this week's photos

nut tuna on spelt cakes with mung sprouts for lunch

puddles being sweet

nut tuna again on collard wraps

leftover lunch of quinoa veggie sushi

(i save small glass jars and was able to reuse a wasabi jar to hold my soy sauce and ginger.)

the granny squares

oh, the granny squares. what a ride it's been. i just want to have this bright happy blanket on my bed before gardening occupies my free time. so i've been rushing to get it done and not noticing that my squares are coming out all different sizes. i'm also not crazy about some of them. do i just keep going or start over? i've elicited the advice of an expert crocheter and am waiting to see what she says before i make a decision. maybe the size differences won't matter much?

here's the dilemma as i see it - i could keep going, spend another 20 hours or so to finish it up with the potential of it not looking as good as it could (uneven and all). but it would be done, and if anything it will be bright and colorful. plus i can always make another.

-or- i could just scrap the whole project and start over again when i have enough of the same type of yarn. i'm leaning towards just trucking through and finishing it up. it's just hard to be motivated to do something when you know that it won't be "perfect" in the end. but how can i know that it won't be perfect, and what's it matter anyway? what would you do?

here's a better photo of the squares on a white background in natural light, minus a few new ones.

i hope you all had a nice week. it's hard to believe it's friday already, and that next week will be march! yesterday john and i celebrated 5 years together. he's been extra sweet and made me tea last night. he also said he'll take me thrifting later. i'm going to make him his favorite chocolate peanut butter banana shake for lunch, and i've also got an idea for a chocolate avocado mousse/chia pudding parfait for dessert tonight. john's got a major sweet tooth.=)

speaking of, i told one of the girls i sit that she had quite the sweet tooth. she shouted "yes, i've got two sweet tooths actually!" and proceeded to point them out to me! ha! kids!=)

wishing you all extra sweetness this weekend!

this weekend

happy saturday! i was inspired by one sheepish girl to take a quick pic and share what i'll be doing this weekend. after i post this, john and i will go sign up for our third season of the muth csa, then we'll be heading to an animal shelter open house to meet some kitties.

john's mom, dad, grandmom and i all had a birthday this past week, and tomorrow we'll be celebrating with john's mom's eggplant parm (mmm!). the two tea boxes pictured are gifts for the ladies. i've crocheted a rose to top the one box and will work on the other tonight. 

the granny square blanket is coming along. i've completed 30 squares so far and added a cream border to about 10 of them. when i'm not crocheting, i'm reading little house books and fantasizing about being an ingalls girl, minus blizzards, plus indoor plumbing.=)

how will you be spending your weekend?

granny square progress

24 down, 18 more to go...

spring-inspired

with sweet animal stickers and scrapbook paper i made springy valentines for my little lovens.

they still need to be glued together. i think this one is my favorite.

garden surprises

lookie - our first broccoli floret! this certainly wasn't expected. i wonder if it will grow larger?

seems like the warm winter is fooling the plants. here are (about forty!) garlic sprouts.

some strawberry plants are showing signs of life...

and i brought home a sprig of rosemary and flower seed pods.

 two echinacea, one zinnia and another mystery flower seed pod

it's time for me to sort through my seeds. many seeds were saved from last season so hopefully i'll only need to order a few packets. in the past i've used ohio heirloom seeds and was happy with the price, fast shipping and quality plants. however, they're not selling corn, beets or edamame. can any gardeners recommend a reliable source for non-gmo seeds?

and do you think i can plant the sunflower seeds from my bird seed mix? some kind of sunflower's gotta grow from them, right?

reflecting on my saturn return

most of us have heard of a mid-life crisis, but how many know of the age-thirty transition?

the age-thirty transition corresponds with the saturn return, an astrological pattern in which saturn returns to the same position it was when you were born. this happens around age 27-30 (and again 57-60). astrologically speaking, it's when we truly enter adulthood.

(interestingly, gwen stefani was about 30 when no doubt released their album "return of saturn".)

anyway, i didn't know about this saturn return until i was in the midst of it. i told a friend in so many words how it felt like my world was changing and i was becoming a new person and she said nonchalantly, "oh, it's your saturn return." my what?

the saturn return is a time of great reflection, transition and emotional upheaval. many will start to question the path they are on and seek answers to other deep questions. some will reprioritize and make drastic changes. it's an exciting time, but anyone who's asked themselves the big questions and made big changes knows it can also be quite scary.

