frittata

It's Favorite Ingredients Friday (Healthy Edition) from Overwhelmed With Joy. In the summer we usually eat foods that are a lot lighter. Since we belong to the CSA our menus also incorporate lots of fresh veggies, yum. One of my absolute favorites is a frittata. Here's the recipe:


In a large cast-iron or other heatproof pan lightly grease and heat.

In a separate pan lightly sautee thinly sliced onions and minced garlic

In a container mix together:

3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 t. mustard beaten into eggs
pinch of salt
generous pinch of herbs de provence

pour egg mixture into pan.

top with:

thinly sliced fresh veg
favorites are asparagus, spinach, tomato, summer squash, combinations of the above

top with grated cheese

Turn oven on to broil

Cook over medium heat until bottom of eggs are firm

remove pan from stovetop and place in oven under broiler until top is firm (usually 2-3 minutes)

Remove from oven, slice into quarters and serve.

Delicious when paired with a fresh spinach salad and a hearty whole grain bread.

kids/zits

Okay, Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman are geniuses. However I'm starting to get concerned. Do they have a secret camera in my house?

Want proof? Look here, here and here.

gardening today

Steve and I worked in the garden today, weeding mostly but a little bit of transplanting and trimming as well. I have come to realize that my idea of an ideal garden has changed dramatically. I used to dream of big, lush, overflowing gardens. Riots of color and nooks, meandering, etc. All those lovely magazine type ideas come to mind.

The areas of the garden that now bring me the most pleasure are my herb/fruit gardens and a section that has flowers in it. I do take care of the rest of it to the best of my abilities but having ripped out a large section of the garden I have come to the stunning realization that I am not a large scale gardener anymore. I am looking forward to the redesign of the back yard and then possibly considering redoing the front yard to make it more manageable and allow me to concentrate on the areas of the yard that I enjoy the most.

I know so many people who garden constantly and are continually on the prowl for the newest botannical score. We were attracted to the house in part because of the garden but it has proven to be more than we can handle. Amazingly enough I find that I am not sad about this as I had thought I would be.

last night

was Stitch Sisters. It was REALLY hot!!! I brought a standing fan to the meeting to help us all stay cool. It was a really fun meeting (of course when are they not fun?). One bit of silliness...we celebrate birthdays. I got someone's birthday wrong, brought a present and made someone bake a cake! In this hot, humid, awful weather yet. Turns out her birthday is next week. So it was a big surprise. Oh well.

I finished seaming up the sweater. It's too tight!!! I'm setting it aside for now and will start working on our charity blanket square. It's too hot to do the neck and waist bands. Unfortunately I can't take out the seams and put in panels as one sister suggester because I have run out of the purple yarn. Also unfortunately I have gained 15 pounds since I started the sweater over a year ago. Not sure who will be the gift recipient when it is done but I admit to a twinge of sadness as I had wanted my first sweater to be for me. Another oh well.

my evening

The bread came out fine. Very tasty, not as hole-y as the all-store-bought-flour version but very tasty nonetheless.

The red currant tart was delicious!

My latest google search? Look here and that will give you a hint of what I've been doing this evening. Now it's time for bed.

strange

I often hear about people who have odd searches that lead to their blog. This usually doesn't happen to me. Today in checking my blogstats I did see one odd search that lead to me

can a weimaraner eat water chestnuts

I don't recall ever mentioning weimaraners on my website (although I love Oliver. I'm also wondering why someone would want to know this...most dogs eat anything whether they are allowed to or not.

Well, it made me smile anyway.

whew, i'm tired

It's been a long afternoon evening. I've made 9 jars (8 oz) of Rhubarb Apricot Jam, so I've gotten my yearly allottment in. Not sure if I'm going to make another batch of Rhubarb Lemon since I'm the only one who likes it. Last year I made Rhubarb Blackberry Jam using frozen blackberries that I had on hand. This year I've cut up the rhubarb and frozen it for use when the blackberries are ready.

I also picked more currants. It's beginning to become a contest between me and the birds. I did get enough to make a red currant tart tomorrow. I'm hoping the rest will ripen enough that I can get them tomorrow as I really want to make some red currant/raspberry syrup.

In going through my cookbooks for recipes I started re-reading my Mom's book. Preserving Memories: Growing Up in My Mother's Kitchen I really like reading this book in part because she's a great writer but also because I love the stories. The recipes are neat too. I'm trying to decided between making her Rhubarb Ginger Jam and trying Rhubarb Pickles from another cookbook. The pickles sound interesting but I'm not sure if anyone in my family will eat them. I should confess that I still have two jars left from the Watermelon Pickle that I made a couple of years ago. I'm the only one who likes it and even I can't eat an entire widemouth pint jar of the stuff.

While I was in the kitchen I started another batch of kombucha. Not hard to do but it kept me busy washing pots as I moved from one activity to another.

Then I began a batch of the no-knead bread that is still going around bloggityville. I confess that I think my experiments with making this bread completely with fresh ground flour are grinding to a halt. It's not working well and I'm getting fed up with not being able to figure it out. Half fresh ground and half store bought seems to be the best I can do. Usually I make it with spelt flour but decided to try using half Ezekiel flour and half store bought. We'll see how it turns out. Research has not come up with anyone else who has successfully made this bread completely with fresh ground flour (unless they're not telling) althoug a few people have blogged about trying or wanting to try. In any event the bread is delicious and my family loves it which is all that really matters.

It has been a busy evening.

grains of gratitude

Started by Christine this blogprompt has certainly begun to spread it's way through the blogosphere. I love reading other posts and really to enjoy taking the time to think about what I am grateful for (even if I don't post it every week).

This week I am grateful for:

The wonderful weather we have had. Yes it has been hot at time but it has been sunny and beautiful, the birds are singing, the butterflies and bees are out. It's really been fabulous.

D having such great camps to go to. Last week was a career camp to try and convince girls to consider careers in math and science. They had a fun field trip, did a confidence course at a wilderness center and had a great time doing experiments and making new friends. Today of course she is at Bible camp for her second year and so happy to be there.

Having the opportunity to do community service. These days it doesn't always happen or if it does I find myself feeling overwhelmed by it. Filling the gaps here and there seems to work best for me.

All of the fruit that we are starting to harvest from our property. I LOVE that.

My hard-working wonderful husband who comes home from a long day at work and still helps pick currants and fix raspberry fences.

My farm share. Reconnecting with the farmers, other share members and the peaceful quality of my time there. Not to mention the yummy food. Our dinners have been great lately because there is so much fresh produce to work with. We all love it.

My ipod nano. I have been listening to several very thought provoking and some very funny podcasts this week (catching up). I'm really glad to have this little device that allows me to listen to my shows when it is convenient for me instead of being tied to the radio or the computer on a schedule.

There's more, there always is, but this is a great list of things to be grateful for. The fact that there's more is even more of a blessing.

check out what others have to say

camp

I have dropped D off at camp. She's thrilled to be there. Some of her friends from last year were there already. One of her counselors is the same as last year. She got a top bunk (and these things are three beds high!). And I bought her lots of vegan goodies for Chef J to store in his kitchen for her. What's not to like. Two weeks no parents no sisters in a real old-fashioned camp. There's nothing like dropping off a happy child. She'll come home for one night in between and then return the next day because they need that day for clean-up before the next session.

