Jamboree

Last night we went to the Fireman's Jamboree in little old Collinsville.
Two nights ago, I took Eli with his best friend Ian- and they had soooo much fun! (Adam stayed home with Emmett).




We have gone every year, but have never taken emmett before. So, this, his first night, was magical for him. We started on the Pirate Ship which just simply swings back and forth.....

This was emmett's first ride ever. He was a bit nervous, but then here, in the fourth or fifth swing of this ride, he had obviously relaxed and was enjoying it. I, on the other hand, had never done this one, and had 'pooh-poohed' it as being boring. In the above photo, I was looking at Adam, and mouthing "holy smokes"! My stomach was lurching at each swing! okay, so not going to go on that one again!

But then we went on the "sizzler", which luckily emmett was tall enough for. Eli had fun as did emmett and I. It is a ride that I have always loved and it instantly transports me back to my youth, and the feeling I got from it back when I went on it every year at the Polo Grounds. It makes me happy somehow to just be whizzed around and around and laughing all the way with whomever is sitting next to me.

emmett was getting tired by about 9pm - he is usually asleep by 7!

entranced by the fireworks on Adam's shoulders.... they were beautiful....
(but my lame attempts to capture them bursting in the sky were not)

Color week- red Friday

So, it is Friday and today's assigned color is red. I'm thinking as I woke up... "what the heck will I do for today? I don't have much red in my life.....". My brain slowly chugged into gear as I paked lunch for Eli and lo and behold... I have a red! one of his favorite snacks/ desserts in his lunch is one of these little asian cakes, which is sort of twinkie-ish. They come in lemon, orange and strawberry. And I must admit- they are good!

Then, as I was walking Eli in to his school, and I bumped into my friend Jonni. I looked down and saw her feet- yeah!! I had to explain it to her why I needed to take a photo of her feet. Lucky for me she obliged.


After dropping off Eli, emmett and I headed to the store.... and I was pushing the cart out..... there was more red!! the pile of baskets....


Then we got home and I unpacked things, and put out a bowl of these fabulous grape tomatoes that I needed to eat immediately after snapping the photo...
So... I DO have red in my life! although it is soooo not my color. I am a blue and green girl... with lots of neutral earthy tones thrown in.

Blue Thursday

Color week continues- today is blue......

Linens (I have a huge weakness for them)..... with my little e on top.....
I made a pile and emmett absolutely had to be on top!

Color Week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.......

Color Week kind of intrigued me....
It is a challenge to post a photo each day in a pre-selected color. Many bloggers participate, and it is kind of fun to look at what everyone else is doing. One blogger "hosts" it, and if you go to that blog /website ( click here ) , and read the 'comments' on the first day of the color week, you will see the comments from everyone who is participating and find the links to their blogs to see their photos for each day's color.

This color week was posed as an idea from two blogger sites:
one is port2port (as linked above)
and a joint effort from little birds

The color assignments for each day:
Monday- white
Tuesday- brown
Wednesday- gray/black
Thursday- blue
Friday- red

Gray/ Black is the color for wednesday.....

We hauled this lobster crate up from a little beach in Vinalhaven Maine, and brought it home with us. It now sits on our back porch and is used as a table by the kids for picnics, and for hors d'ouerves and drinks by the adults....

lobster crate

Tuesday Brown

There is so much brown I like! Beautiful bay horses, great cappuccino, creme brulee, soft warm sweaters, naturally wrapped packages in brown boxes/paper, and oh so much more....

For today, I also thought I would participate in the "Self Portrait Tuesday" challenge as well. (I will post a link to that one when I find it...)

me.... in brown

White Monday

These are placemats that I made in college when I took a weaving class.

handwoven placemats

morning rain

5:24 a.m. The soothing sound of rain eased into my sleep soaked head. I was slowly waking up and it was a heavenly transition. I could hear the raindrops gently hitting the skylight near the bed. I opened my eyes and looked out. I could see the droplets collecting together and then running down the incline of glass. I could see the tops of the trees outside of the house. I was transported to a cabin at summer camp, where I was the counselor in charge of a dozen teenage CITs. We lived together that summer in a cabin in the woods called "Whiffet". Our cabin at Camp Four Winds was seperate from all of the others, and it was peaceful in the mornings as I was always the first to wake up.

