I'm not sure anyone enjoys Thanksgiving as much as my family. For us it's not just a dinner, it's a three-day event. The Wednesday before thanksgiving, all the family members meet up at Gramma's (this year it was my Aunt's house, but usually it's Gramma's). First we had a quick dinner of pizza and then everyone set about slicing and dicing apples, oranges (which usually leads to somebody's hands stinging from citrus juice), grapes, and grapefruits for the big bowl of fruit salad. Then we talked, laughed, played apples-to-apples, and had a general all around good time.
Thanksgiving morning we got up early to get chores done, then came back inside to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade and get the carrots and celery ready for the veggie plate while mom made the coveted chocolate cream pie. Normally we don't know any of the bands or songs in the parade since all the music we listen to is from our parents generation (and in my case, some songs from even before my parents generation), but this year they had songs by Greenday, U2, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis and that guy who does "Who do you love," bands we actually know. Also thought the pizza dough group was awesome.
After the parade we always listen to Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" song on the radio, then we head over the to meet the family for the Thanksgiving feast. We got to our Aunt's house around 1:30. My uncle had a very cool picture slide show playing on the ipad with images from all the past holidays and get togethers; everyone was clustered together in a little corner watching it. Then came the food.
In my family, there's never a shortage because someone is always worried there won't be enough so we always make extra. We have turkey, rolls, corn, peas, squash, excellent stuffing, Gramma's applesauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, creamed cauliflower, clam stuffing, not to mention all the pies for desert. Pretty much every kind anyone could ask, including the chocolate cream pie that we sometimes play cards for to see who wins the last piece.
After lunch all of us cousins play games. This year we started with the Nerf gun war as my little cousin has pretty much every Nerf dart gun they make, so all of us kids are upstairs ducking behind doorways and stealing ammo from one another trying not to get hit with the darts in the process. After exhausting ourselves in the battle, we went back downstairs and started the annual chess championship rounds. We had two people playing on the Chinese chess set, and two people playing chess on the ipad. Then there were rounds of stratego, or as we like to call it "strategery."
At 4:00 we headed home to do the second set of chores, listening to Alice's Restaurant again on the the way, then we drove back down to my Aunt's, and rewarmed dinner in the microwave, followed by a piece of pie. We all sat talking, laughing and joking for a time, then all of us cousins went up to play the Nintendo (or play station, or whatever they call those things now). Since Thanksgiving is the only time I ever play, I don't drive so well with the little controllers and my car was usually seen flying off a cliff. I consistently ended up in last place every time, save for the two times I squeaked by to get second to last place.
About 9:00 everyone gathered in the living room and we started a movie. This year it was Tommy Boy. I don't think I'll ever get sick of watching that deer tear apart David Spade's car. And at long last, after the movie was over, everyone cleared out slowly and went home.
Thanksgiving doesn't end there though. For us black Friday doesn't mean shopping it means "left-overs night!" At 6:30 Friday night we all go down to my Aunt's to have "another Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat," and then we cousins once again set about for a round of game playing fun. We played two rounds rounds of clue, which included an interested dice rolling sequence where the first person rolled 1, the second person rolled 2, the third player rolled 3, and the forth player rolled 4 before the sequence spell finally broke with the fifth player. Afterward my uncle taught us all how to play Euchre, which I haven't played since I was about 7. We finally got the hang of it I think. We dealt the cards out for poker, but never got around to it, since we were all too busy eating. Then we went up to the play station once again, and once again I spent most of the evening unsuccessfully trying not to drive my car off a cliff. And like the previous night, I consistently came in last every time except for twice when I made it to second to last place.
Everybody cleared out about quarter after eleven with a box of leftovers to use as lunches the following week. Gotta love it.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Pumpkin Seed Saving
I think my cows' favorite time of year are the post Halloween weeks. Not only do they get all the moldy jack 'o lanterns, but they also get all the left-over squash, gourds and pumpkins that weren't carved or sold at the market. Before we make bovine meals out of the unused orange fruits, however, we always cut them open to save the seeds.
Seed saving is a great way to get a jump start on the following year, as it means not having to order from the seed company and wait for the seeds to arrive. Best of all, the seeds you save yourself are free. Seed saving can also produce some very odd squash and pumpkin varieties when seeds are saved from different types that were perhaps grown too closely together in a particular year. And if you save your seeds year after year, you'll always know what type of pumpkins you have.
If you want pumpkins and squash that will be true to seed, try a quick internet search to be sure that the seeds from your particular pumpkin won't revert back the mothering gene. As makes sense, take seeds from the pumpkins you want to produce. If you want big pumpkins next year, take them from big pumpkins this year, if you want smaller pumpkins next year, take them from smaller pumpkins this year. Of course growing conditions will always have a large affect on pumpkins, but it's best to at least start with what you want if hope to have a chance of finishing with what you want.
