someone take these away

John & I are really trying to complete our first cosmetic home project. We're stripping the wallpaper in our bedroom. But things keep getting in our way. Like, the fact that we only have a short time to work on it after Ruby falls asleep at night, we've cleaned up dinner, and before we pass out. A couple nights ago, we were ready to work, and then, we had this beautiful summer night calling us outside. How many of these do we get, right?

We have these friends that have a baby Ruby's age and somehow we've gotten into a symbiotic relationship with them. It's wonderful. We trade baby-siting occasionally, we share our CSA with them, they brew beer and give us some each time, we share our baked treats. It's a win-win. But we hit the jackpot a few days ago. We got a bunch of homemade caramel. This really shouldn't even have the same name as the rock-hard stuff you buy in the grocery store. This is creamy and light and you don't feel like you're going to have to visit the dentist when you eat it. And then I figured out how to make it even better:



Yes, that's right. Its sandwiched between some dark chocolate. Really, how were we supposed to scrape wallpaper when we could be in the hammock eating this? How?

On a completely unrelated note, I discovered a new blog: Simple Mom. I found it here. From what I can tell so far, I love it. Its beautiful and I wish I knew about it before. But you should visit it soon because Simple Mom is giving away The Creative Family that I wrote about awhile ago. Visit here to enter by Aug. 1st.

csa day

We have:
salad mix
red onion
3 lbs of beefsteak tomatoes (wish you were here, Mom!)
2 1/2 lbs. summer squash
basil
garlic
blackberries
strawberries

We're considering trying to can some of the tomatoes. Any advice? Or resources? I think we'll have some pesto pasta with roasted summer squash too. Maybe a smoothie with the fruit.

photo by Muffet

harvest moon

Last night, after Ruby was asleep, John and I went out to our little garden to gather some food. These are the carrots we harvested: about half of what is ready. I love the way carrots look right after they've been picked - bright green, sturdy tops, lots of little hairs all over them, peeking out through the soil stuck to them.

The Austrian Crescent potatoes were beautiful, though not so much in the pictures we took. I was planning to mash them with the carrots for dinner tonight, but I decided I couldn't because their shapes were too interesting. It would really be a shame to mash them.

More than anything, though, I love the time out in the garden, working side-by-side with John, even if only for a moment, getting our hands dirty. I love our conversation about the food, especially the surprising shapes. "I've never seen legs on a carrot like that." "This potato looks like a pear." "This one like a crookneck squash."

guest post

My mom's turn to post now about her time here with Ruby. This dress that Ruby is wearing in the picture...yeah...my mom MADE it. I know. It's incredible. She took a class to learn how to smock and this is her first project! But I shouldn't really be surprised - she did make my wedding gown, which was gorgeous.
On to the post:

It is so hard to write this-the keys seem all blurry-I'm crying already Bri. I'm leaving in the morning, and will miss this wonderful family SO much. I've had a wonderful stay with Megan, John, and Ruby. I love waking up to Ruby's chatting and waving when I go in to get her up, and she doesn't stop until she is asleep. She gives lots of kisses, signs so much, understands even more, loves the garbage truck and mailman, kids, the beach, animals, swings, and is one happy and smart toddler. It is hard to say good-bye.

I want...

peach & prosecco....oh that looks so delicious, doesn't it? lourdes??
the image is from epicurious

Here's a guest post from my dad who recently went back to Florida:

I had a great time enjoying our dear little Ruby and her parents. Ruby is so full of personality and a delight to be with and around. She is so happy and incredibly bright with all her ASL [American Sign Language] hand signals to communicate.
I attribute Ruby's happiness and brightness to the support, attention and, mostly, love that Megan and John provide her. She is a lucky girl and I am a lucky parent, in-law and grandfather. It was hard for me to leave:-(.

csa day

lettuce
sungold cherry tomatoes
gold roma tomatoes
sweet onion
yukon gold potatoes
red raspberries
cherries

photo by bensonkua

yes we can

I am a member of Moms Rising and found out through them about this interview with Obama. He talks, among other things, about women and some economic issues relating to women that are right on. That part starts at 2:57 minutes in to the talk.

fun way to waste some time

I found this link and immediately was stopped in my tracks for several minutes. Its quite addicting. I found it at How About Orange.

vacation

Ruby packed herself in the suitcase.


She LOVED the beach. We visited a couple different beaches - sandy & rocky and she loved them both. We also went to the aquarium where she got to watch the seals & sea lions swim underwater. Besides the teething at night (ugh) we had a great time in Newport.

sorry, mama

Ruby got in trouble yesterday. I know, its hard to believe how this sweet little face could, but its true. She had something that I wanted and I kept asking her to give it to me, but she wouldn't. I put my hand on it and she bit me. Very much on purpose too. I told her "no biting" and she gave up the thing I wanted. She cried and went over to John for some comfort. He picked her up and told her no biting also. Then they went to go read a book. He talked with Ruby about biting and said she needed to make me feel better. I didn't know this was happening, but just happened to walk in the room. So John brought Ruby to me and said, "Say you're sorry." She leaned over to me to hold her and gave me a HUGE tight hug. So cute!

