Thinking ahead to August and the beach (YAY!), I'm going to need some good beach reading. In other words, stuff that doesn't take too much brain power. Any suggestions?
And while we're on the topic, I'm glad that Autumn has progressed to sitting through chapters of Winnie the Pooh (though she often falls asleep). Winnie the Pooh is so much more satisfying than 8-10 page board books (though Autumn still enjoys those very much). But beyond children's books...
Things I want to read this summer (or, more likely, over the next year and a half):
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
because it looks interesting and keeps getting recommended to me by Amazon
The Kite Runner
same as above
The Persian Puzzle
because i haven't kept up with this stuff nearly as well as i should and because i used his work a lot in research papers at school (lovely CRS reports :))
The Devil Wears Prada
because it was recommended to me by a friend who didn't think i would read such "frivolous" books--little does she know ;-)
Of Mice and Men
because i enjoyed east of eden so much
The Great Gatsby
because i've never read it
The Secret Adversary
because i've read it at least five times, but it's still my favorite agatha christie and it's about time to read it again--maybe out loud to matt
The Silver Chair and The Last Battle
matt and i have been (very very slowly) making our way through c.s. lewis out loud, some fiction, some not. these are the last of the chronicles that we have to read. and yeah, these may be officially categorized as children's books, but they're really for all ages. :-)
I know there are a bunch more that I have mentally listed that I want to read, but they've been temporarily erased. Does anyone have any other suggestions for good reads?
Friday, June 30, 2006
Salsa recipes?
I'm actually getting tired of tomatoes. Yesterday I worked on everything I had picked the night before. I froze another 5 quarts of Romas and diced up a big bowlful for more salsa that I'm hoping to make at some point today. (But since I'm babysitting lbl, no idea if that will actually happen.) Then, I looked outside yesterday evening and realized that the garden is full of ripe red tomatoes again and I have to get out and pick them before the creatures do.
(I also need to pick beans--desperately! Wesley, if you do come to visit, I think this should be one of your chores while you're here. ;-) And for anyone else reading, don't worry. If you come visit I won't give you chores--unless you're another one of my little brothers. ;-))
I have a recipe for salsa that I've been messing with (I just can't leave a recipe alone). It's been okay, but I was wondering if anyone out there has a favorite recipe I could try. I know that this won't be the last batch I make this summer. (Last year our garden did terribly, but we were still getting a few tomatoes in December.)
I know this is odd, but it's true. I love gardening--I like the planting, I like caring for the plants, I don't even really mind having to water for several hours a day (though I can no longer do that). But I really dislike picking and preserving the resulting produce. It's just so tedious and somehow anticlimactic. Not to mention the fact that it always leaves my kitchen a disaster.
Anyway, better run. Lbl should have been here 30 minutes ago, so he'll probaby get here pretty soon and I need to make sure everything's ready for him.
(I also need to pick beans--desperately! Wesley, if you do come to visit, I think this should be one of your chores while you're here. ;-) And for anyone else reading, don't worry. If you come visit I won't give you chores--unless you're another one of my little brothers. ;-))
I have a recipe for salsa that I've been messing with (I just can't leave a recipe alone). It's been okay, but I was wondering if anyone out there has a favorite recipe I could try. I know that this won't be the last batch I make this summer. (Last year our garden did terribly, but we were still getting a few tomatoes in December.)
I know this is odd, but it's true. I love gardening--I like the planting, I like caring for the plants, I don't even really mind having to water for several hours a day (though I can no longer do that). But I really dislike picking and preserving the resulting produce. It's just so tedious and somehow anticlimactic. Not to mention the fact that it always leaves my kitchen a disaster.
