greenclogs

October, it was nice knowing you.

Well, October flew by, didn't it? I'm not even done with Halloween costumes yet (I should probably cut them out tonight). The neighbor told me that we need to buy 3 Costco size bags of candy for Monday night. There will be mounted policement supervisiing HOARDS of children trick or treating in our neighborhood. I'm looking forward to the mayhem but I may have to bring my dogs over to my dad's house for the night. They are not at peace with the doorbell. Not at all. 

We've had a busy month. The girls and I went to the coast and we went to Fort Clatsop for Annika's Oregon Trail/Oregon history studies. It was one of those "I don't want to go.... I don't want to leave" kind of experiences. She was enthralled by the artifacts and by the fort itself. She couldn't quite imagine that many people living in a space smaller than our house for a winter with no TV and no Internet. How could they possibly cope??? She got sucked into the Junior Ranger thing (which I don't love but whatever) and is now totally enthused about visiting all of the L&C sites in Oregon and Washington. I'll take the workbook/ranger badge/ranger rank thing if it gets her interest moving. This weekend we'll be heading back and going to Ecola State Park and maybe to Fort Stevens. She always wants to believe that she doesn't care about things like history but she really does. Nothing makes her happier than a good history book and some facts and artifacts. Oh, and authentic quill pens. 

We also went to grandma's house in Seattle for a couple of days - another girl trip. Annika got to spend a whole day with grandma doing crafty things and then visiting the American Girl store and Build-A-Bear. I'm pretty sure she likes Grandma better than she likes me now. Kit and I spent the day with a dear friend where we found her some new pink foos and saw bawk-bawks and ducks. 

There has alo been some sewing (see photo above). I was fairly successful during the Fall Kids Clothes Week Challenge. Annika made herself a skirt and i completed the whole outfit that Kit is wearing - smock, knit long sleeve dress, and leggings. The smock and dress are repeats from my Oliver +S patterns (I stick with what works) and the leggings are from Ottobre. I still have two more of those dresses that are half done. Maybe next week. I figure knit dress/leggings/smock is her uniform until she has strong opinions to the contrary. That remnds me - I really want a serger now. I'm willing the universe to send me an awesome one for cheap via craigslist. So light a candle to the craigslist gods for me. Thanks. 

I guess that's it for now. Hope you're well. I'll check back in next week with Halloween, obsessive paint swatching in the living room, and maybe a finished paint job. A girl can dream. If we don't set goals, we'll never get anywhere, right? Happy weekend!

on cookie and apple sales and making quilts

and cute babies, of course. 

because I love that cute baby. She clapped in delight tonight upon seeing her big sister, which was the cutest thing ever. And then she grabbed the top of the ottoman, stood up, and make her way around it to grab something. At 6 months and 3 weeks old. Not okay, people. Not okay. 

Back to cookies and apples. I have a couple of really entrepreneurial children. Much of their time is spent thinking "how can I make money from this?" which is a trait that definitely did not come from their parents, given our allergy to making as much money as possible. Or even as we should be. But anyway. Gunnar wants to buy a laptop - a 13" MacBook Pro, to be specific, which costs $1200. I told him that we would match him $1 for every $2 that he saves. He decided that selling his cookies would be a good start. These aren't your everyday cookies, mind you. They are Grand Central chocolate chip oatmeal cookies made with our home-milled flour and our home grown eggs and all organic ingredients. They are Fancy Cookies. Yesterday, he made dough for 4 dozen cookies. Today, there was signage and baking and a sister wanting in on the action. She spied the remaining apples from our 36 pound box of Granny Smiths and grabbed "the spiraler" (the peeler/corer/slicer) and headed out the door. 

While Gunnar posted "cookies this way" signs all over the neighborhood, she and her little supervisor manned the table. 

Gunnar came back and they waited for the business to roll in. 

