Lexi Art & Design

More Than a Thousand Words

2011-01-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

Where were we? Oh yeah, so I went back to work regular-like in September and it's been interesting. Some weeks are better than others - field work wreaks havoc on our schedule. Weeks that I'm in the office or working at home are much easier to manage. But here's the thing. I can't do it all. That's the bottom line. I am still knitting and doing a little painting. Still cooking from scratch as much as possible, still taking care of the chickens (they're well). Still keeping up with physical therapy, ballet and other necessary appointments (Maia has been in much better health so far this cold season). One thing that has changed is that I have no time for this blog. Maybe we're still working out the kinks, maybe it'll still happen. I'm going to try. When I said to Chris recently that I'd all but given up on the blog, he said he wished I wouldn't - that it was a good journal to have. I agree. Moving on.
I love this photo. I love this photo because I love all the people in it and they all look so content but I really love this photo because it represents how so many things are different from just 2 and a half years ago.

We took our sweet time driving up to the Bay Area for an after Christmas rendez-vous with my family. We stopped at Oso Flaco Lake on the first day. It's funny, I just went back through my blog to see if I had mentioned this place before, and I hadn't. We went here back in summer of 2008, when we were headed up north for my cousin's wedding. We stopped for a night in Los Osos and someone told us about this place (Oso Flaco Lake) which is at the southern end of Pismo beach. It's about a mile walk from the parking lot through some trees, onto a board walk that goes over the lake, and then through the dunes to the beach. It is just beautiful.

At this time in 2008, we were struggling with Maia. We knew in our hearts and minds that her doctors were wrong about her diagnosis but we were getting nowhere with them. She had a terrible time doing this walk. She was in pain and Chris carried her quite a bit. We were beside ourselves. Didn't know what was going on. This time she did great. Granted she complained about a spot on her foot where her orthotic was rubbing but still, she ran, she skipped, she played. So much better now. I don't have any photos from our first visit because our camera was stolen out of our car after my cousin's wedding (several large errors on our part) - we lost some great photos from that trip, but as you can see, we replaced the camera and that great 50 mm lens and all is well with the photography in our family.

I have so much to share but drat! have to go - Ponchos for one. I knit furiously through December two ponchos for the girls. Love them. I'm knitting another sweater. I finished one Brougham painting and started another. I scaled back Christmas cards this year (boo!) but hopefully will get back to that Gocco some day soon. Happy New Year - hope to post more soon.

Some time alone

2010-10-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

Not very often, we split on the weekend and do separate things. Chris took the girls to the Santa Barbara Zoo today and I stayed home to work on a painting and hopefully do some fix-it sewing (hemming and such).

I've made some good progress on this painting and I need to stare at it for a while. I'm going to break and switch gears to sewing, laundry, vacuuming and scone making. Nice to have a little time alone, if nothing else to crank up the music without anyone complaining.

10 Good Things About This Week...

2010-09-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

1. We camped at Montana de Oro with some friends last weekend. Good times.
2. Rosie joined Tulip and laid some eggs. Yay!
3. I went to work for a regular 24 hours. Regular. Yesssss.
4. The chickens dismembered a lizard and ate it. Ok, maybe this one doesn't qualify as good, but we had a good laugh talking about lizard flavored eggs. Ewwww.
5. Sofia and Maia spent a couple afternoons with their "manny", Justin. All is well.
6. Chris' Swedish cousins arrived in California for a two-week tour. They stayed with us for two nights and will be back at the end of their trip. So nice to visit with them - their girls are 14 and 18, last time we saw them they were 1 and 5. We're hoping to take the girls to Sweden sometime - they've got horses.
7. We are having a heat wave. The good part is that maybe those million tomatoes and tomatillos I bragged about will actually ripen.
8. Chris and I went for a 6 mile hike on Friday in the heat. Good company, good exercise.
9. Sofia is making banana bread this morning, almost by herself. Yum, can't wait to try some.
10. We are having some friends over for wine this evening. More good times.

Hope you're having a good week, too.

Our Lady Tulip

2010-09-16T22:32:00.001-07:00

Imagine my shock on Tuesday when I opened the sleeping quarters in the coop (to do some periodic cleaning) and discovered 4 little brown eggs. A little clutch. It appears that our Tulip is all grown up now.
So I immediately ran and got the camera of course. Then I brought them in to take some more photos. (The big one in the back is a large egg from the store for scale.) They are smallish because she still has some growing to do.
Then I took them back outside and placed two in each of the nesting boxes. Egg #5 was in the "wrong" place but she laid Egg #6 in a nesting box. Smart cookie, that Tulip.

Yes, we ate them. Yes, they were delicious.

Rat-patootie

2010-09-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

That's Maia's silly name for ratatouille. Gotta love 5-year old humor.
Ratatouille was a hit - now I just need a movie called "Broccoli Soup" and "Turkey Sandwich". I used a combination of several recipes but started mostly with this one from epicurious making some significant changes based on the comments. I also looked at Julia Child's ratatouille recipe and a version that was supposed to be like the one in the movie. Here's my summary:

2.5 lbs tomatoes
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
thyme* and herbes de provence*
1 T sugar*
tomato paste*
1 cup chopped parsley
olive oil (I used significantly less than what was called for in the recipe)
2 small eggplant (I think they were the Japanese variety)
salt
2 large onions
3 bell peppers (I used 2 green and one red)
2 medium zucchini (I sliced mine thin, instead of in chunks)
1 other squash (it was green and round, quartered and sliced thin)
black pepper
* added based on comments in recipe

- I made the sauce per the directions in a 5 quart oven safe sauce pan, adding a few different ingredients, and leaving out the basil. My understanding is that basil is not a traditional ingredient in ratatouille.
- Then I tossed the cubed eggplant in salt as directed.
- I cooked the vegetables as directed but with much less oil and only sauteed the squashes briefly. I added the onions, eggplant, and bell peppers to the sauce as each was cooked.
- Instead of cooking longer on the stove, I layered the zucchini and other squash on top of the other vegetables and put a buttered piece of parchment paper (cut to size) on top of it all and put it in a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes.

I could imagine using individual ramekins to cook in the oven and serve and it would look prettier on the plate. I could imagine more eggplant too. I think mine were a little too small.

I'm supposed to start working next week a regular 24-hour per week schedule. I still haven't worked out all the child care details but hopefully it will all come together. I am looking forward to the regular paycheck but I am a little (hehe, understatement) anxious about how "it will all get done". I don't want to give up my cooking adventures, my garden adventures, my trips to the farmer's market. I'd gladly give up some of the more mundane tasks of the week but of course I can't abandon that stuff either. So I decided to start a painting. I know, there's no logic but it will all work itself out. Hopefully. More the on the painting soon. Hopefully. There's that word again.

I have a new name that bird - can't believe we've lived here 6 years and we've never seen this little one. Any guesses out there?

Garden Fun

2010-09-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

When we got back from vacation last weekend, we found that our garden had exploded. In a good way, not literally. Tomatoes took off, tomatillos too, spinach grew, basil, cilantro, parsley, pumpkins - oh my goodness - I think the pumpkins may try to take over the entire yard. It's been fun. Maybe it's the cool summer we've had, but things take longer to grow and mature than I expected. Growing some of my own organic food has made me appreciate what organic farmers are doing even more.

The other night I made a frittata using zucchini, tomatoes, and basil from the garden. This time next year, I'll be able to make it with eggs from the chickens, too! It was delicious. It also had goat milk cheddar and came from an egg recipe book I purchased recently. I'm getting really excited about the eggs (hence the egg recipe book)... none yet, hopefully sometime in October. Chickens are doing great, looking mostly mature but their combs and wattles are not fully grown or bright red yet.

Ok people, this is really good. It's my very own recipe for tomatillo sauce. Here's what you need:

30 tomatillos, without husks
1 shallot, chopped coarse
2 cloves garlic, chopped coarse
1/2 t salt
handful cilantro
juice of 1 lime
1 "Italian Roaster" pepper (I'm growing these in the garden, they're long and green, smallish, not spicy but of course you could substitute to your spiciness liking)

First you roast the tomatillos under the broiler for about 5 minutes on each side, so they start to blister but not blacken too much. Try to save the juice that inevitably spills out on the pan. Put the tomatillos and the juice in the food processor, along with all the other ingredients and process until smooth. I put the cilantro in last so you can still see some green flecks. If you find it's too thick, add some water. That's it. Super yummy. We had some on trout last night and I plan to use the rest on some roasted poblanos this weekend.
Here we are on vacation last week. We visited Chimney Rock Winery, where we married 15 years ago. Sofia and Maia enjoyed seeing our wedding place and had fun pretending to marry and then not quite as much fun while we tasted some wine. Afterward, we had a wonderful lunch in Yountville at a French bistro that served all kinds of "frenchie" things like rabbit and duck and other somewhat unusual choices. Among other things that weren't rabbit, we ordered their ratatouille, which was a big hit with everyone. Who would think that Maia would love ratatouille? I'm positive that the movie had something to do with that. That's fine. We need all the help we can get to broaden her narrow palette. Ratatouille is on my menu this week - let's see if the movie can help me too.

One final note, and hopefully won't sound too preachy. While we were on vacation, three of Chris' cycling teammates were struck by a car while on one of their regular morning training rides. Two were injured seriously, one requiring knee surgery, and one with multiple pelvic fractures, also requiring surgeries. He may be out of commission for the better part of a year. The third rider required stitches on his face. A fourth rider was able to avoid the collision. It was truly frightening for Chris (and for me). One of the riders is one of his best buddies. The good news is that they will recover. What struck me is the response I got from several people when I mentioned the accident. They said things like, "What are they doing riding on that road?" and "That's a dangerous road for cars even!"

Chris' friends were riding single file and obeying all traffic laws. The driver turned left in front of them. She said she didn't see them. I feel for her because I know we all make mistakes while driving. What I would like to point out is that cyclists have every right to be on the road and are protected by our traffic laws. We need to be looking for them. I love a cyclist. If you're reading my blog, you probably do, too. Let's keep our eyes out for them. So here's a new public service announcement slogan:

Share the Road. It's not just about kindness, it's the law.

Peace to one and all.

Happy Birthday, Stephen!

2010-07-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

The Helgren family welcomed their second baby boy in the wee hours of July 4th, yesterday. His name is Stephen Christopher and he comes just a week shy of his big brother Thomas's 3rd birthday. We are very excited to meet him this coming weekend.
Look Stephen, we made these decorations for you! Well, actually we made them for our 4th of July dessert and fireworks party, but how cool is it that you'll get fireworks on your birthday every year! Once again, we failed to take photos from the party but it was fun. Lots of kids, lots of dessert and the annual walk over to the open field to see the fireworks. This year I made fresh fruit tart, brownies, blueberry crumble, and peach cobbler. Chris made peanut butter cookies and chocolate chip cookies. The peach cobbler was the biggest hit.

I decided to try batik dyeing silk play scarves for the 4th of July party this year. First, you might ask, who in their right mind tries batik dyeing for the first time and decides to make 17 silk scarves all at once the day before 40 people are coming over? Me. Ok, so it was a little ambitious. But I have a reputation to uphold. Every year we've done this party, I've given some sort of creative, homemade party favor to the kids.

I certainly have a new appreciation for batik dyeing. The results of my efforts were nice enough, but not at all what I intended. Partly the problem was that I had limited tools and it made painting the wax much more crude and messy. I had all these intricate patterns in my mind (I know, silly me). Also, I was under the impression that the blue I used would cover the red better so I really intended these to be red, blue and white - not red, white with a tiny bit of blue. I think I didn't use enough dye and maybe didn't use enough of the fixer.

So, I won't quit my day job to become a batik dyeing professional.
Lastly, here's a view of the birds from the kitchen window while we were getting ready for the party. I'm off to Oregon tomorrow for some soil and groundwater sampling. Then I'll rendezvous with Chris and the girls in the Bay Area to visit with our new nephew and his family. Have a great week!

Summer Fun

2010-06-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have some fun stuff to share, all which are not original ideas, but still so fun. But first here are the birds looking cute. This is Poppy, Daisy (?), and Rosie. We can't tell the Barred Rocks apart at this point so it could be Violet, but no matter.
Last month I was browsing around in the Azure Standard website and found a sprouting screen. Ooo, that sounds like fun, I thought. So I bought one and some sprouting seeds and voila! Sprouts in just a few days. So easy! I followed the instructions on the screen package - you basically soak the seeds for a few hours, drain, rinse and store inverted to continue drainage. Then you rinse and drain a couple times a day, store in a cool, unsunny place. It took 3 days to fill this jar. And Maia likes them - bonus!
I don't remember where I saw the scrabble piece pendants first, but I've been gathering supplies for this little project for a while now. I had a 40th birthday party to go to last weekend and thought these would be the perfect gift. I followed the instructions in this tutorial by makeandtakes.com. I found my scrabble pieces on ebay. My designs are made with some papers I had, except for the little bird, which I drew. I used a product called Ice Resin which seems pretty easy to work with (I've never used Diamond Glaze so I can't really compare).
I gave three pendants and a ball chain necklace to the birthday girl. This one is my favorite, on a leather necklace. Sofia and Maia each chose a favorite too.
This necklace tree idea comes from a couple places. My mom has a necklace tree made from twisted metal wire that I've admired and a friend of mine uses tree branches in her home to display various pretty things. I have some beautiful jewelry boxes but somehow I always forget to wear necklaces. Maybe I'll remember now that they're staring me in the face!
Chris had trimmed some branches from our pepper tree to use for the coop and there were some leftover branches - my jewelry tree was born! Its base is a glass cream bottle with glass marbles to hold the branch and weigh it down.