Anyway, better run. Lbl should have been here 30 minutes ago, so he'll probaby get here pretty soon and I need to make sure everything's ready for him.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
puppy pics
They're not actually terribly cute yet, since they were just born this morning, but here are some pictures. There are 10 of them. Eight boys and two girls. The darker of the two girls (the one in the shoe) is ours. :-)
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
pictures from the reunion
i'm still not sure who most of the people there were, so i'm not going to post all those pictures, but i thought i would put up a few of my favorites--there were several cute babies there. :-)
Monday, June 26, 2006
Picture
I was cleaning all the Greer family reunion pics off my camera and found this one from afterwards when we took off from the party and cooled off in the pool. I LOVE this picture. =D (I'll be posting a few from the reunion too, though I don't know many of the people I took pictures of.)
i've typed out a to-do list several pages long
i have a couple baskets of tomatoes that need to be processed and frozen or canned
the kitchen is a wreck
i've promised to do a lot of scrapbooking for someone
the laundry is in a big pile needing to be folded and put away
i owe someone a thank you note for autumn
the garden is a disaster
and...
i'm bored to death
i have a couple baskets of tomatoes that need to be processed and frozen or canned
the kitchen is a wreck
i've promised to do a lot of scrapbooking for someone
the laundry is in a big pile needing to be folded and put away
i owe someone a thank you note for autumn
the garden is a disaster
and...
i'm bored to death
Friday, June 23, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Just a quick post while Autumn's napping. I'm trying to get caught up on vacuuming etc. while she's out, since she's still scared to death of the vacuum.
I'm finding that I have to vacuum the dining room, kitchen, and most of the living room every single day now because Autumn makes such a huge mess all the time, dropping things from her high chair, shredding any papers she can reach, and generally being a baby.
I'm mostly behind on housework because of babysitting LBL yesterday. He is usually a fussy kid anyway, but yesterday he screamed from 12:00 till 5:00. He wouldn't even stop to catch his breath. At first I think he was hurting cause he was gassy, but then he just got ANGRY. He turned all red and the veins on his head were sticking out (he doesn't have any hair). The one time that he was quiet was when his bottle was in his mouth for his 3:00 feeding. Rocking, walking, the swing, singing--nothing helped. I am SOOOOO grateful that Autumn is generally a good kid. I would lose my mind if I had to have this kid full time instead of just two days a week.
The state just issued water restrictions, which for me mean that I'll have to start getting up earlier to get the garden done. ICK. At least I can still use water, just at restricted times. If we could just get some rain! We're down over 9 inches and the heat just keeps going higher. Everyone's yards are brown stubble with the exception of a few weeds that must be able to grow in the desert.
My mystery plant has turned out to be a pumpkin. It's getting very large. I think it's going to be ripe way too early.
Anyway, better get back to vacuuming.
I'm finding that I have to vacuum the dining room, kitchen, and most of the living room every single day now because Autumn makes such a huge mess all the time, dropping things from her high chair, shredding any papers she can reach, and generally being a baby.
I'm mostly behind on housework because of babysitting LBL yesterday. He is usually a fussy kid anyway, but yesterday he screamed from 12:00 till 5:00. He wouldn't even stop to catch his breath. At first I think he was hurting cause he was gassy, but then he just got ANGRY. He turned all red and the veins on his head were sticking out (he doesn't have any hair). The one time that he was quiet was when his bottle was in his mouth for his 3:00 feeding. Rocking, walking, the swing, singing--nothing helped. I am SOOOOO grateful that Autumn is generally a good kid. I would lose my mind if I had to have this kid full time instead of just two days a week.
The state just issued water restrictions, which for me mean that I'll have to start getting up earlier to get the garden done. ICK. At least I can still use water, just at restricted times. If we could just get some rain! We're down over 9 inches and the heat just keeps going higher. Everyone's yards are brown stubble with the exception of a few weeds that must be able to grow in the desert.
My mystery plant has turned out to be a pumpkin. It's getting very large. I think it's going to be ripe way too early.
Anyway, better get back to vacuuming.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
She's got rhythm!
Autumn "dances" every time she hears music. She raises her hands in the air and bounces up and down until the music stops. Commercials, cell phones, the radio, and anything else that makes cool sounds.
She's getting a lot better about standing up without support, but it still makes her nervous, so she sits down pretty quickly.
I made a huge batch of zucchini bread last night. It wasn't finished baking it till about 12:30. Some is in the freezer and some I'm giving away. I cheated though--we haven't gotten as much zucchini as I was hoping, so it was partially zucchini and partially summer squash (which we've had lots of). It's good though and Autumn has been enjoying eating it (as well as crumbling it and throwing it on the floor).
She's been so busy busy busy lately. She just goes all the time. Crawling all over the house, chewing on everything, wrestling with her Daddy. Here she is in sleeping in the middle of her dinner after a hard day of playing.
