bees & honey

the bees have arrived!

This was a big day. My graduation from bee school. This was far from a cap and gown affair, though.   Donned in my bee veil I joined my colleagues, fifty or so other hobbyists of varying degrees of eccentricity, to receive not a diploma, but a box of 18,000 bees and their queen. Yes, this was a moment of truth. After hours of Saturday morning bee classes and much reading on the subject, do I really have the nerve to handle a big box of bees? Not just handle them. In order to place these creatures in the hive we have built for them, I must shake this big box of bees. Vigorously shake it. In the end, our bees went peacefully to their home. Now they're tucked in inside their hive on the hill and tonight I'm feeling like a bee mama, fighting the urge to go check on them one more time.  I know that's not wise, though, so I'll worry a bit about my bees until the dandelions arrive.

preparing for our new adventure!

Yes, fresh snow on the ground here and yet we reached a sunny 70 degrees on the deck. Such is spring in our neck of the woods.

puppy 101

A year ago we were a family of four sans pets. At one point the boys kept an ant farm, but beyond that their pet ownership had been limited to the frogs they have corralled in a variety of containers, none of which have ever been truly frog proof. Last July, when my friend was fostering a puppy for Almost Home Rescue, we gave in to the desperate pleas of our boys. The most heartfelt came from Six, who as Five, replied to my reason #492-why-we-would-not-get-a-pet: Because they can have accidents in the house, "But Mommy, I'll put a diaper on my pet." After being worn down by their persistence, and my own realization that my boys could learn a lot while caring for a dog, Casey came home with us. Part German Shepard, part Lab, part Hound, part whatever else, he introduced us all to puppyhood. This has not been an easy road, and at times it's been down right terrible. (Weeping and wishing for magic slippers at 1 am while cleaning up after a very sick pup.) But he's also enriched our family life and given us the opportunity to see our boys treat a creature with the love we've shown them. Now we understand puppy love.

a hopeful return

This has been a shamefully long hiatus. Last year around this time I thought I'd give NaNo a go. The plan was to start writing November 1st and finish the month with a 50,000 word novel. Sounds great, right? It was a failed attempt, but it did successfully devour any blogging time I had. Soon after that I accepted a position as program and volunteer coordinator for a local food distribution program. This became my third part time job (not counting my book reviewing because that pays in books, not cash). At that time two things officially fell off my plate - running and blogging. Ick. My running regimen resumed in the spring and now I'm going to give blogging another go. Hope I can keep up...

Five is now Six. Seven is now Eight. It all goes by so very quickly.

love to knit socks

bird watching

This summer could be called The Summer of Bird Watching, by Six.
With his binoculars in tow, he's spent hours examining our backyard birds. One morning were able to enjoy several minutes with a Scarlet Tanager. His library picks have a consistent theme and this week I caught him sound asleep clutching his favorite.

first snow

I woke this morning to Five singing Jingle Bells. My eyes began to focus on what I thought were heavy frost prints on the skylight, then I turned my head to look out the back windows and saw the snow flying. Unlike last month, when I had a mild panic attack watching the Pats play in a driving snow, this was a welcomed sight. It is, after all, November. This snow won't last, but the next one might, and it's okay. I like snow, I like winter, it's just an adjustment, one I'm now prepared to make. The boys bundled up after breakfast and attempted to make a leafy snowman before school. He wasn't there in the afternoon, but he was fun to make anyway. The next one might be with us for a while.

Watching them play in the snow reminded me of this picture from a November past...

Sling Shot Gun - Patent Pending

Around here, we practice creative recycling. Seven designed and crafted this sling shot gun using a shoe box, rubber band, and tape. The toilet paper roll is the scope, for zeroing in on his target. The bullets? Slips of paper balled up and color coded (yellow for Seven, blue for Five), then wrapped in tape for durability. Of course it's no fun just shooting unarmed bystanders, so he made another one for Five so they could have wars. Why do we even need store bought toys? These are so much more fun.

Apple Cake

Since we won't make it back to the orchard this fall, I'm faced with the decision of what to do with our last few family picked apples. It wasn't tough to decide on apple cake. Now this recipe is not healthy (with the possible exception of the whole wheat unbleached four, but that is a staple in our house anyway). Over the years I have attempted to make it less fattening, substituting oil for apple sauce, using less sugar, but it's pointless. These adaptations work in many recipes, but not this one. I don't support any variation of this recipe. If you're going to make it, make it right. But if you choose to include this in your recipe repertoire, be warned that there's no going back. Sure you can throw the recipe in the garbage (I did this), but that will only leave you desperately searching for it one of these days. For me that meant calling my grandmother for it again. Since then I've kept it and accepted it as a necessary fall indulgence.

Apple Cake
2 c flour
2 c sugar
2-3 c apples, diced
2 eggs
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
3/4 c oil
nuts of your choice

Bake at 350 degrees in a square, glass pan for about an hour. Share with friends.

Apples for dinner

This month we've had our fill of apples. I love that the only traveling our apples have done is in our own car. The only hands they've been in are our own. And I love that we've had Warm Curried Chick Peas with Apples on the menu all October.

For those of you who like curry, here it is. I'm pretty sure I got this, or a variation of it, from vegweb some time ago.

Warm Curried Chick Peas with Apples
2 T oil
1 T curry
2 potatoes, diced
3 carrots, diced
Put the above in skillet and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes and carrots are almost done, then add:
1 red pepper, diced
3 apples, diced
1 1/2 c cooked chick peas (or one can)
1 T apple cider vinegar
Cook for another 10 minutes, or until desired tenderness.