We're halfway into the second week of summer and having fun so far. Swimming lessons, library trips, lunch with Chris, harassing... er, playing with the chickens, eating snap peas straight off the bush... But work has reared its head and I may be traveling to Oregon for a few days. So, we may be scrambling to arrange child care but at least it's some work. How does the saying go - beggars can't be choosers?

School's Out, Chickens Are Out

2010-06-13T15:54:00.001-07:00

The coop is done and the chickens are out. They have been out for 4 nights now and have learned to put themselves to bed and come down from the roost in the morning. They seem to be very content. I am very content to not have stinky birds in the house.
I'm not sure why it is that the last couple weeks of school have to be so busy with BBQs, plays, potlucks, and last minute field trips. It didn't help that Sofia had her ballet recital on Saturday, which involved some extra rehearsals. She was fantastic though. After watching her Shakespeare play at school and then her dance recital, we have confirmed that she is a natural performer. And I'm so happy Grandma and Grandpa Marc came to visit this weekend. Sofia felt very special that they were there to see her. More photos over at flickr.

Introducing...

2010-05-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

My California Wild Rose. Isn't she pretty? There are a bunch more on the way. I love this plant and I kind of wish I had put it on a more prominent place in the yard.
We've settled on flower names for the chickens and since I don't run a military dictatorship, we have middle names too, which were selected by Sofia.

First we have Poppy Honeybee, our Buff Orphington:

Next is Violet Viola, one of the Barred Rocks:

This is Rose (Rosie) Cocoa Bean, a Black Sex Link:

This is Daisy Dear, the other Barred Rock:

And finally, Tulip Petal, the other Black Sex Link:

They are just over 3 weeks now and they weigh between 5.5 ounces and 7.4 ounces. Tulip is the biggest and Rosie is the smallest. Coop is coming along but no photos to share yet...

One of My New Favorite Things

2010-05-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

I've made these veggie patties a few times now and I love them! Maia, not so much, but so few things please her that I can't really count her opinion on whether a recipe is a keeper or not. This provides the start to a very healthy meal and would be easy to keep vegan if you were so inclined.

I have been using this basic recipe from epicurious.com. I've always made the patties for dinner, not breakfast as the recipe suggests. Instead of rice, I've been using the red quinoa that they have at Trader Joe's. The patties haven't held together well for me (though I have to admit I haven't followed the recipe exactly when it comes to the "refrigerate for 20 minutes" part) so this last time, I added an egg. To serve, I toasted some whole grain bread, rubbed it with a clove of raw garlic, and added some sliced goat milk cheddar. Yum!

Chickies are doing great. Growing like little weeds. They seem to get along just fine - no one has assumed the Queen Hen position yet. We spent a great deal of time in the yard this weekend working on the coop (mostly Chris) and the garden watering system (mostly me). I'm excited to show the coop in a couple weeks or so.

The chickies have landed!

2010-04-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

We are now the proud parents of five chicks; two Barred Rocks, two Black Sex Links, and 1 Buff Orphington. I started out to get four, but the store selling the Barred Rocks would only sell a pair, whatevah!

No names yet. We are considering Greek goddess names, deceased family member names, or jewel names. Chris wants to name them Bob, Harold, Frank, Joe, etc. but I'm not so sure. Pretty silly. There are a couple more photos here and I'm sure there will be a million more soon. Peep!

Oh, hello. You still there?

2010-04-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

Gosh, I didn't mean to go so long without a post. Spring has sprung and it's such a pretty time of year around here. We've got Santa Barbara daisies, several varieties of sage, lavenders, and every dandelion imaginable (ahem), all in bloom. We have a caterpillar named Freddie who should be emerging as a Gulf Fritillary butterfly any day now. But I guess the biggest thing going on right now is some serious yard planning and transformation. Think - lots of weeding. Think - homegrown veggies. Think - chickens! Here's how it happened...

Chris says one day recently that he wants to buy a new bike frame (you knew it had to do with cycling, right?). It's new, it's better, it has a custom Fast Friday paint job, and it's great deal, he says. It's such a great deal, that he can likely sell his current frame for the same price. Sounds great, right? So I say, as long as it doesn't interfere with my plans for planter boxes and chickens, (oh, and it doesn't involve me changing jobs), it's fine with me. Wink, wink. Chris must really want that bike frame because he's been working really hard in the yard.

We built three 4'x8' raised planter boxes, arranged them on the lawn, and re-routed the sprinklers to a drip line in each box. I have started a bunch of seeds inside - kale, spinach, tomato, zucchini, cucumber, ancho pepper, snap peas, beans, basil, catnip, cilantro. We're a little late on some things but that's ok, we're learning and we'll see how it goes.

We have also selected our coop location and we purchased some plans for the coop. We decided to get chicks and raise them because we've read they will be more docile and friendly than if we bought pullets. We're going to start with four and perhaps increase to six hens. We've been doing lots of reading and we're very excited.

I'm also stalled on a couple of cute tiered skirts - finished one but not the other. Maybe now that the girls will be back in school it's time to get back to that little project.

So that's what we're up to, how about you?

What a Week!

2010-03-05T21:16:00.000-08:00

Ah, a finished sweater. This one took nine months. Not bad, considering the last one took a year. Yikes. I like this one, alot. Already got my eye on another... but no plans to start it, yet. The details: Pattern by Flint Knits, called "February Lady". I used Louet MerLin yarn, which is a merino-linen blend. I poured through buttons at Michael Levine in Los Angeles and found these, love them. Thank goodness there's still a bit of cool weather left in this winter.
We had a couple appointments for Maia this week. First, a check up at UCLA on Wednesday. They are very pleased with Maia's progress and decided to keep her medicines the same. We had a blood draw on Thursday that was one of the worst yet - and probably had to do with Maia having had a tough week already. She took a bad fall at school on Tuesday - running full blast, she tripped and fell straight onto her face. Poor thing had a huge fat lip and swollen nose. Today, the swelling has improved a lot but the bruise is - wow! - every color of the rainbow and runs from her lip up to her eye. I felt so bad, picture day was Wednesday, the day after this happened. I was there because I was dropping her off after the UCLA appointment and it was hard to watch them try to get her to smile. It will be a memorable picture I'm sure.

Over the weekend I read the "Young Reader's Edition" of Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. It is a truly inspiring story and I hope to read the original version soon. I think I will hold off reading this book to the girls for a bit or skip a couple parts, I haven't decided. It talks about him being kidnapped and held at gunpoint and I'm not sure I want to explain all that. I don't know, I'm still thinking about it. Anyway, he's a neat guy and he has a neat family and I want my kids to know about his work, sometime.

Making Ready a Plan

2010-02-22T12:27:00.000-08:00

I find myself in between deadlines. Sure, there are unfinished projects (plenty of them), but nothing pressing. So, I am starting a new process, a new project, a new craft. I want to make a quilt coverlet for our bed to replace the tired old store-bought thing we now have. I want it to be fresh, bold, modern, clean. I want it to tell a story and last many years. I dug into flickr for some inspiration and here's what I came up with. It's sort of all over the place but it's a start.

1. Vintage Scarf Quilt by Ouno Design, 2. Birds & Blooms baby quilt back, 3. Two Baby Quilts, 4. The back of Strips and Bricks Quilt, 5. Front., 6. "Box of Chocolates" Quilt_02-25-09_09, 7. quilt, 8. "It Takes A Village", 9. blocks and stripes quilt, 10. Hideaway quilt, 11. Bridie's Quilt, 12. The Tree Quilt, 13. Waves of Green Quilted Wall Hanging, 14. Work Quilt, 15. five blocks, 16. fall, 17. 'proposal moon', 18. The Gobstopper Quilt, 19. DQS8 #1 "Think Spring", 20. Birthday Quilt

I haven't quilted before, but surely I can do this. I know the basic steps but I also know there are a million different ways to do it and infinite possibilities for the end product. I have a little less than six months. I'm aiming for 15th anniversary territory. No time (or money) for a class, I'm going to rely on the wonderful world of blogging quilters (and maybe a book) to figure this one out. Comments? Suggestions? Ideas?

Mommy, you know what's interesting about you?

2010-02-20T11:29:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't that make your ears perk up? What? What does Sofia think is interesting about me? Wow, somebody thinks there is something interesting about me. I love the way she started the conversation. She's so interesting to me.

So, what she said was, "Well, you know how when I ask you what your favorite animal is...." and she went on to explain that I always say something about how it's hard to choose and I like cats and dogs and birds... "But," she said, "you are always coming home and talking about how you saw an owl or a hawk or something, and I think your favorite animals are birds." So there you go. The world according to Sofia.

Last weekend was pretty productive. I finished the announcements for baby nephew Sawyer. My sister has them now and she likes them. Yay! I love that gocco - have I told you that before? One thing that doesn't show up well in the photos is that I mixed up the green color with quite a bit of silver ink and so there's a hint of metallic sheen to the color. It's really pretty.

I had planned a Valentine present of pajamas for the whole family but hadn't had time to actually sew, so on Valentine's Day, that's what I did. The pajama bottoms were made using a pattern from Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing and some organic cotton flannel from NearSea Naturals. Good pattern, very simple. I decided for our pajamas to put elastic in the back only and use a cotton webbing drawstring for the front side. The flannel is nice and heavy and super soft. These are definitely cold weather pajamas. I bought thermals tops from Royal Apparel to go with the bottoms.
Here I am with the girls (Chris missed the photo shoot) and here's where the project would have benefited from a little better planning and research. I wanted to dye the pajamas somehow - I thought white was too boring and would get dirty and stained too easily (you know how messy Chris can be). I sort of copped out, got impatient and we tie dyed them - except Chris'. He didn't want them dyed. Hmmm. So, now the girls and I have tie dyed pajamas. They're fine. They're just tie dyed. It's not what I had in mind but the problem is that I wasn't sure what I had in mind. I'm sort of wishing I had waited a bit. At least they're just pajamas.

Happy Birthday, Maia!

2010-02-07T20:48:00.001-08:00

We're off to the happiest place on earth tomorrow for the traditional 5 year old birthday visit. Maia's party was fun, although I was sweating for a few minutes when the little crafters were finished with their Valentine making about 40 minutes before I thought they'd be - and it was raining - so I couldn't send them outside. Nothing a little squealy-girl-freeze-dancing and some quickie coloring-page-printing couldn't fix. Maia requested Strawberry Cake and I made this one from an old Bon Appetit recipe. It turned out yummy. I'm about to have a piece right now and go to bed...

Almost 5?

2010-02-02T23:38:00.001-08:00

My baby is almost 5? How could it be? Maia turns 5 on Monday. We have a birthday party planned for Saturday and a trip to the happiest place on earth on her actual birthday. For the party, I bought some shirts (Royal Apparel, organic cotton) thinking our activity would involve decorating the shirts somehow. I wasn't satisfied with any of the ideas that I tried, so I ended up doing a gocco print on them myself and we will give them as party favors.
Instead of the shirt idea, I'll set up a table so our guests can make Valentine's cards and I asked Sofia if she would treat us to a puppet show. There will be 5 little girls plus my two. Ought to be fun.

A little knitting, a little weather

2010-01-18T08:25:00.000-08:00

We have some friends who just welcomed their second little girl so I knit them up a little something. The booties (aren't they sweet?) came from Saartje knits (a free pattern!), and the hat is just a little something I copied and modified from a hat Erin made for Maia.

This week promises to bring lots of rain, they say. So far, 1.3 inches. It annoys me to live in a place that a week of rain requires so much news and preparation but eh, at least I can enjoy some rain for a few days. Today we are celebrating the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. by collecting gently used shoes to donate to Soles4Souls. I sent out emails to our local friends asking if they could spare some shoes. Since there is no school today, the girls and I will drive around to collect them from our friends. Sports Chalet is collecting the shoes at all its locations through January 31st. The donated shoes will be sent to Soles4Souls for distribution in Haiti.

In other news, Maia is recovering from another bout with bronchitis. We didn't bother waiting around to see if she could kick it on her own, straight to the antibiotics this time. It was a year ago this week that her scleroderma diagnosis was confirmed and we began treating her. Thankfully her leg has improved a great deal from where we were a year ago. The meds and PT are working, but it won't be a moment too soon when we can get her off these drugs and she can rebuild her immune system.

Lots to report

2009-12-29T10:42:00.000-08:00

The latest news...Please welcome my nephew Sawyer Morgan, born yesterday December 28th, after about 36 hours of labor. My sister is a trooper and gave birth to this beautiful boy. He weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces and measured 22 inches long.
I met him briefly at the hospital, he is only a few hours old here. We will travel back up north this weekend so that the girls can meet him too.

