Poets and Saints
…and the moms who try to be both.Goodbye July, Welcome August!
Summer’s beautiful days don’t last long and we’ve been soaking up as much time outdoors as possible. It’s almost a shame that we pack so much into three months: outdoor concerts and festivals, farmer’s markets, pool and splash park fun, zoo trips, picnics, bike riding….the list goes on. All this fun means there is very little time to be bored. Just plenty of time to watch the flaming colors of my flowers, sit in my hammock and enjoy a red ripe tomato fresh off the vine. Ahh, summer.
My little fish standing directly under a spray of water at the splash park.
This one makes me feel old. My baby riding a bike! I don’t care if there are training wheels still on there, I’m going to go in a corner and sob my heart out.
Loving the farmer’s market booth for children. Art activity + fresh produce = one great morning.
Summer brings new life and new nephews to hold. Welcome to the world baby! I just want to pinch those cheeks and hold that little tiny bundle of love. My heart is melting…
That’s me up on that rope. Just a little hobby of mine in my spare time. (Okay. I couldn’t do that even if I were on the ground with a crew of spotters helping me. Apparently my daughter was convinced of the same thing, because she told me that mommy could not do that, but daddy COULD.) Our city’s first “Buskerfest” celebrated the street performer. We enjoyed balloon sculpting, moving statues, stilt walkers, jugglers, live music, taiko drumming, hip hop dancing and more. All for free.
Enjoying blueberries from our local picking patch, under an umbrella, in the middle of our sidewalk. Beautiful summer…please don’t end.
3 New Summer Recipes
You might have thought that I dropped off the face of the earth and fell into the hands of alien tribes. I did for a month and my last brief post shows all the alien creatures I have been cavorting with over the summer holiday: wedding aliens, beach aliens, and friendly aliens from a far off land who are not pictured due to their religious beliefs (or the fact that I did not post them in all my post-vacation haste). In the midst of all my alien travels, I had to visit an alien doctor who announced me quite ill and prescribed me a host of alien medications. I coughed and hacked and thought that my throat was going to explode with pain and hot lava, but the strange alien pills worked and now I am back on earth feeling better than ever. Except for that strange device implanted in my chest. But anyhoo…
Traveling always gives me a nice break from cooking, but when I get back to real life and finally drag myself kicking and screaming to the grocery store, my cooking instincts kick in like Julia Child. On one of my little travel jaunts, I splurged and bought myself the latest Everyday Food, which just about makes me drool when I read it. So of course I had to cook up a storm. That’s when spoons, bowls, and skillets went whizzing around the room at an alarming rate and I piled up a mound of dishes that looked a little like Mt. Everest. But I have been eating something good, oh yes, I have.
So here are my latest SUMMER RECIPE FINDS that are extra delicious just for you!
1. Grilled Pork Chops with Spice Paste. This recipe made the most delicious pork chops I’ve ever had. Spicy hot paste is rubbed on the outside of the pork chop and then grilled. The chops came off the grill tender and delicious. (Be sure to follow instructions about letting the meat rest for 5 minutes after grilling. It really does make a difference in the cooking process as the meat continues to cook under the foil.) If you are a bit shy about hot food, then I might pass on this recipe. But if your palate tends towards the hot, be sure to add this to your menu. You won’t be disappointed.
2. Soy-Marinated Flank Steak This delicious and simple recipe is full of flavor and yet so easy. The flank steak is marinated in a soy concoction and then grilled. Serve it with some grilled veggies dribbled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and you have a exceptional gourmet meal.
3. Chicken Tikka Masala The best Indian dish I have ever made and quite possibly one of my top five favorite meals that I have cooked….ever. If you have never tried tikka masala it is a bit like chicken curry, but has some cream add to the sauce to make it less tangy. But it still has the pungent Indian spices and that’s what I like about it. So flavorful and it makes wonderful leftovers too. The key to this recipe is the garam masala spice blend, so if you don’t have it you either need to buy it from the store or borrow it from a friend. An exceptional Indian dish. Many thanks to Pioneer Woman’s blog for the recipe.
Happy cooking!
The Beach and More
What we’ve been up to lately…
Wedding and flowergirl beauty,
A bit of Scotland. The men clad in kilts on a hot day…
Off to the big lake for ziplining,
walks on the sand dunes,
and beach games– including water balloon launches and many attempts to catch it.
Don’t forget the playground on the beach,
penny fairs,
and another trip to a much smaller lake to enjoy the watermelon seed spitting and pond swim.
We are relaxing and enjoying ourselves. Books have been read, bathing suits hung up to dry, and lots of summer meals outdoors with fresh garden produce.
Here’s hoping your summer is full of wonderful memories too.
Summer Break
We’re all in need of a little break around here–physically, mentally, emotionally. Things have been quite hectic lately. It’s VBS week at our church which is wiping us all out every night. Who would have thought that 2 and 3 year olds could do that to me? Or maybe it’s doing story time four times in a row? Either way, it’s been fun but I’m ready for nice long nap.
