We've had some warm and very wet weather around here lately. Yesterday I ran a few errands, and got the mail and that was it. It's getting dark so very early now. I looked out my bedroom window yesterday and the sky was a dark blueish gray, the trees without leaves, and the mist made the scene look like an impressionist painting or a nocturne. The moon has been a big part of my nights lately. As much as I try, I'm just not a night person. Lately we've been going to bed when the kids do and that's early. I sleep the whole night, but usually wake up once for a glass of water. As I walk into the kitchen from the bedroom, it's illuminated with a pale blue glow. I look out the windows, trying to find the best view of the moon, see it, and then head back to bed.
We made some wonderful Christmas decorations for our tree this year. We've been collecting whelk shells at the beach over the last few months. The whelks wash ashore during the winter months. They're beautoful spiral shells all peachy and bleached white with time. They always have holes in them, which is what makes them such great decorations because we coat them unevenly in glue, roll them in sparkly white, snow-like glitter, allow them to dry and put a piece of raffia through of of the nature made openings and voila! a beautiful, from the sea (with a little human embellishment) Christmas decoration!
On my particular piece of beach the sand is very fine and a very light brown. The each granule of sand is circular so it moves easily and doesn't pack down under your feet. We have purple sand too. It unusual and I remember it being my favorite from my childhood. The purple sand is a deep almost black purple, and it is as fine as dust so it moves freely with the wind and the Nor'easters. It comes from the ledge that is around our beach and the reef a few miles off shore. The silica sand we step on is the strongest and last remaining part of the Appalachia mountains hundreds of miles back.
The sun is coming up now and I must start my day! Have a lovely day!
It's been a while since I last blogged. Partly this is due to business with a 4 year old and 21 month old romping around and partly due to a sometimes working, sometimes not, computer!
Yesterday was beautiful here in New England. I was luck because my mom and dad came up to help me rake my leaves with me and boy did it help! My neighbors have a huge sugar maple and it's beautiful but it sheds most of its leaves in my yard. My neighbor's house is a beautiful one, built in 1840 by a sea captain. When we first moved to our house it had owners who lovingly cared for it and they knew the types of trees on the property and tapped the sugar maples, making their own syrup. The owners decided to move on and a retired couple bought the house but they don't live in it. They come visit on the weekends once in a while and hire a service to take care of the yard and the leaves. I think the house knows this somehow, that it's a bit of an afterthought now. The old Federal's paint is peeling, the roof is caked with leaves, the beautiful raised beds are empty except for the prolific and overgrown strawberry patch. I think when you own or live in an older house you sign on for a certain amount of responsibility. The new family hired a company to take down one of those 200 year old sugar maples. The slate fireplace doesn't get used and the heat that could have been generated by the wood from that old sugar maple that was taken down never came to be because the owners couldn't be bothered to take the time to even honor the tree that stood by the house they own for years, shading children, keeping wind off the house, providing color in the fall, or syrup. In a single morning that tree was chopped and set into a wood chipper and gone. Beautiful, old New England houses tend to cost quite a bit, more than I can afford, but I wish there were a discount for people like me who would care for the house instead of tearing up parts that are inconvenient or dated or inefficient.
So yesterday we raked up the leaves from the only sugar maple standing on my neighbor's property and even though it's not mine, I see it every morning out my kitchen window and care for it in my own way even though tomorrow the neighbors could choose to chop it down forever.
This has been a busy week. My mom's birthday was on the 17th and my big baby boy turned 4 on the 18th! Today we're having a joint birthday party with a yummy meal and a Boston creme cake for dessert! Yesterday my husband left work early to spend some time with us for G's birthday. He got a big, new, shiny, Malibu beach cruiser razor scooter and we went into town to ride it on the big green there. Then we headed home, had lunch, and swam for the rest of the afternoon. G's big 4 year old accomplishment was standing on the raft all by himself! We are reading The Big Green Pocketbook and he requested that as a bedtime story. What a fun book!
