thank you

for your kind words and guidance. it is very much appreciated.



no news yet. we were interviewed, poked and prodded (rather i was interviewed and e was poked...) and will have a consultation again next week to go over the results - and to talk about a plan.

the removal of wheat from our diet though has appeared to make a great difference. the hives have disappeared. so i think my instinct was correct.



and now i am starting to get excited about the new way we will be looking at food. i am really going to try and make more from scratch - and i think in turn that will eliminate a lot of wheat items from our diet. my neighbor and i even threw around the idea this morning of a neighborhood co-op where each particpant provides one homemade item a month. (something like what d's cousin is doing up in the bay area but on a much more local level.) so far i have her down for her amazing black beans, and i can take granola...

we need to work on this!

(all this isn't really new. i started this a couple of years ago in reaction to our trader joe's addiction... i hope to start documenting our food more carefully over there again soon.)

happy friday!

food for thought.

i feel like i have done something terribly wrong. e has been suffering from terrible hives for the last six weeks. at first notice i thought it was spider bites. she had been working in the garden at school. seemed logical. but they didn't go away. they got worse. the pediatrician thought it was a virus. then she began to run a temperature and got a head-cold and that made sense. but the cold went away while the hives didn't. so we visited the doctor again and got a referral to an allergist. which we had to wait for before we could make an appointment. (in the meantime she was having daily doses of antihistamine and colloidal oatmeal baths.) she has to be antihistamine-free for ten days prior to her allergy consult. she was so uncomfortable i started grasping at straws. citrus. gone. no change. wheat. gone. ah-ha moment.

so we have lived the last week gluten-free. and noticed a great improvement - though not complete clearing.

and i have done a lot of reading. on food allergies. and what causes them. and the frightening rate of increase in them. links to too much consumption of the food in question. too much wheat, it seems, in our case. i never would have thought. yes we have pasta weekly. (whole wheat. and often left-overs in the lunchbox.) yes we bake bread. (and eat too much of it on occasion.) i am careful about the processed foods we bring into the house. i try to make as much as i can on my own. i have read all the books and thought i was doing a pretty good job.

this has all sent me into a twirl about what we eat. about what processed food is. (flour is processed...) about the endless gluten-free choices in the shops that seem to me perhaps just another set of processed foods to cause more problems down the road. about the idea of a rotation diet. (this makes so much sense.)

ack!

it could be something else. in any case i will be thinking a bit differently about what we eat - and working harder to do more ourselves.

we visit the allergist tomorrow. will let you know.

a break

the rain has passed - and more isn't due until tuesday.

we decided to escape to the very close to home cabarello canyon - in the santa monica mountains.






we brought along our dear neighbor - who now into her 80s has been hiking these trails for over 40 years. perfect day.

rain rain rain

I am getting very good use of my boots.

and our garden is smiling.







Blue skies ahead - and I am excited to get out there and dig in the dirt.

downpour

we are on "storm watch". i love it. d not so much. for him it involves sandbags and swearwords. for me, it involves shelter for wet chickens, and rainboots on a budget.

i wanted these. but got these at our local hardware store. $17.99. (it only really rains here at most 6 days a year so i couldn't justify the price difference.)



made them look much better with these liners. easy peasy project. (i think i found this via hannah. though i can't find where now.) i used scrap i had around - fleece from a cape project for em, and some cute japanese corduroy.

it is weather. something i crave living down here. i think that is why i like it so much.

and we are in no serious danger. we don't live in an area that is at risk of mudslides. the only real concern is the water that pools around our house. i am grateful. for so much these days.

it is a crazy busy week. if i don't see you - enjoy & stay dry.

new start (12 on 12th)

january 12, 2010
already?! wow.

I love an opportunity to prioritize and dream.
The new year always offers me that.




for 2010:
1. make more (most) of our food from scratch. goodbye trader joe's and all your convenience and hello...
2. farmer's market. i'll visit on thursday mornings. i have been trying to attend sunday's - and we just don't make it. this will be part of my new routine.
3. what i can - i'll grow. i have a stack of seeds on our dining room table - and two bags of compost ready to add to our beds. winter is really the best time to garden in socal.
4. make lemons out of lemonade. inside of grumbling about it being 72 F in january, be thankful for the lettuce we can grow this time of year - and the beautiful lemons on our little lemon tree.
5. continue looking after myself. i so enjoyed my pilates sessions. but it doesn't meet with the new budget (see number 6.) so i'll find another way. quickly!
6. fine tune our budget. and stick to it.
7. paint the house. and install baseboards.
8. record our progress weekly. over here.
9. spend the summer (the whole summer) on the island. (and avoid those triple digit temps that get me down - helping again with number 4.)
10. read the books i have.
11. never let our cookie jar be empty. a cookie makes everyone smile.
12. smile more. i'm going to be 40 this year :)

resolve

we are back home from more time at "our island". i was telling a friend that it is strange how i breath differently when we are there. how in many ways my soul feels at home there. much more than here. it is hard to explain. though, as i have said before, i strongly believe in our connection to places.

i had a bunch more i thought i would commit to the keyboard. resolutions and commitments to living better all around. but i have a nasty headcold. a pile of laundry waiting for me. and keep hitting the delete button.

so for now, happy new year. and a couple of pics of an early morning ferry crossing.





i have a good feeling about 2010.

