Everyday Pleasures #12

Happy August Everyone!

Summer in Lancaster County means being able to get locally grown, fresh produce all the time! We have several great farmers markets, and farmers often sell there bounty along side the road, as well. Actually, it seems that during the summer, produce stands of one kind or another can be found on almost every back road around here!

Pictured below is what I picked up yesterday at a local road side stand, (I only wish I had had my camera with me at the time, as the beautiful plow mules were standing right next to me as I paid!)


Local yellow plums! (Yes, yellow!) These are the sweetest, most juiciest things around!


Farm fresh tomatoes, summer squash, and onions. I'll cook them up with some black beans and serve them over pasta tonight.


Lancaster County corn on the cob. I could eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner, everyday of the week! It is the taste of summer!

Good News

One of the families in our community is getting a new home this week thanks to Extreme Home Makeover. My son is friends with one of the boys and we are so excited for Drew and his family!

The family arrives home from vacation to see their new house today! It still amazes me how quickly they can complete a house. They demolished the house on Saturday. The roof was on the house late Sunday night and the drywall was completed by the time this picture was taken Tueday evening. Our whole community is thrilled for this family. Move that Bus!

I also received a note from Patsy today to let me know that the ladies that had flood damage in their homes were showered with a "car load" full of material. She says they were stunned that our group chipped in the way we did. She also mentioned that each woman chose one of the charity quilts that our guild had made for those in need.

Doot doot doot

Getting teamed tonight. Doot doot doot.



My guess is that I'll either be a Wicked Pissah (in red) or a Nutcracker (in pink), judging by the fact that one of the other team-able skaters is a longtime Cosmonaughtie (who was out for over a year with a torn ALC and returned unteamed). I suspect that they'll either team one of each of the three team-able skaters on each team, or the Pissahs will get two and the Cosmos one because the Nuts have the largest team right now. Then again who knows? The Pissahs might get the above-mentioned former Cosmo because she's an excellent Jammer and they need jammers like whoa.

No matter what, though, it'll work out, because each team has its own strengths and weaknesses. With the league restructuring, it's almost a matter of which uniform I like the best. ;)

Man! I have no idea how this will go! GOD I can't wait until tonight. I can't wait I can't wait I can't wait. Tomorrow I will buy socks in the appropriate colors and get to work on making either a tutu, a red pleated skirt, or something with a rocket on it if my logic is insanely off.

Blue Green Treasury - Lovely !

I just heard that one of my flying geese pendants is featured in knock your socks off Etsy Treasury. The choices are gorgeous. Thanks Whimbrella! Stop by and check it out!

Elbow?

Last night I landed really hard on my right elbow. Don't worry, it's nothing permanently damaging or life-threatening. However, I have my first crazy elbow bruise. It's kind of neat having a bruise people can actually see. So far all of my really good ones have been too close to my swimsuit area to be very show-offable. I wonder if my whole elbow will go purple, or if it will just stay this lovely reddish-brown.

Oh yeah, I'm totally being teamed tomorrow. Just a reminder. :D

More happy news:

My first bout will be next spring (you know, because I'm being TEAMED), but I'm skating in New Hampshire Roller Derby's first ever public scrimmage this Saturday, and it would mean the world to me to see you there holding sparkly signs telling the world how much I rule. I'm one of the "Dastardly Dragons" so wear green and black and wear any dragon-related renaissance-faire crap you own. Here is the official info from the NHRD site:

Come and check out NHRD's Double Header! New Hampshire, Boston, Providence, Pioneer Valley, and Albany are coming together for one hell of a showdown!

NHRD presents...A Double Dose of Derby
Saturday, August 2
JFK Coliseum, Manchester, NH
doors at 4, first scrimmage at 5

Tickets: $5 in advance, $7 at the door. Get 'em now at www. nhrollerderby. com.

Lake Day

We never know what kind of weather we will have when we visit the lake. Today was a lake day. The tempurature was perfect for watersports and snuggling up with a book under a shadetree. It was also a great day for building a sand castle for snail "princesses".





















There are still a lot of early fishing cabins along the shoreline. I hate to see these give way to the bigger homes that are slowly taking their place.



















One of my favorite places on the lake is Pelican Point, a long sandbar that separates the larger part of the lake from the smaller portion. I can definately see myself in that hammock on a long summer day.



















Days end...

Greetings from Vergas and Perham, MN

Greetings from Vergas, Minnesota, Home of the world's Largest Loon. If you have been reading my blog for a while you know I love roadside attractions. I can't resist stopping to take a photo. I love the call of the loon. There is nothing quite like it. Robyn, this link is for you. Click here to link to a website with various loon calls.

Vergas is always a favorite stop for shopping. I love to stop in at Coco's Bait and Tackle shop and the Quiet Cricket to start my Christmas shopping.

On the road again...

