the summer that barely was....

How is it August? How is it that I didn't post at all the whole summer? I shall lay the blame on making the most of every moment when the truth is, I had a good amount of blissfull down time along with bursts of wild action. B has proven to be an amazing road tripper at this stage of the game. She made the drive to Massechuesette and back and her very first camping festival like a seasoned veteran. This season has also brought us to the point where we set the "date" for our westward move. My dad's 70th bday and realizing that at some point, B will enter school have prompted us to get that dusty "to do" list out and crossing off projects. Car loads of boxes have already been driven to the thrift store. I am embarressed by the shear volume of crap we possess. Maybe it says something about how well I take care of stuff cuz I have loads of clothes I've owned for 10 years that are still totally wearable, but seriously, why do I want to keep it? On any given day, you will probably see a glop of drywall compound in my hair or paint under my fingernails. The idea of sellling the house freaks me out to no end. Its not the fear of leaving this home that we love.... its the dread of housing market crashes, realtors, and making that basement suitable for people to enter it. But I over power that dread with dreams of a barn home near the beaches of Washington..... taking B to my parents' house to play in the pasture..... watching my brother help Rob shop for just the right starter boat.... and raising B in a community of friends with kids the same age. I try to reign it in sometimes because realizing how far away our move date is sometimes brings down that curtain of blue around my heart. I have no doubt that when that day comes, I will be able to look at this post and laugh at myself since time flies way too fast now a days. So, to make up for the lack of summer posts... here are some of the highlights.

~girls and skirts

Its funny how you can dream and hope for something for so many years.... and then not even realize that dream came true when it is right in front of you. I have been sewing clothes for little ones for as long as I can remember. When I was living in Seattle and selling my patchwork goodies, I would try to imagine what my future child would look like and if they would love to play in patchy skirts and pants as much as I hoped. I even held onto a couple pieces of work over the years as I loved it so much I had to see my own child in it. So color me surprised when I started crying after I slipped a little patchwork skirt over B's bare bum(her pink bum wanted air but I wanted her decent enough to play on the front porch in front of the neighbors). There before me was my daughter running and playing in this sweet little hippie skirt. It took all of 10 minutes to make. But it fulfilled about 10 years of day dreams and hopes. When I went to share that with Rob, I was caught off guard by the tears that started flowing again. So while I'm still on this crest of creativity, I'm jumping on the band wagon of bloggers who are working on making something new everyday http://www.elsiemarley.com/kids-clothes-week-challenge-buttons-rules-and-players.html
I've also been pulling out old unfinished goodies to complete too. One of the things I detest in life is hemming things. I don't know why, but when I get to the end of a project, the last thing I want to do is hem it up. Which results in lots of things left on the "almost done" hanger and never touched again. So this weekend I am digging through the boxes, tubs, and closets for long forgotten goodies. The above skirt was day 1. The skirt below was day 2.

Rhubarb comin' out the ears

I love rhubarb. Lovvvvvves it. But seriously, the plant in my yard is just plain out of control. I spend a good portion of my summer wrestling prehistoric looking stalks out of it as it takes over my lawn. So, this is the summer of rhubarb recipes. First attempt was rhubarb sorbet. My first icecream maker adventure was a bit too rich, chocolate mint chip. The heavy cream was just overwhelming. So I was excited to try a fat free recipe. I would have used all agave nectar but lord almighty, that stuff isn't cheap and I prefer to use it for my daily coffee and tea and cereal so it lasts longer. Instead, I used up the last of last summer's lavender sugar and then the rest was raw sugar.
So first I chopped the monster stalks up in one inch sections. The recipe called for 1 lb. Well I'd chopped a lil more than a lb so we went with that. Next, tossed all that in a sauce pan with 1 tsp of sugar and 2 tsp of water. Turned the heat up to medium and put a lid on it. While this was stewing, I measured up the sugar for the simple syrup. Like I said before, I used a combo of lavender sugar I made last summer and some raw sugar. Next time I would go for more Lavender.... probably just toss some blossoms in with the rhubarb while it simmers away.
Next, the rhubarb is all nice and mushy and bubbly. Turn off the heat and pour it into the food processer. Blend until smooth... Now, take the 1 cup of sugar you measured and dissolve this into 2 cups of hot water. The recipe said to simmer on the stove but I think nuking the water and adding the sugar after was just fine and didn't mess up another pot.

