picture summer- day 25 {magic number}

Sour cherry pie in four parts. (Sour cherries from my CSA. Recipe from Chez Panisse Fruit.)

picture color- day 24 {library of color}

picture color- day 22 (inspired by...)

We were supposed to take a photo that was inspired by another photographer. I've been really enjoying Chase Jarvis's The Best Camera is the One That's With You and decided to try something out that was similar to a photo in his book. I took a few photos with his quote, "It's not always about creating pictures. It can be about finding ones that already exist," in mind. Which then led to this photo of Eva which is more about this quote, "The moniker 'creative person' makes it sound like I always know where my ideas come from. I don't." I'm really happy with it, particularly because it was a surprise and also because it was one of those decisive moment shots.

knit knots

I'm writing this out on the patio, squinting to better see the computer screen, so that I can be-out-in and enjoy the lovely sunshine we are currently having...

I have been doing quite a bit of knitting- some satisfying, some knot-so-satisfying. I knit the Movie Star Scarf from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson for my sister {and forgot to get a photo. oh well.} (Finally, after over four months on the waiting list at the library!) I loved the first Last Minute Knitted Gifts and am finding the second one to be a lot of fun as well. (I'm trying to decide if I am going to buy this one {now} or knot.) Knitting the little loop to tuck the scarf into was thrilling- I love learning that sort of new (to me) knitting construction. It makes me want to make several more just for the thrill of that loop. (As an aside, I had made my sister a pair of fingerless gloves several years ago and she recently gave them back to me because they had stretched out quite a bit. Turns out the yarn I used had something in it silk? cotton? not sure...that gave a bit too much to be good for fingerless gloves. I ripped them out and re-used said yarn for this scarf. I blocked the scarf *severely* and you absolutely could not tell the yarn had been re-used. I'm hoping the yarn holds up better as a scarf than it did as gloves.)

I'm also currently knitting the Big Lace Scarf with a bulky cotton yarn (for Spring!) by Punta yarns in a whitish-creme color because I love my warmer creme scarf and wanted something in a similar color but a lighter weight for Spring. I'll try to remember to get a photo when I finish.

I also finished the Oatmeal Pullover, which I enjoyed knitting but which I do not enjoy wearing. I even ripped out the bottom seven inches or so and re-knit it to get the sizing better. I am finding it is still not a flattering sweater for me. What I like is the neck line. I also changed the sleeves to long sleeves because 3/4 length drive me batty. I've thought about ripping it all out and re-knitting it at a tighter gauge because the pattern is really nice but am now leaning toward an entirely different sweater. It's the kind of thing where I keep looking at patterns for bulky yarn and nothing seems quite right. And yet I have the yarn. Or rather, will have the yarn {again}, after I rip this sweater out (that I bought the yarn for....) Oh well. I'm setting it aside a bit to reconsider its use. I've thought of knitting hats and mittens and blankets with the yarn as well but feel a little sad because I like the color quite a bit for a sweater.

Done

I while back, I posted about Eva and I getting ready to read all of the Magic Tree House books in order. I wanted to post an update and say that we are {officially} done. Done, as in, she doesn't want to read them anymore. I have no idea whether this desire to read-them-all-in-order will resurface at some point {again} and am left feeling alternately relieved, confused and even a little wistful, asking myself bittersweet questions like, "If I had agreed to read-them-all-in-order before, would we have hit them at just the right time and gotten through them?" Or even- "Was it my willingness to read-them-all-in-order that finally allowed us to not read-them-all-in-order?" Such questions, though, are better left for 4:00 a.m. wakings, when they can really dig in and drive me crazy. Eva seemed absolutely fine when she said she didn't want to read them anymore. She simply said, "Yeah, I don't really want to read them anymore," and went off unceremoniously to do something else. And that was that. I'm trying to follow suit. Maybe posting about it will help. Or returning the others to the library. Out of sight, out of mind, and all that.



And- our dog Jack. Listening to what the kids are up to in the next room.

and zen some

Seems like I keep reading little bits of pithy wisdom lately and feeling irritated afterward because the bits seem incomplete somehow, but are being treated as the Truth. And then- predictably- I argue with myself over said wisdom and feel overwhelmed and either stay irritated or decide I am not doing something right or I would understand or relate to or embrace the *wisdom*. These arguments leave my head feeling so dense and tired that nowadays, I get ahead of myself and end up feeling dense and tired before the arguing and thinking can even begin.

