Homemade Life

Ashfield Fall Festival

2010-11-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

Toss the Ball Canning Ring onto The Pumpkin Stem.

Gosh, I love New England.

mayonnaise

2010-09-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

The farm where we get our raw milk also sells grass-fed beef so we picked up a top round on our last milk run. For whatever reason, cooking roast beef has been intimidating to me but with some advice from Andy I went for it and it came out so yummy. We really bought it for the roast beef sandwich potential but I knew that we were out of mayonnaise which is an essential element. I have wanted to make my own because I am concerned, with store-bought mayo, about the quality of the eggs used - they are are no doubt from factory farmed birds - and the oil used is one I try to avoid. I figured that if I made it at home with pastured eggs and olive oil that it would be a health food. Nutritionally dense, right? Right? But it seemed like it might be a pain in the bum so it never became a top priority. But now I was out of mayo and needing it in a big way to properly appreciate my well cared for roast.

I set to work using Alton Brown's Recipe but instead of doing it in a glass bowl I did it in a jar with the whisk attachment on my immersion blender. It was genius even if I am saying so myself. Next time I'll do it in the wide mouth pint jar - I think that will be perfect. I only had the narrow mouth quart at hand and it worked fine but it was tricky to get the oil to trickle while still whisking continuously.

The all-olive oil option is quite a bit grassier than if you use canola or a mixture. I quite like it though it is a bit different if you are used to store-bought mayo. I heard the recommendation of starting with a small amount of Olive Oil and mostly safflower or canola oil and then slowly work to a higher Olive Oil amount. We tried it with some of the meat and handful of tomatoes in what might be one of the last picnic lunches of the year. Success. I'm pleased to have another pantry staple that feel completely do-able to make on my own but I'm still holding out on Ketchup for now.

letting summer go

2010-09-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

This summer was difficult. Andy's mom, who had been ill with cancer, was in hospice care and there was lots of travelling back and forth from Massachusetts to Maryland. Sometimes the whole family but mostly Andy going back-and-forth, back-and-forth all summer long. It was difficult for us to find any sort of a workable rhythm and the children were showing the effects of the disruption. There was a lot to deal with both practically and emotionally and it was a challenge to meet everyone's needs. More truthfully, it was a challenge to attempt to meet everyone's needs. In the middle of this we took our family vacation to Cape Cod. The beach usually acts like a salve to help heal us and smooth out the rough bits but after so much upheaval the children were out of sorts and we all just wanted to be at home.

Even though we were graced with beautiful weather we had a bit of a "Summer That Wasn't". There was far to little swimming and picnics and absolutely no camping, canoeing or fishing. We managed to pick strawberries on the last possible day and then just gobbled them up out of hand. We'll have to beg some jam from friends for the winter. The summer just went by too quickly.

Andy's mom passed peacefully in her daughter's home surrounded by family and friends. The beauty of Jewish funeral traditions helped us all to process her death while being supported by friends and family. We miss her so much and often forget that she is not with us in body but only in spirit. I know our sadness is only for us - because we want to spend more time with her, because we wanted another 20 years at least; but she had a beautiful and fulfilled life. She was a hub of community and family, raised two amazing children and was happily married for almost 40 years. She loved and was loved and will be so dearly missed.

I sit here in mid September wondering were my Summer went. Here in New England we really need to make Summer count in a big way if we are going to get through the cold season. I didn't store up enough sunshine this year but I am going to have to make it last. This summer was hard but it was important. It taught us more about love and life and death and family then we knew before. It showed me what an amazing Man, Son, Brother, Husband and Father Andy is and reminded me countless times how proud I am of him and how blessed I am to have him as my partner in life. It brought family closer together and reminded us that a thick slathering of Love helps a lot no matter the problem. And that often Love is all we have to offer and that it is enough.

This was an important summer even if it looked different from most summers and so if there isn't enough jam in the pantry or berries in the freezer we'll deal with in. Right now I am letting Summer go. I've got wool on my needles that is starting to look like a scarf and the wood is stacked. I'm opening my heart to slippers and soup and books by the fire. And tea. I'm going to need a lot of tea.

popover sundress

2010-05-23T07:11:00.000-07:00

I finally hopped back onto the sewing train. I had been going through a serious sewing blackout with no known cause, though I think it might have had something to do with my inability to make buttonholes on my machine... For whatever reason I just couldn't get started on any project even with all of the fabric, notions and pattern ready. I needed something that was quick and with almost instant gratification to sort of "pop the clutch" on my sewing so I decided in a late night second wind to try to Oliver + S popover sundress.

I have made the O+S PJs and sailor pants in the past and so I knew that this would be a well rewarded choice. Oliver + S is one of those companies that you thank your lucky stars for when you find them because you know that anything that you purchase from them will be a reliable winner. The popover had the added benefits of being a free PDF pattern that I could print out right away and the right amount of yardage that I had some cottons to choose from in my stash. In these creative slumps you need to strike while the iron is hot. Or in my case - start sewing at 11 pm when the children are in bed, you just drank and iced americano, you have a new album ready to be enjoyed and a random burst of motivation. This was not a start-to-finish crazy sewing spree but I did do much of it that first night and finished the next day during nap time. And I love it. So much.

The length is just below the knee which I really love on children. It is still modest but doesn't get in the way of tree climbing. The A-line cut is loose so it will be cool in the summer and can be played in easily. The straps tie in bows to be completely adjustable which solves the straps-falling-off-constantly issue. I also bought a covered button kit (I really caught on to these late) and made some matching hair ties which was giddily satisfying.

When Miryam was a year and a half I made her a handful of sundresses all with the same pattern and she was able to wear them for two summers. That's the great thing about sun dresses, the girls grow more in length then in width so if you start with the dresses long and a little loose you can get lots of use from them. And is is wonderfully easy for summer dressing - grab some panties, a dress and your sandals. Run a brush through your hair, brush you teeth and you are free.

This dress was just the push I needed to get out of my sewing slump. I have cut out and pinned a huge pile of cloth napkins (because mine walk away when I am not looking) and have them ready to stitch up as soon as I get the children tucked in tonight. Thank goodness because my great ideas have been far outpacing my actual production.

early morning visitor

2010-05-17T05:26:00.000-07:00

Last year we were in the morning path of a flock of turkeys* who would walk down our hill and then work really hard to propel themselves into flight into the woods across the road. They were very adorably noisy. Gobble gobble gobble - they each sounded like they were mumbling it under their breath but there were around 15 any given day and that makes for some serious gobbling.

This year they seem to have found another place to take their morning jaunt but we did see this handsome fellow nosing around the garden very early in the morning. He was so loud that Andy had a moment of wondering how we managed to have Loons in our backyard but when we peeked out the window it was this guy. A very nice surprise and the early wake-up gave the added benefit of extra time to read in bed before being prodded by smallfolk to cook some breakfast.

* additional collective noun options for turkey's include "a raffle of turkeys" and "a rafter of turkeys". I'm assuming that is from the sound their feathers make when they pop out? I would like to humbly submit the option "a gobble of turkeys". What do you think?

ask and ye shall receive

2010-03-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

This is such a common issue that is is boring to even type the sentence but here it is - I have a hard time asking for things for myself. I really adore being taken care of and appreciated, but I also get embarrassed when a fuss is made about me. Confusing, even for me.

So when my birthday rolls around Andy's mama always asks what she can get for me, could I give her some hints please. On one hand and then the other I feel pleased that she wants to get me something that I would really enjoy and happy that I might be getting something from my mental wish list, but also that I feel a bit greedy giving a list of specific gifts that I would like. I end up being a bit evasive like "oh yes, I'll think about that and write you an email with some ideas when I get a moment" but I don't.

I have this ingrained belief, even though I have intellectually discarded it, that I should be happy that I am getting any gift at all, and count my blessings. That it is somehow impolite to have specific desires for presents. It's so strange, but I know exactly where, in my family, that feeling comes from. As I said, when I think about it head-on it is so silly. What I actually believe is that it is best to give small, wonderful presents of real quality that the person would appreciate and want to keep forever. Or, baring that, something they can eat.

So, I had a little talk with myself and when my birthday rolled around again this year and I was asked for some gift ideas I created a list. And emailed it. Big sigh of relief here. It was a short list - about 6 items - and I tried to spread out the options - 2 books, 2 art prints, 1 kitchen thingy and 1 wearable and a clause that I would, of course, be happy with anything she thought I would like. And, low and behold, a couple of days after my birthday I received a gift in the mail, from my list, and I loved it.

These are the Blossom Measuring Spoons from Beehive Kitchenware. I have been eyeing their goods for over a year and when these new spoons were added I just wanted them so much. I don't usually covet goods like this so I had to take the urge seriously. They are handmade of Pewter and have such a great feel in my hand. I know they will be the last measuring spoons I'll ever need. The first time I used them I just though "someday these are going to be Grandma Gillian's measuring spoons" and I can't tell you how happy that thought made me.

catching up

2010-03-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

I realize that I never shared these photos from our Valentine Day crafting. Miryam and I have been doing most of our projects together during Éamonn's nap because he is just so enthusiastic about helping that it's difficult for us to concentrate and feel relaxed while creating. When we sit together during the nap we are trying to be quite so he get a good rest and so the stillness is already there for us to settle into and focus on our own work.

But I also know that getting messy and crafting with some joyful chaos is also important so when we were making our Valentine Garland we made sure to include our boy as well. We got 5 or 6 colors of paints in reds, pinks and cream and covered card stock with lots of paint until it looked, in Miryam's words, "just absolutely perfect". Then we used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to trace hearts on the back of the cardstock which we then cut out, punched a whole in each side and threaded with some cream wool yarn.

little hint about the paint - at a tag sale this past summer I spent about a dollar and went home with about a million of these small terra cotta flower pot saucers that are glazed on the inside with no whole at the bottom. We use them for sorting and such but I've also discovered that they work well as paint dishes. They are very shallow but the diameter is small so the paint doesn't spread around too much and they clean up quite well. Plus, they look really sweet which, to me, is very important when I am attempting to convince myself that taking out the painting supplies is, again in Miryam's words, "an extremely good idea."

the pre-spring slump

2010-03-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

unrelated photo of the children bring the kitchen scraps out to the compost

This not-really-winter-or-spring business is a bit hard on me. I've lived in New England for my whole life and I still feel that March really should be spring but, truly, it isn't. March is on the verge - I'm pretty much done with winter but spring isn't quite here yet. I'm done thinking about mittens and hats but not quite ready to start in on dresses and hunting down sandals. I'm not quite sure where I am. I feel like I should be starting the spring cleaning so that as soon as the weather turns, even the slightest bit, we can spend as much time as possible out of doors and because the house is (in this vision...) so organized and tidy. But, the motivation to get that going just isn't there. I am feeling a bit sluggish and out of sorts. I can see what's coming ahead but we're not there yet.

I've been feeling a bit distracted mentally. I've been having a hard time being present and in the moment. I have been generally unmotivated in this liminal space and blogging, and creating in general, has suffered for it. I've been in the mind of "getting stuff done" rather than paying attention to the process. Rushing through chores instead of letting the children help. There doesn't appear to be too much to report but I am sure that is because I am seeing too much forest and not enough trees.

I'm going to try to follow the sunshine a bit and get some photos of what is happening around here, and to share them in this blog, in an attempt to bring my focus to now. I intend to be around more often, using this space to draw my attention in a more vibrant direction.

winter parenting

2010-02-04T10:08:00.000-08:00

bundle. unbundle. repeat.

