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Walk in my Shoes

This morning, Daphne and I went to the coffee shop. From now on, if I say "the coffee shop," I am talking about Shoes Cup and Cork, which I have mentioned before. It is probably never going to top Legal Grounds, because it doesn't have those delicious granola pancakes, but it is a really great coffee shop nonetheless, and you can bet I'll be frequenting it when Daphne starts school. I will sit there on Tuesdays and Thursdays and knit and drink coffee and fret about swine flu. Anyway, today we went there not only to enjoy some coffee and checkers, but also to contribute to their Walk in My Shoes box. Daphne proudly gave her bag of shoes to the guy behind the counter in her first of what I hope is many acts of charity. I think she thought it was pretty cool.

I love the coffee shop. It not only promotes good causes and has good coffee, but it also has great orange pillows that I would very much like to copy and put in my house somewhere. You can see part of one in the left of the picture.

Speaking of houses:


This is where my parents and Jeff will be living, presumably by November 18. That is going to be a good day, as it is located only about 40 minutes from my house. I have already told my mom that she is hosting Thanksgiving this year. I will bring pie.

K Day

So, on Sunday night at bedtime, Kev and Daphne decided that Monday would be "K" Day. I have no idea why. But Monday morning, we came downstairs to find that various K's had been hidden around the playroom in the spirit this festive event. I decided to take the idea and run with it, so the day was dedicated to all things K. We made kites and keys and hung them around the house. We made crowns to wear at dinner (Kev was the King of K Day), and we had kebabs for dinner and key lime pie for dessert. This is thanks to WikiAnswers's "Foods that Start with K" page. All I could think of without the help of the internet was kiwi, ketchup, and kale. Yuck.

Daphne put on her fancy K day outfit:

I think the gloves are a nice touch.

Next time we have a made-up holiday, I hope I get to be in on the planning. I have some ideas...Pancake Day, Nap Day, Pedicure Day, Mommy Doesn't Have to Cook or do any Dishes Day, Breakfast All Day Day, No Diego Day, Hey What the Heck Let's Pack up the Car and go to Maine Day...

Winter of What?

You may remember that last winter was the Winter of Soup. It wasn't much of a Winter of Soup, as it only consisted of five soups, but it was a Winter of Soup nonetheless. So, last night, Kev asked me what this winter is going to be the winter of. I immediately said pie, because pie has been on my mind lately. And there WILL be pie, but I think this may also be the Winter of Bread.

I got this book (above) for my birthday last year, but I didn't get to use it because I lacked some of the equipment and then we moved and then I still lacked some of the equipment, plus our pizza stone didn't make it here in the move. So, this year for my birthday, I got a new pizza stone and I have decided to take some of the birthday money I got to get the rest of the stuff I need to get started. How could I possibly have a bad winter if the house smells like freshly baked bread every day?

So, this will be the Winter of Bread. And pie. Oh, what the heck...let's throw in some more soup too. I love winter. Bring it on.

Black Birds and White Elephants

This is a pie bird. You put it in the center of your pie when it's baking to vent steam. I have big plans for this guy, especially since apple season is approaching quickly. Most pie birds are black because of the whole "Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie" thing (trivia courtesy Alton Brown). Thanks to Kim and Pat for noticing something that screamed me. (It must have been screaming loudly, too, because I'm pretty sure Pat couldn't see it.)

During our trip to the beach, the subject of downsizing Christmas on Kev's side of the family came up. After much discussion, some of it quite heated, we decided that the adults are going to do a white elephant gift exchange this year. I am pretty excited about this. As much as I enjoy giving and receiving gifts, none of us really need any more giant piles of stuff. So, this will be good. One gift, small spending limit. Perfect. Now, though, comes the hard part. The strategy. There are a few different paths I could take. I could get something really cool that everyone will want and fight over. I could get something really funny, but that nobody will actually want. Or I could be really devious and get something that only I would want, so that I end up with my own perfect gift for me. What to do? You would think that 4 months would be plenty of time to figure this out, but I started on Christmas last year at this time and didn't do a fraction of what I wanted to do. Granted I moved to a new house in a new state right before the holidays. This year I don't have that excuse. Time to get busy.

