Mountain Musings

The Really Awesome Vision Forum CD series

Our family had the wonderful opportunity this month to review the newly released audio CD album, Let Freedom Ring: The Philadelphia Faith and Freedom Tour. With 13 CDs' worth of messages by Doug Phillips and Bill Potter, we have listened to a "firehose" of American history from a Christian worldview, and we haven't even heard them all yet!

Topics include, but are not limited to:

• The History of Quakers in America
• The Life and Impact of William Penn
• The Nation's Church: Christ's Church Meetinghouse and Graveyard
• Carpenter's Hall: the Continental Congress is Formed
• The First Bank of the United States
• Architecture
• The Brandywine Battlefield
• Crossing the Delaware: Washington's Daring Winter Raid
• The Legacy of John Witherspoon
• Princeton Cemetery: Graveyard of Pastors, Patriots, and Presidents
• Lessons from Valley Forge
• Colonial Maritime Life Explored
• Question and Answer Sessions

Jonathan:

It's been interesting to listen to the Let Freedom Ring CD series. In the introductory message, Mr. Phillips overviewed the tour goals and the historic themes that would be explored. I appreciated the balanced viewpoint that Mr. Phillips had regarding the Founding Fathers. We should not idolize them as perfect Christians but realize that there were destructive humanist influences in some of their worldviews. That said, many of the founders were devout Christians and almost all of them at least respected Christianity and had a basic Christian worldview. 

Another part I liked about the series was the lectures on the Quaker sect and their beliefs. I had never heard what the Quakers actually were (or if I had, I had forgotten). While generally within Christian orthodoxy, they departed from it by stressing inner revelation over Scripture. Their church meeting was primarily not based on Scripture but rather on the messages of "inner light" from the members.

Another notable lecture was one on the Declaration of Independence. Mr. Phillips discussed some of the salient points of the document as well as giving biographies of some of the lesser-known signers.

Hannah:

I skipped ahead to hear the tour of the Princeton Cemetery, and it was quite an interesting presentation. Containing the graves of the likes of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards, Samuel Davies, John Witherspoon, the Aaron Burrs, president Grover Cleveland, and members of the Alexander and Hodge families, this location could definitely inspire awe. As someone present exclaimed, "This place is gonna blow [on resurrection day]!"

My interest was also piqued to hear about godly men with connections to Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley who were buried at this site, such as Archibald Alexander and William Graham. I will have to find more to read about their lives and involvements.

As the tour group gathered around the grave of Sarah Edwards, several men prayed especially for all of the young ladies in attendance, that they would be faithful to the Lord in much the same way that Sarah was, as a godly helpmeet, mother, and hospitable and influential Christian lady.

I'm sure the rest of the CDs will be enjoyable for more car-riding, treadmill-walking, or quilt square-cutting hours. :) It's almost as good as being there.

~And if you'll notice the ad on the right sidebar, if you purchase $95 worth of products from Vision Forum through April 1st, you will receive a $50 "Passport"--that would kind of be like getting this Faith and Freedom Tour album free!

C-e-l-e-b-r-a-t-e!

Celebrate is one of my favorite words because it's what I like to do...for any and all occasions! Saturday was no exception. I headed 3+ hours away to the little town of Carrollton in Isle of Wight County on the Virginia Peninsula.

The trip brought back many memories of when we lived in some of the cities I passed by. Down I-64--Charlottesville, Richmond, Williamsburg, Newport News, Hampton...we had homes in all those places through the years.

Anyway, back to talking about celebrating. I arrived at the surprise location--my friend's daughter's home. I have to show you a picture of the table. It was exquisite! You would have thought this was a wedding feast! Colors were a rich brown and light blue.

As you can see, the view was amazing--that's water outside the large windows--being the Peninsula, it isn't unusual to have water everywhere!

And the hubbub in the kitchen with all the daughters and cousins preparing the luncheon was unbelievable! So much scurrying around making sure everything was in place and just right.

All the guests chatted and watched the preparations while we waited for the guest of honor to arrive. And, yes, she was very surprised! The plan worked!

Here we are gathered around the table with such an array of food in front of us.

