Monday, November 24, 2008

Elodie Farms Visit

Just about every week our Dream and Discover homeschooling cooperative participates in a field trip organized and orchestrated by the talented super-mom, Nancy Walters. This week was a lovely little jaunt to Elodie Farms up in Rougemont, NC.


Elodie, owned and operated by fellow Durham Farmers Market vendor Dave Artigues, sits on 21 acres in the Piedmont of NC and is the home to a herd of 50 plus goats.


Dave graciously welcomed us to his 100+ year old farm house and introduced us to his goats, paint horse Sadie and his miniature guard donkey. Dave had a wonderful talent for speaking to the kids directly and with just enough detail to keep everybody interested without making things too complicated. He was ever willing to answer the endless questions and patiently listen to the numerous comments and anecdotes our group of avid young guests seemed to come up with. He started off in the pasture and then took us through the milking room and the cheese kitchen giving us a rudimentary explanation of the cheese making process.

All of the adults oohed and aahed at the lovely finished cheeses Dave pulled from the fridge and admired the parmesans and cheddars Dave has begun making.

We then returned to the pasture and got to feed the goats and other animals. Dave had recommended bringing pretzels as a snack for the goats and we had a large bag of with us that was soon gobbled down quite appreciatively by goats and horse and donkey alike. Dave also brought out a bag of leftover Halloween candy Smarties that he said the goats loved and this was indeed the case.

We ended our trip with a lovely picnic spread on the lawn under a huge old oak tree and feasted upon several varieties of goat cheeses. Dave gave me a tour of the dining areas within the farm house. They've converted the entire lower floor of the farm house to beautiful and intimate dining rooms for their monthly "Dinner On The Porch" events featuring the finest chefs from some of the Triangle’s favorite eateries. Can I dream that Paul and I will get to attend one of these lovely events sans children at some point within the next decade???

Emily and Bethany explored the farm and its impressive old trees (complete with swings) while Maddie and I rested in the porch front rocking chairs.
The day had started out a bit cool, but the sunny skies had helped to keep us warm. As the afternoon progressed, the clouds moved in and the temps plummeted. We finally gave up the battle to stave off the cold and piled into our cars to head back home.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Bria's Birthday

Emily, Maddie and I were honored guests at our friend Bria's 8th birthday party today. The Winslow-Trevathan family lives in Chapel Hill, which is a little bit of a haul for us, but Maddie was in a good traveling frame of mind and we made the drive while maintaining the sanity and peace of all on board. I am always amazed by the parties that Zemo and Lauren host for their children. From the moment you walk in the door it is quite obvious that the celebration of their children's birthdays is a very serious event in this family. So much thought and consideration go into crafting the perfect celebration for their kids. From the meticulously crafted cloud cake to the wall sized birthday murals to the indoor balloon volleyball game with all participants in full dressup gear to the incredibly well orchestrated children's games, Zemo and Lauren devoted themselves completely to celebrating Bria's presence in their lives. We were happy to participate in the celebration and show Bria just how much we appreciate and love her.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Halloween

As Em' contemplated her costume options for this year's Halloween festivities, she briefly toyed around with the idea of going as "Captain Underpants" a la Calvin from Calvin & Hobbes. (Note that it is my relief, not hers, that put the emphasis on the word briefly.)
It is with great relief I tell you that Em finally settled on appearing as the incredibly vain and self-centered Daphne from Scooby-Doo, complete with hot pink mini-dress, go-go boots and a fiery wig. Thank goodness that Cap'n Underpants' threat to the wholesomeness of Halloween was averted at the last moment. Daphne is pictured above with best friend Hermione (aka Bethany).
Maddie has two fabulous mommas to thank for her evening attire. Jennifer Dewolf had a day of Halloween inspired tie-dye madness and just happened to have a white turtleneck onesie leap off the shelves at her screaming "Maddie, Maddie, Maddie". This photo does not do justice to the cuteness of this jack-o-lantern top. A million thanks to the divine Ms. Dewolf. And not to be outdone, Deborah just happened to have the perfect head topper to complete Maddie's ensemble. A handknit pumpkin hat that Deborah had made for her own son, Jo-Jo, last year. Always the generous friend, Deb was more than happy to see her lovely creation pulled back out on the runway.

15 minutes into our trick-or-treating adventures, the lovely Miss Maddie dropped off into la-la land and slept the night away dreaming sweet pumpkin dreams of gourds and gardens and sunlit summer days.....