On the way home from dropping her off I stopped and bought a magazine, a puzzle book, chips, cookies, and a disposable camera. I was going to send gum but she already had her own private stash of 4 super packs so I figured she had enough.

I can't wait to hear about her camp adventures when she gets home.

church

D and I volunteered in the nursery at church today. It was not that difficult as we only had one customer...a beautiful curly-headed, blue-eyed chubby blond. She is 11 months old and very sweet. We had lots of fun playing, reading, giggling. It was great.

When church was over on the way out I notice a huge box marked "Summer Reading" full of freebies to take. Wow! I restrained myself and only took three books:

Return of Merlin because it looked interesting. I didn't know he wrote fiction.

Georgiana: Dutchess of Devonshire which also looked interesting. I always like period stories and this one sounds pretty good.

Chang and Eng because they were interesting. I really don't know anything about then other than the fact that they were famous conjoined twins who lead remarkably full lives.

Reading continues apace this summer. I'm finishing up How Doctors Think which was recommended by my sister-in-law's sister. It's a fascinating book and certainly gives you pause for thought when thinking about medicine and medical matters. It also underlines that the few times I have had to practically stand up and shout at a doctor to be heard I was right to do so.

I also started reading The Historian which my other sister-in-law had lent me. It's quite good and I am enjoying it very much but I am saving it for bedtime reading so I'm not getting through it very quickly.

It's funny, I have dropped out of the reading challenges because I felt overwhelmed by how prolific these other readers were and how thought-filled their lists seemed to be. I now realize that I don't need to have a "challenge" in front of me to read. I love to read. It's more a matter of making the time in my busy life and making sure that I am reading what grabs me at the moment.

Even funnier my local library misses me, when I run in to drop off magazines and plunder the magazine basket they remark how long it's been since they have seen me and ask me what I'm reading. I guess I'm very fortunate to have all these wonderful books flowing into my life these days from whatever source they arise.

What is anyone else out there reading? Just curious.

fruitilicious

Today has been about fruit. Steve and I went to the garden and picked a huge bowl of red currants. All the ripe ones. There's still twice as many berries on the bush so over the next few days we'll be picking them trying to stay ahead of the birds. Tomorrow I'll start washing and freezing what we have as I do not have the time to make jelly right now. I plan to make jelly, syrup and tarts with the berries when I am done with the rhubarb.

Speaking of rhubarb I ran out to the garden tonight and grabbed a huge bunch of stalks and have a container of Rhubarb-Apricot Jam starting on the counter. I'll process it tomorrow.

The gooseberries are doing very well, getting plump but still green. I think there will be enough for a pie. Not bad since I only planted it last year.

I then wandered over to the raspberry bed (on the other side of the house) and found the first few ripe raspberries. There was an unfortunate accident on the 20 steps back to the house and somehow none of the raspberries survived. However it looks like a good crop is forming so we'll start picking those soon.

The blackberries are setting an unbelievable amount of fruit. Every branch inside the fence is loaded. The ones outside the fence? I think the deer have been nibbling. Good thing the fence is up.

farm again

Farm day again, how lovely it is. I really find my time on the farm to be very calming. It's so serene and peaceful out there. Amazing to think that people used to (and some still do) live that way. It's a lot of hard, hot work but there are benefits to be sure.

Todays share was:

strawberries - the last of them *sob*
spinach, garlic scapes, salad mix, buttercrunch lettuce, curly kale, salad turnips, radishes, a huge tomato (brandywine?), and basil. Boy did my car smell good driving home.

canning again

Today I made a small batch of Rhubarb Lemon Jam. So tart and tangy. So delicious. No picture because it wouldn't look that different from yesterdays.

Recipe? I'm glad you asked

Rhubarb Lemon Jam

2 pounds of rhubarb
1 thin peel of a lemon (no pith - the white stuff)
1/2 C. water

bring to a boil then simmer covered for 30 minutes

add 2 1/2 C. of sugar

raise heat and cook on medium-high for 20 minutes

process in sterilized jars in hot water bath for 10 minutes


Mmmmmmmmm.......

knitting around town

While doing my banking today I was knitting in line at the drive through. I have started keeping a small charity project at hand for just such an opportunity. I managed to get three rows done.

At Stitch Sisters tonight we sat outside for the first hour as it was VERY hot inside. We had two new people show up. One is a crocheter and the other brought her spinning wheel! That was pretty cool. She has a flock of sheep and this is her own fiber.

We had our usual fabulous meeting time. I'm done knitting the sweater. Just need to sew it up and do the neckband and the waistband. I'm really bummed because one sleeve is a couple of rows shorter than the other due to the fact that I ran out of that yarn. No ball band and I'm sorry but I'm not buying a whole skein of yarn just to do two sleeve rows. I think it won't show too much and it's supposed to be a beach throw-on anyway so I think it will be fine. Not happy with the way the seaming is coming out so I'll need to experiment with different methods until I find one that looks the way I want it to.

just because

I don't normally put pictures up here. Too busy/distracted/lazy to get out the camera, transfer the pictures, upload the pictures...oh well. Today for some reason I happened to be at the computer with the camera and the stars aligned so there are a lot of pictures coming to blogityville. This one is of Chloe, just because, because she's cute, because she's a silly cat who sleeps on paper, just because.

berries to come

While wandering around the yard today I noticed that my blackberry bush is in full blossom. It's so pretty and will provide a lot of tasty fruit later in the year. I'm starting to plan now for all of the yummy crisps and jams that will come from this bush.

weeding with a chainsaw

Steve and I got out into the garden today before it got too hot. I was weeding and noticed that a couple of things needed to be moved. Then I noticed that a couple more things needed a haircut -- badly.

Steve obligingly came over and move a rhododendron (a small one) and then tried to move a couple of barberry bushes that I no longer want. They've gotten too big and are impinging the other plants around them. They are so big he had to get the chainsaw to hack them down. I'm not putting anything in their place other than mulch as I figure the tree and remaining barberries will fill in and the hole will not even be noticeable next year.

After that he gave the juniper a haircut; also with the chainsaw because the branches were too thick to cut with shears. Now I'll need to separate out the hosta and fill in the blank. Hopefully it will all look good when I'm done.

rhubarb marmelade

That time of year again. The rhubarb calls.

I've made a lovely rhubarb cake, yesterday, and a wonderful batch of rhubarb-apricot jam from Steve's grandmother's recipe. Mmmmmmm, we love this stuff. And just in time because we finished the last jar a few weeks ago.

Recipe? Of course.

Take a bunch of peeled and chopped rhubarb
take the same amount of sugar
let the two sit overnight
take a handful of diced apricots and let them sit in a little warm water
put rhubarb mixture and apricots into a pot and start to cook
bring to a boil and boil 10 minutes
can in sterilized jars, process 10 minutes in hot water bath



Enjoy!!!

yippedy dippity

It's Miss K's birthday!!! How wonderful to have this little bundle in our family. Her very first birthday surrounded by lots of loving arms to hold her.

thanks to Barb's Pics for the graphic

graduate

Yippee! She's done it! She went and graduated! V has joined the ranks of graduates, the class of 2007. She has worked so very hard to get to this point and now will be heading off to become the class of 2011. Hard to believe that two out of three are one foot out of the nest.

