lunch with a horse

lunch with a horse, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

spring cleaning, spiritual and otherwise

John continued the attic insulation project this weekend, and I demolished and reconstructed the big storage room in the basement. Isn't it funny the the projects we resist the most are actually fairly simple? All our tools/ home improvement/ lawn things are organized. There were multiple trips to the dump and Goodwill as well. The area under the deck is clean and no longer a eyesore. We dumped the hot tub and put in fresh water. I organized all the children's clothes and room. All my craft supplies are upstairs. On Sunday John holed up in the office to put our finances on Quicken and load last year onto Turbo Tax.

Today I worked on the basement and organized the playroom. I added a few clotheslines to the Ella Gallery and did some urban renewal on the island of Sodor. I cleaned two castles and a theatre. Art supplies are organized, and I have some supply bags going for the marble run we are going to make.

There are still miles to go, but I think we have a fresh start going. I realized how hard it is to move into a new house with a six month old, and we are really just starting to dig into some darker corners. Now if we could just get a bed in the guest room and start our ebay store for the comics and books.

food

I spent some time with The Lee Brothers Southern Cookbook this week. It is both homey and stylish, and I was wavering with our family's newfound vegetarianism. The sneaky collard might get me through, but I keep thinking about ordering a home cured country ham from a farm in Kentucky. The book is a good read and an inspiration.

This recipe isn't from the Lee Brothers, but it is worth a try.

::Fish Cakes with Paprika Lemon Mayo::

3 cloves of garlic
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 large egg
1/3 cup fine dry breadcrumbs or 3 slices of good bread run through the cuisinart
2 T mayo
3/4 tsp ground cumin
salt
1.5 pounds skinless hake or cod, cut into 2" pieces
6 T olive oil

Mayo:
3/4 cup mayo
1 tsp finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp hot paprika or 1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp salt

In cuisinart, chop garlic, add onion and puree until finely chopped, add coriander, egg, crumbs, mayo, cumin, and salt and pulse to combine. Add fish and puree until finely chopped. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and form fish into 8 patties. Heat 3 T oil in a large skillet until hat and cook four cakes, turning once--about 6 minutes total. Keep warm while frying second batch. Serve on a bed of fresh spring greens with lemon mayo.
We had these with roasted potatoes with parsely and red cabbage cole slaw. They were devoured with relish by children and adults alike. The leftovers made a great sandwich at lunch the next day on toast with the cole slaw.


I am trying. I must have the late winter food blahs because everything I've made since Christmas seems tired and blah. I keep thinking that I just need some inspiration. I have been reading Vegetarian Times and I just subscribed to Cooking Light. Maybe we can make it though on coleslaw till spring. We joined a CSA for organic produce and that starts in late April, and I'm sure I'll be inspired by some fresh spring greens.

shakespeare

pelican shakepeare, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

This book arrived on our doorstep this week. It is gorgeous, beautifully bound, all the good stuff. Then, another big box arrived a few days later. I'm just going to plagiarize Amazon for a minute.

For the first time in audio publishing history, all of Shakespeare's plays are available in one extraordinary, definitive collection. Based on The Complete Pelican Shakespeare, here are all of the master's 38 plays, complete and unabridged, fully dramatized on CDs with an original score and sound design for each play. A monumental project that spanned five years and cost $3 million, The Complete Arkangel Shakespeare represents the collective vision of four people: Shakespeare scholar Tom Treadwell, film producer Bill Shepherd, BBC director Clive Brill, and composer Dominique Le Gendre. Together they have assembled the 400 great actors of the British theater and produced a landmark digital recording with a sophisticated layering of sound that immerses the listener in Shakespeare's world.

The english major in me is hyperventilating. Imagine how much of this the kids could absorb. I'm looking forward to a road trip.

Thanks Joe and Ren.

ella

ella, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Today we were listening to the Decemberists and Ella scowls and says, "When can we put on some Beatles?"

drink

drink, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

noodles::sauce

orchid's cool noodles

2 pounds linguine, cooked
sesame oil, start with maybe 2 tbsp
balsamic vinegar or chinese black vinegar if you have it, 1-2 tbsp
chopped spring onions, one bunch
finely grated fresh ginger, one or two tablespoons
1 tbsp hot oil or ground cayenne to taste, the heat will increase with time

adjust sesame oil and vinegar to taste
let "marinate" overnight


peanut sauce

3 garlic cloves
2/3 bunch cilantro
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp sherry
1-2 tbsp chili oil (sometimes, if grown ups are going to eat this i'll throw in a seeded serrano or jalapeno)
water to thin while processing

