Luminata

Today I turned my attention to the kids' room. Time to restore some order, and just "be" in the room.

Our beautiful salt crystal light, a gift from a trip to the Monterey Aquarium with my parents a few years ago, has not worked since a freak accident knocked it off the dresser and onto the floor shortly after we moved here.

Today, I pulled out the bulb, switched it on to see what would happen, and there was light. As if all it had needed was some time off. So I tucked the bulb back in and its lovely glow nourishes once again. (The kids like to lick it :-)



This is a new night light I picked out at Ikea a couple of months ago. The bulbs were dropped at check-out (our fault---it was self check-out) and they didn't work once we were home.

One of us finally got a replacement bulb at the hardware store a week ago.

And today, I finally put the bulb in and set the light up. The bulb was tricky. It's one of those 25 watt chandelier type bulbs. It took awhile and some unconscious finesse (you know, when it finally works and you really don't know what it was exactly that you did differently).


And this is one of the amazing reading lamps that has changed night time around here. I still haven't taken a pic of the kids reading at night... I love these. They are mounted right on the wall at each kid's bunkside.

Our life

Breakfast...

Tomato seedlings and the bean seedling-to-be...

The chaos that will not be denied...

So far today

• I've been teased and intrigued by feelings and fleeting images from an early morning dream.

• I felt the sting of higher food prices at (granted) Whole Paycheck.

• I made the Dark Chocolate Brownies from Gluten-Free Goddess' blog, (thanks Kelly!)

• We babysat Pippa for an hour during which time I watched in wonder as Kinder comforted her effortlessly and even made her laugh with a sock over his hand.

• I've been reading, with growing excitement and anticipation, the posts flowing into the Northeast Unschooling conference Yahoo group (the conference is Memorial Day weekend and will be our first conference as a family).

• After lunch, the kids dove into the big bag of Dum Dums that Mummu gave them over the weekend.

XM radio

Cap got XM radio today. A new era has dawned. The music floating through the apartment tonight is pret-ty awesome.

Potato salad

The season's first batch of potato salad. So, so, so yummy. The photo borders on looking gross, but trust me, it was party-in-my-mouth time (hence, the after thought of a snapshot).

We had a great weekend in Massachusetts, pictures to follow later this week. Though our schedule was typically crazy in terms of number of stops and briefness of time at each place, somehow it felt warm, relaxed, fun, and idyllic.

Hit the ground running and hosted Fiber Arts yesterday. Six adults and fourteen kids came over for a big old play date. I made congo bars, bean bake and brown rice, and peach rooibos tea. Yum.

This morning First and I went to veggie gardening class and came home with a planted bean seed in a peat pot. Our red currant tomatoes from last week have sprouted! Our new planter has arrived, as has the potato bag. I'm hoping to get soil, composted cow manure and peat moss bought and into the planters by this weekend so we can begin planting seedlings into the planters in the next couple of weeks.

A tall order, perhaps, but we'll be away the following two weekends...

And the potato salad. We're hosting co-op dinner tomorrow (someone needed a switch). Cap is busy grading, so I will cook. After a short meditation, I decided on potato salad since we had six lovely red potatoes in the pantry.

(Tomorrow I'll make corn bread in the cast iron skillet, the best ever brownies (I made them for the first time with Karen Saturday morning), chicken apple sausage and either a caprese (fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper) or green salad.)

Potato Salad (adapted from a recipe in A Passion for Potatoes)

6 med-large red potatoes (about 4 lbs. of any kind of potatoes---I'm partial to Yukon golds myself)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar or rice vinegar...)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 cup mayo
salt and pepper

Cover the potatoes (skin on) with cold, salted water in a pot. Bring to a boil (covered) and cook for approx. 30 minutes.

In a glass measuring cup, mix sugar into vinegar and set aside.

Drain potatoes, put on an oven mitt and peel the potatoes promptly.

Cut peeled potatoes in approx. 1 inch cubes. The potatoes are still pretty hot at this point so be careful.

Place cut potatoes into a large mixing bowl. Add vinegar/sugar mixture and toss well. Season with salt and pepper (white pepper if you have it and remember) and toss well. Leave it alone for an hour on the counter.

Add the mayo (more or less to your taste) and mix well. Chill and serve.

