One Misty, Moisty Morning

I went out to pick up Man-Cub from school today and was struck by the loveliness of the day. It wasn't particularly sunny or crisp, but neither was it grey or drab. The clouds seemed to envelop rather than oppress the atmosphere and it felt hushed and muted, misty and mystical. I don't really know what it was, but it thrilled me. So I decided to tramp back outside and snap away with the camera.

This is the view from the kitchen porch of the woods across the street .

The front lawn, dotted with oak leaves.

Looking across the street from the end of the driveway. This is the view that helps me forget I'm in New Jersey suburbs.

Looking back at the house from the driveway.

Here are my beloved hydrangeas, looking delightfully gnarly and weird.

Yet one still clings to its bloom of youth.

And heading back, this is what I see every time I climb the stairs to re-enter my house. Incidentally, that screen door has become a small bone of contention recently. It's just a wooden frame with screening stretched over it, but I love it. It has a long spring and no latch so when it opens you hear a long, low groan and then a good, sharp SLAP when it bangs shut! The Viking put it up for me, but he's losing patience with it. Apparently, it is not very energy-efficient and the drafts of cold air it allows in are starting to dull the effects of its simple, old-fashioned charm. He wants to replace it with a new-fangled, air-tight, modern storm door with a screen that rolls up and down like a shade. I admit, that sounds impressive, but I like my old fashioned slapping screen door. I wonder if a happy compromise is possible? I guess only time will tell...

Ooh! Guess what? There's a Fed Ex truck in the driveway! A package? A package! For us? For us! Hang on while I scurry to the door...

******************************************************

Wow, that was fast! I ordered a tablecloth from Jack and Friends two days ago and it's just arrived!

I never thought I'd actually find a vintage-looking tablecloth with strawberries on it! And just look at that lovely bubble-wrap!

It came in its own sweet little matching envelope. Now if only I can think of something creative to do with it...

Yes, I know it's a little small for my table and needs to be ironed, but it'll do nicely. It was the only size they had and I wanted it badly!

Maybe it'll look better turned the other way. Of course, I could turn it catty-cornered like I do with my other tablecloths that don't fit (old wedding gifts), which drives my mother crazy cause she thinks catty-cornered tablecloths are nothing short of irritating, but for now I think I'll just enjoy it like it is!

Yay! I love getting things in the mail! Especially pretty things for my house!

And now for that bubble-wrap...

Please try to stay awake

So, our cottage is one closet richer tonight. After getting caught at the computer when I was supposed to be creating organization and order, I managed to pull myself together enough to help The Viking sketch out our coat closet. Which basically amounted to me trying in vain to draw what I thought I wanted (I cannot draw), then petulantly flicking the paper at The Viking who then patiently (and most skillfully) drew out exactly what we need. It had hooks, shelves, bins, doors, even an optional mirror! By the time he trotted off to The Depot for all the supplies, I was happily debating the imagined effect of doors wallpapered and bead boarded just like the walls vs doors somehow festooned with red ticking fabric leftover from the sink skirt and valances as seen here...



The Viking thinks wallpaper/bead board on the doors is stupid, but we'll just have to see, won't we?

I was so excited about the new coat closet and was envisioning hats, scarves, mittens, boots and coats all living in perfect harmony, snuggled behind cleverly decorated doors! My days of having to wear a jacket I've retrieved from the floor were coming to an end! No more cries of, "Where's my brown purse", "Has anyone seen my other glove", or "What is all over this scarf" punctuating the morning rush out the door! The children would never be late to school again!

And then, The Viking came home with stacks and piles of stuff and proceeded to carry it all upstairs. Wait, upstairs? We're storing our coats upstairs?

Apparently, my husband acquired some much-needed clarity while walking around his most holy place. Soothed and quieted by the smell of lumber, the glint of hardware and the glow of all that orange everywhere, he looked deep within and found what we really need is for Man-Cub's closet to be finished first. So, crash, bang, boom, that's what he did!

What used to look like this (bad pic, I know):



Now looks like this (not much better, I'm afraid):



Man-Cub's closet is kind of L-shaped because of the linen closet it's built around. And the bedrooms are under the eaves so all the ceilings are sloped which makes for lots of odd angles in there. It really is a strangely-shaped space. But we're using the back of the long part for out-of-season or rarely used clothes and the front for Man-Cub's stuff.

Wow, closets make pretty poor blog fodder. How boring. I've just realized I spent the entire weekend boring the children senseless, making them run upstairs just to see the interior of a bedroom closet. No wonder they spent the whole weekend treating me like I'm one stern scolding away from erupting into tears. What a nut I've been! It's a sad, pathetic life that leads a once intelligent, clever, vibrant woman (okay, vibrant may be taking things a bit too far) to become unreasonably excited about closet shelves (which you couldn't see in the above photo because I'm a bad photographeress and even I know closet shelves push the boundaries of boredom for anyone). I think this excitement stems more from the prospect of becoming reacquainted with the lovely knick-knacks and photos which have been hidden underneath a vast pile of Man-Cub's hanging clothes on top of my dresser for months now. I'm going to see my dresser again! Yippee!

And now, just because I found myself up in Man-Cub's bedroom with the camera, here is a gratuitous shot of his ceiling. I took this in the dark in hopes of actually capturing the stars and planets glowing in it, but it just looks like the light is on. I had originally planned to put glow-in-the-dark stars in straight rows like the American flag (which was the inspiration for the room's decor) but when the time came to spend hours perched atop a ladder, meticulously measuring and placing dozens of stars, my courage failed me. Instead, The Viking bought a pack of glow-in-the-dark stars and haphazardly, I mean artistically, slapped them up there, bless him.



And for any of you Brian Regan fans out there, "the big yellow one is the SUN!"