And waited some more. The guy working on the neighbor's yard bought a glass of water. They continued to wait. The neighbors came, and they perked up. 

Things slowed again, but picked up when some friends saw signage and followed it our way. 

At first our customers were all about the cookies, but once The Spiraler went into action, everyone wanted apples too. The girl was relieved. They rounded out the afternoon with sales to our awesome mailman who can't resist a kid with a stand. Bless him. 

On to the quilt. When Blair put her pattern up for sale, I bought it immediately to make a quilt for Annika in white/red/aqua. But then I thought about using it in blues and greys for Gunnar. And I have another person on my list who likes subtle colors. The pattern as written is gorgeous, but let's face reality. I was not going to complete three quilts with several hundred squares each before Christmas. Some innovation was in order. I sized it up to just the primary motif by using 6" squares, which made a  54"x66" lap quilt = just perfect for my recipient. 

I even pulled out my blue Flea Market Fancy fabric. That's how much I love him, the mystery recipient. I'm really prod of how well I pieced it - all of my corners matched up, which is unheard of for me! Pins are your friend. Who knew?

I'll back it in a blue herringbone fabric, bind it in a bright color (it's still me, after all), and may even hand quilt it like Blair did. Then I move on to the two full size quilts with 4" blocks. To be done by Christmas. Yes, you can laugh now. 

learning on the job

Hey there! We're back in the land of the heat and I think it has fried my brain. We're slowly getting back into a rhythm and I should be here more often. 

I do have one more beach related post, so here we go.

We have some dear friends at the beach who own a bakery. Our kids love to bake and were interested in the process of running a bakery, so on a slow-ish day, they were able to go behind the scenes and help out. I should have made them be there at 4AM like the real bakers, but *I* didn't want to get up that early. 

Jason and Hillary are strong believers in local, sustainable food. Their whole wheat flour is ground by them from the wheat of Hillary's grandparents' farm in Eastern Oregon, and the rest of their flour is also locally grown and sourced. They use local ingredients wherever possible, and partner with other businesses in the community. They love sharing their passion for local food. 

The kids learned about breadmaking on a larger scale than we attempt at home (I have serious mixer envy now). 

 

 

Then they moved on to the sweet station where Hillary taught them about chocolate ganache and the proper care and keeping of berries (they are now master berry preppers). 

They decorated cupcakes with the ganache and berries. 

Some went into the sale case

And some came home with us

 

 And they were delicious! Gunnar ended up spending all day in the bakery - stamping bags and boxes, stripping rosemary leaves from branches, and doing whatever else he could. Annika was done after the hot chocolate and cookie break. 

Honestly, I think this was Gunnar's favorite day at the beach. That evening we had a discussion about the good reasons for child labor laws, and debated potential revisions, since he thinks it's very unfair that he can't work there at the age of 12. He has big plans for being an apprentice baker when he's 15. 

 We don't have specific career goals or paths in mind for our children - we want each of them to find a work life that suits their passions and talents and will support them in whatever way is necessary to do that. Most of all, we want them to enjoy what they do and really contribute to a community through their work. I feel fortunate to be able to be around people who lead rich and fulfilled lives, so that my kids know that doing meaningful work with a positive impact in the world (or a small piece of the world) is so much more rewarding than just making money. It's a reminder that I needed, too, as we figure out the next steps in our own life. Thanks, Jason and Hillary! We all learned a lot from your example.

rainy Monday

I know I shouldn't complain, since rain in Phoenix should always be viewed as a gift. But really, we've had a lot of rain in the last month. Two days a week of rain, during the time that's usually the best time of year here, when it's in the 70's and beautiful. This is the time of year that we hold on to while we're suffering through the summer heat, the time that makes living here (sort of ) worthwhile. 

So we will ignore the gloom and show you some pretty pictures from our trip to Tucson a week ago. I'm way behind. 

