Giving thanks

Blessings abound in our little corner of the world today.







Happy T day to you, yours (and mine!). (Banner was inspired by this beautiful creation.)

A new blogger in the mix

After a few conversations about the whys and hows and whats of writing, a certain little someone has decided to start his own blog (especially after noting the lack of Indiana Jones, Lego and reptile references on my blog...ahem).

So, without further ado, I present to you: Holden's Frog Blog (a collection of thoughts on the life of a five-and-3-quarter-year-old).

note: the phonetic spelling is kinda fun to decipher. He "writes" until his thoughts run too far ahead of his hunt & peck skills, and then I decode and take dictation. Emergent blogging skills, if you will...

Into fall...

...because I'm finally accepting that summer has ended.





So, a few pics to show what we've been up to this lovely Fall season.





And a few images that are threatening to inspire a Fall-y quilt.





And glory be to the supreme goddess of craft, I'm finally getting back into a crafty groove (fingers crossed that it sticks). But not before I share pics of Indiana Jones and his trusty chicken...



And now...onto crafting!

Summer revisited -- bullfrog roundup

Some images from our recent bullfrog roundup -- a day spent amongst the reeds, muck, cloudbursts and sparkling waters of Whitaker Ponds.





Organized by Portland Parks and Rec, the intent was to gather American Bullfrogs, an invasive, non-native bully of the ponds, so that the native species have a chance to thrive. The frogs are either donated to the zoo (mountain lion lunch) or kept by PP&R for educational purposes.





So with nets in hand and waders on feet, we headed toward the murky waters of frogdom. The day cooperated by providing wonderful lighting for us photo-oppers, but the frogs must have caught wind of our frog-napping intentions as the group only caught one feeble-looking, bug-eyed little guy.



Or, quite possibly, their little tympanic membranes picked up the thunderous, giggly approach of excited frog-catchers and they decided to lay low and watch the antics of the day.

Smart frogs.

My Summer Blog Vacation

I'm happy to report that we are indeedily residing in our new home amongst our finally-unpacked old stuff, and thought it apt to share some highlights of my impromptu and extended (ahem) summer blog vacation. To get my rickety typing fingers back in shape, I thought I'd play catch up for a few days here, so bear with me while I delve back into summer memories (while the outside temps steadily creep toward winter...)

So here's a bit of what we've been up to:

Cooking,





Canning,



and Mudpie-making...



In other words...Sustaining!

The blues

I'm casting a feeble little "hi, i'm here" wave from behind the remaining boxes awaiting to be unpacked. I'm almost there, and can see the glimmer of craft-time hope in my newly adorned and adored craft room at the end of the tunnel. Must. Push. On....

But I decided to take a "break" today for some blueberry picking, sans kiddos. A friend and I headed south-ish to a little farm tucked into the corner of Hubbard, OR, a true treasure trove of perfectly sun-kissed blue beauties waiting to be picked.

And picked we did, 3 1/2 hours worth ending up with 26 pounds each! Aside from my friend getting stung in the face by a yellow jacket(!), we had a truly lovely time amongst the berries.

So now, I shall add to my not-so-short to-do list the task of putting these little blue beauties by. A task I'm all too happy to undertake. And then, back to the boxes!

Signing off

The fixtures are in, the walls are painted and the van is reserved....we are moving!! But not until I share one last completed project before the craft room is packed up: Sarah's quilt block for 12 square.



I adore all these prints and picture the perfect summer quilt or picnic blanket once it's complete (but that's up to Sarah, of course).



Please excuse me for a bit while I pack up and fly off to our new location. I'll check back in when we're settled in our new nest. Happy 4th of July summer bbq apple & cherry pie firework wishes to everyone!!!

Slightly past due

This is my craft book challenge project for May. Finished in June. And LATE June at that.



Yes, I’m behind. And even though I’m probably the only person holding myself accountable, I still feel guilty. And to make matters worse, I don’t even own this craft book. Just had it on loan from the library (that counts, right???)



Anyway, this is the Mendocino dress from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. Such a fast, easy and FUN project. And to make it even faster and easier (and funner) I used a vintage pillowcase to bypass the tasks of hemming and side-seaming. Every little bit helps, right? It was perfectly sized for Esme’s 3yo little self and will likely be wearable well into her 4yo + 5yo days.



