soilmama

goodbye for now

2010-03-07T15:56:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I started this blog with the intention of integrating my new life as a busy mom with my old life of compost, seeds, and produce. It has been fun writing here at soilmama with this intention in mind. Now, however, I feel the need to take things in different directions again. At the moment I am developing ideas for a possible new blog or website, or maybe something else entirely, or maybe nothing at all! As always, feel free to comment below with any suggestions. For the immediate future I won't be blogging, but will inform you here if and when I create something else. Thanks for reading along! xo, sharon

deep green pretty

2010-02-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

the texture! the sparkles! the green! it's kale again, friends. soaking for hidden slugs (none surfaced, phew!) before joining tofu and garlic in the skillet. pretty, delicious, AND healthy. it's a late-winter treat!

Carrie--thanks so much for the Canon AV setting tip--it made a huge difference with this shot!

sunshine and other good things

2010-02-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

Warm sunshine this week has inspired us to eat our lunches outside, and set up the tent for play. I just cooked our last butternut squash to have with dinner tonight (storing them in the garage worked quite well). I will serve it mashed to add to soft tacos/quesadillas with corn tortillas, fresh salsa, guacamole, cheese, seasoned black beans, and chipotle cabbage salad. I just love sweet butternut squash combined with the spicy savory flavors of Mexican food. Looking forward to that. And finally, Sam earned his first "present" for completing part of his potty chart this week.

You can see on the top chart that the pee boxes are all stickered, earning Sam a present he picked out himself: a small spiral notebook with a flower power cover. Potty Chart 2.0 starts now, with hopefully less daunting expectations in the poop department.

After over 6 months of off-and-on potty training, I am really ready for success. He has been technically able to do it this whole time, but for whatever reason he has only shown sporadic interest and minimal willingness to work on it. It is not my first choice to offer rewards like this, but self-motivation has so far been impossible to inspire. This time we went totally diaper-free, using only pull-ups and underwear that he chooses and puts on himself. It's a delicate balance I tell you! To be motivating without engendering stubbornness; to give him independence while also guiding him; to let him go at his own pace without waiting and waiting. And to never, ever, tell him that he's a big boy, because as he repeatedly tells us, "I'm just a little guy." Hopefully he will soon be a little guy with dry pants.

more kale please!

2010-02-15T20:38:00.000-08:00

This was the haul out of the garden today: a bunch of dino kale, a half bunch of red russian kale, a few side shoots of broccoli, one leek (lots left in the ground), and three oranges. Dinner tonight was brown rice, ginger-steamed carrots, and amazing sauteed tofu and kale with leeks. I just love having kale readily available. I don't remember when I discovered kale; most certainly I'd never heard of it at Sam's age, and I know it took time and cooking experience for me to realize what an amazing food kale can be. Honestly I could have eaten all this kale myself in one meal, that's just how good it is.

I remember hearing a story from a friend about her friend's twin toddler boys who were served kale, ate every bite, and then called out, "more kale please!" At that moment it became my goal as a parent to have my child ask for more kale. Silly, right? You can't make a kid eat anything, and I honestly believe that genetics plays the biggest role in the taste preferences of little ones. Still, I'm happy to report that Sam--not just tonight but regularly when I serve kale--eats it up and asks for more.

This recipe is so simple and is such a staple for us that it almost feels unnecessary to post it here. Then again, this--or versions of this--is what we eat and love, so it definitely belongs.

Tofu and Kale with Leeks
1 bunch kale, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
1 package tofu, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 T canola or olive oil
tamari
balsamic vinegar
maple syrup
red pepper flakes
nutritional yeast
Saute kale and leeks in oil over medium heat until softened and bright green. Add several T water and cover, cooking until about half-wilted, about 10-15 minutes (add more water if it starts to stick). Stir in tofu, a dash of red pepper flakes (to taste), small splash each of balsamic and maple syrup, garlic, and a few T tamari. Continue to cook until kale is very soft and flavors combine, about 10 more minutes. Add about 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (plus water if no liquid remains) and stir well. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve over brown rice or whole grain of your choice.

contemplative

2010-02-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

If Sam is not role-playing music class, he is creating sculptures out of blocks and other wooden toys. I found this one particularly beautiful. Sometimes the awesomeness of responsibility in raising a tiny brand-new person really hits me. A little person with his own thoughts hungry for understanding, and his own feelings reaching for expression. Someone so very young, and so full of possibilities.

a new mommy-hobby

2010-02-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

In my early 20s I learned to knit and made one item: a scratchy 100% shetland wool dark green scarf. I was living in my aunt and uncle's little cabin in the woods of New Hampshire at that time, listening to the birdsong of wood thrushes or cassette tapes of acoustic guitar, keeping warm by a wood stove in the spring chill, and imagining my future in a foreign country while working three jobs to save for my plane ticket. Although conditions seemed pretty perfect for becoming a serious knitter, I never touched knitting needles again after that disappointingly uncomfortable scarf, and instead put my creative energy towards crafting tiny dreamcatchers out of cedar branches and embroidery floss until I went abroad.

Many years later now, I am married to someone who once made a giant dreamcatcher sculpture at Burning Man, and I'm trying knitting once again. So far so good. Unlike sewing, knitting can be picked up for 10 minutes and put down again without fuss. Now that Sam is no longer in school and I have him with me full-time, getting a few minutes here and there throughout the day is much more realistic than getting a few hours to work on a sewing project. And now that I know the softness that is my baby's skin, I can skip the scratchy yarn completely.

broccoli and tempeh

2010-02-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

Our winter garden is pretty meager this year, owing to a combination of lack of space, late planting, and voracious gastropods. Our kale, especially, either never really took off, or is getting seriously munched by slugs and snails. We've gotten a decent harvest from two broccoli plants (out of five planted), cutting the larger central heads a few weeks ago, and picking a family-size portion of side shoots during a break in the rain this week.

We have been in budget-lockdown since the new year, and part of my strategy has been to stick to weekly meal plans. Garden-broccoli night was also the night of organic tempeh (soybean-based, meaty-textured, high-quality protein), which I cooked the way I used to do it years ago, in a caramelized onion and mustard sauce, and served over brown rice (to make a complete protein). Since it was so delicious I decided to actually write down what I did to make it, something I almost never do. One of the hazards of never cooking from a recipe is that it can be hard to re-create something that tasted amazing. Next time I want to make this I'll be all set!

Tempeh with Caramelized Onion-Mustard Sauce
*2 medium yellow onions, caramelized in canola oil in a 10" cast iron skillet
*generous splash of tamari when almost fully caramelized (after about 15+ minutes)
*then add 1 package tempeh (cut in bite-size pieces) and the following:
*2-3 T dijon mustard
*1-2 T honey
*splash of vermouth
*water to almost cover
*cook for 10-15 minutes (uncovered, adding more water as needed to end up with a nice thick oniony sauce)
*just before serving, add tamari and lemon juice to taste
*serve over rice

My only complaint with this dish is that it is rather drab and brown looking. It is best served with something brightly colored like al dente steamed broccoli and carrots. Next time I might also try adding some chopped spinach towards the end of cooking to add some color. Let me know if you try it!

last tomato standing

2010-01-29T09:11:00.001-08:00

You may remember when Sam and I picked the last of the green tomatoes before some hard frosts back in early December. Yesterday we ate the last four of those kitchen-ripened tomatoes. The one above was the only one of the four without rotten spots. Overall we probably ended up composting about 20% of what we picked, but otherwise that huge harvest has been slowly ripened and consumed. I never did figure out how to use green tomatoes because I was too busy making salads, sandwiches, stirfries, sauces, and snacks. The texture and flavor was not as good as summertime vine-ripened tomatoes, but fresh homegrown tomatoes in January? No complaints here. Last night I added them to homemade pesto from the freezer for a simple pasta meal. Delicious.

2010-01-27T17:51:00.000-08:00

scene: kitchen table, sam and me munching on chips and salsa

sam says: mmm, I like salsa.
me: I like salsa too....in fact, I love salsa.
sam: in fact, I love salsa too.

to know me is to know why this post is blog-worthy.

hello 2010

2010-01-14T09:02:00.001-08:00

When your 3-year-old asks to save a dandelion and "put it in water," and discovers soft moss in all the sidewalk cracks,

And when even your boring suburban neighborhood has a bit of pretty open space,

you can forget for a little while all the challenges 2010 has thrown at you, your family, and your fellow humans around the world already. 2010, I really hope this is just a bad start to a great year.

the gift of a totebag

2009-12-30T18:43:00.001-08:00

I had been wanting to make this bag for months. It is called the Apple Picking Tote, which is a free pattern on the Purl Bee blog. It is made from this gorgeously thick, soft, and strong linen, and with cotton binding for straps that go all the way around and under the bag. It is unlined but has finished seams, which makes it charmingly rustic and elegant. I found the pattern to be very clear and well-conceived. My only issue was that the linen shrunk a LOT, so although I thought I purchased enough for two bags, I was left with not nearly enough. I gave this one away, but really want to make more!

I created my own pattern for this totebag, also a gift. The exterior consists of a Japanese heavyweight printed cotton as a main fabric, with a basic linen on the base. The lining of the bag and handles is a lightweight cotton print.

This last bag was made with same basic pattern I drafted for the bag above. This is also made with a Japanese heavyweight cotton with small animal motifs, and on the base and handles, some of the same thick linen as the Apple-Picking Tote. It is lined with lightweight cotton.

For both of these self-patterned bags, I double-stitched (or even triple-stitched) all the seams for long-lasting durability. I will be curious to see how well they hold up over time. For now, I love how all of these bags turned out!

buckets!

2009-12-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

These buckets are currently my favorite thing to sew. You've seen one here before, and for holiday gifts I made three more. They come together relatively quickly and easily, and there's something really satisfying about how useful and cute they look when completed. The pattern is from Mayamade, one of the amazing sewing bloggers I follow.

This one with the seedling fabric I made for Sam on Christmas eve, seriously pushing my deadline for Christmas day prep! After weeks of diverted attention from Sam to sewing projects, I just couldn't NOT have something for him under the tree. Wondering what to use a bucket for? Sam's will hold all the little musical instruments he got for Hanukkah and in his Christmas stocking.

This bucket pattern was originally conceived by Maya to be made with upcycled burlap coffee sacks, an idea I just love and plan to do someday. But I also love making them with these decorative heavyweight cotton fabrics.

I really want to make one for myself next!

handmade coasters

2009-12-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

Just look at these cute coasters! I had some precut squares of these country red fabrics, the perfect size for coasters. I sewed them with batting inside, then topstitched with three free-hand lines of stitching around the edges. Each one has different coordinating front and back fabrics.

Then I did another (also reversible) set by fussy-cutting some fabric with Swedish motifs:

And then another set with some cool blue fabrics from my stash. One side is dark blue starbursts, and the other side is the light blue stars. I liked that, in my opinion, all of these coaster gifts could go just as well for men as for women, which is always a challenge.

Next up, buckets!

santa's workshop

2009-12-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

We were so busy cooking, eating, and enjoying ourselves on Christmas that we only took a handful of photos, including this one. Denis insisted on documenting our tradition of reading my old 60's era copy of "The Night Before Christmas." Maybe it's the old-school language, like calling Santa Claus St. Nick or sleeping in a kerchief, but Sam doesn't quite appreciate this story as much as I do. Oh well.

I did, however, take lots of pictures of the products of "Santa's workshop," which took over our dining room the past few weeks. Today I'll share a couple sets of potholders I made.

Above is a pair (front and back sides each shown) made from a pattern found in Amy Butler's book In Stitches. This was a skill-building project for me: it was my first time "quilting" something with my walking foot attachment. You can see the diamond-shaped quilting stitch lines which run through the double layer of batting inside the potholder. This was also my first time making and attaching my own bias binding (the checked-print fabric that wraps around and encloses all the edges). After a wonky attempt at sewing on the binding by machine, I ended up hand-sewing it for a neater (and more traditional) finish. I'm pretty pleased with the result!

Below is a pair of potholders made with cheery Christmas fabric. For these I reverse-engineered (as Denis puts it) a pattern from a set of handmade potholders I own. I think the piecing of the three different fabrics makes these otherwise simple potholders nice and interesting. I have a feeling I'll be making a few of these for myself.

