Sunday, November 27, 2011

Fresh baked bread

You may already know that last winter's weekends revolved around a concerted effort in bread baking. All that fell by the wayside over summer and fall when the weather and work simply don't cooperate with my best intentions.

It was last year's deer hunting season that triggered all this. When serving the hunters -- a collection of family and friends -- some topnotch venison stout stew, I warmed up two loaves of grocery store bread. The hunters loved it and asked if I made it. Slightly embarrassed by the confession of being a complete failure at all things bread, I decided then and there to change that. I've had some success, some chewy challenges and a lot of wondering how women did this for large families all the time. Of course, after a few days of feeding 8 or so hungry hunters, I wonder how women of large families got anything done without modern conveniences, especially a dishwasher.

My most recent bread baking endeavors were inspired by the King Arthur flour blog. I have this wonderfully aromatic Maple Oatmeal bread rising right now. Yesterday produced some plain white loaves, also from the King Arthur site. Despite misreading the recipe and adding a tad too much flour, the loaves came out very well. One disappeared with last night's ham supper. The other will go with tonight's leftovers. With two kinds of soups, a bit of ham, a bit of turkey, and some other odds and ends to clean up, my weekend of cooking will come to an end. Fresh bread will complement it all.

Speaking of bread reminds me that while Evan was staying with Alyssa two and three years ago, he sometimes baked bread to pass the time in her apartment. That was a tough time for him, for Alyssa and for all of us. But somehow, baking helped Evan get through the long boring days of doctor visits, tests, and more doctor visits and tests. Grandma's rye bread and ginger cookies were his favorite recipes and they must have done something more than just lift his spirits. After more than four years and two bone marrow transplants, Evan finally received word that he is considered to be in full remission from Hodgkins. By sheer coincidence, I spent Thanksgiving weekend cooking and baking, including his favorite ginger cookies. And why not -- it appears that it's all good medicine.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Time to cozy in

While driving down Blueberry Road last night, just before 6:00, it occurred to me that the beautiful autumn sky will be much darker at the same time next Friday. Luckily, my camera was close at hand so I could share the view with you. Regrettably, the light had faded too much for my trusty point-and-shoot camera to capture the line of Black Angus cattle at the edge of the corn field. (I love the color of ready-to-harvest corn: not quite tan; not quite gold and find myself drawn to it in many of my projects.) That sky absolutely begs for rye bread rising and warm fall flavors on the menu. Such a dining experience didn't happen last night, but it will tonight for Evan's birthday dinner. Cabbage and squash and stuffed steak rolls with fresh rye bread. Maybe even a pumpkin cake. All the colors and flavors of autumn.

First though, a quick update on the flannel quilt progress. The rest of the blues are cut, thanks to some good old tunes.
I'm using an actual pattern for this quilt and am doing fairly well at really sticking to the directions instead of my usual, "let's just see what happens" method. I think this is going to be beautiful in the blues and browns. Just wait until you see the floral border fabric that will pull the entire quilt together-- it's smashing! The pattern is "Christmas Past" from Primitive Gatherings' Primitive Christmas Book. Every single design in this inspiring book begs to be made, which is what I say about everything Primitive Gatherings publishes. And, now that I think about it, another trip to Menasha may be in order before this fall leads too quickly into winter. Maybe even a side trip to Penzey's in Appleton. Time to get out the calendar and plan because it won't be long before it's more appealing to stay home and cozy.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Midwest Living

It usually bothers me a bit when holiday magazine issues are on the stands and in my mailbox even before Halloween. Not so this year when Midwest Living arrived. Although it may look out of place with my harvest colored accessories, it was a delight to receive because right there on page 26 is a little article about my daughter. Of course it is a tribute to Alyssa and her blog to be contacted by the magazine after reading the post about last year's baking party. More importantly though, the publication of Grandma Ruesch's date pinwheel cookie recipe along with the story speaks to the special relationship the two of them shared.

Grandma, even though she reveled in grandchildren, would not have accepted any credit for inspiring Alyssa's caring spirit and success in the kitchen; she was far too humble for that. Anyone who knew both of them, however, knew that baking together was just one of the ways they worked and shared with each other. They really were a good team. Midwest Living brought all that home right in my mailbox. What a welcome holiday gift!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Progress is progress

In my mind, I would have half the blocks for this quilt made by now. In reality, I have not quite four. (Each of these stars will be the center of a larger block.)Not exactly my goal, but progress is progress. With more blocks in various stages of assembly and just a bit more cutting to do because I finally found my way to Wisconsin Rapids yesterday afternoon for three more blue flannels, I could still make my Christmas deadline. What I need is a full quilting day, which I don't see on the horizon any time soon. What I do see is the clock ticking and telling me to get to work. Again. Quilting will have to wait. Again.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Little things

