One Last Thing

Alas, it's been over a year since my last post, and I find myself in winter once again. 2010 held many memorable times. Glenn's 50th birthday, our trip to Germany with the Salem 2 Salem art exchange and the beginnings of our new collaborative effort Demeter's Closet on Etsy. Yes, those little bronze acorns have found a home in our online shop. I've added a sample of our work to the right, so click on any of the objects and it will take you there.
I've also added some of our favorites on Etsy. Wow, so much talent out there! We feel honored to be part of that community.
I've started another blog for Demeter's Closet - www.demeterscloset.blogspot.com  so I don't think I'll make another appearance here but will keep it online (folks are still coming for recipes) as a keepsake of the event.
Oh, and what an event it was!

Love to all.

Happy New Year!

What is it about the first big snow of the season that makes everyone here in Vermont regress back to their childhood? We all know we are going to be so sick of it by March, but we still can't wait to go out wallow in it nonetheless. It was so incredibly beautiful in West Haven today when we snowshoed out to the third meadow. We took along the ceremonial Jet Boil to make hot chocolate and brandy as a reward for all that cardiovascular effort and boy was it yummy!

And speaking of killer beverages.........so many of you have inquired about the recipe for the pomegranate martinis Aunt Joannie and Uncle Al so graciously mixed for the mergefest, that we thought we'd ring in the new year by sharing it with you.

Pomegranate Martini

2 oz vodka (they like Belvedere)
1 oz triple sec
1 oz Rose's lime juice
2 oz pomegranate juice
Serve with a nice squeezed wedge of fresh lime..

They fixed 7 gallons of this libation and brought fresh limes picked from their tree in Spanish Fort, Alabama.

You guys are the best!

p.s. While I was writing this, Glenn went to the store for wine and groceries, and the mixings for the above recipe somehow made it into his bag (minus the limes from Alabama).

Cheers to 2010!

Holiday Greetings

We were so sad Ruth Hamilton was not able to make it to the Mergefest, but very happy when she brought this delightful sculpture by the shop last week. I laughed so hard my cheek "balls" were hurting. Her attention to detail is marvelous - from my woven copper belt, to the little earring she painted on Glenn and the ruffles on his shirt. And the way we are looking in each others eyes so lovingly! By the way Ruth, thanks for taking off about 100 pounds between the two of us. You are such a wonderful woman and gifted artist.

Many of you remember Ruth's show at the Brick Box and she recently had a show at the Brandon Music Gallery -

http://www.brandon-music.net/gallery/hamilton.htm

Thank you Ruth for providing us with immediate inspiration for this year's ecard!

I guess winter is finally here

It seems official now. With the snow/rain/ice, grey skies and coming home to a pitch dark house at 4:30, I have to face the fact that winter is here. It's in the 30's right now, but they are saying tomorrow night it will be 10. Fa, la, la, la, la. I'm trying to remember how much fun I had snow shoeing last year, and the camping trip at the cabin in Merck Forest and how special that was. I'm having a hard time conjuring up all that joy at the moment, actually. I think the solstice will help - the knowledge that we will have more daylight hours on the way. I guess I wouldn't have made a very good vampire at all, now would I?

But enough whining.

Check out the red dirt above and how it is absorbing the heat of the sun. It's a thought for me to hold on to this winter.

And I just started to knit this month! Am I now a true Vermonter or what?!

The holidays are fast upon us and I'm so ready to be absorbing some of that family love.

And for anyone needing a new recipe for a company party or family gathering, I give to you the salad Susan and Jeff McGee shared at the 'fest.

Jack's Salad

Dressing -

3 tbls. cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup mayonnaise

mix well; set aside for 30 minutes

Cut up 2 heads of broccoli. Add 1 medium red onion, coarsely cut. Crumble 1/2 - 1 lb. cooked bacon. Add 2 cups Mozz. cheese (shredded)

Mix well; toss with dressing.

Farewell dear friend

Life is eternal, and love is immortal,

and death is only a horizon;
and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.
~Rossiter Worthington Raymond

We will miss you Joan.

Those cookies that just kept coming

EVERYONE remembers the cookies that Chris Mathewson "Cupcake" baked for the big day. Yesireee Bob......all 480 of them! Indeed - just when you thought you were the lucky one who snagged the very last cookie, you'd turn around 5 minutes later to find the plate refilled again. Which of course meant you had to continue eating them. They were that amazing, and totally addictive. None of us could believe it when we woke up the following morning and found the original box Chris brought them in, and yes, MORE COOKIES! Everyone was excited, and we, of course, ate them. So imagine our surprise when a week or so after Glenn and I returned from our honeymoon in Maine, we found a tin of guess what? More cookies. And still somewhat fresh. We ate them, all except one. We vowed to each other to save it until the day we got the recipe to make more. So the photo above is Glenn eating the last one today after lunch, and thank you Chris for the recipe below. I think we need to call a meeting with the powers that be so I can make a motion that you be called "Cookie" now, instead of "Cupcake".

