Valarie Budayr's Blog, page 114

Right Where We Left Her

I've had a couple of weeks off and a few more days to go before we come back home to the States. It's been an incredible past year and a half or so, in the very best way possible. Even so, I've missed moments of myself and the life I have created, like leisurely blogging and visiting blogging friends, crafting and knitting. I never knew a Slow Life could get so busy.

These long days of summer have brought back the Slow Life we had so consciously created and I feel nurtured and rested. Because the sun is up 22/23 hours a day here in Sweden, I haven't actually gotten on a time schedule. I find myself rising at 5:30 am and taking  long walks or bicycle rides only to come back and fall asleep again. 

There are twice daily coffee times with family and friends.

Outside meals.

And then, there are the animals. We always look forward to our moments with them, the long walks out into the fields, the horseback rides, the garden bouts.

They are our loyal friends. One in particular we can always count on and that is Luella's dog Clover. A highly trained sheep dog, Clover is always waiting, always watching, ever herding , even when one doesn't feel like being herded.

There are many Clover stories throughout the years. The way she herds us into a group when we arrive before she'll say hello. The time she herded 5 cats who didn't think highly of being herded and just left the farm for good. Only one cat stayed behind, Viola, to be a constant companion or an oblivious companion is more like it. Viola deserves her own blog post. What a cat !!!

Two years ago I left Clover standing right in this spot.

When I pulled up to the house, she was still standing in this spot as if she had never moved. That's just my own illusion because the dog rarely stops moving. The other night we were having dinner and she lovingly rested her chin on my lap. It was the greatest of compliments from the greatest of friends. 

As I  wander around visiting blogging friends, you like Clover are right where I left you. Time has slipped by and life has moved on but  I've got an ever growing list of crafting and knitting projects, wonderful recipes to try, and glimpses into the life you so lovingly share. Oh how it feels good to be back. 

Here's to Summer Days and the inspiration they give.

Land of the Midnight Sun

It's that time of year when we make our annual pilgrimage to the wonderful country of Sweden. Before heading to our magical island of Gotland, we're spending a few days in Stockholm.

One can't really understand the concept of "The Midnight Sun" unless you have experienced it for oneself. This is 10'oclock at night. The perfect time to go for a bike ride.

Have a picnic in the garden.

A walk by the sea.

Finding fun things to do on the playground with friends.

Each day gets a little shorter from here on out. It's great just to enjoy the full beautiful summer days in the Swedish light. 

We loved our warm welcome here and look forward to the days and weeks to come with family and friends. I hope to be blogging from the magical island but we have a scant amount of internet connection there. I will do the best I can. I hope wherever you are these summer days that they are filled with creative and wonderful things to do with those you love most. For our friends in the Southern Hemisphere I hope the cozy days of winter keep you warm. Be Well Friends and I'll be back sooner than later. 

Fountain Play

Ah it's time to grab a cup of coffee

and watch the littles enjoying the perfect summer fun. 

Fountain Play !!!!!

I love sitting here watching two little ones trying to capture the fountain in a bucket and thinking it's a possibility.

And my other favorite game, hold down the fountain. Both games are completely futile in their goals but oh how they love to try . By the end of the day all are tired and the fountain has once again conquered their earnest attempts, ......

Until they try again tomorrow. I hope your summer days are filled with cool moments such as these. 

A Bout of Extreme Author Worship in NYC

Yes it's true. Last week found me in New York City.

For the most amazing book conference called Book Expo America. Everything started off on a good note with Seth Godin greeting us at breakfast. He is such a dynamic and captivating speaker. What I really like about Seth is that he's approachable, an intent listener, and always gives something of great content and value in return. Seth is the author of 12 different Indie Published Titles which have gone onto be mega sellers. He is now in partnership with Amazon producing The Domino Project.

Those of you who have read this blog for awhile now know that I have a great love of books. That is probably an understatement.  So imagine me in a ginormous room with all of my favorite authors. It was a moment, a week-long moment of complete and utter author worship. 

Getting to meet Lois Lowry was one of the highlights of my trip.

Also on the reverent author moment list was meeting Daniel Handler and Eoin Colfer . Daniel is better known as Lemony Snickett and Eoin is the brain behind Artemis Fowl. 

Aside from meeting wonderful authors, which you'll probably never hear the end of, I had a few stolen moments of enjoying the city.

A view from the top.......

