mice?...or something much cuter?

chocolate is a rare treat for me--it is hard to find it without soy lecithin. so when i do find a safe chocolate, i like to savor it sweet square-by-square at night before bed. i break off each piece carefully and let it melt in my mouth. then restrain myself so i have something left for the next night. imagine my dismay when i discovered this after breakfast this morning:



look at those petite teeth marks...seems to me we might have ourselves a little Isa-mouse.

our Solstice celebration

After a nice evening with the Hall's, where we threw lavender into an outdoor fire while making wishes, and then ate beef and mushroom soup, chili, cornbread, and salad, our family headed home to have our own special Solstice ritual. I did some research to try and find something that would be meaningful for us, and could become a tradition that the children (and us) could look forward to every year, and bring us a sense of belonging to the holiday hustle that was more in line with our beliefs.

So we started by putting up our "Solstice bush," a locally grown live mini-tree that we could plant later, and wrapping it with lights. Then we laid out the things we had collected that day (mostly from our yard but a few things we had to buy) for our ceremony: rosemary, holly, bay leaves, ivy, apples, walnuts, and evergreen boughs.


We lit the tree, and some candles. Then, with our couch moved out of the way, we sat together in front of this alter on our big circular wool rug. When we looked up, thorugh our glass roof this was the view:
A perfect solstice moon right over our heads! Wow. We are so excited that this can be a magical part of our tradition every year! Now getting the roof replaced seems like it was totally worth it...

So the symbolism of our elements were as such:

*we bound rosemary and bay leaves together, one bundle for each of us. the rosemary is for remembrance so we each took turns sharing our favorite highlights of this year (so many!) then placing the bundle on the alter. the bay serves to cleanse the unsettling events of the year.

*blake and i both had bundles of holly and ivy. holly is masculine (fiery and protective) and ivy is feminine (intuitive and emotional.) this was the most touching part of the ceremony for me since blake and i took a moment to honor each others opposite but complimentary natures--since we spend so much of our time not really understanding our different perspectives (lol!)

*we each placed an apple by our tree, the symbol of love, and either proclaimed out loud or silently our love for one another.

*walnuts were wishes we had for the coming year.

*finally we laid out evergreen boughs around all of this--the symbol of resilience and immortality--impervious to cold and darkness. things we hope for our family.

We finished up just in time for the actual peak of Solstice, 10:08 pm, to stand around in a circle and hold hands and Ohm at the moon, respecting its darkness, but inviting the sun to return again. We went to bed feeling warm and connected to each other, the holiday, and the earth.

nomad pdx progess

the space used to be a quilt shop classroom

...now its the future nomad Pdx!
step one: painting--this is called "celery seed"

gross carpet had to come up and the concrete scraped--ew.

ha! the secret is out--Blake made his pregnant wife climb the ladder and do the painting! (j/k--he did most of the painting, i offered to do some touch-up and it no voc paint)
*note the cool new lighting

more scraping--getting ready for paint

getting the museum pieces hung (the windows will need to be tinted to protect the art from the sun.)

hang in there B, it's almost there! *pic by mayan

Ode to the Prairie Underground Hoodie

i could have and should have done this a long time ago. every time i discover another reason to love the this sweatshirt, i think to myself, gee i should write them a letter...or better yet write a blog!

i first time i saw this garment was on a lady at the farmers market in Summer '06. my fashion-loving friend Jen and i both saw it at the same time and reached for each other. it was definitely love at first site. not just cute but different. but before i could act on it, the hoodie/dress/jacket/sweatshirt had disappeared into the crowd. luckily, i spotted her again later on and asked the owner where oh where she purchased it. Habit on Minnesota St.

i went there and fell deeper. it came in Mauve but soon was coming out in a greyish-green called "Drab." (also there was a shorter sassier version available.) at about $178 a pop (a little less for the short) it was not a decision to be taken lightly. but it was over, man--it was a must have. the immediate reasons were clear, which i will list below, but then over time, i learned more and more about the versatility and sheer awesomeness of it. even after the "look" itself wore off, and it became a popular garment, more new reasons kept it in heavy rotation.

so, Prairie Underground hoodie, let me count the ways....:


1) it's organic. made from thick, quality, and delicious organic cotton--one of the reasons it made the price understandable and forgivable.

2) it's flattering. the zipper front creates a v-neck for showing off my mama cleavage (or smaller chested ladies can zip it all the way) and the little panel in the back with small gathers let you keep your waist and sexy lower back instead of drowning your lady-curves in cotton like normal hoodies do.

3) it's big. in terms of amount of fabric, when all laid out it covers some ground. for this reason it has been used countless times at the park as a picnic blanket.

4) it's warm. and b/c its also big like i mentioned above, i have used it as a blanket on airplanes and car trips. i have also folded it up and used it for a pillow on airplanes and car trips.

5) it's absorbent. i have, on one occasion, used it to mop up a large spill on the kitchen floor.

6) it's easy to wash. sometimes in with the towels, sometimes in with the clothes, it's never gotten a stain that i could not easily remove (which is saying a LOT considering use #3 and #5)

7) it's durable. again see all uses above and still no tears, holes, snags, or anything needing repair.

8) it's versatile. i have worn it to go to yoga classes, and also with jeans and heels at a nice restaurant. there is nowhere this hoodie can't go.

9) it has a giant hood. think Lord of the Rings, very middle earth. somehow doesn't stick out when down and covers an amazing amount of head while up, with room to flare out so i can still hear what is going on around me and it still shows off my cute earrings. not to mention how handy this all is in the rain.

