Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Got Sweaters?


I do!


I spent a couple of days last week
visiting my parents 
who live about six hours from me.
Along the way I was able to 
visit two of my favorite thrift shops.


And did I find some treasures!


From textures and colors,


to cables,


I found a mother lode of  sweaters!


If you need me during the next
several days...


...you'll find me in my studio 
happily making new
Sweater Pillows!

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Yard Sale Wrap Up


I am happy to say
another Tree Street Yard Sale
has come and gone
quite successfully!


Nancy and I spent most of last 
Thursday setting out our wares
on the front porch.


As in the past,
our plan was to sell
all we could on Friday.


Then late in the afternoon we would
transition whatever was left
to the drive way and set up our
Bistro on the Porch
for Saturday.


We had an incredibly busy day Friday.


The weather was pleasant.
However, the predictions for Saturday
were not good.
100% chance of thunderstorms ALL day!

 
So this year for the first time
we had to combine the Bistro
with some remaining yard sale on the porch.
We lacked a bit of our
usual ambiance,



...but the food was plentiful,




and our customers didn't seem to mind.


We carried on through the dreadful weather
and had our most successful weekend yet!

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Isn't Life a Bowl of Cherries?


Thirty plus years ago I had a friend named Kathy.
Kathy and I were friends by default.
Our husbands had been boyhood friends,
having grown up across the street
from one another.  
We became friends early in 
Kathy's marriage
because of our 
husbands' friendship.
We lived in different states,
but had periodic visits.
We welcomed all our children
into our circle
as they came into our lives,
four for Kathy,
one for me.
As lives became busier with
children, careers, and homemaking
our visits grew less and less.

By the time my marriage ended
ten years ago,
I had not had any 
contact with Kathy for some time.
As is often the case in divorce,
alliances form along the lines 
of "couple" relationships
("his" friends/"her" friends).
I moved ahead,
getting totally engrossed 
in forging a new life for myself
and never made any attempt to keep
my relationship with Kathy alive.

Then out of the blue
a few weeks ago,
I got an email from...KATHY!
She had stumbled upon
my Etsy shop and hence this blog.
She took the time to read my past posts
and reached out to me.
She tells me she read
ALL my blogs posts!
I can say without a doubt,
no one has done that except me!
I don't doubt her because this week 
I received the above three bottles of
Mexican vanilla in the mail
from Kathy as a result of my post of

Now Kathy and I are
reconnecting totally on our own
as two middle aged, divorced women
with grown children.
We will create a new friendship
based upon who we are now. 
Life is certainly
a twisty tale,
isn't it?

Now about that Mexican vanilla...
I used to make a wonderful
homemade vanilla ice cream.
But, with our current consciousness
concerning uncooked eggs,
I hesitate to share the recipe with you
because it is a "no-cook" one.
It also requires an ice cream maker
which I no longer own.
It was one of the many "things"
I shed when I reinvented myself
at Buttermilk Cottage.

I offer you instead a simple new
one I intend to try soon
with some of my
Mexican vanilla.

Easy Vanilla Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Mix the condensed milk and vanilla in a small bowl.
Whip the cream with an electric mixer
until stiff peaks form.
With the mixer on low speed,
slowly add the vanilla mixture
to the whipped heavy cream and combine.
Pour into a freezer safe container 
and freeze for 6 hours or overnight.

 Google Images

Thank you Kathy
for the Mexican vanilla,
I've been without it for quite a while.
But mostly, thank you for reaching out.
You've put the cherry on top of my ice cream!

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

It's Almost Time...


...for our colossal
neighborhood yard sale
next week.


Buttermilk Cottage
has been a state
of total disorder
since last week.


My sister and I have been
pulling out,
organizing and pricing
all the "junque" we have
acquired since last year.


My entry and living room
have become a staging area
until we can take it all outside.


And I have been
baking and freezing
to prepare for our 
"Bistro on the Porch"
during the sale.

This yearly event
brings thousands of
shoppers to our neighborhood
each year.
We do our best to let them know
we're happy to have them!







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