Arrrrrr

We went on an adventure today. My mother in law is moving a few blocks away today and has been in and out with boxes and the moving truck, so I figured the boys could use a day out and about. We rode a trolley (yeah, they call it a streetcar - whatever) to one of the coolest parks I've ever seen. Jamison Square is right smack dab in the middle of the metro area, surrounded by businesses and people rushing from here to there. Then there's this open spot filled with children playing in and on a "tidepool" of water that fills and empties then fills again, a bit like the tide. Ryan and Arden kicked off their shoes and ran out to play faster than I could find a chair. Much splashing and running and chasing later and they finally ate lunch (said lunch looking so good, evidently, that a 4 year old who had been playing nearby came over and snagged some cheese and a mini carrot after asking very politely).

Then we rode the trolley over to Powells. How do I describe a bookstore so large you actually need a map to find your way around? It's the size of a city block, with four stories. Oh, and that's not big enough for all the books they sell - there are branches for Home & Garden and Technical books as well. It's a bookworms dream come true. I shouldn't be allowed in there with money or a credit card.

Naturally, Powells has a Cafe. We found it and got some treats : carrot cake for Ryan, an eclair for Arden, and a wee almond tart for me, and we plopped down by the window to watch the cars go by. Fortified by sweets, we ventured onward into the Rose room and therein the much fabled Children's Section. The boys saw a display on pirates and it was all over. We came home with a book for each and enough pirate gear to make Johhny Depp happy (well, minus the eyeliner, anyway). Here they are, in all their pirate-y glory:

Want to guess what I'm making for Halloween costumes this year?

Back to School

It's that time of year again. All around me I see moms scurrying here and there, buying clothes and backpacks and school supplies and generally looking harried and rushed. I'm getting ready as well - took the boys to get haircuts today, went clothes shopping, got Arden a backpack (which he loved dearly on sight), and I'm trying to figure out lunches ahead of time. Thankfully the PTA put together a group buy for school supplies that each parent pays for on the first day of school (a whopping $22 per student - not bad!), so I don't have to hunt down glue sticks, paper, pencils, etc. Oh, and both boys want me to make them cloth napkins to go with their lunchboxes. Nevermind that we just found out Arden won't be having lunch at school (he's going to morning session from 8:00 - 10:40). He still needs a napkin, thank you very much.

This year will be bittersweet since Arden is going off to Kindergarten. I can't believe my little guy has gotten so big! He can't wait to start, and I just want to give him a great big hug and tell him to stop growing so fast. He looks so much older in his new clothes, proudly carrying a backpack. Sigh. Time goes so quickly.

House warming

I've been running around like crazy this week: making lists, grocery shopping, cooking, marinating, cleaning serving trays, and getting the house as decent as it's going to get at the moment. Actually, it's in pretty good shape considering we moved from California not even three months ago and into a much larger house. There are still boxes, but not that many. The yard has been hacked and trimmed and weeded and watered and planted, though it still has a long way to go. Most importantly, we're starting to feel at home here, like this is our home now. I find fewer and fewer moments where I start to talk about something "back home", and find myself saying "back in California" more and more often. I even mostly remember to leave the "the"off freeway names, something that is absolutely ingrained by a lifetime of living in a gridlocked state where giving a road a title was pretty appropriate, given the amount of time most people spent there. Now I remind Dan not to say "the 405". He's getting there.

Tomorrow is our housewarming party. Figured it would be best to have it while we still have the excuse of not being here very long. And some extra warmth always helps. The neighbors will be coming by, and our next door neighbor even planned her garage sale so it would be over by 1:00 so there'd be extra parking.

Of course, the main thing I've been figuring out and planning and working on is the food. No surprise there! It's going to be an Asian-ish theme, all finger foods. I'm having a blast putting it all together.

We'll be having:

• Cheerwa - an Indian munchies mix
• Samosas with cilantro and tamarind chutneys
• Chicken satay with peanut sauce
• Vietnamese salad rolls with sweet and sour sauce
• Robatayaki - Japanese grilled vegetables
  
• Char siu pork
• Pineapple, kiwi, and orange slices
• Ginger squares
• Sesame-brown sugar shortbread
• Chocolate chip cookie bars (the boys begged for these)
• Kettle corn (boys idea, again)
  
• Limeade (adult types can add home made limoncello here)
  
• Thandai - an almond and cardamom milk drink
• Sodas
  

Quick knitting

I have so many projects half done or waiting to be finished. More than I'm happy about and far more than I usual - I'm a one project at a time kind of gal, for the most part. But somehow I haven't been in the mood for serious knitting at all. Nothing with charts or requiring the use of brain cells. What do do? knit slippers for the boys. These were made up in two evenings out of Plymouth Jelli Beanz, an acrylic and wool blend that has all kinds of wild colors popping out here and there. Hopefully the yarn will hold up to washing and much sliding across the wood floors - we'll see. Ultra fast knitting, which is exactly what I needed. May have to make up a few of these to donate as well. Hey Norma, does Duulan need slippers?

