Jack of All Trades, Master of None

Drumroll, please

2012-01-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

End of year tally!

My high-tech and sophisticated November and December recording sheets (the free notepad left on our doorstep by a local realtor) were somehow confused, so I must combine these two months into one tally.

November/December 2011 Harvest Tally:
17 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
108 eggs

Year to date:
484 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
480 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

Pretty good numbers! I was hoping for a little higher in the fruit and veggie department, but our 3 new laying hens are right on track, producing eggs all through the winter as this is their first laying season.

Just for fun, a list of the produce we have grown and eaten from our property in 2011:
artichoke, avocado, basil, beet, bell pepper, blueberry, bok choy, boysenberry, broccoli, butternut squash, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chives, cilantro, corn, garlic, lettuce, lime, mushroom, nasturtium, onion, orange, parsley, peach, peas, persimmon, plum, pomegranate, potato, pumpkin, rosemary, sage, spaghetti squash, spinach, strawberry, Swiss chard, thyme, tomato, zuchinni.

In 2012 I look forward to trying some new plants like Jerusalem artichokes and hope that some of our trees will produce for the first time, especially the pear and apricot. Maybe this year we will solve the mystery of the lemon trees. We can't seem to keep a lemon tree alive and have tried 3 different ones in the same spot, and all yellow and die. Obviously, something is wrong with that spot. January and February are our big harvest months for oranges and avocados, and this year our avocado tree has finally borne fruit! Can't wait to add those to our menu. Dh pruned the peach and apricot trees this weekend and offered them threats while he was at it. If they don't produce well this spring, they will be replaced.

We have also been having trouble with veggies being stolen from our community garden plot so we are weighing our options for fencing. Electric barbed wire seems to top the list along with an alligator moat and/or tiger pit. What works well to keep your garden safe? What are you growing in 2012?

A fungus among us

2011-11-07T23:25:00.000-08:00

Have you ever ordered anything on a whim? Was it a box of magical dirt? I didn't think so, but I'd love to hear what impulsive catalog buys are lurking in your past. While looking through an awesome seed catalog at http://www.groworganic.com/ I saw this kids' science lesson/husband gift/entertainment-in-a-box and knew I had to order one. 3/4ths of my family shudder at the thought of eating mushrooms and I still think this is really cool.

Basically, the mushroom farm mails you a box of dirt inoculated with a specific mushroom mycelium (many varieties are available) and you just keep it cool, moist, out of direct sunlight, and voila, fungus grows! Edible fungus right in your own garage, not to be confused with that stuff in the gym shoes. This photo is the second crop and yielded about 1 pound. The first crop disappeared early one morning in an assault of butter and onions before I could document it for posterity. The kids and I had to air out the house for a little while, but we knew exactly where the clothespins are kept for such occasions.

Since the mushroom-ivore of the household couldn't keep up with production, I decided to dehydrate this batch. This photo shows a mushroom that is mature. The veil of the cap has torn open revealing the gills, though button mushrooms are usually seen with closed caps. Don't ask me if it makes a difference in taste. I will never know.

I found an endearing video with step by step instructions on how to dehydrate mushrooms- not that there is anything complicated about it. This guy just cracks me up.

So I dried the shrooms for quite a while because it was raining and I don't think my dehydrator is very powerful. It may be an antique. I think they turned out okay. I may make a soup or something out of them. I guess you could put them in a red sauce for pasta or something if you liked that kind of thing. Oh, one suggestion I read said if slightly rehydrated they were good on pizza. Whatever. I hope the 25% of my household who actually puts these things in his mouth willingly just snacks on them like the video guy. No smell, no clothespins.

Did I mention the magic box purports to give me about 4 pounds of these things? Check out http://www.mushroomadventures.com/ for more varieties. The blue oyster ones look really intriguing...

October 2011 Harvest Tally:
16 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
48 eggs

Year to date:
467 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
372 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

Have you ever grown mushrooms? On purpose I mean.

Say cheese

2011-10-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

Have you ever eaten truly fresh American mozzerella? I have and it is incredible. Warm and chewy, I've never seen a batch that's lasted more than 10 minutes. We don't even bother to put it on crackers or bread or melt it over a basil-topped tomato. Making a mozzerella cheese is harder than making soft cheeses like chevre or labneh (or yo-cheese as we call it) but it's a lot of fun, especially the kneading and stretching part. I'm definitely still a beginner at cheesemaking, but it is a great family activity and especially easy if you have access to a lot of great milk. For easy mozzeralla, you'll need to find two tricky ingredients and two easy ones. The easy ones; milk and salt. A gallon of store-bought cow's milk will work just fine and produce about 1 pound of cheese. I prefer whole milk. The less common ingredients are citric acid and rennet. You may be able to find these at a regular grocery store, you'll just have to look. I found citric acid in the bulk spice bin at my local Sprouts. I ordered liquid rennet from Dairy Connection Inc., a cheesemaking supply store, but you may find Junket tablets locally in the pudding and Jello section. Either animal or vegetable rennet will work. I won't describe the whole process because others have already done it with great pictures and explanations. This 30 minute Mozzarella recipe at cheesemaking.com is a great one. Another excellent site for cheesemaking is FANKHAUSER'S CHEESE PAGE which will walk you through the whole process of cheesemaking from beginner to advanced.

Let me know if you try making cheese!

Musical chickens

2011-10-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

Another fun summer on my parent's hobby farm has come and gone. Being away for six weeks is an amazing experience for my kids and very relaxing for me, though I have to rely on others to tend my garden and chickens at home. I do have great support and this year thank Kim and Katelyn for keeping everything alive and well while we were gone.

I'd also like to thank (am I winning an award?) my mom for accepting my recycled chickens. This year I gave up the last of my very first city chickens, Hollyhock. The poor thing insisted on going broody two times a year, for nearly 4 months at a time. After moving to the country, Hollyhock quickly met a dashing young rooster and is currently sitting on a nest of tiny white eggs. Our Polish bantam, Poppy, who arrived at the farm a few months previous to Hollyhock, hatched 4 adorable chicks while we were visiting. That is one proud rooster. Petunia also retired to the farm this summer and is the only one of the city transplants to fit in with the flock. The silkie, Midnight, prefers to live with the goats and has become the roommate of a handsome buck named Milkman. My new pullets, Daisy (layer of the double yolk,) Sunflower, and Lemondrop are starting their egg laying careers.

August 2011 Harvest Tally:
47 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
18 eggs

September 2011 Harvest Tally:
40 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
28 eggs

Year to date:
451 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
324 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

Great harvest

2011-07-29T22:06:00.000-07:00

July 2011 Harvest tally:
145 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
22 eggs

Year to date: 364 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
278 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

I heart tomatoes

2011-07-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know tomatoes are the most popular backyard garden vegetable/fruit? It's probably true, but I just made that up. Do you know anyone who has planted a garden and never tried to grow a tomato? Me neither. I look forward to the first ripe tomato of the summer as much as my kids look forward to Christmas morning. This year we planted fewer tomatoes than usual, about 4-6 plants, but it has still been enough to keep us tomato happy.

My dd and I have already canned 14 quarts of tomatoes to use for spaghetti sauce, soups and chili during the winter. She became an expert at dipping the tomatoes in boiling water to get the skins to crack, then I would peel and core, and she would fill the jars. We make a great team, especially when ds is away at Cub Scout camp. I like this recipe because although the processing time is enormous, the prep work is minimal.

Just when I think I could never eat another tomato, another batch turns red and ripe. Perfect for sharing with friends and neighbors. Or potential friends and neighbors. Here are some of our favorite fresh tomato recipes. I hope you enjoy these super easy recipes.

Stuffed Tomato
Combine 1 can tuna fish with some mayo, diced pickles and celery. Core 2 large tomatoes, hollow out some of the insides and stir with the tuna mixture. Spoon the tuna mixture into the tomatoes and serve.

Bruschetta
This open-faced sandwich can have many variations. We like ours like this: Top a slice of bread with fresh basil leaves, tomato slices and mozzarella cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and starting to brown on the edges.

Bob and Larry Salad
Peel and chop 2 large cucumbers and about core and chop about 4 large tomatoes. The ratio of cukes and tomatoes should be equal. Add 2-3 TB olive oil, 2-3 TB apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and chopped fresh herbs. Try different combinations of herbs such as basil, parsley, chives, cilantro, oregano and thyme.
Why is it called Bob and Larry Salad?

Ratatouille
A fancy name for a simple summer vegetable stew. Many variations of this recipe are available. I like this one, but I don't bother to saute each veggie separately. I just use one big pot. Start with some oil and cook the onions, peppers and garlic first, adding the eggplant and herbs next and squash and tomatoes after a few more minutes. I don't use nearly as much oil either.

And of course, there is the requisite BLT, because bacon makes everything better.

Enjoy the summertime tomatoes. There is nothing quite like them, not even Christmas morning.

This post is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday.

June gloom

2011-07-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

Ah, summer! Schools out, it's time to hit the beach! Grab the sunscreen and get ready to join the crowds soaking up some rays on the sand. Unless you live here, then hardy souls don their wetsuits while jackets are recommended for picture-taking moms.
A big thank you to Kirk and Tara Lantz at Alive Surfing for the awesome wetsuits. The sun and the crowds will arrive next month, along with bigger produce numbers.

June 2011 Harvest tally:
23 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
33 eggs

Year to date:

219 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies

256 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot and go to the beach even when its cold.

Entrepreneur day

2011-06-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

Our local home schooling group organized a great entrepreneur day. The kids all made or brought things to sell, and the parents and kids were the customers. Some of the kids even got into bartering. I love the way my kids were able to get a small taste of running a business from concept to product development, advertising, and sales. Most of all they had a great time and were able to use items from our garden in their business ventures.

My dd set up her own herb shop. She sold fresh mint, cilantro, rosemary and parsley from our garden. She enjoyed explaining recipes and cooking tips for the fresh herbs; "Rosemary is delicious with a lemon juice and olive oil marinade for chicken, or you could try my brother's rosemary bread." A neighbor gave us lavender from her gigantic bushes which my daughter dried, stripped and put into cute little sachet bags she made herself. Of course she could describe the relaxing properties of a lavender bath.

Lavender Sachets

My ds and I made rosemary artisan bread. These loaves were a big hit and quickly sold out. Customers were easily lured with free samples to dip in Balsamic vinegar and oil, and a cute, attentive sales boy.

Rosemary Artisan Bread

You can find many artisan bread recipes online, but I had to fiddle with a few to find one that worked for me and my climate. I found the differences were not so much in the ingredients as in the baking method. Here is what I did, but you may need to tweak it some more for your own needs.

Rosemary Artisan Bread

Makes 4 small boules

6 1/2 cups flour

1 Tb salt

1 1/2 Tb yeast

3 cups warm water

2 Tb chopped fresh rosemary

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Make a nice ball of dough, being sure to mix in the flour as best you can. This is the only time you mix or knead the dough. Loosely cover the bowl with a lid and let the dough sit for at least 2 hours, up to 12 is okay. After the first rise (the 2-12 hour thing) scoop out 1/4 of the dough with your hands. You can grease or flour your hands to prevent sticking. Very quickly and without kneading or unnecesarily smashing the dough, plop it onto a prepared baking stone or cookie sheet. You can shape the dough a little bit, but avoid smashing the air bubbles as much as possible. A prepared stone is sprayed with olive oil and dusted with cornmeal. This will prevent the bread from sticking to the stone. Then, let the dough rise again, for about 40 minutes to an hour. If your kitchen is cold, it will take longer. The dough should double in size.

Preheat your oven to 450F. This is hot! So make your arrangements in the oven before you preheat. I put one rack on the lowest level and one on the highest level. On the high rack, place a small oven proof container with one cup of water in it. This will create steam in the oven and make the dough chewy in the middle, but crusty on the outside. Refill the water with every loaf you bake.

When your dough has risen for the second time, place the baking stone or cookie sheet on the bottom rack of the hot oven. I have heard this may crack a baking stone because it didn't warm up slowly, but so far it hasn't happened to me. Bake for 25 minutes. The crust should be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Let cool 15 minutes or so before cutting or tearing off a good chunk.

I tried other methods involving parchment paper, water on the bottom of the oven, etc. and none of them worked as well. Let me know if you try this and what baking methods work best for you.

This post is part of Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesdays.

Berry, BERRY good

2011-06-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

What happened in May? Not a whole lot besides the first of the berries. We had a large lull in produce picking while everything soaked up the sun and grew, but not to ripeness yet. The chickens were off schedule too; I know Juliet needs to just molt and get it over with. Hollyhock insists on being broody for 3 months at a time, so she is useless. I'm looking forward to Daisy hitting puberty and starting to contribute to the egg business. I am extremely pleased with the boysenberries, they are sweet, tart and delicious and about the only thing we picked this month.

May 2011 Harvest tally

5 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies

17 eggs

Year to date:

196 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies

223 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

This month marks a special milestone for this blog- 12 months since I have begun recording my produce and eggs tallies. Just for fun, I've dusted off the old calculator and come up with 12-month totals.

June 2010 - May 2011 harvest totals
542 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
535 eggs

Berry good

2011-05-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

The boysenberries are ripe! The boysenberries are ripe! Most of them so far have not made it to the kitchen to be weighed, or even washed, but that is fine with me. Nothing like a juicy little snack in the backyard to make summertime sweet. We bought the thornless boysenberry variety, but the newer shoots have plenty of nasty thorns. The strawberries and mint are also from the garden. The yogurt was a recent find. Check out Straus Family Creamery for delicious, whole milk-and-nothing else yogurt. It is so hard to find yogurt without stabilizers or thickeners much less made with whole milk. I was excited to get some at my local Sprouts, and according to the Straus website their products are carried in several Western states. Checking out Straus's website I was also excited to see their recipes page that includes directions to make your own cheese, butter and yogurt. Oh yes, and their cows seem healthy and happy too. I have made my own yogurt, but comparing the price of organic milk and good yogurt seem to be about the same. I nearly always get the plain flavor, then add my own mix-ins like honey, cinnamon, maple syrup, fruit and granola. This pretty bowl of berries got dumped into a larger bowl, topped with more berries, a drizzle of honey, and devoured.

May all your weeds be wildflowers

2011-05-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a trip to UT, so last month's tally is a little slow in coming, though I still get excited about marking my little tally sheet.

April 2011 Harvest tally

48 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
49 eggs

Year to date:
191 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
206 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

This month we picked the last of the Valencia oranges, broccoli, and cauliflower and ate some beautiful artichokes. My asparagus has started to grow, and the boysenberries are nearly ripe!

My little pea pickin' garden

2011-04-03T21:57:00.000-07:00

March 2011 Harvest of the month:

25 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies

65 eggs

Year to date:

143 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies

157 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

This month we built a fence -with a cute red gate- to keep the chickens in the side yard. My garden heaved a sigh of relief and started growing like crazy. Is there anything quite like fresh little peas?

Good things in small packages

2011-03-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

February 2011 Harvest of the month:
51 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
55 eggs

Year to date:
118 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
92 eggs

We live on a 1/10th acre lot and rent a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

Look at these tiny baby Nigerian Dwarf goats. No bigger than a cat! I'm becoming an expert at small spaces but even these goats are too big for my yard. Click here to see more adorable kid pictures: Shadow Hills Ranch

Putting all my eggs in one basket

2011-02-25T14:30:00.000-08:00

Just because they are pretty.

We've had our city chickens for three years now! Occasionally they all lay on the same day. I considered it a birthday gift. We don't eat a large amount of eggs, but I haven't purchased eggs for about 2 years now. I love how the eggs are as unique as our hens, which are all different breeds. I know exactly who layed which egg, and who may be trying to hide her nest somewhere tricky. My favorite layer of them all is Juliet, a red star or red comet. Her egg is the big brown one and she lays almost every day. She is also very calm and quiet. I would definitely recommend her breed for a backyard flock.

