Herb Class-Session I

Today I had the opportunity to attend an herb class at the Old Emlenton Mill in the quaint little town of Emlenton, PA. Here is a picture of the town today...

(picture by Ruhrfisch, and used with permission)

and the mill today...

(front)

(side)

 please click on the links for additional information and historical pictures of the town and Mill.
I love the old victorian houses that line the hills around the Allegheny River. As the class is a 4 part series, I hope to get some pictures of them in my next visit through.

The class itself was sponsored by AmeriCorps and instructed by Kathy Deible of  The Herb Shed in Knox, PA.

Kathy was a delightful speaker and very interested in what we all were interested in taking away from the class information wise. She brought lots of informative handouts, cuttings and seeds. The next few sessions will be more hands on in the use of herbs.

We started dill and chive seeds, and a cutting of citronela geranium. I will show some pictures of their growth later, should I get lucky and they do indeed grow!

As you can see we were all interested in the topic and were taking a number of notes!

You may have noticed in the first picture one of the signs on the Old Mill was one for antigues. Well Kathie Z and I are forever finding little places like this that we obviously can't pass up, tee hee, and this is what I found...

I love the tatting and embroidery work on this set of pillow cases and I really did hear them say: "You simply must take us home, we go so well with your grandmother's quilt!" Ok, so maybe that part was really just me, lol!

The day inspired me to get out and work in my herb and flower beds, get the old cut away and see what if anything is coming up... maybe tomorrow...

Nothing like sunshine...

warm temperatures and the lack of electricity to encourage one to get outside and enjoy the day. We were notified by Penelec that our electricity would be out from 9AM to 2 PM today due to upgrades. Since I couldn't really do anything in the house and because it was so nice out, I loaded up my two best pals and took my camera too.

An old covered bridge.

Look at all the green!

Someone else taking advantage of the nice weather.

Old Caboose number one...

number two...

as it appeared this caboose had been or could possibly still be occupied as evidenced by the remains of the snakeskin on the floor, (rattlesnake or blacksnake still equates to BIG snake) glad to have missed you, I am gone!

Signs of spring!

The pups wrestling and playing chase in the sunshine.

Sampson was still barking in this one but click on the photo to see the slobber wrapped up over his nose!

HoneyDews typical response when she is not ready to go home, selective hearing and passive aggressive "see if you can move me from here" stance. Click on the picture and you can see her waayyyyy back there.

I made it home in time to make pizza from scratch for dinner. This one is a "natural" pizza... no tomato sauce but rather the dough brushed with olive oil, then layered with fresh sliced vine ripened tomatoes, italian seasonings, chopped cauliflower, diced onions, sliced black olives, mushrooms, Mozzarella cheese, and on hubbys' half sausage. It was delicious and very filling. One slice filled me up!

If you would like to see additional photos of the covered bridge and abandoned cabooses please go here.

A puppy playdate...

HoneyDew and Sampson are two of the most social pups I have ever met. They love to meet people and absolutely love getting together with other dogs.

Last week they were invited over to play with their friends Rex (a mixed breed who has the most beautiful ears and a plume of a tail),

Wolfe (a Yorkie)

and a new friend Lily (a beagle).

While we all had a wonderful time, HoneyDew and I think that Sampson is smitten with Lily because where ever Lily went Sampson was sure to follow:

Treat time...

Did someone say treat? I don't have to get up for it do I?

Of course not Dew, Auntie Birta will bring it to you!

They were in and out of the house all day and finally wore themselves out...

Can you find all the pups?

My apologies for the quality of the pics as five dogs in a house makes for fast moving targets and lots of blurs!

Happy DOT!

Out in the Snow again...

Everyone was stir crazy today after another week of being indoors other then runs to the chicken coop or the occasional run into town. You know you are a basset slave when the dogs whine when they get close to McDonalds and so you pull in, buy them a hamburger and nothing for yourself!

So today, hubby and I decided to go to Oil Creek to get some snow pictures (like I haven't taken enough this winter!) and get the pups out for an off lead run.

Normally the park's parking lot is plowed and sometimes there is at least one trail that has had some traffic in which the snow has been packed down. Today, that was not the case so the pups were going to have to wait a little longer for their run.

I spotted this so my hubby pulled over and let me jump out and snap some pics off the bridge while he pulled on up off the road.

Yes the snow was still coming down so it was really hard to get a clear picture, but I was happy none the less.

Love the naked trunks of the Sycamore Trees in the winter.

Oil Creek didn't freeze completely this year but you can still see the ice build up along the edges.

The water is so clear you can actually see the fish. Probably why the Eagle was hanging about!

