~Monday's Meanderings~

Snow is softly falling, swirling & twirling about on an errant gust of wind, a snow plow trudges by now & again, the fire roars, candles glow & music softly plays on this Monday morning in February, this President's Day in Vermont. Good morning. I thought I would start attempting to pop in on Monday's and say hello...that way if I find myself buried the rest of the week..at least I will feel better knowing I took the time to say hello, let you know of my plans for the week ahead and what's happening here in Vermont.


On the home front....we've begun taping our trees for sugaring season....well..the guys have (Mark, Mike & Gary)
the ladies and I...(Myself, Mandi & Janet) do more of the behind the scenes stuff...cooking...baking....delivering meals...cleaning up from said meals.......and taking care of everything at home..while our men are all consumed with the making of that golden liquid...Maple Syrup! It's a LOT of fun and a LOT of work but we love it ...the boys (Mark & Michael) have been sugaring together since high school..long before the rest of us came along... and they plan on doing it for many, many years to come. I must admit, I do not spend as much time in The Sugarhouse as I use to... with my work schedule being what it is...and the plain and simple fact that I enjoy the occasional quiet evening alone, I find myself there less and less each year ...perhaps this year will be different....we shall see.......

The kids are doing wonderfully.................As you can see....Jenna is LOVING Florida.....she & Ben have settled into a beautiful apartment with their dear friend Julie and they are all having a fantastic time ..living, working, playing and soaking up the sun.....I am thinking it is going to be quite some time before they make their way back to snowy Vermont!

Kurt is back from his trip to Belize & Guatemala
and is back to school and busy with classes. The trip was an amazing experience, he absolutely loved it. The picture above is my FAVORITE picture from the trip..I LOVE IT! That's MY boy!!! I'm so proud of him!!

Kurt will be home for a visit this weekend....thank goodness he's still close enough to pop home often....If Jenna has her way...she will get him down to Florida for the summer.... She is doing her very best to get him down there..that brat..she's always trying to steal my boy!! ;)
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In the studio..................
I've a busy week ahead, as I'm sure we all do....beeswax orders are coming in daily, so I am doing my best to keep up with them along with filling orders for finished creations. I have two mouse moppets that I absolutely must finish in the next two days ...they are late making the journey to their new homes and that is something I do not like to happen!

Also in the studio I am fast at work on my Teddies World Wide
offerings. I am so absolutely thrilled with my first creation and am just itching to share it with you...but alas... I can not..you will however, be able to see a preview on March 1st, on the Teddies World Wide site. If you click on the banner above it will take you there.


Let's see..what else is happening...Oh yes...I've started making my own thank you cards. Nothing fancy, just simple little cards ..

You can see one of them in the photo above. They are coming out quite nicely if I do say so myself. I have been looking for thank you cards for literally months now...trying to find something that was to my liking and was "me" and I just couldn't find anything that I was happy with so I finally decided to make them myself and I LIKE THEM :).

AND....along with the rest of my day to day studio work and crazy busy life....I am happily and oh so excitedly working on my creative writing class course work...the more I get into it..the more I love it!!!! Going back to school is SO much fun..I HIGHLY recommend it!
Okay..I must get going now..I've a pot of potato ham soup to put together and then mouse moppets to finish. Wishing you a wonderful week. Doreen

~Perseverance~

“One of the most common mistakes and one of the costliest is thinking that success is due to some genius, some magic – something or other which we do not possess. Success is generally due to holding on, and failure to letting go. You decide to learn a language, study music, take a course of reading, train yourself physically. Will it be success or failure? It depends upon how much pluck and perseverance that word “decide” contains. The decision that nothing can overrule, the grip that nothing can detach will bring success. Remember the Chinese proverb, “With time and patience, the mulberry leaf becomes satin.”

~ Maltbie Davenport Babcock

Good afternoon. :) Isn't that such a wonderful quote. I just now found it and it just spoke to me.

Because...WELL....as it happens, I'm sitting here at my desk, cup of coffee in hand, pencil and paper in front of me thoroughly engrossed in the material in front of me and LOVING IT! I have finally done it..I'm going back to school...and Creative writing is my major.

I'm starting small...just one class, but it's a start and an EXCITING one at that. And..most conveniently...If I want to study and take class in my pj's....I can..(well, for much of the time anyway).

I actually hadn't planned on sharing this, at least not for quite some time, however I thought perhaps that I should mention it as I may find myself rather busy and strapped for time...well.......more than I already am.... SO....you may see less of me...or..you may see more of me....you just never know....creative writing does after all require...well...writing..so you may find me rambling more often :) in the very least...I wanted to be able to say.."I'm writing"or "I'm off to class" and NOT have all of you think I had lost my mind..lol..........In any case.. this is and has been a dream of mine for a long time (my family's too actually) and I'm going for it!!!

