Saint Pat's Highlights!

Well, the leprechauns took over my kitchen the other day and "forced" me into making some St Pat's treats! Jim and I have been eating healthier and haven't had any treats for a few weeks. I think my SIL Chris had something to do with this as he wanted my Blarney Stones and green shortbread stamp cookies for the dinner he invited us to!

This little guy was more interested in taking a nap! I found him sleeping on the frosting!

Next he ended up on the cookie dough that had to chill in the fridge! Even the cold didn't wake this guy up from his nap time!

I was working on the Blarney Stones and this one jumped right into the coconut! Note that twinkle in his eye!

He thinks he's a supervisor!  Do you think he approves of the finished product?

And here's Mr Lazy Leprechaun again. He crawled into the plate when I was getting it ready to take to Angie and Chris' home on Sunday!

Treats and little goodies for all. Holidays are always fun with our family! Jimmy and I were off for dinner at the Wirth house.

Picture time! Mama Angie with Otto and Ava. Grandma K made Ava's shirt and Otto's little vest. Too cute. Great job Grandma K!

The Happy Family!

The grandparent and the grandkids! A nice break from the rain outside.

Time for dinner! I think Ava was hungry! We had corned beef, potato pancakes, sauteed grated cabbage,  and soda bread. Everything was soooo good. Chris is such a great cook. Jimmy loves potato pancakes, so he was in heaven!

Otto is ALWAYS ready to eat! He was willing to leave that little hat on for a long time!

Ok Daddy, what can I try next? I love food!

Yep, he needed to be cleaned up after a tiny bit of chocolate!. He got two more teeth, so he can really eat now! I think Otto was kissed by the leprechauns!

Tea time for Jimmy and me on Monday to celebrate St Pat's Day.  Last chance for some goodies.

Irish Breakfast tea was the tea of choice this afternoon. Always delightful.

A little look at the cards I received in my ATAA (Afternoon Tea Across America) St Pat's card exchange. These exchanges are so fun. Easter will be the next one!

I hope the leprechauns didn't play too many tricks on you today!

Tea Time Thursday #36

Last Sunday, Jim and I went out to one of our favorite places- the Aurora Colony. It was time for the annual Aurora Spinning Wheel Showcase which happens every March. The weather was very pleasant. I really wanted to go this year as they were featuring how flax is turned into fibers that can be spun into thread. I wanted to learn how this really happens.

Some of the vintage equipment out in the barn for processing flax. See the big bundle of dried flax?
Oregon had quite a flax industry in the 1900's. It was very labor intensive and when WWII broke out, it pretty much ended the flax business in our state. A native flax was found growing here by Lewis and Clark. There is some interest in starting the industry up again.

More vintage items....

This young man showed us all the steps from the dried stalks to the linen. When Jim asked him how he learned to do this....his answer was...the internet! Our modern times. He is pushing the long stalks through the chopper. The seeds fall out and it starts to break down the flax.

Next he pounded it against this board. It was interesting because the color started to change and of course, it was getting softer.

He wound the flax strands around his hand and pulled it through the spiked pieces of boards. The strands continued to be become softer and softer.

Close ups of the hand made tools .

He had quite a crowd watching the demonstration.  Can you imagine how long it takes to get a fair amount of fiber from the flax?

A sample of the twisted flax fiber...ready to spin.

Here's what the flax seed looks like. It can be baked in bread.

 A pretty spring primrose basket!

Jimmy enjoyed looking over things in the wood shops. Lots of wood! You always see something you missed on your last visit!

When we finished outside, I really wanted to see if any of the ladies were spinning flax. Well, yes they were! This lady's wheel was just beautiful. She had a booklet that showed her how to put the flax onto her wheel for spinning. It looks like cotton candy.

Another lady was double spinning with her wheel! She was so funny and had lots of information for us. She said she couldn't drink her coffee doing double duty.  The thread is really pretty study and has a nice color. The flax becomes linen thread and is made into linen items. The linen thread would also be woven into fabric to make clothing. It was really fun to see the process. It's always wonderful to visit Aurora.

On to Tea Time Thursday! I have shown this cup and saucer before, but I just had to share it again after seeing the flax spinning wheels. I just love this one...a souvenir of Ireland.

Another beautiful cup for St Patrick's Day...Shamrocks by Royal Albert. This one also has the light green handle and accents.

Another Royal Albert with a sweet cottage and shamrocks.

I thought I'd tuck in a few of my little spoons to enjoy. I hope you have enjoyed the flax story and a few of my cup and saucers for the season.

Babysitting....Mama Needs Some Sleep

Last Friday we took the Wirth family to out to dinner to celebrate my SIL Chris' birthday. We had promised Miss Ava an over night, so she got to stay after dinner. It was show time...time to play with our dolls!

The American Girl Dolls are in right now! Lots of fun and lots of play time. Ava was really lots of fun and we even got my old Barbie dolls out and looked at all the clothes. I didn't get any pictures of the Barbie but I'm sure we will be playing with her again.

The kids didn't sleep on Saturday night and I think Mama Angie had reached her limit. I remember those days, so long ago. So on Monday, I went over to help her out, watch Otto so she could take a long shower and we had some time to chat. It's nice that she isn't working much right now and it's nice that Grandma is retired! So Jimmy and I kidnapped him and he spent the night with us.

Otto is so fun and able to sit and play now. He eats about anything in sight. He is laughing and trying to imitate sounds when you chatter with him. He is cutting his second top tooth and having a hard time. Poor little tyke. He's getting to be little camera ham.

Safe and sound in Grandpa Jimmy's arms the next morning. His mommy slept for 9 hours. Grandma and Grandpa didn't get that much sleep, but he's so good.

Ang had to work at her little part time job, so I went over to babysit about 8:30 AM. He loves this chair/toy. He can stand in it and jump, jump, jump! He loves to jump.

My Tasha friend Jane sent me these 3 bibs she made for Otto. They are so nice and so cute. I love the fabric she chose. She has two little grandsons, so she knows what's in now for the little guys. Thanks so much Jane!

Tomorrow we will have him again over night. These are just precious times. He's growing up so quickly. I just want to hug him and hug him and hug him.

An update on my friend Sharon. She is able to breath on her own for longer periods of time now. They are still doing tests to figure out if she has an infection around her heart. I will get more information tomorrow at bible charity sewing. She is still not out of the woods and still needs our prayers.