Wobbly Days

Just two weeks ago things were idyllic and summery but now the days seem to have a sort of pall over them and I am trying to internalize the phrase: this too shall pass. It's one of those periods where everything seems to break down and cost money and you're not quite sure where that money is coming from? Your footing is unsure. It usually comes on the heels of a period of surefootedness. I was in denial until one day I sat on the toilet and it was all wobbly, and I thought, great, now the toilet is in need of repair and how much repair is it in need of? You tend to take your toilet for granted but there is nothing more deeply unsettling than a problem with your toilet. (Well, there are many things more unsettling, but you know what I mean...) That wobbly-ness made me think of the impending (expensive) new boiler installation, both cars having problems, and you know, then it turns into a litany where everything is falling apart. Some people might call this having a pity party for yourself. What compounds it all is when you talk to other people and they have the same things going on. Isn't there some planet in the way or something? Like I know Mercury isn't in retrograde, so what is going on?

So, here are some nice things in the face of wobbly-ness:


Orange yogurt cake. Recipe from Joy of Cooking, sort of. I don't have time to write it up. You can figure it out.


First corn of the season from Davenport's. Holy moly. It was so good. SO GOOD!!


Our family came to visit and we spent the day at this great river beach with a picnic lunch. On the way home we had ice cream!

By The Waterfall

On my lunch break, I don't go for walks anymore because I can't get that far without breaking down into a huffing heap. I've been taking advantage of the waterfall behind my building instead and found a perfect little spot in which to sit and read. It's hard to read, however, when there is so much going on. Like the little honeybees coming to delicately find a safe spot at the edges to enjoy a cool sip of water. Or the huge spider blending into the rocks by my feet. Or the brassy catbird landing on a mossy stone in the midst of the pounding waterfall perkily posing in the glint of the sun. Or the cedar waxwings playing! There seemed to be a large group of them, which is very much like these gregarious birds, and they were, I think, playing: zipping from a leafy branch and skillfully turning on a dime and returning to another branch, while another immediately did the very same thing, albeit on different branches. They continued to do this, up and down the creek bed. It was a beautiful day to sit in the dappled shade by the cool running water, dipping my feet in--very hot, but clear and not at all humid. A truly perfect summer day.

Things to Think About

These are the things I've been thinking about lately. Now that I am in my eighth month, I have been getting slower and slower but my ideas haven't stopped. In fact, they may be more active. It's like a winter of sorts. Put an orchard down by the pond! this idea maven shrieks. Take back the lawn! the environmentalist worries. In the shower this morning, I began to mull over my laundry line dilemma and realized it wasn't a dilemma at all. I've decided I don't care who sees my laundry. Is it any uglier than a black Chevette with its innards removed? Or a backhoe with long grass all around it? These things don't really bother me, so why should some laundry on an umbrella line be a bother? Did you know you could purchase an umbrella style clothesline for about $50 on amazon.com? I had no idea.

My other big idea is about turning the patch of lawn on the far side of the driveway into an outdoor living room of sorts. I'd like to put in an outdoor couch and chairs in a circle, maybe around a fire pit, surrounded by all sorts of ornamental grasses.

It's going to take a while. But I really like the idea.

Dessert Party! For Diana!

Hey --that sounds like fun. A party where everyone has to bring a dessert. Whether or not you'll be able to eat all the desserts is the true test. Can you do it? I think I would have the gumption and endurance to survive this feat of great proportions. I've got the greatest, easiest dessert for you to make. I might still post a picture of it here if I don't eat it all immediately. It was too dark out last night and the lighting in my kitchen is horrible.

So, I bought a flat of Jersey blueberries but any fruit will do, I think. Peaches would be great. It's called: Blueberry Cobbler Crisp. I wanted to marry the biscuit-y goodness of a cobbler with the crisp-ety crunch of a crisp. Here's how I cheated:

I used a biscuit mix (cheater! listen, I don't have time for integrity) and whipped up a batch of cobbler batter as directed on the box. I put the oven on 400. I got a glass pie plate and greased it, then spread the batter evenly over the bottom. It doesn't look like much, but it will puff up lots. Then I tossed some fruit, in this case blueberries, with some sugar (1/4 cup?) and spread them on top of the batter. Then I whizzed up a small batch of crisp topping in the Cuisinart, compliments of my pal, The Joy of Cooking. (Look for apple crisp and appropriate the topping recipe.) I turned it into: 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup steel cut oats, 1/4 cup vegetable oil. You can use butter, which is what Joy would recommend. I was low on butter and somehow thought I was doing myself a favor omitting it. Ha! Sprinkle that mixture over the blueberries, pop it in the oven for fifteen minutes, then lower the temperature to 35o for another fifteen minutes. Et voila, you have a scrumptial dessert that's sort of like a fruity coffee cake. Or a cake-y pie. Quick and easy enough for a cranky eight-month pregnant, sugar fiend to make without pushing her to the end of her rope.

Crazyberry Pie for Mamou

I made this pie for my mom's birthday. Too bad I had to eat it all myself because we live so far away from each other. It was the least I could do. Happy Birthday, Mom!


It had blueberries, strawberries, currants (from our little bushes!), peaches, nectarines and plums. I called it Crazyberry Pie.


That's how I get soooo big.

Everybody Is Doing It - Strawberries!

On Sunday morning I got up bright and early and drove an hour to a little farm that is renowned for its organic pick-your-own strawberries. It was perfect weather--cloudy and not too hot. I was dressed right, wore a hat, slathered on sun screen.


I picked about 13 pounds in an hour. Didn't eat too many while there too! I left just in time to avoid the crowds.


I drove straight home and began to hull them all. I had plans for: strawberry preserves (left whole), strawberry jam (mashed), strawberry shortcake, frozen strawberries for smoothies, and some just to eat out of hand.


Ready the sterilized jars!


This picture is blurry because I was in a rush to eat the damn thing. It was one of those incredibly good desserts where you probably should stop because it's just an overload of goodness but that insatiable side of you won't let that plate go until it's empty. I felt slightly ill afterwards. But only in the very best way.


Ta da! Down into the basement with you to wait for the dreary winter doldrums when you will be popped out and used to cheer the masses on hot bread with butter.