One of the in vogue topics for bloggers during the turnover of the year is to reflect on the working out of their theme word from the previous year and choose a new one. I like this idea; it reminds me of the way that we choose an ornament each year based on something meaningful from the events or trends of that year. What is harder for me to grasp is how a theme word can be chosen in advance. Maybe because it feels like I've been living in the just-getting-by stage of life for so long and planning ahead for a vision for the year just hasn't been something that I've been able to think about. I also have this irrational belief that there will be life changing surprises in every year (like there have been in the last few) so it is better not to set my heart on my year going a certain way or being able to meet particular goals.
As I've thought about it a little more, I realized that there is another way to look at it. There could be something to focus on that transcends life events and takes the state of my heart more into account than trying to control what happens in my life.
Looking back the word for last year was obvious and a little amusing as we experienced Stretching in many ways, both literal and figurative. My body grew and stretched with my third pregnancy, our family grew by one in our nuclear family and one in my family of origin (with a little extra surprise tossed in at the end of the year with the fullness due in August). We were stretched relationally as our children grew and our marriage dynamics shifted, our church life changed, new opportunities arose and the question of how little sleep you can really survive on was tested to its limits. We commemorated that with a rubber band ball as our Christmas ornament this year.
We do have some priorities for this year. Like 2012, we are hoping to have an off year for babies. This gives us an opportunity to address some of the lingering house projects, look into education and enrichment activities for the older kids, have a few months of largely uninterrupted sleep, finish moving in (now that we have been here for almost two years) and so on. One of the consequences of that stretching has been going into crisis survival mode for too long between Jonathan and me. We are ready to remind ourselves of what it means to grow in our marriage. Another benefit of moving out of crisis mode is finally setting up a viable housekeeping system so that things meet a minimum standard of decency most of the time and I am able to attempt a few of the creative projects that so delight my heart. I have loved being part of BSF over the last couple of years but there is so much more that we could do as a family to grow closer to God.
The word that came to mind as I thought about all of these things is Refresh. When you refresh something, you aren't starting with something new. You are taking something that has been there, sometimes for a while, and making it new and clean and better while still retaining the essential character. Having a fresh attempt at something that has been tried before but maybe had to be set aside or just didn't go that well in the first place.
This isn't really a year of starting brand new things for us, we hope, but of finishing, going back to things that we started but got sidetracked from, moving forward from what we have and making it what it should be. We moved in, mostly, but there are a few areas that still struggle with how they are set up or were never finished at all (office, I'm looking at you) and our lives are just enough different with a preschooler, a toddler and another baby that some reevaluation is called for. Now that Inessa is going to bed more or less at the same time as the other kids, what will that mean for time that Jonathan and I could spend together? Babysitting is still a challenge but, like many families, we need to learn how to date without leaving the house. There are so many things that Ellie is ready to learn that require more planning. I love the idea of a card file system for managing chores and teaching the kids how to help and I did have one set up for my old household. But now I have double the square footage and two more children and it just needs to be refreshed for how life looks now. Gardening is one of my soul refreshments and, while I still have a little one who will probably eat any yard debris that she can get her hands on, I also hope that some of the time that we spend outside over the spring, summer and fall can go into just enough fresh veggies for snacking and salads this year.
This sounds ridiculously ambitious in some ways but these are all goals that I hope to revisit this year. Sometimes refresh means resting and sometimes it means doing something with the rest that you are getting along the way. I hope that this year will be both of those things.
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
It's Official!
Thank you, Lord!
And I mean that in the most heartfelt and reverent way possible.
This is our new house. Our first house that is really and truly ours.
And yes, I did borrow this picture from the listing because apparently, of the 2000 pictures we now have of the house, there are no decent ones of the front.
And I mean that in the most heartfelt and reverent way possible.
This is our new house. Our first house that is really and truly ours.
And yes, I did borrow this picture from the listing because apparently, of the 2000 pictures we now have of the house, there are no decent ones of the front.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Curtains
After we rearranged the bedrooms to accommodate the new occupant, it seemed a shame to paint the bedrooms beautifully and let the window coverings continue to be pieces of fabric pinned up over the curtain rods.
