Handmade Coffee Tote Bag

Handmade Coffee Tote Bag

Handmade Coffee Tote Bag

I’ve been making these coffee bags from the burlap bags that the green coffee beans come in. Each one is different in some way. The lining, the handles, the bag, are all unique in one way or another. The listings in my online shop won’t show all of the details of the bags so I decided to put them in my blog. I currently have eight different bags for sale in my online shop. Most of them are listed. If you see something you’d like but need more detail you can check my blog or send me an email and I’ll be happy to give more details and pictures.  In the meantime, I’m going to continue to feature the different bags in my blog so my customers can see the inside and outside of each bag. This bag has plain burlap side panels. These bags are great at the grocery store, farmer’s market, for work, to carry books or any time you need to carry a lot of stuff! I use mine constantly. 14″H,16″W with a 6″ side panel.

The Breakfast Bistro

This is what we fondly call the breakfast bistro. Although we don’t usually serve guests here, we like to enjoy breakfast outside from time to time. The bistro has a new umbrella! This morning we’ll have our breakfast there. Our guests will have theirs in the dining room watching the humming birds. Outside breakfast is an option but usually our guests sit in the adirondack chairs in the pergola or have afternoon coffee at the bistro. There isn’t a lot of seating or extra room for food but both are in our future plans.

While enjoying dinner at the bistro last night, we couldn’t help but notice the humming birds. Fiesty little characters! No matter how many feeders or how much food, they fight over both. Amazingly fierce little birds and very territorial. We never tire from watching there acrobatics as they interact with eachother and feed at the feeders and various flowers here at North Fork B&B.

Humming Birds

Humming Birds in the early morning at North Fork B&B

This time of year is also a great time for the gardens. Our memory garden has really taken off and is looking very nice. We plan to be working on a new garden at the front of the house this week. We’ve been under construction as we’ve taken off the front porch. This has kept us pretty busy. Hopefully this week we’ll complete the new garden. It will be a while before we can stain the new siding but we’re hoping to get the done by early September.

The Memory Garden

New Coffee Tote Bags in the gift shop

I’ve been pretty busy with the B&B but in between times I made nine new tote bags from authentic burlap coffee bags making a unique tote bag, shown hanging in my gift shop. These tote bags can be carried over the shoulder or just by their handles. They are great for work because they hold so much. Each is lined with fabric. These are eco friendly as they are upcycled. They are also “one of a kind” which makes a unique handmade item. We have lots of soy votive candles, locally made fudge sauces, local maple syrup and maple candy, placemats, handmade soap, lotions, sugar scrubs and even strawberry jam! We make a variety of gift baskets and our customers can create their own basket if they wish. We also have Jonathan’s Spoons which I hope to get into the shop online for purchase through our online store.

Tonight I’m hoping to get out to the shop to finish the bath teas. I’ll be putting together some bath tea sets in the near future so be sure to check back. There are some completely new items I’m working on as well but they are a surprise.

Today most of my time was spent working in the yard, mowing. I’m also gearing up for the second week of August when I plan to transplant perennials and day lilys. Today I went over to my mom’s and we marked all of the day lily’s I’d like to transplant. I’ve been planning just how I’d like to orchestrate this. Usually I don’t plan at all I just get plants and put them in where ever how ever. They always look nice but this time I really want to accomplish my vision and that is going to take planning!

Our Coffee Totes are available for $30 with free shipping. I hope to have them in our online store this evening barring any unforeseen difficulties that is. Here are some other pictures of the shop and the totes.

We had our fabulous stuffed blueberry french toast for our guests this morning. They just loved it! The kids loved the fact that it is served with whipped cream. It is very yummy! Yes, of course I’ll share the recipe. I wouldn’t think of keeping something this yummy all to myself! So, here it is. Try this breakfast, it’s just wonderful.

Blue Berry Stuffed French Toast

 12 slices French Bread (1″ thick)
6 eggs
1 1/2 cup half & half
1 T vanilla
1/4 lb. butter
1 c brown sugar
1 pint Blueberries

 Melt Butter add brown sugar bring to low boil., Beat eggs, half & half, vanilla. Dip break slices in egg mixture. Lay dipped bread slices in 13×9″ greased baking pan. Pour remaining egg mixture over bread slices, Pour butter and brown sugar over bread, sprinkle blueberries over top. Refrigerate 8 hours  overnight. Bake 350 35 minutes un-covered. Serve with whip cream.

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Bacon,Egg and Cheese Strata North Fork Bed and Breakfast/Gifts

This morning we served this fabulous strada for breakfast. The bacon, which was exceptional, came from Cook Farm in Heuvelton,NY.  Our guests absolutely loved this tasty dish.

Fresh Blueberries

Over the years I can remember many Memorial Day and 4th of July Day parades that were rained out. I remember the disappointment. This day has been spectacular! We really couldn’t ask for nicer weather. Recently, I took some photos of the flowers. They are doing really well this year. It is so satisfying to see how beautiful they are. The past few years we’ve had so much rain, it was tough to keep things nice. This year things seem to be doing quite well.

The Pergola, A great place to relax!

After I’m finished with this post, I’m headed to the pergola to sit and relax and enjoy the breeze and watch the birds.

Flowers in the Pergola

 The above photo, is my favorite flower arrangement. I love the colors and particularly the way the bacopa falls over the side. The straw flowers are an added bonus. It is just charming with the tangerine violas. Makes for a very pleasant area to hang out in and listen to the birds.

