Bug loving mama

That Mom

2011-11-15T21:33:00.002-07:00

I have a post over on my friend OutsideMom.com's blog today about letting the kids get muddy, and being 'that mom' at the playground. Check it out!

Busy exploring

2011-08-23T09:57:00.000-06:00

My lack of blogging is not due to lack of material. Rather, we've just been too busy soaking up summer with outings and adventures to sit down and type about it.

Here are some photos from our adventure last week at Poe Valley State Park.

Roo & Doodle on the nature trail. A one-mile loop, we spent three hours(!) hiking it at an observant child's pace (read: very slowly), soaking up all that there was to see and experience.

The view of the stream. Here we discovered two different salamanders, watched water striders, threw rocks and sand and sticks, and thought deep thoughts about streams and clouds and their connectedness.

Bee petting, yet again. This little bumblebee worker was licking salt from our fingers, and Doodle was eager to oblige.

...not that I have any idea where she gets her fondness for bees.

Overdue garden update

2011-08-22T07:51:00.000-06:00

Current photo of our tomato jungle.

The garden is doing pretty well. Tomatoes are producing enough to keep up with our family's daily consumption (though not enough for canning surplus, unfortunately). A lot of the plants have an early blight, so some are dropping leaves and decreasing production. Lesson learned: plant tomatoes farther apart in this wet climate for better air circulation and less fungal infection.

I'm glad we let the volunteer tomato plants in the onion bed grow - they are producing enough cherry tomatoes for us to bring home a surplus after each garden visit. Plus they were free and took no effort - the best kind of garden guest!

Here are some glamor shots of our produce so far:

Kosovo, Kellogg's Breakfast. I love both of these varieties. Flavorful, beautiful and large. Definitely hoping to get them in the garden again next year.

Hillbilly Potato Leaf (beautiful, isn't it?), various peppers, fresh herbs.

A day's harvest (Black Krim on left, Kosovo on right and top), and our onion harvest for the year.

We are learning a lot this year about gardening in a community garden plot and in a far wetter climate than I've ever gardened in before. While I like the community feel of the garden, it's a bit frustrating when garden neighbors neglect their plots and let pests run rampant. I've resigned myself to a cucurbit-free garden plot for the foreseeable future, as the squash bugs are going crazy and transmitting wilt all over the place. Not a scene I want to mess with. BUT the tomatoes seem very do-able, and will definitely be a large component of our garden again next year. Plus Doodle now knows how to spot squash bugs, Japanese beetles, potato beetles and striped cucumber beetles, and will squish them on the spot. That's my girl.

Bellydancing pic

2011-08-20T13:13:00.000-06:00

My new favorite photo of me bellydancing:

Pepper Lotus Tribal performing at the People's Choice Festival in Boalsburg, PA.

Roo's hair

2011-08-02T06:50:00.000-06:00

Poor Roo keeps getting left out of the blog. The big Roo-news from just before J left on a trip: his first haircut.Before

After

Quite a dapper little fella, don't you think?

Beware SpongeBob

2011-07-31T18:47:00.000-06:00

These are the tomatoes that made it home from the garden yesterday. Handfuls of cherry tomatoes were eaten before Doodle took this photo.

Look out! SpongeBob is eyeing the tomatoes! (awesome photo by Doodle)

There she goes

2011-07-31T06:45:00.002-06:00

Doodle jumping off the diving board at the end of swimming lessons.

Tooomaaaaaattttooooooooesssssss

2011-07-28T14:16:00.000-06:00

It has begun. The big'uns are slowly becoming ripe. Pictured here from left to right: Hillbilly Potato Leaf, Black from Tula, and Early Annie. Not pictured: the dozen Sungold cherry tomatoes that were instantaneously devoured by Doodle and Roo, and the couple of Jaune Flammes that have been consumed before making it home as well.

The munching was, sadly, not our doing. Some critter got in the garden through the big gaping hole that's still under the darn fence (*grumble about contractors and slowness and bureaucratic crap letting the rabbits in my garden patch*). I found these partially munched but still on the vine. We brought them home, cut off the yucky parts, and ate them nonetheless. Deeee-lish.

Dang rabbit.

Well, I've done it...

2011-07-27T21:02:00.004-06:00

...I've added another bee-petter to the world. Sorry Mom. It couldn't be helped. I mean, they're just so cute and fuzzy!

Does it help if I tell you this is a male carpenter bee? He can't sting.

No, doesn't help? What if I tell you she was giggling here about his buzzing tickling her? No?

But look at his face! So cute! Totally makes me want to pick him up and snuggle him. And Doodle feels the same way.

Peponapis!

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

Peeking in zucchini flowers the other morning, J discovered some visitors.

Awww, bee bums.

Oh, hello there, lovelies! Sorry to disturb your breakfast. Please resume coating yourselves in pollen - the flowers do so appreciate your efforts. Carry on! I shan't bother you much longer.

We have squash bees (Peponapis sp.) visiting our potted zucchini plants here in the back yard! The larger bee in the photos is a Peponapis male, and the smaller one is a sweat bee of some sort (Halictidae, probably Lasioglossum sp.). I was very happy to see these beautiful squash-loving bees zipping into our blossoms. Now if only the zucchini plants would set some female flowers we could get some zucchini out of the deal.

Macadamia Nut Pesto

2011-07-17T11:03:00.004-06:00

MacNut Pesto. Yes, it is as good as it sounds. Here's J's recipe:

3 c. basil leaves, packed
1/2 c. spinach leaves, packed
1/4 c. parsley, packed
1 c. oil
1 tsp. salt
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbs toasted sesame seeds
1 handful raw macadamia nuts (just over 1/4c.)

Chop mac nuts in food processor. Add remaining ingredients except oil. Coarsley chop, stopping to push leaves down. Slowly add oil. Mix with pasta and devour (see above photo).

Don't let the expression fool you - Mr. Serious Face loved it. See the pesto all over his face?

Papa-Doodle climbing team

2011-07-16T07:02:00.001-06:00

We went to the New River Gorge in West Virginia for the 4th of July weekend. We went with a friend and met up with a crew of his climbing buddies down there. With a bunch of laid-back climbers we had plenty of belayers when Doodle wanted to climb with Papa alongside.

