blackberries

Our neighbors have a blackberry bramble in their backyard and while they've been vacationing, they have given me free reign to pick until my heart's content. I've eeked out three quarts worth (barely a dent) and been prickered to death. Wicked bushes. Delectible berries. Worth every scrape and scratch.

Although we gobbled most of the berries right from the bush, a couple of cups were saved to make a dessert for my book club. I wasn't sure what to make but I needed a recipe for which I had all the ingredients and that wouldn't take me more than thirty minutes to prepare. I decided to take a chance on a this Blackberry Cobbler recipe I found on the All Recipes website. I was wary because most cobbler-type desserts I have eaten have been kind of dry and unmemorable. This cobbler was neither. It was embarrassingly good, and I knew it as soon as I popped it out of the oven. But I really couldn't take credit for it. It was the blackberries and the butter and the sugar. I had very little to do with it.

That said, I highly, highly recommend you make this recipe. (And don't be intimidated by the dough rolling - mine was a falling-apart disaster - or worry about pouring the sugar liquid over the dough/berry mixture before baking - it may look like a watery mess but I am sure that's what makes it moist and AMAZING.) However, I will suggest one important thing: Be sure you have a plan for this cobbler. A party. A picnic. A place to share it. Because if you don't, I swear you will eat the entire pan yourself. It will be the best entire pan you have ever eaten, but when you're crying over the bellyache you got from downing two sticks of butter, you just might regret it.

how his little mind works

Last night Liam returned from a five-day excursion staying with Papa and Gigi at their lake house. It was his first real experience of being away from home without us and he had a great time. I think we missed him more than he missed us.

After lots of hugs and excited running around at my aunt Debbie's house where we had our reunion, we loaded up the car and headed home to bed. On the way, I quizzed Liam about his activities and routines in Wisconsin. When I finally asked, "What was your number one favorite thing you did while you were gone?," he gleefully shouted out, without a moment's hesitation, "Going to McDonald's!"

Apparently he hit the fast food joint three times in five days: once while traveling to the lake house with aunt Jamie, once while he was there with Papa and Gigi and a final time while traveling home with aunt Jamie and uncle Mark. The last stop was the best because he found not four chicken nuggets in his Happy Meal, but six! A sheer gold mine. I don't doubt he swallowed them whole.

Although I wonder if I am depriving my kids a bit by avoiding drive-thru windows and refusing to eat out of bags and boxes, I am glad it's so easy for aunts and uncles and grandparents to be heros to a five year old. I'd still prefer if tubing or reading with Papa or eating corn on the cob topped the list of best lake house memories, but there's still time. I doubt McDonald's will even make the list next year.

Oh, and in case there's any question as to whether Liam missed his family back home, this is a drawing he made for me while we were driving in the car this morning. When you're five, "the world" is small and it sure is good to be part of it again. Welcome back, buddy.

maybe not such a great idea

Earlier this week I found a cool-looking craft and decided to give it a try with Liam. The originator of the idea - which is basically to heat up rocks in the oven and then melt crayons on them - had done the craft with her kids (presumably a bit older than mine) and the results looked really neat. Although heating up rocks presented a potential hazard, I figured Liam was old enough to handle it. Well, I was right about the handling part.

Shortly after I took the "hot rocks" out of the oven and put them on the cool cookie sheet (and patiently explained to Liam how the rocks were VERY hot and he should, by all means, not touch them), he stuck out his finger and touched one. Did he not believe me? Did he need to see for himself? Does his mother not know that five is too young for oven crafts?

After soaking and ice and band-aids, Liam - teary-eyed and nursing his blister - sniffled, "Mom," he said. "I really think this craft is too dangerous for me."

Perhaps not my best mothering moment. But melting those crayons on the hot rocks sure was fun for me.

reconstructed tee

In the little bits of time I have outside of working and mothering and wifing and housekeeping and trying to remember what else I'm supposed to be doing, I have been dreaming up ways to remake my old clothes into cute things to wear. This t-shirt was once a boring, well-worn long-sleeve grey crewneck that sat in a drawer.


So, I gave it a new life. I cut off the sleeves and the neck, and stitched them with a tight zigzag so they'd ruffle. Then, I drew on a butterfly, pinned a piece of an old tie-dye shirt underneath, sewed around the drawing, and then carefully cut the grey fabric to reveal the tie-dye underneath. I got the idea from the current issue of Sew Simple.


It's cute and unique and so much better than the original. And way more rewarding than vacuuming the house or doing the laundry. Take that, housework.

yin and yang

Last week we received a medical bill in the mail and I felt just like my grandpa buying a cinnamon roll in Corner Bakery when my jaw fell open and I shouted, "You have to be kidding me!" The previous week I had taken Elliott to a nearby hospital to have his blood drawn for a few metabolic and genetic tests. He is too little, however, to have all the blood taken that was need for the five tests, so the nurse drew 9 cc's into three little vials and sent us on our way. The lab cost for those three little tests was a whopping $2,500.

Here's the thing. We are self-employed. Although we have solid PPO insurance, we each have a sizable deductible because we can't afford a second mortgage for a premium. It's equivalent to a Hummer payment already. After Elliott's $2,500 deductible, we continue to pay 20%. In a business-as-usual situation, this isn't so bad, but this year, having just met all of Elliott's deductible and nearly half of Liam's (due to just one quick middle-of-the-night run to the ER), opening the medical bills verges on the comedic. Particularly for a family already squeezing blood from a turnip.