My real mission on this trip was to visit the Bay Window Quilt Shop in Perham, MN. I had heard such wonderful things about the shop and I was not disappointed. I walked in to a small quilt shop full of bright fabrics from batiks to contemporary/trendy and 30's reproduction fabrics. Much to my surprise there was so much more to see. The shop is comprised of at least two adjoining store fronts. Earth tones, primitives, holiday & Civil War reproductions are in another room. Don't miss the flannels, wool and Minkee fabric in the basement. This store is well organized. Plan to take some time on your trip so you can see everything. It was easy to find coordinating fabrics to use in an applique project that I have had on the back burner. This shop was well worth the trip out of the way to find. Perham has a lot of nice shops to visit and I hope to get back someday for an extended visit.

So happy. You have no idea.

I'd just like to mention once again that I'm going to be teamed. TEAMED!!! Oh my god.

AAAAAHAHHAHHAAAAAA!!!!!!! I AM TEH AWESOME@!!!!

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to be teamed! I find out on Thursday which one. Oh my god oh my GOD OH MY GOD I DID IT!!!!!!!

Never Ending Seashores

There are many things I love about Minnesota. Pine groves and birch trees are abundant in the wetlands and northern lake shores. Central and southern Minnesota have vast expanses of grasslands and oak savannas and oak groves. Minnesota has crops ranging from corn, wheat, oats and sunflowers. We are about two weeks early to see the sunflowers in bloom... sigh.

When I drive through the western grasslands I get a feeling of being just at the edge of massive sea shore. I keep expecting to crest the hill and see the shoreline in the distance. As a boy my great grandfather Shoemaker traveled with his family across Minnesota to settle in South Dakota in the late 1800's. He told his daughter that the grasses were so high he had to stand on top of the buckboard to guide the horse team. I can only imagine what it was like.





Traveling through the northern part of the state there are lakes everywhere. Some are crowded with summer cottages but many are not. It is the best of both worlds.

So close and yet so far. Wish me luck.

Tonight is the third-to-last team draft before the unteamed skaters "end skater training". Tonight I'm either going to be teamed (if I'm deemed "bout eligible") or "affiliated"* (if my skating doesn't make the grade, but my attendance, effort, and attitude/coachability are up to par). So on the one hand, it's kind of a win/win, as I'll know which team I'll be on either way (because it's been implied** that I'm ok to be affiliated.) On the other, it's very nerve-wracking because if I don't make the grade this time, I only have two more chances before I'm asked politely to "find another role to play in BDD besides skating". :/ Granted, I can't imagine I'll have a problem being "bout eligible" by December, but still... seeing the ground rushing up is scary, even when you have a few more handholds to grab on your way down...

Being unteamed for a full year has absolutely sucked. The impact it's had on me has been profound in ways that no one could hope to understand without being in my shoes. My perception of myself has been so tied in with being an unteamed skater that I don't know how else to see myself, and part of me is just assuming that this will go on forever. If I can skate well enough tonight to be teamed I'll completely lose my shit, because I genuinely have no clue at all how much of this "not quite good enough"-ness is simply in my head. I have absolutely no idea how far from being teamed I really am. For all I know, I could be on the same level as skaters who I'm simply assuming will be teamed, but then again I could be among the skaters who everyone knows won't make it this time around. I don't know at all and no one can tell me.

The not knowing is killing me, and that's why I'm pants-shittingly nervous right now. Seriously, I can't eat.*** It's that bad. It's not like me to be this much of a wreck, but I am. It's not because I'm worried about having a spotlight trained on me - I can handle that. It's that right now is my first chance to finally get out of this dark, miserable hole I've been in all year, where I've felt like the worst skater, someone who didn't matter, someone who would never be good enough, and someone who didn't fit in at all. I've been so hung up on being an unteamed skater, and I want to be teamed so badly I can't stand it. I just haven't really let myself think about that because being teamed was always so absurdly far away that it was just too painful to think about. Now that it's so close it's really hitting me how awful this has all been. I'm finally admitting to myself that I want to be teamed instead of repeating "it's no big deal, I can wait" over and over like lines from a play. 

If I don't make it I'll go back to playing my part, but man, it would be such a relief if I could stop the act. Convincing myself that it doesn't matter takes so much effort. I don't know how much more of it I can take. 

I'm just so goddamned tired.

* Meaning that I'll essentially be a benched skater for a specific team who becomes a full, skating member before the next season starts, assuming I can be deemed "bout eligible" before the last-chance-final-cut-thing on December 14th.
** I think it's been directly stated that I'm at least going to be affiliated, but I hate hate HATE counting my chickens before they're hatched, and I have such a "trust no one" policy programmed into me from working at CRLS for so many years....
*** However, I'm forcing things like V8 juice and granola bars down so I don't pass out during the scrimmage, so don't worry.

Greetings From The Land of 10,000 Lakes

Greetings from Western Minnesota! This week we are spending time with family and friends on the shores of Pelican Lake. My mother's family originated from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Visiting the area gives us all a feeling of coming home. The weather was perfect for an early morning walk today.

I shot this photo of a loon just off the dock near our cabin.

The wind was calm this morning. Little Pelican Lake was as smooth as glass. I love the reflections on the water. Another beautiful day dawns.

