The Owl and the Pussycat, well, just the Owl for now

Not that I can really say I love that poem, but it does get stuck in my head. And for some reason, I find myself intrigued by folksy owls these days. So after my successful freezer-paper-as-stencil project earlier int he week, I thought I'd give it another go and revamp my library bag.

Actually this bag is more than my library bag, it's also my taking my computer to the gym bag and my I need some way to tote all my junk bag. The problem is that it's kinda ugly. Will's grandfather gave it to me when we visited them earlier this fall in Kentucky. As with all grandparents, we generally leave with more than we came, and this time the bag was part of the pile heaped in our car. As it turns out, it's the handiest bag I've had in a long while. Pockets in just the right spots, handles the right length, fits my computer or a slew of books or my gym clothes or sometimes even all of that at once. So despite the fact that it says "Paducah Technical College" on one side, I've been carrying it around a lot lately, with the words facing in that is.

I had thought about funning it up before, but couldn't think of what to do with a sort of vinylish big pocketed bag that would make it look good without taking it out of commission for very long, because I NEED it. I cant be bagless while it gets cross stitched (as if I have the patience for that anyway) or hand appliqued (again, like I have the patience) and using a sewing machine was out due to the size of the opening. But when the freezer paper thing panned out, well, I figured how bad could I screw up a stencil? So I took the plunge.

Now I wasn't brave enough to attempt something in a totally different color, just in case the paint wasn't as opaque as it needed to be, so what ever it was, it was going to be blue. And a blue owl? Well, why not, Probably better than the blue hedge hog I started off with. The eyes ended up freehand because I didn't want to try to iron over the paint and I think I may add some kind of texture, maybe with Modge Podge or more paint, but maybe not. For now I'm just happy to have a bag that doesn't advertise a college I didn't go to in a town where I don't live. Woo hoo to freezer paper. I'm thinking tee-shirts might be next...

Rainy Days

Generally I like the rain. I even love it some days. I've lived a lot of my life in rainy places but really, Virginia rain is something else entirely. The night we moved here, within minutes of landing at the airport just out of town a downpour began that was harder than I've ever seen in my life. It didn't rain, it didn't even pour, it DRENCHED. It soaked and flooded and just the dash from the car to the door of the hotel was enough to soak us through. I remember that Briton asked sleepily as we tucked him into the bed if we could go to the park in the morning. No, I told him, everything would be muddy and wet in the morning, but maybe in a few days when things had dried out.

Much to my surprise and Briton's delight, the morning dawned hot and totally dry. After years of living in rain soaked lands I almost thought I'd dreamed the storm the night before.

In the two and a half years since then, I've gotten pretty used to the torrential rain that sometimes thunders down upon us, but sometimes, even I get fed up when the rain pours so hard you cant even go out to get the mail.

Today was one of those days. Evelyn and I made a dash for it to hit the gym (me) and the playzone (her) but after that we spent a lot of time inside just hanging. After a while though, even Playdoh and Sleeping Beauty lost it's charm and we still had an hour before the bus run.

I started this project a few weeks ago but got distracted and didn't finish (bad mama) so today seemed like the day. The best part about this was that Evelyn could help me make it, and then she could play with it. And what else is better on a crummy day than a new toy, right?

If you don't happen to have four plain wooden blocks just lying around (and who does really, I bought these at the craft store just for this project, because I'm nuts like that) see if you can dig up four alphabet blocks. The irony is that if I'd started this a few weeks earlier (ie, before I went a little crazy cleaning out bins in the basement) I too would have had alphabet blocks. That's just the price I pay for having obsessive cleaning binges.

Anyway, my kids have always loved puzzle blocks. We bought our first one on a trip to Paris when Briton was two and it kept him busy for HOURS while Will and I ate in cafes, gazed at paintings and generally enjoyed ourselves. But for something that kids seems to love so much, they're not as common as you might think. We've gathered a few more through the years, but not a lot.

So there I sat one day, clearing out a bunch of old High Five magazines that had been loved to death and I realized that some of the pictures would make great puzzles, and even better, great block puzzles. And if I was going to make a block puzzle, why not throw in some family photos as well, just for kicks.



Trace around the blocks while they are centered on the photo or picture and then trim carefully along the lines.





