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Thumbprints

January 13, 2018

Many moons ago when I was studying agriculture as a farm apprentice I became close friends with my bunk mate Ian. Ian and I didn’t have much in common at first other than the desire to learn how to grow vegetables but we quickly realized that what we did both love was food.  When we weren’t out in the fields, we spent most of our time together in the kitchen. And when we weren’t in the kitchen we spent most of our time out in the fields talking about food. We spent hours chatting about our favorite family recipes and perusing through cookbooks, dog-earing new recipes to try. But what we spent most of our time together doing was baking.

We would make our tried and true favorite baked goods for each other and the other bunk mates to sample. We’d experiment and critique new recipes. I distinctly remember being so excited at making a successful batch of homemade fig newtons that year and falling in love with a sesame benne wafer. There were always fresh baked goods to nibble on in the farm house or wrapped up to pass out at break time in the fields. That year felt a bit like The Great British Baking Show. I never baked so much in my life and I learned so much from Ian.

Prior to the farm apprenticeship, Ian had worked at The Pink Rose, a tea room in Philadelphia that I had visited frequently as a child but has since closed. When he left he took with him his favorite recipes which he shared with me that year, my favorite being the Thumbprint. This cookie is extremely buttery (made with 1 pound of butter!), rolled in crushed walnuts and filled with your favorite flavors of jam, the perfect cookie in my opinion. I made this particular batch with raspberry and ginger preserves. I am especially pleased with the ginger!

Ian and I still keep in touch. We don’t see each other as much as we’d like but the recipes we shared and made together that year keep us connected. Today felt like old times at the farm as I pressed my thumb into the dough and drizzled in jam. Instead of  bunk mates I share them with you. Enjoy!

Thumbprints

1 pound of butter (yep, that’s 4 sticks of butter!)

1 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

4 cups flour

1/2 pound crushed walnuts

3 egg whites

Jam or preserves

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a mixer, combine butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and flour. Roll into balls, dip in egg white and then roll in walnuts.

Place balls on greased cookie sheet and press thumb in gently. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Fill thumbprints with jam after 30 minutes of cooling.

This Week’s Vignette

March 16, 2017

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This week’s vignette or shall I say vignettes live atop my piano. I wrote about this piano a few years back and am happy to report I still love it here. I haven’t played as much as I would like to admit but it works beautifully as a place for vignettes. Because the piano is a centerpiece in our home I like to create little scenes on top that change throughout the  seasons showcasing some of my favorite things that I have either foraged or collected over the years.

Sitting to the far left is an antique silver ice bucket etched with the letter B for Boston (my mother’s maiden name) that was given to me by my mom. It holds a Tradescantia pallida ‘Purpurea’ plant that I overwintered from my window boxes. Next to the ice bucket sits a stack of books (two of Chris’s favorites) paired with an antique lamb which I found this summer while away at the lake. Next to the lamb sits a thrifted tiny studio pottery bowl which I use as a votive holder.

To the far right sits my handmade ukulele made by Chris. Next to it sits a mercury pedestal holding a foraged bird nest and feathers with blown out quail eggs. In front of it sits an antique pewter handled vessel which I adore. It is adorned with tiny pewter flowers, bull heads and horns and reminds me so much of this favorite story of mine. Inside sits a handmade beeswax candle made by a friend.

A stack of antique dishes and bowls that get used daily at meals also sits on top along with two prints- a pointillism drawing made by my mom in college and a watercolor titled “The Humming River” gifted to me by my mom.

In tomorrow’s post I will talk more about lambs, the month of March and spring inspired decor.

This week’s vignette

February 23, 2017

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A bookshelf is the ideal venue for a vignette .  Each shelf acts as a little stage for props to be set up and designed on creating that perfect scene. It’s almost as if a little performance is about to begin at any moment!

This built-in lives in my kitchen and holds a variety of things, many of which get used daily. When creating your own vignettes I urge you not to shy away from things that get utilized on a regular basis. Little clusters or groupings of objects that are both beautiful and useful can make a room feel inviting and give purpose. Just grab what you need and after you are finished back into the vignette it goes!

The top shelf holds a basket of linen napkins that get used on special occasions. On each side of the basket sit an antique copper candlestick that gets used on my dining room table when we are seating a larger group and the leaf needs to be put in. A Tulip Poplar branch found on a hike sits on top of the basket.

The second shelf holds an array of well loved cookbooks. My Joy of Cooking, gifted to me by Chris on our first Christmas together as a married couple, is so ell loved it is held together by a rubber band. It’s my go to for baking. An antique English Adams farmer mug holding a cluster of wood handled steak knives acts as a book end. A white scalloped pedestal bowl holds apples. Leaning up against the books is an antique hay barn pulley  and a little watercolor I painted.

On the third shelf sit more cook books, pottery and utensils. A ceramic serving tray acts as a backdrop.

The fourth shelf on the bottom holds even more cookbooks, a Tiviola radio, and a pottery pitcher and chicken tile. On top of the radio sits a hand carved grouping of mushrooms made by a woodcarver friend. A wooden hand painted, floral serving tray leans behind.

As I have mentioned before vignettes are not meant to be permanent. These shelves are in constant flux. As the seasons change along with my mood so do the vignettes that live here.

 

I’d love to hear from you my friends. Let me know if you are enjoying this series and what other types of series  you might like to see!

 

Winter getaway

February 20, 2017

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Winter getaway

February 19, 2017

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A winter weekend at the lake

February 16, 2017

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We are headed out of the town tomorrow morning for the long holiday weekend to our beloved lake. Winter time there is quite different than summer but just as lovely. Hannah turns 15 on Saturday and there couldn’t be a more perfect place to celebrate her birthday.