10) babies like to chew on the strings and beads. (although i will admit that i did lose the beads long ago)

11) it's not bulky. one of my fave looks last winter was to layer it under a wool coat and let the hood and hem hang. very cute and very warm.

12) it has a 2-way zipper. so you can control how much under-layers you show both top and bottom.

13) it doubles as a robe. this falls into the versatility category but deserves it's own number. its the perfect thing to put on after a bath or shower. and when everyone started getting them and they were all over the place, this became my #1 use.

14) it was used by a bride. i will never forget the day late summer when a friend was getting married in Sisters. there was a forest fire in the area, and the wind was blowing like mad which no one expected, and the sun was setting. the bride had this very cute custom-made dress with cream and lavender and green panels, but it was too cold for the outdoor ceremony. i offered her my garment which totally complimented her earthy dress and she looked beautiful and stayed warm!

15) it's ingenious. it's a hoodie and a dress and jacket and sweatshirt. all-in-one.

and the latest reason to love my Prairie Underground hoodie....

16) it works as maternity! thanks to it's zipper front and shapely back, it has hugged my growing belly perfectly with plenty of room to spare.



people frequently comment on it and i always say it's the most functional piece of clothing i have ever owned. i am confident that i will soon find another reason to add to this list.

Our humble 8th day dinner

well we couldn't find the mennorah. and i decided to just make some steamed cabage instead of stuffed cabbage. but it was a sweet feast nonetheless--and everyone pitched in!

Israeli Orange Chicken (thank you, Nicole!)

Yield: 8 servings

• 5 lb Chicken, roasting

• 2 Oranges, whole

• 1 lg Onion, cut in large slices

• 1/2 c Orange juice, fresh

• 2 tb Ginger, freshly grated

• 2 tb Honey

• 1/2 c Wine

Rinse and dry chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Insert one whole orange in the chicken. Place in roasting pan, breast side down. Surround with onion slices.

Mix juice with the ginger, and pour over the chicken. Roast uncovered at 350 degrees F for 1/2 hour.

Remove chicken from the oven, turn over, and smear with honey. Surround the chicken with the second orange, sliced, and return to the oven. After five minutes, baste with wine and pan juices. If browning too quickly, cover with foil. Baste again, after 1/2 hour. continue cooking until drumsticks are removed easily, about 1 more hour.

Remove the orange from the chicken, and slice it. Garnish with herbs, as per taste.

the latkes-to-be

lots of great family repices here in Payson's book! and look, Mayan gave me a card while I was cooking dinner and she had taped a dollar to it--that girl definitely has some Jew in her! Hahahahaa....

Blake took this picture then told me it looked like I shaved my eyebrows. i had to see and we had nice long laugh--i still laugh when i see this. what is up with my eyebrows?

nuthin' like Jewish-style home cookin!

we found 8 normal candles, and then streamed some really bad Hanukkah music on the laptop while we ate (oh yeah, don't forget the homemade applesauce and sour cream!)

uh oh, Flopsy be hittin' the wine...

now THAT is a pregnant belly full of latkes!

coming soon....

the Hanukkah feast blog...but blake took the camera to work. He needs his own damn camera!

poor abandoned blog

...got dropped like a hot potato after NaBloPoMo. anything going on around here is either waaay to boring or too stressful to even go public. but we're fine, fine.....


just getting my recipes ready to make a last-day-of-Hanukkah feast on Tuesday. this year we are not *celebrating* Hanukkah--since Mayan was born, we've always gone through the motions so to speak as it's a very enchanting 8 day ritual (the gifts, the menorrah, the hebrew prayers) but we are not Jewish in a religious sense--so we are cutting it down to one day (so we can enjoy the food and while cutting the consumerism and religious content).

really it was just a good way for us to take something from our past (in this case Blake's) and blend it with other old and new traditions to create our own family's personal "holiday celebration." a little of this, a little of that. we have phased out Santa and really paired down the presents to things that are very high-quality or homemade (this year i am making the girls dress-up crowns out of gold fabric.)--we were going to open them on Solstice which is a day we connect much more to, but i think Blake might be working since its a Saturday...we shall see. we still get a tree which we feel really honors Solstice and the connection to the earth by bringing in one of our favorite things and turning it into an alter of sorts with lights and special ornaments. but we always get a live tree so we can later plant it--i dunno, for us cutting down a tree to honor the earth seems a little weird but i know they have xmas tree farms and all--and traditionally cultures have "sacrificed" something of value to them to appease the Gods. as athiests, we'll pay the extra money for the live tree.


the new Nomad is getting painted and this week gets re-floored. things are coming along nicely although Blake has about 1000 things on his plate in terms of getting it open. it's inspiring to watch really, and awesome that every time he's opened a Nomad its been a one-man show--no employees or delagating tasks. i don't know how he does it. it's a sight to behold!


oh yes back to the Hanukkah feast...i'll be making two kinds of latkes: traditional for me and B, and sweet potato for the girls. also stuffed cabbage (i've only made this once but it is an old family recipe from Blake's side that his mom has passed down--and is published in the book that Blake's uncle wrote called the Mushuggenary.) finally since i am going to need me some meat to go with those potatoes and cabbage, i think a recipe from our friend Nicole for Israeli chicken will go nicely--its a chicken roasted with orange and honey. and to get that Jewish ambiance we will light all 8 candles on the mennorah. mmmmm....i can't wait!