(this moment) and Keeping it Real

A Friday ritual. A single Several photos - no a few words - capturing a moment from the week. 

A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

If you're inspired to do the same, link your 'moment' in the comments for all to find & see.

 Avi doesn't know who Pooh is. Or Christopher Robin. Or Piglet. We haven't yet read those books to him. We have one pooh bear toy that is called "yellow bear" (even though this kind of thing makes our mothers roll their eyes at us).  Honestly we are trying to avoid as many media driven characters as possible in our home. And this day, outside the library - waiting for it to open, was no different. Avi did not meet Pooh, Christopher Robin or Piglet. Instead he met a bear, a boy, and a little pig. He was thrilled to meet them, stroke their backs, look, with curiosity, at whatever they were looking at, and hold hands. He also kissed them all goodbye on our way out.

I love this gentle child. 

Inspired by Soulemama

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This week, I'm also joining monica with:

Keeping it Real #4

blah:

Avi testing the idea of "pushing"

not understanding the wing ding language my wife speaks

feeling camera envy when seeing a class of 30+ photographers at the farmer's market

 noticing my defense mechanisms (about my own self worth) arise while reading the current issue of Taproot 

our last hurrah with Tim who is off to new adventures in Seattle.

kidney stones -- still

yay:

"Avi (down)stairs do it myself - big boy"

new friendships forming - both grown up and kidlet friends

spontaneous front yard picnics

two quiet hours in the coffee shop in the blogsphere

successfully making lisa's Mexican Slaw - YUM!

going to bootcamp every m/w/f at 6 a.m. even when I desperately want to roll over and go back to bed

the two of us dreaming of winnebagos and the open road

nine things

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

Thornton Wilder

This week's treasures include:

- the beautiful relationship between these two.

 - his excitement and hesitancy every time we feed the neighbor's goats.

 - the mirror that I see when I look at this one chewing on grass "just like Ema".

 - that Avi is growing up knowing, first hand, that we share this planet with many.

 - that even when I hate the many things that are wrong with this country... I also love it too. 

 - these hands: curious, gentle, helping, and finding that anything can be a toy.

- anything. grass makes a great tub toy.

 - living a slow enough life to have moments like these. 

- that co-sleeping is still working for us.

wee(ds)kend project

We were so fortunate that the previous owners of our home were avid gardeners. We have the most beautiful flower gardens. When one blooms dies back, another comes... and this continues from the very first crocuses far into late fall. We have spent so many hours out in our yard keeping it beautiful -- until June of 2010. June 25 to be exact -- our little bird's birthday. While we enjoyed the new found wonder of being mamas, the bind weed, dandelions, lambs quarters, and thistles enjoyed our negligence. This past Sunday, while Jenn was busy in the veggie garden (post coming soon) I got busy in the bed adjacent to our chicken coop. Avi took turns helping both of us!

believe it or not - this is a rock path/ditch

overgrown with weeds and grasses

the tedious task of cleaning rocks from weeds

while I was working hard, my best helper was playing harder

volia!

And just to reiterate: 

Before...................................................................................After

Walking out to the chicken coop every morning I get to see the efforts of my hard work. 

What projects are you working on??

a taste of tuesday: Pea Shoot BLT Salad

BLT Pea Shoot salad

Pea shoots are basically the leaves of young pea plants. I got ours from our local farmer's market.

But I borrowed this picture from here

Everything tastes better with meat candy. That's what my brother, Gene, calls bacon. Meat candy.. and there is good reason for it. This recipe (from Everyday w/ Rachael Ray) is fun, easy and delicious, but not one that I would recommend eating everyday. Even though 3 of the 4 main ingredients are veggies, the bacon (and accompanying grease) makes this dish far from what I'd call 'healthy'... but it was delicious none the same! Did I say it was delicious? 

Ingredients

• 4 ounces sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 large clove garlic, smashed and peeled
• 12 ounces fresh pea shoots
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a wok or large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat, stirring, until nearly crisp, about 3 minutes. I prefer to cook my bacon in the toaster oven at 400 for 15-18 minutes - less mess and you can control the amount of grease that ends up in your final dish. Cook and then transfer bacon and a little bit of it's geasy goodness into a large skillet.
2. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the pea shoots and stir-fry until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes; toss. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

What's your favorite pea shoot recipe?

then.and.now

then.and.now

number.two 

Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with thme so many years of our own lives.                            - John Galsworthy

saying goodbye :: one year ago today

 seventeen and one half years in this world :: forever in our hearts 

Inviting you to link up with your own then.and.now

(this moment) and Keeping it Real

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. 

