maybe this will make up?

Today is the day--I leave for college this afternoon! (O my goodness, my summer has flown by with a whoosh and now it's gone)

100% rayon dress:

and a velveteen winter coat:

(of course, there is a fun lining!!)

I also altered a formal gown that I wore the swimteam banquet, serged cloth napkins, made multitude of small cases and bags, mended a pile.

Now that's why I haven't been posting much =). Hopefully Marissa and Mother Dear will keep this blog up and running while I am at school. *wink, wink* If you want to check out what I'm up to, here's the link to my blog:

http://theartsysophisticate.blogspot.com/

Sour Cherry Crumb Pie

...and the best of it is--the cherries were all from our orchard =D

for the perfect, flaky, buttery crust:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

2 tablespoons powdered milk

1/4 cup shortening

10 tablespoons cold butter

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

7-10 tablespoons ice cold water

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the shortening, working it in till the mixture is evenly crumbly. Cut the butter into small cubes. Add the butter to the flour mixture and work it in--don't be too thorough; the mixture should be very uneven, with big chunks of butter in among the smaller ones. Add the tablespoon of vinegar and 4 tablespoons of water. Mix in more additional water to make the dough chunky but cohesive.

this makes two crusts, so either skip the crumb topping, or save the rest of the dough to make another pie or some other delicious treat.

for the filling:

4 cups pitted cherries

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together and pour into crust.

for the topping:

1 stick (1/2 cup) slightly softened butter

1/2 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup pecans, broken

Mix together, leaving the pecans to be added at the very end. Crumble on top of the pie. Bake the pie at 425 for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 and finish for 30 minutes. Take the pie out of the oven and let stand at least 15 minutes. ENJOY!