Nearly everyone is aware of the relationship between healthy hens and healthy eggs, but misconceptions are still prevalent, especially among people who have never actually seen a chicken lay an egg. Or as I like to call them, city-slickers. Brown eggs are not any healthier than white eggs, that's just the color of the shell and certain breeds will lay certain colors. A hen cannot change the color of her eggshells, and the color of the chicken's feathers or earlobes is not a good indicator of the eggshell color. Just ask my black-feathered chicken with the dark blue skin who lays bright white eggs. Chickens are not vegetarians, and a vegetarian-fed chicken should not be assumed to be healthier than any other, except they may be avoiding yucky animal by-products in their feed. Hens do not need the presence of a rooster to lay eggs, and they are wonderful at putting themselves to bed at night. In my opinion and experience, chickens are much easier to care for than dogs and still make fun pets.

Do you have any city-slicker chicken questions?

This post is part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Fridays.

If you've got it, flaunt it!

2011-02-24T09:16:00.000-08:00

Two things are growing extremely well in my yard right now, so I decided I may as well embrace them and make something (hopefully) yummy.

Everyone in my family liked this, and it was quick and easy. As long as you can remember to start dinner 4-5 hours early. Something I am not good at yet. Someday I hope to be good at planning ahead.

Citrus Cilantro Chicken

For marinade:
Juice of one orange, approximately 1/2 cup
2 Tb olive oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp Cajun Seasoning. You could easily substitute any other spice mix that sounds good, or simply use chili powder and garlic.
Salt to taste depending on if your spice mix has salt already

Mix together and pour over 2 chicken breasts in a covered shallow dish or plastic bag. Refrigerate for about 4 hours. It will still be good with 2 hours marinating time, but not have quite as much flavor.

Grill or pan fry chicken until it is no longer pink in the center. I served mine with sides of quinoa and steamed veggies. Easy, yummy, healthy, kids didn't complain.

Have any more ideas for cilantro and oranges? What have you made just because the ingredients were available?

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday at Sustainable Eats

A new year

2011-02-04T14:37:00.000-08:00

First produce tally of the year! I am excited to keep track of our growing for an entire calendar year. Last year I started counting in June, so missed a good amount of numbers.

January 2011:
67 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
37 eggs

We have a 1/10th acre lot and a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

This month's produce includes lots of Valencia oranges, bok choy, swiss chard and peas.

Resolution

2011-01-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

I've been putting this off, but decided not to cheat. So here are the numbers from December without adding any of the early January produce -which will be significant.

December 2010:
4 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
41 eggs

Since June 1, 2010:
346 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
312 eggs

We have a 1/10th acre lot and a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

A fellow SoCal family has grown over 7000 lbs. of produce on their small property in 2010. I want to set a lofty goal and see if we can reach 1000 lbs. in 2011. Do you think we can do it?

The land of fruit and nuts

2010-12-31T15:40:00.000-08:00

Last week dh and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. For this momentous occasion, we decided to abandon the kids (thanks Dan and Kori) and take a drive to the gorgeous Santa Ynez Valley, just north of Santa Barbara, CA. We had a wonderful time exploring the tiny towns of Buellton, Solvang, and Los Olivos, and especially enjoyed the gorgeous fields, vinyards, and orchards between the town centers.

A young olive grove near Old Mission Santa Ines.

The town of Solvang is a Danish immigrant town turned tourist attraction. Along with windmills, half timber buildings, and a healthy obsession with Hans Christian Anderson, the town boasts what most Americans think of when we hear the word Danish, which would be, well, Danishes. Several bakeries got our money in those two days, the traditional ball-like aebleskivers being a favorite, eaten for breakfast with a side of Danish sausage.

Some of my favorite experiences of the trip weren't the shops or even the sausages. The hand-painted signs on the side of the roads between towns stating simply "Walnuts" or "Apples" held as much interest for us as the Little Mermaid sculpture or even the gushing Nojoqui Falls.

At our first local produce stop we were lucky to meet Mr. Dittmar of Dittmar's Apples. Even though the apple season was on its very last weeks, he still had a truckload full of Granny Smiths, the latest in the season of his 10 apple varieties. I did not know I had never tasted a real Granny Smith until Mr. Dittmar sliced one open for me. Tree-ripened and quite sweet, this Granny Smith was nothing like the shiny, bright green, hard, perfectly round Grannys found in stores. He did have several bags of 1st quality apples, but dh and I dug into the orchard-run bin, bringing home about 10 pounds for $4. My favorites are the apples with slight blemishes (but not cuts or bruises) on the skin, or those too small or too large (and there were some big ones!) to qualify for supermarket conformity. I guess they have character. Mr. Dittmar was nice enough to chat with us about his orchard. His trees cover just 2 acres next to his home which he bought in 1970 and his son now helps him with the work because it is all done by hand. He is proud of his sustainable and organic farming methods. In case a customer comes while Mr. Dittmar is not at the little stand, there is a can marked "Honor System" on the table.

Just down the road from the apples, we were intrigued by the walnut sign. Again we were treated to a chat with the owner, but I am sorry I didn't get his name. He showed us the huge walnut trees surrounding his winter-dormant berry bushes. Many of the trees he planted himself and he was happy to explain the harvesting process to us. Dh was intrigued by the antique hulling machine in the yard, and I admired the homemade jellies and jams made by the walnut-man's wife. She had a purple best-in-show ribbon from a county fair displayed next to her jars. As with the Granny Smith apples, these walnuts were not like the ones you buy at the store. As we cracked open our free samples and chatted, I noticed they were different, sweeter somehow or fresher? How do you describe the taste of a nut? Happily carrying our brown paper bag of several pounds of walnuts to the car, I felt like I knew the neighbors already. I announced to my dh that we were moving. He laughed.

Apple Crisp

5-6 cups sliced, peeled apples

1 cup regular rolled oats

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
6 TB butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Spread apples in a 9x13 pan. In a bowl, mix all other ingredients until topping looks like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping over apples. Bake at 375F for 30 to 35 minutes.

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday at Sustainable Eats.

Do you know the muffin man?

2010-12-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

Or muffin woman? I made a yummy muffin recipe today that turned out quite well. I like to make muffins instead of quick bread because I don't have to slice it, and I like muffins more than cookies because it's easier to justify eating one (or three) for breakfast. Since I still have some lovely pumpkin puree in the fridge, not to mention several pints in the freezer and a couple of fresh pumpkins still in the garage from our bumper crop, I cooked up a batch of muffins today.

Tamlynn's Pumpkin Muffins
makes 24 -because getting all the ingredients out for just 12 muffins is silly.

Dry ingredients:
3 1/2 cups flour -I like 2 cups white and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat
1/2 cup sugar or honey or other sweetener
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice (see recipe below to make your own)

Wet ingredients:
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups milk -use a little less if using honey

Mix wet and dry ingredients in seperate bowls, then pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until no more spots of dry flour show. Then, add the best ingredients of all:

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
or
1 1/2 cup chopped nuts
or
a little of both!

Bake in muffin tins at 400F for 20 minutes. Will freeze very well if you can keep them around that long.
I spend a lot of money on high quality milk, so for baked recipes like this I use powdered milk and water. For this recipe, it would be 4 Tb powdered milk added to the dry ingredients and 1 1/2 cups water. Your pumpkin puree may be slightly different in consistency, so you may have to adjust the water/milk. Just make it look like thick batter.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Mix together and store in glass container:
1/4 cup cinnamon
1 Tb of each: ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice
If you don't have one of these last 4 ingredients, just skip it. No worries.

Let me know if you try this recipe and how it worked for you.

This post is part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Fridays.

Jam and cheese

2010-12-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

I have two kitchen goals this month. First, to make cherry jam to give as gifts. Not hard. I even have cute decorative jam jars ready to go. Second, trying something new; making mozzarella cheese. Maybe hard. But I want to try it. I watched a friend make it a few months ago, and now it's on my list. I have the rennet, just need to get the milk and some citric acid.

What about you? What kitchen goals or experiments do you have?

This post is part of Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Kitchen Goal of the Month. Because she is motivational like that.

Update: I found citric acid! It was in the bulk spice bins at my local Sprouts for $7.84/lb. Thankfully I only need a tiny bit.

To Autumn

2010-12-06T17:06:00.000-08:00

"The spirits of the air live on the smells
Of fruit; and joy, with pinions light, roves round
The gardens, or sits singing in the trees."
Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat;
Then rose, girded himself, and o'er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load."

- William Blake

Someday I'll be harvesting tangy pomegranates and sweet persimmons at this time of year, but until those trees mature, November produce yields are rather small, limited to lightweight leafy greens: Swiss chard, lettuces, and herbs.

November 2010:

3 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
45 eggs

Since June 1, 2010:
342 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
271 eggs

We have a 1/10th acre lot and a 20x20 foot community garden plot.

One potato, two potato

2010-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

It all started with a gift from Miss Vickie. She's the lady who has the community garden plot across from ours, though I haven't seen her for months and her garden isn't looking so hot. Miss Vickie are you out there? Anyway, the kids were chatting with her (avoiding work) this summer while I was toiling away in our garden. Since my children are adorable she gave them a tiny little potato that had sprouted a cute little green leaf. It was a baby redskin, probably about an inch in diameter. I drove it home carefully and planted the slightly wilted thing in a pot. Before I knew it, the pot looked like this:

I read somewhere that you are supposed to mound dirt around potatoes several times during the growing season and wait until the leaves die back before harvesting. But I didn't. So there. Just before we left on vacation (this would have been July) I dug my finger down into the dirt. There were potatoes in there! I felt as excited as the first time I went snorkeling in the ocean. I stuck my face in the water and gasped (mentally gasped because my face was in the water.) I had been playing in the ocean all that time and had no idea there were all those beautiful fish down there! I had been walking by that old pot for weeks, completely unaware of the beautiful tubers just beneath the surface. Harvest time.

What is that, sixteen potatoes? And some good sized ones too. Homegrown potatoes are delicious, and obviously very easy. It didn't even matter that some bug was eating the leaves. I don't recommend using a terra cotta pot however, because it's too fragile to move around when dumping the potatoes. Go get yourself some cheap plastic containers- I like the black 15 gallon nursery pots. Fill with potting soil, put in a potato or two, place in a sunny spot and don't forget to water it once in a while. Before you know it you'll be baking, mashing, and french-frying.

See that little tiny one at the top left? I replanted it. It's a circle of life kind of thing. Thanks, Miss Vickie. This post is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesdays.

Christmas is coming!

2010-11-27T10:41:00.000-08:00

Parsley, sage, rosemary...

2010-11-17T20:47:00.000-08:00

I've been blogging a lot about food lately. I like food. It makes me happy. But so does making inedible stuff, so here is a post about food and a craft! Double happiness. Cute little herbs and salad greens in crusty terracotta pots always look so beautiful. Herbs are generally easy to grow, but if you succeed in not killing them, they will probably outgrow the little pot or bolt (go to seed.) At this point, I find it is best to either replant them in the ground, or throw them in the compost bin and start over with fresh potting soil and a cute new little plant or seeds. Fresh herbs are amazing for cooking. I've been trying to perfect some roast recipes lately and love being able to just walk out to my backyard and pinch off sprigs of thyme and rosemary. Basil, chives, cilantro, and stevia are also growing out there right now. I let my cilantro go to seed last year and neglected to collect the seeds, which are coriander. Now I have about 4 square feet of tiny cilantro starts. Bring on the salsa and guacamole! Growing your own herbs will also be much cheaper than buying them fresh at the store. Now for the craft part. Aren't those herb markers adorable? Thank you. My wonderful, thoughtful dh bought me a metal stamp set (after I told him specifically what I wanted, located the store for him, and sent him back after he bought the wrong thing.) I have the $5 set, but got two because some of the letters in the first set were deformed. There are better quality and more expensive stamps out there. Then I bought some used silverware (real silver plate looks best) at a local thrift shop and went to work with my hammer and stamps. Just place the utensil on a hard surface and hammer flat. Then stamp the word you want on the utensil. Color in the letter with a permanent marker like a Sharpie and wipe off the excess marker with rubbing alcohol or baby wipe. Note to self: apologize to dh for not listening to him when he said I was making dents in the concrete garage floor. I recommend taping the utensil down so it doesn't move while you are pounding on it, and if you have a metal vice or anvil, use that as your work surface. Now when I ask my kids (minions) to go out and bring me a few basil leaves, I don't have to try and explain, "You know, the green one. With the leaves." They can just read the silverware. I have also been experimenting with drying herbs. We had a gigantic rogue basil plant about 3 feet high. When the chickens finally decided to destroy it (they'll get to all tender plants eventually) I picked up the smashed branches, picked off the leaves, washed and dried them, and put them in the dehydrator. Well, yes, my minions (uh, children) did most of the work but I supervised. And took pictures. I also plan to dehydrate a lot of the cilantro. When the leaves were crispy, I packed them in a glass quart jar and put the lid on tight. Although bunches of drying herbs hanging from the ceiling sounds romantic, in my case they would probably just get dusty. You can also use an oven to dry herbs if you don't have a dehydrator. Note to dh: I would love a mortar and pestle for grinding herbs. I can give you directions to the store. This post is linked to Real Food Wednesdays.

What herbs do you grow or would like to? What are your favorite dishes with herbs?

It's the great pumpkin!

2010-11-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

Is it possible to have autumn without pumpkins? I don't think so. This year we had an amazing pumpkin crop. I planted a couple of pie pumpkin seeds in the community garden plot, then we had a rogue volunteer pumpkin in our side yard that produced the biggest pumpkin of all, plus two decent-sized ones. We have been eating our pumpkins as well as using them for decoration and entertainment. Pumpkins are amazingly versatile and good for you too! Most of the recipes I've been using came from someone else, so I'll try to give credit where it's due. First, check out Pioneer Woman's instructions for making pumkpin puree here. Then clean off those seeds and set them aside to make her delicious roasted pepitas. My friend Mindy has a delicious curry pumpkin soup recipe posted below. I found this crustless pumpkin pie here, but found I needed to add a lot more sweeteners for our tastes. And our standby favorite, chocolate chip pumpkin muffins are always a hit. Also, since October is over, drumroll for our produce tally please!

October 2010:

82 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies

45 eggs

Since June 1, 2010: 339 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies 226 eggs We have a 1/10th acre lot, and a 20x20 foot community garden plot. Most of this month's produce was winter squashes; pumpkins and butternuts. DeeDee's Creamy Curry Pumpkin Soup 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped 4-5 cups broth (I happened to have beef, but chicken or veggie would work just as well) 2 tsp. curry powder 3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree or 1 29-ounce can pumpkin puree 1 14-oz. can coconut milk, or evaporated milk, or 1 3/4 cups cream Freshly ground black pepper Salt to taste Dash of cayenne pepper (optional) Dash of hot sauce (optional) Saute onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil. Add broth and simmer until vegetables are totally soft. Add remaining ingredients, puree in blender in batches (or use hand blender if you have one), return to pot. Enjoy! This post is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday.

Meow, meow, meow, meow

2010-10-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

Remember the cat food that cats ask for by name? This is way better.

I am not a crazy cat woman, but we do have a nice pet cat that we care about. We brought Romeo home from a shelter about 7 years ago, so I am guessing he is about 10 years old. The workers at the shelter named him Romeo because of his loving personality, and we kept the name. He has been a fun, playful, snuggly cat. And he may have superpowers.

A few months ago we noticed that Romeo was drinking a lot of water. He would jump on my bathroom counter and beg for me to turn the faucet on. He'd drink the water on the bottom of the shower. His water dish was often dry by the end of the day. He was losing weight but still eating the same amount of dry cat food. We fed Iams, a pretty good brand. Doing a little online research, we discovered these symptoms could indicate kidney failure, a common occurence in older cats for which there is no cure. The only recommendation was to feed wet food instead of dry because the dry food would absorb water in his gut and cause him to want even more water. This posed a problem. Romeo hates wet cat food. Dh tried in the past to give him a special treat by buying one of those fancy cans of wet cat food and he wouldn't touch them. He never ate tuna or milk, or anything we had tried feeding him before. But, feeling concerned for the cat, dh decided to make up his own recipe and cook some homemade cat food.