A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

If you're inspired to do the same, link your 'moment' in the comments for all to find & see.

Inspired by Soulemama

**********************************************************************************************************

This week, I'm joining monica with:

Keeping it Real #3

icky:

hand, foot and mouth disease

kidney stones

feeling easily frustrated by his screams of frustration

2nd year morals

wishes

yummy:

silver linings

getting back into the rhythm of my blog

sore body from working out hard

blooming roses

thunderstorms || some good ol' Eddie Rabbit inspired singing

nine.things

...I'm loving these days.

Discovering new friends

The sweet intoxication of the russian olive

Friends taking turns and trading necklaces

Broccoli: one bite for cow, one bite for avi

A friend willing to share her nana's lap

Nighttime snuggles and books with mama

Simultaneous rain and sunshine

Technology

When reading Everywhere Babies trumps the Trucks book (on Avi's accord)

Quarantine

On Saturday our little bird woke from his afternoon nest with a fever and a few spots on his leg that made me suspect spider bites. By dinner they had continued to spread and we called our beloved friend and neighbor who is a M.D. to come take a look. Professional opinion: Virus. Not to worry.

I didn't. But Sunday morning, I think I caught Jenn counting the spots. Worrying is in her blood. She can't help it. So to alleviate fears, we took him to Urgent Care. The staff was great, we didn't have to wait long and before you knew it everyone was in love with Avi. Professional opinion: Virus. Not to worry.

I didn't. But poor Jenn, "They look worse" and "Don't you think they're spreading." Sigh. But I'm grateful that we have each other. Because I'm probably too laid back and she has the worry gene, so together, I think we make a good pair. A good pair of mothers for our boy. On Monday, I took him to our Naturopath. Professional opinion: Virus - Atypical Hand Foot and Mouth Disease*. (Just like great grandpa diagnosed via a photo sent on our iphone). Keep him away from pregnant women and other kidlets. Prescribed a homeopathic and some herbs. Not to worry.

Spots can't bring me down!

So, we've been quarantined. Missing our friends, play dates, going away dinners, hiking dates, African singing class, and more. Yet, it's been kinda nice. No agenda. No place to be. It's allowed forced me to slow down a bit and be more present. "Ema, play with you. Sit here floor/garden/sandbox", Avi says. Because I'm not busy trying to get us out the door, I'm saying yes more often. So today, we...

 Ate smoothie popsicles and played with $1.25 yard sale finds.

Made friends with a ladybug.

Found some fresh air and sunshine.

And made some red spots of our own!

While all that time to ourselves has been nice and refreshing and forced us to slow.... I'm looking forward to spending time with our friends again. Quarantine is only good for so long. 

*Hand Foot and Mouth, like the name, is a rash that shows up on the palms of hands, soles of feet and around and inside the mouth. Avi has a pretty mild case. Hands, arms, feet, legs... but he doesn't have it showing up in his mouth. Needless to say, we are thankful.

a taste of tuesday: Quick Rhubarb Pickles

Quick Rhubarb Pickles

I love rhubarb. But not for the reasons one might think. It's not the taste I'm in love with, but the memories. 1980-something, summertime, free range of the neighborhood for whatever game we (anywhere from 4-15 neighborhood kids) came up with, munching on the tart stalks of rhubarb that grew behind the Garbe's house. 

This is an über easy recipe (from Everyday with Rachael Ray) for that overgrown rhubarb you have in your garden. 

If you'd rather use your rhubarb for something sweet, check out this rhubarb cardamom galette.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• 10 whole cloves
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 1 piece  (1 1/2 inch) fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 lemon
• 1 pound fresh rhubarb, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch pieces

Directions

1. In a nonreactive medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, cloves and peppercorns. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is just dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, then use a vegetable peeler to slice strips of zest from the lemon; add to the saucepan. Let the liquid cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
2. Divide the rhubarb among 3 clean, small glass jars. ladle in the cooled brine mixture. Top with the lids and refrigerate the pickles for 2 days before eating. (The pickles will keep refrigerated for up to 1 month.)

They taste great! Use as a snack, side dish, or to top a salad.