For the Love of Honey

I have become spoiled by honey; good honey, really good honey. Over the years I have stepped away from grocery store honey and learned what a special treat raw and unfiltered honey can be, I can't ever go back. Depending on where honey is purchased, and from whom, sometimes the beekeepers will allow tastings and suggest certain honey varieties for certain purposes. I am enamored by the rich and unique flavors produced by the different plant pollinators and time of year that the honeys are harvested at the small, local apiaries. I use honey in cooking, for sweetening and often in my tea. I discovered a honey brand that I just love, and I try to buy my honey varieties exclusively from him if I happen to be in the vicinity. I was talking to our daughter on the phone the other day and she suggested a honey specialty store about an hour and a half from our home; it's a pretty day-trip there, in the North Carolina mountains. She is as picky about her honey as I am, so I wasn't worried. I double-checked the website to make sure that they were open. Mr. Goodneedle and I took a drive up there on Thursday. You probably already guessed where this story's going. Yep-- they were closed (the website failed to list that fact that they're closed during the week in the winter months!)!🙁 We bought some generic honey at the cheese store across the street and had an awesome barbecue lunch; the weather and the scenery were spectacular that day. I'll use that less-than-special honey in my cooking.

One thing that I use honey for is Granola. I make a big batch every other month or so and eat it every morning with a dollop of plain yogurt and a drizzle of honey over the top. Here's the recipe,  in case you'd like to make some for yourself. I've been making this for the last fifteen years or so, ever since we stayed at this Inn, I substitute dried cherries for the currants. 

My latest homemade obsession (and honey requirement) is Elderberry syrup. We take a TBSP every morning to boost our immune systems. I order the dried Elderberries from Amazon. Here's the recipe- cheers!

In the meantime I am planning another day trip-- 

one to the location of my favorite honey, the really, really good one. 😉

How far will you go out of your way for something that you really love?

Life is Good!

Up next: Alliteration

Daytrippin'

Quiltdivajulie and me

It took some doing; but, at long last, I can now say (with photo proof) that Quiltdivajulie and I are in-person friends! We've shared a LOT over the past ten years or so, all online, as blogging buddies. Over the years we discovered many similarities that we have in common: our birthdays are within days of each other (day and year!), our wedding anniversaries are too. We share likes and dislikes in an uncanny way and have kindred personality quirks characteristics.😉 When the opportunity presented itself (Julie was teaching her amazing Build-A-Barn quilt class last week at the John C. Campbell Folk School in the far-western part of North Carolina) Mr. Goodneedle and I discussed taking off for the day; there is still ongoing work cleaning out my in-law's home, but he knew how much fun this would be for all of us (he has long admired Julie's husband's incredible wood-turning abilities and he was going to be there too), as well the value of a much-needed break in our own work schedule.  Last Friday we hit the road early and drove west. It was a gorgeous day.

We arrived at Keith House, on campus, around 11 AM and easily found the JCCFS office, and our lunch tickets, before settling in to experience the class "show and tell" and end of week wrap up. I fell in love with this quilt, by Mary Lou Weidman, on permanent display at the folk school. Read the story behind the quilt linked here, you'll be in love with the quilt, and the Folk School too! This is an amazing place. Soon the assembly hall was filled with talented craftsmen-students and instructors all eager to show what they had done all week. Julie and I quickly found each other and the conversation flowed easily and non-stop,  it was much more like a much-anticipated reunion than an initial meeting! Our husbands, too, had plenty in common to discuss. We had barely all gotten our seats when the dulcimer class serenaded the crowd to start things off, they were followed by a steady stream of blacksmiths, wood carvers, jewelry makers, wood turners, print makers, quilters, wood workers, painters, enamelers and story tellers. I am sure I am forgetting other folk crafts that were learned and displayed. After the wrap-up show we adjourned to the dining hall for a delicious family-style lunch in the dining hall. From there it was a quick walk to the Pittman Fiber Arts building and the quilt studio!

Julie still had a few things to pack up and get ready for the car and her drive back home. Take a look at this space, and the LIGHT; who wouldn't want to take a week-long quilting class here?

Another view. These classrooms are well-stocked with all the needed supplies, it really is a dream come true. (Notice the power cords suspended from the ceiling over each work space-- no cords on the floor to worry about tripping over!) I also peeked into the adjacent weaving studio; I am not a weaver, but after seeing that space I could become one! Mr. Goodneedle had the same feeling about the woodturning studio; the facilities are quite enticing and hard to resist. We are both destined to be JCCFS students sooner rather than later! We came home with an armload of catalogs listing all of the class offerings to pore over.

Julie's husband and Mr. Goodneedle

We had a few moments for photos in front of, what else, but a barn; before hitting the road, each of us heading our own direction back home. We will definitely meet up again, hopefully for a longer visit, next time! In my memory book of "day trips" this one may just go down as the best ever!

Life is Good!

Boiling It Down...

