Custom Miniature Home

Recently my hubby had a custom order to miniaturize a home. It is fascinating to watch him do it. The customer sends a photo of the home and hubby saws it out of thin cabinet grade plywood. He primes it and the drawing is transferred to the wood.

Watching him painting the lines is amazing.

He goes back and forth from his well used glass palette to the painting. Various shades of acrylic colors are combined.

Here he is holds it, still more detail and shading to do.

 Now it is finished, photographed, and ready to ship.

A customized miniature home can be ordered from our Etsy shop here.

Zucchini Walnut Buttermilk Pancakes

It is zucchini season and we have generous neighbors who keep us supplied. One of our favorite meals, breakfast or "breakfast for dinner," is Zucchini Walnut Buttermilk Pancakes.

In August 1980, my dear friend Marsha, and I, took a three day self guided geography course tour of "Gold Country." The University of California at Fresno class guided us from Mariposa to Amador City. We spent one night at the Sutter Creek Inn bed and breakfast. Our room was "the library" with two beds and bookcases and just off the dining room. Breakfast was at a large shared table where we all ate family style. They served zucchini walnut pancakes that were so good I had to reproduce them at home.

Add zucchini and walnuts to my buttermilk pancake recipe was a success and I've been making them ever since.

Here are the ingredients, measured out and ready to combine. The zucchini was grated on the large holes of a box grater. Recipe makes 8 to 10 pancakes, depending on size made and serves 2 hungry people.

Below the zucchini and walnuts are folded into the dry ingredients.

The wet ingredients are combined and added then gently folded into all the dry ingredients. Bake on a grill set to 350 F. Spoon the dough on a buttered grill and level off if batter is not spreading.

Bake on first side till holes start to form on top then flip over.

Bits of green zucchini skin can be seen.

Serve with maple or Log Cabin syrup and enjoy any time of day. Full recipe is below.

Zucchini Walnut Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium zucchini, coarsely grated
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Butter for grill and pancakes
Maple or Log Cabin syrup

Measure flour, sugar, soda and salt into a medium large bowl, use a whisk to mix well to combine dry ingredients.
With a spatula fold in the grated zucchini and chopped walnuts into the dry ingredients. The amount of zucchini and walnuts can be varied to your taste.
Beat the egg in a small bowl, add egg and melted butter to the buttermilk.
With a large spatula fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, do not beat, fold enough to moisten dry ingredients.
On a grill, heated to medium, about 350 F. degrees, butter and then spoon batter to size of pancakes desired. Level off if batter is too thick.
Cook on first side till holes start to form, check bottom for golden brown color, flip over, cook till done.

Do you ever have a breakfast meal for dinner?

Sierra Sky Park Fresno California and Video

Sierra Sky Park is the first aviation community in the world, created in 1946 for passionate aviators right here in Fresno, California. The homes at the private airport were built with hangars so the airplane is right there, ready to taxi out to the runway and fly out. The street signs are low so no airplane wing can clip it.

Like clockwork on Saturday mornings some of the pilots take off for breakfast to various places. We live a mile away and have enjoyed the air activity over the years. Any time we have visiting guests we drive them over to see the unique neighborhood.

Sometimes there are airplane gatherings like the one here in 2013.

Last month, late one Saturday afternoon, there was a lot of plane activity leaving Sierra Sky Park and flying over the San Joaquin river going towards Madera, CA. If it sounds like an interesting plane hubby dashes out to see it and I often follow. Well, it was an amazing evening and morning, I had to put together the little clips of what happened. Turn up your volume and maximize the page size for the full effect.

Sunday morning was an amazing sight, there were 28 planes in formation.

My Baguettes Have Ears! The Great Bread Quest

In 1990, when we moved to Holland, I fell in love with fabulous breads. Grocery stores sold fresh wheat bread that was wonderfully nutty with natural wheat, not just bread with brown color that was common in the US. The Dutch shopped daily and we could buy half a loaf at a time and have it sliced before our eyes.

In my quest to learn about bread I visited the bread museum in Hattem. It was fascinating to see a big trough that was used a long time ago where a man would walk in it to knead the dough. I bought their bread book. I tried some recipes.

We called a local commercial bakery to ask for a tour. We bought bread at various bakers to try different breads. It was before the internet, I wrote to a US company and signed up for a correspondence bakery course. The two volume book set was huge and boring. I didn't get very far and ended up selling it on Ebay about 10 years ago.

During one of our trips to Paris we had a hotel breakfast of coffee and crispy rolls with creamed honey. I know my eyes rolled back in my head with delight. There is nothing like great bread!

When we got back to the US in 1993 I bought a bread machine and the constant bread making started but who can stand the odd loaves they made?

Then about 8 years ago I discovered a YouTube video on no knead bread. Since then we've baked bread once or twice a week and I keep experimenting. The no knead method is easy but bread is usually heavy but better than purchased bread and so much more reasonably priced.

I've purchased bread book after bread book and oh, so much hassle flipping back and forth to bake. Very frustrating.

Baking and bakery videos on YouTube are fun to watch. The history of Poilane Bakery in Paris is interesting, watch here. Their bread, made in a wood fired oven, is shipped all over the world every day.

My dream has been to make light baguettes with "ears" and a thin crackly crust that sings when it comes out of the oven. Yes, singing is the cracking sounds when they start to cool, I've danced around the kitchen the times I've heard it.

