As Lovely As A Tree~

photo from frostmagazine

 Veteran's Day brings thoughts of my Dad and father-in-law and their military service to our country. They served honorably and with pride. Both shared stories of their time aboard ships: my Dad was a cook in the Navy, and my father-in-law visited tiny islands in the Pacific on a PT boat. They returned with a deepened love and respect for America. God bless all our servicemen and women for their sacrifice, as well as the sacrifice of their families. Thinking about veterans, I Googled information about Joyce Kilmer, who wrote one of the most famous and familiar poems about trees.

                             

Joyce Kilmer (December 1886 – July 1918) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees", which was published in the collection Trees and Other Poems in 1914. Though a prolific poet whose works celebrated the common beauty of the natural world as well as his Catholic religious faith, Kilmer was also a journalist, literary critic, lecturer, and editor.  Several critics suggested that his style was too traditional. However, at the time of his deployment to Europe during World War I,  Kilmer was considered the leading American Roman Catholic poet and lecturer of his generation. He enlisted in the New York National Guard and was deployed to France with the 69th Infantry Regiment (the famous "Fighting 69th") in 1917. He was killed at the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 at the age of 31, leaving a wife and children.

Joyce was not fortunate enough to return home from battle, but left this simple poem for us to enjoy and remember him by~
 

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

I would love to have a teacup and saucer with a tree on it like this one from Royal Albert. Isn't it pretty? It is called Greenwood.

 I love the green trim and handle! The scene the cup depicts is so serene and lovely. I can imagine Mr. Kilmer gazing out his window and seeing a tree like this, while jotting down his famous lines.

  

Happy teatime! I think I will take my cup outside, sit under a tree, and think of my Dad~

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Do You Believe In Santa?

                                                                                                  

Seems everyone around me is coughing or sniffing and now I have a little tickle in my throat. I read an article the other day about ways to avoid getting sick and I already practice them all. Alas, some germs are airborne and you just can't avoid them forever. That's when I turn to EmergenC and zinc lozenges! I swear they help curb the duration and intensity of my colds.

I picked up some Tropical flavored EmergenC packets today and they taste good.  Later I got to work on my second Santa card using a Treasured Times Rubber Stamp by Terrye French. If you missed the first one I made look here. On this card I used Graphic 45 paper (Christmas Past and Halloween in Wonderland), a houndstooth print and plain purple card stock. 

 

• Perfect Pearl Mist
• Inkessentials black enamel
• white and almond flocking on the beard and cuffs
• Stickles on the hat and wreath
• vintage mica and glitter for snow

Back on the home front, College Girl had a special day last week because she voted in a national election for the first time! Now she is preparing for Greek Week at school by going to Banner and Chant practices every evening. On Friday her sorority will perform their Chant routine, which is basically a combo of dancing while singing. This is all new to me as I was not in a sorority, and I am enjoying every bit of it. The girls have so much fun! I can hardly believe this semester is quickly coming to an end - before you know it, it will be time for finals. My life has been impacted by our daughter's school routine for so many years that I mark time by her semesters and breaks, and cannot imagine how life will be once she eventually graduates and moves into her own place! But, for now, I enjoy the familiarity and routine and am counting down the days until Thanksgiving.

 

 

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Shimmer and Shine

College Girl is quite a crafty person in her own right; did I mention she has her own scrapbook page gallery and likes to sew, knit and make jewelry? She shared this YouTube video she discovered with me, and I thought you might enjoy seeing it too. A side benefit of being a scrap booker is that I have lots of 'raw' material at hand when inspiration strikes or we stumble onto a fun idea.

Within 20 minutes of watching Ingrid 'glam' up simple wool felt collar necklaces, we were well on our way to creating our own magical Peter Pan style accessories! Following Ingrid's instructions, we gathered felt, scissors, glue and a paper pattern. The link for the pattern is at the bottom of the video tutorial, but you can easily draw your own on scratch paper.(www.sendspace.com/pro/r2c9ho from)

Fold the felt in half and place the collar on the fold. Cut out the collar. At this point, College Girl quickly stitched sheer ribbon to the narrow tips of the collar piece. In the video tutorial, Ingrid simply glues the ribbons to the back, but we wanted to make them doubly secure. Now comes the part where you brush the glue onto the front surface and cover with your choice of product - glitter, pearls, or seed beads. You can also use metallic brads, and in that case you will not need glue. I love using my Judikins Snappy Tray for applying glitter, embossing powder or flocking because it makes it so easy to pour the remaining glitter, etc. back into the bottle.

