little alaska farm

We took a drive up to Little Alaska Farm in Wales, Maine to buy some grass fed beef, pork and chicken. It was mud heaven for Eliot as he chased some unusual looking ducks and peered into the hen house. I had a wonderful chat with the owner and butcher and I look forward to visiting again in a few weeks when our stash is eaten up.

I have been trying to find a CSA that Kevin and I can agree on, too. I would like to give it a shot but he has a lot of reservations. If anyone wants to split a share let me know!

Kevin and I went to see David Sedaris read last night as a belated Christmas present from me to him. He is hilarious. I highly recommend "Me Talk Pretty One Day", you will laugh out loud guaranteed.

these boots etc...

some new boots.

a visitor from upstairs.

bath time in the new bathroom.

first veggies on the new (yay) stove.

april showers

april showers are starting a little early so we have been trying to find some constructive indoor activities. unfortunately crayons and play-dough are out because of their irresistible taste. watercolors work out much better. he was very proud of his painting and asked if i would take a picture. of course, how could i resist.





i think i am going to add some new side bar items and do some layout tweaking. so please, give me feedback if you love/dislike something.

dancing and sleeping

i took a little picture of eliot sleeping through his bedroom door. he is in a 'big boy bed' now. it is a captains style bed with lots of drawers for odds and ends and toys. it is a great space saver for us. he is so cute when he sleeps all cuddled up in flannel. a sweet little side note: out of all of his stuffed animals he has grown very fond of my old favorite, lamby. she is a haggard old lamb but he has connected with her. it makes me smile endlessly that she is receiving as much love now as she did when i was a wee babe.

our new 'front room' as we call it is our living room. it has bay windows that let in a ton of light. i hope i can get some seeds started in here (i bought seed starting mix and some awesome scented geraniums today). it is also very good for dancing and spinning.

a little party

we had a reunion of former residences of this apartment. it was a nice little gathering and all of the children played together amazingly well. we had a surprise visitor, a kitten from upstairs with no fear of children, that turned out to be the best babysitter for eliot. it was our first party since we have been here and despite only having one working burner on our stove the food came out great. once everything is put away i think we will have a proper housewarming.


i have been tweaking a recipe i found from Martha Stewart for pumpkin whoopie pies. a real maine treat! the recipe follows:

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie

3 cups pumpkin pure w/o spice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup veg. oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting

3 cups conf. sugar
1/2 stick butter
8 oz cr. cheese
1tsp vanilla

Directions

350 degree oven
in a large bowl whisk the dry ingredients
in a separate bowl mix the wets including the pumpkin pure and sugar
add wets to dry

drop and shape on a cookie sheet and cook until spongy and slightly cracked
approx 15 min.

My Variations

I added at least another tablespoon of cinnamon and heaping measurements of the other spices. Use a larger bowl than you would think, it puffs up a lot while mixing it. Instead of brown sugar i used slightly less granular sugar and a few heaping tablespoons of molasses.

for the frosting - be sure to sift the powdered sugar or it will clump up. it helps to use an electric mixer and be sure the ingredients are room temp. i cut the sugar by quite a bit and it still makes a ton.

the original recipe was for either 6 or 8 massive ones but i cut it and made 12 or 13 big ones.

i found the cooking time to be more like 20-25 min. even when small.

getting back

trying to get back into the swing of things...

the apartment is nearly box free. i have one kitchen box left and a few odds and ends boxes filled with mostly framed artwork to still put away. i would like to do a little more painting but i am not sure that will actually happen, at least with me doing the work. There is quite a lot of yellow in here.. which is nice and sunny but a little much when it spreads through 3 rooms. a few little things are still getting worked out but all in all this is going to be a great place. i will be sharing some before and after photos of the yard as we get working on that especially. and several crafty projects i have in mind.

the weather is getting relatively warmer and hints of spring. i havent put away the shovel yet but im hoping the dwindling piles of snow keep doing so. we took a trip to the lighthouse where we got married last weekend and eliot had a good time running up and down the wheelchair ramp and watching someone fly a kite. he is starting to really turn into his own little person lately. the stories he tells me are absolutely hilarious. im thinking about doing a weekly video segment 'interviews with eliot' to capture some of the more silly speeches. he still is perfecting the whining and crying in front of the mirror.. it is becoming a true art form.

little pieces of green are popping up here and there, too. a few crocuses have reared their heads but the only picture i have is very blurry as i took it while trying to chase eliot down the street. sneakers are a must when going for a walk these days.


and i thought i would come back with something silly...my first encounter with an elvis impersonator was a hoot. i couldnt stop grinning.. it was about the funniest thing i have ever seen. he played a mean air guitar.