Doodle looking like a natural. Papa helping with foot placement.

Other highlights of our trip to the New include: Doodle and Roo's first ride in the back of a pickup truck (on a dirt road out to a little-known crag), driving across streams and through mud puddles (with Doodle yelling "get mud on the windows, Papa!"), hiking out in a rainstorm the last day there, cool critters found on hikes and between climbs, and relaxing time hanging out with friends. It was a good weekend.

Critters of the New

2011-07-11T07:01:00.000-06:00

We found a bunch of cool critters on our hikes to and from climbing spots at the New River Gorge over the 4th of July weekend.

Leaving the crag one day I spotted a newly emerged luna moth (Actias luna) hanging out on a stick. The camera was buried somewhere in the backpack, so I found this (undoubtedly much better) photo on flickr to share. This was my second ever luna moth spotted in the wild, and the first for Doodle and Roo.

We found six of these juvenile red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens, red eft form) at the base of the Honeymooner's Ladders at Endless Wall. They made themselves scarce not long after we arrived, but we felt lucky to have spotted them out and about.

While J was retrieving the last bits of climbing gear at the end of our final day there, our friend Brenda spotted this brilliantly-colored bird hanging out in the understory - turns out it's a Scarlet Tanager! This is another flickr photo, as yet again the camera was buried.

We also found a beautiful Promethea silkmoth during our hike out in the rain. This is another photo from flickr, as we only paused briefly during the rainstorm to admire the gorgeous, large male moth obviously trying to stay dry on a tree trunk as we passed by.

Only two things that money can't buy...

2011-07-10T08:10:00.001-06:00

...and that's true love and homegrown tomatoes. (C'mon, sing along!)

Berry picking

2011-07-06T14:17:00.003-06:00

The kids and I are becoming reacquainted with the joys of berry picking. In Utah we had a raspberry patch in our backyard and, from an early age, Doodle learned to check it daily for delicious morsels. We no longer have a berry patch in our yard, but we did discover a good-sized patch of black raspberries just beyond our community garden.

Roo with the booty. Doodle showing that she's only a little messy.

We have made it out to the black raspberry patch four times so far, and will hopefully squeeze in one or two more pickings as the plants are winding down. We've made berry fruit leather, berry preserves, berry ice cream and dried berries. Tonight: more berry ice cream with yesterday's pickings.

Doodle looking for blueberries.

I'm really enjoying getting out and foraging with the kids, and they enjoy it for short bursts too (about an hour is the max). Doodle eats more than she picks and Roo only eats the berries, so I feel triumphant when I manage to pick enough to bring some home after feeding my helpers. Really, though, I'm just happy to get outside with them and they're happy to be out and eating straight from the bushes.

Doodle happy with her flower despite finding few blueberries at Bear Meadows. Roo eating two of the four ripe berries we found.

Last week we went scouting for blueberries. The short plants are just starting to ripen and the large bushes are probably another week out before we'll head back out for some picking.

What is your favorite thing to do with blueberries?

Catching fireflies

2011-07-01T14:38:00.001-06:00

Wishing you a happy and safe 4th of July weekend. We're off to the New River Gorge for some climbing, hiking, and playing in dirt. :)

Ashy gray

2011-06-20T12:51:00.004-06:00

There have been an interesting sequence of insect events transpiring in our yard. As new leaves emerged on the shrubs this spring we observed an abundance of aphids. They seemed to be everywhere. But then we started seeing these critters:

our knights in shining armor, the ladybug larvae. The aphids vanished.

Then the larvae started pupating, and we were finding things that looked like this all over our house.The larvae had done such a number on the aphids that it seemed they were lacking prey; we observed some larvae attacking and eating some ladybug pupae!

Fortunately the predation seemed minimal because now the ladybug adults are emerging and, lo and behold, the white pupae turned into this:

The Ashy Gray Lady Beetle. I had no idea such thing existed. So cool!

Quick garden update: 13 June

2011-06-13T16:14:00.003-06:00

The garden is looking lush, green and awesome. The potato beetles have found our lone ground cherry plant, so every time we go I squash a couple egg masses and 2-6 potato beetle larvae on that plant. They're avoiding the peppers, and have only shown up on one of the potato-leaf tomato plants so far. I'm hoping it stays that way.

The onions are getting bigger and we've started thinning them, using the picked ones in dinners.

We also had our first ripe strawberry, tiny though it was.

It's nice to be bringing things home from the garden, feeling like it's starting to produce more.

I spy...

2011-06-10T05:43:00.000-06:00

Last weekend J and I were sitting in the yard, watching the kids and enjoying a mellow morning. I looked up at one of our oak trees, the diseased one with a butt rot that seems to still be fairly healthy so far. Looking at just the right angle I saw something.

Look closely. See anything?

I looked closer, I changed angles. J pulled out the spotting scope and set it up across the street. Yes! I was right! We have...

...a feral honybee colony in our tree! I am very excited and hopeful for these ladies, and will keep an eye on them over the summer. Yay honeybees!

Red-spotted Purple

2011-06-09T06:00:00.001-06:00

Doodle found a winged friend yesterday at Shingletown Gap.

It's a Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) - such a perfect name for my purple-loving girl.

Practically summer

2011-06-09T05:14:00.004-06:00

Yesterday it was 91° here. We were roasting. J pulled out a tarp and the hose, and this is what happened:

Welcome to Summer!

Cooper's Rock

2011-06-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we went down to Cooper's Rock, WV for a short camping and bouldering outing with some friends. The weather was great, the company awesome, and the area beautiful. We were all glad to get outside and get in our first camping trip of the season.

Doodle found a whole bunch of these large millipedes which kept her and Roo entertained for much of the bouldering sessions. Very cool critters. I think it'd be fun to get back to Cooper's Rock again sometime.

Weekly garden update: 4 June

2011-06-04T19:56:00.006-06:00

Current garden layout. Shouldn't change much from here on out.

Another week, another garden update. This past week was hot and dry (93°!) so the kids and I hauled watering cans to water the tomatoes, peppers, herbs and peas twice this week. We headed to the garden with J yesterday, planning to do some weeding and watering. Turned out we didn't have to water - we got hit with a downpour about 15 minutes after arriving.

