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She was a gypsy girl of sorts. Traveling in her wooden wagon, colorful and beautiful, adorned with strands of flowers she would stop to sell.
She made sure to be in Provence for the blooming of the lavender fields in mid to late June. And then, she spent the extra warm weeks of July in Tuscany, amongst fields of sunflowers.
She would set up her gypsy wagon on sleepy little village roads, selling her handmade garments and desserts she would concoct, from edible berries she would collect in the woods.
It was a wonderfully peaceful life.
A delightful journey.
When the cold months rolled in, she would park her wagon outside a little cottage in Switzerland. A cottage that her great-grandmother had left her many years ago.
Her cottage was tucked in the woods, amongst trees. It was a beautiful place to enjoy snowfall and deer friendlings. A good place indeed. A place to make lace, and embroider winter months away, whilst keeping warm.
The cozy cottage also allowed her to winter her hibiscus plants indoors. They would bloom indoors, growing heartily, and offering her flowers to wear, flowers to make tea out of, and dried flower leaves to make red dye out of. She loved to use the dye for wool and natural fabric.
She grew a variety of red flowers indoors, during the winter months...
As soon as the snow cleared, she would ready her wagon for spring and summer voyages...
Voyages to see butterflies and flowers, and marvel at the earth...
That was her path.
A path she loved following.
As summer approached, she looked forward to Italy, and the little old man who tended the sunflowers that she always settled near.
At first sight of her, he would call out, in his thick Italian accent...
Days and days of feasts have filled my days. Yours too perhaps? I think most likely, yes. I hope you had a wonderful holiday. I had a super lovely time cooking. Organization and cleaning as you go makes for a splendid holiday. I found that out ;)
(My vintage tablecloth made everyone smile - it has crabs and fish and roosters on it too)
Paula Deen's pumpkin cheesecake was a massive hit. Her crust of graham crackers, melted butter and brown sugar sort of turns into toffee. There should be novels written about that crust :)
My turkey was beautiful. Thank heavens.
(Mom's tips deserve the credit)
I covered it in real butter, sliding some under the skin too.
I filled it with herbs from my garden, and apples and lemons and onions and salt and pepper.
I chopped up a bed of sweet onions, carrots and celery for it to cook on.
I threw the bed of veggies in an oven bake bag.
Then slid the turkey in over that.
I drowned the whole thing in chardonnay.
Then I put bundles of parsley and thyme and rosemary from my garden, with more spices, right on top.
I stuck a disposable pop up thermometer in my wee bird, poked some holes in the top of the oven bake bag...
And 2.5 hours later...
Yumms.
Mister was a vegetarian his whole life. But, not so much anymore.
We had spinach, and stuffing which I make with all sorts of sliced nuts and currants.
There were mashed potatoes, as well as mashed brown sugar and butter sweet potatoes.
We fed our friends, and sent bundles of food home with them.
Instruments and song filled the room.
My lovely neighbor and I (she just moved back to the neighborhood -yay- and I had not met her before), exchanged edibles.
She hand made these. (most were eaten prior to the photo)
I know - beautiful artisan bread for certain.
And I gave her this.
Made with one of my twin pumpkins.
She took it on a car voyage to share with family.
Isn't that lovely?
I love neighborly sharing.
I decided to make a cottage pie (sort of shepherd's pie), with leftovers. So, I heated up a pot with olive oil...
Then I caramelized some onions and browned some mushrooms in it.
I tossed in the left over turkey, browning it a bit, then tossed in the stuffing, letting it all meld together.
Then I poured (err, globbed) in 2 cups of gravy.
I also took all the carrots that the turkey was cooked on (they were so good btw), and tossed them in.
I took a baking dish, and spooned in the cooked mixture. Then I covered it with all the cold mashed potatoes we had left. ( I mixed in a huge spoonful of sweet potatoes, with the regular mashed taters, for color)
Make sure to take a fork and make some peaks in the mashed potato topping so it can brown real good.
I cooked it for 30 minutes at 400' F.
When the timer rang, I promptly took the dish, and popped it into the broiler and set the oven to broil. Leaving it in the broiler for about 7 mins, until the whole thing was toasty and nicely browned, with blackened peaks.
Today is "end of leftovers day," and we get to enjoy it with a turkey cottage pie.
