Eclipse Perfection

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I have just returned from a few days away.
I had the extreme good luck
to be invited by friends
to view the eclipse from
the path of totality. 

A group of friends

met up at

Odom Springs Vineyards

in Blairsville, Georgia

Monday morning.

The weather was perfect.

The vineyard organized a spectacular event for viewing

this once in a lifetime experience.

Spectators were limited to 100,

so it was not crowded.

We arrived around 10 AM,

claimed a perfect spot under a huge shade tree,

and set up our chairs and provisions.

Afterwards we headed to the tasting room

to sample the wines.

A glass of wine was included in the admission,

so everyone was able to make their choice.

The vineyard staff grilled hot dogs and hamburgers

near their pavilion and served lunch.

The actual eclipse was stunning to see.

We watched the progression of the

moon crossing the sun 

until it was totally covered.

It was almost eery 

to feel the temperature fall,

and see our surroundings 

 change from mid day sunshine to night,

in a matter of minutes.

And then to see the reverse happen.

What a treat to have experienced 

this once in a life time occasion in

such a perfect spot,

with a wonderful group of friends.

Thank you especially to Tami and Martin

for organizing this 

once in a life time outing!

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

January 13, 2013.

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!

Good Friends and a Day Out...

Does life get much better than a day out with friends?

Last week my knitting buddies and I drove to

Knoxville, Tennessee to visit another friend

who now lives there.

Carolyn, wearing a cranberry vest she knitted herself,

hosted us for lunch.

Carolyn was at one time a partner in the yarn shop

I used to own with her and Anne (to the left of Carolyn).

She is the woman I aspire to be.

Carolyn  is a designer,  knitter extraordinaire,

and one of the most "graceful under pressure"

women I have ever known.

When we were in business together,

she used to amaze me with her boundless energy.

In fact, when I felt overwhelmed with the projects, deadlines

and work I needed to do, I would ask myself,

"What would Carolyn do?"

The answer to myself was always,

"Keep on working."

Just the motto I needed to do one

more hour of work for the day.

Did I mention she sets a gorgeous table...

...and serves a tasty meal? Yumm...

Carolyn had just completed some extensive

redecorating  of her home.

One of the things she was anxious to show us was

this quilt she now has hanging in her bedroom.

The quilt is extra special because it was made

by another member of our group, Ann,

who was not able to be with us for the day.

Carolyn had purchased this quilt at one of

our past holiday shows.

As if the day wasn't lovely enough,

we visited one of Carolyn's local yarn shops

And, although every one of us has enough

yarn in our stash to open our own shop,

we all managed to find something to buy.

These two  balls will go into some

pretty FUSION Yarn

someday.

This week I'm linking with

Tablescape Thursdays at

Between Naps on the Porch

A Wee Knitting Project

I just recently completed a sweet little knitting project

for a darling little new, baby boy named Anthony.

Anthony is the first grandchild of

my dear friend Marty.

I first met Marty in a pastry class

when her twins,

Matthew and Susie were infants.

(Susie is Baby Anthony's Mommy.)

It was one of those connections where we both

felt as if we'd known each other all our lives

after our first meeting.

Mark, Marty's husband is

my daughter Kate's godfather.

Although Marty and her family now live far away

and we don't visit often,

we still maintain

a solid connection.

I've had this sock yarn in my stash

for quite a while, always planning

to someday knit a baby sweater with it.

 So, when Marty told me Susie was expecting

I knew the time had come.

The sweater is knit from sleeve to sleeve.

Because the yarn is "space dyed"

the color-change pattern evolves

simply by knitting.

Clever, huh?

I had some yarn left after finishing the sweater.

A little matching hat was needed.

Then, a little bunny that was going along

needed to coordinate,

so he got a matching scarf too!

A big congratulations to

Baby Anthony's parents, Susan and Anthony

and

Grandparents, Mark and Marty.

(Marty...come visit soon!)

This week I'm linking with

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts

Look What I Made at Creations by Kara

Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage

Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

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!

A Couple of Crazy Weeks at Buttermilk Cottage

It's been a crazy couple of weeks at Buttermilk Cottage...

My daughter Kate has spent the last two weeks packing for her big move to New York City! After graduating at the end of May and before leaving for vacation, she moved out of her apartment at school. That means all her belongings came to Buttermilk Cottage. Since returning from vacation two weeks ago, she's been sorting and packing. What to take, what not to take, what to keep and what to get rid of? Too many decisions to make in a couple of weeks' time. She finally got it narrowed down to a couple of huge suitcases and one carry on bag to take. I'll be shipping some boxes later this week. The rest is overflowing in my basement. We are anticipating a huge yard sale later this summer.

The big day arrived yesterday when my sister Nancy and I put her on the plane and sent her on her way! Intellectually, I know you raise your kid with the intent of making them independent. When you see them go, however, it's a whole different ball game. My emotions have been on a roller coaster this week. She's ready to go, but I'm having a hard time letting go... I'll get over it.

To Kate, it's your big dream. Make it happen. I have no doubt you will. I'll admit I've felt the need to share every ounce of advise that crossed my conscience this week and you've felt a bit of overload from it, but just let me pass on three more tidbits...

Work hard, but remember to enjoy this adventure.

Always strive to do the right thing (you'll know what it is in your heart).

Never forget where home is.

Love you lots!

After getting Kate on her way, we met a couple of our dear and longtime friends, Wynona and Patricia (sisters too!) and had a great lunch together catching up with each other. Friends can always help ease you over the rough spots can't they? Love and thanks to you two, too!








Finally, we had a quick visit to TJ Maxx (another longtime and good friend) and look at this darling plate I found! Actually I got three--all they had. As a knitter I absolutely could not walk away from them, not to mention they were only $2.00 each!!!