Peppermint Pothole Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup turbinado [or light brown] sugar

1 large egg, beaten

2 tablespoons whole milk yogurt

2 teaspoons peppermint extract

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 teaspoons cut peppermint leaf

1 rounded teaspoon baking powder

8-9 ounces dark semi- or bitter- sweet chocolate, melted

Cream butter and blend with sugar until smooth and even textured. Beat in egg, yoghurt and peppermint. Combine flour, salt, peppermint leaf and baking powder and add to mixture.

Place teaspoonfuls on buttered, uncoated cookie sheet. Pat with floured fingers to form depression in center of each. Fill with chocolate.

Bake for seven to nine minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and cool for about five minutes, then chill to set chocolate.

Makes about six to eight dozen.

White Trash Cake

A fellow former flatlander (3 f club?), Martha Bartsch brought a wonderful cake to the 'fest. Martha is yet another talented artist we have the pleasure of knowing - and her cake rocks!

White Trash Cake (Hummingbird Cake) from West Virginia

350 degree oven- cook in angel food cake pan (hole in center) coat pan lightly with crisco and flour

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

1 tsp. sat

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

mix well with a spoon, add:

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 unbeaten large eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 cup chopped bananas (3-4, ripe best)

mix well, then add and mix in:

1 cup large pieces walnuts, black walnuts if you can get them, pour into pan

Bake 1 hour or until done

whip, beat until light

1 8 oz. cream cheese

1 softened unsweetened butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 box confectioner’s sugar

Spread over cake and enjoy. Un-iced cake can be made ahead and frozen. Thaw and frost.

Thank you Martha!

Mergefest Collages

Artist Paedra Bramhall created a mergefest collage for us that we wanted to share with you. He is also making collages with the images he took from the wedding (check out the iron and roses one below). He has offered to print a limited edition for anyone interested.

Paedra can be contacted at: paedra07@sover.net

and to see his extensive artistic journey through various mediums you can visit his site at -

http://www.paedra.com/

This week's recipe

Here is the dish that Chris and Judy Louras brought to share at the wedding. I'm sorry to say we didn't get a chance to taste this either, but we are thinking it sounds pretty wonderful and are hoping to have a second chance at trying it.....hint, hint.

Crawfish/Shrimp Etouffee Recipe

1 pound shrimp (cut in half) or crawfish tails

1 stick butter

1 large onion, diced (heaping cup)

1/2 cup celery, diced

3/4 cup green bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup K.A. A.P Flour, *toasted

3 cups *crawfish/lobster stock/veggie broth

( i.e. 2 cups lobster stock + 1 cup veggie broth)

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon thyme (if ground, then less!)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons seafood hot sauce (greene’s of vt texas chipotle)

2 tablespoons chipotle hot sauce (sting ray)

1 teaspoon lemon

Saute onion, celery, bell peppers, garlic and bay leaf in butter in Dutch

oven until onion translucent.

Whisk in flour and stir/scrape constantly for 5 minutes on medium+. This

is a white roux.

Slowly add most of crawfish/lobster stock/broth mix and bring to boil for

5 minutes.

Add parsley, thyme, seafood sauce, chipotle sauce, lemon and tomato paste

Simmer for 15 minutes, do not boil, stir about every five minutes.

Mixture should have a sauce-like consistency, add a little stock if

necessary, but don't over thin.

Add crawfish tails/shrimp and cook 10 minutes. Crawfish tails are precooked.

* Stock can be made by boiling lobster bodies (w/liver), or crawfish heads

and/or shells.

* Toast the flour in a cast iron pan, over medium heat. Keep the flour

moving. This isn't something that can be left alone, the flour can burn

quickly. You’re looking for a med. brown - darkish brown color.

The Iron Guild

We really can't thank the Iron Guild enough for the "Ring of Fire" performance they dazzled us with at our wedding. Our dear friend Don Ramey brought over a CD of images he took and we were able to relive it again. Great photos Don!

To see a slideshow of the pour click here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jackiekirkmancampbell/sets/72157622595665277/show/

The Iron Guild also just had their 4th annual Halloween Pour at the Steel Yard in Providence and it looks like it was amazing and very well attended. I hate it we couldn't be there. Sigh, maybe next year.

To see some great photos go to http://gregcookland.com/journal/2009/10/halloween-iron-pour-at-steel-yard_30.html

That is a really fun blog also- a huge amount of cool information. I think I'm going to have to start following it.

And for more of the Guild, you can also see a snippet of the pour here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flJu1lWQTUA

You guys are fantastic! Please don't ever stop.