And so it begins again

It's been 8 months or so since we finished the major over-hauling of our kitchen and The Viking is growing ever restless. He can only sit back and enjoy the afterglow of a project for so long before his fingers starting itching for a new one. For the past 6 weeks or so I've been seeing warning signs and, this weekend, my suspicions were confirmed.

You may recall this door, pictured here in a "before" photo of our kitchen:

This was taken as The Viking was just starting to tear stuff out (can't you tell by the two detached cupboards and the clump of insulation visible in this shot?) and I stopped him so I could properly document it.

Anyway, that old door remained much the same even after the rest of the kitchen had been given its much-needed facelift. It became one of those things we meant to finish but ran out of energy for.

Well, as of yesterday, the door now looks like this:



I love it and think it looks just lovely. But I know he's been haunting The Home Depot again and I know what that means; he's gearing up for another project.

Sure enough, he said something to me a few hours ago about doing something about the coat closet or Man-Cub's closet, I get to pick. He thinks the coat closet is a more pressing need right now, but I still get to pick. I think we're going to be tackling the coat closet.

And, directing your attention back to the photo of the newly green door, can you blame us?

Just scroll up a bit. That area, that wasteland of coats, jackets, bags, gloves, hats and umbrellas is where the coat closet is set to be. You can see we need it badly.



This is just completely unacceptable. You can't see it, but there is a most lovely umbrella stand buried under there. I want that to be seen. I want to keep actual umbrellas in it (even though I know there are going to be baseball bats and field hockey sticks stashed in there as well) so I don't have to go rummaging about in a pile of nylon and wool whenever it's raining outside.

You may wonder why we have been dragging our feet on this. Well, we've been looking for a suitable piece to fill that space, but can't seem to find one that's just right. It's an awkwardly sized area and we want a lot out of it. We need hooks for coats and jackets, enough for all of us and a few for guests. We need hooks for bags as Red Headed Snippet and I have at least 2 each. We need storage for hats, scarves and gloves once the weather gets delightfully cold, and I would like a place to stash wet shoes and drippy boots, if possible. It would really be nice if there could be a place for the kids to deposit their backpacks after school and a mirror placed near the door for last-minute check-ups on the way out would be heavenly. As if all that isn't enough, it would really make me happy if all that lovely organization could be contained behind a set of doors, or even a single one, so I don't have to be tidying it all up all the time. So, basically, I want to build a coat closet behind the kitchen door, but I want it to be pretty. I am impossible to please, aren't I?

I am supposed to be looking around for ideas right now while The Viking has the kids at Target picking out things for their Operation Christmas Child gift boxes but I've decided I need to blog/whine for a while first. I know designing a space on our own is the best way to get an organized space custom-made for us, but I just hate doing it. I can't come up with stuff on my own out of the blue. I need inspiration, a visual example. I need to see a picture of a great coat closet someone has built in their own home and then expand on that. And I can't seem to find any. And The Viking is going to be home soon and if I don't have some good ideas, he's just going to pound some 6-inch nails into the wall for us to hang coats on! No, he won't do that, but he's going to want to leave for The Depot with a list in his hand within an hour of coming back.

While I'm whining, anyone got any brilliant ideas for what I could do with this empty space?



It's the wall just outside the pantry and it's been bare ever since the remodel. The Viking likes it bare. He enjoys having just one wall that I haven't filled with stuff. But it's really bugging me.

Uh-oh, guess who's home? I'd better go...

The Day After

So, is anyone else struggling to contain large masses of candy that have now taken over the entire household? What a HAUL my kids brought in last night! I think it's the most they've ever gotten. I really need to find a new dentist quick!

Halloween was everything we'd hoped it would be. I did manage to dig up some suitable brown shoes for Man-Cub (he liked them so much he even wore them to school today). The beef stew was so easy to prepare and most delicious to eat (and even better the next day for lunch). The children trick-or-treated almost to their hearts' content (they're never ready to stop). And the costumes were fun and festive.

Now, pictures anyone? I must say, Man-Cub's Link costume turned out even better than I had imagined. By the time he was all suited up, I had decided it was the best costume he's ever worn. Daria and Lobelia surpassed themselves with the fabulous shield they made. Wait until you see it; it was made completely from scratch! They drew a pattern for The Viking to cut out of plywood, covered it with Styrofoam and canvas, then drew and painted the pattern on it. I think it's such a work of art, I'm mounting it on Man-Cub's wall now that Halloween is over. My super-talented sisters also made a sheath for Man-Cub's sword out of a remnant from Lobelia's old sofa. I don't think you can see it in the photos, but it was just perfect and held his sword in just the right spot. His cute, little elf ears aren't very visible in the pics either, but you might be able to see them if you enlarge them.

Without any further ado:

There's my brave elf warrior, in all his glory, even if the picture is kind of hazy.


And now he's showing off his mad fightin' elf skillz with his friend the Jedi Knight. He assures me that in a fight with Robin Hood or a Green Power Ranger, Link would win. A fight between Link and Optimus Prime would end in a draw, but in a fight with Mega Tron, Link would sadly lose. We never discussed how Link would fare in a fight with a Jedi Master, however, judging by his calm and collected demeanor in the above photo, I would guess Link would prevail. Somehow, I feel better knowing the levels of power in which he has his fantasy warriors stationed. I also find it hilarious that he has obviously thought this through thoroughly.

Now I'm wondering what would happen in a Link vs. Spiderman match. I'm sure Red Headed Snippet (Spidey) would have been more than happy to act out such an event, but, obviously, that would not have been wise. On another note, how about that shield, eh? Didn't I tell you?

Well, I must hippity-hop off to bed. That last packet of Sweet Tarts isn't sitting so well. I think I need to go sleep it off.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Okay, it's been a while, I'm sorry. But I've been busy being lame (literally--hurt my hip and am hobbling around with a cane like a mouldy old crone) and getting prepared for today--HALLOWEEN!