Plus the next few weeks hold much fun-to-be-done: weddings, some beach time, friends visiting…lots of excitement. So I’ll be taking a little break from blogging land so that I can thoroughly enjoy the fruits of summer!
I’ll hopefully be refreshed with a few pics to show for it. Be back soon.
Garden Love
This morning I started weeding after the rain. I forgot how satisfying it feels to accomplish something small, even if I don’t like doing it, early in the morning. My tomatoes are going gang buster, but so are the weeds. I am heavy into water-and-weeding season but thankfully God has been doing the watering for me.
I get a lot of questions about my garden. My garden is small (it’s the suburbs after all) and very simple. If you are looking to try out a garden here are a few tips I’ve learned that may save you a lot of hassle:
1. Do garden boxes. They’re easy to make (see picture above). They contain the garden. They don’t take up much yard. You can start gardening sooner (the soil warms up quicker in spring). They’re great for tomatoes, peppers, peas, lettuce, beans, zucchini and more. They’re not good for corn, melons or any “vining” plant, including large plants that take up space.
2. Weed when it’s wet. They’re easier to pull when the soil is wet. You can do a small area in fifteen minutes and feel like you accomplished something. There are very few tasks that I can do in 15 minutes and feel a sense of accomplishment. It doesn’t mean I like weeding, just the feeling of finishing something.
3. Plant the easiest veggies. Tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, peas, beans have proven to be the easiest for me.
4. Add compost to your soil. You can buy it if you don’t make your own. It’s a great natural fertilizer for plants. Add it in spring by raking it into soil.
5. Start small. It’s less overwhelming when watering and weeding season come around. I recommend tomatoes or peppers. Bunnies won’t eat it. You can even grow them in pots. The grape tomatoes are especially easy to grow. You can buy the plants from Lowe’s or even start them from seed during late winter inside.
The best thing about gardening is that there is a reward at the end. You get to enjoy the delicious produce from summer for many months! Plus I’ve been amazed how much kids get into gardening. Give them a special dirt corner to play in with a trowel and a few seeds. But beware: something might actually grow. I gave my daughter sunflower seeds to play with and plant and now they’re all over my garden. At least she’s learning where food and flowers comes from. And I’m learning not to expect perfection these days either.
Even a little bit of gardening satisfies my green thumb.
Moving on Up
We finally got our daughter moved into her new room. The mattress set was delivered Saturday and she was so excited about it we decided to ride the wave and have her start sleeping there. There is still her closet to move and the canopy to finish. The canopy bed is my old one and I still like it as much as I did as a child. The actual cloth canopy is long gone, so I’m thinking about making my own. But here it is for now…in all its purple glory!
Now on to other fun things we’ve been doing this summer. This…
this…
and this.
The summer of silliness.
Fun and Free Family Activities
What is it about summer that makes me want to lay by the pool everyday? Of course it would help if I had a pool (and I’m not counting the kiddie one). Since I can’t be at the pool, I look for summer activities that are kid-friendly and low cost. Here are a couple ideas I’ve learned that have helped me plan plenty of summer fun to keep the little one from getting bored:
1. Come up with a “Family Fun” calendar. We use ical, where we can color code each individual calendar (my calendar, my husband’s calendar, our family fun calendar, etc.) and keep track of events. Usually our newspaper comes out with a “summer event guide” that lists all festivals, art fairs, town celebrations, and more. We use this resource, circle the events that interest us and then plug them into our calendar. We have found this essential for keeping track of free events. When we rely on our memory, we usually forget and miss the event. I can’t emphasize how important it is to come up with a calendar that lists these events next to your other daily calendar. You can check out ours here but please note that not all activities are free. My husband takes any and all activities that look interesting and sticks them on our family fun calendar.
Here are some ideas for free events to take advantage of this summer:
2. Free concerts: These our great for our family! Many of the bands play oldies that are fun to dance to and there are families of all ages there. The music is usually louder than the kids are and we can enjoy the entertainment as we play in the grass.
3. Free festivals, art fairs, town celebrations: We usually enjoy just walking around, avoiding the junk food (if we can) and watching people, booths, street performers and more.
4. Farmer’s Market: These are springing up everywhere in our town. Some even include musicians, children’s activities, free food samples and more. Be aware that farmer’s markets sometimes “evolve” as the summer goes by. They can start out pretty bare and then once harvest hits, be full of yummy things to eat. I’ve been surprised how much my daughter enjoys going to the farmer’s market. Maybe it’s the free samples of fruit we’ve gotten or the library’s booth where she can do a quick craft. Either way, it’s a great way to spend an afternoon or evening where there’s nothing to do. Plus it encourages us to buy locally and enjoy the delicious and fresh local produce and fruits.
5. Library: This one might seem a no-brainer, but I often think that people go to the library less in the summer than other times of the year. Our library offers a great summer reading program, even for babies and toddlers. We got some amazing resources last year including a free CD and a book of finger plays. Plus my daughter read enough books to earn herself a free book. Our library also offers free programs, like a Clifford day, a puppet program, a mud sculpture art class and more.
