Buon Appetito!

Recently Kim at Savvy Southern Style,

had an offer on her blog that I couldn't refuse.

She offered a link to Roba Dolce for free gelato and sorbetto.

All I needed to do was contact them,

display their button on my sidebar for a month,

and write a review, IF I choose.

I was game!

A few days later the box arrived.

I had expected a couple of single serving containers.


Imagine the surprise when I got 5 one-quart(+) containers
in addition to 3 single servings!
Flavors included were Coconut Gelato,
Dark Chocolate Chunk Gelato
Lemon Sorbetto
Mango Sorbetto and
Pistachio Gelato




This kind of goodness needed to be shared.
So last Wednesday when it was my turn to host
my weekly knitting group,
we had a very (un)scientific taste testing!




Such hard work!




But, we labored though all the flavors.

I had everyone rate the flavors 1-5,

with #1 as their most favorite,

#5 as their least.

Then I totaled each flavor's ranking and averaged it.

Here's how the flavors came out for us:

#1 Dark Chocolate Chunk Gelato = Score 2

(This was my personal favorite. It's very rich,

with lots of large chucks of chocolate.)

#2 Coconut Gelato = Score 2.6

#3 Mango Sorbetto = Score 3.2

(My least favorite, but everyone else liked it.)

#4 Lemon Sorbetto = Score 3.8

#5 Pistachio Gelato = Score 4

All the flavors are very intense, as they should be.

The gelatos are creamy and smooth.

The sorbettos were refreshing and we all agreed

would be great in the summer.

Please check out Roba Dolce's web site by clicking

their button on my sidebar.

