Sunday Happy

December my friends. No way around it. But I am excited because I love Christmas time with all the fun christmasy things that we can do in next few weeks (there is an A Frame gingerbread village planned !). Also it’s birthday season so I have already made one cake and stuck it in the freezer and only have like 10 more to make. And then there is snow, and lights, and trees… How can you not like December? Plus cookies. Need to start making cookies because what is December with cookies?

The week was good. After spending all of Sunday cleaning and putting up the Christmas lights, things went as usual with the ways of world. Tuesday Barb and I had lunch and went for a hike, just us girls, to take in nature and talk life things. She hugged trees while I deposited my knowledge that comes with my old age. HA. Later that day, Emma (the mr’s sister), came over to catch up on life and teach the mr how to embroider. She was a great teacher and , I must say, the mr did a really good job being a learner. Although I was not surprised because he picks up everything so fast.

Then Thanksgiving eve. The mr gone for the day, me hanging hanging at home taking phone calls and going through the stack of papers that has been mocking me for the past few weeks. On his way home he picked up Miley so she could sleep over. We made a spaghetti dinner, she watched Nailed It Holidays and I walked her through making cinnamon star bread. The little lady kneaded, rolled, and shaped the whole thing pretty much all by herself. It was for sure a proud aunt moment for me. And then we watched Juno (I hadn’t seen that movies in forever. I forgot how good it was) and I passed out. Bed for me and the mr. Miley, well I am not sure what time she actually went to bed. We let her stay up and watch whatever.

Thanksgiving day I woke up, cooked the star (Miley finished it by making and drizzling the glaze) and we just hung out until Erin and the other two littles showed up. We fed them, played them, and off they went to the Grandparents. The rest of the day was just me and the mr. We went for a nice, if not blustery cold, hike, then just putzed around the house. I read, he hung a new light fixture, then we made dinner. Being thanksgiving and all he felt the need to grill some turkey breasts and if you really want know how that went you can ask him. Me, I ate a humongous bowl of veggies and lentils and hand fulls of spinach. After an after dinner walk we crawled into bed and tried to watch a movie, but I passed (again) out and that was that.

Then the rest of the weekend has been pretty slow. Basically just hanging around the house doing little chores and some little projects. Mellow. And it has been pretty nice.

I am really excited for today. We are going to the Green Mountain Nation Forest to find us our Christmas tree!!!! My most favorite part of Christmas . And so we will head out late morning with our lunches packed, our snow pants tossed into the truck, the saw nice and sharpe, and head out into the mountains.And better yet, tt is suppose to snow later today and I am so very much hopping that we get a nice, (safe) amount of snow on our hike and tree cutting adventure. That would just be the best. YAY!

Internet links from the week, if you want to know what I know now.

-I didn't know this about thanksgiving. And now I do. Why We Celebrate Thanksgiving On The 4th Thursday Of November

-Uh Duh, I could have told you this. Want to live longer? Surround yourself with plants

-A Brief History of Word Art, the Decor Everyone Loves to Hate. And I really REALLY hate it.

-I have been known to sit in front of the oven and watch the bread bake. Super satisfying. Here's 36 Blissful Seconds of Bread Rising in the Oven

-Photos of How Families Eat In The Arctic. And that is why I don’t live there, it’s a lot of meat.

-This makes me happy to look at. A Multicolored Library of the World’s Ochre Pigments 

-Here's To Grown-Up Siblings And The Ties That Bind. Siblings. Even when I want to punch them in the face, I still love them.

-I guess I just don’t understand. Meet the $50 Strawberries That NYC’s High-End Chefs Are Fawning Over

-Homemade Christmas baking is a joy – even if it is not to your taste. Agreed. Something about baking this tie of year, it is just so, well, joyful.

-On my reading list. Good Husbandry: A Memoir by Kristin Kimball. I read her first Memoir, The Dirty life, and it was A+

And pictures from the week...

-C

Sunday Happy

It is June. Already. That was fast.

