Here we go!

It's my 48th first day of school and my 20th first day here at the College.

One day soon I hope to actually graduate and join the ranks of those out in the real world.

Better go pack my lunch and pick out my outfit!

Holding On

Insight and advice gleaned from a few office bulletin boards up at the college yesterday...

Yesterday I decided to try my hand at drying hydrangeas. This involved buying hairspray. Haven't done this since, let's see...maybe 1988? I cut long stems and sprayed them within an inch of their lives and sat them in a lovely old green glass kitchen canister. I'm hoping they'll retain a little of that heavenly color, even if a little faded. Gotta hold onto summer as best I can.

Nom, Nom, Nom

Okay folks it's recipe time!

Ken and I are trying our best to eat low-carb these days and when I need comfort food my go-to dish is baked cauliflower with cheese. Now, I know some of you just turned up your noses in disgust, but let me tell you, I've fooled some folks who thought this was a potato dish the entire time and I never told 'em the truth!

First get yourself a lovely head of fresh cauliflower. Don't bother for a minute with the frozen stuff. It's just mushy and tasteless. In fact, live a little and go for organic!

Cut the florets off and boil them in a little salted water until they're just tender - ten minutes or so. Drain. Puree the cooked cauliflower along with about a quarter cup of grated pepper jack cheese and a handful of smoked gouda (this is what I had in the frig - truthfully just about any cheese will work). Add in about three tablespoons of butter (I never said it was low fat...). Add salt and pepper to taste and top with a little more cheese. Tonight I used grated asagio. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes and dive right in.

Today was my first day back at school for the fall semester. Classes officially start on Wednesday but in the meantime there are auditions to hear, schedules to make, recitals to plan and syllabi to create. I've got to finish the summer reading too. What a perfect day for a little home cooked comfort.

Happening

We're smack dab in the middle of the transition from summer to fall and it is just heavenly here. The air is cool at night and the temps just barely hit 80 during the day. The mornings are foggy and brisk, and the sunrises have been fiery and magnificent. Late brood goldfinches are learning to fly, hawks are floating on the thermals and the crickets and cicadas are competing nightly for noisiest bug on the planet.

Our new patio will be sealed on Monday and the materials for our pergola have been ordered from a sweet little rural saw mill down the road in Alpine, NY. It'll be put together in our contractor's shop and then reassembled here at home. We can hardly wait and the good thing is that there is a lot more of summer left in the change over to fall!

While I wasn't looking, it seemed that almost every single Cornell student arrived back in town en mass over the weekend. And if the traffic snarls weren't proof enough of their presence, I've already had one near death experience in the Wegmans parking lot with a Lexus SUV bearing NJ plates. Ah well...this is Ithaca after all. My lesson schedule is nearly complete and until school starts up on Wednesday my goal is to savor every last ounce of summer I possibly can.

Big Dig

We are in the midst of renovating our backyard!

Both wooden decks and the stone patio are gone! So is the big ugly bush!!

When the deck nearest the kitchen was removed we found the original 1865 hand-dug well.
So cool.

Tonight we're all ready for concrete to be poured, stained and stamped. Now for the hard part! We have to figure out a design for the pergola that will run the length of our new patio.
Should it be grand?

simple?elegant?or rustic?We're leaning towards elegant.
Stay tuned for results!

Journey Home

It feels like we've been around the world and back since my last post. August 5-8 Ken and I spent some time in Florida celebrating my mom's 80th birthday and my brother's 50th.During most of our visit mom kept saying
"How in the world did I make it to 80?". I gotta guess it's good genes and good livin'.

On the second day of our visit we snuck away for the day with the intention of heading to Vero Beach. As we approached I-95, the sign to West Palm Beach beckoned and we made a sudden change of course and headed south instead, towards the sleepy little town I grew up in - Lake Park. I had mixed emotions on seeing the house at 405 Foresteria Drive. The place was teeny when we moved in - only two bedrooms and one bath for the FIVE of us! My dad worked every evening after work and every weekend for nearly three years to complete an addition that eventually doubled the house in size. I finally got a room of my own one year before I left home for college.

Here's my former elementary school, and the large park at the end of our street. Ken and I cruised the old neighborhood long enough to get a few good shots and not draw attention to ourselves. After wards we headed a little further south so see the house where my dad was born and to visit Riviera Beach.We had a scrumptious lunch at Johnny Longboats which included grouper, crab, shrimp and scallops and one or two of these...

I spent a good deal of time pondering the past and some pretty sweet memories.

The room wasn't fancy (Super 8 Motel) but it was clean, the mattress was firm and the AC worked like a charm! Sometimes all it takes is one night away to get you out of your 24/7 work routine and on the road to feeling a little more relaxed.

Dinner at Elderberry Farm was most memorable. It's an absolutely beautiful, charming and idyllic restaurant and with a friendly and attentive staff. Did I mention the food?
Yikes...just scrumptious from beginning to end, with everything on the menu prepared from scratch and coming either from their farm or the local area. Now we can say we've done the Route 90-50 Mile Garage Sale in style!

We were on the road a little after 6am and our first purchase was made at 6:17! The pickin' was good nearer the top but that was probably also because we were shopping at the screech of dawn! After a few miles, we just couldn't resist following a hand lettered sign in Union Springs which lured us off the main road. We were met by a decrepit old kitty cat named Jack who we later learned is 19 years old and thinks everyone comes by the barn just to see him and give him some love. Such a sweet crusty old boy. Jack's owner (a man of at least 70) fashions tables from the giant old wooden pulleys they used to use nearby on the canal locks. His barn was full of interesting treasures and each came with a story.

This solid brass lamp-looking thing is made from WWII shell casings. It is part lamp, part food cart. The heat from the lamp would heat up the individual compartments on the outside where various hot foods would be kept. Very cool but a little out of our price range - $500 maybe $1,000, he wasn't sure (and we weren't sure he really wanted to part with it!).

We shopped our way all the way back Ithaca and filled our car with lots of lovely and interesting smalls. Though as with any trip away, it's always nice to be back home,and that's what I'm looking forward to today.