The Blue Between

366: Day 43

2012-02-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

Three things: clean windows, buying a fun, rustic @ sign statue thing at the antique store, and finding gluten-free chicken nuggets at a crunchy organic restaurant.

366: Day 42

2012-02-11T16:22:00.000-08:00

1.) State Cup Semi-finals. So proud of our boys, they kept it clean even when the other team did not.
2.) Soccer is done! Soccer is done!! Soccer is DONE!!!
3.) Tryouts for next year are 12 weeks away.

366: Day 41

2012-02-10T16:22:00.000-08:00

Three things I'd like to do: learn to play the guitar, learn to make sushi, travel to somewhere tropical and beautiful, with snorkeling, kayaking, and fru-fru drinks with umbrellas in them.

366: Day 40

2012-02-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

Three good things: fancy pants coffee (I've been waiting a year for this to come back!), a joking-around kid, and funny friends.

Sunbreak

2012-02-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

A couple more photos from our brief sun-break today - too bad none of the hundred shots of rainbow came out any better than the one on my cell phone!

366: Day 39

2012-02-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

Three of my favorite things: hearing the boy sing again, visiting the beach during a sunbreak, and chasing rainbows.

This was taken with my cellphone, it was the only lens I had on me that would capture the whole arc of the rainbow. Oh well! The top photo is altered with a layer of flypaper texture - the bottom one is only cropped.

366: Day 38

2012-02-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

Three good things: the kid went back to school today, the sun was out, and it feels like everything is going to be ok.

366: Day 37

2012-02-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

Three good things: more sunshine, a beautiful moon, and a happy child excited about his next musical theater class - Aladdin.

366: Day 36

2012-02-05T20:26:00.000-08:00

175 photos taken, two worth sharing, one technique tried and needs to be revisited as soon as possible.

366: Day 35

2012-02-04T18:46:00.000-08:00

Three good things:

Sunsets at the beach.
Photoshop.
A boy who will jump when you say jump.

366: Day 34

2012-02-03T15:37:00.000-08:00

Three good things: sunshine, a clean coop, the promise of some good compost for the garden come spring.

366: Day 33

2012-02-02T18:31:00.000-08:00

Three good things: 1.) Sudafed is helping the child. I should have gotten him some weeks ago, but who knew it was going to be so much more effective than all the other stuff we've been trying? 2.) I really like my Beyond Layers class, I'm learning so much. 3.) There will be other days to catch a more perfect sunset shot.

Beyond Layers Class: Time Capsule, Part 2

2012-02-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

Well, look at that. Kim did have a magic trick for making these. Easy-peasy. (For those of you not taking the class, she did give us a free resource for some nice templates - Check out Gingerpixel - and I'm sure there are more on the web too.)

For this one, I couldn't resist adding a texture layer to bring it all together. I used Kim's "Evolve". Thanks for looking!

BTW, that's Pippi, the Buff Orpington, and Lulu, the Cuckoo Maran. We have two others, Daphne and Bella, I'm sure they will be featured at some point.

Beyond Layers Class: Time Capsule

2012-02-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

This is my homework for the Beyond Layers class - a time capsule, series of pictures that show a moment of time in my life. This is today. Outside. With the girls. I'm looking forward to seeing how Kim suggests making the collage (though of course I couldn't wait for her instructions) - I bet she's got a trick to make lining them all up evenly much easier. Also, I didn't add any texture to these, though I was very tempted.

366: Day 32

2012-02-01T13:26:00.000-08:00

Three good things: interesting weather, taking photos, and a boy who has the energy to want to show you his magic tricks.

366: Day 31

2012-01-31T18:58:00.000-08:00

It's a been a whole month. One month of 2012 - poof - gone. It's been an awful month. And an amazing month. All at the same time, how can that be? I guess that's life.

Three good things: business taxes are done, school meeting is done, and... I think... just maybe... the kid is starting to feel a little better. I sure hope I'm right about that.

Texture Tuesday

2012-01-30T22:41:00.000-08:00

I have two for Texture Tuesday. Both use Kim Klassen's "Simplicity" texture, plus others.

366: Day 30

2012-01-30T20:49:00.001-08:00

Three good things: finding out that the kid does not in fact, have mono.... a new stronger type of antibiotics to try, and... one more day to get state taxes completed.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 29

2012-01-29T21:22:00.000-08:00

Three good things: a win for my son's soccer team (they are number 8 in the state in the second round of state cup), discovering how great the french press is when the coffee is ground just right, and laughing at the silly chickens.

366: Day 28

2012-01-28T21:06:00.000-08:00

Three good things: finding the only flowers in the yard, checking things off my list, and gluten-free takeout pizza.

More Texture Play

2012-01-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

This first picture is one of my sister's, she takes amazing people pictures, and has a real gift with lighting. I don't know how she does it. This is Ashley, my little niece. I added a few layers of texture to it, to make it feel old and treasured.

and this is an old dandelion photo, it looks better big - go ahead, click on it!

366: Day 27

2012-01-27T17:40:00.000-08:00

Three good things: antibiotics from the doctor, tulips from the grocery store, and sunshine streaming from the sky.

Beyond Layers: Week 2 Part 2

2012-01-26T22:12:00.000-08:00

I made this using a combination of these two photos of mine, one from a lake in Oregon, the other, a bird in Florida. Plus, Kim's Plaster Squared texture, and a Flypaper texture.

366: Day 26

2012-01-26T19:52:00.001-08:00

Three good things: a dentist appointment that is 6 months out, a fixed blog, and a boy who is feeling a little better.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 25

2012-01-25T22:12:00.001-08:00

Three good things: if you ruin your blog, you can always try to fix it tomorrow, Theo's chocolate with cherries and almonds, a boy who went to bed feeling a little better than when he got up.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Beyond Layers, Week Two Part 1

2012-01-25T19:28:00.000-08:00

Six Word Memoir (Story of My Life):

It looked better in my head.

What's yours?

Beyond Layers, Week One

2012-01-25T14:53:00.000-08:00

I signed up for Kim Klassen's Beyond Layers class this morning. I was so excited... it's a year long class all about photography and PhotoShop and creativity... should be fun. But first I had to catch up, I'm about a week and a half behind, I guess. Do-able.

The first assignment was to write your creative story, which as it turns out, I kind of did yesterday... at least my creative story as far as photography goes. So, check!

Next up was a creative assignment to "keep it simple" - we were given a background texture and told that "less is more". Well, if you know me, less is never more. So. I started getting grumpy. I mean, really. White is not a color! I had just gotten through complaining about the latest "Country Living" magazine that is all about neutrals. The whole issue is WHITE. What fun is that? Give me color, give me texture and I'm happy happy happy. You can only imagine how hard this was going to be for me now, right? Keep it simple, less is more, lighten up. Gah! <-- that's me pulling my hair out!

Sigh. (See, this is what I was afraid of when I signed up for the class... Kim's pictures are all soft and pale and pretty and delicate and romantic and so different from... well, everything *I* make. I was hoping it wasn't going to turn out to be a class learning how to make our photos look like hers... and I'm still pretty sure it's not going to be that... because she has skills! Mad skills.... skills I might learn from and use in my own way, that is actually one of the things that excited me - she doesn't have a style that I'm at all tempted to copy - not that her photos aren't drool-worthy - but they aren't *me*. If I can figure out how to take those skills and do things my way... then.... it will be ok...)