The week started off great. We spent Sunday in Belvedere with family. The weather was perfect. There were barely any life sucking mosquitoes. Not to sunny, no rain. We just hung out, ate food, walked to the water falls, and basked in the glories of the world. Not to mention Judah invented a watch cookie, Shannon read my telepathically read my mind and picked me up the heart shaped baking tins that I was thinking about at a garage sale, and Sophia. She ate all my broccoli. All the littles played without fighting. All the adults talked without fighting. It was really nice.

And then we came home and by Monday afternoon, the shit starting to hit the fan. First off, it was the week before the June first rental turnovers. Always a hectic week. Always a lot of running around. It has been especially crazy for the mr this year because he was dealing with not only our tenant turn over, but a bunch of other apartments for other landlords. Painting, getting rid of garbage, fixing broken things. That in itself was not the issue. The issue was Monday afternoon, after the mr had been working all day, pulled into one of our driveways with the car to grab some paint, got back into the car, and the key wouldn't turn. And the wheel wouldn't turn. The car was stuck. Our newish (3 1/2 year old) car. The mr spent more then an hour trying to turn the key. I sent more then an hour on the internet trying to figure out what the heck was wrong. In the end, the car was just left for the night, the mr hitched a ride, and we ended up getting the car towed to the garage. (Note that this is the second tow in within a week.) After getting off the phone with the mechanic the next day, we were told it was going to be a few days before they can even look at it because they were so busy. We were feeling pretty screwed. Luckily for us, my mom is awesome and lent us her truck which if she didn't , well we would be stuck with the rental car that I rented one afternoon, drove home, had a massive anxiety attack about crashing (we are having bad car juju right now), turned around and returned. I just had a bad feeling about it. So yeah, I rented a car, for about an hour. They laughed at me. I laughed at me too. Then cried a little. HAHA.

By Thursday the shop was able to look at the car. After the mechanic took a look at the car, he told us the master cylinder was stripped and needed to be replace. Or better yet needs to be. Almost a week later. The car is still there. They had to order the part and it won’t be in until Tuesday. Yup. Just a week ago we were sitting pretty with a car and a sweet ass van and now, no cars. Oh, and the lawn mowers stopped working mid mowing. We think its the gas line or something.

Anyway. The week, hectic but not all bad. I found a bike on craigslist that I am going to fix up and call my new bike for a while (I am done bike shopping for the time being). Barb came over for a lunch and a walk one day. I made rainbows and popsicles another afternoon. Working at the studio was calm. That was nice. And the weather. I can’t complain about that at the least bit.

Then yesterday. June first. Tenant moving day. It was cray cray. New tenants moving in and out usually isn’t a big deal because most of the time our tenants are great and leave without issue. But yesterday the mr stopped over to check on all the apartments and found one in pretty awful condition. Long story short, we spent the day scrubbing filth and paint and hair (so fucking gross) off every surface then repainting the apartment while the new tenants were moving in. We did manage to have a little lunch picnic in th park with Miley and I took her on her first ever bike ride across town. That was good, but then it was back to the crazy apartment. Then we came home, ate dinner, cleaned our house, then passed the f out.

Today is going to be good. Why? I don’t know yet, but we need it to be. I am not looking for anything spectacular, maybe just to find a few new good books at the library. Maybe go the day without getting 100 mosquito bites. Or maybe even just be able to take a nap. Just a mellow day. Wish us luck.

Stuff I looked at and read about on the internet this week.

-There Is Too Much Stuff. I couldn't agree more and I hate it. Too much stuff makes me so anxious. And maybe a little angry. The piles of shit just keep getting bigger. AAGGHHH!!!!

-As a person who makes a lot of mugs with handles, this is very important. I have kept myself up all night on many occasions just thinking about mug handles. Shape, feel, visual ascetics. So much goes into a well made mug handle. But it is worth it and when you have a good one, you know.. Let’s Talk About Mug Handles

-Why You Should Use a Wooden Spoon to Taste Your Food. What about a wooden fork, would that work too?

-Bad making bad worse. How pesticides can actually increase mosquito numbers

-Simple and clean… My kinda place. A HOLIDAY HOME IN PORTUGAL.

-Would you leave your life behind for a house you saw on Instagram? These people did. I love the instagram account CHEAP OLD HOUSE. And yes, I have definitely imagined buying half of them because some of them really are amazing. Maybe one of these day. Drafty windows and crumbling foundations don’t scare me.