When we finished the cream collar necklace we made a black one. Oooh! It looks so nice in person! It looks expensive ~

I want to try pearls and silver brads next. These are inexpensive and simple to make, and I bet you know a teen or adult that would love one! I'm thinking one of these would come in handy on Christmas or New Years Eve. If you make one let me know. Meanwhile, we are expecting rain tomorrow and I plan to stay indoors and get crafty again :)

 

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Pass the Syrup!

 

Piping hot off the griddle, I can think of few things as comforting and delicious as pancakes in the morning! And since it is November, why not welcome the autumn dawn with pumpkin pancakes? Whether you call them pancakes, griddle cakes, hot cakes or flapjacks, they are perfect with hot tea and some authentic maple syrup. Though our days are still quite warm, the mornings have been a wee bit chilly and I decided to cook up some pumpkin pancakes today. I got the following recipe from All Recipes.com~

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 and 1/2 cups milk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 TB vegetable oil

2 TB vinegar

2 cups all purpose flour

3 TB brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon each allspice & cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon each ground ginger and salt

Combine dry ingredients, set aside.

Place milk, pumpkin, oil, vinegar and egg in a food processor. (or bowl) Pulse dry ingredients into the wet mixture. (or stir flour mixture into milk mixture) Do not over stir. Heat lightly oiled griddle over medium high heat. Pour batter onto griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.

 I cut the recipe in half and it made 8 fluffy pancakes about four inches in diameter. I also substituted a couple of tablespoons of rice protein powder for some of the all purpose flour- just to add a bit of protein. One online reviewer suggested adding an extra egg for increased fluffiness, but since I halved the recipe one egg was a bit extra. Haha! I also added some fresh ground nutmeg to the batter. The pancakes had a wonderful texture and density, they were not flat or rubbery. They were not too sweet, either.

My family thinks I'm a bit nutty and I am! Gotta add some chopped and toasted pecans or walnuts to make the pancakes extra yummy in my book. If your breakfast companions prefer pancakes sans nuts, just sprinkle them onto the pancakes on the griddle, otherwise mix the nuts into the batter.

I could hardly wait to take the photo so I could tuck in! Did you know~

• Each tablespoon of pure maple syrup contains 21 mg calcium,35 mg potassium, only 2 mg sodium, small amounts of iron, and phosphorus and a trace of B vitamins.
• In any standard recipe, maple syrup may be substituted for all or part of the sugar required. When using syrup, reduce the liquid in the recipe by 3 tbsp. for each cup of syrup used.
• Unopened containers of maple syrup should be stored in a cool dry place. Once opened, maple syrup should be refrigerated. Long term storage in the freezer is recommended.
• Tapping does no permanent damage to the tree, and only about 10% of the tree’s sap is collected each year. Many sugar maple trees have been tapped for 150 or more years.
• 30-50 gallons of sap are evaporated to make one gallon of syrup. The syrup is boiled even further to produce cream, sugar and candy. It takes one gallon (11lbs.) of syrup to produce 8 lbs. of candy.
• Warm, sunny days and frosty nights are ideal for Sap flow. The harvest season ends with the coming of spring’s warm nights and the first stages of bud development on the trees.

photo from countryviewmaplesyrup.com- these trees are having sap collected from them to make syrup

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The Leaves Fall

The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons 

into its winter wools.
- Henry Beston, Northern Farm

 

 

It's November first! What are your traditions leading up to Thanksgiving? Do you start baking? Do you make a Christmas shopping list? Are you finishing up a quilt or knitting project for a gift? I get out my holiday cards and start filling them out whenever I have a moment or two free so that they are ready to go by December: I don't like to be rushed when I write my Christmas sentiments. I swap out pillows, rugs, and even our daily dishes - which will stay out until the Twelfth Day of Christmas, January 6. My favorite season has arrived. It is the season of scarves and boots - oh, boots! I found a stylish pair at a bargain price and can't wait to wear them. These are from Land's End and I like  love how they lace up on the vamp of the boot. 

 

 

Perfect for walking through fallen leaves, don't you think?