I had many yards of bleached muslin around in my stash--almost exactly enough for all of the panels. I got the green linen fabric for crib furnishings before Elanor was born. I had originally intended to use green ribbon as tie backs but this leftover garden themed wire ribbon was just what they needed.
Our bedroom has the same basic design but, of course, with different colors. The fabric on the bottom of the muslin panel matches our sheets, coordinates with the wall color and came from the bargain bin at the fabric store. I have had the trim piece for several years now--a gift from a colleague who was unhappy with this portion of her online auction purchase. I liked it, but what do you do with 30 yds of trim? Some of it edged a skirt and the rest was just enough for the curtain edging and tie backs for all of the sections.
It is amazing how much more finished curtains make a room look.
I had many yards of bleached muslin around in my stash--almost exactly enough for all of the panels. I got the green linen fabric for crib furnishings before Elanor was born. I had originally intended to use green ribbon as tie backs but this leftover garden themed wire ribbon was just what they needed.
Our bedroom has the same basic design but, of course, with different colors. The fabric on the bottom of the muslin panel matches our sheets, coordinates with the wall color and came from the bargain bin at the fabric store. I have had the trim piece for several years now--a gift from a colleague who was unhappy with this portion of her online auction purchase. I liked it, but what do you do with 30 yds of trim? Some of it edged a skirt and the rest was just enough for the curtain edging and tie backs for all of the sections.
It is amazing how much more finished curtains make a room look.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
I'm Saving Them for Later.
Every so often, I get ideas.
Big ideas. Dangerous ideas.
This one involved 100lbs of peaches the week before my brother's wedding. Last year, I had the help of my sisters and my mom (and early pregnancy sickness--which I wouldn't call exactly helpful). This year, I doubled the amount of peaches and did it alone since they were heavily involved in work and preparing for the festivities. Elanor kept me company but I didn't think that she was up for peeling peaches yet. She contributed by only getting up once a night for three days in a row, giving me the rest that I needed to tackle such a huge project and playing mostly happily on the floor in the kitchen.
I dried a batch every day. Pretty and delicious:
The house doubled nicely as a sauna due to the constant boiling of all of the pots on the stove. There are now 41 pints of peach slices in the pantry. Next year, I'm getting quart jars. The rest was turned into spiced peach butter.
Actually, most of these jars are pear butter. Did I mention the 30 lbs of pears? The rest of the pear puree is unspiced and frozen in cubes for when we start solids with Elanor.
Points to those who recognize the reference in the post title.
Big ideas. Dangerous ideas.
This one involved 100lbs of peaches the week before my brother's wedding. Last year, I had the help of my sisters and my mom (and early pregnancy sickness--which I wouldn't call exactly helpful). This year, I doubled the amount of peaches and did it alone since they were heavily involved in work and preparing for the festivities. Elanor kept me company but I didn't think that she was up for peeling peaches yet. She contributed by only getting up once a night for three days in a row, giving me the rest that I needed to tackle such a huge project and playing mostly happily on the floor in the kitchen.
I dried a batch every day. Pretty and delicious:
The house doubled nicely as a sauna due to the constant boiling of all of the pots on the stove. There are now 41 pints of peach slices in the pantry. Next year, I'm getting quart jars. The rest was turned into spiced peach butter.
Actually, most of these jars are pear butter. Did I mention the 30 lbs of pears? The rest of the pear puree is unspiced and frozen in cubes for when we start solids with Elanor.Points to those who recognize the reference in the post title.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Bailing
We are coming to the end of our dual income time and as we look for ways to keep our financial ship from sinking, we've introduced a new concept that we're calling bailing. This not only involves cutting non-essentials but also looking for ways to spend less on the essentials.
Now I may be crazy to try this in the PNW but as part of our bailing attempts, I am doing this:
After all, how many loads of diapers do I do in a week? Several, that's all I can say. Maybe this will help counteract the fact that we are keeping our house a little warmer these days.
Now I may be crazy to try this in the PNW but as part of our bailing attempts, I am doing this:
After all, how many loads of diapers do I do in a week? Several, that's all I can say. Maybe this will help counteract the fact that we are keeping our house a little warmer these days.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Preparing for the New Housemate
They say not to move just before you have a baby. The thing is, how do you get away without moving? That is to say, significant rearranging.
We painted the office and moved our bedroom furniture into it. Dad helped us figure out how to screw in the headboard.