We spent the morning at Saguaro National Park on the west side of Tucson. The park is split into two sections that are separated by the city of Tucson. Next time we'll go east. We went looking for the Petroglyph trail, and ended up on what Lindsay called the Indiana Jones ride through the park in our decidedly not 4 wheel drive Eurovan. Whoops! We ended up at a smaller nature trail that I could comfortably walk with my ever expanding girth. I'm always amazed at the variety of plant life that we find in the desert when we take time to look. We'll try to go one more time next month (baby permitting) when the wildflowers bloom. One benefit of our ample rainfall should be a glorious wildflower season. 

We spent the rest of the day in Tucson with Lindsay, who was kind enough to give up her sleep-in and watch TV Friday to hang out with us all day. We had a nice lunch and wandered around Fourth Ave while enjoying the beautiful afternoon. Hopefully we'll be heading back soon. 

a star is born

Sorry for the radio silence after all that posting. Annika just finished the short run of her first play, and we've been pretty overwhelmed by that for the last week. Gunnar took over the sound board at the last practice, so the whole thing has been a family affair. 

The play was Twelfth Night by Shakespeare, set in the 1950's. There were a few young children who wanted to be in the play, but there weren't good parts for little ones. So, the Muses were born. Annika was the Love muse, who introduced and tied together each act along with her compatriots, Tragedy and Comedy. 

Here's a short clip of one of her scenes. I apologize for the terrible lighting - the stage lights went out at performance time and we had to cobble something together at the last minute. 

The video I won't show is the one from Monday night where she forgot her lines, panicked and ran off the stage. Poor baby! I went back there and we talked quietly until she stopped crying and begging to go home. The other kids really built her back up and she went on for her next scene, strong as ever. My girl is one who struggles with doing things that she can't do perfectly so this was such a great lesson for her in making a mistake and moving on. I was one proud mama.

Her feelings about the whole experience? She's ready to try out for a role in Peter Pan. Gunnar is planning on learning lighting and building sets. Me? I see a lot of knitting in my future. Good times for all. 

fall is in the air

I'm afraid to say it aloud, but I think fall may have arrived. We're eating breakfast outside on cool crisp mornings (only 70 degrees!) and don't have to hide indoors all day.

(shh - I even turned off the A/C last night and should be able to keep it off all week)

Much of the daily work has been moved to the back patio for the foreseeable future. Gunnar has been completely wrapped up in inventing new worlds and the Lego ships/explorers/fighters/droids that go with them. 

Another aspect of the change of seasons (and okay, maybe the pregnancy) is that I have felt the need to Redo Everything in My House Right Now. It all started because I saw this pillow on my bed and I said to myself "hey! I found more of that fabric at SAS for $5 and it's sitting in my craft room. It needs to be curtains right now!"

Now, of course, a new quilt is necessary to complete the room rehab. My bedroom is always the last room in the house that I pay attention to, so it's nice to change that up. I'll try to get better shots once it's all done. 

Today we're focusing on lots of kid reading, more sewing (finishing up a bunch of half done pot holders that I'll be offering for sale to all of you), some long overdue gocco work, and a first soccer practice. Oh, and sneaking outside to enjoy this glorious day. Happy Monday!

sticky sweet

Today is a glorious day. It is the opening day of peach picking season. Since we moved here from Seattle, I have pined for the fresh stone fruits. Lemons and grapefruit have their charms, but oh, for the peaches and nectarines, the plums, the cherries. It took me over 3 years to discover that peaches actually grow here. Three years, people. I have suffered for no good reason, other than my own ignorance. But no longer. 

We found an adorable little farm in Mesa (adorable except for those trucks in the back) that sits on the edge of the country and newish strip malls and apartment buildings. As Phoenix grew way too fast over the last several years, the orchards in the southeast valley have been gobbled up by residential and low density retail development, making it difficult to buy truly local food. Luckily, a few stalwart farmers have stuck around. 

