Baby!

It's old news now, but hey! we had our baby!

Mica Sievert was born about 6:45am on October 16th, 6lbs 11oz. He's doing great, and we're working on transitioning to a family of 4... and also working on transitioning back to life with a newborn. Holy guacamole are nighttimes FUN. ;)

Thank goodness for dads. And grandmas who come out for a week or two at a time.

Obsession

Over the 4th a friend shared some delicious strawberry yogurt scones with us, and as I have a failed batch of (not-quite-set-)yogurt to use up pronto, I did a little research and found a new recipe to try. And oh goodness, these things are sooo tasty, quick, and more than a little addicting. Think strawberry shortcake in portable form; not so sweet, not so rich, and just right for a morning or afternoon snack. I have 2 quarts of yogurt to use, and so far I've made 3 batches of scones, with no plans to stop now. I'm happily filling my freezer.

The recipe, snagged from here:

Oven 425
Makes 8 scones

2 C flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
4 Tbsp. butter
3/4 C chopped strawberries
3/4 C plain yogurt

Combine dry, cut in butter, fold in strawberries, then yogurt.

Turn dough onto floured surface and knead a few times. Press out into rectangle, fold into thirds, then double. Press out into 9" round and cut into 8 triangles.

Bake on a flour-dusted cookie sheet, approx. 15 min. or until golden.

Meh

My computer still on the fritz, and I'm using all my afternoon down time to knit and/or stream Wimbledon matches on Todd's tablet pc.

Also it was HOT HOT HOT last week. Hard to do anything when it's 90 degrees out, and 80 degrees in your kitchen/dining/living room.

Another (almost) F/O

I've been meaning to make Roo a doll for a while, now that she's starting to show interest in her stuffed animals and cuddling with things other than rulers and calculators. So I knit her this:

(The second arm is still on the needles and coming soon.)

She'll also get a dress, and maybe eventually a pair of pants and a sweater. Roo likes to pull out her hair.

The pattern is Airy Fairy from Zoe Mellor's Knitted Toys, and Ravelry details are here.

Meep!

My laptop screen is on the out. So I'm borrowing Todd's tablet pc (fancy!) when I can, but posting may be light for a bit.

At least it's forcing me to read more! :)

Anniversary!

Celebrating a very happy number six today! This guy's my best friend, and it's awesome that he and I have each other along for the ride.

And on to a crazy busy week we go!

Roo's pillows

I have another fabulous project to share, and this one was in no way conceived nor executed by me. My wonderful friend Bonnie, who has the admirable and enviable talent of knowing how to crochet, made a set of cuddle pillows for Roo. And oh, are they enjoyed! For a while there she wouldn't nurse unless she was clutching both of them, and they now preside at the top of her bed for nightly assurance and encouragement.

So mad props and big thanks to Bonnie for such a thoughtful gift and for making Roo's bedroom an even lovelier place.

(If only they could magically revive that wonderful, brief time when Roo was actually sleeping through the night!)

Picnic Blanket

My friend April gave me some fabric to make two picnic blankets about a year ago, and I finally started sewing the first one together on Mother's Day. I was totally winging it, making the steps up as I went, and it was my first time sewing with either fleece or nylon, but it turned out okay.

Pretty good, in fact. And I think the second one is going to be even better... if I get around to making it near enough in the future to remember what I learned this time around.

It's already been on two picnics with Roo. Also, I love the umbrellas. April has good taste.

Baby Blue

This was another pattern from the same designer; also perfect for little hands to squish. The body of the bird is a lovely egg shape that tempts me to knit a dozen in various colors for next Easter. Lots of fun to squeeze and toss and pack into an Easter basket.

But anyway, this little birdy was also knit in the round, and I decided on stockinette rather than garter stitch for the body. I thought that the garter stitch wings and tail then made a nice contrast.

Ravelry details here.

Little Lulu

This little darling is made following the suggested yarn for the pattern; the only modification being that I knit in the round to avoid a zig-zag seam up the back of the shell. Plus, it's so satisfying to knit something off the needle and be able to stuff it and move on... Seaming = boo.

He was knit from leftover yarn from my massive spate of summer-weight baby blankets. Roo loved him; I need to make her one sometime. They're the perfect size to be smooshed in small hands.

Same pattern as yesterday's f/o. Ravelry details here.

Fin/Ob Week!

Man, I've been sitting on pictures from some spring knitting projects for a while now, so how about a finished objects week?

I knitted this in record-time back at the end of April for the arrival of a friend's baby boy. The pattern makes a tiny, tiny turtle, about 3" nose to flipper tip, with DK yarn; using super bulky yarn and size 10 needles this big guy has a respectable 9" spread. Much better for grabbing.