Congratulations on a job well done!

where's the food?

small rant coming up.....

I'm probably dating myself but I do very clearly remember the Where's-The-Beef? lady in the Wendy's commercials. These days I'm beginnig to wonder where the food is? It started with trying to remove MSG and all it's aliases. Then came colors, preservatives; things with numbers. Now it's High Fructose Corn Syrup and folks, I've got to tell you, I'm shocked at how pervasive this stuff is in our diet. Then I find out that almost all HFCS is made with GMO corn. YUCK!!!

Read this list and see for yourself. It's getting harder and harder to find real food. Why is the public unable to convince agribusiness that we do not want this stuff? Probably because most people go for cheap and convenient over more expensive and harder to obtain. We don't think we have time in our busy lives to pay attention to what goes into our mouths.

As I learn more about this stuff I find myself wishing I had known a lot of this earlier so that I could have been more proactive for my kids. It also makes me talk to them about food, hopefully helping them to make better choices down the road.

book backlog

Currently reading too many books. I just finished Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It was really good, very thought provoking. Made me realize that although I believe there is a lot that I am doing right in our diet there is a lot more that we could be doing and should try to do. Not that I plan to raise and harvest our own meat animals and not that I plan to give up my farm share. But we could and should be more conscientious about our food supply miles.

I'm also reading Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral -- given to me by my sister-in-law as a birthday present. It's okay but I'm not enjoying it as much as she did. I don't know maybe I'm not in that reflective a mood to be able to appreciate the story as much.

Next on the reading stand, started and eagerly waiting to get back to:
The Historian -- lent to me by my sister-in-law. Seems great so far. It's also a really big book! I love those, you can get lost in the story.

And, as the rest of the world is, we are waiting for The publication of the last Harry Potter. I think there's a feeling of unreality about this book because no one wants to believe that J.K. Rowling would actually stop these stories. But that's what she's said she'll do. My modus operandi is to let the kids fight over who gets to read it first while I start all the way back at the beginning. Obviously this means it's going to take me a long time to get to the very end...woe betide those who try to tell me what happens because I DON'T WANT TO KNOW until I've read it for myself.

Gonna be a busy summer for reading.

'tis that time

To make Nina's lovely Rhubarb Hazelnut Cake. My rhubarb is growing very well this year and we're going to a party tomorrow. Should be a lovely thing to bring (along with perhaps some whipped cream?)

Here's the recipe in standard measures as Nina very kindly translated it for me:

Nina's Rhubarb Hazelnut Cake

2 C. chopped rhubarb
1/2 C. ground nuts
1/2 C. brown sugar (I use sucanat)
7 oz melted margerine
1/2 C. milk
2 C. flour
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. vanilla sugar
2 t. baking soda

I forgot to write down my baking directions so it's 350 degrees F until done unless otherwise specified in my house. Works for most things.

farm farm farm farm

farm farm farm farm FARM Loverly Farm, lovery F-A-R-M.

Today's share was Broccoli Rabe, Chinese Cabbage, Radish, Lettuce, Spinach, Strawhberries, Sugar Snap Peas, Arugula, and Bok Choy. Yummmmmmm

national chocolate eclair day

Ooooh, yummmmm. Today is National Chocolate Eclair Day. I LOVE chocolate eclairs, craved them when I was pregnant with V. MMMmmmmmmmm. Eat one today!

awwwww

We were treated this morning to the sight of a fawn nursing from it's mother. Given how wobbly it was on it's feet I think it must be very young. It was tiny, spotted and very sweet.

back to the farm

Yes folks, the CSA has started up again. Our first yummy share was broccoli rabe, bok choy, arugula, three kinds of lettuce, the most fragrant and delicious strawberries and snap peas. Yummmmm. Tonight was are having stir fry for dinner. I'm so happy to be going back to the farm, it's really wonderful.

too funny...

and too true!

this is not to be missed.

funniest phrase of the day

Overheard:

"Don't make me kung fu your dupaw."

gimpy weeding

In spite of my still-bum-knee I was able to get outside and get a little weeding done today. Mostly in the front yard. The weather was wonderful and I blessed each and every yoga class that allowed me to have the flexibility to bend in half to snag those darn weeds.

Steve bought some new fencing for the raspberry beds. The deer have been romping through the tender shoots in the absense of the fence but it should be completed soon and I think the raspberries and elderberries will survive. While the fence was down was a prime opportunity to get rid of all the unlovely weeds that manage to inveigle themselves in amongst the greenery; mostly bittersweet, Rose of Sharon (from the tree nearby) and multiflora roses). I pointed out all the weedy stuff for him to dig up, trimmed what needed to be trimmed and then went to rest my knee while he put up the fencing. It's looking good; he always does great work.

Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to get some more weending done in there. I'm thinking about borrowing V's skateboard and skootching along, leg outstretched, on it as I weed. Standing up again may be a problem but I'll figure that out later.

wfmw - whole grain breakfast

Time to get back into Works for Me Wednesday; don't forget to check out Rocks In My Dryer for other WFMW tips.

Everyone knows we're supposed to add more whole grains to our diet. Especially in the morning to give us a good boost and fuel the furnace in the morning. This is not always easy. Whole wheat on one cereal package, multi-grain on another. But truthfully neither of them is whole grain.

I've started making my own breakfast cereal by making sure that when I cook whole grains (such as wheat for chili) I make enough to have the leftovers with breakfast. Then I assemble this easy muesli-style cereal that can be served hot or cold. It's a quick and easy way to nourish your body before heading out the door to enjoy summer activities.

1 C. cooked whole grain (such as wheat)
1 C. rolled cereal flakes (barley or oatmeal)
1/4 C. chopped nuts (such as almonds)
1/4 C. diced dried fruit (such as apricots)
1 t. dried cinnamon
soy or almond milk to taste (how gloppy do you like it)

mix together, heat or serve cold

makes two very hearty servings

idea for deer

Steve came up with a marvelous idea for the deer in our back yard. Well, more for the ticks that accompany the deer. Set out a salt lick, hit the deer with something to knock them out, apply tick repellant solution, let the deer wake up. The only problems? Adult deer can weigh up to 400 pounds. This could get tedious on a monthly basis (not to mention expensive). You'd think that the deer would figure it out after a while.

On a similar but related idea one of our neighbors had expressed interest in the idea of a salt lick laced with birth control. Apparently this is not a new idea as the following information from Deer Facts shows:

Fertility agents

• They are experimental
  
• They don't affect the current population size
  
• Have potential impacts on the gene pool
  
• Costly and impractical ($150-$500 per deer)
  
• Have problems with dosage control and ingestion of anti-fertility agents by non-targeted animals and humans.
  
  According to a study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the cost of administering contraceptives exceeds $500 per deer treated. This study assumed:
  
• No deer left or entered the herd being treated.
  
• The contraceptive was administered with a single shot and was 100% effective.
  
• The efficiency of autumn darting was similar to winter sharpshooting over bait with a high-power rifle.
  
• All deer were infertile with a single treatment. (Not possible with contraceptives available today).
  
