Ward Hall...

Yesterday was the December meeting of the Countryside Homemakers Club. We try to do something a little different and special for our December meeting. This year we went to Ward Hall and then to lunch at Wilshires.

Ward Hall is in Georgetown and was commissioned to be built about 1857 by Junius Ward. It was built at a cost of $50,000 in gold. It is a Greek Revival Villa. It served as a summer residence and working farm for the Hall's.

Ward Hall is now in the care of the Ward Hall Preservation Foundation. There is a $5 fee to tour. These funds are used to continue the day-to-day operation of this beautiful old mansion.

There are two stories and a basement in this home.  Connie Minch was our tour guide. We were allowed access to the entire mansion from the basement to the attic. There is a beautiful circular staircase from the main level to the attic and another set of stairs for the servants to use from the main level to the attic and from the main level to the basement.

The home was has 'built-in' closets and bookshelves, unusual for that time period. There was even a water chest in the back hall at ceiling level so there could be some water stored inside the home.

Here are a few pictures of the Main Level.

We walked up the spiral staircase to the second story where the bedrooms were located.

We would continue up the spiral stairs to the attic.

Then we would go back down to the main level and take the servants stairs to the basement level. This is where the work of the home was done. The kitchen is below the main dining room and had a dumb waiter (I know, I know, I have lots of quick jokes for that one!!) between the main level and the basement kitchen. I loved the wide hallways and especially the basement hallway with its brick flooring.

This was a perfectly delightful tour. Connie answered any questions and provided us with great access. It was just our group and we moved at our own pace.

It reminded me of being in Newport, Rhode Island and touring the Breakers. Once again, a summer home...really!!

Katelyn's Request...

Katelyn eMailed me to see if I had a dress she could use for something at her college. I gave up all those kinds of clothes when we retired. The need was for a dress that was from the old English days and another that was from Biblical times. I think I have that right.

I sent Katelyn some links to websites for pattern companies with some specific ones noted that I thought might work. Katelyn reviewed these and picked the one she liked best. Then she sent me the link to the one she liked best and also a picture of Claude wearing a light blue shirt so I would have an idea of the color she needed.

I stopped by the fabric store in Frankfort on my way home from Andie's house before Thanksgiving and purchased fabric and notions to make the dress.

I didn't get it started before Thanksgiving and intended to work on it the Monday after Thanksgiving. Alas, I fell and really ruined my shoulder and didn't get to use it for about a week.

Yesterday was D-day (Dress Day) for me. I had that one day to get it sewn and ready to mail. I was able to start in the afternoon and had it almost completed by 11pm. I got up this morning and finished the belt and added the hook and eye to the back.

Here is the finished product (front and then back):

I'm sure it will hang much more nicely on Miss Katelyn than on that hanger on my door. But I think Katelyn did a great job of thinking that pattern through. As it is in the pictures will be that Old England look. I had a piece of the blue fabric left over and some of the trim that is sewn around the neck. Katelyn can place the extra fabric on her head and use the trim to tie around the fabric to make a kind of veil-like headpiece for the Biblical version.

This was my first time making something that laces up the back like this. I actually broke my pliers you use to put on the eyelets. Claude was able to repair them.

The box is in the mail and I hope this works for Katelyn. It's nice to be a Gramma even though I'm far away. 

December Events Begin...

This last weekend we had a wonderful visit to Owingsville, Kentucky.  They were having their Christmas party and we were invited. It was a big dinner interspersed with entertainment. Our table mates  were Bishop Marshall and his dear wife.

Claude had inquired about what we might bring to help with the dinner. We were told a Jell-O salad would be a nice touch. I prepared it the day before. It makes a lot and is very good for this kind of thing, way to big for just Claude and me.

We got it to Owingsville (a little over an hour away from our home) and Claude took it to the people setting up the buffet.

After the evening was started and the blessing on the food was said, we got in line to get our dinner. I got to the end of the long tables with the meal items on it and my Jell-O salad was not there. Hmmm...I mentioned this to Claude. He then told me it was on the dessert table. Okay, that was fine.

It was very well received, not a bit left over. The recipe was also requested. So I thought I would share it here in case anyone might like it for a big Christmas dinner. The finished dish is two layers. The bottom layer is red and full of raspberries and cranberries. The top layer is a creamy yellow and is full of pineapple and other creamy things that melt together. Yum!!!

THANKSGIVING CRANBERRY SALAD

1st Layer:

            1 - 3 oz. pkg. strawberry Jello       1 cup boiling water
            Dash of salt                                   1 cup frozen raspberries
            1 can cranberry sauce, whole
Dissolve Jello in hot water, add raspberries and salt, stir in cranberry sauce.  Chill until firm.