I’ve got my warm winter essentials packed up and ready to go along with the ingredients for Hannah’s birthday dinner request- lasagna (made with homemade noodles by Norah with the pasta maker she got for Christmas) and a carrot cake.

If internet service is available I will be posting daily photos throughout the weekend. See you soon!

 

This week’s vignette

February 15, 2017

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This week’s vignette sits on our dining room table.

I am a true believer in keeping dining tables clean and clear of clutter and debris. Being able to sit down to do work, or set the table to eat a meal is so much nicer when there aren’t piles of stuff to move out of the way.

A vignette in the center of the table sets the tone of a sacred space. In places where you visit often, especially where you might work or eat meals, they  create a sense of peace and calm.

This grouping sits upon a wooden lazy Susan. We like to spin it around to pass condiments, herbs and spices.  A white dish with an antique vanity plateau mirror sits upon the lazy Susan to dress things up a bit. I  love how the mirror reflects the candle light in the evenings.

I always have a fresh bouquet of flowers on the table. At this time of year I use mostly store bought but as the seasons change, posies made from my own garden begin to appear. This one is made up of  store bought Anemones, Silver Bell Euculyptus pods (left over from Christmas decor) and some foraged Sensitive Fern seed heads.

The antique thrifted pewter pitcher sits upon a slice of wood to give height and some rustic flare.

Sitting atop another slice of wood lives a set of little pewter dishes holding a crystal salt cellar. A second cellar holds hot pepper flakes.

A small glass vase holds a votive candle. Lighting candles makes the ritual of meal time that more special.

 

This Week’s Vignette

February 9, 2017

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This week’s vignette is one that lives inside one of my built-in bookcases. Since I am a bit of a vignette-aholic every shelf in the bookcase contains a vignette but I’ll focus on this little top nook for now.

Like I mentioned before a vignette can tell a story.  This particular one tells a story of our love of nature with several bits of the natural world found on walks and hikes , antique gardening and nature books, pottery and photographs.

I have been collecting antique gardening books since back when I was in college studying horticulture. I loved to hunt through used books stores and library sales for both myself and my mom who has an impressive collection herself. The pictures and drawings are so beautiful and I am always drawn to a pretty cover.

A slice of  black walnut adds texture against the books and can be used as a coaster.

The daffodil pottery bowl holds a wren’s nest that sits upon a group of foraged pine cones. I found that little nest walking Harry one morning. It was just sitting on the sidewalk. It has bits of sweater lint woven throughout.

One of my favorite photographs of Hannah and Norah from a past camping trip leans behind the bowl.

A little handmade pottery vase holding an assortment of found feathers (including some from our own hens) sits next to a little clay bear made by Hannah.

And an old black and white photograph of Pop when he was sixteen watches over the little scene.

 

Feed the birds

February 8, 2017

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After much hinting around about how I longed for a bird feeder to live outside our dining room window, Norah made me this beautiful one in wood shop class. We installed it in the fall,  used a millet seed mix and sat back and watched. Weeks went by but no birds to be found.  I began to get impatient, as I sometimes do, and my family would roll their eyes as I would look out the window each day asking “Birdies where are you?”  I did some research  and decided to switch to black oil sunflower seed. Later that day as I was washing dishes I squealed out loud with delight as I spotted a Tufted Titmouse from the kitchen window. I even called Chris at work to tell him. After that our feeder has seen a flurry of daily activity.

I love the design which has proved to be quite a hit with an amazing array of birds and it’s squirrel proof too! Norah made a beautiful Yew knob that sits atop the roof which lifts up to pour in seed. It has a nice wide lip for bigger birds to perch on while the smaller birds feed inside under the protective roof. I have sometimes seen up to 5 different types of birds feeding at once.  The base seems to be too wide for the squirrels to jump from the pole up to the feeder. I had quite a chuckle one day as I watched one do back flips over and over trying to get up.  I have yet to see another one try. I think Earl must of told them not to waste their time. I told Norah she should patent her  design.

I never dreamed of how much joy this little feeder would bring me. I love how much life it brings to the side of our house. The other day as I was coming home from my morning walk I watched from across the street at a variety of birds on the feeder, on the branches of nearby shrubs, in the flowering cherry tree above and even up in my window boxes. There was a  Downy Woodpecker pecking at the ivy vine growing up our house and squirrels and mourning doves feeding on the ground below the feeder. I am having to fill the feeder at least once a day for all of our new little friends! It will be fun to see if we have some volunteer sunflowers come up in the garden from all of the seed.

I have begun to keep a written list of the birds that visit our little Second and Edgemont feeder. So far we have seen House Finch, Blue Jay, Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Black Eyed Junco, Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Mourning Dove, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Yellow Finch, White Breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finch and White Throated Sparrow.

We are keeping an eye out and our fingers crossed for Oriole, Evening Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager and Cedar Waxwing.

What birds  come to visit your feeder? Any tips on bird seed?

 

Earl

February 3, 2017

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This little guy is still coming around. He’ll be 5 years old this spring and comes to visit almost every day.

He’ll look for me through the kitchen window to remind me that it’s time to meet him on the back porch with some nuts.

He is especially liking cashews these days.

He and Chris still have quite a bond. Earl will sit on Chris’s lap and eat right from his hand.

Yesterday we spotted a red tail hawk in a tree across the street. It was feasting on it’s prey. We gasped when we realized it was a squirrel!

We were so relieved to have this visit from little Earl later that day. Phew!

 

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Welcome Welcome Amy Johnson is a writer, photographer, gardener, teacher, mother and wife living on the corner of Second and Edgemont. She creates space for beauty and simplicity in all that she does.
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