Happy Halloween

For those of you who couldn't stay the night of the fest, here is a sample of what it looked like. These shots are from Heather Ruelki and make us all look oh so much spookier than we are. Great job Heather......and HAPPY HALLOWEEN ALL!

Yum!

We have heard so much about the amazing food that was brought to the wedding, but alas, like most brides and grooms, we were too busy and excited to eat much. We did manage to get our sticky fingers on some of that salmon Peter Wallace prepared, and man was it delish. A huge shout out to Peter and his wife Kathleen for all of their talent and effort! We were also able to land some of that incredible chowder of Ed and Sandy Gregan's (I think Glenn had more than a few cups). Was that a seafood extravaganza or what?

The tent was filled with fabulous looking food and we are thrilled to have gotten some recipes to try. I will try to post at least one a week - and remember, if you would like to share a dish you brought it's not to late.

The first recipe is from our dear friend and officiate of our ceremony Susan Farrow. Well, actually it was Patrick's, but Susan submitted it to us. So, we share this in his memory and in his honor.

PATRICK’S BOTTOM LINE

GARLIQUE EXTRAORDINAIRE

For 1-2 typical Garlic enthusiasts

recipe may be doubled, tripled, quadrupled etc.

***

SLICE ONE BLUB GARLIC CLOVES

LENGTHWISE AND PEEL

***

HEAT SIX TBSP. OLIVE OIL

IN A HEAVY SKILLET

(if it smokes its too hot).

***

ADD SPLIT CLOVES, TURN AND

SIZZLE TILL GOLDEN BROWN

***

SALT TO TASTE

EAT LIKE FRENCH FRIES

Cooking transforms garlic into a sulpher compound,

and is widely considered to be an effective agent

in preventing illness and promoting a robust sex life.

They're here!

Shawn's photos are here!

She has put together a fabulous slideshow and you can see it at http://www.shawnlinehan.com/mergefest01/mergefest_slideshow.mov

If you are on dial up or have a slow connection you can access the images here:

http://www.shawnlinehan.com/mergefest01/

We are so lucky to have such a loving friend and talented photographer in our lives.

Enjoy!

Jules

I wanted to share this image of one of the many things my new sister-in-law Julie did for me/us for our wedding. This was the table she set up in my dressing tent in the second meadow, and she also has a full length mirror, chairs and a coat rack to hang my dress on. For Glenn she orchestrated a "Robin Hood" room tucked up into the woods off the third meadow for him to get dressed in.

A brief rundown of some of the other things she was responsible for:

- She and my new Aunt Joannie, another incredibly talented woman (who, by the way made my beautiful bouquet and the boutonieres for the boys) wrapped those close to 200 napkin bundles

- She got all the tables decorated, put on bows and wrapped the candle poles the morning of the wedding

- She put together that amazing cheese platter and decorated the cheeses with greenery and wildflowers from the meadow

- She was there to accept and distribute the ocean of food brought by all our generous friends (and we would like to thank Seth and Suzanna for helping her with that)

- She was a rock through it all - offering love, support and sisterly guidance to us both when we needed it most

Thanks Jules. We love you!

A Message from Mom

The Wedding was spectacular. Just as the vows ended, for the first time in days, the sun came out! Then during the Ring of Fire there was a brief moment of “Moonlight In Vermont!” If you believe in signs then surely this was a marriage made in Heaven.
Thanks to my three Grandchildren for taking such good care of Granny Annie in the airports and thanks to all of Jackie and Glenn’s wonderful friends and to the Campbell Clan who pitched in to help make this event so memorable. A special thank you to Glenn’s Aunt Ginny for being so friendly and making me feel at home and to Donna for transporting me back and forth. That Donna is an awesome driver. She fearlessly slid me right up to the Third Meadow. I’ll ride with Donna anywhere!
A final thought: Last summer Glenn took back to Vermont , in a big barrel, some Carolina red clay to have at the Wedding. Well not to be outdone, I brought back from the Wedding , not in a barrel but on my shoes, a lot of Vermont black mud which yesterday I sprinkled over the grass in my yard. The circle is now complete!
Love to All from Jackie’s Mom
Anne Kirkman Wade

E-Mail: thewades1@bellsouth.net

We're Baaack!

What fun we had on our honeymoon!

It actually began here in Vermont while taking my son Christopher to the Burlington airport by way of Long Trail, Otter Creek and Magic Hat Breweries. We started around 11:00 and sampled pretty much everything we could get our hands on before he had to catch the flight at 2:30. I think for him, Long Trail's Double Bag was the winner. It was a lot of fun and I think he was pretty relaxed by the time he boarded his plane.

As for Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, we headed off to Maine and decided to extend our beer sampling to that fair state also.

We started in Portland at Sebago Brewing Company http://www.sebagobrewing.com/brews.php

where we really enjoyed Frye's Leap IPA and their Midnight Porter. Their glasses were really cool so we bought two of them also.

