Whirlwinds

What a whirlwind weekend!

A new little niece was born, and is wrapped up in a blanket I crocheted. I can't believe it. Either part of it. The fact that A) this little miracle baby was born, and B) the fact that I managed to crochet a whole little blanket. I'll try to post a picture soon....

My city cousin and her boyfriend showed up on Saturday, so we had a big family dinner that night. Salmon, Chirp-chirp's awesome biscuits with some of the last herbs from the garden, a salad with some of the last tomatoes from the garden, and chocolate silk pie for dessert--a feast!

My cousin brought some very fancy milk over from a natural foods market, and we made two batches of mozzarella cheese. It's odd that they can get whole unpasteurized milk in the middle of the largest city in the northwest, but here on the rural side of the state I can't get it. Of course, I'd never pay $10 dollars for a gallon of milk, plus a bottle deposit, even if I could get it here, which is why I can't, I suppose. If there were enough consumers for milk at that price, it would be available. As it is, I'll just have to look back fondly on the weekend I made the BEST cheese ever, and made it twice in a row. The curds were firm, the cheese glossy and elastic, and we were in heaven. City boyfriend ventured out into the yard and picked the very last of the tomatoes, a few pea shoots, and minute bits of arugula and put together a caprese salad of sorts for dinner on Sunday. He also had me show him how to make homemade tortillas.
Oh, and soap.

He'd been dying to learn how to make soap ever since he heard that it was something I'd been trying my hand at (or, for the grammarians, at which I'd been trying my hand).

So, we made soap as well! I showed him the soapcalc website and gave him a list of oils I had on hand. Three hours later (0bsessed much, city boyfriend?) the recipe he put together consisted of castor, olive, and coconut oils. I'll post the whole recipe later if it turns out to be a keeper.

The boyfriend is definitely a keeper. If he doesn't propose to my cousin soon, I'm going to do it for him.

Weekend recap


This past weekend was by far one of the most productive weekends we've had around here for awhile. 


Saturday morning started out cold and dreary, with me staring at the bathroom floor.  Not only were we STILL not going to Crater Lake (boring old family, anyway!) but the bathroom floor didn't get repainted this summer and now it was cold and wintry and I'd have to stare at this stupid old not-very-well painted floor for another whole winter because I was too lazy to do it this summer and it's all just stupid anyhow, isn't it, and my toes are starting to look kinda old.


Then I had some coffee and the sun came out and the forecast said it would get into the low 80's.  Boo-yah! 

This weekend I cleaned and repainted the bathroom floor, Mr. Boom repainted the house trim I accidentally stripped off, then not-so-accidentally finished stripping a week ago.  We repainted the swinging bench on the back porch, and I even (finally!) got around to finishing up the paint job on the front porch columns, a job started (I kid you not) about six years ago.


Oh, and I also opened the beehive to check on the health of my favorite little hymenopteras, and give them a little bit of a menthol mixture proclaimed to be the best at preventing bees from getting mites or dying off in other mysterious ways.  Also, we managed to mow the lawn and till some straw into a garden bed that needs some serious help with its vegetative content. 

Sunday morning I woke up ridiculously early and persuaded Mr. Boom to get out of bed to go hunting.  And guess what?!! We (he) finally brought home a grouse for supper!  In case you're keeping count, we're up to grouse-6 and humans-1.  I also found a rather nice cep which was served up as the best little side dish to the best little grouse breast and leg ever.  Yummy! 



Oh, and doughnuts.  We also made more doughnuts on Sunday.  Yum.  Oh, and twice-baked potatoes.  Mr. Boom makes a killer twice-baked.  We had those for dessert a few hours after our grouse entree.

Yes, a great weekend here.  The touch-up work on the front porch continues, but the weather is holding up for now, and is expected to stay nice for the rest of the week.  I think we'll get it finished and I won't be fretting it over the winter through.

I love fall!

Sometimes my thought run wild... (by Kat)

Sometimes, I'm just not content with the status quo.

Sometimes, I want to stir things up a little and examine the aftermath. Is it better? Is it worse?

