Month: August 2006

  •  


    Wild Edibles And Birthdays


    (and Jesse Wears A Tie!!)


    It is Trevor’s 39th birthday today; he slept in until 10:30 and we have spent a quiet afternoon together.  The house is relatively clean and the cake is baked.  He has requested pizza for dinner and this is what he shall have.


    After dinner, I will give him this:


    L.L. Bean Light Stuff Tent #2





    Light Stuff Tent

    He has wanted something very light and small so he can carry it when he hikes/canoes in for long periods of time in the woods.  At just over 5 pounds, this should do the trick.


    Happy Birthday to a man who just keeps on getting better with age!!!


    *******


    As you know, I get very excited about foraging for wild edibles; it pleases me to make use of these growing things and appeals to the adventuress in me.  However, I also get excited about the concept of eating invasive species as they are not only delicious and cost-effective but doing this helps to eradicate non-native plants. 


    Japanese Knotweed is one of these plants; it is INVASIVE and aggressive and nearly impossible to eradicate.  However, one can help by cutting and cutting and cutting the beds you have (3 times a year, minimum).  The knotweed is edible and very similar to rhubarb. Early in the spring/summer the tiny stalks can be cooked and eaten like asparagus. This time of year, they can be peeled, cut up and cooked like you would rhubarb.


     


    Today I am making a blackberry-knotweed sauce


     


      


    Here’s a link on eating invasives in my area


    and I’ll be using the berries from the highly invasive Russian Olive for wine, jam and juice in 2-3 weeks from now


    additional links on wild edibles:


    HERE


    HERE


    And HERE 


    Incidentally, you can add Euell Gibbons to my list of older men who just got hotter and hotter as they aged


    (although he was a smoker, not the hottest quality in my book)



    Jesse Wearing A Tie


     


    Milkweed Center Posing As Fish


     


    Echinacea in the mist


     


     


     


    “The act of putting into your mouth what the earth has grown
    is perhaps your most direct interaction with the earth.”
    -   Frances Moore LappĂ©


    How has your day been?


     


     

  •  


    I May Only Get to See One Movie Per Year


    (in the theater)


    but today I think I saw the very best one


    “Little Miss Sunshine”



    Steve Carell makes me far too happy.


     


    I give this movie a 9.2.


     

  •  


    The Good, The Bad, The Inane and The UGLY.


    (or: “Damn Clams”)


    The Good




    • getting up early (alone) and having tea


    • heading to a book sale on the coast


    • a long beautiful drive

    The Mediocre (bonus catagory)




    • going to the sale with bed-head and my grubby old self


    • going without breakfast (too much time with tea)


    • one million people at book  sale


    • new low-rise capris with granny panties (rolled down but NOT behaving)

    The Bad




    • Far too many people at sale and not enough books


    • small coastal towns with no public access to ocean


    • Hunger, severe hunger while I searched for just the right seafood joint

    The Ugly




    • Found just the right seafood “joint” and had heavenly fried clams( yes, the ugly part is coming)


    • The clams must have been soaked with MSG as about 30 minutes later I got the shakes, mood swings, swollen tongue and nausea


    • Vomited while driving through a rotary (otherwise known as circular-vehicular-hell)


    • New pants + Rotary Results = the most grotesque driving attire, EVER.

    Yes, indeedy, this WAS my morning.


    (although I did care less about my undies showing, after this “event”)


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Oh Please, Please, do let’s move on to the inane



    • Holy Cow, you are all going commando, like all of the time, aren’t you?!  I’m inspired and impressed.

    • Jesse is into clothing now, he has been wearing a dress shirt and tie for days (not joking).  He says that for his birthday he would like some “fashion design”, I’m wondering what this could mean?

    • Caught a few monarch caterpillars and we are watching them form their crysalises

     



    • I care about the environment, really I do.  I always try to buy local and I generally try to buy things that are energy efficient.  Here is my ultimate contribution:

        it’s clean and you can bring the bottle back for refills and it helps the local economy and it makes people happy (well, me)


    I’m so good to the earth!!!


    (it is “white fox ale”)


     


    Elderberries for juice, etc


     


    Staghorn Sumac (for juice)


     


    to make the juice, put 6-7 ripe clusters of berries in cold water and crush lightly.  Steep these for a few hours and then strain out the pulp and add sweetener until desired flavor is reached.  Tastes like a lemonade-type drink.