Doodle and Roo marveling at the thunder and rain; J all wet.

Kids and I hid in the picnic shelter right next to the garden while J finished planting some free seedlings we picked up: another Sungold tomato, some basil and oregano. We also harvested the last four stalks of bok choy, as it was being munched by flea beetles and getting pretty big. It was a lot of leafy greens to have all at once, so we decided to try our hand at making bok choy kimchee. If it turns out any good I'll be sure to post something about it.

I think we're finally (maybe?) done adding to the garden. The beans were being devoured as they sprouted, so we put two more tomato plants in their place. (We now have 17 tomato plants in the garden plus three at home.) There's not much room left to add anything, so at this point I think we're switching to strictly maintenance and care mode. Next to harvest from the garden: a few green onions, some herbs, strawberries soon, and hopefully some peas will start blooming next.

Weekly garden update: 26 May

2011-05-26T14:19:00.002-06:00

Garden in a rainstorm, 23 May.

The garden is coming along nicely. The onions are looking great, and the tomatoes and peppers are all in their spots. (Well, all except the one additional tomato plant I just *had* to pick up at the farmer's market this week. It goes in tonight. THEN we're done adding tomatoes. Really.)

Behold: the tomatoes. 15 plants. Next to them: the peppers. 15 plants.

Just so you don't think our garden is all beauty and serenity, I present the carnage:

The stems on the left were once chard. I'm not sure what munched it, but the critter was quite thorough. On the left you'll see our current leafy green nemesis, the flea beetle. Darn buggers are munching small holes all throughout our radish and bok choy leaves. It seems the bok choy and spinach will be coming out of the garden soon, while there's still enough leaf for us to eat.

Hmm, perhaps their absence would free up enough room for oh, I don't know, maybe another tomato plant?

Gardening in the rain

2011-05-24T20:33:00.004-06:00

We got caught in a rainstorm at the garden yesterday. Kids didn't mind too much.

Of course, by the time we got home the rain had stopped. They didn't mind that either, as there were still puddles for jumping and a gutter flowing with water perfect for sending sticks and acorns downhill.

Nature sleuth question

2011-05-16T06:44:00.000-06:00

At the City of Rocks we found this Mountain Mahogany that had been damaged. The bark and cambium are missing on half of the lower part of the tree. There are a bunch of holes above the bare area.
Close-up of the bare area. Note the brown cambium has been scraped(?) off in the bare area. This is perplexing me. So here's my question for the nature sleuths out there: what in south-central Idaho could have done this to the tree?

Wildflower walk

2011-05-15T08:40:00.008-06:00

This Thursday we went on a wildflower walk with J's lab group. It was great to get out and enjoy the verdant PA spring, and to learn some of the plants around here.

The group. A parasitic plant (Conopholis americana). J's boss using Doodle's magnifying glass.

Botanizing papa. Yellow lady's slipper orchid (Cypripedium parviflorum).
Pink lady's slipper orchid (Cypripedium acaule).

Bunch of lady's slippers. Tiger beetle eating an ant. Fringed milkwort (Polygala paucifolia).

Little violet. Another orchid (Galearis spectabilis).

It was a nice afternoon full of good company, cool plants, and even a few bees.

Return to the City

2011-05-15T07:24:00.001-06:00

While back in Utah last week we made a quick trip up to one of our very favorite places: The City of Rocks. We even talked FunEllen into coming with us, so it was like old times. J and FunEllen climbed while the kids and I played, basked in the sun, watched chipmunks, floated sticks, found and buried treasure and took pretend baths in rock pools. It was great to get back there. I miss the City.

Playing in hollowed-out "bath tubs" on a boulder.

The elusive Doodle Owl in its native habitat. Roo with FunEllen.

Doodle doodling. Lichen - the kids and I counted 13 different ones on this rock.

FunEllen being Fun.

Garden: Week 3

2011-05-14T07:53:00.003-06:00

The garden survived our trip to Utah. The onions and peas are sprouting and looking great. Unfortunately a couple of our bok choy plants have bolted, probably due to a few warm days without enough water. Ah well.

Putting in perennials. RIP little spade. They don't weld 'em like they used to.

We went out to the garden last night and planted our perennial herbs and strawberries, plus dill, chives, peas, radish and carrot seeds. Here's my latest photoshopped masterpiece:

Yet to plant: tomatoes, green beans(?), tomatoes, ground cherries, tomatoes, peppers, tomatoes, sunflowers and tomatoes. The garden fence goes in next week, and sometime after that we'll probably get the rest of the garden planted. WOOHOO!!! We're getting there!

On a related note, here is an interesting article on the monetary value of a home garden. Pretty neat to see the numbers laid out.

It's coming together nicely. I'm excited to compare this photo to our big, lush garden in August. The plants are ready - bring on the rain!

Through Doodle's eyes: The Garden

2011-05-01T14:03:00.000-06:00

Here's a glimpse of our garden experience so far as seen by Doodle:

plot marker, J digging in the rain, some of the rocks we unearthed.

"Mom, make a funny face!", kid garden bucket, and one of the many flag photos.

These flags are all over the garden.

Flag closeup, garden view, candid of Roo.

Self portrait.

Garden: week 1

2011-04-30T20:07:00.006-06:00

Greetings from the cutest garden gnomes ever.

Garden progress has been made! Thursday the kids and I went out to the garden for a little weeding and onion planting in the late afternoon. J met us there after work and helped while we ate a picnic dinner and I finished getting 6 (short) rows of yellow Stuttegarter onions planted.

Today (Saturday) we went back for a 4-hour stint. J finished turning the soil and getting compost mixed in, so now the whole plot is ready for plants! YAY! I planted more rows of the yellow onions (14.25 total), 3 rows of red onions, and 1.75 rows of shallots. That leaves one small section on that half of the garden for perennial herbs, strawberries, and Doodle's fairy house.

On the other half we started planting some starts I bought (spinach, chard and bok choy) plus pea seeds. These we caged with a little wire enclosure as the garden-wide fence will not be up until May 14th and we want to keep the rabbits and groundhogs out. If our camera were not acting up I would have taken a photo of our lovely garden today (and of my first farmer's burn/tan of the season). Alas, no photos. Instead, here's one of the garden from last weekend, photoshopped with our current garden layout plan.