To save seeds, fill a dish with lukewarm water. Cut a pumpkin in half and start pulling out the seeds with your fingers. Only take seeds that are plump and unsprouted, avoid any thin, papery seeds. Put the seeds into the bowl of water and knead them through the liquid to wash them free of the pumpkin gook.
Lay parchment paper on a cookie tray. Using your fingers as a strainer, pull handfuls of pumpkin seeds out of the dish and spread them across the cookie tray. Leave the cookie tray in dry area and stir the seeds around every few days to ensure that they dry evenly. Once completely dry, store the seeds in a canning jar until spring planting.
As an added bonus, when you're saving seeds, you can also make a healthy snack of roasted pumpkin seeds, or wait until the seeds are dry and cover them in chocolate.
Seed saving is a great way to get a jump start on the following year, as it means not having to order from the seed company and wait for the seeds to arrive. Best of all, the seeds you save yourself are free. Seed saving can also produce some very odd squash and pumpkin varieties when seeds are saved from different types that were perhaps grown too closely together in a particular year. And if you save your seeds year after year, you'll always know what type of pumpkins you have.
If you want pumpkins and squash that will be true to seed, try a quick internet search to be sure that the seeds from your particular pumpkin won't revert back the mothering gene. As makes sense, take seeds from the pumpkins you want to produce. If you want big pumpkins next year, take them from big pumpkins this year, if you want smaller pumpkins next year, take them from smaller pumpkins this year. Of course growing conditions will always have a large affect on pumpkins, but it's best to at least start with what you want if hope to have a chance of finishing with what you want.
To save seeds, fill a dish with lukewarm water. Cut a pumpkin in half and start pulling out the seeds with your fingers. Only take seeds that are plump and unsprouted, avoid any thin, papery seeds. Put the seeds into the bowl of water and knead them through the liquid to wash them free of the pumpkin gook.
Lay parchment paper on a cookie tray. Using your fingers as a strainer, pull handfuls of pumpkin seeds out of the dish and spread them across the cookie tray. Leave the cookie tray in dry area and stir the seeds around every few days to ensure that they dry evenly. Once completely dry, store the seeds in a canning jar until spring planting.
As an added bonus, when you're saving seeds, you can also make a healthy snack of roasted pumpkin seeds, or wait until the seeds are dry and cover them in chocolate.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Storing Yarn
Last spring I started what has become a very long project, making Clint Eastwood's serape from Fist Full of Dollars (the greatest Western ever filmed). In order to stay with a fair amount of authenticity, I have been weaving it with yarn instead of just making a lookalike from some cheap cotton fabric. One thing that had never occurred to me was the danger the project would be in when I got busy and left it alone for several months.
I am well aware of the havoc that moths can wreak on sweaters, but I had never even thought about what they might do plain yarn itself. I was therefore quite dismayed when I picked the project back up this week and discovered a slew of moth larvae had infested one of my balls of yarn and munched holes all throughout it like a block of Swiss cheese. (I was fortunate enough to find that they had not yet begun to chew apart all the hard work I'd invested in the Serape itself.) I quickly realized something needed to be done.
While the little cedar blocks they make for sweaters are a good way to discourage moths, I decided to try something else that would allow me to kill two bird with one stone. Those little plastic zipper containers that sets of sheets come in are just perfect size for storing two or three balls of yarn. Their tight zipper closures keeps out the unwanted moths, and they provide a neat, convenient way to store yarn. Now on to finishing the serape!
I am well aware of the havoc that moths can wreak on sweaters, but I had never even thought about what they might do plain yarn itself. I was therefore quite dismayed when I picked the project back up this week and discovered a slew of moth larvae had infested one of my balls of yarn and munched holes all throughout it like a block of Swiss cheese. (I was fortunate enough to find that they had not yet begun to chew apart all the hard work I'd invested in the Serape itself.) I quickly realized something needed to be done.
While the little cedar blocks they make for sweaters are a good way to discourage moths, I decided to try something else that would allow me to kill two bird with one stone. Those little plastic zipper containers that sets of sheets come in are just perfect size for storing two or three balls of yarn. Their tight zipper closures keeps out the unwanted moths, and they provide a neat, convenient way to store yarn. Now on to finishing the serape!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Happy Celtic New Year
Ah, astrological Halloween, I love it. Today was the day the sun reached 15 degrees Scorpio, the day the ancient Celts used as Samhain, the Halloween precursor. And boy, the Celts sure knew what they were doing having Samhain as their new year festival. I agree with their way of thinking because it's as much a new year for me as it was for the Celts (considering we both share the same farming calender, I suppose that makes sense).