I've been doing some interesting reading lately. I didn't read this entire book, rather many chapters and sections of it, but I found it to be highly interesting. It's called Parenting, Inc. by Pamela Paul. http://www.amazon.com/Parenting-Inc-Pamela-Paul/dp/0805082492/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216460028&sr=1-1
The book is more of a litany than a commentary so I'd suggest reading the introduction. That reads like an article in Time or Newsweek and you may want to continue on. The book is about how parents are so driven to buy things for their kids and supply classes, etc. But in reality these things are not what kids need and the constant buying actually hurts them. She states that there is a generation of narcissists and that many pre-schoolers have little impulse control and are not displaying skills to do things themselves because they are used to a parent sitting beside them doing much of the work for them. So the kids lack imagination and are demotivated. She stated also that it is important for a child "to be alone in the presence of the mother" and that this naturally occurs when a mother is looking after 3-4 kids simultaneously, however now parents are having only one or two children and these kids are always on the move and entertained and so they don't know how to deal with boredom, a basic fact of life. What will they do when they have to wait in a line, etc. Everything for these children is on demand. Even the sleeping and eating schedules, nursing even as babies is "on demand." Interesting food for thought.
I'm also reading (or reading parts of) Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living. Wow! That is one big book!
I'm also almost done with Ron Paul's Manifesto. This is truly thought provoking. He is no longer running for President. I read that many of his supporters will not turn out at the polls or may switch to Bob Barr. Very few will likely go to Obama.
Been working on my garden. It's doing very well this year. Already some zucchini and we've been eating the supersweet tomatoes as fast as they ripen. I don't think one's made it inside yet! Outdoor snacks for the kids! Last night I snuck a few for myself! Mmmmm! I've mentioned that I leave near the shore and I did a little experiment this spring. I collected some seaweed and put in some of my container plants and I dug it in with a few zucchini plants to see if it would impact their growth. By far and away the plants with the seaweed grew bigger, faster and have already yielded. I have been reading about the benefits of kelp and take a green powder with my smoothie in the mornings and I've noticed that in just two days of this my nails have grown longer and stronger. It works for plants and for us! The Aran Islanders used to stack layers of seaweed and sand on rocks in their harsh landscape and cultivate their crops on it! This fall I'll harvest some more seaweed and use it as mulch in some of my drier areas.
So, that delicious bean spread I made was later converted into a soup using turkey broth and I added some leftover gnocchi. It was frugal and delicious. I also made a double batch of Sue Gregg's Millet-in-a Skillet and served it warm one night and reheated as a taco filling the next. Again, frugal and delicious. Good as a stuffing in peppers too!
All for now!
Healthy Bean Spread
Boil and mash organic soybeans enough to have about 1 1/2 cups once they are boiled and soft and mashed.
About 2 Cups dried organic soybeans
3 T olive oil
1/2 green pepper chopped fine
2 stalkes of celery chopped fine
1 small onion, minced
2 t minced garlic
1 can of tomato paste
2 T Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Sautee the onion for a few minutes in some olive oil, add peppers and celery and sautee until onion is transparent. Add tomato paste and garlic and stir. Add 2 cans of water from the tomato paste can. Add soybeans, seasonings, etc. mix until well blended. Put in the fridge to chill and serve on sandwiches, crackers, etc.
Happy 4th of July!!!
We have had a wonderful weekend so far! Our town launches fireworks over the water and in previous years the kids have been really scared but this year they made it and now they love fireworks!
We drove up to an unusual store here in Connecticut called Stew Leonard's www.stewleonards.com We visited the store in Newington and it was a hot trip getting there. We don't put the a/c on in our car. But it was worth it! We bought some little things for our barbeque. The kids really liked it there are lots of fun singing displays and toys and food.
After that we went to the beach for a swim. It was high tide so it was lots of fun! We came back and showered and went to a party at a neighbor's house. The people were all so nice, the kids happy kicking the ball, riding scooters, etc. We had ribs, chicken, potato salad, macaroni and cheese. Yum! Then it was time to see the fireworks!! We walked home, snuggled the kids in bed, and listened to all of our little neighborhood have parties and laugh and dance and have a wonderful evening. It's so nice to see everyone so excited and neighbors happy and getting along. It was great!
The next day we had a little party of our own! Delicious chicken marinated in Brianna's dressing put on the grill, cole slaw, fresh corn salad, homemade potato chips, hamburgers, and for dessert a flag cake! Went swimming again and spent the night at the beach. It's raining today so I'm glad we got our beach time in!
Hope everyone had a wonderful fourth!
Wanted to post a photo of the beautiful Kent, Connecticut and the bridge at Cornwall Bridge!
We've had some beautiful weather here lately. Yesterday I hung out a bunch of laundry and took it down in the evening and it smelled so good! My older son has borrowed a razor scooter from an older boy down the road and has been determined to ride it successfully. We've been out there practicing all day! My younger son is 16 months and wants to do all of the things that the big kids do. Yesterday they plowed the beach and there's a creek that flows out into the Sound and right where that creek and sandbar meet, a huge mountain of sand was left by the plow. Every kid around was playing on it running down it into the water, etc. It was a gorgeous day yesterday and so much fun to play at the beach! My younger son also is in the habit now of holding my index finger and taking me all over the place to show me things. I love these little phases because you never know how long they'll last.