Process in the blender or food processor. Go ahead and double the recipe because it keeps indefinetely. I made the noodles, peanut sauce, and chinese tea eggs for Ella's birthday celebration in October, and it was a huge hit. I serve it on a huge platter using the noodles as a "nest" with the beautiful eggs in the middle. I sprinkle the whole thing with chopped cilantro.

spring break

The term spring break is a bit odd for me here in Mountaintown. Although the crocuses are blooming, we still have a good ways to go before anything truly warm sets in. Ella's school follows the university schedule, so she is officially on spring break this week. We had Grandmarie for the weekend and the first three days of the week. She was pure salvation for our flu ravaged souls. Who knew you could be saved by a solitary cup of coffee. Or maybe it was the fish cakes. I even got away and got a manicure and pedicure. Decadent. I am.

Ella is still on antibiotics, and big John is still looking skinny and pale. He is still hacking like a tuberculosis patient. That was a bad bug. It laughed at my teas, laughed at my ginger, garlic, and leek soup. The baby seems fully recovered and has even taken to saying a few words this week. Today he held up a finger and said, "ONE".

Ella played with Sasha this morning. She is anxious to get back to school as she only had one day last week. We walked down to the library yesterday and got a nice pile of books. On the way back we picked some pussy willow branches for a vase. The wind was strong but warm on our walk.

I thought I'd accomplish so many things while my mother was here, but I really didn't. Nothing got painted, but I do feel mentally refreshed and ready to tackle some projects. I want to work in the children's room, and I have all of my supplies. They are getting white walls with white trim, new curtain rods, and Ella's bed is getting some vintage inspired scallops around the canopy.

We did make it to the fabric store out in Floyd, and I got some more fat quarters of that great little cat playing the banjo print as well as some other thirties inspired prints. I'm making Ella a name banner of quilt squares for her room. Ri is sewing the children matching sailorish outfits in white and navy. So many projects in the works--that I swear to not buy a single new supply until I catch up.

There are a lot of good things going on here.

eruption!!!!

eruption!!!!, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

peek

peek a boo, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

slide already

slide already, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

post

A few days ago when Ella was deep in the flu she was so dear. She had her head on my shoulder and told me that she loved me more than she loved herself. Well, I'm almost missing that flu because the the real Ella is back, back with a vengeance and a runny nose and chapped lips. She is backtalking the broccoli and strewing paper, clothes, and art supplies from stem to stern.

puzzle

puzzle, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

second tooth

2 lost, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

.

First tooth

First tooth, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

This is the child who wouldn't pull out the loosest tooth I've ever seen. She waited. And waited. And waited another week, and this morning it fell out into her banana. She put in in her little tooth fairy box under her pillow, and I already exchanged it for a quarter. Next time I'm going to be more prepared with a new toothbrush and floss.

It is hard to believe she is so big. At the doctor's office the other day she was 48 inches tall and weighed 51.4 pounds. She has officially grown out of the 6x. Size 7 is apparently called tween. Thank goodness Hanna Andersson does not recognize the tween, and we have many more years of stripeys to go. Ella likes the way they feel and they don't have any labels on them. I'm trying to keep the children "unbranded" as long as possible. John called me a culture jammer when he saw me sewing a calico applique over a Tommy Hilfinger label on a pair of hand me down overalls. Not quite, but the inspiration is the same. Her current yen is to wear clothes that match her brother. She wants a navy blue sailor dress and she wants him in a sailor one piece. Always the stylist. She is a little fanatical, but I like her style. My main problems are her utter disregard for weather appropriateness. She has issues with layering because it causes bunchiness. The clothes must always feel smooth, hence our love for the Hannas. I never thought I'd be talking about clothes with a five year old, but she has had opinions for a long time. When she was about two she was riding in her stroller through the Gymboree in Portland when she reached out and grabbed a black velvet jumper covered in red cherries. Today, if she saw that in a size seven she would do the same thing.

