My sister and her husband had a party over the weekend to celebrate - in part - her 40th birthday. Jeff and I dropped our children off with friends and we spent 24 child-free hours together. The party was a murder mystery set in the Wild West in 1874. 70 people were there! I took a few photos before it all began and then put my camera away so I could have some fun. Here we are - I remade a plain bridesmaid's dress so it had some lace and frills and an enormous bustle. Jeff wore a suit with a puff tie. We got into character and had a lot of fun!
On the way to the party, we stopped at the Wild Hive Farm bakery & cafe. This bakery has partnered with a local wheat farm to produce enough local wheat to supply the bakery with everything it needs and then some. They sell flour to the public, and although at first glance it seems pricey ($3.75 for 1 lb 8 oz), it's not expensive when all of the hidden costs are factored in. The flour is organic, so the environmental and health cost of chemical fertilizer isn't part of the equation, and it's local, so it's not being shipped around the country, which also uses resources. We sampled some of the baked goods and they were very tasty. Don Lewis, who runs the bakery, told us that the types of wheat they use are heirloom varieties and taste different than the 5 major strains used in commercial flour production.
We liked it...
...a lot.
Today we made corn husk dolls with the husks I pressed and dried over the summer. They're pretty durable and I will be interested to see how much the girls play with them.
taking care...
If I had to pick one thing about my life and about the way I spend my time that completely surprises me, I would say it's how I enjoy taking care of living things. It surprises me because I always thought I preferred to deal with information and inanimate objects (like books) rather than living things that need me. I don't think of myself as a caretaker. But here I am with two children that I take care of 24 hours a day, and I'm pleasantly surprised to find that this year of constant togetherness (without preschool) is more heavenly than I could have imagined. I have two cats who are ancient if you're counting in cat years, and although I sometimes resent having to care for them everyday (you wouldn't believe how much they eat, and how much they pee, and how much the like to be pet, and how much they want to come inside and go outside again), I do love them. Erma is 16 years old and she's been with me for so many life changes. I got her when she was 6 weeks old and she was the last kitty in the litter to be picked. Actually, it wasn't me who picked her, or me who was in the market for a cat (I already had one, Agnes, who remains my favorite cat so far... shhh). It was my live-in boyfriend at the time who called me at work and said, "We have a new cat. I couldn't resist."
Flash forward 16 years, and it's me who has Erma. And a lot of houseplants.
Our neighbors are moving and they gave me their houseplants this week. I am so honored by it - I consider it a matter of trust and respect to be given houseplants to care for. With the addition of these new ones, I now have 30 houseplants. They require constant care, especially now that we have the pellet stove. The stove dries some of them out, enough so that some now need water every day. Others are on a weekly schedule. I have to pay constant attention to know who needs what. The orchid, which I've dutifully neglected for several months, is now starting to sprout two new shoots for blossoms, and I imagine I will now have to pay more attention to it. Or will I?
Not only do I take care of children, pets and houseplants, I usually have a refrigerator full of produce that needs some sort of care. Or planning, at least.
I like to cook. I love my children. I love my cats. I enjoy my plants. Usually, if life is going along smoothly, it's all wonderful. I give to them, they give back, and everyone is happy. Sometimes my mood changes though and I get more selfish, or perhaps I get busy with unexpected things, and I don't feel like cooking, or talking to the plants, or opening yet another can of cat food. That's when I get resentful. Thank goodness it doesn't happen very often. And since living things will eventually go "bad" if you don't pay attention to them, my time away doesn't last very long because all of these things let me know that they need my care. And I'm happy to oblige.
Jeff is home tonight, after a few days away for business. We all missed him, and we're happy to have him back. Oh, and I just looked over and saw that my christmas cactus hasn't been watered yet and is looking a little glum... looks like I have something to do now, right?
We've been spending as much time outside as possible lately. Beside that fact that it's good for us and we're soaking up the weather before winter comes, it keeps us healthy. The swine flu is running around town here and I prefer to stay away from it! At least until this weekend, that is. My sister and her husband are having a birthday party to celebrate her 40th birthday and Jeff and I are planning to leave our children with friends while we spend the night in Connecticut. Please, swine flu, stay away long enough so that we can go to this party!
Another benefit of spending time outdoors is that the girls aren't spending so much time indoors sorting through their things and leaving trails of toys and art supplies wherever they go. I'm trying hard to not call it a "mess." I like an orderly environment and I get a little crazy when they pull things out and move onto the next activity without putting things away. Now that 'H' is older and they are true playmates, they tend to get absorbed in one thing, pull everything out, and then quick as a wink, they switch gears and move like madwomen to the next new thing. All without stopping to put things back where they belong. It's not an easy thing to learn, I'm starting to see.
I'm almost at the end of Plenty, the story about the couple that took the 100-mile diet challenge a few years ago. I loved the part I read today about how they realized that the local food tasted so good, so unexpectedly good. I know! I just discovered that too, and I think it's the hidden gem of our whole local eating experiment. We don't just eat anymore, we taste and savor too.
Here's what one of the tall oaks looks like today:
It wasn't so long ago that it looked like this:
Autumn. Soaking it in, soaking it all in...
Halloween!
Today the temperature was in the 60's. The 60's! I love Indian summers. It's like a short, sweet trip down memory lane, letting me say hello to summer one more time.
It's Halloween today, and we were very excited to join our friends for some fun and trick or treating. We had trouble getting to their home at a nice early hour because 'H' decided to poke herself in the eye with a pencil this afternoon and she scratched her cornea. Jeff took her to the doctor and she was prescribed eye drops. She's okay.
The afternoon was rushed and I didn't line them all up for costume shots, so these are the best I have tonight. 'A' loved her princess dress and also loved seeing some of the other, older princesses on the street tonight. 'H' was in a very cute s'mores costume. The only thing she liked better than dressing up as candy was eating it.
Both girls had pretty dramatic candy highs and lows.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments