Weekend Fun with Strawberries

On Saturday, 3 good friends and I went strawberry picking at Bauer Berry Farm.  We agreed in advance that we would really only need 20 pounds of fruit to satisfy our eating, freezing and preserving needs.  However, once there, our eyes became bigger than our stomachs and our ambition doubled.  Long story short, we picked 32lbs of deliciousness(this doesn't include any casualties that may have been eaten whilst picking).  

And, oh what to do with 32lbs of deliciousness?  The possibilities are endless.  We spent the rest of the afternoon solving that conundrum.  Luckily, many hands make light work as we busily washed, hulled, sliced, infused,  mashed, boiled, canned, froze and baked.   And despite our best efforts to make any sort of significant dent in our harvest we all still managed to take home 2lbs of fresh strawberries to just simply enjoy.

 Half pint jars sterilized and waiting.

 Strawberry thyme jam

Strawberry infused vodka

Strawberry Scones

Anticipation

Oh my, these very hungry caterpillars seem to double in size every day.  Before I knew it, I had 13 chrysalis' and 5 honkin' big caterpillars getting ready to pupate.  See that dark chrysalis in the middle?  I wrote about him here.  The transparency of the chrysalis indicates that a butterfly will most likely be emerging within the next 24 hours.  

Weekend Fun in Stillwater

Stillwater,  the quintessentially perfect tourist town.  It thrives on old time malts, saltwater taffy, antiques and beer.  Being there makes me forget everything and time passes in a blink of an eye.  I adore the warehouse sized shops brimming with antiquities and with junk (but I suppose that can be debatable depending on the buyer).  It is like walking through an episode of Hoarders and stumbling across Antique Roadshow.    The rarities are a delight, but the everyday artifacts are a marvel.

As Emily and I wound our way through piles of magazines, shelves of spice jars and bowls of old matchbooks, we couldn't help but wonder who and why anyone would have thought these things were worth saving.  I wonder where every item I see and touch has been and what it might have meant to each person.  I thumb through old postcards reading words written over 100 years ago and ponder about who wrote them and what they did. Despite the chaos, I am inspired by the simplicity of some pieces and the ornateness of others.  I appreciate the quality, the design and the thought that went into each item, a concept that seems to have lost its way in this modern world.

I've been snatching up crochet doilies as fast as I can.   I only have 5, but my goal is to get enough to eventually make a table cloth 

 I love these flour sack hand towels.  Linens like this are easily found and cheaper than what you would pay for them new, plus they are hand embroidered with quirky vegetable people!

I am a sucker for Venetian trading beads.  I love everything about them, the irregular shapes, bright primary colors, and simplistic designs.

Hello, my name is Adam.

I am notorious for talking about my cats, but once spring hits I become equally obsessed with my caterpillars.  Maybe I am just prone to liking things that have the prefix "cat".  Whatever the reason, I have blabbed endlessly at work about the miracle of raising monarch caterpillars until Beth finally asked if I could bring one in to serve as a team mascot.  Of course, I was excited.  So excited that I set up a presidential suite for this one special caterpillar.  The only question was, which lucky caterpillar would it be?

Later in the week on a walk with Adam, I was talking about caterpillars (as usual) and how to find them.  I then pointed out a patch of milkweed and watched as Adam walked up to the first plant and said nonchalantly, "I found one".  And indeed he did.  I was so proud of his discovery that I decided this lucky little guy deserved to be the special team mascot at work.  Adam, humbly, named the caterpillar Adam. 

Adam (the caterpillar) has since taken permanent residence on Beth's desk and I have been ecstatic to see how interested and excited everyone has been to observe and watch him grow.  

Rainy Days

This week has been a rainy one.  My bike and I have found ourselves caught in the rain almost every day- sometimes twice a day.

On Wednesday, I biked to work in a steady shower, but by noon the weather had cleared into a bright sunny day.  I distinctly remember sitting in a 3 hour meeting stealing glances through the window longing to be outside and counting down the seconds to the end of the work day.  Of course, to my dismay, the weather took a U-turn right at 5PM and I left work the same way I came, in the rain!

But, life goes on.  I remind myself of that trip I took to India in 2006 in the middle of the monsoon season when scattered showers interrupted each day.  At first, I took every effort to dodge under a canopy to wait it out, but then I noticed that nobody seemed phased by the downpours, they just simply went on with their lives.  I imagine nothing would ever get done if we all decided to wait it out together.  So, by the end of the trip, I had gotten used to trucking along rain or shine.

Despite this schizophrenic weather, I welcome the intermittent downpours.  Rain is cleansing. Like the sorbet between courses, it erases and it freshens.  It also nurtures nature and it nurtures me.  It gives me a moment to take a break and it reminds me that there are things out of my control.  I think about one of my favorite characters on Star Trek, Tuvak, who so wisely says, “It is illogical to dwell on situations beyond your control”.   This philosophy applies to life and not just weather, logically.

Of course, I still sit here; now, inside, listening to the pitter patter of raindrops outside and tell myself, "this is a perfect day to get things done."  I should do all those things I hate to do (particularly on sunny days); like clean or organize.  Instead, I wind up weaving, reading a book or knitting; but then again that is the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon.  Isn't it?  Rainy days are to enjoy; not abhor.

And it hasn't stopped me from my milk weed/caterpillar hunt or from enjoying the glimpses into summer that I have been yearning for.

Peonies

Last weekend I went to Bachmans to pick up some  annuals for my flower pots.  There happened to be a flower show hosted by the Minnesota Peony Society.  Until now, I thought peonies only came in the color scheme of Valentine's Day.  Boy was I wrong.  Check out some of these rare beauties.

Loomin'

Hand towels are to looms as socks are to knitting needles.  Apparently I seem to be in a hand towel funk.    They are just so easy and fun and relatively cheap to make.  They are great gifts and I can try a lot of different techniques and color combos. I promise my next project will be a second set of curtains for my bedroom, but I guarantee I will always have a hand towel warp ready to go as a good filler project.  This is my second stab at turned twill blocks.  This warp just makes me so happy.  I love the saturated tonal aquas and zesty limes.  Whenever I sit down to weave I am reminded of the ocean.  Happy weaving!