And it just keeps getting better

Wow! Peter Wallace, chef extraordinaire from Nantucket has devised a "fire cone" to cook salmon that is just amazing. He is bringing organic Tasmanian salmon and cooking it on the cedar planks attached to the cone. Below you can see her in action, along with the mouthwatering results. Peter, we think she needs a name.

Delish!

The manifestation of a bread oven

Really great Sunday in West Haven this past weekend! By the time we got there (and I thought it was early - great wedding by the way John and Paula) Charles and Hakan were already scouting out logs to make the base for the notorious bread oven Charles has been planning.

What a wonderful thing to witness, and I can't believe it is the one time we went out there without the camera (there again, great wedding John and Paula....I'm blaming it on that). Luckily, we had our trusty iphones with us, and even though the quality leaves a bit to be desired, we got documentation. And here goes!

First there is a lot of chopping and notching of the logs and fitting them together like Lincoln Logs to make the base for the bread oven, or B.O. for short - wait a minute, that's not good.

Anyway, next comes the building of the platform. I love the way Charles pegged it with branches he found to hold it together and make it sturdy.

Then he added the North Carolina/Vermont clay mixture and then fire bricks on top of that. After came the building of the sand "half egg" that will be the form for the outer layers of clay.

After applying a wet layer of newspaper for separation, Glenn got in on the action and helped build up the outer wall. The interior sand form and newspaper will be removed after it dries and the door is cut in.

And Voila! There she is in all her glory. I think Charles is planning more layers, but this is where she was when we left on Sunday. I can almost smell the bread baking now....

And Leah was there also, back from her awesome New Mexico trip and working on that fabulous belt for me!

Welcome back home Leah!

Wedding Day Schedule of Events

First of all, we'd like to give a big THANKS to all who helped us gather the many rocks and build rings for the fire pits.

Much work, and much, much fun later when it was done.

You guys are the best!

Now, on to the the wedding day. Below is a photo of the meadow that you will be directed to off Hackadam Road in West Haven. There will be three signs (symbols) to follow - one on Route 22A North at Main Road, one at Hackadam Road and the final at the entrance to the meadow.

The meadow you will enter will look like this and be filled with cars.

This is where you will park.

After parking, there will be a horse drawn wagon to bring you from the first meadow, through the second meadow and on to the third, where the event will be held. There will be a screened room to wait in if the wagon is en route when you arrive. For those of you camping, we request you start arriving as early as 12:00 to set up your tents, etc. and be ready for the ceremony at 2:00. The wagon will be there and ready to transport you and your belongings. For those not camping, you to need to allow an extra 20 minutes (only 10 if you want to walk the 1/2 mile out to the meadow) to the travel time.

The ceremony will start at 2:00 with the sound of bagpipes in the second meadow.

At that point you will be directed out of the wedding tent to the central circle where the ceremony will be held. Susan Farrow will be our officiate, and will guide you where to sit and stand. The ceremony itself should take no more that 15 or 20 minutes, and then back to the tent for toasting, feasting and merriment.

So, to recap:

12:00 - 1:50 Guests arrive, set up tents if camping, and gather in the wedding tent.

2:00 - 2:15 Ceremony

2:30 Party!

Any questions at all, please contact jackie@cpisculpture.com.

The countdown is on!

Mergefest Music

We are so thrilled that our friend John Peterson is bringing his bagpipes and will be "piping us in" for the ceremony. There is nothing quite like the sound of those pipes as they come up through the woods, and when you hear them in the distance, you will know the ceremony is about to begin. What Scottish drama!

We are also thrilled to have Mary Barron and Marcos Levy otherwise known as Cold River Band play their wonderful mix of music.

Man, can our friend little Miz Mary smoke those strings! And is there any instrument Marcos doesn't play?

You can read more about them here-

http://www.coldriverband.com

Wedding Works in Progress

Just wanted to share a sampling of some of the objects the mergefest is generating. This is the ceremonial bronze chalice we are currently working on at Campbell Plaster & Iron. It's very exciting, because it's the first truly collaborative object we have worked on at the shop.

The concept was this - to find the definitive chalice form, fabricate it (which Glenn did perfectly out of plaster) and adorn it with

something in keeping with the"meadow motif". The cup has leaves from the canopy of hardwoods we collected, and the stem has meadow flowers, grasses and fern. We haven't decided on a patina, if any. And the little bronze acorns have been fun (and taught me about wax work) and will be laying around on tables.

And this is the belt our friend Leah (what a talent) is making out of copper wire for my dress. It will go all the way down the front and be beaded with dyed freshwater pearls my future sis-in-law Julie got for me (thanks Jules). Also, be on the lookout, some of Leah's "pods" may make an appearance at the 'fest.

And be sure to check out the Etsy shop of twobeans.

Fabulous work.

Leah and Charles are something.

And Charles....Mr.Charles. Well, he is the mix master bread baker in da hood. Oh, yeah! Not only does he make the BEST bread, but also the oven to bake it in, Check out the photos of "The Littlest Oven" that he made with some North Carolina red clay we brought back from my home town (you'll hear that story later).

Charles wants to mix the red clay with clay from West Haven and make a bread oven in the meadow to bake in. How cool is that!!?

We are very blessed to have such talented friends in our lives, and we'll keep you posted as works unfold.

Pardon Our Appearance......

My mother used to say that the horrible storms we had down south, whether they be wind or ice, was nature's way of pruning. Coming from the land of pine, to hear the snapping and thud of tall trees as they give way to the force of wind or the weight of ice still makes me cringe. I had half a pine fly through the air and end up in my den one time. It wasn't pretty.

The past month has been a flash back for me in dealing with the property in West Haven. There was storm with winds that took out quite a few trees. Two of them (of course, pines) directly affected the wedding and had to be removed. They weren't small either, and one of them was wedged 15 feet up in the crotch of a beech tree. Needless to say, the Scotsman I'm marrying insisted on pulling it down by himself and I want to give a big thanks to our neighbor John Thompson for helping with that. The whole operation had me so stressed out, I had to walk away until I heard the thud.

After clearing that one, we went back the following weekend, and the road was blocked by an old rotten tree this time. This summer's mantra is the continuous hum of a chainsaw.

And I may have to put up a sign at our wedding "venue" saying PARDON OUR APPEARANCE WHILE MOTHER NATURE REDECORATES.

Whatta I wear?

We've had some questions about attire. Wellllll.....

what fun, fun, fun for me to answer!

Glenn will be "rockin da plaid" so to speak,

but really, any old kilt will do (see examples right).

I especially like the full out disco one on the left!

Another option is brown suede which will

complement our colors wonderfully.

I know this

ensemble

will make

the women

folk feel

mighty safe

and protected.

And let's not forget about the lasses,

for there are many options available.

I like this one in particular because

it comes complete with a basket

for hickory nut picking or in a

pinch a stick and a piece of string

turn it into a great critter trap.

That combined with the 3 yards

of fabric that make up the headdress,

I'm seeing great wood hauling

potential here.

Lovely!

I don't know, that may be too cold for October.

I'm just REALLY glad they left off the face on that one.

Now there's a Green Man welcome at any event!

And last, but not least, the Vermont state fabric - Fleece!

Comfy!

So, what we are really trying to say is, anything goes. No, really.

ANYTHING GOES!