First, we were served fruited water (with grapefruit and orange) and tea choices of English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Peach, and Raspberry. I don't usually drink hot tea, but my raspberry tea was delicious, especially after stirring it with a fancy sugar stick.     

First course: Zucchini Vichyssoise with Black Pepper and Asiago Scones

Whoa! Vichi what? This country girl was participating in some big city doings for sure! And it was sooo delicious!  Can you spot my name tag in front of my place setting? It's in a small silver teapot holder. Sweet.

Second course: Grilled Asparagus with Poached Egg, Parmigiano, and Lemon Zest  (Sorry, I failed to get a picture of the salad course for some reason.) Again, a wonderful display and dish for the second course!

Next, the amazing main course, followed by a list of all the delicious foods our individual tiers held.

Main course, bottom tier, starting left and counter-clockwise:

Grilled Turkey, Brie, and Apple Butter Sandwich with Arugula very good!; Smoked Salmon Blini, Creme and Dill; Apricot Tea Biscuit with Ham; Lemon Basil Chicken Salad Tart; Parmesan, Rosemary, and Walnut Shortbread; Goat Cheese and Watercress Cinnamon Raisin Bread Sandwich (I had never tasted goat cheese or watercress, yet this was one of my favorites!); and lastly, Antipasto Sausage Skewers.

Dessert Top Tier: Cream Puff, Raspberry White Chocolate Scone, Raspberry Walnut Cookie, Almond Pound Cake with Lemon Curd, Strawberry filled with Creme, Hazelnut Crumpet, Miniature Cheesecake, and Flourless Chocolate Cake.

Some of the dessert listings may not be exactly accurate. I was scribbling so fast trying to write down everything as each course was called out, and my writing is hard to decipher. But I think you get the gist of what we consumed for our delicious luncheon. We were well satisfied for sure!

A big thank-you to everyone who participated to make the 50th birthday celebration for my special friend and all of us attending a rousing success. Well done!

~Deb

Quilts for two 50th Birthdays!

Well, it's time to show pictures of the completed quilts! Yes, TWO of them! I've been quite busy at the machine for the past week and a half, and I had so much fun teasing my friends, Chris and Dorothy, by posting two sections of the quilt recently without letting on that it was for them! I think they were both surprised on Saturday at Chris's surprise party!

 

Here's the completed Wallflower pattern quilt. The front is composed of eight 2-1/2 inch jelly roll strips from Cotton Blossoms Daughter (along with various sized purchased fabric strips sewn to the jelly roll strips). The back is 31 strips sewn together and then split in half by a fabric panel (I used the darker orange fabric shown behind the monogram). The idea turned out great, but I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the completed back before giving the quilts away!

However...here's a picture of all the back strips laid out on the floor before they were sewn together. You can see all the wonderful colors in the jelly roll--lots of teals and oranges.

Here is an upclose of the flower, which was fun to assemble. It was placed on top of the strips and fused on before zig-zagging around the edges. One of the round medallions from the final jelly roll strip worked great for the flower center.

 

Here's the second quilt I made that was for Dorothy. I cut some of the sections for her quilt at the same time that I cut Chris's--doing some of the work assembly line helped time-wise.  Since it was actually Chris's surprise party, I focused on sewing her quilt first; it had to be finished!  Thankfully, I was able to finish the second quilt and deliver Dorothy's also since I knew she would be at the party. Her 50th birthday was last month, and I don't think she was expecting anything!

Chris opened the gift bag and saw immediately that it was the quilt I had been working on. Here she is examining the 50 at the top center. I wanted to be sure she remembers she's an old lady now. :)

And my friend Dorothy is all smiles after I surprised her with her quilt as I was leaving the party.

Whew! It feels great to have a big project finished, delivered, and the recipients happy!

Now what do I sew? How about those 60 Siggy Swap Blocks that I haven't started yet which are due April 15?!!

Tomorrow: Pictures from the surprise 50th Birthday Luncheon with recipe links.

~Deb

Zigging and Zagging...

Another view of what I'm working on this week... although I'm zigging when I should be zagging and zagging when I should be zigging--an expert quilter I am not. But it's a fun challenge, and I hope to post a completed picture soon if all goes well.