A few nights ago, I was reading {very briefly} in one of my Zen books and was just about ready to put it down (too much pithy wisdom for one evening...) when I came upon this little bit of wisdom that seemed just right. And I've been rolling it around in my head, marveling at it's exactness and perfection ever sense.

The section I was reading (from Nothing Special, Living Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck) was- actually- talking about "tossing around fancy concepts". {Perfect!} Concepts like- "Everyone is doing their best," and "Everything is perfect as it is right now." Great concepts. But still- only concepts. Words. Thoughts. Not our actual experience, in this moment. Beck points out that often, we plaster these concepts, these words, right on top of our actual experience, without ever feeling what we are experiencing. And this can be a trap. This can be mistaken for understanding. Too much of this can be "a source of confusion, anxiety and depression."

I loved Beck's example of feeling hurt by someone else- how we might go ahead and explain their behavior and our own experience with a concept like, "Everyone is doing their best" and inadvertently skip the whole messy, painful part of feeling and being who we are in that moment. Skip our actual experience and overlay it with a concept instead. And mistake that for Truth.

The depth of understanding and clarity- not to mention the serenity and peace of mind?- that we are looking for (that I am looking for?), is so much easier to find if we don't try and stack yet another philosophical concept on top of what is actually happening. The next time you are feeling frustrated (or angry. or sad. or overwhelmed.) and a well-meaning person (or book. or guru. or quote.) gives you a bit of wisdom, skip the wisdom and let yourself feel frustrated. Afterward- my guess is- you will truly know, everyone really is doing their best. All of the time. Ta da. But don't take my word for it...

resolution-ish

We ended up choosing to read Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls. I had several great suggestions for our next books and am looking forward to picking up the different holds at the library. Which brings me to one of my semi-serious (as in, I'm taking it seriously. mostly.) New Year's resolutions. I don't really do resolutions, although this year I thought about how, if I had to choose one, it would be to stay committed to all of this self-work and listening to myself and continuing to push aside the extras cluttering up my mind so that I can see more clearly. Etcetera. Peace of mind and all that.

However, in addition to all of that goodness, I had another semi-official-ish resolution about not having quite as many over-due items at the library (and at blockbuster and other such places, but mostly the library, because that is where I am most frequently). And to keep my fines (if overdue items do happen...) to a minimum and paid. So far- I am quite pleased to say- I have had just three overdue items- one specifically when I was too sick to return it. And, the really exciting part is that when I went to pay my fine, I thought I would owe $2.15 (the um dvd's are $1.00/day) I only really owed $.15 for the one book that was one day late. Hurray. I was so excited. Perhaps the library angels turned back the computer clocks for me? I've no idea. My account, though, is currently paid in full, with no overdue items to speak of. Which feels really, really good and much more doable than I had initially thought.

books

After finishing The Wind in the Willows recently (which, by the way, we really enjoyed. the language and story telling- not to mention the characters- were lovely.), we decided to read something completely different and chose Matilda. We read quite a bit of Roald Dahl a few years ago, but stopped when we got to some of his more gruesome stories, including Matilda, The BFG and The Witches. The timing was right for Matilda this time around, although I have to say I had forgotten just how thick Roald Dahl lays it on with some of his nastier characters. Toward the end of the book, Samuel mentioned that since he has now read so many different kinds of stories, he was trying to find something redeeming in Miss Trumchbull's character. He lamented that he could find nothing and said he remembered {now} how with this writer (Roald Dahl), the mean characters were usually just that- mean. Without a single redeeming quality to be found. Yep.

