A Place Like This......

Happy Friday: I've got mail

Today is another Happy Friday. This week I've received so much mail. Here is a special look at a couple of things the post-man brought for me. First, some of my valentines cards from the Valentine Swap have started to come in. They are just beautiful. It is so fun to get mail. Oh how I love them. All of my swap partners are very talented ladies. Have a look for yourself:

Renee,Samantha,Kyndale,Mandy,Angie,Kaui,Linda,Nicole,Patricia, and Elizabeth. It's been such a thrill to exchange cards with all of these wonderful women.

Next came a lovely little package from Stephinie over at Gypsy Forest. Her and I are swap partners for Heather's Vintage Swap. This little box of goodness was packed with spectacular things.

I love them so much and will have so much joy using them. Thank you everyone so much for all of your thoughtfulness. Many fun things are in the mail, coming your way. Happy weekend everybody.

Com'in Along

One child is better and one is sick. This ugly flu seems to be moving through us very slowly. Thank you for your warm wishes. We hope to be back to normal soon. Until then let me show you how my little basement project is coming.Remember how I discovered the wooden treads on my steps which lead to a basement remodel? Here's how it's coming.

As I walk down these uncovered stairs,

I find many boxes loaded with books. Just waiting to be placed on these

Shelves.

Under this ceiling. Today,great friend Ruth is coming over to help me put my books on the shelves. The carpet comes in two weeks and then I will show you the final result. Have a great day!

  
  

The Hums have gotten us!

An aggressive virus is working it's way through this little family. We'll be back soon but until then we are taking the great advice of an old friend "Winnie the Pooh": "A bad day can Always improve." Cheers everyone. Be Back Soon!

 

Observed and a giveaway

Maybe you remember our vixen and kits from last spring? After that sighting I never saw the kits again but through out the rest of this year, almost daily I am greeted by my friend the fox. She always seems to be aware of me and though she never comes near me, I am clearly under observation.It isn't an uncommon thing to drive in the driveway and see her waiting for me in the lawn. Calmly she heads to her den. She was just checking to make sure I got in ok. In the morning I wake up early just so I can see her slink back into her den from the forest. Recently, she stops,and sits on the lawn and looks right up at me in the kitchen window. I often wonder if she goes back to her family at the end of the day and says" I saw a human today!" I've become so greatly attached to this beauty.  I feel like I'm in that movie "The Fox and the Child". A must see!

 

P.S. Garden Mama is hosting the most incredible Gnome giveaway I've ever seen. It's gnomerific!!! Yes...I did just say that.
  

Meet What You Eat: The Old Mill

Our one small change this month is to meet our food sources. It can be really vexing to know where to start but it seems that the easiest place is by reading the food labels of the things we eat. A great and humorous guide to all of this is Michael Pollan's "Food Rules", one of which is "If a third grader can't pronounce it, you shouldn't be eating it."

We have cleaned our pantry,which was pretty clean to begin with, and introduced the kids to our local market which sells only organic food and much of it local.

Though we have taken many food journeys over the last two weeks, the one that is sticking out for me now is bread baking. About a year ago I purchased a book called,"5 Minute Bread". Mimi really wanted to give this a try and for the most part we have been baking our bread. There is something about freshly baked bread which makes it disappear quickly. At times I haven't been able to keep up with the demand.

 I usually use King Arthur unbleached flour but while we were at "The Market" I noticed that there was a local choice, and that is stoned ground flour from "The Old Mill".

In the early 1800's, a water-powered gristmill on the banks of the Little Pigeon River became one of the main hubs of activity in the small mountain community of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. In those days, the mill faithfully produced the meals and flours that were crucial for the day-to-day existence of the Smokies' early settlers. In fact, The Old Mill even furnished electricity for the town until 1935.

One of The Old Mill's most distinctive features is the giant water wheel that harnesses the flow of the Little Pigeon River. Inside the structure, an antiquated yet reliable system of shafts, belts, and pulleys still gets the job done, working to turn the 4600-pound stones and grain elevators.

Weighing one ton each, the massive flint granite stones, called French Buhrs, are only the second set ever used in The Old Mill's 175-year history. When they're in action, the stones convert grain into about 1000 pounds of product each day, six days a week. Resident millers then hand-fill, weigh and tie each bag of stone ground grain.

With the "5 Minute" Bread book we are really able to have quick and good homemade bread without the extreme daily labor.  It is so simple that anyone in this house is able to mix up a batch of dough for the next day. This one small change has brought us not only great bread but many happy moments in the kitchen together.

Clip,Snip, and a surprise

It has been a long time, like since I was a child, that I had a Valentine's Day this special. My mom use to give each one of us a little heart shaped box of chocolates and a handmade card with a special message. My dad would always make one of two things, either red pancakes or heart-shpaed waffles. I know it's February 17th and I'm still talking about Valentine's Day, but as Nicole says,"February is the month of love." To make sure of this she is hosting a valentine's card swap. A special little handwritten card to say "I'm thinking of you."