These are the flowers on the front step. Usually by now I’m having a terrible time keeping things looking nice. I’m so thankful things are doing so well. My brother and his wife raise all of these plants and each year I make my way over to the greenhouses to purchase my flowers for the season. They do a fabulous job. Their place is called Never Tire Farm. The mums for this fall are already growing in the greenhouses. They do annuals and perennials and the mums in the fall. They shut down in the winter months due to the extremely cold winters and extremely high fuel costs.  Well, I just wanted to share a few little tidbits today. Happy 4th of July! I’m off to the pergola to sit (something I rarely do!)

I love to make jam. I thought I would include some pictures of the jam I made recently. I decided to make them in jelly jars, something I don’t usually do, so that they can be used in my gift baskets and also given as gifts.

Strawberry Jam

This week I spent quite a bit of time watching the birds. When I wasn’t watching birds, I was busily working in my shop making soy votive candles and soy melts. Here are some of the things I made.

Coffee Beans Soy Votive

Vanilla Almond Soy Votive

Coffee Beans Soy Melt

I realize it’s been a while since my last post. I’m pretty sure it’s about a month now. I have finished school for now and have begun to catch my breath. My plan is to get back to blogging on a regular basis. I did find that the computer was taking up way too much of my time and I needed to get away from it and outside, walking and gardening, planting and just relaxing in the sunshine, listening to the birds and taking in everything around us. The day before yesterday was the arrival of the wren. I was sure they weren’t coming this year. Probably changing the house, I figured. Low and behold, she chose the chickadee house to build her nest and she wasn’t the least bit quiet about it either. I was able to get some pretty awesome shots of her nest building.

Nest Building

More Nest Building

Just One More Stick

Today, day three, she seems to have settled down somewhat. This was the chickadee bird house I had written about in the spring. The other house I had written about was the one designed for robins and swallows. Was I ever surprised to see a robin checking out the house. I thought it was too late but that was not the case. She built her nest on top of the box instead of inside of it but who knows what goes on in the mind of the robin? Yesterday, I saw some pointy things and wondered what they were. I was so suprised to find that they were the babies AND those babies were nearly fledglings! Every time I go in and out of the shop, I see these little darlings. Of course the one time they were both standing up and trying out their new wing feathers, I did not have my camera! I will try to get some pictures of that in the upcoming days, if they don’t fly away before hand.

Baby Robins

I will continue to keep a close eye on all of these birds and let you know what happens. In the mean time, I am working on making products. My goal is to complete everything I have supplies to make. I’ll be posting these in the near future so be looking for them.

Yesterday just before 7 am the truck showed up and the men began taking down the trees. They were dangerous and had been for some time. I had always refused to have anything done but when I saw how they were moving in the strong winds and realized how wet the ground was, it was time. Luckily, no one got hurt and they never did fall on the house. If I had a nickel for every time I heard “you need to do something about those trees before they fall on the house”,I would be a very wealthy woman. Well, they are gone. It is going to take some getting used to for sure! We planted a maple tree a few years ago and plan to do more planting after we get the yard repaired from the huge holes left from the tree removal.

I will always miss these trees as I said in another post. They have been the home of many birds and even a couple of families of racoons over the years. They have provided shade and that wonderful sound of leaves blowing in the breeze. We’ll be planting soon and I’ll be sure to share that when it happens.

Tim and I were at the Really Big Show over the weekend. We also had guests for the bed and breakfast.

Everyone certainly loves St. Lawrence Valley Roasters Coffee! This weekend it became the focal point of our guest’s visit. They just couldn’t wait for Tim to arrive back so they could buy their coffee to take home. Their favorites were Baker Road Blend and Sumatran Black Satin. My brother had run out of coffee and said it didn’t matter which coffee he got, he hadn’t ever had one he didn’t like. We hear that a lot!

Right now the website isn’t up and running so if you’d like coffee you can call 315-250-7650 and place your order.

You can also go to www.northforkbedandbreakfastgifts.com where you’ll find a coffee sampler gift basket in our shop. The current coffee list isn’t listed there so I’m going to put it on here for anyone that may be looking to see what we have for coffees.

FTO Organic Costa Rica La Amistad- nice acidity with lemon notes & chocolate creaminess

FTO Guatemala Huehuetenango- good body with citrus, milk chocolate notes & a hint of smoke

FTO- Peru La Florida- milk chocolate start with creamy lemon tones and a lasting walnut finish.

FTO Sumatra Permata Gayo- low acidity, rich, syrupy body notes of dark chocolate and berry notes

Organic Flores Bajawa Ngura- heavy body & syrupy with dark chocolate notes & a peppery finish

FTO Ethiopian Yirgacheffe- lemon/orange tones with hints of peach & a floral finish

FTO Ethiopian Sidamo- creamy lemony flavors, smooth clean body with a sweet berry finish

FTO Peru Royal Select Decaf- smooth with sweet-lemon taste and a creamy, chocolate walnut finish

FTO Sumatra Half Caff- all the goodness of Sumatran, but half of the caffeine, rich

FTO Whispering Pines Blend- a complex full flavoured blend of 3 organic coffees

FTO Mountain Morning Blend- a complex full flavoured blend of 3 organic coffees

FTO Dark Star Blend-dark roast,wild,fruity,sharp and mysterious

FTO Moondance Blend- rich with full bodyand a chocolate finish,dark roast

FTO Black Stallion Espresso Blend- rich sweet & earthy with traces of fruit and a chocolate syrupy finish

FTO Sumatra Mandheling- fragrant, sweet & earthy with traces fo fruit and a chocolate syrupy finish