Then we had a discussion about Miss Trunchbull vs Professor Umbridge {in Harry Potter}. (who, by the way, i nearly stopped reading order of the phoenix because of- because i found her so loathsome.) Samuel thought that Professor Umbridge was the worst of the two, hands down- although they are both, obviously, cut from the same villainous cloth. I think the thing about Miss Trunchbull that redeems her a little bit is that she *is* just plain mean. One of the scariest parts about Professor Umbridge's character is that she thinks she is doing the right thing. Miss Trunchbull punishes the children because she dislikes them. She also thinks that children will always be bad. While she may hope that they will stop doing whatever it is she is punishing them for, she has few illusions that they will ever really change (at least not until they have grown up). Professor Umbridge, on the other hand, actually hopes to change Harry {and everyone else} for the greater good, which, by the way, she believes she stands for. Both characters definitely gave me enough pause (and obviously we've all given them quite a bit of thought) for the time being.

I was hoping to read Treasure Island next, but Eva is adamant about not reading it right now. I'm not sure why. I'm holding onto it, but still need to find something {else} to read next. Maybe another Roald Dahl? I'm not sure. I'd also like to mix it up a bit and choose something quite different altogether {again}.

magic tree house revisited

Eva had the idea a few months ago to read *all* of the Magic Tree House books {by Mary Pope Osborne} in order. I groaned inwardly at this suggestion- not because I dislike those books. Because I don't. I wouldn't say, though, that they are my favorite books. Plus. I've already read them- some of them many times over. First to Samuel. Then to Eva. Other times, again. And again. But! We've never actually read them in order, at least not beyond the first few books.

So, I let the suggestion go for a little while and then it came back up and I decided to rush headlong into it and just get started- yesterday. And so we've read through the first one and then we checked for which ones we already own {again}. And then, when we went to the library today, we checked out some more.

Here's my plan. We read 1/2 a book (in order) each day. Right now we have enough to last us 20 days. Half a book (rather than a whole book) ensures that I am able to keep at it. Those books are definitely readable in one sitting- true- but I find when I try that too often, their charm decreases considerably. And we'll just keep on like that, doggedly {and yet enthusiastically!} until we're done. So there you go.

And while these are not my favorite books to read, I am enjoying Eva's enthusiasm at the prospects of actually-reading-them-in-order! I let myself be carried by her enthusiasm and also allowed myself to bask in the positive thoughts associated with starting a project! (And used it as an opportunity to practice a little mindfulness.) It can't- after all- be the worst thing in the world to sit down with my daughter and read the Magic Tree House books. And so it wasn't. And most probably won't be.

Here's what I'm looking forward to. There were several books we skipped {for various reasons} that we will read through this time. There is a thin plot that connects the books that we have all gleaned, but which {upon rereading} we will be able to fully piece together. And, there are several books that were written much later (after we had stopped reading them the first time) that I know very little to nothing about.

Samuel's involvement is undetermined at this point. He groaned outwardly when he heard of our plan, but was intrigued when he thought about actually-reading-them-in-order. He joined us last night, but skipped today, and he knows he is welcome to pop in and out as his interest is piqued.

My only disclaimer about my plan is that I can see getting a little burnt out about reading every day and scaling it back to every few days. I am going to try to stay on task, though, because Eva is so intent on this project and I want to support that, even if it means skipping a few days here and there to keep the momentum moving forward. And then- also- I imagine being able to say we've read them all. In order. And that helps to keep me going, too.

more reading

We're sick here. I have such a crazy cold that Samuel was laughing the other night at my voice and my sneezing and saying I had a cartoon cold. He also said he didn't realize they were real and that he'd never had one. I had to think about that a minute, but I think he's right about that. He's had plenty of other viruses, but not the common cold. And it looks like he isn't going to get it this time, either. His body seems to be going with another virus variety that has been floating around lately.

So today I have to go over and pick up our groceries- thank goodness for grocery pick up! And then the kids and I will most likely be watching a few of the Christmas shows I had on hold both at the library and on Netflix before Christmas, but which are only now just coming in. I wish we were finished with Little Women because I would love to watch that movie again today. We watched Gone With the Wind a few nights ago and Samuel and Eva both really enjoyed it. Samuel was stunned, actually, that it wasn't a happy ending. The sadness of the ending is fairly pronounced in the movie- all except for Scarlet's resolve, which remains strong. He said he liked it even if it was a tragedy, though he wasn't sure he'd be watching anything like it any time soon. And Eva really liked Scarlet. She was quite taken with all of the fancy gowns and hats and such in the movie as well.