• No deer were accidentally darted twice.
  
• It was possible to distinguish between male and female fawns before darting.
  
  Since it is doubtful that any of these assumptions would hold true, the actual cost would far exceed the estimate of $500 per deer treated.
  

They're cute it's true. Just destructive, overbreeding, and carry ticks. We're looking into making some changes in the yard to try to reduce the conditions for ticks (such as possibly putting in a tick barrier between the lawn and the woods) but given where we live we'll just have to continue to live with it like everyone else does.

star stitchin'

There was a previously planned function at the church so we had to move to another location for tonights Stitch Sisters meeting. We chose *buck$ so that we could get ourselves some of those frothy, frivolous drinks and lounge around on their comfy couches. We were serenaded by their latest CD-for-sale, Paul McCartney, all evening while we laughed, knit, ate, chatted and knit some more. It was a really fun evening and a nice change of pace.

Several people seemed very intriged by the fact that we were sitting there in public knitting but although there were many sidelong glances no one came over to enquire. Of course if they had we probably would have pressed needles and yarn into their hands to encourage them to give it a try for themselves.

One of the sisters gave me a ride since I am still not able to drive with my bum knee. She got a brandy-new car; an Impala. It's very cool, has it's own phone number (I didn't know cars could do that), and under the passenger seats has a yarn stash space. What more does one need in a car? It could be the emergency stash for when the drive doesn't want to stop at passing yarn shops to resupply your need. Of course if there are passengers in the car this might present a problem at highway speeds but I'm sure the resourceful knitter could figure out how to deal with that minor inconvenience. It was a nice ride and I got a snootful of that lovely new car smell, hard to believe they still haven't figured out how to manufacture that.

project list

Just writing about falling off the yarn wagon made me really think about the projects I still have on the needles. No pictures, sorry I'm really bad about that, but they are:

stripey sweater - almost done - working on the last sleeve now

blue striped hat - a stash busting project

purple crochet blanket - coming along slowly

red, orange, yellow granny square blanket - also slow

charity blanket square for Stitch Sisters

ipod/cellphone purses for Knitting Ministry Bazaar at church

Better than it used to be but still a lot.

The "I want to knit this pattern" list? Too long to bear documenting. At least I'll never run out of things to knit.

off diet

I'm still on a self-imposed yarn diet but today managed to fall off the wagon in a spectacular fashion.

Giving in to momentary weakness I was wandering through ebay and stumbled across this



and this



over 3,000 yards of yarny goodness. Do I have room for it in the stash closet? ummmmmmm no. Do I know what I'm going to do with it? Not really. I am hoping to turn the sari silk into a sweater which I think would be really cool, hopefully that's what the yarn wants to be. The Jojoland Bloom I am thinking of turning into a blanket, we'll see how it knits up.

My stash has been considerably reduced, I am down to ahem six projects on the needles and haven't bought yarn in far too long so I suppose I was overdue.

garden-no-more

The crew showed up at 7:30 this a.m. and started by removing the cotoneaster from the front yard. I've never really liked it. When I tried to dig it out I couldn't...took them 30 minutes to get all 5 bushes out.

Then they moved to the back yard. The hill has been denuded (which, as someone pointed out to me seems to be an oxymoron, shouldn't it be nuded?) of all but trees and large foundation grasses. I'm looking at a bare pile of dirt and rocks! It three people 10 hours to undo what probably took the previous owner years to put in.

The funny thing is that I am not sad about this at all and I had thought I would be. I have given away so many plants to so many people (11 to be exact) and am reducing my garden to a more manageable size. Plus I believe that the beds I am keeping will stand out much better against a lawn than against a tangled weed thicket. It's all good.

stitch sisters

It was a lovely evening at Stitch Sisters; we started by knitting on the steps of the church so that we could admire the lovely country view, the sunshine and pleasing temperature. As the light dimmed and the bugs came out we moved inside.

It being so close to my birthday my wonderful stitch sisters had a cake for me made by G. A heavenly confection of thin layers of the most decadent buttery cake, whipped cream, fresh raspberries and thin layers of meringue. One could become quite zaftig enjoying such delicious decadence. It was absolutely heavenly and as birthday girl I not only got the biggest piece I also got to bring home the leftovers.

I was gifted with a sweet card full of loving thoughts, a pair of handmade socks (like hugs for the feet!) and cilantro. An ecclectic collection you may think but one that makes perfect sense to us.

We ate, we crafted, we laughed, and I came home to discover that Miss D had vacuumed the downstairs and cleaned the bathroom! Wow! What a night!

gratitude

Having injured my knee I am currently left unable to drive a car. Given how far out we live and that there is no public transportation this presents a problem. Luckily for me there is an organization in our town that drives people to doctor visits if they are unable to do so for themselves. Usually they drive the elderly but sometimes they get people like me.

For every single driver who has volunteered one day a month to provide transportation for others I am exceedingly grateful. How wonderful to live in a place where people can be that willing to volunteer.

almost birthday

Yes, it's almost my birthday. Since Steve has to work that day we celebrated early.

Went to pick up my present, a fire pit, and dinner from Panera Bread yummmmmm. After dinner and loving presents from Steve and the girls we sat out on the deck and enjoyed the firepit along with a bottle of Steve's homemade wine. Nothing could be better. Crickets and bullfrogs in the background. Lazy conversation and hypnotic flames, it was very relaxing and wonderful. What a great family I have, I am so truly blessed.

memorial day weekend

We spent the weekend with my brother and his family. It was really great to see them. A barbeque on the beach, a lovely Japanese restaurant dinner and lots of conversations. Plus I borrowed two books, how cool.

It's always great to see them and this weekend was no exception. Usually we are busy going places and doing stuff but with my gimpy leg it wasn't an option this time. We still had a great time and hopefully they did too. Happy Memorial Day to all!

The books? Glad you asked, The Historian
and
How to Read a Book (A Touchstone Book)

advice for the day

If you think your life is so busy you can't manage. You're not getting things done the way you want. You feel like things are a bit overwhelming.

Don't trip over the dog.

How do I know...well, as you may have guessed, I did just that. Medial Collateral Ligament torn on the right knee. A brace, a cane, no driving for a bit. I'm tempted to say life just couldn't get anymore interesting, but then again I don't care to tempt fate so I wont say it.

One good thing is that the Manny, the guy who is coming with his crew to rip out half of our garden and replace it with grass came by. They're starting in two weeks. While I have loved this garden it is simply too much to take care of. I will still have the entire front, both side gardens and the top band of the back garden. But the rest will no longer be there. I am giving away plants to whoever comes to get them and looking forward to less physical and mental stress as I will no longer have to watch the back garden be overrun by invasives and weeds.

The rest of life is still a bit chaotic but hopefully it will come under control soon.

sorry sorry

For those who have emailed wondering where I am....

Life has been very hectic here lately. Lots going on, one graduation coming up, allergy season in full swing, one coming home from college (really gotta make her bed before she gets here), the white flag of surrender has already gone up on the garden, and on and on.

I'll write when I can but for now I can't, please understand.

wfmw - magazine recipes

It's Works for Me Wednesday again. Don't forget to check out all the wfmw goodness at Rocks In My Dryer.

