eat, chop, pitch, chat

the November page from my much loved 2008 Cavallini butterfly wall calender

Here are the Cavallini calender choices for 2009 - think I'll go back to the Vintage Map calender this year because I do love maps (or maybe Paris, or birds, sigh .... SO many beautiful choices). Check out these large sheets of printed paper wrap.

Up an hour early this morning because the time changed through the night ... we fell back an hour. So when I woke this early morning with a ping eyes wide open at 4:37, the new time was actually 3:37. I have lots to do and I was wide awake so with pleasure I'm up very early.

Crab apples are already bubbling away on the stove. It took forever to trim them last night, I watched (or listened to) a line up of previously recorded PBS cooking shows while I trimmed the flower ends and removed the stems from a big dutch oven pot full of small ruby crab apples. In an hour or so I'll put the mushy mess in cheesecloth to hang and drain all the crab apple goodness (juice) for a later this week jelly making adventure.

The garden elves (MLou & husband Lauchie) are expected to arrive around 10am (they have a 2 hour drive) and of course, as usual, I still have many items left to cross off my list before they get here. La menu has already changed several times, last night I made a batch of Pumpkin Ginger muffins which turned out to be a terrible failure and I will dump them this morning in the far reaches of our little backyard forest so the raccoons can enjoy them this evening. After much rumination (I'm a pretty good cook and I don't often have kitchen failures so deep study was required to assess potential reasons of such a tragic failure) I've come to the conclusion that A). I over mixed the batter and/or B). my baking powder was toast or even C). it just wasn't a very good recipe. I will not be serving them but I'm sure the raccoons (who I don't feed on any kind of regular basis just in case you were wondering) and maybe the crows, will enjoy them. Sigh.

I'll make up a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough early this morning and the plan is to have sub-like cold cut sandwiches, turkey, ham, swiss cheese, dijon, pickles etc. on toasted 12 grain bagels. Assorted raw veggies and cookies warm from the oven. I also have a few sugared donuts because my girl MLou she loves the sugar donuts and they'll go well with our coffee break.

I'm very psyched for a day of chopping, mowing, trimming, clipping, pitching and piling (and I'm sure MLou and I will manage to fit in just a wee bit of chatting as well - wink) while Mr. Lauchie is wielding le chain saw.

So ... I must get crackin'. Miss D and I need to bundle up and go out and prowl around this village in darkness.