THANKSGIVING WISHES

Dearest Friends,

Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving!!
If you are traveling far to family and friends, may your journey be safe and your arrival timely. If you are remaining at home, I wish you a day comfortable and cozy in your home surrounded by the love of family, and some time for peaceful reflections on all that we are thankful for. I hope that the chill of weather remains outside and the warmth of the holiday on the inside!
For all of those who will have spent hours in the kitchen, I hope that you can sit back and enjoy the feast you have prepared, content in the fact that we are so very blessed with such bounty, and that we are able to have such wonderful food to share with our loved ones.
Here is wishing you ALL a wonderful and very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!


I am grateful for your friendship today and every day, and feel blessed to have the chance to share in a bit of your lives with you through our blogs.

Hugs to one and all, Debby

NOSTALGIC SIGNS

Yup, here are more pictures from my trip to Bavaria. I hope that I am not tiring you all out with them, posting several times now with scenes from there. But I shot so many pictures, from so many different places, that I often like to just sit here and relive the moments, enjoying the pictures all over again and each time looking through a different batch for a particular area we went sight seeing in. Then I get that feeling that I need to share them with all of you!

There simply is so much to see in Bavaria, I plan to spend the next few years returning there time and again in order to see more and more!! :-) For now though, just wanted to share these SIGNS photos.

Back in medieval times when knights and ladies dressed in lovely gowns actually did roam the hills and flatlands of Germany, it was custom for the shop owners to hang out a sign to announce exactly what services or items their shop offered. Many were very ornate, done in cast iron and painted with gold or silver, each a unique sign made just for that particular shop. Today the shops still hang these signs out, mostly as a reminder of days gone by, of past German customs, and as something to show tourists, I am sure. :-) I have been fascinated with them since the time that I moved here, and have snapped many a photo of them along the way over the years. These were all in one little town we stopped at, they seemed to be on every corner, and so my camera and I seemed to constantly be lagging behind the rest of them, too intent on capturing as many of these works of art as I could while I was there!

The first photo is my favorite sign, I believe it was a hotel! Don't you just love the ornate design, the gold touches and that precious angel!!! The one above was from a book seller, the one below advertizing the sale of children's clothing. I love the book seller's too, the ornate design with gold added just my cup of tea!


Not sure what this one sold, but I sure did love the birds on it!! It is the same one below, but as seen against the buildings as a backdrop.

Here you can see the yellow building's sign telling of their "wine parlor", the snow covered Alps in the background between the buildings.
And this photographer had a really pretty sign, the window sills covered with pots of flowers, as is very often seen here in Germany.

GETTING A CHRISTMAS FEELING

This hotel looks like it came right out of Santa's North Pole!! There is even a reindeer weather-vane on the roof. "Jägerhaus" literally means "hunters' lodge", but it is in reality a hotel for tourists who are in the area seeing King Ludwig's castles near Füssen, Oberammergau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.


It started out cold, gloomy and rainy this morning, so all the more surprising is the current 63° temperature and the sunshine outside. Absolutely beautiful autumn weather, even though the trees are quickly losing their colorful golden leaves now. So it is not exactly weather outside where one feels the touch of a bit of Christmas magic, but that is exactly how I felt at the beginning of the week when weather was chilly and it was so dreary that only thoughts of the warmth and coziness of the holidays coming up could put a smile in my heart.

I was looking through the photos that I took while in Bavaria last month, and this hotel in the town of Schwangau (which means "the place of swans") looks so Christmas like with its powder-sugar snow covered roof, that I was over whelmed with a feeling of December coming soon. And that special magic happy feel at this time of year took over my senses! I let that feeling carry me away on a creative mood, and with thoughts of Christmas and Santa inspiring me, I created this red silk satin garter with vintage lace and a handmade brooch that can later on be detached and worn by itself. I have listed it in my Etsy shop and am hoping that some lucky Christmas bride can wear it on her special day.

MIRROR, MIRROR on the wall.....

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the prettiest rooster of them all? " This young rooster most definitely thinks he is !! That is what I thought too when my daughter showed me the newest pictures she had shot of her beloved chickens and rooster. I just had to share some of them with you, and tell you that this little guy, who we thought was a hen until just recently, has indeed turned out to be a rooster. :-) I am sure many of you will be grinning to yourself and wonder how anyone could not tell the difference between a rooster and a hen. I have to even laugh at ourselves. But, I must admit, when the chickens are young, they DO all look alike on the surface. The true signs do not show up until later on. But more about that in a minute.

Here is our beautiful "new" rooster, now re-named "Alf". Yup, that is the name my daughter gave him. He is turning out to be quite stunning!! Don't you just love the little puffs of dark feathers on the sides of his face! His comb is starting to grow, his neck feathers elegant and making a gorgous ruffle around his neck when he shakes them out.

His tail feathers look dark in normal light but when the sun shines on them I can see purples, dark blues and irridescent colors in all shades. He stands taller now, struts, and really shows off his stuff! :-)

He must have noticed that he was being photographed and liked the idea, because he stood still time and again and posed for some fabulous shots!

Here he is standing on the window sill peeking into the house to see what we were up to on the inside, his favorite hen, Amy is next to him.

Amy's fox red and brown colored feathers blend perfectly into the autumn leaves now lying about the yard.

In the sunshine her feathers change color and suddenly she seems to be a totally different hen.

And here is adorable Mystie. Her black feathers maker her hard to photograph, and she often appears a bit scarey looking in pictures. But she is a precious little thing, tiny and docile, liking to be held now that my daughter has been training her a bit. She has the cutest little puff of feathers under her chin and a topknot of some too. Not sure what breed she is, but she is cute and a favorite to us all. When she sees us, she coos to us, "talking" in her own way to us human-chickens.