Today will be busy--we're expecting friends who are back in the states from Papua New Guinea to arrive for an overnight visit. It will be fun catching up on all that's been happening with them.

And...we still have pictures to share from this past weekend's annual Maple Festival over in Monterrey.

Stay tuned...when the dust settles, I'll be back!

~Deb

National Quilting Day

Yesterday I switched gears from quilting to knitting. Today I'm switching back...because it's National Quilting Day! I'm celebrating most of the day by working on a small quilt. There are other ways to celebrate, too.

Here's a picture that shows part of the quilt I'm working on. I'm sewing rickrack between two jelly roll strips. Easy and fun!

I'll post the completed quilt when I'm done, hopefully next week.

One way to celebrate this special day that honors quilters is by visiting a quilt shop. I know, it's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.  Plus, I need more rickrack.

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Deb

Smitten with Mittens!

Actually, I borrowed that title (Smitten with Mittens) from the front cover of Vogue Knitting, Fall 2008 issue, which featured Jared Flood's designer mittens.

Today's mitten class with Jared was awesome! I arrived at On the Lamb about a half hour before the class began at noon--plenty of time to pick a good seat by the bright sunny window--a perfect spot for some Friday afternoon knitting. 

It wasn't long before Jared was there introducing himself and greeting everyone as they came in. He was an amazing instructor and so personable and eager to show everyone up close exactly how the stitches should look.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor for the majority of class and moving from group to group, he taught us how to cast on without having to knot the thread, how to cable without using cable needles, how to repair a broken thread by felting it in your hands, and how to SYTK--Slip, Yank, Twist, Knit.

This was my first time using 5 double pointed needles! In fact, Sarah found a YouTube video before I left the house, and I was able to take a 8-minute crash course on how to work with them. I think I need a lot more practice!

Here's our class below. You can see Jared checking out one of the ladies' felted pocketbooks just before we started casting on. I was privileged to sit beside two knitters who helped correct my mistakes throughout the afternoon. Thank you, Karen and Sara!

Here's a picture taken from my chair with Jared right in front of me showing us how to cable without cable needles.

The young man on the left drove down fom Northern Virginia for the class and was an expert knitter who finished tons of rows while I was still figuring out how to hold the wobbly needles!  

Smitten with Mittens? Actually, I'm not so sure that I'm smitten with tediously working with these double pointed needles in order to knit mittens! My sister needs to visit me this summer and help me finish knitting them! 

But it was a wonderful afternoon, and I enjoyed meeting Jared and being in a room full of knitters who were crazy about knitting!

~Deb

Knitting with Jared

Jared's coming to town! I signed up awhile back for a knitting class being held today at On the Lamb, so I'll put away all the Moda quilting strips in various patterns all over the floor and switch gears from quilting to knitting.

Size 3 double pointed knitting needles, three skeins of Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift in the Leprechaun colorway, and my camera are all packed for the afternoon class with Jared Flood from New York; check out his blog: brooklyntweed for lots of knitting inspiration.

Just thinking about hobbies, I like quilting better than knitting, I think. Although...knitting is a hobby you can take places that a Bernina can't go.

What's your vote? Quilting or knitting? What's your all-time favorite craft?

~Deb

* Other knitting posts:

Finding my Knit-ch

Our First Stop: Yarn Shop

Encyclopedia of Me: K is for Knitting

Knit in Public Day

Just Another Day in the Country

Excursion to the Fabric Store - not your average trip to buy fabric...

Yesterday morning Hannah and I headed out to Harrisonburg for several errands, one of which was picking up an order of printed watercolor notecards and another was delivering an order of cards to Rocky Cedars, a Mennonite-owned fabric store out in the country. But first we had to get there...

We enjoyed our leisurely drive through green cow pastures and farms so close to the graveled road that we felt we were intruding on someone's property. I almost felt I could reach out and shoo the flies away from the cows.

When we reached Rocky Cedars, which is actually a home business in the basement of a house, I was surprised to find their parking lot full of cars! There was a spot reserved for a horse and buggy...a bike was there leaning against a tree in front...and the shop was so crowded you could hardly get around. The "Spring Sale" flyer posted on the door told us why so many were shopping this week!

