7.31.2010

"you're running wild, it's true": going on hiatus

family portrait!
ugly dolls for megan
corn
peanut butter honey caramel corn

there's two recipes i had wanted to post before tonight, but i just didn't get around to it. with all the late afternoon trips to the lake and the visit to the farm yesterday and the morning at the farmers markets today and powering away on a project or two i just haven't had the time. but that's okay, because it coincides with something i've earmarked august for (as inspired by bliss in a tea cup's holiday): a break from the internet! oh yes! of course this means i'll still be available by email for communications (since i don't have my cell anymore and we don't have an answering machine). so if you need to get ahold of me email me at ohsweetie at gmail dot com. but non-essential internet things like ravelry forums and flickr groups and facebook statuses and twitter updates and bloglines reading are OUT for the month.

this is mainly so i can focus on a few big projects around here. and to make time-space for all the visitors august promises (yahoo!). when the month is done i promise full documentation. below is a short list of a few things to look forward to!

1. i'll be writing the final "chapter" / "epilogue" for my zine/thesis. my thesis is submitted and finished a lot different than i had hoped and wanted to wrap up my academic experience in this chapter to go at the end of the text. i'm also going to submit it to a book on academic young feminisms (ie. where's feminism now, where is it in the academy, etc). i've tentatively called this chapter, "the mistakes i didn't know i was making...or, a portrait of a feminist as a young academic...or, ???" still trying to think of something cute!

2. with the finishing of this chapter/epilogue also means that august will be the putting together of my zine, standing in the way of control. it'll be approximately 200 pages, hand bound with pull out sections, and possibly worksheets (like the riot grrrl crossword, i just have to find it). at the end of august i hope to have my master copy (it'll be a mix of what went to defense and my finished copy) and will take pre-orders for two weeks. they'll be 15$ (including shipping) and you'll be able to order them here through my blog. can't wait! so excited! after i print some (i'll make extras just in case) then i'll put a few in my etsy store. and maybe, just maybe, hunt for a zine distributor.

3. canning! i have a laundry list of things i want to can this month. chili sauce, salsa, cherries, and blackberry jam up the hizzy. (i'm going to buy 24 250mL jars to can blackberry jam. and that'll barely scratch the number of blackberries are growing across the street on PUBLIC property. i love living on the island!). canning takes quite a bit of my time since unless i get someone to watch seth i can only do after he goes to bed. maybe when some visitors are here i can wrangle them to hold the baby for a few hours while i can, but it's still hard to fit it in. if i can squeeze it, i'm doing more pickled carrots and canned peaches.

4. knitting! i am working on an anniversary gift for stewart and have an xmas gift for my aunt to knit and a wedding present for aaron/jordan to knit. so i must get on it.

5. a secret project i'm working on with laura. there won't be any disclosure about this at the end of the month, but it will consume my time.

well, that's it lovelies! i'll miss you lots!! and the first few days without my twitter feed are going to be ridiculously difficult, but the pay off will be so worth it. xo

7.26.2010

"if you're real and not pretend i guess you can hang with me"

trying to nut up to go into the water
deep and delicious birthday cake

today was one of those days...things are just so fucking awesome!! i have felt a cold coming on so i slept every single nap with seth until the afternoon when i ran out to get aaron a belated birthday deep and delicious (and put and icing penis on it, that's the way it is!). the we all went for dinner at the clam bucket (it was a wash, nice interior, overcrowded menu, expensive entree but only So-So). and then swimming at fucking cameron lake. i didn't plan to go swimming but it was so nice and so warm i stripped down to my skivvies/tank and jumped in. it was glorious and refreshing. i feel anew. then the boyz came over for cake. and we had a laugh fest. today basically reaffirmed to me that life is awesome.

and to top it off? NEW ROBYN SINGLE!! egads! i'm listening it to repeat on my itunes. just getting it ingrained into my brain. so beautiful. she's so killer. it just gets better and better. i'm happy the wait was worth it <3


Robyn - Hang With Me official video from Robyn on Vimeo.

7.24.2010

"wont you hold my hand...wont you understand"

pickled carrots
pickled carrots!!

PIZZA Fridays!
pizza!

peach jam!
peach jam!

the last few days have been super productive. i've only let one chore slide (cleaning the bathroom) and have gotten a hand on this canning thing. it still takes me more time than i anticipate but that'll come with time. tonight i was going to do strawberry jam but i have some craft projects i'd rather work on. off i go to hang out with little person and listen to the new wavves!!