I have a rather impressive collection of food magazines. Some of them are Cooking Light from when I had a subscription. Quite a few are Bon Appetit or Gourmet or that ilk collected from my library's Free Magazine basket. If you have magazines you don't want you bring them to the library. Take the ones you want, keep as many as you like. That works for me (hey, this is turning into a twofer).

My biggest problem with the food magazines is remembering which recipe is where. Such as my favorite Texas Chocolate Cake from Cooking Light. I know I could go online and print another copy but the waste of paper really bothers me. So after I've read a food magazine and decided to keep it I write down all of the recipes I like and their page number on an index card and staple the card to the cover of the magazine. The collection has gotten so big that my next step is to organize them by season instead of by magazine and put each season in it's own magazine box. It makes finding favorite recipes quick and easy. It works for me.

books

Speaking of books in the last post I somehow started reading two books at the same time. Given that my reading time has decreased to a painful sluglike pace I'm not sure how this happened.

The first one is Marley & Me I keep snorting with laughter causing my children to believe that I have finally gone round the bend. When I share passages with Steve he laughs too. I think it's laughter of relief. While Tobi is rambunctious and unrestrainedly lovable in his own special way he is not quite as...um....destructive energetic as Marley appears to be. This gives us hope because after all Tobi came to us completely un-housebroken and with no manners. He now IS housebroken and has manners. His only *ahem* challenges are learning that not everyone is dying for big wet sloppy puppy kisses and that compost is not meant to be edible. As you can imagine the book is very humorous, I like the writing style and am enjoying it tremendously.

The other is Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping I picked it up because I had seen a blurb about the author and thought the premise of the book was interesting. She and her partner decide not to buy anything that is not essential for one year. Of course his idea of what is essential sometimes varies from hers but that just adds to the entertainment. On a more serious note I've only read up to February and it's making me think about how we view ourselves and our spending; not to mention the over consumption going on all around us. Well written and definitely enjoyable.

birthday knitting

Not my birthday, but one of the Stitch Sisters. We had a surprise cake, a surprise birthday plant and a (surprise) lovely card designed by D. Amidst the knitting of the stash blanket, the scarves for a project and personal knitting everyone stopped to enjoy a fabulous Boston Creme Pie. Ooooooooooh, haven't had one of those in years and boy was it delicious!

The stash blanket is looking lovely. It was passed onto our stashless sister tonight...along with donated stash so that she could work on it. When it comes around to me again I'll take a picture so that people can see it. It's a fun project. We're not sure what we're going to do with it though. I thought the original purpose had been to donate it to something like Project Linus. Now a couple of members are saying that perhaps when it's done it goes to one of us and we start another one until everyone has a blanket that has been worked on by the entire group. I confess that while Project Linus is a VERY worthwhile endeavor there is also something appealing about having a lovely blankie made by the whole group. I guess we'll have to see how it turns out when this blanket it done. It may be the no one wants it..."No dear, you take it I don't mind waiting for the next one", "I'm sure those colors suit you much better than they do my poor sallow complexion", "We think you should be the first one to experience the love." On the other hand there may be a flurry of needles and yarn as everyone dives for it...who knows.

Today was also apparently bookswap night. We have a club book that is going around (I forget the title, when it's my turn I'll let you know) plus some paperbacks that some members were trying to foist onto share with the rest of the group. My only problem being that I haven't learned to read and knit at the same time and how the heck do you flip the pages anyway?

peepity peep

It may be a blazing 85 degrees outside today. It feels like we have gone from winter straight into summer. I confess that I love the warm weather and the cool delicious evenings. What I love most is that even though it may not feel like spring the peepers are back. Their little chorus is definitely music to my ears.

here there be dragons

With today being St. George's Day I thought you might like to see this fun link.

http://www.sonic.net/~ronnie/dragon.htm, a dragon's head made from cat food cans.

1564-1616

Today is the day of William Shakespeare's birth and death. I imagine not many people die on their birthday but it does happen.

I read a lot of Shakespeare in college (Theater major, English minor, it's expected that Shakespeare would be on the curriculum). One of my favorite quotes is

Now join your hands, and with your hands your hearts

It's from Henry the Sixth. Unfortunately it's not truly a love scene as the two characters being asked to hold hands are Warwick and Clarence, but taken out of context it is a sweet thought.

happy earth day

Whether you are doing something special to celebrate the day or not it's good to remember it as this is the only Earth we have.

Wikipedia info here.

horsie

D and I went to volunteer at a local horse rescue operation today. It was absolutely wonderful. The organization takes in all sorts of abused, abandoned, neglected or subject-to-slaughter horses and cares for them. It rehabilitates and then finds good homes for them.

We went for our initial tour and were set upon by horses eager for treats. They've obviously been well trained that people come with horse "cookies". We went through 10 pounds of apples and carrots before we got to meet all of the horses. We were then set to the task of grooming under supervision.

D's grooming customers were :



Mogul

Breezy

and Bronson.

Many of the horses are either Premarin mares (forced into successive pregnancies under harsh conditions), the results of Premarin pregnancies (which are usually unwanted), abandoned race horses, damaged show horses or horses that people don't take care of. There are currently 35 at the farm and I have to say they all look pretty content and are certainly "people" trained. A few of them will be leaving for new homes within the next month or so and then others will come.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time there and plan to go back.

laundry

Those of you who know me know that I am a bit silly about laundry. Having said that the first load of the year is hanging on the line. Waving in the breeze. I just love fresh laundry not-from-the-dryer.

A while back my mom shared an interesting article with me from the New York Times about laundry. Unfortunately it is no longer available for free, but if you have an NYT account you can access the article.

As I may or may not have mentioned, in my neighborhood it is against the rules to hang your laundry outside. Luckily for me I have a rather large screened in porch so that's where I hang my laundry. It helps to protect it from bugs and light rain so that's great. Not so great when we want to sit out there and enjoy the porch and the laundry is in the way. That seems to be the battle of the season but somehow we manage to make it all work out.

first garden day

It's the first day of the year that I have been able to get into the garden. It was mostly clipping woody residue, pulling out dead undergrowth and some weeding. The grass is very opportunitistic and has started it's lovely little runners. Even with the little bit that I did today that part of the yard is looking better.

The treehouse is in good condition, the furniture ready and waiting for leisurely iced tea and book retreats. I love this time of year.

when was the last time i...

tagged by Dawn I've decided to play along.

1. kissed someone? lots of kisses today, hubby, kids, even the dog tries to get in on the kisses here.

2. drank coffee? ummmm...about 8 or 9 years ago

3. read a book? Just finished The Ageless Woman

4. cursed? sounds too good to be true but unless you count dagnabit and darnitall I really don't curse

5. had a nightmare? maybe a few nights ago? I really don't seem to remember my dreams anymore

6. checked your email? A few minutes ago

7. had a crush? ummm...28 years ago, it was Steve

8. drove a car? A week ago

9. rode a roller coaster? I hate them so it was probably when I was a teen

10. took a nap? Yesterday, yah for vacations!