Autumn is my favoritest of seasons (followed closely by winter--love, love, love snow) and Halloween is my favoritest of Holidays. I love unpacking the crates of Harvest and Halloween decorations and decking the place out with Autumnal delights. I love the challenge of creating costumes for the kids (we rarely buy them, this year being one of the exceptions, more in a moment) and walking around town in the (usually) crisp weather dressed outrageously and greeting everyone we know. Hey, any excuse to wear a costume and get free candy will do!

Man-Cub is being Link from The Legend of Zelda. He decided this back in August. And he looks darn cute, if I say so myself. I'm a little concerned about getting the elf ear tips on him as I don't think he understands the goo factor involved and he's been complaining righteously about his wig. Yes, his wig. That's right he's wearin' a wig. I bought a shaggy blonde rocker wig ($5.99 at Walmart--YES), cut it to the desired proportions and had Mom (my one-woman Halloween sweatshop) sew it into the cap she made for me. Daria and Lobelia (Sisters #3 and #4 in case I haven't mentioned it before) have even gotten in on the act this year and have made what I'm sure will be a mighty kick-ass shield for our valiant elf-warrior (I haven't seen it yet, Daria is bringing it in a few hours).

Red Headed Snippet is being Spiderman. Don't ask, I really don't know. But she decided she was too mature to possibly show her face around town in a costume made by her mother anymore and declared she would be wearing a store-bought costume this year and every year henceforth. She and a friend decided it would be awesomely cool to go together as Good, Red Spiderman and Bad, Black, Be-Muscled Spiderman. They are inordinately excited about this and have even modeled their costumes for us. Red Headed Snippet is Good Spiderman and, I must say, it looks funny seeing Spiderman with bosoms. Of course, the costume got tears and pulls in it the very first time she put it on, but in a way that was good because it helped her see the error of her ways and she's already overturned her store-bought costume decree.

I am anticipating a very fun, but tiring, day. I've already got beef stew in the crockpot (trying a new recipe) and have hot chocolate fixin's on standby for when we all stumble in the door, tired, hungry and thirsty. Won't it be wonderful to come home to beef stew and hot chocolate after a long day of trick-or-treating? I might be more excited about that than the trick-or-treating. Well, no, I guess I'm not. But I'm still excited!

Daria is also coming this afternoon which always makes me happy. She's my baby sister (though at 23 she is a baby no more) and makes any special event even more special. She also loves Halloween and beef stew and hot chocolate so we're gonna have a blast, y'all!

So, a few more things before I go make a last-minute run to Walmart for some brown shoes for Man-Cub. I thought I had shoes that would match his boot covers, but can't find them and I simply cannot have him wear navy blue sneakers with brown boot covers. I went rummaging for my corn muffing recipe so I could post it today, but can't find it! I must have left it at Lobelia's pumpkin-carving party! So, I'm posting my even-better Cream Scone Recipe. It's Lobelia's and it is AMAZING! Easy, quick, delicious and impressive. Are you ready?

Lobelia's Cream Scones
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 cup heavy cream*

*Note: it is imperative that you use heavy cream and not, say, half-n-half or whole milk. The recipe simply will not work if any substitutions are made. Believe me I've tried. It's just one of those prima donna recipes.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Whisk dry ingredients together
3. Add cream and mix just until mixture is mostly moist, then knead lightly with hands to incorporate
4. Shape into ball, then pat flat on floured surface into an 8-inch round, 3/4-inch thick
5. Cut into 8-12 wedges
6. Brush with milk or cream then sprinkle with sugar and/or cinnamon
7. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet about 1/2-inch apart
8. Bake 12-15 minutes until lightly browned on top
9. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes

Now that you have no excuse for making fantastic, crowd- and child-pleasing scones, how about a few photos? I haven't been able to get any pics of the harvest decorations on the outside of the house because of this gimpy hip of mine (going to the doctor tomorrow), but I do have some of the inside to share. I've been dying to share these! I have no one else that appreciates them; most of my family thinks I'm nuts the way I go on about this stuff. Is it any wonder I talk to myself so much?


The dining room table. The runner came from my favorite Mennonite market a few towns away. I bought the metal pumpkin several years ago at a great local store which has since gone out of business, China Outlet and Gourmet Garage. The acorn is actually a candle I picked up at JoAnn Fabrics last year and the silver candlesticks were a wedding gift (but I can't for the life of me remember who gave them to us). I have since picked up green tapers (from Target) for the candlesticks but haven't had the time to take a new pic. And I don't know how to upload them into the computer by myself but that's neither here nor there, not mention it's embarrassing so, moving on...

This is actually the top of a vintage 1940's radio I bought for The Viking at yard sale for his birthday at least 10 years ago. It sits right inside the living room when you walk in from the dining room. I've had all this stuff for years, except for the squirrel candle-holder which came from JoAnn's (and also has been recently filled with a tea light candle). The small painting was painted for me by a friend in college as a last-minute Secret Santa gift (she forgot about it and painted it in a matter of hours). It's small but I love it. Everything else on this table was a gift. The small scrap of cross-stitching in the gold frame was a joke from my aunt but I have displayed in my living room ever since she gave it to me because I love it so much. It says, "I love you, Man".

One of the side tables next to the sofa. These are just my kids' school pictures (obviously) and one of the few pictures we have of our son who died of SIDS at one month of age 9 years ago. 9 years ago yesterday, in fact. It means a lot to me to have his photo displayed with my other kids' and I will always have it in a prominent place. Those are a few fabric pumpkins peeking out from behind the frames. I bought those years ago at that favorite store of mine that went out of business. In the front I have a $4 box of beaded gourds piled on a $2 silver tray I found at Goodwill. Gotta love Goodwill!