7.22.2010

"tonight...give me something i can use"

yarn!!
i got this yarn in a mill-ends bag from walmart, who knows what it could've been, but it has wool fibers in it!! so i dyed it with koolaid! wahoo!

mole
rupert caught this mole (for us obviously) and hurt it's little arm. this is me and stewart banding together to save it.

tea party roses
i cut them from my mom's rose bush. she's going to transplant the bush to another part of the yard. love the colouring!

today was hands down super awesome. one of those days where it's not even over (movie and popcorn and crafting next!) and i just think, "fuck, my life is awesome". i just got off the phone with my sister and i so want to move to victoria. it would be so good.

7.21.2010

"hey girl in the strobing light, your mama never told ya"

YUM! breakfast!
putting up!
sunset!

well, despite stewart being a write off today for being sick (he did just make the best tuna melt i've ever had in my life, though!), and seth having a mini melt-down that broke my heart when he got his vaccinations (3 needles!!), and the two of us still having breastfeeding frustrations (PATIENCE!), today was a good day! yay!

i LOVE being able to buy groceries. having money to buy food that fills our bellies with goodness is good. and also being able to buy local groceries (it's not more expensive, just better) fills my heart with goodness. for lunch we had eggs and bacon and potatoes from the alberni valley! which i bought at only locally owned shops/businesses. so good. i did venture to extra foods (blah) to buy some canning equipment and happened upon BC blueberries (100 mile diet!) that were 1.50$/lb (!!) and i froze them and put them in bags. way cheaper than buying frozen blueberries!! i'm going to get another 2 lbs tomorrow. i wish i had a bigger freezer.

this week is a crafty/diy week for sure and it makes me feel so good! i love making things, i can never forget how much i love making things! i seem to have my groove back a little and have so many different things to make. like canning jam (strawberry jam! peach/apricot jam!) and canning carrots (pickled carrots! yum!). i've also got a handful of sewing projects to finish up and eden's knitted bday present to finish before i see her.

xo

7.19.2010

i have the riff from a sleigh bells song in my head

Happy Monday!

I'm so impressed with this teenager!

The article in the NY times is a good portrait of the self-imposed farmer life of a young woman. She wanted to grow food as a summer job and started a little buying club (CSA) and has turned part of her family's yard into an every producing garden. SO COOL. so fruitful. so wonderful! go youth! I look at her garden and I know she's feeding the neighbourhood but I wish I had a better garden. at least my tomatoes now have more than one flower! one year at a time me thinks!

in other news last week we received this letter from the federal government saying we weren't privy to a bunch of the sweet tax breaks canadians get for not having much income because last year stewart and i broke the 50K mark (just barely). so while i want to jump for joy at getting into the middle class (hahahaha) i totally wept because i thought it meant we weren't getting ANY of the sweet benefits! this year my income has gone from 34K down to 12K and we're getting by just fine, but the tri-monthly GST/carbon tax/HST credit would be nice. you know, to float us a bit. but i thought it meant we wouldn't get child tax credit. and lo and behold we do! YAY! so the first thing i did with our child tax credit was buy yarn! i haven't bought yarn since April (when i spent $20 on the patons to make my stripey cardigan) and then not since the holidays. the rest has already disappeared to groceries and gas to fill our tank for the month as well as face wash (i've been using bar soap for months) and some canning supplies so i can make jam. anyway, i got the yarn from KnittyDirtyGirl, who you should shop from right now.

seth is 9 weeks today which means that it's time to get his vaccination. we're going to hopefully do it tomorrow or wednesday. which means we'll need lots of sleep just in case things go awry and he's super sad. in the meantime we're going to watch hot tub time machine and eat really expensive ice cream. YAY! xo

7.17.2010

"back in suburbia kids get high and make out on the train"

roses just ouside our door

blueberries from outside my door

one handed typing is my new specialty. i'm a pro qwerty typist so doing one hand is hard, so much of it is muscle memory for me that the one hand means i miss a lot of keystrokes that i'd normally get. today is one of those days where seth does not want to sleep because he needs to poo a lot. it's super annoying because i really want to knit, but he just wants to cry through his naps, eat a shit tonne off schedule so my boobs are all outta whack, and then giggle for hours instead of sleep. arg!

summer's in full swing and i should probably go outside and go for a walk. but it's still really hot out, despite the breeze. blah i feel boring right now. will go watch united states of tara season 1 and get in a few rows before seth realizes his bouncy chair is also boring. xo