I've been matched up with 9 fantastic ladies. Some friends are daily blog visits and some are completely new introductions. Yesterday the first of the cards started to arrive and I was so excited and thrilled to get these cards with their beautiful messages and their own personal take on choosing or making the most creative cards.

While I was watching the Olympics last night I started working on my cards. Over the last week I've been totally mesmerized with Emily and her paper cutting. It is so magical and really has had me transfixed. I would read her blog and think ,"how does she do that?" and also thinking "I could never do that." And then what happened? Amy Karol put out her new craft pack which is totally paper cutting. So I braved up,bought the pdf download, and started clipping. I can do it. It was so fun to clip away while men and women skated, snowboarded, and skiied their way to gold,silver, and bronze medals.

Cards will go out today on beautiful red handmade paper with my own special message. Oh and you know what, that sweet Emily made me a beautiful papercut card based on a Grimm fairy-tale. Isn't it beautiful and special? I thought so too. It's going in a frame and over my desk. Thank you Emily!

Ok, I'm off to the post office now and Have a great day! Oh don't forget to stop by Jump Into a Book. We have some Mark Twain action going on.

They're Here: Semlor

I can't imagine having a happier weekend. Thank you for all of the wonderful birthday wishes for little O. We had such a fun gathering of family and friends. The fun continued with the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

The rest of the weekend was music filled with the high school orchestra concert playing their traditional and fun Valentine's concert and then came the moment I had been waiting for all weekend.

One of my dear friends, Jenny, came to visit with her family. We use to be roomates when I lived in Switzerland. In fact, we were in the same french class learning french together and that's the very same french class were I met "This man from Lebanon".

There was much catching up to do but the most important thing was that we were celebrating with semlor. These little marzipan creme filled buns with a dollop of cream can make any moment of any day special. In Sweden they start eating them the minute Christmas is over, here I make them once a year and it's a one day treat.

I don't know how to describe it anyother way than this......I'm obsessed with these little buns. Sweden is obsessed with the little bun we call Semla. Originally we are only suppose to eat them on Shrove Tuesday or better known in the States as Fat Tuesday but I think every day is Tuesday in Sweden. One thing I know for sure is that today is Fat Tuesday and Happy Mardi Gras in the States.

Here are a few fun facts about the Semla Bun:

Semla is Latin for fine wheat flour.

Semlor became popular in Sweden in 1541.

Each Swede eats five semlor per year on average.

In 2001, the world's largest semla was made, weighing in at 160 kg. The famous bun was made in Linköping, which is about 200km south of Stockholm.

A true addict of semlor was King Adolf Fredrik who died on February 12, 1771,after consuming 14 servings of hetvägg, which is semla in a bowl of warm milk.

Happily, I'm not as bad as King Adolf Fredrik but if you have to die, why not death by Semla ?  

All I can say is .....Enjoy and Happy Fat Tuesday! Excuse me while I go eat a bun.

Ah dear friends, did you think I would leave you alone with these photos and not provide the recipe? Not a chance....

Semlor or Fat Tuesday Buns

 

1/4 cup butter
1 1/3 cup milk
1 oz or 2 packages of active yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp cardamom
4 cups flour
1 lightly beaten egg

filling:
the scooped-out portion of the buns
8 oz almond paste
1/4 cup or as needed of milk

garnish:
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbls sugar

To make the buns: crumble the yeast in a bowl. Melt the butter or margarine in a saucepan, add the milk, heat until lukewarm (not over 100 degrees). Remove from heat and stir in the yeast until it is completely absorbed. Gradually stir in the salt, sugar, one egg, cardamom, and most of the flour. Work the dough until smooth and shiny, then cover and let rise 30 minutes. On a floured surface knead the remaining flour into the dough. Divide into 12 parts and hand roll into smooth round balls. Let rise 20-30 minutes on a greased cookie sheet. Set oven for 375 degrees. Brush with the beaten egg and bake in the middle of the oven 15-20 minutes until golden and baked through. Set them out to cool.

To make the filling: cut off the top of each bun and scoop out a hollow in the bottom half with a spoon, or your fingers. Mix the scooped-out bits with the almond paste. Add milk to thin the mixture to a soft, smooth consistency. Fill the buns with the almond-paste mixture and then place a big dollop of whip cream. If you make stiff whipped cream go ahead and use a pastry bag. Place the top back on and sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. 

All Hearts Day

~ Wishing all of you the very best on Valentine's Day!

Happy Friday = Happy Birthday

Today is Happy Friday but it is also Happy Birthday to my little guy. He's 11 years old today. Along with a family party planned for this evening, another great reason to be happy is the Olympics starts tonight. I really love all of the stories of trial and prevail which come out of the Olympics. I wish all of you a very happy week.

   
 


 
 
 
 
 

Luna

Thank you so much for all of your incredible feedback on yesterday's post. Today I'm still creating but I wanted to leave you with a little something that has truly touched my heart. Though Julia did something really incredible and way out there, for me anyway, her message was simple. I hope the next 4 minutes and 17 seconds will inspire you, it has me. Have a great day everyone. Oh there's a new post over at Jump Into A Book.