More domesticity

Care to guess what those are? Napkins, baby! Realized that the boys should probably be using something other than shirt sleeves (or the occasional toy) to wipe their mouths and spills after meals. However, the thought of buying package after package of paper napkins just to toss them after each use seemed really wasteful. And expensive. Yes, I'm just that frugal.
So off to the fabric store I went, in search of something that would look cheerful on our new (to us - I heart Craigslist) dining table. Oh, and all cotton. Washable and practically indestructible would also be nice. Finally found this fabric in with the quilting bolts. Something about the sunflowers and the bright, sunny print called out to me.

Making them up was pretty simple, if a bit boring. Wash fabric (always, always wash fabric before cutting anything out - you take care of a lot of unpleasant surprises this way). Meanwhile, make a square template - in my case, I used printer paper taped together and cut out to 17 by 17 inches. Cut out as many squares as you can using the template. Now, I wanted to miter the corners. Look up above - see? Nice and neat. I could have used this method, but it was far too persnickety for simple 1/4 inch hems. I did something more like this - just folding down each edge, ironing, then cutting the very tip diagonally across and stitching the whole thing down at once. It's not perfect, but just fine for an everyday napkin, at least to my mind.

I made a dozen, which seemed to take forever but more likely took a bit over an hour or so. The only thing I don't like about these is they're a little on the small size for my taste. Next batch I make will end up 17 1/2 inches after hemming, which seems about right. Cause of course I need some fancier ones, right? Hopefully I'll get those done before Sunday - we're having a housewarming party and I'd love to have cloth napkins for everyone if possible.

Picnic in the park

Ryan and Arden have eagerly been awaiting the arrival of their Laptop Lunchboxes. Both of them were attracted to the itty bitty boxes and drawn in by all the colors. I was hoping lunch would be a bit less of a struggle this year.

The box arrived right before lunch, and they were both thrilled! We decided that a picnic lunch in the park was in order, to "break in" the new lunchboxes. We all started putting things in the different sections, with both the boys coming up with some pretty good ideas. It was hard finding enough to fill out the sections - they're really big! The larger ones hold 1 1/2 cups and the smaller ones 1/2 cup, which is a lot of food. I, sadly, have no bento box container for myself, so I made do with a cloth bag and some saran wrap for my sandwich (cue violins).

The booklet that comes with the lunchboxes has a lot of really good information in it. A few recipes at the end, too, which both of the boys are excited about. We're trying "Fruit Triangle Treats" for snack this afternoon. There's a lot about choosing healthy foods, reducing waste, and a great set of lunch ideas and combinations to try.

Wanted to add that having all the containers open and all the food where the boys could see everything right when they opened the lunchboxes really made the food more appealing. It helped Ryan especially, as he's a really visual little guy and has a hard time with lunches that are all wrapped up. He kept telling me how much better he liked having it all where he could see everything. And Arden ate so much more than he usually does, I think because using the spoon (which has a cool star and moon and sun in the clear plastic) was so fun and because he liked all the itty bitty containers. It was wonderful seeing them so happy and excited about lunch. Well worth the rather large investment, I think.

Arden's lunch on the left - apple slices (dipped in orange juice so they don't brown), crackers, Havarti cheese cubes, hazelnut spread in the covered container, and pistachios.

Ryan's lunch on the right- ham sandwich on wheat with some lettuce from the garden, crackers, mini carrots, pistachios and hazelnut spread in the covered container.

After lunch, the boys played for a while - at least until Ryan noticed some ripe blackberries. We quickly emptied out Arden's lunchbox and filled it to the brim with ripe berries. Can I say how much I love being able to pick berries just a few blocks away from my house? Ahhhh...I love it here :-)

I think the kitten likes it here

It's a hunch, anyway ;-)

Hi ho, hi ho....

