veggie booty :: csa week four

veggie booty :: csa week four, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

This is a beautfiul bag of spring from Good Food Good People in Floyd, Virginia.

sunshine

sunshine, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

field camping

field camping, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

Talk about bursting into summer. It was in the nineties for a weekend of camping and music. The kids absolutely loved taking a VIP shower--a cold hose coming out of a well.

hoop

hoop, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

pilot mountain, north carolina

pilot mountain, north carolina, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

self

yard dance, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

eye

eye, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

I'm thinking about getting into the picture.

Untitled, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

Well, maybe dashing through the edges. I started this workshop yesterday with Vivienne McMaster and a group of other women from all around the world.

thirteen hundred years of marriage

Apparently the thirteenth anniversary is the laundry anniversary. Also the Doctor Who anniversary.

I love you John.

made

made, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

bitter

I feel like I put some sort of bitter pill in my mouth just after the holidays, and I still haven't spit it out yet. What am I waiting for?

john draws :: spaceship triptych

john draws :: spaceship tryptych, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

This little guy has a lot going on. It seems as though he's burst into 'his own" in the past two or three months.

ella miranda

ella miranda, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

We went down to the park by the river between thunderstorms tonight, and I brought my camera along.

john

john, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

i sing

i sing, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

twirl

twirl, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

happy mother's day

happy mother's day, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

apple eater

apple eater, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

This scruffy little faerie was under the tree eating her apple.

tuning in to the universe

tuning in, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

Ella did a hoop dancing workshop after school today.

me

me, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

j

j, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

He's home from school a little bit covered in blue marker.

red room author's tea

red room author's tea, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.

A few of you have asked about the story that John wrote for his author's tea event.

The Trap of Trap Doors


The chair was in mid-air.

Actually, someone that is invisible is lifting it up.
Someone else put a net under the chair so the person was trapped.

He pushed out from under the net with the chair.

Then he fell in a trap door.

The trap door led to the middle of nowhere.

Then he saw a ship and it dropped wood on him.

He pushed out of the wood, and then he ran to a door and fell down.

A horse ran right over him.

Then he went home and had some cake.

alpaca

alpaca, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Each skein has the picture and name of the animal that the yarn was made from. What a great gift. Now I just need time to actually knit.

I finished staining and sealing the deck, and I potted a big new pot of grasses, mounding basil, and a sedum. If only the other rooms were so easy. I worked in the children's room for a few hours today. The though of putting our house on the market in a little more than two weeks is daunting.

alpaca

alpaca, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

singing around the peace pole

singing around the peace pole, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

The third graders read their stories tonight at school, and I'm sure everyone was thinking how their stories have evolved even though some elements have remained the same. Afterward they sang and danced around the peace pole before going home.

Ruby spent a few too many hours at school today and chanted, "I see your boobie" through much of the program. Hooray.

flower mouth

purple pansy mouth, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

playground afternoons

Ruby & Tess, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Spring has finally arrived, and we never want to leave the school playground in the afternoons.

to the sea

martha's vineyard, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

We just enjoyed a week in New England with the kids. John had a conference in Boston, and we tagged along. He was working nearly all the time, but the children love hotel living. I'd almost forgotten I'd be staying in one room with them for four nights. Apparently I'd also forgotten how much they eat. I need a prep kitchen at all times.

We took the train. When a five year old asks how much longer and the answer is seven hours, there may be tears. I loved the train.

Little John got to go to a Red Sox game with Aunt Ren, and the girls and I spent an afternoon in downtown Boston with Uncle Joe. Daddy was determined to get the littles up north to meet his brother and sister in law. Towards the end of the week we met them out on Cape Cod for a few days on the coast. They got us rooms at a great little bed and breakfast in Wood's Hole, and we visited the Aquarium there, the lighthouse, and the best little coffee shop ever, Pie in the Sky, that opens at five am every day of the year. We took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard for the day and visited a alpaca farm. Who knew there was going to be yarn? We drove around the Victorian summer houses of Oak Bluff and then floated back to Wood's Hole.

I'm still thinking about aquamarine walls and glossy white trim. Orange jellyfish. Delicious wine. Quahog chowder at the Black Dog. A big thank you to Joe and Ren.

family time

joe, ren, and ruby, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

trains and trains

new england 009, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

we rode boats

ruby on the ferry, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

The whole enchilada

Here is the recipe for Martha Stewart's Vegetable Enchiladas. I recently had some good ones that were stuffed with potato.

grape hyacinth

grape hyacinth, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

The very thought of buying a new house makes me feel inadequate. Six years ago I wrote a number on a piece of paper in a strange kitchen, and a man I did not know laughed at me. A few days later my then preschool daughter forgot her show and tell and decided that she would just "tell". "My mama went to meet a man to buy a house, and he told her she didn't have enough money."

