Walking, walking, walking. CT and I have walked every day of this week for 3-5 miles. We even walked with the threat of rain this morning. The more we talk/walk (we talk a lot) the quicker the miles go by. We have done a lot of catching up and reminiscing since our friendship goes back to when our kids were little. Of course, our motive is to lose weight and shape up at bit. We both have time to walk, but it takes so much effort to get going. And by 4:00, I'm ready for a nap. Maybe it's all the fresh air. I guess that's why it is good to have a walkin-buddy. Thanks CT for your encouragement. I especially liked the comment that I might look like Miranda Priestly some day. Yup. Yup!

A Woman In Berlin: Six Week in the Conquered City is a diary of Russian brutality to women in the last days of World War II. This is written by an anonymous journalist who, like many women, suffers repeated rape and does whatever she needs to do to survive during this time.

This is not an easy book to read because it is a detailed account of the repeated rapes and humiliation of women, young and old. The German men are of no help since they are the defeated. The worse part is when her boyfriend, Gerd, returns from the war, reads her diary, and totally rejects her. The "Ivans" (Russians)treat their horses better than the women. Women and children are simple considered the spoils of war.

This book was first published in 1954 in Germany and was rejected because of the disgust of writing about mass rape and the choices made to survive. Some questioned the authenticity.

This is a reminder of the wars that are happening at this moment, how the women are treated, and I would guess that the stories will be held as secrets by many because of the shame and low regard for women in many societies. As the author says, the men come back with all of the glory and women remain mum.

Ah humanity, what we do to our own! And we are above animals because of or our higher intelligence?

Aunt B Eats at Hanna Bistro in TC. Today I met two long time friends at Hanna Bistro downtown. It has a really nice decor even though they covered up the original yellow brick in the building. Lots of interesting art work and cozy tables or booths.

I ordered the apple salad with raisins, honey glazed pecans, and cumin dressing, served on three large pieces of lettuce. It was tasty, and definitely within my diet, but a lot of apple to eat. I wouldn't order it again. C had a black bean corn salsa on a toasted flatbread topped with a sauce served on a bed of fresh greens. She liked it, but without the sauce, the beans and corn were very bland. This was listed as topped with duck. However, both ladies are vegetarian, so no duck. R ordered a Tuscan vegetable plate- white beans, artichoke, tomato all with a red sweet pepper sauce. She said that it was very good. Each lunch was a colorful dish. The waitress was polite and very helpful since many of the lunch items had sauces and cheeses that we have never hear of before.

We didn't have any problem understanding the desserts. They offer three: flourless chocolate cake with their own homemade coffee ice cream( I love coffee ice cream), fruit tart with their own homemade clove ice cream, and a white cake with a lemon chiffon top covered with raspberry sauce. I was good- I only tasted the clove ice cream and it was very yummy. I think this would be a great place to go for coffee and dessert. Next time I'll forgo the apple and get the dessert.

As I look at my posts, all I've done lately is eat!

Aunt B Eats at the Hard Luck Cafe in TC. I took mom out to the Hard Luck Cafe for brunch. This use to be the Chicken Coop.

It's a small diner, but not fast food. The menu featured breakfast along with pork and beef sandwiches and chicken. I ordered eggs, bacon, hashbrown potatoes, and toast. Mom ordered one pancake for $1.49. It was as big as a dinner plate. By sharing the bacon ( 5 pieces), we had plenty for two people. I know that many people (especially Big Fred) can eat these giant breakfasts, but I wish they would serve less food because I hate to waste it.

The waitress was nice, the food was standard for breakfast, and the decor was pleasing. Toast was made from local bakery bread so it was yummy. Hopefully, we will go again because I could get Mom's wheelchair in through the double doors. Everyone was very helpful. We spent a quiet morning together.

Aunt B Eats at the Telegraph House in Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada. We ate lunch at an umbrella-topped table with yellow and blue French linen, on the patio, under tall white spruce trees near the yellow brick Telegraph House.

It was by far the best food and service of all the restaurants we ate at in Port. I had a vegetarian quiche that was dynamite. It came with a fresh greens salad. Big Fred had a hamburger and RS and MS had a chicken wrap. We agreed that the lunch was tasty, nicely presented, and reasonably priced. Our waiter was friendly and efficient- not pushy. Even though it was noon and we didn't have a reservation, we were promptly seated. Unfortunately, we didn't have room for their famous rhubarb cremes. It was a delightful lunch. It got an "A".

Telegraph House is a B&B with two very nice rooms upstairs. I think it would be a great place to stay if I vacation in Port Stanley another time.

Try Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada for a quiet vacation. This little fishing town is located just south of London, Ontario on Lake Erie. Our four day visit was very relaxing.