Andy's family down in Maryland is getting hit over and over with more snow that they have seen in decades and up here I can see grass in parts of my yard. They are quite grumpy about it but we are jealous! Snow makes winter worthwhile. Snow is why we have winter. If not for snow, winter would only be naked trees, frigid winds and frozen ground. No romance there. Snow, on the other hand, makes everything seem quiet, tastes good with maple syrup, and convinces hobbit-mama that there is a good reason to bundle the children in layer upon layer of wool knowing full well that she will undo all that work soon enough. (full disclosure here - Miryam puts all her winter clothes on herself though I still help with the zipper)

Thankfully we are expecting a storm coming our way later this afternoon and the schools have closed in anticipation - that is always a good sign. We're off to the art store to stock up on some supplies - some people stock up on toilet paper a milk before a storm - we do an emergency run for paints, glue and stamp-carving pads...

starting February on the right foot

2010-02-02T15:05:00.001-08:00

It seems that most people are pretty down on February but I have to say that I quite like the month.

My birthday starts it out on the 1st, which doesn't hurt, and this year Miryam made me a necklace and wrapped it in her own decorated paper and Andy and I were able to sneak away for some Indian food. A great day.

As well as being my birthday the first, or second, of February is the Irish festival of Imbolg. We consider this the very very beginning of spring - optimistic I know - and try to find activities that remind us of the warm weather to come and to tell the sun how much we want it to return to us. We've been looking at seed catalogs and talking about what we learned from our garden last year and what we want to do differently this year. We also make candles to remind us of the sun's light and warmth.

Our local garden shop sells sheets of pressed wax and wicks to roll your own beeswax candles. Miryam was a bit frustrated with the first one - getting them going is tough - but after a couple with my help she was able to the rest on her own while I gave Éamonn his nap. We've been using them for our dinner candles and they are burning quite well. You really have to roll them tightly - too much air in the middle and they'll burn too quickly. You also want the wick to be nice and taught so we start by pushing the wick straight down into the wax and then folding the wax over the wick and pushing that down before the rolling begins.

We also bought one-pound blocks of beeswax from the apiary a few towns over but I think we'll wait until a day when we have papa around before we do anything that includes hot wax!

Of course, candle-making is hungry work so we made some oatcakes and ate them with marmalade. Not a bad start to the month, I'd say.

more hobbit-like pursuits

2010-01-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

baby-hobbit burrows under the covers

We haven't quite gotten to the point of eating breakfast, second breakfast and elevenses, but we are spending most of our days inside and planning our activities based on their proximity to the fireplace. Here are some of the things that have kept us occupied...

I finally got my horribly-jammed machine back from the repair man

and am getting my sewing muscles back into shape.

Miryam was given modeling beeswax for hanukkah and worked on this "Pippi Longstocking" for a nice quite half hour. Pippi lived on the ledge proudly for quite a while before she was dismantled for other projects.

Finger paint makes a big come-back

and when in doubt - we take a nice hot bath, preferably with California Baby bubble bath and many many cups

On a side note, Andy's mama just left from a week of visiting with us and in a few hours our friends from France are coming for the week. In the midst of all this I was called to two births in 24 hours so we are filled with some joyous chaos around here. I'm blogging while taking a break from putting new sheets on the beds and washing towels. Luckily all of our guests are looking for a shire-like visit so we can all eat big breakfasts and then lounge around waiting for spring so we can grow things.

portends

2010-01-01T18:24:00.000-08:00

If today portends what 2010 will bring, I'll welcome it.

We had friends over for brunch and, because the day so was beautiful, we went out for a run around and some sledding. I have been very hobbit-like this winter - preferring to stay cozy indoors while the wind blows - but I know this isn't very good for my mind or my body. I am not someone who make resolutions but I am resolving to be mindful about getting outside as close to everyday as possible for some play. It's the bundling that takes the effort - once I am out I am quite happy and always try to remind myself how good it feels. Then I bring everyone in for "The Great Unbundling" and I forget.

Today the sun was shining, there was no wind and we had a couple of inches of snow the night before to cover up the hard-packed under layer. These were perfect sledding conditions and we took many runs down the tiny hill that comes down from the garden. Éamonn was given a sled for Solstice and Miryam brought out her kicksled. Éamonn was able to keep his feet up on the footrest so he was able to take many trips down the hill and back and forth across the yard. The seemed to be enjoying himself but had a pretty serious look on his face. Taking it all in, I guess.

Éamonn and Auntie on the kicksled

I'm still dreaming of some adult sized kicksleds so we can take the littles out for a long ride. They make them with little seat belts and even pram-attachments for the littlest of riders. Maybe next year...

the holidays cometh

2009-11-27T13:45:00.000-08:00

basket of locally made beeswax candles ready for long winter nights

Miryam was born on the 19th of December 5 years ago. We joked that she was trying to hold out until the solstice but I went on such a beautiful winter walk that day and the moon was in the phase Andy had guessed she would be born in, and we were just so ready for her, that she decided that a couple of days before her plan was just fine. That is sort of her personality too. She makes plans, sometimes very big plans, but she also understands their impermanence.

December 19th is a tricky time to be born if you come from a family that celebrates Christmas, Hanukkah and Solstice. Scheduling issues abound but, even more difficult, it all just blends into one celebration. Which is nice in some ways but often it just feels like a busy two weeks of getting presents and eating food. Not so bad in print but in practice it can lack in relaxation, gratitude and meaning. So this year we have tried to distill what we get (or want to get) out of each holiday and how we plan to celebrate them as a family. Andy and my families of origin are Jewish and Catholic, respectively. We still feel, at least culturally, connected to those traditions in some way and so want to include them in our winter celebrations.

For Christmas we go to my family's house for gift giving, the big tree and a feast. Santa comes to Grandmas house only - this was something we really waffled about when Miryam was smaller but really it came down to the fact that Santa visited Miryam's 4 other cousins and so we weren't sure how to handle him in our family. The man-in-red visiting Grandma's house is our compromise. We honestly try to talk about him as little as possible. We give gifts to my family on this day but the children don't get any from us or vice versa.

During the nights of Hanukkah we light our menorah (note to self: remember to order beeswax candles because every year you forget and no one locally carries them) that was made for us by our dear friends. We talk about the story of Hanukkah and what it represents in our lives. We also give the children a gift each night and eat Latkes at least once during the 8 nights. We always make a big batch using Andy's Bubbie's recipe and we also attempt figure out when our friends are making them and try to get an invite!

Solstice has always been the holiday that feels the most authentic to our lives for Andy and I. Before we had Miryam we had yearly Solstice parties with mulled wine, a big potluck and lots of friends. One year we even made it through the night until we could climb up a local hill that has a panoramic view of our whole Valley. Once Miryam was born that party was supplanted by her birthday celebrations and so Solstice sort of blending into the General Winter Festivities. This year we decided to bring back some of the traditions that were important to Andy and my Solstices together and adapt them into traditions that fit into our lives as they are now. We've decided that I'll knit stockings for each of the children so we can hang them on our mantle filled with small presents both some just fun and others practical (growing up mine always included a new toothbrush). They'll also get a new pair of pajamas to slip into when the sun starts to go down. We'll do the whole of the evening without using electricity (except passively in our refrigerator and well-pump, you know). We'll have some sort of a meal in front of the fireplace, light candles around the house and play with the new toys from the stockings, sing some songs, play some games, read some books. We'll put mattresses down on the floor so we can have a big family bed in front of the fire and snuggle through the longest night.

Now that there is a plan and a vision the season to come seems more exciting than it has in a while. I'm going to hold on to that feeling of glee as long as I can.

bittersweet

2009-11-23T18:26:00.001-08:00

Truly, it is the liminal seasons that I like best. Summer is what I wait for, of course, but I the image in my mind might be better than the reality. We have the fleeting moment of late spring, early summer which is just perfect. 70 degrees, sunny, dry and everything is bursting as if reaching out towards July. All the good weather is ahead of us, all the bountiful local food is a few weeks away. Picnics are packed, bicycles are found in the backs of garages and us crazy New Englanders feel as though (if we are standing in the sun, at least) that it might just be warm enough to swim. This is the time of optimism. We pay no mind to the humidity and mosquitos no come. Those are a surprise each year.

Autumn is season of neither-nor, of a time-between, but it comes with none of the innocent optimism of spring. We know, deep in our bones, the cold and snow to come. The first morning we put bare toes down onto cold floorboards we see the months of winter stretching before us and shiver. This creates trouble when attempting to enjoy Autumn, to look forward to it even. There is that day, that bittersweet day when the trees are adorned with color, the sun is bright and still strong but there is the smell of wood stoves in the air. That day is so perfect but there is that feeling of waiting, of knowing what's to come. A bit of worry about how to get through until spring again.

This year, I am determined to look the Snow Queen in the eye and welcome her with a mug of cocoa and a lap blanket. I have new wool socks and I am ready to welcome the sweetness of winter.

halloween bag

2009-11-09T16:16:00.000-08:00

The children chose (not that Éamonn had very much imput) to be Thing 1 and Thing 2 this year. I have to say, truth be told, that I have no love for the Cat in the Hat but I'm not wearing the costume so, hey. I am required to sew the costume though and, as usual, I was hand stitching the last bits in the car on the way to my brother's house. We live out there just enough that you might not fill your bag on halloween without trudging a couple of miles. That might be hyperbole, which I am prone to, but I think not. I didn't get any photos but I'll see if Grandma's camera caught any good shots.

I made sure to get a photo of the halloween bag before it went into the basement until next year. I made 4 of these and Miryam gave the others to two of her friends. I had another fabric to make 4 more for other friends but the sewing machine jammed and so the fabric is ready waiting for me to stitch it up next year. Luckily the machine is going into the shop this week - I think it just needs a good cleaning but let's all think some good sewing-machine-repair thoughts, eh? I have my mom's old kenmore which is a workhorse but I really need to make a cover to keep the dust out.

Must respect the Sewing Machine.

snuggles

2009-11-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

please pardon the poor iphone photo.

On our most recent trip to Maryland we left, as usual, at night so the children would snooze on the way home. Unfortunately Éamonn hit a big wall emotionally at around 11 pm and we decided, with 4 hours of driving ahead of us, that it would be more humane for all of us to get a last minute hotel room and go to sleep in a proper bed. The littles were both so exhausted that they were sleeping within moments of crawling into the bed.

They don't, generally, sleep in the same bed because they might never sleep, so I've never had the opportunity to see them snuggle so much. I love the chubby hand at rest, the sweaty brows, the pouty lips, the rosy cheeks. Miryam has always wished that she and Éamonn were twins, and snuggled in that bed they look as though they might have willingly shared a womb.

in the orchard

2009-10-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

Though I am always seek to creating more rhythm in our family, when I look to the food and farm based activities that we do each year I am pleased to see that we have a clear sense of the agricultural rhythm in our area. We can remember when things happen, or have happened, based what was growing, what we were eating. Miryam knows when her friend will turn a year older because she was born "when the strawberries are ripe". Papa goes back to teaching when the apples are on the trees. The corn doesn't come until we have been swimming for a while. We are not purist about eating only what is in season but there are certain foods - tomatoes, corn on the cob, berries and the like - that we truly only eat when we can get them at the farmer's market or a farm stand. Once you really know tomatoes unless they are in season you can bear to eat them fresh. Corn has to be eaten the very day it was picked. I've heard that some people take a campstove with a cooking pot of water, heat it to a boil and then pick, shuck and cook the corn within moments of harvest. I can relate. Corn that fresh is good raw and really only needs to be steamed for about 2 minutes to make it hot enough for butter to melt on it.

This year, due to unexpected travel and too much rain, we missed strawberry picking. This also means that we missed strawberry jam-making which feels a bit traumatic. Lots of people have complained about what an off summer we had. Very cool and wet and then straight to a short burst of hot and humid - everything was damp. It does feel a bit like summer was snuck by us when we weren't looking, and missing strawberry picking feels a bit like we lost the month of June. Oops! It's a bit disconcerting and now it is a whole year until we can give it another try. I guess we better figure out marmalade.

