::the summer of::

wasn't on purpose, 

just ended up with a loadful of Common Ground Fair Volunteer tee shirts

(because the cool kids volunteer)

Green smoothies, are my new favorite summer breakfast. And let me say that my idea of a green smoothie is maybe different than other ones, my concept is that it can't be OVERLY green-tasting! Or else: blech, I won't drink it. Which gives me zero health benefits. I use my Cuisenart because I do not have a Vitamix. Here is the rough guide for a recipe:

Pineapple-Kale-Chia-Mint Smoothie

2 T. chia seeds, presoaked for 5 minutes or however long it takes you to do the rest of the ingredients-gathering

2 cups fresh, RIPE pineapple, in chunks

Some (1-2 handfuls) baby kale leaves (chard is good too), de-stemmed and torn

Fresh mint leaves (I like it minty, so I am generous here)

1 cup or so fresh coconut water that you made yourself (below)

Maybe a splash of almond milk

Ice if you can stand the clunking noise your Cuisenart makes when it chops it

Put it all in the Cuisenart, including the soaked chia, then give it a few good pulses. Delish!

Coconut Water

1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

4 cups warm water

Mix together in a bowl and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Then strain the coconut meat out. Voila, your own coconut water, a raw food! Store it in a jar in your fridge and use for smoothies when you like.

This was a strange adventure in culinary practice that we were inspired to try by a friend who has a yummy vegan food blog: GRILLED WATERMELON. Well, it was too weird not to try it! And I liked it, especially the yummy limey-spicy dressing. The leftover dressing could have made an awesome addition to my bubbly water, but someone had dumped it before I could get my hands on it!!! It was a fun addition to our non-vegan burgers on the grill and I would like to try it with a minty-limey-spicy dressing next time. (OK, I'm crazy about mint!) Read WhollyEats' blog entry here.

It's the summer of learning to roller skate. I am learning to be a roller derby referee for our local team, the Rock Coast Rollers! Learning to skate is a big one for me about conquering fears: of things that are new and things that are physical. There are lots of rules, people, and reading them is one thing, and then learning to SEE them in real-time is another thing. I am learning a new, visual, very physical language.

It is not. like. the. roller. derby. you. saw. on. TV. The analogy is televised dramatized fake wrestling is to actual skilled athletic wrestling. Same thing for derby. These athletes are all ages and shapes and it's an actual sport, with strategy (and lots of rules); it's not about beating people up on roller skates. Practices are all about drills, skills, and sweaty bodies, like any other sport. Have you let go of your previous associations yet?

One night a week, Sylvan is allowed to come to practice with me. He is, of course, brilliant. Which makes me proud and sometimes a little bit jealous, because it is just so effortless for him, so graceful, intuitive, and fearless (without being reckless). 

Here are his new 10th birthday wheels! Brand new Atom TrakAtak wheels for a boy who likes speed. The amazing owner of Turn Two Skate Shop in Portland researched wheels that would be right for his smaller sized skates and the wheels arrived in record time. We stuffed ourselves with birthday dinner and cake and ice cream, but then we just had to go to practice last night to try those puppies out. He's getting the feel for them, and the feel is very different from his old ones, so he took a couple of exploratory spills.

Just look at him, running on his toe stops like a pro.

There's that handsome boy, whose roller derby name is SylvInsanity, on his birthday:

Leaping through the air and life, as always...

The bluebirds are back! They were here ten years ago when we first moved here, tapping on the windows on the morning of Sylvan's birth.

Now they are nesting in the box on the end of my clothesline, overlooking our garden. The papa bird is not thrilled when I hang out the laundry, so he swoops around, and I just keep assuring him that we are so happy his family is here but also that hanging the laundry and weeding the garden are part of the rental agreement.

~Gnomes~Textures~HandWork

I'd like to eat this plant.

I saw it at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, which was stunning even in November. They have a reflexology labyrinth made of stones that you are invited to take your shoes off and experience (M&S: we are going there together next summer when you visit!!!!) and a beautiful children's garden. Not to mention a stunning art show by dear Toki!

I finished Jared Flood's Cobblestone pullover, which you may have seen bits of along the way here. It is my new favorite weekend cozy thing to wear, knit from SeaColors by Nanney Kennedy. I like the side detailing in garter stitch.

Friends: I miss you.

Here I was spending time in this new gorgeous kitchen around dinner time with my dear friend B.,: two mamas and a 5 year old and a 1.5 year old, trying to navigate a beautifully photographed recipe for a garlic/goat cheese tart. Two adults felt like the bare minimum: baby holding, recipe reading, snack giving, chopping, etc.

This pot rack was made by my crafty, hip friend, B.---and she made the light fixtures too! With the red colander! Love. It. Helpfully, the kitchen includes a little workspace for small helpers: this creation turned out to be a Vegetarian Compost Tartlet made from scraps of dough and veggies.

My own Tomten (brought back from Sweden) has been awaiting this mushroom for about 30 years. It is perfectly sized for him. And how could I resist a craft kit of little Amanita Gnomes to go with?

Sylvan, mad crafter himself, has been busy writing instructions on how to make a Pine Cone Balm (Bomb) with earnest and fabulous invented spelling:

And some kind of circle weaving, good for making bracelets and anklets.

The craft is returning. Eichenlaub Annual is on my mind. Family photo calendars too.

Quinoa Power!

My New Roots - How to Cook Quinoa from My New Roots on Vimeo.

I like to cook and eat quinoa (KEENwah) way more than my family would like me to cook it. Let us say that they are not fans. So when my friend Kate shared this video from My New Roots, I got pretty excited. THIS, finally, was the marketing campaign quinoa needed in my household! Quinoa is cute! Quinoa is groovy! Quinoa is beautiful! I love every part of this video. It's so cute that my teeth hurt in a totally organic, wholesome way.