So. I went through my old photo files. I looked at some of the creations I'd made in the past few days and thought, huh, I guess this might be what she means by over-done. I could try again and do less.... I guess. Or, not. I grabbed a few items from around the house and went and shot a few photos in my lightbox (which felt like work and made me even grumpier.) I went back to my old photo files. I moaned and groaned. And finally, I went outside to see what the yard had to offer. That was much better. The bird feeders needed filling, the chickens all came around and chatted at me like they hadn't seen me in days... it wasn't raining... it wasn't white! A lot of brown though. And green. But, not much interesting. I walked around... I snapped a few photos. I came back in and made myself a smoothie... and then I sat down and said, ok, keep it simple, Pam.

And this is what I made. (You can click on the photos to see them enlarged.)

First up, an old photo, a very old photo... a magnolia blossom. Kim's "Awaken" texture, at 50% opacity, overlay.

and the original file:

(OK, so that didn't hurt... but it's not very exciting.)

This next photo got an "oh, yeah" from me when I was surveying my memory card haul. So... why not. It's not light or bright, but if you think about it, less is more here... it's still beautiful, even as it fades and decays. Right? My interpretation.

Texture layer at 60% overlay.

And the original:

So far so good. But in the back of my mind, I kept hearing a little nagging voice (complaining?) that Kim had used her texture file at 100% opacity. How did she do that? My photos kept getting crazy bright and ugly when I tried that. But... I wasn't going to give up... I was going to figure this out. And on this photo, I made it work.

100% Opacity; Soft Light. Yes! To me, this one needs... something more, I don't love the composition, though I do like the subject. And I like what the texture at 100% did for it. So, I'm stopping, because less is more. Maybe. Maybe... sometimes.

and the original:

366: Day 24

2012-01-24T16:50:00.001-08:00

Three things: the Northern Lights (if only there were no clouds tonight), help baby sea turtles get to the sea, climb Machu Picchu.

That is a manipulated image on my iphone of one of my old paintings, and this, is an even more manipulated one from my computer using Photoshop.

Texture Tuesdays

2012-01-24T13:17:00.000-08:00

(Edited to add: I just started Kim Klassen's Beyond Layers e-class - a week or so late - and the first assignment is to write our creative story. I think this can be mine... there's more to it of course. Glass bead making, jewelry making, fits and starts with painting... trying different things at different times. Waiting for time and freedom to create until I about burst and just do it. Lots of that. Lots of waiting. Too many projects started and never finished... supplies, supplies, supplies. And of course mixed in with all of that is parenthood, and healing from illness, and life. It's probably not that much different than anyone else's story.)

The story:

Once upon a time, there was a girl who took lots and lots of pictures. First she filled shoe boxes up with prints and negatives... and as time went on she filled her computer up with them and plastered the internet with them, and she was happy. Then she started taking pictures of her beads, in order to sell them online, and photography became "work"... and she stopped taking pleasure in it and started only using her nice camera for that. Everything else was shot with the iPhone.

One day she saw that a bunch of her blogging friends were doing a year long iPhone photo challenge - one a day - and she thought "Oh, cool, I can do that!" but a few days into that she got bored. So she downloaded some fun photo editing apps and went to town. But then she thought, "how much better would it be if I had more control over this process?" and so she bought a book, which is what she always does when she wants to learn something new. The book was beautiful and amazing and turned her on to layers and textures.

One Tuesday, this Tuesday, she saw that Jen Worden posted about Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesdays. That sparked an interest! So, she got busy, downloading textures. Playing around. And made something.

This is really only the beginning of the story, because the girl is in love with photography again.

The End.

The original photo, a mermaid from Friday Harbor:

The textured photo, using Kim's 'Simplicity' and 'music lovin' textures:

A few more things I've been working on over the past couple of days:

Thanks for looking :)

366: Day 23

2012-01-23T14:38:00.001-08:00

Three good things: it's not strep, the sun is shining (even if we spent 2.5 hours of it in a windowless doctor's office), and the kid can still crack himself up (even when he's sick).

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 22

2012-01-22T17:59:00.001-08:00

Three good things: organizing my work space, trying out new tools, and melting glass, even if there is nothing good in the kiln.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Messin' Around

2012-01-21T22:24:00.000-08:00

It's only 21 days into this 366, but can I tell you something? I'm loving playing with photos again. How did I forget this part of me? Every day I learn something new, just messing around. What will day 366 look like?

366: Day 22

2012-01-21T22:15:00.001-08:00

Three good things: getting out and about after being home 8 days straight, green grass, and happy free ranging chickens.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 20

2012-01-20T19:07:00.001-08:00

Three good things: taking a picture of a painting you like before you ruin it; new metallic pencils; rain, washing away the ice storm.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Soccer Boy

2012-01-20T13:30:00.000-08:00

It doesn't happen often, but Luke's next game was postponed due to weather. I'm actually pretty happy about this! I mean, really, it's almost February!

Here are some photos from the previous game - so far they are 2 wins out of 2 games in the state cup.

366: Day 19

2012-01-19T20:14:00.001-08:00

Three good things: electricity, a warm house, plenty of food, and of course, not having to go anywhere in this weather mess. I guess that's four good things. Plus, smooshing paint around. Five.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Snow Day

2012-01-18T20:47:00.000-08:00

Enough of the black, today was all white - plenty of snow for snowmen and snowballs and snow angels. The birds were busy with the bird feeders though the chickens were bummed about no free-range time. Poor things. The dog was jumping around like a puppy, and the boy was wishing he felt better so he could go find a good hill to sled on. Poor thing.

But it was a good day, a white day. I got my snowman made, and pretty photos snapped, and some new canvases started with some plaster of paris. And that SOPA thing - looks like they are going back to the drawing table with that. Good!

366: Day 18

2012-01-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Three good things: freedom of speech, the Internet, and our right to protest and make a stand for what we believe in.

Google SOPA and/or PIPA for more info.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 17

2012-01-17T18:36:00.001-08:00

Three good things: chickens that make me laugh, a cat that also makes me laugh, and a really nice library of inspiring art books.

- Posted using BlogPress from iPhone

366: Day 16

2012-01-16T15:24:00.001-08:00

Three good things: fireplaces, crockpots, coffee.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Chickens and Snow

2012-01-16T14:19:00.000-08:00

They say we are going to get 8 inches of the white stuff in the next couple of days.. what will the chickens think of that? Already, Pippi is sulking about the < half inch she doesn't like to walk on.

366: Day 15

2012-01-15T18:23:00.001-08:00

Three really good things: Progress on the bathroom remodel! Shower shelves cement boarded in! Perusing the Internet for bathroom tile and color inspiration!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 14

2012-01-14T17:53:00.001-08:00

3 good things: snow! watching chickens experience their first snow, and playing fetch with the dog, using snowballs of course!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 13 Extra Shots

2012-01-13T18:23:00.000-08:00

Oooh, if I'd only waited an hour, you would have had a fiery sunset instead of a handful of eggs. Well, who says I can't give you both? No one! I make the rules here! Enjoy!

Psst! Even the girls were enjoying this show!

366: Day 13

2012-01-13T16:15:00.001-08:00

Three good things: chickens who follow you around the yard, chickens who come when you whistle, and 4-egg days.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Adventures of a Comic Book Artist

2012-01-13T09:51:00.000-08:00

Luke was in a school play last weekend, "The Adventures of a Comic Book Artist" - they do such a great job there, the program is amazing.