Yes, of course I got the flu. The whole family, down for the count. John left sunday for a week of work out of town, so at the three of us have been spending lots of quality time on the futon in the living room. We have been drinking juice with reckless abandon and watching all that PBS Kids has to offer.

sick littles

sick littles, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

He has an ear infection and she has the flu. Daddy has it too. I had to make a chart for everyone's medicines, tylenol, etc because it was getting pretty confusing. I made soup and have been passing out lots of drinks, fizzy club soda with blueberry and pomagranate juice.

stars in her eyes

button box, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Planetarium

Thinking of Caroline Herchel (1750-1848)
astronomer, sister of William, and other



A woman in the shape of a monster
a monster in the shape of a woman
the skies are full of them

a woman 'in the snow
among the Clocks and instruments
or measuring the ground with poles'

in her 98 years to discover
8 comets

she whom the moon ruled
like us
levitating into the night sky
riding the polished lenses

Galaxies of women, there
doing penance for impetuousness
ribs chilled
in those spaces of the mind

An eye,

'virile, precise, and absolutley certain'
from the mad webs of Uranusborg

every impulse of light exploding
from the core
as life flies out of us

Tyco whispering at last
'Let me not seem to have lived in vain'

What we see, we see
and seeing is changing

the light that shrivels a mountain
and leaves a man alive

Heartbeat of the pulsar
heart sweating through my body

The radio impulse
pouring in from Taurus

I am bombarded yet I stand

I have been standing all my life in the
direct path of a battery of signals
the most accurately transmitted most
untranslatable language in the universe
I am a galactic cloud so deep so invo-
luted that a light wave could take 15
years to travel through me And has
taken I am an instrument in the
shape of a woman trying to translate pulsations
into images for the relief of the body
and the reconstruction of the mind


1968
Adrienne Rich
from The Will to Change

This has been a favorite for twenty years or so.

tea for 2

tea for 2, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

troll patrol

troll patrol reporting for duty, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

anonymous

You are no friend. A friend wouldn't invalidate any feeling that I had, especially one written here. Come as you wish, take what you will, and let well enough alone. There is more to me than the sugar coating and the smiling photographs.. We all give up things to get where we are, and there is nothing wrong with wishing for a trip to Paris or a pair of shoes. I'm a girl for chrissakes. For the most part my clothes come off the five dollar clearance rack at Target or from the Thrift Store. I'm trying to lose weight. I want chickens. Sometimes the grass looks greener, if only for a second. This is my life.

minus five

I just couldn't keep posting breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Gah, the boredom. I just don't even have that much computer time. I've lost five pounds. Hey, forty to go.

Last night I heard that some of my old women friends are going to Paris to celebrate their fortieth birthdays, and for almost twenty four hours I was pretty jealous. Then I did some reality math. They all have jobs, good ones. None of them have children. They have fancy shoes and seven hundred dollar coats. I have John and Ella. The math is pretty good. ( I really used to like shoes though).

Then to ice the cake I realized that I've been to Paris. It was fabulous, especially in the early morning when the sidewalks are all freshly washed.The bread is good, as are the french fries. I saw lightening strike the Eiffel Tower over and over from my hotel window. The insane walk the streets with vintage prams full of Barbie dolls.

grace::biolin

gracebiolin, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Miss Grace is two and a half. Time flies in a slow spinning fashion. I watched this one come into this world. Ella came to the hospital to meet the baby and, at two and a half herself, told Grace's mama that she needed to get up and dance around the room so that the baby could start learning how to dance. Apparently she is taking after her mama with the fiddle.

garden

garden, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

This morning mountaintown seemed to be dipped in silver glitter glue.The sky was gunmetal grey satin with bursts of blue, and every surface was coated with ice. It was almost like a christmas dream as the temperature much have hovered just at freezing during the night. The trees were dripping with actual icicles.

There was no school for Miss Ella today, but the roads weren't bad at all. I took the children out to get their daddy a Valentine, a violet orchid, and to get them out of the house so that he could get some work done. Upon our return he was asleep in the red velvet beanbag in the living room. The preschool cold seems to have gotten all of us this time.

The doll is named Garden. I suggested a flower name, Primrose or Bluet ( for the literary minded), or maybe Poppy. She said, "Garden". Sure. She needs a bit more hair and some clothes. Ella loved seeing her made and now she wants one that is "Japanese".

Ella ( and her daddy) got me some Lovely perfume for Valentines Day. I had been sniffing a paper adventisement for weeks, and it was starting to smell like paper. Sarah Jessica Parker is wearing a pink dress in the ad, and she looks like she is sitting on the toilet in the photograph. Next time you see the ad you will completely agree. Luckily, the perfume smells fresh and delicious. We had planned on taking Ella out to see a mariachi band tonight, but is is eight degrees and she is sick, so we had an italian picnic in the living room. Literally, roman style, with a big tablecloth. It was, like the perfume, lovely.

swing

swing, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

at rest

at rest, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

18 months, dog drinks tea

18 months, dog drinks tea, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

John's half birthday was two days ago.

