Three Chairs

"I had three chairs in my house:

one for solitude,

two for friendship,

and three for society."

--Henry David Thoreau

Re-creation

Every September, for girls' weekend, Kate and I head to the Little Falls Arts and Craft Fair with Grandma, aunts, and cousins.  There's always at least one item for sale that we say to each other, "we could do that!"  So, we think we'll remember it.  Or we take a picture.  Sometimes we even buy one as "a pattern". 

Well, I'm proud to say that we finally recreated two of these patterns.  This bow and arrow, above, is made from PVC pipe, string, and a wooden dowel.  The book club boys each made a set at our Sign of the Beaver meeting after I found this website with instructions.

These goofy snake sprinklers are made of cooper plumbing pipe and wire.  Water spurts out of holes along their backs.  I can't take any credit for these other than buying the pattern.  Mark made them for my brother and sister-in-law and we brought the snakes to their new home today at a housewarming brunch.

A Good Day for Ducks

It rained most of the night and all morning.  All the games were cancelled (and I just gained 6 hours of prep time for our gathering this evening!).  Here's where I found John spending his newly freed time.  He is watching two ducks (according to Kate, the one with the abnormally large orange feet is named Socks and his wife is Martha), in the yard.  They have befriended a male cardinal who is kindly discarding all the seeds from the birdfeeder that he doesn't care for onto the ground where Socks and Martha are gratefully, and non-fussily, eating them up.  What you can't see in the photo is our crazy hunting dog who is running from door to window and back again, whining, and going quite bonkers in his effort to get to those ducks!  John is ignoring him.

During the year we lived in California, we were close enough to San Francisco to drive in for the evening.  When dining on the Wharf, it seemed essential to have clam chowder, which I'd never been a fan of.  At Pompei's Grotto, however, I discovered Manhattan Clam Chowder which became my new favorite when visiting the city.  Since then, and especially after our road trip to Maine last summer, I've learned to love the New England version just as much, maybe even more. 

I went to bed last night wondering what on earth I would make for our book club dinner tonight and woke this morning knowing the answer - New England Clam Chowder!  In the book, The Sign of the Beaver, the characters enjoy a good fish chowder and the story is set in Maine so...clam chowder!  And it is tasting really yummy so far!  We don't always serve dinner with our meetings but it has become more usual than not.  And we don't always serve a book-themed dinner.  But the other moms in this group are fantastic cooks and I don't always pull my weight in that category so I'm very happy that things just worked themselves out. 

With the rain canceling games, freeing up six hours of prep time, I even made corn muffins, prepared two activities for the boys, dusted, vacuumed, and dug out some nice-smelling candles to light before the guests arrive.  Okay, so a bunch of 10 year old boys probably won't appreciate the candles, but us moms will!

Little Pail List

Our tradition for New Year's Eve includes writing in this "time" book.  We get one page each per year and on that page we list at least five things we want to do in the following year - not resolutions, more of a small scale bucket list - a little pail list.  Then the next New Year's Eve, we review the prior year list and draw smiley, frown-y, or straight-face faces by each entry, depending on what we did or didn't do.

On my list this year (besides "going to an auction" - hey, I said little pail list), I wrote "create five new menu items and perfect them".  Now by "create", I mean find the right recipe and make it myself.  And by "perfect", I mean make it so that (1) it tastes good and (2) I feel so comfortable making it that it becomes a go-to choice for me.

And it's April.  And I thought I better get going on this if I want that smiley face at the end of the year.  So, I've been making lasagne - something I love but have never been able to master.  This week I finally made one that tastes really good.  I think I have one out of five.  Can't be happy with just one.  Feeling a little cocky, I roasted seven pheasants (yeah, still trying to clean out the freezer!) the other day, mixed them with crushed juniper berries and fresh thyme, and was going to make pheasant pasties for dinner tonight.

Well,...I'm running around like a crazy lady today trying to get everything ready for all of our weekend activities so that tomorrow I can sit and watch ball games for six hours (yep, six!).  Other than the predicted forty-six degree high for tomorrow, I'm excited.  I have the stadium blankets in the back of the car, extra sweatshirts packed, hand warmers ready, and, of course, plenty of Muppet band-aids!  I'm not packing sandwiches 'cause part of the fun is buying nachos and hot-dogs at the concession stand.

And I'm thinking, I don't have time to make pheasant pasties tonight!  So, I put the pheasant in the freezer (I'll do it next week) and set out a container of home-made split pea soup, bought a baguette, and we're ready for the weekend!  (Except for that book club meeting tomorrow night that I'm not at all  quite ready for!)

