Rudolph Doughnuts

     A busy day calls for a nutritious breakfast but during the holidays, sometimes fun beats out good sense. We all enjoyed our Rudolph mini-doughnuts but perhaps the dog was happiest - while breaking the pretzels to get antler shapes, pieces kept flying off the table!

Asiago Bread

     Asiago cheese is favorite in our house, whether it is featured in bagels, bread, vegetables or main dishes. This loaf was especially tantalizing, once while it was baking and then again when it reached the dinner table. Described in the recipe as an artisan bread, it nonetheless had a fine light texture with a slightly chewy crust; the Asiago flavor was subtle but heavenly. For one day we had to overlook low-carb observance...

Old Rolling Pin

     This red-handled rolling pin was used by my mother for decades. She was not the ardent baker that I am so it was used infrequently, which is perhaps why it is still in such good condition. Pies came out of the grocery freezer but the rolling-pin was indispensable for Christmas cut-out cookies. When the contents of Mom's kitchen were sold at an estate sale, this was one item that I kept aside and it was mostly for nostalgic reasons, even thinking that perhaps I could display it in some decorative manner. However I used it recently and much prefer it over my own plastic version, so in its second life, the pin will be usefully employed rather than relegated to a charming kitchen ornament. (Thanksgiving's pumpkin pie was a testament to its occupation.)

Zombie Baby

     A doll found at a garage sale inspired this project. I had seen pictures of zombie dolls used for Halloween props and hoped to try making my own at some point. This fellow seemed perfect for the project, especially since his body held a now-nonfunctional voice recorder that weighted him enough to sit securely on the front porch swing without being blown off by autumn winds. Rissy was eager to help and the first step was to color his face and extremities black with acrylic paint. When completely dry, we dipped a rag in white paint and rubbed it over the black to get a 'decomposed' look, leaving the lips blood red. The brown eyes were left untouched also and because they were movable, added an eerie touch. A striped shirt and blue pants completed his ensemble and while Rissy, who doesn't like clowns, thought them appropriate, I think next year I will dress my zombie boy in blood-stained tatters.

Curtain Call

     The sun had begun to rise and though the room was still dark, this skeletal fellow loomed just bright enough to cause a slight rise in my heart rate this morning. Although he is only a plastic window cling and I was the one who placed him there, that leering grin managed to startle me momentarily as I entered the room.

Autumn Wreath for Mom

     Of course, it's imperative for Mom to keep up with the other residents at the facility where she is now living. And since several apartment doors boasted Halloween decor and because holidays have always been important to her, she requested an autumn wreath to hang near her entry. After searching through the remnants of her Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations, I gathered together two old wreaths that were skimpy on foliage, etc. and some leftover silk flowers and leaves from other arrangements. Combining them and adding a tiny birdnest (Mom has always been a bird lover) on top gave a richer fuller look to the finished wreath. I thought perhaps the orange gingham bow was just a bit too small but Mom loved it and is proud of her new fall flourish.

Tribute to 1355

 

     Yesterday was a bittersweet day. An interested buyer made an offer on the house in which I grew up and where my mother had lived from 1959 to just recently, when it was necessary for her to move to an assisted-living apartment. My six siblings and I are excited, thankful and a little sad (Mom signed the contract with tears in her eyes but felt a little better when I told her that the house needed to be filled with a happy family who would take care of it, not dark, empty and musty). All summer we sorted, boxed, trashed and cleaned, and in September we held an estate sale. The five bedroom house seems smaller now - not quite the same any more and yet it holds so many memories. The stories of many lives began or were influenced here, struggles were overcome, traditions were established, tears and laughter intermingled. In the 1960's there were no less than five children in every house on the block, so the backyards echoed with voices at play and the streets were busy with bicycles, skates and strollers. It's quieter now - families are smaller and people spend much less time outdoors. So the house will embrace a different family now but we will hold the house forever in our hearts.

Tribute to Another House: Bockrath-Wiese

     Yup that's me sitting on the steps of a house that is not mine. Young Rissy had the camera in hand that day (she is a quick study and has a good eye - teaching her photography is a pleasure!) and I had just told her that this well-preserved old home was a particular favorite, so acting as director as well, she suggested I be in one of the pictures.  I don't appear in many photos since I am usually on the other end of the camera, so I followed instructions and actually like this shot.

     But now back to the main story here - the house, which is situated on the eastern side of St. Ferdinand Park, on a hillside overlooking the pond (because of the rolling grassy fields and stands of mature trees, the surrounding area retains the atmosphere of a farm). Built in 1870 by Henry Bockrath, a prosperous German immigrant, the simple red brick farmhouse has beautiful details: segmented arches with radiating brick voussoirs above the windows, the denticulated frieze on the south facade, and the single stack chimneys flanking both sides. Even the random stone foundation is appealing.