The birds have been waking us up each morning with a symphony and I have to say as lovely as the noise is, it wakes some of us up. Yesterday I was up at 4:52 and went for a run and felt great. I'm not going today, but hope to do it again tomorrow.
Chia Seed Smoothie Recipe
2 T chia seeds soaked for 1/2 hour in 1 1/2 cups orange juice
1/2 C milk
1/2 cups frozen strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries
Mix until well blended serve in glasses. My kids like it with whipped cream on top! A healthy dessert.
Chia seeds come from South America and they are the same seeds used on Chiapets! They are high in fiber and very good for you! I buy mine in a bag from my healthfood store. The brand is Shiloh Farms.
I'm rereading a wonderful book now called Mitten Strings For God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry. It's a quiet and inspirational book and I think will make a great new mother present. The author is Katrina Kenison. I'm also reading a book called Cape Wind which is really interesting and is about wind power.
Today is beautiful. I'm going to get some laundry done and hang it out on the line.
The end of my day, the beginning of my night (the witching hour between 5-6 pm) sounds something like,
" Pick up the elephant, and the ball, and the soccer ball, and the firetruck guy. Pick up the kitty and the sign and the don't pull the phone jack out of the wall, no you can't have more cake, stop, that's the vacuum plug, pick up the dry spaghetti on the rug, take it easy, just a minute I'm doing something, there's a net on the porch that needs to go back in the basket, no we're not going outside again because you're in your jammies, well, daddy shouldn't have let you use that Sharpie when you know darn well it's a grown -up pen, a few more things guys and we're done, who is ready to read a book, I've got to put your brother to bed, watch out for the vacuum cord, easy on the bookshelf, time to brush your teeth, settle down."
Ahhh, quiet. As hectic as all this sounds, I still actually enjoy it because I know in 20 years I probably won't be asking anyone to pick up the "firetruck guy."
Last night we went to our state park to see if we could see the seals. The seals are still out at low tide. We didn't see them
but it was still a wonderful evening here to be in such a serene, spiritual place. The water and the salt marshes are so peaceful. The birds call as the sun sets over the water. I don't see anyone but the sunlight profile of my little son who is grabbing at the phragmites as they sway in the wind. Such a wonderful memory.
Today began quitely and peacefully as well. As my post before indicates, I made cinnamon sugar doughnuts with my kids. Washed a load of laundry and hung it on the line to dry. Walked to the beach and played in the stream until the kids were thouroughly soaked and needed to head home to change. Played t-ball and kickball in the yard. Set out suntea on the big rock in front of our house. Tonight dinner's easy, salad, tuna sandwiches, and suntea. Doughnuts for dessert!
It's very warm here and the daffodils are looking like they want to come inside so I'll cut a bouquet and put some in the bathroom, some on the porch, and some in my bedroom.
I am also in the process of reclaiming my home! I have way too many kids' toys around the house and it's stressful!!
I'm currently re-reading Home Comforts and wow, do I have lot of work to do. She suggests all of these extra sheets and such. I have one set for each bed and 2 extra pillowcases!
I've been trying to organize my house and my kids are really wild with their toys lately. So I'm boxing up a bunch of things and putting them in the attic. Including the crayons! They dump the box of crayons all over the floor each day. Dump the scrabbe, dump the matchbox cars. It's all headed upstairs! They are going to have to use their imaginations, the outdoors, the library.
The clean-up aside, today's been a really nice day!!
Okay, this is not a health recipe by any means, but can doughnuts really be a health food anyway and they're sooo yummy! This is an easy, make with kids, recipe, not an old fashioned fried doughnut recipe, but my kids really enjoyed making them, they look really pretty, and are tasty too!
Easy, Kid-Friendly (to make), cinnamon sugar doughnuts
1 tube refridgerator biscuits (I used generic Jumbo butter flavored ones)
A pan of cinnamon sugar mixed together
A little 1/2 - 1inch cookie cutter to remove the center (I used a shape from my kids's shape sorter game)
Dip the doughnuts on both sides in the cinnamon sugar mixture, punch out the center with the cookie cutter - to make it look like a doughnut and then you get doughnut holes too. Place onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. You can dip them again in the cinnamon sugar once they're hot out of the oven!
