Mellow

We are beginning to wrap up our time here on/in the centeral East Coast in.  We are on the last few weeks in fact (under 30 days but, who is counting).  For me it means packing.  This could seem like a daunting and miserable task, but for someone like me I quite like it.  Organize, pack, organize.  It's like a soothing nursery rhyme. I also find moving a bit cleansing.  You go through your stuff and keep the stuff that matters to you, then redistribute the stuff that does not.  I will say that as I've aged I feel the need to do this less and less. Meaning I'm keeping more and redistributing less.  Hmmmm... I can't decide if this is because I get less meaningless stuff or I'm finding meaning in more stuff.  

On my knitting project let me say I'm down to the last 5 inches.
Here are some pictures for what I've been working on for 2 months.

Nearly 46 inches of knitting!

K2P2 for 8Rows and K for 6 rows....

I am trying to decide if and what I should do for a border.  Any ideas?


B and I were hit this week with a pretty terrible head cold.  I won't go into detail because we've all head one and know what it means.  It's no fun.  If there is an upside to this illness it is B started her first "chapter book."
She has been reading short books for a bit. She'll read a couple of pages from her favorites but she'd been skipping the longer pages opting for a summary. Then on Tuesday she asked if she read to me and she read through a chapter of Frog and Toad.  Followed by another...then another.  She is so proud of herself.  It is adorable, astounding, awesome. She can read.

Food this week was pretty tasty even with our cold.  I'll just post a few pics.

Lemon Cream cheese filling for Crepes

Fore mentioned crepes

B's version with Nutella and raspberries.

B and her Heuvos Rancheros...

Things I love...


Kitchen Aid Mixer-
It was a wedding gift and I love it.  I think I use it once or twice a week.  Whipped creams, egg whites, sweet batters, breads... it never lets me down.  It's even been dropped on the floor, cupcake encrusted and still it works. In a weird way it give me confidence in my cooking.

Hair Pins (A.K.A. Bobbie Pins)-
Now that my hair is longer I've been spending a lot less time time doing anything to it.  Usually just pull it back in a clip barrette or an elastic.  Pins make it a lil' fancier.  Check out this tutorial from one of my favorite bloggers...

Elvis Coffee Mug-
This was given to me as a birthday gift 3 years ago now and it is my favorite.  Since this was a sick week I used it a lot with soups and Teas.  It's part rocker, part renaissance... and tuff too! Many of conversation have begun over my mug.  Usually at the bus stop waiting for B.  I think the King just invites a good time.

Puffs Tissues- 
Sick weeks remind me I should invest in Sick products.  B and I went through 2 boxes each of tissues.
My nose thanks you for the gentlness.

Hope your healthy and thanx for reading.

J

Monday, Monday...

I am writing this while eating my breakfast of a German Chocolate bar (1 oz.) filled with a sweet strawberry yogurt and a cup of Earl Grey tea.

It's foggy and damp.  This is the best I can do today...

Project B's afghan is only about 2 or three more sections from being complete.  It is 40"x 40" now I'm shooting or 40" x 50".  My plan is to start on th border next week. Exciting! 

This past week was spent outside as much as possible.  We did have plenty of sunshine so B and I played at the parks after school and after dinner nearly everyday.  She can play! I love how she can make friends with any kid on the playground regardless of age.  Ahhh, Play, the universal uniter. Play is really an ambiguous discription. What happens is a game of tag or hide-n-seek. Nothing breaks the ice like running away. When they all get too tired to carry on, B turns the break into a business opportunity and starts her own ice cream or pizza joint. She'll employ enough kids to delegate prep and clean up, and she sells.  She'll  let the public know she is open for business and what she is selling by giving a big yell or going to personally invite parents and kids to her shop.  I'm usually the first customer as I am easily controlled.  "Mommy," she says, "You have to order a slice of cheese pizza then go buy the ice cream. Oh, and my name is Julianna."  Julianna makes delicious pizza.

Our dinners this week were pretty tasty too.  To start, we made a dumpling soup with vegetable stock, fresh veggies (that means carrots and broccoli in this house) and fresh rolls.  The dumplings were really homemade raviolis that I filled with minced veggies instead of cheese. 

