Celebratory Camping

Every year, our friends Jerry & Lisa celebrate their wedding anniversary by reserving the entire campground where they were married.  It is an invitation only weekend long celebration – this year, celebrating 25 years!  Congratulations Jerry & Lisa!!!  I should have knit a silver flamingo for you!  (I’ll have to get to work on that!  A couple of years ago I did knit them a flamingo.  Somehow, the flamingo had become a symbol at the campout.  They’re everywhere. 

Anyway, many of the invitees were at the original wedding.  I wasn’t.  Sadly, I didn’t meet Jerry & Lisa until about six years ago.  But UkeHusband has known them much longer and been attending the campout for quite some time.

This year the stay was a bit abbreviated.  About a day shorter than normal.  So some folks didn’t make the trip (people come from all over the country for this shindig!).  My disappointment was that we couldn’t work out the schedule to get Kiddlebiddle up here this year.  She tries to go every other year but ballet classes during the summer are starting to interfere.  But it was a great camp-out anyway!  It’s a gorgeous location; the people are THE BEST; and fun and festivities abound.  UkeHusband always brings a couple of his instruments and this year a couple other Ukesperience members joined us for a day (they had other plans or would have stayed the weekend too!)  I managed to snag a video of them around our camp table:

working on a waving lace sock

 I always spend some of the time knitting!  In spite of anticipated cloudy weather, we had one lovely sunny day that got just about everyone out into the meadow.

 

That L’il ‘Ol Farmgirl…me!

OK.  So I’m one of the herd.  I’m trying to be pretty active in a couple of on-line knitting communities and one of them recently associated with a book and organization I’ve enjoyed for awhile: Mary Jane Butters (http://www.amazon.com/MaryJanes-Ideabook-Cookbook-Lifebook-Farmgirl/dp/1400080479/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214968885&sr=1-2) .  Miss Violet (of Lime & Violet podcast fame) started a “hen circle” for those of us digging into the farm girl in ourselves.

Our first task is to write about ourselves.  So:

Farmgirl?  Me?  I lived in San Francisco for years and years; grew up in suburbia.  What could be farm girl like about me?  Plenty. 

When I was a child, my maternal grandparents lived on a farm in Delhi, California.  Here’s my grandma’s high school graduation photo:

 I have many fond memories (and a few pictures…I’ll have to dig them up!) of playing on the farm: helping grandma gather eggs, sitting on grandpa’s tractor, eating dinner at noon at a large table filled with good ‘ol meat and potatoes good stuff!  I think therein was laid the foundation of the farm girl within me. 

At our own home, my mother cooked marvelous things from scratch, made most of my clothes, and came up with the most ingenious, practical ideas for any problem that arose.  She taught me to sew but I balked at cooking and baking.

When I was in my 30’s and single, I dreamed of living in a cabin in the woods.  As I was then a college student in San Francisco, majoring in theatre, it seemed that that dream was mere fantasy.  But over the years, things transpired to eventually bring me to Pescadero, California.  I found myself living in a small cabin among the redwoods in a very small, close-knit community.  I was in heaven.

Of course, life took over and after a couple of years I found myself once again in suburbia.  But now I lived in a duplex with a bit of a yard and had a small daughter I wanted to introduce to the joys of nature.  I planted tomatoes, herbs, and radishes.  I busied myself learning and practicing aromatherapy.  I baked pies from scratch.  I delved into the mysteries of “putting up” foods, which for me at this point, generally meant making big batches of sauces, etc. and freezing them.  I was down to earth economical.

Again…life progressed and changed (specifically, divorce).  I found myself still in the suburbs and now working full time, but still determined to keep at least a small garden.  I remarried and we moved to a small coastal town.  A benign brain tumor had robbed me of my ability to smell, putting the kibosh on my aromatherapy endeavors.  But neither that nor living in a suburban community ended my farm girl ways.  In fact, growing older has allowed me to explore them to their fullest.  I learned to knit, am learning to spin, love to cook and bake, and busy myself (much too much) sewing costumes for my daughter’s dance school.  Our garden, thanks primarily to my husband, is soon to offer us potatoes, carrots, radishes, garlic, tomatoes…and frankly, I’m not sure what all else!  That, along with a nice assortment of flowers.  And as a family we make it a point to support our local farmers and businesses – keeping the community our focus as we learn and strive to protect our resources, our mother, and ourselves.

Farmgirls Rock!

 

 

 

Grace in Motion

I realized that I never got around to posting the video of Kiddlebiddle’s (BalletDaughter) performance in the talent show.  She may not have won, but she’s the queen of ballet in my opinion.  She choreographed this herself at the ripe old age of 11.  Enjoy!

