Stitching Together: 35 Years of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

My older sister and I are making plans to attend the "Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show" in Sisters, Oregon next July.  I can't wait!!  It's an amazing event - people travel from all over the world to participate in the day.  It's a show unlike any other - over 1200 quilts on display in a beautiful outdoor setting.  In preparation for our exciting venture, we watched the DVD of the history of the show:  Stitching Together: 35 Years of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.  Below are some wonderful quotes from the various contributors:

"In this day and age we don't make anything; we don't even make our beds. 

I think making things with your hands is essential to life....  We need to be doing something useful, and we need to be making something with our hands."

- Gwen Marston, Quilter, Author and Instructor

"What I find fascinating about quilting is the endless possibilities."

- Ann Richardson, Executive Director, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

"I make quilts because it feeds my soul."

- Jean Wells Keenan, Founder, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

"There's always a story behind it [the quilt]."

- Board Member, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

"The story behind the quilt is what makes it really special....  It's what gives the quilt more than three layers."

- Ann Richardson, Executive Director, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

"Somehow the quilt talks to you."

- Board Member, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

"When you think about the different crafts that have been around off and on for years, quilting has staying power, where a lot of them have not, and I think part of it is because it gets passed on - a lot of times in a social setting."

- Jean Wells Keenan, Founder, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

Garlic!

I was fortunate enough to be given some fresh local, organic garlic from a friend (now that's a friend, indeed!) last week; it was grown by Tom Culton - pretty special!!  I had wanted to plant some garlic this fall, but just hadn't gotten around to checking into how to do it or pursuing a source.  So, I was thrilled not only to receive some high quality bulbs, but also to discover that it wasn't too late in the season to plant it.  I planted 3 bulbs (30 cloves) this afternoon in the chilly, breezy air - BRRR!!!  I've never tried growing garlic - I so hope it works!!  If it does, I should be set for years - I can plant some cloves from next year's harvest, then keep continuing the process each year after that.

It doesn't take much to make me happy....

:)

Saturday Evening Dinner

Swiss Chard with Roasted Beets & Feta Cheese

Rosemary White Bean Soup with Roasted Chicken

Pumpkin Pie with Fresh Whipped Cream
(I'm still perfecting the pie recipe...)

Yum!!

Thanksgiving Hokies

My sister Renee was in to visit from Colorado and decided we should do a Thanksgiving craft with our nephew.

(The painted toenails were Ricky's idea!)



Lady Bug Tea Room

A friend introduced me to this lovely tea room in East Berlin today.

Her food was by far the best I've ever enjoyed at any of the various tea rooms I've experienced over the years.  It is definitely a labor of love for the owner, and she showered us with wonderful homemade delicacies made from local, in season foods.

 I am so inspired to do something similar the next time I host a tea!

A Conversation with Michael Pollan

"The longer I'm at it, the more I'm convinced that gardening and cooking are really important activities, both at a practical level and at a spiritual or philosophical level.  Both are ways to reconnect with the earth, and all the processes that keep us alive."
- Michael Pollan in Organic Gardening magazine

The Ultimate Gift

"What he's trying to do is for your benefit, not your destruction."
- From the movie The Ultimate Gift

Cure for Cold Sores

I'm so grateful someone told me about this dosing trick for L-Lysine and cold sores.  I've struggled with cold sores for years and at one point, took Lysine on a regular basis to keep them at bay.  But, the trick is to take it only when they crop up, and to use the correct dosing.  It works like a charm (at least for me and everyone else I know that has tried it!).  Hope it's helpful for you too!

Here's the dosing:

L-Lysine, 500 mg

As soon as symptoms start (burning, redness, blisters), take 3 capsules.  Take 2 capsules the next day, then take one capsule every day thereafter until cleared.

Wisdom from Organic Gardening Magazine

"...all it takes to be a good gardener is patience and an inquiring mind."
- Ethne Clarke, Editor in Chief, Organic Gardening magazine, Oct/Nov 2010


"With gardening, we harvest more than food and flowers; we harvest health and healing."
- Maria Rodale, Chairman & CEO, Rodale Inc.