Okay, pour the rhubarb smoothie into the syrup and pop it all into the fridge to cool off. Once properly chilled, put into the pre froze icecream maker and let it work its magic til it looks like soft sherbet. Pour into a container and stick in the freezer til it is more firm. Enjoy! Its tart & wonderful. Loads of room for experimenting.

~the smell of oil, sweat & ideas

I've neglected an old friend for far too long. It happens to the best of us. We get so wrapped up in our day to day "have to" list and forget to take a few moments and sit down with a loved one and catch up. She's been my sidekick for as long as I can remember. She's listened to me cry, scream, and daydream. She believed in me when others called me crazy. She helped me do the impossible at times. And when the coin purse was rather light, she pulled through to help me make ends meet. During those years where I never thought I would be a mommy, she didn't judge me for secretly making little tiny sundresses and pants which I stashed away, afraid people would see and pity me. We used to stay up way too late in highschool working on projects until my mom would eventually come down and tell me to go to bed. So I am determined to be a better friend. I need to find a place for her in my day to day again. Luckily she isn't one for holding grudges. We just pick up where we left off.

~falling in love and other risky behaviors

I was watching a documentary last night called Second Skin. It was about the online gaming communities. One of the story lines followed a couple that met through a game and fell in love over the computer. They eventually made the big move and he transplanted himself across the country to be with her. I wasn't able to finish the movie, but where I left it, you could see that the rose colored glasses were off and things were falling apart for them. It all got me thinking about how incredibly blessed and lucky Rob and I were. Seeing the interviews from before they met face to face was hilarious and so mirrored what we experienced. Giddy, full of hope, and totally scared to death but willing to take that leap. I am still amazed at the level of support my family showed when I made the big "i met someone online and I think I'm in love" confession. To this day I can't imagine the conversation mom and dad must have had that night. But it wasn't like it was my first venture into meeting people online. Not like I'd dated many folks from the magic toaster, but I'd had enough online exchanges and witnessed enough train wreck relationships to know better. I was cautious enough to know what was real and what was fantasy. Waiting for that first visit was gloriously scary. The odd thing is, the only thing my friends kept worrying over was what if he smelled bad. A thought I had never contemplated, the idea of a guy with really bad BO terrified my friends. Not "what if he's a woman? or a junky? or married? or mean?" To this day, I am still blown away that our leap of faith was met with so many blessings. With the success of so many Eharmony couples, admitting you met online is a little less freakish now a days. You still get that raised eyebrow "oh reallllly?" look, but fewer people think of you as some desperate kitten poster hanging freak show. On our honeymoon, we visited a friend of mine that I knew from the Kynd Crafter circle. She had recently fallen in love online but was embarrassed to admit it. I laugh when I think that she was embarrassed to admit to me that she had met her soul mate at the same silly site I had. In our circle of friends, I can name several very successful marriages that came about from a similar leap of faith. I wonder, what will B think of her parents' love story some day? Will it be so common place that she doesn't blink an eye? So I'd like to take this moment to thank my folks for being so kind as to keep their fears and doubts to themselves when I poured my heart out. I'd like to thank my dear friend Jessica for enduring a year of me dating him long distance and being a giddy school girl when our friendship was built upon our independent spirits and being survivors. I don't know what I would have done without gin therapy nights at the monkey pub and making weird eye Willy our whipping boy or our Snow Goose nights with Cheryl and Lisa singing Fat Bottom Girls. I'd like to thank the moms that I nannied for during that time of change for their support and understanding and embracing of Rob made me feel even safer in my decision to leave the work I loved to start from scratch. The years prior to Rob were some of the greatest in my life and I would never trade a single one of them for anything. After college, I felt beat down and unsure who I was anymore. Those years in Seattle allowed me to regroup and feel good about who I was once again. I knew what I wanted and what I was not willing to take. I have no doubt that if I didn't have that foundation already laid out, the leap into Rob's arms would have been much much bumpier.