What bugs me is that if we didn't have insurance for Elliott, the state (from what I understand) would fully cover his medical expenses. And, if either Andrew or I took (which presupposes the finding of) a great corporate job, we would have great corporate insurance, be able to slap down our $20 co-pay and never look back. Instead, we are stuck in the middle: a self-insured, scraping-by family with a precious boy who needs tests and tubes and little plastic $2,000 shoe inserts. Yes, we are stuck.

I am not a socialist and I will be one of the first to extol the virtues of a capitalistic society, but healthcare that favors the rich, the poor and the lucky just doesn't sit well with me. I wish there were a good solution.

In the meantime, I laugh and try to look on the bright side. Lucky for me, I was born with a half-full glass and rarely have trouble finding it.

So, in the true spirit of this blog, I give you the yang: My list of things that are making me happy right now.

:: The library. Some days I am honestly awed by the fact that all this book, video, music and magazine goodness is free. (Yeah, yeah, taxes, whatever.) I can check out knitting books, novels, poetry collections, new release movies, all 50 some Magic Treehouse books (Liam's favorite), annoying kid CDs that I would never want to own, magazines that I cannot bear to buy. The options are endless and the experience is completely anxiety free. It almost makes me cry.

:: My sewing machine. When a day is really rough, I think of my sewing machine and all the things I can make with it - someday. And I feel better. Right now, I am in love with this patchwork and this flower and this shopping bag. I plan to make them all - soon.

:: Truckloads of work, and free WiFi. Every morning this week, and most of last, I have headed out to my office when it opens at 6. The independent coffeehouse in our downtown has free WiFi and they roast their own coffee beans. I call that an office. And lately I have really needed one as the work, right in step with the bills, has poured in. Keeping us grateful and sure that God must be keeping his eye on us.

:: Cherry-berry compote, on everything. Last year about this time, I started making a berry/sugar thing that was basically pie filling. I like pie, but it's a lot of work, and since it's really the filling that makes me sigh, this compote is more than delicious. Right now we are making it with sour cherries and both black and red raspberries. In the morning we warm it and serve it over waffles. At lunch we stir it into plain yogurt. After dinner, it finds its best friend, chocolate chip ice cream. Eaten with a spoon while standing in front of an open fridge is also quite delightful.

:: Watching our garden grow. Other than watching your children grow, nothing compares to the wonder of seeing what a tiny seed can do. I will soon post a photo (after all, that's what proud mamas do) because our garden, full of squash blossoms and tiny bean shoots and gorgeous, leafy lettuce is a little miracle. It's poetry. It's art. It's a symbol for what really matters. And soon it will feed us.

So, my friends, in the spirit of looking at the bright side and not looking at the bills, what is making you happy right now?

butterfly release

For Liam's birthday his cousin Samantha gave him a butterfly kit - a net home and a postcard that lets you send away for some larvae that will cocoon and transform into painted lady butterflies. We had a great time watching them grow - and go.

Here are a couple things we learned about the painted lady (or Vanessa cardui L for you latin gurus or friends named Vanessa!):

:: Her lifespan is just 2 to 4 weeks and during that time she may travel 1,000 miles.
:: She tastes with her feet.
:: She breathes through her abdomen.
:: She has 10,000 eyes.
:: She can lay up to 500 eggs.

So if you see this butterfly kit and wonder if it would make a good gift for 5 year old - or a 40 year old - know that it does.

totally random theology

Liam asks a lot of question, particularly about God. Half the time I have absolutely no idea how to answer. Some examples:

:: Why doesn't God have any kids other than Jesus?
:: Did Jesus wear diapers? Toot? Throw up?
:: Was God ever zero, you know, like a baby?
:: Why doesn't God ever talk to me? I ask him to and he never does.

I guess when two questioning people come together, it's a good bet they are going to bear a questioning child. I try my best not to shut him down or blow off his questions or laugh, but sometimes it's a challenge. Here was today's installment:

LIAM: Does Mary know me?

MOM: What?

LIAM: Does Mary know me?

MOM: Mary who?

LIAM: Mary, God's mom. Does she know me? You know, like in real life.

MOM: Umm. (long pause)

LIAM (annoyed): Well?

MOM (deciding what answer will be most satisfying): No. But God knows you.

LIAM: Oh. Does he like me?

littlest Bordoni surprises us all

It kind of came as a surprise to us, but Independence day is definitely Elliott's holiday. During the parade he waved and waved, and - wonder of all wonders (for him) - everyone waved back. He screamed along with the fire engines and sat wide-eyed, repeating "wow" throughout the fireworks. At every event he was happy, bright and funny, especially when he was dancing at dad's gig on Friday night. We know he connects with music, but we really had no idea he'd be such a party boy. As for his brother, not so much.

eat your veggies

A couple other bloggers I like have written about kale chips recently. I discovered them when I was part of a CSA years ago and now make them nearly every week of the summer. Since they got a big stamp of approval from my college friend who is here visiting with her husband this week, I figured you should know about them, too. Kale chips are light and crispy and make me imagine what it might be like to eat autumn leaves, but don't let that deter you. They are really good. So good, in fact, that I made a big batch of them today and in less than five minutes we had eaten them all, straight off the pan.

Kale Chips
Wash and de-stem a bunch of kale. (We prefer the curly leaf kind, called Russian Kale, because it crisps up the best.) Cut the leaves into tortilla-size pieces. Spread the kale out on a rimmed cookie sheet. Pour some olive oil in your hands and toss the kale around. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, tossing once or twice. Eat 'em up.