This is the table on the other side of the sofa. It's kind of a mish-mash of things: a white pumpkin on a stand I bought at Michael's a few weeks ago, a porcelain doorknob a friend gave me that she saved from her old farmhouse in Maine, The Viking's copy of The Hobbit from his youth, photos of Lobelia and Lenny and Dharma and Vance at Lobelia's wedding (Dharma is Sister #2), and a shot of The Viking and me as Lord and Lady Montague in our college production of Romeo and Juliet. It's one of my favorite photos of us, which is why I swiped it from the yearbook department years ago!
This mass of things is situated on top of the piano. One of the best things about having a baby grand in the living room (other than the delight of playing on a baby grand any time you want to) is being able to load it with piles of decorative items. We set up my father's antique train set on it each Christmas and I love to deck it out for Harvest time. Here we have an assortment of interesting instruments including 2 Eastern Indian drums (can't remember the names of them), an Irish bodhran, an old violin in its case which my aunt picked up for us at a yard sale in New Hampshire, and an mbira or African thumb piano I bought The Viking as a gift while we were still in college. There's also a few more pumpkins, another white pumpkin, a black candelabra with bone candles I grabbed at Walmart, a cauldron-like bowl with a creepy-looking purple berry-vine crawling out of it and a few other sundry items. This is always my favorite part of the room.

Last but not least is the top of the media armoire (which we just usually call the entertainment unit, but I'm trying to be little more fancy today). I've just piled it with old books I've collected, held up by the horse head bookends that were in my parents' house as far back as I can remember. There's also an old lantern we found in the basement when we moved in, a pair of fake pumpkins, a pair of tea light holders, a pair of candlesticks (a gift from Daria one Christmas), a green tub from Michael's filled with dried hydrangeas from my shrub out front, some eucalyptus, and The Viking's wooden flute.

A close-up for anyone who's interested.

So there you have it! The fruits of an evening's worth of labor and years' worth of collecting "clutter" as my mother calls it. Thanks for reading, if you've made it this far.

Well, I really must fly now. I have to get Man-Cub from school in an hour and still haven't been to Walmart yet!

May we all have a fun and safe Halloween!















BOO!!!!!

A few more signs

So, I have a few more pics to share and then I must go to bed. I am going to head back out tomorrow for another shopping excursion and won't be able to do it if I lie awake all night.

We went apple and pumpkin picking with friends on Saturday and this is what we came home with. Well, it's what's left of what we came home with. We've all been eating those apples like they're going out of style. The gourds were painstakingly selected by the children. Only those with a unique sense of style were allowed to come home with us. My kids take their gourd-picking very seriously. Man-Cub also keeps picking up the gourds and brandishing them like a sword yelling, "En Gourd!" Apparently, he got this from The Smurfs. Yes, The Smurfs. My sister brought over an old tape she made when she was his age and wild about The Smurfs. Man-Cub promptly fell in love with the show and now repeats lines from it and it blows my mind.

A visit to Jo-Ann Fabrics resulted in the purchase of another pair of fake pumpkins. I love that you can carve these but they won't implode and ooze down the porch steps half-way through November. I also love that they won't draw flies.

I found these at Home Goods, one of my favorite stores, even though shopping there requires a bit of taking one's life into one's hands. I don't know if it's every Home Goods or just the one near here, but that place is like a rummage sale and it's nearly impossible to not knock something over or trip over something while bargain-hunting. I heard no less than three crashes of glass or metal in the 20 minutes I was there today and at one point, a heavy wooden model airplane literally threw itself off the shelf at my feet. I swear I hadn't even touched it.

I leave you tonight with the homemade corn muffins I made for dinner tonight. I made them to assuage some of my guilt over merely opening several cans of soup for dinner tonight and also because I've been craving them since I made that huge pot of chili on Saturday. Those muffins are the Best Corn Muffins Ever which is why I've made that the title of the recipe (it's not mine, I found it online a year or so ago) and are going to be wonderful tomorrow morning spread with butter with a hot cup of tea!

With that thought, I'm off to snuggle up in my be-flanneled bed. I ceremoniously dug out the flannel sheets this morning and have been dreaming of getting into bed all day. Nothing beats fresh flannel sheets and a window open to the crisp, October air for getting a good night's sleep. Dreamland, here I come!

Sure signs of Autumn

The weather around here has been decidedly UNseasonable lately so it's been hard to believe it is actually my favorite time of year: Autumn. But I did some scouting around and was able to find a few signs to hearten myself.


I know it's dark and difficult to see, but these are the leaves that have already fallen in our shared driveway from the neighbor's tulip trees. We don't have any brilliant color around here yet, but I can smell it in the air that it's just around the bend.


Just one glance out the kitchen window reveals this very telling sign of Autumn: the covered, closed-up pool. The Viking closed it last weekend. He and the children were very sad. I was glad because it means SUMMER IS OVER! Say Hello to Nutmeg, sunning herself in the bottom of the pic.


I found these delightful little window clings at Target the other day. They're gooey and gelatinous and I bought two packs of each. They're going up in the kitchen and dining room windows.


And, finally, the surest sign Autumn is not far away, festive, fall-colored M&Ms! In dark chocolate. Haven't been able to capture any of the elusive dark chocolate peanut M&Ms, but I'm still looking.

Well, I must go. I'm actually off to search for more Autumnal decor. After stopping at Dunkin' Donuts for a pumpkin latte first. After stripping the beds, loading the dishwasher and throwing in a load of laundry before that. I'm using that latte as motivation for getting my chores done faster this morning. And, of course, the crispness of the air and brightness of the sun are calling my name, so I may just do a quick cop-out making of the beds. We'll see.

Until next time, when, hopefully, I'll have lots of new Harvesty delights to share!

Lots of pics to share!

So, do I need to tell you how busy life has been lately? So much has happened in the last 3 weeks and I've really had good excuses for not blogging. I've been a very good girl, I have.