Mom painted both the new bedroom and the new baby's room. We used the lighter blue color from three of the walls in the baby's room and ended up liking it so much that both rooms are the same color. The dark blue shown here functioned as a visual headboard for our bed when this was our room. It was a little overpowering as an accent in the baby's room.
In order to match the color, which had been discontinued in the four years since I had painted the room, Jonathan cut off a piece of the paint from one corner to take in for matching. We learned an important lesson (and hopefully someone else did too) in checking both the paint color and name when picking up custom-mixed paint from the home improvement store paint counter. We turned in our piece of paint to be matched and mixed and returned an appropriate amount of time later to find no paint can, no paint chip and no sign of the employee who had helped us. We were able to determine that our can had likely been picked up by someone else, the chip had either been taped to the can or tossed and the employee in question had left for the day. Fortunately, we were able to look back through the computer records and make a reasonable guess on the order based on the time and approximate color.
I was most emphatically not in favor of having the computer station remain in our bedroom. We found a desk that would just fit into the cubby under the attic stairs in the dining area.
It was not specifically designed as a computer station so Jonathan drilled holes in the back for the various cords.
We tripped around this hodge-podge of office stuff (there is really no other word for it than that) and baby furniture for several weeks as we reorganized or chucked things up into the attic space.
Until, on March 28th, we considered ourselves ready to bring the baby home.
Which was good, because....
*We were unsure of the ultimate purpose of the misquito netting but it doubled nicely as cat hair protection.
We painted the office and moved our bedroom furniture into it. Dad helped us figure out how to screw in the headboard.
Mom painted both the new bedroom and the new baby's room. We used the lighter blue color from three of the walls in the baby's room and ended up liking it so much that both rooms are the same color. The dark blue shown here functioned as a visual headboard for our bed when this was our room. It was a little overpowering as an accent in the baby's room.
In order to match the color, which had been discontinued in the four years since I had painted the room, Jonathan cut off a piece of the paint from one corner to take in for matching. We learned an important lesson (and hopefully someone else did too) in checking both the paint color and name when picking up custom-mixed paint from the home improvement store paint counter. We turned in our piece of paint to be matched and mixed and returned an appropriate amount of time later to find no paint can, no paint chip and no sign of the employee who had helped us. We were able to determine that our can had likely been picked up by someone else, the chip had either been taped to the can or tossed and the employee in question had left for the day. Fortunately, we were able to look back through the computer records and make a reasonable guess on the order based on the time and approximate color.
I was most emphatically not in favor of having the computer station remain in our bedroom. We found a desk that would just fit into the cubby under the attic stairs in the dining area.
It was not specifically designed as a computer station so Jonathan drilled holes in the back for the various cords.
We tripped around this hodge-podge of office stuff (there is really no other word for it than that) and baby furniture for several weeks as we reorganized or chucked things up into the attic space.
Until, on March 28th, we considered ourselves ready to bring the baby home.
Which was good, because....
*We were unsure of the ultimate purpose of the misquito netting but it doubled nicely as cat hair protection.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Jamberry
We were able to go raspberry picking this summer. Forty pounds of berries later, it's time to make jam!
With the excellent help of Elsa and Camille, I spent an afternoon making delicious raspberry jam. This was only the first couple of batches through the canner. We also have been working our way through the bags in the freezer. I am now a full convert to laying out the berries on a baking tray to freeze first, then putting them in bags. It is so much less trouble up front than I expected and much easier to take out a handful at a time for baking or snacking.
The boys were no help at all.
With the excellent help of Elsa and Camille, I spent an afternoon making delicious raspberry jam. This was only the first couple of batches through the canner. We also have been working our way through the bags in the freezer. I am now a full convert to laying out the berries on a baking tray to freeze first, then putting them in bags. It is so much less trouble up front than I expected and much easier to take out a handful at a time for baking or snacking.
The boys were no help at all.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Catastrophe
Once upon a time, we had a cookie jar.
It lived on top of our fridge in elegant state--sometimes empty, sometimes and very temporarily full. It held cookies, rolls, scones and occasionally my jug of crystallized honey in a conveniently inverted position.
Once upon a time.