Take bread, for example. I wondered if it really tasted better homemade (okay, no I didn't. I knew it did, but just work with me here, okay)? Would I be able to keep up with the household demand? Was the homemade bread train headed down the tracks in the right direction and I just never knew I needed that ticket? The answer was an overwhelming yes on all accounts.

Take soap, for example. Some people make their own. How weird is that? No, wait, how cool is that? Should I try it too? Could I try it too? Was the happily ever after story of homemade soap a myth? Was it a lye (sorry, couldn't help myself)? Turns out making my own soap totally rocks. Why didn't I try it sooner?

Bees? Same thing!

Fireworks? Sure!! Well, no, Mr. Boom handles the explosives around here, but I watch. Do I get a little bit of credit for that?

So, what else can I shake up?

Welllllll....we're going camping this weekend. I've got a bee in my bonnet to try at least one of the following three adventures: sous-vide steaks, ice cream made with dry ice, or solar cooking. Yes, all three have to do with food. What else is there, right?!

Will it be a habit I keep? Honestly, I don't see any of them sticking around for long. But I'd sure love to try each of them at least once.

Have you tried any of these meal preparation strategies?

Did it work? Do you still do it?

Cook Your Meat in a Beer Cooler: The World's Best (and Cheapest) Sous-Vide Hack from Serious Eats

How to Make Instant Dry Ice Cream from DadLabs.com

Solar cookers from Teong H. Tan

Camping is so much fun!

I can't wait!

I've been accused (yet again!) of procrastination.

Huh.

Gotta go!!!

Back from the Tetons (by Kat)

This past weekend was a bittersweet journey for us. Mr. Boom has the dearest, sweetest, most fun aunt, who just happens to live in the prettiest place I know. She and her husband built their log home from scratch on five acres at the base of the Tetons many years ago, and their they raised two amazing boys.

Amazing? How about spectacular!

The oldest boy just married a girl he met at helicopter school in Hawaii. She's such a sweetheart, and a babe to boot. They stayed in a cabin that the younger son built this summer. From wood he cut in the forest. And hauled back to the house, and stripped, and hewed out at the ends, and stacked, and chinked, and roofed, and holy heck how did he do that?!

The younger son, having given up his cabin to his older bother and brand spankin' new sister in law, stayed in the tipi he built the year before. And by tipi, I mean a 12 foot tall, 12 foot wide, stone-floored, sewn canvas, antler buttons to attach the canvas to the poles, mansion of a tipi.

The younger son followed the older son to Hawaii, though, and now mom and dad are following. So this weekend was a combination wedding reception and farewell to the Teton Valley party.

Did I get any photos of the tipi, the cabin, the beautiful yard? No. My photos are filled with the faces I love that I won't see again for a very long time. Therefore, I don't have a lot to show you, which kinda sucks.

But you know what? I learned a great deal this weekend. I saw awesomeness in action. I'm not the kind of person to put up with a lot of whining if people aren't willing to make changes. Now, I do whine quite a bit myself, but that's different, right?

So, here's Mr. Boom's aunt and uncle, complaining about the long (and I do mean loooooong) winters. So what do they do? They both quite their good-paying and very secure jobs, sold the house and everything in it, and they're following their sons to Hawaii.

Just. Like. That.

They're not sitting around saying "how could we ever move from this home we built by hand" and "this isn't the economy in which to quit a good job" nor "how will we ever find a place to stay in Hawaii." They're saying "watch out, here we come!"

Cowabunga, dude!

Isn't that cool?

Okay, so here are the few and the ugly. My vacation photos from the Tetons, the worst you'll ever see on the web!

A whole lot of gorgeous nothing near Salmon, Idaho

A house with a great view. I'd love to live here.

A moose on the outskirts of Driggs, Idaho.

A near-full moon lit the world and our tent the last night there.

Early morning view of the Tetons from our pillows in the tent.

A view of the Teton Valley from Horseshoe Canyon Road

An old farmstead up the Horseshoe. I'd like to live here, too.

Amazing light show on these aspen trees, but I couldn't capture it.

After the last fire in the pit, a little light shining up from
the top of the tipi, the son's cabin in the background, all lit by moonlight.
(This shot was taken after midnight w/out flash!)