...moved...

so we moved.. did i forget to tell you? goodness my poor little blog is suffering lately. i probably have another week or so before i can get back to it with regular postings but i thought i would check in. eliot is getting aquianted with the new place by lining up cars on every windowsill and running madly down the long hallway. i am getting aquainted by trying to organize some sort of pantry system and kevin has been painting and doing manly chores. once the chaos has settled i will post some pictures and get back to it. see you soon!

and the computer is toast

my poor neglected blog! we have been doing so much fun stuff over the past month like playing in the snow, christmas activities and family and of course in the middle of it my computer finally gives out. the good news is that it is only my video card and not the mother board which i had feared. so it is in the hands of a friend of mine who in exchange for some jeans mending is going to fix it for me. i bought kevin a lap top for christmas (which i am on now) but it hasnt been completely set up for image editing etc so its probably going to be another week at least before i get back to posting. see you soon!

as it gets colder

we get cozier. we have been making forts to play under. unfortunately he wont play under them alone so i have to squeeze myself under too. half in half out works sometimes but if he is feeling particular i get a work out.

loco

we have a little local locomotive just down the street from us. it is a narrow gauge railroad that runs short trips up and down the old working water front. eliot had a blast.


here i am all geared up for my most recent gig (the work function i mentioned). i really liked the flash diffuser all told and it only put me back about 25 bucks. the flash bracket was a pain because it kept coming loose when i held the camera to my side so the flash ended up flopping around. it was also hard to carry around two cameras at once without them getting tangled up. my shoulders were sore the next day! but all in all it worked out nicely.
thanksgiving was fun.. we went down and visited kevins family on the cape. eliot had fun and we ate a TON of great food. the pictures came out pretty marginal, probably because we were all stuffed and couldn't lift a finger to take a picture.

i have a few crafty things i've started despite putting my sewing machine away. i have loads of pictures 'on deck' to post about as i continue to try to get back to my posting rhythm. i keep finding myself getting bogged down in facebook looking at old high school friends profiles. i feel a little like a voyeur. it is interesting because you add people as 'friends' but the contact is so limited i wonder how many actual friends i will make out of it. i wonder if spending my time reminiscing about old friends has limited my quest to find more 'real friends' to go out and do things with. it is interesting i think.

cars and updates

here is an example of the car line ups. it is very sweet and, (sometimes) thankfully time consuming. they have begun to show up in pieces around the house instead of one large line now too. his favorite phrase is "car coming, mama!". i have to stop and look both ways before proceeding with caution. he also has been pretending to be a butterfly or bird so at least he is getting some varied creative play instead of just cars.

a few other updates.. i have put the sewing machine to bed for a little while to try and work on photography a little more. unfortunately, there is not enough space in our teensy apartment for both projects at once. i did find enough room in the closet for it all after a massive clear out of fabric so at least if i get the urge its not too far away. i have been SO tired lately i havent been getting much done other than cooking. eliot loves to help me cook, especially in the morning, so we have been doing a lot of baking. --look out ed! i have been improving my pancake recipe!

i have been trying to start a very low key walk/jog program to see if that will eventually give me more energy. i suppose the worst that could happen is it will burn off the extra pancakes.

i took out the bread bakers apprentice book again last night and i am currently waiting for some bread to rise. (potoato rosemary).

on a side note if anyone (heather?) could suggest a few useful homeschooling books..we have been talking/reading a lot on the subject lately.

off to find some rainy day activities to do!

a little rusty

well hello there! it has been a long time... i dont really have any good excuses, only marginal ones for the longest post lag i have ever had. my camera has been in fine working condition, in fact i rented the canon 10-22mm lens for a work job and had a great time experimenting with it. the family is all well, too.

eliot's new fascinations revolve mostly around imaginary things, trucks and sorting. i found a jar of seaglass i have been carting around for ages and he has been sorting and using it with all of his trucks. yesterday i had a grand plan of walking with him to the playground but ended up getting side tracked and spending the whole time outside in the parking lot 100 yards from the front door excavating piles of sand. despite feeling like the delinquant parent that was letting their kid play in a parking lot he had a great time.

i think i am going to sort of work my way backwards through some photos for a while.. this is a couple from halloween. we went to a little party at a friends house before going on the parade. eliot was sufficently freaked out by the noise and costumes.