 

 

Into the Woods and Out to the Sea

So…it may have taken me along time, but I’m finally posting about the annual camping trip to Patrick’s Point that Kiddlebiddle (BalletDaughter) and I took this year.

 

We’ve gone, just the two of us, every year since she was six – the first year we moved here to Humboldt County.  It was a fluke the first time…just a wild idea.  But she loved it so much and frankly so did I, that we decided to make it an annual event.  We talk, eat yummies, hike, enjoy the beauty.  This year was the best yet, even if we didn’t get our favorite campsite.

It was graduation weekend for both Humboldt State and College of the Redwoods and I guess that meant folks coming from out of town and campsites booked.  This was the first time we were able to reserve our site online (www.reserveamerica.com).  I actually drove up a couple of weeks early (it’s only about 30 minutes away!) to check out the sites ‘cuz I couldn’t remember our favorites.  But once I got online, the ones we had picked weren’t available.  No worry.  Everything there is great. 

What we hadn’t counted on was the weather!  It was Goooorrrrrgeous!  HOT!  Very unusual for our area.  And we had ended up with probably one of the only sites that didn’t have tons of redwood trees!  That first day and a half we spent moving our chairs into the shade all around our site!

We have some traditions on this trip.  The first night MUST be hotdogs cooked on sticks (barbeque forks) over the fire. 

The second night MUST be “Polka-Dot Chicken.”  This scrumptious dish was so named because the holder in which you place the chicken to cook it over the fire, has holes in it that produce “dots” on the chicken itself.  I don’t know what we’ll do if this device ever gets lost!  Baked potatoes (roasted in the fire) accompany the polka dot chicken. 

This year, because of my recent weight loss and desire to continue said weight loss, we still had our traditional foods, albeit light versions.  Turkey hot dogs; grilled chicken is low fat so it was OK.  I made whole wheat pita chips to satisfy my “chip need” and gave myself permission to have other treats. 

Part of our “standard activity” is to climb into bed at night and read, while munching chocolates.  This year I wasn’t going to go the chocolate route.  I had Jelly Bellys which are low fat.  HOWEVER….chocolate is chocolate and I just can’t do without.  So M&Ms were consumed amidst giggles and stories and good books.  Kiddlebiddle read for six hours one day because she was so engrossed in her book (Meg Cabot’s Mediator series) and I actually started and finished a book myself!   She couldn’t even put her book down to eat! 

 

We both had lots of fun with the camera:

 a self portrait….

Because this trip is done during the school year it has traditionally been only a 2 night visit.  Last year we had such a delightful time, we stayed Sunday night as well.  This would never happen if Kiddlebiddle wasn’t such a good student.  She can afford to miss a day of school every once in awhile.  And I look at this time as a special addition to the mother/daughter bonding that I hope will see us through the teen years ahead.  It’s just the two of us and there is prime opportunity to talk about anything and everything.  And we do.  Even if she does get goofy sometimes!   Anyway, this year we went ahead and booked the three nights ahead of time and cleared her absence with her teacher.

Also because of my weight loss, I was feeling much more energetic and actually looked forward to our activities.  We hiked all the way out to Wedding Rock    where a wedding was actually taking place (sure wouldn’t want to make that hike in heels!).   We even got a kind soul to take a shot of the two of us and we took photos of each other (people keep complaining that I never have pics of me.  So there!):

   

And the next day (Sunday) Kiddlebiddle and I hiked part of the Rim Trail.  It was overcast, but there was so much beauty.

UkeHusband came out to join us for lunch that same day as he had to leave town Monday and we would miss seeing him.  From Palmer’s Point we could even see the sea lions.

 

 

We got some great photos, including Kiddlebiddle posing as if she was a model.  (She’s really in to fashion right now!)  The beauty of Patrick’s Point can’t compete with the beauty of my daughter.

 

  It was a delightful camping trip and I’m really looking forward to next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BalletDaughter’s poetry

It’s the end of the school year and papers start coming home.  Some I’ve seen, some I’ve not.  Kiddlebiddle had a fair amount of poetry writing this year (5th grade) and a couple have made me cry.  I’m most impressed with this.

Ode to my Pointe Shoes

By Emma Jones

 

My pointe shoes make me fly

Turning, in a painful fairyland

The most difficult struggle

Of beauty

Tough gracefulness,

How can you keep me

At such an achievement

Softening a hard fall

Blood, sweat, and tears made fun

Canvas, glue, and satin

Have never been so exciting

Without you, how can I feel so high above

You are awesome

You let me push through pain

Onto Strong Beauty

Into an open door for creativity.