Next we ended up in a bar during their open mic night http://www.thedogfishcompany.com/ and stayed probably too long trying all kinds of new (to us) local brews. They had a really cool looking glass also, and after much coaxing on Glenn's part, they agreed to sell us one.

I think that evening started the pattern.

We left Portland and went to Hermit Island campground on Casco Bay in Phippsburg, Maine where we stayed that night.

The next day we decided to go up to Acaida National Park. That night we went

into Bar Harbor and happened upon their oldest microbrewery Bar Harbor Brewing Co.

http://www.barharborbrewing.com/index.html

I thought their Blueberry Wheat was yummy and Glenn really liked Thunder Hole Ale.

We found out that they had recently been bought by another local brewery, Atlantic Brewing, and needless to say, we knew we were going to have to find them and sample, sample, sample!

Meanwhile we were staying here -

And seeing sights like this-

We finally found Atlantic Brewing Co. http://www.atlanticbrewing.com/index.php and could of taken a tour through the facility, but being from Vermont, we were pretty sure we knew how beer was made, and we opted to sit outside and sample their beer instead. SOB (special old bitter) was a hit! We left with two more glasses and a case of Mount Desert Island Ginger to take back to the campsite.

When we got back to Portland, we spotted Gritty McDuff's

http://www.grittys.com/ptld.html#brewery and sat down to a sampler of seven of their finest.

Their Halloween and Black Fly Stout were fabulous. We also left with another glass.

Last on the Campbell honeymoon beer tour was D.L.Geary

http://gearybrewing.com/pages/home.php. If you go to their website you will notice a strong resemblance to our honeymoon suite. We headed back to Vermont with a six pack of their Autumn Ale and another glass, an education in Maine microbreweries (and a cold for me).

We want you all to know, that in between all the beer drinking , eating seafood and making goo-goo eyes at each other from across a campfire, the conversation kept coming back to how darn lucky we are to have such wonderful people in our lives.

We are glad to be home.

Three days in and loving it!

We are now in Portland Maine, it's raining like heck, and we don't care. It's soooo nice to not care too much about the weather again. I guess I don't have to tell anyone how lucky we were to have our wedding day turn out the way it did.

The circumstances of the weather really illustrated the whole yin and yang thing. If we had not had all the clouds, would we have noticed the "sun event" as much?

We are reliving every moment of the day, and basking in all the love and well wishes of you all.

I can't even begin to express how precious this time is.

Which leads me to this-

A lot of folks seem sad the blog will end and want it to keep going. All I know to do is to slowly morph it into something else.

One thing that was suggested is to have guest bloggers who want to write about their experiences of the day and night.

We liked the idea and propose this:

- send us your thoughts (jackie@cpisculpture.com) and we will post you and if you have a blog or website send the link also.

Many people who met that night want to keep in touch.

-there will be a link to a website with all of Shawn's photographs (I will email you when that is posted) and we will post any photos you want to share on that site too.

- everyone was so generous in bringing AMAZING dishes to share, I want to start posting them soon. Please, I had so many coming up to me asking "did you get the recipe of so and so", and I really only have a handful at the moment. If you had a favorite that night, send it to me and I'll post kudos to the chief.

-there are talks on the table about another 'fest marking our anniversary next year around this time, so we have a whole year to ponder and write about it!

Three things

Just a few suggestions -

- heels are dangerous in a meadow

- bring an umbrella (just in case), and if you are camping, rain gear

- flashlights will be helpful after dark. We will have many on hand to use, but the more the better.

Campers -

We will have water available, drinking and washing and there will be plenty of coffee for in the morning (good thing, right).

We're excited!

Blessed

After writing the last four posts, I am feeling very tenderhearted and extremely grateful to have such loving, talented and generous friends and family in our lives. I will try not to get to sappy in writing about you all, but I feel I have to mention things as they come to me. Hence the photo above.

Hats off (or in this case, hats on) to one of the sweetest, strongest women we have had the pleasure to meet.

You always inspire us Susan, and we are so very blessed to have you"hitching us".

With or without flowers on your head.

Capturing Mergefest moments

We will be having a " photo booth" for guest to self inflict shots of themselves but I am thrilled beyond belief that my dear soul sista Shawn will be the live 'fest photographer. Her work is amazing, and so is she. Some of you may remember Shawn and Ken from their visit and show at The Brick Box 2 years ago.

Be sure to check out her website at www.shawnlinehan.com and you will see how fortunate we are to have our wedding "seen" through her eyes.

And while you are on the site look under "info" to sign up for her eco newsletter and check out her blog also.

Although we talk every week, since they are in Portland Oregon, 2 years ago was the last time we have been together. I am giddy that in less than a week, not only will I have all three of my children here, but Shawn and Ken as well.