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December 6th, 2009
03:44 pm - all over the place.
I spent most of yesterday feeling sick as a dog. Friday night I began to spend some quality time laying on the floor of the bathroom wishing the pain would stop. I can heave with the best of them. I would say the one upside to all of this is that my inlaws were present to help with the kids. This allowed me to sleep and know that Mr. Jenner had some help wrangling two small children. Everyone else went out to dinner and I enjoyed sitting at home with Miss Biscuit. I had toast and tea, watched a movie and cuddled with my baby. It was rather nice.
I feel a million times better today. I took my Mother inlaw to the local Sunday market -which she enjoyed. We also went to the drugstore and I printed up a bunch of pictures I took, so that she can take them home and mob people far and wide through-out the English countryside. I also printed up some for my Mother so that when I see her next, she can mob people with pictures through-out the Olympic Peninsula countryside. Sense a theme?
I think if things go according to plan, Mr. Jenner and I will go out to dinner together like grown-ups. Just us. I am excited. Even if we sit quietly and eat a meal we don't have to say, "just take one damn bite of your dinner." "Sit down. Stop wandering around. You have to sit until everyone else is done." "We do not hide fruit underneath the table." I can sit and eat without holding a baby. It is gonna be off the hook and whatever else the kids used to say on the internet.
I was looking at Christmas ornaments on Etsy today and I saw star wars ornaments. Nothing says the birth of Jesus like an angry guy with trust issues in a mask and cape.
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December 3rd, 2009
10:30 pm - chocolate and books. the good things you know?
Most people know I am a fiend for sweets and chocolate of all kinds. I have a habit of buying/hoarding a lot of things I find. I classify it under, "what if there was some kind of national emergency and I couldn't get stuff".
First world problems or something.
Anyways, I was running some errands today and I found some gingerbread spice chocolate bars by Theo. It is a milk chocolate bar and done for the holidays. It is fantastic; especially if you are a fan of ginger. It leaves a nice prickly feeling at the back of your throat and it isn't too milky as milk chocolate bars go. I think I may have to buy a few bars for people. "here try this!"
I also bought some Aplets and Cotlets. They are a local thing and kind of like turkish delight. (only not as the family firm has Lebanese origins) Aplets and Cotlets can inspire some fierce conversations. Some people think they are absolutely dreadful and would rather eat some Brown & Haley Mountain bars or something and others (like myself) appreciate the flavor and texture. They also do tart flavored candies if you don't like something so sweet. My Mother in law hadn't had them before and liked them a lot. (the cranberry ones were pretty good) It took some self control on my part not to just dive into the whole box. We had kind of a tasting of different kinds of local chocolates and candies tonight. I suspect we may send my in-laws home with some things to share with relations.
Maybe tomorrow we will stop at Oh Chocolate or Fran's for more chocolate. It's Advent and all, so now is the time to engage in good eating.
Yesterday I stopped by the Seattle Mystery Bookshop. It is a place I have passed by a ton over the years and kept thinking, "yeah I should stop in there soon." I finally (after a million years) had the time to do so. It was quite a dandy place. Their books are classified in a variety of interesting and useful ways. They have the kind of varied stock I appreciate and they have a robust section devoted to Northwest authors. I also like how the place was laid out. I am trying to do most of my shopping this Christmas with local/small businesses because they need the money more. Yes I may pay a bit more for the cost of the book, but more of the money lingers in the community and Amazon doesn't really need any more of my cash at the moment. Anyways, in the shop I found a ton of interesting things and not just your typical murder mystery. I suspect I will find reasons in the near future to shop there again. (I may have to take my Mother there. She would go wild.) It was just such a cozy and pleasant environment. Plus hey, they have a blog! (often with guests posts by writers)
I think tomorrow there will be a walk and fun with cameras.
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December 2nd, 2009
08:58 pm - Pictures "Hey laaaaaaaaaaady"
I call this one, "My Christmas Hams"
And yes I realize Miss Biscuit looks like she is doing a Jerry Lewis impression.