Re-evaluating

I've been feverishly working on a quilt project deadline that is coming far too quickly and am wondering why I'm taking time out to blog. ?

The original intention of starting a blog was that I would write more by posting everyday.  I am posting everyday but not really writing very much.  I've added photography to my already-too-long list of ways I like to spend my time.  But photograph-ing isn't writing.  Do I care?  I don't know.  This is fun.  But I was trying to make myself write more.  And I really SHOULD be sewing.

I'll be able to show you the finished quilt project soon but can tell you that it is somewhat inspired by the Choose Your Own Adventure books.  Remember those?  They still sell them, newer versions but same idea.

Shipwreck Optional

John and I are hosting our next mother/son book club meeting which I realized, alarmingly, is this coming weekend!  We have not even finished the book yet, let alone plan activities, questions, and menu. 

So, as I'm using store-bought dye to color an old sheet before making it into camping dish towels, I think of a theme throughout the book we're reading, The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare.  Throughout the book, Attean, a Native American boy,  thinks Matt, a pioneer boy, goes through way too much trouble for things that can easily be made from the earth around them.  While reading Robinson Crusoe together, Matt thinks it awesome that Crusoe finds (in a shipwreck) bags of nails, barrels of bullets, a dozen hatchets, and even a hammock.  Attean, on the other hand, sees no use for such things.

Out of curiousity, and having no idea what I'm doing, I took a cup of frozen blueberries out of the freezer, added a little water, and a piece of white printed fabric.  The little piece up on the right is the blueberry dye while the brown strupe is the store-bought.  With a little more knowledge, I think they'd be pretty comparable!

Neither Attean or Matt would probably have much need for dying their dishtowels but these are the fun ideas that run through a reader's mind as we read good books.

Walk on a Bloomin' Beautiful Day!

So sunny and warm this morning that I went for a walk, first thing.  These daffodils made me think of William Wordsworth's poem, I wandered Lonely as a Cloud.  While Wordsworth found a meaningfulness in existence by observing nature, he also became distressed at the great contrast between the simple and genuine truth of nature and the twisted and contrived struggles of man.  He was saddened by the efforts humans make on things that do not matter, using up their lives on challenges that only bring them further from the great joy they began with.  And all the while, nature is doing this:

My photos don't do it justice - and, of course, can't capture the sound of the birds and the smell of these blossoms!

When Kate was little, she convinced me that this particular creek is where the wood fairies live - true!

If this belief from heaven be sent,

If such be Nature's holy plan,

Have I not reason to lament

What man has made of man?

--William Wordsworth

(excerpted from "Lines Written in Early Spring")

A glass of Kombucha, a Game of Mancala

This is the first successful batch of kombucha, an ancient medicinal fermented tea - often called tea beer (it has a very, very slight alcohol content).  A friend gave me a starter kit from her own batch.  I waited too long on my first try but this second attempt is quite good.

I enjoyed a glass while playing a game of mancala with John after school before setting off for evening activities.  It was one of those afternoons where I thought, "Why don't we do this more often?"

Day at Lake Mille Lacs

The water was so still - like I could step right onto it.

Here's thinking outside the box - maybe hard to see but this nest is hung from the branch by a piece of plastic so that it just sways in the breeze.

Here's a more traditional accommodation!

Polka on Pandora

I spent a good part of today visiting my grandma in her hospital room where she's recovering from an infection before returning to her memory care home.  Worn down from infection and tired of her hospital stay, she was sleepy and despondant when we first arrived.  She hadn't been eating much so I brought  chocolate chip cookies in an effort to increase her calorie intake - not interested.  I brought magazines with colorful pictures of garden plans - not so interested.  Not even worth staying awake for really.  It was so quiet in the room and dreary with the rain streaming down the window.
We needed music.  My grandma used to be quite the polka dancer, so I got my phone out, opened Pandora and keyed in "polka".  Sure enough, Pandora has a wide diversity of polka music!  I set the phone on the bed and fingers started tapping.  Soon, I was showing her how to slide the screen to see the album cover and artist.  The rest of the visit was spent cozily drinking coffee, eating cookies, crocheting, and listening to polka on Pandora!  Definitely favorite use of my smartphone so far!!

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

--Emily Dickinson                                        

Band-Aids Make Everything Better

It's funny how quickly we go through Band-Aids at our house.  I had to pick up more this morning to refill my purse supply and put some in the kids' bat bags and look what I found - Muppets!  No matter how big the boo-boo (or small - "where is it again?  This foot?  No, that foot?  No, wait, I think it is this foot"!), a Band-Aid always makes it feel better; makes you feel cared for and loved.