2nd Layer:

            1 - 13 oz. can crushed pineapple, drain and reserve juice
            3 oz. pkg. lemon Jello
            1/2 cup Miracle Whip
            1 - 1/4 cups boiling water
            3 oz. cream cheese, softened
            1/2 cup cream, whipped
            dash of salt
            2 cups tiny marshmallows
Dissolve Jello in boiling water.  Add marshmallows and stir until melted.
Add reserved juice and chill in mixing bowl until partially set.
Blend Miracle Whip, cream cheese, and salt in separate bowl.
Blend cream cheese mix and marshmallow mix.
Stir in pineapple and chill again until partially set again.
Add whipped cream.
Pour over 1st layer and let set.

One of the cute things they did with the entire audience was sing "The 12 Days of Christmas". We were all sitting at round tables and each table was assigned a day of the song. We all sang the part "On the whatever day of Christmas my true love gave to me" and then the table that had the number would sing their part. It was great fun.

I just love going to Owingsville. The people are so warm and welcoming. Thank you Owingsville for inviting us.

Claude's Christmas Letter...

Every year my hubby writes our Christmas News Letter to go to family and friends. It is by far the funniest letter anyone sends. Of course, my opinion is totally unbiased. To be sure all our friends have a chance to read it, I'm including it in my Blog again this year. Enjoy and Merry Christmas from our home to yours!!

THE CHRISTENSEN FAMILY CHRONICLES

Circa 2011

Como esta ustdes? Todo en todo nosotros estamos excelente

Eagle Bend Achers - Crop Report 2011: Deer really, really, really like Roma tomatoes.  I’ll bet you didn’t know that.  And young deer have no manners at all.  They squished and stomped down all 10 plants, but I did save 3 tomatoes, which I threw at the deer.  The patio garden did much better, lots of juicy tomatoes and fresh peppers, and one GIAGANORMOUS plant we named Goliath).  There used to be grass in our backyard, but this year it was replaced by millions of large ugly plants that are resistant to everything except hip-hop music.

Things That Are The Same: Everything changes – all the time – everything I put in previous letters was bull…

Things That Are New: The left front tire on my tractor; things that are soon to be new – the left rear tire on my tractor…

El Hombre Guapo y La Dama Bella – OK, first, what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas…  That may be true with respect to money you take to Vegas, but with many other things - not so much.  Took a little trip out there in early January last, had a decreasingly good time, and brought home – from Vegas – Type-A influenza.  It camped out at our house for about 10-days, but we did get some really cool meds out of the deal – the care bears came – it was great… 

            Once we regained some little notion of health it was off to Albany, New York.  Yes, upstate New York in mid-January.  Come to think of it maybe we weren’t all the way back, but I’m sure you can see the irony.  However, a moral support visit to our favorite Soressi family was definitely in order.  There were too many smart-alecky comments to be made and it required a personal visit.

            In February the Mayor went to a lot of meetings and signed a lot of stuff - the Mayor’s wife crocheted a lot of stuff.  February also saw the first of several trips to watch the Michigan family circus. 

            In the March-April timeframe the Mayor went to a lot of meetings and signed a lot of stuff, the Mayor’s wife crocheted a lot of stuff, except for when he took his first of two flying lessons (in a plane this time), particularly wonderful gifts from the chicqa who loves me best.  May included a day trip on the Old Kentucky Home Bardstown Dinner Train, or in our case lunch train, followed closely by the trip out west to actually witness our dear Shannon, who by mutual agreement with the Weber County School System, ended her High School career, suma cum barely.

            Cultural endeavors this year began with the three flu-ridden shows in Vegas, and continued with Menapause (the play this time), Fiddler On The Roof, and a muy bien experience with Steve Martin at his Bluegrass concert in Lexington.  It may not count as “cultural”, but once again we joined the VIP crowd at two Toyota-hosted events - the Bluegrass Stakes Race in April and their 25^th Anniversary Brunch in November.  I have become an expert at picking horses that either finish last or run the wrong way.  To truly experience Kentucky Culture one must include a visit to “Rick’s White Light Diner” in Frankfort.  I would describe this place but words are inadequate.  Oh yeah, we went to the Circus.

            In July we watched a promising tomato crop start to go bad and traveled down to Knoxville to reconnect with our ever-older and wider biker crowd.  It was good to see everyone again, food was had, hugs were made, in some cases ID’s were necessary, and the Mayor went to a lot of meetings and signed a lot of stuff - the Mayor’s wife crocheted a lot of stuff.