     Rissy and I enjoyed trying to imagine the life of the family that first resided here - besides the house there is nothing left to indicate daily activities. The city and subdivisions surrounding the park have changed and grown during the last century, but the house remains the same - silent and serene, watching the seasons come and go and filled with its own memories.

White Chocolate and Cherry Cookies

     Pop has a special affinity for dried berries and one of his favorite cookies are Hootycreeks (oatmeal with white chocolate chips, nuts and cranberries). However, having only dried cherries and white chips on hand, a variant was necessary so a Toll House type dough was used and the result was pretty tasty. The half-gallon of milk in the refrigerator disappeared as quickly as the cookies.

Color-Fall

     Autumn brings a host of color and activity, which is always welcome before the gray winter commences. We always enjoy a trip to the pumpkin farm, where we tour the Halloween exhibits, admire the farm animals and wander amid huge piles of orange pumpkins. Then we stop in the open-air market area to buy apple cider and and a few late season vegetables. All the while, a gentle wind rallies the cornstalks, sunshine warms the afternoon air and over all, the sky stretches far and wide in a brilliant blue. The girls are not so little anymore but still like to climb on the biggest pumpkins and pick out little ones to take home.

 

 

      Pumpkins are soon set aside and cell phones take precedence in the back seat of the car on the way home. After appreciating the myriad colors at the farm, this photo seemed to lend itself to the understatement and intrique of black and white.

 

Kielbasa with Brussel Sprouts 'n' Onions

     I'm not only proud of my Polish heritage, I actually like Polish food. The authentic fare is hearty and filling, though sometimes it demands a lot of time to prepare. This favorite entree, however, is simple to prepare and roasts quickly in the oven. Kielbasa and brussel sprouts is not a traditional dish, but combines the distinctive sausage alongside baby sprouts and sliced red onions, stirred with a tiny bit of oil. So tasty and so simple!

A Ducky Day

     Sometimes we will visit St. Ferdinand Park to ride our bikes or do a little fishing in the pretty little lake but on a recent Sunday afternoon, Rissy and I went on a camera expedition. We brought some stale bread to share with our feathered friends and this little group was especially interested and proved to be very photogenic. They were a varied group, almost a lesson in integration, and the overcast sky muted the landscape to provide a good background for their contrasting colors. 

The followers were content to have a stalwart leader as they paraded past us from their grassy resting area into the lake. And back at home later that same day, as the sun began to set, we were thrilled to see a cloud formation that had an uncanny resemblance to that fine fellow!

Weather Rock

     The weather rock in my front garden has had a monotonous job this summer. Oppresive record-setting heat and severe drought have plagued the St. Louis metro area - trees are visibly drooping and loosing leaves from the stress, lawns are parched and crunchy to walk upon, and utility bills are enormous. The smooth veined weather rock endures unscathed, however. The blazing rays and baking temperatures are absorbed and manifest each day's weather: sunny and hot. If only we could wake for a few days to a cool, wet rock!

Patio Coordinates

     Hooray - the enduring and depressing heat that has been suffocating the Midwest for the last two months has abated for a few hours. The humidity vanished, the night was actually cool and this morning's coffee on the porch was pure joy. After reveling in the physical comfort and the colorful sunrise, I rose to begin a morning of chores but not before admiring the coordinating chair cushions and table cloth that accented the pretty iron table and chairs. When the furniture was new, I searched fruitlessly for cushions - tropical themes, stripes and loud colors seemed to be the only option. A trip to the local fabric store was the last ticket and there I found a lovely green-on-white toile. Its pastoral scenes and cool colors were a perfect complement to the vining flower pattern on the chairs. Thick quilt padding (leftover from another project) was used for cushioning in the chair pads and ties were attached to hold them in place, while the tablecloth featured a centered hole for the umbrella. Simple construction and a simple look equalled a serene effect for morning muses!

Summer Dinner Pie

  

     Just picked corn on the cob and homegrown tomatoes are plentiful and inexpensive at this time of year. Last night's dinner featured the two in a tasty entree that was good hot and will probably be just as enjoyable served cold for lunch today. The biscuit pie crust was mixed up and refrigerated while the corn was sliced from the cob, the tomatoes were thin sliced and a few chives were picked from the garden and chopped. The crust was rolled and placed in a pie plate into which the vegetables, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper were layered. A few thin ham slices were also added to please the man of the house. To add a little flavor,  mayonnaise mixed with a few drops of lemon juice was drizzled over; the top crust was then placed, the edges crimped and melted butter brushed over. 