11. went to the movies? A long time ago, I usually wait for them to come out on DVD. I think the last movie I saw in the theater was Eragon which was very disappointing

12. drank alcohol? Tonight, a glass a white wine

13. went to a party? March - the neighborhood St. Patty's Day

14. said “I love you"? not that long ago

15. cooked a meal? Too long ago

16. exercised? A week ago? Amazing how lazy I get on vacation

You're next. If you are reading this you are tagged.

vaca

I've been gone. Headed south for a few days to soak up some sunshine. It was really wonderful. We went to FL and visited my Aunt.

Funny side story:

I once received a compliment on some clothes that I was wearing. My friend asked where I got them. I told her that they were from this exclusive shop in New York called My Aunt's Closet. Her response was, "Really? Where is it, I would love to go there." I had to tell her that it was REALLY my Aunt's closet."

The exclusive shop has moved to FL and I came home with a jacket, two shirts, four pairs of pants and a pair of shoes! Score!!!!!

Steve and I got to see lots of wonderful beachy views, nice sunsets, spend time with great people, it was a lot of fun.

I will say that I managed to get some kov (knitting on vacation) done. Finished (except for the fringing) a scarf for the latest charity project with Stitch Sisters. I also started a pair of wrist warmers that I have been meaning to do for two years! I've had the yarn sitting in stash for that long. It's finally in process.

The single yarn shop that I saw on vacation was CLOSED!!!! Aaaaaaaaugh! Steve was not too distress, I on the other hand.....

And in a true display of how knitter stick together, the flight attendant on our flight home and I had a lovely conversation about knitting, projects and stash in general and all sorts of other knitutia (knitting minutia). It was great.

Vacation is over, just in time to really see how much work is required in the garden. However, it was a good getaway.

rainy day

Rain rain and more rain. Thank goodness it's not snow like Melissa's area. However, we've had enough that some streets are flooded, cars have been abandoned in the middle of puddles big enough to be called lakes and I'm grateful that I know my way around well enough to detour everywhere.

I had a dentist appointment this morning to get fitted for a mouth guard. I've got TMJ and the drug store mouth guards just aren't doing the job anymore. From there to the grocery store, a couple of other stops while I was in the area, post office, library, bank and then back home. All by very indirect routes. Lots of police officers out, flashing lights and barricades; it's amazing how bad the floods are. All of the local rivers are seriously swollen and murky.

Luckily we live at the top of a hill. One of my neighbors, who has goats, horses, etc, once told her insurance agent, when being questioned about the flood plain, that if it flooded up here he should start looking for an ark. So now I'm home, warm, dry and safe.

funny fotos

Saw these on the internet and just had to share because they made me laugh.

from Oliver Daily.

and

from Cute Overload.

media update

Got a fair amount of reading and movie watching in this weekend. It's been very rainy and a good time to do that.


I finished reading "The Boleyn Inheritance" by Philippa Gregory. I had also read "The Other Boleyn Girl" and liked it very much which is why I picked up this book. The characters are so well built and the way she carried the story line from person to person was well done. Her characters and descriptions are full-bodied and even though I know that this is historical fiction it was not hard to imagine the scenes taking place exactly as she had written them. I liked this book so much that now I feel I must get "A Constant Princess" and read that as well. I hope this author continues writing in this vein because she is very talented at it.


V and I sat down to watch "Memoirs of a Geisha." We had both read the book and were wondering how the movie would compare. Stunning is all I can say. Definitely an epic film with amazing actors, costumes, sets and scenery. It is one of my new favorite films, I truly love that epic novel set (well) to film. "Vanity Fair" and "Pride and Prejudice" come to mind when thinking of this sort of sweeping sumptuous production. Changes were made, of course, to the story line but it was so well done we didn't mind at all and both sat totally enraptured for the entire two plus hours of the film.

Tonight I plan to watch the "Prairie Home Companion" movie and let you know how I like it.

grateful grains

Grains of Gratitude started with Christine over at Brady's Bunch.

Today I am grateful for:

*A thought provoking and touching service at church about Yom Ha'Shoah, the Holocaust Remembrance Day. Our minister read passages from a book "The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million" by Daniel Mendelsohn plus shared memories of her own visit to Auschwitz.

*A call from a friend who I haven't heard from in a while. We spent over an hour on the phone catching up, it was really great.

*A call from my folks. Always great to talk to them. If anything they have more rain and bad weather than I do.

*That we still have firewood at this point in the year (probably due to an overly warm January), so the house is cozy.

*Leftovers for lunch!

picture in progress

Nina had asked if I would post a picture of my sweater and the blanket that I mentioned in the last Stitch Sisters post. I can't show you the blanket yet because I don't have it, but I'll try to get a picture the next time I see it and post it.

Here is the sweater in all it's unfinished glory.



And a close up in case anyone want to see the lovely stripeys.

kombucha

A lovely blogosphere person offered to share a kombucha culture with me. I've heard a lot about this. It's very expensive in the healthfood store so I have never tried it. Apparently it is delicious and supposed to be good for you. My tea bath is cooling right now, I'll add in the mother and wait to see what happens.

aphc

A Prairie Home Companion. It's a radio show that I like a lot but hardly ever get to listen to. I do get the opening monologue every week on my iPod but just can't seem to be setting still when the program is actually broadcast.

My lovely lovely small town librarian (who does amazing things with the budget that she has) got both the documentary and the movie.

Tonight I watched the documentary and loved it. I laughed, enjoyed the music and was thoroughly transported for a couple of hours. Tomorrow I plan to watch the movie, should be interesting to see how it compares.

observations of the day

Getting out the door with D this morning was a comedy of errors. Every time we went out to the car we (mostly she) closed/locked the garage door behind us, necessitating my getting out of the car, unlocking the door, getting back in the car only to start the process over again. It got so ridiculous that I had to laugh. In the span of 5 minutes or so she had to go back into the house for:

Book
CD Player
Shoes!
Jacket
Purse

Observation: why do they call it a senior moment when children are probably far more forgetful than adults?

Flowers that I have seen in bloom today include profusions of daffodils on the hillside by town hall and a few lovely purple crocus next to my front door.

Observation: No matter how cold it seems it must be spring

While driving today I saw the most bizarre thing it has ever not been my priviledge to witness. Hung on the back of a Ford F-350 truck that cut in front of me (very rudely I might add) was a pair of testicles. I'm sure they weren't real but they were pretty realistic looking.

Observation: It's not enough that you drive a huge gas guzzling truck, now you need to ensure your masculinity by proving it's a guy truck? Really. *sigh* people never cease to amaze me.

Also while driving today I almost hit a turkey. Man those things are big. And they look funny when they fly. I was coming down a hill, around a corner and there it was walking across the road. At the last minute it flapped it's wings and became airborne.

Question: Why do they all disappear when it's turkey season, are they really that smart?

wfmw - small stuffies

My kids have way too many stuffies (little stuffed toys). Everything is miniaturized these days. Unfortunately these little toys can be hard to corral...until now. I bought an over the door shoe holder and stuffed them all in there!

Check out other great ideas at Shannon's.

stitching serenade

Tonight was Stitch Sisters. We were lucky in that the church choir is practicing again. It's wonderful, we get to sit there, stitching, talking, enjoying each others company and in the background is this lovely lovely music.

We have a couple of new members which is really great. Not everyone shows up every week but it's great to see whoever is there.