Meanwhile, my feet are in a tragic state of disrepair. I thought sand was supposed to be The Great Exfoliator. Well, it isn't. And something needs to be done. Perhaps someone will put a pedicure gift card in the White Elephant exchange! I can only think of one person I might have to battle for that. I won't name any names.

Calm Blue Ocean

So, we're back from our big trip to the beach, in Ocean City, Maryland. And I survived.

It's no secret that the beach is not my most ideal vacation destination. I don't like swimming, sun, heat, crowds, and especially sand. I prefer to be cool, dry, and clean (especially my feet). That being said, I do LOVE the ocean. I love the way it looks, smells, and sounds. And being by the ocean was a real treat.

Daphne, on the other hand, loves the beach, and just watching her have fun made all the sand I had to remove from, well, everything, totally worth it. She had a great time playing in the sand and the water, and playing with her cousins. It is getting to the point where they actually interact and have conversations, and it is really fun to see.

Here they are, "surfing."

These are wild ponies on Assateague Island. Very cool. Public Service Announcement: If you go there, cover yourself from head to toe with something containing deet. Spray your car with the stuff. Better yet, don't get out of your car or open your windows even a crack. The only other place I have seen so many mosquitoes was the "jungle" I visited in Cozumel. Poor ponies. They must be so itchy.

Other highlights from the trip include:

• biscuits and gravy for my birthday breakfast
• a night out with Kev for my birthday dinner
• several hours of Rock Band 2 (I like the drums!)
• knitting and reading
• daily ice cream
• riding the surrey with the fringe on top
• not having to cook
• Orange Julius!!!!!!!!
• Kim's stromboli
• Darlene's blueberry jam
• other

But I think my favorite part of the trip was the very last morning. Kev and I woke Daphne up at 5:30 and went down to the beach to see the sun rise and look for shells. We were practically the only ones there and it was so peaceful. AND we saw a school of dolphins. I didn't even really mind the sand.

We got back home Saturday afternoon, and I am still trying to catch up. I got the laundry done, and a little cleaning today. It is really really hot out...supposed to be 100 today. But I think after this week, it should cool off. Fall is so close now, and it's time to start thinking about soup and pie (I got a pie bird for my birthday!) and sweaters and scarves and school starting. It's good to be home, and back in my own (sand-free) bed, but I do miss being by the ocean. It was a good week.

No Bloggin' Time

Gearing up for another big weekend/week. Back to blogging soon.

Addicted to Hats

Daphne is ready for the beach. I found this pattern and made the hat above. Then I made the hat below to go with the pillowcase dress. I might make one for me.

My house is never going to be clean again.

Cake and Ice Cream

So, Saturday was the last day of the Loudoun County Fair, and we went. We decided to go early to beat the crowds and the heat. I think we got there at around ten. Little did we know, they don't open the rides until 1:00. Ugh. So, we figured we'd walk around and see stuff and eat lunch and by then maybe the rides would be open. Petting zoo, magic show, pony ride, tractors, potty. Well, that killed about an hour. By the time we ate lunch, it was almost noon. Arts and crafts table (macaroni necklace!). Twelve-thirty. Half an hour to go.

We decided to go into the one air conditioned building to get out of the heat and see the arts and crafts and kill some time before getting some ice cream and hitting the "midway." At this point, I must tell you that this was the smallest, saddest fair I have ever been to. The arts and crafts were in a room about half the size of an elementary school cafeteria. Unfortunately, also in that room were the candidates in the 4H cake decorating competition. All on display on a table that was eye-level for a certain Peanut who cannot resist tasty treats. We should have known better than to put her down, but we did, with a "Do NOT touch the cakes" warning. Seconds later, Daphne was face-first in one of the cakes, ruining it completely. We left immediately. Luckily, the cake judging was already over. I hope she stuck her face in a winner.

Daphne cried all the way home. I felt sorta bad for her, but I felt worse for me. I didn't do anything naughty, but I lost my chance at ice cream and the Fun Slide. Maybe there is a Fun Slide at Ocean City. I hope so.

I think Kev felt bad for Daphne too, because he went to the grocery store later that day and came home with a box of pink, green, and brown cones and a bottle of rainbow sprinkles. Finally, today, Daphne made it through the day without getting in trouble, and we all enjoyed a be-sprinkled after dinner ice cream cone. She has been extra challenging lately. Think Veruca Salt. And as much as it pains us to take away priviliges (I had to take away QUINCY this week!), we can't let her act like that. I have high hopes for a good week this week though. I think the cake incident taught her a lesson.