Saturn often asks us “Whose movie am I in?” and then challenges us to be the director and author. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if we could just read our lines in the screenplay and have the ghost of “Christmas Future” come to us to show us the way? Instead, we are called to become our own “author-ity”---to truly become the author of our life. - saturn return

i wish i would have journaled more during those years, but i think i was so fearful of my thoughts i didn't want to write them down. thank goodness john was sort of going through the same thing (he's less than two months older than me) because i had someone to talk to. it was hard to talk to others at the time without coming off as a little whacky. if you notice, most people want to keep the convo light, talk about facebook and tv shows, not who we are and why we are here. *snort*

it's hard to put into words how i changed and what changed really. others with similar experiences call it becoming conscious or waking up, though those terms are used loosely now and i'm not sure if we even have words to describe it. i can say my perception of life changed - i felt more, questioned more, let go more, loved more, struggled more, lived more, and learned to fear less.

outwardly, i chopped my hair off. i took my life back and retired from the rat race at the age of 28 (and now spend my days doing what i consider to be fulfulling). i started caring more about what i put in and on my body and less about what other people thought of me. i began on the journey to self-sufficiency, learning to grow and store my own food, insuring my own health and wealth. ultimately, i became more responsible for my self. i guess that's what becoming an adult is.

i'll be 31 on saturday. 'til next time, saturn.=)

photo sources one // two

granny squares

these granny squares have become quite an addiction! i've spent almost every spare minute working on them. i go to bed at night and wake up in the morning with visions of granny squares.

seeing all the time and energy going into my afghan caused me to stop and make a plan to be sure it was all worth the while. after much searching and contemplation, i committed to creating something bigger and better - a quilt very similar to carina's beautiful blanket, to adorn our bed.

currently our bed is covered with a duvet-less down comforter because we find them to be a total pain in the rump. i think spreading a granny square blanket over it will look nice.

i'll need to make 42 squares. i've got 11 done (minus the cream border which i think i'll save 'til the end) and some in the works. if i could just get into a rhythm, i'd have so many more completed. i find myself stopping and redoing my stitches so often. it's quite annoying. so today i take a break.

until tomorrow, little squares...=)

friday favorites

i'm going to jump on the f squared bandwagon and share four blog things i fancied this week.

1 ... a magnetic spice rack! cute and functional!

2 ... veronika's birdcage blouse. so sweet! tweet tweet.

3 ... cornflower blue's crochet art. reminds me of coral or sea anemones.

4 ... free adorable v-day card printouts from scathingly brilliant (though i prefer handwritten valentines=)

enjoy your weekend, peas!

xoxo

speaking of, coincidentally

hello, shiny happy people! i'm here on this groundhog day to show you a bit of what i've been up to. speaking of, remember the movie groundhog day? i loved it and have fun facts to share:

1.  my blogfriend jane from hard work homestead's husband created the ice sculptures that bill murray's character made in the movie and coincidentally, jane's mother is a punxsutawney native!

2.  bill murray almost refused to do the final scene! according to stephen sobolowsky via wikipedia, bill murray wanted to know what he'd be wearing for the last scene when he wakes up - pj's or clothes from the night before. the director had not thought about it and when the cast voted it was a tie. so bill refused to do the scene until someone spoke up and said absolutely the clothes from the night before and it would ruin the movie if not, and i think i have to agree.

3.  also according to wikipedia, "Groundhog Day has been considered a tale of self-improvement which emphasizes the need to look inside oneself and realize that the only satisfaction in life comes from turning outward and concerning oneself with others rather than concentrating solely on one's own wants and desires. The phrase also has become a shorthand illustration for the concept of spiritual transcendence. As such, the film has become a favorite of Buddhists because they see its themes of selflessness and rebirth as a reflection of their own spiritual messages. It has also, in the Catholic tradition, been seen as a representation of purgatory. It has even been dubbed by some religious leaders as the "most spiritual film of our time." how 'bout that!?