Rainy days at camp were special in that most of the usual activities were scrapped and the counselors would come up with fun, creative indoor alternatives. Everyone got wet, as we were out walking in the spacious area that was camp. People would come into a cabin shaking off their rainy gear, and settle in. It was a comforting and welcoming environment. We would always be treated to something warm for lunch. It was a lazy time, although filled with energy on sunny days, but an energy that was somehow peaceful and productive too.

There was time to enjoy all of our activities and relationships, as we were all there for weeks on end. All of the kids and all of the staff knew each other well by the end of the summer. Rainy days just brought us all into closer contact.

The rain this morning brought me back to all of those close-knit family feelings that were what camp was about. It gave me a sense of belonging and longing to stay snuggled in my covers and in my bed, and feeling like I just wanted to be back in my cabin in the woods, looking out at the trees through the windows that are hard to slide closed..... where you can lie in bed and listen to the rain gently hitting the leaves on the trees.... where you can smell the clean fresh scent of not much.... easing yourself slowly out of bed when you finally hear the 'wake-up-bell' ringing down the hill, and then pulling on enough clothing to keep you warm at breakfast.

I long to get up, and pick my way down the path, over roots and by saplings and the moss near the bigger trees, knowing it so well that you know which rocks will tip if you step on them, and where you shouldn't step so you don't fall.... being able to go quickly and not kill yourself on the way to the lodge for breakfast. But instead I ease my way out of my bed, and go down to my grown-up kitchen in reality, far from the lodge which is no longer there- it exists now only in the memories of so many campers and counselors.

I make some tea, and my kids will wake up soon, and we will start the morning chaos before school, where it will all be gone in a flash..... but it will still lurk there for as long as I can hold it today, as I am quiet and listen. I will stop my boys later to be still to listen to the peacefulness. It's good to be slow at times.

For the blog of it

this blog thing is strange. I think about it alot. I find I am reading so many other blogs, and I get sucked in. There are so many that intrigue me, but then I just totally take a pass on others. I can get lost for hours reading blogs, and then following links in their sidebars to others. So many different topics: travel, parenting, knitting, creating, photography, horses, animals, politics, world happenings, and more!

The food blogs appeal to me, and I love seeing them, and the photos, which generally are exquisite. I find now that when I go into stores, I want to purchase things like wonderful little plates and things that I could use for photographing the food I make to have it look just right for uploading onto the blog.

I keep taking photos of everything... for the blog. But I am not finding the time or gumption to upload all of them and write all that I want to share about all of it. I am busy enjoying the things I am eating or experiencing instead. So I am torn. I have always been into sharing things and doing for others. It is who I am. It is what I enjoy about being me .... sharing. So I am in a quandry. And I also am torn about my blog too.

I love the food blogs and feel like I want to have a blog just for food, but then there are so many other things that I also want to put on it that are not food, and would make it not a food blog. So, do I create another blog and dedicate that one just to food, and keep this one for the ins and outs of me? Will have to ponder that a bit. I know that there are so many other aspects to me that I want to share. Sure, food is a big part, but all of the other parts scream at me for their fair share too.

But then, I want to be writing things in my blog and writing wonderfully, but find I am busy actually living my life too. Like yesterday. I was folding laundry, which oddly, I enjoy doing. I was thinking I should write a blog on how I deal with it, since it is quite an overwhelming, constant, thankless task, and how much I still enjoy it, and... well, my mind was swirling and I can't remember it all at the moment. But the point is, do I stop what I am doing and run to the keyboard to get it down? I think yes. and I think no.

I have been told so many times that I should write, and now, here, I have found an outlet. So for the time being I shall blog. I suppose I should keep blogging about just anything, even though I know I get sucked in by the ideas of food. It is something so pervasive in everyone's life, whether just for sustinance, or truly for enjoyment. It is one thing that intrigues me in so many ways, about so many people, and places, and I ponder it frequently. I love food and all that it involves, and all that there is out there. I love to explore, in so many ways. Being a sociology major in college led me to indulging in the study of people in many ways. As I am now out in my life, studying other people is still what intrigues me. Learning about how people live, in so many different ways, and how we all act and react to so many things. How it is different in other cultures, yet there are things that tie us all together as well. I am fascinated with so many aspects of so much. Food ties all of us together. Thus, I enjoy food.