My personal achievement is that I finally have joined the neck on my sweater!!! Yay!!! I'm so happy as this means I have the other sleeve to do and I am done. I'm praying that I have enough of the solid color yarn as I have lost the yarn band and do not think I will be able to buy more (stretching thoughts appreciated from the crowd). I'm really happy with the way it is turning out. I did find an error too far back to rip but hopefully no one will notice. I figure the big test of its lovliness will be if any of my children try to steal borrow it from me once it is complete.

The charity blanket is making its rounds on to the next stitcher. Unfortunately it's the one of us who has NO STASH!!! We've all offered to help her with her stash deprivation and had a rather large conversation about stash, hiding of said stash, acquisition of MORE stash and how on earth one can live without a stash. She's getting the blanket and volunteeer stash which may get her back on the road to a stash of her own.

We were having such a good time it was well after 9:00 when we ended. As the days get longer so do our meetings, what a fun thing.

yellow

Yellow is the color of the day. Today D tested for her next belt in Tae Kwon Do. While I admit to being a little prejudiced I have to say that she was very very good. Her moves were crisp, her form was impeccable and she did so well that at one point in group forms the Master said, "For those of you in the back if you get lost in the Chunjee pattern follow D because she knows it solid."

What a great accomplishment for her.

tackle it tuesday

One word...

taxes!

baking today

Just a simple boule but it smells so good. It's for tonight's dinner but I am severely tempted to cut into it and eat some now. I think the rest of my family would notice if I did that so I'll resist.

I fresh milled some hard red and some spelt.
Approximately 5 C. mixed with 1/4 C. of ground flax, 1 T. yeast, 2 T. evaporated cane juice crystals, 1 T. salt, 2 C. water
Knead, rest 1 hour until double
Form into two small boules or one large one
rest 15 minutes
place in cold oven (I put mine on tiles) and set oven to 350
bake 35 minutes
yummmmmmmmm

It will be an accompaniment to tonight's dinner of oven roasted rosemary sweet potatoes, chix patties, spinach salad with tomatoes and avocado. Now I'm hungry so I guess I better to make dinner.

sprunging

Bulbs are poking their little green heads above ground. I can see the sad sight of daffodils severely denuded by the snowplow along the road/driveway. I think I'm going to have to replant them further away from the asphalt.

Robins are flocking EVERYWHERE, little squirrels are chasing each other up and down the trees. The sun is shining. I think it's spring!

frappacreamo

D had an orthodontist appointment today. Afterwards we made a special treat stop for *buck$ across the street. She loves the place. Truth be told so do I if only because they actually serve tea.

I got a China Green Tea with just a couple of ice cubes. She got a decaf, mocha frappachino extra whip. This girl loves whipped cream. She sucked it straight off the top through the opening in the container. I remarked that it was a good thing you couldn't get only whipped cream because I could just see her ordering a venti straight whip!

We sat and chatted for a little bit enjoying our drinks and the sunshine before heading home. Now she wants to go to a spa...she's upping the ante here.

doing good

Today D and her Girl Scout Troop served at the local food kitchen. I think it was an eye opening experience for all of them. They were surprised to see so many people for whom this is their only hot meal of the day. They were surprised to discover that many of them have a roof over their heads but must choose between housing and food. I think they were also surprised to discover how good they felt helping.

They dyed the Easter eggs for Sunday. They helped prepare and serve meals and bag lunches to 30 people. They cleaned dishes, served drinks and kept looking for more that they could do. Three of them asked me if they could come back tomorrow and help again.

We learned that our local food kitchen feeds an average of 35 people per day and requires $2,000 in donations every month to pay their bills and buy the food. The entire operation is run by volunteers. No one makes a salary at this place.

We are thinking that we will serve again probably in the summer and we may do a fundraiser for them in the fall. I was truly touched by the girls compassion and desire to help. It was wonderful to see.

color chip

h/t to The Thinking Blog for this little nugget of fun.

Colorstrology apparently tells a lot about you through your personal color, picked by your birthday. My personal color apparently tells me that I am enduring, active and intelligent. A trait I apparently share with my known birthday twins, Faye, Liz, Sarah, and Mini.

Want to find yours? Visit the colorstrology sniffer.

wfmw - car edition

Today is a themed Works for Me Wednesday. For other great tips check out Rocks In My Dryer.

I keep a few snack bars in the driver side door of my car. That way when we are out running around if someone is hungry it keeps us from having to stop at a fast food place. My favorite are Lara Bars, the kids like the cereal snack bars.

To help with trash patrol I keep a plastic grocery bag strung between the front seats. The arm rests hold the bag in place. When it's full or once a week when I clean out the car I empty the bag...makes clean up much quicker.

Keep napkins, hand wipes and potty seat covers in the storage compartment under the front pasenger seat. You never know when they will come in handy.

Three tips in one, but they all work for me.

happiness

My two little bluebirds have returned. I saw them poking around "their" birdhouse at the top of the yard. I'm really thrilled that they're back and love that they've chosen the same house. I can see it from my desk and really enjoy watching them.

I don't know how long bluebirds live but this is the third year they've been here. Spring is springing folks!

playdates

Yesterday Tobi got two playdates. One with Colby, a lab boxer mix who lives down the street. The other was with a lovely german shepard named Uva who is apparently his girlfriend from when he was named Chester (almost a year ago).

When his cousin dogs were here he played and played and growled and jumped and generally had a lot of fun. Afte they left he was sad a mopey. Colby isn't always around because his people are busy. But I had a chance to meet/talk with Uva's owner yesterday and encouraged her to let Uva off-leash anytime Tobi is outside. She was happy to hear that because it's good exercise for both dogs.

We had a really lovely time chatting, seem to have quite a bit in common and I'm hoping I'll get to see more of her and Uva.

Tobi slept well last night.

tackle-it-tuesday bedroom

Okay, I admit it, I've caved. After writing about letting my kids keep their rooms as messy as they want here I have decided to "take back" D's room. The straw, if you will, was the two baskets of her clean laundry that seem to have taken up permanent residence in my bedroom because she has "no room" for them. I'm admittedly embarassed to take a before picture but will hopefully post an after when I'm done.

I can take her being messy up to a point but not having room for her own laundry crossed the line. *donning protective gear, antimicrobial body spray, gas mask* Wish me luck, I'm going in.....

it's a birthday

My sweet D is having a birthday today!!! Hard to believe how little she used to be. She's still sweet though. Happy birthday pumpkin!

cardinal catastrophe

That dratted bird is still here. Still banging on the window. It's driving me crazy since it's my office window and startles me everytime he thumps into the window. We don't want to do him bodily harm but are beginning to despair of his ever moving on to someone else's window.

Any suggestions?

grains of gratitude

No picture of grain...blogger is NOT cooperating today. Kind of like my kids. Which leads me to my list:

* That both kids are a playdates at the moment
* Going to church this morning, a wonderful service and some great conversations after
* That our DRE at church was well enough after cancer surgery and chemo to be there today
* We have leftover Ben and Jerry's ice cream from last night (Fossil Fuel, mmmmm)
* That we even got Ben and Jerry's last night
* Soup for supper

schoolhouse productions

D and I went to see the school play tonight, "The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood." For the second year in a row I managed to get the same seat number as somone else. Not sure how I get so lucky but at least this year there were extra seats. Last year it was a bit tight and I had to squeeze in on the end.