That is all a long way of saying that because we missed strawberries we needed to make up our seasonal balance by picking an obscene amount of apples. We were tipped of by a friend that our state college has a test orchard a few towns away that has over 100 varieties of apples. The views were stunning and the area we were sent to pick in was filled with a mix of varieties, all but a handful were new to us and some of them, we were told, were so new that they didn't even have names yet just I.D. numbers. We were encouraged to takes bite of whatever we wanted to see how they were. It was really enlightening eating so many apples in such quick succession. Though I was aware that there was a vast variety of flavors and textures across the apple world but I was actually amazes at how stark the differences could be. We were completely paperless that day but next year I'd like to write down some of our favorites. We got a bunch of all of them and mixed them together in a sauce to eat over the winter. I have never succeeded in canning enough apple sauce to get through the year but seeing the rows of jars, I might just make it.

what a crock of pickles

2009-09-07T18:38:00.000-07:00

sorry, but I relish the pun. oh dear...

I've wanted to make proper lacto-fermented pickles for a couple of years now but hadn't made the leap until this past week. Partially this is because I am lucky enough to have Real Pickles local and available at my Co-op. Also, though it took me a while to realize this, I was held back by the lack of a proper fermenting crock. Now, I know you can make pickles in a jar or even a food-grade plastic bucket but I have this, some might say endearing, need to have projects look a certain way. Cooking should be done with the right apron, oatmeal should be stirred with the right spoon, picnics should be on the right blanket. It's not a need to buy things - truly the things that are right are often hand-made - it's a need to have the tools that have the right soul to do the job, if that makes any sense. It's as if the children will sleep better if they are under a blanket I knit, the water will taste colder if it is poured from a pitcher I bought from a potter at a local fair, and the pickles will ferment best if in the right crock. I think part of what held me back from trying to make them was the lack of the right vessel. Like it or not, silly or wise, I just could not get excited about a plastic bucket of pickles. The ceramic crocks are expensive and heavy so the shipping is beastly. So I continued to buy pickles.

This last week two wonderful things coincided; my pickling cukes started to flourish in the garden and I was gifted my dream pickling crock. This clay pot belong to a friend who Andy and I used to live with. I always loved it and when she asked if I wanted it because she was trying to clear out the house a bit I was so pleased. I did, however, have a moment of remorse while driving home wondering if I was was taking clutter from someone else's house into my own. Would this just be a "pretty" collecting dust or could I make use of it? I put it on the shelf and then went out to survey the garden.

The pieces clicked mentally into place. It was a crock. A big crock. With a wide mouth and a lid. Hello pickles!

I used the method outlined in Wild Fermentation and they came out so well. I weighed a plate down with a boiled rock (which Miryam loved "um...mama...are you cooking a stone?") to keep the pickles under the surface of the brine and in a week we started eating them. Made my own cukes, with local garlic and dill - they are so tasty and I am so proud. Andy had some friends over to play cards and they ate them along with their beer. I knew that pickle making was simple but I was actually quite amazed at such stellar results from something so dead easy. If you haven't given it a try, get some pickling cucumbers while you can and make some pickles.

green tomato relish

2009-09-01T18:33:00.001-07:00

This is one of those "making lemonade out of lemmons" sort of situations, though specifically we were "making relish out of green tomatoes".

We are a tomato family. At one point in our courtship Andy and I came to the consensus that winter tomatoes were just. not. worth. it. and we never really bought them after that. Canned tomatoes are lovely and in a pinch I can find some cherry tomatoes worth eating in december but, truly, we eat fresh tomatoes locally and in season. The Connecticut River Valley has wonderfully fertile soil and we grow very yummy vegetables (and apparently top of the line tobacco for cigars, but that's another story). Tomatoes, in season, around here are amazing. There are so many heirloom varieties to choose from and one local CSA farm even has a festival in their honor each August with tastings and canning demonstrations.

Really spectacular tomatoes, however, are not cheap. They start out the season at around $5.50 a pound and slowly go down from there. We eat so many that we try to grow a few plants each year to help offset the tomato fund. In the past, other than the year we had a community garden plot, these have been mild successes grown in containers. This year, with plenty of garden space, we planted an ambitious 23 plants. Visions of capri salads, tomato sandwiches and a pantry with row upon row of sauce-filled jars danced in our heads...

Nope. We got tomato blight (think potato blight. think irish famine. same fungus) just like most of the tomato growers around here. It was so sad ripping out all the plants but we were determined to make the most of it so I looked through my files and found this recipe from Farmgirl Fare I had wanted to try. I made it, it was delicious. We thanked the Gods of Abundance that we would have something tomato in the pantry and we canned 10 half pints of it. There was a bit left over which we enjoyed on some burritos. Highly recommended.

It's still a disappointment to look out the kitchen window and see the big whole in the garden landscape. I am proud, however that we were able to make do and make something we might now have made otherwise but really enjoyed.

feverish

2009-08-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

Éamonn had a mild fever this morning and was very clingly so I put him on my back and did house work to keep moving and lull him to sleep. My floors are nicely swept and the laundry is all folded but having a hundred-degree baby sweatily sleeping on your back while you dash around tidying up on a humid August day is hot.

After the nap Miryam joined us for a cool bath and with ice cubes to keep us from completely melting into the woodfloors. It felt like floating in a glass of ice water, thank goodness.

fishing

2009-08-10T10:34:00.001-07:00

In my mind I have an unofficial list of skills that I consider necessary to being a productive and capable human being. Some of these (canning, sewing on a button, making butter) I can put a big check mark next to but others still elude me. Being able to catch a fish, clean it and cook it is very clearly on the later.

I have, honestly, only been fishing twice. Both were on one of our pre-children cross country trips; once in Yellowstone and once in Oregon. I got the hang of casting but it was Andy that, on the second outing, caught a rainbow trout, cleaned it and cooked it (barely, yum) on the camp stove. That was the freshest fish I have had, clearly, at about 20 minutes post-catch.

Miryam showed some interest in fishing so on a trip back from Maryland Andy brought her a rod and small tackle box that all fits in a carrying bag for her back. She was very proud and very excited to give it a go.

She picked up casting surprisingly quickly and caught a sunfish on her first trip out with papa, but so far nothing for the frying pan. We found a company that sells biodegradable fishing line and other earth-conscious tackle so we can impact the rivers as little as possible while we try to catch our dinner. We've been reading over the Fish section in the River Cottage cookbook and dreaming of meals to come.

five years

2009-08-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

Last friday was my five year wedding anniversary. My mom stayed with the children so Andy and I could go out to dinner. It was fun to dress up and be able to linger over our food and talk about our dreams for the future and just chat without interruptions.

In looking back at the wedding pictures I remember, so clearly, what an amazing day it was. It's hard to write about such a memorable day without sounding cliché. It's hard to write about the love of your life without sounding trite. The wedding was outdoors on the grounds of a local college. We were up on a hill surrounded by trees and mountains.

We wanted the wedding to be an expression of our love, but more importantly, a statement to our community of our commitment to each other. I had often wondered if anything would feel different once we made it official. Would I look at Andy differently once he was my husband as well as my partner? Truly, I knew that the wedding was not so much for us to solidify our commitment to each other, but to proclaim it to our loved ones and to ask them for their blessings.

newly married

We were married on a hill beneath a linen chuppah supported by birch poles to symbolize fertility. The chuppah represents the home and marriage and so we had friends hold it above us to show how the community supports our new family. The marriage was officiated by a dear friend, the wine was blessed by another. Poetry was read and our siblings held the broom for us to hop over. We said our vows and then asked for our community, our friends and family, if we could have their blessings. To hear a hundred and fifty people loudly responding with love that they supported our marriage and wished us well was amazing.

Jim, our friend and Justice of the Peace for a day

After the ceremony we walked down the hill and around the corner to have our Yichud. This was traditionally the time to consumate the marriage but modernly it is a time for seclusion before the reception. Our friend had layed out a blanket with pillow and peacock feathers and wine and fruit. We had a few moments to be together and smile and giggle that we are now married!

the bouquets were blue and purple hydrangeas, the tables had wildflowers

The reception was so much fun - great local music, delicious food and for the toast our friends made us a blueberry mead. My dear friend, Laura, make us the most amazing apricot cheesecake decorated with local, organic, flowers.

some folks were worried about putting a very pregnant woman up on the chairs but they were very careful not to drop me

I could not have asked for a more amazing day. And I could not have asked for a more loving and wonderful husband. I am blessed everyday that we are together. My children are so blessed to have them as their father. I could not want for more.

just a few cherries, thank you

2009-07-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Ah it is cherry time around here. I have to say, however, this colander represents the sum total of all the cherries I am purchasing this year. After last year's cherry-box-panic, where in which I spent two days pitting cherries by hand with a paring knife, this season I decided I would by one pint and eat them fresh that day and that would be that. Maybe I'll get a cherry pitter before next season and my courage will return. If so I should get one early - my friend Hannah asked the only store in driving distance that still had one in stock to hold it for her and they had to turn away 3 or 4 other potential buyers in the hour it took her to pop over. Wow. Apparently the money is in cherry pitters this season - who knew?

fire pit

2009-07-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

While we were digging in the garden bed we kept hitting stones. Big stones. Stones that broke a shovel and two forks in the process of putting in our kitchen garden. It seemed only fitting to find some pleasure in them so Andy took to the task of making a fire pit for us.

So far it's just been used twice for after-supper s'mores but I'm looking forward to trying out some kebabs and stick-bread as well.

In the back of this picture you can see a big pile of stones - that isn't even half of what we dug out. We have to repair our stone wall and I'm hoping to us as many of these as we can. After this, I really understand why New England farms are bordered by stones walls. The joke always that rock is what New England grows best and I'll tell you we had a bumper year!

the cape

2009-07-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

Someone very dear to us has recently been diagnosed with cancer. We spent a week, as a family, in Maryland staying with them during surgery, and spent a week at home without papa while he helped them transition home from the hospital. We are very optimistic but it has caused a lot of upset in our routine and rhythm. The next round of treatment should be starting soon so while we had the time we escaped to Cape Cod for a week by the ocean to soothe our souls and take a step outside of the trials of life.

We rented a cottage with my mom, uncle and niece in Truro, our favorite outer-cape town. The beach there is like none other. The dunes are dramatic and protected so there is only an occasional weathered-shingle house up on the hill - the rest is sand and grasses and the sea.

We came home rested and rejuvenated, and happy to sleep in our own beds again.

rhubarb yogurt

2009-06-03T10:13:00.001-07:00

rhubarb yogurt, originally uploaded by birchmama.

The drink of early last summer was rhubarb soda with vodka (I added a lot less water and sugar than this recipe though). This summer we decided to try rhubarb bellini. I quite liked them though Andy couldn't get by the texture. I would have taken a photo of it but they looked, to be honest, like glasses of gravy! The batch of rhubarb wasn't very pink so the puree wasn't very colorful - more like apple sauce. Instead, here is my breakfast the day after - left over puree spooned over yogurt. I think this may be my favorite yogurt flavor now. Rhubarb freezes so well that I can make this when it is out of season. I already have a gallon of it chopped and frozen now but I think I'll do some more while I still can.

I'm trying to eat rhubarb and asparagus as often as possible because it is such a fleeting season. Already some of the asparagus fields have gone to seed, but I can feel the abundance of summer coming over the horizon. Soon the farmers' markets and roadside stands will be full and we'll have more choices than we know what to do with. Such bliss.

collected this morning

2009-06-01T17:21:00.001-07:00

collected, originally uploaded by birchmama.