Complete success! The silly cat loves the stuff. We figure it has to be way more nutritious than any dried cat food. Most cat foods contain corn as the first or second ingredient. Who in their right minds thinks corn is a good nutrition source for cats? And, calculating costs per pound, homemade is quite a bit cheaper than higher-end cat foods - the kinds that actually list some type of meat by-product as the first ingredient.

So here it is, the delicious and nutritious cat food recipe. Warning- the first thing you may need when making this recipe is a clothespin. And lots of open windows.

This is a cooked recipe and makes about 15 lbs.

4 lbs. beef liver

3 lbs. chicken -meat, skin, fat, and organs

3 cups rice (9 cups cooked)

6 boiled eggs with shells

5 cups cooked macaroni or other pasta

4 large carrots unpeeled

2 cups high-quality dry cat food, soaked in water until very soft

Cook all indgredients. Dh pan frys the meat, boils the pasta and carrots and starts the rice cooker. Send each cooked food item through a food processor, blender or meat grinder. We include the dry cat food to provide trace vitamins, minerals and enzymes. You should NOT feed your cat onions, garlic, salt, green tomatoes or potatoes, chocolate, or nuts.

You may have a hard time finding liver in grocery stores. Lets face it, liver is just not popular anymore, though dh occasionally gets a hankering for liver and onions and the rest of us get a hankering to leave the house. We buy beef liver at a local carniceria for $1 per pound.

Mix the whole mushy mass well in a large bowl and divide into small freezer-safe containers that are clearly labeled CAT FOOD. We don't want any surprises with our frozen foods. Keep one small container at a time in the refrigerator for daily feeding.

Many people advocate a raw diet for cats, but this one is more convenient for us. Romeo kills an occasional bird in the backyard (and brings it into the only carpeted room in the house) so I figure he is getting the trace enzymes and raw food fix that he needs.

Romeo has put on a little weight and doesn't need to drink as much water. I think these are good signs. We hope to keep our kitty around for many more years - as long as he keeps those laser eyes under control and only uses them for good.

This post is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesdays.

Chili for the chilly

2010-10-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today it rained. Cool and cloudy. A far cry from the 100+ temps of just one week ago. A perfect day for chili! This is one of our go-to meals when it's late and I don't know what to make for dinner. It's quick, easy, and I usually have the ingredients on hand either canned, fresh or frozen. Enjoy. Garden Chili 1 lb. ground beef 2 cloves minced garlic 2 stalks chopped celery 1 or 2 chopped bell peppers, fresh or frozen 1 cup shredded zucchini, fresh or frozen 1 quart bottled tomatoes with juice, or about 2 lbs. fresh, peeled and chopped 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained 1 can (15 oz.) kidney beans, drained 1 can, (15 oz.) or one pint tomato sauce 3-4 fresh basil leaves, chopped, or 1 tsp dried 2 to 3 tsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper Brown the ground beef with the garlic. Add everything else. Bring to boil then simmer until veggies are cooked, especially the celery, about 20 min or until you are ready to serve. Better the second day, according to my dd. One of these days I'd like to figure out how to use dried beans in the recipe instead of commercially canned. But that will probably take some planning ahead. This post is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday.

Add 'em up

2010-10-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

Tally day! Keeping track of how much we actually grow has been an eye-opener. Plus it's really fun. The numbers are getting big!

September:
98 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies
46 eggs

Since June 1, 2010:
256 lbs. 14 oz. fresh fruits and veggies
181 eggs

This month our big harvests were from corn, tomatoes, pumpkins, spaghetti squash, peppers, and cucumbers.

Put 'em up

2010-09-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful sight. This has been a great year for home canning.

My pretties from left to right are:

Tomatoes from our garden, pears from the supermarket, peaches from our trees, cherries from the grower, orange-honey marmalade from our tree, salsa with tomatoes, cilantro, and peppers from our garden, currant jelly from a friend's bushes, cucumber dills from our garden, and apricot jam from a friend's tree. These bottles were all processed in a steam canner (same processing times as water bath canners.)

Did you know canning is making a comeback in popularity? Several national home and family magazines (the ones found in Drs offices -that's where I get my quality magazine reading time) featured canning articles this summer, and canning supplies were to be found in many big box stores. I think its great that a newer generation is being introduced to this fun and rewarding work. I didn't learn how to home-can until after I was married, so I don't want to hear any whining that "my mom never taught me how." Find some supplies, some good instructions, and give it a try! If you find you like canning, keep your eye out for used canning bottles. They can often be found at yard sales or in the homes of little old ladies. While you're at it, talk to the little old ladies about their experiences in home canning. Did the kids or husband help? Did she grow her own food? What are her favorite recipes? Then make sure to check current guidelines for food processing safety. Just in case. I think jam is the easiest place to start, and I may as well recommend my favorite pectin, Pomona's Universal Pectin because the recipes use less sugar and the instructions encourage you to experiment with your own recipes. The only thing I haven't put up this year yet is applesauce. We usually buy apples from the grocery store or farmer's market, but they just haven't had a good enough sale yet which means the season is not quite at its peak. BTW, I like the new updated satin nickel finish on the canning lids and rings, but it does clash with the old brassy gold colored ones when I have to mix and match. Happy canning! What do you like to home can? What would you like to learn how to can? Who was your canning teacher? This post is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday.

August tally

2010-09-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

Big numbers for August although there were about 2 weeks when we were out of town and didn't count.

Pounds of produce from our yard and community garden plot: 81 lbs. 8 oz.
Number of eggs: 43

Types of produce harvested:
tomatoes
corn
cucumbers
pumpkins
carrots
eggplant
cauliflower
herbs

YTD total (since June 1, 2010): 159 lbs. of produce, 135 eggs

Killer cereal

2010-08-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

Cold cereal used to be my favorite food. I never liked the sugary stuff though. My favorites, even when I was a kid, were GrapeNuts, Shredded Wheat and the like. Remember the huge shredded wheat biscuits that came in individually wrapped packages, the ones with no sugar or anything? I loved those things. Weird, I know. When I cut way back on buying commercial cold cereal, I knew I would need to find a good homemade substitute. I need my cold cereal in the mornings. Just because I'm not buying pre-packaged food anymore doesn't mean I'm going to wake up in the morning and cook. That would be asking way too much. I love most granolas, so with a few tweaks, including doubling the recipe (because who wants to make granola 2 times a week?) I have created my absolute favorite cold cereal granola. In fact, the whole family loves it which unfortunately means less for me. It is so good I could pretty much eat this all day. I think I had 2 bowls today with milk, but its also good right out of the container, on yogurt, ice cream, warm peaches...sometimes I do make it twice a week. Tamlynn's Favorite Granola Mix together in a large bowl: 8 cups rolled oats 1/2 cup flax seeds 1 to 2 cups chopped raw almonds 3-4 tsp cinnamon In a saucepan slowly melt and mix together: 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup coconut oil 3/4 cup honey 2 tsp vanilla Pour the honey/oil mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well. Divide the granola and spread on two large baking sheets. Toast in a 300F degree oven for 20 minutes, stirring carefully after 10 minutes. Watch carefully so the granola doesn't burn in the last few minutes. The type of baking sheets and oven temps may vary the toasting time. You really don't want to burn your granola. It's sad. Let the granola cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Store for one or two weeks at room temp or in the freezer if it takes you longer to eat this much. Variations: add whatever you want! Try pecans, sunflower seeds, wheat germ. Add dried fruit after granola has cooled. My kids whine about dried fruit in their granola, so I just sprinkle some in my bowl before eating. Try raisins, (if you must) dried cranberries, blueberries, currants, chopped apricots, coconut, etc. Let me know if you try this and how you like it.

I like this woman

2010-08-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

I've read a short biography of Eleanor Roosevelt written for children, but I'd like to learn more about her after reading this quote attributed to her in an old copy of Hobby Farms magazine: "Those who never sink into this peace of nature lose a tremendous well of strength, for there is something healing and life giving in the mere atmosphere surrounding a country house." I have been drinking deeply of that well of strength lately. It feels good.

Thoughts on meat

2010-08-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

First of all the July produce tally. Drumroll please...65 pounds of fruits and veggies from my yard! This does not include anything from the community garden plot. We harvested peaches, oranges, tomatoes, artichokes, some beautiful potatoes, peppers, and various lettuces and herbs. Oh, and one lemon. I needed it to make salsa and although it wasn't quite ripe, it did the job. Actually, I stopped weighing on July 20 because we left on vacation. The great friends who took care of our yard got to eat whatever ripened between then and now. I am excited to start weighing again because August will include so much from our community garden plot. Now about meat. In July I did something I had never done before. I helped butcher animals to eat. My parents raise Muscovy ducks, and they are highly prized for their lean, high quality meat. My husband did do about 80% of the actual work, but I feel I helped significantly. Don't worry, I won't go into any details and gross anyone out. What surprised me about the whole process was how interesting I found it all. It gave me an appreciation of the animal, of the beauty of anatomy, both inside and out, of the function and relationship of every part of the animal. I really think that every person who eats meat should at least witness, if not participate in, the preparation of some animal for human food. I think the experience gives a sense of humility and gratitude for the animals themselves and the people who work as butchers. I think people would waste less and even consume less meat if we more clearly understood the entire process. While searching online for tips and procedures for our big day, (you can learn anything from the internet) I came across this discussion about how people felt about killing their own animals for food. I especially like post #17. What are your thoughts about knowing your meat?

Hello ladies

2010-07-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

And goodbye, Poppy, you annoying noisemaker. Poppy is the Polish on the upper rung. She has gotten it into her featherbrain that it would be fun to be loud in the mornings and pretend she can crow like a rooster. Sometimes a hen will do this, especially in the Bantam breeds (think little yappy dogs) if there is no rooster around. So Poppy is going to go visit the farm. Permanently. No, really, I'm taking her as a lovely present to my parent's place in the country, no need to worry about her pretty little neck. Hollyhock, Petunia, and the aptly named Midnight may miss her, but they'll be the only ones. More and more people are getting backyard chickens. They are fun, easy to care for, and usually fairly quiet. About five people in my area have expressed serious interest in getting their own little flock recently. Two have actually done it! Two of the most common questions people ask about our chickens are if we actually eat their eggs and if they need a rooster to lay eggs. The answers are yes, we eat their eggs. They are all natural, free-range, pastured, organic eggs from happy hens! Do you know how much those cost in the store?! And second, no, hens do not need a rooster to lay eggs. Contact me privately if you'd like a refresher lesson on the birds and the bees. Thinking about getting chickens? They are great fun- the pet that makes you breakfast. Do you or anyone you know have city chickens?

All dried up

2010-07-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

I've noticed a few online giveaways lately where the lucky winner can recieve a brand new, fancy schmancy Excalibur Dehydrator. My dehydrator is not fancy or new. In fact, it's probably as old as I am since I inherited it from my grandmother. It has two settings; on and off. But it still works, especially when the weather is not humid and/or foggy all day. My favorite thing to make with my dehydrator is fruit leather. Fruit leather is probably the easiest way to preserve fruit. Just puree some yummy fruit, (peeled if necessary) add sweetener - I like honey- and in about a day you have fruit leather! No boiling water, steaming jars or watching pots. This picture is actually some cherries I brought home last year and froze. Freezing pureed raw fruit works great, and is useful if you are inundated with ripe fruit and need to do something with it quickly before the fruit flies overwhelm your kitchen. Today I made a peach-raspberry puree. About 8 cups of pureed fruit and a little less than one cup honey. I like using honey because it's already liquid and does not crystallize in the fruit leather like sugar does. However, the honey fruit leather does tend to be more sticky. Remember when sweetening your fruit that the flavors will condense when drying. Make it a little less sweet than you think it should be. After 12-24 hours-ish, the fruit leather should peel up easily off the fruit leather trays. IF you have sprayed your trays with a cooking oil spray. Be nice to yourself and remember to do this. My dehydrator has little clear rectangular trays that fit on top of the regular trays. Put the leather on sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap and fold or roll up. Store in an airtight container on the shelf or in the refrigerator if you like. It won't last long. Oh, and if you have a little extra puree that won't fit on your dehydrating trays, use it as a topping for ice cream, pancakes, waffles...or just use a spoon. Real Food Wednesdays

The reluctant summer

2010-07-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday LAX had a record low high. For July 9, the temperature hit a whopping 67F. This is not tomato and pepper growing weather, my friends. My plants have mildew. We count the hours of sunlight in minutes. I think the flavor of the peaches has been affected. They just aren't as sweet this year.

Every day after swimming lessons my children fix themselves mugs of hot cocoa. Did I mention it's July? I still have my down comforter on my bed!

The best I can do right now is bake and make soup. Someone at the community garden left a ginormous zucchini on the free table. I made 4 dozen muffins, freezing most of them for quick snacks. I also froze the leftover shredded squash- easy to add to soups, chili, etc. The muffins are pretty tasty, though adding chocolate chips makes them an even better treat on a chilly summer day.

Tamlynn's Zucchini Muffins
makes 2 dozen

mix together:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 cup quick oats
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

in another bowl mix:
1 cup unsweetened applesauce (or melted butter or oil)
1 1/2 cup sugar (or other sweetener)
4 medium eggs (that's the size my chickens lay)
2 cups shredded zucchini

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Put into greased muffin tins and bake at 350F for 20 minutes. They will be darker than white flour muffins, so don't think they are burnt.

Good clean fun

2010-07-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking. Homemade laundry detergent? Is that really necessary? Of course it's not, but it is kind of fun, and very inexpensive. I found basic recipes here, and liked the powdered recipe. Because who really wants to cook soap when you could use dry? I like to make stuff, but it shouldn't be hard. Here is the recipe I used, with ingredients I could find. 1 bar Zote laundry soap (14 oz.) grated -about 4 cups 2 cups Borax 2 cups washing soda (sodium carbonate) also called soda ash or "ph Up" in the swimming pool section. NOT baking soda. Mix together well. You may want to pulse a little at a time in a blender or food processor so the Zote is very fine. Then, that's it! Use 2 TB per large load of laundry. I've seen lots of additions to the recipe, such as adding salt if you have hard water, Oxyclean for extra whitening, using Fels Naptha soap or Ivory soap instead of Zote, baking soda, essential oils for scents. Do what works for you!

The Zote soap does have a citronella scent, but it does not transfer to clothes. My clothes come out smelling like... cotton? No artificial smell at all, just clean.

So here is the price breakdown. My old laundry detergent boasted that each box could wash 95 loads, but reading the fine print I discovered that meant 95 small loads. I don't know many mothers of young children who wash small loads of laundry. So after doing some math, I determined that my old laundry detergent cost 25 cents per large load. My new laundry soap costs 8 cents per large load. And, I can get the price down even more if I find a better price for the sodium carbonate - I think my local Ace Hardware will order Arm and Hammer washing soda for me. I had to use "ph Up" in the swimming pool section, and it was a little more pricey.

I have found this recipe works just as well as my old brand. So want to give it a try?

Summertime peaches

2010-07-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

Just a few months ago (two posts down) this same little bird house was surrounded by pretty pink flowers. Thanks to the bees, we will be picking peaches this weekend! The tree is a Mid-Pride, freestone, low chill requirement- 250 hours, self-fruitful. This is ds's special tree because he dug the hole that it now fills. Unfortunately, he was unaware that the hole he spent so many carefree hours creating was going to be filled. He now claims this as his tree and still gets upset about the loss of his lovely hole in the dirt.

Peaches are something we decided to grow because we all like them, they are relatively expensive in the store, and never taste quite as good as home grown. We have three trees that ripen at different times. This prevents peach overload for more manageable harvests. Fighting the squirrels and the birds has become a fierce battle. Any hints for protecting our peaches?

Update July 5: Time for canning! Dh picked about 15 pounds this morning and we'll be canning them this afternoon. In another week more will be ripe enough to pick.