There are thousands of photos on flickr, in two sets:

First part of the show

Second part of the show

2012-01-12T21:59:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share with you something Corinne Stubson is doing with some of my beads - I was so surprised when she first showed me - they are not pendants, or some other form of wearable art, but worked into her beautiful handmade books! Very creative! I love seeing what my beads are used for... and knowing they have found a good home. Be sure to check out her site, she has loads of photos and so many projects on her site - good stuff!

and

366: Day 12

2012-01-12T15:40:00.000-08:00

3 good things: Kristi Bowman's Copper Component Blog Hop, chickens following the dog around the yard, and coffee. (It's not easy coming up with good things when the kiddo is down with the ick.)

366: Day 11

2012-01-11T14:44:00.001-08:00

3 good things: Wednesdays on the mountain, dry skies, and a great little snowboarding buddy.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Photo Magic

2012-01-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

So... I've been doing this year-long daily iphone photo thing... have you noticed? It's ok if you haven't, because I have to admit, my own photos are boring my own self to tears. Enough! Today I downloaded some iphone photo apps and things are going to get fun around here... just wait and see! Here are some that I was playing with today while waiting for the kiddo to get done at school:

*NOW* I'm looking forward to tomorrow's photo!

366: Day 10

2012-01-10T11:35:00.001-08:00

3 good things: sneaking greens into smoothies, sunshine, and free-range chickens scratching around the yard.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 9

2012-01-09T20:26:00.001-08:00

Three good things: the color purple, shiny new tools, and new metallic glasses to try.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 8

2012-01-08T18:04:00.001-08:00

Three good things: a day at home to get things done, sunshine, and twinkly lights in my madrona tree.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 7

2012-01-07T14:50:00.001-08:00

Grateful for 400 miles of safe travels, a second win in the state cup, and a warm fireplace.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 6

2012-01-06T20:53:00.001-08:00

Grateful for a dramatic child, a fantastic theater program, and a fun night out.

New Year, New Packaging!

2012-01-05T17:49:00.000-08:00

It's about time I went all green and recyclable with my packaging and mailing materials! I've been wanting to for a year now, but it's taken me this long to get through my huge order of bubble mailers and bubble wrap.

So, who is going to be the first customer to get a bead wrapped up all snug like an egg in a bird nest, huh? You know you want it to be YOU!

366: Day 5

2012-01-05T13:49:00.001-08:00

Grateful that my cat doesn't shed - much. Also for a clean pile of laundry rather than a dirty one... and for sunbreaks... we take what we can get up here in the PNW.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 4

2012-01-04T16:59:00.001-08:00

Grateful for lazy, rainy, quiet homeschool mornings, market spice tea, and my new kindle fire.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Beads of 2011

2012-01-04T13:38:00.000-08:00

366: Day 3

2012-01-03T15:20:00.001-08:00

Grateful for the freedom to volunteer my time helping out with the costumes and props... and to my Grandma for teaching me how to sew.... and that I got to see my kid get fitted for his shiny silver super duper dream superhero costume.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 2

2012-01-02T14:32:00.001-08:00

Grateful for coffee, real book stores, and a boy who reads more than I do, and that's saying something.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

366: Day 1

2012-01-01T11:46:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

Grateful for paint on my hands... and a handy husband... and a child who knows how to entertain himself sometimes.

New Beads on Etsy

2011-12-30T15:33:00.003-08:00

Just a quick heads up to let you know that there are a few new beads listed in my Etsy store this afternoon!

And here is a little more glassy eye candy to share, these are sold or gifted, or just not listed yet.

Thanks for looking!!

Merry Chickmas!

2011-12-19T22:45:00.000-08:00

Just a quick silly post to wish you all Happy Holidays, whichever ones you may celebrate this season!

We are still enjoying our chickens, they are an endless source of inspiration and enjoyment - let me share them with you!

Goodbye October

2011-11-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

I have a love/hate relationship with the month of October.... or October has a death wish for me... one or the other. Either way, I survived it once again, though just barely.

First of all, the boy turned 11. Eleven. I have an eleven-year-old, my how time flies.

But before that... the two weeks before that... was no fun at all, in fact, he almost missed his birthday altogether, it was a very close thing. He was sick for two weeks beforehand, 8 days flat out on the couch with the flu. It was lovely. He pulled it together just in time, and I never caught it. A miracle. A first, because he always seems to get sick around his birthday and then I always catch it. Or Frank does. Remember the year Swine Flu was going around. Yeaaaahhhhh. That was great.....

But, this year! A better than slight improvement!

His party was a great success, crazy and way too many boys in one loud place, playing soccer and raising money for PAWS. He and his friend (birthday party co-host) raised $410, $361 of which got matched by company matching funds, so $771 raise for PAWS. Wonderful, and very proud of Luke and his friend Cole.

That done, it was a race to get the Halloween costumes done. Luke's grand idea, now that he's convinced that home-made costumes are way-better! than store bought.... was to be a pumpkin head. A pumpkin head.

So we got started. With a beach ball... and newspaper... and modpodge.

many many layers later:

and with some holes cut out:

and some paint:

paired with a scarecrow costume:

and there you have it. Don't mind the mess, remember how I said I survived the month? That's because I gave up on getting it all done at one point. Creativity is messy, you know?

And so is carving pumpkins... real pumpkins... but so worth it.

Mine is that one holding it's face and getting ready to scream. Yes, it's a self portrait.

And finally, that invite to the Halloween party - the one that said, please wear a costume. Um, ok, but I wasn't planning on one for me, what to do??? $1.99 later, here I am:

Cute, huh? Occupy Halloween, Share the Candy! Even better, Frank dressed up like Mr. Moneybags, the 1%, Fat Cat Banker. "I'm the 1%, Give me all your candy!" Best of all, it was really easy, and I got to wear my new Payton Jett Nightmare Before Christmas bead. Don't you just love it?

And there it is, the month I just barely survived, once again. See you next year, October, I hope you play a little more fair!

Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal!

2011-09-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

Today's the big day! It's Bead Soup Blog Party time!

For those of you who need a refresher, the Bead Soup Blog Party is a blog-hopping event, started by Lori Anderson of Pretty Things, where jewelry artists are partnered up together - they exchange some beads and then go to town creating something wonderful with some of the beads sent to them, and some from their own stash.

My partner this time around was Linda Inhelder, of Must-Haves Jewelry. She sent me a beautiful mix of silver and stones, some odds and ends that may be wood, a vintage looking flower component... all in my favorite color combination of blues and greens and amber. So many design options in that box.

And so many challenges: the focal choices were smaller than I usually work with... and most of the accent beads were really chunky.... what to do? The clasp even seemed larger than any of the focal choices... could I use the clasp as part of a focal design? All I could think of was treasure. A treasure necklace with layers of charms, maybe. But how? And... could I mix one of my own lampwork focals with it? Maybe I could!

I looked at these two combinations for quite some time:

But in the end, I chose another bead from my stash and never looked back. Here is what I came up with:

The sweet little handmade shell charm was my favorite, and it wasn't until I started putting things together that I realized there is (maybe?) a little cubic zircon stone set in the shell. Sparkly!

I was going to use the silver links on the side next to the viking knit, a kind of asymmetrical design... but then I bunched them all up and added them to the treasure collection, kind of like rings on a chain. And if I could do that, then I could do the same with the big chunky handmade ring Linda sent too. And so I did.

