Water play

We were back in my old stomping grounds on Wednesday. Ellie showed off her favorite local haunt.




Jiji giving the boys a lesson on water physics.


After lunch the boys went back down while Ellie took a nap.

Cuke love

We pulled into the lot behind the house.

Cap and I had had appointments with Vinny. (Thing that I love right now #1: seeing Vinny is a guaranteed lift. I felt pretty terrible walking in his door today and left feeling so much better.) Then we drove straight to the super WF to pick up items and ingredients for our food needs for tomorrow (lunch at Ellie and Lisa's, dinner out with my side of he family). I walked through the mega-store in a post-bodywork daze. Thank goddess for lists.

So, then, we returned home. You can see the jungle garden as you pull in and I asked Gem if he thought the tomatoes might have turned red. (The garden has been...not neglected, but given a lot of independence as of late.) Cap sauntered over, as did we, and no, the tomatoes were not red. (Sag is really not interested in the garden. He hopped on a swing.)

But, there were three full grown cukes undercover of giant cuke leaves, right on a bed of grass because I still haven't staked or trellised the humongous plants.

Gem also noticed some green beans. He plucked one.

Things that I am loving right now #2: veggies that like their independence, and #3: garden-fresh cukes sliced, lightly salted and eaten on toast with mayo.

And while we're at it, thing that I am loving right now #4: agave nectar. I want to marry it, I love it so. It's thinner than honey and so dissolves easily in iced tea! Or cold hemp milk, which brings me to...

Thing that I am loving right now #5: hemp milk. I bought some to use in Gluten-Free Goddess' amazing (and wonderfully kid-approved here on Sunday at lunch) Vegan Banana Ice Scream. Hemp milk is creamy. It's got a nutty flavor with a slight earthy undertone. But squirt some agave nectar in it and it is, wait for it...money.

Here I mixed the last of the box into my iced decaf. Yum.

And, last but not least, thing that I am loving right now #6: having some time to blog while Cap is out with the kids at swimming class. I feel like I have not had much time alone lately and I am needing it. I am even pondering a short vacay away from the fam. I need some time and space to recharge...

Woods time with Jiji

Making a home

A better camera would help in photographing active little critters like this one. But, these days, I am feeling more inclined to save those dollars for yarn and needles.

I spotted this beauty (kind of scary looking, but beautiful nonetheless) yesterday evening. S/he was moving about on her invisible-to-the-initial-eye web, bobbing in air outside one of our bedroom windows.

It had been a day where I was on my feet, seemingly perpetually. No complaints, I spent many hours in the kitchen cooking at a leisurely and constant pace. I was making a nourishing cornucopia.

Silke, Roger and the kids came over for their pre-departure dinner (they leave today for a month-plus in Germany) and Karen, Brent and the kids arrive today for a few days (K&B have a wedding in Philly Sat night).

I needed to create using only what I had because Cap had the car and I wasn't interested in hiking to WF with two reluctant-to-walk kids in tow. Not surprisingly, we had more than enough on hand and I enjoyed plucking menu ideas from a different part of my brain based on scanning the cupboard, pantry, fridge and freezer, as opposed to my free flowing imagination/desires and cookbooks.

I made: miso soup with wakame and tofu, onigiri, tamagoyaki, hijiki, roasted potatoes, potato salad, corn and peas (ah, childhood, though it was sans the butter-y sauce), chicken sausage, brownies, and vanilla coconut ice cream.

Today is designated for picking up and making either the kids' room or our bedroom hospitable for our friends' stay.

There are times when I feel overwhelmed by the work of keeping house and there are times when I am in love with making a home. More often than not, I can be found somewhere in between.

While watching the spider last night, I marveled at her purposefulness and sheer exertion. It dawned on me that there was meaning to her movements and that she was spinning her web.

I can live with relative chaos, but those moments of absolute focus: magic.

Goggles

Sag has struck up a friendship with a child in his swimming class. She moved up from Polliwog 1 to Polliwog 2 at the same time he did. They chat a lot while they're waiting for their turns to swim. Before I knew which kid she was, I asked him to describe her. (I am able to watch the class in an observation area where you can see, but not hear, what's happening.)

He said, "I don't know...but I can draw you a picture of her goggles."

Summer things

Splashes and screams...

Puffy white clouds wafting in a blue sky.

That growling appetite that comes after forgetting to eat for hours.

Butterfly lanterns.

Kicking off the sandals and swinging in a hammock.

Breaking in the hot tub.

S'mores...

Bare feet.

Mimosa blossoms.

Painting outdoors.

Blueberries off the bush.

Favorite yellow crocs.

Knitting started during the strangely compelling All-Star game (was still going at 1am when I shuffled off to bed.)

Iced decaf. Cinnamon hazelnut. Not as good as Karen's.

Suit kicked off after swim class. Those sharp dark shadows and the ever present cicada doing their audio death shimmer give these days and moments a balance of tang and edge.

Knex revival

The most intense activity around here lately has been centered around writing and illustrating books themed around the Mr. Men genre. But, a spark was ignited yesterday morning by Sag and there has been a resurgence in building with Knex. (The following were built using pictorial instructions.)

Liberty Bell by Gem. (Pardon the shoddy photography!)

Helicopter by Sag.

Drawbridge by Gem.

Big boat by Sag and Gem.

Uncle time

Uncle Takai came over last week. He stopped by after a rolfing session in a nearby town. He has been an attentive, thoughtful, fun, and loving uncle since day one. When I shot these pics they were watching funny animal videos on YouTube.




Lucky nephews, my boys are...

Fried egg whites

Quinoa is a favorite of Gem's and he likes to have it, fresh off the stove, for breakfast. A bit of soy butter, a sprinkle of gomashio, a dash of Bragg's, and he's good to go.


Sag has been all about fried egg whites for the last few months. He used to like scrambled eggs, but at some point in the last year egg yolks have fallen out of his favor. Unless it's tamagoyaki he's eating in which case yolk is just fine.

Here's a video of someone making tamagoyaki. It's 7 minutes long, but I found it utterly mesmerizing, I think it was the background music.

But, back to fried egg whites. He's a growing boy and he usually asks for 4 egg whites. I usually fry up 3...


because there's something about tossing the yolks in the trash that makes me cringe and I wish I knew of something I could do to use 3-4 egg yolks every day.

Radio silence

It may be a quiet week here.

We had a great, whirlwind weekend where time seemed to slow at each stop to allow for fun and meaningful contact. Lilja turned 3 on Saturday, Mummu (Cap's mom ) is recovering from retina surgery, and Olivia turned 4 on Sunday. Celebrations of life and renewal all around. With good food, always with good food :-)

You can see pics from the weekend here and here. (These are photos for friends and family... please take care if you share.)

So, quiet week. Still struggling a bit with feeling overwhelmed and wanting to create order and form in response to the chaos. The computer tends to suck up a lot of my time and attention.

Cap needs his computer before heading out to work. Gotta go!

Memememe

When it comes to knitting, it's really all about me. Which is good, I think. We should all have those things in our lives just for ourselves. Something that gives us satisfaction and joy deep down inside.

I am coveting these right now. Hotly. Seriously. I'm so close to tossing care and conscience to the wind and just ordering them. They are only a few simple clicks away.

But, no. I'm being good. Pacing myself. Waiting. Which is so not like me.

Knitting is so wonderful that it makes me a better person. (At least for now.) How about that?