A Birthday Dinner

Today was the Composer's father's birthday, and we always celebrate with a really nice dinner for him. Last year was a Herculean effort for extended family on the occasion of his seventieth; tonight was simple and quiet. I wasn't able to do anything ahead of time at all, due to a houseful of company all weekend, but I did have the meal planned and the day clear to devote to cooking. Which made for a very pleasant time. The girls and I took our time, puttering through the table-setting, shopping, and actual food work. They are such a help!

We kept the table neutral, with a cream cloth, white dishes with a little gold, and little bits we gathered from outdoors in purple colors.


A bunch of purple grass from the pasture as a centerpiece:


A sprig of sumac berries on a linen napkin:


The first course we served plated: hot crab dip spread on slices of baguette and run under the broiler, with grape tomatoes on a puff of alfalfa sprouts.


Next we had a butter lettuce salad with a balsamic vinaigrette, with slices of goat cheese crusted with chopped walnuts.


The main course was strip steaks done in a skillet with a brandy-cream reduction. I had to borrow from a neighbor to have skillet room enough for all the steaks to cook at once.


Dessert (in process here) was an autumnal birthday cake--spice layers with molasses, lemon zest, and ginger, frosted with cream cheese frosting. I decorated it with purple oak leaf hydrangea leaves and a few rusty-rosy hydrangea blossoms on top. Removed the flowers for serving and poured a batch of brown-sugar sauce over the top.


The kids presented Grandpa with a brightly-decorated basket filled with homemade cards. Daisy's was dictated:"You are the best grandpa because you are my grandfather. You're welcome for the presents." Signed with the Greek sign for alpha (apparently), written over and over.

Homecoming Saturday Pleasures

• Daisy's pockets filled with candy tossed at the homecoming parade.



• Strawberries at breakfast.

• Downtown on a beautiful blue morning. Girls at their first Girl Scouts meeting.



• Friends I haven't seen in many, many years.

• A long bright walk this afternoon and those purple grasses ripening acridly in pastures.

• Eleven children at the dinner table tonight (a mixed blessing perhaps?) as their parents attended other homecoming events.

• Loaves of date-walnut bread cooling on the counter.

Small Town Fun

We are happy to take our fun where we can find it: at the football field for the high school homecoming game.


Giles allowed me to handle his camera and politely hid his scorn.


That's his best friend Ben down there playing the baritone.


And here are two of my best friends.

"Baked Potatoes with Supper"

"Then there was a week steeped in the magic of Indian summer sunshine, and in the cold sharp evenings Mother would touch a match to the kindling in the grate and Susan would have baked potatoes with supper."

--L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Ingleside

Beautyberry and Carnations

I had a few stems of carnations left from last week's grocery store purchase--a luscious perfect match with the stems of beautyberry I picked behind the house.

Quilted

Finished! *Loved* the walking foot--it would have been disastrous to quilt this top without it.

I quilted in the same pattern I would have done if I were hand-quilting, running the stitching along the inside of each diamond. Every single diamond. I don't want to start another one soon.

Machine quilting is a lot like riding one of the early cars, I think. If you've only gone by buggy in the past, it seems like you're flying at breakneck speed. The fact is, though, you're only going about twenty. And there's a lot of stopping.

Even More Orchids

I simply can't pass up cheap orchids. It's mind-boggling that they're available at the grocery store and at Wal-Mart; they carry such an aura of fifties' glamour.

This week I found dendrobiums for $8 a piece at the store. I haven't had any of these before, and was enchanted with the delicate shades of greeniness and general fine bamboo-like quality of the stems.

My orchid experience so far is limited to keeping the blooms healthy as long as possible--which can be months--and nurturing some new leaf growth, hoping for another stem of buds next season. I certainly don't wish to wander down the dark, obsessive pathway of lighting strips, tweezers, and paintbrushes, assisting orchids in their private lives. I just want to keep my grocery store flowers happy.

A Bright Supper

Strikingly colorful supper preparations tonight. I prepared a little beaten egg for breaded pork cutlets. My neighbor Phyllis provides me with the boldest yellow-yolked eggs in the world.


And here's a side of purple cabbage to go with the schnitzelen.

A Rooted Life

Tonight the Composer and I attended a short marriage seminar hosted by our church. Each couple was asked to bring a wedding picture to display on a table at the back and I have to say, there were some surprises. Apparently, some of our closer friends used to, at some point, be Hilary Clinton and Billy Ray Cyrus. Just going by what they looked like.

What struck me, though, setting the picture up in the church sanctuary, was the fact that it was taken in that very room, and the same elaborate and beautiful quilt is still hanging on the wall, just like it was at our wedding. Eighteen years have passed and here we still are, right here in this spot. Entirely different people than we were, having actually raised people who didn't exist then--but some things haven't changed.

Vintage Housecoats for the Girls

With cold weather coming at any moment (three weeks? five?), I hustled to get flannel housecoats sewn for the girls. Bella got this fabulous model, vintage McCall's 3416. I went ahead and used a ladies' size 12, simply shortening the bodice and the skirt with the HANDY built-in ruler you see below. Why don't patterns include this anymore? It seems like genius to me. With those alterations made, this pattern fit her curvy little figure perfectly.