Details at Ravelry.

Rhubarb pie

For Jen:

Double-crust pastry:
2 C flour
2/3 C butter (or shortening, or a combination of the two)
6-7 Tbsp. cold water

For filling:
combine 3/4 C sugar (2/3 C if you like it extra tart like I do), 1/4 C flour, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon in a big bowl, add
4 C chopped rhubarb, mix gently to coat

Bake at 375 for 45-55min. Top crust should be golden and filling should be bubbly in the vent holes (or around the rim where you didn't quite seal the pastry together :D).

Garden Update

Since our garden this year is exclusively from leftover seed packets from 1, 2, and 3 years ago, with nothing started early in flats, we've pretty much been skeptical from the beginning. Todd threw down some spinach and leek seeds back in late March or early April, and we have some scraggly nascent leek shoots from that endeavor. And then I went for an all-out planting extravaganza at the end of April, or maybe it was May Day weekend, but in any case my diligent watering has yielded two strong lines of minuscule mustard greens, a healthy showing of tiny beet greens, and well, a sprinkling of weeds. Onions, carrots, peppers, spinach - no sign of 'em.

ED: I lied: we have tomatoes and basil coming up! And lots of cilantro from the new seeds. And maybe even a pepper!

My great accomplishment is a small zigzag of chickpea plants - all seven seeds I planted are up - and I'm having surprising success with nasturtiums in the big planters out front and scattered in the front border, probably an 80% sprout rate with those seeds. It seems to have helped that I soaked them overnight before planting.

The sweet peas? Out of the 30-ish seeds Roo and I planted, we have two little vines coming up. I'm still waiting...

Progress

I made massive progress this afternoon, finishing up three knitting/sewing projects. Which I haven't photographed yet, but maybe tomorrow?...

Still in WIP phase is the summer shirt I'm knitting for Roo, and the 'Fish on a Line,' and then there's that quilt I'm making for Roo's first birthday (ha! ha ha ha!) and her Christmas stocking, and then there's the queue. Oh, the queue.

Rhubarb

Nothing so tasty as fresh home-made rhubarb pie. Well, okay, maybe it's a tie with those pork chops we made last Friday.

There's a big art fair and music festival downtown this weekend, and I'm excited to go check out the action. We even have a good friend playing the main stage on Sunday - right when Roo usually naps, so I hope we can figure out a way to make it. Fingers crossed.

Rain, rain...

I'm not a fan of the thunderstorms, but it is nice to have a soggy rainy day. Especially one that ends with a big batch of spaghetti sauce and a boule of fresh bread.

Sorry posting is so light. I'm trying to catch up with things here, and I've actually been very busy knitting and sewing lately, so soon I'll get around to posting pictures of all my projects. (Fingers crossed.)

Mother's Day and a Birthday

It's always nice that Todd's birthday and Mother's Day either coincide or fall right near each other. We have the excuse to party all weekend. Friday night we grilled out; Saturday was the farmer's market, some coffee shop time, working in the basement, dinner out with a friend, and a little walk to the park, and Sunday was a relaxing day of German pancake with strawberries and vanilla ice cream for breakfast (H), sewing!, delicious veggie stir-fry wraps for lunch (T), napping, Empire Builder board game playing, split pea soup and fresh bread for dinner (H), and calls home to both moms. Plus lots of hugs and kisses from a sweet little girl.

Spoiled Rotten

Oh man. You know sometimes when you cook something up and it's just sooooo good? You sit back as you take your first bite, and you realize you couldn't get it any better in a fancy restaurant, and you just glow through the whole meal.

Tonight we grilleda pair of lovely, thick Iowa pork chops, and a huge bowl of veggies, and it was pretty spectacular. Sorry again, Tyce and Dave, for those inferior pork chops we served you a few summers ago. Try again soon?

But seriously, it was a really great start to the Mother's Day/Todd's birthday weekend.

Productive... but still so much to do...

It was one of those days where I had a pretty good rhythm and got a lot done, and yet I'm still totally behind on everything and still feel like I'm never going to catch up.

But on the bright side we had a tasty new soup for dinner, rhubarb muffins for dessert, and I got big batches of chicken stock and bread dough made.

I need to start posting some pictures again, huh? Maybe pronto, before the tulips fade?

Sweet Peas

My dad used to grow sweet peas in planters along our entryway walk - one of the few seeds that he and I as hobby gardeners ever had much success with. Last year I tried (and failed) at growing some sweet peas of my own, but I'm giving them another go, and this year Roo helped me poke the seeds into the holes and pat the soil down around them. Surely they can't refuse to come up for such a enthusiastic gardener?