Day 10, the day eleven pounds of homemade cookies landed on my doorstep

breakfast: blueberry granola, half a banana, coffee
snack:oolong tea
lunch: tuna sandwhich on wheat, ten grapes, half a pear
dinner:hungarian cabbage stew, rice, light waldorf salad with apples, walnuts, raisins, and celery

It took five years

Today we finally had a babysitter come over and keep the children for two and a half hours. It was lovely; she was lovely, and Ella wants her to come back tomorrow.

day9

breakfast: bowl of lowfat yogurt
lunch: tofu, cabbage, and carrot stirfry with whole wheat noodles
dinner: mixed greens with grapefruit and edamame, oven potatoes, bread and cheese, pickles

Exercise: Wait for it.....I went to the gym and learned how to do all the machines. I actually like the ab machine. The bike was the hardest most boring ten minutes of my life. Then we walked downtown for a cup of tea, but the shop was closed. We went to the health food store and bought two drinks and two onions and walked back up the hill through the thin light and remnants of dirty snow.

February School

Family Farms
Discovery Time: classroom farmyard collage, mini farms
Circle Time: discussions of farms and farm animals around the world, including farm products such as milk, wool, eggs, and honey. Pick a class contribution to Heifer International
Small Group: subtracting by counting back and by using a number line, math workbooks, phonics listening practice and letter recognition, writing in journals.
Story: Beatrice's Goat, Until the Cows Come Home, Country Fair, In the Barn, Honeybees at Home

Next Week: The Earth Inside Out
Discovery Time: Earth layer mobiles, continents and oceans map, making metaphoric rock from bread and marshmallows, igneous rock from chocolate chips, sedimentary rock in a jar, making a crystal garden, sorting rocks by type.
Circle: A Journey to the Center of the Earth, types of rocks and their formation, continents and oceans
Small Group: Subtraction practice, math workbooks, phonics-initial consonants -m and -d, writing in journals
Story: What Under Your Feet? Earth's Story, Planet Earth: Inside and Out, Let's Go Rock Hunting, When You Find a Rock

A Rock'n and Round'n Crust
Discovery Time- Individual volcano models that really erupt, volcano painting, volcano "life cycle" strip poster, location fo the Ring of Fire on the globe and maps
Circle Time- Volcanos and earthquakes, film "Mountains of Fire"
Small Group: Subtraction number sentences, subtracting vertically, math workbooks, initial consonants -f and -g, writing in journals,
Story: Rocking and Rolling Volcanos! Mountains of Fire, How Mountains are Made, Magic School Bus Inside a Volcano, Rocks and Their Stories.

foodwatch friday and saturday

breakfast: one slice toast with neufchatel cheese and cherry jam, pomagranate juice
lunch: bowl of beans with sliced roasted chicken, lettuce, cactus, corn chips, and homemade salsa
dinner:big green salad, homemade cheese pizza
cheat: york peppermint pattie


breakfast: oatmeal with whole diced apple, cinnamon and honey
lunch: miso soup and four pieces sushi
afternoon: peanut butter sandwich
dinner: collard greens with sliced onions and cucumbers, baked beans, roasted potatoes

valentine cloak

valentine cloak, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

"Since this has been the best day of my life I'm going to go out in the yard and get a snowball to keep in the freezer forever, OK?"

Who could say no to that?

Day 6

Breakfast: 2 slices whole grain toast with neufchatel cheese and black cherry jam. Coffee. Multivitamin
Lunch: 2 bowls of potato leek soup ( fat free and homemade), 1 slice of toast with 1 slice of cheddar and mustard, bowl of edamame
Snack: Whole grapefruit
Dinner: Romaine salad with sliced roasted chicken and homemade salsa, 1/2 cup kasha

spider witch

spider witch, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Foodwatch, Day 5

Breakfast: Organic oatmeal, black pepper and a tiny bit of parmesan. I know, savory oatmeal is odd. I also like it with apple cubes, walnuts, cinnamon, and honey. 3 cups of coffee, whole grapefruit, multivitamin

Lunch: cup of lentil soup, romaine salad with tomatoes, broccoli, onions, and tofu-miso dressing, one slice whole grain bread with one slice of cheddar and mustard, water.

Dinner: Cup of pasta with white clam sauce, 1/2 cup of green peas.

Snack: Green tea, whole grapefruit

Exercise: 30 minutes running around pulling a sled. Does that count? Weights.

feeding kermit at the library

feeding kermit at the library, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

He is full of little kindnesses.