Meanwhile, I got some sewing done this weekend:


Here is the finished pillowcase dress. So easy to make (tutorial here). I also finished all the napkins and made a little beach hat for the Peanut. And at naptime today, I got to go to the mall. By myself. To shop. Thanks to Kev for babysitting, and to my mom and dad for the gift card. It was a good day.

Man. Look at that sweet little girl in that picture. Can you believe someone so sweet and innocent looking could get in so much trouble? What a little stinker.

Now everyone is asleep. I guess I should be sleeping too. Tomorrow is grocery store, laundry, and give-Daphne-a-bath day. And Tuesday, it's supposed to be 98 degrees! August is the worst. Hurry, September!

Back to School

Today, my neighbor came by to drop off her fish. It is a Beta named Blue, and it is staying with us for a week while they are out of town. So far, it seems to like it here. Anyway, during the fish drop-off, my neighbor happened to mention that Target has its school-supplies seasonal section up and ready for action. And as you may know, I cannot resist the Target school supplies seasonal section. So, I loaded up the Peanut, and off we went. (I needed a few groceries anyway).

Overall, the section was disappointing. I managed to escape with nothing but a box of crayons and a glue stick for Daphne. There were some nice recycled notepads that I considered, but really, how many notepads does one person need? I have plenty. So, Kev will be pleased that this particular trip to Target, groceries and all, only set us back $35.

Two things worth mentioning. One: Why on earth is a 24 count box of regular Caryola crayons $0.25, while a 24 count box of washable Crayola crayons is $2.49? Is the magical washable formula really that valuable? (Must be, because I bought 'em. Daphne cannot be trusted with the permanent stuff). But seriously, that is what? A 1000% mark-up or something. Crazy.

Two: As we were moseying past the wall of backpacks, Daphne exclaimed, "Mommy! I want to see that iCarly backpack!" WHAT???!!! How in the world does she know what iCarly is? I am with her pretty much 24 hours a day, and we have never ever ever watched iCarly. And surely Kev isn't watching it with her while I'm cleaning on Saturday mornings. I was a little scared. So, just to check, I pointed at the Jonas Brothers backpack and asked Daphne if she knew who it was. "No." Then I pointed at the Hannah Montana backpack and asked the same question. "No." Phew. "Good," I said. "Why don't you want me to know who those people are, Mommy?" she asked. At that point, I decided to distract her with the colorful display of pencil bags. The kind with pretty flowers and birds and peace signs, and no over-marketed teenager show personalities.

Ugh. I guess someday she will inevitably start liking some of the lame stuff that the rest of the kids today like. Oh well. I just hope that she will always, at least secretly, still like the Kinks and Hank Williams Sr. too.

This is Not a Baked Potato

It is actually delicious sausage-stuffed eggplant. Recipe here. Eggplants are in season, so I got a couple nice ones at the farmers market on Saturday. These turned out really good, and are a great way to use leftover spaghetti sauce.

This is the lavender sachet pillow I made out of Daphne's embroidery. It is very poorly constructed, but it is sort of cute and it smells good.

Today is "Blast Off," Daphne's little space class. It's in the smelly building at 10:00. I am bringing my knitting supplies and perhaps a nose plug.

Welcome to the Machine

This weekend, I got out my sewing machine. Aaaaaaah. It's been a long time. I made Daphne's embroidery into a lavendar sachet and started on the cloth napkins I've been making all the noise about. Pillowcase dresses are next, and perhaps beach hats for me and the Peanut. Found a cute pattern on the Craftzine blog today.

My eggplants are calling...

Here is a Good Recipe

I wanted to make a red pepper bisque like I recently had at Tuscarora Mill , so I got some red peppers at the farmers market on Saturday and used this recipe. First of all, roasting peppers on the stove is fun! Also, the soup was pretty good and even Daphne liked it.

I think it could have been thicker, and it didn't really need the shrimp. But I will definitely make this again. And I don't even like red peppers. I combined some goat cheese and cream in the food processor to make a "goat cheese mousse" to put in the soup. I think that was my favorite part. Thank you, goats.

I Want to Ride my Bicycle, I Want to Ride my Bike...