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December 1st, 2009
10:26 pm - bliss
Tonight we ordered Thai food. Thai food isn't available in large quantities in rural Devon, so it was exotic. I aim to please. They liked the country-style Phad Tai and the prawns with yellow curry.
I also took my Mother in-law to the grocery store. She and I share this love of going to grocery stores in other countries, so this was a good time. I took her to what amounts to a local chain that is like Target. Only more fun. (and probably cheaper) The size of the place blew her away and she said she could have spent hours just wandering around looking at things. This may make some giggle, but what intrigued/surprised her the most was seeing clam juice for sale. "What do you do with that?" "drink it. Usually with booze."
My father in-law spent hours perusing the wine section and the beer aisle. He bought a lot. I mean. A LOT. I am not exactly sure how he expects all of us to drink everything while he visits. He is enjoying all of the local offerings, so that is nice. When anyone visits here I have always liked to introduce them to all of the fantastic local food/beverage that is available. I am deeply proud of what is produced in my region. There are some genuinely original and talented producers of all kinds of food and I feel lucky to be able to offer it to friends/family. You visit me and I will make you leave full.
It's a promise.
I took care of some Christmas shopping today. Slowly but surely I will get through my lists as I want to spend most of December cooking and eating. That is what Christmas is really about for me. Good eating and spending time with assorted relations and friends.
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November 30th, 2009
10:21 pm - a few random pieces that might make sense.
Took the family to the market to look at things and buy food. We came home with a couple dozen oysters, some comise pears and coffee. We also stopped at a toy shop and found some lovely things for various children. (extended relatives wanted us to find things for them with particular budgets and I like shopping for children.)
For dinner there was oysters on the half shell for starters (a long with a nice local chardonnay) and then my pretty lovely bolognese with pasta and steamed broccoli dressed in vinegar for main course. (merlot for those that wanted it) Plus home-made rolls. Pie and cake later on and then coffee and chocolates afterward. People were well-fed.
I had a look at the new calendar put out by my brother inlaw and it is pretty darn nice if I do say so myself. He is a photographer (this is Mr. Jenner's youngest brother -the one with the twin girls) and he puts out one every year. They keep getting better and better and you can see his talent really develop over the years. It will go up in the dining room.
I think my in-laws are having a nice visit. My Mother inlaw doesn't have to cook, there are grandchildren to fawn over and I enable her to shop with abandon. My Father inlaw gets to fix things, fawn over grandchildren and buy and drink large quantities of wine. We may not be the Ritz-Carlton but the beds are comfortable and it isn't too dull here. I wonder if I could embroider that on a pillow...
Had a deliciously hot bath and a bit of a read. May climb into bed with Mr. Jenner and some chocolates. I encourage others to do the same. Minus the Mr. Jenner. (limited edition husband, not for sale in the states)
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November 29th, 2009
02:57 pm - rambles
Well yesterday went pretty well. Senor Onion thoroughly enjoyed his presents. I think his favorite things are the lego truck my Mother gave him, the jigsaw puzzle we gave him and the tricycle his grandparents got him. He was quite pleased by everything. Mr. Jenner and my inlaws took Senor Onion to the children's museum where he was able to play with everything for as long as he liked. Then they had fish and chips and came home for tea and cake.
Ah yes. The cake.
The.cake.
I let my pride or something get out of hand. My Mother in law asked if I was going do a theme cake. I never thought to do a theme cake. We always just had a nice well-made cake growing up without the fuss of a circus cake or something with that atrocious fondant. (I find most fondant ruins perfectly nice cakes) I also tend to keep birthdays fairly low-key. It tends to make for less frantic birthday-folk if there isn't so much going on. I suppose this is odd to some. But maybe I am the meanest Mother on the block.
But back to the cake, I thought about what I might do (besides making it chocolate) and then I thought what the heck, maybe I could make a theme cake of some kind. Something mighty simple. I looked around at things and then decided to make a Mr. Happy cake from the Mr. Men series. It didn't require me to buy some fancy-shaped pan and I could probably wing it.