I will try not to bore you with details, but we managed to come up with a new financial plan which enabled us to get all our school shopping done on time and without going into debt! Yay for no added debt! I think I shopped every night for two weeks straight and really built up quite an immunity to it. The idea of shopping doesn't appeal to me quite as much any more. Although there is that Coach bag back at Plato's Closet that I can't stop thinking about...

I've also managed to stay reasonably on top of the chores in the past near-month as well. I had a bit of a slump when two of my sisters and my brand-spanking-new niece, Baby Bee, came to stay for 6 days, but that was just because I was too busy staying up until wee, unholy hours of the morning talking and staring at the loveliest of babies. Have I shared pics of her here? I don't think so...so just in case:

There she is with her Dad. I just love the sight of a man holding a baby on his chest like that. Makes me weepy.



Man-Cub wasn't too sure about holding his new cousin. He wasn't sure about whether he was happy to have a cousin who's a girl. But he is sure he's happy not to be the youngest in the family any more!



This is my favorite picture: the three cousins, Red Headed Snippet, Man-Cub, and Baby Bee. Dharma and Vance have been trying for so long to become parents and we're all just over the moon for them!



So, somehow between getting ready for school, keeping the house running smoothly and enjoying a long visit with dear ones, I've managed to embark on a few overdue adventures. I started (and even successfully completed one) two projects I've been wanting to do for a long time!

Several months ago I decided I was going to make a kick-ass cobbler before Summer's End. I saw a blueberry cobbler being made on my favorite cooking show and afternoon tv indulgence, America's Test Kitchen, and I knew it was just a matter of time before I made it mine.

My first attempt was less than stellar. It was tasty and enjoyable, yes, but not quite "kick-ass". I sadly ignored the "fruit desserts" chapter of my beloved ATK cookbook for several weeks, pained by the memory of my failure. I was determined never to face a cobbler again.

But then, fate intervened. EGOD (Evil Grandmother of Doom or those of you just tuning in) made her usual mad, mid-summer purchase of more peaches than any human being can possibly eat before they all go bad and literally left a great bag of them on my front steps. She does this every year. She has tried to do it with broccoli rabe but stopped when she found out I refuse to cook it. She also used to do it with grapefruit and oranges when she lived in Florida only then she used the mail; every 3 months or so a huge cardboard box full of citrus fruits would turn up, thrilling our mailman to no end, I'm sure.

Anyway, I had peaches galore slowly turning to mush on my kitchen island. The scent was intoxicating, both to us and the fruit fly scouts who no doubt spotted a most hospitable environment, but we couldn't eat them fast enough. With a sinking feeling, I realized I had enough peaches for two peach cobblers. Could I bear to face it again? Was I strong enough? With much trepidation, I turned back to "fruit desserts".



ATK details how to blanch peaches for easy skin removal and, surprisingly, it was very quick and easy! Just a few slits in the bottom of each peach, a 60-second dunk in boiling water, then another 60-second soak in some ice water (shown) and those little hussies slid right out of their skins!



Here are the denuded peaches, waiting to be sliced, sugared and brandied. Actually, I didn't have any brandy, so I just substituted peach schnapps instead. I can tell you with full assurance of hindsight that that was a most satisfactory substitution!



A little of this, a little of that, some mixing and stirring and voila!
Those cobblers were indeed the most KICK-ASSIEST of cobblers! I don't think I have ever tasted anything so good in all my life! I certainly have never made anything that good in all my life. The Viking mumbled, with his mouth full of cobbler and his eyes rolling back in his head, "This is a kick-ass cobbler. This is the best thing you've ever made." Then he went on to say, and get this, "This is better than anything MY MOTHER has ever made!" And the heavens opened up and the Lord did grin...



We pretty much obliterated that first cobbler right away, but the second survived and was sent on to our dear friends who had just moved into their first house and needed some cheering up. I felt so domestic and housewifey and so much like Mrs. Weasley! I so enjoyed that! And that, I think is what inspired me to dive into my knitting project in earnest.

My very first Weasley Sweater. I finally got over to Michael's and bought the yarn. Man-Cub helped me pick it out as it's his sweater. It's been about two weeks and I've got the back knitted and have about 5 inches of the front on the needles right now. But before I show you, I have to share the knitting "tub" The Viking helped me make:



I am currently on the look-out for a good, not ridiculously expensive, knitting bag so I can tote my stuff all over the place with me like a good little Auntie. However, in the meantime, Lobelia gave me the idea to use something like an old oatmeal container, or potato salad tub if I just need to cart around a few balls of yarn or something. So I took the tub of Laffy Taffys the kids managed to empty with alarming speed and asked The Viking to drill a couple of holes in the lid for me. I sanded the holes thoroughly so the yarn won't snag, popped the lid on and, wouldn't you know, it makes a perfect stand-in knitting bag! The Viking thinks it's pretty funny. But, hey, it works!



And here is the finished back of the sweater. I held it up to Man-Cub and found to my delight it is going to be perfectly oversized for him. He'll be able to wear it for years! We're still debating which letter to put on the front: he wants an H like Harry's sweater, but I still want to put Man-Cub's real first initial on it. We're going to have to settle it soon as I'll be ready to start the intarsia in just a few days (using a nice, grey yarn Man-Cub picked out), but if he won't budge, I'll just do the H and let him have his fun. It'll be cool either way.

Red Headed Snippet has already picked out the green yarn for her sweater and wants her hockey number on it instead of her initial, but we're still in negotiations on that projects as well. I'm not even starting her sweater until Man-Cub's is done, so I expect it will be several months before I have to start having "Sweater Talks" with her.

I'm really enjoying this project and am already thinking ahead to others I can make and what colors I would use for everyone. Daria wants one (emerald green), I'd like to make one for Baby Bee, Cindy Lou Who would be adorable with one (I think scarlet for her?) and I would so love to get The Viking to wear one. We'll see. I should probably finish this one first and see how it goes before I start taking orders.

