If you have extraordinary bread and extraordinary butter, it’s hard to beat bread and butter. Jacques Pepin
Carole has given us perhaps the greatest topic of all time for this week’s 10 on Tuesday:
10 Favorite Comfort Foods
Now, the hard part is to limit this to only ten!
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Outside the birds are a cacophony of song, grass is greening and growing, and in my garden the rhubarb, raspberries, and chives are poking their little green heads through the rich black soil.
And today, it is gloriously grey outside, with promises of rain which will give everything a gentle washing and a much-needed soak.
It made me think of how much I love springtime at Van Raalte Farm in Holland, Michigan. 160 acres of land and miles and miles of walking trails make for the perfect place to immerse yourself in spring. It is beautiful to walk in every season, but especially spectacular in the spring. If you are nearby, you should definitely go – you won’t be disappointed!
Lone Flower, hemmed in with snows and white as they
But hardier far, once more I see thee bend
Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend,
Like an unbidden guest. Though day by day,
Storms, sallying from the mountain-tops, waylay
The rising sun, and on the plains descend;
Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a friend
Whose zeal outruns his promise! Blue-eyed May
Shall soon behold this border thickly set
With bright jonquils, their odours lavishing
On the soft west-wind and his frolic peers;
Nor will I then thy modest grace forget,
Chaste Snowdrop, venturous harbinger of Spring,
And pensive monitor of fleeting years!
In a few short weeks, my first grand baby will be here and I could not be more excited. As you can imagine, I have been doing some knitting for this little one. It was a pleasant task to knit my favorite baby sweater pattern – EZ’s Baby Surprise Jacket for my first grand baby! I think it turned out beautifully and it will get some use before she grows, as it is chilly at night in Northern Michigan. I made a pair of Saartje’s Booties and a rolled brim hat with the remainder of the skein. I am eager to head to Michigan tomorrow to spend some time with my daughter, attend her baby shower, and enjoy all things baby for a few days.
Baby Knitting
There is sure to be wool. Even an over-abundance of wool.
Early yesterday morning, I boarded a bus bound for the one and only Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. My excitement was at a fevered pitch after reading blog posts about what to do.
I had made my lists, I had highlighted some vendors that I deemed “must see”, and I had a map of the festival.
However, I really had no idea of what to expect at all. I was delusional in thinking that I would have time to lunch with new friends, see everything I wanted to see, and have a leisurely amount of time to complete everything.
First off, I have been to fiber festivals before but I had absolutely no idea of the volume of people who would be at the Howard County Fairgrounds – much less that they would all be in Miss Bab’s booth looking for exactly what was on my list! Yet let me tell you about Fiber Folk – they are a kind and gentle lot. There was no pushing, no shoving, no grabbing – but rather, people who helped each other find things. These are not the “Black Friday” masses in any way, shape, or form – even standing in the LONG line to pay there was no irritation or even any grumbling. Thank you fans of Miss Bab’s for renewing my faith in humankind – at least the segment of humankind that knits – I am proud to call you ‘my people’! I managed to snag a couple of treasures from Miss Bab’s and got my day off to a good start.
