A Civil War Ball Workshop

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Our homeschool group brought in some experts on Civil War reenactment dances to fine tune our dancing and etiquette at our balls. The workshop consisted of class from 9 to noon, then time to eat and dress, returning at 3 for a practice ball.

It was very warm, a sunny Saturday, and the ambiance of the gymnasium was not quite as lovely as it was at our Spring Ball which was held at a Country Club, but we did learn new dancing and were given a better idea of proper clothing than we'd had before.









Some people are SO camera shy.





And some are not.









Michael and Ashlee.





We saw some clothing examples. This is a man's cutaway coat. I can't wait to sew one for Michael.






Here are the Grand Marshalls, the couple who taught the workshop.





Many scenes form the practice ball.





This was so sweet. These little girls were just jabbering away, all excited about the ball, while the little boy was seeking adventure, stealthily spying through each curtain opening, and completely oblivious to the constant chatter behind him. Give him time...













A parade of gowns...

















Michael and Daniel.























Michael and Ashlee; Waltzing and Virginia Reel

Grandma and Grandpa's Apples

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Had to take a short photo op on these flash frozen blackberries I'd forgotten to put into freezer bags.





Did more dehydrating yesterday. Along with lots of bell peppers, I had a few other peppers, okra, and dabbled a bit in onion greens.





Beans to can today.





Did not have time to do them or the tomatoes yesterday as my dad called and said the apples were ready to be picked. So we went to help them.





Michael and I picked and peeled. My mom cut them. She did pretty well, even when she dropped them she didn't get too upset, so that was very nice for her to have a good day today. For those who don't remember, my mom has Alzheimer's.

My mom used to can a lot. I have many memories of my mom canning up all the produce from our garden and fruit trees when I was growing up. I asked her about any memories this brought back for her and she didn't really have any.

I also asked her about a certain dressing we always used to have. She would go and buy it from a local restaurant that she loved. She had no memory of it. Mom did not get upset, but was a little sad, knowing that she had lost another memory.

It's important to talk things over and not pretend nothing is happening. I just held her and said that one day we'll either all forget or all remember and we'll be on an even standing.





Anyway, I'd love to have that recipe. I'll have to see if I can find it anywhere. It was for a red cabbage slaw. It was peppery. Good stuff. :-)

Some ladder climbing...





Some tree climbing...





Some kicking back and hanging out...





Some taste testing...





And the apples Michael and I took home for processing here.





Still lots of apples on the tree. My dad wanted to leave the smaller ones on to let them grow a little bigger.

I hope to get to applesauce, apple butter, apple pie filling and just plain apples today. Along with tomatoes, peppers, and beans.

I don't think I'm that good yet. But I'll see how far we get.

We started up school again this week, so Michael is busy with that for several hours in the day. He is currently working on an outline of world history. And doing math testing; not his favorite.

The workshop and Civil War ball is tomorrow. Tell me when I'll have time to finish that corset...

~Faith

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Fairy Rings and Blackberry Cobbler

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We've got them all over.





"Fairy rings appear as dark green circles or semi-circles in the lawn. They vary in size from 1 to 10 feet in diameter. They are caused by the decay of buried stumps and other pieces of wood. Fairy rings often contain clusters of mushrooms and puffballs. Mushrooms grow from decaying organic matter and are most likely to form in areas with high organic debris, such as buried wood. Mushrooms grow best under wet conditions, but die off quickly with warm, dry air and sunshine. Fungicides do not suppress fairy rings or mushrooms, so it is recommended to dig up and remove the soil in the infected area."

We had an 8" mushroom growing out there, but Michael mowed it over before I could snap a picture of it.





I don't know... I kind of like them!

Michael, going cruising...





I froze most all of the blackberries we'd picked, but saved some for this recipe. Wednesday nights are always good for sharing food. This a sort of a cobbler, but not really.





Regardless of what you want to call it, whenever I make it, it is enjoyed. So I thought I'd share it with you.

Here is what you need for a doubled batch, such as the one I made.

Faith's Sort-of Cobbler

Blackberries, pictured yesterday.
2 cups of self rising flour (Or, add 1 tsp salt and 1 TBL baking powder to all-purpose flour to make your own, as I did.)
2 sticks of butter
2 cups of milk
2 cups of sugar





First, melt your butter over a low heat. And preheat your oven to 350 degrees.





To make your own self rising flour, add in baking powder.





And salt.





And whisk together. The two bowls here are from my grandmother's set of four Pyrex colored glass mixing bowls from the 1940's. I love them!





Add sugar.





And flour.





And mix thoroughly.





Add milk





And whisk it up.





Ooooooh, now that luscious butter. I do REALLY love butter!





Pretty!





Surprise! More butter liberally spread on a casserole dish.





A little help here, as I had one hand on the camera...





Now, for the UNscientific part. Just start piling in all those berries you have no idea what to do with because you already have gobs of pie filling, jam, and frozen berries, up to your eyeballs and you know more is on the way, so you have no idea what volume of berries you put in over the required 4 cups, but you just put them in until the batter won't hold any more...





The big fat one...? It's mine.





Oh, yeah. Don't forget. More sugar. Sprinkled liberally on top. Because if you are going to do sugar overload, do it right.





And tuck this little baby into the oven for about an hour and 15 minutes. The single batch called for an hour, but I had to extend it twice as it was pretty big and thick. Use the toothpick test, but remember, if you have as many berries in there as I did, you've got to tell the difference between berry juice and batter when you pull it out. It's an ULTRA moist dessert!





Wa-LAH!

What's that? A missing piece?





You betcha'!





Add this dish to wonderful friends while still warm and you have made yourself a little piece of Heaven on earth. :)

~Faith

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