Please know.......this does NOT in ANY WAY mean I will not be creating my folk art ...quite the contrary..The bears and moppets are here to stay....I'm busier than ever and I am loving it....AND this new adventure will add to it and enhance my creations in a way that I am very excited about!

Okay..well, I need to go restart my fire....I let it go out earlier as it was an absolutely gorgeous 54 degrees & sunny ..I actually had some windows open letting in the wonderful fresh smelling air but now it has clouded up and looks like it may rain and it's starting to get a bit chilly in here! Wishing you a wonderful evening :) D

~Joyous Valentines Day ~

Good morning & Happy Valentines day to you. What loveliness do you have planned with your sweetheart on this love filled day? Mark & I celebrated our Valentines by going out to dinner last night to our favorite place; The Iron Lantern. We had a very nice, very romantic evening together. Doing dinner out on a week night is not always an option for us as Mark & I very often work quite late. He is often on the road way past dinner and I am often huddled up in my studio (or in my comfy chair by the fire) stitching and working on orders, deadlines and commissions until late in the evening.

Speaking of evening...I am also taking an evening class!!
I'm not going to speak more about it until a later date however, for fear that I will somehow jinx it...I will simply say, it is something that has long been in my heart and something I AM SO VERY EXCITED ABOUT!

Okay..I must be off..I have a crazy day ahead of me..I have several orders that need to be run to the post, a couple of orders to work on and I need to finish and photograph one of my pieces for The Teddies World Wide web show, as our sneak peek photo's are due tomorrow! Good gracious..now that I've written it down...it seems impossible...I had better be going..I leave you with a little sneak peek of a new gal that will be available tomorrow on The Primitive Gathering
Wishing you a WONDERFUL Valentines day with your sweetheart. ♥

~Snowy Afternoon Baking~Almond Orange Coffee Cake

Good afternoon. It is absolutely gorgeous here right now. We have yet another snow storm paying us a visit..this snow... is my favorite kind of snow..it takes over everything and turns our world a gorgeous, mesmerizing, sole touching white! It truly relaxes me and has made me feel like I'm finally myself again.

Last week was an awful week that could have been so much worse....My Brother-in-law was hit head on during last Tuesday's snow storm by a man who lost control on the icy roads...it was awful...it is an absolute miracle that Donny (my BIL) is alive........tragically, the other driver lost his life and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. This experience shook me right down to my core..the terror of not knowing how badly Donny's was hurt and the worry for my sister and niece...affected me like nothing I've ever experienced before...it literally takes a hold of you and takes over everything. I've been on autopilot this past week .....and have no idea how I managed to finish my offerings for My Web show or how anything actually got done....it all seems like a blur to me...

BUT...FINALLY... today..as I was chopping vegetables and putting the ingredients for pot roast in the crock pot...I started feeling like myself and actually physically felt the exhaustion lifting...so now..as the snow continues to fall and the wonderful aroma of pot roast lingers with the scent of baking bread and Orange Almond Streusel Coffee Cake..I can relax and carry on, thanking God..over and over and OVER for taking care of this small little family of ours.

Before I go, I wanted to share the recipe for the coffee cake I mentioned above..I've made this for years..the page is so stained with drops of ingredients that some of the words are unreadable....it is delicious and smells sooo good while it's baking.

~Orange Almond Streusel Cake~

• Streusel:
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 
  
• Cake
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 
  
• Glaze
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp orange juice

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease a 9 or 10-inch tube pan.
• To prepare Streusel, in a medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, nuts and flour. Stir in butter and zest.
• To prepare Cake, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Beat in zest and vanilla.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Alternately beat flour and orange juice into egg mixture at a low speed, beginning and ending with flour.
• Spoon half of the batter into prepared pan.
• Sprinkle with half of the Streusel. Top with remaining batter and Streusel.
• Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To prepare the Glaze, in a cup, stir together confectioners' sugar and orange juice until smooth.
• Turn the cake onto serving plate, placing it right-side up and drizzle with the glaze.
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I hope you like it :) I'm off now to make a pot of coffee and get back to work..Wishing you a wonderful afternoon :)D

PS..I was hoping to share more snowy photo's with you..but alas..my camera batteries decided to die.........they seem to do that at the most inopportune times!

~A Late Winter's Frolic Web Show Is Now Open~

~Good afternoon. Just a quick note to let you know that A Late Winter's Frolic is now Open. Just click on Miss Maidstone's photo above to stroll on over.~

Thank you and have a wonderful evening :)Doreen