After leaving the fabric store, we made our way back past the Old Order Mennonite church with the hitching posts in the front yard. If you notice the bottom left picture, in the distance you can see the lady pedaling her bike home from the fabric shop.

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Excursion to the Greenhouse - not your average trip to buy flowers...

After we left the fabric store, we headed yet another direction toward Spring Creek to Ever Grow'n' Greenhouse to purchase some pansies. Yes, more country scenery plus a trek over two one-lane bridges, more red barns, and lots of silos and cows--it was a very beautiful drive.

Below is the second one-lane bridge--only a slab of concrete over the water with no railings!

We made it to the greenhouse, and Hannah picked out our pansies. This year we're going with Orange, White, Yellow, and Blue. Like the combo? I usually choose purple, but my sister convinced me these were the colors to go with this year. :)

Hannah asked the girls who were planting seeds in the greenhouse if she could take their picture. They were friendly and hard at work. What a well-stocked greenhouse...so many plants!! We will definitely have to come back in late April or early May when it warms up enough to buy flowers.

Time to head home. It was a long but productive day! Did you enjoy your drive out in the country with us?

~Deb

Pound Cake with Lime Custard and Lime Sherbet

Here's a picture of the Pound Cake Sarah served today for dessert at our church fellowship meal.

We've posted the recipe for Pound Cake previously if you'd like to check it out.

This cake is usually served at our house with strawberries and whipped cream, but today in honor of St. Patrick's Day, we used a Lime Custard recipe and added Lime Sherbet.

Unfortunately, the kiwi slice to top it off is missing--the kiwi we purchased didn't quite make it into our shopping cart when we left the grocery store last night--Sad.

Lime Custard

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 Tablespoon lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 drop green food coloring
• 2/3 cup plain yogurt

In small saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in milk. Cook and stir mix over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Reduce heat. Cook and stir milk mixture for two minutes more.

In small mixing bowl beat egg and yolk. Gradually stir 1/2 cup of hot milk mix into beaten egg mix.

Return mix to saucepan. Cook and stir until nearly bubbly. Do not boil. Cook and stir two minutes more and remove from heat.

Stir in lime juice, butter, and food coloring. Cover surface of custard with plastic wrap and cool completely. Fold custard into yogurt. Cover and chill 3 hours. Spoon onto angel food cake (or pound cake). Top with kiwi and lime sherbet. (8 servings, 188 calories, 4 fat, 2 fiber)

In other cake news:

Becka just posted a recipe for St. Patrick's Day cupcakes, perfect for this week's holiday.

And a new-to-me blogger, Nurit, loves to bake a different cake every weekend! She just launched her first weekly Cake Collection with a Giveaway here. Check out those delicious looking cake pictures and submit a recipe to be entered for her cookbook giveaway. Her first week's cake collection is here.

~Deb

Ethan is Wonderful!

Okay, you know already from that title that it must be Granny Deb talking! Although, I think everyone around here has the same thought! Yes, we had a very enjoyable visit with Micah, Elizabeth, and ten-week old Ethan last week. He's truly wonderful! :)

The Lord really answered prayer by allowing them to make it up our snowy hill safely with no problems. Thank you to those who prayed for their safe travels from Michigan and for a good week for us to catch up with their lives.

My 80-year-old mom, Great Granny, just left this morning headed back to her home three hours away. We enjoyed her extended visit, too, and were grateful that we could take a four-generation picture while she was here.

Okay...since we can't post pictures of the baby, at least I can show you what we did while Ethan was here.

I gave him a bath! Not that I knew what I was doing though! I had to be coached some since it has been so long since I've bathed a baby and changed a diaper!! Granny Deb was floundering a bit...but it sure was fun to relearn!

And as Sarah said in her updated diaper post...she had a great time trying her newly made diapers on Ethan to see if the pattern fit a real live baby! And Hannah changed her first diaper ever!

Sarah also enjoyed making pancakes their last morning here. Hopefully, "Aunt Sarah's Pancake House" will become one of Ethan's favorite places for breakfast when he gets older. :)

It was a wonderful visit; thank you again to everyone who commented and expressed well wishes for our week. I'll close with one of my favorite quotes I always think of after a really fun time has ended:

"Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened!" ~ Dr. Seuss

~Deb