We are all a little nervous about any sad scenes that might be approaching in Little Women. Samuel is really loving the story and the characters and the writing and has had quite a few realizations about the lives of women in the past (and present), which I find very interesting and thought-provoking. We are planning on watching both the modern version and the older, black and white version of the movie when we finish the book. And I am not sure what to follow Little Women with. I have a few ideas- a stack of ideas, actually, but nothing firm. We were given a copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and while Samuel and I have read an abridged version several years ago, several times (he was *very* into it), neither of us has read the full version. I guess I will decide once we actually finish Little Women. It's a good excuse to peruse the books lists to get some more ideas. I'm actually really wanting to read the Yearling to them, but honestly- and maybe I've said this here before- I don't know if I can take the sad scenes right now!

match point

I've been on a bit of a Woody Allen kick for the last couple of months. Tonight I watched Match Point, after reading something about it being one of his top ten best movies and a big comeback for him after several let-downs in a row. I really enjoyed it. For a while I thought the subject matter was quite a bit different from some of the other movies of his that I have liked so much.

(It was even a little too much of a thriller for me at one point and I went and looked for a spoiler. I have no problem watching a movie like that after I know what is going to happen. Even then, it usually still turns out to be a bit on the intense side for me. It's been a while, too, since I decided it was fine if I looked ahead in books, movies, what have you. Gave myself permission, at it were. It is supposed to be fun, after all. I feel like I have enough not-knowing in regular life without it taking over in the fiction I read and watch. Unless I want it to, that is.)

...but then, the ending {in particular} really brought home some of the meaning-of-life (and is there meaning to life?) questions that had been posed during the movie- if seemingly briefly- and included some extra introspection about luck that I especially enjoyed. It got me thinking again about the Luck Factor that I read earlier this year.

We are well into Tom Sawyer but I wanted to post a quote from the last book we finished, the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. We enjoyed the book although neither kids were thrilled with the Claudia character. Let's just say that if she homeschooled in Portland, we would most likely not be seeing her on a regular basis, but she might show up at a museum day or a play we were going to and the like. We'd definitely recognize her, that's for sure.

I really enjoyed the way Konigsburg wrapped up the story and sent the kids home, making their time away seem so much longer than it actually was, and giving us a better understanding of why Claudia had wanted to run away in the first place.

During their time at the museum, the two kids spent time each day learning about different exhibits, a very unschooly thing to do in some ways, in other ways not so much. I love this quote at the end that gives a nod to the time in-between learning, the down time, the transition, the rest. (See yesterday's post winter expansion to follow my flow here about growth and rest...)

"Claudia said, 'But, Mrs. Frankweiler, you should want to learn one new thing every day. We did even at the museum.'

'No,' I answered, 'I don't agree with that. I think you should learn, of course, and some days you must learn a great deal. But you should also have days when you allow what is already in you to swell up inside of you until it touches everything. And you can feel it inside you. If you never take time out to let that happen, then you just accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle around inside of you. You can make noise with them, but never really feel anything with them. It's hollow.'"

December

I spent some of the morning before my kids woke up reading quotes about the month of December. I expected some of the drearier quotes- the ones that focused on the lack of flowers and sunshine {and truly this *is* one aspect, I don't deny it. but only one aspect, not all aspects...}- but was thoroughly delighted? (an underused word that brings to mind other underused words, poetry, maidens dancing and the like...) to find so much poetry and many thoughts reflecting on the beauty to be found in this seemingly quiet month. Many of the quotes focused on the holidays at the end of the month {true}, but many others spoke of the cold still winter season and the grace found within. This one by Wallace Stevens was one of my favorites. I didn't think I usually liked him. Either way, I may have to revise my opinion of him after this poem-

"One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is."
- Wallace Stevens, Snow Man

this and that

Today I have nothing cohesive to write about. Lots of this and that going around. Chilled heads, wearing hats, drinking hot chocolate. We also went to see Tangled today which was very very cute. Very well done. Even if the mother issue was so familiar, so in line with one of our culture's biggest mother-fears. You know, that mothers mainly hold people back? That we are all frightened and un-trusting that our children will be able to handle themselves and so we step in and prevent them from living out their dreams? Yeah, that one. Anyway, they did a good job of making this mother-issue so over-the-top-enough that I think almost anyone would be hard pressed to think she had Rapunzel's best interests at heart.