Hello to my fans - a change has begun

2010-06-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

Hello, all you people who have been missing my blog posts. Yes, both of you! My mom was so busy with her own website, she didn't even miss mine. Thanks for mentioning you missed me. I have been busy this spring doing something I never thought I could do. Not buying stuff. The list of things I have learned to make at home from scratch is astounding to me. Several things happened that started me on this journey of baby steps and risks. First was Target brand soy sauce. The second was my cousin-in-laws blog, and third, a revisiting of a local family's website, and finally just putting it all together and realizing I could make some changes in my life. My husband is a soy sauce snob. At least that's what I called him when I brought home some Target brand soy sauce one day and he complained that he didn't like it. To prove to him that he was fooled by labels and it was just the same, I checked the ingredient lable. Corn. Honey, I am so sorry I ever doubted you. I was miffed. I thought I was buying soy sauce and they sold me corn! I started reading every label of every food product I purchased. I am now determined to only buy the things I actually want to eat. If I want to eat corn, I will buy corn; canned, frozen, ground into meal, on the cob, chips, maybe even in flakes. I will not buy corn and be told it is really soy sauce. Or tomato soup, or maple syrup, etc. I know that corn is in nearly everything from batteries to wallpaper, but that doesn't mean I have to eat it when I don't want to. The same goes for soy. So number one, know what I am actually putting in my mouth. Even seemingly simple things like heavy cream isn't just from a cow any more. Then reading Chanelle's blog I realized that she was several steps ahead of me. She was cooking real, healthy foods that I had no idea normal people could make. Like yogurt, cheese, and beef broth. I started taking notes and asking questions. Lastly, reading about the Dervaes family gave me another shove. My yard is only half as big as their tiny lot, but I can grow fruits and veggies too. I actually took an aberrant action and planted some squash in my front yard. Granted, it's hidden behind a pretty avocado tree, but still. I already had the chickens, I just needed to expand the garden and protect it from the chickens. Then, like a miracle, we received a community garden plot! I know we were way down on the waiting list, but somehow we made the cut. Suddenly, I had a 20x20 foot opportunity. I don't want to mirror all things Dervaes, I like my electricity thank you very much, but I relished the challenge of maximizing my space. With our year-round growing season, I can grow probably 3 times as much as the same sized lot in any place that gets snow. So there you go. I started cooking, learning, trying new things. It has been one year since I have purchased eggs. It has been 4 months since I have purchased crackers. I bought only one box of cereal in that time. I can make yogurt, crackers, broth, even laundry detergent. I don't buy those things any more, I buy the ingredients to make them. I rarely buy anything that has more than 3 ingredients. We ate quinoa and we liked it. My amazing husband even jumped on the bandwagon and made homemade cat food. Liver flavored. What a man. There are still so many things I want to try. Like the sourdough starter that has been taunting me from the fridge, pasta, and more basic cleaners. We are upping our canning, freezing, and drying efforts. Our garden is a source of excitement for all of us. I have found joy in relying on myself to get and make the things our family uses. I decided to track the output of my yard. It is a little slim this month (June) because many of our big crops (like the infamous corn) aren't ripe yet. We planted 4 trees and 5 berry bushes that won't bear anything for another year or so. So I expect a very large increase over the next few years, but here are my totals for June: Pounds of produce grown: 12.5 Included: oranges, peaches, apricots, cucumbers, artichokes and summer squash Number of eggs: 61 Herbs I didn't bother to weigh: cilantro, basil, chives, rosemary, thyme, nasturtiums, salad greens. This is all stuff that came from my yard! I still get very excited about it. I hope I can continue to make progress in making my lifestyle more healthy, less dependent and more skilled. What would you like to learn how to do? Or what have you done lately to improve your eating and living? Please share.

Spring is here! The anticlimactic season in SoCal.

2010-02-26T12:43:00.000-08:00

Besides these beautiful peach blossoms, and the dozen bulbs my ds planted, spring is pretty much a non-event around here. While the rest of the US is ready to be permanently admitted for cabin fever, we feel like some type of frontier pioneers for enduring 2 weeks of rain. Ah well, such is life in paradise.

2010-01-19T18:55:00.000-08:00

Ds's latest creation on his Etch A Sketch.

And now in other vegetable news...

2010-01-19T18:42:00.001-08:00

The cauliflowers. Some of them. These three beauties weighed in at 12 lbs. total. Thats a whole lotta cream of cauliflower soup. Which is a very good thing when you make this recipe and a loaf of homemade bread. Enjoy.

Easy fireplace makeover

2010-01-07T14:11:00.001-08:00

Thanks to my friend Luanna! This project took more time in taping than painting, and was easy to do. Just a can of high-heat Rustoleum, and the fireplace insert looks better than new. Unless you are a fan of polished brass, then I guess you don't need to bother. A good cleaning never hurts either.

Before and after:

The winter garden

2010-01-07T14:02:00.001-08:00

While other people in this country are covered in snow, our garden is alive and well, much to the dismay of broccoli-haters. Other crops we are harvesting now are bok choy, peas, swiss chard, lettuce, and oranges. Yummy.

I'm just a girl who can't say no

2009-10-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

Things I have purchased for my children today because they begged for them while at the store: Sparkly blue fabric remnant New pencils Purple potatoes Beet seeds Ways my children get out of going to bed or doing their chores when I ask: Watching From the Top Asking me to read "just one more chapter" from any book Hoeing the garden Playing together quietly, especially when outdoors

The big D

2009-10-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

Finally. We took our kids to Disneyland. After living in LA for nearly 5 years, we finally took the plunge and paid our mouse tax. But thanks to my talented bro Dan and my lovely sil Kori, that tax was quite bearable. The weather was perfect, the lines were short, the kids were happy and I even steeled myself to ride all the "Mountain" rides. Here's the part I am still baffled about. If not for the courtesy of my Disney-employed brother, our fun day at the amusement park would have cost us $240 more than what we spent for that one day's entertainment. I'm not against entertainment by any means, but within my own reasonable cost parameters, i.e. cheap. A friend of ours recently boasted that he switched satellite TV carriers and was now saving $50 a month. That's great, right? Now he only pays $150 a month to watch TV. Really? Really? What is the value of entertainment for you? How do you decide what is a reasonable cost for fun?

What I did on my summer vacation Part 8

2009-10-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

Part 8: Make new friends and keep the old

I love that so many of my friends have kids who are the same ages as my kids. Instant playmates! During our vacation we were able to meet with several friends I have made throughout many years. Some of these wonderful women I hadn't seen in 15 years and it was such fun to see them again. With my old friends and my kids' new friends we toured BYU; the Bean Museum, the MOA including an incredible Walter Wick exhibit, Earth Science Museum, bowling and of course the Creamery on Ninth. We enjoyed the amazing gardens at Thanksgiving Point, had sleepovers, got wet and had a lot of silly fun. I can't believe I didn't take any pics of my freshman roomate Villi and her kids, or my friend Lisa and our kids painting rocks.

"Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends." -Richard Bach

What I did on my summer vacation Part 7

2009-10-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

Part 7: See a temple The newly finished Oquirrh Mountain temple was having its open house, where the general public is invited to tour the temple. There are about 130 temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the world right now, with about 20 more in the planning or building stage. Because of the blessings available in the temple, individuals can continue their family relationships after death. To find out more about why my church builds temples and what they are for, click here and here.

What I did on my summer vacation Part 6

2009-10-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

Part 6: Vegas, baby

Las Vegas to us means time with the cousins and trying not to melt. It also coincided with the opening of Harry Potter 6, the first HP movie my kids have been old enough to watch in the theater. This was probably the most exciting thing Matthew had ever done in his life. Its all he could talk about for weeks ahead of time ("Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is opening on July 16," he'd tell anyone and everyone.) And afterwards, ("Why was the Weasley's house in a field and why did it get blown up? That's not in the book.") Its hard to tell, but the kids have the obligatory lightning shaped scar drawn on their foreheads.

What I did on my summer vacation Part 5

2009-10-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

Part 5: Hied to Kolob

The northwest part of Zion National Park has a separate and less traveled entrance. Called Kolob Canyons, it has gorgeous views and the second-largest freestanding arch I believe, though it is at the end of a longer hike than we were prepared for. Two things that are essential for hiking with children: they must have comfortable shoes and their own water. I highly recommend these. It cut the whining and complaining by nearly 75% I'd say.

What I did on my summer vacation Part 4

2009-10-08T10:14:00.001-07:00

Part 4: Lived on the farm

I love that my kids have the chance to live on Grandma and Grandpa's "farm" because they have to do chores! Collecting eggs, exercising the goats, cleaning stalls, raking leaves, picking apricots, riding bikes to the post office to get the mail, its all good. Of course there was plenty of time for climbing trees, making twig fairy houses, roasting marshmallows in the fire pit, stargazing, water fights, catching grasshoppers, even lighting fireworks in the street. My kids had their first experience with sparklers, much to the surprise of my sister. These things just aren't allowed in suburban CA.

Another fun thing mom and I did this year was canning and drying fruit. Apricots and cherries were in season, and almost every night we'd be found in the kitchen making a batch of jam or starting a batch of fruit leather in the dehydrator. Nothing in the world tastes better.

What I did on my summer vacation Part 3

2009-10-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

Part 3: Birthday parties!

Dh, ds and cousin L all had birthdays during summer vacation, so it was party time!

What I did on my summer vacation Part 2

2009-10-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

Part 2: The county fair. My poor kids. Most moms would just buy their kids tickets to ride on the rides. Not me. I heard the fair was giving away 3 free ride tickets to each kid who turned in 3 book reports. So my kids earned their tickets! The first ride was the Zipper, which their friends had been raving about all week. It was a hit, though ds was a little short and kept getting tossed around the basket so much the ride director made him get off. Then came the Gravitron (no photo). There are good and bad sides to attending the fair on a slow day. Good: no standing in line to get on rides. Bad: the bored, toothless, questionably educated ride operator may let the ride run extra long because there are only four kids on it and none standing in line. Bad again: small children are not astronauts in training. Good again: the ride operater has to hose off his own ride. One last bad: the poor kids will remain green so long that all they want to do is lie on the grass moaning. Eventually they gave away their final hard-earned tickets to some other children, along with a stern warning about the Gravitron.

Best things about the County Fair:

1. Dragon's Blood snow cones

2. Candied Almonds

3. Corn Dogs

4. Kettle Corn

5. Funnel Cakes

6. NOT riding the Gravitron

What I did on my summer vacation Part 1

2009-10-06T12:55:00.001-07:00

I have made it a yearly tradition to take the kids on a month-ish long vacation during the summer. Dh joins us when he can. Mostly we visit Utah, where I grew up. Over the next few days I'll share some great photos of things we did this summer.

Part one: Ride horses. I grew up with horses and my parents still have some. This was a great trail ride with me, my mom and my dd, three horse crazy girls. These are the mountains to the southeast of my hometown. Our mounts for the day were Zoe, Pie and Candy.

Then my mom and I got this crazy idea that since the kids were riding nearly every day and doing so well, we could enter them in the youth horseshow at the county fair. We excitedly turned in our registration money, found some great deals on Western clothes at DI, and started practicing. We practiced showmanship at halter, horsemanship and barrels. We didn't have any poles, but we set bottles out on the ground and had the kids run through them until they memorized the pattern. Matthew and I competed in the leadline class, where he rode and I led the horse, so I had to find some Western clothes too. Thank you again to Grandpa Clyde who brought my hat and belt to me from CA on his way back home.

This is the pole bending event. I was too busy alternating between yelling and holding my breath to take more pics. In fact, I don't have any other pics of the kids in any other events. Where is my personal photographer when I need him? It was a strange feeling to see my kids competing in the same places and with some of the same group of people that I did when I was a kid. It was a ton of fun, and I finally experienced the horse show from the mom's point of view instead of the competitor's. I appreciate all my mom did for me for all those horse shows I went to as a kid. In fact, she's still the one who got up early to feed the horse, bathe him, make sure he had good shoes, make sure the tack was in order, the trailer packed, etc. Thanks, mom, you're the best!

Registration fees: $24

Pink cowboy hat with silver sequins for dd: $3 at DI

Western shirt for ds: $3 at DI

Hamburger and soda from the snack stand: $5

Falling asleep in the truck with your trophy: priceless.

Have I done any good in the world today?

2009-10-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

Is my new theme for at least the next six months. Not terribly original, I know. But a good theme nonetheless.

We completed this project last weekend, and I want to thank so many people who helped this project become a reality.

Community's Child is a local shelter for homeless women who are pregnant or have a baby. Some of the women also have older children in addition to a baby. When I was there volunteering last spring, I noticed the home had many comforts; nice furniture, a tv, pretty decorations, but the home was missing something important. Most of us have dozens if not hundreds of books in our homes. We realize the importance of reading, studying, and learning from the best books. Parenting experts say that the most important activity that parents can do to help children succeed in school is to read aloud to them every day from the time they are newborn. Reading to newborns helps the parts of the brain that handle speech and language develop. The more words an infant hears when a parent talks, reads, and sings, the more that part of their brain grows. Reading to babies and children will provide them with the skills they need to learn to read, write and understand information when they are older. As well as needing books for their children, many of the moms at Community's Child are also attending school and need books to help them earn their degrees and enable them to create a stable future for themselves and their children. As I met with the Community's Child director, I realized we couldn't just drop off boxes of books. Every good book needs a bookshelf! The shelter had an existing bookshelf that was adequate with a little fixing up. I arranged for wood, paint, and wall anchors to be donated so we could create a safe, stable bookshelf for all their wonderful new books. So many of my friends and neighbors helped with this project. People donated used children's story books, board books, parenting books, cookbooks, coloring books, dictionaries, and board games. Some of the teenage girls from church (Young Women) donated their time to paint the new back for the bookshelf. My husband securely bolted the shelf to the wall so no toddler can pull the shelf down if he climbs on it, or if an earthquake hits the shelf will not fall over. My sweet kids carried ALL the donated books upstairs, sorted the books, and put them on the shelves.

Thank you to all who helped bring books to the lives of families in need. You have done good in the world today.

Here's a little something I wrote

2009-06-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

Last week my article about our adoption experience was featured at Segullah.org. Check it out.

Feeling rather proud of my staple gunning skills

2009-06-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

"Do you know how to re-upholster furniture?" my dh asked with a dubious expression. "Nope," I replied, carrying in the large roll of upholstery fabric I had special ordered.

I don't know what I was thinking 12 years ago when I spent good money on this chair with the diamond print fabric, but I've been loathing it for at least 5 years now. Just hating the fabric, there is nothing wrong with the chair itself. Which led me to think the best thing to do was re-upholstering. How hard could it be? The answer: not that hard at all! Thank the heavens above. Because once I started pulling it apart there was no going back. My friend Melissa showed me an adorable chair she had re-done while taking a class and suggested I take a class too. I'm too impatient for that, so I just started.

I've never let the fact that I am clueless prevent me from trying anyway. Hers is better though because she did piping. I don't think piping is all that necessary, is it? Just say no. I surmised, correctly, that if I just tore everything apart, then I could use the old pieces of fabric as a pattern. What surprised me the most was how little actual sewing was involved. Its almost all just tucked in and around and stapled to death. The hardest part (three days worth) was removing the 3,141,5926 staples some maniac had driven in. My best friends were a slender flat screwdriver, a pair of needle-nosed pliers, and an ice pack for my right hand.

My greatest stroke of genius during this project (other than all-day TV marathons for my children) was to leave one arm and wing intact while I put the new fabric on the other side so I would have a reference as to how they stapled that sucker. The kids were fascinated to see the guts of a chair, wood, springs, cardboard and foam. Ds kept asking me if I was going to have any leftover wood that he could have. He was quite disappointed that I didn't.

I love my dh for buying cool tools and occasionally letting me borrow them. A pneumatic staple gun rocks my world, though I jumped every single time the thing made that crazy loud noise. Notice the full face protection. Glamorous, no? After the accident, we are a bit fanatical about our eyeballs around here. Foot protection is obviously optional.

After 4 days of my living room looking like an upholstery factory had exploded, I drove my last staple, pounded in the wicked tack strips on the back and sewed up the cushion. There was also some sneaky use of a glue gun, since I was not about to go out and buy a second set of smaller staples for the detail work. Then I replaced the legs and voila! I amazed my dh.