It was a very amusing production. Energetic, enthusiastic cast, silly play, great costumes. We loved all the random bits although I confess I didn't understand about the yodels. Funny side note when Friar Tuck passed out the yodels a kid sitting behind me said, "Ding Dongs?" His mom said, "No Yodels, same food different shape."

I don't want to give out any spoilers, especially since I just this evening discovered that a neighbor of mine reads this blog [hello L - waving uphill] but it was well worth the price of admission.

weak at the knees

Going shopping today I came across a display of plants, bulbs, small shrubs and more. Do I need any more plants? Not really. Especially when you consider that I am still working on plans to get rid of part of the garden.

But walking past the greenery, luscious and sweet smelling, I was unable to resist temptation. I came home with a bag of gladiola bulbs to plan in the front bed and 60 strawberry plants for the fruit garden. *sigh of happiness* it's supposed to be warm this weekend. Time to start cleaning up the garden.

Favorite Ingredients Friday

Vegetarian Dirty Rice

Steve and I both like this a lot. The kids preferred the carnivorous version, but I think it's still tasty without the meat.

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic diced fine
1 C. TVP rehydrated
1/2-3/4 C. vegetarian broth
2 C. brown rice, cooked
1 1/2 C. mixed vegetables, steamed
salt and pepper
splash Bragg's Liquid Aminos
olive oil

Sautee the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Add the TVP and some of the broth. Add more broth as needed while cooking the TVP. Add the Bragg's, salt and pepper to taste. Cook 5 minutes or until TVP is heated through. Add in rice and vegetables. Add more broth if needed so it is not too dry.

Serve.

Check out Overwhelmed With Joy for more Friday Favorites.

b-i-n-g-o

Yesterday was the Big Girl Scout Bingo Bonanza. Every Girl Scout in town is invited to play. Admission is donations of food for the Food Pantry Easter Baskets.

Imagine a room chock a block full of Girl Scouts of all ages, Moms included, cheering, excited and the occasional shriek of BINGO!

D and I didn't win, as usual. But in a stunning turn of events D actually won the raffle. A bottle of truly noxious, admired by pre-teen, stinky perfume. She loves it and was busy sharing with everyone. I opened the windows for the ride home.

It was a fun evening with lots of laughter and all for a good cause. Can't wait till next year.

wfmw - measuring

Here is a great little tool that I bought for myself and love it.
It's an angled measuring cup by Oxo International. No more crouching down and to see/gauge the line. Look from the top and there it is. I have the one for teaspoons but am going to get the cup measures when my current ones are no longer useful.

Check out other WFMW tips over at Shannon's.

small town happiness

One of the best things about living in a small town is that the rules are a little different here. This past weekend was the Library Book Sale. I missed it because I was out of town. Not that I needed anymore books mind you, but it never hurts to see what's available.

When I went into the library today bemoaning the fact that I missed out I was given permission to sneak wander downstairs to peruse what was left. It's probably better that I wasn't there in the beginning because I might have been tempted by more books. What I did manage to find was:

A copy of May Byron's Jams and Jellies!! Score!
Greene on Greens (another score! I have his Greene on Grains and love it)
On Being Happy by Patrick Yee (a sweet little book on with cute drawings)
A book on the language of flowers (total impulse buy but neat to have)
I also got a three other books for a friend by an author I know she likes.

I almost bought a couple of herbal remedy books but restrained myself. I also resisted the siren call of the fiction stacks. No knitting books sadly. All for
$10 and some of it not even for me, what a deal.

Jams and Jellies and the Greene on Greens books are going to be very useful soon. Jamming season isn't quite here but is on the horizon as is my farm share (our third year) of greens and other fresh, local organic goodies. Yum!

tackle it tuesday - sweaters

Today's tackle is a seasonal one. Swapping out my sweaters for summer clothes. I'm probably jumping the gun here and so will leave out a sweater or two "just in case" but the spate of warmer weather has me in the mood for lighter clothing.

Get inspired to tackle-it yourself by visiting 5 Minutes for Mom.

awesomely bad

The weather was so warm and springlike today that after school we, D, V, Tobi and I decided to head down to the school field for some exercise. D brought her friend S to walk to the track, V and I brought tennis rackets. I would like to report that I have not lost any of my stunning form. Balletic and graceful I managed to miss every single shot.

After D and S got tired of having Tobi drag them around the muddy, gloppy track they brought him over to the courts and shut him in with us. They then escaped to the school playground where it was drier. Having Tobi on the court made the game much more interesting as he was eager to play ballboy but not so eager to give up the balls once he had fetched them. Considering how much tennis golf we were playing it's a miracle that we managed to keep any of the tennis balls to play with as Tobi is amazingly fast on astroturf.

Eventually, soggy footed and worn out, we headed for home. I can report that a good time was had by all.

not for tobi

The above picture is from Lionbrand. They are suggesting that I would want to crochet an adorable pet bed just for Tobi. Given the fact that he has managed to chomp his way through two expensive cedar filled pet beds and a number of blankets I don't think so. I also have to wonder...who has that much time??? It's bad enough trying to knit sweaters, socks and other items without throwing in pet beds. First sweaters, now beds. What's next? Pajamas?

kitchen scribblings

I've decided to join in on the Sunday Scribblings. This week's assignment is the kitchen.

I love working in the kitchen. It really is the heart of the home. Think of it, when you have a party, where does everyone hang out? In the kitchen. Kids home from school, working on homework? In the kitchen because Mom is probably working on dinner while helping with homework.

Some of my favorite memories took place in a kitchen. Watching my Nana make nockerli (I still can't make it the way she did). Learning to bake her "secret" blond brownies with my Aunt. Learning to make Challah with another Aunt. I loved when my kids were small and they wanted to help. Their chubby little fingers poking into the flour, rolling out their own little bread creations, dumping ingredients into the pot to stir. It was so great to dress them up in aprons and cook with them. It still is, minus the dressing them up part. I love meals where we are all in the kitchen together, chopping, slicing, stirring. Sometimes I'm in charge, sometimes they are, but it's wonderful to all be working together and somehow makes the meal taste so much better.

I love working in the kitchen in part because I love to feed people. Not just daily meals. I enjoy preserving foods; making jams, jellies, pickles, chutney. Serving them throughout the year brings me enjoyment. To know that my efforts have created a tasty treat for those I love. The same with any baking or cooking that I do. I truly love watching people enjoy what I make. As my kids get older they want to learn how to make some of their favorite dishes. I like sharing this with them, knowing that "our" recipes will go forward through time as part of our family heritage.

Two of my nieces love to cook. It is my pleasure to give them cooking things for gifts to encourage their love of the kitchen. As a matter of fact this past Christmas I gave them each a vintage apron that I had embroidered with their name on it. As they say, what goes around comes around. I recently received a gift that I treasure greatly. V made an apron for me, designed and sewed all by herself. I love it and wearing it is like getting a big hug from her every time I put it on.

I guess the kitchen is a large part of my identity because the connotations of food, family, and togetherness all center around it.