John and I have been to story hour at the library lately. When Ella was this age she would cruise the room at the Portland Library and never listened to the story. John sits on my legs and watches the book. He especially loves any time that there is singing, and Miss Alison brought her guitar yesterday.

Speaking of libraries, our favorite librarian retired last wednesday. She was seventy.

mama pulls

mama pulls, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

We had about four inches of very dry snow last night. It was nice to have a day off in the middle of the week. (In case you don't know, Ella goes to a phenomenal preschool that happens to be located in another town 13 miles away. I seldom come home while she is there, so baby and I are out and about for three hours in the mornings.)

John just wanted to stare at the snow for a while. He loved the sled and was quite comfortable in his sister's arms. He would have loved to have gone even faster. While standing in the snow it was as though he wondered if it would hold his weight. When he fell down in it he was ready to go inside.

sled

sled, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

fat and carbs, day 4

breakfast: granola, lowfat yogurt, and coffee with the fat free half and half, half gross, half better than skim.
lunch torilla, refried beans, sprinkle of cheese
dinner, pita pizza
later: 1 glass of shiraz

What have we learned here. I don't eat well when daddy-o is out of town. Also, I don't have a problem with sugar.

Wednesday Night

Mountain Women Rising shares the experiences of Appalachian women. The 45-60 minute presentation entertains audiences with poetry, prose, story and song and educates them on the Alliance’s quest for human rights, economic justice and safety for women and children. The performers come from various walks of life and bring their diverse ethnic and cultural experience together on stage to challenge stereotypes of Appalachian women.
Members of Mountain Women Rising are Gaye Johnson, a performer for over 30 years and a native of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains; Meredith Dean, a social activist from Southwest Virginia; Edna Gulley, a “welfare mother” from Clincho who developed and coordinated a community-based preschool program serving low-income children in her community for over 16 years; and Rema Keen, a writer, actor, activist and musician from Southwest Virginia.
The Appalachian Women’s Alliance is a movement of women and girls dedicated to taking action on social issues. Performance groups such as Mountain Women Rising educate, challenge and inspire women and men inside and outside of Appalachia to become allies against racism, violence against women and war.

Sweet Juniper's Alphabet Book

What an amazing book. Why aren't we all out there making books? Well, we are going to. Of course, read all of Sweet Juniper. And make alphabet books. Of course I bought it immediately. I'm worried about N is for ninja, but G is for gnome.

rainbow unicorn

rainbow unicorn, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

yogaman

yogaman, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Ella got into my bed at 4:41. She said, "I'm here because I'm so snugalious". Great, snuggle up and go to sleep for one hour and sixteen minutes. Two minutes later she says I have bad breath. Two minutes more and she wants me to turn over so that she can breath. I say go back to bed. She is talking about nonsense and wakes up her brother in the next room. Not even five and we are up for the day. Between five and eight there are several episodes in which she tries to beat me down with her screams about what she is going to wear, what she is going to eat after lunch, and how many televison programs she is going to watch today. Also, she can brush her hair using only her mind.

foodwatch, day 3, oh hell, butter

breakfast: 1/2 cup granola with milk, 1.5 cups coffee,
playdate: 1/2 cup pineapple with yogurt (Annie Kay's--tastes homemade), cup of coffee, 2 bites banana bread
lunch: 2 pancakes, 2 chicken sausages, butter
dinner: small bean burrito, water

What an aweful food day when you see it on paper. Where are the vegatables? I'm am living on carbs and dairy products...and butter, milkfat, and chicken fat.

foodwatch, day 2

Breakfast: 1/2 cup EATS granola, 1/2 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt, 3 cups of great coffee with whole milk (it was the only milk we had)

Lunch: Veggie burger on whole grain toast with one slice of cheddar, mustard, and organic ketchup, 2 servings of homemade coleslaw(made with yogurt and reduced fat mayo), water.

Exercise: 30 minute walk, ten minutes weightlifting, short yoga ball workout
Snack: 2 pieces dried papaya, cup of hungarian cabbage soup, black tea

Atrocity du jour: I ate a handfull of cheese crackers while getting a snack for John

Dinner: takeout pad thai with shrimp, spring roll, half an apple, water

pancakes

I made some pancakes this morning and then went in the bathroom and weighed myself. Hope you were wondering what I ate for the rest of the day because I'm going to try to live blog my mouth for the next month.

