My Girl Turns 6!

My daughter turns 6 today, but it's breaking my heart that she's on the couch right now with a double ear infection. I can't wait until we're back outside, on a day like the photo above, and not stuck inside with all the germs passing between each other, over and over. We'll make the best of today that we can, and we'll try again for our little family party later in the week. Maybe later she'll feel better to eat some of her cake, which she chose this year to be in the shape of a turtle.

Gladys Taber's Full Snow Moon

The Full Snow Moon is one of the loveliest; perhaps the crystalline air itself affects her. My friends Helen, Vicky and Olive grow restless after supper and decide to walk in the moonlit woods, even if the temperature is zero. The shadows on the snow are like etchings, and the only sound is the occasional cracking of an icy branch. On such a night in the woods, they feel a strange link with the universe and a renewal of their own identity. When they come in, they bring the smell of snow and pine and damp wood, and it takes a little time before they are ready to get out the popcorn and melt the butter and poke the fire.
In this age of tenseness, we all need such times to renew our souls.

-From Country Chronicle by Gladys Taber

On Demand O'Henry Bars

Last night, out of the blue, my 8 year old son asked me to make what we call O'Henry Bars (not sure why). Because the ingredients are simple and always on hand, I was able to oblige in minutes. "These will be his home from college request," said my husband.

O'Henry Bars
4 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter

Mix together oatmeal, butter, and both sugars. Pat into 10X15 inch cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 12 mintues. Cool.
For frosting, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together over low heat. Spread evenly over bars. Because the frosting stays quite soft, it's best to keep these bars in the fridge. You probably don't need to cover them - they'll be gone by tomorrow.

Back, Finally!

Hello to anyone who is reading this - who hasn't given up on me! I won't bore you with the details, but my blogging absence involved a variety of elderly people, sick (nothing serious, but seemingly pertpetual) children, and a number of other little things adding up to be big time suckers. I'm really hoping I can back to this little blog, back to writing about the things that I love and hoping someone out there reads a little tidbit that leads them to a book, recipe, or something that makes them happy, too.

I'll jump right in with my old "reading, watching, listening to" list. Just like having no time to blog, I've had little time to read or get into anything new for the last few months - my latest trip to the library is going to change this!

Currently Reading:

The Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
I must say I'm thoroughly enjoying this book - here is the blurb from Amazon - I particulary agree with the last sentence about introducing her to friends -

Rosenthal has collected a lifetime of thoughts, observations, and decisions, and created an alphabetized personal encyclopedia, complete with cross-referenced entries and illustrations. Rosenthal reveals the minutiae of her life, from pumping gas ("Every. Single. Solitary. Time I go to get gas I have to lean out the window to see which side the tank is on"), to witnessing her son's accident ("I saw with front-row-seat clarity, just how quickly, randomly, and mercilessly your child can be taken away"), and in turns both playful and poignant, engages the reader in effortless and stimulating conversation.
Whether you are laughing aloud or nodding along, reading Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life is like being introduced to a new friend--one that you automatically connect with and feel compelled to share. Fans of shows like Arrested Development will appreciate Rosenthal's quirky, conversational humor and dead-on observations. Writers will see the book as a contemporary portrait of the fledgling artist, and should enjoy her aptly named, "Evolution of this Moment"--a timeline tracking her growth as a writer from her first word ("more") to publication of her fourth book.
Modesty prevents Rosenthal from acknowledging herself as anything other than ordinary--that, and the fact that she has not "survived against all odds"--but that certainly does not mean she has nothing to say, or to share. Her delightful memoir is a reminder that life is not always an adventure, but it can be full of sad, silly, and important moments that make it worth living. Witness the generosity of an author who is willing to reveal so much of herself, not just as a writer, but also as a person--share this delightfully quirky, utterly enjoyable book with family and friends with a note, "Here is someone I think you should meet." --

To Be Read Next:

The Autobiography of Mark Twain

Food Rules by Michael Pollan

Dirt - The Quirks, Habits and Passions of Keeping House by Mindy Lewis

Enchanted April (still have never read this, but would like to read it in April, dork that I am)

I'd love to hear any opinions about the above books from you!


Watching:

Lost, Lost, and more Lost!


Currently Listening To:

Iron and Wine

CD I'm Really Hoping to Get:

En Concert by Jack Johnson - this has a live version of "Constellations" sung with Eddie Vetter - ooh yah!

That's all for now - I'll be back again soon!

Harvest Moon Photo Tips

I thought this article by Amy Farnsworth over at the Monitor was interesting, especially the photography tips - each year I try to take a decent Harvest Moon photo, and each year I fail!

-The harvest moon gets its name because the light from the moon allows farmers to work later hours – past sunset – and harvest staple crops such as pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice, during this time period. The Farmers’ Almanac says “the moon typically rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the US, and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe.”
The colors of the harvest moon vary and it can appear in red, yellow, or orange hues due to air pollution – mainly from forest fires.
Throughout centuries, the colorful harvest moon has inspired artists, painters, and poets. Many photographers have tried to capture images of the harvest moon, but it’s not very easy.
To take stellar photos of this seasonal event, Writer Geoff Gaherty of Space.com offers the following photography tips:
If your camera has automatic exposure, the scene will look too bright and the moon will be overexposed. The trick to capturing the harvest moon in a photograph is first, to zoom in with your telephoto lens to make the moon appear larger, and secondly, to underexpose the picture by a couple of stops, to darken the landscape, saturate the colors, and expose the moon properly.

wind, leaves, cider & pumpkin cake

I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things...

I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run

against the wind.

-Leo Buscaglia

Well, I'm finally back! The kids are back in school, and we've gotten through our usual first bout of sickness that always happens this time of year. We are slowly getting back into the swing of things, and while the kids do like going to school I still have a pit in my stomach every day I walk down the steps from the courtyard (see photo) without a little hand to hold. On a typical day I stop at the grocery store and then head home with a pit stop at my husband's 94 year-old grandma's house to run in her morning paper. I then go home and clean like a maniac or do what I can for my husband's work until 11:00 when it's time to pick up our daughter from kindergarten. On Thursdays I try to treat myself to an hour in the local thrift shop or some lounge time in the library. And then all of a sudden it's Friday and time to savor the precious weekend with my precious people!

After school tomorrow we are going to celebrate the first day of Fall with some pumpkin cake and cider in our little cabin in the woods. A fine dinner, don't you agree? :)

Summer Update

Like so many people I know, I've been crazily busy this summer and can't believe how it's flying by. My computer time has been extremely limited as I've been outside and running around with the kids so much. I almost decide to give up this little blog, but I know that once the kids are back in school and I have no one to eat my lunch with that I'll NEED it, so I guess I'll just call this a hiatus and return again in September.

Before I go, I would like to mention 2 things I've been enjoying recently - the band Iron & Wine and Michael Perry's latest book "Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting." Iron & Wine is perfect summer eve music, and the Perry book has "a literary gem on nearly every page" just like the quote on the back of it says. Here's a random paragraph from a random page:

"We begin on the easy path - a mown strip leading to the ridge past the old circular steel corncrib behind the granary. The crib stands empty beneath its rust-streaked galvanized cap, the iron mesh twined around the south side with a few stray ivy runners. For years it has done little more than sift the wind. At sundown it silhouettes against the sky like some ghostly aviary."

And that's just him talking about a corncrib! Awesome.