John has always loved Robert McCloskey books (Blueberries for Sal, Make Way for Ducklings, One Morning in Maine,...).  A little while back, I met a friend from Chicago in Green Bay for a girls' weekend.  Shopping at a used bookstore, I found a copy of Burt Dow; Deep-Water Man by Robert McCloskey which I brought home for John.  I hadn't ever seen the story before and it quickly became John's favorite McCloskey book - a great read-aloud book, kind of a tongue twister but really fun once you get going!  In it, Burt Dow accidently catches a whale by the tail with his fishing hook.  When he takes the hook out, he places a band-aid on the tail.  The whale is pacified but ole' Burt is soon surrounded by a school of unhappy whales, splashing their tails and nearly capsizing Burt.  Finally, Burt figures it out - they just feel left out; they want band-aids on their tails also.  You can see in this picture how happy they all are with band-aids on their tails!

Mahna Mahna!

Quilts, Pancakes and Movie Night

This spring seems to be coming in backwards - cold, cloudy and drizzly today.  Perfect weather to curl up with a warm quilt and a good movie.  Normally, we have movie night on Fridays.  But, with other activities planned for tomorrow, we're having a Friday night on Thursday.  With everything else topsy-turvy, dinner will be as well; menu = pancakes, eggs, sausages, and hot cocoa.

Mama Needs a New Pair of Shoes

I love these shoes and have had them since before Kate was born.  I've known that I probably need to replace them soon; the stitching has been coming undone, etc.  But when I rested my foot across my knee today, I saw that the shoe is actually breaking in half! My right shoe is fine - old, but fine.  What's up with my left foot?
In this increasingly disposable world we live in, there simply are not many things we hang onto until they just can't be fixed anymore.  Other than the universal "go-to", duct tape, I don't know what could help my shoes at this point. 
Remember that Brady Bunch episode where Peter breaks Carol's vase and all the kids glue it back together so that Peter won't be grounded from his camping trip?  When is the last time you glued a vase, or a plate, or a coffee cup back together?  (Or even just sew a button back on?)  New items are so easily and reasonably available.  But there are some things that just can't be replaced.  "New" just wouldn't be the same - like my shoes.
And Pinky, Kate's stuffed cat (trust me - it is a cat, just doesn't have a nose, tail, or most of it's fur anymore!):

And John's Tonka scooper (less all the levers, except a stray rod that sticks out):

Scheduling Toward Freedom

With baseball and softball practice/game schedules released, we are in bad need of posted daily calendars.  I dug out these old black frames today and hung them in the kitchen entry.  With dry erase markers, we can write in our daily schedules. 
But I'm dreaming of summer freedom. 
While running a few errands this morning, I found myself across the street from the thrift store and decided on a quick look.  Here are my treasures that I'm putting away until summer vacation:

Badminton and ice cream - what could be better?!
*** I've realized that the "comments" aren't working on this blog so I apologize if you've left a comment that I haven't acknowledged.  I'll work on fixing it and let you know.

Hand-made Gifts

                                    

Starting to think about Mother's Day and Father's Day gift ideas.  A few years ago, my brothers and I collected photos of our families hands and made a photo book for Mom.

Sounds of the Day

The windows are open and I can hear a steady drizzling rain. 
It has been a weekend of sound. 
Kate and I went to Orchestra Hall yesterday when it was sunny and brilliant to be downtown.

Playing boardgames during the thunderstorm this afteroon, Kate and John were giggling so hard with their friends that I couldn't distinguish whose laugh was whose.

Been to the Library?

Kate and I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's again last night.  In it, Holly and Paul spend the day doing things they've never done before.  Can you name the four things they do?  I'll tell you one of them; going to the library. ! Holly had never been to a library before.  I can't imagine.  I have library cards in 6 different counties including ones in Wisconsin, California and Texas (might not be valid anymore - I wonder?)

This past week was National Library Week and its got me thinking.  A short time ago, I spent the day with my 3 year-old neice.  We went to a local lbrary and had just stepped in the door when I realized she was no longer beside me.  I turned around and saw her standing, stock-still, in the doorway staring in wonderment at this ceiling.  I looked up and gasped.  I had honestly never noticed this ceiling before (and my eyes are a whole lot nearer to it than hers)! 

"Everyday, do something that makes you uncomfortable."  That was the advice a friend once gave me.  She now lives overseas and  I don't always follow this advice, but I did feel uncomfortable when I went back to the library this week, was standing still in the doorway, with people having to move around me, taking a photograph of the ceiling.