We had a lovely sunny day today and so the children and I spent the morning out in the yard. Inspired by this lovely blog we decided to pick what plants we could find in the grass. Truth be told, we don't have much grass in the back of the house - most of it is chickweed and plantain - which I really don't mind. The front yard is all torn up and, because we won't really use it and so I don't want to waste water and mowing energy on a big empty lawn, we are looking into planting it with wild flowers in the style of a Lammas Field that is mowed down in August as fodder for the animals. Mowing once or twice a year is much more my style.

We found, from left to right, chickweed, buttercups, purple fleabane, bluets, bugleweed, white clover. The is also some yarrow in the front yard but it needs a bit longer before the flowers open. I'm having fun sharing some common plant knowledge with Miryam that I learned while apprenticing with an herbalist before she was born. While we were collecting I was reminded of a book that I'll have to dig out and revisit with her called The Herbalist of Yarrow. Scattered throughout the book are sidebars with recipes for the herbal preparations used in the story. We've just finished two readings of the Lauren Child illustrated Pippi so we're starting to move into books with less and less pictures which opens up our bedtime reading choices, thankfully. It will be nice to start having my little one help wildcraft and mix up remedies. This is knowledge that I have worked, and am working, so hard to learn that she will grow up knowing from childhood. Such a gift.

And such a lovely day.

asparagus soup

2009-05-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

The past two days have been rainy and cold. Wet, damp, cold that feels even chillier coming after some 90 degree days last week. We've been eating asparagus almost everyday since it arrived at the roadside stands and this weather seemed the perfect time to try asparagus soup. The recipe is from my current favorite Jamie at Home. I've always liked his books but I like him especially now that he is a papa and grows his own food. The book is laid out seasonally and includes a recipe for Rhubarb Bellini which I have on the menu for the next sunny weekend.

Éamonn went down for a nice long afternoon nap so Miryam and I had some time to work together in the kitchen. I did the onion chopping and she handled the asparagus - weighing out the bunch, snapping off the ends and cutting off the tips to be added later after the soup is blended. They cook perfectly in the soup and are these little surprising nibbles of yummy. I highly recommend the soup. If we get a sunny day we can try it the alternate way - cold with lemon juice - which sounds like a perfect lunch.

sabbatical

2009-05-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

the kitchen garden we have been working on during any spare moments

Parenting creates interesting paradoxes. Being a mama or papa makes you aware of your values, the vision you have for the family you want your child to grow in, who you want to be as a person, how you want to act and model to your children, and the way you want to spend your valuable time. It also takes a lot of work with few breaks which makes it difficult to get the healthy dinner on the table, keep your patience, stop washing the dishes to sing songs, and act with intention.

That last thought has come up for me a lot since Miryam was born - acting with intention. Often when I am feeling down I will scribble on some scrap paper Kerouac style with no punctuation or breaks about my vision. When we were despairing to find a house to buy I would write for a while about what I want in a house, what I would do in it, how it would feel, what things would fill it, who would visit. It helped to purge the disappointment and also to clarify the vision.

Some days I have "low mojo" and just can't get anything going, or I feel like I am just not walking the right path. That I have a vision for the person I would like to be, the life I would like to live, the family culture I would like to create, and that I am falling short. We're close but not quite there. They are hard days especially with the littles underfoot - there's less time to ponder and mother yourself and help regain your footing. The only thing I usually have time for is my scribbles - just to get it out somewhere. I don't journal - I don't save these, it's just a process - when it's done, I'm done.

This past year there have been many of these days. I have more clarity about what I want for my life than I did before becoming a mother and it feels more important to attain my vision now while my children are still young. So I tried to think about what hurdles are standing in the way of the life I envision and the big obstacle that came up again and again was Andy's working. He was lucky enough to have a friend get him started tutoring in the evenings. The pay is wonderful and there is very little prep work needed. Because we needed the extra money to buy the house it was hard to turn the work away but at 70 hours or so a week of work between school and tutoring he was turning clients away. The hours were too much but the per-hour rate for tutoring was so good in comparison to teaching that we kept adding and hour here and an hour there.
I've been very inspired by Rhonda's blog Down To Earth. She shares her story without judgement of where her readers are on their path or how they define "simple living" but the most moving thing about her blog, for me, is the very obvious joy and contentment she can created for herself. The sense of giving each activity her attention and commitment, to cultivating the things that are important to her and to being intentional in every choice. When I found it originally I went down the hole and read through the archives and thought and thought about the control I have over my life. That the life that I wanted was a simple life but a simple life takes time - something that was very scarce this past year. That the life I wanted was the one in which I acted with intention. When the family was on a reasonable schedule we ate fantastic home-cooked meals, we read books and played and had friends over for supper. I sewed clothes and mended them. We kept the house clean and relaxed. As soon as things got busy again everything was a reaction. We were hungry so we had to get something to eat - it wasn't already made so we would have burritos downtown. The laundry wasn't done, the dishes were dirty and I was so busy trying to get caught up that I didn't want to play. The children would finally get in bed and Andy and I would crash in front of a DVD and slump until we went to bed. The contrast was so great between our two patterns that it might have been comical if we hadn't been living it. I felt like we were doing all we could do create the life we wanted but something was always getting slighted.

I started thinking about what kind of a change we could make. Something bold and authentic. Something that felt like we were taking back control of our time and embuing it with the value it deserved. I started throwing out the idea of taking some time off from teaching and just tutoring. Good money, less hours, no stress, flexible schedule. Andy thought I was crazy. I kept thinking and trying my best to make the pieces come together. To make the yummy dinner and still have a tidy house, happy children, friend's to visit, time to relax and enough energy at the end of the night to play cards or chat with Andy instead of zoning out. It wasn't happening. I brought my idea up again and Andy thought I was crazy - thats what people do, they go to work and come home at night and we should feel blessed that I get to stay at home with the children. I took a long hard look and my vision. Was it realistic? Was it as likely as me getting a large estate in the English countryside to reside it? No. This was something that, although currently rare, should be completely realistic. Papa's should see their children for more than 2 hours before they go to bed at night. There should be time to rest when the work is done.

During spring break - a week of vacation from school but with the normal amount of tutoring - I kept noting how much smoother things ran when were in less of a rush and had more time to act with intention. We ate well, we played, we worked, we relaxed, we talked. The children were cooperative, we were patient. The rough moments were easier to weather because we were all on the same page.I brought up this contrast after the first week back to school was particularly trying. "Why are we doing this?" I asked. "This life doesn't feel like "us". It feels like we are letting circumstances make our choices for us". And Andy agreed. "Why not" he said. "Why shouldn't we try this?" And so we held our breath, held hands and jumped. Andy went into work the next day and asked for a sabbatical. And they said yes. The commended him for his commitment to his family and asked him to stay on as a department head for 3 days a month. He accepted.

Just knowing that, come July, we'll be able to make our reality that much closer to our vision makes it easier to get through these last busy weeks. I feel so blessed to have a husband who shares my vision and is willing to figure out how to make a good idea work.

Slogging along

2009-05-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

some pretty flowers growing on the garden wall

Well last week - which was conspicuously lacking blog posts - was a week to be survived. This last two months of the school year is turning out to be very busy for Andy - 70 hour work weeks are seeming to be the norm through the beginning of June and I am tired. We had some unsettling health news in the extended family and we are waiting for more information that we should get later in the week. Also my camera started making a scary rattling sound and wouldn't show any picture when you looked through the lens. Luckily Andy has a MacGyver streak in him and was able to fix it it, though he says he has no idea how it did it. The relief was amazing - I had such a grumpy feeling that I was going to have to replace the camera ontop of all the other grumpiness going on.

The only thing keeping me on my feet - aside from the sunshine - is the knowledge that this insanity of this schedule we are on has an end point. Knowing that we have a plan to put our lifestyle more inalignment with our values and dreams. The, proverbial, light at the end of the tunnel is the word "sabbatical".

I'll post more about that when I get a few baby-free moment. Éamonn is teething again and so there are lots of snuggles and nursing but not much napping in this house!

project table

2009-05-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

Éamonn only takes one (short) nap each afternoon and as this is my one break until bedtime usually I fall prey to the siren song of either a) reading a book and eating lunch silently while Miryam is playing, or b) cleaning up the mess that was made during the morning (or worse - that was left from the day before). This week I have been trying to spend that time with Miryam so we can have some chatting time but I really need it to be restful and rejuvinating at the same time. To this end we have been having, what Miryam calls, Project Table time. We open up the leaves of the kitchen table so it is big and we each work on our own projects. This allows me to get some quiet and some mama-work done while still spending time with my girl. Paiting has been a no-go when Éamonn is awake so this afternoon she worked on some landscapes while I cut out two more baby boy-sized sailor pants that I am hoping to stitch up this week. You can't see the plate of cookies, milk, and a tall iced cofee in the corner of the table but I will say that they were very helpful elements to getting so much word done on both sides of the table.

this was the plan

2009-05-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks we have been spending every spare non-raining moment to work on the garden for the back yard. We designed a raised bed kitchen garden that is inspired by the french Potager. There are 7 beds made of cedar decking laid out in a symmetrical design. I'll post some pictures of it when the sun starts to shine. We planned the garden and ordered the seeds and then needed to wait until the snow melted and the ground loosed up. We've spent lots of hours digging up the grass that was there and raking out the stones. Boy do we New Englanders know how to grow rocks! We're going to use the stones that we pulled up to make a fire pit in time for the summer solstice.

We had some loam brought in and now are shoveling it in wheel barrows, bringing it around the house and filling up the beds. We got a kid sized wheel barrow and shovel for Miryam and she was quite helpful this weekend though pushing the wheelbarrow still needs a bit of help when it is full - they are tippy! Andy and I were working hard and sweating and the kids were playing in the dirt mountain and getting soil in every crack and crevis. The bath water that evening was like oversteaped tea. Miryam kept her mama and papa gigling all day long:

"boy am I tired - I'm gonna sleep good in this nightime"

"wow! gardening is hard work - but it sure is good for you"

"I keep thinking about the sweet carrots I'll eat when I am done with all this digging digging digging"

Watching Éamonn toddle around and poke things with sticks and Miryam creating her own stories on her mountain Andy and I just kept looking at each other and saying this was the plan. When we planned to move out of town and into the hills on a little piece of land, the plan was a big garden and dirty kids who could be outside on their own doing what kids are designed to do.

I'm watching the plan unfold before my eyes.

my boy is one!

2009-05-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to me how quickly this year has gone by - it was so full every moment that there were few moments to stop and notice time's passing. We were so much living each day that to look now and notice all that has happened since my belly was big like the moon is to be awed at all we've experienced. I remember my mom saying that children do grow up so quickly but she has no regrets and worries that she missed it because she really savored every moment and drank in all the memories so she would know that she really lived as much of it as she could. I've tried to do the same but the difference between the first years of my children is surprising to me. With Miryam is went by slowly - a lot of time it was me and her and the puttering speed of our day. I often sat and rocked her and read books while she napped. Each day the sun took it's time from rising to setting. It was lazy and abundant and full of dozy afternoons, kisses, and that sweet milk breath. That first year was lovely and we felt keenly that the earth had gone completely around the sun.

Éamonn's first year has been equally lovely though the days have been so much more full that it seems the sun follows it's track acrosss our sky in moments. The lazy afternoons are a bit fewer and farther between but the joyous chaos that has entered my day is just as sweet. It's been wonderful to see sibling love in it's truest and most unconditional form. The bond that is between these children is an inspiration to me each day. Miryam is a helpful and loving older sister. So compassionate and thoughtful about Éamonn's needs. And her helpfulness allows me to get a shower each day which is a gift in itself.

