Weekending

Friday night dinner with around our kitchen table with friends.

Saturday morning park date and donutless-bakery date. Heat-induced-mild-crabbiness from 5 kids.
Lazy, quiet time afternoon. Cool sheets, special snacks and a oasis from the heat afternoon movie.
A mud bath with the beloved neighbor kids.
Mama cleaning the house. 
A rinse off bath then a bubble bath post mud bath.
A late night visit from two of my favorite women-- while our Men were out together.
Sangria and coffee plus waaay-past-bedtime-children-wrangling. 

Sunday morning quiet with a visit to church.
Pork ribs, cheesy-rice and fruit salad for lunch. Simple. 
Another lazy quiet time-- a stack of books with my boy. 
A visit to our favorite pond, meeting some favorite friends by happy accident.
Hours wading in the water-- splashing, laughing.
A quick picnic.
A sunset drive home.
Time for bed.
Laundry to wash, dishes to be done.
Reading out loud, knitting away.
Waking up to a thunderstorm-- snuggle down into safe warm bed for sleep.


How was your weekend?


Joining Amanda.

Sketchbook Saturday Morning

There is something that our family loves to do. We call it Sketchbook Saturday Morning.

We sit around a table, mostly at our corner coffee shop-- we bring our sketchbooks and a pile of art supplies. Then, we spend an hour or two in conversation and giggling, drawing, coloring or painting and eating baked goods, drinking coffee (or hot chocolate).

It's a precious time during the week. It's technology free (we are most of the time anyway) and just a time to connect to each other. The conversations that we have while our hands are similarly occupied are at times deep and knowing-- but at others silly and wistful.

On our camping trip, we spent our Saturday morning at the picnic table drawing with Mommy's special pens (THEY WERE SO EXCITED)-- until it was too hot and we moved to our chairs in the shade.

It is a surreal feeling having the kids sit next to me drawing and painting. Learning to enjoy the things I love.

Do you have a technology free day/activity? How do you like to share your passions with your children?


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A special Thank You to Kerry for her lovely post. Go visit her to get a code for 10% off Revisiting Sanctuaries. 

The rules we live by::

Newsday on a Tuesday!

My brain is kind of confused about what day this is-- but I'm glad to be back in the swing of things and refreshed.

We spent the long weekend camping. We needed a break. A break from everything. I think more than anything we all needed some good food, sleep, fresh air and physical exertion. Funny. I already know this is what we need, I just need to remind myself once in a while.

Before this weekend, we had a crazy crazy few weeks. My family visited and it was so good to have them! Then two weeks of running around... plus the Isabel had swimming lessons (She passed Level ONE!).

And when we got to our destination, it as if we went from running crazy to a complete stop. And um... it didn't go well. I think we spent the day and a half detoxing the crazies out of our life. But once that detox was over-- we finally had a really good trip. I feel so bad for our camping neighbors who heard,"Truman, lay down. Truman, it's not time to get up yet. Isabel, no more crying..." Grr... I digress. We made it, and we have some great memories too!

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I just want to let you know a couple things:

Revisiting Sanctuaries is FINALLY going to start. Sign ups are now through Wednesday, July 13th. It starts July 18th. Please join us! If you want to see what the class is about you can read an excerpt here from Rhythm of the Home.

Rhubarb Sangria--- amazing, I posted it over at What am I Cooking?


*Um, yes, I haven't uploaded my pictures yet. This photo was from our last camping trip! 

This Moment:: Walking in the Rain

*Our wet weather walk on Summer Solstice.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule

happycampers: Stovetop Lattes

Are you going camping for the holiday? I was just day dreaming about our three day trip coming up. Three glorious nights listening to the wind, the rain, birds and other campers. Tent sleeping and outdoor-fresh air-first-thing-in-the-morning-warm-latte drinking.

Whaaaat you ask? Lattes in the wilderness. If you travel with us,Yes!

To make our camp stove lattes-- all we need to bring extra is our Moka pot. We like to pack light, so I'm glad the Moka is small.

Do you have a Moka pot? We love, love it. It's stove top, compact and easy to use. I got ours on ebay a few years ago for $9 bucks. It brews espresso-strong coffee and we mix it with whisked milk with just a hit of sugar. Camping coffee at it's finest. (Brewing tips here).