Okay, gotta run. I have to rest up before our big night tonight...first night of Youth Group, Pioneer Boys and Design for Discipleship. And I'm still recovering somewhat from minor surgery on Monday so I need to reserve my strength. But it's all good; I have a movie I've been wanting to watch that no one will watch with me so I'm going to curl up on the couch, heat up the heating pad and watch my wretched movie. Here's a hint: it's got Kate Winslet (whom I adore) and Cameron Diaz (whom I loathe) in it and takes place partially in my favorite place in the world, England. I'll let you know how it is...

Chores and More Chores

Hmmm, so it seems this blog is in my good graces lately. I'm not sure why, but this is the one I'm keeping up with right now. Probably because my life is revolving around my home even more than usual.

I'm trying to gear up for fall and that involves establishing a chore schedule and lots of advance planning for meals. Our fall is going to be a busy one and if I'm not ready, things will go spectacularly bad spectacularly fast. The pressure is a bit overwhelming, but I'm doing my best to just do what I gotta do!

My mind has been focused on developing just the right method for keeping my house tidy and hygienic. Not perfect and sanitized, but healthy and livable. I'm taking on piano students, field hockey season is upon us, and all of us are joining new activities through our church this year. Red Headed Snippet starts Youth Group, Man-Cub is doing Pioneer Boys, and The Viking and I are doing an in-depth bible study called Design For Discipleship. Fortunately, these all meet on the same night so we won't be running out to church 4 times a week! But getting there on Wednesdays won't be easy with the Snippet's hockey schedule so I need to PLAN! I need crockpot meals that are easy to transport! I need to be on top of my laundry so I don't wake up with it on top of ME! I need to keep the living room clean and clear so we don't hurt ourselves running through it on our way out the door! I need to have lunches packed so we're not late for school in the morning. It's going to be crazy. Oh, and I almost forgot, I'm the Recording Secretary for the Home and School Association this year, and I have NO IDEA what that entails. I might be in for a nervous breakdown this year!

But I think I've finally settled on a good plan. It was a bit like a logic problem, but I think my weekly chores are sensibly scheduled. How's this sound?

Mondays: Strip and remake the beds (I need something a bit less strenuous as this is a piano lesson day)

Tuesdays: Bathrooms and take out the trash (ugh, that's today)

Wednesdays: Dust and plan my weekly menu and grocery list (I babysit on Wednesdays so I planned chores that I can accomplish with an 18-month-old imp following me everywhere--Merlin's Pants, I love that kid!)

Thursdays: Sweep and mop the upstairs (this is another piano lesson day, but the upstairs is mostly wood floors so it's mostly dust-mopping and the rooms are small)

Fridays: Sweep and mop the downstairs and go grocery shopping (this is the only day I'm not sure of. Sweeping and mopping are my LEAST FAVORITE chores. And grocery shopping can take a lot out of me. So, I'm not sure about combining them into one day. But, I'm making vacuuming the living room and sweeping the kitchen and dining room a daily chore, so this chore should amount to sweeping the laundry and powder rooms, both small, doing a cursory sweep of the other rooms, and then mopping four rooms. I envision myself mopping the floors then heading out to do the shopping while they dry and coming home to a sparkling clean kitchen with lots of groceries. We'll see if this works)

Saturdays: Clean out the car, tidy the yard and a monthly chore. This is the day the whole family gets involved so I won't be on my own.

So, as long as I keep at it, this should work. I'll have 8 hours a day to get this stuff done (in addition to my daily chores of making beds, tidying rooms and doing laundry) so I'll have no excuses!

Now for the food department, I've been making lists of our family's favorite meals, and I think I'm going to make a file of them for easy reference. I've also made a separate list of make-ahead and crockpot meals because I'm going to need one each and every Wednesday. The most time I'm going to have on any given Wednesday afternoon in which to get my children cleaned, fed, changed and out the door for church is 30 minutes. That's not long. I'll need to be able to dish the food up as soon as my Snippet returns from hockey, whether it be a practice or a game.

This is the first time I've fully realized just how far I've come in the cooking department. I don't know when it happened, but I've gone from being almost completely inept in the kitchen, with no clue how to plan meals let alone preparing them, to being able to handle all of the cooking and making 90% of it from scratch. If anyone had told me 5 years ago what our meals would be like today, I would never have believed them. I am truly thankful that I've accomplished so much and take great pride in what I'm providing for my family.

Okay, speech over. I apologize. Anyway, all that to say, I'm really thankful I've finally gotten some skillz I can actually use! My other skillz don't really help me much: singing, writing, making awesome Halloween costumes, being witty, they don't really help a lot in running a household. It used to make me very frustrated. But now I see there is hope, that I can learn. If I can learn to run my kitchen, I can learn to run my house!

Now that I've gotten all that out of my head, I feel all deflated. Oh, wait, there's those other things popping up: school supplies, school clothes, school gear. Both kids are in need of lots of things this year and I have no idea how we're going to get them. We're trying desperately not to go any further into debt, but I don't how else we're going to afford the things they need. And I'm not talking about the latest fashions and super-cool gadgets. They both need shoes, at least 2 pair, Red Headed Snippet needs all new jeans, both need backpacks (and the Snippet needs a very good-quality one that will last through the year), and don't even get me started on the list of school supplies the junior high requires. I think Man-Cub has enough jeans and pants for fall, and I know they have jackets and coats, but they both need good clothes for church. Man-Cub has maybe two pair of pants that aren't jeans and Red Headed Snippet has a few skirts that are suddenly way too short. Sigh. This would be a good time for someone to drop off a bag of hand-me-downs! I know God will provide, He always has, but this is the time I start to get a little nervous. Do you think maybe I need to take a bit of the advice I was dishing out to Red Headed Snippet last night about not worrying and trusting God to handle things? Yes, I think so, too.

