Humor in the Day

Ugh, the doldrums of winter. Everyone I talk to seems a little depressed. Peter has started his yearly rants of,

"Why do we live here, we're moving to ______," after which he goes and researches real estate in Hawaii or Nepal or somewhere less arctic.

I feel like I'm constantly drinking coffee or eating to stay energized. The coffee is now being weaned away, but that made the snacking worse. Argh!

Busy is somewhat slow compared to November and December so my drive to make books is down.

My "new business venture" has me excited but that too is a warm weather affair.

Out on a walk today I decided all these doldrums were telling me to refocus on the present and the amusing things that happen each day. Do you ever just find yourself in a situation where you think,

"How the hell did I get to be doing this?"

Well, that happens to me pretty often. I remember once feeling so strongly of that emotion when we were sharecropping at Food Farm in Wrenshall, MN. We were in an old van, about 5 of us, out finding smallish birch trees to cut down to be used for tomato trellising. We were cutting them down, throwing them in the van, then hanging on for dear life while the van tore around the countryside. I was hanging on to the back of the van, the back doors were off or open and I was standing on the back bumper. All of a sudden I couldn't stop laughing at my predicament. Oh, the joy of laughing at one's self.

Today it happened on that walk I mentioned. It was a balmy 20 and partly sunny, so I wanted to get outside. It took a good 40 minutes to get ready. His snowpants and boots were in the car, the sled was buried in a snowdrift (now ice) which was hard to find and harder to defrost, etc. etc. etc. Finally, I loaded fredrik into the backpack since the sled was just not suitable, I put a pair of my mittens on him since in the time it took me to find and then abandon the sled he had wet two pairs of mittens. So there we were, booking it down the sidewalks, snowflakes fluttering, sun shining, dog on his bright red leash, mukluks kicking the powdery snow, fgh nodding off, my rhythm was good, it even felt like exercise. Then, whoops, I almost fell, not on ice but on my mukluks, one of the leather ties had come undone and somehow whipped around and tied to the other mukluk's lace. Crazy! I bent down to untie them, fgh's mitten fell off, I tried to put it back on while he was on my back and asleep, that didn't work so I had to take him off not realizing to do this I dropped the leash. So there I am, messed up shoes, boy trying to sleep in the snowy sidewalk, dog running into the street. Thankfully our dog is well over the hill and not up for any crazy adventures. He just waited for me to suit up and we were on our way.

I like this picture because it sums up our house. Plastic pig, red socks, crooked picture, random tool in hand.

Toddler Muffins

Freddy and I made muffins the other day and much was learned about baking with people of the toddler variety.

1. Have things ready as though we are on a cooking show. A quick trip to the cupboard to get vanilla may result in eggs in the honey jar.

2. Use the biggest bowl possible if you are to let the little one stir.

3. Flour is slippery (more so with gluten-free flour?)

4. Do not expect the product to "turn out"

5. The toddler will fill with pride and adore the baked creation, even if it crumbles to a pile of dust when touched.

Next time we may try instant pudding.

Bacon.

FGH sleeps in between us in bed at night, which has been handy during the insanely early cold snap we're in. We can leave the heat off since we can monitor his temperature.

Well, we did fire up the furnace today. It was getting to be very chilly.

Anyhow, every morning FGH wakes up and pokes Peter in the face and says in a chipper voice,

"Bacon."

That is followed by,

"Down! Down! Down!" as in downstairs, get me bacon NOW.

We haven't really had bacon all that often, so I'm surprised he wants it so badly. So, today I picked up some Nieman Ranch Bacon and he was gleeful during supper picking up all the pieces of bacon at once (and dropping some on the floor, of course).

Now this is a happy bacon baby:

He gets pretty excited about broccoli as well. He marched around with these for awhile today. They are from our CSA farmers, who, sadly, made their last delivery today for the season. We are going to go visit the farm next week...if there is anything left in the frozen fields.

Fall=TV...and outside stuff

We've been without a TV for months now, and it has been great. We have a good internet connection so hulu, nbc.com, and youtube (when desperate) have filled the void left without the constant pop culture streaming from our old boob-tube. But, now that fall is here, it's a little hard to keep up with all the new episodes of old favorites (30 Rock, Heroes, The Office) and new favorites (Glee, Community...). Without TV I'm not even really sure what's new and hot. Is Mad Men really good? I've heard it referenced multiple times on the radio. Also, is there a place online to watch the upcoming PBS Ken Burns series on National Parks or do I have to wait for netflix? (Peter just let me know that PBS will be airing it online one day after it airs on TV). Oh, yeah, we have a pile of netflix here, too. I guess we're still pretty much couch potatoes.

