Happy Friday

Peace.

Love.

Happiness.

The Parlor

We have a small house.

It seems I am constantly moving furniture from room to room to make it fit our house and our lives. Along with changing each room's purpose, I change its name.

Until recently, this front room has been my art studio, which really means it has been a nearly-impenetrable mess of all my art and teaching supplies.

As our family is leaving our life of hermitage to attempt to be more social, I realize I need this biggest room in the house for hosting gatherings. Its transformation is now almost complete. I hope to begin hosting weekly music parties in the new year, so I needed a room where more than three people can sit comfortably.

Welcome to the parlor.

P.S. This is my 500th post. Cheers!



Peace.

Cute House. Needs Work.

The Size of a Buick

Yes, this spider was in our bathroom last week (haven't seen it since -- Boo!)

Happy October!

The Early Bird vs The Night Owl

That makes me the worm.

this small old house

rivertown

sunset

My house is very small. Two rooms up, two rooms down. Officially only one and a half stories. In the top picture, the part of the house painted white is the main house, the original hundred year old temporary farmworker's shack. The barn red part, added later, is the kitchen, pipes-freezing bathroom, and porch. I think it's a cute little house. And I thought it was more than enough for my family of three.

It turns out, though, that with two girls sharing a bedroom, one an early bird and one a night owl, no house would be big enough.

Every single day starts with a conflict. My early bird, who unlike me doesn't savor quiet morning hours as the only one awake, does her best storming, tromping, clanking through the house. If that doesn't wake me and her sister, she comes and sits on my bed.

At first, I tried to accommodate her. As a single mother with limited resources and no support network, not only do I never* get time to myself, I also never get time one on one with each child. So even though the last thing I want to do early in the morning is socialize, I tried to see it as the chance to have some time with the 8yo while the 6yo slept. But on mornings after I have spent the night waking every two hours, I just can't force a smile on my face.

And that's where we are now. I've suggested all kinds of quiet morning activities to the 8yo. She loves to read, write, draw, and even knit. Yet, she loves even more having me over a barrel. Surprise.




*In fairness to the girls, they have reached an age where they can play together well and happily. So although I'm never alone in my house, I do get stretches of uninterrupted time here and there.

opportunity

i'm almost ready to open the door.

The feeling I get working in the garden, watching and helping it come to life, is similar to the feeling of new love. It gives me a glow, a thrill.

Meanwhile, there is a whole world waiting indoors, wanting my attention.

What? No Bacon??

We are a bacon & onion pizza family. Our local shop offers a 2-for-1 deal, and we always get bacon & onion on both pizzas. A few months ago I started making my own [full disclosure: I still buy the dough from Trader Joe's]. I've been getting better and better at it. I planned to make pizza this weekend, but somehow never made it to the country store where we buy our bacon. So what to do?

According to the package directions, take the dough out of the fridge and let it set at room temperature for twenty minutes. While that's happening, put the pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 450F.

Warm olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add two small chopped onions. Cook until transparent. Add 7 or 8 chopped garlic cloves and about 2 cups of chopped chard (full disclosure: I used it straight from the Trader Joe's Rainbow Chard bag]. Stir.

Add fresh ground black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, rosemary, basil, oregano. Stir and continue cooking until it smells delicious and the greens have shrunk. Add small splash of balsamic vinegar. Cook & stir until it's done sizzling. Turn off heat, but keep pan warm on the stove top.

Stretch & roll out dough(s). I made one a rectangle and put it on an oiled baking sheet (with edges). The other I made a circle on my cornmeal-sprinkled wooden pizza palette.

For cheese, I grated a blend of mozzarella, cheddar, and parmi.

For sauce, I just used crushed tomatoes (no salt added) straight from the can. There was enough seasoning on the greens to flavor everything perfectly.

Assemble and bake until bubbly and golden.

Yum.


Peace.

Forsythia and Fruit

I had a lovely day today. Here are a couple content still lifes to enjoy.

Forcing Forsythia

Update: forsythia today...

Self Portrait, Waiting for the Plumber

Well, he said he'd be here between 9:30 and 2:30. It's 1:45, and he ain't here yet.

I Spoke Too Soon!

icicles anyone?

I can't believe I kept the taps running all night for the past two nights, and yesterday I still awoke to a frozen faucet (but the space heater thawed it yesterday). Today, the pipes made it through the below zero night, and were fine this morning getting ready for school. But just now, when the temperature is 37 degrees, as I was just about to leave for the school bus, I heard that awful sound.


Yes, I ran to the basement to shut off the water main before checking that I was right.


And I guess the good news is that it burst right before I left for the school bus, not right after!


Then the bad news would be that my plumber doesn't work after 2:30.

Yesterday's Lunch

Yogurt with banana slices, oats, and cinnamon (the marks on the wall look like the bowl is smokin'!), cranberry juice/water cocktail, ubiquitous clementine. Yum.

What will it be today?

Mug Shot

It's ten degrees outside. Tea with milk and whiskey, in my favorite mug, is a very good thing.

Self Portrait, Part II

I had hoped to draw a self portrait today for the self-portrait-a-week project, but with all the vole excitement, it'll have to be a photograph instead (taken just after I got home from delivering the vole to the woods).




Peace.

More Clean Up

I finally took the tree down yesterday.
Look at all that lovely empty space!

We like to keep our tree in the yard,
Standing in the snow until Spring.
We sprinkle it with snacks for the birds.

Peace.

Clean up

Still cleaning up and putting away, post-holiday. All the ornaments and wise men have been tucked in for the long wait 'til next December. The tree is still up with its lights on. A friend pointed out that it's not really until mid-January or early February that the winter seems too long and dark, so why do we rush to get rid of our sign of light and life? It does look lovely -- here would be a good place for a picture of it, but the camera is upstairs, so it'll have to wait...


Update: here's a photo!



I'm about to take the tree outside for the birds...

2009 So Far...

My favorite plate burst when I picked it up
from last night's party stack.

The cold water tap is frozen and the pipes may burst.
I put the space heater down in the hole!

My heart almost burst with joy and love,
seeing the girls create their own sledding fun!

Happy New Year!




Peace.

My New Name For A Blog...

What Hecate Said.

Bad Hair Day

Okay, I can put it off no longer.
I have to comb through this!

I told her this is it.

The New Year's Hair Resolution is that she combs it herself or we get her a lovely short 'do!




Peace.

Tonight's Al Gore Sunset

From my bedroom window (through the screen).

It was too warm for winter today, but that meant that when I called the girls outside to see a spectacular sunset, they could run out in just their dresses and socks; no boots, coats, or mittens. One week ago, it snowed from noon on Friday through sunset Sunday.