27 April 2008

swings & bugs & things.

we did cross a few "adventures" off of our list this weekend. definitely a sweet time with my little boy who is one of my all-time favorite friends to spend time with. the other day, he picked his first "flower" just for me...[crouched down, plucked it from the grass, and held it up to me. it's the beautiful, spriggy one on the far left:]


i am discovering more and more just how truly and zealously he is A BOY...ceaseless energy, boundless curiosity, and a newfound fascination with rocks:


it used to be the swings. for a week or two in his life, nothing else seemed to matter but plopping down into that blue bucket seat and whizzing through the air. he'd wake up and the first word uttered would invariably be "Wheeee!" which was his way of saying, "swings before breakfast, please."

some days a few moments on the porch swing would suffice, but other days we'd find him, tiny feet perched on the low window ledge, nose & hands pressed to the glass, staring longingly at the swing-set (which we borrow on occasion) directly across the street in the yard of the Methodist Church. "Wheee! Wheee!" he'd be saying softly to himself. what mother on earth could possibly resist? ...so off to the swings we'd go, again.


suddenly & without notice though, his swing-enchantment has been replaced with an interest in these: jumping on crunchy leaves, inspecting rocks, poking around in the dirt, spying on ants, and other generally boyish activities. so that is how most of our Saturday was spent.

in the neighbor's yard, we found this old tree stump:


then we tromped up and down the sidewalk for awhile:




other than that, i hung this menu board in the kitchen (temporarily) to cover the unsightly (and huge) fuse-box next to the window:


and made up a recipe for a tasty bean salad to eat with last night's salmon:


salad:
1 can northern or cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
1.5 cups shelled edamame
2-3 roma tomatoes, finely chopped
2-3 scallions, sliced
1 jar artichoke hearts, finely chopped
a few dashes each of sea salt and cayenne pepper
a few ribbons of fresh basil (3 leaves)

(would have added if i'd had: a fresh ear of corn, de-cobbed; and some crumbled goat cheese)


dressing:
1 part wine vinegar + 2 parts olive oil (enough to fill a baby food jar about half-way)
1 tsp grainy mustard
3 dashes balsamic vinegar
s & p

26 April 2008

two.

the sun is out now and j is almost to st. louis.

i tried this photograph enhancement trick suggested by my friend keely. here is my favorite semi-recent photo of j&me...


[photo by josh casella. photo treatment by someone in japan. ]


deja vu

wasn't i just here? sitting by the window, this time in my big yellow chair. it's raining again. birds are twittering; eli babbles and murmurs upstairs. j is on the road...driving down a highway in a rented PT Cruiser the color of Smurfs with a thermos of coffee and a bottle of RC Cola.

thankfully, he is only gone until tomorrow evening...this is a quick trip, but a lot of driving for him, three cities in thirty-six hours.

we woke up early to see him off, had a prayer & a family-hug in the kitchen, and waved goodbye from the back porch as he rolled down the gravel drive. eli had been Da-da-da-ing all morning long, as if he knew he'd better stock up for the weekend.

e and i shared [my first attempt at making] a frittata for breakfast. how i managed to get to the age of thirty-four without making a frittata until today is a bit surprising...my mom is all about the frittata.

i am bittersweet about these times when jeremy travels. i miss being a family of three at home together, but i also love my time alone with little e. the two of us taking care of each other and having our own special adventures, like trying new egg dishes and getting lost in story-books.

this weekend's activities will include:

-trip to the market. (i don't actually call it the market in real life...i call it the grocery store, but i like the word market better...makes me feel like i should have a basket on my head and a baby in a papoose, carrying a hand-knit sweater to trade for a chicken. incidentally, jeremy wants chickens for our backyard. as. in. coop.)

-gather & prep for next weekend's city-wide yard sale (hooray for de-cluttering! go feng shui!)

-to the park for swinging. a walk with the stroller (when the rain stops.)

-pop into new coffeehouse-in-progress on Main Street to see how it's coming along.

-set up e's teepee and drag in all the stuffed animals we can find.

-bake blueberry scones for j's return home.

24 April 2008

our town.

[since i am not quite ready to show pictures of the inside of our house, i thought i'd offer a little tour of Kingston Springs as i saw it on yesterday's walk...]


picket fences

everyone's church

studio

intersection



house on the hill

the fillin' station (for live music, food & drink)



443 spring street

log cabin library





on main street



waiting for a winter snow

house on the tracks



old general store





MacK & Kate's for dinner

year-round christmas lights



a tunnel to the park

sundial

saint

a place to rest