bulking up

Happy Imbolc! I dont really care if winter stays for another month or so, or if Spring comes early. I do care, however, that its about that time to start mapping out the summer festival circuit...and now that my youngest tiny will be 2 this summer...the face of our summer touring and travel has significantly changed. I think it will be easier now that they can both dance and run around...thank goodness I have that double stroller! (i love you BOB)
Our little family is on a bit of a routine now that Scarlett is attending gymnastics, ballet and fairy school. While some things are the same, having to be someplace at a specific time is really different for us. So far so good...and I am diligently working on the website...bulking up supplies and products for the spring/summer launch. I also seem to have many side art projects going on, which is great for me as long as i can remember to take some time out for a walk or workout. Yoga in the livingroom usually means i get a knee in my back while my hair is being raked with a fork. good fun. Fiber batt workshop went well last night. see:

beets beat it pink for free

dipping the wool

and chased her until she caught him

he understands about bills and charge accounts...tries to be on hand to help in an emergency

cooking beets? why not dye some wool while you enjoy each tender bite of root candy? sure, why not! Nothing beats the pretty pinkish, slightly fleshy...maybe a hint of white peach, but so skin pink of the beet juice! beet juice loves wool anyhow, so let them kiss! And while I get all giddy, pink and fleshy for the upcoming heart holiday, let me share my tiny thrift store score. A beautiful gift book with illustrations that please the eyes as much as they warm the heart. enjoy!

be sick at the beach

our 20 minute jack-o-lantern tiger
tiny tissues lanterns in the window, glowing for the new moon and the meteors

new moon sunset

lanterns drying

so first scarlett got a snotty nose, then me, then india...then scarletts went away then mine then indias...then scarletts came back then mine then indias...and so on and so on...so i decided that we need a little break from all the travel and fun and playing and so we have been going to the beach, just us. crafting and hanging out, just us. I like it...its fun...we dearly miss our friends, but we need to get healthy before we do all the snot and coughs all over again. And in about 12 days we will be travelling to nevada to visit our dear cousins, for Thanksgiving!! I have attempted to see them 3 times so far...and each time have not been able to make it due to someone having a cold or too much snot to be in a car for 12 hours, etc. but im bound. im determined. we will not be sick in 12 days. oh no...we will not. liver sleep? is that it rachel? yes...liver sleep it is :) photos of the beach, our tiny lanterns and some random crafting.

fix and figs

sown snails that saved a paint schmeared dress....scarlett now calls it her slug dress...felt and ribbon slime trails....then figs figs figs...wow! Last week when i saw baskets of figs at the co-op i got so excited because figs, like pomegranates...are a favorite rare treat. i only like fresh, i only like real...and they were sooooo delish! Recent photos of India and Scarlett...little sisters!

crack attack

see the three birds?

joan miro?

sweet gesture...or pure evil?

well who knows why, but when i stood in the pantry gathering ingredients for "muffins" i had more cocoa and chocolate chips, less carrots and raisins.... um chocolate muffins? okay okay...they ARE cupcakes...not one bit healthy...just pure sugar crack. so flippin' addictive and good, that i sent them to a friends house...as a gesture...a 'thank you' if you will...but is that really very kind? Demented, maybe? I mean, they have kids...and this is just like a bomb waiting to go off...did I really deliver to their doorstep a recipe for kids screaming, running through the house yelling "NO!! I wont go to bed...more cupcakes!!!" bouncing off the walls, pushing, wrestling, crying, smiling, laughing...more screaming... ohhh dear...i think an apology is in order...but at least I warned them...and unlike their mail carrier who just left some candy...i put the plate of sugar crack in a boring paper grocery bag...was tempted to label it...but then i thought, well, do the kids read? Undoubtedly, i bet they can read the word 'chocolate'...i know i could at an early age...and 'coca cola' (another form of legal crack) was recognizable to me years before I could read...in fact, when i was tiny, I drank disgusting chemical infused water from a "coca cola" glass that held flowers at the floral section in a safeway cooler...just because I recognized the brand. gross. the floral departments used to keep flowers in glasses of water...with some kind of "do not eat" package of chemical poured in for "freshness" i wonder how many other kids drank that gritty water? Anyway...im sorry about the delivery of sugar crack to your house friends, it'll never happen again!