If you want tons of shopping, this is not the place for you. I enjoyed the fact that I could peruse all of the stores the first day and then take my time to check out each store. This was the offering: two kitchen/home accessories shops, three fancy designer ladies clothing shops, an antique store (open Wednesday- Sunday), a fun consignment shop, and three art galleries. Lots of places to eat and a theater. Only thing lacking was a bookstore for Big Fred.

Once we arrived at Kettle Creek Inn, we really didn't have to go anywhere since everything was within walking distance. The men sat on the patio and read and we ladies checked out the shops and planned our day's agenda. We walked along the beach, watched the fishing boats, went bird watching at Hawk Cliff, visited nearby Quai Du Vin Winery, went to a play, shopped, and ate. Very low-keyed. Just what we had been waiting a whole year for.

I keep a travel journal so I know the good, bad, and ugly about each place in and near Port Stanley. The next few posts will be about the trip. I'll help you plan your vacation if you are anywhere near.

Vacation, vacation. Getting ready. I'm so excited. Food, quiet, a different scene. Aunt B. Eats. Of course, I have to be a tad careful since I've just lost 10 lbs. My goal is to not talk about it- just do it. I'll let you know.

A woolly bear in the driveway. So early in the year. What does it mean?

From Dr. Jeff Masters' Wunder Blog, "According to legend, the severity of the upcoming winter can be judged by examining the pattern of brown and black stripes on woolly bear caterpillars--the larvae of Isabella tiger moths. If the brown stripe between the two black stripes is thick, the winter will be a mild one. A narrow brown stripe means a long, cold winter."

Dr. Jeff Masters continues, "The Hagerstown, Maryland Town and Country Almanack has been publishing weather forecasts and weather lore for 209 years. The Almanack sponsors an annual woolly bear caterpillar event, where local school children in Hagerstown collect woolly bears. A panel of judges examines the collected specimens and issues a woolly bear forecast for the upcoming winter. The Hagerstown critters have had mixed success the past three years with their forecasts--they've been correct about half the time. This is only slightly worse than the official NOAA long range forecasts."

So, here's the deal, neighbors and friends, (Nick and Joey), let's gather our own woolly bears and see what we can predict about our upcoming winter. Being as scientific as possible, of course. :)

I read the book The Devil Wears Prada. I saw the movie. I just couldn't get into it. So many of the fashion references meant nothing to me. I thought the book was relentless in creating what I thought was going to be something satanic at the end. I'm glad it had a goody ending.

The movie was another story- I missed that Andy's boyfriend was not a teacher and there was very little development of Lily, Andy's friend. The main characters became Emily, Nigel, and Christian. Mostly, the movie was Andy running through traffic talking on her cellphone.

O.K., so I'm out of it. Hard to believe, after that statement, but I love beautiful clothes, jewelry, and shoes. I just wasn't impressed with the book or the movie.

I'll finally be a Gardening Pro not a wanna-be. I signed up to take the Master Gardener class offered by MSU. It is every Wednesday night for the next thirteen weeks.

The requirements are: people who are interested in plants and stewardship of the land-that's me, people dedicated to volunteerism- that's definitely me, and people willing to share their knowledge- well, that wouldn't be hard since I talk about plants and gardening all of the time. With the Master Gardener's certification, I'll be able to say I know what I'm talking about. Besides, it's on my to-do-someday list. I'm smiling.

Oh yes, it requires 40 hours of volunteer service. That will get my brain spinning-wondering what that will be all about.

A good sandwich is easy to find. Tonight we had BLT's for supper. Fresh homemade wheat bread from Bay Bread, vine ripened tomatoes from an Amish roadside vegetable stand, cheap, thinly sliced, salty bacon, and a handful of bib lettuce stolen from CT's refrigerator- definitely gourmet. We didn't toast the bread. We used lots of mayo. One and a half sandwiches was perfect for me. I adore a good "samitch".

I found a praying mantis in my garden. In Greek, "mantis" means soothsayer or prophet. I watched it move its head back and forth quizzically and put its front legs in the prayer stance. They are just the neatest carnivorous insect. A mantis eats flies and aphids so it is definitely welcome. I know the kids at school loved to bring them in (I was a science teacher). I'll start watching for the egg sack. I usually find it on my siding. Yes, baby praying mantis!

Lavender is one of my favorite garden flowers. The fragrance is intense yet down-to-earth, a little exotic and dreamy. Most people associate it with English soap or tea. Ahh- it's restful.

