The weather cleared last night, as forecasted. The sun's out, the cold wind is gone, and summer clothes are back again. Sioned spent the night with Bunty and Eliot, so that the girls could get outside first thing in the morning to set up today's Wool Week Event. What? You didn't know? It's an ICE CREAM SHOWCASE!
If you remember back to the early planning stages inside the house, when the world fell apart under the threat of awful weather for the week, Eliot had suggested that they put on an Ice Cream event. With one small twist, of course. He requested that the Ice Cream be made of 100% Sheep Milk!
Harold and Eliot had worked really hard to convert the outbuilding that usually serves as Bunty's Fiber Studio into a temporary Ice Cream Parlour. (No kidding, Eliot really worked hard.) Everyone who came to the house last week was volunteered to help, and the overhaul actually ended up feeling like one of the Wool Week events. An event before the event!
Having just birthed the twins, Berengaria generously supplied all the milk they needed. (With the best kept for the babies, of course . . .) Harold and Eliot had given the girls a list of flavours they knew "would be popular", but Bunty insisted on being a little more daring than the usual Neapolitan stripes. "And frozen treats, too. Not just bowls and cones. Let's try some different things. You know, I once read that the best time to try new recipes is when you're expecting a large crowd for dinner. That way, if the food doesn't taste or look good, you can always blame it on having been a recipe that you'd never tried before. And we are expecting a large crowd, Sioned, aren't we? Ha! Let's try some of those frozen treats and flavours we've only ever talked about before."
If you remember back to the early planning stages inside the house, when the world fell apart under the threat of awful weather for the week, Eliot had suggested that they put on an Ice Cream event. With one small twist, of course. He requested that the Ice Cream be made of 100% Sheep Milk!
Harold and Eliot had worked really hard to convert the outbuilding that usually serves as Bunty's Fiber Studio into a temporary Ice Cream Parlour. (No kidding, Eliot really worked hard.) Everyone who came to the house last week was volunteered to help, and the overhaul actually ended up feeling like one of the Wool Week events. An event before the event!
Having just birthed the twins, Berengaria generously supplied all the milk they needed. (With the best kept for the babies, of course . . .) Harold and Eliot had given the girls a list of flavours they knew "would be popular", but Bunty insisted on being a little more daring than the usual Neapolitan stripes. "And frozen treats, too. Not just bowls and cones. Let's try some different things. You know, I once read that the best time to try new recipes is when you're expecting a large crowd for dinner. That way, if the food doesn't taste or look good, you can always blame it on having been a recipe that you'd never tried before. And we are expecting a large crowd, Sioned, aren't we? Ha! Let's try some of those frozen treats and flavours we've only ever talked about before."
Sioned can work artistic wonders with cork board displays and signage. Combine that with some of the sheep decorations from Bunty's collection) and a few Wool Week souvenirs, and you've got the makeshift place looking quite . . . well, quite "woolly"!
The day arrived with more sunshine than they'd seen all week, and the girls were ready. Bunty and Sioned had fairly snuck out of the house, trying hard not to wake Brighton and Natalya. When Bunty had tried to wake them this morning, they both just scowled and rolled over with their backs to her, muttering something about being woken in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep. Bunty and Sioned were quite sure they'd be all right on their own, so they left their friends to finish their sleep. Eliot brought Berengaria and Sheepie to the viewing pen for the day. (The three lambs stayed in the pasture, still too young to behave very well with the crowd.) Harold would be around all day to help wherever needed, so Eliot had jumped at the chance to babysit Truannie.
Trudy had arranged with Bunty to come over before the Ice Cream Parlour opened to get some pictures for the morning edition of the Islandshire Gazette. "Don't let me get in your way or anything here. I'm just going to take some shots around the place. This should be a real hit with all our readers! Installing a cooler in the bottom of your counter is quite ingenious, and your display of pre-served choices is tantalizing." Trudy uses a lot of what my grandfather called "mayonnaise words" (long and hard to spell).
Trudy worked her way down the counter, snapping pictures of everything. "Oh, your ice cream bar is absolutely beautiful and looks positively scrumptious. Just look at all of the different flavours and colours. The ice cream sandwiches. The cookies. The ice cream cake. It's really quite a work of art, Girls." Click, click. She continued to work her way through the shop, catching every little detail. "Feel free to try anything you'd like, Trudy! Just holler if you need help! We'll be out back here . . ."
