Saturday, October 06, 2007

End of summer summary

Things have finally slowed down to a more reasonable pace. This post will be higher on photos than usual.

Alex and Bobbi are married (Bobbi's bouquet at left) and in London... with our cat I might add. Okay, she's not truly ours, but she is on the list of my three most favorite cats ever. The ultimate Halloween kitty, living the life of a world traveler. We've bought our tickets, and on Boxing Day, we're headed to London to mooch off our dear friends for two weeks. I'm sure we'll drag each other all over creation, but I'm looking forward to some good old fashioned family style meals together again too.

On Heather's recommendation (her salve for my work-wounded spirit), I went to the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival. We saw a fantastic display of working sheep dogs - truly amazing animals, and of course loads and loads of fiber. Everything a fiber nut could possibly want was there... including the animals the goods came from!

Our kick-off to the autumn season was my brother's wedding. We chased that with the Scottish Highland Games in New Hampshire (which seemed appropriate since my brother and his best man were kilted). Last weekend, we stayed with my folks at camp in the Northeast Kingdom. Went on a short hike to ogle foliage and spent the rest of the time eating and puttering around doing odd jobs out there. While moving wood, we found a monarch chrysalis on the woodpile. It caught my eye because it stood out against the bark - beautiful jade green with metallic gold spots.

The latest addiction is patchwork bags. There's a lovely new quilting store the next town over, and I paid it a visit. The Better Half has no idea why one would express their appreciation for fabric colors and patterns with the word "yum", so he left me to my own devices just long enough for me to pig out. The weather is cooling down, and my habits turn indoors, so I hope to crank out a few bags and knit some franken-chickens this winter.

Today, we breakfasted at our favorite coffee hole, and hit the last weekend of the farmer's market. It was nice to wander the stalls this morning, before the crowds descended. We met a potter with a sense of humor that shows in his work, and his wares will make good Christmas presents. Not to be left out, we bought ourselves a ninja robot mug. I picked up a fennel bulb and leeks, and i'll grill those tomorrow to make a slaw to go with our pale ale bratwurst. If it stops raining, we'll stop at the orchard to get the makings for apple crisp. Heart stopping sausage and a dessert packed full of butter - there is no better fall meal!

2 comments:

Heather said...

Hi! I've missed you over here!

Funny how fall brings out the same cooking and sewing traits in both of us. Are you working the bags from a pattern or just free-form?

I'm so jealous of your trip plans. What a great way to start the new year.

Kate said...

i made a bag for my sister-in-law's bottle of birthday champagne, and it was so nice to smack together a bunch of colors without thinking too hard about patterns. i loathe cutting out tissue paper. i truly do. tho' i think as i fiddle more, i will be making pattern templates, so i can repeat the bags i like easily. if you have any great design ideas, give a holler. i bought some buttons at the quilt shop to can cover w/ the fabric of my choice. excited to use them.

i cooked too! i roasted leeks and fennel (wow did the house smell good), and made apple crisp. if you pre-crisp the topping in the oven, it doesn't get soggy from the fruit. i learn all kinds of handy tricks from cook's illustrated magazine - adore it. they test all the bad methods and give you the good one, explaining why it works. i don't often follow recipes to a T, but i follow theirs.