Archive for July, 2010

Today’s Randomness

Published July 28, 2010 Garden , Life 8 Comments
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:: At the gas station this morning, a guy in a new BMW 650i convertible pulled up next to me. I over heard him ask the gas station attendant for $14 of super-premium gas (btw, in Oregon, it is illegal to pump your own gas). Then he proceeds to ask the low-wage attendant if the gas there was any good. Not watered-down is it?

:: On the way to the store, I saw a license plate that said SIMRDN.

:: At the store I paid $5.99 for an ice cube tray, because David really wanted one and it was all they had. Granted, it came with a lid, but $5.99 for a molded piece of plastic?

:: At that same store, I saw a woman shopping with three kids. The boy was sitting in the shopping cart, the younger girl was sitting on the cart’s seat, and the baby was in a carrier on the mom’s chest. All three were calm and content, so much so, that the mom was also able to talk on her cell phone. I almost stopped for a second just to stare in admiration. But I couldn’t, because my one daughter was feeling fussy and constantly trying to climb out of the cart seat. It was all I could do to handle one toddler while shopping, but three? What’s her secret?

:: Later in the afternoon there was a knock at our door. It was our neighbor and her boys pulling their little red wagon behind them. They had picked blueberries off their bush and was going around “delivering” bowls of some of their harvest. Isn’t that the sweetest thing? Thanks to them we had a berry rhubarb crisp for dessert tonight!

Burke Chairs

Published July 27, 2010 Design , Life 3 Comments
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If we have time on the weekends, we sometimes stop at an occasional yard sale in search of toys for Chloe. Recently we hit an estate sale. In the garage was a set of four mid-century Burke chairs. I think they might be called tulip chairs, except the similar ones I found online swivel and have propeller-type feet. These are stationary, with round bases. Burke Tulip chairs are actually 1960’s knock-offs of Eero Saarinen Tulip Chairs. Anyway, I thought they were awesome (and still in usable shape after almost 50 years!). David and I got in a little argument since we have no room in our shoebox house for more furniture, but he eventually walked off in a huff to go buy them for me anyway (thanks honey!).

The other thing about buying them so cheap, is that I won’t be afraid to paint them. More research says my best bet, should I decide to re-finish, is to use acrylic epoxy to fill scratches in the fiberglass and then apply architectural paint (1) or automotive paint, or have them professionally painted at an auto-body shop that has experience with painting fiberglass auto parts (here is another good article on shell chair refinishing).

Considering a single new reproduction Saarinen Tulip Chair by Knoll currently begins at $1,285, I’m happy with our estate-sale “original” knock-offs!

Dear Chloe, 20 months old

Published July 24, 2010 baby 2 Comments
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Dear Chloe, You are 20-months-old today!

I love the little surprises that each day brings, especially the smiles and laughter, hugs and kisses. New words especially are starting to flow, including two word combinations like “hold it” (you want to hold it), “see this” (you want to see something), “shoes (or socks, or hat…) on”, “(hair) clip in”, and one of my favorites “bless you!” (after sneezing). At the breakfast table just this morning you said “Daddy! Sit. Down. Eat!”

When I ask you “What’s your name?” you say “Co-eee!” When you see the neighbor’s black cat you say “Meow,” (you are really into animals and their sounds). You like to point out ownership of things, whether they are “Mommy’s,” “Daddy’s,” or “C0-eee’s.” When something is not quite right, like some juice has spilled, you make sure I know about it with choruses of “Uh-oh! Uh-oh!” and when you fall down I’ll hear “Boom!” often followed by “Up!” because you’ll want me to hold you.

You’re just now beginning to learn colors, and are becoming more interested in crayons and play-doh. Recently I suggested you draw with the yellow crayon, and you picked it out and started drawing. So you are paying attention! And you’re a big helper. If asked, you’ll pick up your toys and put them in your drawers, or move piles of laundry, or help wipe down the kitchen after a meal.

Mealtimes are getting much better. While several of your daily calories still come from snacks, you are (dare I say it?) eating more and feeding yourself with increasing skill. I still have to hide certain things (freshly pureed spinach into mayo as a spread on bread, or salmon into your mac and cheese) to make sure you’re getting a varied and healthy diet of foods you won’t eat individually, but overall, you seem to be growing, which I am very happy to see.

Every day you bring joy to my heart. Here’s to another beautiful month of summer with my sweet little girl,
Love Mommy

The One for Me

Published July 23, 2010 Life 5 Comments
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David and I celebrate our 6th anniversary today. I swear, sometimes its like I’m married to Superman. For example, earlier this week he came home from a day at work, didn’t complain about our microwaved dinner (Trader Joe’s Southwest Chicken Quesadillas are surprisingly good), took us to Costco to make a return, came home and washed BOTH cars, and then did a load of laundry. I know, pretty special right? And I am very grateful. And blessed. Thank you, honey, for another special year of marriage. I love you so much!

Letterpress card by Dee & Lala.

