Happy Friday

Peace.

Happy Friday

This winter vacation has been one long slumber party for me and the girls. Luckily for us, my amazing mom made all of these pajamas for the girls' dolls for christmas so they could join in the fun!

I'm trying to talk the girls into going out to our town's First Night celebration tomorrow. The 11yo's chorus teacher is in one of bands playing, and I thought that would be fun for her to see. So far they are not showing much enthusiasm for going out. They'd rather stay in, in our pajamas, and bake cookies, light candles, and try to stay awake until midnight.

Do you have any festive plans or new year traditions?

Happy New Year.







Peace.

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.

Happy Friday

one from the archives

Sisters

Peace.

Lavender Shortbread with Lemon Glaze and Sea Salt

(scroll down for recipe)

Lavender Shortbread with Lemon Glaze and Sea Salt
California Style

One of the big successes this summer in California was an idea Grandma suggested. A tea party. Grandma's idea was that we would each make some kind of sandwich and dessert for a party. We would dress up like fancy ladies. The girls would make place cards. She would make tea. Party!

Part of what made it a success was that it was in Grandma's kitchen. I confess that I have a tough time being loose in the kitchen at home with the girls. Always in the back of my mind is the clean up that follows any messes. With two adults and two kids this time, I felt like we had a chance.

So bring on the watermelon-marshmallow sandwiches, blueberry-onion-sour-cream sandwiches, egg salad on toast points, and brie on crackers with horseradish-cranberry relish. For dessert, lemon tartlettes with caramel sauce, chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream and raspberries, rice krispie treats, brownies, and lavender shortbread with lemon glaze and sea salt.



My original dessert idea was rosemary shortbread, but when I went out in the yard to cut some rosemary from my mom's plant that is so huge it's really a bush, I saw she also had a lot of lavender, so I chose that instead. Her lavender had very lovely flowers, so I topped the shortbread with the little petals. The glaze I made then was only semi-successful--I tried heating sugar and lemon juice in the microwave (Hey, what can I say? It was a last-minute inspiration). Since then, I have used powdered sugar for the glaze.

Lavender Shortbread

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 TBL chopped lavender (I used 2 TBLs in Cali--it was a little much, but 1 TBL isn't enough.)
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2 TBL honey
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven 350°

In one bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and lavender. In a separate bowl, cream butter, honey, and powdered sugar. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, a little at a time. Gather up dough onto floured board. Roll. Cut. I've used a butter knife to cut rectangles and I've also used a small glass to cut circles. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake. For baking at home, I actually baked them on 350° for 5 minutes. Then turned the oven down to 300° and used the convection fan for another 5+ minutes, until lightly brown. Cool. Glaze. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Lemon Glaze

(+/-) 2/3 cup powdered sugar
(+/-) 2 TBL lemon juice
(+/-) 1 tsp lemon zest (I used the zest from one whole lemon)

Mix. Try not to eat all of it while waiting for the shortbread to cool.

I made a batch yesterday and there was a little dough leftover, so I rolled it in wax paper and stuck it in the fridge. This morning I just sliced it and baked it. Not very pretty, but oh-so-delicious!

Lavender Shortbread for Breakfast

Enjoy.

Summertime and...

...talk about livin' easy...

The last day of school was a half day just this past Monday.

And yet.

Already.

On the way home from the beach today.

It took us a couple minutes

to figure out

whether today was

Wednesday

or

Thursday.

Peace.

Toady

The girls caught this handsome toad this week.

As usual, the 8yo was the one to spot it and the 10yo was the one to actually catch it. They caught it very near where we let go the one they'd caught last year.

Is it the same "Toady"? We report, you decide.

Last year's "Toady."

Either way, it's nearly time to let this one go, too.





Peace.

Sunday Adventure

I am one of those people who would love a snowstorm everyday of winter.

So, in fairness to the people who complain about the weather all winter long, I feel like I have to forfeit any weather requests the rest of the year. If I could make one, though, I would wish that most summer days were like the gorgeous day we had yesterday.

Sunny and breezy and clear.

Peace.

California Dreamin'

Still almost two weeks left of school
and the girls and I are getting excited
about our annual California visit.

Road trip or fly?





We haven't decided yet.






Peace.

Happy Friday

Peace.

The First Bonfires of the Year

Peace.

All Creatures Great and Small

My 8yo daughter loves slugs. The smaller slug in the picture above is her pet. She caught him a few weeks ago, after she decided to do her science project on slugs. The Science Fair was last Thursday.

Sisters at the Fair

Her plan had been to let the slug go after its debut at the Fair. Of course, when the time came, she couldn't part with "Swuggie." The slug seems to be happy in the habitat she created for it. She takes it out and lets it crawl around several times a day.

So yesterday afternoon, as they were enjoying the gorgeous Spring day, she and her sister found that other, much larger slug in the top picture. I thought for sure that this one would become her new pet. But no. She let the big one go back where she'd found it, and tucked Swuggie in for the night.

Bright and beautiful.









Peace.

These Gorgeous Days

Ah, Spring.

Peace.

Darwinian Garlic

Yes, I collected the biggest heads of garlic last summer and prepared to plant.

In the fall, I planted each clove in a neat row and made a square bunch at the end for the ones that didn't fit.

Immediately after I'd planted them, the girls saw the fresh turned earth and thought it was a perfect place to play dinosaur. After I shooed away the jurassic beasts, I tried to find all the cloves that had been pushed every which way and replant them. Then, I was supposed to cover the beds with straw to keep them cozy all winter, but I never got around to it.

Throughout the winter, I wondered what the spring would bring, whether any of the garlic would make it.

I was glad to see their little green shoots peeking up through the snow a few weeks ago. And now, with a little sun, they are all waving happily.

Garlic. Yum.














Peace.

Happy Friday

Peace.

Love

A Question From The Children That I Can Answer

Peace.

My Manga Girls

The girls are now addicted to photobooth. I think we may need a second computer!

Only an hour to go before midnight here. We're all trying to stay awake. Keep your eyes wide open!






Peace.

Twinkly Lights

I finally put the deer up yesterday--I wanted to get them out there before the snow came. When the snow did come, it wasn't as much here as we had hoped, but it was still very beautiful. The girls and I strolled the neighborhood last night in the fierce wind, then came into the warm house for cocoa and cookies.

Joys of the Season.





Peace.

Last Weekend's Adventures

Even though the water was low, it was perfect for swimming.

Great Blue Heron

Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis

Peace.