 

Ukulele Magic

Some of you know that my husband is a musician.  He plays bass guitar but lately (over the past couple of years) has been playing ukulele.  He and some friends formed a band, Ukesperience (www.ukesperience.com).  (Oh yeah…there’s a whole blog post about their trip to Hawaii! duh!)  Anyway, he also has started MAKING ukuleles.  He’s made a couple of bass ukuleles, and lap/slide ukulele and he recently finished the one he made for Kiddlebiddle (BalletDaughter).  Tonight he gave it to her and began her ukulele lessons.

First, she learned to tune it!

Then she learned a few chords:

Then they played a bit! 

She’s a very happy young lady!    Also pretty lucky.  It’s a very cool uke.  ‘Course, the others in the family weren’t too impressed:

 

 

Seascapes-Lionfish

Kiddlebiddle’s dance teacher has the most amazing ideas and choreography.  The show this year promises to be fantastic!  It’s not a “kids dance recital” but more of a themed dance concert, including adult professionals as well as the children from her school.  (She’s building her own dance company!)

This season it’s “Seascapes” and promises to be as fantastic as we can imagine.  Kiddlebiddle has three dances, one of them a solo.  She’s also appearing briefly in a couple of other scenes.  In her Latin dance class she’s a flying fish; in her ballet 4 she’s a lionfish, and her solo is as a manta ray. 

This time I am only involved in the design and construction of ONE set of costumes.  But what a doozy. 

 The ballet 4 girls are lionfish.  A lionfish is gorgeous! 

 So…how do you translate that into a costume?  You hand paint a white leotard (If there had been more time, the artist part of me would have liked to do more shades of red.  But farther on you’ll read why it’s pretty stark red and white.):

In order to paint on the leo, I had to stretch it over a mannequin and pin out the skirt to maintain tension.  Thank goodness for my blocking board and pins!

And how do you translate the spines of the lionfish?  Well…first I came up with the fins for them to hold (in class they had been holding paper plates).  Then…Erin wanted them to have a “mohawk” but couldn’t figure out quite how to make it work.  While I was putting together the fins, (and after DH cut tons of thin little pieces of wood – Michael’s didn’t have enough of the right size!), I realized that I should be able to set them in to foam; glue a horsehair strip on the bottom and provide some place for them to pin them to their hair.  The final piece of the “puzzle” is that I’m inserting some nude stretch mesh in the back of the costume (it has a deep “V” back) and then using velcro to add a spine down the back.  We rigged up a modified version for rehearsal today and boy…I must say, the costumes look fantastic!  (the spines in the following photos haven’t been painted yet.)  The choreography is strong and pretty amazing.  What’s going to be super cool – part of the dance is in black light and the white areas will glow (that’s why they’re as big as they are!)  I’ll post video after the show.  But these photos I took today will give you an idea.  Forgive the quality.  The lighting was dim and they were moving so much it was hard to get a shot.  But you’ll get the idea.  (Unfortunately, like the cobbler’s children…Kiddlebiddle’s costume wasn’t ready today!)  Enjoy!  (And wish me luck on finishing them tomorrow!)

 

Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you that are mothers (of any sort!).  We have a rather traditional tradition in our family.  I’m not allowed out of bed (except for the bathroom) until Kiddlebiddle has served me breakfast and presented me with my gift.  For the past 7 years she’s had the help of my dear husband to make me breakfast.  I have a darling photo of him helping her break eggs when she was four years old.  But she’s 11 now…and HE made the whole breakfast!  I’m on weight watchers and they wanted to make me something I could eat so I found a Core recipe that was a bit more complicated than KB wanted to tackle.  (Though I’m sure she could have.)  So… 

Once she got up, she joined me in bed and we watched the last Indiana Jones movie while DH made this scruptious breakfast.  (It tasted and actually looked better than this photo shows.)  It was an egg and potato frittata, lite turkey sausage (2 points!), strawberries with yogurt, and a cappucino!  Yum! 

After breakfast, they presented me with my gift – a silver ring with KB’s name on it. 

I’m wearing it on my left hand, middle finger, next to my wedding ring.  My “engagement ring,” (which I got several years after we were married) is a blue topaz which is the birthstone of both DH and KB.  Although my hand is showing my age, I love the trio of rings.  (The wedding ring, which matches DH’s and a pendant we got for KB, is handmade with gold nuggets from the Truckee area of California.  DH lived there as a child and it’s absolutely gorgeous so there’s lots of sentimental meaning it it all.)

I’m still lounging around.  Decided not to get dressed today.  Apparently, lounging is the order of the day:

 Yaya (Sonya) joined us before I left the bed and apparently stayed for awhile. 

