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Wednesday, 01 July 2009

  • [This is a little retro re-post from two days ago....our internet was down for a few days and just came back on so I saved the post I wrote up and am leaving it for you here today.]

    Today, 7 years ago....A and I were married, in a blistering afternoon ceremony in my great-grandparents vineyard. Its not nearly as hot out, I am older and wiser and we're still together and still very happy and grateful that God gave us to each other. Tonight we plan to try to watch our wedding video (something we haven't done in years ), thumb through our wedding photo albums, get my dress, veil, ring bearer pillow and flower girl basket out of storage to ooo and ahh over and generally reminisce madly together. We are going out for a romantic dinner alone later in the week but, tonight will be a family celebration of our love and marriage. I want to make sure that the kids feel included in celebrating our anniversary, its great to have sacred alone time to commemorate our couplehood but, our marriage is cause for celebration for our children too....we are where the whole family began and love in any form is a good thing, worthy of attention and much hoopla. We plan to toast each other with a special bottle of sparkling grape juice A has been squirreling away for some celebratory occasion.

    I still don't feel much like celebrating anything, I still feel like living in the back corner of my closet but, I know that life needs to go on as much as possible, and at this time of all times its important to celebrate our marriage. Sometimes you need to just force yourself to do the right thing, even if the right thing is dishing up ice-cream and scattering confetti.

    Speaking of ice cream! A made the best ice cream I have ever had in my life this weekend. We went strawberry picking and while I made a double batch of strawberry jam he whipped and stirred and pureed and strained and then froze a heavenly batch of homemade fresh strawberry ice cream. Seriously people, this is so good. He told me this morning that we need to use it up before we leave for Michigan on Wednesday which means (oh wretched us!) that we have to really push the ice cream consumption in the next two days. Heh heh. Worse things have happened.

    Yesterday we had pasta for lunch with a homemade cream sauce topped with a saute of fresh mushrooms, butter, bacon slivers and young garlic slices. So, so good. Yum. Every once in a while I invent a dish that I'm just imagining in my mind and it turns out exactly as good as I wanted it to be. That's the kind of meal it was. Very delish.

    Then to top it all off, we had strawberry shortcake for dessert. I really like strawberry shortcake. We are are of the biscuit persuasion in our family but truly that's because of me. I'm from a biscuit family. A's folks make the yellow sheet cake variety. For those in either camp who may be unfamiliar: my method of shortcake goes like this, a drop biscuit (slightly sweetened), sliced in half topped with a sliced strawberry/sugar mixture and then a generous dollop of homemade (just slightly sweetened) and a little bit gloppy whipped cream. Perfect. In A's family they make a yellow sheet cake, cut it in squares and then top each serving with a more heavily sweetened strawberry mixture and then whipped cream. I have a hunch the differences are some sort of regionalism but, I confess to not knowing much about how the styles came to be and why we differ. Maybe we're seeing our ethnic differences in action? I just know that there are strong opinions in the field about strawberry shortcake "rightness." How does your family make it?



Friday, 26 June 2009

  • Have been fighting back the deep dark depression. Sometimes I win and feel like life will go on and I'm going to be fine, I just have to power through and then sometimes I feel like sinking into a hole behind a locked closet door. Last night was rough, this morning was wretched, this afternoon I feel fine again. I wish I were stable but, I'm not, not even sort of. The Problem is still a big icky thing that didn't go away.

    We are having explosive crashes of thunder and a steady pelting rain right now. Its so dark that I had to turn on all the lights in the house even though its not even six o'clock. We've sure been getting more than our share of rain. There is a permanent puddle in the east end of my garden, and the yard is kind of forever squishy. I did just plant up the giant pot on our front stoop with summer flowers though so, they'll enjoy the watering. The violas were finally petering out so, I plopped in a bunch of fire colored blossoms (lantana, some kind of mini-daisies, begonias in lipstick red) with a wave of creamy white pentunias cresting over the back edge and a royal blue lobelia pouring off the front lip. I feel slightly better with that little fiesta of color right outside the front door. I also swept the stoop...there's something lovely about a clean, smooth doorstep.

    Took the boys this afternoon and drove north to attend an Attachment Parent/Homeschooling group. We hiked through a fabulous state park which was also the site of a major Revolutionary War encampment. It was lovely and green and full of caves and cool rocks, gurgley streams, moss, frogs of various stripes and lovely clear ponds. There was only one other mama there with her little girl but she was so welcoming and so kind that I can't wait to go back again for their next event. Her little one was super kind to Reuben and Gideon and both boys had so much fun that there were many tears spilt when our leaving was finally announced. I cannot wait to meet the other members of the group and get to know some more fabulous folks who are just as crunchy as they wanna be. Its a great thing to not feel weird.