The jar and its fellows on the fridge top have a enemy, however. It is the tilt of our house and therefore the tilt of everything else. When the fridge door is slammed, the little fridge top community feels the pull of the tilt towards the edge. Usually, I am alert to the insidious creep and can counteract the effects.
Usually.
On this particular day, Jonathan made his trip to Costco and returned laden with frozen bounty. (I know, it's me that is supposed to be the merchant ship from afar but when I do the shopping, far is definitely involved--far too much spending.) As I stood at the sink, washing up, he came in to put the items away. In the midst of our discussion of what items needed to be moved into the fridge, the final bump took place. The jar, weighted by the aforementioned honey, tipped off of the fridge and shattered on the first solid item in its path--the back of Jonathan's head. It then proceeded to fly, in various smaller pieces, in a manner consistent with Newton's Laws of Motion, until brought up, with great suddenness (and more shattering) on the next solid item--which was, for most pieces, the floor.
The pieces landed just like this--label and all. Once the shock wore off (and I was sure that Jonathan wasn't seriously hurt*), we could appreciate the perfect layout and lighting.
Shards of glass went everywhere. Because the fridge door was open and there were multiple shatter points, there were pieces all the way to the back of the shelves. Fortunately the only thing that was ruined was the plastic container of frosting in the door. A fragment had punched through the lid. We could see the big piece but weren't sure of any others lurking. Having no desire to test out the dangers of glass shards in sugary goodness (don't take homemade candy from strangers, kids), we tossed it.
Cleaning out the refrigerator was definitely on the to-do list, even though it was not our intention for that day. But who knows how long it would have taken us to get to it otherwise?
*I'm mourning a bit for our cookie jar, which was a wedding present, but let me reassure you that my first concern was for Jonathan and his head. With the exception of a few minor nicks, there were no injuries and we were amazed by the multitude of circumstances that were in place that prevented it from being more serious. He was even wearing shoes and eye protection! There was so much glass in his hair and clothes, however, that we decided that the only way to get it all out was to take a shower.
It lived on top of our fridge in elegant state--sometimes empty, sometimes and very temporarily full. It held cookies, rolls, scones and occasionally my jug of crystallized honey in a conveniently inverted position.
Once upon a time.
The jar and its fellows on the fridge top have a enemy, however. It is the tilt of our house and therefore the tilt of everything else. When the fridge door is slammed, the little fridge top community feels the pull of the tilt towards the edge. Usually, I am alert to the insidious creep and can counteract the effects.
Usually.
On this particular day, Jonathan made his trip to Costco and returned laden with frozen bounty. (I know, it's me that is supposed to be the merchant ship from afar but when I do the shopping, far is definitely involved--far too much spending.) As I stood at the sink, washing up, he came in to put the items away. In the midst of our discussion of what items needed to be moved into the fridge, the final bump took place. The jar, weighted by the aforementioned honey, tipped off of the fridge and shattered on the first solid item in its path--the back of Jonathan's head. It then proceeded to fly, in various smaller pieces, in a manner consistent with Newton's Laws of Motion, until brought up, with great suddenness (and more shattering) on the next solid item--which was, for most pieces, the floor.
The pieces landed just like this--label and all. Once the shock wore off (and I was sure that Jonathan wasn't seriously hurt*), we could appreciate the perfect layout and lighting.
Shards of glass went everywhere. Because the fridge door was open and there were multiple shatter points, there were pieces all the way to the back of the shelves. Fortunately the only thing that was ruined was the plastic container of frosting in the door. A fragment had punched through the lid. We could see the big piece but weren't sure of any others lurking. Having no desire to test out the dangers of glass shards in sugary goodness (don't take homemade candy from strangers, kids), we tossed it.
Cleaning out the refrigerator was definitely on the to-do list, even though it was not our intention for that day. But who knows how long it would have taken us to get to it otherwise?*I'm mourning a bit for our cookie jar, which was a wedding present, but let me reassure you that my first concern was for Jonathan and his head. With the exception of a few minor nicks, there were no injuries and we were amazed by the multitude of circumstances that were in place that prevented it from being more serious. He was even wearing shoes and eye protection! There was so much glass in his hair and clothes, however, that we decided that the only way to get it all out was to take a shower.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tower of Cats
This is the fantastic cat tree that Jonathan and Tim built. It is obviously well appreciated.