I had fun making the cupcakes...designed with chips for polka dots...and i drizzled batter on some parchment and baked for a few minutes, let it cool and made cool designs...that part was super fun...scarlett helped me make the birds...and she made a few faces, but before i could get a picture, tiny fingers had already smeared and dipped their way through the icing, o well.

ode to joy

aaaaaahh sisters!

how sweet and cute they are together, playing. Now India is beginning to crawl (o dear me!) and what fun, thinks scarlett...who is enjoying her permanent playmate. some of you may already know...but in case you dont...scarlett has been at odds the past few months...wondering why this baby is hanging around for so long...she has finally accepted the fact that India is here to stay, and is ultimately happy about that.

meanwhile...mommy is frantically clearing lowland clutter and tossing "chokables" into shoeboxes and stuffing closets! mopping floors, carpet cleaning, rearranging pantry...mental note: shallow garbage pails and root baskets are no longer acceptable. shes roaming...brave and open mouthed, ready to "test" anything in hand...sigh

and also....thinking about starting another blog...just for yarns...so will have that update soon, until then i will post them here. only one more week until mercury corrects itself, lifting this invisible burden, and relaxing the flow of communication. hooray

new yarn: meloncolony...hand dyed and carded merino, polypay and hampshire lamb cross...some sparkle...55 yeards of peachypink, candystriped combos of pinks, blues, browns, greys, etc....greens with lavenders...some big poofy puffs, too.

crazy batt channel

love this batt...its merino, sparkle and this crazy kinky super gold wool that we got in the fall at the fiber festival in redway...some new sheep or something...but the kink is off the hook...and it looks like dolly hair, lovely!

we still love pizza...and the greatest thing is...scarlett eats more veggies now...i have been putting spinach, chard, squash, onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, even beans (yeah i know sounds weird, but twas good) and im still crazy about the pizza...the crust, really, its a charmer!
4 cups flour (unbleached white and wheat mixed is my fav)

1 1/2 cups warm water
yeast packet

pinch salt

2 TBS olive oil

throw the salt in with the flour, add yeast to water, when yeast bubbles add olive oil then add to flour and salt mixture....wooden spoon in bowl or food process...knead a bit on floured board...split in two...make pretty balls...place each ball into a Ziploc for 45 min or an hour...then roll as thin as possible...viola! (thank you ellie for recipe and tips)

AND....i have been washing, dying, drying, teasing, blending and carding a fleece of lovely merino and a polypay blend....oh boy it smells like sheep in here...but its been so fun, and scarlett has been helping me "tease, not break" (her words....my little spinner in training) the locks and crank the drum carder....such a great introduction to color theory! we have created every color of the rainbow and then some...about 20 batts down, 20 to go...then we'll dye some roving and get to spinning...cant wait! Scarlett also gets to help with the dying because i let her dye with kool-aid and vinegar...super fun.......and she agrees that kool-aid is pretty weird because it dyes fiber. she finally quit asking me for a taste.

India started eating food this week...avocados...yum! (thank you jessie for the yummiest avocados ever!)

we have also tripped to the beach with our friends...and have enjoyed all things sand and surf.

with mercury still in retrograde we are focusing on appreciation and fortune, of which both we seem to have in abundance....a photo montage for you:

digging a tunnel to china

the babies, dylan and india

india so happy to get that stick by herself

yummy avocado...exciting first food!

playing in scarletts kitchen...sushi and peaches!

eating plastic sushi

blending the perfect peachy pink...with sparkle!!!

helping to card wool...of course she is without any clothes!until its time to go outside she refuses to dress....and as soon as we come home, the clothes come off. "i love naked, mama"

grocery outlet...20 for a buck...really pretty!

dye pot...kool-aid colors

i love rock n roll

i used to collect colored vinyl records...god help me, i still have a few left...but they have been with me through thick and thin...i cant bring myself to chuck 'em...not only that but i dont think the thrift store would take them coverless and scratched (what to do!?) make a beautiful bowl! impress your friends! fill it up with cuties and save it from the landfill! makes a great gift (next holiday) and works with plain ole black vinyl as well.

heat up the oven about 275 or 300, you pick!

on a cookie sheet place an oven proof glass object (bowl, pyrex measuring cup, etc.)

put record on top..dont walk away..open windows and turn a fan on, would ya?

in a few minutes, or so, you will have a cool bowl shape...um with an oven mitt or tongs put it outside to cool...stinks. have fun! dont fill it up with water for a cool way to display your floating candles, as there is still a hole in it!