Winterbreak

Bringing in the Sheaves

A farm report is long overdue -- the ground here in our temperate climate has been frozen solid for over a week.

Halfway through harvest time I thought it would be fun to weigh and keep track of the produce we grow in our little urban garden. This isn’t the full list, and I am ashamed to say that I let quite a few green beans languish on the vine until they were unsuitable for consumption, even with a lot of garlic and butter. They didn’t make the roster. But here’s a partial list: 

• 2 1/2 lbs green beans
• 1 lb cucumbers (I know I had a bunch more that I didn’t weigh, and more that languished in company with the beans)
• 18 lbs Italian plums
• 3 lbs eggplant
• 11 lbs tomatoes
• 2 lbs garlic

A picture of the largest tomato this year is below with a dime next to it to show the size. It was 1 3/4 lbs all on its own!

We also had lettuce, basil, cherry tomatoes, kale and Swiss chard (that’s still in the ground and we’re still eating), leeks (that we intend to eat whenever the ground thaws out a little), bell peppers, a few shelling peas, Loulou’s potatoes, lots of radishes, strawberries, raspberries and apples and last but not least, Manu’s prized grapes. He got three bunches this year and they were so sweet and delicious!  Everybody needs their own little kitchen garden.

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Another New Venture: The "Small"

Actually this venture has been going on for a little while; we just thought we should finally tell our friends about it, and Mina helped her Mama get with the times and make an Etsy Mini-Shop here on the blog. In reality, it's kind of a Mini-Mall, because each of the ladies of our household has her own shop. It's what Auntie Janet used to call the shopping mall in Moscow, Idaho, where you could walk the length of the whole thing in seven minutes and where half of the storefronts were empty anyway. It was dubbed "the Small." Our Small is ever so much nicer! And our products are locally grown and handcrafted and repurposed and everything!

So you see, once you browse, you will wonder how you ever did get along without them until now. They are right over there on the sidebar. 46 shopping days until Christmas.

A New Venture

I have a college friend who works at Psychology Today magazine, and she recently invited me to write for them. I was honored and daunted but after prayer have decided to try that new bloggy venue. It's an odd place for me to be....I feel very much a fish out of water. I don't think what I write tends to be psychological; rather it hovers somewhere between the physical and the spiritual. I wondered what I could say that would be Helpful to this crowd of Earnest Pyschological Self-Improvers. But College Friend seems to think that just writing about our Normal Everyday was what Psychology Today blog readers would like and need. Maybe because Normal Everyday is so rare nowadays? Maybe because such reading is like observing a weird wombat at the zoo? Maybe because psychologists in America want to keep an eye on the divergent section of society known as homeschoolers?

Anyways, you can read it here: Lifestyle Design. The title is a kind of a joke with myself. Years ago I attended a college reunion chock full of successful young bankers, lawyers, businesswomen and the like. I was hugely pregnant and had two toddlers clinging to my legs. I felt a little insecure, thinking that the title Mama somehow wasn't good enough -- I am wiser now. Anyway, with reflection I came up with the title Creative Lifestyle Designer. "Hey, Little People," I said, "I am designing your lifestyle creatively!" and hand wrote some business cards to pass out to the achieving masses.

So when College Friend asked me what I'd like to name the blog, that incident came to mind in the wave of my insecure feelings at all those psychological PhDs on the site pontificating about this and that. So there it is. If you too would like to design your lifestyle creatively, have a look. There's also a link on the blogroll to the right. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Croup

I hate croup. I hate it, hate it, hate it. I hate it more than I hate barfing, which is what I thought Zazzy was doing when he cried out at 1 a.m. Loulou never had a croup episode, but the other three at one time or another have awakened out of a sound sleep coughing, gurgling, crying and gasping for air. That awakens parents out of a sound sleep to instant terror.

