Nice Saturday

Our family had different places to be today. My husband and older children helped with the 4-H car wash, which was a great success. They all came home with a slight sun burn, but my husband's family has a distant Cherokee ancestor, so everyone should be fine tomorrow. Unlike, me, with my Scotch-Irish forefathers. It takes about 15 minutes of sun to give me a burn.

The other place to be today was a birthday party for my 4 year old daughter's friend. They had a ball playing in his backyard, which is fantastic. It's fenced and huge, with lots of grass for running around, which they did a lot of. Pizza was served, along with ice cream cake. I'm still full.

All in all, I'd call this Saturday a good day. Even though I didn't get the mopping done.

What is parkin?

I'm so glad you asked. Parkin is a traditional bread from England, according to Bauer's Story of the World and Wikipedia. It has oatmeal, molasses and ginger, along with flour, sugar, baking powder, honey and butter. Apparently, the oatmeal, molasses and ginger are the defining characteristics of parkin. It is like a soft gingerbread.

We made it for our school history lesson today and the children liked it. We are studying England around the 1500's. Since haggis is hard to come by in these parts, I decided to give parkin a try. I'm sure the children were disappointed.

Anyway, here's what it looked like, after we ate about half. Wish you were here to share!

The Joy of a Cuckoo Clock

Cuckoo clocks make me smile. I didn't know that about myself until recently. We bought one on vacation recently and I just love it. There's something very satisfying about a clock that doesn't require a plug or batteries. We just pull the chains down and give the pendulum a little nudge and it tick-tocks away for 24 hours.

The half-hourly "cuckoo" and music are a source of giggles and "ooo-aahhs" for all of us. I was worried that the extra noise in the house would be annoying, but I enjoy it, although I might feel differently if we couldn't turn off the music at night.In a world of constant noise, computers, television, video games, washers and dryers, and all the rest of our "modern conveniences", there's something precious about clothes that hang on a line to dry and a clock that you have to wind.

Wonderful, Boring Day

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I received an order yesterday from imeondesign. She makes the most beautiful cards. I'm torn though; should I send them to well loved friends or should I frame them? Aren't they great?
After taking my son to his riding lesson this morning, I came home and hung laundry out to dry. I just love the smell of line dried clothes. We then read a chapter together in Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, great story of a Revolutionary era man. He was an amazing mathematician and navigator from Salem, MA. Good family reading material.

Nothing earth shattering going on around here, but it's may favorite kind of day. Boring is good.

Great weekend around here

I had a great weekend. I cleaned house on Saturday, then went to an auction with my husband on Saturday night. Sunday, we went to church where my seventeen year old daughter and I kept the nursery. We got to take care of two cutie-pie boys, both about two and the brand new sister of one of the boys. She spent the entire time in our arms and didn't fuss at all.

After having a great lunch at home, my daughter and I had a "girls' afternoon out". We hit the bookstore and Bath and Body Works. It's fun and a little scary to negotiate a new kind of relationship with her. She's closer to being an adult than to childhood. She's becoming a great companion.

While we were gone, my husband and two younger children picked bullaces, which are wild grapes that grow around here. I'll be making jelly later this week. Mmmmm...

Have a good week, bloggers!

And the winner of the tote bag is...
Kim's Critter Designs! Congratulations!

For everyone who signed up by August 15, I will send you a business card wallet. Just let me know how to contact you or you can convo me on etsy at bedesisters.etsy.com.

Thanks to you all!

We had a great time on vacation!

My husband and I had a great time on our vacation. We went to Bern, Switzerland. Switzerland is beautiful; there's a postcard view everywhere you look. Here I am on the terrace of our hotel restaurant. The view was great, even on cloudy days. This was a particularly good day for seeing the mountains.








We went to the top of Mount Schilthorn on Tuesday and had a late lunch in the Piz Gloria, the restaurant at the top of the mountain. This is where scenes from On Her Majesty's Secret Service were filmed. I'm sure the view is stunning when the clouds lift.






Isn't this what you have in your head when you think of Switzerland?












Here we are at our "summer home". (Feel free to snicker) This is Chillon Castle. It sits on Lake Geneva in the western part of the country. It's an amazingly well preserved castle. Andy, my husband, could have spent all day exploring.









As much fun as we had, I'm glad to be home. There's nothing like a wake up call from our three year old daughter, even in beautiful Switzerland.