Frosted Strawberries

These strawberries were hand picked by my family at Larriland Farm.

They look a little frosty - don't they?

Well that is because they ARE!

They have been washed

and hulled

and then given a quick freeze

before going into gallon ziploc bags to be used later for smoothies, slushies, other yummy treats.







And there were LOTS of them.

Two huge flats were picked and what is pictured here is only HALF of them!

We'll be eating strawberries for a while. :-)


Thats fine by me. Strawberries are so tastey and they are good for you!

Low in fat and sodium they are a good source of folate and potassium, and a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C and manganese. They are high in natural sugar but for most people this doesn't present a problem. So ENJOY!

Those frozen buggers are slippery though, especially on the new granite counter tops, so I did lose a few to the floor - and no, I did not apply the 10 second rule.

I knew when I wrote about the rule that it would be controversial- but I didn't realize until later, as I sat working at my desk, how untrue it really is. I mean, I do practice it - but there are so many clarifications and limitations on it that I began to wonder if it was really a true statement put out there the way it was.

In truth, I guess I am really only comfortable with my own dirt, as in, in my own home, so there is no applying it elsewhere. And even at home the rule depends on what bites the dust - nothing sticky, nothing wet (ewwwwww) . . and on and on, so a few of these lovely ladies did get tossed. Though one or two may have just gotten another good washing. ;-)

I was thinking the other day of a few other little known facts and oddities.

One of them being that I drive barefoot 3/4 of the year AND I often drive with my feet crossed. Strange. I know. I use my left foot under my right to sort of prop up my right foot. Don't know how it began, but its comfy and its how I do it.

Another - I'm a lovely procrastinator. (maybe not a little known fact) On rare occasions procrastination bites. But most of the time it works for me. I'm a last minute kinda gal. Then I just jump in and 'get 'er done'.

Which brings me to the fact that despite having a show on Saturday (come and see me at Gunpowder River Artfest!)

and I should be finishing up last minute items and polishing and pricing (oh my!)

what I did instead was BEGIN some new items!

[In between loads of laundry]

Now I feel compelled to finish these and take them with me on Saturday.

I am not sure that will happen though as I am already behind on a few other obligations which I truly am going to attend to tomorrow.


But, just maybe, if I can squeeze it in..... some of these enameled items will end up as earrings or pendants. And that would be lovely.

The weekend was crazy daisy busy.

We had that b-ball game at 8am on Saturday, then the school fair after that


where we spent almost three hours walking to and fro.

Seeing "Splash" get released from 'jail'

(yea I know - weird. maybe they could have thought of something better like 'release Splash from captivity' or 'release Splash back into the wild!' Then parents wouldn't have heard "Mom, what did Splash DO to get thrown in jail??? Isn't Splash a good dolphin?" truly, I heard this from some little ones more than once!)








There was also a 'toilet' dunking booth.....where my would be pitcher had a great time drenching his teacher.

Unfortunately there isn't a chair, bench, or other place to sit on the school grounds so it was lots of standing and walking.

But it was a good time and the school raised funds for future endeavors.









I ran some errands, had dinner and something else that slips my mind right now, then crashed!

Sunday was church then lunch and laundry and whatnot.

This week:

I have got to put some time into finishing up a few items and packing up for the show on Saturday.

LG has his first playoff b-ball game on Friday night. GO JAYS!

Then it's off early Saturday morning for what I hope is a GREAT show day. Should be a really good experience for me as its my first time at a bigger show. I'm a bit nervous but I 'know' two other vendors who will be there and I'm looking forward to seeing them and having it all be a good learning experience.

What is your week shaping up to be?

Shake me up!

I totally need a good shaking!

I need to snap out of it.

What 'it'?

a mood

The mood.

That dark, heavy, icky, pissy mood.

The one I've been in for the past few days -- some of you are familiar with these moods - the ones that come on, unannounced, unbidden, unwelcome and try to make themselves at home from time to time.

I am determined today to shake myself out of it, its been about 3 days and I'm totally sick of it.

I know many who read here don't share my particular faith so I won't belabor it, but for me - everything (all of life) is faith related, so whether its a good mood or a bad mood - I need to talk to God about it. Right now that means more prayer, more time in the bible. . . .more reliance on God. Gotta love these repetitive reminders of my need for grace. Starting last night instead of reading my current novel in bed - I went with the bible. I've read several devotionals today already (short passages of bible with some commentary).....and while these things aren't out of the norm - I can (and do) get into periods where its more infrequent and less meaningful.

Part of my current mood, I recognize stems from 'life', parts of which are too private for blogsphere, but one thing I realized today is that even though it IS overwhelming and it IS a lot to bear and much of it is out of my control....I need to take responsibility for what I can control and I need to buck up. I think I've been letting (to a large degree) life happen to me lately rather than engaging fully.


So, as of now (and for now, today is all I can commit to) -- eyes open, focused, head and heart aligned - engage life. No passive BS.

As for what I can share on the blog....I am not even sure I can remember everything thats been going on the past couple of weeks.

Lots.

LG had his Spring Strings Concert



and his Spring Choral Concert

I only managed to have the camera on hand for the choral concert.

And he saw me having the camera on hand

and it was fun to smile and wave

until I kept trying to get him to slide left two steps so I had a clear shot





That is when I remembered how much he likes to follow the rules. He apparently had been coached to stand in the EXACT spot in which his two feet were FIRMLY planted

and my charades were getting old




and he wasn't having any of it

Then there is Pedro.

