i kind of had him and the other good men in my life in mind when i posted this post today over at segullah.

p.s. 10 months and counting…

i feel like i’m double dipping today. hope you don’t mind a two-fer.

today’s assignment

my all-time favorite halloween children’s book is…

big pumpkin

but quite frankly, i find halloween is a much more fun now that i am (mostly) an adult. so here are some grown-up recommendations as well:

photo courtesy of nationallampoon.com. go figure

favorite chilling reads this time of year:

any poe. i adore poe.

the picture of dorian gray

best read alone, on the outside balcony, at dawn and/or dusk on the foggy banks of the snake river near west yellowstone

the hound of the baskervilles

frankenstein

macbeth

lady macbeth may just be my most favorite villian

harry potter and the goblet of fire

it’s really cool to listen to the audio version of this and arriving at the part where Lord Voldemort’s corporeal form is restored just after midnight while driving through northern idaho while the stormy clouds and fog play hide and seek with a full moon.

creeeeeeee-py!

yesterday’s assignment

my husband, who teaches third grade, gives his kids a cool assignment when they go away on vacation. if they offer to bring him back something, he tells them they can bring him something that doesn’t cost any money. it’s kind of a cool way to get people thinking about what they can bring back from adventure without spending a whole lot of money. and it’s fun to see what people bring him. he said to that a friend of mine once, and she brought him back one of her wonderful poems.

we don’t travel much, but because my husband is a talented photographer, when we do go somewhere, the best souvenirs we bring home are the pictures.

this one hangs in my living room. it was taken by shane and printed on my bil’s surveying printer–on paper–and reminds me you don’t have to spend a lot to have beautiful art or good souvenirs in your home

but one time i found myself wanting something that was a little out of character for me.

i am not a doll person. and even if i were, i don’t think i would find myself spending a good deal of money on a doll.

but then one day, at the wonderful market in helsinki, i came across a finnish doll maker.

i knew which one i wanted immediately.

it was the one the little-girl me had always wanted.

but i examined each doll, noticing their eyes, their hair and the tiniest details on their clothing. i chatted with the doll maker, who, along with being quite proficient in english, was also delightful. i considered my credit card bill and my (and i use this term loosely) budget.

and i walked away.

about 20 minutes later, i walked back.

i looked at the doll again. i sighed. and walked away.

i wandered through the market some more.

finally, i realized that if i didn’t buy her that would be the one regret i would have after i left finland and went home.

so i went back and negotiated over the price a little and made my purchase.

and i have no regrets.

today’s assignment

chasing chickens

a three-day festival depicting my lifestyle. that’s sort of amusing to contemplate.

so eclectic…

and maybe even a little abstract.

but way too long to be walking in my moccasins.

i’m going to select a few that could apply and now consider for an afternoon, perhaps, along with a few more i’d like to add someday.

1. soapmaking – some of you may know i took up soapmaking awhile back. i begin most of my hobbies as a way to do something that actually stays done for longer than five minutes (hence my aversion to dishes and laundry–they get undone too darn quickly to be extremely satisfying). i love to make my own soap because it smells good. i like playing with caustic chemicals. homemade soap is so much better for your skin. i can make nice gifts for friends and family that they really seem to enjoy (although apparently my biggest fan is my next-door neighbor’s dad). and it’s kind of fun to look at the lather and distinguish the little bubbles from the bigger bubbles and remind myself that i made it that way on purpose (i use my own recipe and different oils make different size bubbles).

2. chicken farming – seriously. i had no idea how amusing and entertaining chicken farming could be. i started it because i’ve always wanted to and because i really wanted to do something that would be healthy and help increase our self-sufficiency. but chicken farming is fun! chickens are pretty funny creatures. their feathers are gorgeous. and it’s fun to watch them exert their own individual personalities. i especially loved it this summer when they would follow me out to the lawn and climb up on my knee to eat out of my hand. i give my chickens all a grade A.

3. quilting – one of these days… my quilting partner is coming back from her mission at the end of the year and one of my goals is to get the laundry part of my laundry/quilting room in back under control and get the quilting part organized again so i can get back to it. if i weren’t working, i’d be quilting.