But there is so much more, and I need to keep to being the wildflower in the wind that I am.... so perhaps for now I will blog what interests me. Yes, food blogs appeal to me, but so do ones with wonderful posts about everyday life in different places, and photography blogs, and journals of people who write well, and ones of people who write of their dailyness on the farm and rural places, and .... and more and more.....

and for now I need to also share things about how my kids fascinate me too, and how much I enjoy them- and get mad at them too. But overall I love them and they make me happy. As I sit here on a small couch in the morning light and write this, each of my boys just came in to greet me in their own way this morning. I love their smiles, and they make me smile. I love being mom. I just have found I need to really work hard on being Lindsey and rediscovering that too. And feel like I need to be able to stand on my own and be who I am.

I have been journaling for a long time. Blogging is different and new. Words want to gush out of me in the way that a stream runs.... sometimes in a trickle, and sometimes in a torrent, swelling, changing, and always different, but I have always loved playing in that water. So, here I will continue to play and see what will happen.

A Plethora of Appetizers

These are what I made for my friend Jenny's party......

oops... took photo before grnishing with snipped chives.......

and a last minute addition that was fabulous and so easy, was this killer dip made with Gorgonzola, port, and hazelnuts.....














I had fun making all of these. It was a huge learning experience too, and now I know that I don't want to cater as a job. I know that I do enjoy it on a slightly smaller scale, and only if it is for a friend. It took far more time than I had anticipated, but I still really enjoyed doing it. The morning of the party, my friend Jamie stopped by and commented how 'at peace' I seemed to be, seemingly in the face of stress, but I was really in my element, so felt peaceful, and obviously exuded that somehow.
In any case, people seemed to enjoy what I made, which was my intention, and made me happy.

Hors D'oeuvres galore....

Avocado and Feta Salsa

This was probably the biggest hit at Jenny's Party. It was the biggest catering job I have done to date. A huge learning experience, and I loved doing it!


Avocado and Feta Salsa
Have a fork on hand to get the last of it- you won’t want any to go to waste!!

2 cloves of garlic – minced
2 Tbs (or more) of fresh parsley – chopped
1/2 tsp of oregano
1 Tbs of olive oil
2 Tbs red wine vinegar

2 plum tomatoes - chopped
1/4 cup of red onion – chopped (or more if using Vidalia)
4 oz crumbled feta
2 avocados – cut in chunks (put in last, right before serving, to avoid browning)

mix and serve with nacho chips and/or quartered, toasted pita pockets

Pizza Cookies

I made these cookies yesterday for an event at Eli's school. I thought they looked so cute! They were little sugar cookies. I spread strawberry jam on them when they were still warm, and then sprinkled them with shredded coconut. The toppings were little bits of dried apples and pieces of green fruit roll-ups. I thought they looked so cute! The whole plate of them together looked great. But...... when I brought them and put them down on the table, the school kids just kind of looked at them and moved toward other things. I asked one little girl what they were- she said little pizzas. I told her they were cookies, and she looked at me like I was nuts. I guess I made them look too real, as there were about 6 left and I had only brought about 20. Oh well. I liked them anyway.

grilling cheese

I have been having huge cravings for cheese lately. I am willing to try most cheeses, and I saw one at the store that intrigued me, as it was touted as the "grilling cheese of Cyprus". Halloumi was the name of it, made of sheep and goats milk. I brought it home, and got right to the business of preparing to indulge in my new cheese, eager to taste it. I tried a bit when I was cutting it- quite salty. The cheese was really firm, almost like cutting into a block of mozzarella.

I warmed a small iron frying pan with a touch of butter in it. The butter sizzled and I put in the slices of halloumi. While that was going on, I toasted some bread, and sliced some plum tomatoes. The cheese was holding together and not oozing and 'melting' but simply warming and starting to get a bit golden. With some patience (I was really eager), it took on a slight grilled look.

When it was finally looking a touch browned and hot, I lifted it from the pan and carefully placed the hot cheese ontop of the bread and tomatoes. I scattered some freshly chopped mint on top. It was gorgeous. As I bit into it, I knew I had found something so new and scrumptious, that I would need to have it again and again. The mint was just the right accent and the flavors worked so well together. Of course I made another one as soon as I finished the first. Yum. Great little lunch!

the violet yard

I have always loved violets and the way they blanket the lawn in the spring. I had no idea that violets would be my backyard one day, as they are now. Our yard apparently is completely unwilling to grow much grass, due to years of being exposed to the towering pines on our property. We tried liming the hell out of the yard. The ground merely swallowed that and smiled, promising to do nothing more. The smile from it, was our yard knowing that I have a way with letting things be what they are and appreciating them for what they are, and not always trying to put up a fight. It is what it is. I have a yard, that is happily green and growing, and blesses me with a mist of purple every spring. Following this cheerful show, it gets mowed, grows more and continues on this way until fall. We have a wonderful green backyard that feels good under happy bare feet. It just isn't grass. It is wild and free and happy to be violet.