Well, I must cut this short. I really do need to tend to my chores and I promised the Snippet some computer time after she finished hers. I have to make my bed, clean my room, clean the bathroom and powder room and get to the grocery store (I'm a little behind today). And for those interested? Tonight's dinner is Bangers-n-Mash! I have apple sausages from The Dutch Wagon to throw on the grill! Mmm-Mmm-Good!

As you were...

Much Ado About Nothing

Aye, me, I've been such a sluggish blogger!

There really is nothing new to report, which is why there has been no blogging lately and I'm left to report this:

Take the Quiz here!

This is completely unimportant and has no relevancy whatsoever, but comes as no surprise to me and made me very happy nonetheless. I've always related so much to Miss Marianne and have always wanted to be her. But it is so hard to reconcile the romance of Marianne Dashwood to my 21st Century American suburban life. Sigh. Still, I girl can dream, can't she?

Oh well, back to reality. We've hit a bit of a bad patch around here.

The weather has been most foul, MOST foul! Stifling heat, maddening humidity, heat indexes up to 109 degrees, ugh, it's been appalling. I just know there are Dementors breeding out there! I really shouldn't complain too much since this is how the weather usually is all summer long and this year we've only had a few scattered days of it. But still, waking up in the morning to find every window in the house fogged up like the bathroom mirror when I get out of the shower is NO FUN AT ALL! I would much rather be too cold than too hot!

In addition to the unwelcoming weather, there seems to be a sinister presence in my kitchen. Maybe Daria is right and I really do have a boggart in the house and it has now decided to turn its attention directly onto my kitchen. We have seen nothing but food behaving badly around here. Because, as we all know, it must be the food rather than the cook!

I don't know what it is, but everything seems to be going amok in here! I brought home some lovely peaches least week that had "peach cobbler" written all over them. I was even going to take pictures of the cobbler in progress and then again in its finished glory. I hauled out my trusty America's Test Kitchen cookbook (the love of my life lately) and followed to the letter the instructions for peeling peaches. Heh. Easy-to-peel-peaches my eye! I haven't had such an unpleasant experience since the last time I decided to dust and vacuum the dog's domain under the piano and was thrown into a three-day sneezing fit! By the time I was finished peeling I had decided a bowl of sliced peaches was exactly what I wanted. I covered them in plastic wrap and shoved them angrily into the fridge to be eaten later on top of ice cream, pound cake, cookies, or whatever else we fancied.

A few days later The Viking informed me of his great need for egg salad sandwiches for lunch. Once again, I placed my trust in the good people of America's Test Kitchen and followed carefully the instructions for hard-boiling eggs. I know what you're thinking: who needs instructions for hard-boiling eggs? Well, it does matter how you do it (despite anything The Viking says) because you don't want weird-colored yolks, or, tough whites, or stubborn, hard-to-remove shells! So I took great care in boiling those eggs...

You guessed it, that blasted kitchen boggart struck again and those eggs turned out to be the most difficult dozen I've ever peeled in my life! They looked like I'd peeled them with my teeth when I was done! Luckily they were being chopped up in a salad and not being refilled and displayed or anything or I would have been in tears! If it wasn't for the fact that I was very hungry and had nothing else to make for lunch, I would have smashed those eggs all over the How To Hard Boil Eggs page of that cookbook and slammed it shut, thereby sealing those pages together henceforth rendering them forever unreadable.

A few days after that I made a lasagna. Now, I've made this dish before and have had few problems. But this time, I was merrily sauteing and measuring when I realized I was clean out of eggs. I needed an egg for the ricotta cheese mixture. What happened to all my eggs? Oh, that's right, the egg salad, grrrrrr. So, I had to make the lasagna without the egg. And then I ran out of noodles. I have never run out of noodles before! And I know I checked before I went shopping to make sure there were enough! I don't know who it is, but somebody's been snacking on raw lasagna noodles! Fortunately, my family does not really care how pretty a lasagna is, as long as it's cheesy, so crisis was averted that time.

Now, I know what you must be thinking: was that lasagna recipe from America's Test Kitchen? And to that I reply, "DON'T EVEN GO THERE!" I will not have our great nation's Test Kitchen questioned like that! They test things, everything! They make all the mistakes so we don't have to! I love them, you hear me? Love them! There's just a boggart in my kitchen. Or, perhaps, maybe I just haven't been paying close attention due to the Dementor-breeding-mists outside.

Anyway, things have been clearing up, both inside and outside of my kitchen. Rains rolled in yesterday and swept all the nastiness out of the atmosphere. Last night was cool and dry, perfect sweatshirt weather. We got into our sweats, brought out the throw blankets, made brownies and watched movies last night. We slept with the windows open, a perfect way to clear one's head and sweeten one's slumber. It was like a preview of fall. And today has been the most glorious day since last October. The sun is bright, but the air is mild and almost crisp. It's got me thinking of apples, pumpkins, cider, chili and beef stew. I keep having to remind myself it's only August 11, that we have at least 3 weeks of summer left, three weeks in which the weather can go straight into the toilet once again. But for now, it's wonderful!

And cooking-wise, things have improved. Last night we had one of our most favorite of summer meals, Gyro Burgers with a Greek Village Salad. The Salad recipe is Rachel Ray's (one of my absolute faves of hers) and the burger recipe I found online (can't remember where). Every time we have it we exclaim with our mouths full how much we love this food! I make homemade tzatziki sauce and smear it all over the burgers which we wrap in pitas. The salad has huge chunks of ripe tomatoes, red and green peppers, cucumbers, feta cheese and black olives in it. It's wonderful as a topping to the burgers or just as a side salad. There's still some left; I'm eyeing that for lunch.

Tonight we're having (dang) quesadillas leftover from the other night. I had never made them before and they were from America's Test Kitchen and they were brilliant so there!