4. the art of early rising – don’t laugh! i love the first part of the day and i love it best when i’m the only one up. i’ve given up my leisurely days watching out the front room window as dawn breaks and slowly, surely, lights come on in the houses around the neighborhood and the shadows flee. i particularly loved the quiet. now that hour usually finds me grabbing my tennis shoes, looking for my keys and scraping off the windows so i can head out to gym. but morning is my favorite time of the day and i know how to enjoy and savor it.

5. slacker/free-range mom-ing – that probably isn’t the right word. by slacker mom i mean non-helicopter mom. i don’t know that my kids appreciate it. my life is, in someways, the more crazy for it. but because i am me and i am a mom it is part of my lifestyle. i try to give my kids space (within reason, but sometimes to a fault) to be their own people. but they know i am there for them and they know that unless it’s something they need to own and take responsibility for, i’ve got their backs. i mostly try to love. i figure/hope if i get that right, the rest will work out in the wash.

6. pie baking – another one of those hobbies getting to be too far and few in between, but it’s one of those things i can do and i like helping other people learn how to do. i especially love making them for the older women in the neighborhood who appreciate it like it’s a lost art. maybe it is. (i like to take one to my centenarian neighbor for her birthday. she was 103 last birthday. i hope there are many pies to come.)

7. being a friend – i love and enjoy my friends and i appreciate the depth and substance having good friends brings into my life. i like connecting with people and learning something new about someone. i like being there for people. friendship is an important part of my life style.

9. chaos theory - call me crazy. call it flexibility, spontaneity, disorganization, creativity. call it what you will. it is my life. and on most days, it works for me.

10. oh simple things – last night as i lay awake in the middle of a fitful sleep and restless night and i found myself smiling in the dark because of the rumbling of thunder and the hard pounding of rain, i finally realized what number 10 should be. i find joy in the simplest and smallest of things. a lovely pun. a delicious irony (i can even find some pleasure in the kind of ironies that sting a little). crunchy leaves under foot. warm brown eggs plucked right from the nest. a troubled blue-grey sky. a brilliant sunset. a freaky orange moon. the playful antics of our three (want one?) cats. a handful of cheery cherry tomatoes that survived the first frost. a warm smile or a gracious compliment. when my 10-year-old informs me that in his world there will only be addition and subtraction. when my 14-year-old tells me she knows she is good at something. when my 18 and 20-year-olds thank me genuinely for a ride to school or a chatty e-mail or some small token of my affection for them. a simple “you too” after i tell them i love them. life is full of simple pleasures and that really rocks my world!

here are the ones i’d love to try my hand at someday…

1. beekeeping

2. goatmilking

3. cheesemaking

4. breadmaking

5. fencing

6. cello playing

today’s assignment provides a timely way to note–with sadness–the sudden job change of one of my favorite food writers, ruth reichl, who was most recently editor of the now defunct gourmet magazine.

this past year i discovered a book series that made me laugh, made me cry and almost made me gain ten pounds just from the reading of it.

tender at the bone

comfort me with apples

garlic and sapphires

these are not cookbooks, but rather a memoir. however, each book in the series happens to include recipes. it is one of my personal beliefs that a book that describes good food so well it makes your mouth water should most definitely include the recipes for said food.

reichl does not disappoint.

one of these days my friend becky and i are going to go through the series and try the recipes, one by one.

shall i call you for a taste test?

just had a panic attack this morning because i couldn’t find my favorite crepe recipe. it’s tradition! found it. thought i’d better post it while i remember. then i’ll always know where to find it.

crepes

3 large eggs
2 c. milk
1 1/2c. flour
3 TBSP sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt

(can add more milk if necessary)

doubled (because you would not believe how many crepes teenage boys can put away)

6 large eggs
4 c. milk
3 c. flour
6 TBSP sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt

we like them with fresh or frozen fruit, neufchatel (light cream cheese) w/ brown sugar, freshly squeezed lemon juice w/ powdered sugar, nutella, whipped cream, what have you.

my dad always used to say, “the sun will come out tomorrow.”

he’s right about that.