 We love soup, so this was a tasty and nourishing dinner of all that  play.   We had savory crepes(same recipe I've posted before, but I cut the sugar down to just a pinch) with roasted corn and caramelized onions toped with goat cheese. B was surprised we could eat this for dinner as she likes them sweet and for breakfast.  

We made whole wheat Pasta Primavera with a rainbow of veggies that were just too pretty not to post about either.  

Those are sweet potatoes and purple potatoes that I roasted with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Delicious!

For our Friday night Mommy-n-Me night we made Eggplant Parmesan with Lemon Bars for dessert.  I (as always) used Martha Stewart.com for the recipes.  This is what we did:  

And for Dessert...

We rounded out the evening with a...

and...

Cheeky indeed!

I want to snap my fingers and have the house clean itself.  

Things I Love

Lemons-

They are pretty. They smell clean and fresh. You can clean with them, cook with them (civiche), candy them, drink with them. They brighten my day.

Hers too....

Wusthof-

This is our cat...

 

He's frequently in the background of our pictures or just underfoot.  He the 4th member of our family (but thinks hes the first).  He eats with us, sleeps with us and everything in between. He's a funny critter and we love him.   He was not feeling well this week and spent a couple of days on lock down.  He's better, but his illness reminded me how grateful I am for his companionship however strangely vocal, feisty and sheddy he is.

Sleepy little fuzz ball!

  

On that note I hope all is well with you and thank you for reading.

J

Weak Week...

Happy Mother's Day to all the momma's who read this.
This week B and I stayed our busy selves, she with school, me with mommy stuff.
I'm trying to get this blanket done by the end of this month.  I am close to finishing the body of it, but need to work on and learn how to apply a border.  Time is running out for my Jenkintown ladies to guide this process.
Home stretch!

As every parent knows (even non parents know it too) kids are picky eaters.  B is a "vegetarian" who tries to eat as few vegetables as possible.  My challenge is to teach her about good balanced meals within our diet and then get them in her.  So we have carrot pennies, or broccoli bushes with snow fakes (shaved parm.) or corn logs.  These are tried and true.  Add soups and pastas from scratch, fresh breads and there are lots of possibilities.  Throw in an egg and some beans and rice and we've got even more options.  But I tell ya, I'm running low on'um...ideas that is.  I need some inspiration.

This week to mix it up I made a puree carrot and ginger soup.  B ate one bowl with a "mah" response.  "Mah. Not my favorite", she says.  I of course completely disagree.  It was sweet with just a hint of zesty ginger. I made pasta with fresh pesto.  More Mahs.  We had fresh tomatoes with fresh smoked mozzerlla cheese and fresh basil (my personal fave), her response...you guessed it, Mah.

What is a mom to do with Mahs?

Our Friday night Mommy-and-Me night was Tangled and veggie dogs (I say Mah, she says pass the ketchup!), with fingerling roasted potatoes.  No mahs here.  But the desert of angel food cake, whipped cream and fresh fruit got an big ol' mah!

 Enough of this! I decided I would up my game in this department.  I added a 1/4 cup sugar to one cup water. Brought them to a boil. Added my blueberries and rasberries (1 container of each) and cooked it for about 10 minutes.

 Desert...take 2!

Her response...a clean plate.

Whew!


Things I love-
Motherhood-
It is the greatest thing I've ever done. It is challenging in ways I never imagined.  It is draining and energizing all at once.  B makes me laugh, dance, and play.  It is because of her I pay attention to politics, where we live, what we eat and the people we surround ourselves with.  It because of her that I want the world to be good and not just O.K.
I love being part of her growth,  and watching her change.  She has rationale now and uses it. She lays out  two sets of clothes for school because she's not sure which one she'll feel like tomorrow, but she knows she'll like one of them (right down to the shoes). She's working on her first novel she tells me this afternoon, and she wants to be an illustrator when she grows up too.
Even on it's worst days, being a mom is an amazing gift.

This is how we spent Mother's Day...