Anyway, fall is finally here and I can wear a sweater for portions of the day and I'm happy about that. Peter and FGH went to an apple orchard. We have a pint-sized pie pumpkin for decor and FGH is saying pnkn all the time (he's heavy on the consonants). Our CSA box was plump full this week so our fridge is now bursting at the seams. We had stir-fry last night, giant salads today, and really, we haven't made much of a dent. It will be depressing when the last box is emptied.

Here are some unedited snapshots from today. They're all taken at Como.

Miscellany

We had SO MUCH FUN tonight at Zellas in Hutchinson connecting with Laura and Adam, who bought our farm last fall, and Jena and Aron, old friends and csa members. It was crazy to talk about farm happenings from the past compared to the present goings-on at the farm. Our old dog Toblerone, for example (he stayed at the farm) recently brought a cow head home. Seriously, that dog is more of mystical beast than a dog. He's another species for sure. Craziness.

FGH and I stopped out at the farm last week,too, for a bit of a scavenger hunt for a pie pumpkin (which we found) and a look at the laying hens and berries. I wish I had taken some snapshots, but alas, it was enough to carry him and carry little tomatoes, berries, and a pumpkin.

Computer work has been one of the main things this week. I'm motivated to get my logo finalized for business cards, address stickers, and hang tags within a week or so. I also have a website up and running. It is extremely rough, but a feat nonetheless. Here it is atswirlingtreebooks.com! The gallery is pretty poor with half the pictures super pixelated since I grabbed them out of some strange folder on my desktop, but hey, all fixable. I'm just proud I got that far. Baby steps.

The logo I'm working on is pretty much the same as my new banner for the blog. I messed with that green until I was crazy in the head.

The Summit Eco logo is finished as well. It was a fun experience working with them and I just love their eco-minded, solar-certified, green electrician business model. The logo is fun, I like how the sun is so botanical looking and I was truly proud of my light bulb icon. Yay summer graphic design classes!

Cheers!

For no real event, just a general need for wine, we cracked open a bottle the other night and we introduced FGH to drinking from a wine glass. Even though I say it's wine in the movie, it's juice. Of course. I really know how to make a kid look cool with knee-high socks and no pants!

Peter's interviews have been going well. He has had one naysayer and one call back out of the deal thus far with six more to hear from. We're both trying to jump to some conclusions about what's going to happen but that's just not how it works. There are many hoops to jump through before than can happen. Hoops. Not fun. And so taking-up-of-time. To top it off he just got a subpoena to appear in court as a witness regarding our car wreck in July. What a pain. He has a respect for the legal system so he's not going to try to get out of it. He's such a romantic.

Speaking of romance, we actually look half decent for once AND posed for a picture. It was taken after a wedding we attended last weekend in Hutchinson. I made a guest book for the bride and groom:

I hope to get more in my shop soon. I'm awaiting the arrival of some generic wedding-colored book cloth in the mail from Paper Source. Yes, they have a store in Minneapolis, but my time is too valuable to sit in traffic for 1/2 hour each way to pick up book cloth. It's worth $7 to get it shipped. Really. Plus, toddler-man is not a fan of any store that does not sell food or toys.

Here's my work bench tonight:

5 new 5x7 albums, 4 books in the press, 2 more needing to be glued, 1 needing to be sewn. The books in the press are exciting to me. Eco-friendly casual case-bound journals with recycled blah blah blah paper of the brown variety and hemp and bead book marks. I can't wait to uncrank the press tomorrow morning and see if they look as good as I hope.

I applied for a show in Mpls-the No-Coast Craft-o-Rama (is that the title? too lazy to double check) for Dec. I HOPE to get in, it looks very etsy-ish. Hip crafts and the like. I'm also going to be at Jena's show in Dassel next month. Any other shows coming up that anyone knows about? I even applied for a tax number so I guess I'm really going to try to do this (oh, the confidence oozes out of my typed words).

Tonight I'm finishing a logo for Summit ECO, a green electrician company specializing in solar and energy efficiency. Cool company. I will share the logo when it is all said and done.