As a kid, I rode my bike to the library in the summer.  In college, I sat in the individual study carols next to the tall, tall window where the sunlight fell at a slant across the shelves of books.  Our local Arboretum has a library with the old fashioned card catalog drawers and has tables and chairs carved from beautiful slabs of trees.  The library we visit during our summer stay at the lake is in an old stone builing that has secret passages running between the floors. 

The theme of this year's National Library Week is "You Belong @ Your Library" so.....go on.

"There is not such a cradle of democracy on earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration."    -Andrew Carnegie

Still Thinking About Spring Break

One of our hikes during spring break started on this logging road.  The wet smell of cut wood was intoxicating.  And the colors and textures were so beautiful, I'm still thinking about them.

Remembering these as an inspiration, I want to make either a modernized penny rug, or a crocheted bag like this.

Laundry Treasure

Everyone brought their laundry to the laundry room before leaving for school this morning.  Rule is:  rightside out and pockets emptied.  Well, my repeat offender strikes again.  Exasperatedly emptying pocket after pocket, I worked on the lecture to deliver when school let out.  But as the first load started washing and I looked down at the tray of treasures, I saw the beauty in these small stories of my son's life.  These are the things he brought with on his adventures; the things he found and saved for later; the things that make up the best parts of his day.
He knows he's supposed to clean out his pockets.  And I will remind him again.  But my wishes and reminders are sharing space in his brain with other, maybe even more important, things.

A Good Book I Can't Read

When I showed up, recently, at a family function, my brother said, "Hey, Ms. Poppins - got a light?"  My brothers have sarcastic and quick senses of humor and I don't always "get it".  I didn't get it so he had to explain.  Apparently, my new purse looked (to him) like the one from which Mary Poppins (Ms. Poppins) pulls a lamp (light).  Aha.  Ha.  Ha.
I decided not to provide him with more material by telling him about my story association upon first seeing the purse in the store.  I agreed with him on the carpet bag image but, for me, I thought right away of Huck and Jim on their raft down the river when they meet two carpetbaggers.
(And I still bought the purse!)
At the thrift store today, I found this red covered copy of Tom Sawyer by Samuel Clemens:

How cool is that?!  It has no publication date in it so I'll have to research and find out more.  The two blue covered copies I've had for years. 

My Dad used to travel a lot for work and would sometimes bring home gifts for us.  These Twain hardcovers were my gift from a trip to Chicago.  Here's the really cool part (well, in my mind anyway):

When the book was printed, it was multiple pages on big sheets of paper that were folded and then the edges cut.  Only this book didn't get all it's bottom edges cut.  Of course, I could seperate them easily with my finger.  But I never would. 
Twain said, "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."
I can read this book but I won't because I can't open the pages!

Strong to the Finich

Look what I found in my freezer!  I had forgot that I made spinach pesto last fall, using this recipe.  I know pesto is supposed to be with basil but I had one of those humungous bags of spinach from the warehouse store so...I used spinach and then froze it.  I thawed one, warmed it in the microwave and had it over pasta for lunch - very tasty!  I wonder what else is in there?! 

"I'm strong to the finich, 'cause I eats me spinach..." --Popeye, the Sailor Man (!!)

This Time Last Week

Last week, we woke next to the river.  I've always been a lake person but, I have to say, the river's beauty is growing on me.  We had snow the first day, hail and rain the second, and then sunny and sixties - perfect!
The days went by too fast and we didn't do all the things we'd wanted, but we relaxed and had a great time.
I finally stepped outside my comfort zone and started using the camera Mark gave me - even though I haven't had a class on how to use it (my comfort zone!).  So, hopefully, my photos will look better.

We were the only people along the shore of this pristine lake at a nearby state park.  A boardwalk and docks ran along one road of the campground.

Walking along a logging road, we heard what seemed to be an approaching herd of...?...we didn't know (although we had some pretty inaccurate guesses!).  It sounded like ALOT of whatever it was... very ominous.  As we slowly continued, the noise became increasingly loud,... then silent.  I mean, just silent!  Well,... turns out it was frogs and here was the spot in which they became silent:

 Imagine Kermit, singing away with all his little frog friends (at the tops of their lungs!) and then hiding just before we saw them.  We waited, quiet and still, for the symphony (cacophony?) to begin again but it didn't.  And we never saw a thing!

Here are our hearty neighbors in the North - Grosbeaks - watching us drink our orange juice.