When we return from Utah we'll be just a week away from the average last frost day. One more week after that and we're getting tomatoes!!!! and peppers... which I just realized I forgot to put on the diagram. Drat. Next week.

Muuuuuuuud

2011-04-27T06:35:00.004-06:00

Mud play mid-hike is much more enjoyable (and likely to be permitted by The Mom) when it's 81°outside. Hooray for a balmy spring day!

Commence gardening!

2011-04-25T10:08:00.000-06:00

It's garden season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have a 10' x 15' plot in the Penn State Center for Sustainability Community Garden this year. Saturday was our first work day in the garden, where we helped mark the new plots (including our own), ripped up some old fencing and moved some compost.

photo by Doodle

Sunday we decided to head back to the garden to work just on our plot. We started laying a rock path along the center of our plot. In doing that, J realized there was a large rock buried ~6" below the surface of the soil. We started digging and found a lot of large shale pieces.

J excavating. Photo by Doodle.

We finally got most of the rocks in that quarter of the garden excavated, and filled the hole with dirt and compost. J finished the path and we used the extra rocks to surround our plot.

Our garden after 5 hours of work. Note the stone fairy house in the lower right corner and the beautiful path laid by J.

We were at the garden for five hours yesterday and the kids did great. They love being outside. Doodle explored some wooded areas near the garden, which she loved until her unfortunate discovery of a nettle patch. (I learned she had found the nettles when I saw her stomping on something repeatedly. I asked what she was doing and she told me "Mom, this mean plant zapped me!" Yep, she was stomping on the nettles.) She's now a bit more wary of venturing into the woods, but hopefully we'll get her back in there soon, better able to identify and avoid nettles and poison ivy.

We are planning to grow: herbs, tomatoes, strawberries, onions, tomatoes, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, ground cherries and perhaps some more tomatoes.

Hooray for gardening season!

Andrena

2011-04-25T05:19:00.000-06:00

These little holes have started appearing in our yard, much to my delight.

Hello, darlin'! Please make yourself comfortable in our rock patch. I hope you won't mind if the kids and I sit and watch your comings and goings over the next few weeks. We think you're very interesting. I'll try to keep the little fella from walking on your nest holes. We're excited to get to know you, Andrena.

Another birthday banner

2011-04-19T14:57:00.000-06:00

I've officially decided that I love giving birthday banners as gifts. I signed up for a crafting swap of sorts with some friends earlier this year. One of these friends I have known since junior high, and reconnected with in the past couple of years. I realized that both of her childrens' birthdays were in April, so I decided to make them a birthday banner.

The construction is the same as previous banners: applique'd letters, double-sided banner pieces, and bias tape as the ribbon.

Simple, pretty, and fun.

Happy birthday, Conner kids!

Bubbles

2011-04-18T12:03:00.003-06:00

Nothing like cuteness and bubbles to brighten your Monday.

Yep, cuteness.

(Also, I love that Doodle's still wearing, and now loving, the jumper I made her.)

Happy Monday!

Of course

2011-04-17T12:54:00.003-06:00

The one time in a great while that a photo of me, taken by Doodle, turns out looking pretty good...
...my costar has to make a funny face. Of course. Darn kids. :P

Spotted Salamander

2011-04-15T10:19:00.003-06:00

We have a new critter around here. It's the elusive spotted salamander. See the spots? She regularly needs assistance crossing the street when migrating to her pond in the spring, much like the salamanders in the book Big Night For Salamanders by Sarah Marwil Lamstein.

Right now she's happily playing in her pond and requesting that I send some more flies her direction. Please excuse me. I must go find more flies for my spotted salamander.

Doodle outdoor cam: Fairy House

2011-04-09T09:34:00.000-06:00

Doodle's Fairy House. Photo by Doodle.

A couple of weeks ago Doodle checked out Kristen's Fairy House from the library on a friend's recommendation. It's a video about Tracy Kane, the author of the Fairy House book series, and her niece going on nature outings and making fairy houses. Doodle seemed intrigued with the idea of making a fairy house. Later that week she and J built a fairy house in our yard.

Last weekend we took a family outing to the nearby State Forest just to get outside. We brought along Doodle's newly-finished nature bag, which I told her would work well for collecting fairy house supplies. She started wandering around near the trailhead, picking up leaves, rocks, bark, moss, and anything else deemed pretty or cool enough for her fairy house.

She and J built the fairy house shown in the above photo. She took the photo to remember what her fairy house looked like. Then she started gathering again to build another fairy house. I like that she's excited to get outside and look for beautiful and interesting things, and is now more closely observing small things we run across when we're out exploring. I encourage friends with small kids to consider making fairy houses (or slug houses or whatever you want to call them) as a fun exercise in observation with your kids.

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Go check out Go Explore Nature to see photos taken by other nature-loving kids as part of her "Give a Kid a Camera" feature.

Bellydance costume revamp

2011-03-31T11:26:00.004-06:00

Last year I bought a bellydance costume from a friend. It had been her sister's, and had belonged to who knows how many people before that. It's fun and funky, but it was showing its age. I decided to give this bra and belt set a makeover on a budget.

The problem was these paillettes. While the sequins still look great and the rhinestones are in good shape, the paint on the paillettes was badly chipped, making the whole costume look beat up. My solution: nail polish.

3.5 bottles of polish and countless hours later...

Ta-da! The paillettes are back to shiny and colorful. Much better. An inexpensive (though tedious and a bit stinky) way to revitalize a tired-looking bra and belt set.

Now it's all set for my next performance!

The birds want you to...

2011-03-29T09:02:00.002-06:00

Roo loves birds. He's also pretty easily distracted. The other day we were sitting at the table for breakfast and Roo was crumpling his waffle, laughing at his sister, and doing anything BUT eating. Finally he noticed the birds outside the kitchen door, pecking at the bird seed we'd scattered.

Me: "Roo, do you see the birds?"
Roo: "Yep!"
Me: "Are they eating?"
Roo: "Yep!"
Me: "You should eat too."
Roo: blank stare, continues to crumple waffle
Me: "The birds want you to eat too."
Roo: immediately starts shoveling waffle into his mouth

I think we're on to something...