Weekend walk in the woods (by Kat)

Last Saturday, we took a walk in the woods. This road goes up and up and up and up.

These false hellebore (Veratrum sp.) were poking up through the snow.

Belligerently, they yelled at us from their poky little noses:

SPRING IS COMING


I wish I had Mr. Boom stand next to this log to add some scale.
The stump was nearly up to my chest.


More false hellebore.
These had convinced the snow to move on,
and were reveling in their sunlit little spot of forest floor.
(I'm not anthropomorphizing... I heard them for reals.)


Suddenly, we came up this site.

This is what a bear does in the woods in the spring.

And here's his or her view.
Not bad, eh?

Two hours later, we were back in the rig, heading back toward home.

I'd like to add this scenery to my bathroom.

Why should the bears have it all to themselves?

Spring? (by Kat)

Spring is visible here, but only out of the corner of my eye.

This weekend we traded in our parkas for sweatshirts, and began to survey the yard.

I pruned the apricot, cherry, and plum trees, then Chirp Chirp put the twigs in water for me. We brought them inside, and scattered vases and jars throughout the house. Hopefully we'll have some cheery blossoms in our home soon.

I also pruned the roses, and have all the scratches and puncture wounds to prove it.

We built shelves in the shop, and cleaned out the winter's worth of cobwebs and dust.

We mucked out the chicken pen, but I'll spare you the detail on that chore! The hens are laying again, and all is right with the world....

Perhaps the most fun we had, though, was celebrating Mr. Boom's grandma's 86th birthday. Per her request, I made my version of Smitten Kitchen's Cappuccino Fudge Cheesecake. Seriously good stuff! You can see I need to work on my basket weave, but the cake didn't last long enough for anyone to get too close a look.

It was a happy busy weekend, and I hope my hands heal in time to play in the yard again next weekend. We have major chicken coop overhaul plans...

PS Quick! Sign up for the giveaway before it's too late! Bet's mom brought the book over this weekend, so it's here and ready to go!

Saturday Night (by Kat)

Saturday Night

Those two words once were filled with exciting connotations. Anything could happen! Saturday night meant hanging at the Tav, shooting pool, drinking beer, and the long walk back to the apartment. It meant friends, food, drink, and a general release from the week behind us.

Then we became parents....

Then we became "old."

Saturday night, or at least this particular Saturday night, finds me in our office. Woo hoo! The excitement of it all!

I finally had a chance to work on last Sunday's New York Times crossword puzzle. I almost finished it! Four blank spaces are left on the page, taunting me. Not exactly the same as four balls left on the table, with a stack of quarters signifying a stack of challengers, but that's okay.

See the green bowl? Comfort food! My mom called it chipped beef. My husband uses another description, supposedly from the military (though he never served, which leads me to wonder where he heard the term--you see, the mystery hasn't left our marriage after all these years). In case you're not familiar with it, chipped beef is essentially a white sauce with minced pressed beef in it, served over toast. Not exactly the Tav's nachos, but not bad, either.

Cloudy, our gentle tabby, seems to enjoy this type of Saturday night, too. He wants me to believe he knows the answers to the missing spaces on the puzzle. But more than that, he wants me to skooch my chair back so he can claim my lap. He believes that the power of his charming good looks will win girls over. Just like the guys at the Tav.

Hmmmm, maybe times haven't changed quite as much as I thought.

What are you doing this weekend? (by Kat)

What are you doing this weekend?

Marble is admiring her brand new feathers.

She just went though a molt, and missed her good looks (and tail feathers)!

Seraphina is in the middle of a molt.

She'll spend the weekend sloughing old feathers and growing new ones.

Cumulus is spending her time healing from her ordeal with the
un-Saint-ly Bernard.

Pablano is trying to figure out how to work a screwdriver.
Sitting in front of the heat vent is not enough.
He wants to curl up right inside the furnace.

We're going to a party for a two-year old.
I found the BEST PRESENT EVER last week near Bet's.

His cheeks glow, and he quacks a not-too-obnoxious
quack as his fountain spurts water over his back!

($12.95 from Young Art in Vancouver, WA)

I can't wait to see my nephew's face!