Lunch: 2 corn tortillas with organic pinto beans and a sprinkle of cheddar, homemade salsa,
large salad with tofu miso dressing

Birthday party: water and half an apple
Dinner: Brown rice with tofu, peas, kale, garlic and ginger, completely unsatisfying.
Snack: whole grapefruit, herb tea
Exercise: mama related hauling of thirty pound baby

surf

surf, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

cup

cup, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

ella recommends

the keeping quilt, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

The Quiltmaker's Journey

The Quiltmaker's Journey, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

This book, as well as The Quiltmaker's Gift, is certainly my favorite book from the past month. I'd recommend it for boys as well as girls. The details of the illustrations were mesmerizing for Ella. We are going to make a Waldorf doll of the main character and a quilt for her.

e paints a quilt

e paints a quilt, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

After two weeks of quilts, Ella is starting a new unit at school. I asked her if she knew what that would be she said, "Obviously, blankets!"

annie's quilt

annie's quilt, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I wanted to make a doll quilt for Ella while the kids were studying quilts at school. My original intention was to let her actually stitch parts of it, but she choose to go her own was with my scraps. Grandmarie sent her a little woven sewing box with a silver thimble, and I gave her a pincushion with some pearl topped pins. She has wanted dreadfully sharp objects of her own for years. I got some muslin and was going to make a cathedral window quilt for another doll, one yet to be made, but Ella suddenly wanted "colorful patchwork, nine patch". She picked some fabrics from my stash and put the pieces in a "pat-ter-en" on the dining room table. As she learned more about how quilts were made, I put this one together at night, adding some appliques on the back. The colors are nice for Annie.

soup

This is the baby who also loves raw and cooked broccoli, cucumbers, all beans, salmon, red peppers and peas. At almost eighteen months he loves his soups and must feed himself, much to the chagrin of his pants.

summer::school

I wanted to start a working list of things to do this summer with Ella and John when school is out.

Fossil hunting expeditions, New River and Appomattox
Build a wood burning earth oven to bake bread
Many camp outs
Paper Mache, Life size kid forms to paint
Making paper
Book making with sewn bindings
Take big easels on a painting expedition
New Jamestown 400th anniversary exhibits

to be continued

decadent grits

For those of you who find themselves gritless or living west or north of the gritline, these fine people will send you a five pound bag.

Grits, Fancy

3 cups whole milk
2/3 cups water
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2/3 cups old – fashioned grits ( not quick-cooking)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Put the milk, water, rosemary, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Slip in the grits. Adjust the heat so that the grits barely simmer, just a bubble at a time is perfect. Stir frequently until all the liquid is absorbed.
I use 3 cups whole milk and 1 cup water to 1 cup of grits with those Byrd Mill Grits.
Excellent with Sauteed Shrimp as Charleston Shrimp and Grits These can now be transformed into GARLIC CHEESE GRITS. To the cooked grits add:
2 cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese, ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic
½ cup chopped scallions or chives, if desired
A dash of hot pepper sauce
4 eggs
Blend well.
Pour the mixture into a flat 2 quart casserole and bake at 350* for 25 minutes. More cheese can be added atop the casserole during the last 10 minutes of baking.

get your grit on

walking in someone else's shoes

walking in someone else's shoes, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

We are still here. It has just been a long week, a long month. We have been weaning, teething, bad dreaming, you name it. I've been reading a few blogs but just haven't had a lot to say. How many times can I say that I feel like Miss Clavel in the middle of the night? Something is not right.

It is me though. The children are fine. I'd be fine too if someone strapped me into a car seat and let me sleep for an hour.

september 2001

ella inside, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

My friend Marge took this picture of me at the Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon while I was uber pregnant with Ella. The Garden of Awakening Orchids was certainly one of Portland's many jewels. Marge brought over an orchid when we came home from the hospital. It bloomed for six weeks but it hasn't bloomed since. It is still in our dining room, the only plant to travel east with us.

90 percent chance of snow

90 percent chance of snow, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Ella and her daddy have been spending some good times together today. They went shopping at an old book store and got nine vintage children's books. They heard some bluegrass over at the coffee shop and brought home some good things from the whole food store.

Now they are in the tub with some toy animals. I got in the hot tub last night in a high wind, turned up the jets and felt like I was in a hurricane in a tropical sea.

ze plane

ze plane, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

She can't look up because she is steering. She has been working on this plane for a while. It has many controls and stickers of various states she is flying towards. Some of the controls are glittering.

lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my

Ella has been a vegetarian for about a month. It seems to be sticking. Ever since her seven minutes of Charlotte's Web she wants to peruse the meat aisle quite slowly, reviewing what animal the red packages came from. Cow. Pig.