We know now what to do, more or less: turn on the shower, pray, make tea, hunker in for a long damp sit in the steam with a whimpering child on your lap. It’s not as scary as the first time with Mina, but I still hate it. Mr. Pete-za once had a croup episode that took him to the ER for steroids because an hour of steam didn’t make the gurgly, blocked sound in his throat go away. All the croup entries in the books I like to call Mom’s Book of Medical Worries say important but impossible things about how essential it is that the parent to stay calm lest the panicking child pick up on the fears of the panicking parent, making the child panic more and breathe less. Much easier said than done when your kiddo can’t breathe. Once I woke up and knew something was wrong just because Manuski was talking much TOO LOUDLY and CHEERFULLY for the middle of the night. That made us all panic, so I took over baby holding duty, and he made the tea. This time at least Zazzy could breathe well enough to tell us in frustration, “It’s not working!” meaning breathing I assume. Yikes. He’s better now.

New Article

Zazzy has created his own indefinite article, squashing English and Francais together to create “en” as in en ferry, en pancake, en train, etc…  So of course, to prolong the fun we’ve all joined in as well. We hope that you are having en nice time reading about it.

In other Zazzy linguistic news, we were on I-5 South on a clear day and coming round a bend in the road, suddenly there loomed Mt. Rainier larger than life. “Ooooh! Look! Look!” cried Zazzy, “It’s Mount Reindeer!” Be looking for an antlered mountain on our Christmas card.

When Loulou was small she called my brother and his wife Auntie Janet and Auntie Chip. “Auntie Chip” stuck for a long time because we all liked the moniker, even though Auntie Chip himself wasn’t too pleased. Then Zazzy evened things up with his own version: Uncle Chip and Uncle Janet. But now he’s growing up and correcting himself. When I called them that when they arrived the other evening, Zazzy looked at me scandalously and said, “NO! Auntie Janet and UNCLE Chip!” It’s rather sad. I love toddler talk.

My Personal Army

I want to share Mr. Pete-za's cool birthday Lego creation. There I am at the head of my own personal army of 40 Lego guys, ready to do my bidding, including some Power Miners, Mars Mission astronauts, a couple basketball players and a few Indiana Joneses. I could take over the world!

So forty, so good

Well, I feel I ought to report from the other side of forty. So far, things are not too shabby at all! The tally in the past couple weeks: one surprise party put on my sneaky, wonderful husband which surprised me most by how many people came over on a Wednesday night, on the first week of school; one weekend getaway in a fancy hotel (thanks to his company and including 3 hours of conversation in the car each way); two weeks of serious on-task schooling for all; one sprint triathlon completed where I cut down on last year’s time by a full 29 seconds; and one slumber party of girlfriends where for one night we got to be 13 all over again, with less angst and more giggling. So my forties have been super busy and a lot of fun! And now I feel fairly justified in not doing much else for the rest of the year.

On the Eve of 40

On the Eve of 40 I find myself incredibly grateful for 40 wonderful years, never knowing one without my Heavenly Father’s steadfast love and care. I am also grateful for Eternity, because here, around the halfway point, I reflect that there is so much still to learn, so much still to do, so many people I would like to have better conversations with, so much of God’s goodness that I have only begun to understand. What I cannot get to in this life will have to be completed in the Life to come.

A little discouraged sometimes, maybe, because I am so far from the person I thought I would be by now. I thought by now I’d be more deliberate about things, that I wouldn’t take so long to make up my mind, that I would be writing more, that I would have a menu plan and be a better dresser. Still dealing with the same stupid sins that I have forever. And nothing interesting either….just the usual suspects: procrastination, laziness, selfishness. All the problems that for 40 years I’ve attributed to circumstances around me, I find are largely attributed to the fact that I am, well,….me.

And praise God that He is God! He is redeeming this sinful girl (or do I have to say “woman” now that I’m 40?) and remaking me into what He actually intended. When He is done with me, then I guess I will be done. Literally! And I’ll be with Him! In the meantime, what a life! He’s given me what I’ve always wanted: His love and forgiveness, the love of my family around me, meaningful work and creative outlets. Friends to walk through life with, and His creation to learn about along the way.