...it's off to work he goes. (whistling happily in my head here)

On Monday, Dan is going to start working with Hewlett Packard out in Vancouver, WA (which actually isn't far at all - maybe 30 minutes commute total). He won't be working for HP directly, but with a group that works with them. The pay is what he got at his last job, with better benefits and far more potential for moving up. Also a lot more to learn and gain in terms of marketable skills. The really nice part is that for once he was able to really think about the job and decide if he wanted it instead of jumping at any job opportunity that presented itself, since there just weren't that many jobs out there for him where we were in California. He'll still be doing consultant work on the side with his CAD software and networking skills, which means even more of a cushion financially.

It feels so good to finally be in a place where we aren't just barely getting by, where we can actually make choices. We've given up a lot financially to have me home, and that has been an important choice, but it has meant living on very little at times. I know Dan has felt like he was a lousy provider because we didn't have extras that he felt were important (even though I don't really care about having "stuff" in general). Nice to finally see him feeling like he can do all the things that he feels are important - and just to see him so happy.

My new mantra

I love my Mother-In-Law. I adore having her living in my house. I have enjoyed every minute of the last month she has been here and wake up just waiting to see her smiling face again. I will be bereft when she finds an apartment and moves her computer and lamps and chairs and books and large cans of hairspray away, as I will miss them so. I am not at all excited at the want ads and apartment listings laid out on the desk upstairs. I will miss her advice on parenting, grocery shopping, landscaping, time management, house cleaning, and budgeting.

(I repeat this, as needed, every time I walk through a cloud of hairspray or smile and nod as she cheerfully shares how I should plant the garden and/or raise the children. I do like her quite a bit, but living together 24/7 is a wee bit chafing.)

Gardening for squares

Dan just made two raised beds last week, ala Sqaure Foot Gardening. One is 3 by 7 feet, the other is 2 by 4 feet. He's also going to make each of the boys a wee 2x2 foot garden so they can plant things (Ryan wants strawberries and lots of flowers, Arden wants flowers and some "cool" purple sage in his).

I stuck with things that would do well in the Fall or overwinter well, along with lettuce that will get replanted many times. The containers are tucked next to our patio, up against the house, and are shielded from wind from the side of the house but still get good amounts of sun. I'll probably add cold frames once things get colder, but I think being so close to the house will help everything stay warmer as well.

I was amazed at how much stuff I was able to plant! All of this went in:

• strawberries - two kinds of alpine strawberries and one regular sized everbearing kind
• red leaf lettuce
• baby bok choi
• broccoli (3)
• purple sage
• cauliflower (3)
• spinach
• cilantro (we'll see if I can get at these before they bolt)
• oregano
• garlic (red hardneck)
• some hummingbird flower mix
• mesclun mix
• radishes
• flatleaf parsley
• two of kinds thyme - silver and lemon thyme (mmmm!)
• leeks
• brussels srouts
• carrots (Atomic Red and Nantes)
• Daikon radishes

I've been watering a little each day, since it's been very hot here lately and I wanted the seeds to get a good start. Almost everything has sprouted, aside from the parsley (notorious poor germinators, I hear), carrots, flowers, oregano, and garlic. Every time I look out and see all the wee bits of green peeking out over the top of the soil I get this lovely warm feeling, like I've done something good. Can't wait until everything starts getting bigger and the sprouts start looking more like actual plants. Bit like watching babies grow, though much more quickly and without the sleep deprivation.

I also filled up my new Earth Machine composter today. Got it for free on Craigslist a couple of weeks back. Craigslist rocks. I've bought, sold, given away, and gotten for free more things than I can count. We found our kitten online, too. Great, great resource. Anyway, I filled up my composter, carefully layering green plants, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds as an activator, and brown leaves. Wet everything a bit, then stirred it round. I'll be giving it a stir once a week and making sure everything stays moist for the next few months, then if all goes well shoveling out rich, deep brown soil.

The foot is doing a lot better, though it's awfully weak. I'm wearing the boot half a day now and icing it twice a day to help keep the swelling down. Seems to be healing well, though I can't wait until I can ditch the fancy footwear.

Saturday Sky

This is for you, Ms. Sandy. Below is the view from my back patio, looking over towards my neighbor's back yard. It's cloudy out today, but still pretty bright and warm outside. Perfect for puttering around in the garden. Come to think of it, I should go do that.

Like my new boot?

Basic black, up to the knee...sounds great until you see the sucker in person. Oh, and I'm only wearing one of these lovelies, which sort of spoils the whole ensemble. Though it does look particularly fetching with shorts.