We started reading Tom Sawyer. So far so good. Some of the language is archaic and some of it is just plain not said anymore, which makes for interesting discussions.

And it's that time of year when keeping well and keep warm seem to be synonymous. I take vitamin D religiously now and that seems to help quite a bit. I drink warm beverages and take warm baths. One of my migraine triggers this time of year is a cold head, so I wear a hat indoors much of the time.

Which also means I am knitting a new hat. Even though I also bought yarn for mittens. For myself. Eva wants new hand warmers too but she wants a different pattern, which makes it slightly more tedious than it would have been because I already know the gauge and size and pattern, etc of the other hand warmers really well. Oh well. I will learn the new ones soon enough and they will be purple with hearts, lots and lots of hearts.

I was also perusing this blog for holiday things to do around Portland in December and that got me thinking about the little walk around downtown Portland we didn't make last year because we were all sick- the gingerbread houses and the big tree in Pioneer Square. Hot chocolate. The new Santa village thingy in Macys. Although I'm told it's not the same as the old one. {What ever is?} That whole tour I had planned. And I was thinking of doing it this week and caught myself and thought is it too soon? But you know- as I go back and forth with myself right now as I am writing, real time self-introspection, if you will- this whole month has the potential to just fly by. Why not this week? And get in the holiday spirit.

And one more thing. I am actually considering putting up holiday lights this year, which is something I have never done. Something I never thought I would do. Would want to do. But I saw these lovely periwinkle colored lights on a few houses as I drove home tonight and I think I may have been sold. I also may want one of those reindeer whose head move. Or something. Although I don't know yet. I'll have to see how much they cost and then decide.

And on that note- it's time to go to bed. Time to read. Time to drink another Emergen-C and some more Kombucha, gear myself up for taking care and keeping warm. Extra vitamin C. Hot tea. Astragalus. That sort of thing. And try and finish my hat, for winter's sake. It seems like it goes by so quickly, but really, it's winter here until June. Or at least that's when I stopped wearing my winter hat last year. So as usual, I really do have all the time in the world.

current books

Around the time that Maxwell died, the kids and I finished up several ongoing stories we had been working on. We finished the 7th Harry Potter book (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and are now eagerly anticipating the 7th movie due out on November 19th. We finished up the back seasons for both Glee and the Office. Since his death, I have also indulged quite a bit in Grey's Anatomy and am now officially caught up on that. I've also watched several Woody Allen movies which have been a lot of fun.

Since finishing up Harry Potter, we have read the Princess Academy by Shannon Hale, a Newberry winner and are currently reading the Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, also a Newberry winner. When we finish Despereaux, I think we will go ahead and watch the movie- it's usually interesting to see how the movie compares to the book and one of the things that we enjoyed about Harry Potter was ending each book with the corresponding movie.

Before reading either of the above books, we started reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. We ended up not finishing it because we actually weren't thrilled with it. I'm not sure why, it seemed to differ for each of us. I had originally started reading Wrinkle... to the kids because we are supposed to see a play based on it in the spring and I thought it would be fun to read the book beforehand. I had also never read it as a kid and had always heard good things about it. The good that came from starting it in the first place was that it got me to check out the list of Newberry winners again, another great place to find new books to read.

Two books that are sitting in our reading pile that I think we will read next are The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg and Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. The kids are also reading the Lord of the Rings series by J. R. R. Tolkien with Matt. He read them the Hobbit last year. They are really enjoying the story and are looking forward to the movies once they have finished reading.

In addition to watching Woody Allen movies, I have also been reading a few different books including Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (actually my first Vonnegut book aside from a feeble attempt at a short story in college) and Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert (I am a sucker for French 19th century realism and it has been too long since I've bitten off a book like this one.). I've also been reading the Chocolate Cake Sutra by Geri Larkin. Although I confess that my attention for reading hasn't been what it could be and I have been doing far more knitting than reading lately. I'm currently looking for owl knitting patterns and am excited to have found a pair of fingerless gloves on ravelry with owl patterns on the fingers...

slice of life

What I love about cats (one thing) is their ability to find comfort just about anywhere. As long as it's the right place. Here is Agnes doing her signature lounging. Check out how the knitting book is propped up on the bowl of dried flowers.