You want to err on the side of small or you'll get bumpy edges (see those edges, not fun, kids like to peel bumpy edges. Now I know better though)

Then apply with Modge Podge, one coat under the paper, another coat or two on top. Easy Peasy. One tip, don't let your kids play with them before they dry. In fact, you might want to hide them until they are dry, otherwise they start looking a little ratty right off the bat. But nothing that another coat of modge podge couldn't take care of.

Dutch Baby Love

Growing up in Northern Idaho, my hands down favorite dinner was the big poofy golden oven pancakes my mom called Dutch Babies. I thought I was the only kid in the world who's mom (and dad, too since they both made them) knew how to make such deliciousness. I mean, pancakes were all well and good, but Dutch Babies were glorious.

Later I realized we were not the only family who made dutch babies. In fact, I found to my dismay you could even get them in restaurants for goodness sake. They appeared by any number of names. German pancakes, Oven pancakes, Dutch pancakes, Even Yorkshire pudding is really a dutch baby made with beet fat instead of butter. But even after finding that they were not unique to my family, I continued to adore them. What's not to love. Eggs, milk, flour and tons of butter. And the toppings are endless. Jam, syrup, powdered sugar if you're feeling sweet. Bacon and gravy, anything and gravy, even just a slathering of more butter or a sprinkle of salt if savory's your thing. It's all pretty much fantastic.

I still make them, although not for dinner as much as I'd like to. Will doesnt quite get my passion for them, but the kids love them, and so they live on as a favorite dish.

The idea is pretty simple, although I've seen version that are very fancy indeed with vanilla or herbs or caramelized apples at the bottom. I'm sure those are all great, but for me, the simple way will always be best.

for a large cast iron pan

stick 1/2 stick of butter (I know I know, you can use less, but it wont be as good) into the pan and stick the pan in a 400 degree oven until the butter is totally melted and just beginning to brown. Then beat together

2 cups of flour
2 cups of milk
4 eggs

until you have a nice smooth batter. When the pan is ready CAREFULLY pull it out of the oven, pour in the batter and pop it back in as quickly as you can without burning your hand. For a small pan halve the recipe. Cast iron really gives the best results but any heavy oven safe frying pan will do. I've even done them in a Le Creuset and it was delicious.

Turn the oven light on so you can watch the show, in about 30 minutes the pancake will be puffy and golden, take it out as soon as it's beginning to brown all over. The poof will fall as the steam escapes. If your pan is well seasoned it should just pop out onto a cutting board in one piece. If it doesn't, just cut right in the pan and pull out the wedges, serving with the toppings of your choice. If you want to get adventurous, add a few breakfast sausages to the pan and let them cook before adding the butter. The sausages will stand up on end when the batter rises. This version, in case you are wondering, is basically what Toad in the Hole is. Which kids, by the way, find hilarious.

The leaves they are a fallin'

It's no secret I'm obsessed with leaves lately, the fall colors this year were nothing short of spectacular and I loved every minute of it. Seeing the last of the fall leaves crumpled on the ground this past week has been, well, kinda sad. So to help make up for the lost fall color, I've been concocting a little project. The key ingredient here is, probably surprisingly, freezer paper.

Yes, freezer paper still exists, although why they sell it anywhere other than craft stores is beyond me. Even as a canner, freezer, dryer of foods I have never found an occasion when freezer paper was necessary. But obviously someone out there still uses it as freezer paper. Maybe somewhere there are whole groups of people who re-wrap their meat in it, and who am I to question that. For crafts, though, it's a handy thing to have around.

We used to keep freezer paper around the house for finger painting, back when I was foolish enough to let my children go to town with paint. Now a days I leave the painting projects to school and art classes and to be honest, I almost forgot the freezer paper even existed. But last week I ran across a stenciling project using freezer paper and had to give it a try.

I've been pondering the idea of wide table runners. I know, who ponders table runners? But really, I've been trying to decide on a more or less permanent (at least until I get bored and do something different) table covering. But since I love my table and I don't really want to cover it, just dress it up, I decided on the idea of a wide runner.

During my weekend trek through Jo-Ann's I found two likely candidates. A heavy denim that is almost exactly the shade of blue of my cabinets and a brownish gray suiting fabric that I just plain loved. The suiting is still sitting in my fabric pile, waiting for inspiration, but the denim seemed like the perfect canvas for a little freezer paper experimentation.