i didnt get any great pictures of his costume but it was a little vampire suit that a co worker gave to me. i was some sort of zombie wife..but really.. that is pretty much how i look these days.
eliot has been getting his molars in for weeks now..he is a slooow teether. it is resulting in marginal nights sleeps again. i also seem to be suffering from a greater fatigue than i am used to. ive been going to bed by 8pm pretty much every night.. doesnt leave much time for blogging or really anything. i did start reading a new book called 'last child in the woods' by richard louv. it is a well written book about how children need free play in nature.

i also got a much needed hair cut. so many things have happened over the last month.. eliots birthday, my birthday, fall coming and going... so much. i am going to try to get back into the routine of blogging again, keep bugging me if i slack : ).

look a likes

this made me laugh pretty hard especially since all of my celeb look a a likes are dudes. do i really bear a resemblance to dan akroid?? it said kevin looked like carl sagen and hugh heffner heehee.

cars and trucks

a grainy little portrait for today. i took this prior to his new haircut. im good at getting the back right but i still cant quite get the bangs to cooperate. i ended up to short again so he looks like a little friar.

eliot doesnt latch onto the stuffed animals as much as he used to anymore. he has moved onto trucks and cars pretty much full time. yesterday he took everything he owned with wheels and lined them all up on his bookcase. he kept exclaiming 'look a mall!" translation-look at them all! i now have to nurse jeeps and trains instead of cuddly lions and bears.

i tried my first recipe from the bread book i bought. i made crackers. they came out nicely although i could have rolled them thinner and cooked them a tad longer. armed with that knowledge the next batch will be spectacular. i want to get some interesting spices and maybe try them with whole wheat or a mix of other flours. i ordered a kitchen aid mixer, i cant wait for it to come! i have been having a good time in the kitchen lately and i keep thinking that someday when i have more than 3 feet of counter space and a stove that functions properly i will be able to put together some good dinner parties.

the fair

there are two big fairs going on in maine this weekend, the cumberland fair and the common ground fair. they both are quite different although i think ultimately have the same goals in mind. at the cumberland fair you will find tractor pulls, 4h clubs and fried dough. at the common ground fair you will find drum circles, composting toilets and and amazing array of information about sustainable and organic farming. we chose the cumberland fair this year because of its close proximity to town and i like how accessible the animals are there. i grew up in cumberland too so it is a little bit sentimental for me. i do wish we could make it to both.

many beautiful cows, sheep, goats you name it. eliot was particularly enamored with the angora rabbits and, of course, the tractors. by the time we were ready to leave the tractor area was wall to wall with little toddling boys, they are boy magnets.

the draft horses are so gigantic. despite their size they seem much more mellow than the smaller varieties. watching them work is really impressive. we also saw the canadian mounted police line up for their demonstration with at least 30 riders in full gear.

kevin has a way with pigs. they were all taking a nap until he went in and started oinking. this one was very curious.
and the chickens. the varieties are endless and all fascinating. i just love being around all of these animals it really makes me happy. i think im in the wrong profession! i should have been a farmer. if i can think of a way to be a farmer in portland i will gladly share it here.

with a bang

i was going to title this post 'poop' but i decided against it since i have been away for a while. i will go into that in a moment. i have had a nice hiatus from doing anything majorly electronic outside of work. unfortunately, we haven't been on a honeymoon..i would like to report about palm trees and long naps but it has pretty much been wedding recovery/same ol.

i think i will do a recap in a bulleted list of lots of topics i have been thinking about blogging but haven't so i can clear my mind:

• eliot pooped on the potty for the first time today! he sat on it to pee yesterday twice and seems to be pretty open to suggestion about it. im sure that will be an ongoing post subject.
• watching the giant cruise ships go in and out of the harbor.
• finished animal vegetable mineral and loved every sentence of it. i have since bought 3 more books about various whole food endeavors including home cheese making, bread making and preserving food.
• the weather and cooking has changed. lots of soups (butternut squash was a hit), porridge and apple based deserts.
  
• speaking of the weather it's COLD out! first frost last night inland and somewhere in the neighborhood of the low 60's all day today. I've pulled out the scarfs at least.
  
• and more weather related news my dad, who lives in houston, is still without power and safe drinking water! he is camping in his house, not much fun.
• doing a lot of dreaming about farms or houses with enough land for a garden and maybe a chicken coop.
• going to the cumberland fair this sunday.
• married life is good : )
• i am up to letter F on my quilt... the baby was born so i need to hurry up!
  