She came home a few days ago announcing that Jenny had eaten a rabbit, and we repeated our mantra of tolerance for the carnivores. Every person and animal gets to choose their own food.

Yesterday she was quite concerned about Sharry's soup. "It was a lovely soup", she said, "It had white beans, carrots, and broccoli, and then she added a pig and boiled it until the meat fell off the bone."...as if Sharry were Frankenstein if Ella knew who Frankenstein was. She was particularly fascinated with the phrase, "until the meat fell off the bone".

"I am meat," she says.

my clogs

my clogs, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

hedgehogs and periwinkles

Ella says," Did you know that Jenny and her husband are bone collectors for Sharry? They went out into the forest, and they found long horned sheep, hedgehogs, and periwinkles."

This is all said in a slightly hushed fairy tale voice with hand motions.

bands

bands, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I'm all caught up on the rubber band ball. I thought I was done, but then Granny sent more.

I have so many snippets on my mind that I can't write a coherent post. John has learned to "puppet". He is making so many connections every day. Today he played with the dinosaur puppet and then went hunting for the dinosaur book. He was desperate to iron, so Ella set him up an ironing board on the tool stand, and he ironed with the toy dustpan.

Ella's school is closing, leaving many children in the lurch for their final year of preschool. Mamas are rushing around trying to fill the void, but there isn't too much to fill the void with. I'm hoping there will be a new option, and I'd love to get involved in creating that option. Perhaps this is the perfect time for Smalltown to get a Waldorf style school.

Do you read Jennifer Mattern? You probably should. If you have any soul at all then you'll have to start reading her mother's blog too.

runny::nose

runny::nose, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

boogie wonderland

Apparently those were the last pictures of my children while they were healthy. Ella does have a certain mussed glow about her, she is about to start hacking and coughing with the niagara nosefall. The baby just sniffs and snuffles, and Ella picks his nose for him. He also pretend coughs and sneezes. Tonight E has a rash around her middle, that or bugbites. They are both still eating voraciously and playing as usual.

I have hot eyeballs and keep expecting to have this cold at any minute. Mostly I am tired. John has been exclusively in his crib for three nights. The first one was rough. Last night there were two or three peeps and then he slept until almost seven. The morning before was five forty five. This morning he said, "Oatmeal!"

i heart mushrooms

Just click.

17 months

17 months, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

All morning I thought he was eighteen months old, but, no, we have a month more. Hurray! More baby.

miss

miss, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

tea for three

This afternoon it started to snow. When the deck was completely covered it was time for tea. Ella had her cup, and John was determined that he should have some. None of these cups of milk or water. I made him a warmish camomile tea in a baby bottle and he settled into a velvet beanbag like he'd been drinking tea for years.

redux

redux, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

What if this was part of an old house in Floyd? You can read more about the book here. I could live here. I love the way the metal looks with the stained glass window. I don't need a big house or a fancy house, but I would like a porch.

elves

This lovely site has so many beautiful ornaments. I love the elves and the deer with the twig antlers. And all the others. I'm always drawn to the red mushrooms with the white polka dots. I want to make Ella seven little gnome dolls to go with a wooden German doll that we have to make a Snow White playset.

I'm starting my Christmas crafting early this year.

haiku

happy children here
sugar plums out of system
tiny vacuums roar

by daddy

scooter chin

scooter chin, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

farmer john

farmer john, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

happy birthday

happy birthday, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I married mary poppins

new years eve, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

January at Ella's School

Week 1 Dinosaurs!
Discovery Time- investigating skulls and bones, dinosaur number/numeral word game, dinosaur sticker pictures, stegasaurus hats, Ticeratops puppets

Circle Time- What we know and want to know about dinosaurs, classifying dinosaurs by eating habits, habitats, and hip bones, graphing toy dinosaurs brought from home

Small Group Time- phonics workbooks (phonmeic awareness and letter formation of Qq and Rr) and journals

Story- Dinosaurs, Dinosaur Bones, Dinosaur Babies, How Big is a Brachiosaurus?, Let's Go Dinosaur Tracking

Week 2 More About Dinosaurs
Discovery Time-making Boxosaurs, dinosaur paper skeleton, play dough dinosaurs, dinosaur dig in rice, dinosaur floor puzzles, easel painted dinosaurs for large bulletin board.

Circle Time-What happened to the dinosaurs?, Sizing up dinosaurs, "Annie Apatosaurus", "Our Dinosaur Friends" video and songs.