Preparations for the holidays...
Here are Sofia and Maia in their ski clothes (well, the new stuff anyway). Neither had a suitable jacket or boots to wear in the snow so I had to go searching and found these at Lands' End at reasonable prices (if I had planned ahead a little better, I would have tried to find something on ebay). They had a great time sledding. Skiing wasn't as big a success this time due to bad weather on the day we went, but more on that later.
The annual xmas card production was so much fun. I did this card using Illustrator and then printed using the gocco printer.
And finally, some Christmas twirly skirts for my favorite little skirt wearers. They loved them. Some minor adjustments need to be made (Maia's is a little big around the waist), but overall they were fun and easy to make.

I'm going to get back to unpacking and laundry for now but hope to post soon about our journey up north to Truckee/Tahoe-Donner and the Bay Area. Happy New Year!

Big twirly skirt

2009-12-10T20:44:00.000-08:00

Here we are in December and I'm full of things to talk about, but have little time to write about them. I'm down to the crunch time of gift making, card making (yay!), and cheer spreading. I refuse to get cranky about all the stuff I "have to do" because I love doing all of it, but some things have to give, like this blog. So I will tell this quick story and hopefully catch up with the rest later.

A while back I saw a skirt at Whole Foods that I thought looked really fun. Now I don't know about you, but I was having trouble with spending $68 on a skirt from the grocery store, even with all its sustainably-made credentials. But still, it was cute, so I kept looking at it and finally said to myself, I could totally make that. It was a dark gray, heavy jersey cotton. Enter my trip to LA.

Last Thursday I went to downtown LA to the garment district. I had tried to find some cotton jersey fabric on the internet - ordered some samples from a store in New York, and 4 weeks later, I got the samples but they weren't what I was looking for - I thought, this is silly, it's not that far to LA, so I went. I found exactly what I was looking for - a dark, gray, french terry - and it was organic, too. Bonus. Oh and surprisingly inexpensive.
So this is what I ended up with - it's my "I'm 38 years old and I can wear long twirly skirts if I want to skirt". The waist band is about 7 inches and tapered at the back with elastic to hold it up. The skirt is a full circle from one piece of fabric with the middle cut out. I haven't completed the hem yet. I was going to leave it unfinished but the fabric doesn't roll uniformly due to it being a full circle (get it?). Anyway, I'm going to afix some rolled fabric to the hem all the way around to get that unfinished look.
Here I am trying to photograph myself twirling - it didn't go over too well but hopefully you get the idea. I found a pretty pink heather jersey cotton at the same shop in LA and I plan to make a couple more twirly skirts for my favorite little skirt wearers. Better get busy, eh?

Weekending

2009-11-30T12:06:00.000-08:00

Now that we're back from Encinitas and Rocky seems to have recovered from her mysterious ailment (tongue biting with possible bladder infection on the side?), I can laugh about our Thanksgiving trip. You see, Wednesday night Rocky was not well and to be honest I was pretty sure we would wake up Thanksgiving morning to find her passed away. That didn't happen and since we couldn't leave our sick cat home alone and we didn't want to cancel our trip down south to Encinitas, we took her with us. It all seemed too much like a scene from a Vacation movie and I was afraid we were going to have to transport a dead cat back home. *shudder* Rocky spent the whole way down on my lap or at my feet just resting while I pet her and again, since I thought we might lose her, it seemed like the right thing to do. Turns out it was. By Friday morning she was perking up and by Saturday she seemed mostly back to her 14 year old self. She rode home in her carrier and is doing well.
We celebrated Chris' 40th on Friday with the Hillmans and the Helgrens. He did a nice long ride that morning, we ate a nice brunch made by his dad, and then I served his requested quiche dinner and his favorite grasshopper pie, whipped up by his mom and I.
I made this little painting for him using an ink resist technique I learned a few years ago from an illustration class. Other than the masking tape not working out and the ink spilling out onto the frame, I'm pleased with it and Chris enjoyed it, too. The scene is from a mountain biking relay race Chris did in August in Simi Valley.
This is the original photo. I messed with the contrast of the picture to get the basic look, painted the scene with gouache (everything including white areas and excepting black areas), let it dry and then covered the whole thing with India ink. After the ink dried, I rinsed it and magically, the ink on top of the painted areas washes away, leaving the unpainted areas black. Last I went back in with gouache and a black ink pen and retouched some areas. Now we just need to matte it so you won't be able to see the awful ink spillage - et voila, fini.

Thankful

2009-11-25T15:34:00.000-08:00

I've been working on some thankful thoughts for a while now. First, I will mention that our cat, Rocky, or Miss Cat as we sometimes call her, has not been well today and we're facing the possibility that she may have entered her last days. She has been with us for 14 years. I'm thankful for that. And if she goes on a few more days, weeks, months, years (?!), I'll be thankful for that too.

Babies! I'm thankful for babies. Erin and Tom are preparing to welcome their little Nova or Sawyer in December and we just learned this week that another niece or nephew is headed our way next summer. Yes, it's early on so I guess I'll leave it at that.

Good neighbors. There are good neighbors, like those who are mostly quiet, keep to themselves and don't seem to be bothered by any of our activities. And there are good neighbors, like the ones our kids want to invite to their birthday parties (even though they have no children), who invite us over for tea and dinner, who look out for us and call us when we've left the car door open in the driveway (yes, I've done that), and who think to send us a Thanksgiving card (yes, they did). Turns out we have both kinds. Good neighbors and good neighbors. I'm thankful for them.

Work. I seem to remember that a year ago I was thankful for the little bit of work that was coming my way. Not much has changed in the work department and considering how tough things are for some folks out there, I'm thankful for the work that I have. And I might as well be thankful for Chris' work too. I mean, really, that's what is keeping us afloat.

Projects. I have a few projects in the pipeline that I'm really excited about. It's great to be inspired with ideas. My only problem is finding time to do them all. Some vintage fabric came to me via a friend whose grandmother (in law) recently passed away. This fabric is gorgeous (the picture does not do it justice). It's pretty heavy and I'm pretty sure it's cotton. It apparently came from a dressmaker in Hawaii. I'm on the lookout for just the right dress or skirt to pattern after - thinking on the lines of a square neck, fitted a-line dress to the knee.

I'm still plugging away on the linen/wool sweater, there are booties (and now more booties!) to make, and there's that kitchen wall chalkboard frame I need to get back to.
Last, but certainly not least. I'm thankful for my friendship with Chris. Some time this year, Chris and I started to meet each other for lunch at our local Peet's coffee shop. It was probably around the time things had settled a bit with Maia's treatments and around the time work got reallllly slow for me. We always pack a lunch, order lattes and sit for an hour or so to talk. It's fun and good and nice. And I'm thankful for it.

On Friday, Chris turns 40. I'll be back around then to show you a little something I made for him. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Having a Thankful Day

2009-11-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

But first, she sings! She really does sing! Of course we know Maia sings, we hear her all the time, but this time she sang at her school Thanksgiving Lunch. She knew all the words (of course she does), she sang so we could hear her, and she sang with a smile. So sweet. She sings - when she's good and ready to sing. And not a minute sooner. Little bugger.
After feasting at preschool, we're off to Sofia's school this evening for a Peace Feast. The Peace kids are preparing a Thanksgiving meal with the help of a mom/chef. I'm looking forward to it. This week has been difficult for Sofia. Her friend, "who I've know since I was 2", left her school to start at a different school. It all happened quickly (which is probably best) - he told her on Monday and his last day was Thursday. She's feels scared and sad and worried. I know this will pass and she'll make new friends, but it hurts to see her sad. Not to mention my carpool just disappeared. I knew it would end someday but I didn't expect it so soon. Oh well, that's ok. It does simplify things a bit - takes more of my time, sure - but I only have to worry about getting my two kids to and fro.

By the way, I brought this black bean salad to the lunch. Yummmmmy. The dressing is super tasty.

I have more to post - some cutie patootie little booties I've been working on for one special little baby coming to us in December. But must be off for now.

Trying Something New

2009-11-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

I found this nifty little feature in Blogger that allows me to send email notifications when I write a post. If you are reading this you may have gotten such an email. I started blogging way back when as a way to keep in touch with family, post pics of the kids, and then later I added my creative endeavors. I've met a few people along the way and I have my favorites over there on the the right side, but I still like the idea of keeping in touch with family. It's sort of like reading my journal without all the really juicy details, not that there are any :)

If you'd rather not receive such an email, please let me know. Just send an email or post a comment. I promise not to be offended.

Speaking of my favorite bloggers, JCHandmade (also known as Jennifer) just posted that she was diagnosed with MS this week. The news brought me such sadness and I felt a little silly being so sad for someone I don't know in person. But I do know we have quite a few things in common. She's about my age, she has two little girls (hers are twins), she knits and sews and blogs (in fact she's somewhat of a creative blogging rockstar), she enjoys cooking good food for her family, she's a progressive thinker, and she plays in a rock band in her free time. Ok, well I don't play in a rock band. She said they caught it early and she is keeping a positive attitude but I'm guessing there may be some tough days ahead. I'll be thinking about her.

Yummiest Thing I've Ever Made

2009-11-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandad came over for belated birthday celebration, on their way (further) up north. They promised a pizza dinner, and I made the belated chocolate mousse that Sofia had requested for her birthday. The mousse recipe called for Candied Orange Peel as an accompaniment. As has been my habit this week, (ahem) I failed to read the recipe thoroughly, and missed the part about soaking the peel in salted water for 4 hours.

Can't start the candied orange peel at 5 o'clock and expect it to be ready for the mousse at 7, now can you?

So anyway, it was done late, and Maia didn't taste it until this morning. But when she did, she said, "Mommy, this is the yummiest thing you've ever made". It is candy. Pure candy. So what if it's made from real organic orange peels, it's also soaked and cooked in sugar and then rolled in more sugar. I swear it tastes like Trix cereal. Not that I've tasted that for about 20 years but it brought back memories. So here's the recipe, it's from a Williams Sonoma cookbook.

Candied Orange Peel

2 oranges, preferably with thick skin
1 T sea salt
1 c sugar, plus extra for coating
1/2 c water
3 T light corn syrup

Cut around circumference of each orange cutting only through the peel, then make a second cut perpendicular to the first through the stem and blossom end. Remove the peel in 4 segments (now you have 8 orange peel pieces).

In a small bowl, soak the peel pieces in the salt and just enough water to cover for 4 hours.

Drain the peel and place in a small saucepan. Add water to cover and bring to a boil over med-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Drain and repeat the process. (Why? I have no idea... ) Drain and set aside to cool. Cut into 1/4 inch strips.

In a small saucepan, over med. heat, combine the 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 3T corn syrup. Heat, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil and the sugar is dissolved. Add the peel strips, reduce heat to low, and cook slowly until the peel is translucent and the syrup registers 230 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Do not allow to caramelize.

Transfer peels to a wire rack to drain (better put something under it), without touching eachother. While still warm, roll the peels in sugar on a plate and then place on a piece of wax paper to finish cooling and drying. Store in a covered container in a cool place for up to several weeks.

Yeah, like it'll last that long around here.

A Very Happy 7th Birthday

2009-11-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

Sofia invited a few friends over for her Kings and Queens Brunch. The crowns were lovely but I didn't expect the kids to wear them much. One friend wore hers the entire time and she was an adorable queen. The crowns were made using a process similar to that described at Bitterbetty's blog here.
The kids seemed to enjoy the restaurant-like party. I took their drink orders, brought them drinks, took their food orders and helped Chris briefly in the kitchen. Then we played a few rounds of 20 questions while waiting for their food. They were very polite (mostly) and I had fun being their server. Chris did an excellent job preparing the food. We served it all at once and most of the kids cleared their plates - those who didn't had eyes bigger than their stomachs ;)
After the party, she opened some presents. Part of Sofia's gift from us was her own knitting basket with a starter skein of red wool and size 8 needles. We also gave her three horse books. Her face says it all. She was very happy.
We spent the afternoon working on a puzzle and rounded the day off with a movie and bean and cheese burritos for dinner (Sofia's request).
I've heard 7 is about the right time to learn knitting. She has been asking for a couple years for me to teach her but I have held her off. We started a simple garter stitch scarf. I was a little nervous about teaching her to knit because I'm not the most patient teacher and she's not the most patient apprentice. That and I'm left handed and she is not, so I am learning to knit right handed along with her. She seems to be picking it up pretty well.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T21:40:00.001-07:00

We did our Halloween preview photoshoot this afternoon.
I may switch Maia to a long sleeve white shirt and leggings so that she won't be confused for a penguin angel - seriously, a passing neighbor said that (??) Anyway, they both love their costumes, and that is really all that matters.
Oh my goodness, you put a little lipstick on her and she looks 15. Yikes!

Meanwhile, after my last post, Regina gave me a tip to look at these crowns by Bitterbetty. I took one look and knew I had to make them for Sofia's party. I had been planning something less spectacular, like a couple steps up from a 1970s Burger King crown, but her tutorial seemed pretty simple, so I went for it. I ended up deviating from her process because I couldn't find the right gold leafing powder, but I ended up with something very similar. And again, Sofia loves them, so there you go.

