MamaPie

Fact Finding Mission

While Andrew as putting Reuben to sleep last night, Ezra and I took Baloo on a short walk to the mailbox: 2 blocks down our street. During our walk - summer night, Ezra shirtless, lots of neighbors out - Ezra found out lots of things. Such as:

1. Who our friend Dave was talking to: his wife's brother Noah
2. What they were talking about: "singing out loud, having fun, life."
3. What our friend Kathy was doing: bringing out her recycling.
4. Where Dawn's daughter Lola was: "inside, changing her clothes."
5. Why Lola was changing her clothes: "so she can help her dad wash the truck."
6. Why Linda parked on the street instead of her driveway: "because it's garbage day tomorrow."
7. What Peter was doing: "changing a flat tire."

He found out all these things from friends and neighbors of all ages (Kathy is 67, Linda is about 50, Dave is 35) in his characteristic friendly and direct way. That he is curious about, and observant of, the world around him is an enormous understatement. He's always been this way - our sweet green-eyed boy - and I only hope the world around him continues to be as friendly, receptive to and delighted by his questions as our kind neighbors are.

Summertime in the Kitchen

Each season, I discover a few new things to cook and I make them pretty frequently. If I'm lucky, I remember them the next year and they become the constants while I discover a few more new-er things.

Rhubarb vinaigrette and strawberry-rhubarb crumble are the frequently made things this summer. The vinaigrette ranges in color from pink-tinged yellow to full out pink, based on the pinkness of the rhubarb. Besides being pretty, it is sweet and tangy and delicious. So delicious in fact, that Ezra ate his first plate full of salad, mostly, I think, because it had this dressing on it.

We've also been making lots of smoothies in the VitaMix. Out standard is: banana, frozen mango, ice, coconut butter and yogurt - totally delicious and I especially how the ice and mango freeze the coconut butter into little creamy chunks. We've added two new smoothies into the rotation this summer. They are a green smoothie with: banana, pineapple, ice, water and kale and a peanut butter banana one with: banana, peanut butter, honey and lots of ice. The peanut butter banana one is so good I'm thinking of freezing it and calling it ice cream.

I hope to add a few more "keepers" to the repertoire this summer. I'll keep you posted if I do!

What Playing Looks Like

My cats - Papa Cat and the two kittens - went away this week, which left this mouse time to play. So, what did I do?

Primarily, I moved slowly. I think that if you saw me these past few days: walking down the street, sitting at the coffee shop reading the newspaper, on a bike ride, I would look a little unmoored, spaced out, disoriented, but in a good way. That's how I felt, for sure.

I did "do" some things, in small bits, with lots of breaks for reading, petting the dog, lying down and staring out the window. I did: some house cleaning, sorted through the boys old clothes, got some things ready for a yard sale this weekend, made a big pot of beans, soaked and then dried some almonds, a little sewing. I went to bed early and lay in bed for awhile each morning when I woke up. This slow waking up was one of the things that was most different from my regular days and one of the things I most savored.

They're coming back today. I'm sure they'll be full of stories and pride from their camping adventures.I could definitely use a few more days of this slowness, this dreamy way of moving through my days. And, I can't wait to see those faces that I love the most.

Homemade Summer

That's my mantra for Summer 2011, one that keeps bubbling up in my mind. I'm not even totally sure what that means or how it will look, but I'm pretty sure it will include lots of cooking (or not cooking, in the case of salads, fruits, smoothies, popsicles...) at home, lots and lots of time in nature and, thanks to this inspiring blog post, lots of siesta time.

I'm also excited to try out lots of the projects and ideas in the Summer issue of Rhythm of the Home.

What are you excited about this summer?