-Your Walls Need This Whimsical Magnetic Wallpaper. I don’t need it, but oh boy would it be cool.

-If Ikea is doing it, then it’s for real. Everyone is going vegan. HAHAHAHA. Ikea’s Meatballs Will Officially Go Vegan This Fall

-As avid outdoors people, we really make evey effort to leave the outdoors exactly (if not better) as we found it. How to leave the great outdoors exactly how you found it. How pissed would you be if someone cam into your place and trashed it and moved things and picked at you?

-I eat beets eveyr single day and my pee has never turned pink but I know everyone I feed beets to pees pink. Hum? Why Do Beets Make Your Pee Turn Pink?

And pictures from the week

-C

Sunday

What a week. What a year. So much has happened and is happening and is about happen. I guess that is the nature of life and time and all that good stuff.

The week started off fantastic. On Sunday the mr and I grabbed Judah, Emerson, and Barb, piled into the car, and went for a light drive. We walked around a light filled park, drove some more, then ended up at, of all places in this world, Burger King. And they loved it (I packed my own dinner because I do not, will not, eat at almost any place that the littles prefer) Funny, I don’t know if I have ever been inside of a Burger King before, and if I have, it was long before I had a choice in what I ate. Again, they loved it, even though it was trash food, they got their crowns. Coco cheered just about every French Fry that went into his mouth, and the mr got to use Burger King coupons that he had hiding in his pocket (that is basically why we ended up there) It was a fantastic evening and is now going to be a Christmas Eve eve tradition. Light drive with dinner (never Burger King again thank you very much)

After we dropped them off at home, we went home and that is when the mr succumbed to it. IT being the stomach flu. That was fun.

Christmas Eve the mr was an ill man so I forged it alone. With the help of all the Christmas music I could handle, I baked a bunch, prepared the house for the next day when the family came over. I cut up all the fruits and veggies, wrapped the few little presents I had, did bills and a bunch laundry, ran to the grocery store. My mom stopped by and brought me a lemon tree because just because. I just was so freaking productive. And best part, it SNOWED, like a good amount. What I thought was going to be a completely snow free Christmas turned into the most magical snow ever. Christmas Eve afternoon, Big fat fluffy flakes covering the world. I bundled myself up and walked around the neighborhood just taking it all in. It truly was the best Christmas Eve snow ever. And after a full on day of resting , the mr was feeling a bit better so that was good. And then both to bed by 7 because thats our life these days.

Christmas morning had all the right stuff. Woke up and watched the sun rise while drinking a butload of coffee. The house was all clean and glittery and the ltree lights were on and the ground glittered with the fresh snow. After the mr woke up and was feeling a little worse for ware but ok, we bundled up and went for a little stroll on the beach. We usually go for a hike but I was not trying to push the mr too hard. The beach, oh man, was that amazing. The water was still, the snow was like diamonds, and the air was crisp and clean. Not a sound to be heard other then the lapping of water. It was so good. We left before I decided to stay forever and because the mr thought he could walk on ice and ended up with a his foot in a foot of water so we headed on home to meet the hoard of family. Just about everyone came (minus Ryan and the girls and Anthony.. we missed them all) ate food, did a little gift exchange thing (I got some sweet new house plants), plastered Jackson with a very nice shade of lipstick that might have been called whore red, and had a Happy Birthday celebration for Cameron because it’s was Christmas, but it really was his birthday.

Then for the saddest part. We got the news that our uncle had passed away.

Oh Uncle Seth. He had been sick for a while now with Parkinson’s disease, but the past month or so it got so bad. His death was not unexpected but never the less it was not any less painful. My only uncle, the guy who gave me my first car, the man who built a cabin from nothing in the woods and turned it into a place that you could only imagine (or see in a design magazine) A man who taught (he was as professor at RISD), loved the world, loved to travel, loved his work, was so fierce in emotion. SO many little qualities that I saw in him, I see in me. ( I feel like I get a lot of who I am from my dad and my uncle and aunt) The world lost a great man, I lost a great uncle. He is and will always be loved and I know I was just lucky to have been able to have him as an uncle. It is still hard, I don’t think I have fully processed it still, It is kind of a not quite real feeling. Just an overall heaviness that has settled in on my mind and heart. It is so hard to loose any family, but especially hard when they were so full of life and had so much to give to the world. Agh. The words are not even close to adequate here, the full measure of him as a person not explained. To put it simply, he was an amazing, loving and generous person. I am so going to miss him, his creativity, his lust for life. And what I am going to miss most is his hugs and smiles and overall presences in my life. RIP Seth. You really were a fucking awesome uncle.