This is a picture of my bike. I love my bike. Yesterday, Kevin got home from work early. I needed a few things from the store for dinner, so I rode my bike to Safeway while he stayed home with the Peanut. It was fun. The only bad thing that happened was dropping a baguette out of my shopping bag in the driveway. Fortuantely, it landed upright, leaning against the car, so I just had to cut off both ends. It was still good in the middle where it didn't touch anything.

Two of my friends from home are planning to do a big 7-day bike ride across Iowa next summer. It is called RAGBRAI. Last night I got kind of excited about it and thought about maybe seeing if I could join them. Then, about 5 minutes into my research, I came across an article called "Iowa is not necessarily flat." Strike one. And it takes place during the hottest part of summer, for some crazy reason. Hmmm. Yeah, I don't think this is the adventure for me. Plus, I don't think mine is the kind of bike that is designed for long distance riding on not-necessarily-flat terrain in the heat of summer. The serious cyclists would probably frown upon my kick-stand, pedal brake, and swoopy handle bars, and be annoyed by my happy little bell that chimes "DING-DONG," sounding much more like "Avon calling!" than "Passing on your left." I wouldn't want to embarrass my friends. I will have to see if there is some sort of "bike across Rhode Island" event in April or September or something. I have never been to Rhode Island. I wonder if it's flat.

Anyway, I would like to spend more time riding my bike. I have become sort of obsessed with this website. They have awesome bike accessories, including the pannier in my previous post and helmets that look like regular hats and are actually cool. Why didn't I think of that?! What a great idea. All the good ones are taken. And most of the bad ones, too. Have you heard about Squeez-Bacon? Good grief.

Update: Rhode Island is described as "rough and hilly." Back to square one.

A Little Show and Tell

Daphne finally painted a picture of me (above), so now we have the whole family in water color. I will have to scan it in to get the color right, and then have Zazzle.com put it on a coffee cup or something. I love it.

Below is the frame that Daphne got to make at her Under the Sea class. I will admit I was jealous that I didn't get to make one too. Perhaps a trip to Michaels is in order.


Here is some stuff from the garden that I made into a face:

We didn't plant anything I like to eat, so I had to find something to do with it. We have more cukes and tomatoes than Kev and Daphne can possibly ever eat, so I am going to have to do some research into making DIY cucumber facial masks or something.

Someday, I would like to put this pannier on my bike:

And ride it around town while wearing this dress:

Today we went to the library. I am beginning to think that Daphne is incapable of walking anywhere like a normal person. She either has to hop, run ahead, or poke along behind picking up rocks or leaves or whatever looks interesting. It was not a relaxing trip to the library. The library is no place for hopping, and the librarians probably raised an eyebrow or two. But we managed to get some books to get us through the rest of the week, including a book about pugs for Quincy.

Every day after naptime, Daphne sings a song. It lasts until dinner time. I'm not kidding. She will make up the words and sing the same song for a couple hours straight. Jeff can tell you. The other day, she sang a song about balancing that rivaled in duration any Grateful Dead jam you could imagine. Right now she is singing, "Mom, you really need to play with me, yeah yeah, you should play with me, because it's fun and you should really do it..." and on and on and on. So, I am going to go play with Daphne now. Yeah yeah. Because it's fun. It really is.

Update: I just told Daphne I was done on the computer and she started a new verse to her song: "Hip hip hooray! Mom's gonna play! Yeah yeah yeah, with Quincy and me..." She's still singing. I better go.

Continued Goings-On

Daphne recently asked me to teach her to knit. Can you imagine how happy this made me? Unfortunately, I don't think I have the patience, and I don't think she has the coordination. Yet. But, the time will come. In the meantime, I decided to start simple and let her play around with some yarn and an embroidery needle. She LOVED it. I will probably turn the finished first project into a little pillow or something. I'll post a picture when I do.

The Under the Sea class wrapped up on Friday with a little fishing outside:


It was a cute class, and my only complaint is the smell of the building. Daphne got to make some really cute crafts, including, on the last day, a picture frame covered in grout and adorned with seashells and glass "jewels" and so forth. It will be perfect for a picture from our trip to the beach later this summer.

