Aw, Mom!

I went shopping for a few items this morning for our upcoming trip to the midwest. While at the department store, I went into the toys section to pick up something new for the airplane. I generally don't get toys at this particular store, since they are mostly of the plastic + theme + massive variations = demand more of these toys from your parents variety, which we try to avoid. But anything new has some staying power, and that is very necessary on long airplane trips.

I was looking at the dolls and wondering whether I am depriving my kid of some girlhood rite of passage by not exposing her to the big-breasted, low-IQ facial featured, highly accesorized dolls when I spotted some Groovy Girls. I recalled that a friend's daughter liked these toys, and decided this might be the way to go. So I took her down from where she was hanging for a closer look.
She seemed innocuous enough, with one glaring exception -- the bare midrift. Accented by the belly button. So, I did a quality control check, to see if her clothing could be adjusted to the standards I feel are a more appropriate model for my young girl. Turns out, a little yanking and re-aligning of velcro rendered her like this:
So, belly button will remain under shirt for now. But I'm sure no amount of yanking and tugging is going to save me in my future, when my daughter decides "everyone is doing it," whatever it may be. In the meantime I'll try to walk the middle road between high fashion and its pouty, doe-eyed sex kitten toys and how we'd like things to be.

David Duchovny, hover above me

Ever hear that song with the lyrics about David Duchovny (David Duchovny, why don't you love me? David Duchovny, hovering above me, etc.)? It's by Bree Sharp, apparently, and she made a video, too. Didn't see it at the time, but it's worth watching until the end to see Jerry Springer (?!). I remember the song resonated with me, mostly because I thought it was hilarious, but I did enjoy watching the first season of X-Files with my then-boyfriend on Friday night (or whenever it was). I think we had just gotten a tv after a long stretch without. We may have found it with a "free" sign on the side of the road, and we certainly didn't get more than a channel or two, but watching something kind of freaky and scary about a hot FBI agent named Fox as the love interest was pretty good stuff.

Had a little David Duchovny flashback earlier this week when Netflix sent me Californication. His character is a little rougher and older in this one, no fresh-pressed suits and little nylon running shorts, but nonetheless has some mysterious draw for me. Maybe it's just a time of life thing -- X Files in the salad days of summer, 20-something years when tv and I rarely crossed paths, something like that. But it's kind of fun to remember, however vague it all is now.

Oh, and if you want to see more of DD, google David Duchovny and "teacup." Not posting it here, even though google thought it was in the top 3 photos I should see when I just googled his name.

Roasted Corn and Tomato Quinoa Tabouli

Round two of our fabulous tomatoes inspired this lunch, chilling in the fridge now. I used red quinoa, cooked and cooled, toasted garlic, oregano and cumin, olive oil, juice of one lime, skillet toasted corn, edemame, salt and pepper, fresh cilantro, and of course the tomatoes. We'll have it with some grilled portobellas and avacodo but it would be nice with corn tortillas or some quorn cutlets as well.

Farm fresh

We walked up to the Friday farmer's market this afternoon. It's part of our new Friday traditions that we are trying to establish. Another part is not using the car, which for today meant a leisurely morning at home, working in the garden, reading aloud on the porch, strolling to the store for fresh bagels, walking down to the park to swim in the kiddie pool. Enjoying the perks of our neighborhood.

After all this I was ready for some exercise and some good food (though actually I was more ready for good food and a nap). We loaded up the stroller with our shopping bag and some water and headed up the hill. The last two trips there we had on our long pants and coats, and Adelaide had her Dora the Explorer umbrella at the ready. So I was especially pleased today to enjoy not only the warm weather but SUMMER produce. Cherries, so many cherries, at stand after stand. A farmer who had strawberries picked this morning, so fresh and delicious that we didn't care that we had to scrape the dirt off of them to eat them. (Okay, I cared, and only let us have 2 each, saving the rest for at home after a good wash.) But the biggest and most welcome newcomer this week were these:A huge table full of them. Organic, from this state, grown in the ground (not hydroponic) and heaven on the tongue. We each had a sample hunk and then I got three huge ones to buy. Adelaide begged for another but I hadn't brought much cash and wanted to be sure I could get plenty of fruit, so I told her three were our limit. The wonderful farmer who grew these beauties and brought them here for us called out to us as we were walking away. She had a smaller tomato in her hand and she handed it to Adelaide, who thanked her and then bit into it like an apple. I was so proud. This kid ate a dozen fresh snap peas from our garden this morning, picking them and then bringing them to me to pull the tough strings off. She had berry juice all over her chin and on her shirt, and nut bread and cheese crumbs in her other fist from samples. I am so happy that we live in a place where she can see and thank the people who are growing her food, and where she can put seeds in the ground and a few months later eat the vegetables she grew herself, right in the garden where she grew them.

My dinner was delicious, too. I didn't need much after the samples but a couple of thick slices of the tomatoes on fresh bread, salt and pepper, and it was the most delicious meal I have had in days.