I was going to do a white chocolate ganache and I started to do that, but it went all tits up. I may have whipped it a bit long and then the damn thing began to curdle. It happens. So I just made a basic butter frosting, added some scary yellow dye and called it good. Then I lined things with some black gel frosting in a tube that I got at the store.
And ta-freaking-da. A cake. The cake is a chocolate yogurt gateau from Susan Loomis' Rue Tatin book. The frosting is your basic vanilla butter frosting that is too sweet for words and Senor Onion LOVED his yellow happy cake.
This was my first attempt at fancy cake decorating. I think I will leave that to the professionals who do mighty good work. One day when my son is in therapy, at least he can say his awful Mother made him a theme cake. Take that Joan Crawford.
Anyways... so I made his favorite thing for dinner. (meatloaf, potato mash with cheese and sliced carrots) Everyone enjoyed that. I also roasted squash with carrots with a bit of ginger and olive oil. Plus more pie for those that wanted pie.
The visit is going pretty well so far. (knock on wood) I am thinking about crippling my Father in law because he keeps putting things away in the WRONG PLACE and he won't ask me where I might put things. I should be given an award for not saying anything. I just quietly go through and put things where they ought to be. I need a sign that says, "GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!" Maybe I should make a guide of where things live. I am thinking too much about this aren't I?
Here we are today. Senor Onion went on a long ride on his tricycle and is now taking a nap. I made a lovely macaroni and cheese for lunch, a salad with pistachios and craisins, some rolls I baked and a bit of leftover squash puree. And fruit. At least one can say I feed my visitors.
Tonight: turkey pie and whatever I can find in the fridge for pudding.
Just don't touch my motherfeckin' spatulas yo.
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November 28th, 2009
November 27th, 2009
10:06 am - attachment
Yesterday a casserole dish I own and love, developed a crack and broken open. I have had this dish for a long time; my mother bought it as a Christmas present for me when I was a teenager and I have cooked probably hundreds of things with it. It is/was a beautiful dark blue Emile Henry dish that was perfect for so many things. I am not quite sure what did it in. It had been in the fridge but I brought it to room temp before putting it in the oven and even then the heat wasn't very high and when we raised the heat in the oven, it had plenty of time to acclimate. But later on after it had been out of the oven, It felt funny and I looked at it and there was a tiny crack and then later on it was immense and in pieces. I will order something today I think to replace it. I feel a little silly for feeling a little sad about it being in pieces like that. It's no one's fault and these things happen on occasion.
...
It is a bright beautiful sunny day this morning. I have laundry to wade through and a little tidying up and then my inlaws arrive early this evening. It will be chaos because small children and grandparents seem to inspire a bit of that. I am serving some version of leftovers. I may venture out to Trader Joe's to pick up a few things to fill out what is on hand. But over all things are pretty calm here. Maybe we will go for a walk today.
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November 26th, 2009
08:52 pm - the run down
It was a good day. There was a lot of cooking, children being played with, big eating, snarking, knitting and general silliness.
Everyone left slightly in pain. I think my work is done.
( the photo version )
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08:59 am - Happy Thanksgiving
Clara was obviously deluded about the situation. Horace had more than a bromance with Albert. At least the turkey wasn't overdone like last year.
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November 25th, 2009
01:19 pm - Some days aren't so pretty.
Senor Onion did this best today to make me want to sell him to the gypsies. He behaved so horribly at the library that I had to drag him out by his arm while he shrieked and made me look like I was the most horrible Mother in the world. (I certainly felt like a shitty shitty mother.) I was so angry and I think he understood that I was that angry because when we came home I looked at him and said, "Go upstairs to your room." and he went right there. I told him he won't be able to go to the library next week because of how he behaved. He is heart-broken but when you throw things (especially at your sister!) and you scream like that -you don't deserve to go to the library.
After some time in his room, we had a chat and a hug and all was okay again.
It is stuff like that that just makes me HATE the job of parenting. He acts like a terror, I look like an incompetent parent in public and I have to break out the Mean Mummy act. I was filled with such shame and guilt on the drive home because he should know better than to act like that and it makes me doubt a lot of things I do as a parent.
