but instead we have snow.  SNOW!  I’d rather have a thunderstorm… followed by sunshine!  Mostly, I’d like sunshine for this weekend when I’ll be visiting my Alma Mater for a dose of my favorite sport, Rugby!  It’s the second annual Old Goat Alumni Tournament, where the ol’ boys try to trounce the current team.  My secret (or maybe not so secret) hope is that eventually the girls will get their ducks in a row and we’ll have 2 games for these fabulous weekends!

More importantly, I'm in the process of trying to secure a job, that would truly be an excellent step to the rest of my life. It would be working in HVAC design at a small firm (12 employees or so).  As a first paid job in the building industry, it would be incredible.  Especially since the owner seems to have a passion for teaching the business.  In my previous internship, I learned so much from the small architecture firm standpoint, but it was more about design and presenting designs to municipal boards and clients.  This new opportunity will hopefully be the beginning of my education of what lies behind the walls I was designing. 

It looks very probable that this fall will find me in Amherst, MA as I embark on the crazy journey that will be my [first] Masters degree!   I’m very excited because this could include the purchase of a house (as an investment).   A house would mean that in my [probably nonexistent] free time, I’ll be able to garden and upgrade the house and be in my own architectural/design dream!  I'll save my thoughts on that for another post, but it certainly got me thinking of what my ideal home would be... Lets just say it involves Tudor architecture, exposed wood, and lots of gardening!