Stay tuned for tote bags and coasters!

merry and frosty

2009-12-23T09:28:00.000-08:00

We may not have a white Christmas here, but a little morning frost on the broccoli and kale out front invites me to pause and enjoy the sparkle, if only for a moment. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

holiday outtakes

2009-12-20T19:40:00.000-08:00

This photo is an outtake from our last minute holiday-card photo session the other day. It was so last minute, and the chosen photo so awesome, that I decided it wouldn't be lame at all to make them New Year cards. So there you go: no cards from us until after Christmas, ha!

We celebrated Hanukkah with candles most nights, and amazing latkes Denis made on the second night. Sam made sure to remind us each time that we don't blow out Hanukkah candles like candles on a cake, you know, in case we forgot.

He received a few little Hanukkah gifts: a small drum and a triangle (both just like the ones we play in music class), a book, and a black cat minute timer.

Meanwhile, packages from afar are piling up, and I will make my final post office trip tomorrow. Or as Sam would say, tomorrio.

strawberry hues

2009-12-20T19:33:00.000-08:00

Time for writing is scarce while holiday sewing and celebrating fill our days. I did, however, stop to notice all the colors on the strawberries post-frost in the backyard the other day. So pretty.

still green

2009-12-06T19:54:00.001-08:00

You might be wondering how I could possibly write another post about tomatoes this year, but what can I say? They don't call me Solanaceae for nothing-- I just love these plants! Sam and I picked these still-green tomatoes at dusk the other day, anticipating a killing frost that night. Sure enough, by this morning most of our garden finally looked like winter, and we'll be happily ripening these babies indoors and digging up some green tomato recipes. If all else fails, at least we had fun picking tomatoes one last time.

Taking these pictures I was reminded of my year in graduate school, just before Sam was born, working towards a Masters of Science in Botany. As an undergraduate I did not take a single hard science class, so to qualify for my program I took over a year's worth of Biology and Chemistry courses, including, I am proud to say, the dreaded Organic Chemistry. Once I was a grad student, I was really turned on by Evolutionary Botany, and chose a thesis project that my advisor had already started and funded. We were to determine the phylogeny, basically the genetically-based family history, of a couple dozen species of closely related plants from tropical areas around the world. I spent hours and hours in a lab extracting and analyzing strings of DNA from plant material that other research partners had collected.

I was also taking a course with my advisor titled Species and Speciation, which explored the many concepts and studies concerning the definition of a species and how different species arise from common ancestors. I loved this class because it was basically a philosophy of life class, in the language of biology and evolution. As a final paper, we had to design a research project and write a project proposal exploring something about how species become species.

To get technical for just a moment, the classic definition of a species states that accumulated genetic changes in geographically segregated populations driven by advantageous adaptations to new environments can have the effect of reproductive incompatibility and isolation, thus generating new species. (I lifted that sentence straight from the paper I wrote 4 years ago.) Basically what that means is that a population of organisms migrates and encounters some kind of geographical barrier, like a mountain range or an island, with some of the population going one way and others going the other way. Over time, each group adapts to their new and different environment, causing an overall genetic change. Once these groups have diverged genetically from each other, they can no longer mate, which defines them now (many many many generations later) as different species. Fascinating, isn't it?

Which brings me back to tomatoes, because for the final assignment I designed a project looking at two species from the Solanaceae family, relatives of our beloved tomato. Earlier in the semester I had read a tiny reference about these plants from some obscure dissertation, and I was fascinated. I am quite sure that my fascination was at least partially due to the fact that these were Solanum species; however, to me they also were great potential study subjects because of a particularly controversial phenomenon within speciation called character displacement. I'd love to write about it but I'm sure nobody is reading anymore anyway, so I'll just finish this up by saying that I wrote that paper with more passion than I ever felt for my actual research project. My professor loved it and told me that I had gone above and beyond the scope of the assignment, basically writing a proposal worthy of Ph.D. research.

As most of you know, I never ended up finishing my graduate program. Marriage, a job offer, a rough pregnancy, and wanting to return to California all drove me to leave my research and my advisor and not look back. If I ever do try again for a Masters in Botany, I won't sign up for years of research with plants that don't fascinate me. I won't be studying anything that somebody else decided was important. I will study something awesome and interesting and relevant to me, something like tomatoes. Or their very cool relatives.

can't pick just one

2009-12-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

this little boy, now three years old

loves to ask questions, likes being busy,

gets whiney sometimes and doesn't listen,

and the cuteness just does. not. stop.

in fact, coming back to look at these photos repeatedly today reminds me of when Sam was a newborn... everything was crazy, spending every other hour nursing, waking up several times a night, trying to calm the colic, wondering if I was going to make it... I was exhausted and barely taking care of myself... and during those rare moments of Sam quietly napping, what did I do? I was transfixed in front of the computer, scrolling through photos of my beautiful baby. I just could. not. stop.

this one is for the grandparents

2009-12-01T16:27:00.000-08:00

Cousin love was flowing strong this past week. The age difference seems smaller and smaller as they get older. I know next time they see each other, we'll get to witness actual conversations between them in addition to all the admiring looks, hugs, smiles, and kisses we see now. Of course there will probably be even more refusals to share sometimes as well, but it's all good. Ever since she left, Sam has been calling out "stuck!" just like Sofia, and insisting on sitting in "her" highchair for meals.

post-holiday quiet

2009-11-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

After a full and happy week of cleaning, cooking, eating, playing, and photographing with three generations of guests, I am taking today to nurse my cold, nibble on leftovers, and enjoy a quiet day. Above is a view of our Thanksgiving table, covered in a tablecloth I sewed up the day before (and still need to hem), with some dishes brought out and some still in the kitchen, with the littlest eaters seated and the bigger ones still lending a hand. Our fabulous menu:
Roasted turkey and gravy
Herb Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Butternut Squash
Madhur Jaffrey Green Beans
Spicy Sweet Potatoes with Lime
Maple glazed Brussels sprouts with Pecan
Cranberry Ginger Sauce
Regular cranberry sauce
Corn Tomato Chutney
Dinner Rolls with Herb Butter made by Sam at school
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Dutch Apple Pie
Fresh Whipped Cream

Hope your holiday was as nice and yummy as ours!

rainy day sewing

2009-11-21T09:43:00.001-08:00

Sam's other birthday gift from us was this beautiful handmade wooden toy sewing machine. He loves to play with my fabric scraps, rulers, and cutting mats while I am sewing, and he can spend an hour working with buttons: lining them up, piling them on the floor, sorting them into tins, and picking out special ones. He likes to stand by my machine while I am working, and play with the bobbin winder in front, or shove a fabric scrap under the needle, and tell me to sew it. So I thought it was time for a sewing machine of his own.

It doesn't really sew, but he can turn the crank and the needle goes up and down. I requested that extra spool dowel in the front because it matches the bobbin winder on my machine that Sam likes to play with. The craftsman was happy to oblige, not even charging me extra. I also love that he made this particular one with reclaimed wood. His etsy shop is called WoodClinic, and I just couldn't be happier with this cute toy. Sam was very excited when he opened it, and loves to sew alongside me.

It's a good thing because I have a lot of projects to complete in the next few weeks! I am endeavoring to make almost all of our holiday gifts this year. Here is a peek at just a few of my projects.

why I love living here

2009-11-18T23:09:00.000-08:00

Our cherry tomato vines are withered and brown and on their way to becoming compost now, but I was able to pick a nice bowl full of still-delicious fruit before yanking them out of the ground yesterday. November 17 people! And the other tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini are all still green and fruit-laden! The cherry tomatoes added incredible flavor to a polenta casserole with peppers (fresh-picked), zucchini (also fresh-picked), and plum tomatoes (yup), corn, onions, refried beans, cheese, cumin, and chipotle powder. A bit summer garden, a bit fall casserole. Scrumtious!

birthday boy

2009-11-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to everyone who made Sam's third birthday so sweet. From his tiny classmates singing happy birthday to his grandparents' and uncle's phonecalls to online birthday wishes to the big party at Grandma's, all of it made Sam feel loved on his special day and through the weekend. He received many wonderful cards and gifts, including, but not limited to, a yellow duck bike helmet (which he picked out himself), a huge box of rubber stamps, a preschooler magazine subscription, a solar car, a couple of games, and a generous college fund contribution. We parents got him a new bicycle, which Denis is converting to a balance bike. Welcome to 3 Sam!

birthday breakfast

2009-11-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

Today Sam turns 3! We made these banana cupcakes for him to bring to school today. After eating oatmeal this morning, we lit candles on one of the extra cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday, Sam singing right along. He noticed something outside the front door, and sure enough we found a birthday balloon attached to a card and gift from our sweet neighbor. We also opened a few cards from family that had come in the mail. At 11 this morning, I will go back to school to take part in his birthday celebration there. Sam will hold a globe and walk around a candle three times, once for each year of his life. He will share photos of himself from babyhood to the present. Then they will eat yummy banana cupcakes! After that, more celebrating! Happy Birthday Sam!

sewing round-up part 3

2009-11-07T10:37:00.001-08:00

Behold my beloved sewing machine! It is a Singer model 401a from the late 1950s, which I've been told is the best machine Singer ever made. I purchased it in perfect condition for $25 at a retirement community yard sale about 10 years ago. I didn't realize what I was getting; I only picked this sewing machine out of dozens at the yard sale because the drawers were completely full of scissors, thread, and various attachments. The machine itself has all kinds of special functions, although not computerized like today's models. Just when I think I've found the limits of this machine and desire a new one, I find a way to overcome the problem. I recently found a used walking foot (a special attachment), and it's opened up a whole new world of sewing possibilities.

My "sewing corner" exists in our bedroom and pretty much takes over the whole room whenever I've got a work in progress. Poor Denis has to wrestle with the ironing board just to reach his dresser, and even walking into the room is an obstacle course of cutting mats, rulers, and piles of scraps. Someday I will have a bigger space, but for now I'm just grateful I don't have to sew in the living room like in our last house. Anyway, over the summer I made a little dust cover for the sewing machine, much prettier than the vinyl thing it came with.

And finally, bringing us up to date on my completed projects (except the 2 headscarves I just couldn't photograph well), I made this camo bucket last weekend as a (late) birthday present for my brother.

The pattern is from the etsy shop of the blogger maya*made. She envisioned the bucket made out of upcycled burlap coffee sacks, which I would also like to try making. Actually I have plans to make a whole bunch of these in different heavyweight fabrics. I just love things that are beautiful as well as utilitarian.

candy? what candy?

2009-11-03T14:01:00.000-08:00

Wrapping up Halloween coverage 2009, I bring you the awesome jack-o-lanterns carved by Denis, with creative input from Sam Giraffe.

Also an action shot of Sam ringing our neighbor's doorbell. We went to about a dozen houses in our neighborhood for tricks-or-treats.

There were also a few houses where nobody answered the door (our neighborhood is not big on Halloween apparently--we only got 3 groups at our door), and Sam generously suggested that the inhabitants were "sleeping." Sam's favorite neighbor presented him with a glowing ghost and goldfish crackers.

His costume was a hit, and despite the many sewing flaws, I'm pretty happy with it (another view here). I couldn't find a giraffe sewing pattern, so I had to adapt a lion pattern and improvise those giraffe antlers (or whatever they're called) as well as the tail. I know, I know, where's the long neck, right? Whatever... I'm not that good and everyone knew what he was just fine.