That there *is* a bowl of dried flowers on the table. {Flowers from our garden. Picked by Eva.} With the walk man. The kids are both listening to the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede. So far they both like the first book, Dealing with Dragons, and are less thrilled (much less thrilled, in Samuel's case) with the other three. I love hearing them discuss the books together.

There is also a bag for my knitting. And my current knitting. And the knitting book. A glass of water that was mine but has no doubt by this point become Agnes's. A mouse she will not eat. Cat food in the background she has already eaten. Oranges from Chili to the left. Mostly for Eva. A bowl with agates from the beach and a river rock from camping this summer.

My dad is visiting this week and the kids and I have several things planned. Whether or not we will get to all of those things remains to be seen. I am using the plans more as suggestions than mandates on how to spend time. Hints or ideas to be reminded of if need be. So far they have played Wii Monopoly and the Harry Potter game we bought at the Lego Store last month? Or the month before. We had dinner last night to celebrate his visit and they watched the first of what will most probably be many Harry Potter movies. I think they started with #2. Possibly #3. Eva is set on getting the first one and we checked to see if the library had it today. Next stop will surely be Blockbuster as the kids and I are due to finish up The Half Blood Prince in a few days, if not tonight, and we will need to watch that movie lickety split. We can rent The Sorcerer's Stone at the same time. As my dad has never seen any of the movies or read any of the books, the place to start would seem to be at the beginning. As it turns out, however, starting in the middle is fine too.

Tonight we went out to dinner at Pizza Fino where my sister Ellen and her partner Evan work. It has turned into a sort of tradition for us to eat there when he visits. Eva insisted on it this time and was very excited about her dessert brownie. She talked about it all day and I am happy to say the brownie once again lived up to both her imagination and memory.

And now everyone else is either still playing Wii Monopoly or getting ready to finish the Harry Potter movie from last night or- wait- they are in fact watching Coraline, one of Eva's favorites. One thing I love about my dad visiting is how the kids like to gather up all of their favorite things- movies, books, games, stuffed animals, foods, walks, ideas- and share them with him. I enjoy reflecting on the ways the kids have changed from the last time he visited and the ways they have stayed the same. It is a great snap shot for him of the people they are becoming- the people they are in this moment of time- and a nice reminder for me of all of the ways that we spend our time each day.



Today at the park...

Took off for the upick today without anything in particular on my mind to pick, except maybe a few pints of black caps (or black raspberries, depending on where you grew up). We ended up picking more raspberries (and two pints of black caps. Eva also picked two pints of currants, unbeknownst to me. I am pretty sure we will be making more currant-raspberry granita. The first batch was eaten up lickety split, even if it was a little sweet!) which I intend to cover with chocolate at some point. At least some of them. I haven't been paying attention to how quickly (or slowly) the month of July has been moving. Trying to focus on the present {and all that} lest I be consumed with panic over the passage of time when really it turns out fine in the end. The woman at the upick started talking about their summer berries coming to an end and I knew that was why I had a peach picking session planned tomorrow with Ellen. It never fails, just this time of year, the berries I have been picking come to an end and there is a berry lull of sorts. I have plenty of blueberries, thanks to the two trips to pick and the abundance in my own front yard. So it's to peach picking and canning until the blackberries and fall raspberries ripen in August. And then all sorts of goodness with pears and apples and tomatoes. It's times like these summer tastes so sweet.

Tonight I made my first clafoutis- inspired by the book I just read, Five Quarters of the Orange. I'm waiting for it to finish cooking in the oven. It looks tasty and was incredibly easy to concoct with loads of blueberries, boysenberries and, of course, red raspberries. I was going to serve it with turkey bacon and some chard with zucchini and garlic, but all of that has already been consumed. I'm sure it will stand up well on its own with a little Harry Potter this evening. We've finished book two and are well on our way with book three!