Now... I started adding the stones on to the viking knit.... and I had every intention of using the clasp she sent me... but in the end I just kept going, and going and going and just added my own clasps. There's two, actually. One to put the necklace on with, and one to add more treasure to the viking knit part. Or to rearrange it. Or just play with it. But maybe to add to it. It's kind of hard to see in my photos, but there's a larger ring between the two clasps that keeps the treasure from falling off the chain when putting the necklace on or taking it off. Pretty clever, I think! But I feel bad about not using Linda's clasp.

I also feel bad about not getting to a second piece with the wonderful amber chunks. I had every intention of it, but got stuck trying to figure out how to use the silver clasp with the amber and sunny copper ideas that were floating around in my head. So I put it down and never got back to it in time. Oh well! Maybe I'll have something to show for it in the coming days. Something to look forward to?

But never mind that, you have lots and lots of jewelry to go check out - more than your eyes can take in - just follow the links and see what you can see! Thanks for looking!

The Hostess, Lori Anderson and her partner, Manuela Wutschke

1. Aimee Wheaton and Barbara York

2. Alice Craddick and Sandra Richardson

3. Alison Sachs and Amy Severino

4. Allison Scott and Cynthia Abner

5. Amanda Cargill Austin and Charlene Sevier

6. Amanda Davie and Patsy Evins

7. Amber Dawn and Kim Ballor

8. Ambra Gostoli and Christine Hansen

9. Amy Freeland and Christine Altmiller

10. Ana Krepel-Novak and Eleanor Snare

11. Andrea Morici and Hope Smitherman

12. Andrea Trank and Jayne Capps
13. Andrea Turini and Charlene Jacka

14. Angela May and Emanda Johnson

15. Anitra Gordy and Elizabeth Owens Dwy
6. Ann Rishell and Debbie Price

17. Ann Sherwood and Lynne Bowland

18. Anna Lear and Barbe Saint John

19. Anna Sabina and Erin Siegel

19. Nan Emmett and Erin Siegel

20. Astrid Boyce and Birgitta Lejonklou

21. B.R. Kuhlman and Deanna Chase

22. Barbara Bechtel and Bryna Lumb

23. Barbara Blaszczyk and DaviniaDesign

24. Barbara Judy and Holly Westfall

25. Barbara Lewis and Cathie Carroll

26. Barrie Edwards and Lyn Foley

27. Becky Fairclough and Jana Tarhala

28. Bella Borgouise and Gillian Lehman

29. Beth and Evie McCord and Erin Prais-Hintz

30. Beth Bricker and Heather Pyle

31. Beth Emery and Cassie Donlen

32. Bobbie Rafferty and Cindy Cima Edwards

33. Candice McGinnis and Sally Anderson

34. Carol Bradley and Cece Cormier

35. Cathy Khoury and Molly Alexander

36. Carol Tannahill and Hilary Frye

37. Carrie Tahquechi and Cris Peacock

38. Cat Pruitt and Cindy Gimbrone

39. Charlene Gary and Doris Stumpf

40. Charlotte Pevny and Kate Gardenghi

41. Cherrie Fick and Cathie Carroll

41. Claire Maunsell and Cherrie Fick

42. Cheryl Roe and Jenny Vidberg

43. Chris White and Norma Turvey

44. Christa Murphy and Kathy Alderfer

45. Christie Murrow and Dana James

46. Christina Miles and Collette Collins

47. Christine Brandel and Elizabeth Woodford

48. Christine Damm and Cynthia Deis

49. Christine Hendrickson and Debbie Goering

50. Christine Stonefield and Dee Wingrove-Smith

51. Cilla Watkins and Johanna Rhodes

52. Cindy Wimmer and Riki Schumacher

53. CJ Baushka and Cory Celaya

54. Courtney Breul and Joanna Matuszczyk

55. Cristi Clothier and Kathleen Robinson Young

56. Cryss Thain and Serena Trent

57. Cynthia Tucker and Kitty Durmaj

58. Dana Johnson Jones and Eva Sherman

59. Davinia Algeri and Janet McDonald

60. Deci Worland and Lara Lutrick

61. Diana Ptaszynski and Kristy Abner

62. Diane Cook and Kerry Bogert

63. Diane Hawkey and Jen Judd Velasquez

64. Dorcas Midkiff and Jill Harris

65. Doris Radlicki and Heather Goldsmith

66. Dot Lewallen and Gaea Cannaday

67. Elisabeth Auld and Jennifer Justman

68. Erin Fickert-Rowland and Geanina Grigore

69. Erin Grant and Julie Jones

70. Eszter Czibulyas and Helena Fritz

71. Fiona Christie and Michelle Heim

72. Gail Zwang and Genea Crivello-Knable

73. Geneva Collins and Jana Haag

74. Gretchen Nation and Heidi Post

75. Heather DeSimone and Karin Slaton

76. Heather Marley and Terry Carter

77. Ingrid McCue and Jennifer Pride

78. Jackie Ryan and Nicole Keller

79. Janna Harttgen and Joanne Tinley

80. Jean Yates and Lori Anderson

81. Jelveh Jaferian and Jenny Davies-Reazor

82. Jenni Connolly and Jennifer Heynen

83. Jennifer Cameron and Kristi Bowman

84. Jennifer Geldard and Lisa Liddy

85. Jennifer VanBenschoten and Kim Hora

86. Jess Italia Lincoln and Lori Greenberg

87. Jill MacKay and Lori Bergmann

88. JJ Jacobs and Karen Tremblay

89. Joyce Becker and Kathy Welsh

90. Judy Glende and Karen Sinkowski

91. Judy Riley and Kelly Morgan

92. JuLee Wolfe and Julie Bean

93. Julianna Cannon and Julianna Kis

94. Julie Nordine and Lesley Watt

95. K. Hutchinson and Shea Zukowski

96. Karen Firnberg and Karyn Bonfiglio

97. Karen Williams and Kimberly Roberts

98. Karen Zanco and Polly Barker

99. Kari Carrigan and Laura Twiford

100. Karin von Hoeren and Laura Blanck

101. Kate Richbourg and Lorelei Eurto

102. Kathleen Lange Klik and Maria Clark

103. Kathy Engstrom and Keri Lee Sereika

104. Kay Thomerson and Loretta Carstensen

105. Kelley Fogle and Laurel Bielec

106. Kelly Ramstack and Sally Anderson

107. Kim Stevens and Tiffany Long

108. Kristi Harrison and Mandy Williamson

109. Kristi Kyle and Lana Kinney

110. Kristina Johansson and Sue Hodgkinson

111. Kym Hunter and Laura Sanger

112. Laura Zeiner and Susan Kennedy

113. Laurel Steven and Mary McGraw

114. Laurie Hanna and Lisa Boucher

115. Lesley Weir and Liz DeLuca
116. Linda Djokic and Tracey Weiser

117. Linda Inhelder and Pam Brisse

118. Linda Landig and Lori Dorrington
119. Linda Murphy and Lisa Hamilton

119. Line Labrecque and Marianne Baxter

120. Lisa Lodge and Monica Johnson

121. Lois Moon and Melissa Muir

122. Lola Surwillo and Therese Frank

123. Lori Bowring Michaud and Marci Brooks

124. Lupe Meter and Norma Agron

125. Maggie Towne and Marge Beebe

126. Malin de Koning and Susie Hibdon

127. Mallory Hoffman and Shirley Moore

128. Marcie Abney and Patty Miller

129. Marcy Lamberson and Melissa Clarke

130. Margot Potter and Suzann Sladcik Wilson

131. Maria Grimes and Wendy Blum

132. Maria Horvath and Melinda Orr

133. Maria Rosa Sharrow and Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp

134. Marian Hertzog and Melissa Mesara

135. Marianna Boylan and Sandi Lee James

136. Marina Dobrynina and Michaela Pabeschitz

137. Marsha Neal and Miri Agassi

138. Mary Ellen Parker and Melissa Meman

139. Mary Elliott and Tamara Soper

140. Mary McGraw and Laurel Steven

141. Melissa Pynn and Michelle Buettner

142. Michelle Hardy and Niki Meiners

143. Michelle Mach and Moira McEvoy

144. Missy Rappaport and Mags Sarri

145. Molly Alexander and Poranna

146. Mylene Hillam and Nicole Rennell

147. Nadezhda Parfyonova and Stacey Curry