Scientists see beauty in everything

2011-03-25T14:07:00.003-06:00

Yet another reason why I love xkcd. (and slime molds too - they really are quite cute!)

Lack of Focus

2011-03-11T12:48:00.004-07:00

If I were in school right now, "Mama Bee exhibits a lack of focus" would be written in big red letters on my report card. Or, neatly written in beautiful kindergarten-teacher penmanship after "Mama Bee is a delight to have in class, and is a bit of a social butterfly." (Yes, my kindergarten report card said I was a social butterfly. Blame it on being bored?)

I'm lacking focus, and it's driving me nuts. I have a billion projects in the works, but it feels like nothing is getting done. I'm in the thick of a big contracted (read: for pay!) sewing project, but still have a ways to go before it'll be done. I made a good start on my tribal bellydance coin bra the other day, but have since stalled out due to the big sewing project. I keep trying new recipes to expand my culinary repertoire, but that's just taking up a lot of time and making me feel like I still have a long way to go before I'll have mastered anything at all in the kitchen. I feel like I could be making progress in learning tribal bellydance moves better, faster, more thoroughly if only I could practice, yet I don't make the time to do so. Then I get anxious about the possibility of trying out for the performing troupe here in a few weeks, feeling like I don't know enough to even consider trying out, and I'm back to wanting to practice and polish what I DO know, but instead spend half an hour watching videos on facebook instead.

Lack of focus.

It's even reflected in this here blog, where I've started a whole bunch of posts, only to leave them in draft limbo because I've lost inspiration or haven't taken the time to find the right photo, or I just feel like no one would want to read about that anyhow. A self-conscious blog is not a very good blog.

So. Here's where you, my few but loyal readers, come into play: what do you want to see here? I'll give you some of the draft ideas, but feel free to fill in whatever you want to hear me ramble/reminisce/rant about. Okay? Thanks.

Draft blog post ideas which are languishing in limbo:

prickly pears and memories of my great grandma
photos of the kids from our Maui trip
video of the kids at the beach in Maui
J's video of the sandalwood in Haleakala National Park
a weird dream I had about cheese-cavity-nesting bees
a post about citizen science, the Blackawton Bees, and a spring beauty project I've just volunteered for
adventures in my kitchen (or, how I'm teaching myself to more loosely follow recipes and improvise more)

or... ?

I don't know. What do you think?

Not yet Spring

2011-03-07T11:27:00.003-07:00

Looking out our window this morning, it is obviously, CLEARLY, undoubtedly still Winter.

So we played in it.

Guess the little critters should sit tight for a little while longer.

Volcano!

2011-03-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

What happens when Papa has the kids for a Saturday afternoon while Mama's off at bellydance workshops?
They make a papier machê volcano, of course!

3...2...1...

Lava!

Doodle's totally got a leg up on the grade school science fairs in her future.
"Make a volcano? Sure. Piece of cake. I did that when I was four!"

If that wasn't awesome enough, our friend Liv just posted a link to this amazing photo journey to the Nyiragongo Crater in Africa. So now Doodle's really REALLY excited about volcanoes and lava. and lava lakes. Really, check out the photos. Very cool.

We may make the eruptions a regular thing; stage our own reliably-timed lava flows. Y'know, like Old Faithful, only with molten lava. Ohhhh yeah. Parenthood is pretty awesome.

Anyone home?

2011-03-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Now that it's March (woohoo!) I find myself thinking about warm spring days, with the lovely plants and neat critters who will soon be emerging from their winter slumber.

spider lair?

And so I found myself one sunny afternoon peering into the ends of shrub stems, wondering who had made their home in each stem and when they might emerge.

Come on out, little critters! I've got a whole new insect fauna to learn here, and I am antsy (heh heh) to start!

GBBC

2011-02-28T12:04:00.003-07:00

The Great Backyard Bird Count a couple of weekends ago was fun. It was nice to devote time to observing birds in our yard. I wish I could have gotten out to see more habitats, but we did make it to Millbrook Marsh for a quick Friday afternoon foray. Below are the lists of birds I saw in our yard (no new ones), and at the Marsh.

Our yard:
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal

Birds at Millbrook Marsh:
Mallard
American Crow - there are TONS of crows in our area right now. TONS. As in campus has been shooting of fireworks to discourage crows from roosting and pooping on everything. I saw hundreds flying over in the hour before sunset that we were outside.
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
Red-winged Blackbird

I'm excited to get outside more as it warms up. Less snow means it'll be easier for Roo to walk on his own while we're outside (his snow boots are cumbersome and he falls a lot, so I carry him a lot). Roo walking/running means at least some of the time I'll have two hands free and could, in theory, bring binoculars along on an outing with the kids to squeeze in a little more birding. Depends on the bees though; they definitely take priority and I'm very ready to get out and start learning the Eastern apifauna around here. Come on Spring Beauties! I'm ready to see some Andrena!

Kid's Nature Bag

2011-02-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

Doodle has a friend here who we'll call K. K is the daughter of a couple of science-nerdy parents, and recently had her 5th birthday. What does one give an outdoorsy 5y.o. daughter of a soil scientist and a science writer? Why, a nature bag, of course!

K's birthday card. Doodle drew K, and I drew the bag and scenery as requested.

In standard MamaBee fashion, I didn't just go out and buy a pre-made nature bag, or even any bag at all. Oh no. This sucker was handmade by moi; meaning I agonized over where exactly the pockets should go for optimal bug jar positioning, and how exactly I was going to successfully construct a multi-pocketed, lined bag having *cough* never made one like this before.

I'm pleased with how it turned out. Doodle was eager to model it for me (and will be even more eager to use her matching bag once I finish sewing it).

Doodle picked the fabrics, in K's favorite color.
We stocked it with a magnifying glass and some bug vials. Next time I'm planning to include a little laminated basic bug ID sheet. Unfortunately I didn't have time to throw one together this time around, what with the frantic bag-designing and such.

Pretty cute, I think. Maybe I need a Mama-sized nature bag next.

Caftan!