But, even more fun comes with cooking with lavender. I have made lavender iced tea, lavender sugar cookies, lavender pound cake, apricot halves stuffed with lavender infused cream cheese, used lavender as a garnish, and lavender butter for scones. By far, the most elegant and beautiful has been lavender jelly that I made for my guests at my first Friendship tea. The jelly was fabulously delicious!!

Here is the recipe:

Lavender Jelly (Victoria Magazine, August, 1995)

Lavender Infusion:
Three teaspoons dried Lavender flowers or one-half cup fresh lavender flowers
Three cups distilled water

Lavender Jelly:
one quarter cup cider vinegar
four cups sugar
one three oz. envelope liquid pectin
fresh lavender sprigs for garnish (optional)

Note: Use distilled water for the infusion to avoid chemicals in tap water that alter the color. The vinegar and pectin turn the infusion magenta (light) when making jelly.

To make infusion:
1. Place lavender flowers in medium bowl. Bring water to boil in non-reactive (enamel or stainless steel) saucepan. Pour over flowers.
2. Cover, let stand fifteen minutes. Strain. Reserve.

To make lavender jelly:
1. Measure 2 c. infusion into six-quart non-reactive pot. Stir in sugar and vinegar. Mix well.
2. Bring to full boil, stirring constantly.
3. Stir in pectin. Stir constantly and bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down.
4. Boil for exactly one min., stirring constantly.
5. Remove from heat. Skim off foam. Ladle jelly into sterilized half pint canning jars, leaving one-quarter in. head space. Seal with canning lids according to manufacturer's directions.
6. Cool upright on rack. Store in refrigerator up to one month. For longer storage, process hot jelly in boiling water bath five min. after sealing with lids. Yield: four half pints

Note: To garnish jelly with lavender sprigs, do not seal jars at first. Tent them loosely with plastic wrap. Cool on rack jive hrs. Using a narrow spatula, gently press lavender sprigs into jelly. Seal. Let stand 254 hrs. Refrigerate up to one month.

More ideas, try :http://www.whatscookingamerica.net/Lavender.htm

I forgot that I have a Moon Garden. Moon gardens are specialty gardens designed around white, silver-leafed or variegated plants. It is delightful to view at dusk or in the dark, since the moon reflects off the white blossoms.

I'll let the white and the moon be my garden guide. I have planted white phlox in large patches up against the gray picket fence. They glow. The light is also picked up from the silver-gray fuzzy lamb's ears I have carefully placed along the front of the border. I follow the brick pathline past a massive planting of white shasta daises that surround my peace pole. I move on past the spikey silver foliage of a butterfly bush. Then back around the loop again. The beauty is not just the fairytale color, it is the sweet fragrances that many plants put out at night to attract pollinating insects. The bathwater warm air mingles with the light fragrance making me heady and somewhat sleepy. It is enchanting.

The white glow reminds me that I had made this special garden for the fall because many of the plants are dying back and my garden needed something to spice it up. The full moon is Aug. 9, but it is plenty big enough for me to view my Moon Garden. I'll take a stroll each night while it lasts. How could I forget?

Because I love to eat, and I love to peruse the menu, and I love to go about town to try new things, I should have a column called Aunt B Eats. So here goes.

Yesterday, I went to the Patisserie Amie to get a sweettooth treat. I really wanted a large slice of sweet, but because it was extremely hot and the dog was waiting from getting his haircut, I could not be as leisurely as I had wished.

Patissiere Amie is a tiny shop on Front St. with a table for two outside the door, and pink and white hollyhocks growing along a rail fence at the side. It's a charming bistro with a red and white striped canopy and a window displaying bread and colorful boxes waiting to be filled. It has a perfect location backed by the river and the river backed by the bay.

Inside, one is immediately drawn to the showcase filled with delectable sweets. Pear almond tarts, bombes, meringues, and dark delicacies of chocolate beckoned. For $3.25, I chose a plum tart. It had a light pastry crust, filled with thinly sliced plums and topped with just a decorative sprinkle of powdered sugar. Not too sweet, just the plum flavor and the buttery crust. The maybe ten delicate bits of treat only made me want more.

The shop is cozy with posters, sports a large blackboard menu, and seats about a dozen. There is a long list of coffee drinks and teas. Fresh bread is baked daily and the soup of the day was vichyssoise with leeks. They have a featured omelette and daily crepes with caviar.

After looking at the coffee menu and the pastry selection, I decided that I will have to try each dessert inorder to make a fair judgement on their quality. I'll have to remember to get their early since they close at 3:00 on the weekends. Next time, big cup of French pressed coffee and a bombe. or a madeline, or something chocolate....... Bon Apetit.