We got word of the funeral on Wednesday (which was also Anthonys 17th birthday….So old! I stopped by to see him and give him a big hug. Didn’t want a party or cake this year so I owe him granola bars.) and were in the car driving down to RI by Thursday morning. Shannon, Megan, the mr, and me, all packed into the car and off we went. A small family funeral which was very beautiful and full of love, then food with the family. Not a long stay, but we are all going back down next weekend for Seths memorial celebration bash.

We got home and it hit hard. I started to feel kind of crappy (sick wise) and have been feeling blue ever since. Driving to RI really kicked the mr down again. He was so good, no complaining about anything, not the cranked up car heat or driving straight while us ladies spent the entire time talking of childhood memories. He didn’t even put on the music. And by the time we came back home, the guy was sick again, or maybe never was not sick, but he has been down for the count ever since.

So yesterday we did a few morning chores together like got rid of the recycling and retuned amazon stuff to UPS, but by afternoon the mr was out. So I cleaned house, made another ice cream cake for Judah, and did more and more laundry. Another one of those feeling super productive days. Weird, but I am starting to see a pattern here. When the mr is really sick, I get a lot done. I think it’s mainly because. a) I want to stay away from him as to not get sick too. b) I am afraid that if I do get sick none of what needs to be done will get done so I need to do it fast. And c) I don’t have to worry about what he needs to do, it’s all me. Ha.

Today is Judah’s birthday. Nine years old! What an age to be. So basically I am going to the gym then coming home to do a few things and finish making his cake, then heading over to his house for a birthday dinner celebration. I told him and his sister I would go over early and give them haircuts (the boys hair is so long it covers his eyes, He looks cool, but if you can’t see, well looking cool isn’t gonna get you anywhere). It’s gonna be fun.

Goodness, is that it. The end of another year. Hard to wrap my head around so I am just going to ease on in to 2019. Low key and cool. Just like me. Ha.

Happy New Years Friends! Be safe. Be happy. Be good. Be kind.

Interent links from the week

-Just Admit It, You’re in a Bad Mood. All the lead up to Christmas then BAM, its over. Gets me every time.

-I am defintially one of those people who likes to bake when I am feeling anxious. The Rise of Anxiety Baking. Cookies are my favorite to bake too.

-Speakig of cookies. When 'Cookiers' Take Holiday Cookie Decorating To A Whole New Level. I had no idea there was a cookie cutter factory in Vt. I must see this place!

-Who doesn’t love a good tree picture? Black and White Photographs Capture the Striking Appearance of Bare Trees Against Snow-Filled Landscapes

-Explorer completes historic Antarctic trek. Some people do crazy things that make me jealous. Not that I want to ski Antarctica, but something crazy would be cool.

-How did I not know until now that there was a monthly round up of trucks spilling shit. We all need this information. This month in overturned trucks: Cash, Christmas trees, cooking oil

-How A Little Science And A Lot Of Shady Advertising Boosted Yeast's Popularity. I have never eaten a yeast cake, but I eat a shit load of nutritional yeast. MY favorite is a spoonful in the mouth where it gets stuck in my teeth and the roof of my mouth. For real.

-I am going to get a scale sometime soon. I just need to find the right one for the right price (free or very cheap at the thrift store) Until then, this is handy. Weight Conversions for Flour, Sugar, and Other Common Baking Ingredients

-This is something that I have wondered about. I am really happy that it doesn’t get wasted. We Finally Know What Happens to the Leftover Cake on the Great British Bake Off

-The year vegan junk food went mainstream. Yup. Just cause it’s vegan doesn’t mean it is good for you.

And pictures from the week.