Wednesday, 24 June 2009

  • Keeping on. We've had an onslaught of rainy days and cool breezes which refresh, calm and cool me and yet I find myself dragging, thinking about posting but not doing it. Wondering if there really are readers out there. I know there look like there have been visits to the site but maybe they're all web-crawling bots. It doesn't help to be wrestling with a Paul Bunyan sized problem lately. Truth be told, that's the reality. I'm laying here, crushed by my big scary "issue" and suddenly the world (every inch of it) looks very grey and dismal. Hanging on and trying to hope and believe the best in the midst of the great muddle.

    The mulberries are ripe. When we were at the zoo this past weekend we came around a corner near some miniature gazelle's cage and found ourselves walking on a the fallen purple fruit. We stopped and pulled down branches and taught our boys about foraging in public places. A passing child asked his mommy in alarm, "Are those berries poison?!?" Smart aleck A....never one to be mealy mouthed shot back with a grin, "Yes! That's why we're eating them!" Yesterday we were driving down I-95 and we passed a spot where a scrub white mulberry was spilling a pool of creamy nuggets all over the guard rail on the shoulder and I thought about our little snack at the zoo again. Its amazing how much food there is around if you just know where to look and what to notice.

    Speaking of food....we went mushroom hunting not last weekend but the weekend before with a local mycology club which was really fun. (minus finding two ticks on myself) It was super refreshing to spend time with true nature lovers who are laid back, enjoy being outdoors and know a lot about the world they're exploring. I learned a new mushroom, a nice big one that looks a bit like a portabella and is easily found growing in its favorite habitat, bark mulch. On the way home from the hike A and I stopped and picked some we saw from our car window. So lovely to eat from nobody's hand but God's once in a while and to take a refreshing morning to just be outdoors in the cathedral of a local state park.

    Gideon is saying all kinds of words lately:
    • duck
    • dog
    • mommy
    • daddy
    • pretty
    • horse
    • milk
    • more
    • no
    • yes
    • up
    • book
    • bye bye
     And I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting. He chatters to himself when playing and manages to communicate better with his big brother than anyone else. They're awfully fun to watch together.

    I have been working on live trapping the betrothed pair of woodchucks in our backyard. They are living under the next door neighbor unit's deck. Thankfully, we have a very friendly relationship with them and so they are quite willing to allow me to have various animal control men tromping through the yard, placing metal cages and shredded cabbage bait trails all over hither and yon. So, far we've managed to remove the he-chuck (or so I imagine) but, his girlie friend is still munching my swiss chard and turning the pea vines into a nibbled mess. I am so hoping that we get her soon because my poor nicotiana is but a tattered stem at this point, and while I am hoping fervently for a revival in her spirit, there may be no hope if we cannot get the constant snacks to end. Reuben is very excited about the whole business and enjoys crying wolf by looking out the window and saying animatedly, "I sees a woodchuck!" when there is nothing at all there. Silly man. Doesn't he know that the fate of the zinnias is hanging in the balance? You mustn't tease a tense gardener.

    And speaking of tense....please think of me and pray of me regarding my afore-mentioned "problem." I'm not at liberty to share with all of you dear people what's going on but, its big and bad and I'm scared so, support in any form is deeply appreciated.

Friday, 12 June 2009

  • There is a mama sparrow teaching her babies how to eat seeds by our front door and a group of baby robins learning how to get a worm down whole in the the back by the garden gate. June is here in all her glory. The purple petunias on my back fence are starting to drip over the edge of the windowbox nicely and we've ripped out the first crop of spinach and arugula, leaving some open brown patches in the garden. I've been mulling over what to plant there next and may need to consult my Victory Garden book.

    There is a lettuce plant growing in the big container with my fig tree on the deck, I dumped out the soil from a six pack of a batch of lettuce that didn't germinate into the planter and lately one straggling lettuce seedling that I thought was a goner in that six-pack has come into its own very happily at the base of the fig's trunk. Its a little silly but, it makes me smile. This courageous little lettuce plant, happily making a go of it where it was dumped.

    This week my good pals Birdy Mama, Nutmeg and I (and of course our various offspring) made a trip to the farmer's market together. It had been raining all morning so everything was wet, it was a touch chilly and the crowds were down a touch but, it made no difference to the pre-school types. Birdy Mama's daughter and Ru had a fablous time, jetting down the whole strip, Lettuce Man to Bread Stall to Egg Lady and back again, always looping in a cloud of shrieks and giggles near the goat's milk soap vendor, weaving between his table and the tomato plants the guy next door was selling. I didn't buy much: a pint of organic strawberries, a half a gallon of fresh milk, a dozen eggs and a generous tour through the sample trays at various booths (the Goat Cheese Man is always a great favorite) but it was so fun just to be there.  And we said again (as Nutmeg and I say to each other every week now) "Someday, we'll have to try those tamales everyone's always lined up for!" The air smelled soft and fresh, the spiderwort at the edge of the parking lot was blazing purple and green and everyone was walking just a touch slower and enjoying the day. Gosh I love the farmer's market!