The sprained ankle I had before we moved? Wasn't a sprain, as it turns out. I pulled a tendon, which oddly enough didn't get any better when I treated the injury like a sprain (under the advice of a very decent doctor who is all the way back in California). Walking was getting harder and harder, and hurting in a way that just didn't make any sense at all. I asked some people locally about where to get orthotics (still thinking I just had a weak ankle) and found Dr. Ray McClanahan of Northwest Foot and Ankle. He set me up with this big ol boot (if you find it especially appealing, you can order one here) and told me to rest my foot for two weeks, ice the injury every night, then slowly wean myself off of the boot for another two weeks. Driving a stick shift has been highly entertaining with this thing on, more so because it's my right foot. Climbing stairs is really hard. I sound like Frankenstein as I walk through the house: step, THUMP, step, THUMP! But I can't complain, since it's getting much, much better.

Time for some tea

I love tea in all forms, from chamomile to Darjeeling to genmae. One of my most favorite cups of tea is warmed with spices and mellowed with milk and a little bit of sugar. Thought I might try this iced (hmmm....now where did I get that idea?)

Masala Chai
serves 4
1 small cinnamon stick
6 cardamom pods
(or 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom)
4 cloves
6 peppercorns
3 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 heaping teaspoons loose tea or 4 tea bags (orange pekoe)

Place spices and tea leaves (if using) in a tea ball or tie in cheesecloth so you can remove them later. Place water and spices in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Add sugar, milk and tea leaves or bags, bring to a simmer, turn off heat and cover again. Let mixture sit for 2 - 3 minutes to allow tea to steep. Strain and serve.

It's a wonder that a few twigs, leaves, and flower buds can scent the whole house and bring such flavor to a simple cup of tea.

Sock and a bit

Can't believe this yarn was hand painted by me. It's knitting up so nicely, with only a little bit of pooling, and even that blends so well with all the other colors that I hesitate to call it that. These are for Dan, knitted out of the yarn I had leftover after I sent out my Dye O Rama swap. The yarn is Wool2Dye4 Supersock, and I ended up using 2.25 mm size 2 DPNs (not the larger 2.5 mm size, which was far too large) and 6 stitches around to start. These have become my tote along project, though my very favorite time to work on them is curled up on the couch with Dan after the boys have gone to bed. He's already tried on one and loves them so far. Once I'm done with these, I'll start in on the yarn I got from my talented pal Kate. That pair will be for me.

Playing in the yard

Can you tell the boys love having a back yard and actual, bona fide plants and trees to play with? They love climbing the tree out in front, and can't wait until it's time to water the lawn so they can play with the hose or the sprinkler.

I've been playing in the yard, too. It's been balmy and sunny and just plain gorgeous here for the past few weeks. I keep wanting to update but getting caught up in weeding and planning my garden and watching the butterflies and hummingbirds. Finally got around to sitting back and enjoying the quieter pace of life here. Bit of a change of pace for me, but I really like it :-)

Random Cuteness

Meet Ryan's new kitten. Her name is Lisa ("that's a really pretty name for a girl, Mommy!"), and she's the sweetest lap kitty you ever met. We're learning to look for her deep inside cardboard boxes, which seem to be her favorite places to sleep. The two older cats aren't quite sure what to do with her, but seem to be putting up with this evil intruder with remarkable grace. Mostly.

Things I love right now

• Recycling. I'm having the best time finding any and everything I can put in our recycling bins. It's like my own personal scavenger hunt every day, looking for bits of paper and plastic and metal that can be reused again. Our old towhouse didn't have any kind of recycling, so we collected everything and drove everything to the redemption center once the bags got full enough. Problem was, they didn't accept anything beyond bottles and cans. Not even newspaper (it killed me to throw newspaper in the trash, but what else could I do when no one would take it?). Now I'm having a grand time, finding new things I can recycle everywhere I look.
  
• My own back yard. It's wide and inviting and so full of growing things, flowers especially. I love that the boys can run out and come back not five minutes later with armloads of roses, bachelor's buttons, and other flowers and you can't even tell they picked anything. Still don't know what most of the plants out back are yet (anyone want to take a guess if I post pictures?), but figuring it all out is pretty fun, too.
  
• Working out where to put everything. Sure, it's a bit of a chore to unpack and get all the stuff in place, but there's something really satisfying about finding the right place for things and getting it all just the way that feels right.
  