Here you can see a bit of color in the black feathers when ever the sun shines on her. I never thought I could love chickens, but these little ones melt my heart!!

But back to Alf for a minute - he remained rather hen-looking for quite some time, even acting just like them. We were told it is because there is an Alpha rooster already in residence in our "barn yard" back yard, so Alf's hormones were by nature kept at very low levels. A type of physical defence mechanism to camoflage him until he is old enough, large enough and strong enough to "reveal" himself and fight for his own rights and territory. Only 2 weeks ago we heard him crow for the first time, just a squeak to begin with, and over the past days it has grown in strength and volume, and he is finally able to belt out a full fledged cockle-a-doodle-doo!! :-) Once the crowing started testesterone took over his body and has made his comb grow rapidly, his neck feathers grew long and he is getting the large dew claws on the sides of his feet readying him for battle may the need be. He started to walk upright, his neck held high, his chest thrust out, strutting his manly rooster appearance. It has been an amazing transformation to watch. Our aging rooster, Peaches, now 9-1/2 years old, seems to have accepted this virile new intruder into his territory. He leaves him be most of the time, is happy with his own 2 chickens, Beanie and Paris, and is happy to leave the new hens as part of Alf's little family. Only once in a while when they are all in the hen-house for the evening, does Peaches tend to give Alf a little peck and pull on his tail feathers as if to remind him, "I am still the boss here, so mind yourself and remember that". :-) The hens know their "masters" and do not wander far from the roosters' sides. They all 6 meet up in the yard and mingle there, but once the roosters call for their hens, the ladies go running in the proper direction! It has all been a lovely little experience for us to watch.

SUNDAY'S THOUGHT

"SUNDAY is the golden clasp that binds together the volume of the week". ~~
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

(photos are of Hohenschwangau Castle in Bavaria.)

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday! hugs, Debby

A DAY FOR COOKING AND CREATING

It is gloomy outside with over cast skies and not a bit of blue in sight up there. The wind is blowing strong, and since most of the leaves are still on the trees, it looks like a huge snowstorm outside, but instead of snowflakes, it is golden leaves falling down around me. Inspite of the fact that soon I will have to go out doors and rake up all those leaves, it is a lovely sight that keeps me going back to the windows again and again just to look out and enjoy it one more time!

On gloomy days like this, I love to sit and create, and I have had my sewing machine busy stitching up some silk ribbons and vintage laces into garters. These are not completed yet since they are still missing their embellishments, but I wanted to share some photos of them since I was so very pleased with the way they turned out! Using the traditional bridal colors of white and blue satin ribbons, and white lacey Venice trims, these garters are just meant to be worn on some one's special day! Underneath the garters you can see my box of ribbons in all colors of the rainbow, still waiting to catch my attention and become the next garter!

In between sewing, I let the chill autumn weather inspire me to make a favorite soup of mine that can be enjoyed to its fullest in the cooler months of the year. I have taken it from my "Mrs. Appleyard's Family Kitchen" cook book that I bought many years ago while in Vermont visiting my brother when he still lived there. I have found many yummy recipes in this book, but this one for Vermont cheese soup is my favorite. I have copied it right from the book and wanted to pass it along to all of you.

VERMONT CHEESE SOUP

"This was originally intended to be made with real Vermont cheddar cheese, but might just as well be put together with New York or Wisconsin dairy cheese. Please don't use that artificial substance called "processed American cheese", for you can only end up with a taste as fine as the ingredients that went into the making allow.

1/2 cup celery, cut fine

1/2 cup onion, minced

1/2 cup fresh carrots, cut fine

1/2 cupü green pepper, cut fine

1/4 cup butter

2 cups chicken stock

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons flour

1 quart milk (part milk, part cream)

1 cup grated cheese

salt and pepper to taste

miced herbs: pinch of tarragon and basil

Cook vegetables in 1/4 cup butter or chicken fat until onion is tender and pale gold in color. Add 2 cups chicken stock and let vegetables simmer.

While the vegetables are cooking make the sauce. Melt butter, blend in flour. Cook 3 minutes. Reduce heat. Blend in milk and cook several minutes until sauce starts to thicken. Stir in cheese and seasonings - salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Continue cooking over hot water until cheese melts. The vegetables should be slightly crisp, not mushy. When the sauce is ready, put the two mixtures together in an iron enameled dish to heat. Stir and serve. In corn season, just before serving, add a cup of Golden Bantam corn cut from the ears and cooked in a little water for 10 minutes. Serve with Garlic French bread."

And that is the recipe just as it is written in the book. I love this book, it is written as if my Grandmother was standing right next to me and giving me instructions right out of her head for a family's favorite traditional food. Sorry that there is no photo, but it is a cookbook without them!

Waving hello to everyone on this first Monday in November.

I am not sure where the days have gotten away to, but it seems like just yesterday that I posted and now I realize it is almost a week ago! I am sitting here shaking my head at myself and wondering how the time could have slipped past me so quickly and seemingly unnoticed! :-)

Just wanted to say HI to every one new that has recently found my blog, or has simply dropped by for a little visit and left comment. I look forward to getting to know you all better through our blogs and our comments to each other. And a big hug going out to all of my golden friends here in blog land who have stuck by me through all the times that I have not posted more frequently. Like the figure in the painting on the side of a hotel's wall, I am waving at you all and saying "HELLO, I AM GLAD THAT YOU ARE HERE". Thank you for staying with me even when it seems that I am not around much, you all mean the world to me and I no longer can picture my days without you as part of my life. HUGZ to one and all!! Debby

(the photo was taken in Bavaria in the town of Füssen, and I not only loved the pink color of the building, but that adorable picture made to look as if someone is waving out of a window!!).