turkey feathers

Eco Trip

A few weeks ago, the lovely Felica Sullivan (a rep from Harper Collins) asked me to review Giving, due out this September, the latest book in Danny Seo's "Simply Green" series, and I couldn't have been happier to do so.  The book hasn't been released yet, but I can tell you that it's full of wonderful ways to create organic wrappings, tags, and gifts from everyday materials in ways you may not have thought of before.  At least, I never had.  The four chapters cover: cards & tags, recycled boxes, wraps & bows, and handmade gifts.  Just oodles of useful ideas that are fresh and inspiring, plus there's a nice closing piece about how we can all give back to make the world a better place.  And most of us have the desire to do that on some level, don't we? It's just hard to know how to go about it sometimes and I found the information to be solid and practical.  Danny's personal story is a remarkable one too.  He was born on Earth Day in 1977 and figures he was destined to lobby for Mother Earth.  At the tender age of 12, he was inspired to take action after hearing horror stories of environmental atrocities.  Eventually this lead to the start of the country's largest teenage environmental activist group Earth 2000, and now he's paving the way toward a more stylish eco-friendly lifestyle and every one's invited.  I found his blog to be pretty interesting too as he shares his latest finds and some creative uses for unusual objects.  I must say, Danny Seo's enthusiasm and commitment to the cause of change is admirable.  His first book, Parties just came out in June and I think it's terrific;  a great resource of ideas for house parties and casual event planning with a green twist.  Both books are filled to the brim with useful tips and doable projects and I plan to add them to my gift-giving list this year.  Wrapped "eco-style".   

You can catch Danny this Fall on LIME TV Network, or listen to his Talk-Radio Show on Sirius Satellite Radio. 

And he's also doing a monthly feature in Country Home magazine.  The May 2006 issue featured him at home in his eco-friendly Pennsylvania farmhouse... practicing what he preaches. 

Naturally.

Someone's In The Kitchen

This time of year, the harvest season comes at us hard and fast and even though I don't (yet) have an over burgeoning vegetable garden, our friends and neighbors have been keeping us very busy with theirs.   I'm not complaining, on the contrary I love it, welcome it...beg for it even, and am so happy when they share the bounty.  Very happy, believe me!  It's just that, when you're not expecting it, it can leave you stopped dead in your tracks because you have to move fast.  Everything I've been sewing and gluing and painting has gone into a temporary holding pattern while I tend to all living things with a short shelf life.  Like the wonderful basil.  I spent all day yesterday making my little pesto packets.  But first there was a quick trip back to the market for fresh pignoli (pine nuts) and grated Parmesan cheese.  And instead of peeling and chopping lots of tiny garlic cloves, I bought elephant garlic instead, which is huge.  It's milder too, and that's nice since this goes in, and is eaten, mostly uncooked.  Just setting everything up and doing the prep work took half the morning, but the trusty food processor made the rest go fast.  And the time I'm saving in the long run, really makes up for a few hours of work.  I ended up making about half-a-dozen batches.  Which worked out to 24 packets, each with (more or less) 3 heaping tablespoonfuls in each snack bag.  Enough to last through the winter and beyond.  Pesto freezes well and it's really simple to use this way.  Just grab a packet and peel back the plastic while it's still frozen.  Nothing sticks so nothing is wasted.  Sometimes I just need a small amount to mix with goat cheese or butter to spread on bread, so I  just break off a little piece and toss the rest back in the freezer.   Super easy when I want to make a quick pasta dish too. 

And...look who's back.  He showed up late yesterday afternoon out of the blue.  Naturally we all have mixed emotions about this little fellow.  Ginger ran outside and threw her arms around him.  I noticed that he seemed quite chatty. Read: "please feed me".  I figured he'd trot on home after we went inside for the night, but there he was sitting at the back door this morning hungrier than ever, looking pitiful and thin.  So.  I fed him.  And you know what that means.  It means he's NEVER leaving!  But I can't think about that right now.  And all the implications.  Must move on to the apples that are waiting.  Making applesauce today.  With children helpers.  Enough said.

Bringing Home the Bounty

The Mister waltzed in the door today with his arms loaded with yummy things from a friend's garden.  He'd stopped by their place after work and they sent him home with all this bounty.  I was really excited to see Granvenstein apples again.  We used to have a mature tree that produced a landfall every year and we always made lots of applesauce.  They are great baking apples and make delicious pies too, so I think that will be on the agenda for tomorrow.  Today it's going to be all about pesto.  Oh my! I don't think I've ever seen basil grow this big!  I found the best way to store fresh herbs is right on the kitchen counter in large vases of water.  It will keep for days.  Just break or cut off the bottom stems so they can absorb enough water.  Change it daily, just like any cut flower bouquet.   An extra benefit is the smell.  My entire house smells sweet and it's making me so hungry.  I ran a good recipe for pesto here last year.  Feel free to print it out.  It's the one I always use.

