Valerie's Workshop

As I was illuding to in my last post, we are avid mushroom hunters! If my mom, grandma or anyone else who leans toward the cautious side is reading, don't worry. We aren't roaming the woods, munching on bright red, polka-dotted mushrooms. We are stalking the wild and illusive morel. Countless hours over the last few weeks have been spent with our eyes to the ground, looking next to and under everything, leaving no leaf unturned . We have been relatively successful in our hunts and have brought home a nice sized wild bounty; at least several dozen morels and even some more ramps. This past week we were even able to harvest a few ramps and chives from our own garden. I couldn't help but make dinner with all these delicious ingredients. I cut the morels into bite size pieces (well, most of them), minced the chives, minced the whites of the ramps and chiffonade the greens. I then sauteed the raw ingredients in a few tablespoons of butter for 4 minutes. Next, I tossed in

Just about two weeks ago now we packed our bags, loaded the car with gear, snacks, John, Scott, Harper (dog) and I, and headed North. After five hours of driving and playing spot-the-dead-elm (we are avid morel hunters, you'll understand if you are too!) we arrived at our favorite place in the world, the Hamstra Family cabin. We all eagerly anticipate our time at the cabin, as it is such a restful place. After each visit to the cabin  I leave feeling relaxed, recharged, but most importantly I am reunited with my calm, happy self after months of busy, stressful life in the city. During the warmer months most of our time is spent fishing, either in the lake on which the cabin resides or in any of the numerous rivers in the surrounding area. We fish rain or shine, on dreary days and on hot sticky days and always love wading into the water to get up-close and personal with the fish (or to dunk ourselves on a hot summer day). When we're all tuckered out after a day of playi

As long as I can remember I have shared a love of crafts with my mother. Many of my early memories took place around the craft table with my mother and brother and usually involved some sort of glue, a bit of a mess and a lot of imagination (the perfect combination to hold my interest for hours). Nearly all of my most prized possessions are items that my mother made for me; not a holiday goes by without decorating with an item she made.  My mother always encouraged creativity and helped us pursue whatever craft brought us happiness, whether it was piano lessons, art classes or the purchase of yet another box of crayons.  Throughout my life, whenever I was bored, gloomy or preparing for a holiday, I turned to my own craft supply bin and creativity; something I had been learning to do from my mother's example over many years. For this most recent Mother's Day, rather then sending my Mom a bouquet of flowers that would wilt just as soon as receiving them, or a box of chocolates