I need to go buy some jars and make some salsa. The tomatoes and peppers are really ripening quickly now. Certainly won't be able to make salsa, sauce, etc. on the scale we did back home, but for a little garden in town, I think we'll do pretty well.
Anybody have any good eggplant recipes? I've got several vegetarian ones from Moosewood, but I'd love to have some more ideas. We have lots and lots of eggplant and I don't want it to go to waste.
Anyway, Autumn is done with her bath, so I have to run. Here is a picture of some of the tomatoes I picked yesterday.
Sorry for another boring post. Maybe I'll come up with some time to think and actually come up with something better to post.
She's getting a lot better about standing up without support, but it still makes her nervous, so she sits down pretty quickly.
I made a huge batch of zucchini bread last night. It wasn't finished baking it till about 12:30. Some is in the freezer and some I'm giving away. I cheated though--we haven't gotten as much zucchini as I was hoping, so it was partially zucchini and partially summer squash (which we've had lots of). It's good though and Autumn has been enjoying eating it (as well as crumbling it and throwing it on the floor).
She's been so busy busy busy lately. She just goes all the time. Crawling all over the house, chewing on everything, wrestling with her Daddy. Here she is in sleeping in the middle of her dinner after a hard day of playing.
I need to go buy some jars and make some salsa. The tomatoes and peppers are really ripening quickly now. Certainly won't be able to make salsa, sauce, etc. on the scale we did back home, but for a little garden in town, I think we'll do pretty well.
Anybody have any good eggplant recipes? I've got several vegetarian ones from Moosewood, but I'd love to have some more ideas. We have lots and lots of eggplant and I don't want it to go to waste.
Anyway, Autumn is done with her bath, so I have to run. Here is a picture of some of the tomatoes I picked yesterday.
Sorry for another boring post. Maybe I'll come up with some time to think and actually come up with something better to post.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Monday, June 12, 2006
Saturday, June 10, 2006
From the Yard
a volunteer--this big bushy marigold plant came up in the collards. it wasn't interfering with anything so i just let it go, even though we hadn't planted it. it's been rewarding us with tons of gorgeous blooms.
i only planted one cherry tomato plant this year...and it's now over 7 feet tall! with hundreds of tomatoes all over. lots are on the verge of being ripe right now. the first few that have gotten ripe haven't even made it inside, because we keep snacking on them while we're working in the garden. fresh tomatoes are awesome!
this is another volunteer plant that decided to come up where the garden meets the lawn. i can't quite figure out what it is though. it has to be some sort of squash, but the actual squash on it are funny looking. big and round and green--they look more like watermelons than anything else. guess we'll find out what it's like when i start picking them.
our yard literally has hundreds of these pink glads in it. i'm planning on digging up a lot of them this fall, since they're extremely crowded. if anyone wants some bulbs, let me know. (especially if you have something else to trade.)
At the Park
big push.
swinging with grandma k. and daddy.
autumn was fascinated by her reflection in her daddy's sunglasses. this isn't the best picture, but you get the idea.
love those chubby little feet.
big smile.
Friday, June 09, 2006
We've got the laptop back! Actually, it's been back for a few days, but Grandma K. has been visiting and I've been babysitting for LBL, so I haven't had time to get on and post pictures. But I've been getting lots and lots of people bugging me about not having any new ones up, so I'm going to take a few minutes and post some.
In other news...
-Autumn stood up on her own without support for the first time about three days ago. She's been enjoying practicing since, but only for a couple seconds at a time.
-We picked our first red tomatoes yesterday--4 cherry ones and 2 full-sized ones. Not much, but there are LOTS more close to being ripe. We each got to taste a cherry tomato and they were GOOD :-).
-We had a bit of a scare the other day when Autumn dove head-first into a fire ant nest (she was tired of being pushed around in her car and decided she wanted out). I tried to get all the ants off of her as fast as possible and managed to get them all over me. Thankfully she only got a couple of bites on her hands and they haven't been bothering her much.
-All four of Autumn's top teeth seem to be trying to come in at once. They aren't actually through yet, but her gums are very swollen and she's drooling like crazy and chewing on anything that stands still long enough.
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