I lived for this show when I as in elementary school.

If only someone could have told me then that I'd be playing roller derby now. Sure, I'm grateful that the action is real now and that there are no tie-breaking alligators, but I do miss the wall of death.

Either way I'm glad we wear helmets, though. That was just nuts.

ETA: Oh my god. I must have blocked this out. Could I be hallucinating this CA-RAZY semi-nude man dancing around with the fricking ALLIGATOR?!?!?!?!?



Find more videos like this on RollerFans.com

Pretty Pretty Pincushion

I decided to skip my usual Friday "Everyday Pleasures" post today so that I could share with you the exquisitely pretty, pretty pincushion that I recently purchased from Karen, of Etsy's Contemporary Stitches and of the lovely blog Contemporary Embroidery.


I have been enamored of Karen's work for sometime now, and am thrilled to have a piece of it! This beautiful hand stitched silk pincushion features cutaway areas with bits of vintage embroidered textile peeking through!


I love the attention to detail!


And it's just as pretty on the reverse side!

And look at the beautiful gift that Karen included for me!

Darling handmade silk and vintage embroidered buttons!! I am in heaven! Thank you Karen, I will treasure your work forever!

In keeping with the vintage textile feel of today's post, here is today's "BooDilly Daily Dilly"...

A vintage cloth tape measure!



Purchase this "BooDilly's Daily Dilly" featured item, from my BooDilly's Shop from July 25th to July 27, 2008, and I will refund you via PayPal, 10% of your purchase price for this item, plus 10% of your shipping price for this item! All you have to do, is after your purchase, leave a message either in the comment section here or through Etsy, to let me know you saw it here! This offer is only good for the days listed, and only as long as the item is available! Check back on Monday for the next featured Dilly!

Brief Blogging

I just checked Patsy's blog. She has more pictures of her re-purposed gardens. Enjoy. Chris

I dreamed a thousand paths, I awoke and walked my own. - Chinese Proverb

Another Trip to Patsy's

I had to make a second trip to Patsy's recently. I mentioned earlier that our area had heavy rains in June that flooded many of the towns surrounding our farm. I received a call a few days ago that two of the quilters in our guild had substantial flooding in their homes. Wilda lost all of her fabric along with craft supplies and 50 years worth of Christmas decorations to flood waters. I have no idea how much more was lost. Sharon was luckier but we are still waiting to hear if her fabric can be salvaged. Her fabric and sewing machines did not get wet however she was out of her house for a month before she was able to return. I packed a basket for Sharon and Wilda and dropped them off at Patsy's Homestead Cabin Retreat so they could be added to the other donations at the next meeting.

In the last year our area has suffered so much loss due to flooding. It makes one so much more cognisant of all that is good in one's life. I am very grateful for the people in my life and my good fortune. I count my blessings every day.























I thought you might enjoy some of the creative ways Patsy brightens up her retreat. You never know what you will find on the clothes line when you arrive. Her thrift store finds turn into imaginative planters and can be found through out the retreat used in other creative ways. It's always fun to see what she will come up with next.

Cottages of Mount Gretna

As promised, here are more pictures of just a few of the charming cottages found amongst the trees in enchanting Mount Gretna!











In keeping with the old time feel of Historic Mount Gretna, today's "BooDilly Daily Dilly" is this Vintage Cabinet Card.


Because this is the "BooDilly's Daily Dilly" featured item, if you decide to purchase this "Handsome Young Man Vintage Cabinet Card" Photograph from my BooDilly's Shop from July 23rd to July 25nd, 2008, I will refund you via PayPal, 10% of your purchase price for this item, plus 10% of your shipping price for this item! All you have to do, is after your purchase, leave a message either in the comment section here or through Etsy, to let me know you saw it here! This offer is only good for the days listed, and only as long as the item is available! Check back on Friday for the next featured Dilly!

Mount Gretna

We spent Sunday enjoying beautiful Mount Gretna, which is about a half hour from our home. I so want to live there!


Old shady trees, grassy slopes, a sandy beach and a cool, lovely lake. Perfection!



The bath house features a lovely big old porch with adirondack chairs. Perfect for sitting and relaxing with a good book!


Fun on a trapeze swing!


The Mount Gretna Community Building


The Jigger Shop, (Great ice cream!)


Mount Gretna Playhouse.


Look closely! There are dozens of enchanting cottages tucked everywhere amongst the trees!


Here is one such cottage.

I promise to post more Mount Gretna cottage pictures in my next post. (You will love them!)

And before I forget, here is the "BooDilly Daily Dilly"...


5 Little Plastic People!

Because this is the "BooDilly's Daily Dilly" featured item, if you decide to purchase these Little Plastic People from my BooDilly's Shop from July 21st to July 22nd, 2008, I will refund you via PayPal, 10% of your purchase price for this item, plus 10% of your shipping price for this item! All you have to do, is after your purchase, leave a message either in the comment section here or through Etsy, to let me know you saw it here! This offer is only good for the days listed, and only as long as the item is available! Check back on Wednesday for the next featured Dilly!