Nineteen and Still Smiling!

It’s been 19 years since the Krystal Carrington shoulder pads married the Johnny Clegg almost-mullet.

Nineteen years and we’re still smiling!

Pretend Trip to Canada

Every year at Tau’s school, the kids take a make believe trip to an exotic destination.

Last year it was Hawaii — this year, Canada.

Vancouver to be specific.

In the middle of Winter. Bring me that Maple Syrup Mai Tai!

Me Llamo Tau

On Purpose

“HEY!”

I am bathing Tau and he has a jumbo syringe full of bathwater in hand.

“It was jus’ by accident, Mom.”

“I think it was on purpose, Dude.”

“Kind of medium purpose, Mom.” And he demonstrates. “If you shoot like this it’s medium purpose … and a smaller one is, like, easy purpose.”

“Easy purpose. Not by accident?”

“No. And a BIG one is on purpose.”

To Quote Frank Zappa

  

“You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.”

~ Frank Zappa

Used this quote on a birthday card for our friend Gerhard. Very appropriate!

Who Wants the Pope’s Nose?

My beloved Granny Sylvia passed away one year ago today. This picture, taken when Dave and I visited her at Christmas in 1995,  is one of my most enduring memories of her — serving up Sunday roast in her kitchen in Johannesburg. Onto plates that had been warmed on the shelf above the gas cooker. And making sure everyone got the bits of the fowl they liked most.

While the Cat’s Away …

If you tally up all the hours, minutes and seconds Dave and I have spent deliberating (negotiating) over paint color over the years, you could add them all together and take yourself a nice little vacation … a week or two in Costa Rica, lying on a beach with a good book and a fruity drink in your paw.

So while he was away in Argentina a couple weeks back, I decided to paint the kitchen counter. Because I’m sneaky that way.

The counter wall was scuffed, dirty white and I thought it would look great in a rich chocolate brown. Turns out we had a can in exactly the right color languishing in the garage — I didn’t even need to drive to the paint store!

Ta daa!

Too Much of a Good Thing

This year I’m participating in a sew and cook along hosted by Africankelli and Finny Knits.

Why? Because I’m loving sewing again after so many years away from it. That and this monthly challenge gives you the option to do EITHER the sewing project OR the culinary project.

Up this month, either this sassy little cap or a spicy garlic dressing. I opted for the dressing because I’m just not a hat person — and looking at all the measuring and interfacing and stitching work that goes into that hat (one of MANY gorgeous projects in the amazing little book One Yard Wonders), I realized I wasn’t about to stitch it for anyone else!

So last night was a regular Tuesday night. On the menu, soup and salad. Ho hum.

Not so when the soup is Alessi’s Zuppa Toscana (a very tasty white-bean and pasta packet soup that tastes like you’ve spent all day at the stove). And definitely not when the everyday green salad is dressed with Kelli’s spicy garlic salad dressing.

First thing I wished was that we’d already replaced our ex-hand blender, which died some time back. The only blender I had to work with was the big old beast we use for making smoothies and bulk homemade pesto.

So I had to make a TRIPLE batch of Kelli’s dressing just to have enough to cover the blades. No problemo — the recipe scales quite well.

The only problem I had was that I was out of fresh limes. OUT OF LIMES!

** Insert story here about how my husband thinks I’m a FREAK because I always have to have lemons and limes in the fruit bowl **

The lime juice bottle said the juice was “natural strength” so I estimated the average lime could probably generate about two tablespoons of fresh juice.

Guess not. The finished dressing was flavorful with a good kick to it. And it would have complemented any salad, vegetable or meat dish had it not been for the WAY TOO MUCH LIMEyness of it! I added more olive oil and then some more to balance it, and that helped but not quite enough. Next time round, I’ll add just a squeeze of citrus.

That said, the mid-week soup ‘n salad were definitely elevated by the spicy garlic dressing, hunks of soft French bread and a nice glass of red wine. It was a satisfying MEAL on a winter’s evening for sure.

But I’ll be trying the rest of the dressing as a fish or chicken marinade!

Man Holding Fish (Duh!)

Related

So my husband comes home last night from a week in Argentina.

He brings the boy a glow-in-the-dark dinosaur (winner dad) and me a very beautiful black leather money purse. Double winner husband who knows me very well.

For himself the two of us he brings I won’t tell you how many bottles of Argentinian wine. And this morning, he stands at the kitchen counter reviewing the labels, turning the bottles over.