So it is obvious his birthday is coming up soon. It isn't a birthday unless a child turns up the crazy-sauce and makes you think about setting him on the curb with a sign that says, "free!"
I want someone to make me hot chocolate and let me nap.
...
I made a really lovely lemon meringue pie today. I hope it will taste good tomorrow. I definitely enjoyed making it. Making a pie is soothing work.
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November 24th, 2009
10:39 am - a moment with the family
Senor Onion: I got something inside! I got something inside! I got something inside! *holds onto his underwear*
Mr. Jenner: Oh? What do you have inside?
Senor Onion: I have my WILLIE!!!!
It is difficult to maintain a straight face when your kid says stuff like this. I was laughing so hard that I had tears running down my face.
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November 23rd, 2009
03:05 pm - reflection
I am almost done reading the book Mayflower and it has proved to be an enlightening read. I knew some things about the pilgrims beyond the basic Victorian version of events involving Thanksgiving with the Native Americans and how wonderful and peaceful it was. There was though a great deal I didn't know -what happened in detail after that first Thanksgiving, what was going on with the Natives and the details about the culture of the pilgrims. (both prior to their arrival in the New World and afterward.)
( People being people )
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November 22nd, 2009
08:53 pm - phoning it in with pictures of kids.
I took this tonight. He likes to look at his word book and he was worn out in general.
She was busy making noise and we caught her by surprise.
....
So now begins a week of food prep, dealing with last minute chores/errands before we eat our weight in food on Thursday with my family and a friend, welcome my inlaws on Friday and celebrate a birthday on Saturday. Fun stuff.
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November 21st, 2009
08:27 pm - doing things with passion
Mr. Jenner won serious awesome husband points for handling some serious tidying around the house. He also put up a new light fixture in our bedroom and wrangled Senor Onion for awhile. Someone is getting lemon meringue pie next week.
It was a lousy night of sleep. I had insomnia and then Miss Biscuit woke up screaming for no reason that I could fathom. She was dry, she had been fed, she didn't have gas, she was just freaked. Eventually I got her to calm down and to go back to sleep, but I really couldn't sleep at all. I also messed up my shoulder/neck/back again. I need a massage. I just felt run down this morning. But I perked up later on.
I took Miss Biscuit out and met up my friend Kathleen at pike place market. She is hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year and she was a little anxious about the whole turkey thing. My job was to make it seem simple and okay. We went to Le Panier and purchased delicate baked goods and then began to wander. It is important to eat before venturing out into the grey world. We stopped at La Buona Tavola Truffle Cafe and were fawned over. They like to give you hardcore customer service. We got to try the trufle salt (has something like 10 percent truffles in that) which was sexy. It had a really sultry steak flavor. I kept imagining it with pasta and a bit of butter or on a beautiful piece of meat. It sat on the tongue for awhile. Earthy and delicious. I tried the truffle cream which was equally good. I would put a swirl of that with potatoes. Then we had some fancy-pants balsamic vinegar that was syrupy and tart. Like cherries in July. I ended up buying some pasta because pasta is good. I may have to come back for that salt. Oh it was nearly religious.
After licking our hands a lot, we went to The Great Wind-up where I got a few ideas for stocking stuffers. I remember coming here one time with my Grandparents when I was about nine and I was playing with some of the wind-up toys (of which there are many on display to try out.) And one looked rather odd and I said out loud, "is that a thumb?" My Grandparents snickered and then I took a closer look. It was not a thumb. A significant moment in my childhood folks.
Anyhow, then it was time for a visit to the spice shop to figure out what a person might need to go with a hypothetical turkey and so I could load up on a few more things. I have plans people. PLANS. Now Kathleen has plans too. And pumpkin spice coffee. Important.
