Tex's Sweetheart

She is the sweetest little horse imaginable; small and rather dainty looking, lovable, and pretty well-tempered even though there is a sassy streak in her. Tex is fairly head over heels in love with her! Her name is Kaahla (Kayla) and she is our new Arabian mare.

Height: 14.3 hands high

Age: 20 years old (Arabians usually live longer than the average horse, and Kaahla is not lazy as some people have implied upon learning her age.)

Color/markings: Bay –no markings

The first day we got her, Tex (our western, cowboy-ish-- manly sort of horse) pranced excitedly all around her paddock until we distracted him with treats. For the rest of the afternoon, he waited patiently at the gate for Kaahla to come over and sniff noses with him.

 

O.I.

Today is the official start of our annual family vacation on Onset Island, Massachusetts. Sadly, the Dey clan was unable to make it this year; so to make up for our absence, we are trying to read as many poems as possible, sing "Capital Ship" very loudly, play knockout, and read out of the dictionary.

There are however, many things you cannot replace, like the salty air and sandy beaches, the echoing call of the osprey, breath taking sunsets or the mob of cousins running recklessly all over the island.

 I have many memories from past years spent at Onset Island. For example: the time I lost my flip flop in the mucky sandbar. While I was fishing around for it, some people in a passing boat waved to me and shouted (a little too enthusiastically) "Happy clamming!"

How about the time we fixed the copy machine with a hair elastic, or the numerous times we had to wash cormorant poop off the floating dock? And oh do I remember the Saturday Night Dance that one year when the floodlights suddenly went out! I am positive that no one has ever experienced such adventurous and exciting family vacations as we have.

 

  

In our last edition of the Deyly News we featured a list of "100 Reasons Why You Should Go to Onset Island.” Here it is: 

 

 

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.       
 --John Masefield

busyness

Between pool parties, trips out of state, weddings, and a boat ride on the Missouri River, I regret to say that I have rather neglected my blog this past month.

Among all of these exciting things, I have recently added—to my hoard of instruments—a flute made by Gemeinhardt. I had been shopping for an Irish wooden flute to play traditional music on, but this one was more conveniently priced and will not only play different genres of music, but also in any key you like. So far, I can play all the major scales, the chromatic scale and one or two tunes, but I’m still trying to master the fingering and getting a good sound out of it.

Next thing on my shopping list: new pipe organ shoes.

Pride and Prejudice

During this past week, my sister Clara and I were hanging out together in the livingroom. We played a game of scrabble, read some books, and chatted on the couches a while until the brilliant idea came upon us to watch the movie “Pride and Prejudice” based on one of Jane Austen’s novels. Afterwards we immediately dressed up and reenacted some of the scenes only to double over in peals of laughter. Sometimes Clara was Mr. Darcy while I was Mr. Bingley, and at other times we strutted about like the young ladies at a ball. The following quote (when recited with the proper amount of despair and resignation) we found especially funny. It is important to know that Mr. Collins is rather unattractive and dull much to Mr. Bennet’s disgust, but has a steady—rather large—income much to Mrs. Bennet’s delight.
"An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do." ---Mr. Bennet

---Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

So now I am reading one of the few Jane Austen books I have yet to read: Northanger Abbey.

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." --Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

masterpiece

The beginnings of a good homemade pie start in a blackberry patch. Where else? Today our berries were just becoming soft and ripened so I thought I’d make a pie. Once you pick four or five cups of berries you can go straight to the kitchen and wash your harvest for the sweetening process. Half a cup of sugar, some water, a little cornstarch; you don’t need much to make it taste good. Dump the berries into a pie crust, stick it in the oven and you’ve got dessert for tonight---all finished in a couple of hours.

(My top crust tends to be a little patchy looking at times, but it just makes it look artistic.)

 PIE (with fresh berries):

4-5 cups of berries (for 9 inch pie plate)

Mix in:

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2/3-1 cup sugar (I used ½ a cup)

Let fruit sit for 15 minutes before pouring into pie plate. Cover with crust. Bake at 450 degrees F. for

10 minutes before reducing temperature to 350 and baking for 40 -45 minutes.