148. Nan Emmett and Nancy Peterson

149. Nancy Boylan and Natalie McKenna

150. Natalie Monkivitch and Niky Sayers

151. Natasha Lutes and Pam Ferrari

152. Noemi Baena and Penny Ilagan

153. Pamela Petry and Rebecca Sirevaag

154. Pat Haight and Mary Shannon Hicks

155. Patty Gasparino and Vonna Maslanka

156. Penny Neville and Sandi Volpe

157. Pepita Bos and Wendy Chamberlain

158. Raida Disbrow and Rebecca Watkins

159. Rebecca Anderson and Sabrina Staub

160. Regina Santerre and Rose Binoya

161. Rhea Freitag and Tari Kahrs

162. Rochelle Brisson and Teri Baskett

163. Sally Russick and Tracy Bell

164. Sandra McGriff and Shay Williams

165. Sandra Wolberg and Sara Hardin

166. Sarah Elder and Salla Small

167. Saskia Kaffenberger and Sharon Gardner

168. Sharon Palac and Shannon Chomanczuk

169. Shay Stone and Suzette Bentley

170. Shiraz Biggie and Tammy Powley

171. Staci Smith and Tracy Stillman

172. Stacie Stamper and Tracy Martin

173. Stefanie Teufel and Vicky Taylor

174. Stephanie Dixon and Stephanie LaRosa

175. Stephanie Haussler and Valerie Norton

176. Suzanne Tate and Terri Wlaschin

177. Sweet Freedom Designs and Tammy Jones

178. Tania Spivey and Tari Sasser

179. Tara Plote and Terry Matuszyk

180. Terri Gauthier and Deana Hager

181. Theresa Fosdick and Tracey Nanstad

For a total of 362 people making jewelry!

Amazing!

I'm Running LATE

2011-09-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

I'm late, I'm late! I'm late for a very important date! Oh my, how time flies. I have two days to get this done... and honestly, I have not even started, other than to wonder what my own lampwork beads might look like with the bead soup mix I got from Linda.

Should I make two necklaces? Should I make just a big chunky charm bracelet? I just don't know... so many choices, so little time!

Homeschooling 2.0

2011-09-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

This year is starting off much better than last. Now that I know what I'm doing and had time to research some more interesting resources, plus the ability to enroll the kid in more than two classes at the resource center... we're already rolling along.

So far, I've got a happy, interested, busy kid learning things and enjoying life. There is no comparing the kid I have now to the kid I used to pick up from school - I like this one SO much better.

Drama, vocal lessons and clarinet have all begun and are rolling along smoothly. Much better than guitar lessons, he seems to really like the clarinet. I have not even had to remind him to practice... yet. Spanish, math, writing, history and metal arts start up next week. PE too. Yesterday was the first day of Capture the Flag with kids he already knows - such a change from last year... it took us a couple of months to even know about the capture the flag game at lunch-time at the resource center.

Their new playground is going to be built soon - remember when I was asking people to help us vote to win the Pepsi challenge? Well, we won that! And this will be what the new playground will look like:

So... it's all good. So far. Next week's schedule really picks up and we'll see how busy it really is - I've got 36 official hours planned with the state, but there's really more than that. (The state only requires 25 learning hours).

Both Luke and I like the books I chose for our "home" portion of school. Except... I'm running into a few things here and there that I'll have to be better about filtering. The history book I picked, which I think, so far, is really pretty great - and Luke agrees with me... is "All American History" - it's a text book, a work book and a teacher's guide - the first time I've gone that route, and I have to say, I like the teacher's guide. Except... a bunch of the books it suggests for further reading keep showing up with a religious bend to them... not all, but some, and I know religion played a huge hand in shaping history, I just don't want the history being told from one religious point of view. So... I'll be reading a lot of history myself this year to make sure that isn't what is happening. It's ok, though, I like history, too.

Science, this year, is historical too, and the book we have, "The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way", starts out with the Bible's story of creation. Which... put Luke off right away. He wants science, not Sunday School. As did I, when I ordered it. But again, I think that is just a comparison of how people thought - before science, and how scientific thought evolved... to where we are today. Again, I'll be reading a lot of science it turns out, just to make sure this is series I want to continue as well as field all the questions. Oh well. Not my favorite subject ever, but it's not like we'll be dissecting frogs or anything. Our "fun" science books are by Bill Nye, The Science Guy - and I'm pretty sure there's no dissecting in those either.

Even Math is historical this year, the stuff we are doing at home - he's got real number and word problems in his class at the resource center - "Mathematicians are Poeple, Too" is where we are starting with that. Plus daily word problems and some logic and creative thinking puzzle books.

There will be lots of reading of literature and biographies too - we have a huge stack of those. King Arthur and Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. And something called "Word Ladders" which is a fun way to learn vocabulary. I was going to skip spelling this year, but Luke wanted a spelling workbook, so he has one after all. And some other language arts and writing books.

And ART. Art always takes a backseat to everything else, doesn't it? Why is that? In this house it should go first. But it never does. Why? I don't know. But for art this year, we have season tickets to the Seattle Childrens Theater. And studio time at a glass fusing studio. And trips to museums, and hopefully some painting and drawing here on the dining room table. I've been collecting some fun project ideas on Pinterest - this is my idea board - not all are for Luke, but he's welcome to join me in any of them if I ever get around to doing them. (do you do Pinterest?! You should!) Art is the thing we save for last, and then almost never get to. At least that's how it worked out last year. It's the same with my own art... melting glass and painting always comes after the house is clean, the yard work is done, and the schoolwork and internet work and soccer is done. Which is why I don't make much these days - that work never gets done. I will have to work on that... for both him and me.

But first, I've got a bunch of work to do... see how that happens? Perhaps I need to add "housework" and "yardwork" classes to our curriculum? Now, that's an idea!

Two Eggers!

2011-09-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

Pippi and Lulu are both laying every day now! Pippi goes first and is very noisy about it, and Lulu is very quiet about it.