Update on Mr. Cat (for those of you who have been following this stray cat saga).  He seems to have left us for good.  It's true.  And a bit sad really.  He hasn't made an appearance for several days now, ever since Sarah came down with a cold last week.  She'd stayed indoors most of the time nursing her sniffles and resting her head and I guess he just decided not to wait around anymore.  Sarah got attached, and keeps looking up hoping to see him sitting on the patio table waiting for her to come out.  Lily even seemed resigned to his presence even though she still kept a watchful eye on him from a safe distance.  Love triangles can be so complicated.  And then he was gone.  Haven't seen him since.

I suppose ONE of us is relieved anyway.

Bridging the Gap

The Mister and I skipped over to a couple local nurseries after lunch yesterday to look at green houses.  I think this is the one we've settled on.  For months now, we've been in the process of light contemplation about what to do about a section of our backyard, formerly known as: the thistle patch.   Which just about sums up the problem.  One of them anyway.  We'd like to plant a vegetable garden but the critters abound, so it's not as easy as just scratching a plot and planting seeds.  It's about how to go about building Fort Knox and keeping the flow of the yard intact.  We've already had to scrap the idea of planting a parterre out front.  After consultations and estimates from several contractors it turned out to be a much bigger project than we had originally anticipated.  One involving excavation and additional hardscape because of drainage and slope issues.  But the worst part was, after all that was done, it wasn't going to look anything like what I had envisioned.  So we've decided to go with a much simpler plan that will work naturally with the lay of the land.  It's not the first time we've had to back up and start over again.  I'm learning that fine-tuning is all part of the process.   With both fingers crossed,  I'm also hoping that things go according to plan this time, which will allow us time to focus on the backyard before the dry season ends.  At least get a framework started anyway.  So while we were out viewing our options yesterday, I picked up some culinary herbs for the kitchen.  I already had the pots so it was an easy task of transplanting.   Some of these are also growing outside but are quickly going to seed, soon to be gone, so my little windowsill garden here behind the sink will provide nicely through the coming months.  Plus they are just so lovely to look at.  From left to right we've got sage, parsley, rosemary, lemon thyme, and garlic chives.  Just a little instant gratification.  If not, the makings for a song. 

Mailbox Friendship

My mailbox has been brimming with the sweetest treasures from afar.  This package arrived all the way from the UK.  A wonderful surprise from Simmy who's blog, Echos of a Dream I've come to know and love.  She's been experimenting with natural dyes and wool recently with pretty good success; the results of which (along with some tutorial) you can read about here.  The colors that she's been able to achieve from things like dahlias, carrot tops, logwood and comfrey just to name a few, are really wonderful.  Soft, natural, muted colors that are so pleasing to the eye.  I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of some of the spoils and can't wait to work with these.  Right now I'm still just staring at them in awe and feeling so happy, not to mention getting ideas about my own wool blanket project again.  Plus there was other fun stuff too that had the girls jumping for joy, like the sweet vintage book, pretty origami papers, foreign postage stamps, craft scrap, and even feathers from her Golden Laced Wyandotte hens, that I'm sure will inspire lots of crafting around here.  Grace and Simmy's daughter are about the same age and have been sending hand-written letters back and forth, kind of a casual cultural exchange of ideas and friendship across the pond.   The impact of which cannot be discounted.  After forty+ years I still correspond with my 4th grade penpal who lives in Canada.  She's my longest enduring friend even though we've only actually met in person twice.    I have a feeling that many of the bloggers I've "met" during this past year are going to become similar long-distance friends too.  Can't even begin to tell you how nice it is to read all the comments from those who keep popping in here.  I wish I could respond to each one, but time is pretty short these days and I'm often running to keep up.  Like um, now.  But before I bounce outta my chair, I have to show a couple more lovely things that arrived recently. This wonderful package was from Lauren, who makes the most incredible collage pieces. We did a swap for this garden apron.  She also included some fun candy, paper and stickers for the girls. They still can't believe that people they don't even know would send them such cool stuff.   And would you look at this collage. How sweet is that?  The colors are perfect too.  She also included a huge box of sewing things from an estate sale that I'm still going through.  So much neat stuff I can't tell you.  Look at that teensy embroidery hoop!  This was great because I haven't been out thrifting in ages.  Not much around here sometimes, but mainly I haven't had any time for it, so this was especially fun.  Thanks again everyone!