Fingers crossed!

Why we love the weekend here:

1) Coffee shop time downtown - an espresso, a steamer, and a scone
2) The first farmers' market of the season - we bought eggs
3) 6 books from the library for Roo
4) Starting to frame in around the duct work
5) Home-made Pad Thai for dinner
6) Going to bed at 7:30pm
7) Mowing the grass, harvesting rhubarb, and putting in the vegetable garden
8) Pad Thai leftovers for lunch
9) Open windows and a warm breeze
10) More progress downstairs
11) Beecher's ice cream!!!!!

Cucumber Before Bed

I just ate a little bowl of sliced cucumber dipped in homemade 2% yogurt. I read in some L. M. Montgomery novel* that cucumber and milk was supposed to give you terrible indigestion (and therefore vivid dreams if consumed before bed), but this combination has only brought my tummy much bliss.

And homemade yogurt is seriously where its at, yo.

*It was either The Story Girl or The Golden Road.

Mended!

I spent all nap time mending two pairs of work jeans for Todd, and now I am in bed, tired, at 7:30pm. But there are nice chocolaty brown corduroy patches peeping through his ripped out knees, and we even mowed half the lawn after dinner, and took Roo for a walk to the park, and she went down the slide all on her own for the first time. So it's been a good day.

But man, I'm tired. So instead of a photo I'll leave you with this:
http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/may-it-please-the-court/

Something New

We tried out a new recipe for dinner tonight - a sort of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern salad dish of lentils and couscous, garlic, bell pepper, onion, olives, tomatoes, and fresh cilantro. Topped with a home-mixed balsamic vinaigrette and crumbled feta cheese.

I think it's going to be a prominent feature in our warm-weather menu rotation.

Ty and Roo are back to playing on the deck while I make dinner. Spring! Spring! Spring!

I think he was hunting something in the grass below.

Oh, Hi

Let's see if I can end this month-and-a-half long blog hiatus I fell into... Hello again!

My day:
lazy breakfast with a cute tot
putting away some 12 and 18 month clothes
taking out some 24 month and 2T clothes
storing the highchair
Indian leftovers for lunch
nap!
making hummus
baking granola
loads of laundry
hummus and egg sandwiches for dinner, strawberries for dessert
early to bed!
watching a beautiful sunset
and maybe some knitting?

Citrus

We have the most uneven produce at the grocery stores here. You buy some oranges and they're pretty good, bordering on the downright tasty, and you go back for more and get dry, crunchy, under-ripe, orange look-alikes.

These were some of those. Is it even worth it to speculate on marmalading them?

Messy #5

Lastly, here for messy week, is a room that is supposed to be a bit messy. A bit of a catch-all for cleaning supplies and the watering can and the extra fish food and the bag of things for the Goodwill. I love my laundry room; it is sunny and full of green things.

I want to paint it bright yellow. Someday.

Tonight: sweet potato fries, peas, and breaded cod fillets. And blueberry yogurt coffee cake.
Tomorrow: Pi day!

Messy #4

So, I was mentioning the kitchen:

Thankfully, I got it all cleaned up this morning. And I even folded two bins of laundry this afternoon. Too bad I did the wash yesterday and so still have two loads of laundry yet to fold. Endless!

We went out on a date this evening, to dinner at Red Robin. Roo ate spoonfuls of my chocolate milkshake and helped herself liberally to my french fries. This is why we never go out for burgers anymore.

Messy #3

The great room is a fantastic idea and a terrible idea at the same time. Great for keeping an eye on Roo while I work, fantastic for socializing while cooking, and terrible at hiding any kind of kitchen mess or the fact that I sometime struggle to stay on top of the dishes.

Tonight we had pizza. Fresh, homemade pizza, the best kind. I'm posting my pizza dough recipe for a couple of reasons. It's not anything fancy at all, but it is good, it's healthy, and it's fast. It's just a squinch modified from the Newlywed Cookbook, which we got as a wedding gift from a good Whitman friend.

Pizza dough:
Place 1 C warm (110* F) water in a medium mixing bowl. Sprinkle in 1 packet or 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast. Let stand 5 min, stir.
Add 1 tsp. olive oil and 1/2 tsp. salt, stir. Add 1 3/4 C white flour and 3/4 C whole wheat flour (2 1/2 C flour, total), mix, then knead for about 5 min.
Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft free location until doubled, about an hour.
Preheat oven to 350* F.
Dust top with cornmeal, punch down, divide into two balls, stretch by hand to desired diameter and place on a baking sheet dusted heavily with cornmeal.
Let rise before topping approx. 20 min. for thick crust; top immediately for thin.