If you are considering doing a project like this, you can do it! You will love it. I used 4 yards of fabric for this chair. I wish I had bought a little extra for a throw pillow or two for the couch. Christine, if you are reading this, I know the wall hangings are too high. I'm working on it.

Its kind of a shinier fabric than I thought it would be. Hopefully I will love it for several years. Its going to take that long for my staple-prying hand to recover. Ouch.

I have no idea why this picture/text formatting is all wacky. I've tried for an hour to fix it.

The legend of little stones

2009-06-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

Ds loves Cub Scouts. It gives him a chance to be a silly, rowdy, crazy boy in the midst of other silly, rowdy, crazy boys -which is something he especially needs since we started homeschooling this year. His last Pack Meeting was his night to shine. Not only did they have a fun Rain Gutter Regatta, he received three more belt loops, a Golden Spoon gift certificate for having his Quality Unit patch sewn on (thanks to my last-minute badge applying skillz,) a raffle prize of $5 for being in uniform, and he had the privilege of delivering the punch line in the den skit. What could be better than that for an active, clowning, attention-loving boy? For your enjoyment, the skit: Indian Brave is waiting center stage for little Indians to arrive for Brave School. First indian arrives. Brave: What is your name, little Indian? Scout #1: My name is Running Duck. Brave: Running Duck, why are you late for first day of Brave School? You will never be a big brave like me if you are always late. Scout #1: Sorry, Big Brave. I was throwing little stones in the raging river.(next scout runs in.) Brave: What is your name, little Indian? Scout #2: My name is Slender Trees. Brave: Slender Trees, why are you late for first day of Brave School? You will never be a big brave like me if you are always late. Scout #2: Sorry, Big Brave. I was throwing little stones at the birds in the trees.(next scout runs in.) Brave: What is your name, little Indian? Scout #3: My name is Tiny Bear. Brave: Tiny Bear, why are you late for first day of Brave School? You will never be a big brave like me if you are always late. Scout #3: Sorry, Big Brave. I was throwing little stones off the tall cliff.(repeat for all scouts, each making up a name and where they were throwing little stones...)(last scout comes stumbling in battered and bruised and in pain.) Brave: What is your name, little Indian? Last One: My name is Little Stones.

Time to refocus.

2009-05-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

Because June is MY month. I hereby claim it. The month where I get to work on the projects I have put off all year. School is over. Nearly all of the kid's activities are over and its my turn. Except for swimming lessons and a few violin lessons, and maybe a scout activity. Oh, and dh's eye surgery. And a few visits from friends and family. But I really mean it, I get some time too!

My list of things that I intend to make a valiant attempt at are:

Re-upholster a chair. I already have the fabric. That's good. I have no idea how to proceed. That's bad.

Work on dd's quilt. It will absolutely, positively be done before she leaves for college.

Complete some more graphic design projects. Anyone else need a custom egg carton label?

Read some great books. I've been stuck on The Chosen for a month now and I am not feeling the love. I need something else.

Yard work. My front yard is lonely and neglected.

Photocards for Marie, sympathy for Joyce and celebrations for baby boy Haring.

Blog more. Topics I've been mulling include our bathroom remodel that no one has seen, Everett Ruess, my urban homestead, and Little Stones.

Let the projects begin.

No place like home

2009-03-14T23:02:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been pleased with where I live. All 5000 square feet of it. That is the square footage of my lot, not my house. Don't get me wrong, I still need my occasional breaks in the mountains, the desert, and the country to get my refill of wide open spaces and stars at night, but I am enjoying the benefits of living here in suburbia too. Last week I was grateful that on one day I could tend to my baby chickens and work in my vegetable garden and the next day attend a performance of the LA Philharmonic at the Disney Concert Hall with my kids. I can walk to the park, taekwondo class, the allergy Dr's office and to dinner at one of a dozen or more restaurants without breaking a sweat. I also have a nice view of my neighbor's kitchen from my kitchen window, but that is a price I have come to accept. When I was a kid I distinctly remember seeing subdivisions in a neighboring town and wondering how people could stand living so close to each other. I still hope to live somewhere with more land someday, but there are advantages to being within walking distance of a hospital, a grocery store and a library. I am very blessed to raise my children in a place with so many amazing opportunities and yet I feel even more fortunate that I can take them away from all this to spend a few weeks on the farm every year. I call my parent's place a farm, and to my city kids it seems to be. They have animals, a garden, a few acres, yet are still in a small town. It's rural but more like a big backyard than a working farm. I don't feel the need to live there now but I do need to visit. I don't know where my kids will feel drawn to when they become adults. Right now dd has a love for places with pavement and sidewalks, yet she can't wait to ride horses and collect her really fresh eggs. Ds loves the ocean but also loves climbing tall trees and digging in the dirt. The kids whine that they are cold when its 50 degrees outside, yet lament that we don't have any snow. Will they be drawn to the suburbs because that is where they were raised, or will they like even bigger cities? Will they feel out of place without four seasons, or need sunshine and heat year-round? Will they be able to adjust to living in the country where they might have to drive a half hour just to get to a grocery store? I've found it fairly easy to adjust to the convenience of this place but I still need my time away, my respite from convenience. The one thing I do not miss about the place I grew up: snow. Don't miss it. The one thing I treasure most about a place: having a view of mountains. Do you live in an area that is similar to where you grew up? Country, suburb, city? Do you wish you were somewhere else? What attributes are important to you in a desirable place to live?

A shot in the arm

2009-02-22T21:49:00.001-08:00

No one likes getting shots, right? Then why, oh, why did I sign up to get injections in my arm on a regular basis for the next year or so? I guess its because my love of breathing outweighs my abhorrence of pain. After several years of wheezing and sneezing, watery eyes and itchy nose, taking 4 prescription medications daily, I decided to get allergy shots. Its not a quick program. 2 shots a week for the first 10 weeks. 1 shot per week for the next 10 weeks, 1 shot every other week for the next 10 weeks, so on and so forth for about a year. Hopefully, at the end, I will not need my daily medications any more and as long as I live in California, I should be protected from the allergens that bother me. It's a gamble. Approximately 45 shots versus a lifetime of medications. I psych myself up for the first appointment. I can do this. It's going to hurt, but only for a few seconds. I am tough. My mom will buy me a candy bar. When I was a kid my mom made all of her children a deal. If you have to get a shot, you get a candy bar. Two shots? Two candy bars! Now I don't really expect my mom to buy me candy bars for allergy shots, especially not 45 of them over the next year, but I can trick myself into anticipating one and it gives me a little more courage. Actually, I think I was the child who caused this bribery. It was the day I embarrassed my mom to death. And I was not so young that I can't remember it. We were at the Dr's office. I had to get a shot in my bum. I screamed and cried and kicked the nurse as hard as I could. I believe I was wearing moon boots. Many times my mother has reminded me of how I embarrassed her with this tantrum. Luckily, the thought of a candy bar gives me courage and restraint. Tuesday. Shot number one; left arm. Not too bad, really. The nurse pinched the back of my upper arm so hard I did not even feel the needle. That flab comes in useful for something. Thursday. Shot number two; right arm. Also not too bad. Fairly quick. Week one is finished. Monday. Shot number three. The nurse is trying to tell me something but I am confused. Two bottles of serum are on the counter. I cannot comprehend her question. Another nurse comes over. The Dr. made a mistake when ordering my serum. He forgot to include something. Now I will have to have two injections every time I come in. Are you kidding me? I turn around and the nurse pinches my left arm. It hurts. Then she grabs my right arm. I feel the needle going in. I am mad. Mom, I think I'm going to need 90 candy bars this year or else I just might kick another nurse.

Let the love begin.

2009-02-01T15:04:00.000-08:00

My slightly insane friend Les has issued a challenge. The 14 days of Valentines challenge. "Which means everyday from the first through the 14th of February you do something nice, something extra for your spouse, your kids, or your friends- or all of them. It's about personalizing our lives and putting more effort into the thing that matters most -- relationships." That's all nice and good, but did I mention there are prizes? Oh yeah. So this is my plan. You can steal it, but I get the credit okay? Each day for the next 14 days I will show love for someone in one of these categories: Spouse: Feb. 1 My dh and I have different expectations of the term "Sunday dinner." For him, it means a nice sit-down dinner with the family. Perhaps a roast chicken is served. Potatoes are a must. There is homemade bread with butter and jam, and a selection home-canned fruit and/or vegetables. A nice meal. For me, Sunday is a day of rest. I say get a bowl of cereal and call it good. Today when my ever-hopeful dh approached me and asked if I had any plans for dinner, I brightly replied, "Yes! I thought I would prepare a nice chicken dinner for everyone." He stepped closer to me and gently laid a hand on my forehead. "Are you feeling all right?" he said, extremely concerned. Ha ha, very funny. So my act of love for today was chicken. With potatoes, vegetables and home-canned fruit. Freshly baked bread would have been nice, but I didn't want to set an unrealistic precedent for future Sunday dinners. An old friend: Feb. 2 I think Facebook is amazing. Just this past month, I have reconnected with dozens of friends from my childhood. Not just high school, but people I've known since before Kindergarten. Just today, a childhood friend sent me a friend request. I don't think I have seen this person since middle school/Jr. high. There is a Facebook group for my elementary school and she commented on a Kindergarten class photo that I had posted a while ago. She said she was glad to see this pic because when she was a teenager her house burned down and they lost all their childhood photos. Today's gift of love was scanning and emailing old class photos, Kindergarten through 6th grade, to an old friend. A stranger I will never meet: Feb. 3 Don Antonio is a small rice farmer in Nicaragua. His family is made up of 5 other people—4 children and his wife. They all live on the farm where they work making rice for human consumption and for commercial use. Adding a rice thresher to the community will allow him to maximize his crop. This is his main goal, to contribute to the purchase of the thresher and achieve his dreams as a small farmer. Today I loaned a very small amount of my money to Don Antonio so he can buy farm equipment that will change his and his family's life. The money I lent him was repaid to me from loans I made to other small-business owners in Peru, Tajikistan, Cambodia, Nigeria, and Paraguay. Please check out Kiva.org. Parents: Feb. 4 I don't want to spoil the surprise, so if you are my mom or dad, please stop reading now. Thank you. I sympathize with those of you around the country who are snowed in, iced over, or otherwise ensnared in the deathly grip of winter. I remember snow and ice and bitter cold and I just have to say I am glad I am not you! My parents live in a cold and wintry place, so to brighten their bleak existence with a little California sunshine I sent them a box of sweet, juicy Valencia oranges picked right from the tree in my backyard. A sibling: Feb. 5 I tried, Dan. I really did. I tried to read/proofread your first draft of your first novel all in one day but I didn't quite make it. Today was not my day off. I'm on page 55 and I can't wait to read more. I am enjoying the action/fantasy/history combos. I like the character names. Except for the main character's first name. Just my opinion. I was worried when you used the word "spiffy" but I just heard that the President of the USA used that exact same word when referring to Air Force One, so I think you'll be okay. Love you, brother. Ancestors: Feb. 6 Families can be together forever. Today, thanks to a friend who watched our children, my dh and I were able to attend the temple and perform vicarious sealings for some of our ancestors. A sealing is an ordinance that cements or "seals" relationships in this life and after death. Husbands and wives can be sealed together. Children can be sealed to their parents. We believe that family relationships do not have to end with death. In heaven, my husband and I will still be married. My parents will still be my parents. My children will still be my children. That is why members of my church work so hard to research genealogy and family history; we want to be with our families in the next life too. Our work today, as we believe, will allow a few more of our ancestors to continue the loving family relationships they enjoyed during their lifetimes. A new friend: Feb. 7 Today's love was fairly simple and easy. I babysat a new friend's children for a few hours so she and her husband could go out. Piece of cake. I was especially happy that my new friends arrived home just before I started to change a stinky diaper. I guess it would have been more loving of me to change the diaper. Oh, well. A teacher: Feb. 8 There is an older couple that we know from church. I'll call them Bro. and Sis. C. These great people are teachers to my family in so many ways, both formally and informally. Bro. C is our home teacher. Sis. C. is my visiting teacher. This means they visit us in our home each month to teach us a gospel lesson and see if we are doing all right. Bro. C. teaches the family history class dh and I attend on Sundays. Sis C. teaches my children songs on Sundays during Primary. They are examples to us of faithful, hard-working people who have finished raising their family and are still going strong with volunteer work at church and in the community. They are cheerful and loving and make us laugh. When I needed someone to pick me up from the airport after dh's injury, they were the ones to be there for us. This evening we delivered freshly baked banana nut mini muffins and expressed to them our gratitude for their friendship and the many ways in which they are teachers to us. A stranger I see face to face: Feb. 9 Oh, man, this was tough. I am not an outgoing person. I hate making phone calls to people I don't know very well. I do not like to chat with people on the airplane or at the park. I just barely started having conversations with the girl who has cut my hair for two years. I did not really have a plan for this category, but today as I went to the grocery store I knew what I had to do when I saw her. A tiny woman, apparently homeless, holding a cardboard sign and seated on a curb in the parking lot. I avoided her gaze as I drove past. I parked far from the entrance and took a circuitous route to the front doors. As I pushed my cart up and down the aisles my heart was thumping and my mind was distracted. I wanted to buy something for her. What? Something ready to eat. Non-perishable. Filling. My ds was with me today. I did not tell him my plan. As we left the store, I pushed my cart directly toward her. She stood up. I asked her if she would like some bagels. "God bless you. Thank you," she smiled, "You have a fine son." I tried very hard to look her in the face, but I'm afraid my eyes quickly glanced away. I gave her the bag of bagels. I said something polite, but I don't remember exactly what. I wish I had given her some fruit too. Children: Feb. 10 Today I sacrificed of myself for the sake of my children. I did not use the computer even one time while they were awake. I know. It was tough. I was a little disoriented, a bit shaky, but I did not give in. I know I spend too much time here. But it is my link. All my best friends live in my computer, you know. I mentioned to my kids during dinner what I had accomplished today and they both sincerely congratulated me. I do have valid reasons for using the computer during a regular day. I look up lesson plans and instructions. I check which library books are due. I find the answers to pressing questions from my children; "Where does earwax come from, Mommy?" But I also entertain myself when I could be interacting with my kids. Today's effort made a positive impact on the day, and I'm going to continue my reduced computer diet. Not cutting out the computer entirely, just using it with more prudence. Sparingly. While they are awake. An enemy: Feb. 11 I don't really consider anyone my enemy. There is no Joker to my Batman or Professor Moriarty to my Sherlock Holmes. No Death Eaters and Order of the Phoenix, vampires and werewolves, Dorothy and the Wicked Witch...I could go on. I consider myself fairly easy to get along with, but there are a few people who just annoy me. Not many, but a few. I singled out one of these people with whom I have had an uncomfortable relationship for quite some time. Without revealing too many details, I have finally decided to start to let go of my hard feelings and allow my relationship with this person to improve. As I was considering how to start this process, a scripture came to mind; "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matthew 5: 44.) Following the words of Jesus Christ, I have been praying. A neighbor and a widow: Feb. 12 & 13 Heart-shaped frosted sugar cookies. With sprinkles. The Valentine's day requisite. I used this recipe but halved it. My kids and I spent a cold, rainy day baking and decorating. Then when the downpour slowed to a drizzle we grabbed our umbrellas and took a refreshing walk in the rain with our plates of fresh cookies. Stomping in a few puddles along the way. My next-door neighbor's kitchen window is literally 15 feet from my kitchen window, yet days can pass and we never see each other. Weeks can pass between conversations. We are both busy moms of young kids and sometimes thats just how it goes. Around the corner from our house lives a widow of about two years. She and her husband were original homeowners in our neighborhood -meaning they bought that house in the 1950's. I felt bad that we woke her from a nap when we rang her doorbell, (I know I get cranky if anyone wakes me up) but she, as always, had a smile on her face. Myself: Feb. 14 Today I am packing up my art supplies and taking them on a little trip with me. Making time for art is a rare gift to myself. Maybe when I'm done I'll have something good to show for the effort, maybe not. I look forward to finding out. Happy Valentine's day. I'm not going to go in order, but I will complete an act of love for someone in each of these relationships, updating with explanations as I accomplish them. I will not reveal who the enemy is, so don't even ask. But, if I send you a box of cookies out of the blue... Please join me in filling the next two weeks with a little extra something to let those around you know you care. Document your efforts and share them. If you need help with ideas, check out some of Les's 250 ways to say I love you. Ready? Go!