Everything is finished for the year. I'm done with the market, I'm done with craft shows, the last harvests have been gotten in, and even work at my office job is slowing down. I guess these all bring mixed feelings. Since I'm burned out with exhaustion from the hustle and bustle of summer, the much needed winter rest is welcome, but I have to admit the extra summer money is nice to have. But either way, it's now time to move on to a fresh year. It's time for fall cleaning and cozy flannel sheets, time to remove the summer wind chimes from my woodland walking path, and time to tackle all the projects I've been putting off over the summer.
With my Celtic New Year fresh start, I'm going to concentrate more effort on web designing this year. I've dabbled in it a little bit with overhauling a large portion of a relative's website, and earlier this year doing from scratch the website for the farm market which I rather like (http://canandaiguafarmersmarket.com/). The first site on my list for this winter, however, will be my own. The Woodland Elf site is looking fairly shabby, but considering that I originally slapped it together several years ago in about 10 minutes without a template and without having previously known a scrap of java script, I think its simple appearance is understandable.
I've been trying to get at it and spice it for the last two years, but there seems to have always been other more important things that kept pushing it further down my to-do list. This year, however, I'm bound and determined to take the time to fix it just how I want it. Especially since I'm doing so much more than just candles and soaps now, it's definitely time for an update. I plan to start re-coding it tonight, but sadly enough I'm usually much better at doing other people's sites than taking the time to do my own, so we'll see how this turns out.
Everything is finished for the year. I'm done with the market, I'm done with craft shows, the last harvests have been gotten in, and even work at my office job is slowing down. I guess these all bring mixed feelings. Since I'm burned out with exhaustion from the hustle and bustle of summer, the much needed winter rest is welcome, but I have to admit the extra summer money is nice to have. But either way, it's now time to move on to a fresh year. It's time for fall cleaning and cozy flannel sheets, time to remove the summer wind chimes from my woodland walking path, and time to tackle all the projects I've been putting off over the summer.
With my Celtic New Year fresh start, I'm going to concentrate more effort on web designing this year. I've dabbled in it a little bit with overhauling a large portion of a relative's website, and earlier this year doing from scratch the website for the farm market which I rather like (http://canandaiguafarmersmarket.com/). The first site on my list for this winter, however, will be my own. The Woodland Elf site is looking fairly shabby, but considering that I originally slapped it together several years ago in about 10 minutes without a template and without having previously known a scrap of java script, I think its simple appearance is understandable.
I've been trying to get at it and spice it for the last two years, but there seems to have always been other more important things that kept pushing it further down my to-do list. This year, however, I'm bound and determined to take the time to fix it just how I want it. Especially since I'm doing so much more than just candles and soaps now, it's definitely time for an update. I plan to start re-coding it tonight, but sadly enough I'm usually much better at doing other people's sites than taking the time to do my own, so we'll see how this turns out.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Coincidences
It's interesting how coincidences happen sometimes. I was dropping off a wreath order at the The Dalai Java this morning (if you're a coffee drinker it's next to Byrne Dairy on Main Street in Canandaigua) and about 3 seconds after I walked in, someone who frequented the farm market this summer walked in behind me. He saw me and said I might just the person who could help him, asking if I could repair an item for him. Now that is what I call a happy coincidence; being in the right place at just the right time.
I also finished the St. Mary's show this weekend. The turnout wasn't as big as we'd been hoping, but this was only the first year, and next year they're planning on more advertising. It was certainly a lot of fun though, going around and seeing all the things everyone else had made and talking with the other vendors. Turns out the woman sitting next to me was even related to someone my mother used to landscape for. Two coincidences in one day; what are the odds.
I also finished the St. Mary's show this weekend. The turnout wasn't as big as we'd been hoping, but this was only the first year, and next year they're planning on more advertising. It was certainly a lot of fun though, going around and seeing all the things everyone else had made and talking with the other vendors. Turns out the woman sitting next to me was even related to someone my mother used to landscape for. Two coincidences in one day; what are the odds.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Craft Show This Weekend
Hey, this weekend I'll be at St. Mary's in Canandaigua doing a craft show both Saturday and Sunday. Stop by and check it out. I'm working on a bunch of new things that I don't generally take to market, new wreaths, Christmas ornaments and the like. I'll try to have the how-to's for a few of the projects posted over the next couple of weeks, but for now it's "balls to the wall" getting ready. I'm very excited about this weekend, but I gotta admit, I'm glad it's the last one of the year. The exhaustion has finally hit. Celtic New Year is starting to look pretty good right now!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)