Sugar Cookies with Nutmeg

The love of my life and I, together with Perle the Cat, will travel next week to our home across the state to be with family for Thanksgiving.  Today I am making lists of what I want to remember to pack, turning my mind not only to feast preparation but also the coming Advent and Christmas season.  The day after Thanksgiving is a day when the three sisters hang out doing girl-things, and our men (including Dad) do something manly together.  At the end of the day we all gather for a simple meal, and to play some games (maybe Quiddler!)

I have pulled out my granny's cookie cutters and will stash them in my tote, just in case I can convince my sisters we should begin holiday baking that Friday.  It is an unlikely long shot.  I can already hear them. "We just had Thanksgiving!  Don't rush it, already."  Still, I'm going for safe rather than sorry. They take up very little room and using Granny's cookie cutters is all part of the magic of holiday baking for me.  One of her tips for the best sugar cookies in the world is to add a pinch of nutmeg to the dough, and be generous with the flour when you roll them out.  That makes for a cookie that is perfect for dunking in a cup of tea!

Giving thanks and making relish

Thanksgiving is just a week away and with it, my mind turns to the traditions and rituals of the years past.  Homemade cranberry relish was an event in my childhood kitchen.  There was a little black child's chair that was set on a mat of newspapers in the middle of the kitchen floor.  The television was brought from the living room on its rolling cart, and lined up opposite the chair work station, tuned to the annual broadcast of "The Sound of Music."  Mommy clamped a cast aluminum food grinder that had followed her from her childhood home to the front edge of the chair. A large baking dish was placed beneath to catch all the fragrant offerings that poured forth under the labor of the three daughters.  Mom stood at the counter sending us a steady supply of oranges, pineapple, cranberries and walnuts that we alternately ran through the grinder. As we filled the baking dish, she scraped it into her large kettle where the magic happened and ground fruits became a fragrant holiday treat.  We sang along with the music, and by the time the show ended we had made enough cranberry relish to see our family through the holiday season. 

Tomorrow, we pick up our turkey from an organic farmer up the road a piece and with that drive, mark the beginning of holiday meal preparation.  Many of Mom's favorite serving pieces are on the shelves in my kitchen, and I feel so close to her as I  go about preparing for these special meals and holiday entertaining.  She loved us all deeply and she shared her love of family and holiday, nurturing that love through recipes and techniques taught, meals shared and hospitality extended.  This year I will again offer a prayer of thanksgiving for my wonderful family, and having been blessed with a mom like no other, deeply missed.

Home Range

Mid-autumn found my family in a lodge tucked in the woods, on the side of Winslow Hill in Benezette, PA.  It has become a family tradition to travel back to the place my forebears settled back in the 1830's each fall to see how it's changing, and view the revived Elk herd.

Growing up, my sisters and I spent many a night in the cabin our Grandad built just up a piece from a curve known as the 'Devil's Elbow." Inside a one room log cabin, we slept on straw tick mattresses on double-sized bunk beds built of timbers felled on the property. We dipped our water from the creek that cut through the woods, and had a crock with the lid held down with a rock buried in the same creek for a cooler.  A couple of summers in the 1960's my uncle, Dad's older brother, took his 2 and Dad's 3 girls to the camp for a week.  What a brave man.  We cooked on the campfire, played Monopoly and Racko, sang silly songs and most importantly - we laughed. He taught the 3 youngest (I was the baby) how to go to sleep; get in bed, close your eyes, keep your mouth shut and don't move for 5 minutes.  Anyone still awake after 5 minutes was allowed to get up and play games with him and 'the big girls.'  Not one of us ever got out of bed before morning light.

This year, my aunt and uncle joined us for the annual trip, and we had a terrific time.  We explored Winslow Hill, took lots of photos of the homes and farms of the people who came before us, shared stories and memories. Dad is in his 80's and his health isn't terrific, so each time we can travel back it is a true gift. We saw more wildlife than ever - flocks of turkeys, an owl, hawks, deer, and elk. The fellow you see in the photo walked across the road in front of our vehicle taking his good old time as though he owned the place, which of course, he does!

A trip to Benezette and the Elk Visitor Center is not to be missed. Here's a link: 
http://elkcountryvisitorcenter.com

The scenic beauty inspires my art, which you can view at  http://www.etsy.com/shop/composegrace

Making home

In the corner of the living room with my Fortuny inspired walls as a backdrop, the fruits of my excursions to thrift shops, and flea markets are arranged.  With the exception of the dancing bear sculpture, the treasures in this still life were found in various states of distress.  They all had that certain "something" that drew me to them and with a bit of cleanup, became useful and beloved objects in our home.  The little saucer with the American flag is my coaster for a hot coffee on a cold day.  Lip balm and eyeglasses are nestled in the lustre glazed vase, along with phone charger coiled in the bottom.  I love repurposing, recycling, reusing - saving an object with beauty made richer for the patina of use and years.  I create stories in my mind of their lives before they came into this home and am infinitely amused. Ours is a home filled with such functional beauty and I look forward to sharing it with you as time passes.