I met with a realtor today for an hour and a half, and I felt that she was telling me to prepare myself to lose money. I'm not prepared to do that. I'm going to plead with the universe a bit and declutter like I've never decluttered before. I don't want a fancy house, just one that feels like home, one that lets daddy spend more time with the kids than in the car, and three bedrooms on the same level.

On sunday the littles and I went to a birthday party out near my crush house. I'm so over it that I had to cry a little on the way home. The party was at a farmhouse with a wrap around porch, so I was primed. Houses are a difficult proposition. Sometimes it is so easy to get wrapped up in the dream that it is hard to face the reality of what you can really afford, and then you are left salvaging little parts of the dream. Four chickens. Flowers. A heart shaped stone. A leaf. An unfound door.

yellow

yellow, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

ruby

ruby, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

want

bag, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I am almost at the the end of my diapering career, but I think I'm about to buy a big old diaper bag. My cool messenger bag has finally broken both zippers. We had such a good run, and it was a bag that even John didn't mind carrying. Now I feel like a need even more of a diaper bag because I need supplies for three kids, perhaps my knitting, and my camera. What if I even started carrying a book for myself?

crockpot falafel

This is from Stephanie O'Dea's Crockpot 365 website. This may be the best falafel I've ever had. I've never been a real crockpot cooker. I never mix anything with a can of cream of mushroom soup, and we are mostly vegetarian. My kids don't like casseroles or things that are mixed together, but lately I'm the queen of the crockpot. The Indian Slow Cooker by Anupy Singla is my current obsession, and I'm cooking my way through her bean recipes.

milo vest

milo vest, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I finally knitted something other than a scarf, a hat, or handwarmers. I thought I'd make a size four and Ruby would be able to wear it next winter when she is three, but this size four turned out really big. Maybe I'm a super loose garter stitcher, and next time I'll use smaller needles for the top garter stitch section. A certain five year old model in the photograph made me swear that I would not show his face.

I've been taking a knitting class in our middle school, and this was my first class project. I absolutely love the Kureyon yarn, its rustic handspun quality and the amazing colors. Kureyon means crayon in Japanese.

The pattern is on Ravelry, Milo by Georgie Hallam. I'm looking forward to making Ruby another one that is a little longer that can be worn like a tunic dress. Maybe my next project is the Rainbow Dress.

first tooth

lost a tooth, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

John lost his first tooth this weekend. The tooth fairy brought him a dollar, and he was pretty thrilled.

snow

sun, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

spring

spring, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

sea and sky

edge, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Just the five of us went to the beach, our first family beach trip since Ella was two years old and we were a family of three. We rented a house in Edisto, South Carolina to enjoy the early spring warmth and the empty beaches. We all got sick, but at least we were together. We had the space and time to sleep. liberated from our usual obligations. We returned with bags of starfish and shells, telling stories of kites and castles on the edge of the world.

running for the sun

running for the sunset, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

water

edisto 010, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

fly

fly, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

the castle

starfish fortress, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

edisto island

edisto sunset, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

driving south

We are driving south for a week in Edisto, South Carolina. The internet is not coming with us. We are staying right on the ocean, and there will be much sea shell collecting, drawing, walking, digging, and castle building.

science with john

sink or float science with john, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

rabbit rabbit

print, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

violin

violin, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

love

happy valentines, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

valentine capelet

valentine capelet, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I finished this today to sell at the BNS chocolate party. There is another one in a big girl size on the way. I've got some crafting to do before next saturday.

I saw daffadils today. And baby lambs.

bread

bread, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

no knead:: artisan bread

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 T yeast
1/2 T kosher salt
6 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Warm water to 100 degrees. Add yeast and salt to water in a 5 qt bowl. Mix in flour. No need to knead. the dough will be wet ad loose. Cover and let rise 2 hours or until the dough collapses. Refridge overnight and up to 14 days.

Baking:: Dust a peel with cornmeal. Dust the top of the dough with flour and pull up a grapefruit sized portion. Cut off with a serrated knife. Shape into a round. Rest on the peel for forty minutes and bake in a 450 degree preheated oven. Pour a cup of hot water into a hot broiler pan beneath the baking stone and bake for 30 minutes.

jicama kiwi ginger salsa

1 T chopped ginger
4 kiwi diced
2 cups jicama diced
1 cup red onion
1/4 cup cilantro
1 jalapeno with seeds minced
juice of 4 limes

refrigerate

carolina

carolina, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Ella's science fair project is making us all happy. She is going to put four different kinds of bird seed in trays on our deck and count who comes to eat.

grateful

I was searching behind my tired eyes for something uplifting, and I've come up with a few things.
1. pomegranate popcicles
2. potage
3. yarn

We are mending, albeit slowly.