Missy will sit on the lowest perch but has left the upper ones for the boys. You can almost hear her muttering to herself, "Those young whippersnappers can have their heights. The couch back is the best spot to sit in the sun anyway."
The boys think that it is a perfect place to watch us and bat at each other. Since taking this picture, we've also added some toys to dangle from the middle levels.
Maxwell seems to have decided that the top spot is his.Uneasy lies the crown, however, since Edison knows full well that the upper position offers a vulnerable tail to the upstart below for clawing and chewing. Fortunately, the whole apparatus is very sturdily constructed (can two engineers do less?) and has no trouble standing up to eighteen pounds of rambunctious cat.
Missy will sit on the lowest perch but has left the upper ones for the boys. You can almost hear her muttering to herself, "Those young whippersnappers can have their heights. The couch back is the best spot to sit in the sun anyway."The boys think that it is a perfect place to watch us and bat at each other. Since taking this picture, we've also added some toys to dangle from the middle levels.
Maxwell seems to have decided that the top spot is his.Uneasy lies the crown, however, since Edison knows full well that the upper position offers a vulnerable tail to the upstart below for clawing and chewing. Fortunately, the whole apparatus is very sturdily constructed (can two engineers do less?) and has no trouble standing up to eighteen pounds of rambunctious cat.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Winter Fun
Starting with a trip to Danville (Beware!) for lovely Megan and Peter's wedding.
The trip included some time in St. Louis with good friends.
They were delightful hosts. If I hadn't been so sick, it would have been one of the best trips that I have taken post-Jonathan-sans-Jonathan. As it was, I enjoyed the company of friends and their happiness and drank more hot tea in one weekend than ever before or since.
I got back just in time to start Advent and Christmas decorating.
We have many more ornaments between us than can fit on a normal sized tree. Stringing them on ribbon was a fun way to use them and increase the decorated space. Let's see, how many more windows do I have?
Traditional cookie baking for work cookie exchange and Christmas gifts. These were sugar cookie balls rolled in crushed peppermint sticks in the making. Yum!
After Christmas, we had each of our families over for dinner at our house. It was a serious time of reflection on our relationships and the coming new year.
It was also the highest number, not of people, but of children that has ever been in our house.
A couple of days later, my family convened for our new tradition--Pictionary night. Camille treated us to an authentic (and garlic-intensive) Italian dinner.
Sisters in my kitchen:
Sibs on the couch:
We were able to get a picture of the whole family at Elsa's house later during our last hurrah before we started separating for another year.
The other highlight of this winter--snow!
We had to make a snow man and his friend, the snow kitty.
"Snow had fallen, snow on snow...."
At the Starbucks across the street from my bus stop. One of winter's little compensations is a hot drink as you stamp through the results of the fourth snow storm in a week.
The ad on the bus is from a Pemco campaign that always reminds me of the way that Dorothy Sayers described the occasional genius of advertising. We here thrive on thinking that we are unique. Special, if you will. And we are proud of our white socks with sandals, thank you.
The trip included some time in St. Louis with good friends.
They were delightful hosts. If I hadn't been so sick, it would have been one of the best trips that I have taken post-Jonathan-sans-Jonathan. As it was, I enjoyed the company of friends and their happiness and drank more hot tea in one weekend than ever before or since.
I got back just in time to start Advent and Christmas decorating.
We have many more ornaments between us than can fit on a normal sized tree. Stringing them on ribbon was a fun way to use them and increase the decorated space. Let's see, how many more windows do I have?
Traditional cookie baking for work cookie exchange and Christmas gifts. These were sugar cookie balls rolled in crushed peppermint sticks in the making. Yum!
After Christmas, we had each of our families over for dinner at our house. It was a serious time of reflection on our relationships and the coming new year.
It was also the highest number, not of people, but of children that has ever been in our house.A couple of days later, my family convened for our new tradition--Pictionary night. Camille treated us to an authentic (and garlic-intensive) Italian dinner.
Sisters in my kitchen:
Sibs on the couch:
We were able to get a picture of the whole family at Elsa's house later during our last hurrah before we started separating for another year.
The other highlight of this winter--snow!
We had to make a snow man and his friend, the snow kitty.
