directions:
and oh my goodness was he ever right. they were amazing musicians with a fun + funky style. check them out, please! {if not here --I especially love old timers-- then here, here, and here!} I am smitten with leslie and her badgers. just absolutely smitten.
at exactly 12 o'clock am, the very minute my birthday began, we watched one of my favorite movies on the big screen. while leaving barbacoa's I saw up on the marquee, in big bright lights, that the 'burbs was the midnight show at the tower. oh my goodness, I screamed so loudly with excitement! if you didn't know already, I absolutely just love this movie. such a classic. favorite line: [chanting] I wanna kill everyone, satan is good, satan is my pal. {okay, so if you've never seen the movie you might think that's a little weird to be my favorite line. I don't really like satan, and he is definitely not my pal. but I just love it in context. such a funny moment.} we had to struggle just to make it--let's be honest, I'm practically falling asleep at ten o'clock every night--but make it we did. I even stayed awake through most of the movie! (don't worry, I've seen it before. I know how it ends.) seriously, killer movie. (get it? killer movie. . .)
I woke up to a kiss from peter as he was saying goodbye. "I'm going skiing now!" I looked at him suspiciously, "but you're wearing jeans. . ." he then gave me some story about backcountry skiing and having to take all his gear. yeah, not buying it. I knew something was up. he left, then I dragged my birthday butt out of bed. after doing my happy birthday ten miler I came home to find this surprise party: a homemade breakfast {german pancakes} made by peter and a pile of presents.
but the surprise parties did not end there, oh no. peter had planned and pulled off a complete party without my knowledge. (if you remember the costa rica surprise, you'll know that's quite a feat!) I had no idea. {he is amazing.} he got me out of the house because we needed to go to the grocery store. I didn't even notice all the extra cars in our parking lot behind the apartment. not until I stepped in my house and the lights came on and I saw all the cute smiling faces of some of my neartest + dearest did I have any clue. I was in shock. it was the best surprise ever. and a fun, fun party. we even made my favorite shakes! strawberry + banana, a true love story.
I don't know if that little rat-dog, the groundhog saw his shadow today or not.
would you like to have a good time in privet
photos via the cellular telephone. quality, I know.
the heart truth: heart disease is the number one killer among american females.
this trip was definitely worth waking up at 4 am for. even if we didn't really need to. (thank you, american airlines, for rerouting our flight and not telling us.) I always love staying at hotel stie. and I always love playing with her three cute, abnormally well-behaved + smart + fun, energetic children. 
how many times have you tried to park your car but couldn't because of some idiot? how many times have you wanted to leave a note such as this? {how many times have you parked the car like some idiot and hoped you didn't receive a note such as this?} I'm sure we have all felt this way at least fifty times. 
plant a garden, green + growing. . .
build a solar oven and cook with the sun. . .
own this dog.
this is one of those finds where I'm left with only one piece of the puzzle. and I'm really wishing I had it all, or at least more of it. from these few words I can already tell this note was a good one. was it a horrible breakup? did someone backstab someone else? we will never know. all that we do know is that someone has suffered with shame. I really really wish I knew why.
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when I was in high school--I think it was the summer after my sophomore year--I had a bad habit of leaving my music playing. all day. that particular time in my life it was mr. tom petty spinning pretty much nonstop.
may we all advance confidently in the direction of our dreams this year. truly live that life you have imagined. I know that we can achieve more than we ever thought possible if we just dare to put our two feet forward. believe.
Wheat Crackers
Dear Mama,the post card is addressed to:
We have house cleaning just about all done. Grass tall enough to be mowed. May flowers, violets & Buttercups all over. But we have not [something] garden. . . [can't really read the rest and then it is torn]
[she must have ran out of room on bottom, this was written upside down on the top of the postcard:] saw by paper he was sick.
Gladys Page
Mrs. Nellie Page
Dell Rapids
S. Dak.
Aunt Eds (?) + Gladys
oh my, this is one of my favorite kind of finds: it's like a treasure hunt + puzzle all wrapped up into one. see, I was walking home from the train one day (when I lived on 9th east in the preserve) and there scattered all about the sidewalk and hiding in the bushes were these little pieces of paper. a note! my heart was full of excitement. I hurried and tried to pick up as many pieces as I could grab, hoping I found them all. it looks like I did, because it is a complete note above. the best part about it is I had a roommate named maria at the time. after I went home and taped all the pieces together I accused her of being the author of the note. I think she's secretly still in junior high. (okay, so not really.)
