5.27.2011

A Week

a small harvest

A few rainy days, a few sunny ones, and a few that couldn't make up their mind.

A hillside planted with mandarins and lavender.

A small harvest from the garden, and a few more seeds in the ground.

A book read (Lorrie Moore's A Gate At the Stairs; loved it).

A movie watched (Nowhere Boy).

A dead queen bee. Again.

A lot to learn about bees.

A few new recipes made out of two new cookbooks (Super Natural Cooking and Super Natural Everyday).

A successful batch of homemade yogurt (loving the slow cooker method from Home Dairy).

A big responsibility assumed (coaching a synchronized swimming routine - WHAT WAS I THINKING?).

A cabinet cleaned out and reorganized for a new school year.

A walk downtown, and farther to old town for an unplanned lunch at a locally celebrated deli.

A meatball sandwich that was a little too gourmet for kids (and by gourmet I mean mushrooms), and a carrot cake cupcake that was just right split three ways.

A three day weekend to look forward to.

A very good week indeed.

19 comments:

  1. That sounds like a very lovely week indeed. Harvest and seeds here too, but no bees. Now I want a meatball sandwich.

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  3. May start "A Gate At the Stairs" next. It is on my Nook.
    I truly enjoy your blog.

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  4. That sounds like a really lovely week. And now it ends with a long holiday weekend. Enjoy it, Molly.

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  5. I really enjoyed this post! I learned a lot about you. Content would be how I would sum it up. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. AnonymousMay 27, 2011

    I second what Bonnie said - you sound really content.

    oh, do the kids like what you have made from your new cookbooks? They are on my list too.

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  7. that all sounds good. i wish our weather would hurry up and dry out a bit! we're all ready for some sun up here! the mandarin and lavender hillside sounds lovely. i'm gonna check out that yogurt recipe for sure. can you get it to come out firm or only runny? thanks for the movie suggestion. have you seen temple? really well done.

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  8. Happy weekend Molly.
    We have had no spring to speak of - expecting summer very quickly to appear. I am kind of desperate for some sunshine.

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  9. I just picked up Super Natural Everyday while at the local bookstore. I enjoy her recipes so much. It sounds like a good week indeed. Have a wonder filled weekend. (BTW - my son started the Percy Jackson series and is loving it)

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  10. AnonymousMay 28, 2011

    I had to chuckle at the 'gourmet' mushrooms! What is it with kids and mushrooms?

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  11. Oooooh, I'm sorry about the bees. :( I'm waiting for a copy of Super Natural Everyday to come in at the library for me, and I just sat down with Home Dairy today (also from the library.) I love it so much I'm ordering a copy for keeps. I've never done yogurt in my crockpot; always in the oven with the light on. Now I just might have to give it a go!

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  12. Oh, those fickle bees! Don't they know that you've planted them a hillside of mandarins and lavender--both of which they would love? I am crossing my fingers for you.

    Just put Home Dairy on request from my library. I tried making yogurt in my crock pot with mixed results, so I'm looking forward to a new method. I have a family of yogurt-for-breakfast eaters these days, so I'd love to make my own.

    On my birthday, I won *two* raffle items at our homeschool fair. (Must have been my lucky day!) One prize was a big bottle of kombucha with a new mother, so I've started another batch. And it has the most adorable crocheted cover sitting atop. :-)

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  13. AnonymousMay 28, 2011

    I just bought Home Dairy! And I am 99.999% positive you are the reason I bought Keeping Chickens too. You should get paid as a rep! :) We have been planting up a lavender hillside, but mandarins... now that would be a big treat. I love seeing little peeks at your harvests. Gives me excitement for what it is to come. It's been a slow, cool, wet season here. Aside from my peas and the things I am babying to the max (in pots, following the sun, inside outside every day), everything is so teeny tiny still.

    Life sounds really nice Molly.

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  14. AnonymousMay 29, 2011

    Ooh, I am intrigued by this slow cooker yogurt method...I use the stovetop and then a cooler filled with hot water and sometimes it's awesome and sometimes it's not so awesome (I must mention here that I do not use a thermometer, hence the mixed results)...
    Harvest! Color me green. We have yet to get anything into the ground, but perhaps this long weekend will result in some of my indoor space, now crammed with seedlings itching for deeper soil, being freed up for the humans again. We'll see!

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  15. Sounds like a great week Molly! Thanks for keeping me up to date about your new babies, so excited for you! You are now a "Grand-Mommy-Chicken." Please keep us all posted how they fare. I'm curious and could use the coaching. I'm sorry to hear about your Queen Bee. My friend had a rough start, but her colony just swarmed, so there is hope! Funny enough, my daughter did synchro for years. So much in common :) Have a great week!

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  16. What happened to your queen bee? Did she get smooshed? Though I don't yet have bees (still hoping c'mon weather) I want to make some shirts that say "Don't squish the Queen." Oh the dorkiness!

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  17. AnonymousJune 02, 2011

    even your small harvest looks glorious to me. Our peas have only now started to climb the netting. I have Super Natural Everyday on hold at the library but it is taking forever to come in. I may just break down and buy it, as so many trusted people have recommended it.
    Tell us more about coaching synchronized swimming!

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  18. hey. so, i was excited about the slow cooker yogurt idea, but the book was checked out from the library. i just assumed that you meant you could make the yogurt in a slow cooker - not just use it as an incubator. so, i did an online search and found a recipe for doing what i thought you were doing. (http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html) it came out pretty darn runny, so i'm going to add the powdered milk next time. i strained a couple cups of it and got some lovely, creamy yogurt, but hope the powdered milk will help me save the time/mess/loss from straining.

    today my hold request for the book came up and i picked it up only to find this wasn't even the method of yogurt-making you were referring to. ha! ah well. perhaps you'll try it both ways and compare.

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  19. Sounds like a very lovely week! Your small harvest looks glorious to me.

    Homeowner Insurance

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