He's got rhythm, too!

Cy's Party Hat
Originally uploaded by zostra

Such style for an almost-three-year-old. This is Cy's party hat. He wears it every time he goes to a party, which included the big, family dinner with all of the aunties and uncles and cousins. Cy and Gryf had a great time playing together, much more exciting than the last time they met when neither of them could crawl yet. Much noisier too.

Chocolate Balsamic Genie

Chocolate Balsamic
Originally uploaded by zostra

One of the Christmas gifts I made this year was chocolate balsamic vinegar. It's quite tasty, very thick and chocolatey with a decided tang from the balsamic. I found these bottles at the Ecology Center in Berkeley, and I love the way the vinegar separated into layers. It looks like a genie is going to come flying out as soon as you open up the bottle.

Eggnog Demitasse

Eggnog Demitasse
Originally uploaded by zostra

Bray made eggnog on Christmas eve. Real, thick, creamy, traditional eggnog. Nothing healthy. Nothing lowfat. Nothing non-dairy. That last one put me into the "I'll just have a taste" category, but oh what a taste it was.

Merry Christmas!

Red Velvet with Buttercream Frosting
Originally uploaded by zostra

Here's to a festive day with lots of yummy surprises.

It's Done

Finished Window
Originally uploaded by zostra

The grout has been sealed, the label has been scraped off, window cleaned, shelf installed, and the Christmas cactus is just starting to open up to celebrate.

Wonder Who?

That Worked Well
Originally uploaded by zostra

So much for the cat barrier on the window. Fortunately the grout was dry long before he was allowed anywhere near it.

It's In!

Corner Cap with Paw
Originally uploaded by zostra

The corner caps and window tile have been grouted. Scooter decided to play Vanna for the occasion. Still needs to be sealed (the tile, not Scooter). In the meantime there is a blue-tape fence to keep the cats off the un-sealed grout in the kitchen window. We'll see how long that lasts.

What to do with all that mud

Mud Festus
Originally uploaded by zostra

Dad & I tiled the kitchen window and the counter corners today. We over estimated (by about 200%) how much mud we would need for the job, and Dad got creative with the rest of it. Quote of the day from Dad: Considering the amount of time it took Michelangelo to create David, I think this is about comparable.

The corner caps that were on back order never did arrive, so we had a tile cutter cut some of the end caps on a diagonal and we managed to fake it. They've been mudded, as has the window tile. Grout on Tuesday.

Roasting

Roasted Kabocha
Originally uploaded by zostra

A rainy, grey day really does call for roasted squash. I'm wondering if it is possible to do oneself harm with too much roasted squash in one sitting. Death by squash is not what I would choose for my epitaph, but freshly roasted kabocha is so difficult to resist.

Bloomin' Poppies

First Poppy
Originally uploaded by zostra

While I realize that plants are supposed to bloom, particularly flowers that are planted for expressly that purpose, I am enough of a novice gardener that I am still thrilled to see it happen in my little patch of dirt. I planted some poppies in a corner by the stairs that already has a few rosebushes, added some violas, and a few other little things. The violas were already in bloom and took to their new home quite happily, but I was a little worried there wouldn't be enough sun for the poppies. Apparently my fears were misplaced as my little corner now has several poppy blooms, with quite a few more buds ready to open. It makes me feel like at least I have a bit of a handle on this little corner of the yard. If the rain holds off enough next week for me to break out the rototiller, I might start to see some progress on the rest of it.

Burg Crush

November Rose
Originally uploaded by zostra

Last week I got to spend a few days in Minneapolis for a conference. I now have a serious crush on the Twin Cities. I got to visit with my friend Steve and see the very cool Science Museum of Minnesota where he works (not to mention his fabulous mid-fixing fixer-upper house). Ate at Spoonriver and Al's Breakfast. Discovered a previously unknown love of Jameson's at The Local. Browsed through piles of used books at Laurie Books and got to see the old furrier's vault with "the rest" of the books in the basement. Of course, then I came home to my rosebush in it's second massive bloom of the year, despite it being November. That's one thing they don't get in Minnesota...