            September and October saw us once again on the road.  This time for a quick pass-through visit with the Michigan bunch and then up north to Mackinac Island where we spent three restful days enjoying the fall colors and picking ourselves up from a bike spill while PEDDLING around the island coastline.  From there it was further north to Sault Ste. Marie, Canada where we took a day-long train trip out to a place called Agawa Canyon.  It’s a 114 mile scenic ride out into the wilderness area in what is called the Canadian Shield.  Lucky for us it was a two-way trip and they brought us back as well.  We really enjoyed the day, nothing was signed, nothing was crocheted, and we saw some spectacular scenery.  In November we divided and conquered.  I went west to check-up on mi madre, and Sandi stayed home to check-up on su parientes.  Pomegranate glazed turkey graced both tables.  Nothing going on in December J…

Los Muskegon Gringos… Good visits to and from the land of the North Woods abounded this year.  Por exemple, in August the usual suspects (aka Aubrey and Paul) appeared and had all the fun the law allowed at Camp Christensen, planned, organized, conducted, and supervised by the lovely and talented Grand(Ma) Christensen, with support from the mini-Marx’s.  We made a road-trip to the Corvette Factory and Mammoth Caves near Bowling Green – good times…  KT graced us with her presence in May and we took a little tornado-ridden trip out west to be sure Shannon was telling us the truth when she said she was graduating.  KT continued her college and professional paper copying career as she entered her soft-n-more year in college.  Nissa continues to “have it all under control” in collaboration with her guardian angel Todd.

Los Miembros de la familia Marx – Our favorite muchacho y muchacha Hayden and Bailey kept mom and dad Marx and well occupied this year.  Kindergarten diploma in hand Hayden (poco Spock) hit the public school circuit and everybody’s favorite spark-plug Bailey was invited back for one more round of her preparatory education.  Michael continued to enjoy success in his hostelry and “futbol” duties while Sandi hit the bricks with budding cake decorator Andie in the annual Breast Cancer Fun-Run-Walk in Louisville.  I stayed home and had “guy food.”  In November, they all traveled to Florida for a Marx family get-together on a Disney Cruise ship, and while we have not seen or heard from them at the time of this writing, we assume it went OK, no international incidents having been reported to-date.

El Tio Jacob – Our contribution to the Chelsea, Michigan cultural scene continues to make his way through mortality.  He was ever the pleasant and competent host in our several pass-through visits, happily guiding us to Joe’s Crab Shack in Ann Arbor whenever we appeared on the scene.  His expanding professional career continued to trend upward as he created new and exciting layout and web design products for the boss.  He did take the “let’s write a novel” challenge and completed work on his first book.  Childe Jake continued to blog with snappy commentary on the state of the world as well, you should check it out.

Okey Dokey, two pages and WE’RE OUTTA HERE!  The fact that you read this far speaks well for your attention span.  The use of espaniol in this letter reflects our ever expanding cultural ability via completion of our “Spanish for Gringos” class and our intent to “travel south” next year.  Now, please go overindulge on something festive and enjoy the Holiday Season, no, really, muy seriouso… Feliz Navidad!

The Christensen’s !!!

Up In The Air Senior Birdman...

Gotta love that Groupon action!!  They sent another offer for a greatly reduced flying session and a classroom lesson about flying. You even get the book to record your flight times in.

Curiosity piqued I queried my hubby about his interesting in soaring with the eagles again. His reply, "Sure!!"

To my trusty laptop I rushed and purchased that Groupon deal.

Yesterday was the flight. The pilot offered to let me ride with them. My purpose was to take pictures of Claude flying and I couldn't do that inside the plane. So I declined the offer.

It amazed me once again how quickly they get you up in the air with no real training. I took these pictures and a few others. Then I headed back into the hanger and their office.

Soon I heard the rumble of the plane and went out front to get pictures of the take off. I could see the plane taxiing around to the run way. I saw another plane taking off. I waited and saw Claude's plane moving to the end of the runway for his take off. That was out of my range of vision due to a slight hill. Then I saw Claude's plane taking off. New camera at the ready, I was taking video of the take off. Then I quickly switched to pictures and took some stills of the plane in the air.

Being a bit cold yesterday, I headed back into the office to do some projects I brought with me.

The pilots partner was in the office by then. He struck up a conversation. We chatted for a few minutes and then he said, "There they go!"  What...what...???

That's right folks. I took video and still shots of some other guy flying some other plane. Geez!!!  I just laughed at the silliness of it all.

Claude totally enjoyed his flying experience again. He said he got more actually flying, take-off and landing time this go round. His pilot told him he was actually a natural at the flying. He even figured Claude could be soloing quicker than most people. He said Claude doesn't seem to be bothered by all the gauges, he just flies the plane with a very steady hand. Who would have thought?

It was great fun to see the Big Guy smiling after his flight again. It was also great fun to zip on over to Schlotzsky's for a sandwich and Cinnabon for lunch. Yum!!