there and back again

what we did:
taught k to play backgammon
walked in the woods
worked on my firestoking technique
slept til the sun rose (every morning except one)
ate on my grandmother's petit point china
worked on needlepoint
watched e make a perfect pie crust
listened to cbc radio and an audiobook of "the goose girl"
read

what we read:
a homemade life
the ice shirt
julie and julia
anne of the island
rapunzel's revenge
lots of ladybird books
the globe and mail

what we ate:
turkey
oatmeal
roasted parsnips and carrots grown locally
lots of oranges
pumpkin pudding
tourtiere
person in the snow (a dessert of k's invention involving chocolate and whipping cream)
old dutch potato chips
scones

thirds

:: third sunday in advent ::
:: third night of hanukkah ::
:: third annual neighborhood progressive dinner ::

happy holiday.

that's a wrap

presents wrapped with materials around the house.

a holiday mix cd curated by the girls.

santa waiting on the rooftop.



the menorah is polished too.

hanukkah begins tomorrow and 8 nights of celebration. then we will hit the road and drive towards a christmas in the snow. i think we are ready!

(don't worry bubbie! pics of the shiny menorah to come!)

whipped shortbread

the girls are out early every day this week. i thought if we made a cookie a day we'd have a nice selection to take up to the cottage for the holidays. and it's raining, so my initial idea of some hiking during this extra daylight together, has given way to baking.



my mom's whipped shortbread

1 1/2 cups softened butter
3/4 cup icing sugar (sifted)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornstarch
nonpareils (who knew they had such a history?)

::whip together butter and icing sugar until creamy and light::add flour and cornstarch and mix fully::roll into a smallish ball::dip into red and green nonpareils::place on cookie sheet with silpat or parchment::flatten slightly with a fork (my mom never did this but it is k's favourite cookie making task so we add it in whenever we can)::bake in a 300 degree oven for about 25 minutes (or until just turning golden at the edges::enjoy with a cup of tea::

makes about 3 dozen

progressive dinner 2009

every year a friend and i organize our annual neighborhood progressive holiday dinner. it is a blast. four families host - showing off their mid-century home - and serving one of the four courses (appetizers, soup/salad, main, and dessert). we are at each house for one hour - and have fifteen minutes between courses to walk to the next house. we map it out to devise the best route and take along holiday song-sheets for those in the mood for music. it is a wonderful opportunity to get to know fellow mcm loving neighbors, catch-up, meet new neighbors, trade information on restoring these wonderful houses and of course engage in some holiday cheer! it is our 3rd year, and we are now up to 30 invites! (multiply that out as this is a very kid-friendly family event!) it will be a good one!

(this year's invite was designed and printed by my very talented neighbors!)

ready steady go

lights


nutcracker


tree


holiday portrait (outtake)


it certainly 'tis the season. how was your weekend?

we are morning people.

good morning granola
(based on a recipe from stephanie)

about 8 cups oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup toasted flax seeds
::mix together in a large bowl::in a separate pot heat together 1 cup maple syrup with 1/2 cup canola oil::pour warm liquid into dry ingredients and stir::cook on cookie sheets in a 350degree oven for 30 minutes::stirring every 10 minutes::

good morning

this morning as we were heading to school E looked up at me and said:

"You look pretty today Mama. Like a farmer."

I think it was the finest compliment I have ever received.

happy thanksgiving, pilgrim.

quiet holiday here. we will be staying put - and surrounding ourselves with family and friends. we have much to be thankful for.

i am thinking of renting The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. (where John Wayne routinely refers to Jimmy Stewart as "Pilgrim".) a new Thanksgiving tradition, perhaps?

happy holiday!

::verycheapandchic::

one of my finds at the thrift yesterday.

its a lovely wool. though a wee bit too small. but wearable. and the leather flowers had me at go.

happy friday!

bits and bobs

i have posted a few new items in the shop




some wonderful vintage cansiters i have been holding onto for a year. trying to find a place for them. my reality is that we don't need them. so there they are. there is also a small group of vintage vera scarves that i will never wear. no matter how hard i might want to. i kept one. and that will be enough for me.

i made this 30 minute chili for dinner the other night. and the girls loved it. jonathan safran foer's book is making me think more about the meat we do eat - and while i don't think we are ready to eliminate it, we certainly are working on cutting back.

i am reading another great book. nothing profound or earthshattering, but written by an lausd teacher i turn to when i need to be inspired about public education. and what it can be. all the while the reality of our public school system - and the cuts looming - are scaring me to death.

i started pilates. (thanks mom.) and am becoming a reformer junky. sad but true.

i am trying to convince myself that the girls' wishes for american girl dolls from santa would be satiated with this. but i think i'm likely kidding myself.

what do you think?

::monday smile::

"My dear girl, have you ever noticed that the human race is divided into two distinct and irreconcilable groups: those that walk into rooms and automatically turn television sets on, and those that walk into rooms and automatically turn them off. The trouble is that they end up marrying each other."
-- Laurence Harvey as Raymond Shaw in The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

::bliss::

d and i celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary yesterday. and are continuing to celebrate today with a dinner at the restaurant that catered our celebration on a rooftop downtown way back then. the girls think 10 years is forever. though pointed out this morning that 103 years is much longer to be married and would be really something to celebrate. which we agreed.

it isn't always easy. but to walk with you is worth it.

here is to 93 more years honey. i love you.