This is the first year that I have made a point to try to go to the farmer's market every week. I started whe there was just a Saturday market, before the summer season where there is a market in a different neighborhood every day. I was pleased at how much was available even back in February and March (though I wasn't as consistent back then, and missed many weeks), and now the contrast is amazing. I can't wait to see what unfolds this summer and fall. I hope to try some experiments with freezing and canning, to see if I can up our local eating all year and capture a little of this heady experience we're having with these foods now at the peak of their flavor.

Writers' block? (Punctuation intentional)

I signed up for a fiction writing course this summer through the UW's Experimental College. I initially looked into a community college class but between figuring out the online coursework and paying the tuition I decided the EC was the way to go. Online study is actually probably better for my life right now, given the schedule we keep, but I felt there was something to sitting in a room with other people trying to write and having to read my writing to them. At least I'm assuming that we will be reading and critiquing each other, but perhaps I'm just thinking of writing classes I see on tv shows of college students. I don't actually remember reading anything aloud in my classes in college.

The strange thing is, I've felt a little more self-conscious about writing on my blog since signing up for the class. I haven't posted since then, in fact. Class doesn't start for a couple more weeks, and it's a totally different kind of writing, but that classroom full of other writers is in the back of my mind now. I think there is a fine line between keeping one's audience in mind and not becoming overwhelmed by the thought of an audience. Fortunately this blog doesn't exactly generate hoards of readers so I will likely get over this phase. I'm anxious to get started with the class to see what I think of the instructor and find out whether it provides me with the framework I'm looking for to kickstart my writing.

Road Trip

I goofed at bedtime tonight. Okay, I was tired, and my ankle hurt, and I just wanted to get out of there. So I refused to tell an extra bedtime story and said instead "think about what you might want to bring on our trip tomorrow." Whoops. I am forgetting two things: 4 year-olds have difficulty with time concepts (they live in the moment); and, thinking about what to bring implies that things might get LEFT BEHIND. Forgotten. Not to be seen, played with, or left in the middle of mama's floor for toe-stubbing purposes for the duration of our road trip (2 whole days).

The rest of the evening consisted of our usual "I have to go pee," "one more kiss goodnight," etc., with the lengthy addition of many trips into my room for items to be placed in my "packing pile" for safekeeping. Looks like we can't live without her paper plate mask, wrapped in a blanket, her wooden box, several toys I hadn't even seen in months, and god knows what else she stockpiled in her own "packing pile" once I told her that if I saw her again tonight, we would not be taking any of the items she brought in here with us. Which of course we aren't anyway, but that was definitely not a bedtime discussion.

I might know where she gets it. When I last took off for my yoga retreat (to an island where they have food and bedding), I might have needed 6 or 7 trips to load the car. But my pillow is so comfortable. And if you run out of Kombucha on a yoga retreat you really could ruin the whole weekend. So, if we end up with some random junk with us in Seaside, well, maybe we'll just be glad we didn't leave it behind.

Black bean pizza with cornmeal crust

Got home from the park late this afternoon and needed a quick dinner. Grabbed a frozen cornmeal crust to make pizza only to discover no tomato sauce, no canned tomatoes, and a used-up tomato paste tube in the frig door. So, time to improvise.

I did find a can of black beans in my search for tomato product, and a few fresh cherry tomatoes, so I decided to go Mexican, and think of it like a super thick tostada. I sauteed a big hunk of garlic in some olive oil, added some cumin and oregano for a minute before the beans (mostly drained). Mashed them together with my potato masher and let all the remaining liquid cook off. Spread the bean paste on the crust, topped it with the cherry tomatoes (halved) and some cheddar on the kid side. Baked it until the crust was golden brown and served it with some steamed asparagus.I think next time I might add some jalepeno to heat it up a bit, or cook the beans with onion and cider vinegar for a little more zip on the cheeseless side.

No more giving out dirty looks

Tomorrow is the last day of school. I celebrated prematurely today, taking a little victory lap at the gym tonight. Of course, I came home to discover a very irritating work email from a higher-up whose head tends to get higher-up her .. . . okay, as I was saying, victory lap.

Adelaide will come to school with me tomorrow and we'll say goodbye to the kids, clean my office (me), undo my earlier cleaning of my office (her) go to the staff lunch and call it good. Then the following day we'll head out on a mini road trip to the ocean to meet up with an old friend and her kids, a big treat as I haven't seen her in far too long.

I'm already feeling so much stress start to fall away. I read a book today, cover to cover, almost in one sitting. That to me says SUMMER and FREEDOM in a way that almost nothing else does. Still 50 degrees out and raining? So what, all the better for reading. And writing, which I am also looking forward to having more time for.

Happy Father's Day, Dad

Today is a big day for my dad. It's Father's Day, of course, and he's a dad 4 times over. It's also my sister's graduation from high school. His youngest is getting ready to head to college, and he will have an empty nest for the first time in over 40 years. One more thing to cross of the list of worries that wake him up in the middle of the night.