Cheaper than therapy

2009-01-27T15:29:00.000-08:00

I just finished weeding the pea patch and boy do I feel good. A little achey in the shoulders, a broken nail, grass stains on my jeans, a little sunburn on the back of my neck, but I feel good! Digging in the dirt is theraputic for me. I can zone out, let my mind wander while my hands are busy and enjoy the smell of earth, the warmth of the sunshine, the companionship of my chicken. Yes, my chicken, remember? She also feels good when I weed the garden because she gets all the yummy worms and bugs I unearth just for her. One of my favorite quotes is "I know of a cure for everything: salt water. . . Sweat, or tears, or the salt sea." by Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen whose work I have never actually read. But these things are cures for me too. To go and sit by the ocean and watch the waves, or if I'm lucky, the dolphins. To go for a walk or a run or even hula-hoop for ten minutes on the Wii Fit. And, sometimes, a good old-fashioned blubbering cry will do the trick. Then I am restored enough to go on with my daily life with a lighter heart and a calmer mindset. What are your little therapies that help you put things back into perspective? Please share.

Good things come from blog stalking.

2009-01-19T22:12:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine told me about the blog of a friend of hers. I checked it out. I am completely impressed. I am now a stalker. Don't worry, Grandma Ann, I am harmless. Your interests remind me very much of my own departed Grandma Betty. And if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, here you go:

Abalone Cove.

Thanks to Grandma Ann's recent posts about tidepooling, with extremely helpful links to maps, tide tables and even scientific identifications, my family was finally able to see some really good stuff in the ocean. I apologize to all my family members who we've dragged to the lame rocky beach that had only tiny anemones and too much stinky seaweed. Now we know a better place to go. Please come back and visit us again.

Although the tide was not as low as in Grandma Ann's latest trip, and we didn't see quite so many cool creatures, we still had an amazing time. Except for dd, who insisted that "This is the worst day of my whole life! All I can see are anemones and sea stars and crabs!" Poor child. She eventually got over it and found some exciting rocks.

The more adventurous members of my family enjoyed the anemones, sea stars and crabs thank you very much.

A Purple Sea Urchin flanked by Green Anemones.Striped Shore Crab Several Ochre Sea StarsPacific Gooseneck Barnacles (the white ones) and California Mussels (the dark ones)A Hermit Crab in the shell of a Black Turban Snail.An Anemone that looks like it is eating part of a Rock LobsterAnd finally, some new plants for my checklist:

Castor Bean

Tree Tobacco

Lemonade Berry (thanks Grandma Ann!)Thank you, Grandma Ann at Sitting Knitting for all your valuable information. I look forward to copying you again soon.

A corner of a room of one's own.

2009-01-18T22:38:00.000-08:00

A corner is better than nothing. I must have a designated space. The dining room table works for cutting fabric and large drawing projects, but only on a temporary basis. I need a place for my stuff that is easily accessible and a place where I can leave a project out in the open for a while. This has been the biggest adjustment of moving to this house - I've lost "my" room. Gratefully, my sweet dd has allowed me to have a corner of her room. On the condition that I teach her to sew on the machine. Which I will do when she is a little older and stops losing her hand-sewing needles. Yeah, lost needles are always fun. I've tried hard to make my area fit in with the decor of her room, and we still struggle with the "I can leave piles of junk on my table but you, dd, keep your stuff off of it" concept, but I'll take what I can get for now. I'd like to make that cork board cuter. Any suggestions? I have my eye on upgrading my project space to the garage, but I'm going to have to fight dh for it. So show me your rooms, nooks, crannies, etc. where you create. I'd love to see your solutions to claiming your own project space. And after you take a pic, tell me what you love to create in your room of your own.

I just can't get over this.

2009-01-18T22:14:00.000-08:00

Friend: "So what did you do for fun this weekend?" Me: "Oh, not much, just went for a ride on an elephant." Can you believe it?!! Thanks so much to my awesome bro and sil (Dan and Kori) who invited us on a spur-of-the-moment excursion to the Santa Ana Zoo. I had no idea that the otherwise dinky zoo had real live elephant rides until we got there. My jaw about hit the dirt when I realized how exciting this was. If you ever get the chance to ride an elephant, I highly recommend it. We are still grinning from the experience.

Lucky 13

2008-12-22T14:14:00.000-08:00

Happy anniversary to me! Ok, to us. 13 years ago today dh and I were married. Do you like my sleeves? They're real big. In the early years of our marriage we would usually go somewhere for our anniversary. A night at a local B&B, a surprise flight to somewhere fun. But now our celebrations are a little more low-key. Okay, a lot. We were gone for 5 hours this morning for our first trip to the Doheny Eye Institute. We met with a corneal specialist for dh. This afternoon we are going to hit the city library. Tonight we'll go out to dinner. With the kids. So for a little romantic mushy-gushy on this otherwise rainy, gray, ordinary day may I present: Top 13 Reasons why I love my dh. 13. He is a gentleman. He offers old ladies his chair and runs across the street to help a neighbor carry a heavy couch. 12. He is a good cook. And he never complains about my cooking. 11. He does the dishes, folds laundry and has been known to clean the bathroom when it gets too disgusting even for a man. 10. Nice eyes. Even if one is patched. 9. Tall, dark and handsome and a great kisser. 8. Can fix or build almost anything. Two-story fort with rope ladder and rock climbing wall? No problem. 7. Wow, 13 is a lot of things... 6. Rubs my feet every night. 5. He enjoys his work and provides for our family. 4. He is smart. Even when I know he is wrong. 3. Tolerates chick flicks. 2. Values family. 1. His primary concern is that I am happy.

For Grandma Pam -just click the little arrow under the pictures.

2008-12-09T22:04:00.000-08:00

I don't know what I'm more proud of - my kids playing their violins in front of hundreds of people or me figuring out how to post a video! If you look very closely in the first clip, ds is just to the left of the conductor's elbow in a white shirt. In the other video, dd is just to the right of the conductor. I promise.

So this is what it sounds like when 56 first-time violin students perform their first concert. Accompanied by 14 extremely talented teenage violinist student teachers. Our spring concert will be held in the local theatre so hopefully better viewing for the audience.

A boring post for my children's sakes

2008-12-08T20:42:00.000-08:00

Ok kids, this is for you. I want you to know all the fun field trips and excursions we have done this semester for school and as a family -things you will have fond memories of when you are older. Or else. California Science Center Camping in Los Padres National Forest Symphony at the Walt Disney Concert Hall -Peter and the Wolf Tour of the tall ship Lynx Glass bottom boat ride Aquarium of the Pacific Legoland Riley's Apple Farm "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" reading and theatre intro Tour of the Warner L. Lawrence Fireboat 2 Griffith Observatory The Getty Museum All in addition to the swimming and art classes, the piano, violin and taekwondo lessons. The trips to the park and to the beach. Now I want you, children, to go play in the backyard. I'm going to take a nap.

Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and other fantastic people.

2008-12-06T17:15:00.001-08:00

We are not big believers of holiday characters in our house. As with most issues, we blame our parents. My mom has a great aversion to the Jolly Old Elf, and I caught my parents filling stockings when I was about five, so not much magic there. Dh's parents outed Kris Kringle when dh and his siblings deduced that Santa and God must be one and the same; he sees what you are doing, he wants you to be good, he can be everywhere at once... So we have never encouraged our kids to believe. But that doesn't mean we don't still play the parts, our kids just know. Recently we've had some funny quotes from our kids concerning the people of traditions. Thanks to the Dutch origins of my late mother-in-law, we celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6 -which is today! Last night our kids set their shoes outside their bedroom doors with carrots for St. Nicholas's horse. The usual gifts for this day include some chocolate and a small toy. But I asked dh to get the kids something extra this year. At about five o'clock in the morning we heard Ds's joyous yells as he peeked out into the hall, "Its my dream! Its my dream! Fig Newtons!" We heard a similar response from dd. All it took to make her holiday was a six-pack. Of Ramen Noodles. Next there is the Tooth Fairy. I tried to be a good fairy when both the kids started losing teeth last year. We are cheap and only give them a quarter, but I type up a teeny-tiny letter in a teeny-tiny envelope just big enough for a quarter. (Thanks, Lis, for this idea!) My kids love it and dd has even started a correspondence with the Tooth Fairy. The problem is, the Tooth Fairy is SO forgetful. The last time ds lost a tooth, he reminded me about it several times during the day. He placed the tooth in a one-gallon plastic bag and put it under his pillow. He led me into his room and showed me the tooth in the bag. Then he woke up screaming at one o'clock in the morning. "The Tooth Fairy didn't come!" he wailed. I raced to his room. "Don't you need to go potty?" I innocently asked. "Yes," he answered with a glare, "Maybe the Tooth Fairy will come while I'm going potty." Last is the list for Santa. Dd kept hers simple. "I've got enough stuff. All I want is books." Excellent. Ds is another story. His original list included Legos, an I-pod, and money. But last week he thought of another item he desperately wants; duct tape. "Why do you want duct tape?" I ask. "So I can tape pillows to myself and jump off of things" he patiently explained. Of course.

Vermont and other adventures

2008-11-23T00:26:00.000-08:00

11:30 p.m. "My nerves told me I was going to Vermont," my white-faced dd solemnly explained to me. First, I'll relate dd's narration, then I will describe my actions, then you will say, "Ohhhhh!" and understand this statement about Vermont. Unless you are my dh, then you still will not get it and I will need to explain further even though you were there when it happened. Dd: "My nerves told me I was going to Vermont. Well, not all my nerves. A few nerves told me to stay in bed. But I got up because most of my nerves told me I was going to Vermont." Me: Trying to keep a concerned, motherly expression on my face whilst rinsing pepperoni pizza vomit out of the bathtub. All together now: "Ohhhhh!"

I feel like a kid again.

2008-10-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

And its not because of the 80's clothes that are back. Teenagers can wear leggings and long, belted shirts, but I won't be joining any time soon. My flashbacks have more to do with pain, humiliation and long suffering than trying to figure out how many pairs of colored socks I can wear at once.

I now have a retainer. Actually a night guard to keep me from grinding my teeth, prevent waking up with headaches and hopefully stop my teeth from seeking out their original positions in my jaw. As I put it on last night, those memories of my early teenage years came flooding back.

Thank the heavens above I didn't have to go back this far in time. Braces are bad enough, but a headgear? That was like taping a huge sign on my head saying, "Please mock and torment me." Thank you, mom, for not making me wear it to school more than once. Occasionally I still have dreams that I am trying to force my headgear on after forgetting to wear it all week.

Shortly after the glorious day when the headgear was banished, the braces were taken off, and I could finally run my tongue over my shiny, straight, strangely smooth teeth, I was given the retainer. Mine was rainbow striped with a red heart in the middle. I never lost my retainer, unlike my friend Mindee, who seemed to get a new one (and get to choose cool new color combinations) every other week.

Since I had been so careful with my retainer as a kid, I was horrified last night when I couldn't find my brand new night guard, which is a very boring clear color. I couldn't even remember bringing it into the house after my appointment. I had taken my kids with me to the dentist, and worried that I had left my brain at the office along with the new dental appliance. But luckily, I found it in the car. My brain and my retainer.

I sheepishly put the night guard on and climbed into bed, ready for an uncomfortable night. I rolled over and smiled at my dh. He grinned back with a mouth full of metal and rubber bands.

We are quite the pair.

Are you a Wheel Watcher?

2008-10-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

I used to watch this show all the time as a kid. Pat and Vanna are still there, smiling and giving away prizes and my friend Jenn is going to be on Wheel of Fortune this coming Tuesday, October 14! I am having a party at my house, so come on over and help cheer her on! Update! If you missed the show, you can watch it here! Jenn is the beautiful lady in blue.

The great pumpkins and end of the summer garden

2008-10-07T21:29:00.001-07:00

Aren't they gorgeous? We managed to get 3 pumpkins from our garden this year. These two and a bitty white one about the size of a cantaloupe. Speaking of cantaloupes, they did not do so well. Neither did my zucchini. You know I feel like a disgrace to gardening if I only get one zucchini all summer long. The crooknecks were so-so. We had these vine plants on the side of our house and the soil was pretty bad. That and the cat decided to use the area as his new latrine. Successes for the summer: tomatoes, cucumbers (remind me to plant them again!) beets and herbs. For some reason the bell peppers did not do well this summer. Maybe because the weather was too cool? And once again, I have not been able to get my act together in time to plant my fall/winter garden in September like my book says. Hopefully we can have some quality dig-in-the-dirt time this weekend and get some cool weather veggies in.

What am I going to do with this boy?

2008-10-06T22:47:00.001-07:00

Any suggestions?

I was tagged!

2008-10-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

By my NJ amiga Lauri who called me "Tamlynn C." on her blog so as not to confuse me with the other Tamlynns she knows. So here goes: I am: tall. I think: this list is too long. I want: ice cream. I have: ice cream. I dislike: being awakened in the mornings. I miss: having "come over and play games" friends. I fear: eels. I feel: tired. I hear: the dishwasher running. I smell: the ocean. I crave: foot massages. I cry: rarely. I usually: eat too much. I regret: ever acting snobby. I search: for things that make me smile. I wonder: if I am preparing my children well enough for life. I love: my family. I care: about clean ears and fingernails. I always: have Carmex in my pocket. I worry: less than my dh. I am not: high-maintenance. I remember: what I read. I believe: in following handbooks. I dance: abominably. I sing: second soprano. I don't always: make my bed. I argue: infrequently. I write: for others. I win: at Boggle. I lose: sleep when I have a new project. I wish: my house was dust-proof. I listen: to audio books in the car. I don't understand: whining or baby talk. I can usually be found: at the computer. I watch: British comedies. I need: to be unusual. I forget: everything not written down. I am happy: almost every day. And when people comment on my blog. I tag: Kori, Jill (I can't access your blog!) Luanna and Sarah H.

Today's Lesson: Boogie Boarding 101

2008-10-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

Go ahead and be jealous. This is what my kids and I did today. That's right, on Wednesday, October 1st. A glorious, hot, sunshiney day. First of all, the kids got their laundry folded and put away, their beds made and their rooms clean in record time with no whining, complaining or playing around! I think I'm on to something here.

Then we hit the beach. We had almost the entire beach to ourselves. We saw a few kayakers, some joggers, and couples strolling, but mostly it was just us and the freshly raked sand. Oh, and that guy who paddles himself around while standing up straight on his surfboard.

We built sandcastles, chased the sea gulls and splashed around in the waves, then the kids got serious about learning to use their boogie boards. They've had them for a year or so, but never dared go in very far. Usually they would just let the last few feet of muddy wave push them onto dry sand. Like in this picture. But today, I waded out with them and taught them how to hold on, lay on the board and get turned around so they could ride a big wave. They were thrilled! Even when they took a tumble and went under, they came up smiling. The waves were quite calm today, and the sand actually settled between waves enough for me to see a few feet down. I found two beautiful sand dollars! I forgot to take pics of them.

We often see dolphins at our beach, but every time is still exciting and they didn't disappoint us today. For birdwatching, we saw a new bird to me; I think it is a Royal Tern. Of course there were the ever-present brown pelicans, gulls, pigeons, and the little sandpiper-like ones I need to identify one of these days.

Today was a good day.

Happiness for the day

2008-09-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

1. Breathing through my nose. A week with a cold makes me grateful for this. 2. Chocolate milk. An entire gallon of it. 3. Finding all the Tiger Cub Scout paraphernalia my ds needs for $35, gently used. 4. My kids enthusiasm to practice holding their shiny new gorgeous violins. 5. Grout in the tiles!

I almost feel famous

2008-09-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, well, okay a person I don't even know, is a real live interior designer. We were at college together, does that count? Anyway, she has a great blog where she gives decorating tips and will give you specific advice if you send her your questions. I recently sent her pics of my living room and she gave me some great advice! So check it out and tell me what YOU think I should do. Thanks, Christine!The diamond pattern fabric will be the first thing to go.

