I could have danced all night...

There is nothing so delightful as dancing (to me at least). My favorite kind of dancing is Irish Ceili Dancing, but right behind that is English Country Dancing. And when we realized that we hadn't been to an ECD ball since last September, we all got excited about the Civil War Ball.

Here I am slicing the second South Carolina Country Jam Cake to put on the cake platter. The dress I'm wearing is special; years ago it was given to us by our aunt who is an actress in Hollywood. I wore it when playing "dress-up" and wished it fit. I also wished I could wear puffed sleeves to a ball just like Anne Shirley. Its interesting how some of the dreams we have when we are small disappear, some reshape and change, and some come true, as did this one. I don't think I ever truly thought I'd be able to wear this lovely gown, and yet I did! 

Janna's gown was given to us by a lady who is director of wardrobe, etc., at the Shakepeare Theater in Ashland.

Krista watching the action of the dance.

I had a lot of fun doing hairstyles - on my sisters chiefly, but also myself - from the period! Yes, I was inspired by what I see in Victorian era films, but you can imagine my delight when I later saw how close I came to my inspiration!

Noah on the sidelines at a game of chess.

Janna, after the ball, waiting for us to congregate and go out to Shari's with friends before heading home.

~Kathrina

I'm a Secretary!

I like answering the phone. I like guessing who's going to be on the other end of the line. Now, because most members of our family could easily be mistaken for one other, all of we children say our name when we pick up the phone.  It is likely that I'll know whoever it is, but again, I might not. For example, on Wednesdays at eight I almost always take a call from Sarah letting me know she's on her way home. And often a little while before that I get a call from Krista asking if Sarah is home yet. And of course I know they don't know me when I answer with "Hello, this is Kathrina" and get "Hi, uh, I'm calling for your husband, is he there?" for a response. (And that's happened, no kidding.) Also, there's nothing worse than the sibling next to you answering and saying, "Hello, this is [their name]" and then handing you the phone as fast as possible. (Yep, that's happened too.)

Anyway, I answered the phone the other day and it was for Mom, who wasn't around. I didn't know the caller so I said she was not available and offered to take a message. "Oh, I must have her work number, but its the only number I have..." the lady began. The long and short of it is, because of my "phone presence" she assumed that this was Mom's work and I was the secretary. :) It made my day.

~Kathrina

Florence ~ part 2

As promised, here is more about our trip to Florence! Saturday morning at five o'clock a string of alarms went off. This was to be a long, exciting day! To the left Krista, Noah, I, and Janna are ready to hit the road for the three hour drive.

When we arrived at the festival we met up with Uncle Bill and Aunt Paula and visited the booths of various artisans and listened to Shanghaied on the Willamette. We were directed to a restaurant "a couple blocks" away for lunch. Since the distance was short, we decided to walk. We walked...and walked...down a hill, around a bend...by an abandoned baseball field and through a residential area before finally arriving at the rustic place where we enjoyed a scrumptious, gourmet lunch. Then we had to walk back. All I can say is that we learned something about Florence "blocks".

Saturday evening we participated in the Youth Talent Folk Music Competition, coming in (a close!) second! We enjoyed the competition thoroughly, and afterwards were able to stay and soak up the entire Misty River concert from the wings of the stage. When we get the professional photographer's pictures I hope to do a post detailing the youth competition. Later on, we went to the Best Western Hotel and joined other musicians in a jam session. It was, I think, the largest session I've ever participated in! Because there were four of us, we were made to do two songs when our open mic time came around. :) Everyone enjoyed the spontaneous arrangements of "Mairi's Wedding" and "Star of the County Down."

Over the course of the next few days we enjoyed long walks on the beach...

Noah found this shelter someone had made from driftwood.

Noah got lots of extra exercise throwing his football.

The dunes where beautiful... as I came to the top of one, natural highways, ridges and dense patches of beach grass would spread out all around me.

On Monday we visited "Devil's Churn".

The fitly name describes this cavern of volcanic rock well. It was magnificent to watch the foamy waves come in, crash on the rocks, and then collide with the next waves on the way out, churning. 

And some of the waves definitely appeared to form the heads of white horses. "...and he half fancied that he saw amid the water white riders upon white horses with frothing manes." (J.R.R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowhip of the Ring, chapter XII, "Flight to the Ford")

My Mom and Dad ♥

Noah geared up to go.

Goofin' off before leaving Tuesday morning.

We spent a little time in Old Town before heading home. Noah and Dad were really disappointed about this candy shop being closed. Anyway, what's a beach trip without getting saltwater taffy and fudge? (Thankfully we found another shop that was open!)

All in all, we had a delightful time!

Cheers ~ Kathrina

Cheese Fondue Recipe

I had a request to post this recipe - so here it is! I'm told that a post about Florence is still in the works, but going on vacation this time of year mean't that we had three days worth of business to attend to when we got back, as well as everthing that normally happens around our house!

~ Janna

Classic Cheese Fondue

from the FOODday newspaper

1 ½ Cups dry white wine, such as a dry Riesling, sauvignon blanc, pinot blanc or white Bordeaux
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. kirsch (clear cherry brandy; optional – I use about 1 ½ tsp.)
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 lb. shredded good-quality cheese (Emmenthal, swiss, gruyere or a combination – high quality really does make a difference, I tried it once with swiss cheese from Costco and it didn’t melt into a smooth sauce)
Hot pepper sauce (optional)
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
8-12 1-inch slices good-quality bread
1 clove garlic (optional)

Additional dipping ingredients (We like to dip crusty French bread, rye bread, lightly steamed broccoli, apple slices and small balls of sausage)

Pour the wine, lemon juice and kirsch into a heavy-based 2 to 3-quart pot. Whisk in the cornstarch. Place over medium heat, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 3 minutes, stirring constantly (this cooks off the raw alcohol flavor).

Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring slowly until melted. Continue adding cheese slowly until all is incorporated. Return to low heat if necessary to finish melting cheese. Add a dash of hot sauce and a pinch of nutmeg; taste and adjust the seasonings, if necessary. Keep warm over very low heat, stirring occasionally.

Toast the bread lightly, rub one side of each slice with the cut garlic and discard the garlic. Cut or tear the bread into bit-size chunks and keep warm.

Pile the bread in a bowl, covered with a cloth napkin to keep warm. Put the cheese into a warmed fondue pot over the heating element, or just put the pot on a trivet on the table. Each diner spears a bread chunk with a fork, swirls it through the cheese, and then transfers it to an individual plate.

Excellent served with a simple green salad and vinaigrette. May Classic Cheese fondue become your New Year tradition!