~emotional tide books would be nice

I never had my own little guide telling me when the tide would be at its highest or lowest in the days when I lived on the Island. I just sort of went with it and no matter how it ended up, I just enjoyed how it was. But I was thankful for those who did have the handy little pocket book that helped us better plan whether we would be rolling up our pants and walking in the muddy sand looking for treasures or if we would be sitting on the driftwood wondering if we had seen it come that high up on the shore before. The last few days have seemed like the emotional tides have been pulling back and forth more drastically than they have in a long time. We went from joy to tears to joy at light speed last night. And today, we had such an incredibly lovely family time running around. The rummage sales were all wiped out(still think its unfair to start a garage sale on Friday.... why should stay at homes, retirees, and service industry folks have all the luck??) and the rain was coming in quickly, but we laughed and smiled, drank our coffee and listened to B tell us her opinion on everything. Then Amanda called to clue us in that there was an Earth Day parade downtown. So we finished our thrift store shopping(score of the day was a little wooden ironing board for miss B. I promise, I'll stop buying such gender restricting toys one day..... for now its all too sweet) and headed down to the Urban Frog and joined A&E for a funky little rainy parade. Then on to the White Dog for lunch and goodbye hugs with Dane. It was a day of smiles, friends, and treasures. So color me surprised when B woke up from her nap shrieking... well, and she wasn't even awake. That helpless mournful cry is enough to break any one's heart. On top of that, Rob had to head off to work and I think I was pissed that we're still in a place where he has to work weekend nights and we rarely if ever have a full day to be together. So after that amazing morning of fun, I'm crashing a bit and teary. Thankfully, I can embrace even the lows as I know they don't last forever and that we'll be dancing again before you know it. I have faith that B will be planting her cautious love filled kisses on the cats' heads before the night is over...... that Rob will bring smiles to my eyes again before I close my eyes for the night...... that every little thing is gonna be alright. So the question is.... would I really want a tide book to give me a heads up that a low tide might be ahead or do I just do what I've always done..... headed to the shore and learned to love whatever I found?

~ergolicious

I have to say, Sara from http://walkslowlylivewildly.com/ should be my personal buyer. Little does this woman realize that I seem to purchase or want to purchase everything she gushes over. But the way I see it, she has to be frugal with what she buys and she researches her stuff thoroughly. With limited space, she is bound to get something that will last, was made by a company with good business practises, and its practical. That said, I had been intrigued by her Ergo baby carrier. Like many of my friends, she believes in attachment parenting and having a good carrier that is versatile and durable is a priority. I have played around with different slings and carriers over the years. In my nanny days, I pretty much only had the sling. A lot of moms will sing the praises of these, but I was never EVER able to wear one for a long period of time and be comfortable. Then we got one of those structured Bjorn'like ones from the toy store when B was a bright new lil thing.

But as she got bigger, she just sort of seemed like a little stuffed sausage in there dangling out in front of us. So with the arrival of Easter bunny money, I got Rob on board and we ordered a not totally new Ergo from http://www.myfavoritebabycarrier.com/used.html . For those of you that need a bargain, you can get around $15 off the price. And when it arrived, I could have just sung from the rooftops. This thing ROCKS! I had some fears that B would not completely take to the whole carrier thing. Since I couldn't find a carrier I liked, and she was almost a year old, and a very independent little boog, I feared she would push and fuss to be put down the whole time. She seemed perplexed the first time. But once we were out and about, she was definitely into being up high and seeing the world from our level. Her only issue is that she likes to see what's coming and in this, she has to pull at my arm to turn and let her see where we are going.
We were at the new and improved dog park that day. I think she was watching her Libby wrastling with some other big dogs. The other thing I adore about this is that because she is directly against me, she gets all snuggly and will rest her face on my back and give the heaviest sweetest sighs and hums to me. Nothing feels better. So, with that said, I know I'm preaching to the choir as Rob and I are probably the only people who read this blog, but thank you God for the woman who designed these lovely carriers! And as a side note, how sexy does my mister look as a bald man??