The elf girl prints still are not pleasing me. I've tried different photo papers, heavy sketch papers, and some linen paper. My next tries are canvas paper and textured card stock. Anyone know what the best printer setting to use? It seems like there should be some way to google this, but everything is dependent upon printer model, ink type, paper, and file format. There are too many variables. It seems this is the hard part of selling prints. Any who, if anyone has any tips please send them my way.

Back to School

It's back to school season. The air is a little cooler in the morning and evening, yet there's still some humidity in the air that keeps us from getting the sweaters out. The big-box stores are full of students loading there carts high, buying those plastic cubes that stack on top of each other and waste baskets and other storage bins. I'm nearing 30 years old and we're back to that school schedule in our house, too. The summer was quick and I enjoyed the extra time I had with Peter around more often. I filled every minute I could with classes, book binding, and messing around with Adobe. That is, the time that I wasn't at the lake, helping with friends' farms and gardens, and playing in our yard (and park, and zoo...) with FGH. I didn't realize that I could still fill each day to the brim much like I did when we were on the farm.

Peter is already into his third week of his second year at Mitchell. He'll be in school for three years total and starts on-campus interviews already this week. He's has 6 or 7 firms with which he's interviewing. These are highly sought after positions, so he may or may not get one, and the position he gets if he does get one is for the summer only with the hopes that it may turn into a full time position after graduation. The interviewing process is like a crazy labyrinth; he has to make his way through all sorts of steps to get through the different levels. He even attended an informational session that tipped them off about what to order if you have a lunch interview among other things. Still, I like the idea that we could have an inkling of a slight clue about where we will end up. Minneapolis? St. Cloud? New Ulm? Winona? Stillwater? River Falls? So, good luck Peter!

Since Peter is up to his eyeballs in law right now, the schedule around the house is a little wonky. I am hoping we get into a routine soon because the last couple of weeks have been a little less than organized and FGH suffers from weird nap and meal schedules. Stockers, Busca. We did have a smashing time at the big State Fair yesterday, we have to squeeze it all in.

Swirling Tree is a little out of sorts too, with more going on than time allows. I have ADD tendencies and having too many pots cooking on the stove is my #1 problem.

A logo job has come my way and it's a lot of fun, yet, like all creative work, frustrating to do at the end of the day with little of my brain remaining awake at 10:30 PM. Then, we've got the BEST -Book binding Etsy Street Team Back to School Sale starting today. Click here to get to the BEST website where all vendors are listed. I was hoping to a get a few more books in the shop before the sale started and they may or may not find their way in during the week. My third big project as of late is my little elf persona, who needs a name by the way and I'll take suggestions. I sketched my little elf girl with vegetables and I think she'll make great 8x10 prints in a little girl's room and also great for little notecards. HOPEFULLY I get to a printer this week to she how she prints. I've got a black and white laser printer here that doesn't do her justice (obviously). So, busy. Yes.

I will leave you now with some photos of summer and my new projects. (The house is growing messier and more disorganized instead of the other way around, but I still hope to get some more house pics up this week too. ADD ADD ADD!!!)

The elf print didn't upload correctly. I got some crazy weird colors, so I'll try to get that figured out, too.

Heating Up the Kitchen

I am growing tired of cooking as evidenced by the last few meals of bread, cheese, avocado, and salad.  That still sounds good, actually, but I know the boy(s) in the house enjoy the casseroles.

  

OK, I like them too, it is comfort food after all. 

Tonight I have the kitchen heated up with a couple big pots of food bubbling away.*  These should last a few days (or longer since I got a little creative on one recipe and that's not always the best idea...it may be in the fridge collecting fuzz for a couple of weeks).

Curried Lentils

I make this often.  The boy likes it and you can throw all sorts of veggies in it.  He likes the curry.  Go figure.

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 carrots, cubed 

1/2 head cauliflower, cubed (baby-sized chunks)

1 white potato, cubed

1 large sweet potato, cubed

olive oil

salt

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 or so cups of broth (chicken or veg)

2 cups red lentils

frozen peas

Saute onions in olive oil until soft, add garlic and carrots and saute another 5-10 minutes.  Add curry and saute a few seconds.  Add tomato paste, potato, sweet potato, broth, lentils, and plenty of salt.  Bring to a boil and then reduce and almost fully cover with lid.  Simmer for a good 20 minutes or until veggies are soft and lentils have turned into a good mush-consistency.  Mmmmm, mush...great word choice.  Add peas.  