Small Group Time- adding using a number line, math workbookds. phonics workbooks-Uu and Vv, journals

Story- What Happend to the Dinosaurs, Sea Monsters of Long Ago, The Horned Dinosaur, Flying Dinosaur, Magic School Bus in the Time of Dinosaurs

Week 3 Quilting
Art and Discovery-color by number quilt blocks, exploring and arranging quilt squares with paper cut-outs, pattern blocks and geoboard quilts, paper quilts, quilting "sandwiches" with yarn (paper quilt front and back with batting in the middle)

Circle Time-The history of quilts, how quilts are made, counting and nameing the colors and shapes in quilts

Smalll Group Time-addition review, math workbooks, phonics workbooks Ww and Xx, journals.
Story- The Quilting Bee, The Seasons Sewn; A Year in Patchwork, Eight Hands Round, A Patchwork Alphabet, The Keeping Quilt, The Patchwork Quilt

Week 4 More Quilts
Art and Discovery- Story quilts with borders, wallpaper crazy quilts, lacing cards, triangle symetry

Circle-differnent quilt tyes and patterns, matching quilt block patterns to their names, explring various ways to make shapes (how many ways can you cover this shape?)

Small Group-subtracting using the number line, subtracting by counting backwards, math workbooks, phonics workbooks (YyZz), Journals

Story- My Grandmother's Patchwork Quilt, The Pumpkin Blanket, The Patchwork Lady, The Quilt Story, The Boy and the Quilt

Almost 17 months

John doesn't say much, but he has done his first air banjo, and he walked around much of the afternoon carrying the plays of Checkov.

se water avenue composite photgraph by Patricia Bognar Portland ,Oregon

se water avenue composite photgraph by Patricia Bognar Portland ,Oregon, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Our friend Pat sent us a polaroid transfer of this composite photograph. For me it is a quilt, a tie die, and a kaleidescope of the Oregon summer.

If you are absolutely smitten with it, as I am, email me and I will introduce you a woman with a good story to tell, an amazing collection of photgraphs, a champion yardsaler, and the partner of a man who knows just when to throw his shoe.

bringing in the new year

bringing in the new year, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

retrospective

I've almost waited too long to even write about Christmas. We loaded Santa into our compact wagon and visited both of our families. The children were dazzled by four days of gifts, candies, confections, sparkles, light up tennis shoes, and the low whirling of the red toy vacuum cleaner. I keep getting asked what their favorite gifts were, and, to tell the truth, it is too soon to tell. They haven't had time to really play with all of them. It has been nice seeing them enjoy all the building toys together. Ella is enthralled with her new dollhouse furniture. All the children have beds now. We are thinking of having a new level built to add three rooms and a patio.I'm thinking about a cedar shake roof and wainscoting.

We went over two mountains and through the foggy woods and spent New Years Eve with Isaac , his family, and some of their friends. There was good food , and I drank lots of champagne. The kids piled onto the bed to watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and at nine thirty they had a toast. Real glasses on a flowered tray. That was lovely. At midnight we were driving down Main street. Shortly after we were in the house and the local revelers started "shooting in the New Year". It is the habit of the indiginous folks to go out in the yard and shoot guns at midnight. I don't want to use the term redneck or white trash in a negative way, but for those of us who have lived in big cities with crime, it can be fairly disconcerting. I recently read that this is a purely American custom, most likely a way for rural people to greet their neighbors in celebration. Apparently, this custom is alive and well here in Appalachian smalltown.

Here in the New Year we are counting our blessings and cleaning out our cupboards. I've been saying that I'm going Swedish in the New Year. Spare. Boxed. Clean. Ella and I got to work on the pantry yesterday. Today we took all our old pictures off the refridgerator and put up all the new photos of our friend's children that came on Christmas cards. Our Christmas tree is growing in the yard, and the the decorations are boxed and packed. My mother asked me if I was celebrating the sixth of January. No, I'm just being Swedish. I am making lists for next year. I want to celebrate Saint Lucy's day with candle crowns and wizard hats and cardomom breads. I want to make lots of elfin dolls for the tree. I want to make a family star for the top of the tree out of some leftover material from my wedding dress, or maybe even a fairy doll with white mohair hair and the dupioni dress. Next year I want to have a Buddha day party to celebrate the day of the Buddha's enlightenment, and a bigger bolder toddler be darned Christmas tree.

We have resolutions and budget plans and yoga videos and massage gift cards. We have happy children. We have dreams of a house with a fireplace, a coop for chickens, and peace on earth.

Happy New Year