    It’s good stuff!!









      “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”


     Groucho Marx


     


     

  • Not Tagged, but Inspired


    (by the ever-inspiring michelemiyamoto)


     


    Try it…this one is fun…and you don’t have to suffer the agony of being “TAGGED”


     


    1) How old do you wish you were?  32, because I was wise enough but with slightly more pizzazz and energy.


    2) Where were you when 9-11 happened? Living in the desert outside of Flagstaff.  Jesse was nearly two and was playing while I watched the news.  I started to pace about the house, crying and I vomited before turning the television off.


    3) What do you do when vending machines steal your money? Beg for mercy?


    4) Do you consider yourself kind?  Yes.


    5) If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be? My ankle


    6) If you could be fluent in any other language what would it be? Spanish


    7) Do you know your neighbors? We are friendly but not friends.


    8)What do you consider a vacation? anything out the norm, I get excited easily


    9) Do you follow your horoscope? Not with any regularity


    10) Would you move for the person you loved? I did, we left Maine for the southwest and lived there for 12 years before returning to where my heart lives


    11) Are you touchy feely? not big on touchy, but love the feely part


    12) Do you believe that opposites attract? Sometimes yes, and other times no.


    13) Dream job? My life IS my dream job, I have it.


    14) Favorite channel(s)?  if I had cable, I would say home improvement channels but I’d have to say PBS.


    15) Favorite place to go on weekends? Bed


    16) Showers or Baths? Baths, always baths.


    17) Do you paint your nails? No


    18) Do you trust people easily? No, but I give most people a chance.


    19) What are your phobias? Death, lightning, seahorses


    20) Do you want kids? I have two.


    21)Do you keep a handwritten journal?  No.


    22) Where would you rather be right now? Here, nowhere but here.


    23) What makes you feel warm and safe? Trevor


    24) Heavy or light sleeper? Both, depends on the time of life


    25) Are you paranoid? about what?  What does this question mean? Do you know something I don’t?


    26) Are you impatient? Yes, although I am working on this.  I waited to have kids until my 30′s as I knew  would be more patient then.  And I am.  But in my early 20′s?  I was extrememly impatient!!!!


    27) Who can you relate to? Honest people who have heart and have something original about them. And oddness, oddness is good, too.


    28) How do you feel about interracial couples?   Good, love is always good.


    29) Have you been burned by love? Yes.


    30) What’s your life motto? Live, live, live.


    31) What’s your main ringtone on your mobile? Ringtone?  I never keep my cell on, only use it for emergencies (like ordering pizza or checking in at home)


    32) What were you doing at midnight last night? Ahem, none of your business. (oh wait, I picked this questionaire)


    33) Who was your last text message from? Text message?  I got a letter from a dear friend the other day and it was loaded with text.  Good stuff, that paper.


    34) Who’s bed did you sleep in last night? Our bed; mine and Trev’s and Roo’s and Jesse’s and the cat’s and the dog’s bed.  Family bed.


    35) What color shirt are you wearing? chocolate brown with a drizzle of maple syrup.


    36) What are you listening to right now? nothing.


    37) Name three things you have on you at all times? all times?  nothing at all times except the kids are very frequently ON ME.


    38) What color are your bed sheets?  light grey


    39) How much cash do you have on you right now? $10.00


    40) What is your favorite part of the chicken? boob, chicken boob.


    41) Whats you’re fav city/place? anywhere quiet and green and alive.


    42) I can’t wait till . . .  I am learning to relax and trying not to live like “I can’t wait till”, it makes life fly by too quickly.


    43) Who got you to join xanga? Moi.


    44) What did you have for dinner last night? Homemade whole wheat pizza with leeks and mushrooms.


    45) How tall are you barefoot? just 5’5″


    46) Have you ever smoked? Yes, from 1986 until 1992


    47) Do you own a gun? never.


    48) water or tea? how can you have tea without water?


    49) What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?  hmm?  My wit?  Saucy nature?  Culinary Skills?  Loving heart?


    50) Do you have A.D.D.? no.


