Mayfly

Every stitch of laundry in the house is done and put away- and I didn't do it!

My library fine magically disappeared.

Nine(!) sets of holiday card photos have been taken for friends, edited, mailed or delivered.

The holiday shopping season is nearly upon us.

There are some new items in my shop. (see how I worked those things in together?! wink.)

My wrists are toasty warm in my new fingerless glove/wrist warmers from Erin. (she sent TWO sets. thanks, Erin!)

One extra artist apron is on its way to Erin and another to Lisa.

Maw Maw, Brian's mom, was here for several days, but now she's gone home. (now you see how all these things above happened, don't you?!)

Chicken soup is simmering on the stove.

Halloween costumes are hanging upstairs in the hallway, almost ready.

The very last collection has been posted at echoes.

Echoes is on hiatus until the new year.

These things are on my list next: catch up on VQB squares. an overdue birthday gift for my niece.

Sheeesh! Did I mention Maw Maw was here?! It's amazing what difference a little babysitting can make.

Posted by Alicia at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

cheddar bacon biscuits.

pear slices dipped in caramel.

knitting.

snuggling.

and for toast and tea in the afternoon.

After reading about Stefani's journey for a good daily bread, I thought I'd share mine. (my recipe not journey- her journey is much more entertaining.)

This is my super basic almost whole wheat everyday bread machine recipe. Now this is not fancy dinner party bread. It's toast in the morning or sandwich in the lunch box bread. Because of this bread we've just about stopped buying grocery store loaves altogether, which I think is a good thing.

Put these ingredients in your bread machine in this order:

1 1/2 C. warm water
1 1/2 T. olive oil
2 T. molasses
3 C. whole wheat flour
1 C. bread flour
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. active yeast
4 t. vital wheat gluten

Choose the large, normal loaf setting and push start. 3ish hours later- tada! Wholesome warm bread. : ) If I need to make this bread to go somewhere, I set the machine on the dough setting, punch it down, knead it a few times and put it into a bread pan to rise again and bake in the oven. No one has to know you used your machine at all...

If you have a bread machine and never use it, before you give it away or sell it at a garage sale, you must discover the magic of the dough setting. It may just change your mind.

Posted by Alicia at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

Yesterday we were out in the driveway with some friends and a handful of little boys having a "Popcorn Stand."

The mailman came by while I happened to be inside and handed J a big stack of mail- bills, letters, junk mail- the usual stuff. He told him he'd be back. Bless his heart, the little guy thought he was coming back to buy popcorn, but instead he brought me these:

Look at that! All in one day!

The top one was some adorable hand-me-downs from Jennifer and Katie to N. The middle one was packed full of fabric, a craft book, and activity books for the kiddos from Melissa. The bottom one came from a reader named Rane. She emailed me one day to ask if I'd mail her a copy of the smocket pattern and look what she sent as a thank you- a HUGE box of fabric.

THANK YOU, ladies. You blow me away.

Posted by Alicia at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I interrupt this chilly Autumn morning with a warm memory.

The path from the house to the beach. Florida- July 2007.

(I miss the ocean.)

Posted by Alicia at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

the path to grandma and papa's.

for Shari's Week of Paths.

Posted by Alicia at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

This is the most successful photo I've ever taken of one of our favorite local hiking trails. It's worth the click to view it larger.

Originally posted here.

p.s. It's Tuesday- a new collection will be up at Echoes in a few hours.

Posted by Alicia at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

How are you?!

I've been busy, busy, busy: cooking, cleaning, hosting book club, dinners with friends, babysitting, taking photographs. This photo is from a holiday card photo shoot for an old friend from high school. I thought of it when I saw Shari's A Week of Paths. I think I might join in. I'll have to get creative from here though, maybe even dig through the archives.

I still have things to put in the shop and mail off, but I've just not had enough time to finish them. I promise it will be soon. And to complicate matters, I've become addicted to knitting. It's a scarf and it's slow going, but I love it.

I hope your week is starting out well.

Posted by Alicia at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

A fine (film) Friday to you! I still love film. Oh yes I do.

Both of these things are agenda items this weekend.

* * * * * * * * *

Here's the deal: I'm taking. next week. off. : ) No blog posts, much less flickr. I'll still post my NP and Echoes photos, and I'm sure I'll check in on you all. I'm trying to break that magnetic attraction between myself and the computer screen- just a little. So friends if you need me, call or email directly. (BUT I will pop in one day to tell you I've updated my shop; I'm getting close with a few things.)

I'll see you back here on the 13th!

xo.

Posted by Alicia at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Nope. There was no Apple Picking Skirt. It was too chilly.

But there were scraggly branches reaching up to the sky, limbs low and heavy with apples, giggly hiding girls, pumpkin soup in a metal thermos, brie cheese and sliced tomatoes, a cool breeze and warm sunshine, 5 cameras for 2 photographers, one snoring girl on the way home, and one crabby one. (that's ok. the rest more than makes up for it!)

I'm not fretting over the skirt. I have a great opportunity to wear it this weekend!

Posted by Alicia at 8:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)