2011-02-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

Presenting my very own caftan, designed by J and sewn by yours truly. As a bellydancer I regularly need some sort of robe-ish thing to wear over top of my performance costume. I have a couple of covers which have worked okay, but I have wanted a good, reliable, pretty cover-up for a little while now. I bought this fabric 2? 3? years ago after J said he'd make me a bellydance-appropriate cover-up as a Christmas present. Well, other projects have come to the forefront (thesis, dissertation and baby come to mind, plus a bazillion small things too), and the fabric sat. And sat. Until I approached J and proposed that we work on my caftan. One guilty look and a "yes" later, I was looking at styles, we were drafting a pattern, and voila! Caftan!

I love the shiny blue prettiness. And the secret zil pocket inside. But my favorite thing about it is that J put so much thought and effort into making it just right. I love it.

Do me a favor, please: don't remind J that I haven't yet completed my gift to him, promised that same Christmas. Oops.

Sun! and Warmth! and... mud?

2011-02-18T11:30:00.005-07:00

Park outing this morning = success.

It is 66 degrees outside right now. 66! I can hardly believe how warm it is, and how nice this reprieve from ice is. Instead of an indoor playgroup I opted to meet a friend at the park this morning. The same park at 3:30 yesterday afternoon had probably 80% more snow cover at the time than it had this morning. The grass was bare, the bark chips were bare, and the only ice clumps were in the hollows below the swings and at the bottom of the slides.

The kids ran, jumped, slid, ran more, rolled on the grass(!), climbed, and got thoroughly muddy on the baseball field. All three of us needed a full change of clothes when we got home. Totally worth it.

I'm not expecting this to last. In fact, tomorrow it's only supposed to hit 37 degrees. But right now, when the sun is shining and coats are not necessary for survival, I'm all too ready to ditch any previous plans and get myself and the kids outside. I only wish J could play hooky and come along. Hmmm... there's an idea...

Update: Mission:Hookytime was a success! We picked J up early from work and headed to the marsh where we got some quality birding and exploring in before the sun set. Added bonus: Doodle's shoes were still on the roof of the car when we got home!

Ready, set, count!

2011-02-17T18:23:00.004-07:00

Just a reminder that the Great Backyard Bird Count begins tomorrow. Can you devote 15 minutes to looking at birds sometime in the next four days? That's all it takes. You can do more, of course, but the amount of time and energy you put into it is up to you. Curious? Here's a video with the details. I'm hoping to watch our backyard birds a few times this weekend, plus maybe make an outing to nearby Millbrook Marsh with Doodle and Roo to see some new (to me) birds and test out my slowly-improving birding skills.

I'll let you know after this weekend how our counts turned out. Happy birding!

Hawk!

2011-02-15T11:36:00.004-07:00

Yesterday we had a very exciting bird sighting right from our dining table. I was getting lunch together for the kids when I glanced up and saw a hawk right outside our kitchen door! I ran to grab Roo and we slowly crept to where we could see out the door. The hawk was still there! It stood there for a second, looking at the holly bush next to the door while I quickly snapped the photo below, then flew off.

Hawk outside our kitchen door!

We ran outside to see if we could spot the hawk. It was sitting in a nearby tree, and flew farther away when we came out. We figured it was gone.

I went back to making sandwiches while Roo frantically signed bird over and over and over again, pointing at the door and wanting to see it again. Not two minutes later I saw a flash of brown past our kitchen window as the hawk swooped back into the holly bush it had been eyeing previously.

We dropped what we were doing and all stood near the door, waiting to see if we could catch another glimpse of this hawk. We were not disappointed. We saw rustling in the bush, heard a high pitch "cheep!" then saw the hawk hop out of the holly bush, a dark-eyed junco grasped in one foot. It looked toward the door and, spotting three mesmerized people, promptly took off with its prey.

We were stunned. It was amazing! Doodle was asking where the hawk was going and what was it going to do with the little bird. Roo was signing and saying "bird! bird! bird!" and hitting the door, trying to get me to go find him the bird again. Meanwhile I was scrambling for the bird books to try and identify this beautiful hawk we'd just seen. After consulting with an avid birder friend it's probably a Cooper's Hawk.

I took Roo outside to show him that the hawk was gone. Looking at the snow next to the holly bush we could see where the hawk had left one clear footprint and a larger indentation where the junco had been, complete with one lone junco feather stuck in the snow.

Enlarged image of the hawk from the previous photo.

We certainly were not expecting such an exciting sight while having lunch. The kids and I were all amped up the rest of the afternoon, talking about the hawk and the junco many, many times. No one seemed upset for the unfortunate junco; rather, the only tears that fell were for a hawk that failed to return despite much toddler pleading.

Last night we bought some bird seed and peanut butter to make our own little pinecone bird feeders for the yard. Maybe if we fatten up another few juncos we'll see the hawk again? (I'm kidding. Mostly.)

Neighborhood drama

2011-02-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

These neighbors of ours are so loud and full of drama. Why, just yesterday the kids and I were outside playing when we witnessed some rather un-neighborly behavior. Mind you this isn't the first time this particular neighbor has been the source of a ruckus. Ohhh no. This one seems to bring the drama regularly, much to the dismay of her most common victim. I present to you exhibit A.

Exhibit A: Oak Tree of Dramaland. Moon arrow included to appease the 4y.o.

This oak tree is located just beyond our property line with the main branches-of-drama located above our property. The primary offender: a white-breasted nuthatch. This little bird is feisty. So far we have witnessed a couple of occurrences of the same un-neighborly behavior which has been inflicted upon the otherwise drama-free downy woodpecker.

On a given day Downy will be seen emerging from its hole (seen in exhibit A) and pecking at various places along the Oak Tree of Dramaland and other nearby trees. We hear very little from Downy, but enjoy the regular sightings of this familiar bird.

Enter Nuthatch. I don't know the back story on this one, so this behavior may be fully warranted. I don't know. What I've seen is this one's frequent attempts to usurp the Downy's hole, accompanied by much raucous chatter until the hole is claimed (while Downy is away). Nuthatch becomes silent immediately upon entering the hole, and sits quietly within the hole until Downy reappears and chases Nutty from the hole. Nutty leaves with much ruckus and wing flapping, even hanging upside down swinging back and forth while looking as big as a little nuthatch can. Eventually Nutty backs off, Downy regains ownership and peace is restored in the neighborhood.