All in all, it was a great Halloween. Sam loved trick-or-treating! In fact, though he's asked a couple times if we could go trick-or-treating again, he hasn't once asked for more candy! We let him pick out one piece to eat on Halloween night before bed (he chose M&Ms, which he recognized as an early potty-training reward [we now use yogurt raisins]), but he seemed to forget all about candy after that. Today I took pity on him and showed him what he was missing. The glowing ghost just observed.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T12:57:00.000-07:00

another fall crop

2009-10-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

Leeks! Nights this week have been downright cold, so it was quite appropriate to have our first fireplace fires of the season, as well as our first fall soup. Potato Leek Soup, made with homegrown leeks, some yukon gold potatoes, onion, garlic, celery, carrot, homegrown red bell pepper, dino kale, thyme, bay, white pepper, salt, oil, lemon juice, butter and whole milk, all mixed up with an immersion blender. All three of us, plus our dinner guest, had second helpings. Delicious!

great-grandma's piano

2009-10-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here Sam plays his great-grandma's piano, which now graces our living room. She was a piano teacher in San Francisco in the 40's and 50's, and we inherited a boxful of wonderful sheet music from her as well. Sam not only enjoys "playing" piano, he also likes to play a single note before singing a song, just like our teacher does on her violin before a song in class. Denis informs me that he and Sam have jam sessions on piano and guitar together, usually songs about animals, with elephants represented by the lowest notes, and a mouse represented by the highest notes. Today I was treated to many verses of 'Crawdad', a catchy bluegrass tune from our music class.

embracing fall

2009-10-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful California fall day: warm enough to hang out laundry, with the smell of fallen leaves in the air, and golden fall colors all around. I recently harvested most of our butternut squash to save it from drowning in the 2.74" rain that fell in our first storm. I hadn't grown winter squash--apart from pumpkins--since I worked on farms managed by other people. This year, my butternuts are reminding me of my grandfather, who grew these in his backyard every year for us to eat over the holidays. Butternut squash was my favorite vegetable when I was a kid, and my grandfather made sure I had some homegrown every fall. At 94 he hasn't gardened in several years, but I think he will be pleased to hear that the tradition continues.

I'm really a summer person, but there are at least a couple things to love about fall besides butternut squash...such as comfy sweaters and corduroys,

boots left on the porch, the angle of sunlight in our backyard,

and the feeling of things slowing down, just a little bit.

sewing round-up part 2

2009-10-22T18:36:00.000-07:00

Here is another birthday gift I sewed for a friend. This project was inspired by a collection of fabrics from P&B Textiles, which I found so charming and reminded me of my friend's style. The only issue with this project was that it intimidated me for an entire year, so instead of getting this to her for her 2008 birthday, I only managed to complete it for her birthday this year!

It's a notepad holder. I had seen a couple of handmade objects like this and decided that I could recreate it myself. I basically drafted the pattern from scratch, not even sure that my machine (a late 1950's era model) could handle it (thus the confidence problem). I didn't even own a rotary cutter last year when I cut out the fabric, so it was pretty awesome to feel how far I had come when I finally finished it.

The button is glass, the tie closure is sewn-up bias binding tape (which wraps around the button), and there are two layers of flannel between the outer and inner fabrics for body. Inside there is a sleeve for a 5x7 notepad, a slim pocket for writing implement, a small pocket for post-its or stamps, and a larger pocket for mail or papers or whatever. Sewing through all the layers gave me almost no trouble (I had feared worse), and truly this was so fun and satisfying to put together. I am quite pleased with how it turned out!

sewing round-up part 1

2009-10-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

Sam's preschool schedule has provided me with a little extra time for some sewing. I've completed several projects since I last updated, the biggest of which was this skirt, the first 'successful' garment I have made for myself. Every fall I love the look of skirts and boots, but I have never been able to justify buying the expensive leather riding-style boots that I love. The truth is, I'm not much of a skirt girl, and rubber garden boots are closer to my reality.

I drafted the pattern myself using instructions in the book Sew What! Skirts, by Francesca DenHartog. It is a simple cotton A-line skirt with a side zipper, no waistband, and bias binding trim. It's still a bit big and low-riding on me, though I took it in twice. Next time I'll know how to use my measurements better. The "sideways squares" patches idea came from a skirt pattern in Seams to Me, by Anna Maria Horner.

I'm not sure if this skirt is really working for me though...proof being that I have yet to wear it out of the house. I still call it a successful first garment, at least compared to the patternless skirts and shorts I attempted in my younger days. Luckily I had the foresight to use cheap fabric for this, so the whole thing only cost me about $8 to make.

I made another trio of baby bibs, from the same pattern as last time. These cuties will go to a new baby girl from Denis' office.

My best friend had a birthday recently so I made her some napkins from reproduction 1890's fabric. These are simple hemmed squares of fabric with mitered corners, easy and elegant.

Then I made a drawstring "travel bag" from the book Weekend Sewing, by Heather Ross, to use as a giftbag. I love the tiny toile fabric, and I love not using wrapping paper! Best of all, travelling with cloth drawstring bags is much nicer than packing shoes or laundry in a plastic bag from the grocery store. I'll be making more of these for Holiday gift-wrapping.

That's not all! I have a few more projects to share soon.

boys camping trip

2009-10-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

The weekend before last, Denis took Sam camping with a friend and his son. This is my favorite photo from the trip: Sam playing with a flashlight inside the tent. I love that Denis thought to provide Sam with his own flashlight for his first camping trip. (It's actually a flashlight I purchased for myself on the coast of Maine while camping at Acadia a few years ago.) I also love that it was a boys trip (though I would love to go too-as soon as we upgrade to a 3-person tent), and that I got over 24 hours at home by myself. As for the details, and more pictures, I will leave those to Denis to share. I just wanted to remember a bit of end-of-summer goodness while it rains buckets here during the first (welcome) storm of the rainy season.

pick a peck

2009-10-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

We don't quite have a peck of home-grown peppers, but we do have the best crop I have personally grown. LOVE this inland climate! With greater coastal influence in other locations, my peppers were small, thin-walled, and stayed green, barely worth growing and eating. This year, further inland (with some shade), I chose three varieties and planted them in two different locations in our garden.

Not pictured are the Gypsy peppers, an earlier, pale yellow-green, pointed tip sweet pepper, supposedly with wonderful flavor, though I did not find them very tasty and will not grow them again.

Pictured above are some Corn Di Torro, an elongated heirloom stuffing pepper which ripens to red. They taste good fresh or lightly stir-fried, which is how we eat most peppers. The other night I also roasted some for a pasta dish, and they were so delicious I think I will do more roasting next year. A farmer colleague of mine told me years ago that he would freeze roasted peppers to preserve for winter eating. With greater production we could do that too.

Also pictured are a few ripe Ace bell peppers. This is a popular hybrid variety, ripening to red, and very good fresh, stir-fried, or roasted. And no less important, the green-red striped one is so pretty! The plant did not get very big, and had some significant competition from a vining squash and drooping tomato, but it kept popping out peppers seemingly too big for itself (there is one still ripening right now). Definitely will grow these again, and more too.

happy

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

I have story to tell, but it's a long one. You might want to get a snack before we start, and I, for one, will be keeping a tissue handy.

As you may remember, Sam and I have been taking a music class together. We are now in a new fall session with different kids and new songs, but with the same amazing teacher. I just cannot stress how much Sam loves this class. We have been playing the cd at home and in the car to learn the new songs, and Sam not only sings along, but "reads" along in the accompanying songbook. He also sings the songs on his own without the cd, while playing or eating or in the bath.

Often I will sing too, and Sam loves it when I make up new lyrics which correspond to what we are doing; for example one of the songs goes "apples and cherries, peaches blueberries, grapes and bananas, dee dee deedee dee..." so one night when I wanted him to stay focused on eating dinner, I changed the words to the food in his bowl, "noodles and tofu, carrot cabbage, tahini yogurt, dee dee deedee dee..." Sam thought this was the funniest thing, and kept eating and laughing---a dangerous combination I realize---even making up his own silly lyrics and cracking himself up. And really, that is one of the objectives of this particular music program: to completely integrate music with daily life.

When we are in class, Sam is very focused on Helen, our teacher (and he still calls himself Helen out of deep love for her sometimes), participates in the dancing and movement with boundless enthusiasm, and plays the instruments (his favorites are tiny cymbals and a tiny drum), but despite knowing the songs quite well, has not sung along to the songs in class. Actually most of the children don't sing along (the babies obviously don't, but even most of the older verbal children as well) although they clearly know the songs and enjoy class.

So, two of Sam's favorite songs are the Hello and Goodbye songs. These are the two songs that open and close class and which remain the same from session to session. The lyrics are happy and upbeat and consist of singing hello (or goodbye) to each child in the class by name, "Hello to Sam, we're so glad to see you! Hello to Ella, we're so glad to see you too..." If you told me 10 years ago that I was going to be sitting in a circle with a bunch of parents and little kids singing sickenly happy songs while clapping my hands with a huge smile on my face, I probably would have scowled, picked up a wheelbarrow full of dirt and run away from you up a steep hill. I am so ridiculously happy singing that damn song with a roomful of people who all smile at my son and sing his name and sing how happy they are to see him, and knowing the thrill he gets from that is enough to make my voice crack.

Well, this week, for the very first time, Sam sang in class. As usual, all of us parents and Helen started clapping our knees and singing "Hello everybody, we're so glad to see you! Hello to Joseph, we're so glad to see you too! Hello..." And then right away, rising up from the sound of the group, was one distinctive voice, one young little voice, singing with the right words and the right rhythm but a bit higher and slightly out of tune, one confident happy voice singing along, clapping his knees to the beat, singing how happy he was to see everyone. One voice, Sam's voice, singing along with the adults in the room. Helen noticed and gave him big smiles, other parents noticed and smiled at him too. I---I was bursting and grinning and giggling and tearing up and choking on the lump in my throat. All I could hear was this one clear high little-boy off-key happy happy voice.

And then he sang the next song and the next one. I could barely get the words out myself. I kept wiping the corners of my eyes, and I could barely contain my giggles. I should have remembered to take deep breaths--that might have helped. After singing along for three or four songs, Sam stopped singing and resumed his usual engaged but mute participation in class. Perhaps, sadly, my odd reaction to his singing suppressed him. Next time I must concentrate and not get worked up. Bad Mommy. Bad sappy Mommy.

Towards the end of every class, right before the Goodbye song, Helen dims the lights and we all make the sound of a gentle wind. Then we sing one of the quiet lullabies as babies and toddlers cuddle in their parents' laps. It's a sweet and tender time, babies often nurse, parents and children snuggle, the voices of a quiet lullaby fill the room. As for Sam, he decides, every time, that he needs to run pell-mell around the room. He throws himself at me, runs away, runs back, throws himself at me again, runs circles around me, darts between other people in the circle, and all the while I am dutifully singing the sweet lullaby and hoping he doesn't hurt anybody.

It's not that I wish Sam would act any differently during lullaby-time. Sam is a lover and I get plenty of cuddles and kisses with him. No, his wildness, his running around, his utter refusal to be touched with tenderness right then, his independence, is just so funny that it's absolutely perfect. I mean really, the singing, the clapping, the running? I hadn't laughed that hard telling Denis about our day in a long time. Couldn't have been more perfect.

Taking it all in, that's what this story is about. Taking it all in and reminding myself to breathe.

parenting interlude

2009-10-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

Lest you think this has become a strictly gardening blog, I bring you Elmo underpants, size 2T. We now have over 20 pairs of tiny boys underwear; I just can't stop buying them even though somebody with a 2T bum still isn't consistenly interested in wearing them. I really thought Elmo would do it! Somebody picked them out himself! At least I thought that he would never poop on his happy red friend, but I was wrong there too.

Now I've done it. I wrote the word poop on this nice blog. In my farmer life, poop was practically daily dinner conversation...though that was chicken, goat or horse poop usually. Cycles of life: everything is food for someone, and poop is food for microbes who convert it into food for plants. But this is a parenting post, not a gardening one.

Poop is very present in our lives still, but no, there has not been much progress potty training. I backed off for awhile, then became more suggestive about it, and now I'm backing way off again. When it's time for a diaper change, I hold up a few pairs of Big Bird or train or soccer ball or Elmo underwear along with a diaper and ask him, as neutrally as possible, which one he'd like to wear. Mostly it's a diaper. What are you gonna do?

canning tomatoes part 2

2009-10-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit overdue in writing this post as a followup to Operation Tomato Part One a couple weeks ago. Immediately after canning the sungold cherry tomato sauce, we worked on sauce of the regular slicing and paste tomatoes. Even with a LOT of fresh eating, we had plenty for canning. Pace yourself Sam!