“Food combines with each other when they have major flavour components in common.”
"A list was made of 250 food products each with their major flavour components. By comparing the flavour of each food product eg strawberry with the rest of the food and their flavours, new combinations like strawberry with peas can be made. The way to use is, is just to select a food product like strawberries. You will get a plot where you have strawberry in the middle surrounded by other food products. Take one of those other food products and try to make a new recipe by combining those two. The more flavours food products have in common the shorter the distance between the food products."
"A food product has a specific flavour because of a combination of different flavours. Like basil taste like basil because of the combination of linalool, estragol, …. So if I want to reconstruct the basil flavour without using any basil, you have to search for a combination of other food products where one contains linalool (like coriander), one contains estragol (like tarragon),... So I can reconstruct basil by combining coriander, tarragon, cloves, laurel. The way to use it is to take from each branch of the plot one product and make a combination of those food products."
our first year of holiday fun:
twinkly lights + burning flames
hand made stockings + home cooked turkey
snowy days + cozy nights
laughter + love + memories
Hey my love. I'm under
a spell. oh too sweet
hearing your voice is a treat I'm always
excited for the times when we will meet.
What we have is a special gift
together we were ment to drift
when your near my heart beats swift
I need you so much I crave your
golden touch come on baby lets
go to lunch.
your my one bestest friend good
things to you I'll always send
between us there can be no end.
Tears of joy have droped out from
my eyes no reason for any ties
Take a thought upon my endless tries
I'm so glad your in my life
even though there is so much
strife come with me to be my wife
I was quite happy with how well the apple pie turned out on thursday. it had to live up to some high expectations. (dee, I'm glad it did not disappoint.) and the pie crust dough proved to be quite the stressor at times. {what with all the "everything must be cold--almost frozen cold" and the "don't overwork the dough or you'll ruin it" business. yikes!} but in the end it all came together beautifully. the filling was super easy + yummy, and the crust came out flaky + golden. just perfect. it paired quite well with my new no fail fresh pumpkin pie recipe.
I found this in the parking lot while walking to work one day. it was full of little indentations and holes from being run over by cars on the little rocks. I absolutely love it because this mom + daughter duo is not only dressed exactly the same, but they're pullin' such tough faces as well. I wouldn't want to meet these two alone in the woods! {and, btw, who doesn't love the white visor?}
branch: sustainable design for living
I was talking to my friend britney at church today. she was going to be tackling her very first turkey this thursday. I got so excited and told her I made my first turkey last christmas eve (it's a new tradition at this household) and mine came out so moist and delicious. she asked me what I did. I told her the the secret was the brining. {which, btw, I'm excited for this thursday's bird because dee has a new brining recipe I hear. and he is the master briner} what else did I do, she asks. I have no idea. I do not remember what I did to that turkey. I don't even remember what recipes I used. I really wish I had written something down. (and actually, maybe I did. I haven't gone back to look through all my recipes yet) otherwise it will be like starting over from scratch this christmas. which is okay; half the fun is in the finding of the recipes. the other half is eating the delicious results.
june | novemberWe build towers from a set of wooden blocks and laugh our heads off when the towers fall down.
Towards bedtime, we sit on the couch and listen to classical music on the crank-up radio and try to hum along. Isabella sucks her left thumb, and if she is feeling generous, she holds up her right thumb for me or Michelle to suck.
We sit on the steps to the neighboring building and talk to people walking by. Isabella chooses the particular step and says, “Sit here, Daddie.”
We walk around, going nowhere in particular, and Isabella shows me how she can run, moving a lot, in her toddler body, like the tin man before Dorothy gave him oil.
We dance and we dance and we dance.
We take turns giving Mommy kiss attacks.
I stick my finger under Isabella’s arm and leave it there till she says “wiggle it.” I do and we squeal with laughter.