Super easy pizza sauce? We use homemade (vegetarian) red sauce, which we make in big batches for use on pasta, baked dishes, pizza, baked potatoes, spaghetti squash, dal, etc...

Also super tasty? Fresh mozzarella cheese.

Messy #2

Here's our office/art studio/napping spot/playroom. At this very moment there are two huge bins of laundry to fold awaiting me in here. Maybe I will tackle them tomorrow.

Notice the Christmas lights still up in the window? Yeah. I took those down finally on Saturday morning. The ones in the front room window are harder to reach, and are still on the to-do list.

But I got the dishes done today!

Messy Week, #1

Hah! I thought I'd share the house this once in its lived-in, toys-all-over, dishes-waiting-to-be-washed glory. This week is messy week, and hopefully tidying will happen here while you enjoy photos of the way I try not to let our home look. These were all taken 3/6/09.

Our bedroom, when we don't smooth the bed. Notice the piles of folded laundry ON the dresser, because obviously it was too hard to put them IN the dresser. Also that afternoon Roo had just collected the bath mats from both bathrooms and dumped them in a heap there next to Todd's side of the bed, between a stray engineering magazine and an upside down Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel. Also notice in the background the hutch is covered in about 5 different knitting, quilting, and sewing projects that I pretend to find the time for mostly by neglecting my art projects. I am a bad artist.

Green, Day 6

One more shot, lucky bamboo:

It lives on our kitchen island, because otherwise the cats would reduce it to shreds and tatters. As they have our poor lemongrass plant. :(

Green, Day 5

Another sunny and warmish afternoon. A few more weeks of this and we'll have greening grass and budding trees! Roo wanted to be out on the deck again:

I also spotted some green popping up in her toy boxes:

We have friends coming to town tomorrow for a quick visit, and I'm very excited to see them again. Chocolate cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream is on the menu.

Green, Day 4

Today I saw:
two crows
three whitetail deer
a red-tailed hawk
a male cardinal
a black dog
our neighbors' black and white cat, Basil
the moon in the afternoon sky

I heard:
robins clucking
blue jays scolding

I made:
two quarts of yogurt
ginger cookies

It was 64 degrees out at 4pm.

Green glass float, probably originally from Japan via a Washington beach, from my grandparents' things.

Green, Day 3

We had an herb pot growing on the back deck last summer, and we brought it indoors to see if we could overwinter the rosemary and oregano and chives in our sunny window. Sure enough, we've had fresh herbs all winter, though they're getting a tad leggy by now.

That's the rosemary, getting excited about these longer days of sunlight.

I'm knitting Roo a spring sweater-vest-shirt thing. Using pink variegated yarn, but I think it's going to be okay.

I didn't actually notice this till just now, but my little 'sock' point protectors are green, too. How funny.

Green, Day 2

I'm making Fish on the Line for Roo, but I've been neglecting them for other knitting projects.

Maybe better get back on that if I want to finish by her birthday.

I've got one stuffed, two others knit, and I still have orange, red, pink, and purple to start...

Green Week, Day 1

shining egg is hosting a green week, and I'm playing along, again incognito. I'm also sick, sick, sick, sick, so maybe just pictures this week.

My cherished puzzle ball, saved for Roo.

Advanced Civilization

Today we were at our friends' home from 10am to 8pm playing a board game. I'm totally wiped out. I did not realize that: playing for 10 hours - lunch, snack, and dinner + watching Roo navigate 4 other kiddos for 10 hours without her nap = a serious strain on my concentration, endurance, and equanimity. Roo however, took the day like a champ. Such a trooper. Whew.

Here's an old picture, that I never got to post.

Earthy

Leaves and shadows,

and another big knitting project finished.

I've had this yarn in skeins for 10 years, and finally Todd will put it to daily use.

Pals

Roo spent a good hour running loops around the back deck yesterday in the sunshine, screaming happily, Ty pirouetting along the railing above her. Then for a brief moment they both settled down to scan the ravine (squirrels? birds? cookies?) before returning to more vigorous activities.

I think we're all looking forward to spring.

Sailing Away

Today, sunny and 50 degrees. Tomorrow, an ice storm, then a dusting of snow.

Infant Roo never slept well in the cradle, and oh! we tried, but now she loves to climb in and rock herself. I suggested that it was a boat a while back, and she immediately took to the idea; this afternoon she went for a row with her lamb, library books, and a tool kit (just in case?).