I like Alan Alda

2008-09-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

True confessions time. I like Alan Alda. And I have for a very long time. Of course it started with M*A*S*H (that was fun to type with the asterisks) which my parents let me watch when I was a kid. They were probably reruns since I was eight when the series ended. I'm not about to let my kids watch a show about drinking, sex and violence even if it is funny. I remember a few Scientific American Frontiers and of course every crossword puzzle fan knows the words "Alan" and "Alda" fit so nicely in those intriguing little boxes. But I didn't like him because of his acting skills, his recognitions, or his comic ability. He is not even particularly good looking (sorry Mr. Alda). The thing that has always drawn me to him is his voice. I just love the timbre of his voice.

This summer I read Alda's two autobiographical books, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed and Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself. I decided I'd like to find out more about the man and not just admire his vocal chords. And you know what? I think I like him even more. The first book covers his life from childhood to the time of writing the book, the second book is a compilation of his favorite bits of speeches he has given over the years, from college graduations to funerals. The second book is a bit drier and does repeat a few stories from the first, but still enjoyable. I hate spoilers, even of biographies, but I will say I admire Alda for his passion to do what he feels is right, his endless curiosity about the world around him and his accomplishment of still being married to his first wife. I don't agree with Alda on every issue he describes in his books, but his enthusiasm is admirable. I also enjoyed his ability to write the way he thinks and speaks. It was easy to hear his voice as I read.

To totally immerse myself in the Alda experience, my dh and I have been borrowing M*A*S*H DVDs from the library. We watch 3 or 4 episodes a night. It's our little evening routine. (Don't tell the kids about the Oreos that are also part of the routine.) Having read the books Alda wrote some 30 years after first playing Hawkeye Pierce, I am amazed at how similar the character of his early career is to the real man of the books. If any of you read these books, tell me if you notice this too. Not the drinking and promiscuous parts, the parts that show empathy, the ability to find humor in dire situations, and to fight against discrimination and inequality.

This week I taught my kids a science unit about zooplankton. Part of the unit was to make little clay and toothpick sculptures of zooplankton. As the kids were racing their creations in a big pitcher of water to see which would sink slower I thought, "Hey, this is combining art and science just like Alan Alda said in his book that people should try to do." Maybe it wasn't really, but that is the thought I had.

So I guess I have strange taste in actors. Sure George Clooney, Johnny Depp, and Matt Damon are fun to look at. But who cares what they say? I'd rather listen to Alan Alda any day.

We are a happy family.

2008-09-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

Albeit a little crowded. Sharing a bathroom with the kids has not been nearly as bad as I was afraid it would be. Since dh's eye injury put our kids' bathroom remodel on slo-mo, we've been sharing our master bath with the kids. I use the term "master bath" very lightly when referring to our bathroom. Even though one must trek through our bedroom to access it (every night at about midnight for ds and about 5am for dd ) it is the smallest bathroom we've ever had. I think our powder room in NJ had more square footage. When we replaced the sink bowl we had to special order the smallest one made, and I bump my elbows on the walls of the stall shower if I'm not careful. But anyway, we laid out some rules so we could all get along as well as possible. #1 The person who needs to go potty gets priority seating. Excuse the pun. #2 If the door is closed, KNOCK! #3 Clean up after yourself. So far it has worked very well. It helps that no one has to be anywhere in particular early in the mornings. Since school starts on our couch whenever everyone is finished with breakfast, and dh is still on medical leave, we can take our time in the mornings and share the bathroom. We cannot, however, all share one tube of toothpaste. It took dh and I about 10 years to finally share one tube of toothpaste. Yep, I converted to Colgate, but I am still a top-of-the-tube squeezer. Dd and ds get their individual tubes. It makes it easier to find the culprit when a toothpaste cap is not properly fastened, plus they get excited to have their own tube. Even though counter space is at a premium, I think it is a small price to pay for the happiness of all.

Albeit? Is that even a word?

And the winner is...

2008-08-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

Jeannette who said: What would happen if Shrek and a Vampiress had a baby. That was a tomato.

My dad got to choose the winner because he enjoys drawing on vegetables. Or is it a fruit?

Lucky Jeannette will receive a hopefully intact pint of my homemade salsa. And for everyone else here is my recipe. Or if you're not up for a bunch of work, may I suggest Pace.

Tamlynn's Salsa

17 cups peeled, cored, seeded, diced tomatoes -about 12-15 lbs. (I lost most of you right there, didn't I?)
1 cup diced onion
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced -wear rubber gloves!
2 bell peppers, seeded and diced
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 cup vinegar
1/3 cup lime juice
10 drops Tabasco sauce
1/3 cup minced cilantro
1 1/2 Tbs salt
8 pint (16 oz) glass preserving jars with bands and lids

1. Prepare boiling water or steam canner. Prepare lids in simmering water. Set bands aside.

2. Combine all the yummy ingredients in a large saucepan.

3. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

4. Ladle hot salsa into hot jars leaving 1/2 in headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight. You will have enough extra for some instant gratification chip dipping-store in refrigerator for up to a few days.

5. Process filled jars in canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours.

6. Have a silly contest and mail one across the country!

The first day of school

2008-08-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

Was great! It was actually on Monday, so I guess the first week of school was great too. It still seems a little unreal to me as the local public schools don't start until next Thursday. I still feel a bit nervous about that although every time this summer I considered sending my kids back to the local public school, my stomach turned in knots. That's right, we are homeschooling! Except technically we aren't. Clear as mud? lol. Here in CA they have public charter schools that focus on parent-led independent study programs. I call it a hybrid school. Hybrids are cool, you know. Basically, my kids are enrolled in a public school that lets me choose the curriculum, teach at home (or wherever) and the state still finances my kids' education. Check out our school here. "Wait a minute," some of you are thinking. Homeschool kids are weird. A friend of mine and I had this discussion. Where I grew up, the homeschooled kids were from the ultra-conservative families. The ones who didn't watch TV. They challenged each other to go a year without eating sugar. The ones whose families actually had family scripture study every day as opposed to the rest of us who only knew we were supposed to. My friend, on the other hand, had homeschoolers in her area who were known as those who rebelled against society, the hippies, the ones who probably are in trouble with the IRS and the DEA. I obviously don't fit into either of those categories. I'm making up a new category, and I think I have plenty of company. The homeschoolers who just want a better education for their kids. I don't want to shield my kids from the world, I want to introduce them to the best parts of it. Instead of coloring in a badly photocopied worksheet about pond habitats, I want to take them to a pond and let them see, hear, touch and smell it. I want them to be allowed to mix their paint colors just to see what happens. I want to help them learn at their individual levels, to love learning so much that they make it a part of their everyday lives, not just something they do for a certain amount of time each day. I want to watch them grow, discover and understand. I am excited about the support we have received for our decision. Family, friends, neighbors have all been in favor of our leap into the unknown. I had been bracing myself for critisim and preparing my defense. I was ready to be the weird homeschooling family. Maybe I'm not as much as a rebel against society as I thought I was. But, then again, we did have family scripture study every morning this week.

Can you think of a title for this photo?

2008-08-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

Me neither. I am going to make this a real contest. Give me your best caption for this photo and I am really truly going to mail the winner a pint of my homemade salsa. If you don't trust me enough to privately send me your mailing address or eat my cooking, please post your witty titles anyway! And for sending the tomato, thanks Mom and Dad. I love you too.

Nothing changes faster than plans.

2008-08-13T22:56:00.000-07:00

That is what my grandma Betty always used to say. Nothing changes faster than plans. So true. On August 1st I packed up the kids and myself into our car and we headed off to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a whole month of summer fun. We would miss dh, but he would be busy working and in his spare time remodeling our bathroom. When we returned, tired of horseback riding, swimming, biking, fishing, and playing we would have a beautiful new bathroom. Fast forward to August 9th. Dh calls me from the hospital. Stop reading now if you are squeamish. Okay, I warned you. Dh lacerated his cornea. With a crowbar. I've learned a lot about the anatomy of the human eye in the last few days. The cornea is the outside layer of your eye. Underneath it is a layer of fluid, then comes your iris and pupil and behind that the lens. When you cut through the cornea with, say, a crowbar, the liquid comes out -I did warn you squeamish ones - and because that pressure is released, the other parts of the eye try to get out of the cut too. So to fix that, an ophthalmologist stitches the parts of the cornea back together (dh has about 10 stitches) and puts a little air bubble underneath the cornea that will keep the pressure good so the iris won't stick to the cornea. Eventually the body will absorb the air and make more eye juice. But I didn't know this at about midnight on Saturday when he called me before he went into surgery. I didn't even know how to spell ophthalmologist. On Sunday I caught a flight home and left my kids and car with Grandma and Grandpa. I didn't think I was scared until I finally walked in my door and saw dh lying on the couch in our darkened house wearing sunglasses and using a towel to further block out the light. Dh was very relieved to see me to say the least. Vicodin doesn't help emotional pain. Fast forward to today. Dh is improving a little bit every day. We have avoided infection, which was the main immediate danger. He may have additional surgeries and recovery will take a long time, but I think he will recover. My kids are still with Grandma and Grandpa, and I know they are having fun. I miss them, but it has been easier to take care of dh with all his appointments and medicine administrations and one working bathroom. At least we have the water and all the electricity back on now. My kids are upset at the change of plans. They will have to end their vacation early. I can't rejoin them like I hoped I would. The bathroom will not be shiny and beautiful and new when they return. I will have to deal with plumbers and electricians and tilers and all those other men tracking through my house. I will have to deal with dh being home for at least six weeks. Dh will have to learn to rely on others to do the work he would love to do for himself. We will embrace the wise words of Grandma Betty. Our family has a change of plans that will affect us for quite a while. I am thankful for: A neighbor that not only drove dh to the ER, but stayed with him through being misdiagnosed by the ER, seen by our optometrist, another ER, and surgery. He picked up dh's meds and administered eye drops to him every 2 hours until I got here. Then he came over and fixed our electricity. Thank you, Jim. An optometrist that came to his office at 8pm on a Saturday to make sure the ER Dr. had diagnosed dh correctly. And then, determining dh's eye was worse than he thought, personally called ophthalmologists until he found one who responded. Thank you, Dr. Rick. Our clergy, who went to the hospital at midnight to administer a blessing prayer before dh's surgery. Thank you President Olsen and Brother Chase. An ophthalmologist who was out with his wife and drove straight to the ER then performed a very successful surgery. Thank you, Dr. M. Most of all, I am thankful to the Lord for blessing my dh, my children, and myself with loving, caring, charitable friends, family, doctors and neighbors.

Did you feel that?!!

2008-07-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

We have survived our first earthquake! A 5.4 that happened about 40 miles from my house. I was sitting at the computer, oddly enough because I hardly spend any time here, when I heard the dishes in the china cabinet rattle. I turned around and saw the house moving and felt it vibrating. I ran to the hallway and called the kids who were both not cleaning their rooms. Ds ran right out, but dd was too concerned about how she was possibly going to get her dirty clothes from the floor to the dirty clothes basket to hear me. I ran into her room, yelled at her for not coming when called, and dragged her to the hallway. This was probably the most traumatic part for her. We sat in the hallway, under strong beams (we hope) and no glass or toppling bookshelves. The entire house was rocking back and forth like a boat or a swing that is slowing down. Ds asked if we could say a prayer. "Of course!" I said and he said a sweet prayer. Then everything stopped and the phone rang. I raced to get it because of course I thought it was dh calling to see if we were okay. Nope, it was my mom who grew up in earthquake country just calling to tell me about her day! Her mom radar must have been especially sensitive today. "We're having an earthquake!" I told her. She was excited and worried for us, but everything was fine. I called dh later and he hadn't even felt anything. I spoke to the mail carrier and she didn't feel anything either, but did acknowledge that several other people she had just delivered mail to asked her the same question. The kids and I sat huddled in the hall for a few minutes, slightly scared, a little thrilled and glad it was such a tiny adventure.

Happy birthday Buddy!

2008-07-20T22:34:00.000-07:00

My ds's birthday was this week. I love theme birthday parties for my kids, but I also love keeping things extremely simple and relatively inexpensive. Living so close to the beach makes it a snap to have a fun birthday party and invite everyone we know. Plus, I don't have to clean my house before OR after the party!

I am not a fancy cake decorator. I do not make cakes shaped like cars or castles or R2D2. I just can't handle it. Therefore, I would like to kiss the person who made cupcakes trendy again. When I saw these cupcakes I nearly jumped for joy. Perfect for my shark loving ds and so easy my kids could do it. In fact, they did.

My kids frosted the cupcakes, cut out the fins from construction paper and stuck them on. Ds crushed the graham crackers into sand, dipped a few frosted cupcakes in to make "islands" and we stuck in some palm trees we had left over from last year. I even dyed the cake blue at ds's request. So incredibly easy and fun. Since I had to transport these goodies to the beach, I sent dh to the local grocery store bakery to buy a box. The bakery people never know what to charge for an empty box, so suggest .50. They'll probably go for it. If you'd like to try this at home, one box for a half-sheet cake will hold 4 dozen cupcakes. Two boxes of cake mix will make 4 dozen cupcakes, and one can of frosting covered them all.

For the rest of the party, I had some awesome beach themed games planned, but when you've got the ocean right in front of you who wants to listen to mom?

In case you'd like to have your own beach party, my game plans were: Dolphin, dolphin, shark (duck, duck goose) Red light, green light with the kids doing the crab walk Salt water relay -having the kids race to fill a sand bucket with water from the ocean using a sand shovel. Easy peasy games with no prep, so who cares that we didn't play them. We also served pizza, fruit and plenty of drinks. I found some inexpensive sand toys for party favors (though I did have to search because the school supplies were taking over the seasonal items aisles) and it was done. Oh, one more thing. Emily Post may be rolling over in her grave, but I love e-vite for party invitations.

I don't know how I feel about this. Mortified or proud?

2008-07-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was ds's birthday (I'll post pics soon). So of course on Tuesday I was strolling around Kmart at about 9pm getting party favors. Because I am well prepared and plan things in advance, you know. Anyway, this song came on in Kmart and suddenly I was transported back in time. My plodding feet suddenly felt lighter. A smile crossed my lips. I started wandering the aisles instead of heading to the checkout line just so I could enjoy the entire song. I may have even started singing along. But then, the song ended and the pitifullness of my situation dropped on me like the stack of blue-light special pecan sandies they stack way up to the ceiling so the little old ladies have to ask me to reach a package for them. When did I get old? When did the songs of my teenage years become muzak? But instead of heading for the anti-wrinkle cream aisle, I mollified myself with this thought: They are playing music for me because I am THE CONSUMER. I am part of one of the most powerful demographic groups in the world. I decide how the money will be spent. I rule the budget. I affect the economy. This power could go to my head! By now I know you are dying to hear the tune that magically convinces people like to me to stay in stores longer and buy more stuff, but I'm not even going to tell you the name of the song. You'll have to click here to hear it. I apologize if you have to listen to that annoying deodorant commercial where the woman actually sniffs her armpit or the sappy feminine hygiene product commercial first. No, I never thought the crescent moon looked like a maxi pad. But apparently people who will listen to this song are easily convinced to spend money... PS -Can I add a PS? Today I was in the grocery store and this song was playing. Excellent.

Project showoff, or The blue line is gone!

2008-07-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

I did it! Almost completely. For a long time, I've wanted a family picture wall. I'd seen pics in magazines and such of mismatched yet coordinating frames displaying great family pics. I decided it was time to make one of my own. About three months ago. So I started collecting frames from everywhere I went; Target, Michaels, Big Lots, Aaron Bros, yard sales, JoAnns, my garage, and pulled out my stash of old family photos. I had the perfect wall in our dining area, but you know you can't just start banging holes in a wall to hang up a variety of mismatched yet coordinating photos. You must have a plan. There must be balance and composition and a unifying theme. So I designated our living room floor as the staging place. I measured the available space on the dining room wall and taped off the same amount of space on our living room carpet. Did you know that if you leave blue painter's tape on your carpet for three months that not all the sticky residue will actually come off? Now you do. Did you know that my dh is the most patient and supportive man on the planet? Now you do.