We were greeted by all sorts of livestock - chickens and goats, cows and ducks, and this sweet donkey. there was a "pizza garden" in the shape of a pie, with tomatoes, peppers, onions, wheat, and a cow for the cheese, each in its own wedge. 

But we were there for the peaches. 

The trees are dwarf, so there was no climbing involved (thankfully, since I was wearing a dress). We were quickly enveloped in the heady scent of the peaches as we carefully selected our bounty. 

There may have been some on-site quality control. 

And luckily, the new spring harvest dress is the same color as peach juice, so those drips are hardly noticeable. Really. More on the dress tomorrow. 

Tired kids took a break on the teeter totter. We visited the little farmers market and bought strawberries and overripe bananas for banana bread and artichokes for dinner. We drove home discussing peach pie, peach salsa, peach chutney, peach cobbler, peach ice cream. 

What would you do with 15 lbs. of peaches?

garden update

eggplant blooming

squash bloom too

green tomatoes

an observer drawing what she sees as well as what is to come

Tending the garden has been an exercise in so many good things. We water, we watch, we wait, we hope. Soon, we eat. 

the other side of farming

In my post on the trip to the county fair, I alluded to a purchase we made. We were able to buy a very large meat turkey from a sweet young man who had raised it as a 4-H project for a really low price, so we did. Our friends also brought a breeding turkey from him for their farm, so they brought both birds up to Flagstaff with them last week. He was well past where he should have been butchered (turkeys that are bred as meat birds get so big that they eventually can't walk, but I'll save my rant about that for another day), but Gabrielle managed to keep him comfortable until we were able to go up on Saturday for a lesson in butchering a farm animal. 

We talk a lot in our family about our food sources and strive to keep them as local and unprocessed as possible. We buy meat that is family farm raised and humanely butchered (and therefore eat a lot less meat). Our kids are aware of where their meat comes from and what it takes to put it on the table for them. If they decide, based on what they know, to become vegetarian then I will support them. Eating this way is a choice we make for our family, although it may not be the right way for other families. We each work within our own comfort zone. 

Annika was not an active participant in the process, but was an observer. I'm posting an account of the process for her farm journal, as well as for those of you who are interested in seeing more after the jump below. Warning - if you are squeamish about meat, you may not want to continue on.

farm girl out in the field

Here in Phoenix, we have some odd harvest patterns. Because of the extreme summer heat, we most successfully grow things from November through June. It's just too darned hot here for any of us, plants or animals or humans, to do much other than sit in the shade fanning ourselves, trying not to wilt away or shrivel up. Because of this, our county fair is in April. And yes, we went on Thursday. 

The day started, as all good days should, with a trip to Matt's Big Breakfast with our friends who came down from Flagstaff. 

We moved on to the fair after filling up on eggs and the yummiest hashbrowns in the world. 

Gabrielle and I quickly steered the kids past the rides, past the food, past the games, and into the exhibition halls. First up was a demonstration farm where the kids could try their hand at some farming tasks (without all those pesky smells of real animals).

Next door, was a more realistic depiction of a farm with live chickens, turkeys, baby pigs and calves. 

Gabrielle taught us how to make the right noises at the turkey tom so he would puff up his plumage and gobble at us. Annika spent a very long time showing off her new skill to all the other kids that came along. 

The animals being shown in the fair were all raised by youth in the county, either through 4-H chapters, or on their own. We loved seeing them all dressed up, getting ready to show their livestock. 

The favorite place, of course, was the chicken and bunny hall. Because who doesn't love chickens and bunnies? Our favorite was a black & white and totally neurotic Polish hen who was bobbing and weaving so quickly in her little pen that all the photographs turned out as a blur of grey. However, this lady was more than happy to pose for us. We'll be adding two of these lovelies to our flock in the fall, once it cools off again. 

The most important thing we learned at the fair?

It's best followed by ice cream.

More on what (who) we purchased at the fair later in the week. Stay tuned!