"Guys, guess what, I have this fantastic video to show you! It's gonna knock you right out of your socks!" That's how excited I was when I called the boys to the computer.

OK, fine, the truth is that they were underwhelmed and not converted to quinoa through cuteness.

But on Mother's Day, the mother in this house wanted two things for dinner: beets and quinoa salad. (If I had included mushrooms and anchovies we would have hit all the most hated food items in this house.)

So we made a little quinoa movie of our own, with original music used with permission by our very own, talented, 13 year-old friend, Jamie. As always, Jonas was my gracious and patient iMovie tutor and filming assistant.

Ladies and Gents, (do we have gents reading this? come on gents, make a comment if you're really out there)... I give you Quinoa Power!

Food for Thought

Some books to get your hands on for inspiration.

1. Apples for Jam: A Colorful Cookbook by Tessa Kiros.
Our friend Hannah has a phrase for those amazing cookbooks that have stunning photographs and great recipes: "food porn." Yes, this from a woman who is usually off and on with sugar, has been on plenty of elimination diets for allergies, and sometimes eats marshmallow Fluff by the tubful. I love to read cookbooks, literally cover-to-cover. This one is organized by color and is full of these wonderfully Mediterranean recipes, really comfort food stuff. And not all of it is like WOW, amazingly difficult. Sometimes simple is best. Last night we had pasta with tomato sauce and shrimp and it was perfectly lovely. On the cover are a pair of child's red buckle shoes, and if you know me and red shoes, you will know that I fell in love with this book on sight.

2. A Year of Mornings: 3191 Miles Apart by Vettese and Barnes.
How tacky is it to not even thank the gift-giver yet, but make a blog post about their amazing and perfect gift? This book. Oh, this book! The authors found each other in the blogosphere and realized they shared a similar aesthetic and decided to collaborate on posting a diptych of one photo from each of them throughout a year. Check out their webpage and if you scroll down you can see some of these shots to get a flavor (Mary Nanna, this book might be some more inspiration for you!). To the gift-giver, who knows me like a sister even though we are 1158 miles apart...You are still my girl.

3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
OK, yeah, so you read it here first...Remember when I told you about this book? And now it seems like everyone is reading this?! Ha. Well, I called it. And fine, if you'll recall it was a total impulse buy, purchased purely on the title, but no matter. I am here to report that it really was an amazing novel whose story unfolds like a delicate flower. The story is about two female main characters who are outrageously intelligent, but for their own reasons they choose to keep a low profile about their rich inner lives. At times funny and poignant, I was truly astonished many times over by the rich story and excellent translation from the French, often stopping in my tracks to digest a luscious sentence.

A few other things of note:
These tattoos posted by helloyarn (who has recently suffered a canine loss)
This and this lady who often have me laughing at my keyboard
This amazing artist of wearable art
These lovely photos
The Alewives Girl blogged about my reusable shopping totes!

A much-needed home day without company is coming my way tomorrow and I hope to have some pictures to show you soon!

Home Day!

Tea and a scone, apple cinnamon (made by Husband at Home, while I lazed about in bed).

A few days at home and I am feeling so full again, ready to face the next few days out in the world. Today there is a lot of subtle straightening, laundry (all parts of the process), putting away of random items, hanging pictures that have languished too long unhung (or in the wrong place on the wall), etc. I have one Alewives Fabrics Vinyl Shopping Bag almost done, pictures soon.

The busy autumn nature table, by Sylvan:

I washed and hung up the wool items, in the warm dining room. Kids' woolie long johns and my favorite hand-knit socks:
I spent a lot of time trying to locate sandpaper to make the edges of this heart smooth, for a newly-turned (today!) 2 year old. Still haven't found any.
I sharpened some pencils. I know that sounds silly, but I am the only person in this house who seems to think that sharp pencils matter. And it also seems I am the only one who ever thinks about sharpening them:
In blogger news...
Ravenhill's Lilly got the tiny purse (remember, that's what started me on the sewing thing?) I sent! And a little Blij Als Mij inspired bookmark.

Erna, of Blij Als Mij, posted a teaser picture on her blog of the 100th post ATC project! Here it is in process...Can't wait to get a look in their finished form. Thanks for playing, Erna.

And finally, check out this post from PinkCrowStirrings. My girl Carrie in Chicago rocked the Obama acceptance speech last Tuesday, yup she heard it in person. And I love her photo of the swarming celebrants.

New! Comments made easier!

My boy, sifting flour for cupcakes!

Comments
New and improved, easier commenting is enabled! Try it out and see if it works. I changed some settings so that those of you who have been thwarted or bored by the whole "sign in and create a password" nonsense can freely comment now. I am hoping this will mean that more of you that are reading this blog will not be shy and leave a little note sometime. In fact I am scheming about some kind of give-away ATC for commenters in May...Stay tuned.

Mosey Handmade
You may have noticed a new "Favorite Stop" over at the right, called Mosey Handmade. Mosey is actually a blogger who is sort of nearby to me and what's even more fun is that she's someone I already know (and love) in the physical world, and now I know her in the land of virtual also! She makes these lovely nests and lots of upcycled felted-sweater crafts and other items of beauty. Mosey has an Etsy site and some of her nests have found their way to Renegade Handmade in Chicago. She's getting ready to open a store in June, location I am not totally sure of yet...so keep watching her blog for updates. I sure will be!

ATC Make and Swap, Tomorrow!
Yes, tomorrow, Wednesday night at 6 p.m. we'll be cramming our crafty selves into the Rockport Public Library for another couple of hours of community art-making. Try this link to look at some of the photos of past events---there's even some action shots! Come join us, it's fun, it's cozy, and we'd love to have you there.