Pippi's first egg:

And there have also been a couple of double yolks from Lulu.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Walk to End Alzheimer's

2011-09-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

We walked this weekend in the Walk to End Alzheimer's - it was a beautiful warm sunny day for Seattle and a very emotional event for us. Thank you to everyone who donated to our little family team - every bit helps, I hope.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Goodbye Sand Between My Toes

2011-09-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cannon Beach Love

2011-08-30T11:47:00.001-07:00

At the beach. Love it here. Need to figure out how to move here full time.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:S Hemlock St,,United States

Lulu's First Egg

2011-08-29T22:03:00.001-07:00

Exciting times in the egg box! The chickens are squawking and making a racket. Three days of this and I finally figured out that Lulu was laying eggs - soft shelled broken eggs. And then! The magic little treasure we were waiting for - a little brown speckled egg. Thank you, Lulu!

Finally! New Beads!

2011-08-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

Well, don't fall over in your seats or anything, but I have new beads! I know, I know, it's been a very long time. But I made it out to the messy studio and melted glass and had a blast doing it. And! There are now 8 new beads on Etsy, and few more will come soon once I photograph them.

Here, have a look, handfuls and handfuls of them!

Bead Soup Blog Party Is Here!

2011-08-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

It's that time again! Lori Anderson has been hard at work matching up 363 people for this one - wow! Check out the list here: Bead Soup Blog Party.

Remember how it works? She matches us up with a partner that she thinks may give us some challenges? And we exchange a focal and a pretty clasp, and then go to work adding our own beads and creating something new and hopefully different from what we normally make.

Well, this time, my partner is Linda Inhelder, of Must-Haves. She makes beautiful silver and beaded jewelry - really pretty things. Like this:

I'm sure whatever I send her will not be a challenge. Except that I just found out that she had an accident and will have one hand in a cast for some time. She probably won't be making anything for quite a bit. I'll be sending her something in the next couple of days, regardless. Wishing her a speedy recovery!

She managed to get my package out to me before all that, and it arrived last night - very pretty blues and greens and browns. Just my kind of colors, right? YES. Lovely. Baltic amber, dyed apatite, carved quartz flowers,and some fine silver pretties, some charms she made, a few circle links. And a few other goodies. I have NO IDEA what I'm going to do with it all. None!

My favorites are probably the amber and the little sea shell charm and silver links. But in my mind... I just can't see how to fit them together. But, I'm sure I'll figure it out. Definitely a challenge!

Here's the goods:

Thanks Linda! Get well soon! And thanks to Lori too - I know this is a huge undertaking for her - but so worth it - I hope!

Trickle Down Creativity

2011-08-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

Or is it bubbling up? I'm not sure, I just know that it's back... let's see if I can hold on to it.

First of all, there was this glass fusing class that I signed my whole family up for. Susan Murphy was teaching her new glass fusing technique, along with another teacher, Brian, at Cascade Glass Art Center in Redmond, WA.

We learned how to decorate glass with powders and paints and stencils and a whole new world of possibilities opened up for me. I have to admit that I've always been a little snobby about stencils, except maybe for hand-made ones... but I now see the error of my ways. Stencils are my new best friend.

These photos show the pieces after the first day of class:

And here are the (mostly) finished pieces. I can still add more, and I might.

Interesting, right? So I debated and debated... do I want to get into something completely new, with all new supplies and materials? Finally it came down to this: This is something I can do with my son - he thinks his art passion is glass fusing. So I ordered hundreds of dollars worth of supplies. I guess I should show you what he made in class, check it out:

And then there's Frank's pieces - I really love this dodo bird with the flying eyeball and tiny wing. Frank's got some buried creativity in him too, just waiting to come out.

So... now we wait. There are a couple of slumped pieces that need to be picked up still. And paints and powders and stencils should be arriving any day now. But the muse had ideas and wanted to try them. SO I pulled out my acrylics and an old tree painting that I never felt was done, and a couple of stencils from Ben Franklin's... and started playing. And it was fun. Paint on canvas is much more instantly gratifying than glass, no kiln time... you see what you have withing minutes rather than hours or days.

Here is the tree painting I was never very happy with:

And what it looks like after messing around with it:

Let's see where this takes me...

Baking Successes

2011-07-16T10:20:00.001-07:00

More gluten-free success this week.

First of all, Fanny Farmer's banana bread - I followed the recipe exactly, just substituting gluten free flour blend for regular and adding an extra banana. It was very, very good.

Second, there was cheese straws. Ones the whole family thought were great. I'd serve these at a cocktail party, they were that fun and yummy.

Art of Gluten Free Baking's Cheese Crackers and Straws.

I added a sprinkle of salt and baked until totally crispy:

And then there was shortcakes, for strawberries. These were good. Not my grandmother's shortcake, obviously, but a little on the tropical side with almond flour and coconut oil. I substituted sugar for the honey and it was a bit too sweet. But, we enjoyed them.

Speaking of strawberries, our strawberry patch finally started producing, and I swear! these are the best strawberries I have ever in my entire life tasted. So red and juicy. Red all the way through. I am having a love affair with strawberries again, after years and years of those beautiful huge store berries that taste like nothing and are white inside... I finally remember what Grandma's berries were like, and why she got up early every morning to water her berry patch. I'm sure I was 10 the last time I ate her berries... and now here I am in my (gasp) 40's and finally have her secret back.

So, when my little patch did not give me enough to get through the year with my new berry love and refusal to ever again buy the grocery store/costco ones... Luke and I went berry picking at an organic farm.

I made, for the first time, strawberry jam. Freezer jam. The first batch did not set, but is still delicious. The second batch worked great (I decided to follow exact directions for a change).

And now I'm inspired to can for real. Glass jars, hot water, the works. I got my ball canning book and I'm ready to go, I just need something to can! Raspberry picking is up next, if it would only stop raining around here.

Edible Landscaping

2011-07-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about the lady who had to go to jail because she planted veggies in her front yard? No, that's not the beginning of a joke... though I can see how you might think it was, it sound silly enough to be one. Sadly, not a joke, and not even funny.

Meet Julie Bass of Oak Park, MI - this is her blog:Oak Park Hates Veggies, here she is in the news: Julie Bass of Oak Park Faces Misdemeanor Charge for Vegetable Garden and here is a petition you can sign online to help her: Stop the Prosecution of the Bass Family for Growing Veggies.

This is her yard, her front yard veggie garden:

They had to tear out their old yard to repair a sewer pipe and decided to install some raised beds and grow some food for their family. Sound pretty criminal, no? Of course not. She is not in jail (yet, though it sounds like her town council would like to put her there), but is going to trial over it this month. I sure hope she wins and shows that town of hers what's what. Please take the time to sign her petition and even send a letter to her city, if it strikes you as crazy and unfair as it does me.

Growing a garden seems like such a basic right. If you own your own land, you should be able to grow your own food, to feed your own family. And unless you bought into a community with strict laws about what color you had to have your house painted and how high your fence can be and how many cars you can park in your driveway... you should be able to do just that. And not only that, but look at her place - it's totally neat and clean, not a weed to be seen. And she was starting with a bare dirt from the pipe issue, so it's not like she's even had time to let it grow and get wonderful yet!

I don't know why this has struck such a nerve with me, but it has - it's making me very mad, and she's half way across the country! Of course I'm on the West Coast where it's very hip to have edible landscaping - it's part of the whole urban homesteading thing - and I too have had edibles in my front yard. It was great. I met more neighbors the one summer I had the raised beds out front than I have the entire 5 years I've lived here. The neighbors walking by when I was out there working or watering would comment on my veggies, telling me how they were watching that pepper turn red, or wow, how great to see my garden growing, or whatever. When we pulled it out to move it all to a sunnier spot, people stopped to tell me they would miss seeing my garden grown. Just thinking about it, and knowing Julie Bass's story, makes me want to put some edibles back out there. And I think I will!