Huge pockets, gathered in by funny little pleats in the side panels. Huge collar, double-breasted buttons at the waist. Those fifties designers weren't afraid to add some big style.



Daisy is pictured here in her new flannel robe, the "Morning Glory" model. She puts her robe on every morning after she gets up. Her hair is a huge wreck, and I cannot say how delicious she is. But. She didn't want her picture taken this morning, unless I let her dance on the dryer.

Schoolhouse Gingerbread with Chocolate

Gingerbread is a house favorite here, and we make it every week or so regardless of the season, to eat at breakfast or for dessert. Today I took my game to the next level with some melted chocolate, inspired by a picture in a cookbook. The chocolate adornment is one of those little things with a huge payoff, trust me.

•Schoolhouse Gingerbread with Chocolate•

Combine and beat until smooth:

1 c. sugar
1 c. molasses
1 c. oil
3 eggs

In another bowl mix:

3/4 t. salt
1 t. cloves
1 t. ginger
1 t. cinnamon
2 c. flour
2 t. baking soda

Add to first bowl, then stir in:

1 c. boiling water.

Melt half a bag of chocolate chips in the microwave in a small bowl. Pour half the gingerbread batter in the pan, then dribble with half the chocolate. Repeat with the other half of the batter and the chocolate.

Bake in a pammed pan (I have the best success in an 8 x 12, although you could probably go bigger or smaller if you adjust the baking time) at 350 for 45 minutes. Can be fed with great success to any small group.

Kitchen Scrubbing

Kitchen scrubbing day today, and I was seeing how many kitchen doodads I could squeeze into the dishwasher for a thorough cleaning: a lot! Soapdishes, breadbox and breadbox lid, cookie jar, stove burners, dish that holds the scrubbies, microwave plate, honey dispenser.

Such an easy way to do the occasional deep cleaning.

Vintage Craft Patterns

Many, a great many, vintage craft patterns are in the shop.

Alstromeria

Early in the morning, milky coffee and this pitcher of flowers . . .

Daisy's New Shoes

A bit of deliciousness I look forward to every fall: new shoes for Daisy.

Schoolhouse in Autumn Sunshine

Leslie's Goodies

Generous reader Leslie M. sent me a box packed with these goodies! Vintage fabrics, notions, crocheted work, and treats for the children. Thank you so much . . . that flannel is calling my name already!

What Must I Thrift?

I'm sure everyone has her own idiosyncratic mental list when thrifting. You know, those things you just *are* going to buy if they cross your path. On mine:

• Restaurant and restaurant style dishes--Buffalo, Jackson, etc.

• Sewing notions, especially packages of bias tape in odd colors. But not thread, which might be too old and weak and ruin a project. Always zippers. I'll never have to buy another one in a fabric store.

• Fabric yardage if it's at all cute. If not for me, then to pass along.

• Gift wrapping supplies--curly ribbon, little fake flowers, great bows. Also crepe paper rolls and fold-out tissue wedding bells!

• Ironstone china.

• Pillowcases in terrible seventies yellows and brown--perfect for car travel.

• Books on vintage homemaking and sewing. Grace Livingston Hills.

• Pieces of handwork, even if they're tacky. Given the right setting, almost any little bit of embroidery will sing! (See above: pillow created from a pretty tasteless piece of crewelwork, but I think it came out cute!)

Yours?

Serger

Look what I have!! A serger! A hand-me-down from my handy neighbor Phyllis, computerized screen and all. Giles and I tried on our own to get it up and running, but as they say, who can figure out such devices? I ended up taking it to the sewing machine center to be cleaned and threaded.



I'm getting a little more comfortable with it, having serged the side seams of a little flannel robe for Daisy (oh, she looks cosy in it!). So I've cut out a bigger project to work on--don't be shocked, but it's a vintage fifties housecoat for Bella.



I am proceeding with caution, but things are looking good.

Cranberry-Blueberry Cake

This beautiful and delicious (and dairy-free!) cake picnics easily if left in its pan until needed. Just slice in the pan, and flip each serving out onto the diner's plate so she can enjoy the beautiful deep colors.

*Cranberry-Blueberry Cake*

Grease an 8-inch cake pan, and preheat the oven to 350.

Whisk together in a bowl, and then sprinkle in the pan:
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. allspice.

Evenly distribute:
1 c. fresh or frozen cranberries and
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
over the sugar. Set aside.

In electric mixer, cream:
1/2 c. margarine
1/2 c. sugar
until light and fluffy.

Beat in:
1 egg
1 t. vanilla.

In another bowl, whisk together:
1 1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt.

Blend into creamed mixture.
On low speed, beat in:
1/2 c. rice milk. Or use regular milk.

Spoon batter into the pan over the berries, slide into the oven, and bake 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick poked in comes out clean. Cool in the pan, and if serving at home, turn out onto a platter.