7.16.2010

chipotle mushroom pizza with chorizo and fresh herbs

chipotle mushroom pizza with chorizo and fresh herbs

chipotle mushroom pizza with chorizo and fresh herbs

inspired by animal, vegetable, miracle, friday night is now homemade pizza night around here. i use the dough recipe from the original moosewood cookbook (which i won't reprint here because i don't alter it at all, and you should really get the cookbook from the library and copy this one down.. support your libraire!!) and use tomato sauce from a can (not fancy) because some pizza god on the food network ages ago said just use plain tomato sauce..everything else'll overpower the pizza's flavour. i also am using store bought mozza still. it's my goal by xmas to have mozza down pat and make it every month and freeze it for the month's pizza nights. AND i don't use much cheese because i like to keep it economical and less greasy at the same time.

- preheat oven to 400F. if you have a pizza stone then make sure it warms up in the oven. once it's warm, pull it out and build your pizza on the stone rather than the counter, easier than transferring a heavy pie to the stone.

- gather the following ingredients:
pizza crust of your making (or buying) that fits your stone or baking sheet
200grams of mozza, grated
3/4 cup of tomato sauce
1 tbsp chipotle puree
2 tbsp ribbon'd fresh basil
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
150grams chorizo sausage, sliced thin
1/2 yellow pepper, sliced thin
3 large mushrooms, sliced thin
3/4 cup diced red onion

- spread tomato sauce and chipotle puree on pizza dough.

-layer toppings as you like or in this order: chorizo, mushrooms, peppers, onions, basil/parsley, and then top with cheese.

-bake in oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is browned.

DEVOUR THE YUMMINESS!!!

7.10.2010

"and when you get home you can tie me to the murphy bed"

mmm bran muffins

for some reason today i didn't take any pictures and the one above is my last ditch effort to get a photo in for the day. and i wish i had documented today because today was so great! so awesome! so phenomenal! i woke up with seth at 7:30am and we slowly lingered up, i had coffee, and then we mosey'd to the farmer's market. and it was in full swing and it was only just after 9am! we got our hands on $20 worth of local veggies (including daikon and oak leaf lettuce and beets!) and a small snack from the wonderful japanese woman who makes the best baked goods (i'm addicted to the salted fig and walnut bun)!! then we woke stew up and went to nanaimo to hit up costco and fabricland (finally) where i picked up some heavy duty cotton fabric to make another sling for seth. i'll have left over fabric and will probably make a pillow or something. we'll see. it's pretty and pink! and reminds me of a east-coast boating extravaganza!! then we went to chapters where they were having a sweet sale and i got bridget jones 2 for stewart and another book for my aunt for xmas (we do a family xchange and i got her this year. just have to knit one thing and her xmas gift is DONE!!). stewart got two skate/surf magazines, one called JUICE that we've never seen (nuts) that is really rad.

well, my muffins are almost done so i should pull them out. i've been loving the bran muffins lately. tomorrow is sunday night supper club! i still haven't finished my book, i just extended the due date. and now i'm going to knit for a half an hour or so and then SLEEEEEEP. tomorrow is stewart's last day before he goes back to work so i must be rested for the shenanigans.

7.09.2010

"moats and boats and waterfalls"

yam, garlic, and mushroom pizza

j-mac and helvetica!

the past few days my bff jesse was down with her mum from terrace. we went to the beach, ate yummy food (last night we had tahini chicken skewers, tzatziki, and roasted veggies on the bbq), devoured almost a whole box of popsciles, knit, watched movies, and just caught up. it was just so good. good times.

today seth, stewart, and i spent our time getting back into our previous-to-visitors routine. which is a lot of doing nothing. seth and stewart napped/slept until after 12:30pm, i got to read more of my book (coop) that's due at the library tomorrow (i'll marathon read it tonight after we put seth down), and make a yummy pizza for dinner. i'm always surprised at how easy it is to make a pizza, and how you can just clean your fridge out of ingredients. i've been using the crust recipe from the original moosewood and using both a local red-wheat organic flour and reg ol' unbleached. i'm hankering to get into a routine that includes an early morning walk and tomorrow seth and i'll go to the farmer's market for the first time! xo

7.08.2010

"we'll both be sorry let's take it easy"

tomatoes!

potatoes in hay!

avoiding his nap!

between 3pm and 6pm it was 35degrees outside! no wonder my little man refused to have his afternoon nap. that means that he really only had one 2.5 hour nap today. and slept in small chunks this afternoon. it was super annoying/frustrating as the afternoon wore on because seth just was so cranky and hot and wouldn't sleep when he normally would. it was a lot of work. we did his bath an hour early, though, and he passed out pretty much immediately. and he hasn't woken up. success.