TC Reads has picked Barefoot Heart by Elva Trevino Hart for the Community Reads 2006 program. This is Trevino Hart's autobiography of everyday life, going from poverty to a successful professional. Elva is raised in South Texas and at age three follows the crops with her family as migrant workers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Her father is a hardworker and expects his wife and children to be the same. Child labor laws were not enforced in the 50's. Elva, the youngest, overcomes loneliness and neglect, graduates from high school and, is the first in her family to go to college. The story is about her childhood, relationships with her siblings, and her need to please her father. It is about trying to understand her childhood, going away from her culture, and finding her way back home.

The author will be in the area to discuss this impressive, heartwarming selection. http://www.tcreads.org/

Did I tell you that I love Pottery Barn? I love to look at their catalog and use it for all of my decorating changes. Because they are trendy, my house will never be finished. But then, that's the fun of it. It gives me a change to change things around and around and around. No little kids, only a dog and now I have time to mess with it.

Now that I think about it, I must be a Pottery Barn junkie. I have:

grand black desk phone in kitchen
black bulletin board near fridg
drawer pulls on cupboards (see picture)
glassbead garland wrapped around my chandelier over the table
large metal floor lamp with large square shade
paisley sheer curtain in bedroom window
sage green throw on couch (look alike because the one in the store was too expensive)
black display shelf in living room
displays of eggs in bird's nest and shells I collected ( I had these before Pottery Barn even thought of it.)
Use rice or white buttons under candles in glass containers
Store stuff in baskets
Store stuff in blue glass canning jars
Put cookbooks on display in kitchen
Flower arrangements like in their catalogue

However, I'm not hot on all of the decorating ideas. One thing I hate is when they turn all the books around on the bookshelves so the pages face outward. Now, that's a decorating idea I don't need. Yuck! And their bathroom ideas are a little too clean for me- obviously they don't have a carpenter or sawdust in their lives.

I crave going to a Pottery Barn Store, but when I get there I'm disappointed. I think I just like looking at mail order catalogs and moving things. I didn't say moving things and dusting.

Did I ever tell you that I love books? I especially like Pottery Barn's new Home. It's more than a coffeetable book. For me it is a whole world of decorating ideas. The decorating theme is to blend comfort and beauty. It assures that your style is to put the things around you that you love.

My idea of decorating is to put the things out that I love, and when I'm not noticing it anymore, I change it around. I also watch for the new arrangements-colors and textures that they put out in the Pottery Barn catalogue. Then, using their designer eye, I try to replicate the room, surface, wall- with the things that I have. Pretty inexpensive decorating and very cool.

I also notice items in the photographs. I look at the title of books that are on the shelves. For instance, I was interested in a cookbook on a kitchen self- Home Chef/Fine Cooking Made Simple by Judith Ets-Hokin. Seems this is a great reference book and now one I'll be on the lookout for. In one of the kitchens, I liked the display of old graters on the end of a cupboard. It gave me the idea to hang up a green rolling pin my friend, Judy, gave me for Christmas. I like what they do with organizing, so I have blue jars filled with pencils on my desk.

I'm working on my master bedroom and have found the perfect paint for the ceiling above the white beadboard. Pottery Barn has a line of paint through Benjamin Moore. I want to use Hazy Lilac 2116-40. Just the ticket to match my bedding. I have been looking and looking.

So comfort and beauty and lots of ideas. I'll probably have to check this book out over and over again since I see something I have missed each time I open it.

Weddings are all about bringing families together, at least for one day, if fortune shines on the couple. They bring unique ideas to their celebration. The idea presented of the bride on a longhorn was not part of bringing our families together or a tradition passed down. Thank heaven, the bride and groom rode away on a haywagon pulled by a pickup truck. The sign read "Red Neck Limo" and on the back it said, "Just Hitched."

My niece's wedding brought two aunts together representing the family to light the family candle which the bride and groom used to light their unity candle. It was Grandma B's 84 th birthday and the groom's parents wedding anniversary. The wedding cake used four little glasses that supported the top layer used in Connie and Don's wedding cake. A birthday/anniversary cake sporting photos of the celebrities was also served. Toasts were made during the reception with congratulations all around. I thought that these were a thoughtful, sweet touch to the couple's special day and will help everyone remember the festivities.

At first I thought the Red Neck Limo might be a bit much, but by comparison to the longhorn, gosh gee, it was mild. And anyway, I'm sure the next wedding will be creative and memorable without adding the above extra touch. I really don't know if it would do too much to bring our families together. :) Don't get any ideas.

Getting ready to go to a big wedding. I can't believe how stressful it has become and I'm just the Auntie. I know it will be very nice and I'm really excited. Her comes the bride....
This will be added to the Wedding book I'd like to write. Got any comments of best or worst parts of your wedding or weddings you have gone to?