Its been really, really hot here the past few days. We're heading to the coast (not soon enough) to meet my parents there for a few days. We'll have more pictures - some more great ones taken with my dad's awesome camera like the one above.

the book book

Remember the book book I got awhile back? Well, I finally sat down and read it. It made me want to be Italian, or at least French, an art teacher and a kid again all wrapped into one short little book. I LOVE it. Its written for children to teach them how to make their own books, from the illustrations, to the writing, to the physical building of a book. Lourdes, you would really like this book, I think. Oh, actually it starts off by teaching you how to "massage your imagination". This is probably the most crucial part for me. I don't really consider myself a creative person. at all. I wish I was. But that side of me was kind of shut down in third grade when I was in art class. My teacher commented on my beautiful painting & asked if she could show it to the class after we were done painting. I said yes. After several more minutes, she stopped the class to show a couple of our paintings off, came over to me to take my painting to hold up & said, "You ruined it!" In front of everyone. Horrible. So I decided then and there that I was not artistic and closed off any hope of becoming artsy. Its just recently, pretty much since I had Ruby, that I've decided I can be creative and I'm trying to nurture that side again.

Anyway, this is a book that may help me out with that, hopefully will be a good resource for Ruby, but at the very least, will be on the shelf for her to discover when the time is right for her.

vote!

My Dad is running for re-election as a school board member in Seminole County, FL. You can check out his site here. He has been a member for one term and really enjoyed it along with making some positive changes for the schools there. The election is August 26th, but I know you want to make an informed decision, (and spread the word to your friends & family that can vote) and vote early! It is expected that the voter turn-out will be small for this election so literally, every vote will count. Go check him out and let me know if you have questions about him.


print by Nikki McClure, photo from buyolympia.com

csa day

photo by La tartine gourmande

Here's this week's box:
lettuce
salad mix
spinach
beefsteak tomatoes
red onion
basil
garlic
celery
golden raspberries
red raspberries

We will definitely by making pesto. We have a crop of cilantro begging to be harvested outside, so I think we'll be making some salsa for tonights burritos as well. We've been waiting so long for fresh salsa!!

John was working from home this afternoon, so when Ruby napped, I went to get the CSA myself. There is no reason for the italics other than for me - I sometimes forget there is a myself. Okay, back to the story. So, being by myself, I could stop and have a lengthy conversation with the next door neighbor of the CSA drop house. She has a beautiful garden in front of her Queen Anne house built in the 1880s. I commented on her garden and we chatted for quite awhile. She gave me some local history - her house was moved in 1910! and lots of gardening advice. Oh, and an invitation to stop by when I pick up my food again for more gardening discussions. Did I really need another reason to love my CSA? No. But getting to know the community and have a conversation piece is a lovely one.

more treats

Here are the treats I made for John on Father's Day. Here's the recipe and where I stole the photo. They were really yummy. We shared them with friends and froze half of them. They were really good warm with ice cream. I think next time I make them I would melt the caramel & drizzle it on top, its a bit chewy for me and I have some paranoia about losing my teeth in a bite of it.

This weekend we met B & E in Portland and visited Saint Cupcake. Oh, so yummy.

Eddie cuddling with Ruby as she tries to sneak cupcake. But she was content with her oatios & blueberries. phew.

John took both of these pictures. We're in front of a wall that tells the story of Saint Cupcake. Maybe I can grow up to be like Saint Cupcake someday. hmmm...

older by the minute

here's ruby showing off some of her new skills (climbing into the rocking chair by herself) -J

handmade birthday

I've been meaning to post some pictures of some of the handmade gifts Ruby got for her birthday. She is so loved! She got really spoiled on her special day and I really appreciate all the thoughtfulness in her gifts. Here are just some of them...

a hat I knit from this book



"A Dream Come True" rosebush from Nana & Papa



hand-embroidered dress from Vietnam - thanks Tina!



this huge octopus was made so fast by Nana



adorable dress from Pasquale

csa day

This is our 3rd summer getting a CSA (community supported agriculture). We LOVE living in a place where this is possible. The deal is, we pay the farmer up front at the beginning of the season, and get fresh - sometimes harvested that morning produce once a week. This year we switched farms because our old farm didn't have a drop in our new town. So our new farm is Denison and the CSA lasts half the year! We've had a really late start to the growing season this year with really strange weather, but we've been pleased with our produce so far. It's technically a bit of a gamble - we pay the money, but if there is crazy weather and there's no harvest, we're out the money. But its pretty low-risk.

Anyway, some of you ask what we get in our basket, so I've decided to post it here. If you don't care, sorry. And I swear (Floridians), I'm not trying to make you jealous, maybe just giving you a bit of encouragement to move closer to us - or at least somewhere with some food you can eat grown nearby!

Also, if you have any great ideas about how to enjoy the food we're getting, post them in the comments so we can all learn from it.



Here's this week's harvest:
a HUGE head of lettuce
spinach
cucumbers
grape tomatoes
spring tomato
raspberries
radishes
shelling peas
new potatoes