At first I thought I'd scan some real leaves to trace onto the paper but didn't find any leaves I was absolutely in love with in the neighborhood, (and I was too impatient to go hunting for some further afield) so I pulled some images off the Internet to print. Traced, trimmed and ironed on, Evelyn and I spent a fun morning painting the leaves in.

Once the leaves were dry I peeled the paper off (freezer paper leaves no residue so you can iron it onto just about any fabric) and voila, a table runner. Well, almost, I still need to hem the fabric, but even with raw edges it look pretty cool, especially given the three year old contribution.

Rows of Bows

I never thought I'd be a mother of a bow obsessed girl. In fact, I have a secret horror of bows. You cant blame me, I spent part of my childhood in Dallas. In the early 1990's. Yeah, remember those bows? Well, I guess if you weren't in Dallas in 1991, you probably wouldn't. But let me tell you, they were BIG and they were EVERYWHERE. I even remember one of my friends mothers who everyday wore a bouffant ponytail with an enormous bow that matched her outfit. It still give me the chills.

And yet, here I am, with Miss I must wear something pink and frilly every day and there needs to be not one but TWO bows in my hair, one for each pigtail. I've spent a lot of money on Etsy in the past two years on bows and hairclips. And even I will admit, it's ridiculously cute.

A few months ago Will's mom sent Evelyn a set of grosgrain ribbon bows in hot pink that we've worn, oh, at least twice a week and probably more since. And the other day she was sitting in my lap listening to me read Periwinkle Smith and the TwirlyWhirly Tutu for the billionth time when I looked down and those bows and thought, "well, I could make those."

This weekend I made a dreaded trip to the fabric store (dreaded because it's so SLOW to buy anything there, I wait until I have a pile of projects waiting in the wings before I brave it) and bought spools of ribbon in Evelyn's favorite colors. And today, despite the fact that I had to settle for snappy clips instead of alligator clips because I had been to three fabric stores and the craft store and hadn't found what I wanted, I started bowmaking.

Once I'd gotten myself going in the right direction it was pretty much a snap. Loop, loop, loop, loop, snip, wrap, glue. That's pretty much the drill. And now Evelyn has a row of bows on her clip holder. Well, she will tonight. After she has had a chance to wear EVERY ONE today.

Not to beat a dead horse but...

I've been hanging onto this rain coat because it was the best kid coat ever.












I thought she'd never grow into it.
















Time flies

Flashback, Flashforward

I actually had something totally different all written up for today. I usually start my mornings at the gym (I do a lot of baking after all) where Evie plays in the excellent childcare, I get a chance to work out and then I can sit in the peace of the cafe and write. This morning I was kind of moaning about my indecisiveness as to whether I'm going to jump whole hog into the digital world or if I really need a big paper desk calender after all.

And then Evie and I took a walk in the rain. Well really a dash. Thursday mornings she goes to a kids-only story time at the library which she loves because she gets to be big and which I hate, just a little bit, because it means she's growing up, although it does give me 30 whole minutes to look for books that dont involve princesses or Captain Underpants.

But back to the rain. It's been raining here for almost three days and wont stop for at least another day and a half. It's cold and wet and everything looks gray and soggy and even though I complain about it, it makes me think of home. Home in Portland, home in Ireland. I have a thing for wet, cold places. Who knows.

When Briton was three were were living in Dublin in a tiny tiny apartment. Will wont admit it but it was 300 square feet. I know this because on one particularly rainy day I used this digital measuring tool will had and measured the whole place. Twice. Just to be sure. Actually I think it was 298 square feet. So, pretty small. Which meant that, rain or no, we went out every day. We walked and walked and hopped on buses and rode the purple train into town and the green train out to the seaside towns of Dalkey and Bray. It was just the two of us all day and it was wonderful. And now he's seven. And Evie is the one walking in the rain with me, holding my hand and almost ready to go to preschool.

Life is busier here. We have a house to renovate and a real kitchen instead of half an oven and three burners and all my bakeware sitting in boxes across the ocean and school functions and a car and, although the town is much smaller, a bigger life. I dont get to spend as much time just being a mom of a three year old as I did back then. I guess that's probably true of all second and third and how ever many after kids. But today I got to walk in the rain with my daughter and buy her a cookie even though it was almost lunch and then I watched her blow me a kiss and walk up the stairs of the library like a big girl. It's a good kind of day. Even with the rain...