Monday, October 10, 2011
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
one for ruby too
john gets a pumpkin for ruby, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.
It was a perfect afternoon on the kindergarten field trip.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
fourth showing of the week
Again, I'm grateful.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Starting now. I'm stopping the rushing.
The children are settled well in school, the house is fine, the cars have fresh tires, and the pantry is full. It is time to sit back and breathe and appreciate fall.
This week I'm going to take care of everyone just as I usually do, but I'm also going to take care of myself. We might have sandwiches for dinner. I'm going to the gym. I'm going to paint my nails a dark fallish color. I'm going to take pictures, bake bread, and make soup. There is a cable scarf on the needles and a stack of books beside my bed, the bed I will be in by eleven every night.
pear chutney
She wrote that this is delicious made with apples, peaches or mangoes and will keep for months once made.
3 pounds Keiffer pears (the hard old fashioned pears)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 ounces fresh gingerroot
6 dried chili peppers
2 cups cider vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 T. salt
2 T. mustard seeds
½ pound sultana raisins
10 cloves garlic (1 ounce), peeled
Peel and core the pears, cutting each into eight pieces. Squeeze the lemon juice over the pears and let them rest while preparing the rest of the ingredients.Crush the peeled ginger in a mortar with a pestle. Do the same with the chilies (about 3 T. chilies). Bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil in a non-reactive kettle and let simmer 10 min. Add the ginger, chilies, salt, mustard seeds, raisins and pears. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer for about thirty minutes, until the chutney thickens. Crush the garlic cloves in the mortar with the pestle and stir them into the chutney. Pour the chutney into jars, fasten the lids, and store in a dark cupboard a month before using. Refrigerate after opening.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
self
Ok, so pretty soon I might be back to the daily narrative, but I've been taking this photography class and it has taken over my evenings after the children have gone to bed. I'm smitten with layering one picture of top of another. I've even finally read the owner's manual for my camera, so watch out.
Our house still hasn't sold. I know that three months is nothing in today's market. We have to keep it up until Thanksgiving, but then we'll take a break for a while and ride it out until early spring. I was so sure that I wouldn't be spending this year in the car, so sure that we wouldn't spend another Christmas here. By the way, Ella called me into the bathroom the other day to let me know that she knew I was Santa Claus.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
home
We were home for Labor Day and completely enjoyed gathering around the dining room table for projects, painting, sewing, and drawing. I suppose this would be our rhythm if we were homeschooling.
Ruby has mastered cutting and glueing and can go through an entire gluestick in one session. She is drawing people, circles with faces and two stick legs. Today she wanted to make her own alphabet book.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
medusa, nine
She obsesses for weeks about her Halloween costume. Today we did it all at Goodwill in ten minutes. Thank you Percy Jackson.
Thursday, September 08, 2011
butterfly
This little one has Lyme Disease. She is going to be just fine. I can see how people could get past the acute stage on the illness. She was starting to feel better when she was diagnosed.
Sunday, September 04, 2011
climbing out of summer
I'm starting another photography class tomorrow with the lovely Vivienne McMaster. I took her You Are Your Own Muse course last spring, and this is my favorite image from that experience. Strangely enough, this is the first and only layered photograph that I've ever made. Since then, I've been collecting photos to layer and planning some concepts that I would like to experiment with. It is such an inspiration to share a virtual classroom space with such a variety of women and artists from around the world.
Saturday, September 03, 2011
picking apples
Today we hiked around Natural Bridge in Rockbridge County and then picked a bushel of apples in Bedford. Along the way I got to knit in the car.
It seems too hot to pick apples, but tomorrow we'll dive into making applesauce and apple pies.
ella
This big sassy fourth grader has been under the weather for a while now. We went back to the doctor this week, and she is getting another Lyme test. She had a rash, large circular marks on her torso and legs, and has had a headache and nausea. Last week she had a very high white count, and by the end of this week it was going down. Today the rash seems to be gone. I'm looking forward to hearing from the doctor on monday.
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
flower picker
I think there were more yellow flowers than she could comprehend. We camped for the weekend and then came back to start school on monday. It is a new year of sorts for mamas. I have a lot of work to do at school this week, but next week I'm considering some new routines, the library, bike rides on the Huckleberry, a new photography class. I'm looking longingly at my knitting needles.
The nights are dipping into the forties, but the days are hot. I love the long slow fall into winter. I get quite the thrill thinking about cooking beans in the crock pot.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
sweater
I've been working on many things to help start the school year, and now my head hurts and I can't turn my head to the left. It is just stress, and I'm really ready to let it go. I'm ready to knit.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
end of summer
This is the last week of summer. Next monday we'll head back to school, the fouth grade and another year of kindergarten.
We are going to make one quick trip to the woods for a little camping before fall starts to settle in around us. Woods with wild ponies, blackberries, a big campfire, and quiet nights.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
6
We were a block away from home when we spotted this and jumped out of the car.
John had a great birthday. He was surprised by 22 kids and their families at the lake. We swam, played, and ate watermelon and ice cream sandwiches.
He said, "This is amazing".
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Sriracha Grilled Tofu
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
joytime
I took Ruby to the lake today, and she spent most of the time crouching down in the water and jumping up as high as she can. I asked her what she was doing and she replied over and over, 'jumping for joy".
We should all take a few more cues from three year olds.
lunchbox time
John needs to bring his lunch and snack in separate bags this year, so I think the snacks will be traveling in this little washable robot bag. I also ordered a couple of bamboo sporks and have plans for making a pile of cloth napkins.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
floydfest X
We are home from four days of a music festival up on the mountain in beautiful Floyd, Virginia. I slept on a yoga mat in the woods for three nights, and it might be the year to invest in something more comfortable. On saturday night when I went to bed the ground was still vibrating with music, and I heard it didn't stop until four am. I still haven't declared a "favorite" for the weekend. Yonder Mountain String Band. Peter Rowan, Larry Keel, Old Crow Medicine Show. Too many to count really. It was a beautiful summer weekend with shooting stars, fireworks, thunderstorms, Dark Star Stout, friends, fiddles, banjos, dancing, and happy kids.
henna
Someone is growing up quicklly. No face paints for her this year, but she did want to get a henna design with a snake, the sun, and the moon.