I grew up in a large white house set far back from the road. We had an expansive front lawn, wonderfully grassy, that was perfect for all sorts of running around and games that I would play with my siblings. Every spring one special area of the lawn in the front of the house would take on a violet hue. A hue that is only known to those lawns lucky enough to have such a beautiful weed. This occaision would be later followed by the dreaded first pass of the lawnmower, the little blossoms not to be enjoyed again for an entire year.

One spring, my friend Sophie and I spent one entire morning carefully picking violets and tying them into little bunches. After lunch, we proceeded to work our way around the neighborhood, knocking on doors and innocently offering our little nosegays for $1 each. That being about 30 years ago, it was complete and utter highway robbery, which some of our surprised neighbors paid. I think we really only sold a few, and those few were to women who must have just felt obligated to support our industrious effort I think.

Now, somehow compulsively, I find myself every year picking a large bunch of the wonderfully hued violets and putting them obediently into a little vase to be a little splash of spring inside the house.

Half Birthdays

In our house, we celebrate the half birthdays too. Okay, actually only for the kids. (Can't imagine if I had to celebrate a 41 1/2 birthday! yikes!) I started it when Eli was 3. Somehow a whole year was just too darn long for him to wait. Add that to the fact that his birthday is in February and in the whole extended family there are tons of birthdays in late summer, and early fall. It just about killed him. So we set ground rules, as he is a huge 'precedent' kid.

For your half birthday you get:
1. 1/2 a cake
2. one candle
3. one balloon, you choose the color
4. one present (no party)
and if you are lucky:
mom will put up streamers and the b-day sign

So, last weekend we did Emmett's (overdue) half birthday. He is 4 1/2, but we hadn't had his 1/2 birthday, so every time someone asked me how old he was and I said "4 1/2" he would get upset and say "no, I haven't had my half birthday yet". So we had to do it before it got any more overdue (hey a month isn't too bad).
Now I'm not corrected when I say that Emmett is 4 1/2, and he even announces it too!

Vietnamese spring rolls

These spring rolls are wonderful, light and refreshing. A good mix of flavors, with shrimp, and bean sprouts, rice vermicelli noodles, scallions and a touch of mint, all wrapped in rice paper. Then you dip it in a sauce similar to hoisin. I finally figured out how to make these as I really love them!
I made a dozen last week for a picnic with some friends. The three of us take turns bringing lunch. We go to pick up our kids from school, where they have just had their lunch. Then we meet at either one of our houses, or a playground, and the three boys play while we get to have a 'grown-up' lunch and enjoy each other's company. We do it once a week, and have been at it for a few weeks now. It's good for the kids, and for the moms! As it was my week, I made these on a hot day that we would want something cold and easy to munch at the playground.

speed bumps

okay, so people drive really fast on our road, which is narrow and has no sidewalks and alot of people walk in our neighborhood. So, since we live in a little community that has an Association, they decided that the 3 speed bumps aren't enough, and that they should make them into speed 'humps' which are far more effective (hey, even I slow down for them!) and they added one right in front of our house.
People usually speed by on our dangerous blind curve. For the last 2 days, people actually slowed down. Yeah. Now today they come through and add more pavement and essentially make them so smoothed out that people now are again flying by, and not even tapping the brakes. What was the point?! Apparently the firemen said it was hard for the fire trucks to go over them. duh. so they smoothed them out 'a bit' without really even giving them a chance, or anyone else a say in it. so much for the association. I think I will join the board and voice my opinions.
---update- May 10: they increased the top of the hump and now it is just right. People slow down, and if they don't their car makes a fantastic 'whump' sound as they land on the other side. It can even be heard late at night when the air is still, and the skylight in my bedroom is open..... "whooosh, whump"..... hehehehehe. But generally people have slowed down alot on the road, and are finally taking the corner at a much safer speed!