The King and I

My new BFF (my Cusinart food processor) has inspired me to do more baking and to become more aware of baking related recipes and equipment. Its a fascinating world of stuff out there.



One of my most favorite resources for baking is the King Arthur Flour website. With wonderful photographs and a great on-line catalog as well as a big database of recipes, this is a favorite hang-out of mine on the web. I love their blog "Baker's Banter" and have signed up for their e-newsletter that includes great coupons and ideas. Yes, I do use King Arthur unbleached AP flour and love it, too.



Speaking of blogs, there are a lot of great ones out there that are centered around tips, triumphs and a few disasters in at-home baking. There is even a monthly baking challenge group called the Daring Bakers where anyone can join. The group "throws down" a recipe challenge each month and the "members" bake the item at home and then submit their photos and notes, blog about it on their own blogs and just have fun with it. This month's challenge is "Danish Braid".



Cakespy blogs about the "baking scene" and Alpineberry has some great archives on her blog. Mary of Alpineberry is taking a break from blogging right now, but her photos and recipes are worth a look.



Oh and one more thing I found out by poking around the King Arthur Flour website. Their headquarters in Vermont is called....Camelot. And yes, looks like a castle.

Goodness Gracious

I love good manners, civility and proper etiquette. I am far from perfect when it comes to these social elements but have always been fascinated with the "rules" and "order" of doing things right.

When George Washington was about 16 years old, he transcribed Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation as a school exercise. These 110 guidelines for civil behavior are mostly still applicable today. I love #4 and wish more people would pay attention to that one!

My favorite corporate motto belongs to the Ritz-Carlton. Their philosophy engrained in each employee? "We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen". Having been fortunate to stay at a Ritz-Carlton recently, I can attest that each employee I encountered believed this to be true and it showed in their treatment of their guests. And I want to go back. Often.

Ever been through customs going in to Canada? Along side a Canadian citizen returning home? They get a gracious "Welcome Home" from their Border Patrol agents when they present their Canadian passports. How civil is that?

So in the theme of this post, thank you for visiting my blog today. It was most kind of you and I trust you were pleasantly entertained for a moment or two. I am delighted that you came by.

Life Through a New Lens

I love my new zoom lens. Click on each photo for an even more detailed close-up.

Downward Puppy

The Wudgie just loves to mimic everything. This is what I found her doing the other day after I unrolled my yoga mat on the floor. All I have to say to her is "Let's do some yoga" and she goes right in to some basic poses. How wonderful it would be to have something like yoga engrained so that it becomes just a part of her and her daily routine.

Cheaper by the Dozen

My mother and I went through old family photos today and we came across some history of my father's family. His paternal grandparents (Lewis and Teresa) were merchants that owned a store on the Esopus Creek in upstate New York. They had 12 (yes TWELVE) children--one of which was my grandfather, Parker. I love that name---it is my dad's name, also. If Wudgie's mother had been a boy, I would have named him Parker. I never knew my grandfather Parker as he passed away suddenly when my dad was a young boy.


Here's a photo of the old family homestead.

I would kill for a house like this now. It probably had beautiful hardwood floors, fireplaces and a grand old country kitchen. And a lot of bedrooms. 12 kids.







Here's the clan in 1906. The kids all had great names, too. There was Mamie (there's that name again- this time on my dad's side), Abel, Lewis, Jr., Peter, Walter, Lillie, Nellie, Tessie, Jennie, Ira, Odell and my grandfather, Parker. He's the young lad kneeling in the first row on the right.

Just think, back to school meant buying 24 shoes. No wonder my great-grandparents owned their own store.

Zone 7 Envy

I am visiting my parents in North Carolina and have severe garden envy. The area where I am in NC is within Zone 7 of the USDA plant hardiness map. The area where I live is Zone 10. What does this mean? It means I cannot grow beautiful hydrangeas. I love hydrangeas. Here are some photos taken over the past few days.

Dried hydrangeas on the table in the breakfast room. This photo is SOOC (straight out of camera) and not retouched or enhanced in Photoshop. We don't have soft golden morning light like this in Zone 10 either. Darn.

Blush colored hydrangeas are beautiful, too. Manipulating the pH in the soil can change or enhance the color of some hydrangeas.

Tommy the magnificent cat amongst the hydrangeas. More about him another day.

On the Money

I am fascinated with bears. I sometimes dream about bears. In my dreams they are a menacing presence but I am mesmerized by them and not afraid. I am not sure what this means (I also frequently dream of seeing funnel clouds in the distance. Lots of turbulence in my night time adventures!).

I have taken a few trips to Alaska and other prime bear country places and have never seen one. Yet. I am hoping another trip to eastern Canada planned for this fall will produce at least one sighting. Maybe then I'll have some rest at night.

Here's a photo taken while rafting in Alaska. The dollar bill shows the scale of this huge bear paw in the wet sand. The claw marks were so deep in the sand and there were much smaller tracks along side. Momma and her baby.

We probably just missed seeing this giant on the shore. I did have the feeling though that this big bear was watching us from the forest just a few hundred yards away. I wonder if she's dreaming of me right now.