• glasses...that has been ongoing too. i received my new pair of long range glasses, had them tweak them and they broke at the dr's office.. at least that wasn't my fault. then.. they got another pair and broke them too
  
• im sure i am missing something...but, whatever it is im sure it will be fodder for another post.
  

the dress

this is about the best picture showing the dress that i have so far. tea length with the puffy skirt peeping out the bottom. there is a bow on the back that you cant see here. i had my hair in braids tied up on the sides with big clips. it stood up nicely while running around after kids and eating a lobster dinner.

one cute story i havent told yet.. my little 2nd cousin zach, who is eight, was looking for a job to do at the wedding. he was trying to decide if he should be the game coordinator or the ring barrier. my cousin asked him what he felt the responsibilities of a ring barrier might be and he replied 'well, i guess i'll have to bury some rings'. very sweet.

i sucked it up and bought some glasses yesterday. my first pair of prescription sunglasses will be arriving in about a week along with the new regular pair. i havent yet been able to stomach clip ons or bifocals.

my creative energy is coming back now, too. i think im going to improve the sidebar with my creative to do lists and things i want to learn so that if anyone wanders by and has any thoughts they can add them. im also up to the letter E in my quilt.. ill post about that soon too.

honeymoon red

hello! it has been a while but i am starting to come up for air. it is about 8pm and i dont have anything to do! i didnt realize how high my stress level had gotten until now. but, it was all worth it as the day ended up being beautiful and it all went off without a hitch. a few hair raising moments pre-wedding:

-tent guy going out of business and not telling us
-newish glasses first broken, then glue-gunned together, then falling to the bottom of the local duck pond
-trying on my dress and ripping the zipper-then fixing it

all of these moments that at the time seemed major and now seem very minor all lead up to a great event. i learned a lot about rolling with the punches and letting go of vanity. no one noticed that i was wearing my other pair of broken glasses epoxied together : ) i dare say i will NEVER go back to lenscrafters after having several lousy customer services experiences there.. but that is another story...

there are so many people that worked together to make this wedding happen smoothly i cant express my gratitude enough. the music, readings and decorations were just perfect for us. i dont have my camera back yet to get the pictures downloaded but soon i will share those! i only wish there could have been more time (and energy) left in the day, i feel like i didnt get to spend enough time with each person there. i know they understand, but that would be the one part i would change if i could.

i think i am going to take advantage of this quiet and clean (thank you hubby) house to read and go to bed early. btw i am reading Animal Vegetable Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver and i love it. highly recommended.

the circus

wedding planning has gone into hectic mode. both kevin and i are suffering from varying forms of anxiety manifesting as sleeplessness and digestive distress. it is mostly details at this point but im surprised at how many details have accumulated. i have become a list making crazy person re writing the same lists in different ways over and over.

we had one set back so far. the tent person we had rented through went out of business and didnt tell us! it was a little fishy when my deposit came back return to sender and his phone number was disconnected. so.. instead of a classic white tent we are going to have a rather circus looking yellow and white stripped tent that we have to set up ourselves. probably more fitting, really.

we are nearly done with the ceremony planning.. that will be the next big deal. after that.. well more details! the dress is done btw, although it needs an ironing big time.

eliot has been sleeping wonderfully lately and is talking up a storm. he really processes what he sees verbally now and it is fantastic to watch and hear. he likes to talk about how everything/one is walking especially. absolutely everything is walking, constantly. very sweet. he made an imaginary ice cream cone out of a ball and a block today. i dont know who has been giving him ice cream cones but he was pretty into pretend eating. i will have to try and make some pretend food for him once the wedding is done and i have my sanity back.

and.. seems ive been taking an unusually large amount of mushroom pictures and not a lot of kid pictures. so, here are some more fungi for your viewing pleasure.

catching up

we are in wind up mode for the wedding planning. The rsvp's are rolling and and the planning is happening at a rapid pace. not much time for blogging just yet im afraid.

some catch up pictures ...

we went to a wedding 2 weeks ago in harpswell. it was a beautiful day and location.

today we went to the audubon park/rec center and saw a big gaggle of turkeys with babies, several ground hogs, chipmunks and many birds.

working on the alphabet quilt...


and another dress sneak peek..


we have had SO much rain here the past week. i think seasonal affective dissorder has started to kick in. its tiering. but, it yields beautiful mushrooms when it clears. on our walk today i took lots of mushroom pictures. (pam, you should go and see these, they are amazing and so many varieties!).

i will post more of these in the days ahead.

a little thrift store shopping too.. a little stand that is good for holding desk clutter.