I'm Back

Just a quick post to say I am back in Massena and trying to get my life reorganized after having been away for a month. I am really looking forward to getting some dyeing done, and happy that the temperatures are warming up as I dye my yarn and fiber in my basement, which can be quite chilly in the midst of winter.

Almost all the snow is gone and it's only March 16th. I know this was a hard winter for those south of here, but it has been nice not to inundated with snow this winter. It was especially helpful with all the trips we made to Vermont this winter-snow was not an issue at all, which is pretty miraculous for northern New York and Vermont.

Time for some breakfast and some delicious St. Lawrence Valley Roaster coffee. I saw Tim roasted some Ethiopian coffee yesterday, very tasty I am sure. My new favorite is Kenyan AA. It is not mentioned in the flavor notes, but I always taste chocolate undertones when I am drinking it.

Here's a photo from last Labor Day weekend at Cranberry Lake. I can't wait to get back up there in the spring. This is one of my favorite rocks on our property. As children, my siblings and I spent hours playing on this rock imagining that it was all sorts of wonderful things-a pirate ship comes to mind right now.

My Dear Sister Jane

Jane Elizabeth Gardner-Duffany

February 3, 1958-March 4, 2010

Jane died peacefully last night, with a few of the many who loved her by her side. When we were talking about her funeral and what poems she would like read, I suggested the following, and after I had read it to her, her only comment was that she didn't like ships, so we will not be reading this, but it brings me comfort.

Gone From My Sight
by Henry Van Dyke

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts
for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone"

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.
And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone,"
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"

And that is dying..

The poem Jane chose to be read is written by Mary Oliver, a Vermont poet. Jane, in her typical Jane fashion, told me that I could not read the poem at the funeral, the implication being that I would prefer a shopping center to a field. And while I will admit that am quite fond of shopping, I would much prefer a pond. Silly Jane.

What Was Once the Largest Shopping Center in Northern Ohio Was Built Where There Had Been a Pond I Used to Visit Every Summer Afternoon
by Mary Oliver

Loving the earth, seeing what has been done to it,
I grow sharp, I grow cold.

Where will the trilliums go, and the coltsfoot?
Where will the pond lilies go to continue living
their simple, penniless lives, lifting
their faces of gold?

Impossible to believe we need so much
as the world wants us to buy.
I have more clothes, lamps, dishes, paper clips
than I could possibly use before I die.

Oh, I would like to live in an empty house,
with vines for walls, and a carpet of grass.
No planks, no plastic, no fiberglass.

And I suppose sometime I will.
Old and cold I will lie apart
from all this buying and selling, with only
the beautiful earth in my heart.

A Quick Update

I am still with my sister and her family. All is quiet at the moment, so I thought I would take the opportunity to write a brief post. Jane is still with us, surrounded by love and caring in the form of family and friends. The move went smoothly, thanks to the wonderful friends Jane and Marty have, as well as very efficient movers. I think if you walked in the house today, you would find it hard to believe that they moved in here only a week ago. My niece Emma is a model of efficiency and order, somewhat unusual in a 16 year old. She has done a marvelous job of unpacking and organizing.

I thought I would share a recipe that I have made several times over the last 2 weeks. It is my Aunt Hilda's Rice Pudding Recipe, and is one of the things Jane could tolerate eating for a while, so I made lots of it. Jane is no longer eating, and not drinking much either. Now I am making the pudding because we all need comfort food, and this is a classic comfort food.

Stove Top Rice Pudding

1/2 Cup Raw Rice (Arborio if you have it) 3 Eggs

1 Cup Boiling Water 1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Quart Milk 1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1/2 Cup Butter 1/2 Cup Raisins (Optional)

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon, 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg (Also Optional)

Boil rice and water for 7 minutes. Add milk and butter-boil slowly for 1 1/4 hours, covered. Watch carefully because it boils over easily. Stir frequently. Remove from heat. Beat 3 eggs and sugar until thick and foamy. Add egg mixture to rice mixture and fold in real well till foam disappears. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, spices and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour into a pan or casserole and cool a little, then refrigerate.

I usually add a little bit more rice as I like the pudding a little more solid than soupy.

My Aunt Hilda was an awesome cook, and this is one of her recipes that was included in a cookbook put out by the First Baptist Church of Rome, New York in 1981. Enjoy!

Temporary Interruption

I am having to take a break from blogging, and I am sorry I did not convey this sooner. My sister is at the end of her life, and I am with her until I am no longer needed. I hope you will continue to check back here, so that when I return, I will still have some readers for my little blog.

Spinning on a Great Wheel

I was invited to my friend Andrea's house today for lunch and to try to spin on her antique great wheel. It will be interesting to try. Trina is going too and she is very talented at spindle spinning, so I am guessing that she will be showing us how to spin, since my understanding of great wheels is that the technique is much like spinning on a drop spindle, something that I tried once, and never returned to.

We will also be meeting a baby Cotswald lamb whose name is Damnram, because she was hoping for a ewe lamb, but my understanding is that, despite being male, he is very curly and cute. I promise to post pictures.

I finished three projects last night-socks made from Galway yarn from a pattern I created, Travis' Striped Mittens (finally, figured I needed to finish them before winter was over), and a hat made from Lamb's Pride Yarn using Soule Mama's Favorite Knit Hat pattern. That was fun to knit and I was done in no time. It's good that I have a daughter who likes to wear hats, because I like to knit them.

I'm feeling a cold coming on, and I can't get sick because I am going to see Jane again at the end of the week. Jane and her family will be moving the following weekend, so I am going with her friend (they've been friends since the first day of 7th grade) to help them prepare for the move. Tim and I went to visit for Jane's birthday last week. When we arrived she was not home, which was kind of scary. It turned out that her blood levels were messed up and she required an IV to try to help get things back to normal. She arrived home in the early afternoon and we had a nice visit, but had to leave to come back early the next day so Tim could get some coffee roasting done. It is hard to leave, I want to stay, but have to be here since I still do have that darn last child left at home. And although he is 18 and can be left alone, I don't like to stay away for too long.

Time to get ready to go to Andrea's. I will return with cute damn ram photos.