Sunday Happy

What are you doing today? Not last minute shopping and freaking out about silly holiday stuff that doesn’t matter right? And if that is you, well I am sorry. May I suggest you just forget about it all and stay home and make cookies? You can give them as presents too and skip any more of the shopping hell. I give you all the permission and people love them some cookies.

The week went as usual. Nothing special or fantastic. We did finish the Christmas cards and sent or delivered most of them (still have a few to hand deliver). I spent a bit of time at the studio trying to get things glazed and fired before the holiday, organized all my kitchen towels, spices, and storage containers, and soaked and scrubbed the grease trap vent screen things that are in the hood vent above the stove. Low key but productive. We were intentionally keeping things quite as the littles and everyone that is usually around us is or has been getting sick with strep or the flu. We pumped the fluids, took the vitamins, and got our sleep. No need to get sick too right?

So nothing exciting. We went for a hike, had Barb over for a dinner where I might have had a slight anxiety attack that sent me to run and hide (I am blaming the weather, it is screwing with my mind) I worked the studio and loaded the kiln twice. Once and it was amazing then realized I loaded all the pots into the wrong kiln, had to unload it and reload it, cutting my hand open in the process . I was totally kicking myself in the ass, but again I blame the weather. (I will blame everything on the crappy, warm rainy shit we got this week. It really did mess with my brain)

We had the littles came over Friday night to do a little Christmas present crafting. They were going to sleep over, but the little lady wasn't feeling well and what with them just being sick wit strep and all, they went on home because they need to be home when they are sick and I am not doing sick. But I did feel bad, and I did miss them Saturday morning. Oh well, not like they won’t be at my house all this week. No school so it’s gonna be party time.

I need to do a few things today, like start making an ice cream cake for Camerons birthday and go grocery shopping with my mom for Christmas Day food. And I definitely need to wash my hair (hat season does some shit to my head). Then it’s basically getting things ready for Christmas for when the entire family comes over. Going to be proactive and move some plants so they don’t get bumped into or knocked over, bring in extra chairs and a table to sit and eat at, and set up a drawing station for the littles. (Look at me, I am becoming quite the party host if I do say so myself.) Other then that, I am looking forward to a quiet evening of lounging and reading and maybe even an after dinner drive to check out some more Christmas lights. We tried for a Christmas light walk last night but got little in the way of lights, and we were walking for quite a while. So drive it is.

Hope you are having a great holiday weekend. Happy and Merry Christmas!

Internet to look at if you so do desire.

-The Joy of No-Gift Christmas. The mr and I stopped doing big Christmas gift things a long time ago. Now we each have stocking that we put a few little things in (like purple carrots and chap stick for me, candy and socks for him) and that is it. It is so so so much less stressful then trying to get a bunch of crap.

-Just in case you have that family member or two that make you want to take off running in the opposite direction. 9 Ways to Deal with a Toxic Family at the Holidays. Don’t let them get to you.

-It is so true. Everyone ends up in the kitchen. And when the party is at my house, I almost never leave it, its my comfort zone. Like Moths To A Flame: Why Modern-Day Guests Always Gather In The Kitchen

-We’re losing monarchs fast—here’s why. This makes me really sad. Humans, we need to stop screwing things up.

-Pedialyte embraces hungover-adult market. Ha. I remember going into the baby food section at the grocery store and buying it for my sister and her friends. Or better yet, stealing it from my mom when the twins were babies.

-I think I would be good at this, dealing with the weird crazy phone calls. I would be like”Yup, he is your cousin all right: Ooops!”. Surprise DNA Results Are Turning Customer-Service Reps Into Therapists

-Can Hot Peppers Make Me Happy? They make me happy, to a point, then they can make me sad (too hot is not a happy feeling)

-San Francisco Orders Man To Rebuild His Iconic Home After It Was Demolished. That sucks.

-What are frankincense and myrrh? Not just incense you burn.

- Read article first before you go jumping out of a plane without a shoot. Researchers Show Parachutes Don't Work, But There's A Catch.

And Pictures from the week.