Looking ahead, I'm thinking Thai Coconut Chicken Soup, Tacos, Marinated Pork Chops, Spaghetti, and a fresh fruit and veggies night (corn on the cob, tomato and cucumber salad, peaches and blueberries) for this week. There's also a Moroccan Chicken recipe I've been dying to try so maybe I'll throw that in there too.

In other news, have I mentioned my new knitting endeavor? I learned to knit a few years ago and have finally decided to branch out from scarves to sweaters. Most specifically THIS sweater!



I've been wanting to knit my children Weasley sweaters ever since I saw Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone and have finally this year is the year! I've got the pattern and some nice, new, smooth, sexy, bamboo needles and I know which kind of yarn I need, though I haven't gotten it yet. Best of all, Lobelia, a most fantastic knitter in her own right, is helping me. And boy is she sorry already! I've called her no less than 4 times this week with knitting questions of various levels of inanity.

You see, I held off on buying yarn because it's been a while since I've knitted and I figured I'd need some practice first. I have some semi-crappy yarn left over from my very first project, a Gryffindor scarf for Red Headed Snippet that looks pretty good but curls in on itself so fiercely it may as well be an overly long Gryffindor tube sock (I'd share a pic but it's packed away in the basement). I decided to brush up on my skillz using the old yarn and quite unhappily discovered I have almost no clue what I'm doing! I called Lobelia after noticing that halfway through each row of allegedly "purling" I was overcome with the desire to throw myself off the top of a very tall building. And what was supposed to be a stockinette stitch turned out looking like this on the "front":



And this on the "back":



Thankfully, Lobelia is very patient and successfully talked me off my ledge and onto some very helpful websites. The one I like best is here, knittinghelp.com. It has videos, VIDEOS, man!

So, I've spent the week calling my sister, watching videos, messing around with yarn, knitting, purling, tearing out stitches, dropping stitches, barely saving stitches and knitting and purling again, and I think I've settled on a wonky way of accomplishing what I need to accomplish. I like knitting Continental style, but purling English style also known as throwing or American style (the fact that this technique is known as both "English" AND "American" style just strikes me as immensely funny, but that could simply be because I'm an American Anglophile, but I digress). I've also found that by using a technique called knitting backwards, I can knit much faster. Basically, after I've knitted a row, I just knit again holding the needle full of stitches in my right hand and using the left needle the same way I just used the right to knit the stitches onto the right needle. So I never have to turn the needles; I just keep them in the same hands and knit the stitches back and forth from one to the other. Confused yet? I don't think I can explain it any better, but it works, at least for a stockinette stitch. So I think I'll stick with it. Cause purling's a bitch!

So now, after a week of trying and retrying and actually learning the correct way to do things (and, bear in mind, working with semi-crappy yarn), this is the bumpy mess I have to show for it all:




It just doesn't seem fair somehow and I am REALLY nervous about getting the good yarn and starting on it in earnest. I just keep reminding myself that these sweaters are supposed to look homemade and imperfect and that my children will love them no matter what. I sure hope so anyway.

Maybe another week's practice will help.

Okay, gotta run. There's laundry to be washed and beds to be changed. And I need to find some way to get outdoors and enjoy the unseasonable weather.

Empty Nest Syndrome

Well, the baby birds have left the nest, leaving the dud egg behind!



I heard a thunk on the dining room window while I was sitting at the computer and looked up to see a fledgling wren bouncing off in a mad, fluttering spiral. As I watched, the three other birds popped out in turn, like kernels of popcorn. I ran and got Man-Cub and The Viking to witness the event and we all ran out to the porch.

By the time we got there (after securing the dog, who was going crazy), we found the fledglings in various stages of departure.

This brave one got to the edge of the porch and gave us a rather contemptuous look before flying impressively to the tall oak tree a few feet away.



This one had all the ambition of the first, but proved to be more of a bird-brain. Perhaps it was just dazed from its close encounter with the dining room window, but it kept heaving itself against the wall as if it was the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. Also, it appears to have been quite a while since we last swept the dark corners of the porch, hmmm?



This little guy hopped all over the shelf the nest was situated on, but didn't seem to keen on the idea of flight. Of course, it very well may have been blinded by the persistent flash of the camera.



This is the one that made me laugh. It popped out of the nest and sat on the rim of the basket. And sat there. While its siblings were hopping, fluttering and peeping like mad, it just sat there. Clearly the underachiever of the group. Probably spoiled.



Eventually they all made it to the edge of the porch and then to various trees and shrubs nearby, the mother and father bird shrilly scolding them the entire time. We got comfy on the porch, leaning over the railings to watch what would happen next when, suddenly, one of the first birds to fly off flew straight at us! I saw it graze Man-Cub's head and land somewhere between him and The Viking. Then The Viking said, "Uh, it's ON me!"



That crazy bird landed right on The Viking's leg and stayed there, clinging to his pant-leg! We didn't know what to do! We didn't move for fear of spooking it, then I decided to take a chance at getting a picture of it. I had taken several shots when The Viking said, "Is it falling asleep??" It looked like its eyes were closing. It didn't seem fazed by our presence or the fact that it was perched on a human, so The Viking began walking slowly around the porch to see what it would do. And still it clung. Man-Cub was starting to get excited, thinking a wild animal had chosen to live with us instead of going off into the wild world. But, just as The Viking was getting ready to cup it in his hands, the bird flew off into a shrub. I had never seen a bird do that before; it was the weirdest thing!

We eventually got tired of swatting mosquitoes and went back inside, but it wasn't long before we heard peeping nearby and looked out to see on of the fledglings back on the porch, hanging out on one of the chairs. That raised another question in my mind: once they fly out of the nest, do they ever come back or is that it? Do they still sleep there and stay close to the mother, do they sleep out in the woods together or are they on their own from that point forward. I sense another evening of Googling House Wrens in my near future.

Who knew I would become so interested in birds?