VISIT TO THE FEED STORE

With another winter storm in the forecast, it was time for a trip to the local feed store to stock up on chicken pellets, black oil sunflower seeds, cat food and straw for bedding. With all this snow and cold weather no one wants to leave the cozy barn accomodations and all of the foraging is going on inside. Frosty, the barn cat waited for Fred to bring in the 50 lb. bags, and the chickens appreciated having their feeders refilled and another warm layer of straw.

NEW ORLEANS, LA

Thinking of my children in New Orleans, how warm and balmy the weather must be, but missing them the most.











Art Deco footbridge over the pond at The Sculpture Gardens in City Park. New Orleans.

SATURDAY AT RUTGERS GEOLOGY OPEN HOUSE AND ROCK ID

We managed to dig the car out to go up to New Brunswick for the Geology Open House. Grandson Chris and I had rocks that we wanted help identifying. Chris has bought his at a thrift shop last year and I had several from the beach at Gorleston, England. First stop was the Geology Building on Old Queens campus, it features a mastodon, Egyptian mummy, and a wonderful display of rocks, minerals and prehistoric stone tools from NJ and NY. At Scott Hall next door, we waited in line for Professor Muller, a retired teacher from Rutgers (45 years of teaching!) examine our stones. Chris's sculpture turned out to be made from obsidian from Mexico, taken from an Olmec design and mine were quartz, the material from which our Paleolithic ancestors made tools and fire. Chris bought a jasper rock from China, nicely polished at the rock sale in the auditorium, it is mounted for a nice display.

PEACOCKS

Theatre mailer, yoga mat design, silkscreen on paper, theatre poster for Brookdale, newspaper ad for Harbor Island Spa, blue peacock sketch

THE SOUND MACHINE

My Sound Machine has finally arrived. It is a compact machine with 8 soothing nature sounds that put you to sleep. With 4 timer settings and a volume control it has such relaxing sounds as Rain, Thunder, Stream, Ocean, Woods, White Noise, Birds and Heartbeat. It really does work, I put the Ocean sound (waves crashing and pounding to wash tensions away) on last night, put it on the 15 minute setting, and I was fast asleep. You can also use it for yoga practice, (Forest, White Noise, to screen out distractions) the sounds are a bit repetitive, but that's what makes it work!

SNOW DAY - SCHOOL CLOSED

It looks like shoveling is on the agenda again today. This time I think we will wait until afternoon when the plows have finished, no sense having to reshovel. I am making a large batch of chili in the crockpot and then I'll venture out to the barn and bird feeders. Looking forward to playing checkers with Chris and getting caught up on cleaning the studio.

MY MOTHER'S BIRTHDAY

It is a quiet day of contemplation, remembering my mother. The beautiful things that she loved - the color blue, Gainsborough, white azaleas, good coffee, Walt Whitman, Wagner, always evoke perfect memories of her.

SOUP'S ON!

With everyone in the family sick with a winter virus, we decided to go shopping for chicken soup ingredients. After purchasing the fresh onions, garlic, and live thyme in a cute container, I noticed the packaged dry soups and decided to try one of them. Time was a factor and I knew it would be ready same day with the soup mix and seasoned chicken. So home we went and the soup was ready for dinner, everyone loved it, it was quite tasty and soothing, and the large batch will last a few days.

BARNHEART CONTINUED...JERUSALEM, NY

"Make hay while the sun shines" Beautiful Penn Yan, vineyards long gone, rustic barn with sliding doors, a refuge now for the beautiful birds of summer and winter, waterfall walks up the hill, giving back to nature.

SATURDAY MORNING BEIGNETS & DAYDREAMING

I have never made Beignets, those little square doughnuts. I never thought they would ever taste like the ones at The Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans. But the beignets that I made from the mix actually do have that wonderful flavor. Marie's friend Pia brought the mix from New Orleans when she visited our house for Thanksgiving. Served super warm with powdered sugar and hot steamy coffee, I felt like I was sitting in the French Quarter mapping out my day's destinations in the Crescent City.

BARNHEART

BARN RAISING 1984-2011

Fred and I bought the farmhouse and barn in 1984. Both structures were in need of attention, but the barn had to be completely rebuilt from inside out. I helped take the original beaded siding off, clean it and cut it. Fred did the hard work as you can see from the 1984 picture. He put new treated beams and posts in, and one by one the structure became sound, until the March Northeaster'.
After the storm, the barn looked tilted, so everything had to be readjusted and straightened before the doors and siding could be fitted. It was a monumental job, and today we are still fixing bits and pieces. Somewhere along the way, we came across the original barn builder's gun case, owner Charles Newton and also owner of the farm and house. We hung the case in the barn over the original sliding doors.

BOOKBINDING

One of my favorite stores is Paper Source in Princeton (they are also online). They will provide you with all the information you will need for producing your own bound books for photos, recipes, genealogy or anything! The supplies are minimal - bone burnisher, bookbinder cloth tape, PVA glue, cellulose, bound inserts, your scanned art for the cover, and old heavy cardboard. The tape and glue are also useful for any damaged, older books that you would like to restore.

COZY WINTER MORNING AT HOME

ESCAPE TO THE INDIAN RESTAURANT

My new washing machine arrived today, but not without drama. Whenever a new appliance has to be connected in our older home (100+ years), there is always the concern about installation. This time, it was the hot and cold faucets, they began gushing water as soon as the new hoses were attached. Fortunately, my husband Fred was here and he and the delivery men saved the day! Meanwhile, at the Indian Restaurant, all was well. The Tandoori Chicken was hot and tender, along with all the flavorful dipping sauces for the Naan bread, the cheese cubes with boneless chicken, and gulab jamal dessert with mango mousse. A perfect afternoon - savasana!

MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY - 2011

Chris and I had a long conversation today about Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and responsibility. It was alot for an 8 year old to think about, but it was the time to talk about it.