It is such a bizarre day today. Nothing is going as planned. I am posting this picture because it is very calming to me. Pictured are liatris in front of broad leaf sea lavender. There is a phlox in the far right.

Last night I started a cross stitch design on the wrong fabric. I will have to take the stitches out; fortunately there are not many. The bad news is that it is black thread on very light fabric. I started in the center so I have probably ruined the fabric.

One of our sons is quite ill and has been so for more than 24 hours. I am not very confident of the doctor's diagnosis. If he does not improve, I will probably take him to the emergency room.

I am rambling and whining so it is more than time for me to stop

Chipmunks and Chips

We were just watching the chipmunks. They are quite busy this morning. When we laid the front walk and had the new driveway poured, we made two underground conduits with PVC piping. One goes from the water faucet on the outside of the house to the opposite side of the garage by going under the driveway. It is so we can bring the garden hose to the other side of the driveway without laying it across the driveway where we might drive over it. We would drive over it because it seems like such a nuisance to pull it out of the way so we can drive the car into the garage. The second conduit goes out to the end of the front walk just in case we ever put in an outside light; it will take the electrical service out to the light.

The chipmunks have discovered the pipes and like to run in and out of them. We are fairly certain they have a nest in them. They must think about how fortunate they are to have such wonderful tunnels that they do not have to constantly maintain. To this point, they have not created any problems so we leave them. We are careful now to not leave the large garage door open. That is how we think they got into the house during June.

This morning they chased each other back and forth and through the garden, up and down the retaining wall, and in and out of the pipes. At first we could see only one of them and watched it as it explored the wood chip mulch I put in the garden yesterday. Then a robin swooped down; it appeared to be chasing a second chipmunk. After the bird left, the chipmunks looked like they were having a good time chasing each other.

Over the past weekend we had a storm with some extremely high winds. We were not aware of it until yesterday but the wind must have blown down part of a large maple tree in the park behind our house. To tell the truth, the view outside the kitchen window did look a little more open but we never put it all together.

The city workers came yesterday to clean up the tree. Roger and Ben asked for the wood which they were only too happy to let us have. They were just going to run it through the mulcher. We could easily have wood for our ceramic oven during the winter. Roger and Ben used Ben's chain saws to cut it into useable lengths.

When they were done, I raked up the chips and used them to much the garden in the front of the house. Yesterday we were extremely industrious.

Now Isn't That Strange?

This morning, we thought we woke up to rain. It sounded like it was raining. The weather forecast last night indicated there was a possibility. Yet, a half an hour later when we left for the healthclub, there was no sign of rain.

Here is the promised picture of the little project in SANQ. I have yet to find a second green thread; it is just a little lighter than the one I could find. I have so many newly begun projects, I think I ought to make an effort to finish some before even lining up another new one.

Back into Familiar Routines

Yesterday was so far off the norm that it was difficult for me to settle down. Early in the morning, I did upload more Vacation 2002 pictures which I labeled later in the afternoon. I hope that Christine looks at them and corrects any errors I may have made. I really did not begin to settle down until I started stitching.

We have a baptism coming up next Sunday. I stitched in the name and date and will begin finishing the banner today. In the evening I began stitching a little project just for myself. The current issue of Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly (SANQ) arrived Saturday. I found a little project that captivated me. With a little stash diving, I found everything I need for it including the silk fabric to finish it. I changed some of the colors to better co-ordinate with my silk fabric. Because I had the DMC floss but not silk threads, I opted to go with the DMC. The thread I use will not have the variation of the silk but I think it will still look good. This is such a cute little project and I had such perfect supplies that I can hardly wait to show it to you.

This morning I walked to the healthclub. The good news is that I walked. The bad news is that the sky was just beginning to show pink as I arrived at the healthclub. I am fully ready to go off daylight saving time. What the sky looked like when I finished walking today is what it would have looked like when I started walking if we were not on daylight saving time. Again this morning, a little bat flew over my head as I walked. I really hope it was eating mosquitoes and other biting insects and bugs.

It has taken a while to make the entry for today. First thing this morning I made a pasta salad to take to a potluck lunch at church. After the morning services, we gathered together to eat. Following lunch we had a wild talent show. One of the older boys juggles; he has won awards in a juggling association. We have a extremely talented acrobatic dancer. We have some extremely funny members and then there was me. I read a mildly humorous essay describing the early settlement of Saint Paul.

There were more things to do when we got back home. I feel like I have not had a minute to catch my breath. At last I have been able to label the pictures I uploaded this morning. When you see Christine's daughters, please keep in mind that the pictures were taken in 2002. You can check her blog to see more up-to-date pictures.

Here is a new link to my picture gallery.

Focaccia in the Kitchen

This morning I forgot to pick up fresh rosemary; so there will be no rosemary on the focaccia. I am back to the original idea idea of onions. The dough is rising as I key this in. No, that little towel with the hearts is not touching the dough which is liberally coated with olive oil. It is on a dish- towel which may be touching the dough. My little towel was stitched for me by a very good friend who will, I hope, see this. As I was getting something to cover the dough, I spotted the towel and thought it would make a nice picture.

The focaccia is out of the oven and the pictures tell the story. I did opt for the onions to which I added some dried thyme. Over that I sprinkled a little sea salt, but not Fleur de sel because it is so expensive. Sea salt has such large crystals that it makes a nice garnish.

Pepper Jelly

I got my recipe from the back of a bag of American Crystal Sugar; I cannot find my recipe. The Crystal Sugar website does not have the recipe. Oh eek, I am going to have to find one for myself.

This looks like a likely candidate for a pepper jelly recipe.

Some Ideas:
1. You could substitute apple juice for part of the vinegar depending upon your taste.
2. You could use green bell peppers and jalapenos for green jelly or red bell peppers and a hot red or yellow pepper for red jelly. You could mix the pepper colors. Use your taste to determine how much hot pepper to use.
3. I do not recommend running the peppers through a food chopper or blender. You will have a much more attractive jelly if you very, very finely dice them by hand. You are going through the trouble to make the jelly, what is a little more hand labor? ;-)
4. You do not have to strain out the pieces of pepper. They will have lost the intensity of their color but still add a little interest, both visual and taste.
5. I generally do not use food coloring but you could to heighten the color.
6. You could use dry, granular pectin. Many people prefer to use it. You might be able to omit the pectin if you cook clean apple peelings with the ingredients; slightly under ripe apples have more pectin. To test for the jell, be certain the mixture sheets off your spoon before you take it off the stove.

Christine, I privately e-mailed you the recipe for chocolate bread with my editorial comments. ;-) Did you get it?