"Light Of Day"

... to bullet points. I've been absent for awhile but only because the summer that stretched out ever-so-lazily before us a few weeks ago kicked into full gear and has left me chasing each day just to keep up!  I'll report a few highlights  from the last few weeks and will, hopefully, be back on track here as well as visiting around blogworld again too!

* You might remember the Centennial Quilts project for my DIL's Daddy's church. The quilts were completed and dedicated a week ago Sunday; one is hanging permanently in the sanctuary and the second one was auctioned off for a HUGE sum following a Homecoming picnic luncheon on the church grounds. I was thrilled for the church and buoyed by the happy realization that the quilt held such value!

* My embroidery machine has kicked into overtime stitching up personalized T-shirts, pillowcases and bibs for little ones. Here's just a small sampling.

* Mason joyfully celebrated his fifth birthday at his neighborhood pool, it was a VERY happy day! Our daughter did a wonderful job decorating for the party with adorable, personalized, buckets filled with pool-appropriate favors for the guests. The food was delicious and a good time was had by all!

* Last Wednesday we were invited to breakfast (at their mountain campsite) by our son and his wife. It was raining when we arrived but our spirits weren't the least bit dampened. Following breakfast we caravaned on down the road to visit Tweetsie Railroad. Gregory loved it; although, I believe, the Tweetsie train was a wee bit bigger (and louder) than he expected! We brought the little ones home with us for the remainder of the week, giving Mommy and Daddy some peaceful time together in the home-sweet-tent.

* The kitchen backsplash tiling project has been completed! Now, onto choosing less obtrusive outlet covers!

* And so it goes; busy days filled with everything good, some sewing related items thrown in for self-preservation!  Those seemingly endless summer days have definitely been numbered after all. The R.A.W. (Row A Week) "Light Of Day" quilt top is growing by leaps and bounds. It is being made purposely to cover our King-sized bed and will measure 115" square at completion; that's big,considering the blocks themselves finish at six inches! I will persevere on this one, begun back in 1997. Now that I have an Accuquilt cutter there are no excuses! Speaking of numering things, I can hardly believe I ever began this project cutting the HST's the old-fashioned way; after all there are 1800 pieces in just the blocks, that's NOT counting the sashing strips! 

*  This is how I begin each morning; stiching pinwheels and mentally planning a schedule for the day ahead as I sew.  This quilt top is growing... this photo shows what half of the quilt top looks like... that's a LOTTA pieces! 

Soon there will be much more to share too, 

Sundance is up to a great big surprise, it's all good!

Life is Good!

Lunch, And More!

My husband proposed an out-of-town, out-of-state, day trip to have lunch with an old college buddy and his wife.

"Where?", I asked.

"Wytheville, VA".

"Sure" was my immediate and enthusiastic reply! I know the quilt shop in Wytheville, it's a great place to stop. I was searching for a new applique needle that I had seen reviewed; I wanted to look for those and give them a test stitch. We had a few minutes before our friends arrived, enough time for me to run in to the quilt shop. I need fabric like I need a hole in the head, but when did that ever stop me? As soon as I saw this retro strawberry print I knew it would make the PERFECT backing for my thirty year(+) hand embroidered tablecloth. The red dot will make the bestest binding for it too. Oh, and I did come out of the store with the needles; the only thing that I went in for! I managed to finish the back smocking on Lucy Ann's birthday dress on the way up to Wytheville and whipped down a quilt binding on the way back home. Going out to lunch is always so much fun! We had a terrific time.

Life is Good!

Making Lemonade

The boys and I took the day off to hike at Linville Falls yesterday. We left home early in the morning, picked up some friends along the way; and, ultimately, found a load of lemons instead of a trail. It turned out to be a complete wash! No complaints though, we need the rain around here. So...we did some exploring inside a General Store nearby and found a semi-dry spot for our picnic lunch at Julian Price Park. Even though we didn't do what we'd set out to do originally we had a fun day away, ate ice cream on the way back home, and charged up the ol' batteries for the rest of the week. Yep, nothing like a little impromptu lemonade-making when Mother Nature hands you the raw materials!

Life is Good!

Cooling Off

On Friday we had a chance to take a hike, and escape the scorching temperatures (or so we thought), at Hanging Rock State Park. This was taken at one of the waterfalls right before I dipped my feet in the cool, refreshing water. It was a great day. The park is close by; and so, we discovered, was the heat... no escaping it!

Well, it is Summer after all.
Life is Good!

Stone Mountain Hike

It was a great day for a getaway; today was the day, Stone Mountain State Park was the place. A short drive from home and some serious hiking to some breathtaking vistas and Stone Mountain Falls made it the perfect outing, even the rain drops didn't dampen our spirits. We feasted on a late lunch of fresh fruits, vegetables and homemade chicken salad, and washed it all down with sweet tea in a well built (dry!) picnic shelter~ heaven!

Life is Good!

It's A Zoo Out There

The weather was perfect, the family was loaded up in the car,
we were off... for a day trip to the NC Zoo.
What could make the day any better? Only one thing...
a surprise guest met us there: Mason, and his Mommy, too!

Life is Good!