My son and I just made this and it's delicious! It's more of a cake than a bread an it's on the menu for dessert tonight. Strawberries are in season next month for us, but I had some from last spring still in my freezer. You can use fresh or frozen. Makes two loaves.
Fresh Strawberry Bread Recipe
3 cups strawberries, mashed and drained, reserve 1/2 cup of the juice
1 1/4 C Oil
4 eggs, beaten
Mix all this together and add to the dry ingredients which are:
3 C flour
2 C Sugar
1 1/4 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
Mix everything together well and pour into two loaf pans coated w/cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
Enjoy!
I haven't been able to post a narrative as to what I've been up to today. I've posted twice today, first a finance post (always a hot topic!) and second a recipe (cooking's always on my mind!) But, I haven't been able to post too much lately. In part, because I've been busy, but also because my computer doesn't always work!
Well, first, I'm pretty tired I have to say because yesterday I planted 10 4 foot tall privet trees at my house. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while and we finally sprung for it! We ended up getting a pretty good price for the privet (35.00 dollars apiece) and we planted ten so the total was around $365.00. We have waited three years to put them in. We are finishing a row that was removed before we moved in and they serve as a natural fence. Our neighbors next door rent their house out during the academic year to differnt families and we really needed the privacy. I'm so happy with the results!
I've also been working in the garden. Transplanted hostas, roses, trimmed, raked, edged, weeded etc. I've been spring cleaning too. Need to do some more clutter clearing in the bathroom and closets. Need to clean the vents and wash the windows too. I also need to wash parts of the outside of the house and clean the gutters! I still have some painting to do on the windowsills and baseboards and areas that are high in traffic. Yesterday we hooked up the hose, put up the clothesline, and caulked the tub. We still need to patch part of the drywall in the bathroom where the water escapes from the shower.
I've been able to stick with my cheap budget so far. I've changed a few items. I bought extra milk and 4.00$ worth of cheese since it was on sale and shredded that in my food processor, made mac n cheese and froze the rest. I was shocked when I went to a more expensive grocery store (for me it's called Stop n Shop) and they were selling shredded mozzerella cheese in a large bag for almost 8 bucks! I get more than that amount for half the price if I shred the cheese at home and less preservatives and better taste.
I had to buy some cleaning odds n ends this month which is why I'm trying to keep food costs low.
We planted our lettuce outside on Monday and it's looking good. Can't wait to eat homegrown lettuce again! Things here haven't bloomed yet. We have daffodils and the trees are on their way, but they are still bare limbed.
I've been reading some great books with my kids: One Morning In Maine by Robert McCloskey and Lentil also by him, although that wasn't as much of a hit. Stega Nona by Tomie dePaola We got Runaway Bunny from the library by Margaret Wise Brown and they loved that book!
I just read a wonderfully inspiring book called A Wing and A Prayer by Katharine Jefferts Schori who is the Bishop of the USA Episcopal church. It's a collection of sermons and it's powerful, thought provoking reading.
I read the book A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and really didn't like it. I wouldn't have read it if it hadn't been a choice of a bookgroup. I wonder if anyone else on this board read it. I didn't think it was particularily thought provoking. I found A Wing and A Prayer to be really great, however!
Heading to bed early tonight to rest my weary body and read a bit.
Delicious Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Spray a 9 x 13" pyrex pan with cooking spray and cook in a 350 oven for about 25 minutes.
1 stick of butter
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream butter and sugars, add sour cream, add eggs, mix up dry ingredients separately and then add to the wet. Add vanilla at the end. Pour into prepared pan.
Crumb topping: Mix all of these together and when mixed, sprinkle on top of batter, swirl through batter with a fork.
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 t. cinnamon
Glaze:
1 cup of powdered sugar mixed with 2 T. melted butter and a few drops of vanilla and enough milk to make a nice, smooth glaze. Once cake has cooked and cooled a bit, por on top. Enjoy! MMMMMmmmm!
It's warm enough here to start hanging clothes out on the line again. I was shocked to find out that I'm paying about 18 cents per kilowatt hour!! So I figured out that I'm saving (conservatively) 27.00 - 30.00 a month by hanging out my clothes. So that's about $270.00 a year, but probably more.
I have to look into the cost of running my dishwasher. I do this once a day, but sometimes on the weekend, twice.
I'm working to get some energy costs down. The thing is we have electric heat and that's on 6 months of the year. We are conservative with it, but it raises our monthly energy costs because we are on the budget plan which rations out the year in equal portions.
I'm working on a system and lists that I'll post so I can get a handle on saving some time, money, and energy. I will try to do that tonight.