What I hope my dad will receive for Father's Day, if not on this one, is friendship. His friendship is something I hold dear. The ability to laugh and joke with him, to not filter myself and know he'll accept me, to be able to ask for advice and offer it, these are the things about our relationship that make it so great. I hope for him that he gets to that place with all four of his children, as the younger ones inch their way slowly toward adulthood.

And I hope he'll get a decent night's sleep, too. These things I would give to him if I could.

Roasted Beet and Grilled Fennel stew

Lately I've been inspired by blogs from home cooks. Maybe they are "foodie blogs;" or maybe "vegan blogs;" whatever their category, there are some awesome looking dishes out there which have been giving me some much needed fresh ideas for what to cook. Somehow it's different than paging through a cookbook. Maybe I've just been lucky to find some poeple out there who seem to cook like I do -- start with an ingredient or a flavor in mind, then build from something fresh and in season to make a meal.

At any rate, tonight I was in "clean out the frig" mode, and my raw materials were 2 bulbs of fennel which were no longer salad-worthy, 2 beets which I roasted a few days ago but didn't use for their original intent, and a walla walla sweet onion. Here's what became of them:
I started some brown basmati, then brushed the fennel with some olive oil and put it on the grill. While those were going, I sauteed the onion in olive oil, added some garlic (2 giant cloves, but I can get heavy-handed), some Trader Joe's pasta seasoning blend, salt and pepper. Then I threw in some veggie field roast sausage. When the sausage was browned, I added the beets (chopped) and a big can of fire roasted tomatoes (Muir Glen). I let that all cook down until most of the liquid had cooked off (long enough for the fennel to grill on both sides and the rice to steam).I added the grilled fennel and a few raw almonds to finish. It was delicious, with the sweet beets and creamy almonds serving as a nice contrast to the bite of the fennel. The basmati's aroma worked well with this flavor combination, but it would be good with pasta or quinoa as well.

The kid version was mainly the raw ingredients from this dish, but not combined. She had the sausage on the side, some plain rice with cheese, chopped cherry tomatoes and almonds. She did eat a couple beets after I told her they make sugar out of beets, and she mixed her almonds and sausage into the rice.

A little humility

Yesterday was a tough day. We started the morning at 5:00 a.m., as we have all week. (Thank you, summer, for giving us your bright bright dawn, and denying us any sunshine or warmth. All of Seattle is singing your praises, I assure you.) By the time we made it to Adelaide's soccer practice, we had seen tears (her), gritted teeth (me), dug in heels (both of us) and an assortment of other signs of struggle. It was Parent's Day, a long awaited event in Lil Kickers' Land, a day in which the parents are invited on to the field to participate in the drills and games. And of course, the much anticipated, much discussed parents vs. kids scrimmage would be the grand finale. We have been talking about this almost every day since the last parent's day 3 months ago, when a narrow win by the kids became a much touted victory.Except, I wiped out before we even got to the scrimmage. I was trying to avoid getting run down by a pack of 4 year-old boys, and I turned, fell, and sprained my ankle. So instead of a fun soccer game with my kid we had a repeat of tears (me), gritted teeth (me) and dug in heel (my left one, trying to keep the weight off of my injured one).

As I write, I am being cared for by my "mother," who is bringing me toys and pretend movies and popcorn treats. She is actually being tremendously helpful and patient so I can stay off my ankle. Yesterday her friend's dad came and took her for a few hours, and my husband came home early to take care of dinner and bedtime. Much as I am frustrated by being hobbled like this, it is a also a forced rest, which might not be such a terrible thing. Of course, it is only 9:00 in the morning and I am completely exhausted by having to be "sister" and play "cookie store." Something tells me this will be a long day, and that resting might not be the main focus for long.

Hope Lives!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY

Tuesday was one of the first mornings in a LONG time when I was grinning from ear to ear, listening to NPR on the way to work. Yes. We. Can.

In every yard, a few holes will be dug

We have been experiencing some issues with our plumbing, specifically with our sewer pipes. Come to find out, this has been a problem for our neighbor (with whom we share a side sewer line) for 2 years. Her solution? Don't flush any toilet paper. The end result? Not pretty.

I won't go into details, and I don't actually have a cross to bear with the neighbor, because mainly she has been highly cooperative and quite entertaining through this whole expensive, messy process, but I will say that if you have an older home and haven't yet had to replace any sewer pipes, give me a call before you do. Because there is no owner's manual for how to avoid getting ripped off when you need this kind of help, and now that I know a lot more I hope to not have a need for this knowledge any more. Kind of a shame how it works that way.

Now we have 5 deep, short, narrow graves waiting for permits, a yard full of piles of dirt and debris, and a very big credit card bill on the horizon. It did lead to some speed gardening on Thursday morning because I wanted to save my topsoil and harvest my lettuce (site of hole #3). So I donned my gloves and work pants and started transferring good soil to various holding areas while two guys dug holes number 1 and 2.
All in all I am appreciating the luxury of indoor plumbing a lot more now that I have considered trying to live without it. I do still wish there were better ways to conserve fresh water and recycle and re-use our gray water, but that will have to stay on the small scale until we have fixed the bigger issues.