The Doily

If you are close to my age perhaps you will remember visiting your grandma, aunt or just an older lady's home and seeing doilies not only on end tables, tables but also on chairs and sofas.  My gramma had them every where, even on little footstools.  I was amazed by their delicate beauty.  She spent many hours making them and always had a a new creation started in the little basket by her chair.  One big ball of string, a tiny shiny crochet hook and her busy hands decorated her house.  I'm sure she used them as gifts too.  My Aunt Edna was a great crocheter also.  She crocheted huge table cloths and entered them in the Little Valley, NY Fair each August.  That was a day vacation from our farm to meet Edna and Floyd, have a picnic lunch together to check out how Edna's entries fared.  Edna was a champ getting blue ribbons.  I can't imagine how crushed she would have been otherwise, she was just that proud of her talent and worked hard to out do last years creations.  Since they also lived on a dairy farm in Sinclairville, NY this was the time to catch up on what's new and tips on farming.  The women would share patterns.  Mom, Edna and I would go off to the entries that interested only "old women" and the men would head to the barns to discuss each cow in great detail.  Being of single digit age I can say, none of it interested me.  Really a day away from our farm just to see more cows and more women's handy work just wasn't what I needed.  I didn't even like the carnival part of the fair.  It scared me seeing all the "weird" looking "Carny"  workers, they were always yelling, "come on over, try your luck at winning....."  Dad always said just don't look at them and keep walking.  What fun!

 The best part of the day was the picnic because way back then we took homemade food when it was long enough we wouldn't be home for a meal.  There was only a couple restaurants we ever went to and that was maybe once a year.  Red and Trudy's and an ice cream parlor, that was it.  Mom always fried chicken that would put Kentucky Fried Chicken out of business.  She parboiled the chicken, let it cool, rolled it in seasoned flour, dipped in buttermilk and back to the final roll of seasoned flour.  She fried it in lard.  The buttermilk makes for the crispiness, the lard keeps it from dripping in grease.  Even packed in the wooden basket for hours it was still crispy when we ate it with potato salad (always made with real mayonnaise), canned pickles, homemade Parker House rolls and sugar cookies with 3 raisins placed just so in the middle of the cookie.  A jug of ice tea (unsweetened)  that was not so ice since there was no special thermos jug back then big enough.  It was all good and being with family that we only would see twice a year made the day not so miserable.

Speaking of thermos containers I saw one the other day while shopping at Field and Stream.  It caught my attention all sleek and compact, kinda like a slender duffel bag.  Well I checked it out and thought it would be great to take camping or picnics, until I looked at the price tag.  $340.00   There isn't a hunk of food or bottle of anything that would make me pay that price!  Oh wait, it's a Yeti brand.  Still no thanks.  That warm ice tea way back when didn't taste all that bad.  It's a no, Yeti ♡

I have been learning to crochet for the past 2 years with the help of Bobbie.  She is a great instructor with great patience in my learning process.  As of 10 minutes ago I ripped out Round 20 for the last time (3 times total)!  It will go to our knit and crochet group that meets on Monday nights at the Oswayo Valley Memorial Library.  When I leave Bobbie will have calmed my nerves and on to round 21.
For some reason I feel the need to learn crocheting with a tiny needle and thread like mom, Gramma Carrie and Aunt Edna took such enjoyment in.  The circle of family knowledge being passed on.

Never let size fool ya!  This little white doily pattern
is giving me fits.  The teal doily below is much
bigger but easier to do.

Carrots

Yes carrots brought me to the point of looking back on the first blog I wrote.  It was short, to the point and what inspires me.  Today carrots took me to the happy place I need to be.  The simple pleasures that make me breathe deep, relax and love everyone and everything that makes my life complete.  Far from perfect I am but life is what it is and knowing what satisfies the soul is all I need.  Today the carrots did the trick.  While I took a 4 day vacation with Amber to visit her daughter/my granddaughter to Worcester, MA with a visit to Boston, Dick kept busy getting the little Clara Creek farm ready for spring.  I called him twice a day just to make sure he wasn't over doing which he tends to do often.  He was so excited to tell me he dug about 25 lbs of carrots and they were beautiful, sweet and crisp. This is the first year we left carrots in the ground and covered them for winter.  Thanks to the tip from George Donovan we have fresh carrots for the next couple months.  The horses are happy too.

We decided on beef, barley and vegetable soup today.  Tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and beans from our garden, there is my happy spot in life.  Just knowing all the work/fun of last summer's garden is still providing a great meal for us.  The carrots were in a mesh bag left by the bridge for the rain to rinse the heaviest of the mud off.  As I walked across the lawn to get a few for the soup memories of how many times I crossed the lawn, bridge and walked the fields to relax and get inspired for what ever the day had to offer.  For me there is nothing better than the wide open space of the great outdoors.  Watching for deer, turkey, bear, coyotes, fox, hawks and eagles just make Cook'n by the Creek more enjoyable.  Of course my chickens and the horses are always the main video.  The hens and rooster have been enjoying the snow less ground.  They are back to scratching for food and free ranging only to go back to the coop when they lay their eggs.  Eggs, another treat on the farm.

As we said many times from the early years of our marriage during April, it is soon going to be a leek digging, beer drinking kinda day.  Dig leeks in the morning, clean them, make bread, bake a ham, have a few beers or wine and supper by 5.  The day is with hot sun, cool when the sun goes down and peepers providing a tune while we enjoy the "simple pleasures" of Potter County country living.

Thank you carrots for making my day ♡

Always "Pass it On" that simple pleasure can mean so much ♡

Nothing can be finer than homemade soup, crusty bread, Amish
butter and a glass of Lakewood Niagara Wine.  The blue bottle
reminds me of Ron and Marcia with a trip to Watkins Glen and
Lakewood Winery.  The blue soup bowl of John and Diane
and our trip to visit them in NM, going over the Mexican
border for lunch, shopping and buying the bowls.