Last night Éamonn wasn't quite feeling sleepy when he and I crawled into bed last night. He had one of those dangerous dinner-time naps and has the same "second wind" silliness that his sister had at that age when they miss the window for bedtime. So for about a half an hour we played in bed and I laughed untill tears were pouring down my face and my belly hurt. He was trying to bite my nose and making silly faces, we were repeating nonesense sounds to each other and tickling. It was wonderful to have some time together with such mama and baby. It made me think how Miryam was always so silly that she made everyone laugh, but Éamonn is so silly that we all laugh and he laughs along the loudest. As we finally giggled ourselves into a sleepy nursing session I thought about how similar and how different my two littles loves are and how blessed I am to be their mama.

it's always feast or famine here

2009-05-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

Completely unrelated photo of a lovely truck parked outside our favorite breakfast place.
I can very clearly see myself in a gingham shirt with braided pigtails driving this
around town with many children sitting in the back (disregarding the law)
dirty and barefoot eating ice cream. Can't you?

I just can't seem to find the blog-vibe recently. Either it feels like nothing is going on to share or so much is happening that I create mental blog posts in my head but that is as far as they get. We are sitting squarely in the latter category currently. So much has been happening and the weather has been so lovely that the computer is far from my thoughts. I do like the intention that blogging creates in my life - the time to sit and ponder for a moment how to phrase the little bits of my day. So I am making it a goal, rather than a promise, to post everyday in May (though the weekends are off unless I feel inspired to share). We'll see how I do. Up first is trying to get a wiggly 1-year-old to allow me to get some photos of him in the Oliver + s sailboat pants he's been sporting every single day they are clean. We've been putting in our gardens, planting seeds, planning sabbaticals, eating fiddleheads...really there is so much to show when I can create the moment to sit quietly.

To be continued tomorrow...

last snowy photo of the season

2009-04-11T08:37:00.000-07:00

I am very much in spring mode now and so it feels a bit strange to share these photos now because the very last thing that I want to look at again is snow. I was doing some bleary-eyed late night iphoto tidying and realized that I didn't share the greatest thing of winter 2008 - Miryam's kick sled.

I should say here that I do love winter. I love it in the cozy way one loves winter. I make really yummy soup, I like quilts and down comforters, and reading in front of a fire is absolutely wonderful. Before I had Miryam I often would say to myself "I want to be the kind of mama who..." and one of the goals was being able to make hot cocoa from scratch without a recipe. Well I have perfected it. I do winter really well - indoors. I like watching snow fall and have in the past pulled a big chair out on the porch with tea and many blankets to here the silence, but that's as close as I usually get. There's the occasional snowman and sledding mixed in but I am not the most enthusiastic "let's play in the snow" friend.

So this year in an effort to find more things to love about winter that happen out of doors I stumbled upon the idea of kicksleds. They sort of look like mini dog sleds, and apparently you can attach one dog for training (this is very much in Miryam's plans for next year). There are ice blades for use on hard snow or icy roads and ponds and also snap-on snow blades for the more powdery stuff. Miryam loved it, although it was very delayed in getting to us so there were only a few more weeks of the good snow before it found a place in the garden shed till next year. She was fearless going down our little hill off the garden and went back and forth dozens of times kicking and gliding. I was so worried when she had friends over because they would take turns riding on the seat but thankfully no one was run over! I wish we had it when we were living near downtown - it would have been great to use on those snowy days to get to town and back. I can't find a good link to show but in sweden, where these are from, they have plough attachments to clear off skating rinks, cradle-looking attachements for infants, and buckles for older babies. Andy and I are thinking of each getting one so for next year so we can put the kids on the seats and check out some of the cross country skiing trails.

With lots of hot cocoa in a thermos of course.

happy special day

2009-04-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

Ignore the dreary lighting and gaze, if you will, on the stickly glaze on this cake. yum.

We needed a cheer-me-up during all these April Showers and turned to an old favorite - Orange Poppyseed Cake from Cottage Living. It is so yummy and if you keep it in something airtight it keeps for a week. Maybe more but we always eat it before then, it's especially nice toasted for breakfast with a cup of tea. We used buttermilk from our most recent batch of butter but I still have so much buttermilk in the freezer I am going to have to find more recipes that include it beyond pancakes!

Miryam wanted to use some candles that were in the drawer so we lit them when Andy arrived home and sang (at Miryam's direction) "Happy Special Day" to the tune of Happy Birthday. That is just what I need when the sun hasn't been seen in days.

camp skills

2009-03-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

I was unpacking one of the myriad boxes marked, very specifically, "BOOKS" and found one I had forgotten and knew I had to share. This book belonged to my father as a child and was a favorite of mine when I was young. I used to look at the pages and think about making a "temporary refrigerator" by submerging a bucket in a stream with my jug of milk in it and building a lean-to with sticks and branches.

Check out that " Daddy's Chair" - fantastic. And the washbasin? That's my kind of camping.

I think this book might be what lead me to join the Girl Scouts. I understand that the troops activities vary greatly depending on the leaders' interests but I must say that I was sorely disappointed in the lack of "Scouting" in my troop. I think the most scout-ish activity was the one time we were allowed to have a turn opening and closing a pocket knife. Sheesh!

I sometimes wonder, in that nature-vs-nurture way, about some of these fascinations in childhood. Was I drawn to this book because of who I was, or am I who I am because this book was tucked into our bookshelves. It makes me curious to see who my children become as they mix their own selves with the community with which we have surrounded them. What might this book inspire in them?

walking

2009-03-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

Miryam took her first steps quite dramatically at 11 months or so. Andy and I both happened to be looking at her when she stepped once, twice and then sat down. For first time parents it was nice to be able to share the moment.

Éamonn has been shown his walking skills in a much more relaxed fashion. A shuffle here, a few steps there. He really gets a lot of practice pushing our kitchen chairs around the house. We have all wood floors and the chairs have felt on the bottom so they slide at the perfect speed.

More recently he has been taking Miryam's dolly Ruby Red for her morning stroll in the pram. He has learned to do corners by bumping in the the wall, wiggling the pram, bumping it again, etc. until he is in the right direction.

With the first child, it's so exciting to see them learn and grow. You just can't wait for the next milestone. With the second child I am a bit more whistful. Each new skill is an accomplishment and a celebration but it is also a reminder of all that has passed already, and how quickly. Still, I'm looking forward to the summer when I can marvel at his fat little feet walking through the grass.

a bit of unpacking - the playroom

2009-03-04T13:52:00.000-08:00

I find that unpacking really goes on the back burner when there are two little children underfoot. We very quickly took out everything that we needed and left everything else boxed up in the garage. Well a couple of weeks went by before we even ventured in there for more boxes to unload. Just keeping everyone fed and watered and in clean clothes was enough. Adding more to the melee was unthinkable. It came to be, however, that the three books and one doll we had out was not enough fun for the kids. As much as I sometimes dream, we could never handle it Little-House-In-The-Big-Woods-style. So we unpacked the kids stuff (mostly - there are still some stuffed animal boxes that I (um) just can't find...yeah) and here is what we have.

The way the rooms work out there are two tiny bedrooms and two normal-sized bedrooms. So we have my midwifery office in one tiny room and Miryam's room in the other. Right now there is just a twin in there but we'll set up the bunkbeds this summer for sleepovers and for the future when Éamonn is ready to move out of our bed. The normal-sized rooms became the "familybed room" for Andy, Éamonn and I and the "play room". In general, I'm not very into the "playroom" concept as it is usually represented. Too often it is a way to segregate children (and their things) from the rest of the family. The whole "keep the toys out of the livingroom" theory. I think it is important for children (and their things) to be valued parts of the family, rather than closeted away is a basement "rec room" or some such. I have the benefit of a big plastic aversion so the vast majority of my children's toys are things that I enjoy looking at and are comfortable sharing my space with. It's important to me that my children respect their belongings and take care of them. I would find it hard to instill that value if I felt their things should be-out-of-my-sight. What you do, you teach, and all that...

That being said, it didn't make sense to have one big child's room and one tiny one. Especially because Éamonn really doesn't need a room right now. And how am I supposed to decide which room get's the play kitchen? No thanks. This way most of the toys are family-toys, rather than owned by one child or the other. The playroom is for play and the bedroom, which only has a bed, some books and a dresser, is for sleeping. Perfect.

So in the picture above you can see the play kitchen, the table (whose chairs are currently part of a fort in the living room), the dollhouse, doll pram and some rocking chairs. When I get some more daylight I'll take some pictures of the dolly sleeping in the pram - she is a waldorf doll I made for Miryam's birthday last year. The wall to the left of the photo has the closet you'll see below and the hidden wall on the right has a small shelf of toys and some baskets with blocks and balls.

The closet has art supplies, games and puzzles, and things that are best for when the baby isn't around. We tuck the horse in when not in use because it takes up a bunch of floor space. The horse was a thrift store find in Vermont. It's handmade and lovely but I've been meaning to give it some new yarn hair for a while. It's starting look like it should be put out to pasture, if you know what I mean.

I bought the stained glass butterfly, that hangs in the window, in Eugene, OR on our first cross-country trip in 2000. It catches the light beautifully in the afternoons.

I am making some plans for the room to work on during the April school vacation including a new rug (that one came with the house - they staged it for the sale) and curtins, some wall paint and a shelf that runs the length of the wall that you see behind the rocking chairs. Also some fabric-covered homasote boards to hang artwork on and a peg rack for dress up. I'll update with photos when we start working on it. Consider this the before.

we have a winner!

2009-03-02T06:42:00.000-08:00

According to the random number generator...

*** Tiny House***

is the winner! Congratulations. Please email me with your postal address and start watching your mailbox next week.

And a big hello and welcome to new folks who came by way of Sew, Mama, Sew - I hope you'll stick around.

it arrived! and a give away

2009-02-25T07:33:00.001-08:00

When I was in third grade I attended one day of bible camp with a friend. She went to the local catholic school and I was so jealous of her uniform. Plaid pleated skirt? White shirt with peter pan color? Navy cardigan? Saddle shoes? Yes please!

I was lucky enough to win a red plastic whistle in some unremembered contest. It was nothing specially but for the rest of time it was pretty much the only thing I had won. Until last month.

Melissa of Checkout Girl was having a pay-it-forward give away and I was amazed to have won. I have admired her work since I first found her blog and now that we are trying to make this house a home it seemed perfect to have some handcrafted home-iness to grace it's walls.

But because we had moved there was some scary post office drama that ensued and I was panicked that it was lost in the mail. The curse of the red whistle and all. But finally it arrived. I tore into that package with an embarrassing amount of enthusiasm and literally squealed. It is so beautiful.

The tiny bird. The Flowers. The lavender scent. The careful and artful stitching. So beautiful. I keep moving it around the house so I can look at it throughout the day. It give me a little smile whenever it catches my eye.

Thank you so much Melissa!

And because this was a pay-it forward giveaway, here is one of my own to spread the love.

* * * Give Away * * *

Leave a comment in the post by Sunday evening and you will be entered into this giveaway. This is a surprise handcrafted gift that you will receive in about a weeks time after I choose the winner on Monday morning.

Good luck!

ah humidity

2009-02-13T04:46:00.000-08:00

One of the hard things about New England winters is the bone dry air. Inside, outside, everywhere. Were are constantly drinking water and slathering Weleda cream on our skin in an effort to not dry out so much that we crumble into pieces.

We also escape to places with more humidity - namely greenhouses (no Caribbean vacations for us alas). In case you can't read the above sentence without the benefit of spaces between the words, it says:

"Mimi is a star and likes to go to the butterfly place"

She can't spell yet, but she likes to ask "how do you spell 'is' mama" and then write (or in this case, string) the letters.

