Green tea

There's a street cleaner truck moseying by. The kids and I were fed by 9am. (Leftover latkes for them, potato salad on toast for me :-)

When I woke, I hadn't gotten enough sleep, but I eluded insomnia and I could see the sunny silhouettes of the leafy branches swaying with vigor and felt energized.

I threw open windows (our bedroom feels so much like a treehouse this time of year) and read a few chapters of Plague of Doves.

Gem tripped on the laptop cord and it tumbled to the floor. Nothing was lost except the laptop's mechanism to keep itself physically locked. And a few hours off Cap's life as he tried to figure out whether his book chapter remained intact (it did).

I've got my decaf green tea with a spoonful of honey from New Zealand. Off to my desk to declutter and face some music.

Computer off.

Market day

There was kale. And there was the wonderful memory of the African Kale, Pineapple and Peanut stew that Kate brought to Kelly's. I tucked a bunch into our canvas bag. This dish is AMAZING. I cannot stress this enough.

These strawberries, from California (on sale and organic from Whole Foods), were so much better than the local ones (not organic) we picked up at the farmer's market last week. So good.

The sugar snap peas were from Farmer John's stall. They were delicious steamed. Gem took a liking to them. Gorgeous, simple flavor.


We devoured the blueberries last week, so this week I bought three quarts. I baked muffins yesterday and am planning a pie for today or tomorrow. How decadent. A blueberry pie!

As long as there is garlic scape, I will keep buying it. The scape-basil pesto has become a summer staple and I eat some every day, sometimes twice a day. It goes so well with scrambled eggs. I also like adding a dollop to pasta with marinara sauce.

Here is the potato salad I whipped up to accompany dinner last night. Red potatoes, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, white pepper, mayo, and scallions. Every bite makes me happy to be alive.

Beach day

The day was so complete. Such serious work being a child at the beach. So much digging and engineering, so much testing of physics, so much surf and sun and sand to absorb... We don't see much of Asa and Finch and Ethan and Charlie, but when we do, it's all good.

Good flick

We watched "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" last night. It was meditative, engrossing, and really interesting. Definitely recommend it.

It was a perfect end to a beach day spent with Janet and her family who are vacationing from Cali.

Tonight we watched Superbad. Giggling and guffawing as we "wasted precious sleeping hours" as Janet put it (they are spending the night---Sag has been in heaven, he really likes Asa and Finch :-)

Thank you

Gem is signing his name to his thank you cards, putting them in the correct envelopes and sticking the Sinatra stamps on them. Why do I have to send a card to someone if I said thank you to them already?

Um. Just because. No. I didn't really say that. But, teaching the kids about gratitude (or being made to feel that I haven't done enough in this regard) has been the cause of occasional pangs of guilt, doubt and regret.

This may have to do with boy-ness and girl-ness. There are girlish aspects to Cap, Gem and Sag in their personalities and their beings. I do think we are all a mix of both at birth. But, it's looking like maybe Gem and Cap are a bit more to one side and Sag and I to the other when it comes to expressing our feelings.

Cap and I not only express our gratitude in different ways, but I think we actually feel it in different ways. Yet, we have never discussed how we want to model the expression of gratitude for our kids, and teach them the many ways there are to say "thank you".

In Waldorf practices, reverence (a sister to gratitude) is a cornerstone of what and how to model and provide for young children. I was very drawn to this idea, but had a hard time folding it into our lives to the extent that I thought I wanted to. (It was too much for just me to take on...it didn't resonate for Cap in the same way.)

I still haven't done more than flip through Soulemama's book, but one of the things that caught my fleeting attention were her family/home activities that accentuate gratitude.

Food for thought, time for some more cud chewing.

Dreamy

20071014_MattPondPA, originally uploaded by kexplive.

Insomnia has led me to this.

First, there was an e-mail from Mali who I think about now and then, but haven't heard from in years.

Then, there was this.

Kitchen notes

Again with the potato salad, I know :-) I've learned a new trick. Scallions. I love the color they add and the flavor is nice, as well. Thanks to Mary C. for opening my eyes and delighting my taste buds!

Corn bread baked in cast iron is the best.

I also made roasted potatoes. Gem cannot get enough of them. Tried russet today and I much prefer Yukon Gold, I have to say.

The witching hour

Actually, the "witching hour" has never been much of an issue with our kids. They have their days when come that time after dinner and before bed they amp up and go nutty, but for the most part, it's not too bad.

(As I'm sure many a parent has figured out, the more of an agenda you have for this hour or two or three, the more stressed out you become when the kids aren't "cooperating" :-)

Well, something moved in me tonight. Vinny's work really opened me up (he gave me a nice pat on the back for the work I've been doing on my own, which he can ascertain by how my system responds to his work). I've been very happy this afternoon and evening, feeling great about my life and our life as a family. Ecstatic, really.

I remembered that one of the kids had mentioned wanting to paint earlier in the day. It was Sag. He leapt at the opportunity to paint tonight, a time usually reserved for picking up toys (typically like pulling teeth) and/or being shuttled into the shower or bath (oh the hand held shower head has been such a good move for us!)



Not too much time passed before Gem joined in on the painting action...












Gem's painting is called "Noon". The time when the sun and moon begin their journeys to trade places (paraphrased...can't remember his exact words).

"A ladder, some spirals, and some smiley faces." By Sag.