     The only downfall to this dish was that it had to bake in a hot oven, which I try to avoid in midsummer. However, baking time was only thirty minutes and the end result of an appealing one-dish dinner proved the rationalization worthy. We couldn't decide which was tastier - the filling or the flaky crust!

Nice Kitty and the Grouch

     Miss Molly often sits just inside the front door when there is some interesting activity in the yard or street. Here she surveys the new doormat, which was a gift. Pop felt the edict on the mat was insulting until I asked him why he assumed that "old grouch" referred to him! Molly is unconcerned - she is neither a person nor old, though she is a grouch with some visitors.

Cucumber Water (My Drink of the Summer)

     On a recent local garden tour, we enjoyed viewing several beautiful water gardens and met lots of lovely friendly people (gardeners who welcome visitors usually epitomize that category of humankind.) In one particular backyard, the homeowners had set up a small table of simple refreshments and beverages.  One pitcher held the standard lemonade and the other held something of which I was unfamiliar: cucumber water, which was merely slices of cucumber infused in water with a few drops of lemon juice added. On this day of new experiences and tropic temperature, the icy drink interested me. After one sip, I was hooked and have made a new batch every weekend since. It is especially appropriate now that my cucumber plants are producing fruit at a furious pace!

Sail Away Bathroom

     The guest bathroom has a beachfront motif and I like that a visit to the small room feels like an escape. Its simple decor and natural colors create a peaceful and relaxed mood. For many years, the toilet had a polished oak seat and  lid to match the vanity. However recently, it became obvious that the wood finish was failing and I felt that it harbored germs, even after a good cleaning. So the oak was discarded and replaced with white, easy-to-clean plastic. The smooth, gleaming surface of the lid may have been hygienic but it was certainly not attractive, so I shopped for covers and found none that appealed. Then, during an unrelated internet search, I saw this sailboat quilt square, which was easy to adapt and sew onto an equally simple-to-construct, poly/cotton cover. Quarter inch elastic edges the cover to keep it in place, and now the lid is not just utilitarian, it is a piece of decor!



The candle on the tub corner was made in North Carolina by my daughter-in-law, and also contains sand, seashells and a nautical rope tie.

Because the tub and tiles were already a sandy hue, I sewed a shower curtain of sheer and glimmery blue, to add an aquatic feel.

And finally, a wall grouping that includes a boat, a life-saving ring, and a starfish. (The walls were painted antique white and then striped with a color called "Sandpoint".)

Challenges Met

     A hedge trimmer that chewed up my fingertip and a brush with death for my elderly mother - should these have been reason enough to curtail my writing? I kept thinking not, until I saw how long it had been since I last posted. And even now it is hard to navigate the keyboard accurately - bumbling around with only nine usable fingers; however, I realize that some people manage with fewer and even no fingers, so I am thankful that my disability is temporary.

     Mom had Last Rights in the hospital at ten a.m. that fateful Saturday but at two p.m the same day was admiring a magazine cover graced with Kevin Costner's handsome smile. Three days after her miraculous recovery, she was released with the provision that she have round the clock supervision. So after living fifty-three years in the same house, she now resides in my sister's home, with an oxygen tank as her constant companion. A habitation change was difficult and somewhat depressing for her, but she had been contemplating selling the house anyway. She is easily confused and has some memory problems that may have been due to a lack of oxygen prior to the 911 call - the doctors say she may live a few weeks or a few months, an uncertainty that is disconcerting. But she is safe and in loving care, for which we are thankful.

     (And now, in readiness to sell, we begin to filter through the contents of the five-bedroom home in which my parents, grandmother, six siblings and I lived - should be inspiration for a wealth of stories!)

Fruit Pizza Cookie for Mother's Day

    Mother's Day is a simple affair in our family. Mom is a frail eighty-four with a hearing deficiency so celebrating takes the form of a rather quick visit by each of her children and perhaps some of the grand and great-grand children. Cards and gifts are presented, accompanied by happy conversation and a little sweet treat. This year, I chose to make a fruit pizza cookie. A sugar cookie crust (which could be made from bought refrigerated dough but I had time and much prefer from scratch) was prebaked the day before. A topping of cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla was spread over the crust and then garnished with an artful arrangement of strawberries, blueberries and kiwi. Almost too pretty to cut, the cookie was a cool, not-too-sweet treat on a warm day.