Some things need little or no explanation. Last Sunday's Pie Day is one such thing.
This Sunday turned into Puppy Picture Day as Amos and his pups vie for Evan's attention.
Amos and some of the pups size each other up
while Paul and I convince Cleo to show off her pretty puppy blue eyes.
Hope your beautiful fall weekends are this good!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

A great start

A beautiful day in Central Wisconsin means baling hay for all the men -- including sons, nephew, and friends -- around here. And if there are men baling, I'm cooking. Auntie Pat's Outdoor Pot Roast (made indoors), oven roasted potatoes, corn and spinach-apple salad with maple dijon dressing . Ice cream and molasses cookies for dessert. The cookies are supposed to be iced, but driving twenty miles for the missing icing ingredient was simply not appealing, so a sprinkle of Turbinado sugar before baking seemed a reasonable substitute.
Earlier in the week, my friend Jenny and I made a lunch break run to Kat's Curiosities. I must have mentioned this wonderful little shop before ... it really is one of my all-time favorite places. Just a cozy little shop that offers the perfect mid-day treasure hunt with its happy mix of new and vintage items. This is the little gem I snapped up on our most recent visit.I pictured it as the perfect knitting box for the sweater I'm working on (Alyssa's is done and in her possession; the current project is a cardigan for me), but changed my mind this afternoon. Thanks to my easy meal preparations, I was able to get half the fabric cut for a queen size flannel quilt today. My metal picnic basket turned out to be the perfect storage bin for the pieces.It's doubtful that much more flannel will get cut tomorrow since it's Violet and Barb's Great Apple Pie Making Day, but cutting a little every day before work will get me piecing this beauty by next weekend. Today was a great start.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Puppies and pumpkins

Many people try to squeeze in vacations in August and September. I work. Too much. And get cranky. Too cranky to blog. Then there is a breather and life starts looking pretty good again. Of course, some things help that along. Like puppies.
Evan and Ned raise Leopard Curs, handsome hunting hounds who are also friendly, loyal pets. They have six adult dogs and now six puppies. Evan brought this tub-o-pups in the house the other night while Poppy, their mom, took in a little exercise.
We weighted each puppy on the kitchen scale. These two little white guys were the largest and the smallest at five pounds and three pounds. The one on the right reminds me of the Buster Brown shoe dog, so I call her Buster. Her big brother is Chunk.
Next we have Cleo on the left, who looks a lot like her mom. On the right is Pete, who is the spittin' image of his dad.
And finally we have little Susie and Jed who look much like Belle and Orville, two of the other resident hounds. Actually, I don't have naming rights to any of them; that will go to their new owners. Or, if there is one who stays here, Evan and Ned get the naming rights. I can only hope that one of my favorites gets to stay in spite of my protests about too many dogs.And now for the pumpkins ... If you've seen the current issue of Country Living magazine, you've seen the beautiful decoupaged pumpkins on the cover. It was love at first sight for me. The magazine's directions suggest photocopying fabric to cover the pumpkins. Since our printer is not much of a color copier, I opted to just use fabric. For this one, I cut strips approximately 3" wide, tapered the top and bottom of each strip as I applied it, and loved the results.

Of course, doing one wasn't enough. This brushed cotton was torn into strips -- I thought the torn edge would add some charm -- and applied in the same manner.
Once these are dry, I'll give another thin coat of Modge Podge before deciding on varnish. (Did you know that there is an entire blog devoted to Modge Podge? It's true. Check out Modge Podge Rocks for a little decoupage inspiration.) I found the pumpkins at Michael's, used about 1/3 yard of fabric, a sponge brush and matte finish Modge Podge. It was a great way to spend an hour or two and get into the spirit of my favorite season of the year.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Sisters Sewing Weekend

While most weekends are good simply because they are weekends, last weekend was something really special. Paul drove me to Menasha, Wisconsin on Friday morning (approx 85 miles from here) to meet my sisters. Jane and family were visiting from California and we sisters had cooked up a great plan. Jane's husband and sons went up to Rhinelander with our brother Jon's family while she stayed behind to join Jeannine and me in a great sewing weekend. Jeannine and Jane drove up from Racine and we all gathered at the Primitive Gatherings Quilt Shop in Menasha (on Racine St, coincidentally).

What a lovely place. All three of us sew, but have slightly different interests. I am almost exclusively a quilter. Jeannine does not enjoy quilting but does almost every other type of sewing you can imagine from garment sewing to draperies; she especially enjoys the handwork of wool applique. Jane also loves all things sewing. With her training as an interior designer, she has a practiced eye for beautiful fabrics and designs. And Primitive Gatherings offered something for us all. Naturally, we showed our appreciation by buying a few things.