I sculpted the dancing bear as a gift for my husband at a watershed moment in our lives.  It was meant as a celebration and totem and he has given it a place of honor in each home we have created together. This is the place where we collect objects which heal us and bring joy to the everyday. It is the place we have created where rest and sustenance are found, and friends and family are gathered together for laughter and conversation, comfort and love.

P.S. The stencils are available at my etsy shop  www.etsy.com/shop/composegrace
Come for a browse about!

Family meals and good bread

Sharing meals with friends and family, engaging in lively conversation and playing a game of Quiddler to celebrate the special events and the everyday of life are of highest priority in our home.  I love to find a new food to introduce to our menus, and a crusty sourdough bread recipe from a New York Times article is my new favorite.  Jim Lahey, of Sullivan Street Bakery, has developed an amazing no-knead sourdough bread. The crust comes out beautifully golden brown, and crisp with a moist, chewy complex flavored interior.  I take it out of the oven to a cooling rack, let it rest just a few moments before slicing, then take it to the table with fresh sweet salted butter and lots of big cotton dinner napkins. It's a beautiful accompaniment to a lunchtime salad, or soup and cheese at supper time.  I am a big fan of King Arthur bread flour and I use my Calphalon paella pan and follow the timing recommended in the recipe.  The clear glass lid of this pan allows me to watch as the bread develop its beautiful crust, and adds one more little bit of joy to the whole process. 
Here's a link to the recipe: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html?_r=0
Good baking and good eating to you!

the balm of beauty beheld

Work on our mountain home continues and I celebrate the small victories.  The living room walls have been glazed and over-painted with a classic acanthus leaf motif echoing the tapestry draperies, which have finally been hung.  Little by little our collection of art is being unpacked and moved about the house, making it feel more and more like our home.  

I caught our green-eyed silvery furred girl, Perle, on the arm of the loveseat looking to see if anyone was watching her move towards the window sill.  She grows sweeter with every day that passes and we celebrate not only her physical beauty (she is a Norwegian Forest Cat) but the joy she brings to our every day. I thank God for the beauty that surrounds me and elevates the everyday to the sublime.

Life and Art

This has been a busy time, getting a one-person show ready to hang at the same time we continue to work on renovations for our mountain home.  The living spaces are beginning to glow with the improvements we have made, and I look forward to the day when we unpack our art and books and lamps and the house really lives like home.  The kitchen is shaping up just as I dreamed - a place to create meals to nurture our friends and family that is efficient and beautiful.  I am not a "shiny spankin' new" sort of a girl, so the original bead board cabinets were restored, together with all the original hinges and thumb latches and knobs.  The porcelain over cast iron farm sink with drainboards was restored and is a joy to work at with her new, albeit Victorian in style, single handle faucet.  We took the doors off one cabinet, giving us 6 shelves to feature the things we use most often, and most enjoy looking at.  The interior is painted a warm chocolate brown and is a striking foil for our collection of diner china.  Some day I will tell you the story of our collection of Syracuse China...

The biggest challenge I faced was making art in a home where the studio has not yet been unpacked. It was an exercise in adaptability.  My love placed a 4 ft by 8 ft sheet of 3/4 inch plywood over the base of our dining room table and viola! a studio.  I continue to be amazed and intrigued to see the ways my paintings are evolving.  There is a subtle change that I can see in this collection of 10 paintings - sharper contrasts and bolder lines.  I see it especially in the painting above, and the one I posted on the 5th of April.  You can visit my etsy shop  to see the virtual collection. The exhibit hangs from April 6th through April 30th at the Madeleine Gallery at LaPorte Jewelers, 645 Harrisburg Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17601. Here's the link to my shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/composegrace

Light of Day

Opening with First Friday, April 6th and hanging until April 30th, a collection of 10 recent paintings will be featured in the Madeleine Gallery at LaPorte Jewelry, 645 Harrisburg Avenue, Lancaster, PA.  A special treat at the reception (besides the fabulous refreshments) will be an appearance by the Prima Sisters.  Check out the link to the LaPorte Jewelers blog:

http://laportejewelers.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/art-hor-doeuvres-and-entertainment/

LaPorte Jewelers hours are M-T 10 to 6, F 10 to 8, S 10 - 6.   You're welcome to visit the gallery anytime during business hours if you can't make it to the First Friday reception. 

The paintings are encaustic on hardwood panels. They explore and capture the subtleties of light from the break of dawn to moonlight. The collection is featured in my etsy shop in the 'LaPorte exhibit' section.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/composegrace