Sunday Happy

It always happens. One minute it is snowing and freezing, the next it is sunny and warming up, and then blink and everything is all lush and green and amazing. Summertime (basically) and the weather has been fine fine fine and all the green and colors are here and I am taking it all in. The world is a pretty amazing place.

A good, never a dull moment, packed to the brim, week. It's crazy how much stuff you can pack into a day, especially a, soon to be, long summer day. Fishing, bike rides, read a book, did all the bills, work, running around here, getting that there. We have been all over and all out. Started  the week with the first of the summers farm share.  I picked it up, I ate it all, and obviously I am hungry because all I can think about is food right now and what is coming in the share tomorrow. Ha. Besides farm food, I had Anthony came over for a afternoon of crafting that had something to do with homework. He made a felt rocket ship and I taught him how to use a sewing needle. It was a good use of glue and thread.  I also hung out with the Miley, Judah, and Coco and all the rubix cubes anyone could ever handle. Me and the two big ones tried to figure those out for a while and Coco just sat there eating chips like it was his job.  Good stuff. I have also been spending time at the ceramic studio for now I am a studio assistant and will be assisting the studio with all of it's needs. That has been exciting for me because I haven't worked in a studio for a good while and it's been great to get back into it. Let see, what else. The mr has been working like crazy nuts, 14 hour days, all week. One of the houses in town got a nice scrape and is primed and ready for me (and the mr) to start painting, which will happen if we ever pick a freaking paint color. The gardens going well ( beside the war I have started  on slugs and squirrels), I need to mow the lawn again, and I still haven't found the vacuum attachment but have come to terms with it, and with all that and more we ended up missing  little So's dance recital. I feel bad, but not so bad because she spends half of her time twirling around and dancing around anyway. If I want to see her dance, all I got to do is start dancing and he will bust a move.  No harm, no foul and I'll make her some cookies so she really won't care. 

The big reason we busted ass so hard this week to get shit done was because we left for the weekend to Rhode Island for a quick visit with  the uncle and the cousins. We basically zoomed down there, ran around, checking out their amazing collection of houses and salvaged materials. (The mr and I are very very jealous) We hung out with my uncle Seth, took him  for a walk and got him in a few chuckles which made my heart swell. Then we spend an afternoon at the Providence Art and Music festival and watched David's band play a sweet little gig. Lots of sunshine, lots of cool art, lots of street performers and fun things. Then we jumped back into the car and zoomed home.  It was a short visit but a good one. But it is always good when I am with my family. They are my people, they get me. 

Today is going TBD. I am very much tired and am feeling like I might be getting an ear infection so that is not good. Not exactly sure the plan for today, but there is a plan for a plan for some stuff and once I get a little, or a lot, more coffee in me  I am sure I will be able to figure it out. And maybe some mullein and garlic oil and a warm almond for the ear and maybe just a short, few minute nap to help clear the fog. First things first, coffee (then maybe I won't need the nap) oh and water the all the plants and the garden like right this minute.  I am going to go do that now. 

Internet happenings on the internet. 

-As soon as I touch the shit I am done for. Don't Touch! A Scientist's Advice For Spotting Poison Ivy Before It Ruins Your Summer. 

-Shocking and so sad. . He seemed like one of coolest and genuine people.. The world will miss him. In Anthony Bourdain, the Food World Found One of Its Strongest Voices

-5 Ways to Help Your Kitchen Stay Cooler This Summer

-Being Hangry Almost Destroyed My Relationship. I know the mr really loves me when he doesn't kill me in my moments of complete and utter blind rage when I am hungry. It can get bad. 

-I am really into the cots as couches. LOUNGE-WORTHY.

-Someone (one of the littles I think) asked me what AM and PM meant. I had no answer. What Do AM and PM Stand For?. Now I know.  

-WE MADE PLASTIC. WE DEPEND ON IT. NOW WE’RE DROWNING IN IT. Yup, and it sucks.

 -It really is about how we raise the littles and the Mommas have been doing it for ever. Why Grandmothers May Hold The Key To Human Evolution

-Bees understand the concept of zero. I think that bees, and all other living things for that matter, understand a lot more then we could even imagine. 

-Vermont state parks and historic sites free this weekend. Hurry, you still got time today to get some Vermont in. 

Pictures from the week