6. Beach: You don’t have to travel to ocean to enjoy a beach. Children enjoy the simplest of beaches, even next to small ponds. Last summer I discovered Fox Island County Park had a small beach, perfect for building a sand city, sand rivers and pools. It does cost us two dollars to get in this park, but it still cheap fun for our family. There are also turtles, frogs, birds, walking paths, and a nature center to enjoy.
There are so many other great things to do in the summer too! Playgrounds, splash parks, biking on the trails and more. The best thing is that we can have lots of fun for very little to no money. Enjoy the summer!
Rainy Day Inspiration
I’m feeling a bit down today. Nothing’s wrong, so it might be the rainy weather, or the fact that my daughter has awakened me too early the last few mornings or the wait for our adoption.
Whatever it is, this inspires me.
Even when my day has gone to pot, or I’m feeling like a failure, whenever I get out in nature I feel a little bit better. I guess you could say nature is my therapist.
The poppies are my favorite. They’re psychedelic red and look like big ruffled cabaret skirts. If I ever move, I’m taking these with me.
The view from under the willow. When the branches grow low, you might call this our sanity room.
Baby sunflowers. Can’t wait until August when they turn into giant suns.
I love the raindrops on the flowers. I think I feel a song coming on…
…raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens….
Stop me now or I’ll be singing this the rest of the day.
Quilt Complete
The quilt is done! I finished a week or so ago and forgot to tell anyone. My mind was consumed with packing for our camping trip and finishing up all the year end programming. I would have put it on her bed, but we still don’t have mattresses. No mattresses, no place to put the bedspread. Might as well hang it with the clematis vine.
Now on to painting one little girl’s bedroom purple. This weekend. Wish me speedy painting. It brings back memories of furiously painting her nursery while listening to the soundtrack of Monty Python’s Spam-a-lot. Maybe I need to take pick it up from the library again. It makes for great painting.
Want a front row seat to red-neck America? Go Camping!
Before I left I posted about my love and hate of camping. Apparently I forgot one of the other things I hate about camping: Obnoxious red-neck campers.
The park was wonderful, the weather was perfect and I was looking forward to a quiet, peaceful night of sleep. That was before 12:17 AM when our red-neck “neighbors” pulled in to set up their camp. They apparently never saw the sign posted that quiet hours started at 11 PM. While everyone else in our campground was quietly dozing, our neighbors started bickering loudly as they set up their tent. I think there was some alcohol involved. And maybe some major dysfunctional personal history. The woman sounded like Roseanne Barr with a southern accent. She was constantly yelling at her husband. ”BOBBY!” She screamed. “BOBBY!!” My husband does a great impression of this. He sounds like a cross between a hick and chain smoker.
At some point in the setting up of their tent, they decided to roll down their car windows and blast country music. I haven’t heard music that loud since my high school dance played AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long.” For some reason that was THE head-banging song back in the late 80’s and early 90’s, when temporarily losing your hearing at a high school dance was cool. Although Bobby and his wife (Roseanne Barr-sound alike) didn’t play any AC/DC, they did blast country radio during commercials, because you can never have enough of the jingle “Save Big Money at Menard’s” in the middle of the night.
At this point I looked over at my husband who had his sleeping bag pulled completely over his head. It was a warm night and I knew he had to be sweating profusely but I guess you pick your poison–blaring radio or drenching sweat? (My husband could still hear the music and is amazed that someone wrote a song using the cliched movie phrase, “You had me at hello.” I mean, how long ago was Jerry McGuire?) After a long string of country music and commercials and DJ talking, in which I wanted to take their car and run over my own head, they turned the radio off. The night finally seemed promising. Maybe they would quiet down. Did I mention they had an obnoxious barking mutt?
The radio was off but that did not seem to stop them from continuing their very loud conversations, which including swearing, and lots of repeated screaming of Bobby’s name. Of course Bobby had his own issues getting angry over everything including the napkins.
Bobby: Where are the napkins?
Bobby’s wife: We’re fresh out of napkins.
Bobby: (ticked off): Fresh out of napkins?!
All this talk about being “fresh out of something” has added this new phrase to my vocabulary. At this point I was fresh out of patience for Bobby and his wife, who had their final explosive conversation around 3:30 AM.
They were getting into the tent ready to go to bed when Bobby’s wife couldn’t find her pillow. In the process of looking, Bobby bumped her in the eye. She started screaming at him. He said that he didn’t mean to do it. His wife erupted into cussing him out, bringing up their marital history and screaming at him at the top of their lungs, saying “How does that make you feel Bobby? Huh? How does that feel?!” Of course, Bobby wasn’t going to take it. He cussed her out just as vehemently and threatened that she better shut her mouth before somebody called the cops. If my cell phone had been close by and if I hadn’t been scared that Bobby had a sawed off shotgun, I might have called the cops.
Everyone was awake at this point including my three year old daughter. I ended up sleeping in her bed as she held on to me during the fighting. The next morning she told me, “Mommy, I just couldn’t sleep with all that noise.”
My husband joked over breakfast that he was going to walk over to their tent, introduce himself and say, “I heard your name is Bobby…”
Ironically they hardly said a word the whole morning. I guess they had said all they needed to the night before.