Canning is a big undertaking. I've done it alone, with one other person, and with groups of all sizes. It was one of the most popular workshops I taught at my old job, and I find interest and enthusiasm whenever I talk about it. Harvesting, gathering jars, washing jars and produce, cutting, coring, straining fruit, boiling down sauce for 4-6 hours, sterilizing jars and lids, ladling sauce into jars, screwing on lids, placing filled jars into boiling water, boiling jars for 45 minutes, lifting them out and waiting for the seal to pop.... it takes a lot of time, care, and patience.

But it's all so fun, especially when you get into a rhythm with your co-canners, everyone doing whatever job needs to be done. Even Sam got into the action pushing cut tomatoes into the hopper...

...alternated with sipping tomato juice from a mug (see red mustache).

Final yield two weeks ago: 7 quarts of delicious tomato sauce. And the best part? We did this all again yesterday with an equal amount of tomatoes, boiled it down to a thicker sauce, and got 4 more quarts of yumminess. We should have enough for one more (probably smaller) canning session soon. I love growing my own food!

longer shorter days

2009-09-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

It is officially fall now. I have been noticing the lowering of the sun for awhile, though the weather continues to be mostly summery and perfect. The days may be shorter, but in some ways they feel longer now that Sam is no longer napping. When Denis has a heavy week, and I am doing most or all childcare for days at a time, I am so spent after putting him to bed. Last night I sat on the front stoop with a mudslide and noticed signs of fall as twilight descended.

Leeks were a favorite fall crop back on the farm crew. I loved trimming the long leaves into a tidy 'V' shape with the quick slash of a knife. The fields would be frosty in the mornings, our large summer crew gone, and I would carry a 5-gallon bucket of hot water in the back of the truck to warm up my freezing dewy fingers between harvesting the arugula and whatever else wasn't winter-killed.

Fall, if not my job, is milder here of course. Our winter kale plants are only newly planted seedlings, stretching up from the mulch all green and blue.

weekend in pajaro

2009-09-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

This year's Pajaro trip was short but very sweet. We played frisbee and boomerang and had a great visit with Grandma, Fred, and the dogs. Despite Sam's mysterious apprehension with the beach, he had fun every single minute. Crashing surf, big empty beach, nothing to do, even the fog...a beautiful weekend.

operation tomato part 1

2009-09-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

Our tomatoes are finally coming in full force, and days of tomato canning are upon us. First up were the cherries, way too many to snack on. For the first time we made sauce and canned these tiny packets of flavor, and for fun we did them separately from our regular tomatoes. I spent over 30 minutes harvesting these (below) this morning, while Sam was at school, from one sweet 100 and 2 sungold plants. Spending that long harvesting one crop makes me feel a bit like a farmer again; I revelled in it.

Sam offered to help when he got home, but he kept getting phonecalls.

So pretty!

To prep the cherry tomatoes for sauce-making, I washed and de-stemmed them out on the back porch. Sam prepped quite a few, but most of his went into his mouth.

(Did you notice the tomato foreman in the yellow hat?)
I filled the 6-quart pot (above, on the left) almost full (adding a few paste tomatoes), boiled it down, strained out the seeds and skins, and then canned the thickened cherry tomato sauce in pint jars.

Final yield (the seeds&skins to flesh ratio a bit surprising): 3.5 pints of summery sungold sauce. Come February, we'll be eating this tiny bit of goodness right up.

half-sour pickles

2009-09-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

Our kitchen counter looked like this for weeks this summer (though it was even more blurry with my glasses off). We grew 4 varieties of cucumbers and have been eating amazing cucumber salads almost every day. We also put up a couple batches of both canned and refrigerator bread and butter pickles. Most excitingly for me, we also made two batches of brined half-sours. Yum!

I hadn't tried fermenting pickles for several years, and to be honest my track record was not good before this year. In the past I would make huge crocks of brine only to have something go wrong with the process and end up with a huge crock of cucumber compost. But I just love deli pickles, so this year I tried again, and used a new recipe (from The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich). This process is small-scale, just a 2-quart jar, and utilizes a brine-filled ziplock bag to seal off air. The brine is seasoned with garlic, coriander, and home-grown dill heads. It was a brilliant success! These half-sours are delicious, perfect for an afternoon snack, on their own or alongside sweet garden tomatoes.

my little platform

2009-09-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

As we try to figure out our new problem with downloading photos from the camera, I bring you some picture-free content in the form of a couple interesting articles:

This one, I just read this morning, is Michael Pollan's op-ed piece in the New York Times bringing the huge yet under-noticed issue of food into the national conversation on health care. He cites a study that explains why our health care costs are the highest in the world: it's the great American diet (surprise!). A plan to lower health care costs must include food industry reform, folks. I think we all know where I stand on this issue.

And this one is very long, but riveting, and very disturbing, but important. I don't even know what to say about it except that if you care about capital punishment, no matter which side you're on, I think you should read it.

Thanks for listening. Regular blogging to resume as soon as we get these technical problems solved.

iraqi bundle of love

2009-09-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

Today, at the last minute, I am sending off my Iraqi Bundle of Love. This is a project started by a wonderful man in the army over in Iraq who is returning home soon and simply wants to leave Iraq with a little bit of goodness. As the husband and son of quilters, he came up with the idea of donating fabric and sewing supplies to sewing cooperatives and individuals in Iraq. Yarn and knitting supplies are also welcome. He has called this project Iraqi Bundles of Love (IBOL) and keeps a blog about it here with all the specs for donating a bundle. I regret that I did not do better in spreading the word, because today is the last day to mail off a bundle, but if you are reading this and would like the address from me today, give me a call. I'm going to pick up Sam from school and have him help me pack up our package at the post office, while trying to explain something about giving things away to people who might need them more than we do.

strawberries and delayed gratification

2009-09-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

My past experience with Seascape everbearing strawberries has been that the plants are easy to grow, produce abundantly, and that the berries taste magnificent. My CSA members in Berkeley would pronounce our strawberries the best they had ever tasted. This is not a variety widely grown for production because of the fragility of the berries, but when sweetness and flavor are of the utmost importance, usually for a small grower, nothing beats the Seascape in my opinion. So of course when we bought our own house, and with a 2-year-old berry-lover to think of, I planted them again.

Early on in June, I let go control of the harvest and allowed Sam to pick and eat and learn with minimal direction from me. I guided him to look around the whole berry to make sure it was all red and ready, and after picking a few that were barely pink, he now makes sure only to pick ones that are truly ripe. With only 6 container plants, Sam eats almost all of our strawberries himself, which is just fine with me.

Recently Sam has been picking strawberries and declaring that he must "save it for breakfast and put it in the refridgerator." So he runs inside with his berry (or handful of berries) and deposits it on the top shelf of the fridge. The next morning, he eats them cut up in his oatmeal. This has been going on for a few weeks now.

I am reminded of an interesting article I read recently about children and self-control. Simply put, studies show that children who are able to delay gratification early in life can have greater success as adults. If I hadn't provided Sam the guided freedom to pick his own strawberries, I wonder if he would have expressed this ability to save them.

As far as the Seascapes go, I think they do much better in a more coastal climate. I find our productivity and flavor to be not quite as amazing, and the plants that are doing the best are the ones with the longest shade period. I will try some additional varieties next year.

ground cherries

2009-08-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

I was excited to see ground cherry starts at my local farm supply nursery this spring. I had only seen the plant once before, on a farm in the Sierras where a friend worked years ago. I visited her one day and tasted this unique fruit for the first time, filing the name away in my head before hopping off a boulder for a luxurious mountain swim.

Ground cherries are in the Solanaceae family (one of my favorites), the same family as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, and are closely related to tomatillos. Our plant grew only about a foot tall but spread 3 feet or so in all directions, in a seemingly friendly competition for space with our butternut squash. Flowers are yellow and star-shaped, and the berry-sized fruits hang like little green lanterns. Ground cherries are ripe when the papery skin becomes brown and dry and the fruits drop to the ground. Peel off the papery skin to reveal a small orange fruit with a unique taste--part pineapple, part citrus, part tomato.

The taste is not for everyone, but they are pretty popular around our house. Good thing because they are quite plentiful these days. Sam has said more than once, "I love ground cherries Mommy!" and he searches for them every time we are out in the garden. I think unwrapping the papery skin is a big part of the appeal. One of Sam's Montessori teachers is really into doing tastings of unusual foods with the kids, and she was excited when I told her about our ground cherries. I plan to bring some into his class for a tasting soon.

garden visitors

2009-08-28T19:13:00.001-07:00

I ran to the garden to pick a few cherry tomatoes for Sam's lunch today before heading out to pick him up at school. As I was approaching the vines, some movement on a leaf of our tiny orange tree caught my eye. Looking closer, I noticed it was a very large insect. A praying mantis, very nice! I didn't have time to linger, so I continued towards the cherry tomatoes, started picking, and then noticed the droppings of a gigantic tomato hornworm. There it was on the tomato stem, munching away.

I hadn't seen one in many years. Not something you really want to see on your precious plants; these guys have big appetites. I had to leave to get Sam, but found it in the same spot hours later and took these pictures (no such luck with the praying mantis). I picked it off the plant and put it on the ground for Sam to get a closer look. It is fatter and longer than my finger, felt muscular when I grabbed it bare-handed, and writhed with its stubby legs from being disturbed. Small bugs do not bother me; we allow small spiders in our home, but relocate the large ones outside (or down the toilet). I am careful not to instill a fear of insects in Sam. So I swallowed my discomfort, picked up this thing again with a leaf, showed it to our neighbor, and carried it over to our green waste bin where I said a little apology and dropped it inside.

I also explained to Sam that we don't want this caterpillar eating our tomatoes, even if its camouflage is rather elegant. Later I looked it up in my insect books and realized that the horn actually protrudes from the rear end, and that they are sometimes parasitized. Now I wish I'd checked for signs of ovipositor attack, although it really was so fat and muscular that I rather doubt it was being eaten from within.

evening in the garden

2009-08-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

Just before dinner we stepped out to the front yard to pick something to eat. Among many other things we put into our harvest basket, we found three paricularly large vegetable-fruits: one Celebrity tomato, unknown green zucchini (we thought we were planting yellow zucchini), and a lovely Armenian cucumber. The tomato was especially welcome, because, although our vines are heavily laden with tomatoes, they are all (except for a handful over the past weeks) eternally green:

Will they ever ripen? At least we still have as many beautiful cherry tomatoes as 3 people can eat, and more:

And I'm still loving all the butternuts ripening everywhere:

Sam's vegetable of choice for dinner tonight? Raw green beans that he picked himself.

first day of school

2009-08-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

In the next few minutes Sam will be saying goodbye to his Daddy and entering the new world of Montessori school. We have been preparing him for weeks for this day.

I decided at 4 pm yesterday that I needed to make him a new schoolbag...

...to hold the ceramic mug which will be his water cup at school. Denis gave me this bee mug for our first Christmas/Hanukkah together, after I had admired it at a craft fair. Now it will be Sam's "little piece of home" at school. Comfort, style, and utility, all in one self-chosen object; I love this practice at his school.

Sam chose this bug fabric that I have had in my stash for 12 years. Tiny tote bag pattern from my much-used and always good Bend the Rules Sewing book. Of course everything needs to be labelled now.

We think he's really going to love it there. And I can't wait to pick him up in a couple hours and hear all about it!

drumming

2009-08-21T10:32:00.001-07:00

Sometimes you just need to hit something, especially when you have, as your father puts it, a kinetic personality. You may start out hitting with a frustrated passion and a pushed-out lower lip, but a smile soon settles in. It's quite satisfying having an audience as well.

Denis, who owns probably a dozen or more musical instruments, bought this African drum years ago from an old friend of his. This particular friend is a professional drummer, and played in an African drumming/dancing group that often performed at the ranch where I used to live and work, long before Denis and I knew each other. The group fit in well with the hippie-earthy vibe we had at the ranch, though I was rather ambivalent about drum circles myself. When this guy got married, his wedding was at the ranch, and Denis attended, while I observed the festivities from my tiny "elf-house" abode, neither of us aware, of course, that our future spouse was in our midst.

When we moved into our first home together as boyfriend-girlfriend, this drum was part of our bedroom decor. Now it lives in our son's closet, to be pulled out on afternoons when manic energy is running high. More than once this past week, I've been taken down memory lane listening to the new sounds of little hands pounding.

garden for dinner

2009-08-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

This is a good example of one of my easy dinners. I don't think I ever made exactly this before last night, but variations of it pop up a lot when I've had a particularly long day.