The butterfly place is one of the tropical locals that we visit when it just gets too dry and too cold. The air is moist and warm, there are butterflies and flowers and a small pond. You can sit on a bench, close your eyes and be in summer for a few minutes.

We've had a couple of those hope-filled days this week where the temperature soars to a balmy 48 degrees. Folks around here can sometimes be seen wearing flip-flops on such days. We New Englanders are a special breed... We know there might even be a few more inches of snow in our future, but these days remind us that "yes, spring is coming, and it will feel lovely just like today". Those are the days that I start picnic blanket plans and Miryam and I snuggle before bed and talk about what we'll bring. And speak of frisbees and camp outs and smores and sandals and canoes and fall asleep dreaming of barefeet in deep grass.

well that was tiring...

2009-02-12T06:44:00.001-08:00

Sooo...since that last post (several years ago apparently) we found a house, bought it, packed up everything we owned, moved it into our new house, unpacked about 20 boxes, and left the rest of the boxes in the garage so I don't have to live in a box jungle anymore. Wow.

We were in our apartment for about 8 years so it had been a while since I had moved. This move also has some factors that complicated it:
a. I have a lot more stuff now (apparently)
b. I have two children, one of which had just learned to pull up on things and enjoys eating random bits of grossness off the floor.

Last winter we bought a swing from IKEA for Miryam and hung it in this doorway between the living room and dinning room. It was a lovely way to burn off a little pent up winter energy and it hooked onto rings in the doorframe so it could be taken down when not in use. While we were in the scary basement packing things up I found this swing that Andy's sister handed down to us and it also was able to hook onto the rings. Fantastic. Apparently we wore Éamonn out with all the packing.

So now we are a bit more settled and soon I'll show you some interior house photos. For now you can peak at the back yard.

We have a bit over 3 acres, mostly wooded. This photo is from the sliding glass doors in the dining room and you can see the lower half of the photo is just yard, then there is a stone wall that holds up a terraced section where the garden will go.

I have to tell you, the best part about buying a house is that I don't have to buy a house now. Thank goodness that is crossed off the to-do list. So much stress involved.

Now I can just settle in and start sewing curtains and napkins and throw pillows and make this house into a home.

peeling skills

2009-01-05T18:04:00.000-08:00

The spring before Miryam was born, when I was newly pregnant and pretty ill, Andy and I went to the Cummington Sheep & Woolcraft Fair to keep my spirits up. There is nothing like wool to make me a girl feel cheerful.

We spent some browsing around the stalls, picking out some roving, marveling and some of the beautiful handwoven shawls and watching a beautiful old woman spin yarn directly from the back of an Angora rabbit nestled on her lap. That must be the coziest of winter pursuits.

We wanted to sit and have some water so we found some seat in the bleachers in a barn and were apparently just in time for a 4H sheep showing competition. The children were to bring out their lamb that they had been raising, and show it off. One specific competitions included the children being dressed in some bit of clothing they made themselves that was made from wool.

We marveled at how confidently these 4-12 year olds were dealing with these boisterous lambs. They seemed to have a much deeper sense of responsibility than I had ever seen in other children. This was a huge step up from the proverbial "well if you want a puppy you know you have to feed and walk it, right?" discussion. These were children who were truly responsible for the care of a living creature. We walked through the barns were the animals were kept before and after the competitions and heard the talking to their animals, tidying up their wool with hand sheers and being very lovingly stern when the lambs got a bit out of hand.

Andy and I talked a lot that day, and since then, about our desire to raise children with real skills. I know that so much of my adult life has been learning skills that, in another time, children would already know. It seems that so many "jobs" out there are a variation of "pushing papers" and our abilities to actually make or do anything are fewer and farther between. I felt that gap in my own life and I think that may be a part of the "crafting revolution". The desire to use our hands to create something. To use skill.

Well Miryam is 4 now, and she has no livestock skills yet (but watch this space for information about some chickens in our future) but she does a great job with a veggie peeler. She can also make quick work of slicing a pound of mushrooms for pizza with a paring knife. I have been trying to raise a child who is capable and have been rewarded by seeing how proud she is when she acquires a new skill. And is that pure and honest pride that comes not as a result of hearing praise but from recognizing your own growing abilities. And that is the true bounty that I wish for my children.

yeah, I know...

2008-12-30T12:42:00.000-08:00

...it's been way to long since my last post. But here is a gratuitous picture of Éamonn as an apology.

We had some...interesting news come to us soon after my last post and so life took over a bit and have been neglectful in blog town.

Andy and I moved into out apartment 9 years ago this month. It's the bottom apartment in a three-family home one a quiet dead end street about a mile walk from downtown. We had friends living on the top floor and other friends were moving out of this apartment so we moved them into their new house and moved us into this apartment. It is spacious as far as as 850 square feet can be - good flow, hardwood floors, and surprisingly low rent for the area. We wanted to move before Miryam was born but it didn't work out and so she was born in a birthing tub in the living room. We tried again to buy a house before Éamonn was born but, again, it wasn't to be and he was born in the same tub in the same living room. We got really close to buying two different houses but it seemed like the starts just weren't aligning properly. We kept waiting for the "sign from the universe" but began to doubt that it would come. But even though there was no yard, many cracks in the paster walls and a moldy basement, we loved the location of our little home here and the rent, as I may have mentioned, was just right.

Well soon after the last post here we got THE SIGN. Or rather, we got the letter from the landlord saying we needed to be out by the end of February so he could renovate. Sort of the same thing. See, the cheap rent came along without a lease.

Things were grumpy. Things were anxious. Some people un-named may have wanted to freecycle all the the family's belongings and take of to Ireland... But it looks (finger's crossed) like we have found a home. It's not the "forever" house (there's room for chicken's and a big garden but no goats or other big projects), but it is lovely and I am holding my breath until the papers are signed.

I feel a bit out of practice with the blogging but I'm back on the horse and as soon as I send Andy out for a new cord for the camera I'll get some pictures to upload that are more exciting than the moving boxes I am currently starting at.

butter

2008-11-13T07:05:00.000-08:00

the creme de la creme.

I'm pretty sure that I was the last to read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle but even with all the talk about it I still managed to be surprised when Barbara and her family visit Ashfield, MA which is just 15 minutes from my house. If you have read the book you'll remember that they visit a farmer that has a beautiful greenhouse full of early tomatoes and lives in a small round house with a living roof. Well what is not mentioned in the book is that Amy and Paul not only grow tomatoes but have a small herd of jersey cows that is completely pastured and they sell the most amazing raw milk.

I have wanted to make butter for years but finally getting the River Cottage Family Cookbook sent me over the edge and I special ordered 3 gallons of cream. Hello! Only one gallon was for me, and the other two were for my good friends, and fellow crazy-project-planning friends Meg and Victoria. The plan was to make some raw, cultured, pastured butter (which costs the weight of your first born child in gold at the store). I did some math...actually the mathematician I am married to did some math...and it looked like we would get about 4 pounds of butter from each gallon.

mixing up the cream

I wish I had taken pictures up at the farm - it is a really magical spot in the woods - but it was raining and foggy. Meg and I drove up with our broods, had some yummy breakfast at Elmer's and then picked up our gigantic amount of dairy products. In addition to our cream we each also got some whole milk to drink and yogurt to each and help culture the cream, and I got some half-and-half for some amazing hot cocoa I was seeing in my future.

thicker than whipped cream
this is when I slowed my mixer

I used these instructions for the butter making though I only added 2/3 of a cup of yogurt for the whole gallon - it seemed like a lot already. Meg went totally Nourshing Traditions and just left it out on the counter. We need to have a taste test (in the name of science of course) to see how they differed.

the butter milk has separated from the butter

We set up both our mixes and tried to watch for when to slow the mixing down but, of course, Mtg's went from "not yet whipped cream" straight to "big mess all over pantry". Luckily Meg has a dog who made short work of all the mess at ground level.

the big mess

We made two batches each and then salted the butter (I only salted one half to leave the other for baking) with some fancy crunchy fleur de sel. I weighed them out into 8 ounce log-shapped portions (adorably on a baby scale) and then wrapped them in parchment paper and put them in a gallon freezer zip lock. They should be good for about three months but with how much I ate that first day I might go through it a bit quicker...

washing the butter

The butter is so deep yellow because the cows are fed only grass (and hay in the winter) and it is slightly tangy from the culturing and it is so...buttery is the only word I can use to describe it. I learned so much about butter in my researching this project. I had no idea that because 80% fat is the lowest threshold for butter in the U.S., butter-makers actually add water to bring the fat content down to 80% to save money. And that many add food coloring to give it that yellow-look. Not my butter. All there is in there is good cream and good salt.

Yum.

corn maze

2008-10-28T07:17:00.000-07:00

I uploaded some more pictures from Columbus Day weekend and was reminded that we also went to Mike's Maze on one of the clearest and more beautiful Autumn days I have experienced. Farming is a difficult livelihood in our modern times and more and more farms are need to diversify to make a living and stay on the land. One farm in the area makes and amazing corn maze each year (take a look at aerial photos here) and has a few weeks in Autumn when they are packed with visitors.

They sell pumpkins and squash and have a "corn cafe" with grilled corn on the cob, caramel apples and the like. Miryam was especially enamored with the pony rides. She's decided that we should take riding lessons together in the spring and I am all for it. There is a local farm that forms classes based on skill, not age, which would put us in the same class to start.

The maze was actually more fun last year - the theme was music - the maze was shaped like Luis Armstrong and you had a list of familiar songs to take with you. All along the paths there were these little places where a string was hung horizontally with metal tubes hanging off it. You were given a stick and when you dragged it down the line of tubes it made music and you had to name the song from your list. (did that all make sense?). Each tube was a different note and if you dragged the stick at the same speed the distance between the tubes would create the right pauses and rhythms. It was so much fun. This year you mostly got points for finding each of the boxes as you went around. There wasn't much of a game too it. Apparently the farmer's son (who used to design the games) went off to college... We did get enough points, however, to take out own pumpkin home. Miryam has claimed it as the first pie pumpkin of the season.

This year we spent much less time in the maze and much more time playing in the bales of hay. I remember reading Sarah Plain and Tall as a child and because she missed sliding down the sand dunes in Maine they set her up a hay-slide instead. Well we had out own hay slide and it was great but boy do those bits of pointy hay get into your clothes! I think the writers of those romantic stories that talk about young lover taking a "tumble in the hay loft" have clearly not tried it themselves. Ouch!

p.s. I know that all the photos are of mimi but it was one of those family-visit weekends where all the pictures seem to be posed...

Autumn is apples

2008-10-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

Though I love my place on the Earth during all seasons, Autumn is an especially lovely time to be in New England. Not only are the colors amazing but there are so many community/agricultural events to fill your days and keep you outside when the weather starts to remind you of how nice it is reading a book under the feather comforter. Many of these, for our family at least, revolve around apples.

We innagurated the apple season with a trip to a local orchard that was new to us. A few of the local schools take field trips there and we decided to take a visit with our good friends Meg & Thom and their girls Aviva and Liesl. Meg and I met around three and a half years ago when she hired the midwife I studied with to attend her birth. They had just moved to the area and Miryam was half a year old when Aviva was born and so we got to know each other quite well during those early mama months. Our second children were born within two weeks of each other and now when we are together we are quite out numbered.

The apples went into 2 dozen jars of apples sauce and two apple crisps (yum). It took us two days and we clearly will need more apples sauce to get through the winter. I trying to find the guts to commit to making some more but it is such a production. Next year we need to make sure to completely clear the whole weekend for saucing, have the papa's around t0 help with the littles and some hard cider and munchies to keep our strength (and courage) up.

