goodies from the days in bend

recently, michael took all of my old pictures and videos from my laptop hard drive and put them on the new computer....basically our lives from 2005 to 2007--pre-blogging days for me--flashed before my eyes, many memories i had forgotten.

cooking thanksgiving sister with my sister

my favorite picture of blake ever, taken on our 5th anniversary

adorable family picture in vancouver BC, october 2006

memorable sail on waldo lake on the catalina 22

this might be my fondest memory i have of the time before we decided to move: an epically beautiful fall day i drove out to DD Ranch in Terrebonne with my girls, drinking a delicious chai on the way, to spend the afternoon picnicing, wandering through the pumpkin patch, and taking a hayride. (this was taken by myself on the ride)

at one point my sister had imported all of her videos and pictures from our visits onto my computer, and some went back before we even owned a digital camera. having these little snipettes of little mayan and isadore are priceless!!


mayan is about three here and isadore one-ish.


four and two i think...mayan is pretending to be blake! hilarious...

Good Guests, Good Hosts

Good guests start fires in your new fireplace and help keep them burning...

Good guests take lots of pictures...

Good hosts share their toys...

Good guests help in the kitchen and around the house...

Good guests play games with your kids...

Good guests never waste a ray of sunshine (especially on a Portland-November day)...

Good guests braid your children's hair and teach them fun things like thumb-wrestling...
Good hosts employ a nurse-your-baby-anywhere-anytime policy...

Good guests sit down with their hosts for abundant feasts...

Good hosts provide entertainment like Wall-E...

or an in-house production (this play was called Afterlife Tea written by and starring Mayan and Isadore)...

Good guests bring a suitcase full of gifts from another land...

Good hosts cook breakfast for their guests...

Good hosts cook delicious meals from scratch...

Good hosts are cute and fun to be around...

Good guests are also cute and fun to be around...

Good hosts show their guests all the good places to see nature-in-the-city, and good guests are happy to join you for a Thanksgiving hike...

Good guests spend their last night dancing with you...

Good guests are welcome back ANYTIME...

Furthermore, good guests make AMAZING pumpkin pie (mom), teach you how to make Chai and Daal (Kamla), buy you groceries (Payson), come up with super fun homeschool lessons for your kid about cavemen and the impact of fire on humanity (again, Payson), bring an abundance of homegrown grapes and baby hand-me-downs (Chemynne and Michael) and finally, creep around extra quietly when the hosts are sleeping (everyone!)....


Happy Thankgiving!

gravy day

new wave of hormones today...blake was somehow feeling them too. but in a good way. we spent our day loving, hugging, smiling, and peacefully cooking together while the children played quietly and creatively (like making funny faces out of vegetable peelings and scraps)--blake and i usually get annoyed with each other when we share kitchen space, but something was in the air today....

music played a big part in our day--blake DJ'ed while i made requests. we started off with the new Akron Family--a love themed album and by far their most listener-friendly. Akron has a tendancy to get a little out-there with their non-instrumental sounds, but have, after a few albums, honed their desire for alternative sounds and seamlessly blended it with their folky beats and harmonious voices. The title track (actually called Don't be Afraid, You're Already Dead) Love is Simple is so tasty and beautiful--complimented with a song called Love, Love, Love that is very Beatle-esque (think All You Need is Love...). We had to replay it during our dinner as well.

This put us on an Angels of Light kick (since we first came to know Akron/Family when they played for Angels of Light a few years ago)...which ended up being three of their CDs and carried us through most of our cooking. Up first, the newest release (my personal fave) We are Him, then Sing Other People, and finally How I Loved You, a sweet, tender album dedicated to Michael Gira's parents. Their sounds is mellow and newer to me, although Blake has been a long time fan.

By our last stretch of vegetable chopping and stuffing assembly, i was dying to hear the Sufjan Stevens that my friend Hedy had just burned for me. it has blown my mind in the few days i have owned it--his sound is versatile, playful, and downright lovely. Sometime a little Beatles, a little Jellyfish, and a tad Charlie and the Chocolate Factory--but all moving and engaging. The first song sent me into tears immediately--which alerted me to my obvious rise in pregnancy hormones today--and i had to pass the wooden spoon for stirring veggie to Blake, and have a moment in front of the stereo. There i envisioned myself in labor listening to the song and leaning against the cedar a-frame walls.

Dinner turned out perfectly--very traditional menu only i skipped the green beans. Our only tragedies were the exploding roasted chesnuts (sounded like World War 3 on our oven, and another exploded like a steamy, nutty granade on it's way outside) and Blake cracking his knee cap on the cabinets like two minutes before dinner being served. He iced it quickly and sat down to the feast like a champ. We made way too much food. If there is such thing. I love stuffing and i would eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. and dessert.

At first I was sad that no family would be able to make it for today. Blake was looking forward to it, saying "hey we have a chance to cook all day"....dude, i cook everyday--thanksgivng to me is getting to cook AND have extended family milling about. But after the day we had I am grateful for it--gave us a chance to connect and revel in the beauty of our family, our home, music, and our love....without the extra chaos.

Wishing everyone the same great feeling.....

my thanksgiving tip

i learned this two years ago and i use it all the time. well, every time i make gravy from pan drippings at least....



when making gravy from the drippings/juices from the pan...place a large ziploc baggy inside a large pyrex measuring cup (use it like a trash liner ya know?)--pour the juices into the bag through a sieve and let it sit so the fat can rise. once it has (about 10 minutes), carefully pick up the plastic bag and hold it over the pyrex. take a pair of scissors and snip one corner of the bag (taking care not to cut it all the way off and have it land in the cup.) let the juices drain into the pyrex....stopping as you get to the fat. (i usually do this near the sink and swoop the bag over to that when the fat approaches.) now you've got your fatless drippings!

What you want to know more?

Okay, add enough chicken stock to your dripping to make 3 cups. In a pan, heat some olive oil over medium-high, and saute 1/3 cup chopped shallots for about a minute. Then add 1 cup of sherry and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes while it reduces by half. Stir in 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh sage, and cook for another minute. Add those reserved dripping now and bring to a boil again. in a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of flour (i use tapioca flour so it's gluten-free but all-purpose would do) and 1/4 cup of water--whisk it reeeeal nice. Add this to your boiling mixture. Cook for a few minutes while it thickens, stirring constantly, then salt and pepper to taste (maybe 1/4 tsp of each?) Very basic, but tasty. I effing love thanksgiving dinner.