Put quinoa in the rice cooker; pick green beans and cherry tomatoes from the front yard; trim, slice, and steam green beans al dente; quarter cherry tomatoes; mix veggies with quinoa and add olive oil (plus butter for Sam); season with garlic salt (I turned up my nose at this for years, but recently purchased the 'good' stuff-no additives-and it makes things so easy sometimes) and black pepper; add grated parmesan at the table. It's the parmesan that elevates this dish from bland to yummy, and the complete protein in the quinoa makes it perfectly nutritious. Nothing too special, but the whole thing took less than a half hour to make, and all three of us ate it up. Garden yummies + protein + quick = perfect.

p.t. update

2009-08-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

For anyone on the edge of her seat (or his seat), and for posterity, here's the scoop: using the potty clicked for Sam on the third day of at-home nakedness. Transitioning to undies at home has yet to click after more than two weeks. A few successes but mostly accidents. I've been letting him take the lead, with gentle reminders from me, but no forcing him to sit. Lots of accidents. Not the easy kind. Lots of laundry loads consisting of one tiny pair of underwear and one tiny pair of shorts. Part of the problem may have been that we ran out of reward m&m's soon after the transition, which was part of our plan (not wanting to continue the sweets reward for too long), and for which we gave lots of reminders (look, they're almost gone) and provided a substitute reward (stickers). Possibly Sam decided that using the potty was no longer so fun without m&m's, or possibly he is just having trouble recognizing the need to go when he has clothes on. Either way, I soon bought more m&m's for the reward jar. Still the accidents continued.

As of today, we do more diapers and occasional nakedness, but a few days ago I quit the underwear unless he asks for it. I was starting to get frustrated with the messes and didn't want to pass on the negativity to Sam's process. Just a little break for me, I suppose. School starts next week, and they will help with training Sam, along with a few other kids, so hopefully the group experience will help him. Meanwhile I'll do a little research and continue with underwear when I get my mojo back.

sungolds

2009-08-17T11:24:00.001-07:00

This is our ridiculously abundant cherry tomato harvest this morning. From two sungold plants. Also a few (red) sweet 100s from one plant. Minus those that Sam kept eating as we picked and photographed. Can you tell that his garden boots are on the wrong feet? He doesn't care. It is interesting to me how many sungolds we are getting, because for the first time I did not do any pruning of suckers this year. They are a sprawling mess and it's challenging to pick them without stepping on branches and fruit clusters, but the bounty is worth it, don't you agree?

early august garden

2009-08-07T10:31:00.001-07:00

We have honeybees in the poppies, hummingbirds in the tithonia, and neighbors exalting our bounty and bringing their friends over to see. Even I am amazed at the vigorous growth of every one of our plants. Despite the significant shade cast by our 40' mimosa tree, everything in the garden is thriving. The pole bean teepee is taller than all of us:

This single butternut squash plant is my favorite this year; the vines are still snaking their way onto paths and adjacent garden beds, producing lots of enlarging fruits along their way:

We have harvested only 2 slicing tomatoes so far, but have had many handfuls of sungold cherry tomatoes, most have which have been gobbled up by one eager eater:

Soon we will make our first batch of pickles, using the beautiful dill flowers pictured above in my new blog header. For weeks we've all been eating a high proportion of green beans and cucumbers in our diet (we pick this much every few days):

The last of the beets and carrots will make room for a winter garden bed to be planted next month:

I must mention that all this lush growth is definitely not the result of high water use. We are very aware of water shortages this year and are extremely frugal with our water use. Each garden bed is heavily mulched in straw, and plant spacings are closer than normal (biointensive style), providing a canopy over the soil to minimize moisture loss. We often wait until plants are droopy before watering. On our ornamental plantings, we are almost exclusively using reclaimed water from Sam's bath and our showers, and we do not have a water-thirsty lawn at all. I am proud to say that we are using relatively little additional water this summer, and our garden still kicks ass.

woos-gick class

2009-08-06T17:50:00.001-07:00

This summer we've been doing music classes on Thursdays. It is a Music Together program, which is based on the premise that all children are musical. It is a small group class of "music immersion," with strong parent participation (we are considered our children's models--with no time to take pictures btw), and a curriculum of songs each term. We received cds of the songs, including suggestions to bring music into our home life (e.g. Sam playing a flute at home, above). Each class involves singing, movement, and percussion, using a slightly different approach each week to the now-familiar songs.

Sam LOVES woos-gick class! He plays the cds at home, sings along (though not in class for some reason), and we even hear him singing the songs on his own without the cd as well. Every morning he asks if we are going to woos-gick class, and when we are driving there on Thursday mornings, he is very animated discussing our route, especially when we are in view of the parking lot where he practically busts himself out of his carseat with excitement. "There it is! There it is! There's the woos-gick class Mommy! Right there!" In class, he loves all the movement and percussion, and smiles when his name is sung during the hello and goodbye songs. Above all, he adores our wonderful teacher. With Helen, I feel like we got so lucky. She is so engaging and down-to-earth, very fun, keeps the music fresh (and thankfully not cheesy) each week, and most of all really connects with the children.

Today after class, in a perfect display of his shy-but-loves-people personality, Sam ran up to Helen as if to hug her goodbye, then immediately averted his eyes and ran away. Why I love Helen is that she totally got it: she gave Sam a loving smile and told him (from across the room) that she felt special for getting such a nice goodbye from him. I don't know who of the three of us was happiest in that moment.

county fair

2009-08-04T15:42:00.001-07:00

Sam calls it the "fair-ya," and we had some great summertime fun just minutes from home. He went on his first roller coaster (and ferris wheel) with Daddy:

Visited some farm animals:

Ran around a barn while I checked out the old-timey home and garden contest entries:

And savored some classic fair foods:

We loved it!

phase 2

2009-08-04T15:41:00.000-07:00

I am a total mommy-blogger cliche right now, posting about potty training, but it's a pretty big deal (I'm learning), so here I go! Our commitment to the process has yielded some surprisingly positive results (along with the darker results of an exhausted mommy and a week of dinner failure). Sam now will use his little potty almost unfailingly while at home and naked. He's been doing this since day 3 of serious training (about a week now). As of yesterday we are in Phase 2, transitioning to underwear at home. So far there have been a lot of wet underpants hanging on the clothesline, but we persevere! Stay tuned!

kickin it

2009-07-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

Sam seems to have endless supplies of energy. Some days it is hard for me to give him enough physical activity. He rarely appears to be truly "worn out," and in fact he often has so much pent-up energy that he clenches his fists, chatters his teeth, and shakes his entire body! I do what I can with parks and walks, but strangely, in those situations he often just wants to sit near me or be picked up. Sadly, we haven't found our exercise rhythm together these last many months. So imagine my happiness when we found we both enjoyed kicking the soccer ball around the backyard last week. I was never much into sports as a kid, preferring reading or wandering around the woods, but I think with such an energetic child I will have to start learning a few things. Turns out, kicking a ball around isn't so bad, especially when Sam squeals with glee as if all my kicks are awesome, and always volunteers to retrieve the ball from the bushes. And even if 45 minutes of hard playing didn't slow him down one bit, it's a start.

here we go

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

Yes it's true, potty training has begun in earnest. We are still within the first 24 hours of serious commitment. Despite Sam's past refusals to try to use the potty, I am making the effort now because preschool is right around the corner. Once we start on that schedule, we won't have continuous days when we can stay home to focus on the process. I am hoping that making a big push now will get Sam at least "potty-learned" for preschool. We will be staying home as much as possible, armed with a stack of kids' potty books from the library, a boy baby-doll who can pee in his own tiny potty, calming music (right now, Iron and Wine's Our Endless Numbered Days--haha), doorlocks to lock off the carpeted rooms of the house, nakedness (for him), rags and towels (already in use), and, hopefully for both of us, giant quantities of patience. I cajole the nakedness, but otherwise I am mostly letting Sam take the lead.

So far, he is most interested in giving his baby doll the water bottle so that babydoll will pee. As for Sam's own pee, well, he keeps saying, "I already peed!" and then shows me where to clean it up.

It's almost 10am, and I've had 4 interruptions writing this post. I am exhausted already! But positive, and determined.

beautiful redwoods

2009-07-20T16:28:00.000-07:00

It had been feeling like a long time since we'd gone on a fun summer outing as a family. So many other things beckon: swim lessons, naps, the garden, the sewing machine, the dirty bathrooms, the cluttered garage, "unstructured time." This past Sunday we set all that aside and finally got ourselves out to a new place: Armstrong Redwoods near the Russian River. Above is the obligatory heads-up shot of these majestic trees, the tallest trees in the world.

Even after living in this area for 10+ years these trees still amaze me. Even after I lived down the road from Muir Woods and snuck into the groves in moonlight after hours, or pitched a tent on a ridge nearby (also illegally) and spent the night, or visited on rainy days when the crowds were elsewhere staying dry, redwoods have not lost their power.

It was a hot day at home, but we planned (and hoped) for possible cool fog in the coastal redwoods. We were sweating in our tshirts though, as it was hot there too, with hot-bright patches of sun surrounded by very warm shade. We let Sam run freely as much as possible on our easy hike, explore the picnic area, point to and identify letters on the signage, and climb into fire-hollowed bases of huge redwoods. My favorite part was asking Sam who might sleep in the burrows of these trees. Below he is wondering if a bunny is in there. The hat Sam is wearing was picked out by himself and his Daddy, and has a basketball on the front (not something I would choose myself). All day I was loving how his blonde hair curls up from under that cap.

making things

2009-07-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

I love the new look of our closet door with this simple curtain I made with fabric from one of my favorite fabric designers. Our bedroom has beautiful blue walls and crisp white trim, and this new curtain adds the perfect touch of pattern. It replaces a wooden folding door that was just too loud and bulky for my tastes. I'd still like to add some weights to the bottom hem to help it hang a bit better, but I love it already.

I whipped up these baby bibs for a playgroup mom friend expecting a baby girl. (Excuse the ugly fake wood background; I had to take this picture in a hurry before the baby shower brunch yesterday.) This was a fun project because it was quite easy and I learned how to use a snap setter. The pattern came from this awesome book.

I made these dresses for another playgroup mom friend who just had a baby girl. The pink one is for the newborn and the green one is for her older sister, Sam's friend Sadie, and I like that they are the same style without matching. I used a great free pattern found here. I loved making these because they were actually my first garments ever, and I think they turned out beautifully. I learned a few new skills here: making gathers and attaching piping and bias binding.

I made this felt board awhile ago, using this free tutorial. At the time, Sam was very interested in learning letters, but alas, since I made this, his interest has waned a bit. He knows all the letters pictured here and a few more, but I can't really say that he has used this felt board and learned anything. Maybe in the future!

this chair

2009-07-08T19:22:00.001-07:00

It's just a cheap lounge chair, not pretty, not even particularly comfortable. We bought it at Fred Meyer in Boise when I was pregnant with Sam three years ago, and this past weekend we dusted off the cobwebs in preparation for our first summer bbq.

Yesterday during Sam's naptime I pulled it into the sun for a few minutes of reading. I couldn't help thinking about those early summer days three years ago, when I was just coming out of the worst of my debilitating morning sickness, during which I lived prostrate on the couch trying not to hurl the single piece of peanut butter toast which was the only food I could bear to eat each day. But I was feeling a bit better, and I requested from Denis that we buy a chair so that I could recline outdoors and enjoy the warmer weather. I was eating a slightly bigger and more varied single meal each day, and I would lie on this chair, still too nauseous to read, so grateful that I could eat more and that it wasn't nose-biting cold anymore and that I could even see buds on our lilac bush. Sitting in this chair three years ago I started to feel like myself again.

Yesterday I sat here for the first time in three years, and felt gratitude again. For the successful 5th of July bbq we had, the wonderful family who came and had such fun together, for the comfortable yard in our new house, for the perfect sunny day, and for the opportunity to read (without nausea) a great book (The Liars Club) while my not-quite-three-year-old (finally) napped inside.

