Earthy Crunchy

corner view :: favorite dish

See Jane at Spain Daily for links to more favorite dishes!

swan lake

The sound of water says what I think.  Chuang Tzu 

 
This time of year, I am reminded of the seasonal shift that's coming soon. The nights are cold, we wake up to frost on the ground and we can't leave the house without a coat.  I try to get out as much as possible this time of year to soak up all the sun and fresh air before the snow starts falling on the valley floor.  

Today, the boys wanted to go to Swan Lake.  If someone didn't tell you about this place, you wouldn't find it.  In order to get there, you pass through a slew of new homes and a group of warehouses.  The Native Americans wintered in this marsh for thousands of years.  It's a beautiful bird watching area and if you're lucky to see them, the Tundra swans winter here every three years or so when it's full of water. 

 
It's just a fun area to visit.  Especially in the summer, at sunset.  A boardwalk extends into the marsh giving you a really good view of everything around. Oh yum, it's so much fun to be in the middle of this marsh, with all of the cattails surrounding you. 

 
 
 
 

The end of the trail and the happy boys with their sticks..

the story of my camera and our weekend

I don't have a fancy or special camera.  I use a point-n-shoot camera that I bought this time last year to get the feel for working with digital.

My little camera has seen better days.  The playback button stopped working.  This has lead me to take pictures without being able to delete the rejects.  My dream was to get a new camera for Christmas.  And then I lost my camera a few weeks ago.  It's probably somewhere around here, I'm sure of it.  Luckily Amelia has the same exact camera.  She, so graciously, let me borrow hers for a while.

I then started thinking of how I wanted Christmas to go.  I want to be able to relax and cook and play with the kids.  I don't want to be trying to figure out how my new camera works on Christmas day.  I decided to buy a new point-n-shoot now and save up for a nice camera in the Spring when it's less hectic.  I think I can wait that long??  Ok, I'm not sure I can wait that long but I'll try. In the meantime my kids are having lots of fun with the video feature on my new camera..Lots of fun.  That's the story of my camera..The End.

We had a fun weekend together, and apart as a family.  Thank goodness soccer season is over!  Amelia and I had a "date" on Saturday.  We took a long walk together and then went to the bike store to order her new bike that we promised her for her birthday in October.  It was a hard for her to decide which bike she wanted!  I am so excited for her to get it in a few weeks.  Meanwhile, Jonathan took the boys and went for a hike by the river.

Jonathan also worked on the chicken house..Yeah!! 

 

We played lots of games.

The kids got their daily dose of Watership Down.

  
 

We went to a bowling birthday party on Sunday.  I'm vowing again this year to get to the bowling alley when the weather's rotten.  I say that every year!

Now, let Monday begin!  We have plans to do a lot of baking today!

quotable sunday

We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.  ~Kenji Miyazawa

knit one, breathe one

I'm working on a new hat.

 
I started on this one but didn't like the yarn I picked out.  It was a lavendar wool/silk combination.  Very soft.  But I wasn't in love with the colors.  So, I frogged it.

I'm glad I did because I love my new yarn.  I think I actually might be in love with it.

Browns, blues and greens.

 
This weekend, I will be knitting a lot.  It helps me relax.  Each stitch, I breathe a bit slower and deeper which is what I need just about now..If you are reading this, I hope you have a peaceful weekend full of whatever you like.  

my mouse

Solomon needed a place to keep his money.  He was stuffing his pound of change and his allowance money into a little tin box that would spill out all over town....in parking lots and stores and sidewalks.  This little mouse was made for Solomon but, I think I like him and want to make more.  I was dreaming last night about making more.  I definitely need to work more with zippers.

Solomon picked out the fabric.  He said it was his most favorite ever!  It's always fun taking him to the fabric store because he loves it so much.

Did you know that GardenMama is having a give-away?? 
  

cookies

There's one thing that's been challenging since becoming gluten-free.  I can't just pick up a recipe and a bag of flour and whip up something delicious.  Making baked goods gluten-free requires a combination of many different flours together.  Is it something about the the combination of textures, the way each flour acts when it's baked that make it necessary to combine flours?  I don't know.  I am still a gluten-free baking infant.

Yesterday, after getting all the ingredients together, I decided to jump in to baking.

Now, if I were to tell you about the ingredients, you would probably want one of these gluten-free cookies yourself.  Even if it wasn't a dietary requirement.

Here are gluten-free sugar cookies with yam/cream cheese frosting.

Sorghum, tapioca, potato, sweet rice and amaranth was the flour combination.  I couldn't find amaranth at the store so, I used coconut flour I had in my pantry instead.  Of course, we had to add xanthan gum to imitate that protein found in wheat flour that makes it so pliable and chewy when baked.  What do you think? Sounds good, right?

I am sorry to say that these cookies turned out very bad....Something like bisquits with whipped yams on top.  I know, it makes me sad.  But, I will try again because I NEED sugar cookies.  I don't know how I can go another holiday season without breaking out my cookie cutters to make this quintessential holiday treat.

Here I go, as my kids are playing with worms outside, back to the drawing board with my amaranth flour that I bought today.  I'm pretty determined! 

pumpkins and pirates and witches, oh my!!

A pumpkin, a pirate and a witch were halloweening around the neighborhood last night.  It was a beautifully warm night under the full moon. A certain pirate has been practicing what he would say when someone answered the door. Scurvy dog!...Landlubber!...Arggggg!!!  And then say "thank you" after that!  Alright Eli???  

Eli was happily in shock most of the time though.  How could it be that he could just go up to someone's door and get handed a fistful of candy??  This holiday is just as magical to a young child as any holiday that I can think of.

Amelia and Solomon are more into creating their costumes and orchestrating the candy swap at the end of the night.  It's a very technical operation, I assure you!

It came...We had so much fun with the costumes.  More fun than I can remember ever having before.  We cut our jack-o-lanterns with glee.  We felt the chilly and slimy pumpkin guts and baked their seeds until crunchy and perfect and salty.  We enjoyed. We ate...candy.  Not too much but just enough.  We slept...very well last night, astonishingly.  Now, can we move on to Thanksgiving?  Because I really love Thanksgiving......Happy November to you all!!

quotable sunday

 
Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night.  ~Steve Almond

orange

When I think of the color orange, I think of my blanket that I carried around and slept with as a child.  I still have it.  It's tattered and worn.  When I think about my blanket, I can still imagine the feel of the scratchy acrylic yarn that brought me comfort as I rubbed it over my cheeks.

When I think of the color orange, I think of an amazing summer sunset with every shade of orange and pink and red.  I remember, when I think of those sunsets, something my Dad used to say when he saw one.  "Red skies at night, sailor's delight."

When I think of the color orange, I think of Autumn.  I also think of cheetos and chinese lanterns and marigolds.  When I think of orange, I think of the 70's.

Here is some orange in my home.

 

p.s. I think I may be taking a break from corner view today!