Ya think I'm obsessed? Naw...she is just too dorbie!

Our New Baby-Bonnie!

We picked up our new baby dog today from Tommy & Susie. She is a lhasa apso, who is only 8 weeks old. They named her Bonnie...which we think we will keep. And I'm sure we will come up with a hundred other nicknames to call her...like the little preciousness! Here's some pics...adorable huh?

Ideas from Jane Short

"God's people wander
in the supermarket
among chemical frozen pies
overprocessed skillet dinners
nutritionless snack foods
soft drinks in throwaway bottles.
Like manna in the wilderness
hold fast
vegetables from
sun-warmed gardens
protein-rich beans
oven-fresh whole-grain breads
home-canned fruit in Mason jars."

Mozzarella

This morning I made mozzarella! Yes...I finally got around to doing it. Yesterday, dad & I went over to Janet & Don Benson's dairy and got 2 gallons of raw milk...and I had previously ordered all the ingrediants I needed to make mozzarella (citric acid, animal rennet, cheese salt, cheese cloth, a thermometer). I followed the recipe from Barbara Kingsolver's book, which comes from the "Cheese Queen"-Ricki Carroll. (http://www.cheesemaking.com/). Here's the final result...delicious..I think it will be used for Pizza Margherita tonight!

Another Glorious Weekend

James & I decided to take a day trip up to Charlottesville today. It's 80 miles NW of where we live and it took us about an hour and fifteen minutes. Last night we researched the different places we wanted to go while we there. So our first destination was the downtown farmers market. We arrived at 9 a.m. to streets of Charlottesville filled with people milling around, some with their animals, other with their young children, looking at a variety of vendors at the market. There were many farmers from the area selling an abundance of beautiful veggies, some meat farmers, artists, coffee roasters, bakers, kettle corn, banjo players...etc. It was one of the best markets I have been to...and we ended up with 8 large bundles of basil (for pesto I will be freezing), 20 lbs. of tomatoes, onions, garlic, kettle corn, and two cups of iced coffee! :) We realized there was much more to see in the downtown area so we hauled our treats to the car. The downtown part of Charlottesville consists of hundreds of stores/shops/restaurants, but it is closed to any vehicles. The streets are paved with red bricks for about a half mile; with flowers and trees lining the street. There are restaurant vendors who have outdoor seating in the middle of the paved street with shades. It is quite a tranquil and relaxing setting! So we visited an incredible bookstore...New Dominion...and found many books to buy. We had to narrow it down to two...a book about Virginia Piedmont area...and another one by a local artist about living simply. (i'll post the title later). The bookstore had complimentary coffee and homemade cookies...let's just say Jamie was in heaven....literally! I had to visit a knit shop..where I became ambitious and decided that I am going to make Jamie a sweater. So I'll keep you posted on the progress...although it could easily take me a year! :) We perused some local art stores and saw some incredible work..which we eyed but realized we had to control every urge to buy things! There was also a wonderful store that sold some Ten Thousand Villages items and part of the store was dedicated to this local nonprofit called Innisfree. It's a community that exists for mentally disabled adults (18-84), and they produce amazing work. Check them out at innisfreevillage.org. Simply amazing! Natalia...I thought of you! Anyhow, that was wonderful! We found out that the town of Charlottesville is ranked 6th in the country for being "green"...which is neat to be close to people like that!
We finished the day by heading up to an apple orchard and picked 20 lbs. of golden delicious to make applesauce & apple pie filling. We really had such a wonderful day and can't wait till our next visit up there....Jess get ready! Peace & love to all...

All Things Pink

This past weekend, Jamie and I drove down to coast of North Carolina to visit his parents and to be one of the hostesses for his sisters baby shower. Trudy (Jamie's mom) and I were the main hostesses for the shower, so we hustled around Friday and Saturday morning preparing for the occasion. We had decided on a baby shower tea party, so I prepared the menu and made all of the food. It turned out beautifully...with only minor glitches. But overall, everyone thought it was amazing and beautiful. Thank you Trudy for all of your help!
Here's some pictures for your enjoyment!

Mom-to-be & me!

The Tea!

The Food!

Sarah having tea!

A Few of My Favorite Things

The first picture is of a passiflora incarnata, or the common name "passion flower". I first came upon this beauty when we lived in Aberdeen, NC, where the plant grew wild; it literally was covering half of the back yard. Fortunately, we transplanted one of the plants into a planter and transferred it to VA with us! Jamie and I had to research this amazing plant and we found out some amazing things. First it is considered an herb. The leaves can be used to make a tea that is used to treat insomnia, hysteria, and epilepsy...and has some uses as a painkiller. After the plant flowers that fantastic bloom, a fruit pod follows. We here that they turn yellow and are quite delicious. Supposedly used in Hawaiian punch, and much like a guava. I can't wait to try it! Anyhow...that might be more information than you cared to know about this plant...but I think it's very fascinating and am so appreciative of the diversity of plants.

I had to post a picture of our up and coming fall garden. We will have more broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, squash, green beans, radishes, mustard, kale, lettuce, carrots, arugula, spinach, dill....to know what to do with! :) Peace..

Jamie eating his favorite summer veggie-raw okra

Redneck Softball

Jamie has joined a softball league here...not any kind of softball league, rather a "redneck" softball league. Before anyone gets offended, please know that many of the players admit they are rednecks and are proud of it! :) Anyhow...he joined the league thru his boss/friend Steve Graber (Anita's husband) and they play every Sunday night. Let me paint the picture for you:

You drive out to the middle of nowhere and find a sign stating you are in the town of "Truxillo" (officially pronounced "trucks-zilla") and not far from that sign you notice a country store and a baseball diamond. The country store and diamond are owned and operated by husband and wife team-Odell & Tabbie. Tabbie runs a cafe out of the store and is know for parting ways by saying "have a bless-ed day" (and remember there's an accent). Anyhow..you park your car and proceed to several stands of bleachers...where basically everyone in the town of Truxillo meets. Tabbie has a table of goodies, nachos, hot dogs, and the sort...and kids are running all over the place. Pretty much everyone in the stands has a ciggy in hand and patting a baby on a shoulder! :) "Play ball"...the game begins and there are some die-hard fans out there..yelling and screaming...and arguing to the umpire (which could easily be there husband, friend, or uncle). When fans aren't screaming they are chatting with everyone...since everyone knows each other and are super friendly. The players on the other hand, are very focused and really competitive...and take the game quite seriously.

Hopefully you are able to picture me trying to fit into the Truxillo crowd, and Jamie hitting homers...and being the hero! All to say..we have a great time at the games. I used to think that this kind of world didn't exist anymore, but the more I'm here, I forgot that I lived any other way! :)