Sister scarves

We're heading up to Massachusetts tomorrow. We'll get some time with Karen and co., Jay and co., the Cap-side cousins, and both grandparents on Cap's side.

Celeste is the new addition to the clan, and her arrival has made a big sister of Cecilia. These are the sister scarves I made for them.

Bliss

...is getting in under the wisteria and breathing in deeply.


And, hanging out with friends after a dinner of pasta tossed with fresh tomatoes, basil , garlic and olive oil, scallion biscuits and french bread, and the tenderest of brownies with walnuts (all GFCF, of course). Cap is such a good cook.

Muxtape

Cap and I have "muxtapes" online and available for your listening pleasure.

Check them out here and here.

This and that

Baxter was here for a week. I miss taking him for mid-day walks. First said he missed him a few days after he was gone. I wonder if we'll have a pet of our own some day.

The kids had a good time at Owen's birthday party. They opted not to do the rock wall climbing, but enjoyed climbing on cubbies in the cake room. Here's a cool party favor.

Cap took the kids to the spring craft and bake sale. First bought this nifty sword made of duct tape (created by the same kids who made the duct tape crown we bought last year).

The kids sold some of their Ben 10 wares and some necklaces we put together last minute...

It's "Fashion Week" at Playmobil House this week. The audience is waiting in rapt attention.

First has been reading and reading and reading and reading. I haven't snapped a picture of him in bed at night. There's something sacred about that time and space. The reading lamps from Ikea have been working out brilliantly. First would read well into the deep night if he could (and he will soon enough realize that he can, no doubt).

I recently forced the kids to do a major clean up of their room. It's one of those things I go back and forth on. But ultimately, my inner neatnik becomes shrill and I insist. The surprise this time has been that Kinder has been singing the praises of having a clean room. That he is the one making efforts to keep it that way is shocking and exciting.

Both the kids have been reaping the benefits of discovering and rediscovering items which are visible and in reach once again.

Kinder pulled out this book/kit which was a gift from Malachi, Erika and Jerry. They had never played with them before and spent the better part of the morning exploring the pleasures and possibilities of paper dolls.

Six happens

...before you know it. Where'd my baby go?!

These days he's making clocks out of Knex, drawing amazing pictures, and making movies.

My first swatch

Most knitters, before starting a project, will make a gauge swatch. They knit up a square or rectangle using the yarn and needles and pattern required of the next project. This sample provides information about how to make any necessary adjustments so that your end result will closely match the desired end result.

Since I mostly make simple scarves (which do not require a pattern), I have never made a gauge swatch. And was glad not to. The math-y part of knitting holds little appeal for me.

Recently, though, I decided the time had come to make a swatch. As is typical, I had some skeins of a beautiful yarn picked out for a friend's birthday. When I bought the yarn, I didn't know what I was going to make. Well, I knew it would most likely be a scarf, but beyond that, no idea.

That's the organic knitter in me, according to the Yarn Harlot. "Organics are all about the yarn, the feel and the act of knitting, and embrace the full yarn family of activities."

Wendy mentioned that she had searched Ravelry for projects using specific yarns, which I thought was a great idea. So, I did that, plugging in the beautiful yarn, Noro Matsuri (click on the photo for color #4).

On Ravelry, I saw a variety of projects using the yarn. One in particular caught my eye and I followed the link to the free pattern that was used. Well, the pattern was for a child's scarf, so I had some figuring to do to translate that to adult size.

I went to the yarn shop to pick up some more yarn (now that I knew what I wanted to make, I knew I was short). While there, I asked the owner for help, which she graciously provided---lucky for me the store was empty at the moment. She was able to determine approximately how much more yarn I would need based on the dimensions I was seeking for my final product (using the measurements for the kid size scarf that she pulled up on her computer).

But, I was going to have to make a swatch to figure out how many stitches I would have to cast on (ie. the width of the item) to begin my project.

It took a long time. First, because I couldn't remember how to do YO (yarn over) and the book I chose to look at for help was no help at all. I ended up calling Wendy after an hour and she walked me through it.

Then another hour or so was spent on knitting up swatches and then ripping them out (undoing them) because I didn't like the way it looked. I tried a few different needle sizes and finally settled on the size I wanted.