A peaceful moment at Lincoln Center. I saw the Broadway Show The War Horse. It's brilliantly done with puppets and actors plus some fine folk music. Unlike the children's book, this is not a show for children as their are many war scenes including weaponry. I was hitting the deck a couple of times but it was well worth it for a mesmerizing performance.

Before I left, I had to have one meal in one of my personal favorite restaurants, Cafe Un, Deux, Trois.

It was a really inspiring and enjoyable week but after an 9 hour lay-over in Charlotte it sure feels good to be home.

Left Wanting Biscuits

Meem and O are huge Alton Brown fans. When we heard he was coming to Knoxville, it was a no brainer that we would be going to see him. Is what I didn't know is that I'd find myself at the Tennessee Theater kicking off the beginning of The Souther Biscuit Festival. Who knew such a thing existed?

Photo: Food Network

Alton Brown, famed Food Network star of Good Eats, enticed us with a quest "In Search of his Grannies Kick Ass Biscuits." What did make her biscuits so incredibly good and why couldn't Alton succeed in making them?

Was it the flour?

He uses Whilte Lily Self-Rising Flour but he dotors it up a little bit by adding a little more baking powder and soda.

What about the fats?

Crisco all the way and sometimes butter. One special trick is to put the crisco into the flour and let it sit overnight in the fridge. Dont' imx it in, just let them mingle overnight in the fridge.

This was an interactive lecture. As Alton spoke about each ingredient, audience members would holler out their questions, comments, and opinions, only to recieve a few in return. Though there were microphones placed so people could be heard while speaking, just yelling it out from the heart made it feel much cosier. Among the top advice given was "Yogurt does not belong in a biscuit."

Ok back to the secret of Granny's Kick Ass Biscuits.

It's not in the ingredients, in fact, Alton stresses not to become an ingredient cultist. A good cook can make a great biscuit with any sort of flour, fat, etc. 

It's all in the mixing. His granny had very bad arthritsis and couldn't bend her fingers to mix the dough. She gently folded all of the ingredients together. Alton was kneeding the dough like he was making bread or something. It's just a gentle folding.

The evening was spent among those of us who admire Alton Brown and who love to cook in our own kitchens. After an hour and a half of delving into the biscuit baking world you would have thought they would have given us a biscuit but alas this story ends sadly. Not a biscuit to be had.

The next morning I woke up and I was still graving biscuits. What's a girl to do? I called my best friends, explained the situation, and they met me at Cracker Barrel for a plate full of biscuits and apple butter. 

I will not leave you with the same fate as I had, here is Alton Brown's Most Incredible Biscuit Recipe.

Southern Biscuits

Photo: Knoxville Daily Sun

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Prep Time:20 minInactive Prep Time:--Cook Time:20 minLevel:EasyServes:1 dozen


Ingredients

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

Notes

MA MAE'S BISCUITS

Advice courtesy of Granny Mae Skelton

I don't have much use for recipes but the one you get on a bag of White Lily(r) self-rising flour is hard to beat. And it's a lot easier than the one my crazy grandson dreamed up.

 

The Summer Season Has Begun

Over the weekend it was time to: 

Fire Up The Grill

Try and get a spot on one of the spinning chairs.

Play some music. E brought home is ukelele from University. They wanted to sing John Mayer songs and all I could think of were Hawaiian ballads or better yet , my Tiny Tim impersonation. Can you believe none of the kids knows who Tiny Tim is or that he tip-toed through the tulips?
Along with that music, it was time to plug in the electric motored boat. So one day soon we will putt putt around our little lake.

After all of this activity, it was finally time to eat a feast.

And we saved the best for last, 

Put our feet up. 

And with that dear friends, the summer season has officially begun. Hope you had a great weekend.

Katten at the Keys

It's no secret that every good piano has

a katten at the keys.

We are so lucky to have this little fellow who checks our hand positions so we don't injure ourselves.

Or perhaps choose the wrong music. He complains greatly if we play too many diminished chords.  He gives the pianist a very uncomfortable glare. Speaking from experience, you just have to change what you're playing due to cat pressure.

Once the music changes however, he's right back on the lap and settling in for a lovely piano rehearsal.

 

Out Into The World: A Milestone

" Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."  Nelson Mandela

Oh happy day to you our graduate. A gathering of family and friends celebrated the end of her five year journey and a first step into the next. With honors she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Sciences from the University of Tennessee.