Pasta Sauce

Cooling Sauce
Originally uploaded by zostra

Cross 20 pounds of Dirty Girl Farms dry-farmed early girl tomatoes, 2.5 pounds of onions, 15 cloves of garlic, 2 cups of herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary), and one bottle of Cline Los Carneros Syrah 2006 and you get two gallons of very, very yummy pasta sauce.

Gift of Tomatoes

Gift of Tomatoes
Originally uploaded by zostra

This morning, as I went out the back door to go water the garden, I found these. My neighbor had reached over the fence and left them for me as a gift. As I was weeding the front yard, another neighbor stopped by to bring me a full container of tomatoes from his garden. Yesterday, my friend at work brought me apples to make applesauce for our group. The apples were from her friend's orchard.

Proud Mama

Diploma
Originally uploaded by zostra

Very few things make me cry. Opening up my daughter's diploma from Berkeley did. Who would have thought that when I brought her home six-and-a-half years ago that today I'd be standing in my kitchen crying over a piece of paper with a gold seal and her name on it. She's come so far, done so much, and I am so very, very proud of her. She is the best part of my life, and I am grateful for her every single day. And I don't mind saying so, for the whole world to hear.

From the Garden

Derves
Originally uploaded by zostra

Dad came over for dinner, and for our first course we had veggies from the garden. Not a lot of them, mind you. But still...

Colors

Paint Rainbow
Originally uploaded by zostra

I've been working on sanding down the exterior windowsills so they can be painted. I believe I've now counted at least ten different colors that used to be on the trim of the house. There seems to have been several shades of aqua. I find this particularly fascinating as we discovered during the interior baseboard sanding/removal/replacement that every single room in the house had been some shade of pink at one point or another. I find myself wondering how often the exterior aqua trim coincided with pink interior trim, and how many of those overlaps were during the 60's when some form of altered, drug-induced state might have led to the choice of said paint colors.

The Big Breakup

Bert with a sledge
Originally uploaded by zostra

Bert and I have been friends for 20 years, since our junior year in high school. He's been living up in Arcata for a long time, so we don't get many opportunities to hang out. Fortunately, he's really good about popping up out of the blue, even though he lives so far away. He did just that not too long ago, right before heading off on a sailing race from San Francisco to Hawaii. We caught up on the phone a few times after his race, and somewhere in there when he said he needed to keep busy I said "Well, if you're ever bored you can always come break up the concrete in my backyard." He said ok. Then he followed through. Today we broke up the entire 20' x 20' concrete slab in the back yard and hauled it into the dumpster waiting for it at the curb. No power tools. No jackhammer. Just a sledge, some big crowbars, and 2 wheelbarrows to haul the cement. Bert taught me how to use the sledge hammer, but he's much more effective and elegant with it. Notice in the picture he's not just swinging the sledge, he's standing on two big crowbars to hold up the slab and make it easier to break? Dad, of course, came and helped, because he is a saint. Seth came by for a bit at the end, and had a hand in getting the big pipe in the back corner of the yard out of the ground. But really, the credit goes to Bert. The man with the sledge.

Firsts

First Tomato
Originally uploaded by zostra

There's an almost ripe tomato in my garden. It's a sungold, so it won't ever get red. A few days and it will be ready to eat. I did pick and eat a handful of blackberries, and admired the first dahlia. The picture turned out fuzzy though. Perhaps I should rename this "Knitting Tomatoes"?

First Canning Project

Peach Jam
Originally uploaded by zostra

There was a half-price sale on peaches at the market this weekend. Two flats for $20. I'd been planning on it for several weeks. Now I have three batches worth of jam, a batch of peach ice cream, and still have half a flat of peaches to eat. Somehow I think I'll survive.

The Last Boxes

The Last Boxes
Originally uploaded by zostra

I've whittled them away, and am now down to under 10 boxes left to deal with. Some of it will land up in the garage, most of it just needs to be organized & put away. The drill is still living in the house. Now the ladder is too (just for a little while, honest). Soon...soon it will all be unpacked.