Halloween and Birthday Preparations

2009-10-24T18:48:00.001-07:00

Any guesses what Sofia is going to be?

Maia is going to be a white dove. She had originally wanted to be a robin and I'm not sure what changed her mind, but it's pretty much the same costume, different color. I'm hoping to be done this weekend so I can move on to preparations for Sofia's birthday party the day after Halloween.

We are going to have a Kings and Queens Brunch. There will be just a couple friends and Maia. I'm thinking of making crowns, but they're going to have to be pretty simple. Then they will have brunch, restaurant style with a menu, a couple games and we'll call it a party. Sofia has requested chocolate mousse. Oh my. Where does she get these ideas?

After Chris' backpacking weekend extragavanza I was looking at my pictures from my Summer Field trip back in 1994. I decided to scan my favorites in for archiving purposes. It's funny how few pictures there are from those film days. We spent 8 weeks in the Inyo National Forest near Treasure Lakes, and then Saddlerock Lake. Chris came up at least a couple times and we climbed Hurd Peak during a break. We also took a side trip to "Dogtown", the family vacation house that is no longer, near Coulterville. I really enjoyed the scenery while I was up there but I spent a lot of time writing to Chris about how miserable I was. I ran across those letters recently too. Tee hee. So silly. Anyway, here are the pictures.

Mountain mom

2009-10-19T10:29:00.001-07:00

Mountain mom
Originally uploaded by Berinder

Chris and a couple friends went backpacking this weekend to Matlock Lake, Kearsarge Pass, and Mt. something or other (eastern Sierra out of Independence). Bobby (one of his companions) titled this "Mountain Mom", which seems pretty fitting. Chris was my savior in college when I had to prepare for the 8-week summer field camp in the Sierras. Chris' companions, although not lacking enthusiasm, did lack some experience and perhaps there was a little figurative hand holding. Chris is also the voice of reason, which apparently came in handy, too. There are more pictures here and here.

Makes me want to go. Who wants to babysit?

Baby Shower

2009-10-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

And they're off! Phew! I feel like I'm in the land of many unfinished projects. It feels good to get one done. It was a short and sweet print job. Only 30 invitations and only two screens. I'm pleased with the turnout. I did the drawing in Illustrator, separated the color, printed each in black and then burned the screens. The photo is a little goofy because I had to smudge so many things out. You know, privacy issues. This is the internet afterall. So this morning Sofia came to me with this heart and asked me to write down the names of the people I love. I was making lunches and running late (what else is new) and asked her to please put it on my desk so I could do it later. A few minutes later she came back with something written on the back and she read it to me.

Love is beauty
Love is kindness
Wonderful things happen to lovers
Love is kissing and hugging
and happiness
Love is snow and sparkles too
It is two people getting married when grown

I don't have to tell you how neat I think Sofia is and how wonderful an artist she is. Now she's a poet too.

Is it wrong...

2009-10-05T17:42:00.001-07:00

to love this so much? I had to go to Paper Source this weekend. I know, twist my arm. Turns out, this particular store is just a couple miles away and has been open for months, maybe even a year, but it was my first trip there. I could probably spend hours in there looking at all the pretty things and could probably spend a bundle too. But I didn't. I did buy the above "Shape + Color Guide" along with some notecard paper for baby shower invites. I'm doing a gocco print and I'm going to try embossing powder for the first time. I'll post pics as soon as they've been sent out...

Remember when I said if I got busy with work that I'd still have time to get it all done? Well, I'm being put to the test. I've got a fast turn around work project this week (paid work, yay!), a pumpkin patch field trip, two school newsletters, a camping weekend complete with inlaws coming, and baby shower invitations to get out. Let's just say there won't be any homemade yogurt at our house this week.

Oooooo, ahhhh, camera stuff

2009-10-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

We decided to replace our 50 mm lens that was stolen from our car over a year ago. I had volunteered to take some photos at Sofia's school and realized that it would definitely come in handy. We also took the plunge and bought a nice flash. We're calling them our early birthday presents, to the tune of a couple months early. That's ok, we'll still be enjoying them when our birthdays roll around (Chris and I have birthdays a week apart). So here are my first victims...

Look at this face... don't you want to squeeze it?

And this one... she wasn't cooperating, go figure. These were shot indoors in daylight, no flash.

Here is Miss Cat, with the flash bouncing off the ceiling, nighttime.

Here's another one of Miss Rocky, with flash to the face. I had to include it for obvious reasons.

And here I am with and without flash, daytime. Having fun.

Oh, and here's a funny. The other night in the shower, Maia looks at me longingly and says, "Mama, will I have long boobies when I grow up?" Yes, my dear, I'm afraid you will.

Painting on the Wall!

2009-09-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

But first, Kid Art. I put some notes on the flickr site.
And next, I had to go to the office on Monday to help transition a project from a manager who is leaving to another manager. While I was there, my work status came up, as it does nearly every time I'm in the office. So, you're not ready to come back full time? In my mind, I was laughing hysterically and thinking, "no, it'll be about 14 more years before I want to come back full time". But I simply said, no, not yet. Then on Wednesday, I had another work meeting and this time, someone else says, "Are you coming back full time?" Uh, no, where did you hear that?

I've tried to write about all my thoughts about work a couple times, and it always sounds whiny and annoying. So, I scrapped it. Suffice it to say that all this is on my mind, my choices and priorities, and that same yucky feeling I've had since Sofia was born that I'm not giving work what they want.

Then, I found out today that the daughter of a principal at work has several autoimmune diseases. Her mother (my co-worker), wrote me to offer support in response to something I had said about Maia. It was very nice of her, and a little surprising since I haven't worked with her much. She mentioned that she and her daughter's doctors feel environmental triggers are causing a rise in the incidence of autoimmune diseases.

Even though our focus and Maia's doctors' focus has been on her treatment, I think and wonder a lot about the "why" of all this. What triggered her body's immune system to go haywire? What are we going to find out in 10, 20, 30 years from now that we didn't realize? Is it the non-stick cookware? The flame retardant bedding? Something in the water? Is it some random food allergy? Or a weird vaccine ingredient? All of the above? I wonder if anyone's researching this.

So anyway, about painting on the wall. I painted the chalkboard (big mess now cleaned up) and now I'm working on a faux gold frame around it. It's a little tongue in cheek but I like it so far. And painting on the wall is fun. But shhh, don't tell my kids, they might get some crazy ideas. I'm also practicing my chalkboard writing a la Trader Joe's. Hopefully it'll be done soon, so go ahead, hold your breath.
And finally, I'm having a little autumn envy. Many in the blogosphere are basking in their autumn wonderfulness. I used to love autumn, the cooler weather, the crisp air, putting on a sweater... granted, where I grew up, it was not the traditional northeast autumn and we had a spell of "Indian Summer" as it was called, but it was a different season for sure. But here? Autumn is all about blazing hot, dry, hills on fire. So I'm having a little autumn envy. I know, it's only the first week, quit complaining. Ok.

Moving On

2009-09-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

We seem to be past the worst of the pneumonia with small improvements every day. Maia is back at school, although I had to bring her home early yesterday because her chest was hurting. Despite that, her breathing has been improving every day (less gurgling) and there has been less coughing at night. I just don't want her to end up in the hospital, so we're taking one day at a time.

This has been my first week with some child-free moments in quite a while and I'm determined not to get bogged down in the depressing under-employed state of things. I took on a small job at Maia's school doing the newsletter and other paperwork. The hours are minimal and the pay low, but there is a generous tuition discount that makes it worthwhile. It will give me some structure to my week and if my other job picks up (can't get any slower for me), I will still have plenty of time to get it all done.

My mom visited last week so that we could work on a top secret project together. It's going to be *great* but I can't share it - yet. While she was here, I was cringing at the state of her room. It is our guest room slash sewing stash slash Chris' cycling gear slash art supplies slash knitting stash slash what ever else doesn't have a place - you get the picture. So after she left I tackled the clutter, organized the closet, and hung a couple pictures. The result is several bags of giveaway, a couple boxes of books to donate, much fabric to give away, a box of cassette tapes to record digitally, and a much. cleaner. room. Now my mom has to come back before it gets cluttery again.

Well, I'm going to wrap up this boring no pictures post and run off to work on my kitchen wall chalk board. I spray painted chalkboard paint directly on the wall yesterday (bad idea, too messy, don't do it, use the brush-on paint) and now I'm figuring out some sort of border.

Maia's Off to School

2009-09-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

Maia's first day of school was yesterday and went very well. She immediately ran off with her friends without a kiss or goodbye. Oh well, that's fine. I'm glad she's happy there. Unfortunately she's home today with possible pneumonia - yep, that's right. Goodness, we're having fun. Hopefully, the antibiotics will kick in soon and she'll be back in the swing soon (haha, literally). Other than the nasty sounding chest and cough, she's in good spirits.

Bike MS

2009-09-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

We did a little Bike MS photoshoot this weekend. Maia can be a bit of a pain about photos, especially when you really need her to smile for the camera. I won't repeat here what we were saying to finally get her to laugh and smile, it was on the verge of potty talk (the things we'll do for a picture!).

Chris will be riding the Southern California Bike MS charity ride October 3 and 4 put on by the Multiple Sclerosis Society. It's a total of 160 miles. This is his second year and this year he'll ride with his cycling club, Fast Friday. Last year at this time, we didn't know that Maia had an autoimmune disease. We were still wandering through the red tape at Kaiser trying to figure it out, although we had pretty much given up on our doctors and had decided to move on. Now that we know, we have found that Maia's treatment is similar to that of other autoimmune diseases. It seems even more fitting to try to raise money and awareness for research that may eventually help Maia and people like her. For more information on how to support Chris and the MS Society, check out Chris' Bike MS page.
Ahhh, I love it when I have an idea and I'm actually able to get it done in one day. I made this tote today for Sofia to carry her ballet stuff. It's lined and cute and just what I had in mind. It's made of scraps from recent skirt and dress projects. She had her first ballet class last week and she really enjoyed it. Now she's all outfitted with a blue leotard, pink tights, pink slippers, and a really cool tote!

2nd Grader

2009-08-27T13:03:00.001-07:00

Wow, who could imagine having a second grader. She looks so grown up. She's wearing her new uniform, which is basically khaki bottoms and several different colored shirts for the tops. We were not proponents of going to uniforms for many reasons that I won't go into because, well, it doesn't matter at this point.

This is Peace Montessori's 3rd year and as expected each new year brings changes and hopefully improvements. They've hired 3 new teachers who already seem to be working well as a team and making some positive additions. I'm most excited about the Peace curriculum, which will include conflict resolution, community building, and non-violent communication. Imagine that, teaching Peace. I love it. I have to admit I pretty much wanted to sign up for the school when I heard it was going to be called Peace Montessori, but of course there's more to it than a name and these teachers seem to be committed to providing an education befitting a school called Peace.

In a strange scheduling mismatch, Maia doesn't start school until the 9th of September, which means she will be missing her sister and looking for things to do. Chris is going to take her camping for a night, a promise he made to her last winter when he took Sofia skiing. Right now though, she isn't feeling well. She's had a nasty cough for over a week and last night she started to have some stomach issues (i.e. no one got enough sleep). Could be a virus I guess, but I can't help worry a little. Some. Ok, a lot. Is her medicine making her stomach upset? Is her cough related to scleroderma? I know it's unlikely from what I've read, but still. Then there's all the talk about H1N1. Now we have to get another vaccine? Of course, right? What if she gets swine flu? Turns out I have a lot on my mind regarding Maia. The pokes aren't going so well lately either. Four weeks in a row, she has protested quite dramatically, which makes things difficult. Chris has to restrain her and she's so tense. I suppose these phases are to be expected but it's not fun. Edited to say: Ok, so I talked to the ped rheumy fellow today and he didn't seem too concerned about the cough. Amazing what I can conjure up in my mind. Probably should have kept it to myself.

Work? What work? I'm trying to stay positive, but geez, this is ridiculous. So, I have been working on this (from Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing):I meant to have two slippers ready for Sofia's first day of school (they are allowed to bring slippers to school to wear in the classroom). But I had to fiddle with the pattern, which is sized for adults, and unfortunately, I didn't fiddle enough. I finished one and it is too big. Argh. But, the good news is, I have plenty of fabric and now that I've done the pattern once, doing it again won't be hard. Famous. Last. Words.

14

2009-08-12T08:28:00.001-07:00

August 12, 1995 was a really hot day in Napa Valley, hence the shine.
We've only changed a bit.

Summer's Winding Down for Us

2009-08-10T13:02:00.001-07:00

After our last visit to the ped rheumy (pediatric rheumatologist), we decided to try decreasing PT (physical therapy) to once a week. When we started all this back in January, it didn't occur to me that driving 15 miles to Agoura twice a week would start to get really old, really fast. The condition was that we would do some type of PT activities at home. So the first week I was rather unorganized which led to Maia not cooperating, me getting frustrated and giving up and doing a yoga video, which wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Then last week I got more organized and purchased a couple of really useful props and we ended up with a 20 minute session that is really all I could hope for...