in other news our garden is doing well. the potatoes are growing at such incredible speeds. i really look forward to all the potatoes we're supposed to reap. and more of my tomato plants are sticking it to the ground. well, stewart rented slammin' salmon and i'm gonna have a donut and knit. xo

7.03.2010

i wanna do bad things to you

sunday night supper club 1: pineapple cake

sunday night supper club 1: garlic toast, carrot souffle, and quinoa salad



tonight we had sunday night supper club. inspired by a handful of recent articles in the new york times about sharing meals, the general consensus in the back-to-the-land books i've been reading about "building community", and when nick said, "i always find people who love to eat and play board games", i figured, why not do it? i LOVE cooking for people, i love cooking, and i love trying new things. unfortunately the excitement was a little too much for seth and he had his first bonafied melt down after our guests left and his wonderful bath. stewart wrapped him up in his swaddle (arms out, man style) and he just let into a wail! it definitely caught us off guard because it was the first time he's ever balls to the wall let his emotions have at it. after trying a number of things (bottle, boob, naked, new clothes, rubbing his back, burping, etc) i picked him up and we walked out of the bedroom and into the hallway and he stopped crying. incredible. he settled down and then went to bed about 10 minutes later, immediately into a deep sleep. someone was definitely a little overwhelmed and overtired. but, good on us! tomorrow is the 7 week mark and it's the first crying fit where we were just stunned by the decibel and emotion!

anyway, tonight i made a souffle. my first ever. a carrot and cheese souffle. it was delicious, but i thought it was an epic fail! but on the martha stewart video she says, "well it's not really a souffle, it's more of a pudding" and mine was the same consistency! yay! it was so mushy but delicious on toasted garlic bread. i'm interested in trying to make a souffle again. i'll just probably make one out of my company's coming bridal edition book first. that's the true house-wife recipes.

i also made a quinoa salad and this cake. the cake ended up falling because i put too much pineapple. but it was super dense. so, if you don't like dense cake then reduce the amount of pineapple to 8oz (230ml) AND make sure you squeeze as much liquid out of it as possible (which i was lazy at). i made an icing with earth balance, rice milk, icing sugar, and the juice and zest from 1/2 a lemon. use your favourite icing recipe is what i'm saying. and then i topped it with chopped up candied ginger. and kim brought ice cream. another big box of ice cream in my freezer. maybe i should make an ice cream cake.

adapted from Pineapple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 (14 oz.) can crushed pineapple, well drained
  • 2-3/4 cups flour
  • 1-1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 3-1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup rice milk
  • 1/2 cup olive oil oil
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 4 eggs
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. butter two round cake pans.
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 1 cup rice milk, olive oil, vanilla, and eggs; beat until combined, add pineapple then beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.
Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and cake pulls away from sides of pan. Cool completely on wire rack. ice the centre and on top of the two rounds, top with chopped candied ginger, and eat with ice cream.

7.02.2010

"there is no need to say another word, we'll be golden and eternal just like that"




i'm at the point where i'm so tired i can't really remember my day week well enough to recap it, let alone my day. i blame my rapid-fire consumption of so much TV on DVD over the past 6 weeks. i mean, 5 seasons of house, 1 season of true blood, and about 20 minutes away from finishing the last season of gilmore girls. that's about a season a week (we're nearing the end of week 7 round here). and i have true blood season 2 here sitting on top of the tv, waiting to be watched and returned to the video store on thursday. a whole week and not many episodes. it can be done.

at this moment stewart is trolling the "port alberni" groups on FB and just said i should join the hot moms of port alberni group, "you'd be the 37th member!". and i just tried to find the group and couldn't. i ask myself this question often, but now it seems all the more serious: is my husband on crack?

it's growing season around here and i'm happy to report i harvested 2 cups of basil leaves and made a yummy vegan pesto (2 cups fresh basil, 1 cup walnuts, 1/2 head of garlic cloves in mini-food processor. process with oil until runs smooth but thick.) which we had with spaghetti, and local yellow beans and beet greens. YUM. i put soy sauce and cock/rooster sauce on mine. it inspired me to continue to have lovely people over for dinner so i think i will start to institute a bi-weekly sunday supper club. this week: carrot souffle! quinoa/cucumber salad! and pineapple cake! YUMMERS.

okay, off to finish this gilmore girls episode and knit! yay alone time!