Animal Magnet Photo Holder

Published July 22, 2010 baby , Crafts & Sewing Closed
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If your a photographer, you’ve probably already heard of Photojojo. Most of it their offering is just quirky, gadget-y gift items, but there are a few neat things. The Animag Photo Stands are cute, for instance. If we had a shelf for photos around here, they would make a fun display. Feeling crafty? Here’s some basic advice on how to make your own.

DIY Paper-Covered Jewelry Organizer

Published July 22, 2010 Crafts & Sewing , handmade , Home , tutorials 10 Comments
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Over the years I’ve collected, or been given, various pieces of jewelry. I stopped wearing most of it when Chloe was born (except for my wedding ring), and now that she is a little older I’ve begun to phase in a few pieces every now and again. Often I forget what I own until I go digging around in the box. The earrings and bracelets are organized somewhat decently, but the lengths of necklaces and pendants are all jumbled together. It is not a pretty sight.

Months ago I chose some paper and hardware to make two necklace hangers, although the hooks would also work nicely for rings and bracelets, too. Here is the one I made last week. It is sized to fit a narrow space on the wall of my closet. That’s the nice thing about making something yourself – it can be whatever you want it to be, plus it would make a sweet gift. The wood came from Home Depot (recycled from another project), the paper from Craft Warehouse and the hardware from Target.

Materials
12 x 12 sheet of heavy scrapbook paper
4 x 10″ piece of wood
7/8″ nickel-plated cup hooks
2 sawtooth hangers

Tools
Xacto Knife
Cutting Mat
Bone Folder
Glue or Double stick tape


Step 1: Fold the paper around the board, basically like you’re gift-wrapping a present. For best results, run the tip of a bone folder along the edges to make the smoothest and straightest folds possible.


Step 2: Seal the sides down with adhesive. I used double stick tape.


Step 3: Make a tiny mark where you want the cup hooks to go. Drill pilot holes at each mark so the cup hooks will go in smoothly, and then screw them in. Finish by lightly pounding in the sawtooth hangers on the back side, one at each of the upper corners. Enjoy!

Little Garden Visitors

Published July 21, 2010 Animals , Garden , outdoors 10 Comments
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Chloe and I play out in the back yard almost everyday. This year, early in the season, we bought several flats of fund-raiser plants from a neighbor. The growing color back there is wonderful! I’m also happy to report several mini-green tomatoes, zucchini, grapes and green beans peeking out from under their abundant foliage.

Yesterday, we saw an unusual amount of butterflies visiting our yard. Their drunken fluttering makes Chloe nervous, so she likes to have me close by. Unfortunately they were practically impossible to photograph. So we turned our attention to these little garden visitors instead…

Honey bee, back legs laden with pollen
Male “12-Spotted Skimmer” dragonfly, back view
Mason bee (I think)
Male “12-Spotted Skimmer” dragonfly, front view

Gooseberries!

Published July 18, 2010 Cooking , Reading , recipes 3 Comments
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Look what I came home with! Have you seen these before? I hadn’t, and actually, since they weren’t signed, I didn’t even know what they were until I paid for them. Gooseberries! After reading Hungry Monkey (hilarious!) and now The Spice Necklace, I guess I’m feeling a little food adventurous.

So what, exactly is a gooseberry? Well, to me, it looks like a prehistoric grape, with a thicker, veined, and spiney skin (sort of like nettles). It also has a lot more seeds, and a somewhat sour flavor. They can be eaten raw, but most often I think they are cooked into desserts. In the end, I made a simple gooseberry syrup and used it to make a Gooseberry Fool (substituting sour cream for creme fraiche) and enjoyed the rest in a Gooseberry San Pellegrino soda.

Processing gooseberries takes some time. To make the syrup, you trim the top and bottom of each berry, and then slice it in half. Thankfully, they cook and mash down quickly, maybe 5-10 minutes. After straining out the seeds and skin, my pint of gooseberries yielded about one cup of syrup. Here are several gooseberry recipes that also look good:


Gingered Gooseberry Fool


Gooseberry Jam


Gooseberry Meringue Pie


Gooseberry Ginger Ale


Baked Gooseberry and Ginger Nut Cheesecake

Gooseberry streusel cake with elderflower syrup

Water shoes for Toddler Girls

Published July 15, 2010 baby 2 Comments
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Chloe’s got new kicks! Originally, I thought we’d try to make it through the summer in the hand-me-downs that we’ve received, but after seeing Chloe play at the city park fountains and on the river’s edge, I realized a better fitting and safer pair of water shoes were in order. Her Crocs, although easy to slip on, cause her to fall a lot, and the other pair, a cheap combo of hard plastic and foam, become slippery on the footbed when soaked, and cause her feet to slide too far through the toe opening. Not good!

After doing an online search, I narrowed it down to a handful of choices, but eventually decided on  Columbia Kids Splasher. The features I liked were their modern style, that they are lightweight and flexible, have a closed toe, two points of adjustment for a custom fit, and come in a stinkin’ awesome colorway (tarte/orange pop). Plus, the modified mary-jane style make it look like more than just a water shoe, but maybe an everyday shoe, too. I would gladly wear these shoes myself! The only problem is that the two reviews on zappos (free shipping!) don’t sound promising, but I’m willing to see for myself.