Then it was time to talk turkey. OMG I can't believe I just wrote that sentence. *sighs at self.* I picked up the turkey I had ordered and a pound of ground lamb. We talked to the jovial butcher about what would work best for the number of guests my friend was having and we ordered her a bird. Simple as that. The key thing is always ask your butcher questions. They are happy to answer and probably offer some good ideas as to what you can do with a cut of meat or some kind of bird. Cultivate a relationship with vendors and it can help you down the road when you might need something. These are the people I go to if I want something beyond boneless/skinless chicken breasts. (but they do those rather well too.) While waiting for the butcher to get my turkey I was standing next to a couple of middle-eastern guys who were having a pretty animated conversation about the lamb shanks. I couldn't understand what they were saying (as my language skills are limited to American English, lousy French & some ASL) but they were pointing at it a lot and using a lot of hand gestures and obviously had thoughts about what they were going to do with it or what should be done with it. Lamb Shanks: serious business.
After that and a quick look at soap (a girl can always use more pretty smelling things.) It was time to part. I came home to things accomplished and some things marked off the "to-do list". It was a fairly lazy afternoon with children laughing and doing more organizing of my own.
Now I am listening to the rain and figuring out dinner for the next few days.
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November 20th, 2009
09:21 pm - quickly passing through
I have a son who can un-do the belt that kids wear in the grocery cart. I am a little worried. I will think about that another day. It was dark and rainy most of the day. November in other words. I managed to get some grocery shopping done. Then both of my children napped at the same time so I was able to tidy up the guest room a bit and can a bunch of cranberry sauce. My life is one carnival ride let me tell you.
I think it will be a weekend involving preparations. I am meeting up with a friend at the market, I am picking up my turkey and attempting to continue tidy up the house in bits and pieces. I will enjoy the market though. I think I will buy pancetta, spices, dried fruit and a few good cheeses. Pastries will be had as well.
I need to bake some cookies this weekend...possibly hermits.
This is such an unorganized post. All of my coherent thoughts have gone toward list-making today. LISTS. Everything from food I need to buy to scheduling cooking over the next week or so. But it will all be worth it. I hope. It will at least be pretty.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) land_girl I wish you could come over and work your black magic and cause my fridge to catch on fire so I could get a new one. I look at it and just hate it.
On that note I think I will attempt to moisturize my face. Before some child demands my presence.
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November 19th, 2009
09:58 pm - Further crimes of the man in the yellow hat
Today I was reading the original Curious George book to Senor Onion. It finally struck me what is really going on here and explains so much about the rest of the stories. Stockholm Syndrome. George was kidnapped from his original habitat and the man in the yellow hat took him back to America. Then? When he took him back to America he let George smoke a pipe. So not only did he kidnap this monkey, he is drugging him and leaves him in the apartment to do whatever. So of course George gets into trouble and acts in an irresponsible manner. He is taking on the amoral habits of his captor in an effort to survive. Poor monkey... Patty Hearst for the juice box set.
Maybe I should stop going to the library.
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November 18th, 2009
07:15 pm - chilluns and other thoughts
Senor Onion graced us with a nap today. I appreciated the gesture. It meant I could run a few errands and not feel like I was attempting the landing at Normandy during a hurricane. This is just the reality of going out with a toddler. He may be a very well behaved child in many respects but he is also a very very normal kid for his age. He like most children live in the present and on his impulses. My job as a parent is to help him learn that not every impulse is worth giving into all of the time. It is exhausting some days but incredibly gratifying on other days. I will give you an example of the good. He loves to run ahead of me when we are on our walks. Running fast and forward is something that most children take delight in. "Look at me go!" Stopping is a harder thing. Awhile back he learned that running into the street will inspire a great reaction from me. I couldn't just rely on that one experience to hold him always. So I began to teach him a game. It is almost like red light/green light. Do children still play that? I would tell him to go and have him run run run and then I would say, "and now we STOP!" and he is learning to stop. It is fun to him. I can tell him, "you have to stop and wait at the corner for Mummy and Plum. We can cross the street together." There is pride in that he will run like the wind until he reaches the corner and then he stops and waits for us to catch up. So yes, it is wonderful to see that he is learning many things every day and I get to see his brain at work all of the time.
