certain signs of spring

today i was enjoying the many lovely sights of the season here:

forsythia in bloom;

real, actual, growing-in-the-ground daffodils blooming;

flowering pear blossoms;

beautiful dancing green leaves peeking out finally on the baby quaking aspen trees in our yard; the short-lived but lovely velvety-green tint the hills take on each year at this time;

and the strings of chairs and benches roped along the parade route in anticipation of the Apple Blossom Festival parades coming up the end of this month and first weekend of next. even the local newspaper has a seasonal chair count that is updated daily, today the chairs number 251, the ropes 6, and the benches 11, for an estimated number of reserved spots of 834. strangely enough, it seems to work out well, nobody steals the benches or chairs, and it is a source of entertainment and amazement. are we easily entertained, or what!? oh, yeah, and usually the apple trees are blooming somewhere about the time of the festival. it is a beautiful time of year to be here.

since soon it will be flip-flop and shorts weather, what am i currently knitting? wool socks, of course! the first one is done, and i must say it is my favorite sock project to date! maybe there will even be an opportunity to wear the pair before next fall if i'm really quick about knitting the second one. i did also recently knit a pair of cotton socks for my mother, who doesn't prefer wool. i'm guessing they may be the only pair of purple socks she owns, but i don't know that for sure.

today some people came to look at our house. i don't know if they are actually interested enough to make an offer, but the great thing about having somebody come to tour one's house is that it gave me a great reason to clean it all at once. very nice to come home to! it sort of makes it all worth the stress of not knowing whether you are coming or going. all is well.

daffodils and artistic chaos

and, just what have we been doing around here?

okay, months later, (with no explanation forthcoming), here is an update:

snow. just when we thought that winter was winding down for good, another snow, and then another little bit, then a few flakes here and there coming down despite the sunny blue sky. who would have guessed? i'm happy for the snowpack in the mountains, and of course for those of you who ski and enjoy other winter sports, but as for me, i had to cheer myself with daffodils. so far, the only ones blooming that i have seen are in the grocery stores and then on my counter.

the small resident artist in our home has been busily decorating. and since she discovered the new tape dispenser, we have had all sorts of scotch-taped masterpieces, but my favorite was the pens-on-the-french-doors display. luna the cat has enjoyed makeshift "cages" and there have been carloads of vacationers... in amira's room off and on. it's fun. except when it is time to clean up due to imminent bedtime or other such parental nonsense, then it isn't as much fun.

we recently acquired a new computer, complete with flat screen monitor. this has been very distressing to luna kitty, whose favorite warm spot was formerly the (very hairy) top of the monitor. she still looks longingly at the spot behind the new monitor before choosing another resting place. the computer was a great decision, much more efficient, less waiting around on our part. amira was relieved that this computer also has "PBS kids".

knitting wise, i have been fairly busy off and on, and completed some baby gifts, assorted felted bags, some socks, and my first stuffed animal. this hedgehog was named "top bone" by amira, who is sure it is a girl hedgehog, and quite certain that the name chosen for her was the right one. i have not a clue why she chose the name, the name seems a little odd to me, coming from a little girl who named her teddy bear harfisheem. (actual spelling unknown)

we have our house on the market again, (or still, depending upon when you last heard) and last week had a "broker's open" open house for the realtors, with a great turnout and lots of favorable comments. so, i have been attempting to keep it in a showable state, just in case one of said realtors decides to bring somebody to look. cross your fingers, it's a tough market and we're expecting miracles. however, we do believe in miracles, so hold that thought with us...

happy, merry, yummy

christmas has come and gone as it does, nicely. amira enjoyed all aspects of it, from cookie baking (look at how many sprinkles these candy cane cookies required!),and the candy canes on the tree, which she felt free to distribute to family and friends as they visited, to the inevitable consumption of sugary treats. it was wonderful to experience the holiday vicariously through a four year old's perspective. for her it was about opening presents,new dolls, and new art supplies .

luna kitty really enjoyed the wrapping paper, noche kitty wasn't as thrilled but i made him participate anyway. he's a good sport.

i waited until christmas day itself to make my contribution to the wonderful dinner we had at my mom and stepdad's place. thus, we arrived in our customary slightly tardy fashion. i spent my baking time thinking of several of my grandmothers, wearing an apron as gram edith would have strongly suggested, using my favorite stainless steel bowl i inherited from grandma lola, and making my grama hazel's signature dessert, apple slice. it is a dangerous dessert for me to be around, because i could easily eat a whole batch, if left alone with it for too long. here is the recipe, but i think next time i would use about half the amount of sugar and it would be even better.

Apple Slice

Pastry:

2 1/2 c flour

2 T. sugar

1 t. salt

1 c. butter (original calls for shortening)

1 egg yolk, beat in cup with enough milk to make 2/3 cup (reserve egg white for later)

mix and roll like pie crust,(roll 1/2 first) preferably on parchment paper or something you can use to transfer it to a cookie sheet with edges. slice 2 to 4 peeled apples thinly and spread over first half of pastry. top with 1 cup sugar(or less) mixed with 1 t. (or more) cinnamon. drizzle with 2 T melted butter with a few drops vanilla mixed in it. roll out other half of pastry, place on top, and seal edges.

beat egg white stiff with hand mixer, spread on top. bake at 350F for 40 minutes or more.

drizzle with glaze made with powdered sugar thinned with lemon juice. let cool a bit. enjoy!

birthday festivities begin the season

it's been one of those mornings that make schedules seem like a bad idea. if i had to actually be anywhere this morning, it wouldn't be a good thing, as amira and i are still not dressed for the day at eleven in the morning. that being the case, we have been somewhat productive, finishing making a christmas ornament and sorting out drawers and doing various little tasks. what was forecast to be a very cold day that was to top out at 15 F must be warming up, because there are drips from our roof as the snow on the roof melts. it is sunny, and that helps in every way for some of us light pigs. the days feel so short...but, only three or four more and the days start getting longer again!

last month we successfully celebrated amira's fourth birthday, that she had been talking about for months. she informed us shortly after her third birthday that the next one was her strawberry shortcake birthday. so, because we used the celebration she wanted so much as incentive for some major and needed milestones, we needed to make good on the reward. the adults enjoyed hanging out, the kids danced and played, we ate cake and amira was abundantly blessed and bestowed with gifts.

i hesitated to tell anybody luna the cat checked out the table for us before anybody arrived....is that bad?

we did make cupcakes for amira's preschool class for her actual birthDAY.

amira and i unpacked our christmas tree once thanksgiving was over.

i love that she enjoys the tree and baking so much. we made cookies, the first of the christmas baking. now begins the sugar fest...