Then, as if struck by a lovely benign force, I suddenly remembered how to cast on the way my mother taught me decades ago, by doubling up the needles. This is a good method for me because I tend to knit tightly and so if you look at my scarves, they are always tight on one end at the very edge, then they are loose for a few rows and then they tighten up for the rest of the way. Very predictable. My signature look.

So I did the doubled up needles and got a lovely, loose, even edge, and began knitting. Well, having the lovely, loose, even edge made for loose knitting entering into the project and allowed me to experience the stitch pattern completely differently from when I was knitting up the swatches. It was like I was breathing air from another, super clear, dimension.

I wondered (being an organic knitter I wonder rather than worry :-) how much larger my final product was going to end up being, because there was no way I was knitting in the same gauge as the swatch. It being what it is, the sizing could be off by quite a bit and still be usable, so I continued on.

I don't mind ripping things out, but enough was enough and I wanted to keep going!

Now that all the figuring and getting going are in the past, the knitting is going quickly and smoothly. It feels so good.

Food, glorious, food

Anyone else have memories of this song from performing "Oliver" in their past?

Prosciutto slices for lunch at Whole Paycheck. (We went out for a family lunch.) Yum. The six weeks of DW are wending their way to an end.

Short ribs are braising in the oven as I type. A gift for my brother whose birthday we will be celebrating tomorrow. They smell really good.

Also for tomorrow, I am making deviled eggs and guacamole. And bringing hummus and a jar of the pickled red cabbage he likes. Cap's baking something GFCF tonight. Maybe blondies.

And for the kids tonight I made GFCF pizza. The crust was YF (yeast-free) as well. It came out great! Both kids loved it. First had his topped with slices of breakfast sausage, Kinder with mozzarella cheese.

But, my gut is rumbling a little (did I mention the veggie spring roll I had at 10 pm last night...Cap was celebrating the end of his Thursday night classes with some Chinese food) and I will pick and choose carefully what I eat tomorrow.

I've been starting my days with warmed up navel oranges. Delicious.

Special cake

First made his second cake ever tonight. He was inspired to do something "special" because we celebrated Kinder's first swim class with a "Kinder's choice" dinner (pizza and hotdogs) and he was bummed because he didn't get his usual sushi.

(I will admit here this was due in part to light a fire under his butt about learning how to swim, but also in part to limited funds it being the night before pay day.)

He whined for awhile and went from trying to get sushi to going to the bookstore so he could get a Mr. Men book with some money he had saved. By the time we were getting into the car in the supermarket parking lot, he was saying that having his seatbelt buckled by someone would be something "special" enough :-)

Well, he decided to whip up a celebratory cake once we were home.

(I will admit here that I was slightly exasperated that he set about pulling his ingredients and bowls and utensils out and then actually measuring (eyeballing would be the more apt term), pouring and mixing, on the kitchen table while I was making and putting dinner, also on the kitchen table. We were working around each other in a very small space :-)

The ingredients: chocolate chips, brown sugar, peanut butter, soy butter, water, salt, pepper, sugar, rice milk, brown rice flour, tapioca flour, garfava (garbanzo and fava bean mix) flour, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, honey...I think that was everything.

He chose a glass loaf pan and I chose 350º. It baked for an hour at least, maybe a bit longer.

It looked great, smelled beany, and according to First, had a "unique flavor". Color me impressed!






P.S. If you look at the fridge magnets in the background of some of these photos, you will see a recent work of art titled, "Sumo and Wiggles". I love this and have been wanting to photograph it for awhile. Bonus!

Ravelry

It's happening...I'm becoming a knitting geek.

I am now a member of Ravelry, a massive online group of knitters and crocheters. Massive. They have so many requests for membership daily that it takes about a month to receive your invitation once you let them know you want to join.

Membership, which is free, gives you access to thousands of other folks, their profiles, projects, discussions, photos, etc. It will take me weeks, nay months, to completely update my page with my finished projects and works-in-progress, and my stash (that's the yarn you have...in your...yarn...collection...)

Two of my local yarn shops have groups within Ravelry and one of them gives you a 10% discount in the store once you're a member which is cool.

One of the things I'm psyched about is having a place to document my works-in-progress without having to be afraid that non-knitting geek friends and family will see prezzies before they are finished and draped around their necks (I am a scarf knitter for the next foreseeable year or so :-)

He's a polliwog

Kinder started swimming class at our local Y. We have Lukas and Owen to thank for that. Truly.