3 Easy Pieces

Honestly, I don't think there's anything I enjoy more than making little girl's dresses.  This little ensemble was finished just in time for my granddaughter's second birthday.  We spent the day in Portland yesterday, and it was great seeing friends and faces we haven't seen in a while.  Our little birthday girl got so much loot in the form of toys (and I just knew she would) so I made her this jumper dress and bag instead.  And of coarse, a Stitchette, from one of Hillary's cute patterns, to go along with it.  Which turned out SO cute and it even looks like her!  I like how she fits perfectly in the pocket and the bag.  The  bag idea probably came from this Japanese craft book (page 44) although I didn't exactly follow any directions.  I just realized that it was similar after I made it and started flipping through it again.  Anyway, it's a fun chunky little bag that's easy for a small person to get things in and out of without too much fiddling and frustration.  The jumper pattern I've had for a long time though, and it's one I've sewn many times over the years.  It's one of my favorites because "it's SO EASY" just like the pattern envelope says.  And you know, that's just NOT always the case with patterns that make those claims, but this one really lives up to that and it's simple enough so you can embellish anyway you want, or use just about any kind of fabric.  I'd forgotten that I had this yummy pink and red candy stripe cotton and when I came across it again, I knew this was perfect for what I had in mind.  A little white rick-rack adds a fresh note and a vintage look at the same time, but I left this on the plain side with just a simple "applique" for fun.  I really like deep hems too, they make most things hang nicer and you can let them out later to add length after a growth spurt.  The other fabric is Flea Market Fancy (Denyse Schmidt).   This jumper is only three pieces to pin and cut out, with a bodice that doubles as the facing, so all raw edges are nicely tucked away.  In a most *tidy* fashion.  Gotta love that.

Blackberry Ramble

When it's hot like it has been, you can smell the blackberries from the kitchen door.      

Anyone will tell you that blackberries are the scourge of the northwest...except when it's berry picking time.  Then we all sing a different tune. There's a little corner behind our house that is taken over by bramble that offers up the most choice berries every summer.  It can be tricky getting in there to pick them.  Even dangerous.  There's always that persistent poison oak entwined amongst the thorny vines to be wary of.  But still we forge on until we are scratched bloody and stained with juice, triumphant with our bounty as we return to the house with baskets brimming.    At that point, it always feels like we've just won a battle.  I guess in a way we have.  Survived one anyway.   We try not to eat all the spoils but it's so hard.  I insist on a triple rinse, and it's a bit of a production that takes time.  While the girls do that,  I get the pie crusts ready.  We ended up with two pies; one for dessert and one for the freezer, for later.  Much later.  Like when we've been chased back inside by the cold and want to taste summer again.  Or have company over for an old fashioned Sunday supper and want to spoil them with something special.  Pies are such homey little things.  Especially one wearing a fancy lattice crust hat.  My little pastry wheel makes these lovely pinked edges without much effort.  Some strips were a bit thin as I was running short on pie dough.  But in the end, it didn't really matter one bit.  No one even noticed or cared when it finally came out of the oven and the aroma hit them.   

Keep On Truckin'

There's been so much going on around here (August is always a busy month!) that I forgot to show this bag I made last week for a little birthday guy who turned 5 years old Sunday.  It was really fun making something for a boy this time.   This whole project was a trip down memory lane for me too because it reminded me of my son Aaron when he was little and how we stenciled a border of Marimekko boboo cars on the walls of his room (to match his sheets).  It was a lot of work, because store-bought borders weren't available at that time and I had to make my own stencils, climb a ladder, dob paint until I thought my neck would break and my arms would fall off, but it all turned out very cute and colorful.  Now I see they have come up with an easier way to decorate using this wallcandy.  I still love how all this looks, it's such a clean timeless design.  Anyway, I took my cues from the toy shop trucks and a puzzle we found for the birthday boy, and designed a little carry-all using the same primary colors.  I'm probably the last one to get around to the freezer paper stencil.  I've used it for years for applique, and this was the perfect opportunity to finally try it out and like everyone else, I love how easy it is.  Just like magic when you peel off the paper and a perfect shape appears.  Here's a nice simplified tutorial if you missed it.  And look what else you can do with them here, here and here.  Who knew you could have this much fun with freezer paper? For the "road" I used a chain stitch down the middle of one side in one inch intervals marked with chalk.  The ruler twill tape added a nice touch too.  You never know when he might need to measure something, right?  Found that here.  The little tab on the side says, travel.  That just seemed fitting somehow.  I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out and he liked it too.  Started filling it up with all his new toys right away.  More pictures over here.