“This Luigi Bosca is from the same winemaker as the red we had last night. They’re related.”

And I’ve been married to him long enough to know that he’s talking about the wines being related, not Luigi and the winemaker. And that talking about wines as siblings or cousins or spouses does not seem strange to me at all.

One Word and a Handful of Intentions

Andrea Sher at Superhero Journal posted today about selecting a single word to live by for the year. So much easier than trying to stick to a list of resolutions!

For me that word would be

appreciate

 
Towards the end of 2009, I became so aware of all I have in my life, and I plan to spend this year appreciating it all!

Fabulous husband, kid, job, place to live … bountiful health, happiness, opportunity … you name it! I’m not taking any of it for granted.

And then, related to concept of goals, resolutions, intentions …

I don’t know of many people who manage to stick to a list of New Year’s resolutions. And my experience is that, as you get older, eating better and exercising consistently become a necessity for health anyway. No use making a resolution to lose 10 pounds or go to the gym three times a week. You have to do that regardless … to have the energy to function!

So all that goes without saying and how well we do it has little to do with resolution or even intention.

Instead, I thought I’d make a simple list of five random but very concrete things I’d like to achieve in 2010. Stuff I can actually achieve.

Here goes!

1. Organize the kitchen and laundry closets better, throwing out unused gadgets and optimizing space.
2. Craft strategically, making useful, beautiful things as gifts. Won’t be making all of our gifts — but those that I do, I want them to be perfect.
3. Take a two-day silent meditation getaway. Alone. Somewhere where I don’t have to talk and I have time to read, sleep and do yoga.
4. Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize! Wear jewelery and scarves more, and dress with a bit more attitude.
5. Have lunch once a month alone with Dave. Preferably at the beach.

The list could go on and on but I thought it would be fun to jot down just FIVE and then check in at the end of the year to see how I’ve done. Ready, set, on my way!

Denim Aprons for the Guys

What do you give three male coworkers who have everything that blinks and transfers data? Three guys who don’t particularly buy into the commercialization of Christmas?

I so appreciate the guys I work with. They are smart and talented and passionate about the work they do – and each of them has habits and foibles that keep me endlessly entertained!

The only thing they have in common is that they all love to cook. So I thought it would be cool to make them each a chef’s apron this year. Turns out, they are all more or less the same height (with aprons, one size really does fit all) and that stretch denim sews like a dream and looks really classy when done.

I used simple detailing and silver D-rings on the adjustable neck strap. Looking forward to hearing how they used them over the holidays!

Home to San Diego

Back from Christmas and New Year in Victoria. We had a great time visting family, and a holiday photoset is on Flickr, but we are always glad to come home!

When Dave asked Tau this morning what his favorite part of the trip was, he answered, “Coming home to San Diego!”

Merry Christmas!

We’ll be visiting family in Canada for the holidays! I may or not have time to post from there.

Merry Christmas to you and your families. Here’s to a wonderful 2010!

Been Away … Enjoying!

Dear Internet,

Long time no talk, huh? Months to be exact.

I took an unexpected leave of absence this year from nobaddays. Not unexpected in a catastrophic kind of way — nothing bad happened that prevented me from being here.

Instead, the summer kind of just got away with me. After coming back from Dave’s month-long sabbatical, we had a lazy couple of summer months, followed by a visit from Dave’s mom and dad, and then a 2 1/2 month visit from my mom and Tau’s 4th birthday. And then it was Halloween and then Thanksgiving and now Christmas.

Not that I’m blaming family visits or the holidays for not blogging. I just had no impetus to sit down and write anything here.

Instead, I’ve been reading and crafting and enjoying just being home in my space. I’m working more with my hands again — sewing, making greeting cards and crafting handmade pendants as gifts. And I took a photography course that forced me to get off the auto settings on my DSLR.

Tau is at an enchanting age — FOUR is smart and articulate and affectionate and fun. Dave and I are having a wonderful time just hanging out with FOUR.

I guess these days I just feel the need to cocoon, appreciate and create something new, and it’s been very satisfying and a lot of fun.

In the past week or two, I’ve felt the urge to pick up the blog again, so I’m back. But I think nobaddays will change some.

Expect to see more of my creations here—maybe even a couple sewing and craft tutorials. You’ll definitely see more photography, and possibly more musing. Life is very full and satisfying for me at the moment. And you’ll find all of that here.

- Sue