We talk about all the things we can see and say hi to them all: “Hi cars, hi buildings, hi sky, hi trees, hi dog, hi lady…”
We ride over to the Hudson River Park where Isabella always walks to the rails and says, “Hello river, how are you?”
We play in the fountain in Washington Square Park, where Michelle worries that the water is too dirty but can’t help cracking up at Isabella’s joy.
We go to the new swimming pool for kids and their parents on Thompson Street in SoHo, where an 11-year-old boy keeps trying to get Isabella to give him a high-five but she just smiles because she is too shy.
We eat lots of grilled cheese sandwiches cut in long strips and I fruitlessly attempt to get Isabella not just to bite off the cheese and give the bread to Frankie the dog.
We make bread together, which means I make the bread, and Isabella stands on a chair and takes everything out of the kitchen drawers and drops it on the floor.
We cook together, which means I cook, and Isabella stands on a chair and takes everything out of the kitchen drawers and drops it on the floor.
We stomp the laundry in the bathtub together. “I’m splashing with my feet,” Isabella says.
We wash the dishes together. “You need my help, Daddy?”
We roughhouse on the bed together.
We ride aimlessly around on the No Impact Mobile (our tricycle with a back seat for Isabella), seeing what we can see and singing This Old Man if it’s sunny and The Old Man is Snoring if it’s raining.
We bang things really loud.
If Michelle isn’t there, we tell her things all the same and wonder if she can hear us in her mind.
We practice seeing who can scream the loudest.
We play hide and seek
We examine Isabella’s body for booboos and kiss them all.
We practice jumping really, really high.
“We go weee, weee, weee,” which is Isabella’s way of saying we go to the swings.
We go for a bike ride over the Brooklyn Bridge, and stop in the middle to look at the other bridges, which Isabella adores.
We go somewhere with Isabella’s best friend Hannah. When they greet each other, they hug each other really hard, lose their balance, fall over, and start crying. We then cheer them up by putting them side by side on the No Impact Mobile and ringing the bell a lot.
We put Isabella’s hair in pony tails and then she goes and shows them to “my sister Frankie”—the dog.
We play fetch with Frankie and Isabella laughs her head off.
We read books.
We call the grandparents—Nanna or Grannie or Poppie or Jojo or Poppa—on the phone and Isabella gets so excited that she talks too fast to get the words out.
And at bedtime, we sing “Somewhere over the Rainbow” and a James Taylor song that starts “Well the sun is surely sinking down…”
have you heard of this guy? I hadn't until today. I was driving home from work, flipping through the radio stations, and stopped when I got to this interview with this guy and mr dj. I was hooked. he seemed so down to earth. so humble for the 'biz. just like a normal guy. like maybe in another life we could have been friends.
I've been wanting to make butternut squash soup for the past couple of weeks. I tried last week, but pete went to the store and came home with the wrong kind of squash. this week we got it right. it is such a fantastic soup. it has such a deep, creamy color + taste. perfect for an autumn evening. 
this coming thursday let's take the pledge and try to do more for our environment, our community and our children.
I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting pumpkin seed recipes. I mean, who doesn't love to eat toasted pumpkin seeds? what a fun + tasty snack. I've tried this cinnamon/salt variety a couple times now (the first attempt was a complete and total failure. burnt seeds are not so tasty as it turns out. the second attempt went much better, though pete still didn't love them. I thought they were tolerable and they actually kind of grew on me a little.), but today I found this lovely little recipe from my whole foods mentor, heidi swanson. they turned out especially tasty, and pete loves them. and so will you.1 egg white
1/4 cup natural cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grained sea salt
1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds
Preheat oven to 375. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the egg white, sugar, cayenne and salt. Add the pumpkin seeds and toss well. Drain off any excess egg white (using a strainer) and place seeds in a single layer across a baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or until seeds are golden. Sprinkle with a bit more sugar and cayenne pepper when they come out of the oven. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
Makes one cup.
club u campers exploring their world at the great salt lake
I don't care who's side you're on, it made me sick to hear that upwards of seven million dollars has been put into the campaigning for ($3.8 million) and against ($3.2 million) the voucher referendum. 
