Unexpected Reunion

Some photos of a family get-together recently.... randomly in April.
I guess not so random since it fit with the end of terms for several
of us.



a rainbow! There was a double one, but I couldn't get it all in the frame...



Hanging out.



Dental hygiene is very important. He's taking parenting tips from the monkeys in Thailand, who teach their children to floss by example.



trying to smile...

The conservatory:





Eyes like a butterfly's



the main attraction.



Is that a glass butterfly? (Look closely for the real butterfly)





fish pond. I did not fall in.



who can resist heart-shaped leaves?





Sketching & texting. Or maybe photoing.





Jade plant



At a favorite indoor market, where we got lunch and yummy ice cream:







I wanted to be the goat!

Happy Curtains

Since I first moved into my apartment in August, I wanted to make some curtains for the big beautiful window in my room. It seemed like a pretty simple idea--get some fabric, sew some straight seams, put them on a curtain rod, and volia!, right? It ended up taking a little more work than that. The first, and hardest step, was clearing off my desk to make room to set up my sewing machine:



The fabric I choose came from a wonderful little shop only a block away, that I happened across. They were even on sale for $2-3/yard! I like colorful things, and am not so concerned about things matching, so here are the three fabrics I picked:





Once I had the sewing machine set up, I was able to make the curtains over one weekend. (Although I did decide to stay home and work on them instead of going out on Sat. I wasn't sure if they'd ever get finished if I didn't finish them that weekend!)

Here's the final product:





It looks much better than the bed sheet & shower curtain that I was using!

Here's a photo my brother took with his webcam of my old arrangement.

Rosemary & Thyme

Today's post is about baking, which I've been doing a lot of lately. You're probably wondering what the title and this photo of my Rosemary plant have to do with baking.

Well, recently I've enjoyed gourmet food from two wonderful places, Lil Treats, and Sacred Sweets, and both had herbs added to their desserts, which gave an extra dimension to the flavor. I really loved the vanilla thyme loaf. I've been baking recently, and experimenting with cookie recipes, so I decided to try adding rosemary to cookies, since I have a rosemary plant. (Thanks to a lovely friend!) I made chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and added some fresh rosemary as a garnish (before baking). I used a cookie recipe from the 1964 edition of Joy of Cooking that my brother found for me one Christmas. (Which is a literary delight in and of itself, in the section on canning it says, "the pleasure of serving the fruits of your labor comparable only to a clear conscience or a very becoming hat.")

I thought the rosemary-chocolate-chip-oatmeal cookies turned out very well, and really liked the flavor combination.



I also made some bread the other day, which I haven't done in a long time. It didn't take too long, and is the hearty, dense kind of whole wheat bread that I prefer. Here's the recipe, one that my great-great-grandmother reportedly used. Here's the recipe.

Stella's favorite bread:

Into 3 C warm milk (can use 1/2 water) put
2 T honey, brown sugar or molasses
Add 1 T butter
1 package yeast
1 T salt

Add 6 or 7 C fine ground whole wheat flour.
Just enough so that dough does not stick to the
sides of the bowl. Do not make too stiff.

Knead 10 min. or more

Shape into loaves, put in greased pans, half full.
Cover and let rise in a warm place (80*F) until almost
doubled in size.

Bake at 375*F for 40min-1hr (depending on size of loaf)

A cup of wheat germ can be substituted for flour.

Makes 2 loaves.

Lost and Found

I finally gathered up the rolls of 120 film I had laying around and took them to be processed. It's always fun to see what turns up when you've forgotten what was on the film. One of the rolls turned out to be holga photos from the family reunion trip to the beach. Here are some hidden gems:



The last pickle in the jar. (And my toes!) It was a full jar when we got to the beach.



Sisters and cousins



Squinting

It was a lovely, although cold, day at the beach. Glad that it turned up again on this cold rainy January night.

I made the short list

You would think that since I'm in my late 20s, am done with college, and have held the same job in the "real world" for at least 2 years, I would be comfortable thinking of myself as an adult. But much of the time, I'm not. I still often feel like a 17 year old who is waiting for life to really start. But every once in awhile, something happens to me, or I do something, that make me feel like I really am a grown up after all, and life is the way I imagined adulthood would be.

One of these moments come one summer in college, when a friend and I got together and canned cherries. When I was little, my mom canned every summer, and often we'd get together with her sisters and mother and have a huge canning party. My brothers and I would help wash the fruit, slice or pit it, and neatly slide each piece into the jars under adult supervision. So by doing the whole process myself, including the actual sealing of the jars, I was taking my place as one of the women. When I told my grandmother that I wanted to can, she gave me her old canning pot and jars. I looked through some cookbooks and searched online, and then called my grandmother to find out her exact method. (For one thing, she uses much less sugar than most recipes call for.) Then my friend and I bought a couple of boxes of cherries and other supplies, and spent a Saturday afternoon canning together. A smaller group than my aunts and grandmother, but a enjoyable one none the less.