In other news…Kiddlebiddle didn’t win the talent contest last night.  She probably took the loss better than I did.  There were only five elementary school entries and I think the “cute” factor was what won over the judges.  The winners were a four piece “rock” band of fifth graders who performed a cover of a pop tune.  They were OK.  Now, I’m going to sound like a stage mother, but really…if you were judging a talent show, would you choose a band of cute little boys playing (not great…just playing…boom, cha, boom, cha, same rhythm over and over – and singing rather flat) a cover song, or one of the charming young singers with nice voices but little “movement,” i.e., stiff, or an 11 year old ballet dancer who choreographed her own piece and performed it well.  DH says that going the extra and writing your own work should count as quite a bit.  I agree.  I’ll post a video of the performance in a bit.

Anyway, she was fine.  She kept smiling while the award were given.

 

  That kid has grace (and I don’t mean the balletic kind, though she’s got that in spades!)  I am so proud of her!

 

Hickory Dickory Dot…DIC KAL

I’ve finished the main pieces and now have them blocking prior to sewing together.  This is going to be sooooo cute!  The designer is “Jujube & Lolo.”  And tomorrow I cast on the second one (TWO great-nieces!!!) in two different colors of Dream in Color.  This one is in “Giant Peach” and “Blue Lagoon,” the next will be in “Petal Shower” and “Gogo Grassy.” I got all the yarn from The Loopy Ewe (Hi, Sheri!  Love you!) http://www.theloopyewe.com/  And I’m in love with this “Giant Peach” colorway.  I’m thinking of what I can make for myself out of it!

Since each “baby” has a big sister who’s two, the big sisters are getting a matching “Buddy Bag” http://www.jujubeandlolo.com/patterns/buddybags.php  I got both patterns when I was at Stitches. I’ve finished most of the bag (easy knit) without the i-cord (38″ is going to take some boring time!) and I’m going to line it!

Here’s the “Buddy Bag” in progress…showing off my recent “goodie” from TLE!

The bag will have a nest with a birdie fingerpuppet and I’m going to make a little mouse to go in the pocket of the sweater.  Because it’s for such a young baby (though I’m making 18 month size), I think I may actually make the mouse out of fabric so that it’s not so messy when/if (who am I kidding, WHEN) she puts it in her mouth!

I’ve done quite a bit of knitting this week and it feels good!  But then, I’m really good at starting things and not finishing them.  But if it’s being blocked, surely I’ll seam it and finish it all! Well…off to bed. 

 

All By Myself…

Everyone sing: “All by myself…don’t wanna be…all by myself, anymore….”

Hubby and Kiddlebiddle are out of town and I’ve been on my own since Wednesday.  They don’t come back until tomorrow night.  I HAVE been using the time to “indulge” myself, watching instant Netflix, knitting, reading.  But somehow I always feel the need to use this kind of time to get things in order.  To clean like i don’t when they’re here.  Why is that?  Am I embarrassed to clean in front of them?  HA!  Hardly.  But then, no one in  this family is the best of housekeepers.  But there’s so much to do and if I don’t just get up and do it, it doesn’t get done.  (Not blaming you sweetie, it’s just a fact of life.  I don’t do it either!)

Are you like me? I start one project, see something else, and before you know it I’m knee deep in the big muddy and sinking fast! This morning, loading the dishwasher turned into re-organizing cupboards (all of them!!!), planning a windowsill herb garden (that I’ll probably kill), as well as finally getting yesterday’s groceries put away. And the sad thing is, the project I really need to do is my studio. It’s piled with all my art, knitting, and crafting supplies and if I don’t get it emptied out soon, I won’t get the new cupboards put in. But where do I put the stuff in the meantime? Well…since we’re about to enter “sewing season” (Spring ballet performance coming up), we’re turning the dining room into the sewing studio so SOME of the stuff goes there. The rest will go into storage temporarily. As soon as I rent a storage space. It seems to be a never ending, uphill struggle. But if I’ll just put one foot in front of the other I will get my dream space! I will…I will…I will….(keep repeating to myself to make true!)  Maybe if I post a “before” shot, it’ll keep me moving toward the after. 

Before:

Oh! And while I’m doing this, I’m working on an ad for KB’s ballet studio for the Stars of Tomorrow program. And while talking on the phone to her teacher, I notice little white paw prints going down the hall (on the hardwood). And they didn’t just brush up! Cat? Dog? Not sure. Where did it come from??? No idea. We have been painting KB’s room so…. Thank heaven’s they wiped up with a damp cloth!  

Here’s a show of her room in progress.  Going from blue…with the fairies and flowers I painted on for the five year old, to a nice happy yellow for the “teen” ballerina! 

Ah well. Off to fold laundry, change the sheets, and start more laundry. Oh goodie. Reward = Prairie Home Companion is on in an hour and I’ve finally found a station that works locally so that I can get it! Yea!