Sam's lens

2009-07-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

That round steel object in Sam's hands is the lid to a nutchopper kitchen gadget (to us). To him, it is a camera. This is a picture of Sam taking a picture of me. Usually he just carries his camera around, after pulling it out of the kitchen cupboard, occasionally announcing its presence to me, and plays with it on his own. I love hearing about his imaginings. Lately, he has been going to various stores in the backyard on his tricycle. Over by the shed is Macy's, the side yard houses the ice cream store (the site of a booboo), and his favorite store TJ Max (or as he puts it, "ChayChainNax") seems to be located in the front yard some days, and down the street other days. Lots of little things become keys and doors (longtime favorite objects finding new ways to amuse him). Backyard gravel becomes salad for dinner. Many months ago, soon after we moved here, Sam even alerted me to the presence of imaginary people, usually "the lady," who would sit with us at the table, but who have not appeared lately. We encourage all of this of course, which is why I asked Sam to take a picture of me today. It's not a request I normally find myself making, but for my little dreamer-with-a-camera I'll do it.

preschool bound

2009-07-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

We have just confirmed Sam's enrollment in a wonderful preschool beginning in late August. This curious, active, loving little guy will now have more stimulation, space, and people in his happy life. I could not be more excited. I visited the school twice, including two classroom observations, and I literally got chills imagining Sam's world expanding to include this lovely preschool. Sam himself kept talking about going back to school after we left. The time is right for me too---I have been craving more time to work on my own projects, which hopefully will help bring in some money to help pay Sam's tuition.

the garden

2009-06-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

We have been getting much interest in our front-yard garden lately, so I thought I'd share our progress with some evening-light photos. Above is some bolting cilantro, and below is our pole bean teepee with basil in the background.

Tiny leeks.

A long trellis with 4 varieties of cucumber. Hello pickles!

Ground cherry, dill, butternut squash, and french green beans. Cal poppy and lavender too.

And in the backyard, Seascape strawberries ripen in the sun.

loving sprouts

2009-06-23T14:41:00.001-07:00

I love eating sprouts but what pass for sprouts at the grocery store are sad plastic boxes of thin, pale, dirt-tasting strings. So, I usually make my own. The best method, I've found, is the simplest. Although I've tried sprouting systems engineered specifically for this process, I now use just a canning jar and some flexible screening. The key is to able to rinse the sprouts every few hours, and I've been known to carry my sprout jar along in my car and fill it from a water bottle on the side of the road. With my stay-at-home-mom gig these days, it's pretty easy. Goodness knows I am in the kitchen every couple of hours anyway preparing snacks and whatnot!

So here's what I do: Measure 2Tablespoons alfalfa (or other sprout-able) seeds into a 2-quart canning jar. Use the metal ring to secure a piece of flexible screening over the opening. Cover seeds with cool water and soak overnight. Empty the next morning, and proceed with rinsing the seeds/sprouts every few hours for several days. It helps me to put a sticky note on my bathroom mirror reminding me to rinse them right before I go to bed. Rinsing entails filling the jar, through the screen, with enough cool water to get all of the seeds/sprouts nice and soaked, then emptying the water right away. With our drought here, I actually walk out to the garden with the rinse water and use it on my landscape plants.

When the sprouts begin developing leaves, around day 3 or 4, it helps to rotate the jar each time you rinse it so that all of the sprouts get sun exposure. This helps to get them nice and green, which is not only prettier but I'm guessing more nutritious as well. The sprouts are usually mature enough to my liking around day 5 or 6. At this point I remove them from the jar and soak in a big bowl of water to separate out the seed hulls and unsprouted seeds from the good sprouts. Strain and store in a wrung-out cloth in plastic in the fridge; I use a plain white flour-sack dishtowel that I get real wet, wring out, and use to wrap the sprouts completely within a tupperware-type container. This keeps the sprouts succulent rather than dried-out, and they can keep over a week this way.

I've been eating them for breakfast every morning on a piece of whole wheat toast with mustard, red onion, and melted smoked cheddar cheese. My favorite sandwich is a combination of avocado, smoked mozzarella cheese, mustard, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, and sprouts.

We also eat a lot of salad, including this one below (pictured before the addition of homemade dressing and sprouts though) with home-grown red and green lettuces, cooked quinoa, cucumber, red bell pepper, red onion, home-grown baby carrots, home-grown fresh dill and cilantro, avocado, and fresh mozzarella cheese. Yum! And yes, Sam ate every bite!

hello molars

2009-06-19T10:53:00.001-07:00

We have a few nicknames for our little guy: Sweetpea, Lovebug, Sunshine, Cuddle Muffin, Cute Boy...but lately we've been referring to him (out of earshot) with some entirely new monikers: Mr Aggro, Hair Trigger, Wave of Destruction. Despite our very best efforts at prevention, we've had way more than our share of tantrums, vigorous refusals, emotional reversals of opinion, material damages, embarrassments in public, and even bruises. One night Sam woke up six times between 10pm and 6am, and then the next night took two-and-a-half hours to fall asleep. We've all been saying No more than we'd like and taking a lot of deep breaths. A few days ago, desperate for an explanation, I poked around his upper gums and noticed the tiniest sharp points poking through. I felt immediately justified in dosing my little land mine with baby tylenol in a desperate hope for relief. Today, finally, it appears that the storm has passed. Meltdowns, refusals, tears?...oh yes, but in manageable proportions. Hello molars, so glad you are here. All the better to munch on our early summer garden harvest of baby carrots and sugar snap peas. We are so happy our human sweetpea is feeling a bit better.

random sweet stories

2009-06-12T20:46:00.001-07:00

We had my little 12-month-old niece visiting last week. A few times she cried, and Sam ran to get a washcloth to wipe the "water" off her face.

When she would drop something, Sam would pick it up and say "That's ok!"

Yesterday before nap, Sam and I were saying nightnight, and we hugged and I said "I love you Sam." Then, for the first time, Sam said "I lub you Mommy." (This was the first time it really seemed to come from the heart rather than just repeating what I said to him, which he has done before.)

Tonight at dinner I bumped the table and jostled the glasses. Startled, I said "Oh! I am so sorry!" Sam said, "That's ok Mommy!"

Also at dinner tonight, Sam said to me,
Know what Mommy?
Me: What?
Sam: Know what?
Me: What Sam?
Sam: Know what?
Me: What?
Sam: Know what?
Me: Sam, when you say Know what? and then I say What? then you're supposed to tell me something cool.
Sam: (...thinking...)
Sam: Know what Mommy?
Me: What Sam?
Sam: Daddy's here.
Me: Oh! That is cool! We like it when Daddy's here, don't we.
Sam: Know what?
Me: What?
Sam: Daddy's right over there.

Alaska: Nature

2009-05-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

The scenery on our cruise was stunning, particuarly since we had sunny skies every day. We saw a couple of glaciers. As for wildlife, Denis spotted lots of eagles, a mink, and a humpback whale while kayaking. The only wildlife Sam and I saw were a couple of bald eagles, including this one.

We visited an amazing raptor center in Juneau, where they rehabilitate birds of prey to return to the wild. Some are so injured they must remain in captivity. I was mesmerized by the close-up view I had of this owl.

I was also very impressed with the bird enclosures, such as this one, for being so integrated with the natural rain forest landscape.

We treated ourselves to a guided rainforest nature hike to learn about the local flora. It was just like when we first got to know each other...except for the 3-foot-tall person running and chattering around our feet. There was no note-taking on this hike, but I loved the delicacy of these ferns.

I see more Alaskan hikes in our future for sure.

someone likes posing

2009-05-08T08:18:00.000-07:00

We've entered a new stage of picture taking, and I don't know if the video camera, Skype, or our beautiful flowers deserve the credit. Sam will now stand still and look at the camera for a picture! Not always of course, but it is less of a monumental struggle than it used to be. Which allows us to behold a beautiful boy standing at a lovely spot in our yard, side by side with a purple bearded iris and a dark pink rhododendron (or azalea, not sure). In his hand is a tiny watering can that he uses to help water the strawberries and raspberries we recently planted. Then sometimes he waters the patio. So along the way we talk about drought, responsible water usage, and the properties of straw mulch.

happy birthday sofia!!

2009-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

My sweet niece Sofia, Sam's cousin, is turning ONE today! Over the weekend Sam excitedly packed up some of his old toys and drew a card for his much-loved "Too-paia" (Sofia). Then he wanted to send his "burpday" wishes in song:

We need to do this for all the family birthdays that we can't celebrate in person, though I'm not sure how Sam is going to feel about these videos when he's a teenager. To the parents, two of my favorite people, from me: I am so happy for you guys! Excited to see you soon!

dirty fingernails

2009-05-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I had perpetual dirty fingernails and hardly ever used a computer or talked to kids. Right now I am happily typing into the blogosphere, pausing every couple of minutes to wind up my toddler's train (and just had to calm tears when I distractedly let the train go before he said "ready set go!"), and noticing my lovely dirt-filled fingernails.

Earlier today we were outside, enjoying the fresh humid air and soaked soil after days of rain, and pulling weeds. Actually I pulled weeds while Sam played a game of "get me." This involves Sam removing himself to a distance about 12 feet from my weeding position, yelling "Mommy do 'get me'!", which prompts me to yell back "you can't get me!", and then he runs full-force towards me while laughing and screeching, and thrusts a big sloppy kiss on my face. Then we do it again about 20 times, while I somehow manage to get the whole sidewalk and more weeded, and every time he rushes towards me, his eyes and smile are the very picture of glee.

More good things:
*carrots, peas, cilantro, and 3 beets sprouting in our first garden bed of the season (see photo above, and yes, they need thinning)
*artichokes, homemade aioli, and veggie chili from the freezer for dinner
*bouquet of yellow roses on my windowsill and burgundy roses on my dining room table, both hand-picked from our yard
*fresh baked whole-wheat-molasses bread from our new thrift store bread machine (once upon a time I baked my own bread sans machine, but I really appreciate this convenient fresh-baked goodness now)
*Sam 'discovering' his crayons and easily spending a half hour drawing in his sketchbook
*ten-day vacation in Alaska and Seattle coming up!

now blooming

2009-04-25T19:46:00.001-07:00

Right now we have a potato vine in full flower; yellow, pink, white, and gorgeous burgundy roses; my favorite type of tiny-bloomed dark purple lavender; alyssum; and two flowers, a white one and a pink one, that I don't know the name of yet. California poppies are still abundant and bright; pink and red camellias are still hanging on; and the low-growing ceanothus is just going by. On their way very soon are a couple of purple irises and a dark pink azalea. I'm still picking the blooms off our strawberries to encourage vegetative growth. I can't wait for the hydrangea!

easter

2009-04-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

We celebrated a secular Easter this year, with some egg dyeing...

backyard egg hunt...

and strawberry planting.

rainboot afternoon

2009-04-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

On rainy days, I love how my child is more interested in going outside, putting on his own rainboots, wearing a hood, and exploring the yard by himself. I love that our newly planted raspberries and vegetable seeds will get a nice long drink from the sky. I love the light when the afternoon sun peeks back out, and makes our humble yard feel like a wonderland.

patchwork

2009-04-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

I finally finished this patchwork duvet cover for Sam's crib. I purchased a crib-sized washable comforter from Ikea, and then pieced squares of cotton flannel for the duvet cover. The flannel is mostly blues and greens and includes some animal prints. This was my first patchwork attempt, and the squares don't line up perfectly everywhere, but even with flaws it managed to come together fairly easily. The back is a bright green super-soft lofty polyester knit, I think they call it minky fabric, which was not fun to sew but feels very soft and comfortable. As a closure on the bottom I put in 3 snaps (since I didn't want to attempt making buttonholes). The comforter fits like a glove!