(i am aware that wikipedia is not the most reliable source, but i feel it can be trusted in this case.)

>>SKIP TO HERE IF YOU COULDN'T GIVE A RAT'S ARSE ABOUT THE MOVIE<<

so, as you may know it's been over a month since we sad goodbye to the madji. we certainly don't wish to replace her (impossible) but would like to open our home to another animal in need. we've been searching online and so far have felt particularly drawn to two: snow and somara. snow needed more attention than his mom could give him. we responded to the ad right away but didn't hear back from her. i told my mom we were anxiously awaiting a response, and the next day, coincidentally, it snowed. my mom was in a waiting room all day and texted me "any word on snow?" thinking she was inquiring about the weather i said "haven't heard anything, but most of it's melted here." she wrote back "no, snow the cat. are you high?" ha! my mom's hilarious.

and speaking of my mom, her b-day is tomorrow. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! when i say i lucked out in the mom department, i mean i really really did. she's the best. i made this page in my art journal/planner for this week. it says "when i count my blessings, i count you twice." and i chose a blurry pic so she won't be upset that i glued it.=)

back to the furbaby search - we eventually learned that snow's mom has decided to keep him. a few days ago i was at a pet store that holds foster cats for a non-profit group when i spotted somara. i put my hand up to the glass and she snuggled right up to it. it felt like a true connection. no one was there at the time for me to meet her so i went back the next day. the reaction i got was quite different - as soon as i put my hand out to her she swatted at it! when i tried again she swatted and hissed! the volunteer said she does that with everyone. i felt so bad and wanted to adopt her anyway, feeling sure that she would warm up to us eventually, but i'd be nervous with her around my niece. poor somara - i hope she finds someone soon. i'll keep checking on her.

 

so the day it snowed that i mentioned before was the only day we got snow this year, which is unusual for this area. it's been unseasonably warm with temperatures reaching the 60's one day this week! i'm definitely not complaining, as last winter was bitter and snowy enough.

coincidentally, i'm reading of the harshest winter ever in one of laura ingalls wilder's little house books and crocheting granny squares for a sweet little afghan. my aunt patti generously donated her old yarn to me and i'm complimenting those bright colors with some skeins i already have.

i'm not sure how it will come together in the end. i'll figure that out when i get there.

vegan split pea soup

i've got the food blahsies. new recipes don't excite me like they used to. the kitchen's cold and i'm tired when i get home. the last time i went food shopping was before christmas.

john on the other hand has been bringing home boxes of fruit and veggies from the produce outlet. he's been making us lots of spirulina smoothies and salads with yummy dressings. he's also been doing the dishies every day, god bless him.=)

we eat most of the produce raw, but with some of the veggies i make big batches of split pea soup. i'm motivated to make soup knowing we'll get at least three meals out of it. it's a good thing when i do go to the grocery store i stock up on nuts, grains and legumes.

i've made this soup a bunch of times, this winter and last. it's the one we turned into a dahl. a few times i used potatoes instead of turnips. it's a very forgiving soup. it's also quite tasty. sometimes i like to add grains to make it heartier. below i added leftover chinese take-out rice. whatever works.

vegan split pea soup 

1 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 turnips, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 1/2 C dried split peas, green or yellow
8 C water
1 bay leaf
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste

gather ingredients and prepare vegetables. in a large pot, sauté garlic and bay leaf in olive oil a minute or two. add chopped vegetables and allow to cook about five minutes. add seasonings, peas and water. bring to boil, cover and simmer until peas are tender.

the cooking time depends on your method. i soak my peas at least four hours prior and make the soup in a pressure cooker. for me the peas are done after thirty minutes or so.

after the soup has cooled a bit, puree in a food processor until smooth. serves 6-8, maybe more.

family portrait cross-stitch

 

for the birth of my friend missy's second baby, abigail, i made the family a cross-stitch portrait. this customizable cross-stitch project from martha stewart's website was my guide. free printable grid paper may be found here. the project was a lot of fun, especially drawing the pixel family pattern.

this is the real family last spring, minus baby abby...