So while he was napping and Mr. Jenner was holding down the fort I went out with Miss Biscuit. I was able to mail off a package to my brother Tom, (I sent him some baked goods) went to Trader Joe's and then to the pharmacy to pick up assorted things. Every place we went, people would comment on Miss Biscuit's presence. This is just the nature of hauling around a young baby. I don't really mind it. Often I am shy in public, but babies make good conversation pieces. Little kids will point out gleefully that there is a tiny baby. Adults will say, "oh look how small she is, how old? so cute." Even grumpy looking old men will light and say, "Fun isn't it?" It was when we were in the elevator going up to the garage that a guy in his mid-twenties who was smiling and making faces at her said, "What is it about babies that make people act like this? I just want to smile at her."
I was suddenly reminded of a quote I read awhile back,
A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities. -Eda J. Le Shan
Le Shan was a psychologist who wrote a number of books and often spoke about the importance of children having time to day-dream and just be. (things I believe in big time -even for adults.) I think she was right on the money in some ways about babies. It doesn't even have to be your own baby. It can be fun just for a few seconds to enjoy someone else's baby and babies are a kind of proof as Carl Sandburg that the world should go on. To some that might be ridiculously optimistic but one sort of has to be about the human race.
Now excuse me, I have some spit-up on my shirt which I need to attend to. It can only work as an avant-garde accessory for so long before it starts to smell.
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November 17th, 2009
09:34 pm - blathering
I baked a nice batch of brownies today. Then I made a quiche. Sometimes making pastry is therapeutic. Today was one of those days. I was able to hand off children and concentrate on mixing butter, flour and water together and making something that requires a light hand. No distraction and yet I was able to let go and not think too hard. I also roasted some acorn squash, made a puree out of it and then added a bit of pesto and butter to it. It made the puree/mash speckled in a rather pretty way. It was also delicious. Dinner was good. I felt happy to take the time with something like that.
Posted another Thanksgiving recipe. I am still fiddling with the details of a vegetarian dish. Tinkering with it is kind of fun. Maybe this week I will can something else.
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12:41 pm - morning fun
The past few days have been windy and stormy. I suspect it was more intense when it comes to wind out on the Olympic Peninsula. (but people there are used to it.) Today (so far) it has been bright and clear out. After being cooped up, it was time to take the children out for a walk. Senor Onion was even enthusiastic about this. Sometimes it takes a bit of pushing to get him out the door. A block over the city/county is nearly finished with all the work they have been doing for several months on the drainage/park area. We couldn't wander down in the main area but we could walk along the sidewalk and get a closer view. It is rather attractive and functional. Let's just see how it works this winter! We decided to walk over to Madison to get a treat. On the way there Senor Onion tripped and fell. It was kind of an ass over tea kettle move. He fell on his face and was able to sort of catch himself with his hands. The upside is that his jumper was long enough in the sleeves that his hands were slightly covered so he didn't end up with scrapes on his hands. His face did get a bit of a sanding from the sidewalk but it could have been much worse. The part that was funny (and I feel slightly bad about saying this because ouch it was painful to watch) was the fact that his legs went up in the air after he fell. It was almost classic slapstick. After a few minutes of comforting him and giving him a hug he was all right. He did want me to hold him a little bit. I had Miss Biscuit in the sling, so I just picked him up and held him and walked about a block. I am sure it was entertaining to see this woman walking through the neighborhood holding a baby and a gangly-legged toddler. I do what I can to provide amusements. I was able to set him down and we walked the rest of the way. We went to Arosa and had snacking waffles and hot chocolate. He was very well behaved and sat quietly in his chair and noshed away. It was also very warm and cozy in there. Then we walked home, stopping to say hello to the goat and horse, investigating puddles and closing someone's gate so a dog wouldn't escape. (that was Senor Onion's contribution to society today.)
I wouldn't mind the walking through puddles thing if he would wear his effin' rain boots. But no. He does not want to. I may glue them on him or something. He ends up with wet socks and there is nothing more gross some days than removing muddy wet socks. I suppose I should be grateful that he will wear his wool coat.
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