It is said that it takes a village to raise a child. Fortunately for us and our girl, that has been a true statement. We give our thanks to all of the professors, and deans who have so graciously taught and inspired Zaina to this successful day.

My husband and I sat there at the graduation ceremony sort of in disbelief that so many years have gone by so quickly. We remember the day she was born like it was five seconds ago and now we are looking at a college graduate.

University isn't something we take for granted in our house or family. Our generation was the first generation to graduate from university in both my and my husband's families. We watched as both sets of parents slaved and worked themselves into exhaustion just so that everyone of their children could have the opportunity to go to college and better themselves. Both sets of our parents knew that education was the only way to move forward in life and create security for ones family and future generations. When I graduated college my father asked what I was going to do to make the world a better place? How was I going to give back?Since I held a degree, I was responsible for many things larger than myself. 

Zaina's graduation, the second generation to hold a college diploma, is a great testament to our parents, and her grandparents, who worked tirelessly to make that dream come true. We couldn't help but think and talk of them often throughout all of the festivities. I wish they could have seen this day. They would have been beyond proud of our girl. And so now we ask her, this eldest child of ours, what are you going to do to make the world a better place? What are you going to do to change the plight of one person? You hold a great responsibility in your hands and a lifetime to work towards it. 

Congratulations Zuzu. We Love You.

More Celebrating than a Kettle of Fish and A Special Something For YOU!

It is an exciting day at Over Here ! Sound the party horns! Whip some confetti around the room or do a Happy Dance around the Old Oak Tree! Dish up the Birthday Cake! It's PARTY TIME :)

Why all the fuss? JIAB (Jump into a Book) and  Audrey Press have two reasons to celebrate on this day of May 7th. First, it's lucky number 7 for Jump Into a book! As of today May 7th, JIAB has been around SEVEN YEARS. I guess you could say it's our beloved blog's Golden Birthday. Can you believe it's been 7 years?? Can you say BLESSED?

OK...now our "Let's Party Hardy" reason #2 is..........(drum roll please)

Our sweet little fox  book The Fox Diaries:The Year The Foxes Came To Our Garden is ONE.YEAR.OLD today!!! It's actually kind of magical how these two special days landed on the same day. It certainly wasn't planned that way! Oh, and what an exciting year it has been for our Foxes:

We've toured all over the country. Visiting blogs, libraries, schools, nature centers, and wildlife reserves
Sponsored the Pella Wildlife Company.
Have gone digital (you can find the Fox Diaries Digital Read-Aloud version HERE)

AND...the cherry on this birthday sundae would be there's a whole NEW batch of foxes in the Budayr backyard!

Yes, it's true. The second generation of foxes have arrived via original kit Hulda. Hulda herself is now all grown up and a mama.. A mama to TEN kits. Yes...I said 10. SO, needless to say, we have a lot to celebrate. And in honor of these monumental occasion we would love to offer our readers a very special Birthday Price for our The Fox Diaries Book. In honor of Hulda's 10 new babies, we are offering The Fox Diaries for TEN BUCKS this week only.

Are you IN? AWESOME. Click this LINK to purchase your copy of the Fox Diaries at the birthday deal price, or head over to Jump Into a Book or Audrey Press on Facebook and click the birthday cake icon to get your copy for $10. Oh, and would you do us a favor? Please "Like" is while you are there (please-and-thank-you).

FINAL THOUGHT: Though it was completely unintentional, having the same birthday for both JIAB and The Fox Diaries, it is a full circle moment. From jumping into hundreds of books to holding one of my own, this is a day to truly be celebrated. Thank you all of walking this journey with me and for being the wonderful reading companions you are.- Valarie

Visiting EarthMama and a Big Giveaway

 

Photo by Lisa DeNardo

 

This week sees me out visiting friends. My kid lit blog Jump into a Book is happily a sponsor of the Earthmama herself Lisa Denardo. As part of our sponsor giveaway we are hosting this list of wonderful books to get everyone in the mood for summer.

~Over in the Meadow, by Ezra Jack Keats~
~The Sun Egg, by Elsa Beskow~
~Peter in Blueberry Land, by Elsa Beskow~
~The Kids’ Summer Handbook, by Jane Drake and Ann Love~
~Swallows and Amazons, by Arthur Ransome~
~Mud Pies and Other Recipes, by Marjorie Winslow~

 

Can you believe summer is just around the corner?

To enter head on over to Earthmama 101 and pick up some great ideas for creative living as well.