But undoubtedly Nutty will be back, bringing drama and noise once again.

Sheesh. What a neighborhood.

Angelic

2011-02-10T14:45:00.003-07:00

The kids and I were glad to get out and play in the sun and snow today, even if it was only 20ºF outside.

Great Backyard Bird Count!

2011-02-07T13:55:00.006-07:00

2010 GBBC overall photo contest winner

I just found out that the Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up in 11 days. It's running from Feb 18-21, 2011. The basic idea is to get citizen scientists out to observe birds for at least 15 minutes during at least one of the days it's running, and to catalog the numbers and species of birds observed during those times. This will help ornithologists track patterns in bird species distributions and has the added bonus of getting people out in nature to look at birds. Want to find out more? Here's how to participate, and here's where you can find out about local GBBC events in your area. There's also a photo contest associated with the GBBC, so if you're the camera-toting type be sure to check that out too!

I'm hoping to do some birding with Doodle and Roo in our yard, and if the weather cooperates we may make it out to the nearby marsh for a little birding variety. Here are some great tips for birdwatching with kids from the Go Explore blog, and here are some activities and tips from the GBBC kids page.

On a related note, I added another bird to my yard list today: a juvenile Northern Goshawk! It's another Accipiter species, and obviously different from the unidentified Coopers/Sharpie I saw previously. This one had a very obvious speckly back (like this) as well as a white supercilial (above the eye) and absent hooded/capped appearance. It sat perched in our neighbors' tree for hours this afternoon, obviously watching some of the feeder birds in the area. I didn't see it leave, but I hope to see it again.

XXIX

2011-02-03T12:34:00.005-07:00

We didn't have 29 candles, so I got my age in roman numerals. See the XXIX?

Also, fudge upside-down cake with marshmallow on top is delicious. Especially for breakfast.

I feel very lucky to be starting another year with such an awesome little family and wonderful dear friends far and near. Lots of love to you all. I'm off to play, plan our birthday/Chinese New Year/just because sushi party we're having tomorrow, and enjoy the day. Peace.

Kung Hay Fat Choy!

2011-02-03T06:00:00.001-07:00

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Here's wishing you a joyful Year of the Rabbit!

Today I find myself reminiscing about good friends and celebrations from years past, and hoping for a year of fun and new friendships to come. Here's wishing you all that and more.

Shovel fun

2011-02-01T15:23:00.002-07:00

When you're 15 months old, even a snow shovel is fun.

Look over here, kids. Kids?!

2011-01-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Why is it so hard to get a pair of kids to look in the same direction at the same time?

Really. There are only two of them. It should be easy.

I think they're conspiring against me.

C.A.D.D. and the bellydance top

2011-01-27T14:31:00.004-07:00

I have a confession to make. I'm afraid I'm a bit A.D.D. when it comes to crafts and baking. I start one project and have to work on four others before I can finish the one I started. It's pretty annoying.

Case in point: remember all these projects I have lined up? Plenty to work on, right? Guess not. Instead of working on ANY of those, I decided to design and sew Doodle a new bellydance top today. True, she only had one top up until now and it was constantly going missing. This frequently lead to games of "find the bellydancer's top buried in the toy bin" or talks of "no really, bellydancers ALWAYS wear tops. You need to wear something. Anything. Please." So a little sewing project in the name of sanity preservation, even if it wasn't something on The List, is overall a good thing. Right?

Here are photos in the now-standard crappy, flashless quality. The top is made of some purple velvet scrap I picked up at the thrift store, and tied with ribbon in the back. Doodle's gone a bit tribal too.

Roo loves birds

2011-01-25T19:44:00.007-07:00

He looks outside first thing in the morning, searching the sky. He looks at me, signs, looks outside again. He's searching for birds. He loves birds.

Our friend Liv recently posted a photo of a jay on her blog. Roo saw it, and for the next day kept pointing at the computer and signing bird. I told Liv this, and requested more birds on Roo's behalf. She replied with a bird photo post. Roo loved it. Here's his reaction, complete with hooting sound which he now uses for all animals:

Thanks, Liv!

Craft piles ahoy!

2011-01-24T10:40:00.006-07:00

J is home and all is well. The kids and I survived our week without him, though we're all much happier to have him home. Now that J's back and I have a little more free time, the crafting has resumed. Oh yes.

On my desk I have the following projects either started or in queue:

first knitting project - a scarf. I'm ~12 inches in.
feather-and-fake-orchid hair clip fluff things for tribal bellydance costuming. I believe they're called "fascinators" on Etsy. Not sure what's so fascinating about feathery hair decor, but whatev. I will be fluffy and tribal, and soon!
bra to deconstruct and reconstruct as a tribal coin bra of awesomeness.
satiny cabaret bellydance skirt to sew.
bellydance cover-up (caftan) #1 to finish sewing, figure out pattern details (J's design!)
bellydance cover-up #2 to cut out, sew, decorate.
pajamas for Roo.
pajama pants for Doodle.
Valentine-themed banner to put together.
a couple of these for Doodle and Roo for Valentine's Day.

So far I've made one feathery fascinator thingy, and one headband. Caftan #1 is mostly done, and I'll hopefully get that done yet this naptime. (Thank you forces of the universe and/or basic human physiology that require my son to take a nap every day, without which I would accomplish even less than I already do.)

Also, on Friday I had my first solo bellydance performance in a non-hafla setting (Indian Restaurant) since MAY. It had been far too long between performances, but I feel it went really well. I'm glad I did it, I had fun, and I really hope I get to do it again. If so, I will bring my video camera next time. This stuff needs to be documented, yo!

I keep thinking I'll get around to posting photos and links for all the fun things I made for Xmas. That's on the pile too, along with sharing more Maui stories (though I'm still lacking photos) and maintaining sanity and making lots of yummy food and oh, what's that? We're pretending that you're the mom and I'm the kid and Roo's the baby and we're flying to San Diego?

Duty calls. Anyone want to work on my craft piles in the meantime?

Cabin Fever!

2011-01-18T08:17:00.010-07:00

Roo's been sick so we've put ourselves in quarantine since Saturday. Stuck in the house with a four year old, a 15 month old, and a restless mama. We've done lots of reading...