And recetnly, we needed to invest in a camp stove. For the six years we've been married we've made do without one. I'm not sure how. We really only had one style in mind, when we went to get it --the green Coleman Stove just like my parents but when we got to the store, we found that they were all sold out. We tried the next best thing a Coleman Fold'n Go 2-Burner Stove.

And after a few uses, I think I can say we love it. It cleans super easy, cooks evenly. And the only thing I look for next time is a wind screen, but I'm sure we can rig something up.

So if you are in the wilderness having a hankering for a latte, stop by our campsite. We'll make you one for you on our new stove! My kids will even wash your dishes....

Breakfasting....

Eric made us a delightful breakfast of pancakes-- regular and chocolate chip. Eggs with bacon. Lattes and fruit.

It's the normal Saturday/Sunday thing we do-- make a big leisurely breakfast and eat around the table in our comfy clothes. Taking our time to do nothing but talk to each other.

This week was special, Tammy visited from California. And on her birthday weekend no less! We were unsure, how much we'd get to see her (being in town for a wedding and all!). But It was good to share breakfast and to see Cars 2 for Truman's upcoming birthday.

The kids even made cakes to celebrate... but we couldn't get everyone back in the same place at the same time to enjoy cake together. O well, it is what it is. But we're glad we got to see her and have a beautiful brunch-- with lattes in our sweats.

And that's the perfect kind of Saturday.

A gift

This spring was filled with grief, deep unimaginable grief. And now that I am a few months away from it, I think we can talk about it a little.

One of my best friends lost a precious child.

And for weeks that's all my brain could process. It still catches me, daily. The reality of it all.

In a memorial for this little one, a group of us planted a tree with the family a Royal Red Maple. Planted in the little clearing where her parents were married.

A couple weeks ago, we went to visit that Royal Red Maple. And Isabel was surprised to find these little mushrooms. Perfect, earnest mushrooms around the tree.

And she honestly believes that fairies leave mushrooms as gifts. If we wake up from a wet night to a ring of mushrooms in our front lawn, she can craft a whole story on what fairy gatherings took place.

With all sincerity she said, "the fairies must be watching out for this little tree."

Making Pies-- Pizza Pie

So for the last few days, I've been waking up singing the Patty Griffin song, Making Pies.

"You could cry or die
Or just make pies all day
I'm making pies..." 

So sing it with me and then visit me over to see the pizza pies I'm making with the What am I Cooking? gals.

Making pie. Pizza pie. 

And tell me what your doing for the weekend... cause I'm all nosy like that (:

A thoughtful quote

You say that you love rain,
but you open your umbrella when it rains...
You say that you love the sun,
but you find a shadow spot when the sun shines...
You say that you love the wind,
But you close your windows when wind blows...

--Author Unknown

Visiting

Did I tell you??

My parents and two of my sisters came for a visit last week. And it was glorious.

They usually are here in the fall to see the leaves change color and to pick pumpkins or dead of winter (for holidays). But this time. They were here in the most beautiful parts of the summer. When it's still a novelty to swim, camp, visit farmers' markets, and traipse around town without the oppressive heat of August.

We had a few things on our list we wanted to do: 
*go camping together
*eat bratwurst from our local meat market
*visit downtown Orange City
*have a picnic at Paullina beach
*Isabel:: "when we stay in the hotel, can we swim and order pizza??" How could we protest?

 A few things had to be cancelled due to rain... but, it feels like we did all the essential summer activities with a large amount of relaxation.

And we were together the whole week leading up to fathers day. So special! 

happycampers: Firsts of Summer

On our first real in-the-woods camping trip, we not only slept in our tent but we had a bonfire and munched on s'mores, ate breakfast cooked on the camp stove, took flash-lighted trips to the near by 'modern' outhouse in the middle of the night (and when I say 'we' I mean Eric and Truman... I was too cozy).

And since this is the First Day of Summer, I wanted to give you a little taste of a new section, happycampers, about our adventures in camping with little ones-- I'll share some stories, tips and tricks for camping with kids (and for adults too), plus a few product reviews.

This trip we played it safe and went to a local state park-- Stone State Park-- a hidden treasure in the midst of Sioux City. This park isn't large but it's the perfect size for day hiking and for the kids to run around. Enough wildlife to be amazed but, not enough to be overly cautious.