One of the great perks to being the only reporter on an Island filled with delicious edibles is the chance to sample it all. Everyone likes a good review in the Gazette, and Trudy is always happy to oblige. Too many beautiful things, though, were making today's choice more difficult than usual.
In the end, who can resist homemade sheep's-milk strawberry ice cream, garnished with the biggest strawberry you've ever seen? Not Trudy.
While Trudy relaxed at a table, enjoying her ice cream and scribbling all kinds of notes into her book, some familiar giggles floated through the place. "But, Girls! You were supposed to be relaxing and catching up on your sleep a bit." "We tried! Honest! Natalya said 'Are you awake, Brighton?' and I said "Uh-huh." and, well, we figured we may as well just get up. Wool Week is so much fun that we don't notice the tiredness. Besides, we'll have plenty of time to be tired when we get back home! Now, what can we do to help?"
Bunty finally convinced the two that all was ready and that they should just look around for a while before getting down to the main reason for being here. SHEEP-MILK ICE CREAM! The girls stopped short at the sight of a big sign on the counter and the pile of green tickets sitting next to the LOVE A LONGWOOL donation can. "Hey! What's this door prize thingamabob? How come we didn't know about this? Is the prize a gift basket like last year?"
"It was Trudy's idea, actually. Sioned made the sign and got the tickets, and Trudy is taking care of the prize (as well as drawing the winning ticket at tomorrow's event). Just put your name on one of those tickets and drop it in the jar. Whoever wins the drawing gets their photo taken with Albie tomorrow, and the picture will be printed on the front page of the Gazette."
Trudy finished her ice cream and came over to "bid a fond adieu". "It was delicious, Girls! Every mouthful! Before I go, mind if I snap a few more photos? I think you need more than a 5-star review. Maybe I can get back in time to hit the front page with a full article."
Brighton and Natalya hadn't spent much time with Trudy last year and were intrigued at the idea of her being the Owner/Editor of a newspaper. "Do all newspaper people wear a pencil in their hair, or is that an Island fashion statement?" Trudy smiled and reached up to where she knew the pencil would be. "Oh, no, it has nothing to do with fashion. It's what newspaper people DO! I don't know why, but my mother always said 'Don't forget your pencil, dear!' So I never do." The two redheads didn't know whether to laugh or just look pensive. Better just to look pensive, in case she wasn't kidding.
"I think I've got just about everything I need for today's article . . . but how 'bout a few more pictures? Maybe some of the out-of-town visitors enjoying themselves? And some of you guys making a float or petting the sheep?"
"Great idea! I'm trying to keep a scrapbook of my trip this year. Where do you want us to stand? Over there? Come on, Brighton! Can we get one with Bunty while we're at it? Where can I buy copies of these?"
"Say "SHEEP"!" Click, click. " Just stop by the Gazette, and I'll give you all the copies you want."
"Say "SHEEP"!" Click, click. " Just stop by the Gazette, and I'll give you all the copies you want."
While Bunty changed the sign from CLOSED to OPEN, Sioned made one last check of the ice cream bar and started making root beer floats (what Grammy always called 'Boston Coolers') for the early birds.
"Wonder what these taste like . . . I'd better check and make sure that I've done it right . . . Am I supposed to use a spoon or just the straw? . . . Hmm, both I think . . . I'm glad no one can see me having a rootbeer-float breakfast. Hmmmmm . . . ."
Meanwhile, Bunty showed Trudy out past the viewing pen where Berengaria and Sheepie were munching on their feed, oblivious to what was going on around them. "Visitors will be able to pet the sheep, and we figured it would make a great photo op. Harold is coming over to sort of 'oversee' the viewing pen. That'll keep them from getting lonely, and there's no one so good at sharing interesting sheep facts as Harold." No one mentioned the '10 Wonderful Reasons to Love Wool'.
"Me? I'd LOVE to have my picture taken with my little darlings. Stand still, Sheepie. Come a little closer, Berengaria. Say "SHEEP"!" The ewes looked up and smiled, then went back to their breakfast.
Time to hang the OPEN sign. Trudy went to the Gazette office to publish her story and photos in time for the early crowd to learn about today's event. Sioned has just finished her float, Bunty is taking a last-minute break, and Brighton and Natalya are . . . where are those girls? Well, you'll catch up with them tomorrow, I'm sure. See ya there!