Here are some other nice water shoes:

Robeez Mini Shoes Breezeez These are super-lightweight and flexible. Probably the next best thing to bare feet while still giving some protection. No free shipping available on this style though.

Salt Water Sandal by Hoy Shoes How adorable are these? Nice enough to wear with a dress, but waterproof for an impromptu sprinkler party. Expensive.


Teva Kids Tirra More than I wanted to spend, but I love the style, color options and the multiple adjustment points.


Teva Kids Psyclone 2 More foot coverage, and possibly more comfortable than the other Teva Kids shoes above, not to mention cheaper. However, the heel height reminds me of Crocs, which is too tall in my book.

July weekend

Published July 14, 2010 Life Closed
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We had a really nice weekend – gardening and friends for dinner on Saturday and then fishing with Daddy on Sunday. We don’t go fishing with Daddy very often anymore. I might have said this before, but it is just too exhausting keeping a toddler safe on the riversides where David likes to fish. It is mostly exposed, so it is hot and we have to watch for sunburn, and the water is painfully cold, so you can only step in it for a handful of seconds. Chloe kept forgetting and I’d have to hold her back from just charging in.

Toward the end of the afternoon we left the grassy area and found a nice shady spot amidst a lot of mud and rocks. Here is Chloe examining the mud on her fingers and saying “Dirty!” over and over.

But, of course, she got over it quickly and just sat down to play. By the end she was dumping dirty water on her head over and over. She was a mess!

This was the only photo I took of Barkley. He LOVES coming to the river. We used to be able to throw a stick for him to swim and fetch, but he doesn’t do that anymore. I don’t know if it is his leg, or the temperature is too cold for him now that he’s older. We just found out that our next door neighbor’s dog was put down because of cancer. Makes me wonder how long we’ll have Barkley. I hope a long time, so that Chloe can grow up with a dog around.

And lastly, here is a photo of a little visitor who landed on me. We saw several butterflies that day, and I remember thinking how neat it would be if I could get a shot of one. However, none of them were still long enough, they just fluttered by. This one however, decided to give me my opportunity. It wasn’t ideal, since focusing an SLR one-handed is a challenge, plus I had to keep stopping to pull Chloe back out of the water. I couldn’t believe how long that butterfly stayed, too. You can see in the photo that it’s proboscis is fully unfurled and it’s rooting around for some nectar. You’d think it might be attracted to my sunscreen, except Chloe was wearing the same kind. Plus, it was the only one that stopped to say hello. I feel quite blessed by that experience.

Hello Pretty!

Published July 10, 2010 Life 3 Comments
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When I saw this Larissa Trench Coat in a recent Patagonia catalog, I did a double take. I’m not big on clothes (as anyone who has seen me dressed can attest), but this jacket looks nice! The one above is shown in “butterfly blue.” It won’t look as good on me as it does on the model, but I pretty much like everything about it (except the price tag, of course).

Heat Wave

Published July 8, 2010 baby , Life , outdoors , Reading 3 Comments
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We’re suffering through a heat wave in Portland right now. So far we’ve gotten by with only fans, but tomorrow I’m guessing the AC will get its first run of the season. Chloe’s lovin’ it, though. Yesterday she got to play in the nearby park fountain for the second time, although she will still quite timid. All of the jets except four are quite forceful, and the four tiny jets were crowded with other babies, toddlers and parents. So, today we broke out our new Melissa & Doug Blossom Sprinkler. I bought two on a whim back in March, and gave the second as a birthday gift. It is everything that I’d hoped for. Right now we’re keeping the flow low, so Chloe can get used to it, but it also goes big, and the sprinkler heads are soft and flexible for little feet. I think we’re going to get a lot of use out of it this summer, and since losing our trees, I’m sure our grass is going to thank us.

On another note, I recieved a lot of really insightful advice in the comments of my recent Maybe I should have spanked her post. I appreciated reading every one, and gleaned some good information.  It also spurred me to look at some “raising toddler” help books at the library. The one I’m currently reading is The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp, MD. I was really impressed with how well the techniques from his other book and DVD worked when Chloe was a newborn. I’ve gotten through the first four chapters so far, basically presenting the idea that parents should act as an “ambassador” to their children (vs. being a buddy, or a boss), and how to communicate respectfully using the “Fast Food rule” and “Toddler-ese.” To be honest, I was skeptical about the “Toddler-ese,” but I had an opportunity to try it during dinner tonight. Chloe must have hurt her mouth somehow and was crying. Daddy tried to distract her with redirection, which usually works, but she just continued crying. It was my opportunity to give toddler-ese a try. To my surprise, Chloe responded by pausing mid-wail, which was just long enough for Daddy to redirect her again with the promise of a cookie (it was the end of dinner, after all). Whoa! Was this just a coincidence? Hard to tell. I plan on trying it again in other situations, and if it works even half the time, then I’ll be happy.

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