On the morning of her birthday Ella built the fire by herself.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
good morning pigs
We talked to the pigs several times a day. Ruby loved saying goodnight to them. One night we walked to our campsite down a dark country dirt road by following our moonshadows.
the blackberry bushes stringband
My favorite band of the weekend was the Blackberry Bushes. If we had one less child I might be convinced to drive to Ozark, Arkansas for the Yonder Mountain String Band Harvest Festival this weekend. These guys from Olympia, Washington had me thinking about the Be Good Tanyas as we walked into the field. They have a young edgy quality to go along with their sweet harmonies.
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
I'm grateful for the people who are coming over to see the house. I'm wondering how long until the excitement wears off, until I just say whatever, mop the floor, and leave the house with no expectations. It is a little hard to have strangers evaluating your house on a weekly basis. Add the stink bug invasion, and it is fairly excruciating.
Again, I'm grateful.
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
Edna Lewis’s 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.
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
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)