We did a little competition where we picked up little metal balls with our toes and then there was walking around with a big elastic strap around our feet so that we had to try hard to press our legs apart. Finally, I made a little obstacle course where there was plenty of balancing, bending, and turning. Sofia joined in the fun. Hopefully it will be enough to keep the progress we've made and maybe even make some more.

Here we are at the Getty Center yesterday. We were a little surprised that they've increased the parking fee to $15 but all in all still a very affordable and fun-for-all afternoon. We like to walk up the hill (forgoing the tram) and I'm happy to report that Maia walked the whole way up - something she couldn't have done last summer. We tried to recreate this picture from couple years ago... my, my, my how we've grown. Sofia's going to be taller than me any minute now.
We have a friend turning 5 this week, so I whipped up a peasant skirt and a little head scarf for her. The scarf pattern is from Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing. I made the top a little less wide and shortened the elastic to fit a child's head. Sofia is modeling for me and it seems to fit her fine. She and Maia have put in several orders for their own scarves and I have a few to make for myself, too.

And last, this bird has been coming around lately. I've seen them before but rarely. Any guesses you birders out there?

Hello Blog

2009-07-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

I have written so many posts in my mind since my last post but somehow they haven't managed to show up here. Summer time kind of kicks my butt.

There's the one about my sister, Erin - pregnant - yay!! And all the stuff I want to make for that new baby coming to us in late December. I mean, it is OUR baby, too. Can't wait, really, I'm very excited.

There's the one about this sweater I started. And the wonderful linen-wool yarn I found at the LYS in Encinitas while we were visiting last month. I could go on and on about this project, mostly because I seem to be having some trouble reading instructions... or paying attention or something. I have started this project over twice and fixed several major mistakes involving going back several rows. But, I guess the bottom line is that I must really like knitting because I don't really mind. I mean, I hope to get a wearable sweater out of this eventually, and hopefully sooner rather than later, not that I need it now - hello July heat - but it's the process, man.

Then there's the one about some sewing I did back in June. My niece and nephew turned 3, so I made a "Kai's Shirt" and a "Smocked Sundress" from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. There are so many projects I want to try in that book but so far I haven't made it back to sewing. And since I didn't want to leave out big sister Shealyn, she got a peasant skirt. Shelley sent this picture of them in their outfits, so cute!!

Then there's the one about how much I hate the poking. And I'm the poker. Not the pokee. Enough said of that.

And the one about our 4th annual 4th of July party with friends, neighbors, and family. There was a pack of wild animals here, too. Actually it was the crowd of 6 and 7 year old girls. They had so much fun but they sure are loud! I put together a little craft project that was a bit too ambitious but it all worked out. Next year, I'll make something ahead of time so I can socialize a little more. The project was in a nutshell, a half of a toilet paper roll wrapped around a LED tealight, with a piece of white German kite paper wrapped around and taped to the other end of the tp roll, which was decorated with stars of various colors (this part was done by the kids). It made a fun light saber sort of thing for the kids to take on the walk over to our fireworks viewing spot. Pictures? No, darn. But it was a hit from the 2 year olds on up to the almost 13 year old boy.

Well, that's going to have to do it for this evening. I'm off to make some chamomile tea, and hit the sack. Tomorrow we've got a blood draw for Maia in the morning (didn't we just do one of those??), maybe a trip to Pandora's Paintbox as a treat, and swimming in the afternoon.

Summer!

2009-06-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

We're in the thick of our first week of summer. Still scrambling a bit to figure out the new routine - like how to squeeze in swimming lessons, physical therapy, work, summer camp, and some lazy summer days. I made a new housework schedule about three weeks ago and recommited to sticking with it. So far so good. It feels much better, and hey, my house is clean(er)!

We were treated to a wonderful show at Peace Montessori on Friday for the last day of school. (I can't believe the school year is already over) They did yoga for us - it was so fun to watch. Then there was a play in Spanish, which I didn't understand but it was cute, too. And finally, a they played several songs on their recorders. I was very impressed. There are a few photos here.I'm a little late with these gifts, but the recipients probably won't notice. Twins, Connor and Sienna, turned 3 last weekend and so I whipped up some summer garb for them. I'm working on a peasant skirt made with the leftover fabric for their older sister, but it's not finished yet. They are "Kai's Shirt" and "Smocked Sundress", both from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. The dress was especially simple - I wish I'd known how to do this a few years ago. I'm eyeing so many projects in that book - I can hardly stand it!

I got my hair cut - ahhhh, no more ponytails for a while. I like it - still very low maintenance, and just a little more hip. Now Sofia wants hers short too - we'll see. Well, we're off to the Hillman folks this week, before summer camp starts. Just the girls - maybe a walk or two to the park, a trip to the beach, and some visiting with Grandma and GrandDad.

Name This Bird

2009-06-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

A new bird came flitting through the back yard and was in and out in 30 seconds. So, as usual my pictures are poor, through the window, fully zoomed and cropped. But this is definitely a bird I haven't seen before. I have a general idea, but I haven't pinpointed it. Any guesses?

It has a slight crest that's hard to see in the photo and there is a small branch crossing its face in the photo (not a white streak). Tail feathers spread and showed more rust when he flew off.

Homemade

2009-05-31T10:49:00.000-07:00

I have a little obsession. Making stuff. It's partly a "green" thing. You know, less packaging and transportation. Part health reasons, like fewer added ingredients, more organic ingredients. Part economics - it costs less to make things (at least it should!!). And partly it's the little rebel in me that likes to say, ha! I don't have to buy your stinkin' overpriced green-natural-organic product at the store, I can make it myself. I do believe strongly that we should be willing to pay for good quality healthy organic green products, but sometimes it's hard when you compare bargain basement made-in-a-far-off-country Target prices to those at Whole Foods. I'm no trail blazer though, all my projects have been researched on the good ol' internet.

So I've been working on yogurt. My first attempt was only partly successful. I learned that my oven doesn't stay warm very long and can't be set to under 170 degrees. Chris thinks it's a food safety concern, as in, mind-your-own-business-you-lawsuit-fearing-oven-makers-who-think-I'm-going-to-poison-my-family-with-food-heated-to-less-than-170-degrees (in my humble opinion). But I digress. The temperature fluctuations were probably to wide and the yogurt separated. It tasted fine though and I was able to use it for frozen smoothie drinks.

The basic process I've learned is to heat milk to 180 degrees, let it cool, add the starter (I used a package starter), and place in canning jars. Once in the jars, the key is to keep it at about 110 degrees for 4-6 hours. This time I used a large pot to place the glass jars in and then immersed them in hot water (110 degrees). I started it at about 6 pm when we were also cooking dinner and had the oven on. The pot stayed on the stove while we were cooking and then once the oven cooled down I put it in the oven. I checked on it a few times, changing the water once and turning on the oven for a couple minutes once. At 11:30 pm, we were going to bed and I heated the oven slightly and then turned it off and left it for the night. The water was still about 110 degrees at that point. In the morning, I put the jars in the refrigerator and let them chill for a couple hours.

The texture was great, but the flavor was um... different. I forgot to mention that I put dry milk powder in the milk heating phase. I have read that it makes thicker yogurt, but I think it also changed the flavor a bit. For the ultimate test, I served up a couple bowls, drizzled a little honey and put a couple drops of vanilla on top. Maia and Sofia loved it. So there you go.

Man, this is turning out to be a long post. I'm pleased with the yogurt making though. I can see how it there might be a bit more trial and error and how it might turn out differently each time. And that's probably ok. A couple times, I've come very close to going over to the mall and buying the darn $50 yogurt maker at Williams Sonoma (it gets very good reviews), but then the little rebel, and the little spend thrift voice their disapproval and I'm back to researching on the internet.

Next homemade project: shampoo. Yes, there have been some bad hair days going on around here, but I haven't given up yet.

Little Artists

2009-05-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

Just popping in to share the latest bulletin board offerings from Sofia and Maia. We try to keep their artwork limited to this space (believe me though it is hard). They are very prolific artists, knocking out at least several offerings per day. Their abilities seem to change daily. Maia especially has taken some great leaps lately, and has been drawing lots of people, hearts, and flowers. Her people are really starting to come to life. Sofia draws lots of family portraits, horses, and princesses. I just looked over there this morning and thought a picture was in order. Please go to flickr to get the full effect with notes and everything.

I am working on another skirt (the curtain skirt) I was almost finished when I pulled a couple dingbat maneuvers. The zipper I bought was a little too long so I trimmed it from the top (first mistake). No big deal, right? I hand sewed it into place (hand sewed!!) because I don't have the right presser foot for an invisible zipper. Well, I failed to sew stops at the top of the zipper and while fiddling with the waistband, I accidentally pulled the slider off the top of the zipper. Ack. Couldn't get it back on. So I'm off to Joanne's for a new zipper, which I will trim properly from the bottom, SEW A STOPPER, and re-handsew back into the skirt, which is turning out very cute and I can't wait to wear it. :)

Gardening

2009-05-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

I spent quite a bit of time in the yard this week. Seems like an endless amount of work this time of year. But hopefully it will pay off with some edibles. I planted a couple avocado trees down on our back slope. It was slightly treacherous but should be a good place for them, and once they grow they should keep some weeds down with the leaf fall. One tree (seen below) was started from seed last year and one was store bought. I've read mixed reviews on starting avocados from seed - everything from they won't fruit, the fruit tastes bad, and they take longer to fruit (like 8-20 years). Since I can't wait that long, I bought another tree and I'm hoping if anything they'll help each other with pollination.
Then we've got some strawberries going, a couple tomatoes, and some cucumbers. The cucumbers are starting to sprout. I wasn't sure they were going to make it due to that super hot weekend where I was gone and someone forgot to water... but anyway, at least three have sprouted so there may be some homegrown cucumbers in our future after all. I also planted a lemon verbena - mmmm, such a sweet smell, and basil. I still need to decide on a place for a wild California rose, and have quite a bit of repotting and moving succulents around to clean them up and make space. So I'll be busy again this weekend. Happy gardening!

Unfinished Business

2009-04-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

But first...

It Ain't Easy Being Green
I spent Saturday at our local Arbor Day/Earth Day fair. I was helping out a friend whose craft studio had a booth for kids to decorate a canvas snack sack. Green enough, right? There was the usual mix of businesses and groups marketing their "greenness", local gardening groups and such giving stuff away like plant cuttings or seedlings, local government giving away oil pans for when you change your oil, vendors selling various wares (green and not so), fair food (no, not fair trade food, crappy fair food) and jolly jumpers powered by gasoline generators. Wha? I'm kidding right? No, sadly no. I suppose the argument could be made that in order to attract people and their children to the event, one needs such entertainment. And all these trinkets and reusable bags being given away? Made in China. So, in my humble opinion, we, in the land of many oaks, have a long way to go before we can truly call ourselves green.

Some might say I'm being too picky. It reminds me of an article I read recently (wish I could remember where...) about how the "green" movement is and always has been hampered by all the guilt-laden, end-of-the-world, people-are-so-evil rhetoric. Maybe so, but I guess I like to think of it as my religion.

On Sunday, I spent some time finishing up some long overdue projects. I had started a set of napkins for Erin and Tom but got busy and ended up giving them the first half in December (ahem). So those are done and on the way. Then, I finally got around to making some throw pillows for the girls' bed, you know that one we got way back in August of last year. The fabric was some left over Ikea curtain fabric and an Ikea duvet cover we weren't using. I still have a bunch of that groovy curtain fabric - and I'm eying it for another skirt. I'm either becoming very creatively frugal or I'm losing my mind.

Behold!

2009-04-23T16:14:00.001-07:00

Here it is: the finished pillowcase skirt. I was too impatient to let someone take good pictures, so I set up the camera myself with the timer. We're actually back to some cool weather, too cool to wear it, but earlier in the week, I was wishing I had it finished. We had some blazing hot weather that managed to kill off all the beautiful spring green hills and turn them to brown. Took a strawberry plant, too. *sniff* I should probably be used to these random heat waves that come at nearly any time of the year, but I am not.

Coming along... going away

2009-04-15T21:30:00.001-07:00

My skirt is almost finished and I think I might actually be able to wear it! Just needs some buttons and a hook but it'll have to wait. I decided at the last minute to take the girls up north for the rest of the week to visit some family since we're on spring break.

Don't Count Your Chickens

2009-04-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

I finished the girls' Easter skirts in record time (record time for me anyway) and I was feeling so smug having completed the skirts with few mistakes or redos, and I decided to start another project right away. I'd been eyeing these pillowcases in our linen closet for years. Maybe I could make a quick skirt for myself in time for Easter too... (why Easter skirts? No reason, just something to do).
Such cute fabric - Chris says they were his sheets as a kid, at least that's how he remembers it. I brought them out and convinced him that since we hadn't used them in the last 14 years of living together, that we probably should use them for something else. He agreed somewhat reluctantly. I started by searching for a tutorial on pillowcase skirts and found plenty but then realized that this fabric has a direction and all the tutorials use the fabric in the vertical orientation - of course, it's supposed to be a simple skirt.