Despite my menu planning, there have been a couple of nights this month when dinner was apples, [self] served with peanut butter.

celebrating October

I love October. I really do. The anticipation and change that comes with September naturally evolves into a comfortable, familiar routine every October. These days the only thing changing is the leaves. All year I look forward to this time when the sun reflects from this tree in our backyard, flooding our home with red and orange hues. For a short time, our kitchen cabinets, walls, and pumpkin pine floors are perfectly illuminated. It happens every October. Predictably. As does apple picking...

Of course, binoculars are not needed, but they do make every outing seem like an adventure.

We love pumpkins!

The Time Traveler's Wife

Since entering the precariously unstable world of freelance writing, I've had some time on my hands. I've learned that keeping baked goods in the house is an extremely bad idea. Wearing sweatpants, also very bad. And after spending several days sitting in a chair designed purely for utilitarian purposes, I've decided to perform an experiment to determine the correlation between comfort and productivity. To that end, I am sitting on the sofa today. With my mac on my lap, and my coffee, notepad, pen and phone all at arms reach - I am ready to be productive. Having performed my morning rituals of email and facebook correspondence and ebay tracking, I began thinking about my book club meeting this Friday and thought I'd try my hand at a review. Really, I can fit this into my schedule...

Debut novelist Audrey Niffenegger effortlessly guides us through her brilliantly designed labyrinth in The Time Traveler's Wife, a unique love story between Henry and Clare, whose lives and love are simultaneously plagued by and blessed with a science fiction element. Henry, who suffers from a genetic disorder which causes him to spontaneously time travel, and Clare, who is forced to endure time linearly, take turns shouldering the hardship of this chrono-displacement condition, each harboring their own secrets and questions.

The complexity of Henry and Clare's situation assumes inherent storytelling difficulties, but Niffenegger masterfully unfolds their story with continuous momentum and intrigue. With their ages as benchmarks, we move back and forth in time, learning pieces of their histories, catching glimpses of their futures. Slowly the map of their lives is uncovered.

As Henry and Clare move through their lives together they suffer exceptional challenges and heartfelt tragedies, which are written with such honest emotion that we can't help but cry with them. With steamy love scenes that will leave you blushing and beautiful, flawed characters who you'll lie awake worrying about, this book will beg you to put the kids to bed early.

Whalah! This wasn't on my To Do list, but I'll add it now so I can check it off. Sofa:: 1 Chair:: 0

Ode to my double jogger

Last month, as part of my continued effort to purge all baby paraphernalia from our home, I sold our double jogger stroller. I was about to delete this picture (used in my ad) but decided it wasn't right to let this occasion pass without paying homage to the role this jogger played in the life of our young family. For five days a week, in all kinds of weather (it has an all important wind/rain guard for the determined New England walker), for more than four years, this jogger was tethered to my arm for five beautiful, peaceful, soul refueling miles. (During one of our last walks together I estimated it's mileage at well over 2,000.) The boys were accustom to this routine and sat comfortably watching the sights of the busy town; the dogs playing in the park, the ebb and flow of the river with the changing seasons. Clutching sippy cups and snack bowls, and usually a special stuffy or blanket, they rested as I recharged. These walks often included the company of two good friends, their joggers also each filled with a contented soul. The three of us would meet after work and spend five miles talking, laughing, occasionally crying. These were good walks.

It was hard to let go of this jogger. But the combined weight of the boys was rapidly approaching that of my own, and Bridge Street was not showing any signs of leveling off. Despite my impressive upper body strength, these factors added a considerable element of danger to our walking routine. This realization coincided with the fact that the boys had grown bored of the jogger, and it was time to trade in this beloved family ritual in exchange for group bike rides.

After placing my ad and administering an appropriate applicant background check, our jogger went to another deserving family. Good bye jogger. I will miss you.

In Full Swing

With two weeks of school under our belts, we're back into our school days routine, adding some new necessary organizational tools now that both boys are in school.

Each morning we meander up our big hill. The boys, donning their backpacks, stand hand-in-hand waiting for our bus driver to give them the nod before trotting across the street and marching up the steep school bus steps. Settled in their shared seat, they flash me big grins and waves from the window of the big bus as it takes them away to a world full of social interactions of which I will never be a part.

Each afternoon Five has a unique but impressive superlative for the day: fantastioso, terifico, incredibleamunga. He thinks kindergarten is okay.

While it's a little sad to say goodbye to another summer gone, this new approaching autumn is beautiful to witness.

"These flowers are beautiful," he says.

"Beautiful, like you."

I love...

...that his socks are always pulled up and his shirt is always tucked in.

a little pillow

Six decided to use his quiet time this week to create this pillow, which he finished this afternoon. Over the past several months his interest in sewing has been renewed. He has completed a pillow similar to this one, and several pillow cases, all with the help of either me or his Memere. This project, however, he did completely on his own, and he is quite proud.

beach days

We spent much of this very wet June having stay home days. The boys built forts - we just dismantled the living room fort, which had been up for a month and was starting to feel like a permanent fixture in our home - they had stuffy parties, put on concerts, and danced and sang with the unbridled enthusiasm that is five and six. Now that summer has reappeared, enduring the wet, cloudy days has made us appreciate this seasonable weather all the more.

The tide chart is posted on our message board. We've dug out the boogie boards and the sand toys. As Six said after flipping over on his board, wiping water from his eyes, This is the life!