(I was telling Frank about this story and the first thing he said was "You are going to put some veggies back out front, aren't you? And I support you, we should." - This is just one of the reasons I love that man.)

So...

I've been looking at gardening books and googling front yard veggie garden pictures, and I have to say, I'm totally inspired.

Let me inspire you, too, but only after you go back up to those links and sign that petition, ok?!

First, the books, I do love gardening books:

The Edible Front Yard: The Mow-Less, Grow-More Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden

and

Edible Landscaping

And now for the pictures - just google front yard gardens and hit images to see tons more:

First of all, I wonder who's house this is? The ultimate in front yard veggie gardens:

Great article: Why the White House garden matters.

Sunset Magazine's Grow Veggies in the Front Yard

A really beautiful front yard veggie garden:

From:Garden Porn.

And another, this one is huge! The link is worth clicking, just to see the garden progress from sprouts to lush wonder:

OK, that's plenty, you get the idea. What are you going to plant in your front yard? Are you as hot and bothered by this as I am? I think I'm going to start with strawberries and blueberries. And sunflowers. Maybe I'll try some pole beans too since the ones in my back yard are not doing so great. Whatever, you know I'll share pictures when I get this project going. But first, I need to go write a letter to Julie Bass's City Council. Did you sign that petition yet? Please do!

Backyard Chickens

2011-07-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

Everything is done, just waiting for the eggs now!

Chicken tractor - two parts to move around and fit between the raised veggie beds.

Hanging watering system - with poultry water nipples:

Upgrades and Add-ons

2011-07-03T21:29:00.001-07:00

The chickens are still getting the extra-special treatment around here. They are so spoiled, I sure hope they appreciate it!

First of all, we upgraded their watering system. While I love the way the old-fashioned galvanized farm ones look, they are awful. Always dirty and a pain to clean and fill. Plus, they take up valuable floor space. SO, we fixed that:

Some PVC pipe, caps, poultry water nipples... which can be found here: Push in water nipples - you can also get screw in ones.

All done!

We made a smaller one for inside the coop too:

And! We began the chicken tractor. Half of it is done. It's a two part modular model. One part transportation unit, one part dockable foraging station. The foraging part fits in between my raised beds - and this is the part that is done:

The other half needs a roof and a handle, it's almost done. Pictures soon.

Oh, and one more - a cool vintage find I scored on Etsy:

Ok, so I'm a little spoiled too, how did I get so obsessed with chickens? Did you know you can even get chicken decals to put on the back of your car windows... you know, like the kind for your family and all your pets? Yeah, I know, that's probably taking things a little too far... even for me.

Happy National Ice Cream Month!

2011-07-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

Is there really such a thing? I don't know, but I saw it on Facebook, so it must be true. At anyrate, I thought I'd start the month off right by making some. Gluten-free, dairy-free, all chocolate yum.

It couldn't be easier.

Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

In your blender, mix together:

2 cans of coconut milk - you want the full fat kind, not the "lite".
2/3 cups cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

*optional 2 teaspoons Erythritol (I like Organic Zero)

*The erythritol is supposed to keep the finished product from freezing into a block of ice that is impossible to scoop. Corn syrup does the same thing, but I don't do corn. Mess around with your own favorite sweeteners, I'm sure you can make anything work here that will make your sweet-tooth happy.

Then, pour the blended mixture into your ice cream maker and mix according to your machine's instructions. I used my KitchenAid ice cream attachment, which works pretty well:

Here is mine, mixing and mixing for half an hour. (I would have liked to dump in some chocolate chips, shredded coconut and almonds at this point, but then no one else in my family would have eaten it. Oh, wait, why didn't I do that?! Next time. Muwahahahahaha!)

It thickened up and expanded, but never got really frozen, so I just poured it into a tub to stick in the freezer.

And then... we ate it. I may never buy store-bought ice cream again. Really.

Another Favorite

2011-06-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

Gingersnaps.

Everyone in the family loves these, and they won't last long. Another keeper from "Gluten-Free Baking Classics" by Annalise Roberts. This book is quickly becoming my favorite gluten-free baking book - though I admit I don't follow the recipes exactly - I like real butter, not shortening, and I mix up the sugars with whatever I'm in the mood for, and I don't add in the icky xanthan gum. But the basics are solid and so far my results have been rave-worthy. Luke says these gingersnaps are the kind of cookie he could eat all day. I guess I'll have to double the batch next time!

Gingersnaps

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses

1 3/4 cup brown rice flour mix (I used GF Classical Blend sold by Authentic Foods)
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together butter and sugar, add in egg and molasses. Combine dry ingredients and add to the wet - mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on baking sheet, sprinkle some sugar on top, bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Super simple! Enjoy!

Happy Summer Solstice!

2011-06-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

The Short List

2011-06-17T16:22:00.001-07:00

Finally, something to add to my standby list - the good stuff, the stuff everyone craves and begs me to cook. These, right here, are as good as my old Oatmeal Cookies. You know, the ones on the lid of the Quaker oats tub. These of course, are gluten free. You'd never know, though.

Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from "Gluten Free Baking Classics" by Annalise G. Roberts

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon gf vanilla extract
2 cups of your favorite gluten free flour blend (I used Authentic Foods Classical Gluten Free Flour Blend)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups gluten free oats (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
1 cup walnut pieces
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix the butter and sugars til creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, and cream together. Add in flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, then add in the oats, and then add in the chunky stuff that you like.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-06-17T13:32:00.001-07:00

Slowly, if you live in my neck of the woods. But still, there's tiny fruits to be seen. Little promises of summer goodness. Plus, we are finally eating lettuce from the garden. Love garden fresh lettuce, pretty much spoils you to what's in the grocery stores the rest of the year.

Tomatoes:

Peppers:

Strawberries:

And of course a future egg-layer:

Gardens and Chickens

2011-06-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

I'm tired. We've done a lot this spring, and things are looking pretty good, mostly... and we are not done yet. But I think it's caught up to me and now I need a break from it all. I need to melt some glass soon or I'm going to go crazy. You too? Sick of chickens and gardens? Oh well, that's all I have right now. Glass soon. I have date with it next Tuesday afternoon for sure... but first my knuckle has to heal up from what I did to it on the edge of the compost bin this morning... that wasn't pretty - always wear your gardening gloves, you never know when you'll wish you had!

Garden Time!

2011-06-02T09:19:00.001-07:00

Well, that was fun. The chicken coop, I mean. I'm so glad so many of you enjoyed watching along - though I'm sorry it took so long! But it's done now... and things are quite... quiet out there. The chickies are really too easy now, I just open the door in the morning and let them out, put out some food and fresh water and walk away. Later on in the day I pull up some grass and weeds and toss them in the run for them to play with and eat. Later on I freshen up their bedding in the coop (takes less than 2 minutes) and make sure they have enough food and water in there... and then around 7 or 8 they just put themselves to bed and I go shut the door... and freshen up their run, which takes 5 to 10 minutes and is not so fun, I'll admit. I need to figure out how to make that part better.... a long handled kitty litter scoop? Maybe. But really, all in all too easy and not very exciting. Though I love having chickens in my back yard! Perhaps I need to get started on that chicken tractor so I can chase the chickens around the yard and try to tell them where they are supposed to be? Hmn... that sounds exciting! Maybe in a few weeks. I've got gardening to do first.