So I had to think of plan B - no problem. I cut the top off the pillow case and would use it for the waist, then I cut the pillow case open along the bottom, sewed the side, hemmed it, and attached it to the top using the same gathering method from the girls' peasant skirts, put in some elastic at the top. Finished!

Where's the picture? Well, I put it on and Chris said, "how about if you...?" and "what if you...?" and "will it stop poofing out like that?" Hahahahahahahaha. It's not his fault, because even if he hadn't said anything, I probably still wouldn't have worn it. So, I'm back to the drawing board. Coming soon, a cute skirt made out of cute fabric, or not.

Spring Project

2009-04-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

What started out as a "free" project has blossomed into a little more than free. I was just going to use up some cotton yarn that I had in my stash and make a cute little shirt for Maia (pattern at Soulful Hues Hobbies & Random Thoughts). And if it worked out, tweak the pattern to make a bigger one for Sofia. My mistake was asking the opinion of the intended recipient of the project... which led to a new yarn purchase. Oh and then I decided to make skirts to go with the knit tops... I went to the local big box fabric store with 40% coupon in hand and left thoroughly disgusted with their selection. I ended up at the local quilting shop, which has oh so much more to offer in the way of pretty fabric. So much for free.
Don't laugh, but I had to tack on the green because I had miscalculated how much of the blue yarn I had. It looks a bit like green grass under a blue sky, so I added the flower to increase the chance that Maia might actually choose to wear it without some sort of bribery involved. She is quite selective these days about her clothing. If it's not a pink dress, it's got a snowball's chance in, well, you know.Hopefully my pattern adjustments will work out for Sofia's version. She may need a camisole underneath if the arm holes ended up too big. I'm thinking about a simple wrap around pattern for the skirt found here. Or a may do an even simpler 3-tier peasant skirt.

I did it

2009-03-25T20:48:00.000-07:00

Yep, you got it. You can call me Nurse Alexis now. Phewwww! I think I'm still on an adrenaline rush and it's been several hours since I gave Maia her first shot at home. It went great. In fact, best shot she's had since all this stuff started - and by that I mean there was just a little tiny bit of crying and she had basically forgotten about it within a few minutes. I don't expect that every time, but I know this is the best way for Maia and for all of us. Thanks to my nurse friends and family for their advice, my mom for her encouragement, and Maia's nurse at her ped office for all her help. I did my first shot last week at the doctor's office, and it went well, but I knew today's shot would be a big mental hurdle too - having to do it here at home without the nurse. Chris was the holder, I was the poker, Sofia provided singing entertainment. Lots of hugs all around afterward.
I started a little shirt for Maia on Saturday. It's going really fast, which is nice after that year-long sweater. I saw it first at JC Handmade, but the pattern is here.
I added a little ribbing on the sleeve to keep it from rolling and will probably do the same at the bottom. Next issue is that I will probably run out of yarn. Oops. I was trying to use something in my stash but miscalculated how much I had. Unfortunately, this yarn came from a shop in LA. So, we'll see what I decide to do about all that...

Move it along, move it along

2009-03-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

nothing to see here. Been busy.

Doing art? Well, a little. I'm enjoying using some watercolor pencils in a little hand-bound watercolor paper book my mom picked up on one of her travels. Nothing to share yet though.

Knitting? A smidge. Finishing up some fingerless gloves just in time for our transition from winter to summer. Some people call it spring.

We're mostly recovered from last week's treatment at UCLA for Maia - it's a hard week - no two ways about it. I'm so glad to have family that is willing to help out. Three weeks to mentally prepare for the next one.

Trying to stay on top of the seemingly millions of "Processed Claim Reports" that we're getting from the insurance company. Got one yesterday which show a $920 lab charge that was not covered. Something so unsettling about seeing "You owe provider: $920" I knew there must be a mistake. Right? It must be a mistake. Please let it be a mistake. So 3 phone calls and half and hour later, I think we have that one cleared up - maybe. Until next month when the same exact charge comes through...

I've been practicing giving shots to lemons. I hope to start giving Maia her shots myself maybe next week. Next week. Maybe.

Oh yeah. And the job search. That's still going on too. I feel like I was in a game of musical chairs, and the music stopped and here I am still standing. Crap.

Package of Cheer

2009-02-28T08:04:00.001-08:00

My birds of change came today - and it couldn't have been better timing. Just what I needed, really. They are each so cool in their own way. I photographed them hanging on a picture mobile, but I think they will eventually find their own special place around the house. Thanks mostly to Regina for creating and organizing this exchange and to everyone who participated.

This painted wood bird is from Amy Lyons at aplcreations.com.

These are paper clay sitting on a cast pewter branch, from Schlovonne (I'm sorry I don't have a link!)

Regina's painted and embellished fabric.

Cotton and felt from Arte da Luluzinha.

Embroidered felt from Affectioknits.

What One Does...

2009-02-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

when one is supposed to be putting together a resume.

One knits fingerless gloves.

One draws a ladybug with watercolor pencils.

The resume writing is incredibly s-l-o-w, but necessary. I haven't had to do one since 2000 so I'm having to dig deep.

We Survived

2009-02-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

Other possible titles for this post: Not My Favorite Week, "You're in the Right Place" - Really?, and How to Traumatize a 4-Year Old.

But first, the fun stuff! Maia's birthday party was great. We had a big crowd of family - all the grandparents! - an aunt and cousin, a couple of our best friends, and our neighbors. Sofia led the scavenger hunt for the fairy pieces of clothing, and the little fairy guests were just precious.

We brought the fairy clothes, wings, and hats inside to complete our fairy clothespin dolls, and here is how they turned out...

Then we had cream cheese and jam bagels, strawberries, and of course woodland fairy mushroom cupcakes.

Then came Monday. Luckily Grandma (my mom) had offered to stay and help out with the whole treatment thing and we gladly accepted, not knowing what to expect. I suppose Monday was the hardest. They tried putting the IV in Maia's right arm (she's a leftie) and got it in, but while they were wrapping, taping, etc. it slipped out of the vein. Meanwhile Maia had completely lost it and was trying to crawl up my face to get away from the nurses. So we did it again on the other side. This time, Grandma held her and I put my head against Maia's and sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in her ear, over and over, until they were done. I couldn't think of anything else. After that, she was pretty calm. She had expended most of her energy. We held her, watched a video, and finally got to go home.

Thankfully, we managed to keep the IV in and functional for the three days so Tuesday and Wednesday were mainly mellow. At this stage Maia is traumatized by any sort of poke and she needed one more on Wednesday. This will be a weekly shot and they suggested that we give it to her at home. Um, really? Because that wasn't on my list of things to do before I turn 38.

When we first met the rheumatologist a few weeks ago, she spent a lot of time with us, listening to our whole story of how Maia's condition had progressed over the last year, including some of my commentary about all the missteps (in my opinion) by our former doctors. She said to me, "You're in the right place now." At the time it was comforting because I knew that she felt confident that they would be able to help Maia. But this week, I couldn't help but feel like, "What the hell am I doing here?" All the sick kids, all the supporting family, the toy cabinet for the kids when their treatment was done, the nurses coming in to check blood pressure, temperature, etc. - these things were not part of my life. But they are now.

I have a good friend from work who's daughter has an ongoing medical condition that has required similar drugs and various treatments and hospital stays since she was 7 months old. She knew exactly what I meant, which made me feel better. All those people who seem so comfortable there, or seem like they are supposed to be there, feel just like me, they don't feel like they should be there either. And they are going along, just like us, fumbling through, feeling sad and sometimes crappy that their kid has to go through this. I'm sure I'll eventually get over this, and Maia will hopefully get better at all the pokes, but for now we are going to whine and complain about it, just a little.

Here's the little trooper after the first day. Thank goodness for Hello Kitty bandaids.

When It Rains It...

2009-02-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

is pouring... I'm up to my eyeballs in life going on. The good news is that it is raining. Finally.

I've got Maia's birthday party mostly under control, but I did have to scale back a little. I'm fine with it. We're still going to make fairy clothespin dolls, and they are coming along nicely. Here's a preview:

More bad news from work. Ugh. Less work will be coming my way due to v-e-r-y slow economy. I guess it's the risk you take being a casual part time employee.

Maia's treatment starts Monday. She'll get IV steroids for two hours, 3 days in a row. I really don't know what to expect. She's already resisting physical therapy a bit - it's just not fun. Sitting with an IV stuck in your arm, three days in a row - not fun either. But I'm working on a doctor/appointment bag that will contain special fun things she can do while at our not-so-fun appointments.

Fly Away Little Birdies

2009-01-29T21:30:00.001-08:00

The birdies are on their way to their new homes. That was a fun little diversion. But holy smokes, I have less than two weeks until Maia's birthday and have compiled quite a to-do list for her celebration. First and foremost, I need to finish her birthday ring - she remembered that I said I would and so it must be. Then we have a small fairy party planned and I decided that I wanted to make fairies as party favors - so we're going to try a clothespin doll/fairy scavenger hunt. Maybe a little ambitious for 4-year olds, but should be fun. Then there's a fairy/birthday coloring book in the works. Oh dear, what have I got myself into - all self-imposed of course.

Did I ever post about this birdhouse? I think maybe it got lost in the "back to work" shuffle. Chris and I made this birdhouse following instructions from Sunset magazine. It's supposed to be suitable for Western Bluebirds, which I would love to attract to my yard. I've seen them here a few times but very rarely. But, the exciting news is that the Oak Titmouses, who are around pretty often, have been fluttering about and even in and out of the birdhouse. I'm very excited. I'll try to get a better picture.

And the winner is...

2009-01-23T21:01:00.000-08:00

Librosfera

This little bird will travel all the way to Barcelona, how fun!

Good Times

2009-01-22T20:47:00.000-08:00

Tonight after books, I was laying with Maia and rubbing her little foot and leg, like I do most nights, and she whispered in her breathy little voice,

"Mama."
"Shhhh, nigh-night Maia."
"Mama, today there was music and Jeff [the music teacher] swallowed a frog."

I lay there for a few seconds trying to figure out what might have happened for her to say that, and then I got it. Ah.

"So did his voice sound a little funny?"
"Yeah." Giggle, giggle.

And then I started giggling and we both giggled until,

"SHHhhh! Stop giggling!" Sofia scolded from the top bunk. Oh, man. That's good stuff. Giggle.

Happy Bird for a Happy Day

2009-01-20T10:17:00.000-08:00

Here's a happy bird to give away on a happy day. I settled on a slightly different bird for the exchange, but this one is a favorite of the several test birds I made. She is inspired by a bird I got from my grandmother as a child, seen here.

Leave a comment by Friday 5:00 PM PST and I'll pick a random winner. Thanks for stopping by!

Oh, and you don't have to be part of the bird exchange to win the free bird - so please leave a comment.

It IS a new day

2009-01-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

I can't stop listening to this song (sorry, they won't let me embed it). Much excitement and emotion about tomorrow.
Will.I.Am's It's a New Day

And for your inspiration, a little Dr. King:

Mama Bear, Birds, Bathrooms and Books

2009-01-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

Over a year ago, we noticed some red splotchy marks on Maia's left leg. And if I had several hours, I'd explain all the stuff we've been doing to figure this problem out... but suffice it to say that I have at least four doctors on my $#!*list of people to send a thanks-for-nothing letter (which I'm pretty sure will never actually happen but anyway...) On Wednesday, after taking her to a new set of doctors, we got confirmation that she has scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that causes excess collagen production in the affected tissues. For Maia, the affected area is her entire leg, and she is experiencing loss of range of motion in her knee, ankle, and foot, skin tightening and discoloration. The treatment involves a couple drugs and physical therapy, and I guess this could go on for a few years. This terrifies me, but at this point I feel like any moment not treating it, is potentially more permanent damage to her leg.

So, I've had my crying day, my angry day, my fearful day. Eventually, I'll settle into focusing all that Mama Bear energy into helping Maia get better. She's such a sweet little trooper and I love her to pieces.

...

Birds, birds, birds... After several test birds, I think I finally have my pattern for Regina's swap. Pictures and progress coming soon.

...

Um, the bathroom got torn up - I don't know how this happened, but here we are with a stripped down 5 x 8 room with a tub and a couple holes in the floor. We've got some new tile coming and Chris is planning a new cabinet with a sink and some wall units we already bought at Ikea. It'll be nice but like I said, it wasn't exactly on our list of priorities, so I'm not really sure why we're doing it now, but it was possibly the ugliest bathroom on the planet, so I am not complaining.

...

Look at this cute book Sofia wrote for us. She's pretty neat.

This Swap is Right Up My Alley...

2009-01-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

Why not start the year right by jumping right in to a swap? We're going to make 5 little birdies, send them to Creative Kismet, she'll divvy them up, and send us 5 birds from other participants! I'm picturing a permanent bird tree display in our future.

I'm not sure what I'll be making but here's some inspiration found right in our house:
I made this one using some home dyed refelted (by a friend of a friend) felt. She sits at my desk and at Christmas time on the tree.