and here's abigail rose, born friday, january 20th. i met abby today and she's a sweet lil muffin. best wishes to baby abby and her family (and happy bday to her marvelous mama, missy!) xoxo

abigail rose

raw raspberry brownie bites

to make raw brownies you simply need five things (dates, nuts, cocoa/cacao powder, salt and a food processor) and not even five minutes. they are one of the easiest desserts to make. you blend the ingredients for about 30 seconds, press them into brownie shapes and they're ready.

this time we added raspberries to snaz them up a bit. adding berries and liquid vanilla made the batter a little wet, so we dehydrated our brownie bites a few hours.

as raw brownies are very rich, bite-sized pieces are the best way to serve them, in my opinion. (they're actually more like a delicious nutty fudge than a brownie, but a little less dense.)

raw raspberry brownie bites
(makes about 18-20)

1 C medjool dates
1 C raw nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews, or a mixture)
1/4 C cacao powder
8-10 raspberries
3 tsp liquid vanilla*
generous pinch of salt

in a food processor, blend until batter holds together when pressed. shape into bite-sized squares.

*liquid vanilla is made by mixing three vanilla beans, chopped, with one cup water in a high speed blender. in this recipe, lv can be replaced with vanilla extract or scraped raw vanilla bean, to taste.

***

i hope everyone is having a nice weekend. we're snowed in (but not really) and i'm loving it.=)

today's thought

everyday is a celebration because instead of waiting for happy endings, we open our eyes to the wonder of life, to see the humour and magic in each moment. delighted in the way things turn out, amazed at the beauty of it all. - brahma kumaris, uk

photo source

dahl-icious

i didn't intend for this to be a dahl soup. it was a vegan yellow split pea when john said "this tastes like dahl. let's put mint and indian spices in it." the soup was already flavored with sage and thyme, which we thought went surprisingly well with the curry, turmeric and spearmint we added.

 

dried yellow split peas

cool spearmint balances spicy red curry quite nicely. it's fun to play around with different flavors. i'd love to take a class on herbs and also add more to my garden.

 coriander

what are your favorite herbs, to eat or grow (or smoke? kidding...=)

homemade journal

with some scrapbooking paper and an old kitten calendar i made myself a little journal. the book is folded white paper bound with a few pieces of raffia.

this journal/planner will hopefully help me keep track of my schedule, weekly to do's and shopping lists, as well as serve as a space for me to be creative and document life's happenings.

i'll share more pages once it starts to fill up!

print from the lovely lift your spirit calendar by wendy bentley

scrummy yummy

we're back to shopping at the local produce outlet. this has its pros and cons.

pros + it's so close + it's very inexpensive + i bought the most delicious pineapple there

cons - most of the produce is non-organic - it's an outlet so you're getting the bruised and battered - i bought the most horrific avocados there

yesterday we got some great deals on fresh broccoli, lettuce and raspberries, which has motivated us to get a bit more creative with our meals. (oh, dinners were sad here for a while, my friends. too shameful to divulge here. comfort food delivered to the front door. let's just leave it there.)

this week things are better. we're eating lots of fruit and veggies. our broccoli dish above was steamed in one of those neat baskets then tossed with truly raw almonds and a simple marinade: equal parts coconut oil, tamari and grated ginger. the steamed broccoli would have also been good with just olive oil and salt.

the veggie patty below (topped with hummus and raspberry vinaigrette) is a variation of the delicious "beet this burger" and black bean burger. (i have a horrible habit of tweaking recipes without noting my changes.) the patty had an incredible taste and texture, despite being almost six months old! (god bless my mini food saver and my mother for buying it for me.)

john of all people was raving over this salad. he said it was the combination of the veggie burger and the raspberry vinaigrette that made it. i'm wondering, was his enthusiasm really for the deliciousness of this dish, or was he just excited to be the one who created the scrummy yummy raspberry dressing? hmm...

(ps - i'd like to say thank you to my dad for my new nikon coolpix. i'd been in need of a new camera for quite some time, and this one is the much updated version of the camera i have now. i'm excited to see how it performs in natural light!)

happy friday, everyone!

 

"When you appreciate how much help you have received to cope with and learn from the difficulties you've had in your life, it gives you patience and trust to face whatever comes next."