The following weekend Andy's mom came for her traditional Columbus Day visit and we traveled to our usual orchard. It's up high in the hills with a great view but the apples were a bit sad this year and difficult to pick as they were so high up. They also are a "spray all we like" orchard and were more than doubly more expensive than our new "low-spray" orchard.

The thing that made it all worth it in the end was our picnic of sharp Vermont cheddar cheese, apples picked minutes before, cold cider, and burning hot, fresh cider donuts. Very dangerous and very delicious. Miryam also got to test out her tree-climbing skills. Apples trees are clearly the best for climbing and our house has exactly zero climbing trees. I consider tree-climbing an essential skill for childhood so we made sure to get lots of practice at the orchard.

These apples were snacked on throughout the week (and many were found half eaten and forgotten throughout the house) and then made into a double batch of apple butter. It cooked and cooked and cooked in Meg's oven and tastes delicious. I have big plans for fresh bread, butter and apple butter breakfasts this week.

brother and sister

2008-10-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when papa takes the kiddies to the coop. Éamonn is very lucky to have such a sister. He's starting to get a bit more "fun" for Miryam to play with and he is so big and strong we aren't terribly worried that she is going to break him. The newest game is to have mama pop him up in the laundry basket so she can bring him toys and tell him stories. My mom taught me that trick when Miryam was small - when they are big enough to sit up, but too small to crawl their toys are always rolling away from them, but in the basket they stay nice on your lap, you stay cozy on these autumn mornings, and your big sister can give you a puppet show.

Does it get better?

syncronised sleeping -

2008-09-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

- our family's new sport. This is how I found miryam and Éamonn in bed the other night - in the exact same position. I am constantly amazed in the ways that they are so different and so alike. Daily I look at Éamonn and say either "that's so new, your sister never did that" or "wow, I totally forgot Miryam did that all the time".

I'm currently enjoying a weekend with just my little boy. Andy took Miryam down to Maryland for the weekend to visit his family and go to a wedding. I just couldn't see driving 6 hours with a baby in the car or spending the cost to fly. Instead it's an Éamonn and mama weekend here. It's been really wonderful - I'm not lonely like I would be staying home by myself because Éamonn is great company but it is so much quieter and calmer with only the baby to pay attention to. Last night I got him into bed before eight and stayed up late cutting out denim for a wrap skirt I have been meaning to make for a while. It was nice to start a project and feel pretty confident that I could finish it without interruption. I got all the fabric cut out and tidied up my mess before crawling in bed with my warm snuggly baby in what felt like a giant bed. Perfect.

Today I got together with a few other mamas to dye some clothes for the kids. They are now washing and drying awaiting our reconvening for a sorting-out and pizza get-togther. I am feeling so rejuvenated, this is just the weekend I needed.

On a crafting note, these are some blankets I made for Éamonn just before he was born. They made from white handkerchief weight linen trimmed with cotton. I used this tutorial for how to attach it and they came out lovely. Perfect for a spring/summer blanket when he needed some coverage from breezes and sun but I didn't want him to get too warm. Next summer I'd like to make Miryam a long sleeved swim suit cover up out of similar linen and trim it the same way.

blueberries and building

2008-09-10T07:02:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit behind here. Andy has started back at school teaching and tutoring and Miryam started preschool this week so lots has fallen on me day-to-day which leaves little time for blogging. I have been thinking about homeschooling Miryam because the private progressive school are so amazingly expensive and because it would fit our lifestyle well, but it seems that all of her friends are now in school (some of them full days even) and so she is lacking for play friends. The local school has a 2.5 hour 4 days a week preschool that we could afford and we felt like that is a good middle ground for us. It is play-based which is important to me - if anything children need to play more not less - and they play outside except in the most extremes of weather. So ideally I'll take Miryam into school in the morning, bring Éamonn home for a nap and have an hour and a half or so to myself 4 days a week. I'd like to use some of that time for staying up to date with this little blog here but also for sewing and working on the Herbal Medicine for Women course that I have been slowly working through this past year. This week, however I have been spending that time cleaning, washing dishes and now trying to figure out what to do with a bin full of dirty cloth diapers and a broken washing machine. eek.

In any case...several weeks ago we went blueberry picking. Grandma, mama, papa and the kiddies. Many blueberries were consumed, 17 pounds were picked and locally made blueberry icecream was enjoyed.

We froze half and used the rest for jam (14 half pints) though I wasn't terribly pleased with it. I made it with a friend who wanted to go with the no-sugar pectin so it is just sweetened with honey but the texture is not my favorite and it just doesn't taste the way I want it to. Not bad at all just not perfect. I worry that I am just being crazy about it because I like to do things the old-fashioned traditional way but this no-sugar pectin just isn't my cup of tea. Ah well. Live and learn. This summer has been a great lesson for me in preparing and storing foods - I'm sure next year will be even better.

We also spent a weekend while Andy's mom was visiting to make a bean bag toss...thingy for our friend Max who was turning 3. It's hard to see from the pictures but each hole is ringed with light green paint. The back legs are on a hinge so the can fold up or fold out to any angle your want to make it harder or easier. We delivered it and Miryam and Max had a great time trying it out. I loved it so much that I think we'll make another for us in the spring.

the beach

2008-07-27T16:40:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the silence - after the cherries we went to the beach for 4 days, followed by a visit from Andy's family, followed by a visit (still in progress) from a childhood friend of Andy's. They are taking off to New York tomorrow morning for a baseball game. Though neither are Yankee fans they want to see a game the last season on Yankee Stadium and so are having a guy-weekend together.

The beach was a lovely spur of the moment vacation. Things had been so busy and we kept saying "when [thus and such] is over it will be much calmer" but then a new thing would appear and it would be busy-ness all over again. So we cleared some days and took of for Cape Cod. The weather was perfect - clear blue skies, low humidity and the beach on the oceanside had a great sandbar which let us walk out pretty far and calmed the waves alot.

We also found message in a bottle if you can believe it! Andy and Miryam were playing in the water, looked down and there it was. It contained a note saying that it had been thrown in from a Rode Island beach about 4 days before, with a phone number and 3 dollars. It turned out to be from a fisherman who told us to "take the money and go on a vacation"!

It was a much needed break and afterwards we came home rejuvinated and ready to receive our guests in a less harried fashion.

cherries

2008-07-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

oy!

So there we were, innocently strolling through the farmer's market when we can upon a stand with cherries. "oh" we though to ourselves "we love cherries". We were alerted by the farmers that this was the only week they would offer cherries...

Apparently we loved cherries enough that we bought a whole box for about 70 percent less than if we bought the same amount in pint/quart form. That being said, we bought a box of cherries. It looks even bigger in real life. I'd say two cubic feet or so.

Did I mention that I don't have a cherry pitter? Did i mention that due to circumstances beyond my control I would be the only one processing this box of cherries? Let's not talk about it anymore - it was quite a 12 hours let me say....

To anyone reading this who loves me, please feel free to send me a cherry pitter for my birthday.

In the end we do have two jars of cherries in brandy (yum) and two gallons of halved and pitted cherries in the freezer. I'm half seriously considering making a fruit cake this holiday season. I was thinking of making it very traditional and very local and very alcoholic. I think it might be yummy if I avoid green cherries (what is that all about anyway?)

Hopefully the chest freezer will make an appearance this week and I can once again have ice cubes.

Peas

2008-07-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

I'm enamoured with pantries and root cellars. I would love to be able to put up enough food to last us through winter or, at least, to make up a big portion of our winter fare. Things feel very fragile in the world now and since I have had children I feel such a strong need to be able to provide for them and protect them in the most basic of ways - making sure that (whatever happens) we have a home and food to eat. We envision someday having a smallholding like Rebecca and Dan from Sallygardens, get the mortgage paid off and be as sustainable as possible. I don't need to live off the grid, but I would like plans in place in case of calamity - a stocked pantry and a wood stove with a supply of wood included.

Because we aren't quite there yet I am using this time to practice and learn new skills. My friend Laura came out from Boston this past week so we could do some "putting up". I have canned before (apple sauce and tomatoes) but both of those only need a big pot of boiling water. We had planned on caning peas and that required a pressure canner. For some reason that seemed intimidating (and possibly dangerous?) but it was no trouble at all once we deciphered the instructions written in teeny tiny type.

We both have CSA shares at different farms out here. Laura's also has a delivery out in Summerville where she lives but she comes back west where her family lives to do some pick-your-own throughout the season. Both farms had peas in season so we went to her farm with the little ones and picked several quarts of shelling peas. Éamonn slept in the Mei tai on my chest and Miryam, who was not in a picking mood, mostly fed pea pods to the goats and their two new kids.

The next morning we rode over to my farm to pick my share of shelling peas and then home again to shell and can. Boy do I wish we had some goats to feed the pods too - I'm sure they'll make nice compost but it seemed such a shame to through them all in the bin - so beautifully green and crunchy. We shelled and shelled and shelled and were able to put up 8 pints of peas which felt good for our first go at it. Laura's farm allows you to pick more then your share if you pay extra by the quart, so I think next year we'll go out a bit earlier in the pea season and pick more. When were were there the peas were almost done. This year we'll get a better idea of how quickly we go through thinks like jam and peas so next year we make a more educated guess of how much we need.

To be honest, I don't really like canned peas, though Miryam and Andy love them. We did the raw pack method which hopefully will keep them from that over-cooked-mooshy-awfulness that I associate with canned peas.

Éamonn, Miryam and a Big Bowl of Peas

Also, on the "putting up" front, we are purchasing a chest freezer to share with our friends who live a short walk from us. It will live in their basement and we'll each have an inventory of what belongs to us. I had great visions of freezing a bunch of berries for the winter but didn't even think about how teeny my freezer is. At this point we had to sacrifice ice cubes for the third gallon of strawberries - a worthwhile trade but I could really use and ice tea if you know what I mean...

I'm taking the challange

2008-06-23T18:18:00.001-07:00

Enviromom, a blog I recently found, is hosting a challenge the month of July throw away less trash in a month then would fit in a standard 32 gallon trash can. Andy was willing to give it a try so starting next Monday (our regularly scheduled pick-up) we are going to clear out all the waste baskets and start fresh and see if we can make it through the month. We guessed that we fill a can an a half or so in a month and we feel pretty sure we can cut that down within the limits of the challenge. With the new baby and Andy being so busy with the school year ending we have been eating a bit more take-out and having coffee from the shop and so there is more trash then we would usually create. I think this challenge will help us be more mindful again. We compost kitchen scraps, use cloth diapers, cloth napkins, rags instead of paper towels and try to keep the packaging down but I know we can do better.

Our trash pick-up is weekly so we'll empty the can on Monday and not bring it out again for 4 more weeks. We will, however, send out the recycling every week because that really builds up quickly. If we were paying for our pick-up (which is included in our rent) we would hire PedalPeople which is a company that picks up trash and recycling by bicycle (and is actually cheaper than the trucking company). It is so inspiring seeing them riding down the road with the trailers - what a great vision of what we can do in the future to conserve resources. And, hey, they certainly don't need to pay for a gym membership with that job! They also empty the cans downtown which makes me very proud of my city for hiring them.

On the re-usable item front, I bought a thermos/mug at a local shop to keep iced coffee and tea in and it has been working fantastically. We make coffee at home a lot, but sometimes having an iced coffee made by one of the local roasters with the tiny ice while walking around town is just a great treat. I always felt guilt about the plastic cup and now I can have my coffee without the worry, and it stays cold for hours. Lovely.

strawberries

2008-06-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

We have a CSA share and were very pleased to read on the u-pick board "Strawberries - one quart per share". It was a perfect day for being out in the field and all too soon we had picked our share (and eaten our fill as well). We had so much fun, and the berries were gone before bed time so we made a plan for some serious picking this weekend when Andy's mama (Bubbie) was coming into town.