Sam has been waiting for this blanket for a couple of months now. Just in time for summer! *cringe* He worked alongside me as I cut out the squares and did some of the sewing, but anytime I hit a challenge, I had to put the project away for another time by myself. It was nice that he could anticipate getting it, because this morning when I showed it to him, all complete, he was quite excited. He's sleeping soundly under it right now.

sew a little something

2009-04-03T11:42:00.001-07:00

In my free time, I've gotten back into sewing and other crafts. I have a 50's era Singer sewing machine that I bought for $25 about 10 years ago, as well as a very small stash of fabric from around that time. Until last spring I hadn't done much sewing since then. Now it is my favorite non-parenting activity, and I think about my projects all the time. I've been lucky to have a husband who supports my habit by doing a lot of Sam-care on the weekends. I don't have as much time as I would like for my crafty pursuits, but I still manage to make something every month or two. My most recent completed project was a curtain for our kitchen window. I spent quite awhile looking for the perfect sunny yellow fabric and never did find it, but I settled for this, and still managed to get the look I was going for with that cute crocheted trim on the bottom (click on photo). Making the curtain would have been much simpler and easier without that trim, as I had to hand-sew it, taking several days, but it was well worth it I think.

Works in progress: A patchwork duvet cover for Sam, a way-overdue birthday gift, and some embroidered flour-sack dishtowels

library time

2009-04-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

Our local library branch has a nice storytime on Wednesdays for the 18-36month set with songs, rhymes, stuffed animals, and stories. For some reason it really chokes me up to see Sam get so excited as each song begins. I become that grinning mom with tears in her eyes trying desperately not to explode with sputtering pride and quite unable to get out the words "If You're Happy and You Know It" with the rest of the group.

Last week Sam brought his stuffed bunny with him and ventured a step or two from my lap to participate in the hand motions of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (more teary eyes and overwhelming happiness in my shoes). A cute girl about his age sat down beside him and he became interested. They exchanged looks a few times and then Sam inched his stuffed bunny towards her knee. She looked at it but didn't respond at all. A few seconds later he inched it closer so that it was actually touching her leg. The girl looked at the bunny, looked at Sam, looked back at her grandmother, then forward at the story being read. Sam pushed the bunny closer so that it was slightly squished against her leg. Again the girl didn't touch it, just looked at the bunny, at Sam, back at her grandmother, then forward again. Sam tried again and pushed the bunny closer. Again the girl looked down at the bunny, at Sam, her grandmother, then back to the story ahead. I could barely contain myself with feelings of pride at his affection and generosity combined with a painful empathy that she was not receiving his advances. I leaned over and whispered to him that perhaps she didn't want the bunny. He tried again though, and soon after that the girl's grandmother suggested that they move to another open spot away from us. I was crushed, but Sam took it in stride. When the group had a period of free play, Sam kept picking up stuffed animals and offering them to other kids. My little sweetheart!

Sam is also quite enamored with the 'wadey' who leads the songs, rhymes, and stories. She is young and has pretty tatoos and bookish eyeglasses, and I think she projects a really nice balance of sweetness and fun without being cheesy. When she smiles and says "Yay!" after the kids sing each song I can see precisely why Sam likes her so much. Once a month they do a craft instead of songs and stories, so this morning we walked in and the Wadey gave us a paper cup to decorate with markers, fill with soil, plant with grass seeds, and water with a little watering can. We went through the motions, but I could tell that Sam wasn't exactly satisfied with this change in routine. To compensate, as we were leaving, I stopped to say something to the lady (must learn her name next time). Using a voice that Sam could hear, and barely able to get the words out with choking up again, I told her, "Sam was excited to see you today." She smiled, bent down, and addressed Sam's shyly bowed head, "Would you like to bring these watering cans back outside?" He grabbed the cans and practically ran to bring them outside as she had asked. I think the smiling lady was saying something like "Good helper!" but I had to turn my own gigantic smile away or else I was going to lose it in a fit of proud giggles.

This library is dangerous. It slays me every time.

milestone update

2009-04-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

Sam's language is progressing quickly with some fun updates the last couple of weeks.

Sam is no longer Pam-- he pronounces his name with a perfect "S" sound now, and is transitioning from referring to himself as "Baby" or "You" to "Sam" or "Me."

He recognizably sings several songs now, either with us or on his own. It has become a custom lately to have a little family sing-along at the table after dinner. Along with Row Row Row Your Boat, which he's been singing for awhile, he now also sings Itsy Bitsy Spider, Baa Baa Black Sheep, ABC's, and You Are My Sunshine. My favorite line to hear him singing to himself very accurately is "now I know my abc's, next time won't you sing with me." And I get choked up to the point of not being able to sing anymore when he pipes in with parts of You Are My Sunshine.

Sentences are more complex, containing more of the little words like the, my, to, his, etc.

Colors have really clicked. For awhile everything was gaween, but now he is pointing out red cars, wewoe flowers, bue pants, white trucks, puhple markers, tan houses, and gaween shirts.

Interest is peaking about letters. He can id the capital "wetter A."

He can count 1-2-3 and identify when there are two of something (as well as one of something). He knows some other numbers by name as well and will "count" when prompted.

He still loves to read, and will recognizably "read" (from memory) his books (he's been doing this for awhile). When we read books together before nap and bedtime, he gets to pick 3 books. With each one, Denis or I read it first, and then Sam reads it by himself ("read it telf" or "Sam read it").

Phrase of the month: "That's siwwy!"

feeding the soil

2009-03-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

I started this blog last year with the intention of integrating some of my old self, soil, with my new self, mama. We had started a community garden plot after two seasons not gardening (pregnant, moving, baby). With a 1-year old I felt life beyond baby opening up a little. We had a sweet little season last year, and we're still eating the pickles, relish, pesto, and tomatoes that we grew. Although I ended up feeling disenchanted with the community garden model, it was pretty cool watching Sam run around the compost pile and pop sungold tomatoes into his mouth.

This year, I have a dream come true: our own land. It's tiny, it's suburban, it's a front yard on a cul-de-sac. But it's ours! This past weekend, we broke ground. It was a family effort: examining the space with its existing plantings and mulch (a "street tree," no-maintenance shrubs and perennials, self-sowing Cal poppy, a few bulbs, weedcloth, and gravel), determining the best spot for our first bed, stringing out a 4'x8' bed oriented north-south, removing 3 or so inches of gravel and weeds (woohoo), peeling up the weed barrier (no longer functioning), and prepping the bed.

Denis borrowed a truck from work to pick up a load of county compost. Eleven years ago I was regularly hauling loads of Berkeley city compost in the back of a rusty yellow Toyota pickup. I'd stand on that giant pile of converted city yardwaste and shovel it all in, and then shovel it all out again back at the farm, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow. Well, I did have help usually, but I made it a point to do more than my share. I'd even compete against myself by trying to beat my own time loading the truck. I listened to a lot of Ani Difranco that year, what can I say.

For the next 4 years and a different job I kept shovelling and hauling that compost in pickups and trailers, until I finally reached compost-self-sufficiency and no longer needed it. The truck rides didn't end though; I still pitched and hauled horse manure from a mile away.

All this is to say that I've carried a lot of compost in my day. So when Denis and I disagreed about whether or not to tarp the truck, I came from the position of "I've driven on the highway with loads of dirt dozens of times and I've never needed to tarp it." Call me an ornery farmer if you will (I wish I were), but I underestimated myself. Dozens, yes, but actually over a hundred times. Did he listen? No, he tarped the truck, just like the good citizen he is.

As I watched him shovel our compost onto the driveway with Sam (I was digging the bed at the time), I thought of all the people I've shovelled compost with over the years. So many wonderful folks. There's nothing like getting to know people while moving (literally) a ton of dirt using the strengths of your backs together, and then doing it again and again. Now, here I am, a lot slower and soft-skinned than I used to be, but with the two most wonderful people I have ever known, hauling compost in our very own garden for the very first time. Bliss.

bon appetit recession

2009-03-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

About 6 months ago, when the tanking economy and rising food prices still caused some surprise, I found myself on the playground with a bunch of other moms discussing our weekly grocery bills. I couldn't help thinking that I had hit the big time of suburban motherhood. Who knew how fascinating this topic could be!

At that point each of us estimated spending about $125/week on groceries for 2 parents and 1 or 2 little ones. It was surprising to me that we all came up with the same number, especially since some of us were spending this amount at discount stores, some at Costco, some at Safeway, and then me at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. I can only attribute this phenomenon to a difference in products purchased. Although I probably spend more for produce, dairy, and pantry staples, I do not buy meat, nor a lot of processed foods which tend to cost more than scratch ingredients.

Since that time things have changed. Sam is eating more and more (often as much as an adult! I don't know where it all goes, and we'd better start saving for his teenage diet now). We have also taken a huge personal hit due to the general economy and particularly the California budget crisis. Just when our grocery bill started to creep up, we needed to cut it way back.

Since I don't get performance reviews and I certainly don't get raises, I'm just going to toot my own horn here for any of you still reading this scintillating report. For the past three weeks and counting, I have managed to get our grocery bill well under $100/week. I still buy quality food and a large proportion organic and local. I've done it by cutting out some of our few processed items (and if this causes my favorite fresh salsa company to go out of business I will be very sad because I am dreaming of eating it again when times get better), buying a little less cheese and a little more beans and grains, picking produce carefully based on price, delaying each food shop as long as possible, and (most importantly) diligently menu-planning. The funny thing is that in some ways we are eating even better than before. Maybe being more conscious about our food choices makes me cook better. Or maybe food is the sole semi-discretionary spending we have left in our budget, so it's the only thing left to enjoy.

spring smiles

2009-03-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

In the absence of cute photos here lately, I am pleased to share a link with you. Sam and I make an appearance over on Carrie's blog, in a post about a fun (and hot) day we shared with Amy, Miles, Carrie and Sadie recently. Check it out.

flower day

2009-03-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

This blog may be on its deathbed, but the stories keep coming in our real world. I would like to remember today as the first day Sam picked flowers as a contribution to our dining room table bouquet. We've been having some great floral surprises in our new yard this spring, including my discovery of (gasp!) purple lilacs emerging from an unspectacular bush in the back corner of the yard. Back east lilacs don't bloom until May, and can be found everywhere, making their sweet-scented way into daily conversation and regionally famous lilac celebrations. Here in the promised land, lilacs show up much earlier, in March, but they are uncommon and not nearly as appreciated by the locals. It was certainly in the plan to plant a lilac bush at our new house; how fortunate that one is already here.

So today I picked some lilacs to replace the wilting bouquet of narcissus (another yard suprise and also beautifully scented) for our dining room table. I came back inside, found a vase, placed it on the table, and continued making dinner while Sam played outside. A little while later I hear him open the screen door and walk into the dining room. He's busy with something at the side of the table, and I peek over his shoulder to see what's going on. There on the tablecloth is a pile of red flower petals from our camellia bush. Sam looks at me and announces, "red flowers," as he dashes back to his wagon on the porch to get more handfuls. Some of them are brown and rotting, since he "picked" these flowers from the ground beneath the bush, and I definitely see an ant walking away from the pile (I relocate it outside), but I couldn't be happier. Lilacs and Sam's petals in one day! That's a lot of flower goodness.

good things to do with a 2-year-old on a Saturday

2009-03-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

---walk in the rain and splash in puddles while giggling
---watch a leaf float downstream
---practice sticking out tongues to catch raindrops
---eat snack on the deck wearing rain boots while Mommy watches and washes dishes
---discover a purple lilac bush in bloom in our own yard
---arrange socks with their matching pairs
---sort buttons by hue as Mommy sews patchwork squares
---look through old magazines (National Geographic and New Yorker)
---read "new" books from the storage shed
---wait for Daddy at the window
---three-way family hug
---help Daddy make pizza
---eat yummy broccoli-onion pizza
---sing songs after dinner while "playing piano" on the edge of the table
---super silly soapy saturday bath
---moose bamas (moose pajamas)
---night-night kisses

the raunchy, the sweet, and the song

2009-03-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

In toddler-speak, words may be known but mispronounced. Language acquisition is like that; vocabulary develops before pronunciation, totally normal. Occasionally there are some unfortunate (or fortunately hilarious) versions of common words.

Sam has a couple raunchy ones:

Talking about tunnels (one of his Favorite Things) sounds like: P*rno! P*rno!

Giving kisses, which he does often: Piss! Piss Mommy!

And some very sweet phrases:

Happy tee you! Happy tee you Mommy! Happy happy tee you Daddy!

Tank you bay much!

And a song:

Row row boat peet may may by beam (often while running circles around the couch).