It's my favorite time in my yard, just about everything is in bloom right now, and I've been weeding like crazy. I'll never get it all done, I know, but I think I'm the closest I've been any spring so far. Luke is even learning to mow! Garden bed borders are getting moved around, some plants I haven't been loving are being removed, new things planted... flowers and shrubs, yes, but also lettuce, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries all growing. My spinach keeps failing me and I'm not sure about this burying the potato stems thing yet... I don't think there is enough dirt in the world to keep up with how fast those guys are growing. I'm thinking about a fence around my garden and a blueberry hedge. And I need to cover the strawberries so the birds don't get them before I do this year. So much to do!

Lights, Camera, Action!

2011-05-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

It's after 10:00 at night and I have chickens in the chicken coop!!! What a happy day! Lots and lots of details taken care of today and the girls are, hopefully, sleeping happily on their new roost (I need to go check on them once I finish this post!).

So... the lights - we have lights:

And we have a roost with poop catcher board and a ramp and a catwalk. (Don't ask. Well, ok, I didn't think the "poop board" could hold a ramp so we made it all complicated.) The clamp is there because I wanted the poop board to be removable, and without it, it wasn't at all sturdy. So, big deal, there's a cool old rusty clamp in the coop, I kind of like it.

And we have nest boxes blocked off with hard wire to keep the girls out of there until they are ready to lay some eggs:

All ready for action!!

And then there was a nap:

And someone else was sleeping on the job (when do I get a nap?):

The final detail: we build a roost in the chicken run. I'm afraid it might be a little high, only our high flier, Daphne likes it, but then she was in the rafters earlier in the day. I wanted it higher than the ramp platforms, hoping they would stop roosting on them and messing them up so much. We will see. But Luke and I made this while Frank was hanging that light... I think it's pretty clever - it folds up so we can get in and clean and stuff.

Nite, nite, chickens! Sweet dreams!

SO Close

2011-05-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

They could have moved out tonight.... except I decided it would probably be better to let some paint dry first. The ramp to the roost has a tiny bit more work and I want to install a gate/board at the door to keep the wood shavings inside the coop when I open the doors... but the girls are moving out tomorrow! Woohoo!

Inside the Coop

2011-05-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

Still working on things. Still need one more door. Still need to cut down the "poop board" to fit. Details, details.

Another Chicken Post

2011-05-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

Today I went through the run and totally predator-proofed - I sandwiched the hardwire walls between a second inside board on the bottom and put screws with washers along the top. I also added a second latch to the door, one that closes behind me when I go in. And I added a string to pull from the inside to get out again! I also added a pull cord for the pop door. So... the run is finished, aside from a roost. Though the girls think the new zig-zag chicken ramp is a roost, of course they do!

We also worked some more on the doors. Here's a shot where you can see how complicated my design is. Oh well, we will get it right.

And, sadly, I had a casualty today. My trusty old wagon did not survive the building of the chicken coop. Darnit!

Oh well. The rest of my patio pavers will have to wait until I get a new one. Tomorrow I'm painting the inside of the coop and we have the one more door and then the coop is done! I think...

Have I Told You Lately....

2011-05-22T21:56:00.000-07:00

...how much I hate making and hanging doors? Seriously, annoyed, hours wasted, and coop not done. Also, I'm not thrilled with my roost/poop board. Especially now that I see it through the door/window that was supposed to be so cute. So. Now what? We'll figure it out.

So close, but we didn't make it happen this weekend: the chickens are still in the house.

The Cutest Chicken Ramp Ever!

2011-05-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

Ready for a giggle? This should do it. Look at this ramp! Think the chickens will actually use it? I hope so. It was a labor of love and actually really fun to build. Still working on the last two doors, wish I could say the same about them... but they will be cool when they are done - wait and see.

And I really like our pop door. It needs a rope and pulley system still, but it's *that* close to done! And, if I decide I really want that automatic door opener... this should work with one.

Zoe says she's had enough of chicken coop building. When is it time to build her a hidey-hole? Hmn???

Fun With Chickens

2011-05-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

We are counting down to chicken-moving-out day! I hope to have them in the coop on Sunday, no later!

In the meantime, we are still having fun with them inside, they love to be held (or roost on us) and go wild for meal worms. Luke is a little more adventurous than the rest of us.

I'd love a photo of Zoe with a chicken on her head. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Happy Chickens

2011-05-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

Last night the girls were SO loud I couldn't hear myself think, never mind hear the TV or Frank trying to talk to me from across the room. So, today, they are getting some fresh air and exercise... they seem happy enough.

Still Not Done

2011-05-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

We only got two doors made today, in this miserable weather. I hate making doors. Actually, I hate hanging doors. Maybe I'll think otherwise by the time we are done, but right now, it's my least favorite thing. Two doors made, latches and handles installed, hooks and eyes on my vent flaps... a plan for the pop door, roost and droppings board... we will get there, and this will give Daphne time to grow some good head feathers.

One More Door Down

2011-05-14T21:04:00.001-07:00

Hoping for a chicken move-out party tomorrow... but we will see. Need, at a minimum, three more doors, a ramp and a roost for this to happen. And it's supposed to be pouring down rain. Wish us luck!

Progress Report

2011-05-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

What's new? It's been a week, there was a birthday (mine, still 29!), a Mother's Day (Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!), the kiddo made the select soccer team (yay!), finished all the state testing (oh, joy! but he didn't seem to mind), and we got more work done on the chicken coop.

Before I show you the coop, I'm going to ask you to do something for me. Luke's school (which as I've shared before, is more of a resource center, but it's still a school - an alternative school in the public school district), has no playground. That's because it's an old high school campus... but we've got all ages of kids there, every day... and no playground. And with budget cuts left and right, no chance of getting one either.... unless we win the Pepsi Refresh Project! Will you vote with us? Every day this month? I'd really appreciate it! Here are the voting details - it's super easy. Thank you!!

Ok, here's the coop - we got the roof on, and the egg box done, fixed the one screen door that was sticking, attached two ventilation door covers, and got sand in the run area. Not bad! Only 6 doors, plus roosts, plus a ramp to go...

Wordle.Me

2011-04-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

Luke came home from computer class one day all excited about "Wordle". He showed me how it worked and I stuck it in the back of my mind to give it a try and put one on my blog. Then I forgot all about it. Of course.

But today, Lori Greenberg put one on her blog and naturally I had to take five minutes to do one too.

Isn't that funny? Eggs. Roof. Cabbage. Ok, your turn, you know you want to!

More Coop Progress

2011-04-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

Frank decided the roof was overdue, so he threw up a board. And I said "Um, honey? What are we going to do with that big gap between the roof and our wall?" So we had to fix that little situation with yet MORE wood. We are certainly learning a lot along the way. I've even "manned up" and used the power tools - something I have previously had no interest in and even a little phobia about. I have to say, I looooove the miter saw!

See that over-hang, up there? Isn't that BRILLIANT for Seattle's 9 month long rainy season? I can stand under there and feed and water and even change their bedding and not get drenched! Nice, right?

We also got our North and South vent windows made. These will have flap doors as soon as I get hinges.

Zoe seriously thinks this thing is cool. She hopes it's a dog house.

See what she's sitting on? Luke and his friend Lilly drew those pictures - very nice.

And finally the roof was up, though this photo only shows it 3/4's done. Shingles soon!