The Muppet Show
B and I rented the complete 2nd season from our local library have been reliving my childhood Sunday nights.  I forgot how great the characters are.  The grumpy old men in the balcony, the chickens and that wacky Gonzo, the blue guy who looks like a bald eagle, and of course Kermi and Piggy.  As a mother of a daughter who loves variety shows I have to say I think the Muppet show was the best (after Carol Burnett, Dean Martin, Sunny and Cher, Hee-Haw,the Gong Show, and of course Lawrence Welk Show).

Hats-

I have quite a collection from comfy baseball to page boy to wide brim.  A good hat gets you out of brushing and styling.  It can take an outfit from "mah" to "ah." It keeps protects and deflects (gotta love that).  In honor of the royal wedding last week and the derby this week...I love hats!

Thanx for reading....

Ho-hum...

So I'm posting this on a Tuesday and not a Monday (which is really suppose to be a Sunday night) because I just could not get myself together. We've been busy bees, just not really focused(which is not like bees at all I guess, and there in lies the problem).

I've been knitting like a fool  and am just over half way with B's afghan. That's right, 4 weeks of knit-n-purl and I've got lovely half completed blanket. I know that sounds sarcastic (and it is a bit) but I'm really happy with my results so far (really).  It is what I have come to do in the evenings.  I have been listening to books on tape and knitting.  It is so a  "Celebrate the Moments" commercial.

O.k. so no Jean-Luke, but you get the idea.

The food front these past two weeks two have been a bit lack-luster.  I'm hoping to remedy that during the next week. I'm feeling Thai-ish, Indian-ish...well exotic to say the least.
Over the Easter holiday(and B's spring break) we baked a bit and dyed some eggs.  B is getting pretty handy in the kitchen and likes to help.  I love it.

Making Easter Cookies

She's a baker...

Frosted and ready for eat'n

Because the weather has finally turned from glum to yum we've been outside a lot. We broke out B's big two wheeler for some cruising.  She was a bit rusty, but after a few spins around the ol' baseball field she was good to ride off into the sunset.  She even survived her first big crash (me too, though I'd like to never see the likes of it again!).  

As we were free from the house, we felt it only fair to let our beloved cat out too.  Now this sounds easy... just open the door and let him out.  Well I'm not that relaxed.  We live in a busy area and I don't want anything sad and tragic to happen to him(he's also prettier than he is clever) so it is a harnesses for him.  So when I said free I really meant free-to-walk-strapped-in-and-less-than-3-feet-away-at-all-times.  Who walks their cat on a harness? Well we lived in a small town were it was the law.  You could be fined if your cat was found roaming about.  What the...How the...Seriously??? So not wanting to break the law, we leashed the cat.  Long story short:  The Cat and the Leash

He digs it.  

Now for Things I love

Hair salons and Hairdressers-

Nothing like getting your hairs cut to make you feel fresh and new.  I love the stylists with their black non-uniform uniforms, fearless haircuts and colors, and interesting tattoos. I love the spinnability of the chairs. I love the funky music and trashy gossipy magazines.  I love getting my hair washed and played with.  When I leave the salon I feel like I've shed some old crusty, itchy skin to reveal a pretty, polished and perky me.  Then there are the products...oh we'll save that one for a later date.

Summer Clothes-
Specifically long maxi dresses or skirts and flip-flops.  I know we are technically two months away from the official first day of summer, and there are still some 60 degree mornings, but I feel pretty good about sporting a dress these days.  I wish it could be summer all the time...

Blue Cheeses-
O.K. I'm a vegetarian save the cheese and eggs (Lacto-ovo vegetarian).  It is the stinky, blue mold, creaminess that keeps me from being a full blown vegan (that and honey, good leather shoes or a bag, and probably some of my beauty products too).  I  have been putting the stuff on every thing this year.  This weeks indulgence were mini croissants with a sliver of Point Reyes Blue, strawberries and cracked pepper.  It's like two bites of love.

Youtube-
I post a lot of videos from this genius of a site.  You can watch vintage commercials,  your favorite childhood cartoons, the royal wedding, movies, craziness caught on film by accident or with purpose.  I fill my John Cusack, Patti Smith, Ministry, Knitting, Actors Studio, Julia Child, Cartoon Express needs there.  Good stuff. Good, good stuff.


Thank you for reading.

J