I need to take off my sandals. I am on holy ground.

Appreciation

There's really nothing that makes you appreciate your dishwasher like having a broken one for a couple weeks. I need some hand lotion on these dishpan hands!

Getting to the End of Summer

And what a full and wonderful summer it has been. Reading other friend’s blogs has inspired me to put some of what we’ve been doing into words. With the fantastic weather we have had it has truly felt like a long hot summer.

After our vacation, we had two weeks of swimming lessons and then Loulou went off to camp and we spent two days visiting cousins. Then we just kind of hung out at the pool for several days. Berry picking. Friends visiting, and a youth crafts fair. Sleepovers. Then a long weekend camping trip to Lake Pearrygin with friends, more swimming and a birthday celebration for Mr. Pete. A week of the stomach flu. Another trip to Orcas with Grandma, today a hike to Denny Creek Waterslide and blueberry picking. Garden growing, chickens laying, too hot to cook, novel writing, stuff purging, math book finishing, book reading, game playing, stargazing. Almost, almost ready for a little more routine and purpose to our days. Emotionally ready, but organizationally unprepared.

Beautiful Red Currants

Red currants are so beautiful that I just love gazing at them. They are so round and shiny, like rubies growing on a bush. I planted a bush last year and here is the result. Enough for a pot and a half of jam when once I added a few raspberries and the 12 black currants that our non-so-productive black currant bush provided. Black currants are not so pretty, but they do have a lovely flavor. Maybe we should have just eaten these fresh, but it’s nice to think of them down in the storage room in tidy jars, waiting for winter.

Vacation

Two weeks vacation is so refreshing for the mind…mostly from not answering the phone and emails and not hearing the constant buzz of machines all day.  This year’s movie was Cinderella which I shall post here when it’s edited. 11 days on Orcas, about 12 hours at home to sleep and do 5 loads of laundry and 4 days down at Seabrook on the coast. Wonderful to go, wonderful to come home.

The Farmhouse

The Little House on the Prairie

The Bath in a Bin

Eastsound Tideflats

Kayaking on Mountain Lake 

Down at the Ocean

    

On the North Jetty at Ocean Shores

Sand in our bottoms 

Jumping the waves

Bella liked chasing the seabirds 

Building our Ancient Civilization

We diverted a stream to make a river and moat around our beautiful island city

A view from the north side

Open Mike

(or is it “open mic”?)

Hooray we are home sweet home. One happy memory for me was singing at my first open mike on Orcas Island, at Doe Bay where there was, as my cousin put it, “a mixed crowd.” I introduced myself and my mandolin and explained that as this was the first time I’d done anything like this I was quite nervous, so could everyone please start talking again? There were about 35 people there. I sang two songs, one nervous and warbly and I spaced on the words once. But the next one is about Orcas Island and I love it and I sang better, and Julie said the warbles didn’t go out on the mike. Everyone got quiet and listened and afterwards told me they really liked it. I do think it helped that I sang right after the Hare Krishna monk chanting and just before the half drunk cowboy singing about how he “lost my stash, out in the trash”.  Pete the stoned dreadlocked man was next.

My sister was wonderful and smiled and gave me thumbs up when I looked out in the room and saw all those people. My niece Emily was also very encouraging and put my name on the list when I was still to chicken to. I felt wonderful in the end, doing something I’ve always wanted to but been too terrified. It’s a beautiful spot, looking south from Orcas down towards Anacortes past Cypress Island on one side and Blakely on the other. The cafe where I sang has windows all along one side that look out to a beautiful little cove. And the “mixed crowd” was nice and forgiving.