Yumm.
I have to say, the best part of the last few days (aside from enjoying days with both my boys), have been nights with my furry boy.
Matty's daddy snapped this while we slept on the sofa. Matty has taken to hugging a lot the last couple of months. I say "Matty hug," and he either puts his paws around my neck, or squishes up real close and puts his head on my shoulder.
Be still my heart.
I love this little boy.
With Matty beautifully snoring, and warming me by night, I have been dreaming of Baby as a tiny puppy, in the most beautiful place I have ever seen. (in real life, I never knew her as a tiny puppy, as I met her when she was almost 1 year old)
I won't say more or I will cry.
Again.
I have been having major animal dreams. And, they take me to the most love filled peaceful places I have ever been.
A kitty even blew a kiss at me in one dream.
She made perfect kissy lips, and went SMACK in the air.
Isn't that funny?
I found her under a pile of my laundry. (in my dream)
She was the spitting image of a cat I lost when I was 10, and I was calling her Matty.
Yellow and white with a big squishy face.
Kooky lovely dreams.
Matty and I have been falling asleep listening to this (the 1:48 mark really gets me)...
I am busily painting, sculpting clay, holiday decorating and enjoying the day majorly.
I hope you are too ;)
See you soooooon!
ps: Did you munch anything out of the ordinary? Did anything super funny, or awful or wonderful happen in your world on Thanksgiving? My Mom and Dad had their first childless Thanksgiving ever. But, they got to be with my granny and grandpa and aunt and cousins etc.
I wish I had some juicy tales about my Thanksgiving :)
I went on a search, for all the nature treasures I could find on our little parcel of earth.
Branches, flowers and leaves filled my basket.
Then I set out, to create a little house, that would hold all of my thankful thoughts.
With branches and twine, I made three walls, and tied them together.
I made a floor out of cardboard, then coated it in glue and sprinkled it with dried everythings from my garden.
It was a sort of fairy house.
My centerpiece.
A place to thank the earth, for all it gifts.
I made an awning, and finally got to use a branch with a tiny pine cone still attached to it, that I found last year. (Mister Lovee wants to move in, and won't quit peeking about)
I quite often think about all that I am thankful for.
I am thankful for life, with its ups and downs, and all arounds.
I am thankful for family, for love, for furry children, for you, for here, for fresh air, and trees, and endless infinities.
Truly grateful.
Twinge in my heart grateful.
I used all the gifts nature gave to me, placing them in my fairy house slowly, peacefully, and with meaning. I so so so enjoyed building a little fairy nature house, as my gesture of thanks.
Won't you stay a little while?
Make yourself teeny teeny tiny, with wings?
Stay for edibles and tea perhaps? We have not had proper tea in ages, you and me ;)
Let's get cozy in a nest, close our eyes and...
Feel the thankfulness in our hearts.
Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving in America or not, I say to you ~
♥ Happy Thanksgiving ♥
Giving thanks is always a good thing, I do believe :)
Stay for a spell, won'tcha?
I baked two pumpkin cheesecake pies (unreal Paula Deen recipe), and 3 traditional pumpkin pies using all of my own pumpkins. I will make a few deliveries of sharing pies tomorrow, and then get cooking. I am organized and ready to go. Friends will visit, we will play instruments, and simply be.
I know I was just here last night, however, my intentions were to get up this morning and work on a post having to do with art making that I have been up to. Alas, there is no accounting for feathered creatures finding their way to you. As soon as I opened my eyes, the plans changed.
You see, when you wake up with a friendly face saying "draw me, draw me, draw me, draw me, draw me...." You must oblige ;)
This little turkey sort of followed me around while I made coffee, and picked up all the articles of clothing Sir Matty finds to cuddle with - socks, mittens.
Everywhere I turned, he (turkey boy) popped his head up and giggled madly. It was an infectious laugh, like a giggling child... (now I want to tear paper)
So, I searched for a pencil...
And, tried to bring his cuteness to life as best as I could.
Hello, my name is Vanessa Valencia and I am an artist living in a lovely part of Arizona. I make all kinds of art, from painting to clay sculpting. I love tending my gardens and cuddling my dogs. This blog is about art, lifestyle, gardening, cooking, crafting & every single little magical thing in between ♥