There is a local organic farm that has u-pick but they charge a dollar more per pound if you bring kids (!) so we went to a no-spray farm down the road from my mom. The farm happened to belong to the family of one of Andy's students and so we were able to chat with his dad in the field a bit. They plant different varieties of berries so that they ripen through the year. Ours were Cavendish - apparently they aren't usually sold because they are very soft and don't travel well. That was fine with use because they were pretty much just travelling to our bellies. We made short work of it and had almost 30 pounds in about a half an hour. My mom, Andy, Miryam and I picked while Andy's mom entertained the baby. The weather was perfect (we usually come out on the hottest day in June it seems) and I was impressed with Miryam - she picked the whole time and really had a feel for perfect ripeness. I was worried she would get bored but she was a proper strawberry picker and filled her basket over and over.

I treated myself to a new pairing knife from a local knife-maker because I knew I was in for some work when we got home. The knife is gorgeous, hand forged with a rosewood handle and fits perfectly in my hand. Apparently, with proper care this is the only paring knife I'll ever buy which in fine by me. I have been trying to "buy less, buy quality" and only purchase things that are beautifully crafted, practical and will last for ever with proper care. I remember as a child having visions of a home where everything was hand-made in it - every bowl, blanket and piece of furniture (though I never could figure out how to get a hand-crafted toothbrush...) and that daydream continues now. In theory, all I really want are beautiful, artisan made items but sometimes I feel the pull of the retail-therapy-impulse-purchase that will will bring such little joy after the immediate buzz. We go to lots of fairs and such during the year and I, invevitably, see some of the same crafters over and over and wish I could spend lots of money on them, when I often only invest in one small thing - I really should set aside some money during the year so that when the fair season starts I have some money to spend on some quality tools that I lust after year after year. It's so much easier to grab a cheap-o plastic one when you see it on the rack at the store. It's all about mindfulness and not always doing the first, easiest thing. And having pride in, and respect for, your tools no matter how humble. I'm learning and practicing...

So. Strawberries. I hulled all 27 pounds by hand and fell in love with my new knife. I froze 3 1/2 freezer bags, gallon sized, for future use. Last year I made the mistake of throughing them in the bag fresh (which made one bit lump that had to be chizled to make smoothies) but this year I remembered to freeze them separately first on a baking sheet before adding them to the bag. I'm trying to pick and freeze enough berries for smoothies so I don't need to buy any until the berry season starts again. But with the space those strawberries takes up leaves me thinkin' I need a chest freezer.

I also made jam for the first time (delicious), dipped a bunch in chocolate (hello.), and ate the rest with fresh scones for breakfast.

I have truly experienced the strawberry.

p.s. the pictures are from picking at the CSA. My marathon strawberry day has no photographic evidence because I was so caught up in the experience and covered in berry juice.

potting up the herbs

2008-06-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

Because there isn't enough space for a garden here we have experimented with both container gardening and a community garden plot. The garden gave us the most veg but since Miryam was born it was too tricky to drive up to tend, water and weed with her and once she was in motion she mostly got into messes eating dirt and straying into other folk's gardens. And we found that what is "garden" and what is "path" is not very important to little ones.

So now we get most of our growing vicariously through our farm share at our local CSA and grow a few herbs at home. This year I had a very willing helper for the potting up.

We have most of the herbs we use except for basil which we get, in large quantities, from the farm for pesto later on. New this year is a Sungold cherry tomato in a hanging pot. Apparently they can tumble down instead of climbing up. We pretty much only eat tomatoes that are local and in season so I am looking forward to stepping out on the porch to harvest and munch each day.

Miryam potting up the lemonbalm.

We also have a lemon balm plant which is yummy in lemonade. We also made a bunch of simple syrup and I have my grandma's old juice press just waiting to smash some lemons so we are absolutely ready for lemonade season.

The rosemary looked a bit onely in it's pot so miryam decorated it with some pebbles.

About this time Éamonn woke but was content to nurse and then lay in the pram watching the wind blow through the maple leaves...

...and fall peacefully asleep.

I'm looking farward to doing some larger scale garden in the next year or two but for now it was great to get my girl out growing food with me. She loves watering them each day and helping to pick what we need for meals. This is a small start in helping her learn about food, where it comes from, and why we are thankful.

i'd very much like a yard please

2008-05-20T15:02:00.001-07:00

Today I asked Miryam what she'd like to do today and she replied "I'd very much like a yard please". I hear ya kid. Between the cute phrasing and the sentiment it's a bit of a heart breaker. Here is a picture of the yard:

The picture is from our annual Mother's Day Brunch in which out small apartment & yard crams in at least 6 children, their attached adults, and a ton of yummy food.

It's worked out well for us thus far. The porch is nice and wide - space for a table for al fresco meals for our small family, a wading pool and two Adirondack chairs (with arm rests wide enough for a cold beverage). The sidewalk is perfect for chalk and bike riding. There is a maple tree (not shown) for leaf gathering and shade and a teeeeeeeeeeny-tiiiiiiiiiny patch of grass. We spend a lot of time out there in the warm weather but it's starting to get a bit cramped. With two kids now, I am dreaming of a fenced in yard that I can send Miryam into the run a big and make some big messes and some gardening room for some raised beds...and maybe a few chickens (I'm getting ahead of myself). Part of the charm of our apartment (beside the cheap rent) is the one-mile walk to Main Street. I can handle a small yard/small home if we are surrounded by community (and friends with bigger homes and yards). But I think we have hit the point were we are busting a big at the seams.

I'd very much like a yard please.

So we are looking for a home. Because we can't afford my farm-house-with-acres-in-the-country house yet, we are looking for something in the middle - a sizable yard and a reasonable distance to a main street. If we were in the country with acres we would be able to be more self-sustaining in terms of entertainment but because we'll have a smaller yard I want to be close enough to town that we can keep car-dieting.

Please send us good home-buying vibes, ok? I gotta get this girl a yard.

a little bit of crafting

2008-05-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

Just before Éamonn was born I went through a serious spring cleaning/nesting session of about 3 weeks. We cleaned every closet, dusted books, got rid of a lot of stuff and started organizing what we kept. That whole "a place for everything ..." theory. We also cleaned out the car to get it ready for me to be able to do some solo trips with the littles. And that necessitated a little crafting. First on the list was a first aid kit.

I had these visions of being at the park with one child bleeding and the other crying and me looking like a deer in the headlights. So I whipped up this bag for the car using this tutorial. I hadn't made a zippered pouch before but the tutorial was really clear and it was super easy. The red-cross is attached with wonderunder and then a zig zag stitch. I lined the pouch with the same fabric and then packed it up with the essentials including some comfrey salve that miryam feels is complete magic.

Then I started working on a car bag to hang on the back of the driver's seat to keep some of miryam's stuff in to keep her occupied on long drives. I'll show pictures when I finish it. To go inside I made a pencil pouch. It sits open nicely next to her in the car seat so she can choose colored pencils without loosing them all over the floor.

I embroidered it using a chain stitch and a few french knots. They were a first and not as terrible as I thought.

It's also lined with a blue floral from my stash. Miryam loved it and it's gotten a lot of use already.

I want to get the car bag finished soon and think up some other goodies to pack in there. I gotta say that crafting is slow going with a newborn and a toddler but I feel some coming in my near future. If only for sanity's sake!

Eamon has arrived!

2008-04-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

Two Thursdays ago I asked Miryam "when will our baby be born?" to which she replied quickly "in five days". Well, five days later Andy came home from school early and so we decided to enjoy the spring day and go for a walk. We had trouble finding an adapter to fit the hose to the sink so we could fill up the tub I was planning on birthing in (the same tub that Miryam and some of her friends were born in) so we headed down the bike path towards the hardware store. After that, a quick stop at the bank (and a quick rest for me on the nice soft chairs) and then off to a local diner for some lunch.

Once our belly's were full we sent Andy home on foot for the car and Miryam and I headed up the (seemingly infinite) hill to a playground. I was starting to feel tired and spacey so was happy to see Andy with the car after not too long. We went home and I took a nap. I woke up to some contractions and so I walked around tidying the house for a bit but before an hour was up the contractions were about 3 minutes apart. I called the midwives (the midwife I apprenticed with and my midwifery partner - both dear friends) and told them it was time.

Miryam played around for a couple of hours and then went to bed around nine. I thought for sure that would be difficult, with all the excitement, but some books and a snuggle from papa and she was out. I think the walk helped! A couple more hours of labor and we met our big baby boy weighing in at 9 pound 8 ounces. More than a pound more than his sister was! We woke a very confused Miryam to meet her brother, had a snack and all got in bed together to snuggle.

The next morning Miryam got some serious snuggle time with her brother. Throughout my pregnancy she was sure that it was a sister in my belly but once she met Eamon and kissed his chubby cheeks she didn't seem to mind the change in plans. She is really fantastic with him, very thoughtful and sweet. She fetches diapers, lets him suck on her finger when he is sad during diaper changes and gives him endless kisses. It's so wonderful (and tear provoking) to see my family together welcoming its newest member. I think we all feel like we were holding a space for Eamon even before we knew him.

We're enjoying our babymoon in the beautiful spring weather. Andy has two weeks of from teaching which is wonderful! The weather has been warm enough to bring out Miryam's little pool so we have spent much of out time porch-sitting, blowing bubbles and drawing with sidewalk chalk. I've got my family, a cold drink a sunhat and an adarondack chair. Now, really, is there anything better than that?

Any day now...

2008-04-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday was my due date so we are officially in the "any day now" place. Miryam was born ten days after her due date and so the idea that this baby would be born earlier than 40 weeks didn't really occur to me. I think my babies like to bake a little longer. I also know I would have had a big shock (and very few diapers) had this baby arrived early.

To relive the sweet days before Miryam's birth, we decided to take advantage of the sun this weekend and go for a walk at Fitzgerald Lake just like we did to clear our heads and try and get ready for Miryam to join our family. It, apparently, was a farm in the past that was given to the state and flooded to provide some protected habitat. You can still find some old gnarly apple trees left where the orchard once was.

It was so nice to be outside again with some fresh air. We finally had a proper New England winter this year with plenty of snow but that also meant it was long. We spent lots of time listening to the red winged black birds and just playing. It was wonderful.

So no baby yet, but the spring days are just getting better and better and it can't be much longer!

possibly a busy time to start a blog

2008-04-06T17:55:00.000-07:00

As you can see there is a serious belly going on here (and I hesitate the mention that this photo was taken over a month ago - you should see me know). It seems like a busy time to start a blog but I have wanted to get this in motion for a long time and the double motivations of nesting and wanting to do a better job of chronicling those early months combine to make this the moment.

This last bit of pregnancy has been a crazy time of crafting, organizing and taking stock of my life and daily rhythms to see what needs to be changed. We did an amazing spring cleaning and got rid of so much stuff. It felt great and now our small apartment feels more live-able. I've been crafting a lot in the evenings, and some during the day with Miryam's assistance - she especially likes to hand me pins and arrange them just so on the pin cushion.

We spend easter at my mom's house and every year Miryam get's a cute spring dress to wear. I had made her an autumn bonnet from the mailorder pattern last year and so decided to go for a matching spring bonnet/dress for this easter. I am so pleased at how it came out but this dress almost killed me. Apparently my daughter has a big head because the first version would not fit over it at all..even though it was a 4T size. Even after making the key-hole in the back quite a bit larger it is still a bit snug going over the head. Ah well. The adorableness of her in it made up for the pain and she loved it so it was worth it.

I think we'll get a lot of use out of both the dress and bonnet this year - the dress fits great for play and the bonnet is just deep enough to keep the spring sun out of your eyes but not so much that it gets in the way. Here's to sunny spring days coming our way!