june 2

Five years ago today, my generous, kind, sweet, funny, and smart Phillip was born. That was a Saturday, too, and probably the single most intense day of my life. I could write all night about him and how great he is, but I'll try to keep it brief.

One of his latest Phillipisms: "Cigaretting isn't a good idea." This was after we saw a construction worker smoking on the back of a truck on our way to school last week.

He is such a fun kid, and completely his own little self. He wants to learn every single thing in the world. He's incredibly excited about a microscope that we gave him, and spent at least an hour before bed reading a terrific book called Why? that he received as a gift today. He loved when I didn't know the answers and he could read them to me. He had a perfect day, and was happy and cooperative - apparently being the birthday boy agrees with him. He also didn't stop talking from the minute he woke up until I left the room after tucking him in while he was still talking.

That's his cake, above - he wanted a bug / insect / creepy crawly things theme, and since my original plan fell apart (literally, the cupcakes fell apart) I drew on my inner Martha and changed plans. And I think that the vermiculture cake turned out kind of awesome.

 The season's first strawberries were at the market this morning. They were sweet and perfect.

Speaking of perfect things at the market, this adorable bunch of radishes also fits the description. They are so tender and crunchy that I had to stop myself after eating several of them whole.

Instead of the usual treat bags, Phillip helped to make some caramel popcorn to give to his friends. He decorated the (waxed paper, compostable) bags, too. Check out that heart! He drew it himself! That picture of the bug is a pea weevil - isn't it kind of beautiful? So symetrical. The recipe wasn't amazing enough to share, but now I have a hankering for some amazing homemade caramel corn, with no corn syrup in the recipe. Anyone have a recommendation?

I fell down yesterday. (Damp grass + low-traction Birkenstocks + Sherrie-in-a-hurry + small hill). It feels so insulting for gravity to take over like that. Tonight my shoulder is s.o.r.e. It was one of those slow-motion falls where my feet stayed up the hill while my top half went down, and I landed mostly on my right arm. Sheesh.

I hope that you're enjoying a lovely weekend!

from sunday morning

Rachel over at Buttons Magee posted a recipe for a supremely simple Six-Minute Sponge Cake (aren't her plates beautiful?) a little while ago, and I made a mental note to try it. So I did on the weekend, and it's awesome. The only strange thing about it is that it's baked in the microwave. And you need to be careful about the time, so it doesn't get overcooked and rubbery. But if you can soar over those hurdles, you're ready to go.

If it's Sunday afternoon and some friendly relatives call to say that they'll be arriving in ten minutes, you have time to whip it and a berry sauce up and they'll think that you have your act together. (Just grab some fresh or frozen berries or fruit - my favourite's raspberries - and heat with a bit of sugar on the stovetop while the cake is 'baking'.) One of my favourite things about this cake is that it holds the shape of the bowl it's cooked in, which makes for a pretty and unique presentation.

But perhaps best of all, the picture above shows what you can do with it the next day - cut it into thick slices, spread with butter and toast it in a pan. Top with fruit salad and yogourt or whipped cream, and you will be one seriously popular family member.
Phillip helped cut the fruit for the fruit salad, and he couldn't have been more proud of himself. (See the tongue? He is focused.)

Happy Wednesday, folks!

monday

Whenever he's concentrating, Phillip's tongue is out. When I took this (a few months ago; I just stumbled upon it again) he was working on a project that he was completely absorbed in. I think he was making those cards with glittery numbers for all of the kids in his class. So cute.

I've been super busy with teaching lately, and I don't think it will slow down before the end of the school year. June 29, here I come! It's all good work that I enjoy, and the beautiful weather makes me glad that I get to travel around our beautiful end of the province. I have much to be grateful for.

Speaking of things I'm grateful for, on the weekend I got to spend a lot of time with the boys while Adam did a couple of shoots and piles of editing, and we had such a good time together. I went into the weekend knowing that I was on kid duty and consciously made having fun with them my priority. And it worked - I enjoyed them so much more than if I was trying to get anything else done. It also helps that we're all healthy (another thing I'm thankful for) and everyone was pretty darn cooperative.