Manu Schmitt Invitational Classic

Sunday, May 17th was a gorgeous warm afternoon – perfect for the 41st Annual Manu Schmitt Invitational Classic (2nd Observed). This year was a little more casual – a 3 mile ride along the Sammamish River trail, a ride short enough that I was just getting into my cycling groove when we had already arrived at Bothell Landing and it was time for the Swiss Picnic. The watery portion of the this year’s event consisted in watching boaters go up and down the river and sticking our hot tootsies in the nice cool water. Fellow riders were rather lacking; Andre Tapernoux was the only brave soul to join the intrepid us. Next year I hope more join us on two wheels – we have to earn that Swiss picnic! Thanks to all who came out to celebrate Manuski’s special day!

 

The family on wheels – Zazzy is in the trailer

 

The Tapernoux Family – authentic Swiss people eating their Swiss Picnic

 

The Swiss Picnic-- In case you wonder, cheese, bread, sausage, hardboiled eggs, apples, water, and Chocolate (of course)

Fresh From the Garden

There is something deeply, deeply satisfying about eating food grown in our own garden. Enough that it makes me want to dig and plant again in the spring, despite the hard work and endless weeds. This evening for dinner we had chicken Caesar salad with romaine lettuce from the garden. We also had scrambled eggs from our chickens with spinach grown by Mina in her garden. For dessert we had rhubarb crumble made by Loulou. All delicious and made more so by dining outside in the balmy summer twilight air. Thank you, God, for seeds and plants and sunshine and air. Thank you for gardens and for all the spiritual lessons we learn from them.

Celebrating LouLou

Time to remedy a long lack of posting! May 2009 is fleeting by, but while April is not yet a too distant memory, I'll share a few happy memories of LouLou reaching double digits at her 10th birthday. 

But first, some memories from a little further back…

May 1999 – one month old

December 1999 – eight months

LouLou’s First Birthday

Fast forward nine years to Birthday Morning 2009.  Manuski has a birthday tradition of building names out of Legos. This time, it got a little more elaborate as he built an entire springy scene. 

Close up of the Springy Scene. LouLou is seated on the bench to the left while Zarli is bringing her a giftie in a wheelbarrow!For lunch with some friends we had bunny cupcakes. I wish I’d taken a photo of all the bunnies lined up on the platter! At our little family party, there was a cake with a chicky popping out of an eggshell. On Easter Day, we celebrated a little more with extended family. 5+5=10, get it?  Easter is such a nice time to have a Birthday! Happy Ten, LouLou! Ten beautiful Golden Years.

 

For Zarli

I'm very, very pleased to announce the online publication of another one of my original poems by Mothering Magazine. You can read it online here.

Happy Easter!

Free Time on a Saturday Morning

Helen

Snuggling Clementine

Thomasina

Chicken with Fresh Herbs

Chickeny Love

I’m Twee!

My baby turned three and we had a little party to celebrate. Instead of Thomas the Tank Engine or Racecars, it was decided that we would have a Tropical Party, because let’s face it, Mama really wished she were somewhere like this:

...instead of rain and sleet soaked Washington. Uncle Tonton and Auntie Lele were just in a place like this on vacation, and by golly we were HAPPY for them! And by faith we LOVE the damp and cold! Sigh.

So anyway, back to Mr. Zazzy…Here was his cake:

Living vicariously through Mr. Lego

Twee Years Ode... A Big Boy!

The best thing after cake

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Science Fair

Friday before last was our homeschool group's Science Fair. This year was even more fun than last because we talked our friends into joining us and we got to share the evening with them! I also paid more attention than last year because I've agreed to be next year's "Science Fair Lady." Oh my!

Mrs. Holmes passing out awards. Mina's project was about the use of eggs in baking. Her chocolate chip cookies were a big hit with the audience!
LouLou's project was about how water can alter landscape, slowly over time and quickly in a flood. She observed the differences each can make to geography.

Peterman's project was about how the freezing and thawing cycle works to erode different kinds of rocks.

Our friends Noah, Jared, Jeremy and Ethan had a super display on Volcanoes with video footage of some dramatic explosions in the driveway! Having them there made the Science Fair even more fun.

Everyone start planning your projects for next year!!