You may remember him from the bath

or the bad breathe

or the surgery.

well, here he is again - looking quite forlorn

He had an injury to his foot (paw) which required a trip to the Animal Hospital.

(where I had visions of Missy)


And he has looked quite pathetic...with his bandaged paw

and its hard to walk




our chunky monkey is a little hop-along.

or was.

He now has the bandage of and his foot is healing nicely. :)

In addition to all this running around - I've been busy trying to get ready for two shows this month. First larger shows that I've done.

I purchased a tent and am trying to re-configure my displays.

In addition to making some new items to fill out said displays.

I'm les tired.

so take a nap and then fire ze mizzles!

oh never mind.

The holiday weekend went by in a blur as we cleaned windows (and I do mean CLEANED as in scrubbed, inside and out, top and botton, frames, sills, screens) and attended other chores.

I am so thankful for that extra day off. So nice.

LG had a friend spend the night Sunday night.

They chased fireflies and caught a frog, roasted marshmallows and ate 'smores.

Posed for the camera.......

Watched a movie, played some games and went to bed promptly at 1am.

They arose at 7am.

Then they had b-fast and played and ran in the sprinkler and ate lunch and then went to the pool

and then friend went home around 4:30.

They were les tired.

Happy Wednesday all! :)

Simple and goes a long way

What goes a long way?

Well, its simple. But, well....yet, it seems so hard for some people.

Or maybe they just don't know any better..?

Like the song "Love, Save the Empty" which goes, in part:

"Little girls don’t know how to be sweet girls.....Mama didn’t teach me"



Anyway, I guess I believe in the simple things in life - being polite, saying thank you - things like that. Ya know?

So what goes a long way?

A simple thank you.

It takes moments to say but it REALLY goes a long way. It is a simple, sweet, and special form of reciprocity...because it costs NOTHING.



Sometimes I feel like saying - "what? were you raised by wolves?"



Even a dog will lick your hand when you've been kind.


Not that I want anyone to lick my hand.


Ummm, no. Most assuredly no.






Unless you are this cute




















and have big brown eyes the size of Texas






Or maybe this handsome




















but then again....maybe not.


Speaking of licking..........

Get your head out of the gutter.

I was experimenting this weekend. Unfortunately I also threw out a lot of food this weekend.

Yep. Sad, but true.

The first thing I made was this lovely sauce.















It is a beautiful deep red. Looks so yummy!

And it is. Sort of.

I need to figure out how to tame it down, its rather 'tangy'.

I began with sundried tomatoes. Blended those with some water.

Then in a bowl I chopped some baby bellas and used some of my almond powder (left over from the nut mylk)

I then added some onion and garlic and I'm not sure what else. I julienned some zuccini and onion and put it all on a very large lovely piece of romaine lettuce.

Rolled it up. Doesn't it look appetizing?

And, took a big bite!!!

And...

eh.

Its ok.






But too tangy to eat much of it. I need to even it out a bit...but I'm new to raw and don't really know what to add. I put the rest in the fridge and if someone can help, great! If not, it may get dumped. Maybe I just need to grind some nuts and add...?

This morning's green smoothy was a taste treat and I snapped photos ala Stormy.

I began with some chopped fresh pineapple, a whole pear (chunked), the juice of an orange, half an avacado, and a big handful of spinach. Blended that and poured it into my BIG jug that I take to work.

Next... I added more water and some frozen fresh banana and frozen (store bought) strawberry, and some lemon rind....

WHIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

There is always some death involved in eating. No matter how minimal.

Here are today's carcasses.

And here is my little angel. Who after posing in the above photos, was kind enough to give me this

Man I love that boy. And soon you will too - he's starting a blog! Will give him some link love real soon. Be sure to drop him a note when he starts writing!

Janice

Is there anything worse?

I'm worried. And a slight bit fearful. We may end up damaged for life.



Seriously.



I'm afraid for my ears and for my sanity.



I don't know if there is anything worse........but I'm about to find out just how bad 'bad' can be.



It turns out that in third grade one can take up a strings instrument.



So this weekend I had the lovely experience of going to the Music store and picking out a Viola with LG.

He is BEYOND excited. And today is the first class.

He went forth this morning laden not only with the usual backpack and lunch box but also with his little viola, in its case, and a canvas bag with the books and various accessories.



I can only hope that his joyful anticipation hasn't been completely deflated by the time school is over today. We've had several discussions about how difficult it can be to learn an instrument but we've also talked about how capable he is and what perseverance really means.


I'm excited for him, but lets be honest, I'm also trepidatious of the idea of sitting through his home practices. Each night.



Night after night after night after night........



You get the idea right?



Then I try to make myself feel better and think "how bad can it be? really?"



Anyone have any thoughts on that?



I have been thinking that maybe I can listen to him practice and sketch at the same time, its doubtful I'd be able to sit and read while I listen to him practice, but maybe sketching would work. I'm not sure I have to actually WATCH him practice, right? Although he may have decidedly different views on the subject.



Guess I'll find out tonight!



Oh, one more thing I wanted to share. I have mentioned before how much I love language and words. My Mother and I were trying to grab a new word each week (or thereabouts) just for fun, but we kind of forgot and got off track. Well, someone at work was giving away a vocabulary 'kit' - I think it was an SAT primer - so I took it home and now we are learning a new word each week for my son (not that WE don't know the words, this is more for him).

He loves it!

So far these are the words he has picked at random out of the box (they are on small cards about the size of a standard business card):

• brackish
• paragon
• vivacious
• excoriate
• rustic

Tonight we'll pick a new one.


Have a GREAT week all!

~Janice