Home canned fruit is so much riper and tastier than store canned. My grandmother had cherry trees for many years, and I so she would often serve us bowls of home canned cherries, giving us an old lid from a jar to spit the seeds into. My mother would usually get some of the cherries from my grandmother's tree, and we had apricot trees. She would can apricots and also make jam, which she would give out at Christmas. We loved all the canned fruit, there would usually be peaches and pears too, but she'd tell us that we needed to save most of it to eat for the winter. When I canned cherries, I probably only did about 9 bottles. I did try and keep the last one for a special occasion, but it never quite came. I think I finally ate it before I moved, so I wouldn't have to worry about it breaking during the move.

A few months ago, I was telling my dad about another adult moment I had experienced. (Now I can't remember what it was exactly.) He shared with me his one of his pivotal adult moments. It was when he was discussing sprinkler systems with a friend, since he was going to have one installed in the front yard of the house he'd recently bought. His friend pointed out that this was something only adults would talk about. I laughed about it, but was also a little shocked, because at that point in his life, he already had 3 children, of whom I at age 5 was the oldest! I always assumed that having children would make you feel permanently like an adult, but I guess I was wrong. Of course, I also assumed that marriage and children would come naturally and in my early 20s. That I would be a mother before I was an aunt. (I'm not married, and don't have children, and am not yet an aunt. But I may be an aunt before I am married, and I decided one day on the subway that if I don't get married, I'll still adopt at least one child.)

Tonight I got a call from the husband of that very same friend that I canned cherries with. At first I was surprised that he was the one calling me, but suddenly I realized what he must be calling about. Their first baby had been born! (This is the baby that I made the pink sweater for.) She arrived a couple days ago, and is now at home with her parents. Both mama and baby are doing well, and dad was dispatched to call with the news. I forget her size and weight, but her middle name is Eve.

This is the first time that I have been called personally by proud new parents! Usually I find out later by email (or blog) or through a family member passing on the news. But I'm a grown up now, and have close friends who are having babies, and are calling (or having their husbands call) to tell me about it. Hurray!

My one and only

So, my sister did not like my joke. The one about her being my favorite sister, seeing as how she is my only sister. (Although I do have a new sister-in-law, which is exciting!) My brothers actually started this joke. They used to tell me all the time how I was their favorite sister. Then, when my sister was born, they would say that I was there favorite older sister. (My sister & I are bookends, I'm the oldest and she's the youngest.)

I could have said that she would write something involving muskrats. Or that she is the fierce one (I mean that in a good way. While I often feel shy and reserved, she is braver. She used to take people's faces in both of her hands and squeeze to show how much she loved them.) I could also argue with her that although she is my only biological sister, I do have other sisters in spirit, but she is my favorite overall.

My sister has told me that in her mind, I'm perfect. I could say the same of her. I love everything about her. (Even though I tell her that she's weird sometimes.) She's artistic, energetic, passionate, and empathetic. She's wise beyond her years. Maybe in part because she's grown up as the youngest and been expected to keep up with all of us.

But what it comes down to, really, is that no matter what, she is my sister, and I will always love and adore her.

Tag, you're it!

Some of you have probably seen this one going around:

Once you've been tagged, you have to write a note with 16 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 16 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them.

The person who tagged me gave the reason that it will give me material for my blog, so here goes:

1. I like to ride my bike. In the winter, especially, for some reason.
2. I actually got up and rode my bike today before going to work.
3. I continue to believe that I can someday get up and do things in the morning regularly and cheerfully, or at least without really, really wanting to go back to
bed, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
4. I felt like a morning person over Thanksgiving, since I was getting up at 8am (which was 10 am according to my body clock) and most of the rest of the household was not up until 10 or 11am.
5. I'm not really a night owl either. I just like to sleep, mostly. Except when I have insomnia.
6. Today I saw The Tallest Man on Earth sing. He walked like a bird around the stage and didn't sound at all Swedish.
7. habit: sneakily poking, or "zotting" my siblings and those who remind me of them. (Sorry, M.D. & H.G.)
8. I've developed a love for dark chocolate, since living with my sister again after college.
9. I can't make my chocolate last nearly as long as my sister can hers.
10. I can keep my room tidier than my sister's, although I don't always.
11. Whoever designed the north exit to the bike path is sadistic. Yes, it's a great idea to end with a sharp curve around which there is a staircase! And just in case that didn't kill the cyclist, let's send them into oncoming traffic that's entering the freeway!
12. Goal: take calculus someday.
13. Goal: learn another language somewhat fluently. At least passably.
14. My French's not up to snuff.
15. Habit: staying up later than I mean to. (speaking of which, it's 1 am now...)
16. "I want to change the world, instead I sleep" borrowed from Ingrid Michaelson.

People (sorry, no names, just initials. You'll know who you are, and I'll email you):

JG: so he has an excuse not to grade papers.
JL: he'll come up with something hilarious. (no pressure. smile & wave)
JW: because she's my favorite sister ;)
FC: since we're always playing tag.
HG: so I can find out more about what she's up to.
ND: like you don't have enough assignments.
MW: because he thinks I have great style.
SW: his answers will be unexpected
HDMW: she now has 4 names.
DW: since he loves to be online
RO: she was my first blog follower.
MC: my most recent friend
MD: since I'm always poking her.
RD: I want to know what she'll write.
CW: I <3 pizza face.
KC: since we haven't met for lunch for awhile.