"Snow had fallen, snow on snow...."
At the Starbucks across the street from my bus stop. One of winter's little compensations is a hot drink as you stamp through the results of the fourth snow storm in a week.
The ad on the bus is from a Pemco campaign that always reminds me of the way that Dorothy Sayers described the occasional genius of advertising. We here thrive on thinking that we are unique. Special, if you will. And we are proud of our white socks with sandals, thank you.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Newcomers
In the spirit of bringing new life into families that seems to be the mode right now, we are embracing our own version.
These cuties were found by my parents' neighbors a few days before Christmas. Their mom had been sneaking in to eat their cats' food. Once they realized that she was nursing, they found the tiny kittens under their deck. Being the generous people that they are, they brought them inside and provided a safe environment for the mom to finish raising them.
She was in the process of licking herself (and the nearest kitten) when this picture was taken but my mom said that her expression is a classic nursing face. They were about seven weeks old at this point and getting most of their nourishment from non-mom sources. However, they were still being offered tasty mom-snacks.
The one in front is Maxwell, named for the physicist, James Clerk Maxwell and the darker one in the back is Edison (Thomas Edison). Anyone catch the theme?
Maxwell is the clever one. He has already figured out how to kill feathers and climb the baby gate to get out of the room. Edison would be the despair of his elementary school teacher, if he were ever to have such a thing. He is still being distracted by his tail and passing sunbeams.
Cute boys!
They are beautiful, tabby siamese mixes. Their mom, despite her black coat and yellow eyes, clearly has some Siamese genes that show up in her svelte shape and mournful yowl. There is no way to determine who the father is but it appears that he was a siamese-tabby mix.
We are looking forward to bringing them home next weekend and are preparing the office for their reception. What a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day!
These cuties were found by my parents' neighbors a few days before Christmas. Their mom had been sneaking in to eat their cats' food. Once they realized that she was nursing, they found the tiny kittens under their deck. Being the generous people that they are, they brought them inside and provided a safe environment for the mom to finish raising them.
She was in the process of licking herself (and the nearest kitten) when this picture was taken but my mom said that her expression is a classic nursing face. They were about seven weeks old at this point and getting most of their nourishment from non-mom sources. However, they were still being offered tasty mom-snacks.
The one in front is Maxwell, named for the physicist, James Clerk Maxwell and the darker one in the back is Edison (Thomas Edison). Anyone catch the theme?Maxwell is the clever one. He has already figured out how to kill feathers and climb the baby gate to get out of the room. Edison would be the despair of his elementary school teacher, if he were ever to have such a thing. He is still being distracted by his tail and passing sunbeams.
Cute boys!They are beautiful, tabby siamese mixes. Their mom, despite her black coat and yellow eyes, clearly has some Siamese genes that show up in her svelte shape and mournful yowl. There is no way to determine who the father is but it appears that he was a siamese-tabby mix.
We are looking forward to bringing them home next weekend and are preparing the office for their reception. What a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Oaks At Home
My family has a drop-in mentality. When we are in the neighborhood of family or friends with a little extra time, here we come. Obviously this works better for some people than others and some seasons of life than others. I personally like to come bearing gifts, usually the edible variety, to provide an excuse to say hello even when the time isn't good for visiting.
Due to a couple of unfortunate episodes early in our marriage (and a busy schedule), my family has not been able to drop in while passing as much as they (and we) would like. Hence, our At Home.
This terminology is reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's London but what I mean is a time when everyone knows that we are open for visitors to stop by without worrying that they will be interrupting or imposing and know that we will even be there.
So, we decided, quite arbitrarily, on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month to be At Home. If you are in the area, feel free to stop by after 7:00. We will serve you tea and you can help us put up our Christmas decorations.
Due to a couple of unfortunate episodes early in our marriage (and a busy schedule), my family has not been able to drop in while passing as much as they (and we) would like. Hence, our At Home.
This terminology is reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's London but what I mean is a time when everyone knows that we are open for visitors to stop by without worrying that they will be interrupting or imposing and know that we will even be there.
So, we decided, quite arbitrarily, on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month to be At Home. If you are in the area, feel free to stop by after 7:00. We will serve you tea and you can help us put up our Christmas decorations.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Legacy
My grandmother recently moved into an adult family home, necessitating a downsize from her apartment. As the embroiderer and tea-lover in the family, I chose a few handmade linens and the Japanese teapot that my grandfather brought back from occupied Japan.