Here is my first true complete success! A touch darker than they should be but unbelievably good. The "ears" are not perfect because I don't have a real lame to slash the dough but a razor blade held at the right angle did the job. Slashes on the back popped open and part of the middle loaf but the one on the left is just right.

My success comes from a Craftsy.com class, King Arthur Flour's Artisan Bread Mastering Pre-Ferments taught by Amber Eisler. I don't have a large rectangular stone to bake on but had a baguette pan so used it and worked out fine.

The loaves "sang" and look at that structure, thin crust and lots of holes.

The batch was for 3 baguettes and large boule, here is my big baby that came out of the oven just before bedtime so it sat all night.

When morning came hubby sliced it and again, thin crispy crust, light and lots of holes.

My favorite breakfast, coffee, a piece of home made bread toast with peanut butter and a thin layer of Nusco, Dutch chocolate paste. Yummy!

Teatime Tales by Angela Webste McRae

The mailman delivered my Teatime Tales this week, I'm so excited! Angela is a great story teller and blogger. Her blog is Tea with Friends. She posts something tea related every day, I don't know how she does it. 

Teatime makes me think of The Tuck Box in Carmel, a charming building built in 1928 by Hugh Comstock. It has been a tea shop since the 1940s. In the 1980s it was always busy and there was always a line to get in. Teatime Tales goes so well by my hubby's painting of The Tuck Box. Makes me want to curl up in the picture with the book.

Now the teapot wall has memories, a little humor, a little story, and a little tea, just enough to brighten my day.

It's time to plan a tea party.

Kite Season at the Castle Shed

Several days ago the neighbor girls were in the culdesac flying their beautiful kites. Hmm, I thought it would be so cute to take a photo of them with their kites in front of the castle shed.

Aren’t they adorable girls?

Hello Kitty had to get in the picture also.

As soon as school is out the girls will be coming to tea and craft time.

Carmel-by-the-Sea Tor House and Hugh Comstock

A couple of weeks ago we made reservations to tour the Tor House again in Carmel. Tours are only Friday and Saturday and it turned out to be a day forecast to be raining but that doesn't stop us.

The drive over Pacheco pass was dramatic with clouds and rain.

Here are just a few of the scenes of our day trip to Carmel.

As we stepped out of the car there before me by the Hog's Breath Inn was a bed of succulents, all dappled with rain.

The Tor House grounds seem to be always windy, turned my hair into spikes! Hubby and I are fascinated with architecture and stories of how they were built. Hawk Tower behind us was hand built by one man over a period of several years.

Our trip was to explore more of the quaint architecture that has made Carmel so famous. Hansel, build by Hugh Comstock for his wife Mayotta's Otsy Totsy dolls, makes my heart pitter-patter.

Even the trees seem magical, looks like a giant's hand with scrapes and warts.

The skies were blue for a while, here we were near the beach.

The sea-lavender, or statice flowers, grow so well in Carmel, love the way they stand in this arrangement by a shop.

This is Storybook Cottage, another Hugh Comstock house.

Vines, hedges and the fireplace frame the window and shutter with the heart cut out.

Charming gates and fences are so beckoning.

By the end of the day it was getting cooler and we took one last drive to watch and listen to the power of the sea.

My Valentine Table for the Castle Shed

A few days before Valentine's Day I had my glass of wine out in the shed working on the paper mache chandelier and thought I would ask hubby to make me a new table that is similar to the little one in the shed that he made.

I'm ok with not receiving jewelry, flowers or candy for Valentine's day. I would rather have something he makes, a painting or this year a table!

Here he is dismantling an old box that came from a farm, I wanted the sides for the table top.

Dirt and rusty nails all over the place.

The under side of table top.

Final assembly.

Now in place and we had a full moon peaking through the bare branches over the castle shed. All the lighting is solar.

Then it was my job to paint it, I wanted the base to have a creamy whitewashed look.

Now in place I have another honey-do. "Honey, it needs benches or chairs that fit the scene and now that the coldest part of the year is over the flagstone is looking bad, needs a good scrubbing."

".... and after that we need to set the stones in mortar around the base of the shed, we didn't get to that last year."

It's always something. ;)

Painted Paper for Castle Shed Chandelier

Late in the afternoon one day this week I went out to paint crumpled paper for the paper mache chandelier for my castle shed. Here they are pinned to a line to dry in the shed.

 Closeup of a pink sheet. You never know where paint flows in all the creases.

The next afternoon I went down the rabbit hole again and made paper tassels for the chandelier.

Some of the teal painted paper was cut, glued and twisted to add to the paper mache chandelier that was painted in a metallic gold paint.

By the third afternoon I had added more tassels and paper cord. Now I have to decide what to do for the candles. I really want solar powered wired candles with the panel outside so when it is dusk the chandelier candles light automatically like the spotlights do but I don't believe there are solar candles like that, yet. Hmmm, now if I knew more about wiring solar lights I may be able to figure it out but I just want this finished and hanging above my work space in the turret.

For the other turret there must be a dragon. Have you seen the dragons by the front door in the Downton Abbey series? They may be the inspiration for my turret dragon. Here is a screen shot from one of the videos on filming the series, hairy bare legs and white gym shoes would never be on Downton Abbey!

I've made a couple of paper mache dragons in the past, the one for my castle shed needs to be different. Any ideas?