Sunshine & Shadow

It's a little cloudy and cooler today.  Nice for a morning stroll and a little meandering around the backyard.  The wind whipped through here last night, the evidence of which I found brought down the badminton net, one wasp trap, and the yard waste can, partially dumping all the tree branches we trimmed over the weekend.    No real harm done though.  Checking in here on the enchanted garden, everything looks fine.  The pincushion flowers and the clematis have recovered after a deer intruded and nipped all their heads off.   Including some of the roses.  How it managed to get in here is beyond me.  What I thought was safe temporary fencing, turned out not to be so deer-proof after all.  Quelle supris!  Considering my options again before another raid.    The Corsican mint has filled in it's little square plot nicely.  I like to run my hand over it to release the strong scent which is like no other.   It not only looks and smells wonderful but it also keeps the clematis roots damp and cool.  And of coarse, makes a wonderful carpet for frolicking fairies.

The blue spirea is sending out lovely long spires that harmonize well with the pink roses which really don't get enough sun in this corner, so whatever bloom they manage to produce makes me happy.  And at least one of us is happy.

Oh dear.

Just look at this sad face.  This rag-tag fellow has been visiting for a couple of weeks now, with little encouragement from us, other than a friendly pat and a kind word, but still I think he's decided to stay.  He's taken to sleeping on the porch now.  I'm not sure where he belongs, if his family is on vacation or if he was just dropped off in the middle of the night, but he doesn't appear to be hungry or suffering although his eyes look a little runny which has me concerned.  No collar, no tags.  We've walked up and down the street inquiring on his behalf without any luck. 

He's a mellow fellow, quite gentle and good mannered.  Seems well taken care of.   

But Miss Lily is NOT happy about this at all.  She's been in a huff ever since he showed up.   

He wants to come in, and sit on laps.  She wants to come out, and box his ears. 

Lily's strictly an indoor cat so I'm not sure how this situation is going to play out but in the meantime, she's keeping a close eye on him.   

A very close eye.

Crumbs. . .

I'm sort of a prisoner in my own house today.  Which actually is just fine because there is so much I need to get done.  Or at least, started.  My neighborhood road is closed due to repairs and maintenance, so there's no coming and going while the work crew is on the job.   Not sure how my mail will be delivered, or if it even will be.  But no worries.  The only downside is that the Mister won't be here for lunch.  I think it's the first time in...what (?) years that he hasn't come home for lunch.  I love that he pops in mid-day.  We usually make him something special, even if it is only warmed up left-overs.  Years ago, he had a long freeway commute that left him exhausted and stressed, so living within a few miles of the job has been fantastic and wonderful for all of us.  It's nice too, that the girls get to see more of their dad and not just at the end of the day when we're all tired.   Sometimes he invites friends from work to join us.  That's always fun.  We really need to do that again soon when we aren't so busy.  There's always some baking and cooking going on around here though.  This quiche was delish with the addition of fresh basil from a friend's garden.   I love that little heart shape on the handle of my nutmeg grinder.  And Grace is not only a whiz in the dollhouse kitchen (with her mini cupcakes and petite sweets and what-not) but also when it comes to making real food.  Like that blueberry muffin up there.  We use the exact same recipe (a favorite from the Tasha Tudor Cookbook) but,  hers always taste better than mine.  She thinks I'm just doing the *mom thing* when I tell her that, but it's true.   When she was little, I used to ask her what she did to make her cookies taste so good, and she'd say in all seriousness, "I put love in it".   We'd laugh but it does seem to make a difference.  I'm happy that our kids know their way around the kitchen.  As soon as they could hold a spoon and stir they were given opportunities to take part.   It's always been a family affair.  The point is not so much about the end product, (which does improve over time with experience) but the joy that comes from the process and the pride in one's contribution.  Of coarse, it is important to point out here, that cooking can be filled will hazards (not just spills) so a little supervision is always wise.  I always started with simple tasks and added more as they showed ability.  There are always small steps that can be performed such as chopping nuts,  sifting flour, greasing pans.  In the beginning I chose basic standbys like pretzels or oatmeal cookies.  And all the old wisdom my mother passed down to me, I now pass down to them.  Things like, a tablespoon of sour cream will improve just about anything.  Crack eggs in a bowl before adding them to the batter.  Don't overbeat.  That sort of thing.   I do realize that there are easier ways of getting a meal on the table than asking your children to help but I've also found it's a nice way to spend time with them.   Despite the mess.  Which can be considerable.  Although, usually my doing as I drop and spill with the best of them.  This much is true.