Over the weekend, we went with Jeff on a little mini-vacation to the mountains. We stayed at Brookside Cabins:

Went for a ride on Skyline Drive:

And visited Luray Caverns:

It was a nice little change of scenery, and Daphne especially had a great time. And I discovered that you only have to travel about an hour or so south of Leesburg to be in The South, where people sound like the people from home and there are grits and biscuits and gravy a'plenty. Yes.

Jeff heads back to Texas tomorrow, and things here will quiet down for a bit. Daphne has another class next week, but it's only on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I am still knitting along. The weather is still not unbearable, but the gnats and mosquitos stop us from spending as much time outside as we'd like. This week's Tally Ho kid movie is the Muppet Movie, so we'll be seeing that for sure. And the Loudoun County Fair is coming soon. Summer is continuing to fly by, and soon it will be fall. I can't wait. Bring on the pumpkin patches and apple pies.

So, What's Been Going On Around Here...

Well, I am knitting again and that is a good thing. My friend Emily brought me this cool pouch when she came to visit, and I decided to use it this week to carry a small knitting project to do while Daphne is at "school." By school, I mean a little one week class called Under the Sea. For 45 minutes each day this week, I get to sit by myself while Daphne paints pictures of fish and glues feathers on paper duckies and so forth. If the facility didn't smell quite so much like a nursing home, I would really be enjoying myself. Daphne doesn't care about the smell. She is having a great time, and hopefully this is helping prepare her for preschool, which is just around the corner. I am knitting a scarf. For me. I like it so far.

Meanwhile, Jeff is visiting from Texas. He brought Daphne's birthday gift:

He got her an athletic bag with a helmet and bat (pictured) as well as a glove and some wiffle balls to practice with. She got very excited, and it was hard to get her to stop wearing the helmet when it was time to go to dinner. Jeff is sort of using our house as a home base while he travels around the area. At the moment, I think he is in Gettysburg. He's coming back here tomorrow. I cannot even imagine being so footloose and fancy free. But I know that time will come again for me, and when it does I will miss these days of having my constant sidekick. She is a lot of work, but she sure is cute.

This is the time of year for roadside stands:

and fresh blueberries to use in cakes:

And I learned to make my mom's spaghetti:

What a treat. Just like home.

Daphne is supposed to be napping, but I don't think it's gonna happen today. I hear an awful lot of noise up there. I am off to try to settle her down so I can take a quick nap myself. Going to school just wears me out.

Give Bees a Chance

So, while my friend Emily was visiting last week, she told me about the theory that eating local honey (a little each day) helps allergies. Makes sense to me! So, while Daphne and I were out and about this morning, I picked up some honey made by monks in Berryville, VA, not far from here, so I can start experimenting. (Too bad allergy season is pretty much over...I guess I will build up my tolerance for next year!). Daphne picked cinnamon, but they also had plain, lemon, almond, and I think maybe raspberry. I just tried a little bit, and this stuff is DEEEElicious. If Daphne wasn't napping, and if I wasn't presently being advised to stay indoors due to a local manhunt, I would probably go down to Safeway immediately to buy some buttermilk and make hot fresh buscuits to spread it on.

PS. Teeheehee...Clever post title, huh? All I am saying...

Around Town

Today, it was nice and cool out, so Daphne and I took a little walk around town. We went to this place (above). No, we did not require the services of a cobbler. We went there because inside the old Shoes Repairing building is actually (cue the fanfare) a brand new coffee shop. Woo hoo! So exciting. We split a muffin and played checkers. This was just what the town needed. It's so cute inside. There is a shoe chandelier on the ceiling, games and magazines for the customers, as well as a stack of crosswords and sudokus-of-the-day and a can of pencils. I think it's going to be my new hang-out when Daphne starts preschool. Hey...you know what they need to do? Serve various kinds of cobblers! It seems like the right thing to do. I think I'll suggest it.

In other exciting news, we saw this sign. THE FAIR IS COMING! I know it won't be anything like the Great State Fair of Texas, or probably even as good as the Dutchess County Fair (no 4h milkshakes) or the Harvest Homecoming (no Redman's Club Chicken and Dumplings), but it is a fair, and I guess from now on, it is OUR fair. So, I can't wait. Really, about all it will take to make me happy is a Fun Slide. And who knows, maybe it will have it's own special little hidden treasure thing that's just as good as the shakes and the dumplings.