• Watching the boys explore their new home. Arden especially is thrilled to finally have his own room all to himself. They both are having a grand time running around the back yard, searching for "treasure" and generally getting covered in dirt in every way imaginable. Warms my heart to see them stack rocks and dig in the dirt and ride their bikes in the cul de sac. They already have a new friend who lives just 3 doors down, and it looks like there are several little boys of about the right age within 2-3 blocks.
  
• Oregon strawberries! Absolutely incredible - so sweet and full of flavor, it's hard to even describe. Delicious.
• My granite countertops. I can put a hot pan right down on the counter without giving it a second thought, keep pastry cool if I need to, and the counter never looks dirty. Ahhh....lovely stuff.
  
• Knitting with my handpainted yarn. I was going to jump into the glorious yarn my dye pal sent, but Dan has been drooling over the other half of the skein I dyed since it was fully dry. He kept making subtle comments like, "you are keeping some of that yarn, right?" and "you know, if you made some socks for me out of that yarn I'd love you forever." Yep, he's the king of subtlety. But the yarn is knitting up really nicely, and I love watching the colors turn and bend as the sock gets longer and longer.
• Ginger and "Yuzu" Wafers. Got the recipe for these ethereal cookies from A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider. They're essentially tuilles with a hit of intense ginger and citrus. Just enough to nibble with some tea or alongside a bowl of ice cream. Yum.
  
• Living here. I'm so incredibly glad we went through everything we did to make this happen. This is the right place for so many reasons, and it feels like home already.
  

Lots of dyeing

Now that I finally found my camera cord, I can share a few more goodies. Look what I got in the mail! Six weeks ago I signed up for Dye-O-Rama, a swap where everyone exchanges hand dyed yarn. I signed up for this in the middle of selling my house and packing because I am certifiably insane, but that should be abundantly clear by now. Anyway, the lovely Kate of k8knits sent this amazing package that you see to the left. Not one but two skeins of the most gorgeous colorways and a skein of the softest handspun I have ever come across. I kept holding it up to my cheek and petting it. Seriously.

The moment I saw the handspun, I knew exactly what to do with it. A friend of mine is going through chemo and had lamented the lousy choice in hats, and this happened to be exactly her colors. I started knitting once I rummaged through boxes and found my Denise needles, but soon found that there just wasn't enough for a full hat. No problem - this was a great excuse to go to my first Portland yarn store! After a quick check with Google, I drove off to Abundant Yarn in search of something with similar tones, something hopefully just as soft. I found many yarns that matched well, but nothing came close to the feel of this handspun. Finally, I spied some Jo Sharp Silkroad, gave it a feel, and smiled. Silk and cashmere would be just perfect, and the color worked wonderfully. Made up a roomy hat (she likes larger hats) with a rolled brim and gave it to her yesterday. She told me it feels like a "head hug" :-).

Today was the last day to send off dyed yarn, so last night I found my dye and yarn, waited until the boys were asleep, then laid everything out. I mixed colors (a Frankenstein mix of Rit dyes in brown and black, Dudley Easter egg colors in blue, orange, green and yellow, and KoolAid mix in blue) until everything looked about what I wanted, then tested what they'd look like by dipping bits of paper towel in each cup and laying that down in front of the cup (the colors were so dark, it was hard to tell them apart otherwise as well). The Dudley colors were very, very bright and vibrant, and I wanted muted and deep, so I added brown and black until they looked more sedate. Then I started painting the soaked yarn, bit by bit. Then I wrapped the yarn in plastic wrap, coiled it up, and set it onto a steamer rack in a large canning pot. The yarn steamed merrily for half an hour, then cooled with the lid on until it was just barely warm. I rinsed the yarn carefully, then laid it out on a rack in our dryer and set it to air dry with a bit of warm air to help things along. Took over an hour, but it finally dried properly. I was really happy with the end result. The yarn - Wool2Dye4 Supersock - really opened up and did beautiful things once dyed. I'm completely hooked - yarn dying is soooo much fun!

Then I skeined it up by hand. Took a long, long time to wind the yarn around the top of a box. Must. Get. Swift. My skein wasn't quite as tidy or pretty as many I've seen, but it didn't come out too badly. I tiptoed out across the wet grass to take a picture, since the colors went so nicely with the little tree out off the patio in our new house. Any excuse to walk outside in my very own back yard :-) Took a close up as well, just because. I love this colorway. Hope my dye pal likes it, too!

We're home!

This pretty much sums it all up:

And we're off!

Oregon, here we come :-)