    51) What time did you wake up today? 6:15 AM


    52) Current worry? money


    53) Current want?  beehives


    54) Favorite place to be? home.


    55) Where would you like to travel in the future?  Everywhere, everywhere.


    56) Where do you think you’ll be in 10 yrs? Here, living this life but with WAY more animals and much more traveling.


    57) last thing you ate? blueberry pancakes.


    58) What songs do you sing in the shower? anything robust and loud but only in the bath.


    59) Last person that made you laugh?  Roo


    60) Worst injury you’ve ever had? burned 1/2 of my left cornea off in 1992


    61) Does someone have a crush on you? I don’t believe so, although I think the dog is fairly smitten with me.


    62) What is your favorite candy?  good chocolate.


    63) What song do you want played at your funeral? “How can I miss you if you won’t go away?”, I have no idea really, not planning on dying.


     


     


     


     


    I Hope your day is joyful and good.


     A question: (because I have very little fashion sense!)


    how does one wear semi-low-rise pants without your undies showing?


    I mean, the pants are comfortable and I love the way they feel but I am not wearing tiny panties and surely not going for a thong because why pay good money to give yourself a WEDGE ON PURPOSE?!!!!


    what does one do?


     

  •  


    Self Portrait Challenge


    August: enclosed spaces


    SPC!

     


    I am unhappy when confined in most ways


    but I am very happy when I’m squished in my bed with my dog.


     


     


     


     

  •  


    No Matter How Loudly I Crank The Ray Charles


     


    and no matter how wildly I dance in my jammies


    and no matter how many books I bury my head in


    my children’s voices still echo in this empty house


    and this is not a bad thing.


     

  • For Sale:


    one disposable vacuum bag, bursting at the seams.


    This bag may contain many pounds of playmobil body parts, legos, bionicles, magnets, small children’s socks, marbles, crayons, erector set pieces, lincoln logs and dice.


    The street value of this bag may range anywhere from


    $3.00 to $50.00


    Who’s feeling lucky?



    Look out folks, mama is cleanin’


    and she’s aiming right for your stuff!


     

  •  


    We Be Cannin’


    (a brief post)


    I’m back from a mediocre book sale and wonderful birthday party.


     


    ~~~~~


    Today was a day for canning.


    pints and pints of blueberry and blackberry syrups and juices


     


    And rhubarb juice


    (shown here with blueberry juice ice cubes)



    tonight, I’m making a carrot/orange/lemon/lime marmalade


    (ODD, I know,  but heavenly, trust me!!)


     


    And I could drink more of the rhubarb juice but I think I’m more in the mood for this:


     


    And the sun is setting in the back field and it calls to me


    (as does this sweet smelling little girl on my knee)


     


    I will listen, and go.


     


    “How strange and wonderful is our home, our earth, with its swirling vaporous atmosphere, its flowing and frozen liquids, its trembling plants, its creeping, crawling, climbing creatures, the croaking things with wings that hang on rocks and soar through the fog, the furry grass, the scaly seas.”
    - Edward Abbey


     



  • ETA, bottom


    (protected)


    Heaping Blog Full O’ Fun


    *****


    (with blackberry juice, smoothies, flowers and all kinds of Martha Stewart-ish stuff but with way more sarcasm, messy hair and boy farts)


    (with bonus self portraits)


    blueberry smoothies with yogurt and flax seeds


     


    blackberry juice with mint and johnny-jump-up ice cubes


    (cause you know I like ‘em purdy!)


      


    dang, she is something yummy, and then some


     


    while one cannot (yet) photograph a fart, one can take pictures of their evil creators


      


     


     


     


     


     


     


     


     


     


     


     Purdy Stuff


     


    Bonus Pics:


     


       


     


     


     I am turning 38 next month but am proud of the fact that I don’t look a DAY over 36.5.


    I still got it, baby.


    SNORT.


    ETA Thursday morning: I’m off for a few days with family and booksales and a birthday party,


    (Trevor gets 48 hours home ALONE, lucky duck) 


    I’ll be back.

  •  


    Self Portrait Challenge


    SPC!

     

    The challenge for August is,

     

    “The Psychology of Enclosed Spaces”

     

    ******

    While I am terrified of closed spaces,

     

    I am learning from her

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I am less afraid, every day.