I'm being watched

2009-02-18T19:23:00.000-08:00

As Sam's verbal skills get better and better, I am treated to a running commentary on my every move. Tonight's dinner conversation is a perfect example of what we talk about 50 times a day:

I pop my last bite of garlic bread into my mouth, which Sam has been following with his eyes (his own piece is still on his plate). He immediately says: Mommy, garlic bread more?

Me: No, I think I've had enough.

Sam: Mommy, garlic bread more?

Me: Nope, no more garlic bread for me.

Sam: Mommy, garlic bread more?

Me: (sigh) No, I'm all done with garlic bread.

Sam (completely unfazed, mind you): Mommy, garlic bread more?

Me: Mommy's all done.

Sam: Mommy, garlic bread more?

Me: Why don't you eat your garlic bread, Sam.

images

2009-01-28T16:10:00.001-08:00

Someone around here really knows how to savor the present moment. A sampling of our moments from the past couple of weeks:

new word: sick

2009-01-13T15:36:00.000-08:00

Thankfully, it was short-lived, occurred during normal adult awake times, involved only certain typical symptoms and not others, and (so far) only got subsequently passed to one parent. Ah yes, the first vomit milestone. Finally, the reason to possess 3 sets of crib sheets is revealed.

The above photo was taken the next day, when a recovering Sam requested an early nap in mommy's bed. No blackout curtains, no white noise, no lullaby. Just a pacifier, a pillow, and the blue dustcloth that he recently adopted as a lovey (totally his idea). He still says, "Tick" (sick), or "tick mouf" (sick mouth) in memory of his experience.

By Sunday, we were all well enough for a long walk around a lake at a local park. The past three days have been record-breakingly warm, and we have been spending as much time outdoors as possible. After being ill myself, I am finding the nice weather to be particularly uplifting. Something about blogging from the back porch, wearing a t-shirt, hearing birdsong in the distance, reading gardening books, and watching as my little guy happily plays in his new yard... I like it.

bam!

2009-01-07T16:24:00.000-08:00

Sam knows who he is: Baby. Throughout the day we hear about all the things that Baby wants: "Baby eat," "Baby more?" "Baby close it," "Baby do it," and, when he is not getting what he wants within a sufficient timeframe, we hear simply, "Baby! Baby! Baby!" as lips turn down and quiver, face turns a deep red, arms stiffen with fists raised, and tears well up. You may remember my prior attempts at getting Sam to say his own name. He obviously knows his name and responds to it all the time; he just doesn't use it to refer to himself.

Today we took a rather long car-ride to meet some friends at a children's museum, and Sam was doing quite well remembering his friends' names and talking about them during our drive. I decided to work with him on his own name, asking him, What's your name? and then telling him to say, "Sam." After repeating it only a couple of times, I asked, What's your name? again, keeping my eyes on the road ahead, and from the backseat I heard a little voice reply, "Bam." That's right, Bam! He did it! The very first time he said his name. Then we worked on another question, and he got that right away. We've been doing it all day long, including on the phone with Daddy. So proud!

staycation

2009-01-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

I'm just loving these 4-day holiday weekends. Every week should have this balance of work-time and family-time. We celebrated New Year's Day with some yard clean-up, including leaf-raking, pond-draining, and the beginning of the purge of the less charming yard installations left behind by the previous owners (plastic frogs anyone?). I spend a lot of time these days staring at the various spaces inside and outside our house, dreaming how to make them our own (while spending no money).

On Friday, Sam's new wagon (thanks, Grandma!) made its first journey around the neighborhood. Denis and Sam have been visiting the nearby creek (of course), which Sam has named, "beek park," (creek park). Isn't Sam's hat just the cutest? A friend of mine knitted it for him when he was born, and I've been trying to extend its use this winter (his third, amazingly), even though it's too small and pops off Sam's head every few minutes. I am sad that he is outgrowing it...though I wouldn't trade all the cute hats in the world for the joy of watching my little boy becoming who he is.

speaking of home...

2008-12-31T20:56:00.000-08:00

For several weeks now, whenever Sam and I leave the house by car, he makes sure to say, "Byebye house! Byebye home!" Last week I noticed, as we approached the third-to-last turn on our way home, Sam announced, "Home!" which he used to do at our old house but hadn't yet done here. I started asking him, "So which way do we go to get home?" and at each turn he would point in the correct direction. Until the other day, that is, when he started cracking himself up by purposely pointing in the opposite direction and saying, "that way!" and watching my pseudo-appalled reaction with glee.

Sam really seems to enjoy having guests visit our house. His energy while they are here can border on ecstatic, and then afterwards he seems to remember the visit fondly and often, by saying the person's name and "home," as in, "Grampie home," or "Mim home." This week he's remembering the two little friends who came here for a playdate on Monday.

In the backyard (see top photo), he is in near-constant motion. I think he likes his new room too. Here's another peek inside our new house:

happy holidays!

2008-12-28T22:01:00.000-08:00

We have had a wonderful holiday week seeing family, nesting, lighting Hanukkah candles, making homemade gifts, admiring our "bit-a wights" (Christmas lights), eating latkes, baking Christmas cookies, unpacking more boxes, and spending lots of time as a threesome. I was inspired to take these photos by two good friends with great taste, Trina and Carrie, who blogged their own beautiful holiday homes here and here. And then of course all the requests I've gotten for pictures of our new house. Here's a little peek!

a little girly

2008-12-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

The other night I went out to see some live music, something I have done exactly twice in the past two years since lullabies and baby cries have become our soundtrack. This time I saw Girlyman, one of my very favorite bands, who describe themselves as "leading edge three-part-harmony folk-pop." Their harmonies take me to another place, their lyrics are smart, and their energy is both thoughtful and positive. I love everything they've done, but I am especially loving this song these days, and their live performance of it the other night had me practically falling off my seat with excitement. Sam and I like to dance to it in our living room too.

In other girly news, we are really excited about getting this kitchen for Sam for Christmas/Hanukkah. Whenever we go to one of our local playspaces, Sam gravitates towards their play kitchens, and loves opening the cabinets, turning the stove dials, putting play food in pots on the stove, and even feeding baby dolls in their little highchairs. I am not at all excessive about toys in our house (books, maybe); we really have very few compared to other kids. Like with so many other things, I focus on quality over quantity, and I think a play kitchen can have tremendous play value for children who are interested in kitchen activities (honestly it feels like we spend over half our time prepping and eating food together, so it makes sense!). Lately Sam has been carrying a little plastic easter egg over to the (real) stove and "cracking" it on the edge of the frying pan. This would be much safer if he had his own kitchen!

So I've been looking at play kitchens for months now. There are some gorgeous ones that are solid wood and made in USA, but they are quite pricey. Many are plastic and obnoxiously decorated, or worse: battery-operated, and I refuse to buy those despite their lower price. When it came down to finally picking one for the holidays, I enlisted Denis' help to balance all the factors of aesthetic, price, building material, size, manufacture location, and...girliness. Yeah, the girly factor. This one we picked is white (girly), has hearts (girly), and obviously it's a kitchen (duh, girly). Then it was delivered, and we realized that it even has some pink accent coloring (whoa, SO girly).

But so what, right? I have always, ALWAYS, said that I would not put my child in a gender box. Thankfully, my husband's values align with mine. As parents and as individuals, he and I will pursue our own interests and share those with Sam. When it comes to Sam's interests, we'll let him take the lead. For now, as he is getting really serious about imaginative play, we think he's going to love his wooden heart kitchen. I can't wait to see what he cooks up for the babydoll he's getting under the tree too.

appreciation

2008-12-18T14:51:00.000-08:00

Some things I am appreciating right now:
*the forced air heater in our new house
*the way Sam says "lion," which sounds like "yion"
*a dinner full of laughter with some other playgroup moms last night
*sleeping well since day 1 in our new home
*our kitchen counters have on top of them: a toaster oven, coffee maker, stand mixer, 2 weeks worth of mail, 2 fruit baskets, my bag, a clock, a dishrack of drying dishes, 3 small plants, a camera, Felco pruners, and a bottle of wine...and I STILL have plenty of room to prep a meal
*various Christmas-related projects are partially completed and covering the dining room table, but I don't have to move any of it
*Christmas decorations, old and new, all around the house
*the way my sewing machine looks in its new space (and using it too)
*my decision not to rush with Christmas stuff even though I am way behind this year
*Sam's excitement seeing Christmas lights, or as he says, "bit-mith wighth!"
*actually, my hair looks good today (this is rare, ever since pregnancy altered 2 of my best physical features: straight streaky blonde hair and never-been-on-a-diet skinniness)...(or maybe the light was just dim)
*spontaneous kisses from my little guy

ObamaObama

2008-11-18T23:34:00.000-08:00

This is what I often see in the living room these days: Sam on the couch, reading New Yorker magazine. I'll be in the kitchen using my spatial, organizational, and muscular skills to pack boxes, and Sam will be getting caught up on his east coast liberal print media.

He apparently enjoyed one passage from our most recent issue as much as I did. It was written by Hendrik Hertzberg as part of his Talk of the Town piece celebrating the unlikely presidential election of someone with the name Barack Hussein Obama (sorry I don't know how to indent in html for such a long quote):

"...last week, sixty-five million Americans turned a liability---a moniker so politically inflammatory that the full recitation of it was considered foul play---into a global diplomatic asset, a symbol of the resurgence of Americas'a ability to astonish and inspire....Ten weeks from now, the President of the United States will be a person whose first name is a Swahili word derived from the Arabic (it means 'blessing'), whose middle name is that not only of a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad but also of the original target of an ongoing American war, and whose last name rhymes nicely with 'Osama.' That's not a name, it's a catastrophe, at least in American politics. Or ought to have been."

Well, of course. I can tell you of another little citizen for whom our new President's name is definitely not a catastrophe. "Obama" is the perfect name for a neophyte English speaker of the toddler variety. It contains only those very basic sounds that a toddler can easily pronounce. In fact, I hear it all day long, with lots of grinning and pointing at the New Yorker, "Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!" That's right, Sam. A great name for an American President.

Happy Birthday Sam!!!

2008-11-13T14:11:00.000-08:00

A few thoughts and memories from a mommy-in-love...

Dear Sam,

Two years ago you were born. I remember seeing your beautiful face for the first time, holding your tiny body in my arms, feeling your little fingers and kissing your soft cheek.

Before I knew it you were a jolly 6-month-old and we'd spend hours hanging out in our front yard, taking in the sights of our olive and redwood trees, and listening to the squawking jays.

When you turned one you had already taken your first steps, but you were still a crawling machine, exploring the far reaches of your world. Very soon your feet would take you even farther.

By 18 months you were speaking several words and understanding so much more. We had fun reading books together and naming what we saw in the pictures.

And now you are 2 years old! I still marvel at your beautiful face and your strong little body. I still kiss you, and now you kiss me. We can talk together, and I see you learning new words and ideas every day. We still enjoy our time exploring the outdoors, and we still love to read together. I am so proud to be your mommy. Happy Birthday, Sam.

Love,
Mommy

Happy Birthday Grampie!

2008-11-07T13:23:00.000-08:00

And from me, Happy Birthday Dad! We love you!

Sam I Am

2008-11-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

I've become very interested in getting Sam to say his own name. For quite awhile now, when I've pointed to Sam and asked him "Who's this?" he's responded, "Baby." Cute, huh? This probably derives from a month-long serious interest in Pattycake sometime over the summer ("put it in the oven for Baby and me"). Lately, though, I've been trying to reinforce "Sam" by pointing and telling him, "It's you, Sam!" So now what does he say? I ask "Who's this?" and he cheerfully replies, "You!" Oops.

little patriot

2008-11-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

I may have missed Halloween with Sam this year, but I sure as hell came home in time for Election Day with my little guy.

But of course...

"I don't have to tell anyone who I vote for! Nobody does. And that's really cool about America."

Suck it, SP.

three days away

2008-10-30T20:53:00.001-07:00

Early tomorrow morning I am leaving by myself for another flight to Boston. I will be apart from Denis and Sam for three days, by far my longest time and farthest distance away from Sam. I plan to check in with the blog to see some pictures of my little boy while I am away. These are the images I want to see...taken two days ago, goofing around after nap, doing what we do every day, just having fun together.