    Ru is so, so, so into Richard Scarry. He has read all three of the books I bought him to death. So, I bought him more. They just came in the mail. I replaced some of the old, tattered favorites and replenished his library with new Scarry titles we'd never read and he'd never even seen. I hoped he'd like them. And then as soon as the cardboard box was opened that they arrived in, he was just beside himself. He spends almost all day every day now, flipping quietly through the pages by himself in a corner. Yesterday I even heard him laughing outloud heartily at some particularly genius illustration. And this morning he came down the stairs after waking up with all of his new books in his arms (a hefty load!) and a huge grin on his smile over the stack.

                     "Mommy! I have a lot of books!"
                     "Yes you do, Reuben."
                     "I'm a happy guy, Mommy!"

    There are few things that could warm this mommy's heart more toastily than that. I bought him books and it made him happy! I've done it folks. I've made a bookworm!

    Gideon is officially a walker now. All week he's been strolling around grinning proudly, open palms fluttering  up near his shoulders like he's a tight rope walker. Cute babe. Something just clicked this past weekend and he finally decided he was brave enough. I have no idea what made him decide he could do it, he just suddenly was! He's very subtle that way. We can't quite get over the fact that he's walking, even though he's been doing it all week, we still pause, watching him high-step across the living room, all the way from the sliding glass door to the dining room table and we hold our breath and our eyes shine and there is much explosive clapping and sweeping him up for kisses when he does indeed arrive.

    I have been working on compiling a book of key pictures of Gideon's first year of life. Its been really fun. I think I've made it up to six months so far. Jane is thinking about starting a scrapbooking business (and really people, she's brilliant at it!) and I am one of her first customers. I'm having her make a scrapbook for each boy but, first I wanted to make sure that I made a portrait book for Gideon like I did for Reuben when he was small. Basically this means that I'm collecting the photos from his monthly portraits into a hardbound book that Snapfish will print up for me. I add text and occasional quotes and its something lovely for the boys to look through and other family to enjoy too. There are so many other special moments and great pictures besides just the portraits that I'd love to have in a book for everyone to enjoy too though and I haven't done anything in the way of albums for Reuben for a couple of years now. So I'm really looking forward to Jane's expert work helping me out there, having the guilt load off my shoulders and having those fabulous albums all more beautifully made then I'd do anyhow! This is why community is a good thing. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.

  • There is a mama sparrow teaching her babies how to eat seeds by our front door and a group of baby robins learning how to get a worm down whole in the the back by the garden gate. June is here in all her glory. The purple petunias on my back fence are starting to drip over the edge of the windowbox nicely and we've ripped out the first crop of spinach and arugula, leaving some open brown patches in the garden. I've been mulling over what to plant there next and may need to consult my Victory Garden book.

    There is a lettuce plant growing in the big container with my fig tree on the deck, I dumped out the soil from a six pack of a batch of lettuce that didn't germinate into the planter and lately one straggling lettuce seedling that I thought was a goner in that six-pack has come into its own very happily at the base of the fig's trunk. Its a little silly but, it makes me smile. This courageous little lettuce plant, happily making a go of it where it was dumped.

    This week my good pals Birdy Mama, Nutmeg and I (and of course our various offspring) made a trip to the farmer's market together. It had been raining all morning so everything was wet, it was a touch chilly and the crowds were down a touch but, it made no difference to the pre-school types. Birdy Mama's daughter and Ru had a fablous time, jetting down the whole strip, Lettuce Man to Bread Stall to Egg Lady and back again, always looping in a cloud of shrieks and giggles near the goat's milk soap vendor, weaving between his table and the tomato plants the guy next door was selling. I didn't buy much: a pint of organic strawberries, a half a gallon of fresh milk, a dozen eggs and a generous tour through the sample trays at various booths (the Goat Cheese Man is always a great favorite) but it was so fun just to be there.  And we said again (as Nutmeg and I say to each other every week now) "Someday, we'll have to try those tamales everyone's always lined up for!" The air smelled soft and fresh, the spiderwort at the edge of the parking lot was blazing purple and green and everyone was walking just a touch slower and enjoying the day. Gosh I love the farmer's market!

    Ru is so, so, so into Richard Scarry. He has read all three of the books I bought him to death. So, I bought him more. They just came in the mail. I replaced some of the old, tattered favorites and replenished his library with new Scarry titles we'd never read and he'd never even seen. I hoped he'd like them. He's been just beside himself, he spends almost all day every day now, flipping quietly through the pages by himself in a corner. Yesterday I even heard him laughing outloud heartily at some particularly genius illustration. And this morning he came down the stairs after waking up with all of his new books in his arms (a hefty load!) and a huge grin on his smile over the stack.
    "Mommy! I have a lot of books!"

botanyhead

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About Me

  • I love to garden, hence the botany. I'm married to a wonderful, geeky man and mommy to a fabulous pair of little boys. We live in Somewhere, Connecticut. I enjoy cooking, photography, reading, bluegrass, historical movies, and mushroom hunting. I hope someday to keep honeybees, visit Cuba and read through my list of Great Literature!

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