I also chose her recipe box.
It is everything that a recipe box should be--well used and well worn. Cards that are grease-spotted, wrinkled, both typed and hand written. Recipes copied from magazines and cookbooks and gifts from friends. Glimpses of the church and neighbor communities within the directions for upsizing for potlucks and notes on baby showers. A lifetime of friends and family sharing food, raising families and celebrating.
An appalling number of the recipes contain some variety of flavored gelatin. Some of them are clearly dated with their emphasis on canned or prepackaged ingredients and references to an obscure substance called spry (a brand of shortening that was sold in the 1930's to 1950's). A number of them reflect her Scandinavian background with names like Fattimunda, others simply reflect the times (Lemon Fluff, anyone?).
Her Danish Brown Sugar cookies have been a fixture in my holiday baking ever since I was able to make sense of a recipe that called for the ingredients in pounds. This year I may have to add Delia's zucchini bread and Minnie's (my great-grandmother) Spanish Cake.
I am well into creating my own lifetime recipe box even though I have moved the cards into a notebook for easier access. There are cards from friends and family, made-up recipes too good to let fall into oblivion and experimental recipes from online cookbooks--a truly contemporary twist on recipe-sharing. The things that I collect will change over time--from exotic treats to plain and frugal family meals to Fifty Ways to Use the Forty Pounds of Blueberries that we just picked.
I hope that I can also incorporate not only some of my grandmother's recipes into my cooking routine but also some of her love and dedication to serving those under her care.
I also chose her recipe box.
It is everything that a recipe box should be--well used and well worn. Cards that are grease-spotted, wrinkled, both typed and hand written. Recipes copied from magazines and cookbooks and gifts from friends. Glimpses of the church and neighbor communities within the directions for upsizing for potlucks and notes on baby showers. A lifetime of friends and family sharing food, raising families and celebrating.
An appalling number of the recipes contain some variety of flavored gelatin. Some of them are clearly dated with their emphasis on canned or prepackaged ingredients and references to an obscure substance called spry (a brand of shortening that was sold in the 1930's to 1950's). A number of them reflect her Scandinavian background with names like Fattimunda, others simply reflect the times (Lemon Fluff, anyone?).
Her Danish Brown Sugar cookies have been a fixture in my holiday baking ever since I was able to make sense of a recipe that called for the ingredients in pounds. This year I may have to add Delia's zucchini bread and Minnie's (my great-grandmother) Spanish Cake.
I am well into creating my own lifetime recipe box even though I have moved the cards into a notebook for easier access. There are cards from friends and family, made-up recipes too good to let fall into oblivion and experimental recipes from online cookbooks--a truly contemporary twist on recipe-sharing. The things that I collect will change over time--from exotic treats to plain and frugal family meals to Fifty Ways to Use the Forty Pounds of Blueberries that we just picked.I hope that I can also incorporate not only some of my grandmother's recipes into my cooking routine but also some of her love and dedication to serving those under her care.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Canning
We took our nearly annual trip out to Bellevue to pick blueberries and picked up a 20 lb box of fresh peaches from the fruit stand there. We devoured some but I also wanted to have my first opportunity to can my own peaches.
Rinsing and peeling peaches. Note the stove full of pots in the background. How did the pioneer women do it?
My mom was mercifully there to help walk me through. Full concentration for the entire time is essential. My multitasking skills were actually a hindrance here.
The last batch in the canner:
Perfect seal rate! Yum!
Also yummy was the plain and spiced peach syrup that I made out of the leftover simple syrup. We had overestimated the amount needed for the peaches and there was enough left in the bowl to cook down and fill two more jars.
Rinsing and peeling peaches. Note the stove full of pots in the background. How did the pioneer women do it?
My mom was mercifully there to help walk me through. Full concentration for the entire time is essential. My multitasking skills were actually a hindrance here.
The last batch in the canner:
Perfect seal rate! Yum!
Also yummy was the plain and spiced peach syrup that I made out of the leftover simple syrup. We had overestimated the amount needed for the peaches and there was enough left in the bowl to cook down and fill two more jars.
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