spicy

Leaving Provincetown last weekend I spotted the Atlantic Spice Company as we drove on by.  I was disappointed

that I didn't know it was there, and felt sad as we kept driving. It took me about three minutes to work it all out in my head before I said out loud

"Would you please turn the car around?... I want to go back."

It made me think of a song I used to hear a LOT when the older kids were little. We watched many hours of Sesame Street, and I probably enjoyed it just as much as they did.

"Nearly missed a sunset,

nearly missed a rainbow,

nearly missed a shooting star going by..."

I resolved to myself some time ago, to make an effort to have fewer regrets if it were possible. I'm getting pretty good at "no photographic regrets" and now it pleases me to report that I did not nearly miss the Atlantic Spice Company driving on by.

 By the way, they are not paying me to promote their business.  I just really loved browsing through the aromatic aisles of the store.  I came home with a large bag of catnip, a bag of mulling spices and some chopped dried onion for next to nothing.

 I'm sure I could have filled a cart if left to wander longer... the prices were great and seeing gourmet spices and herbs in such large quantities made me strangely happy. I may not make it back to Truro soon, but you can bet I'll be visiting their online store.

I like life a little spicy.

the winter wood is still flying

the power of 100

Last week the kids celebrated the 100th day of school. I use the term celebrate loosely, as the only ones who really do any sort of celebrating are the kindergarten and first graders. Each student is asked to bring in a collection of 100 items (that will fit on a desk top) to use in various sorting and counting activities. Since this is my sixth child to be celebrating the 100th day of school in the first grade, I have officially sent in at least a dozen collections of 100 things over the span of my grade school mothering.  Some of the ones I remember are:

-bubblegum

-legos

-pennies

-straws

-stickers

-marshmallows

I was trying to help my first grader come up with something he would enjoy using on his 100th day. We went through a laundry list of possibilities, but nothing seemed to be the magic collection for him.  In desperation on the morning of the 100th day, I looked in the pantry and saw the large bag of paper cups.  My first instinct was to hoard them... knowing that 100 cups would never be used for drinking, if they went to school to be handled by first graders. Think of the waste! I then let go of my cheap practicality and thought of the possibilities for fun.

Let me just say:

the fun has gone WAY past the classroom.

This was the best purchase to value ratio I have made in a LONG time.

Who needs toys, computers, games or friends when you've got 100 paper cups?

Don't think I won't be considering boxes of cups come Christmas time.

 seriously.

who knew that 100 paper cups would keep the kids so occupied for so many hours?

DAYS.

After almost a week, I have resorted to HIDING the paper cups.  They got to be a distraction.  And a hazard.  And a mess, when they were left  on the floor in their

state of knock-down-ed-ness.

NEXT winter's wood just arrived.

 hooray for warmth!

most of the kids, when they came down the driveway from school yesterday weren't as happy as me to see that pile... 

to them, it means a few summer days of splitting and stacking.

I do hang on to things...

except money, I guess.
Thanks, and a shout-out to my sister, who's skill of getting rid of stuff turns into my skill of collecting stuff.
We have enough Halloween costumes to dress a full-on kindergarten parade.
If you could live on dress-ups when a disaster struck, we'd be keeping the whole neighborhood alive.
Minutes before Morning Boy left for school, he was still deciding what to wear.
Thankfully, the Dracula cape (re-purposed witch dress) I stayed up too late sewing ended up being his final pick.  (Altho' if I could have chosen, he would have gone as Chef Boy-ar-dee!)
Off to school they all went this morning.
With my piano money in their pockets...
Fee for cap and gown.
Fee for yearbook blurb.
Fees for yearbooks.
Speaking of yearbooks, Enrique is in the Senior section this year.
How'd that happen?
Seems like yesterday we were off picnic-ing in the woods, celebrating his three short weeks in our family.

So that brings me back to my propensity to keep things far longer than I should.

See that lovely striped shirt I'm wearing?

Yup.  You've seen it before.

she takes lunch seriously

I've never had chocolate chips in my sandwich before.

I might be part Pirate.

I will neither confirm nor deny that
I have more than 50 full-size candy bars in my possession.
Chocolate Treasure.
X does NOT mark the spot.
Aarrrgghh!!!

SEW fun!

BEHOLD:
(the fruits of my labors)

Recycled CapriSun juice drink pouces become a cute tote/purse.

I wish I could claim this idea as my own (I can't) but I can thank Bob* who made one of these for my own Sweet Mesquite for her birthday last year (or was it the year before?).  There are two more of these on the table waiting for handles.

The List!  (#14) And something fun to show for it.

Sure sign of Spring

Next winter's wood has arrived!

And we can see
patches of grass
in the yard.
Excellent.

One GOOD thing.

As per my commitment to MY LIST and more importantly to the 12-week 2010 Resolutionary Challenge,  I will divulge to you the hardest part of the RC list of things I try to accomplish each day:

#6.  Savor up to ONE small treat per day.

I am an addict to all things sweet and especially chocolate.  I have been known to hoarde treats in multiple top-secret hiding places in my home; I feel the need to be prepared for whatever life throws at me, and take refuge from the storm, so-to-speak.  We Resolutionaries are now in week seven, and I will tell you that if I have not scored all ten points on any given day, it's most likely due to the fact that I found chocolate in my mouth, and don't even know how it got there. 
And now this:

Aaahhh...
*sigh*
...you
precious
little
friend
of dark
chocolate
coconutty
bliss. 
I love you so.