I bought this wet felted beauty at the Felt Club XL event one year.

OK, this one's from Starbucks, but it's cute too.

And last, this one came from my Nana, at least I think it did - it reminds me of her anyway, and it was made in Mexico. I've had it in my Coca Cola box display for as long as I remember. I love it's colors, and paintings. So this ought to keep me busy.

It must be almost Christmas...

2008-12-23T21:26:00.000-08:00

I've been super busy finishing up some projects, but fun busy. Here's a quilt top for Sofia's doll cradle...

The cradle was a hand-me-down from a friend, which I decoupaged. No pictures of the cradle yet, as I haven't had too many moments to snap pictures of the gifts. And here's an almost finished fairy pagoda for Maia.

I made it from a pattern found here. I started this in early 2008 but had to put it away in the closet for months before I could bear to take it out again - too much satin stitch. It is very cute though and Maia will love it, especially since Santa is bringing some little fairies.

Lastly, there's been some gift bag making to supplement what a friend gave me last year. So far, we haven't used wrapping paper - yay! I'm sure it will remind some people in my family of my Nana, who used to wrap gifts in any old bag she could find, even a trash bag, but hey, I figure it's saving me time and money and makes me feel less wasteful.

We were supposed to leave this afternoon to begin our annual tour of California, also known as visiting our extended families. But, Sofia and Maia both came down with colds and Sofia has a fever and a stomach ache, so we decided to wait until the morning to head south and then north. What would a long car ride to visit family be without the threat of vomit? Ahhh, the holidays!

Merry, merry!

Sweet Birds and Snowflakes

2008-12-18T23:21:00.001-08:00

Aren't these sweet? They came from Creative Kismet. She gave me the white one last year for one of her giveaways, and I bought the red one this year so they could keep eachother company. I love little birds on the Christmas tree.

And for a little winter fun, we had a little snowflake making frenzy yesterday , since it was freezing outside. Most were made with cupcake papers but these were made with paper doilies.

A Week of Firsts

2008-12-15T11:44:00.000-08:00

I suppose any week could have some firsts, but this one had a few more than normal.

- Sofia lost her first upper tooth, she's a real jack-o-lantern now. One on the top and two on the bottom are missing, and two more are half way in on the bottom.

- The tooth fairy forgot to come for the first (and hopefully last) time. Oh dear. Oops.

- The first illness of the season - Maia had to miss school 2 days this week with a fever.

- We hired our first babysitter! After 6+ years of trading babysitting with friends we finally graduated to a real live paid babysitter. It worked out great. She is the 17 year old daughter of one of Chris' colleagues, and the girls loved her. I figure as long as we don't do it too often, they'll always be excited to have her come. That is if we can afford it!! I handed her $50 at the end of the night. Ouch.

- First frosty morning. We get a limited winter around here, so we really have to savor every frosty moment we get.

I have not a single picture this week, but I am busy working on Christmas cards, a 60th birthday gift, a doll cradle, and a fairy pagoda, so lots coming... I do have a picture that Sofia drew this week. It's an "interpretation" of my Pig painting from a while back. I may be biased but I think it's pretty good.

Thankful, Still

2008-11-26T17:25:00.001-08:00

These are certainly uncertain times. The excitement of my last post was quickly drown out by the sheer weirdness of what's going on with our economy. My company has experienced a severe slow down in the due diligence practice area due to the real estate and credit market, so much so that they let four people go. Since I am a casual part time employee, my work load has been cut significantly. In a way, it's been nice to have some time to work on a couple projects, but it makes us want to hang on to that stimulus check we were about to spend on a new mattress...

Still, I have a lot to be thankful for. Here's a short list before I have to get back to my Thanksgiving feast preparations...

My job... slow as it may be, and not exactly what I want to be doing, but very handy in paying the bills.

My husband, who is very smart, very handy, loves his job, and loves his family and who was born on Thanksgiving 39 years ago tomorrow.

Sofia, who amazes me with her stories and illustrations lately.

Sofia's school, where she's doing journalism, yoga, Spanish, and drama.

Maia, who is such a good friend to her sister.

Maia's school, where she's learning her letter sounds, learning to pump on the swing, and making new friends - her favorite new friend? Another Sofia.

My friends, who have been so willing to help out with my kids on the days I have to work later than normal, and who my girls love.

Open enrollment, so that we could switch back to a PPO starting in January and finally take Maia to some real experts in the vascular anomaly field and figure out what's going on with her leg.

Recipes from epicurious.com.

My food buying group that buys monthly from Azure Standard. I'm preparing my first organic turkey this year!

Back to work! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Ohhhh, yeah

2008-11-05T16:20:00.000-08:00

So, I guess we won't be moving to Sweden. Heee. Yet. Chris and I have joked (mostly) over the last 8 years that we're going to move to Sweden. Yes, yes we know, life is not perfect there, but one can dream, right? It feels good. Really good, to have the election over and done. And it feels good to be on the winning team this time. Too bad we have to wait so long before we can actually move on.

But I am truly disappointed with the results on Proposition 8. I feel it is a step backwards and I have not heard one compelling argument in favor of it. It almost always boils down to a religious belief and last time I checked, we live in a democracy not a theocracy. And no, I don't buy the biology argument either. Marriage is not always about procreation. If it were, then we'd have to stop letting post menopausal women get married. I saw a post on flickr that said, "if we were going to "restore traditional marriage" we should reinstate things like dowries, prohibit divorce, and stone people who have babies out of wedlock. You know, just to be thorough." Seriously though, Sofia was in tears one night because someone at school had told her about Prop. 8. She was so distraught that someone might be able to tell her she couldn't get married. Now, why she worries about these things at age 6, I don't know, and she really didn't understand that it had to do with a man and a man or a woman and a woman, but it really struck a note with me.

For now, we are going to continue to try to raise our children to accept people for who they are, and hope that when they are old enough to understand what Proposition 8 actually did, they will reject such inequality. And another thing, I have a message to the woman who pulled up in front of my house and let two very young boys out of her car to tear down and deface my and my neighbors' yard signs for Barack Obama and No on 8. I hope your children will learn to value and defend free speech, to accept people different from themselves, and to respect other people's property, from someone, because they clearly aren't learning it from you.

And since I wouldn't want to leave on a sour note, here's picture of Sofia reading one of her new birthday books to Maia. It is truly a joy to see her reading to her sister. One of the best things in life.

Now, I think we've got some work to do.

Things I'm Loving...

2008-10-04T12:27:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to piece together a post for a while. I started working again part time in the summer and I'm still trying to figure out how to fit it all in. The house work has suffered, art and creating time has suffered but being able to afford our life is definitely the big winner here, and for now that is fine. I read on Soule Mama's blog, Ten Things She is Loving and while I can't do 10, I have a few...

The strength of this girl...

literally and figuratively. Give her something to climb. I went out with a friend one evening and came home to find this on the screen. See it as a slide show here. Makes my heart smile.

The sweetness of this girl...

I can't believe I didn't even post about her first day of school. She's doing great. Loves it. Loves when I come pick her up, too.

My honey... and his re-found passion for cycling. I could complain a little about the back to back Wednesday evening and Thursday morning rides, where the kids don't get to see him for a day and a half, but I won't. He's fit and trim and really enjoying pushing himself. So am I.

A change in the weather...

We had our first drizzle this morning. I wouldn't call it rain yet. But after last week's heat wave, this is certainly a welcome change. I added this and another photo to Uncommon Grace's "Autumn is" flickr pool, check it out.

Progress...

I have finished the back, 2 front pieces, and am now working on the first sleeve. I still hope to have it done before I need it this year. I think it's going to become a staple in my wardrobe.

What else?
My neighborhood... Obama signs as far as the eye can see. We have a little progressive refuge in a conservative leaning town.

Halloween costumes that don't need to be made... We have some dress up clothes that we're going to piece together to make a "Little Red Riding Hood" and a "Fairy Princess". As much FUN as it was to make those teddy bear costumes, I just don't have the time this year.

Blue fingernail polish... Sounds a little junior high, I know. But it's about as wild as I get right now.

That's it for now. Happy Autumn!

My little first grader

2008-08-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

Sofia started first grade today at a new school, Peace Montessori. She has been a bit out of sorts for the last two weeks or so (*slight understatement*) and she did have a little trouble saying goodbye (i.e. had to peel her off of me and quickly exit) but I'm sure she's fine. Right? She's fine. Her teacher gave all the parents a note with a couple bags of tea. The end of the note said, "rest in the knowledge that your child will be cared for and encouraged in the natural enthusiasm for learning that children of this age possess in such abundance." Yes please.

I'm mowing the lawn

2008-08-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

Can't you tell? That's probably what I should've been doing, but did this instead. I haven't had too much time to knit this summer, so I squeezed in about 15 minutes while the girls played on the hammock chair. I had the camera out in case an Oriole showed up but took this picture instead. Shhh, we've had some really nice weather lately. If I didn't know better, I'd say the summers here are *lovely*. But we still have August and September, and October to go when a heat wave might be just around the corner.

Busy Summer

2008-07-31T15:53:00.000-07:00

I've been seeing these in our tree over that last three days, and thought I had a new "name that bird". But once I got these pictures today, I realized that we've seen this one before. It's the female or juvenile black headed grosbeak.

I hope to report on some projects soon but so far this summer has been too busy with work (you know, the kind people get paid for). Sofia and Maia are enjoying summer camp and we're still doing swimming lessons a couple days a week. We are finally making some progress on the girls' room and who knows, maybe it will be ready for them to sleep in (together!) by the end of summer.

Flickr Meme

2008-07-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

1. Green-underside blue glaucopsyche alexis, 2. Quiche Fromage, 3. Untitled, 4. Let's Get Green! Please take a moment to read..., 5. steve young, 6. Latte @ Loco, 7. Red house in Sweden, 8. How I love thee, creme brulee!, 9. Mother Earth - Unknown Artist, 10. 20070804_IMG_7888, 11. I'M | shy, 12. portrait

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Well, that was a fun waste of time! I had to cheat a little. My flickr name was nowhere to be found so I had to add it in a tag. Also, my highschool is rather obscure, but I did eventually find that picture of the Spring dance performance. In a way, it works, dance was one of my favorite things while I was there. And I just keep chuckling at that picture of Steve Young. hehe. Anyway, fun stuff. Here's how to play:

Go to flickr toys at the above link, answer to each of the questions below and type into Flickr Search. Using only the first page, pick an image. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into the mosaic maker).

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name

Reading

2008-07-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

I was tidying up my nightstand this morning, which is usually not so tidy with a stack of magazines, books, knitting projects, tissue, lotion, glass for water, etc., when I got the urge to share a picture (of the tidy version of course!)

I think what you're reading can say a lot about a person. Most of these books are not new, several are family oriented, and I have to admit all could be categorized as "preaching to the choir". So make of it what you will. Here's a brief description:

The first was lent to me by Maia's "Mommy & Me" teacher when I told her I was reluctantly going back to my old job part time. This is the subject of some future post. Yes, I have started working again, no, I'm not completely happy about it, but not because of the working part but because it's my OLD job, the one I never intended to go back to. My friend in a similar situation says I will feel much better when I get that first paycheck. I haven't started this book yet and I doubt it will have too much I can use. We have made every adjustment possible over the past 3 1/2 years and my working has mostly to do with our choice to keep the girls in Montessori school. Oh, and that darn car... the subject of yet another post.

The second was lent to me by a friend over a year ago and I have started it but can't seem to get through it. Maybe it's the yucky subject matter, maybe it's her writing, or maybe it's the dorky title, but it's important so I really should get back to it. It's about being safe, how to help your children listen to their instincts, make good choices, and avoid being taken advantage by long lost Great Uncle So-and-so (or whomever it may be).

Last Child in the Woods was given to me by my mother-in-law, Julie. She read it, enjoyed it (mostly), and said I might enjoy it too. She said we're already doing most of what he suggests, but then again, it's always nice to get some reassurance.

The Creative Family was written by a really neat blogger (Soule Mama) who lives in Portland, Maine. She homeschools her three (soon to be four) children, sews, knits, crafts, gardens, cooks with them, and she takes wonderful pictures to share with the rest of us. I'm sure the book will have some ideas that I can use.

Affluenza was lent by another friend. It's a critical look at our consumer society. Chris and I have suffered from affluenza in the past, but it's amazing what three years of one income will do to cure it!

Grub was co-authored by Anna Lappe, the daughter of the woman who wrote Diet for a Small Planet. It seems to be written for a younger audience, which I don't exactly like, but it has great information about how eating local, organic, fair food can help the planet. And it has recipes, too!

What are you reading?

Name This Bird

2008-07-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

Just when we thought we'd seen all the birds this area has to offer, this feathery friend and his buddy showed up last weekend. Chris and his dad spotted them first. Today they came back just long enough to snap this photo through the window. We think we know what it is, do you?