So I moved pictures around, gathered a few family photos I needed. Made scans and prints and did some research (who is this guy anyway?) Don't tell anyone, but I used a hot glue gun for mounting family heirloom shadowbox items. I endured jokes from visitors, "What happens if I cross the blue line?" Ha ha. I rip your head off because don't you dare step on my fam. And at last I was ready.

Again, my fabulous dh came to my aid. Very patiently and logically he hung every single picture in the exact relative position that I'd arranged on the floor in the next room. Even the ones that I changed my mind about at the last minute.

You may notice, if you are scrutinizing closely enough, that there is one fake pic, and one without a photo. I need glass for one frame, and the blank white box is the future spot for a shadowbox frame that I have to special order. In it will be displayed a beautiful crocheted doily made by dh's gma. Don't freak out, I promise not to use the hot glue gun on it.

Oh, and the black oval on the far right is a wooden warrior mask dh and I bought in Hawaii years ago. It is not an actual resemblance of any known family member. But if it were, I'm sure it would be from my side of the family. I hope to pick up a few more photos from my mom this summer and put them where the mask is. I'll probably still fit the mask in somewhere. BTW, this wall is adjacent to the wall with the pretty new curtains that I blogged about here.

And I admit I totally staged this photo. I kicked the full laundry baskets out of the pic and gathered up the tablecloth, papers, maps, catalogs and all and threw it on the floor. I snapped the pic then put it all back. On a more serious note, looking at all those pics made me ponder my ancestors, their families, their challenges and happinesses. What were their hopes and fears for their children? I almost envy that the worst thing they could probaby imagine for their children was death. That may seem morbid, but today's evils are so much more subtle and devious. I was warned by a friend recently about a song that would be playing during one of our family's favorite TV shows. I'm not going to advertise the song or the singer, but some of the lyrics included lines that said experimenting with homosexual behavior is "no big deal" and "innocent." Wouldn't it be easier just to worry that your kid would get kicked when milking the cows or fall out of the covered wagon? But those are not the times we live in. My church has recently asked us to support this effort to protect traditional marriage in CA: ProtectMarriage.com is a growing, broad-based coalition of organizations, churches, and individuals who believe that marriage’s foremost purpose is the raising of healthy children in a family with a mom and a dad. I have included their link in my sidebar too. Please take a look at their website and contribute even if you don't live in CA. This state has a large influence on the rest of the country, for good or evil. I look at the pictures of my ancestors who lived through wars, depressions and immigrating to an unknown country. They were all doing the best they could to provide a better life for their children and future posterity. I guess we are just trying to do the same thing.

Starting my bucket list

2008-07-07T22:48:00.000-07:00

Top five places in the world I'd like to visit sometime in my life: 1. The Netherlands 2. Scotland 3. Switzerland 4. the Galapagos Islands 5. Japan or maybe Italy. Its my list, I can have 6 if I want to. Top five places in the USA I'd like to visit sometime in my life: 1. Alaska 2. Montana 3. Forks, Washington 4. Mount Rushmore 5. Channel Islands -I am determined to cross this one off within the next 12 months. 6. Okay, thought of another one for domestic travel too. White Sands, NM. Tell me about your travel dreams.

Happy birthday USA!

2008-07-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year again.

2008-07-03T16:44:00.000-07:00

Actually, I'm a little late. Every year about May/June-ish I take a photo of our house when the flowers are at their best. Just to compare it to the pic I took when we first moved here three years ago. So, for your viewing pleasure, may I present our cottage then and now. What a difference a whole lotta work makes. lol. Its too bad the pics are small and I never took a good pic of the knee-high rotting wood fences down both sides of the front yard. Basically, the only things we didn't change were the brickwork and the main driveway. We even had the city come replace the street tree. When I called them, the woman came to look at the tree to determine if it was really in need of replacement and she actually laughed at the pathetic thing. You can't see the whole tree, but notice the shadow. See how it looks flat on one side of where the branches should be? It was. It was a pretty ugly house, but I could see potential. All it needed was a new coat of paint, a new garage door, a new window, new lights, new house numbers, new mailbox, new doorbell, new door knob, landscaping, sprinkler system, lawn, side walkway concrete poured, repainted front door. Thank goodness the roof was in good condition. And of course that is just the front yard. Here is a close up of the front flower bed before and after. No offense to lava rock and black plastic edging lovers, but oh dear.

This picture was actually from 2007. Just imagine everything bigger. In case you are wondering, the blue flower is agapanthus, the white is fortnight lily, the orange is CA poppy, the red strappy leafed one is New Zealand flax, there is a pygmy date palm in there and a fancy geranium near the poppies.

How much money would it take to change your life?

2008-07-01T09:07:00.001-07:00

How much would it take to start or enhance your business so you could afford to send your children to school? $500? $1000? Probably not. Most of us could spend that money in no time at all and have pretty much nothing to show for it. Let me introduce you to my friend SmartMama, who is not only smart, she is wise. When I read about Kiva on one of her recent blog posts I knew this was something my family needed to be involved in. From Kiva's website: We Let You Loan to the Working Poor Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. For as little as $25 you can contribute to a microloan for a specific entrepreneur in a developing country. And it is a loan that the person must repay. Then you can re-loan your money to someone else! My family is blessed. We have more than enough food. We have a safe home, jobs, and our children can attend school. Last night for our Family Night we decided we should share our blessings. Each of us selected a person to loan our money to. You may notice we all chose someone we could relate to in some way. Ds chose Juana Cores, a woman from Peru who requested a loan of $350 to buy dirt and clay for her family's brick making business. Juana dreams of having her own home, improving her business and providing a good education to her children. Dd chose Oredun Oyagbade, a woman from Nigeria. Oredun needs a loan to buy more CDs and DVDs for her rental shop and a freezer so that she can start selling drinks at her shop. Dh chose Teofilo Figueredo, a father of grown children from Paraguay who would like to buy more goods such as lightbulbs and wiring for his electrical goods shop. I chose Sean Yi, 34. She is married and resides with her four children in Prey Veng province, Cambodia. All the children are students. Sean and her husband have a business selling chickens in the local market, earning approximately seven dollars per day. The family's standard of living has improved since they started this business. They want a loan to sell larger amounts of poultry. This will provide the family with more income and will allow the children to enroll in a higher class at school. (Mrs. Sean is pictured with her husband.)

I knew I had to choose a chicken farmer! A loan of $700 will change the standard of living for her and her family. Since I made my contribution last night, other people from around the world have also chosen to lend to her and her microloan is fully funded.

Look here for articles and media reports about this organization.

I challenge every one of you who reads this post. Get out your wallet. If you don't have $25 to spare, save up for it. Make a loan to someone who is willing to work to raise themselves out of poverty. All they need is a little help from you. When you have done this, come back and tell me and we'll see how much good we can accomplish with so little effort on our parts. "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" St. Matthew 25:40.

The fruits -and vegetables- of our labors

2008-06-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

You have to admit that is gorgeous. These are all things dh and I picked from our backyard today. Whoever thought New Jersey should be called the garden state had never been to California. For having a minuscule yard (one tenth of an acre), our garden rocks. Today we picked yellow crookneck squash, tomatoes, pear tomatoes, strawberries, oranges, basil and a few nasturtium blossoms. They taste kind of like radishes if you are wondering. I sauteed the squash, tomatoes and basil in some butter and garlic. I love summer produce.

Small miracles -history detectives style

2008-06-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

Do you know that tv show History Detectives? I love it. Its about trying to find the history of an antique or sentimental object. This isn't my story, but it was just so amazing and fun, I'd like to share it. Today is my favorite cousin Jenny's birthday. Happy birthday Jenny! To celebrate, several of our family members met at Griffith Park to spend the day together. Our meeting place was the merry-go-round which has been in the park since the 1930s. My dear cousin is a sentimental woman. She cherishes memories and tokens of family history and truly values the importance of memories. She was able to spend more time with our grandparents than I did, so I enjoy learning about them from her. She brought with her to the park today a framed picture of herself as a 3-year-old riding the very same merry-go-round with her mother and sister. Lets just say the photo was taken sometime in the 1960s so I don't reveal her exact age to the world. Wouldn't it be fun, she thought, if the same carousel horse were still on the merry-go-round today? Jenny might snap a photo of her own daughter on the same horse. So I studied the picture, the carved leaves and armor, and walked over to find out. As my kids were riding the merry-go-round, I scrutinized every single horse that flashed by. I do mean flashed because that thing goes fast! I found out later, it was set at its slowest speed of 14 mph. While the organ pounded classic Disney musical songs into my head, (I AM sixTEEN going ON sevenTEEN...) I checked for familiar manes and tack. No match. The horse wasn't there. Boy was I dizzy. Then somehow, Jenny starting talking to a woman who was working at the merry-go-round. She just happened to be the owner! Jenny excitedly ran to get her photo. No, the woman confirmed, that horse was not on her merry-go-round, but many years ago they used to swap horses occasionally with other merry-go-rounds in the area such as the Lincoln Park merry-go-round that burned down in the 1970s. Oh, well. But Rosemary, the owner, was very nice and full of interesting merry-go-round history and facts. We went back to our picnic. Then I noticed Rosemary searching through the park with a book in her hand. We waved her over. Rosemary hadn't given up. She had gone through her office, or storage area or something, looking for documentation of Jenny's horse. And all of a sudden, there it was! The very same horse in a book. On the cover no less!

That is Jenny's merry-go-round horse from when she was three years old. She told us she remembers choosing it becaue of its "blonde" tail that was like her hair and the pretty jewels on its armor. Evidently, someone else thought it was very special too.

This particular edition of the book is now out of print. It would have been very difficult for Jenny to find it on her own. I had a hard enough time finding a pic of the book for this post! But now Jenny owns a copy of this book and I know she will display it proudly next to her childhood photo. Jenny's next task is to locate the actual horse, which is probably in someone's private collection since it obviously did not burn down with the other horses, and ask if she can come over for a little reunion.

I think the horse will be happy to see her again.

Gender discrimination is alive and well at my house.

2008-06-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

Homemade chicken soup. And I do mean homemade.

Summer has officially begun!

2008-06-21T18:10:00.000-07:00

Finally! Yesterday was the kids first day of summer vacation! It was a glorious day. After all the stress and obligations and schoolwork, we were free to just spend the day as we pleased. It started off on an excellent note as I woke up at 9:00 am! Thank you children! My kids can pour themselves a bowl of cereal (actually dd is the omelet maker in the family) but they were hungry. "Can we have crepes?" they asked. Sure! "Can we have pink crepes?" Absolutely. It felt so good to say yes. We spent the day in leisure, playing games, hitting the library, watching Scooby-Doo Meets Batman. Dd and ds actually played together. We got to eat out because who wants to cook in this heat? And then, we hired our favorite babysitter and dh and I went to see Indiana Jones. Fun, fun day. Today dh spent $8 on a slip and slide. Best money we've spent in a long time. Happy summer!

I feel like a cheater but IDHTBPTBB.

2008-06-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

I have a problem. I feel like I cheated on a project. A home decorating project. Let me start over. For three years, my family room windows have been bare except for the wood blinds that came with the house. Because I didn't know what I wanted. I have this dilemma often. I don't know what I want, so nothing gets done. Sometimes this lasts for years. But I'm really okay with that. I have these crazy windows. As you can see from the "before" pic, they are not the same size nor shape nor distance from the ceiling. A challenge, but not an overwhelming one. Eventually (about a year ago) I decided I wanted valances. Cool. First decision made. Then about six months ago I figured out that I just needed to place the curtain rods over each window at the same height, so the windows would appear the same height. The vertical window's rod would just be really high, and the valance would mostly cover wall instead of window. Second decision made! At this time I also decided on some type of white fabric for the valances. Then a month or so ago I stumbled across this very addicting blog. This woman has some great ideas, especially about window treatments, one of which was the "hang the curtain rod too high so your windows look taller" trick. I felt smug that I had figured that one out on my own. Then I noticed the theme and decorations on her blog. Birds! That's what my room needed! The family room had been looking too stark and needed a little charm. I was so excited! I searched for bird curtain rods, and found these adorable ones with little birds. I ordered two online. Then I went to another website and ordered some curtains that were just what I had been imagining. I pulled out my credit card, and in a few weeks the stuff showed up on my door and we put it up.

Whaddya think? Please ignore (or snicker at) the laundry to be folded and the spew from my kids' backpacks. Here's the cheating part. It was too easy and certainly not creative. I didn't sew the curtains. I didn't find the curtain rods at a discount store and repaint them. They weren't even on sale for Pete's sake! I feel guilty and not too proud of the final result. Its not my work, I just paid for it. Something is wrong with me. Oh, and the pillows on the couch? Didn't make those either. But, as I have learned from the above mentioned awesome blog, IDHTBPTBB. Meaning, it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. The curtains are a little too sheer and show the wall above the window, the panels should be a little wider (and they would have been if I had sewn my own) and I'm not sure if the hanging strings of the bows are charming or messy. But thanks, Nester and cyberfriends for giving me the kick in the rear and the inspiration I needed to finish my three-year decision.

Fathers Day

2008-06-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

My dad. He's the one with the beard. I'm the one with the hat. Since I won't get to be with my dad today -but we will have a webcam session- I dedicate this post to him. My dad cannot speak without telling a joke. And it doesn't even have to be a particularly good joke. He loves old movies, old cars and long naps. He served in Vietnam. He has been bishop, sheriff and scoutmaster. He set a good example for me of what a husband should be. I remembered his example when I started looking for a husband. Well, I wasn't really looking, but dh was.

My dh and my dad are alike in several important ways. First, they work hard to support their family. They are dedicated to their families, even spending their free time at home. They share a love for fixing things and consuming large quantities of red meat. They each support their wife in her hare-brained schemes. "You want chickens, dear? All right." (How many stray cats have you caught, Mom?)

My dh and I try to spoil each other on Mother's/Father's Day. Breakfast in bed, dinner of your choice, handmade gifts from the kids and a gift from us. Today I made a lasagna from scratch and the kids and I made Oreo truffles -see a fancier version here. They are so good they should be illegal. Doing all the work ourselves helps us realize how much we depend on the other's help just to get through a typical Sunday. Honestly, though, I prefer Mother's Day. lol.

I have been especially aware of the precious relationships fathers and husbands provide us because my friend Kayla's husband passed away from a heart attack a few days ago. My heart has been so sad for her and her young children. My prayers are with them. Their lives are forever changed and will not be easy.

Go and hug your dh, your dad, your kids. Happy Father's Day.

Lifelong Friends

2008-06-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

Twice in a month we have had out-of-town visitors. Living near D-land does have its advantages; you'll never be short of visitors! Both times, dear friends of ours squeezed a visit to my family into their family's vacation. This made me ponder on the friendships that endure time and distance. No matter where our family members move to, we will see them again sooner or later, at weddings, funerals, family reunions, etc. But it takes a real friendship to reconnect after moving across the country. Take my friend A. We first met when we were assigned the same shift at the candy store on our college campus. That must have been in 1994! I think we became friends immediately. We supported each other through boyfriend woes (mostly mine, her heart was always set on J) and final exams. We attended each others weddings, our first dd's are just a few months apart. She moved to CA after graduation, and after 9 years I did too! But then she moved to CO. Until last week I hadn't seen her and her family for 2 years. They spent 4 hours at our house and we were all sad when they had to leave. (They had to get up early the next morning to see Mickey of course.) There is something valuable and rare about two families whose members can all be friends. The kids, the dh's, the dw's. We just match up well. These are the people who will never be crossed off my Christmas card list no matter how many years in a row they fail to send me a card. These are the people whose kids I hope will be my kid's college roommates. I feel I am blessed to have so many of these types of friends in my life. Unfortunately, none of them live near me anymore. D and H from AZ now TX. M and J from AZ now NM. L and S from NJ now ID. J and A from NJ now UT. E and G from UT now WA. B and G from UT now ID. Maybe that's the problem. My friends move too much!