Exciting news: thanks to Sarah (thanks, Sarah!) I have a kombucha SCOBY starting to grow! We did a little swap, and I sent her some soap in exchange for some proper kombucha. It's sitting in the dark cupboard, working its magic. I am waaaaay too excited - it looks exactly as it should!

The inspection sticker makes a happy shadow, no?

I have been seriously enjoying Stacy's blog Seattle Seedling lately. Check out the mosaic wall that she designed and made completely on her own in her garden - it is beautiful. She also does little gardening videos every now and again, which are fun to watch. She posted a tour of her garden last week which is a great reminder of how much food can be grown in an urban backyard.

Deodorant update: the recipe that I tried during which the glass measuring cup blew up in the microwave isn't my favourite. It's intended to be in a deodorant stick tube and swiped on, but since I didn't have any tubes, I poured it into a tub and scrape off a little bit to rub in. It's okay, but doesn't seem to work terribly well. Plain clay sprinkled on was recommended to me, so I'm going to give that a shot. Or maybe a spray?

Okay, I'm signing off. I have an ebook from the library on my iPod that I need to finish before it expires and a cup of chamomile tea waiting for me. Good night!

half full / half empty :: in which I catch up on everything

Inspired by Amanda at The Habit of Being and her half full / half empty posts (if you haven't read her blog, I'll bet you'll love it!)

Warning: I'm feeling kind of rambly.

Half full:
- warm sunny evenings that bring us outside after supper until bath time

- the same evenings that have the windows open and let in that summer
night smell

- listening to the Deconstructing Dinner podcast while driving for work - I can't say enough about how much I have learned / how much it inspires me. (They aren't currently producing new episodes, but all of their archives are available. Episode 20 made me feel a little bit like a new person - Joel Salatin and Judy Rebick are featured. Swoon!)

- Speerville Flour Mill - I'm picking up part of a group order tomorrow with some seeds to sprout and other goodies. Yum! I love, love, love their foods and philosophy. (There's a Deconstructing Dinner podcast about them, actually!)

- feeling good about work this week and getting lots of good things done

- the word 'ought'. I love it.

- handfuls of woodland hyacinths on the table

- an explosion of herbs in the garden - anyone need some oregano? Parsley? Lemon balm?

- feeling inspired and excited about the terrific local food options we have at this time of year, and excited for the market on Saturday.

- feeling rested and relaxed after our little bit of time away



Half empty:
- losing patience with a boy so tuckered out that he's wound up at bedtime and pushes all of my buttons

- trying to plan a fun, relaxed birthday party without thinking about how other people will think about it, which is something I don't usually have a hard time with at all but seem to be this time around. We've invited a bunch of people we don't know too well, so maybe that's it. Also, I don't want P to be focused on the gifts (and I secretly hope he doesn't get a pile of 'stuff'), but I also want him to have his special day without me insisting on people bringing donations for the food bank and no regular gifts, because I don't want that, either. Sigh.

- having a measuring cup explode in the microwave (full of ingredients for my new deodorant recipe which didn't seem to work super well today)

- I think the birds ate a bunch of my peas, and I need to plant more.

- The second hand lawnmower wheels need to be adjusted so the lawn doesn't need mowing every six minutes. (Which is something Adam will look after, so I don't even need to be thinking about it.) The dehumidifier in the basement died. There are a bunch of spots in and on the house that need paint touch ups. Etc. Some hired help would be nice to have around. Something like Downton, maybe? A driver, gardener, cooks... that sounds nice right now.

On another note entirely, the boys had their first beach afternoon today with Adam. School and the beach in one day! I read a post last week about a term new to me - 'afterschooling'. In theory, I think I like the idea. Well, wait - maybe I don't. Or maybe I do, but not the classical variety. It seems too structured and planned, especially done in addition to 'school school'. I like unplanned learning. Maybe when kids are older and if there are specific areas they're interested in / lacking in school. Thoughts?

There - thanks for letting me empty my brain. So glad that tomorrow is Friday!