Come join the discussion...

I'm posting over at Segullah today.

Quite possibly my new BFF:

The Swedish Princess found me making from-scratch brownies in the kitchen, and she gasped. (I know!) It was an exciting moment. She said it must have been at least three months since I'd made an actual home-made dessert (please). And then she said "usually it's just like go get some ice cream" (as if that were ever a problem). I found the inspiration for my need to bake here. Except, seriously, when I read the part of the recipe that said "Let stand overnight before cutting & serving " I did an about-face, and decided that part HAD to go. I guess that puts me in the instant gratification column, at least when it comes to chocolate. And desserts. And chocolate desserts. SO. I modified the recipe just a tad, and skipped a step (or two). And you have to know that I get a bit enthusiastic when it comes to my Dutch baking cocoa; so dark and rich. The recipe calls for 1/3 cup. Here's my version of that:

Yes. Make that a heaping 1/2 cup. For both the brownie part, and also the frosting part. There's no going back. (and if any of you know why, in my rush to capture the moment, my kitchen turns my pictures a yellow-ish hue, feel free to elaborate. The flash turns everything a shocking and stark white)

The recipe:

Cream together:

1/2 pound margerine (two sticks)

2 cups sugar

1/3 cup baking cocoa (read: 1/2 heaping cup)

add four eggs, beating well after each.

Mix in

1-1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

Spread on a greased jelly roll pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Cool. (until you can't stand the wait)

then FROST with this:

(cream:)

1 stick margerine

1/3 cup cocoa (please.)

5 cups powdered sugar

4-5 TBSP milk

dirty water

I'm running today~

Let's call it "classic conditioning."
Not because I'm turning into a fitness nut.
Not because I'm looking ahead to swimsuit season.
I'm running because the timer *BEEP*s every 15 minutes.
And when the timer beeps, I must run.
I'm starting to feel a bit like Pavlov's Dog.
Especially since I haven't been able to shower for a couple of days.
And with the heat topping out in the 90's, the timing's Oh, so ripe. I mean right. Yesterday, in the middle of hosting a slip-n-slide party for four and five year olds, the hose stopped working. It was abrupt. And a little disappointing.

The worst was yet to come:
The $3,500 price tag for a new pump, with all the latest accessories, at the bottom of our 580 foot well.

The mood on the homefront was not pleasant last night. But I was able to therapeutically bring the tension down a few notches by spending an hour at the sink washing the dishes in water that I heated on the stove. Especially after the ice storm that is still fresh in our minds, I believe VERY strongly in having an adequate water supply. And in storing water for emergencies. We do. So in that, and some time spent soaking my hands in the sudsy water, I have taken comfort.
Back to the timer. The well guys/pump guys instructed us that we must now flush any sediment out of our well before we can pump the water through the interior pipes. All water has been shut off to the house, and is now operating from a single house, snaked through the basement window from the shut-off valve in the basement. Fifteen minutes on, fifteen minutes off. Run to basement, turn valve on. Run to lawn to collect water sample. Run to basement, turn valve off. Run to lawn, check for sediment. We have to check the water for color and sediment each time. As you can see, the water looks more like a pitcher of lager. When there is no sediment and no color, we're good to go. He said it could take anywhere from three hours to three weeks. So far we know that it didn't take three hours. I love that dirty water. (Boston you're my home!)

And there goes the timer.

I'm running!

...and now, the REST of the story.

Three of the kids and I made an impromtu visit to see a friend.

She announced that we happened to stop by on the day that she was uncovering her potato pit. "Your what?" we wondered.

She took us to what looked like a large pile of mulch.

She explained that last fall, she purchased a few hundred pounds of potatoes at her local pharmacy (I know!) for a really great price and that her dad had helped her dig an eight foot hole in the ground, where they fashioned an amazing state of the art storage facility for the spuds. In the bottom of the hole there was a five-gallon bucket filled with water (apparently a great temperature moderation device). On top of the bucket, a very large trash can with a hole in the bottom (to allow access to the bucket). The bucket was covered with a lid big enough to keep the potatoes from falling through the hole. Under the mulch, there was a tarp covering a plywood lid, insulated with layers of foam board. We spent about 30 minutes pulling a few hundred pounds of spuds out of the bucket, and I was amazed at the preservation of the potatoes. When we opened the pit, it was like an air-conditioned chamber. Of the hundreds of potatoes, there were only three snotty ones.

After we pulled out buckets of potatoes, she sent us home with one.
In honor of the day's discovery, we had a potato bar for dinner.
Some of those pups were HUGE~!

I thought about all of the things you might be able to store in a pit like that.

winter sqash?

...apples?

...kids?

And there is your provident living tip for the day.

Do you have one of THESE?

I love mine. But I cannot figure out who is stealing the little metal segments.
Everytime I go to steam some new vegetable, one more piece of vegetable steaming armor is missing. I mean, if I was finding these little guys in the bottom of my dishwasher, I'd understand. The thing is, they just evaporate. I'm feeling like I need to add vegetable steamers to my food storage. I can no longer steam things without having a majority fall into the water. And pardon the wilty spinach leaves caught in the crevices... I clean AFTER I post!