     Instead of store-bought novelty napkins, I printed up some paper napkin rings on the computer, which were easy to cut out and put together with a glue stick. White everyday napkins were rolled and slipped into the rings for a slightly festive look. Cookie slices were served on the napkins so plates were not even necessary

Brownie Buttons

     When Rissy calls on a Saturday asking to bake, we make a decision together whether to try something new or use a tried-and-true recipe. I had seen something similar to these cookies online and thought they were cute and simple. Instead of the pastel originals (I believe they were intended for a baby shower), we chose a brownie cookie. Rolling the dough and cutting out circles was uncomplicated, but easier still, and even fun, was creating the button 'holes'. We used a plastic straw to punch them out, and of course, the straw filled up with minuscule dots of dough which we either blew out the end (as a sort of ammunition - the dog loved it) or squeezed out for tasting. A drinking glass just a bit smaller than the cookie cutter formed a nice rim. Kitchen laughter and tasty treats equaled a delightful afternoon.

Borador and the Bunny

    The bunny was placed next to a sleeping Duncan and I hoped for a cute cuddly pose to enclose with an Easter greeting. But of course, he woke instantly and reached over to get the toy in his mouth (where everything and anything seems to end up during these baby dog days). I snapped a quick photo anyway and was surprised that the result was a rare moment  free of the usual puppy frenzy and full of beguiling innocence.

Old Family Tragedies

     In 1942, at only forty years of age, my maternal grandfather died. I wasn't born until the next decade so I  never knew much about Lawrence, except that he was a baker, that his marriage to my grandmother failed miserably and that he was an alcoholic. Even my mother, his only child, knew little about him; Lawrence was completely estranged from his family and lived in another state.

     However, genealogy research revealed a history of tragedies in Lawrence's immediate family of fivechildren. My sweet godmother was married to his youngest brother and when I inquired, she sent me a large folder of papers, documents and photographs. The newspaper clipping (c. 1927) shown here reports the death of another brother, Ted, who was five years younger than Lawrence. In the photo, Ted's stance is not just a brash young man - he appears insolent and possibly inebriated, which could explain the reason for the accident.

     Below is another article, this time recounting the death of Marie, an older sister. Apparently she was a working woman who had retired relatively young, was unmarried and lived alone. The palm trees indicate that this photograph was taken far from her native Michigan, perhaps on a vacation. Was this the happiest portrait found in her possessions?
     The untimely and adverse nature of the sibling's deaths lead one to the conclusion that the family shared some type of unfortunate or oppressive issues. Rebellion against life on the farm? First-generation Americans chagrined by immigrant parents? Or if it was a gene for weak personalities, the adage was borne out that only the strong survive...

Cute Chicks - Easter Cookies

     Using a basic sugar cookie recipe, these chicks were formed by rolling out the dough and cutting with an egg-shaped cutter. After baking, I iced them with a yellow lemon glaze and, after adding a little more confectioners sugar and red color to the remaining glaze, piped on the feet and beaks. The eyes were toothpick points of black frosting. Simple and quick little Easter surprises for neighbors, children and aunties.

Miss Molly and Friend

     Like most little girls, Rissy loves animals - be they plush playthings or alive and breathing. Here she has Miss Molly posed with a favorite pal from her toy menagerie, and the two are amazingly similar.

Asiago Bread

     A local bakery and deli boasts sandwiches made with a luscious Asiago bread. The sandwich filling was unmemorable but I couldn't forget that bread. While grocery shopping recently, a tempting wedge of Asiago cheese caught my eye and I was determined to try my hand at a custom loaf of bread. Of course, while assembling the ingredients, I had to photograph a still of the rustic cheese, an old wooden spoon and a smooth white egg because they looked so simple and beautiful against the cherrywood tabletop. The bread turned out beautiful too and was so tasty that I actually forgot to photograph it before it disappeared!

Follow the TP Trail

Waking up to some white stuff spilling out of the master bathroom and into the bedroom, we had to quietly follow the trail. It led out the door...

through the hall...

 

and into another room, where at the end sat the nonchalant culprit.

 

He exited with casual unconcern, almost as if to say, "Don't know how this happened!"

Borador Goes Out the Door

     The new puppy actually had no name for several days - we could not agree on one and figured somehow or other, he would earn it. Then I thought of a television series that Pop adored called The Highlander, whose main characters were Duncan and Connor MacLeod. After pointing out that Duncan was also Gaelic for dark warrior, Pop was convinced and puppy was christened.

     At seven weeks, Duncan lived up to his name as he braved the outdoors for the first time. Our dark warrior sniffed the new territory and took tentative steps over the sliding door track. A lone leaf captured his attention before he made a gigantic leap down the first step

Then another new wonder on that first step - a stick!

And a few short minutes later, we've had enough outdoors and make the giant leap, or rather climb, back inside the house for a nap. After all, warriors need rest too.