We decided to take the dogs to the archery club and let them run there;

HoneyDew was so excited she decided to take a short cut...big mistake!

Sampson was running so fast he almost looked like his feet weren't touching the ground.

HoneyDew considered another off road experience but quickly changed her mind!

Sampson is impatiently waiting for hubby to get off the path...

...just enough room and gone!

One last shot of the winter wonderland for today. Winter you are pretty, but I won't miss you when you are gone!

Urgent Update on Global Warming

As a direct result of Global Warming, the polar ice cap has been melting and it appears it has finally slipped. According to officials it has taken up residence in Pennsylvania and as far south as North Carolina! We offer the following pictures as evidence of this phenomenon...

Mounds of DEEEEEP Snow

Snow well above the "official" over the knee mark.

Record Length Ice Formations.

Atypical ice formations.

Even a day at the beach is a whole new adventure, heh watch out for the polar bears!

And the abomidable snowman has even went south, we hear he is now able to surf fish!

Disclaimer**all of the above is a Global Warming joke and not to be taken seriously...hmmmmm and that really makes me wonder :-P

Happy Valentines Day!

To all our friends, family, and blogging buddies:



Tina, HoneyDew and Sampson too!

Girls Gone Wild....over yarn that is! /AKA 6th Annual Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival

So today was the first time I actually made it to the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival! Let me tell you it was great! Knitters (and crocheters) in my experience are the friendliest people no matter where they come from.

We started out at 9:00AM from Jerri's house were Kathie, Bonnie, Jerri and I met up. After a chai tea latte run from the Summer House, a must have for any successful trip (no matter how many potty breaks we have to take!) we were on our way.

Upon arriving at the festival we immediately ran into one of our mentors from the Kindred Spirits days, Jill Bigelow-Suttell of  B-ewe-tiful Designs who unbeknownst to us was right in the middle of teaching a class as we gaily waved and shouted greetings, she calmly, without missing a beat, waved and smiled as we 'quickly' caught on and red faced, hastily changed direction towards the registration table. Rounding a corner we spotted the first vendor booth manned by another of our knitting mentors Jane Bigelow of Kindred Spirits and B-ewe-tiful Design. After carefully looking around to make sure we didn't make the same mistake twice, there were greetings and hugs all around. It was beginning to look like a Kindred Spirits reunion! And it didn't end there, when we made it to the registration table who do we find but Sue Spencer! Again greetings and hugs all around, whew what fun and the day is just getting started!

Finally we get our coats checked in and we are ready to SHOP!

Into the fray we went and let me tell you the place was packed! Vendors, shoppers, demonstrators, facilitators, books, kneedles, any type of yarn you can imagine, spinners, weavers, buttons, knit pots, stitch markers, patterns galore, a live angora rabbit (sooooo cute!) on and on. It was almost overwhelming...almost!

I think next year I will make a list of which projects I am planning on making, then the list of yarns, texture, weight, and amount of skeins needed. That would be the smart way to do it. But as this was my first trip I think I did ok, next year though, I will do BETTER!

This trip was such a great time because although I started out with 3 friends, we were able to connect with my friend Jean and three of her friends, Mary Ellen, Tristina and Lori. I also ran into another friend from Pittsburgh Truth T. and her friend, so in the process made four more friends! You see how this grows?!

After we were wore out and shopped till we dropped, our shopping was done the eight of us made plans to go to lunch at Olive Garden. I don't know about you but I simply love their soup, salad, and bread sticks 'all you can eat' deal. I had the chicken and gnocci soup...

Oh and DESSERT! I believe someone called mine "death by chocolate" but actually it is a chocolate torte, all I can say is ummmmmmmmmmm, and let me unsnap my jeans!

Decadent!

Ok, now wipe the drool off your mouth as I can't have you getting it on my yarn,and I will show you my new additions to my stash...and I did exercise some restraint ...

First the Black and Gold Yarn and pattern were freebies, because I had a "golden ticket" that I submitted at the Cascade Yarn booth, (I felt abit like Charlie at the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory!), the lavender colored yarn is for someone that is expecting a baby and if she doesn't have a girl it is going into my grandchildren hope chest (and yes I do have one!), the turquoise is "milk yarn", it is actually made from a by product of pasturizing milk! What will they come up with next! The picture below of the hand mitts with the cabling is what I am hoping to create with that particular yarn, wish me luck, as to date I have not done cables! I have taken a brave step or am deluding myself...it remains to be seen...

*The only thing that is not pictured here is the stitch markers that I have gotten for a friend.

But at the end of the day this is what the trip was all about...

Great Friends!