One thing that surprised me-- the kids love to do camping chores. Truman washed dishes with me for almost an hour (after we quickly washed the breakfast dishes he found so many more things to wash...) and Isabel suggested she make the beds.

Isabel was so proud of herself for making all of our 'beds' even if she just haphazardly spread up the sleeping bags.

It rained as we slept and when we woke up in the morning, Isabel complained about the noise of the rain. I gently explained, my view on rain while camping... "I think the earth is singing me a lullaby-- to me it's one of the most beautiful sounds in the world."

Isabel breathed dreamily, some from sleep and some from my injected nature-lovin' romance, "Oh Mimi, I like that idea."

Welcome Back!

Hello friends,
I've been on an unintended blogging break. But for very good reasons! So many NEW GOOD! things coming up.

But for now I'll give you a quick update to our spring/summer manifesto!

Read with the kids everyday-- We're reading Ramona the Pest (with Auntie Jayme!), Five Little Peppers and How They Grew  

Read something for myself, everyday-- I'm reading Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

Grow! Cook! Eat! Invite!-- The garden is growing, pies have been baked, meals have been shared! 

Dry herbs for winter-- I first dried chives in the oven. Tutorial soon.

Use fresh herbs now-- Mint for mojitos, chives in herb dip, bits of basil on eggs, cilantro in salad...

Sing-- We've been singing as we work, as we drive and as we play. 

Plant flowers-- Hydrangas, peonies and lilacs...

Be gracious to my children, slow to anger and abounding in love. I am diligently working on this, it makes for a much happier household. I heard Sylvia Boorstein's interview on On Being with Krista Tippet.  She told a story about watching a family on an airplane. Their kindness to their upset child was just gracious, attentive and productive-- the child settled on her own. "Do not ask am I pleased?... {but} in this moment am I able to care for the child and myself in a kindly way?" Because getting upset and flying off the handle is not kind to me and it is not kind to my children.

Eat outside-- We went camping so we had lots of eating outside! And we've been taking picnics with Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa John plus this week Grandmommy, Papa, Megan and Jayme.

Get into the sunshine-- next time I'll go easy on this... I'm a bit sunburned today!

Let worry go-- When my heart is full of gratitude, there is no room for worry.

Farmer's Market, every Saturday-- Orange City, Sioux City and Omaha.

Coffee and tea with girlfriends-- A few impromtu coffee dates with some special girls, hopefully more!

Do you have a manifesto-- written or unwritten?! Have you been slowly bringing beauty in your life this spring/summer?

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I've been writing letters for The Summer We Sent Letters! Have you? It's been wonderful to get a bit of mail and to send a bit of mail (plus a few boxes)!

Repeat: WEEKENDhospitality:: Raised Donuts

This post is a repeat from last April, but perfect for National Donut Day!

My husband is an amazing baker, he made these beautiful donuts for our weekly Sunday lunch.

Enjoy some delicious eye candy!

Mary

Last week we made the dulce de leche chocolate cake.

This week it was time for something new. Raised donuts, something I hadn’t made since childhood. Well technically-- I never made them, then, and don't even remember eating them. I remember cutting them and watching them fry. But still...

Borrowing the recipe from Sherry Yard's Desserts by the Yard--I found a donut recipe that I knew wouldn't disappoint.
 

So early on Sunday morning the process began. Warming milk, adding yeast, waiting. Adding flour, sugar, etc etc, waiting.

Kneading and more waiting. 

Rolling and freezing and more waiting. 

Cutting and more waiting. Then, they were ready. 

The oil was warmed (though I'm sure it was too hot as I didn't have a thermometer to check it with) and the first one was dropped in. It was working, though very large and continuing to expand it was flipped and I could see it was going to be good. 

After it was pulled out of the oil it was doused in espresso sugar I made by putting regular sugar in my coffee grinder and pulsed away. I added more sugar to the mixture that wasn't pulsed to get the preferred consistency of sugar. 

Then the waiting was over and it didn't take long for them to be devoured. They were delicious with just the sugar topping, but we added an espresso whipped cream (with a shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream!).  

The only problem that I found with this recipe? It didn’t make nearly enough. The batch did make approximately 14-16 donuts but between the 6 adults and 2 little people. Maybe next time I'll double the batch, or just not eat so many myself (I think I had 3 or 4).

Thanks and stay tuned to next week when we make something new and share it with friends.