This was the only picture I got before the camera battery died! (The expression/posture is shivering from cold, not shivering from fear :-)

Something delicious

The Bistro Bar in Caramel Caresse (dark chocolate bar filled with pear caramel) made by Chocolat Moderne available at my friendly neighborhood chocolate shop. Here's a link to the product.

I'm trying the grapefruit caramel next :-)

Peek-a-boo

Not sure if I'm gonna roar back blog-wise, but...

House is back on! I just love that character/actor (Hugh Laurie) and the show.

Reaper and Lost are back on, too.

The next bunch of weeks will bring an onslaught of new episodes until summer when all will lie fallow. I always start to feel like it's too much, but cannot manage to detach from the set...

Some time off

I need to take a break from the blog for...I don't know how long. Maybe a week or so.

I wish I could take a break from the computer for that time, but with e-mail, that's going to be tough.

I've derailed a bit, and need to reset myself.

Check back in about a week...and thanks to you for reading and caring.

Nature kicks my ass

In a good way.

Every time.

We went on a woods walk with Lucia and Holly this morning. My gut was giving me some trouble and I almost canceled.

But I wanted to see Holly and Lucia.

And then First expressed dismay at the possibility of not being able to go. Which was the clincher, really. This child doesn't ask for much outside of his routine and repertoire.

The notion that walking in the woods has become something akin to either of these things for First is delightful to me.

The bonus, soaking in the changes that have transformed the woods since we were last there with Sophia and Wendy.

More color was immediately evident. Not sure what these beauties are called, but they sure caught my eye.

It warmed significantly during the two hours we were there. And with that comes the slight malodor of dog poop. This area is a favorite for off-leash dogs and their people. It actually didn't bother me much at all today (super smeller that I am).

How many rocks can I get on my hand?

I did it! (...and patiently waiting for a turn...)

Can I get through the drainage pipe?

In the moment.

I can get through the drainage pipe!

Snack break.

Leaves beginning to unfurl.

There were black caterpillars squiggling around in there. I didn't notice the hollowed out tree knot in the foreground till now.

Making streams and waterfalls for the ants. (Then complaining of thirst before making it back to the car :-)

It feels great to be getting out more. I'm hoping to get down to the beach sometime soon.

For now, though, the mess in these rooms beckons, longing to be put back into some semblance of order.

Flotsam

Another day could easily go by without a post. So a quick one.

I fell off the DW food wagon over the weekend. Celebrations and rituals are so much about food for me. When we go to my mom's place, we usually get Thai food. When it's someone's birthday (Auntie Lisa this time), there's a lot of food :-)

Some pad thai here, a couple of deviled eggs there, a turkey hotdog here, some fruit salad there...

Then Sunday night Cap and I had one of those "what do you want for dinner?" "I don't know..." back and forths and maybe it was because I'd already fallen off the wagon, maybe it was because I was seeking comfort from something in the air that night, but I ended up eating some pasta with broccoli rabe. Both technically on DW, but I ate too much of it.

My GI system has been protesting. Sunday night terribly, and last night again.

I saw Vinny yesterday which was helpful. For these last few weeks of DW I'm seeing him once a week for the extra support I get from him.

I cooked all morning yesterday and have steamed garlic broccoli, baba ganoush, and apple pear compote in the fridge. Getting back on track.

More than once during this DW time, I have wished for a more monkish existence. It feels like it would be easier, and somehow more suited for this kind of slowing down and focused practice. But, Dr. Lu is well aware of the nature of life these days and expects that more growth will come out of the challenges of doing DW amidst the noise, distraction and occasional chaos.

I'm thinking I'll do it again this summer. I learn by doing and getting through this once will go a long way towards incorporating the ideas and practices of DW into my life in a more permanent way.

Our apartment has been a big mess for a week or more now. A sign, I guess, that we just have so much going on that if we lose focus on something it goes by the wayside. It's mysterious because it doesn't feel like we have that much going on.

P.S. I've been watching Battlestar Galactica at night. I'm almost caught up to the episodes currently airing (the final season). I missed some episodes somewhere, but what can you do. It's really good. I love it.


I took this photo a couple of days ago in a fit of silliness. Today it represents my desire and curiosity: If I could close my eyes and open them and be somewhere else, where would I go? Where would I be?