Summer.

Summer is one of the busiest seasons on the island, with what feels like a million different things going on. This summer will be no different. School ends on Monday for the kids, Tuesday for us, and, on Wednesday I'll be starting up with the gardening crew. There will be the usual potluck bbqs, various concerts, the 4th of July madness, after work visits to the quarry, hikes with the dog, the Island Benefit Challenge (watch out for the sister team), summer Silver Threads Artisan Show, and more.

But come August, my life, and my living arrangements, will change immensely (and become slightly crafting-challenged).

VT!

I've take a job back home in VT, teaching science at a small independent ski school in the heart of the green mountains. This new job doesn't feel like it will be too overwhelming as my teaching responsibilities will be very similar to those here on the island, so I feel pretty prepared for the transition. At least the teaching part of the transition. The move overall, however, is bittersweet. I'm excited to make some changes in my life, though I'm definitely sad to be leaving the island. I do feel incredibly connected to the island, so I know that I am not leaving it for good. But, it will be really nice to be closer to family, and in an area of VT that I really love. And did I mention that it's a ski school? Mostly downhill, but a small group of nordies that I hope to be able to help out with.

Year of the Pie #8: Sumner, Washington, Rhubarb Custard Pie

 'Tis the season for rhubarb! This is the patch of rhubarb here at the Margaret Adams' house: 

hello rhubarb!

I'm a huge fan of rhubarb, and when I was invited to a pie party last Thursday, I knew I had to find a rhubarb pie in the book to bake up. I had several options, and most were traditional, straight-rhubarb, or strawberry- or berry- rhubarb. SO typical. So, I opted for the Sumner, Washington, Rhubarb Custard Pie.

Rock the Socks

Now that spring is (mostly) here, I'm in a bit of a knitting funk. I can't settle on a project. Oh wait, I never can settle on a project. . . hence the random bags of partially complete sweaters or hats or creatures.

I think part of my spring indecisiveness is that most of my major projects are straight up wool, and wool isn't that fun to knit in the spring and summer. 

Winter Clay Class

I'm finally getting around to posting photos of my clay creations from the winter clay class my friend, S, the art teacher here on the island, put together for PIE.

Everyone had such creative and unique ideas. There were critters, sugar bowls, planting markers, fish, planters, buttons, water bowls for pets; some folks had crazy talent on the wheel, others could take a potato-like lump of clay into a bowl or wall hanging in no time. All very cool creations.


Glazing was equally cool; sometimes it was a guessing game as to how the colors would come out after firing. And there were some pretty sweet exploding glazes (see below!) that left little sparkly splashes of contrasting color over a light-colored base. The glazes also varied based on whether you started with the gray clay or the brown clay.

Year of the Pie #6 & 7: Extra Rich Lemon Custard & Strawberry Chiffon Pies

Happy Easter! Another two-fer this round, in honor of the Easter holiday and Easter dinner with friends.

I knew I was going to bring a pie for dinner, but arriving home mid afternoon on the Saturday before Easter didn't leave a lot of time. Not to mention the (sometimes) limited selection at the store, and the last-minute trip at 30 minutes before closing. I wanted to make a pie that evoked a sense of spring considering today was cold and rainy (and snowy in parts of VT and NH!). My original plan was to make just the Extra-Rich Lemon Custard Pie. The author describes this as a basic pie that's easy to assemble - just a few liquids to blend.

Fabric To Go

My friend Nicole does internety things, including blogging her often weekly "Too Cute Tuesday" crafting evening, complete with a themed cocktail to go with the craft. The crafts are always cool, and range from cooking to fabric crafts and everything in between. A few of us on the island keep saying we should start some weekly crafting. . . maybe when winter is FINALLY over (yes, we did get a reprise of winter as an April Fool's joke from Mother Nature. . . though I secretly don't mind the snow).

Back in January, the craft was oragami-ish, cloth takeout containers, modeled after the cardboard takeout container and which one of the TCT crafters had seen on another blog.  It reminded me of the plastic reusable ones that are sometimes sold around the holidays. I actually have one that Mom used for packing Christmas cookies a few years ago. I loved the idea right away - very "green", which is, of course, all the rage these days. 

Year of the Pie #5: Maple Custard

March can be a bear weather-wise. Snow one day, 60's and sunny the next. At least there is one upside to March in northern New England: sugaring season! As a tribute to the liquid gold that comes but once a year, I found a Maple Custard pie in the book.

This is a pretty simple recipe with only a few ingredients - heavy cream, maple syrup (REAL maple syrup), sugar, vanilla, salt and egg yolks, in a flaky crust, and is very easy to prepare: "combine all the filling ingredients in a large bowl and whisk briefly, until evenly mixed." Seriously. The crust took longer to make! Only one bowl to wash? Sweet!

Year of the Pie #3 & 4: Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pie and Joe's Stone Crab Key Lime Pie

This round of pie is a two-fer! Given that much of the winter months are spent in hermit mode here on the island, March is when we start getting restless for some socialization. A friend/fellow teacher decided it was time for a potluck, and set forth plans for this evening. I decided to bring a pie. Or two. I based this reasoning primarily on the fact that I couldn't decide which pie to make, but also on the type of pies I was stuck on. One is chocolate-peanut butter - sort of rich and wintry, the other is key lime - a hint of spring. Kind of like March, winter isn't quite over, but spring is just around the corner (though in northern New England, spring can sometimes yield a snow day in April). 



ingredients for a pie or two. or more.
I may have looked at an extra pie
recipe when making the grocery list.



Crafternoon in Driggs

I just got back from a great trip to Driggs to visit college friends, K & A, and hit the slopes at Grand Targhee. I got in two fantastic days of powder skiing (amazing!) on Sunday and Monday, we made a touristy visit to Jackson Hole (picked up some WY yarn!) on Tuesday, and on Wednesday we took a snowshoe land tour, then had a quiet afternoon of crafting & cocktails. A's family was visiting as well, so crafternoon included A's mom, K, and I.

Year of the Pie #2: Blackberry Silk Pie

When the bag of frozen blackberries fell out of the freezer while putting away groceries the other week, I decided it was time for another pie. This year was a banner year for blackberries; between the bushes on one of my daily walks, and a friend's over-laden driveway, I was able to make at least 1 pie, 4 jars of jam (I'm halfway through them) and freeze at least 4-5 quarts of berries for later. Now it's later, and time to start using the berries; definitely wouldn't want them to sit in the freezer through the whole winter!