After a nice lunch in Menasha accompanied by some good old sisterly hilarity, we headed toward Jeannine's home in Racine. But first we stopped at this great place on Watertown Plank Road. (It was supposed to be my job to document our weekend, but I was too busy touching all the beautiful fabrics to remember to ask permission to take pictures.) Jeannine was right. This is a great store. Once again, a few things were purchased by all.
Then to Racine where we began working in earnest to complete two projects that Jane could take home with her. Jane and I worked on cutting the fat quarters she purchased in Menasha into five inch squares so they could be incorporated into a quilt made from the charm pack she also bought. We all worked on making silk yo-yo's for a purse Jane wanted. She had purchased the book and fabrics back home in California and really wanted to make this project. I've made yo-yo's before. Quite of few of them actually. But I had never made silk extra large yo-yo's with beaded centers. And I didn't make all that many this time. My fair share, I think, but not one more than that. At any rate, in no short order, we had Jeannine's otherwise lovely dining room looking like this. (By the way, that is French Lemonade from Aldi's in the glasses --not G&T -- and it is delicious!)
On Saturday morning we made a quick run to Sew N Save in Racine -- another great store -- to find backing for Jane's little quilt. Luck was on our side as we found a piece in the sale section that was absolutely perfect.

During all this production, there were breaks aplenty to peruse our little stack of inspiration nearby. It's probably no surprise that we sisters share the same enthusiasm for gathering ideas for future projects. (Yes, I am showing off some of Jeannine's fine work here. Not just the wool pillow folks, she also upholstered the sofa!)
By Sunday afternoon, the silk purse was well underway. Jeannine worked to complete that before Jane and Roger and boys left for home on Wednesday. I know it was beautiful because all the pieces for it were, and because our mom called to tell me it was absolutely gorgeous!
Paul came to Racine to pick me up at brother Greg's house where we were treated to a great Sunday afternoon picnic and the chance to meet little Gracie. Love at first sight for one and all.

Here are Jane and Jeannine with the finished quilt. (Yes, I did cut myself out of the photo. Bad hair and closed eyes and it is my blog.)


Jane was so pleased with her quilt. It was such fun for her from shopping to pairing squares to helping with the binding. She is her most relaxed and satisfied self with fabric and needle. We all signed a label for the back of the quilt as a reminder of our weekend together.

Jeannine and I are so grateful for our time together. We thank Roger and the boys for allowing us to have our little sister all to ourselves for three days of their week-long visit. And we will keep praying that Alzheimers' hold on Jane will slow down enough to allow us another wonderful Sisters Sewing Weekend.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Handwork

If you do handwork of any sort, you know very well that the value of the work is not usually monetary; the value is the work -- the creation of something with your own hands.

For some of the hardest days of my life, I let knitting keep my hands and mind occupied. I started this vest for Alyssa while staying in her apartment when Evan was recovering from his first stem cell transplant. That was two and half years ago. For some reason I just couldn't get going on it again. Even during the second transplant -- the successful one -- I just couldn't return to this. In the last couple of weeks, however, I realized that the successful transplant was nearly two years ago. Evan is doing just fine. It's time to finish the sweater.
The knitting was finished nearly to the neckline in front. The rest of the front went very quickly. At 5:30 this morning I put the stitches for the back on my needles and counted and counted and counted and realized that I had made the wrong size right from the start. After a quick and unsuccessful mental review of every female I know who might possibly be a perfect fit for the vest, reality quickly settled in.

Here's the sweater now. All set to be made all over again using the same pattern (from Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel) in the right size.
If I start again tonight, it will be finished in plenty of time for Alyssa to spend some good fall days in it. Maybe she'll even wear it on the second anniversary of her brother's successful stem cell transplant.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Slipping away

Summer is slipping away ...
First, there was the 4th of July ... never complete without a float carrying beautiful girls

And of course the annual squirt gun battle

And fireworks.
Oh, that's right, I opted for this instead of the noise and crowds.
Then there was my day of vacation on the 5th of July.
A relaxing day of seeing the sights on my way home with a stop in Elkhorn
at Sawdust and Stitches Quilt Shop

And a stop in Janesville at
Life's a Stitch Quilt Shoppe

Then there were the strawberries.
Lots of strawberries.

And some Georgia peachesAnd some excellent grilling.

And some finishing.
And now it seems I'm coming down with a bug.
How's your summer going?

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The first annual Descendants of Leonard & Agnes Ruesch Family Picnic

Agnes and Leonard would have loved this:

Lots of good food contributed by everyone
Good company (of course!) and even some new friends
An opportunity to dig through an attic full of treasures
A baby shower for two moms and three babies
A brief sprinkle followed by a rainbowSome soccer for the cousins
(Check out those hats on the little guys! Grandma and Grandpa's hat collection was a big hit!)
Laughter around the campfire

And Sunday morning pancakes with Ruesch's Pure Wisconsin Maple Syrup before all was over
Yup. Grandma and Grandpa would have loved it.