Then we played out on the back deck, but those pictures are coming tomorrow, when I am sure I will need a reminder of the sun!

Birds

On our walk today Roo and I saw a red-winged blackbird high in a tree, singing out over his territory. Later, when I was downstairs feeding the cats, I peered out the window and a robin flew out from the nest tucked up underneath the deck. Is it almost spring?

The afternoon sunshine is sticking around for longer. And we're a week and a half away from daylight savings time again.

Lazy

The photos I took today are still in the camera. And the camera is all the way across the room. So here's one that I took a few days ago and didn't get to post because of yellow week.

Ty and the lacy leaf shadows.

Right now I am eating a dish of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I just put Roo to bed, and now I am going to go knit. Good night!

Remembering Laughter

Roo's in the bath, I just finished knitting up her legwarmies, and Todd is downstairs hammering.

We had a fun evening yesterday playing Empire Builder and eating spaghetti and Welsh cakes.

Yellow #5

Since this is the last day of Yellow Week, I looked really hard today to see if I was missing anything. Here's what I found.

This is detail from my favorite of the colored pencil drawings I did before I became pregnant with Roo. This is the last drawing I did before my two-year sabbatical from art. I love the boat.

Yes, I'm drawing again now.

The craft of quilting fascinates me, so I decided to make Roo a crib/lap quilt. I've got my layers basted and ready to go, and I'm going to be hand quilting everything together over the next few months, learning as I go. Wish me luck!

Yellow #4

We really don't seem to have a ton of yellow around here. Maybe I need to address this deficiency.

This is Todd's mancala set. Roo likes it because it is (also) a fish.

I like it because it is cool.

Yellow #3

Is Roo sending me subliminal messages?

Yellow #2

(Roo and) I had a friend over today for the first time, for tea and knitting.

We had fresh teisen lap with our tea.

I'm introducing her to Ravelry, so now she's on the wait-list. Also, on Ravelry this past weekend I was found by my first in-real-life 'friend.'

Yellow #1

house on hill road is hosting a yellow week. Again, I'm unofficially playing along.

I thought I'd start off with some of my art, since I rarely post any on here. This is detail from one of a set of three mixed-media abstracts I did two years ago. They hang in the dining room, so I get to see them at every meal; good thing I like them. They are my first, last, and only foray into abstract art.

So far.

(That's a logarithmic spiral, specifically a Fibonacci spiral, mirrored, in blue. I do nerd art.)

::love::

Happy Valentine's Day!

Roo made valentines on Friday morning, with just the teeniest bit of help. She did the stickers and the coloring, I held the paper steady.

Today we all went on a road trip, had lunch at Exotic Thai, and then spent the afternoon at the Putnam Museum, which Roo loved. Possum skull! Snake skeleton! Taxidermy displays of bison, cheetah, and more! Yes!

What a fun way to celebrate with my two sweethearts!

The 13th

This morning, after making valentines, Roo and I went to the art museum downtown. She looked at the downstairs exhibit with interest, and then poked around while I looked in the galleries upstairs.

I finished these a little bit ago, and wore them during our brief warm-spell. Tonight it's snowing again, just a few inches, but I'm glad the ground is white again.

Dusty

I read that rubber plants like to be dusted every once in a while. Better get right on that.

Legwarmie #1 is finished. Now on to the second!

Recovering

The antibiotics are helping...

Ty, the little one, the stray kitten we found in our backyard just over a year ago. He's all grown-up, Roo's best playmate, and such a gentlemanly kitty.

Sick

Back tomorrow, maybe.

Rain

Today it rained for the first time since (before?) Thanksgiving. Our lovely snow cover has been thinning for a week or two now, but today we're down to bare lawns and the ugly muddy humps at the sides of the driveways. A February thaw, sigh.

But the Seattle girl in me loves the return of the raindrops, and the glossy deck, and the misty trees down towards the creek.

Especially if we get a fresh snowstorm this weekend.

Saturday: Risk

After baking muffins my morning deteriorated into a series of poorly planned maneuvers and pathetic dice luck. Todd schooled me, and it was pretty much my fault.

This made me grumpy, but in the end I was able to concede defeat fairly nicely. Still, it's the last time I'm playing pink for a while.

Routine

While Roo naps I do some little chores, but then I get some quiet time too - and usually I knit. My latest project is a pair of legwarmies for her, made with Dalegarn Baby Ull from the yarn shop over in Galena.

They're a spring green/aqua green stripe that sometimes I really like and sometimes I wonder a little about. Natural light: cute; compact fluorescents: ugh.