Camping and Knitting

So, we went camping at Rock Creek.

You just have to love Rock creek. Warm, dry dusty Rock Creek... And all the Canada Geese

Frisbee with Geese

Swimming with Geese

And of course, the hikes along the creek, complete with fir cone races.

And I got my Woolgirl Sock Club 2008 Reina socks done in Georgia's Inspiration

And worked some more on my Glutton for Punishment Socks of the Seven Deadly S(p)ins club.



Not much camping happening this year. too many major house projects to attend to. Siding, windows, gutters, driveway, deck, raised garden beds... We may only get to the siding, windows and gutters this year. I think we need to find our gumption though. I think raised beds and maybe even the deck could also make it through this summer.

Make a wish...

Raw?

I'm considering doing a 7-day detox on raw foods. Though I doubt I'd ever go totally all raw all the time, a 7-day detox seems like a good sample, and there is one here with The Raw Divas Summer is a particularly good time to do this, since there are so many fabulous fresh fruits and veggies to choose from. I'm still a little wary of the "green smoothie" thing but I'm not 6 years old here, I can try it. The Divas also have some recipes for some raw smoothies, salads and soups in their Health in High Heels newsletter Have to say, they sound pretty yummy.

Last night, decidedly NOT raw. We had to defrost our chest freezer this week, as next week I'm acquiring some meat packs from Thundering Hooves (beef and pork) and we'll need the room. We have quite a bit of fish in the freezer, including some halibut from last summer that wasn't very well sealed and slightly freezer burned on the edges. I trimmed off some of the burned bits, and I made a Fish Stew with the rest. We also had an abundance of frozen corn from last summer, some of which also went in the stew.

In the fridge, I had half a papaya ever ripening, so I also baked up some Papaya bread (though Charlotte won't touch it because it has "nuts in it." I think it's awesome.

Next up: Planning for camping food - and probably delaying the raw detox thing until we get back next week, dunno, sure would simplify the camp menu...

I has needs

Like eggs.. which leads naturally to me needing my own chickens, like these



who will need their own chicken house, like this one I found on craigslist




which makes me want to work on the yard. I have some plans for some raised beds in the front, and again Craigslist saves the day. These are from Naturalyards .

They have boxes like these at Charlotte's school and these would be awesome in our front yard as well. I was thinking one about 2 x 8 along the driveway, then a flagstone path between it and another 3 x 8 box more in the yard.

All this planning doesn't really get me the eggs I need for today so I can make this Papaya Bread I also need walnuts, but I'm not so crazy as to think I need to plant a flippin walnut tree. That would just be going too far.

Food Experiments: Baking Bread

Okay, so I set to baking bread this week. Using the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day book (which is totally awesome by the way) I went ahead and did the batch of basic bread dough and made three loaves. The first:


The second looked pretty similar, and was eaten equally quickly.

Last night, i finished up the dough and made this beauty..



And today it is being gradually consumed by children...



Today, I have started a new recipe of dough, using olive oil, and will attempt to incorporate some olives before baking. By the way, after attempting bread on a cookie sheet, I loves loves loves my stone. ($15 at Bi-Mart)

The new dough is rising.



Now, I'm going to take a stab at Kalua pig, rice, and macaroni salad. And I need some eggs, so I can try this papaya bread...

Going Domestic

Between finishing that sweater (too short in the sleeves and the body - no matter how HUMONGOUS it seemed on the needles), baking bread all week (turned out kinda good), and really starting to dig in with composting, gardening, buying more locally and organically... Will i recognize myself?

I'm still working, but I'm changing my schedule around so I'll have a little more time during the day for all these lovely domestic pursuits. I was asked today, do I consider myself a feminist? Not really. I don't want to be everything. I don't really want it all. Just the good stuff. Thanks to the feminist movement, now I *have* to work just so we can get by as a family. Sure, my husband could work two jobs, so I could not work at all, but I think I'd be more miserable that way. I like pulling part of that financial load, just like I appreciate him taking on some of the household necessaries. Like laundry, shopping, cooking and bathroom cleaning, to name a few.

Blog Neglect

Somebody probably better call blog and family services on me. I have been seriously neglecting the ole blog. Fortunately, it just sits there quietly starving until I come back.. I'm back. :)

So, I've been knitting. Knitting, knitting, knitting. And making progress on my schoolwork. Slowly but steadily, row by row, bit by bit.

This year, I've completed two pairs of socks, a headband, two baby blankets, two hats, two pair of fingerless gloves, and a baby sweater with matching hat.

I'm most impressed that I'm actually nearly finished with the sweater for Keith. Plus three other pairs of socks are in varying degrees of progress.

Chelle's Works

My lilac is finally blooming this year, and as promised, is as fragrant as I could ever want.


Grandma turned 90 on Sunday, and there was a party, with much food and vaguely familiar faces from distant past..



Well, there is work to do, dinner to figure out, and schoolwork to do, and a little girl STARVED for attention (and food -- much like the blog) Seems somebody is always feeling neglected no matter what I do. *sigh* Ah well. back to life...

Givin it Homemade...