Split Pea Quinoa Casserole

1/2 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 head cauli, chopped

olive oil

2 tablespoons herbs d' provence

splash of plum vinegar (or another tasty vinegar)

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1 cup uncooked split peas

5 cups broth (chicken or veg)

1 can wild salmon

salt

saute onions and garlic in olive oil until browning, add cauliflower and herbs d' provence, and salt and saute another 10 minutes.  Add the splash of vinegar.  Mix mixture with quinoa, split peas, and broth in a 9x13 (or comparable round) baking dish.  Evenly distribute sections of the salmon throughout casserole.  Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, covered, checking and stirring half-way through.  

I think next time I'll add mushrooms and maybe asparagus.

*It is now out of the oven and quite tasty. 

Happy First Birthday Freddy My Boy!

We had a splendid birthday party at our house today for the one and only FGH. He was stylin' in his "Children's Place" linen shirt/ striped tie/orange vest/plaid visor hat. He wore pants, too. He was really cute-as-can-be and he didn't even mind the tie. The entire party lasted only 3 hours and that was just about right for a one year old. As guests arrived around 11:00 we poured up mugs of coffee. I was nervous about not having enough food, I have a record of serving a meal for not making enough...it's hard to judge when you don't entertain often and you don't really use recipes. A quick run to the co-op yesterday and Super Target this morning were necessary. Just so you now, a sausage (the whole foods italian, yum) and spinach and jarlsburg egg casserole needs 30 eggs to serve 14 people. That's a lot of eggs. I also made that broccoli and grape salad that is so delicious. I used organic turkey bacon, tons of broccoli ( nine heads (smallish ones), an onion (leftover from the farm so it was pretty small after I got the questionable outer layers off), slivered almonds (I slivered them as I only had whole ones), a small bag of frozen peas and a dressing made of mayo, sugar and apple cider vinegar. I've never made this salad but I always love it when I'm somewhere else. It was a good way to add veggies to a brunch. I made a quick fruit salad of blueberries, thinly sliced pears and kiwi as well. My mom-in-law brought scrumptious raspberry muffins (frozen from her own plants(not muffin plants)) and my grandma made some cute cupcakes and 6" cake for Freddy to dive into. My mom brought some adorable farm animal shaped sugar cookies to add to the "farm animal" theme. Wow. I just went on and on about the food. 
FGH had a great time and got so many cool toys, great clothes and exciting books. Thanks everyone! I made him an accordian-style board book with a picture of each month of his life thus far. It turned out very much to my liking. I'll include more photos of it at some point on this blog. He had fun playing with cousin Madeline, of course.
We attempted the whole "messy cake" thing, but he didn't get too messy. It took him awhile to realize that this huge thing on his high chair tray with orange and blue stuff on it was to be eaten. Then, he just ate it. He threw some on the floor, but mostly he just ate tons of sugar. He didn't get crazy because of it, but did fall asleep despite the loud party going on outside his bedroom door when the sugar wore off. (well, louder than the usual silence of me home alone with him during naps). Here are some pics of the Busca at his party...he's having some serious fun. Stunned is the look I see on his face on almost every one.

First Birthday Week

It's FGH's birthday week, he'll be one already on Sunday the 22nd, crazy! He's already been getting some gifts from visiting admirers. The Brennans delivered this miniature-sized Ikea chair which is new favorite during storytime. He can't quite sit in it unattended yet, he doesn't really sit while awake unless he's in his high chair or stroller or carseat but soon and very soon I think I'll see him sitting there reading books. Grandma and Grandpa Hemberger were here yesterday for a visit and bought him squeaky shoes. He loves them. I was impressed how quickly he realized that the squeaks came from his feet. We found them at Baby on Grand, the best baby store I've yet seen. It reminds me of Cotton Babies, the online shop where we got our cloth diapers and other such things that you never see in "real" stores. It's great to be able to touch and feel and try-on things before buying them. It really is a baby store and he's not that much of a baby anymore so most of the gear was stuff we already have and is now in storage, which is probably OK because the deluxe strollers, euro-looking high chairs and bouncy seats would have been much too tempting about a year ago. I do have to mention the bamboo fabric sleepers for newborns...the softest little sleeper...makes me want more babies...trailing off......