And here it is- blueberry-boysenberry-raspberry clafoutis. I used whole spelt flour and almond milk rather than cows milk, cream and white flour.

summer bites

Last night Eva and I took Jack for a walk in the rain. We've been taking him every night lately and he was all jazzed up for a walk, even as I had completely forgotten. I was glad we decided to take him, though, because it gave me an opportunity to watch Eva and myself in the rain together picking up earthworms and slugs every few houses and moving them to safety on the grass or off the pavement... {This was meant to be an entire blog post but I can't seem to catch the feeling of last night, so taken with the current berry goodness that has washed over me and my kitchen currently. Suffice it to say that Eva and I tread lightly and think deeply about the other creatures out on damp nights like these. I leave you with that image as I move along to berry love.}

We've been to the upick three times this week. Once to pick strawberries, when I came back with the first raspberries of the season. The second time to pick raspberries, when I came back with the first sylvan blackberries of the season (and Tayberries!). The third time, today, to pick raspberries. And I came back with the most glorious flat of raspberries that I can remember ever having picked. These are the sort of raspberries that drip off the vine when I hold my hand under a few of them and they are so large I can fit at least three chocolate chips inside of one raspberry (I'd forgotten that raspberries are *made* perfectly for fitting chocolate chips inside).

One thing that I love about the upick is that sometimes- if you stay open to it- you can come away with abundance in unexpected forms. And sometimes, you can come away with abundance in exactly how you had hoped. And sometimes, you can come away with something far better than you had imagined. Any way you look at it, it's a pretty good deal to stand in the middle of rows of berries, listening to the hawks calling. But I wax poetical about the upick fairly often and am in sheer heaven this time of year with the abundance and variety of it all.



Inspired by the amazing raspberries I was presented with today and a camping trip we are heading out to tomorrow with friends, I made the cutest little raspberry hand pies you have ever seen. It has become a bit of a Fourth of July tradition for me at this point. Check them out-



These were inspired by Martha Stewart's Strawberry Hand Pies. I used a little less sugar and whole spelt flour. I also used a very small circle to make these hand pies around 2 1/2 inches across the back. I also made a few slightly bigger ones for variety and different tastes. Some like a small bite, some a larger, after all.

And then last, but certainly not least, the kids and I finished the first Harry Potter. They are, as I type, watching the first movie as well. I hope to catch it in the next couple of days when one of them is bound to want to re-watch it. Samuel has also been playing the new Lego Harry Potter for the Wii, so we have full immersion going on for sure. (I wanted to add that Samuel has taken to carrying around his magic wand a good part of the time as well.)

flower love

I have three posts started and unfinished in my editing box and can't seem to get to writing anything of interest down this last week or more. Or is it finishing anything of interest? I've spent a lot of time thinking and knitting and being out and about with my kids. Taking walks and upicking and spending time with friends. We finished Watership Down. Started our first Harry Potter book. Sat on the patio. Looked at the roses and poppies. I've been watching the grass grow. Cut it. Watched it grow some more. It is the rainiest June ever (from what I've been told. Although to be fair and honest, June is *always* rainy here- just not always quite this rainy- a perk if you moved here for the rain, a shock if you did not. Or if you forget what the weather is like from year to year. Still, this year has been rainier and muddier than past Junes, that is for sure.)

I feel a little sad over the bolted and long gone kale and mesclun mix I planted what seems like an eternity ago. They would {no doubt} be thriving now if they hadn't gotten so excited about those few warm sunny days a few weeks ago and sent out flowers to announce their enthusiasm. My radicchio, however, is thriving, as are the peas. And the poppies. The roses are a little smooshed-in-looking in some places but thriving {still}. The lilies have been blooming longer than usual {it seems} and the buttercups are amazing!

I'm going to be perfectly honest here and admit that aside from some of the cooler month veggies, I actually prefer growing flowers to most vegetables. I went through a whole thing over the last several years where I only planted vegetables (the strict, efficiently-practical side of me strongly exerted itself, peaked, and finally softened again, allowing for flowers to poke their way back into the garden...) I was also reminded by my beauti-filled-daughter just how much I loved growing flowers and slowly, slowly they have begun filling in the spaces in the garden, in the pots, and in the nooks out front until this summer when they have been given {at least} a full third of the raised beds. At least.

It helps to live in a space that was so clearly designed by someone who also loved working and living with flowers. On that note-



Roses loving the rain, Columbine loving the extra space, Dianthus peaking. And look who showed up unannounced this year- Star of Bethlehem.