Let’s just say, getting a picture of her sitting still was the hardest part of this project.



Ahem.



The little capris, Esme’s summer wardrobe staple, are from this sweet etsy shop.



I heart this little dress so, so much. And luckily, my twirly, skippy, moving target of a daughter does too.

Excuse me, there's a quail in my quilt

Yay, we're back! Just in time for mini quilt Monday.



This is the placemat made for this fabulously fun swap. But since it's quilted and it's mini, I think it qualifies as a mini quilt (right?)



Holden picked the quailie bird and I picked the summery colors and prints in honor of solstice.

As expected, a week of frolicking in the desert without the web did me good. We turned over rocks and found baby scorpions (ick), we explored a homestead site at the High Desert Museum, and I read this book in 3 days. And now, I have a pile of laundry and blog reading to attend to.

Happy Monday!

This will be good for me

We're running away to the desert. OK not so much running, as visiting, and we were invited. I'll be without internet access for a week or so, so I'm bringing books, some hand sewing and a positive attitude. We're also bringing the contents of our CSA bin because even desert visitors need fresh veggies.



Oh and these are completely unrelated pictures of our day at Oaks Park. And yes, that's my daredevil daughter riding the rollercoaster while Holden and I stayed on the safety of flat, non-turbulent ground.


She can only aspire (because she's too short to ride)

Anyway, here's what became of last week's veggies:

Scapes: Goat cheese + scape grilled pizza. Good in concept, but I did something entirely wrong with the scapes because they came out very, very not tender. Sad, because I think that was our only allotment.

Potatoes: Oven potato fries, a kid favorite.

Cauliflower: Sauteed with indian spices. YUM.

Basil: Pesto, and some in lentil pasta.

Everything else was either eaten raw in salads & such (lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, onions) or inhaled on the spot (strawberries, snap peas).

This week we received:
more peas + strawberries (yay!)
kale
zucchini
broccoli
potatoes (yukon gold)
parsley
salad mix
carrots
beets

And...we're off. Have a lovely week everyone!!

Sneak Peek

Shhhhhhh, it's a suprise!



for this swap...



I hope my partner likes it. A small bird shall be flying her way very soon!

eat pizza + save the earth

If you're in Portland, and like pizza, and like the earth, be sure to eat at the Hawthorne Hotlips pizza on Sunday, June 21 (aka, Father's day). Hotlips has committed 100% of their sales that day to reduce their carbon footprint. Eat pizza, save the earth. Can it be any easier?

If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, check out the genius that is carrotmob.

Endings and starts

Today was the end of year celebration at Holden’s preschool. He got a little verklempt on the way home when the true meaning of “last day of school” finally sunk in. But, promises of a blossoming summer and keeping in touch with preschool friends cheered him up.



On the other end of the spectrum, we picked up our first beloved CSA box of the season today. It’s overflowing with promise of fresh, local, organic veggie-inspired meals. I’m most excited to try some veggieness on the grilled pizzas we’ve been obsessed with consuming in very large quantities lately. I’m thinking garlic scape and goat cheese pizza tomorrow…that is, if I can keep my little garlic scape lover from eating them all first.



So with preschool behind us and a box of veggie goodness at our feet, I’m excited to embark on another season of Veg Friday. Like last season, I’ll attempt to document our fearless journey through CSA veggie-eating whilst conjuring up clever Veg Friday post titles each week (aka, the hard part). This year we’re receiving a full share of veggies rather than a half, but we’ve forgone planting a garden in favor of finishing our house renovation so I think it will all balance out in the end.

Once again, I’m determined to see No Veggie Left Behind (or, put in the compost pile). Care to join me?

In the bin this week:
Red leaf lettuce
Carrots
Cucumbers
Snap peas
Basil
Sweet onions
Garlic scapes (aka whistles)
‘Red gold’ new potatoes
Cauliflower
Strawberries

Today

Today we were anthropologists, discovering newly unearthed relics of ancient times.



Today we were civil engineers, creating intricate tricycle pathways through cities of ants and grass and moss.



Today we were rocket scientists, building towering spaceships that flew and blasted and fought faraway space wars.



Today we were “antemologists” (as holden coined), studying the habits and antics of tiny creatures.



Today we were poets, physicists, storytellers, naturalists, lyricists and rulers of the world.

Today was a good day. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.