You'll find lots of info about the company,

how they make their gelato and sorbetto,

what stores in your area might carry it,

and you can even print out a coupon.

~~~

Tomorrow I'm going on a retreat

with my knitting buddies.

Every winter we rent a cabin in the mountains

for a few days.

We take our knitting, food, wine

and long-time friendships.

We kick back and have more fun
than you can imagine!

I'll miss you,
but we're old school, which means

no laptops!

My Bookshelf--ROSES by Leila Meacham

Just finished this big, juicy, potboiler of a novel

yesterday and if you have some time of your hands,

you might want to make a pot of coffee or tea,

put your feet up and settle in for a nice

long read--624 pages!!!

This is an epic novel

which spans the twentieth century and

the story of three generations of the three

founding families of a small Texas town.

The core of the story centers around

Mary Toliver, who as a young girl inherits

her family's cotton plantation, Somerset.

Mary's obsession with the plantation,

destroys her chances of real happiness

and causes her to lose the love of her life.

At the end of her life, as she is dying

she puts into motion events that

totally change the life of the next generation.

I enjoyed this book, but have to admit

it's really a romance novel, dressed to the nines!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Daffodil Day!

It's official.

The calender may not say it,

but Spring has arrived because I've

spotted my first live, blooming daffodil!

I borrowed this "holiday" from some former

neighbors and still good friends.

(Debby and Russell, you know I'm talking about you!)

They have a long standing tradition of

celebrating on the day anyone in their family

spots the first daffodil,

by doing something special as a family.

It might be something as simple as baking cupcakes,

but they make it a celebration!

My adaptation of their holiday is that on the day

I spot my first daffodil,

winter is over and I can bring out my packed away

spring decorating items!

We actally got two blooms to start the season!

After packing away the Christmas holidays,
I went to a very simple dining table for winter.

Today however, I brought out my basket of daffodils!

This is my favorite flower and I've had this

silk arrangements long enough that it's

starting to look a little faded.

However, it will have to make do until

there are enough blooming daffodils to

make an arrangement.

I've also added a white woven table runner

to brighten up the room a bit.

I collect animal candlesticks

and rotate them seasonally.

Time for this little guy to make

an appearance with a couple of

ceramic Easter eggs.

On the opposite side of the daffodils

two friendly bunnies

hold up their end.

Now my dining table matches my mood!

The coffee table in the living room got

a little touch Spring decorating too

with some wooden eggs.

The buffet didn't need anything added.

The violets are still blooming and

they cannot be improved upon a bit!

There's still a lot of brown in the garden...

...but here and there are

sweet little touches of Spring.

Although I'm working with wools,

my current knitting project,

(which I was able to work on outside!!!)

even has the look of Spring!

This week I'm linking with parties at

Savvy Southern Style

All Things Heart and Home

Betweem Naps on the Porch

The Shabby Chic Cottage

French Country Cottage

My Romantic Home

Something New to Start the Week!

I love it when you come to visit me,

here at Buttermilk Cottage.

But today, I'm going to send you

right over to a new blog!

Many of you are familiar with Fifi Flowers,

and her wonderfully chic artwork.

Today she's starting a new blog

"dedicated to the love of reading."

If you have any interest at all in reading,

I urge you to scoot over and visit

Fifi's new blog, "Reading is Fashionable."

Catching Up on My Reading List

I've just finished, in fairly quick succession

three books from my continuing and

ever growing reading list.

By far, my favorite of the three was

MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND

by Helen Simonson.

Although it's a little slow at the start,

many of the characters seem a bit stock,

and Major Pettigrew, the lead character,

is insufferable in the beginning,

it develops into a very sweet love story.

Equally important, the Major redeems himself by

evolving into the kind of caring individual

who is worthy of the happy ending!

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE

by Stieg Larsson is the second in his

very popular trilogy.

You MUST read

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

before you attempt this one.

Otherwise, you'll miss too much character

development of the main players.

That being said, I didn't know what the

hell was going on in much of this book.

I am not usually a thriller/suspense reader,

give me a domestic drama any day.

So, although I am out of my comfort zone

with these books, that doesn't mean

I don't want to know what all the buzz is about!

I found that if I didn't let myself get too

overwhelmed with a lot of detail,

the first two books are were

exciting reads.

I will take the same tact when I tackle the

third and last one,

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS NEST.

UNBROKEN is the true story of a gifted athlete,
runner Louis Zamerini.
He ran in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but his
athletic career was cut short by the outbreak of WWII.
He becomes a gunner in a B-24 and
is shot down over the Pacific.
I found this book very difficult to get through.
Although the survival story is extremely inspiring,
Zamerini's harrowing experiences of survival in a raft
which floats for 2000 miles before he is "rescued" and
then his experiences in various Japanese prison camps
is extremely grim.
His re entry into civilian life at the end
of the war is not smooth.
After what he has suffered,
how could it be?
However, he does eventually find redemption,
after hearing a young Billy Graham preach.
After all the degradation, misery and hardship
Zamperini suffered, I felt the ending was a little flat.
Granted, this is true life, not a novel,
but I wanted the ending to be more
uplifting and heartfelt than it seemed.

My Chair Affair

Last week I found this adorable upholstery fabric.

There was just a little left on the roll,

but considering my love affair with chairs,

I couldn't resist buying it.

Adorable fabric = adorable bag!

All sorts of chairs!

Add a pretty stripe for the lining...

and a pretty button for closure,

and you've got a really cute bag!

Do you have a weekend trip planned?

It's just roomy enough for a few essentials.

Or how about a knitting bag???

Have a seat and let's knit for a while!

A Question of Relationship Etiquette???

While having lunch recently with a male friend,

I was puzzled when he told me

his impression of women today, is that

he is erring if he sends them a note,

email in this case,

within a few hours of a date,

expressing that he had enjoyed the evening,

and that he hoped they would do it again soon.

Granted, I'm old school.
This actually sounded quite nice to me.
His argument against it was it might
cause "her" to think
he didn't have anything else
going on in his life,
and he would appear too needy.



Are good manners trumped by
male/female game playing?


Am I so out of touch with
today's relationship etiquette,
that he might be right?


The fact that Ms. Post's book
regularly gets updated
makes me believe otherwise.



I'm really interested to know if today's
dating women find it off putting
to get a little (e)mail after a date,
expressing his appreciation.
What do you think?


P.S.

Knitter that I am I couldn't resist
showing you this yarn.
While doing a search for images for this post,
this yarn popped up titled, "Emily Post" colorway.
Who says Emily Post is passe?

(All images from Google)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

All my best wishes

for a wonderful

Valentine's Day!

Be kind to yourself today!

Wear Your Hat Today...It's Another Cold Day!

Although we're all yearning for Spring,

it's not here yet...another cold and snowy day!

So dress warmly today!

Here's a nice recipe to help keep you warm inside!

Butternut Squash

Cut 3 medium butternut squash in half.

Cover with plastic wrap.

Arrange about 1-inch apart in microwave oven.

Microwave at High for 18 to 22 minutes,

or until soft to the touch,

rearranging after 10 minutes.

Let stand 3 minutes.

Scoop out seeds and discard.

Scoop out pulp, discard shells.

In a food processor,

beat pulp until smooth with:

2 T. butter

1/2 c. sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/2 t. salt

3 eggs

1 t. vanilla

Pour into a one-quart dish.

Microwave at High 9-11 minutes or until set,

rotating dish a quarter-turn every 3 minutes.

Let the squash stand for 8 minutes before serving.

Serves 6.

Is it a vegetable side or a dessert???

You decide!

I'm linking this post to

Foodie Friday

Spotlight Sunday

Tasty Tuesdays

(Sheep image is from Google)

Just Finished Knitting Project

My New Year Day post

was the beginning of this project.

Today it was finished!

It's a SHRUG.

If you're unfamiliar with the term,

a shrug is a short, open front jacket,

somewhat like a bolero.

My shrug is an interesting shape because

it can be worn in two ways.

The first two pictures show it with the seams on the shoulders,

creating a shorter version.

If you wear it turned upside down,

you get a longer length and fuller sleeves.

Interesting...

Side view of my shrug worn with

the seams at the bottom.

I knitted the shrug in my own boutique yarn

FUSION.

I've named it FUSION because it's a blending

of 15-20 different yarns,

creating a unique texture and colorway.

Here's the project on the needles.

I had a bit of FUSION left over,

so I knitted a scarf too!

I love this colorway.

I call it "Autumn."

Last, but not least, I've made another

colorway of FUSION.

I think I'll call this one "Plum Pudding!"

This week I'm linking with

Savvy Southern Style

All Things Heart & Home

Someday Crafts