Homemade Sparkling Water

2008-06-23T15:33:00.001-07:00

We drink a lot of sparkling water. A lot. Especially in the summer when it's hot. I had heard of some folks making their own sparkling water so in an effort to reduce the amount of plastic we bring into the house, I asked Chris to set us up to make our own. So he ordered a CO2 cylinder and regulator, a carbonator cap, and a gas line assembly; all readily available on the internet. The whole set up cost about $160. For now we are using the plastic bottles that we saved from store-bought sparkling water, but maybe eventually we'll move to some other type to avoid the whole leached plastic chemicals issue. It fits neatly under the sink and the CO2 should last a very long time. It's been great so far. Cheers!

Felt Projects

2008-06-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

I'm working on two birthday rings and have finished the painting and felt cutting. Now just sewing and gluing left. I'm also tracing templates this time so I don't have to reinvent the wheel every time I make one. Plus now I can give the them to people who want to make their own birthday ring people with pointy hats, capes, collars, etc.

I always have this pile of scraps when I'm done with a felt project and I just can't bring myself to throw it out. I have this little voice in the back of my mind that says, "Packrat!" but ha! this is why I've been saving them...

I've been wanting to make a felt necklace since I first saw something similar in Petra Berger's Feltcraft. This was just a quick 10-minute necklace. I trimmed a couple pieces but mostly just grabbed what I had in the pile. I can see now that the possibilities for patterns and color combinations are endless. I already have several requests from Sofia and Maia.

Quail Family

2008-06-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

Look at these lovelies!! I noticed a quail out the window this afternoon and then one baby, then two, then four, then eight, oh my, I couldn't count them all. They were parading around the yard, pecking around for food. So cute and so tiny. The babies mostly stayed under bushes and they spent quite a bit of time under the sage and lavender bushes by the bird feeder. Papa Quail always trailing and standing watch, Mama Quail in the lead. I have to admit I was so giddy I could barely contain myself and even though my girls were excited too, they kept looking at me like I was crazy. There were more than ten babies but I never did get a good count. They sure do move fast. I hope they keep visiting our yard. More pictures here.

Big Changes Coming Our Way

2008-05-19T12:13:00.000-07:00

Sofia has several loose teeth and the first is ready to go in the next several days, really just as soon as she gives it a good tug (I have no interest in doing it for her). I have been thinking about the big changes coming for her. Big girl teeth for one. I can't imagine how she is going to change in the next few months, with those big honkin' teeth coming in. No more baby face. First grade for another. I am so happy we kept her at her school for the three year program, the way it was intended. It seems like such a logical time for her to move on to the next phase. She is so clearly not a preschooler anymore. It's all very exciting and a bit bittersweet. I never knew that I'd feel sad about losing teeth.

Oh, and I finished up the tooth fairy fairy this weekend. She is made from wool felt, cotton embroidery floss and wool stuffing. She has a little pocket to hold the tooth for the tooth fairy and just enough space for a Sacagawea dollar. I modified the pattern for these tooth fairy bears to get the basic shape and made up the rest.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

Every year before Mother's Day, Sofia's school has a Mother's Day lunch for the mothers. The children sing a short program and then serve their mommys lunch. This is Sofia's third and last year and I think we both were feeling a little sad that this will be her last performance there. She got really giggly and teary during the second song, "You Are My Sunshine". Here she is singing "Let It Shine". She is so beautiful to me, and so grown up and so young still. Apologies for cutting it off, but I have to be respectful of some parents wishes not to have their children posted on the internet.

Note Cards Swapped

2008-05-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

I received my notecards today - they're beautiful! They're made by (clockwise from upper left) Anastasia, Deborah Crawford, Heather S., Regina, and kate vee & me. Thanks everyone, and thanks Regina for organizing. My contribution was this.

Butterfly Emerges

2008-04-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

Wow. What fun we had today. Click here to see our flickr set of the gulf fritillary.

Wrinkles

2008-04-28T22:48:00.001-07:00

Watercolor on paper, 7 inch by 7 inch. If you've ever read The Quiltmaker's Journey, you've seen those little pins all over the book. I had to try some myself.

Wedding Poem

2008-04-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

My good friend read this poem at our wedding. She recently got married herself (eloped to Santa Barbara in fact) and so I've been working on some gifts: the napkins and this painting. I've had this frame bumping around for a while, originally I think it came from my Nana (my paternal grandma).

I Love Quiche

2008-04-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

I made a quiche last night for dinner that was both tasty and well formed. I wish I had taken a picture before we gobbled it up but I did not, so you'll have to look at this one; it was the inspiration for me to find a new recipe. I used the "Madame Quiche's Quiche Au Fromage" recipe from epicurious.com and modified it this way.

First, I used Trader Joe's Frozen Pie Dough, thawed it, shaped it into a 10-inch pie dish, and put it in the freezer again (like the recipe says). I baked the crust, as instructed. I'm sure home-made pastry dough would be better, but this worked out pretty well.

For the filling, I used 1 1/2 cups whole milk, no cream (didn't have any), 6 eggs, 4 ounces goat cheese, salt and pepper and a little nutmeg. I mixed the filling using a non-electric hand mixer, which resulted in a nice fluffy texture. Before pouring the filling in, I lined the bottom with chopped basil. I baked it at 425 F for 30 minutes, as instructed. The one thing I will do differently next time is cover the rim of the crust with foil while baking the filling - it was a little beyond "golden brown".

I loved it, Chris loved it, Sofia loved it, Maia, well, she ate it. That's about all I can hope for.

Gift Napkins

2008-04-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start calling these "Lexi's Eco-Napkins". I love making them for people. These are for a friend who I've know since I was twelve and she was eleven. She eloped recently so I've been working on some gifts for them. I made these using 20 different quarter flats; each one makes two small "everyday" napkins. My family uses them for all our meals and we just throw them in with the regular laundry every week.

Fun Project

2008-04-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

I go to a parent-child class with Maia once a week. There is always an art project for the kids to do and this week, Maia was particularly engaged. The flowers are made from coffee filters, diluted food coloring, and pipe cleaners. I think she made about 8 of these. The idea was to get them to use an eye dropper, working on their fine motor skills, to drop the color onto the filter. Then we twisted the middle of the filter, attached a pipe cleaner and voila! A beautiful bouquet.

Caterpillar Updates

2008-04-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

The caterpillar metamorphosis is being well documented (I'm a little obsessed). I don't think I ever did this as a kid, so I'm completely fascinated by the whole process. The caterpillar has now started turning into a chrysalis. We've also confirmed that it will be a Gulf Fritillary, which is the same as the butterflies I saw around the vine where I found the caterpillars. Picture updates are being posted at our flickr site.

Just another trip to the mailbox

2008-04-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

Maia and I went out to get the mail today and noticed some pretty flowers that had bloomed. Then we saw the lizard by the door. It was a much larger variety than the blue-bellies we normally see in the back yard. This one was about 9 inches long! Then we saw the grasshopper jumping around, on the grass. So I ran and got the camera. I couldn't let all this nature go without some documentation.

All this after our adventure collecting a caterpillar this morning. I had seen a bunch of these caterpillars on my walk yesterday, so I took Maia back there this morning to see them. I brought one home, along with the stem/leaves it was sitting on. This is the one we brought home.Here is his current home - I'm still reading up a little about what it will need. Mainly, plenty of ventilation, plenty of the fresh leaves it was eating, and some moisture. If all goes well it will metamorphose into a beautiful orange butterfly. Then I will be sure to release it in the same place I got it.

Future Bruin Mascot?

2008-04-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

The game was, well, less than pretty. But it wasn't for lack of spirit on our part. Sofia decided to put on her bear costume to cheer on the Bruins, but it didn't seem to help. Next year, next year.

Notecard for Swapping

2008-04-01T08:29:00.000-07:00

This is my contribution to Regina's Notecard Swap. I was inspired by photos taken by our neighbor of his plum tree blossoms with bees. I first did a quick sketch by hand and then refined it to a simple line drawing. Next I scanned it in to Illustrator and separated it into color layers. Each color layer was then printed in black. I used these to make print gocco screens and then did the printing with the gocco. I was disappointed with the white ink coverage. It didn't show at all on the lighter colored paper. So, after experimenting a little, I found that hand painting with a white Caran D'Ache crayon worked. The cards are printed on DCWV acid-free and lignin-free paper. Other contributions to the swap will be posted here.

Play Imitating Life

2008-03-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems that Sofia and Maia are having a heck of a time with their wagon today. It keeps breaking down. They have been trying and trying to fix it, calling the tow truck, and renting other vehicles to drive home from Grandma's. Hopefully they'll have better luck than us.

Cotton Scarf

2008-03-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

I took a break from my wool hooded zipper sweater to knit this scarf. I picked up this yarn at a spinner's and weaver's fair a while back. I kept looking at it and putting it down and in the end I couldn't resist - I'm in love with the colors. I didn't have a project in mind for it, but when I saw this at JC Handmade, I thought of this yarn. It's a 1x1 rib (20 stitches) knitted with size 11 needles. The yarn is 100% cotton by Araucania.

Trains to the Rescue

2008-02-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

Maia and I don't have too many struggles, but if there's anything, it's food. This morning I said no to something she asked for (this was after two mini bagels and a whole banana for snack) and she went into an extended laying-on-the-floor-whining-and-crying episode. I tried suggesting we play a game, ignore it, left the room, but it was the trains that finally pulled her out of it. And then I thought the light was pretty.

Creative Sketchbook Workshop

2008-02-25T16:14:00.001-08:00

I went to a workshop this weekend, made possible by a generous grant from Chuck and Julie (i.e. FIL and MIL). The instructor had us bring a new sketchbook, paint, pens, pencils, ink, magazines, old books, etc. She then showed us her creative sketchbooks and examples of other student work. It's hard to describe exactly what it is - sort of journaling, testing out ideas, playing, creating, painting, stamping. It's very free and loose, and unintimidating. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think I will try to keep it up. It seems like a great way to do something creative without any pressure. And now I have a place to put all those scraps of pretty, cool stuff I have around in piles. All in all it was a very inspiring way to spend a Sunday and I'm so glad I did. Thanks Chuck and Julie. See flickr for larger images.

New View

2008-02-18T09:11:00.001-08:00

I decided to take matters into my own hands and dig the hole for the St. Francis pedestal to be put up. I chose a spot where I could see it from the kitchen and my desk. It also faces our outdoor dining area. Chris helped with the concrete mixing when he got back from his bike ride. The hole digging brought me back to my early environmental consulting days of having to hand auger holes to collect soil samples - sometimes to 15 feet. It was jobs like those that really had me wondering why I went to college. Don't miss it a bit. I'm pretty sore today, too. My dad and Katherine made the pedestal as a replica of one my grandfather made in the 40s. They commissioned the St. Francis statues (my sisters and I received them as Christmas gifts this year). I really love it. I love having pretty and peaceful things around the yard, other than the plants. Such a nice gift. More pictures of St. Francis here.

Happy Valentines

2008-02-14T13:25:00.001-08:00

They were actually freezing cold while I took their picture. Sofia made it all worth it this morning when she opened her bag with the skirt and shirt. She ran to me and gave me a big hug and said, "Ooooh Mommy, it's so beautiful, thank you Mommy." I had originally planned to put some sort of peace/love symbology (is that a word?) on the t-shirts but then I saw this at Creative Kismet's site, and thought a Valentine Fairy would be better. More pictures here.

What about my most important Valentine? Well, he gets a yummy roast chicken dinner (the girls' favorite lately) with artichokes and chocolate pudding for dessert. I rented a movie too. Oh, yes, and my everlasting love. Smooch!

Chocolate Cake

2008-02-10T13:59:00.001-08:00

I'm a relatively inexperienced baker, so I was thrilled that this cake turned out so yummy. Everyone loved it, except Maia, but I'll get to that in a minute. This was the Double Chocolate Layer Cake from epicurious.com. It was delicious, so chocolatey. The only changes I made were that I used 2 9-inch cake pans (plus some cupcakes) and baked the cake at 325 for an hour (started checking at 40 minutes, just to be sure).

The party was fun, very mellow. Just six kids (including my two) and one baby, just free playing, no entertainment. Like I said in my last post, Maia has been planning her birthday cake for months; chocolate with chocolate frosting, raspberries on top, cookies around the outside, and ice cream. Last night after the party she said, "I didn't really like the chocolate, just the good stuff". I said, "Oh? What's the good stuff?" to which she replied, "The cookies and the raspberries." Shrug. Goofy kid. I'm so not offended, everyone else gobbled theirs up!

Happy Birthday Maia!

2008-02-08T15:05:00.001-08:00

Maia turns 3 today. Everyone says she looks just her sister, but we see a totally different little person. For one, she has murky green eyes, instead of murky blue eyes like Sofia :). She is so sweet and mostly easy going. She of course has her opinions, especially about food. And a bit of a sweet tooth. She loves playing games like Hi Ho Cherry O and Orchard and Memory. She loves playing dress up with Sofia.

We spent the morning at the LA Zoo and visited the new gorilla habitat, the chimpanzees, snow leopard, lions, giraffes, sea lions, and the bird show. We have a small "trains and tea" party planned for tomorrow. She's been planning her cake since Sofia's birthday: chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and raspberries on top, cookies around the bottom and ice cream. I'll do my best.