(Roo is signing book here. He signs that and 'sleep' regularly.)

...and we've had lots of dance time. We watched Episode 1 and 2 of Project Bellydance, so now Doodle is alternating which awesome bellydancer she's pretending to be (the latest is Shems, a Utah lady now in Baltimore. We love Shems!). Note Doodle's innovative costuming - she's using the pink ruffly skirt as a bustle for her sparkle skirt, and a red sequined "scarf" as a hip drape. All her own design.

Sassy action shot

Bustle view. I think it works, don't you?

We've also been baking, perhaps a bit excessively - I've since crossed off (and eaten) the vanilla pudding too. Today: bagels maybe, or possibly pasta if Roo takes a nap and all the stars align just so.
I've also been teaching myself to knit, we've set up our own living room farmer's market, and since yesterday have been pretending to be cast members of Stomp (aka drumming on everything in the house. I had no idea it would be quite so popular with the kids, but it's a lot of fun).

Add in lots of coloring, outfit changes, and birding (see the sidebar bird list? we added that undetermined hawk this afternoon with much jumping and shouting of "Ooh! OOH!" while looking out the kitchen window. Some of the smaller family members may have been standing on the kitchen table to see. Birds are cool enough to warrant that behavior, after all). When we're lucky there's the occasional Roo nap and you've got a picture of what we've been doing for the past few days while J is out of town.

Only 46 more hours until he's home. Not that anyone's counting.

Rushing the seasons

2011-01-16T11:00:00.001-07:00

I am frustrated with how stores, the media, and even we ourselves rush ahead all the time, hardly taking the time to just BE in the season we are currently in. Before Halloween the stores are rushing us into winter and Christmas and buy buy buy, barely acknowledging Autumn in its warmth and beauty. We glamorize winter for Christmas, with icicle ornaments and pre-flocked trees with the illusion of snow, but by December 26th there are tulips and crocus at the grocery store wooing us with the promise of spring.

Why not enjoy winter for winter's sake, with the time to be cozy inside with soup and good company? What about the beauty of sunshine glittering on a snowy landscape, the crispness of the fresh cold air? It's early January and still very much winter outside. We have a long time to go before the crocus peek from their barely-thawed beds. We should enjoy the beauty of the season in that season rather than always longing for what is yet to come.

Today I urge you to enjoy winter for winter's sake, whatever that means where you are. I have a sick Roo dozing on my lap, so today I'll make some hot cocoa and cuddle my littles and enjoy a nice, slow day. Maybe in a couple days we'll blaze a new sled run in the yard. Whatever we do, I plan to help the kids find joy in winter now. Sure we'll enjoy spring when it's time. But now it's winter; let's enjoy it!

Hey hey hey

2011-01-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

A great song with a great message from one of my favorite groups - Michael Franti & Spearhead.

Doodle's packing list

2011-01-15T09:35:00.003-07:00

From the bloggy backlog, I present the list of clothing Doodle packed for our trip to North Carolina. (Yes, that was Thanksgiving. I just found the list I jotted down. Better late than never, right?)

When turned loose to pack her own clothes for our Thanksgiving road trip, this is what Doodle put in her bag:

7 short sleeve shirts
3 skirts
1 pair pants
5 pairs tights
1 pair socks
1 pair underwear
4 swimsuits

Apparently road trip = fun, warmth and waterplay. We ended up doing a little supplemental packing before we left.

Homemade chocolate syrup

2011-01-14T14:05:00.003-07:00

You guys! You have got to try this! Homemade chocolate syrup that is inexpensive and DIVINE. Oh my goodness. The recipe is here. Couldn't be easier.

We may have to make ice cream tonight just to have a substrate on which to consume more chocolate syrup. YUM.

Edited to add: I have a new favorite morning drink. Take one cup of coffee and stir in one spoonful of this syrup. Soooo good.

Solo

2011-01-13T10:49:00.002-07:00

We just dropped J off at the airport. He's flying to San Diego for a conference and will be gone for a week. (Though the story of how the airline canceled his 6am flight at 6pm yesterday is a fun one - he's currently picking up a rental car with his boss, driving to Baltimore, then taking a nonstop flight to San Diego. Quite the fiasco.)

We'll be in self-entertaining/survival mode here, which either means I'll be blogging a ton or not at all. Things should get back to normal (whatever that is) before February... I hope.

Ouch! Hahahahaha!!!

2011-01-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

While eating dinner last night, Doodle asked J to tell her something funny. J decided to teach her about puns and jokes. He proceeds to tell her the following joke: "A man walks into a bar and says ouch!" She laughs, then looks a little confused.
J: "do you know what a bar is?"
Doodle: "no."
J: "Well, a bar is a place where grown ups go to have drinks like beer."
Doodle: confused look
Me: "A bar is a building people go in to drink beer."
J: "But a BAR (gesturing as if holding a pole) is a metal thing like a pole. So if someone walked into it, and hit it, what would he say?"
Doodle: "ouch! Hehehehehehe! He says ouch!"

J: "okay, let me tell you another joke:
A string walks into a bar. The bartender looks over and says 'we don't serve your kind here.' The string walks outside, ties himself up and unravels one end. He walks back into the bar. The bartender says 'hey, weren't you the string I just told to leave?' And the string says 'no, I'm a frayed knot!' "
Doodle: "and he says ouch! Hahahahahahaha!!!"

Sooo we're still working with her on grasping the context of the joke.

But her joke arsenal is growing. She's got the universal punchline of "Ouch!" down, and now the interrupting cow knock knock joke is her favorite. Only in the Doodle version it goes something like this:
Doodle: "Knock knock!"
Me: "Who's..."
Doodle (interrupting, of course) "Moo!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Now I'm really not sure if I dare look for a kid joke book for her at the library on Tuesday. It could be really silly and fun, but could also involve a lot of laborious background explanation that takes all the funniness out of the jokes. We shall see.

In the mean time, anyone have more kid-appropriate jokes I can share with Doodle?

Eaten by a tiger

2011-01-09T10:13:00.004-07:00

Doodle art exhibit, from December 2010. Artist's comments are in quotes.

"This is Papa climbing."

The line that goes out to the right and around is the rope "helping keep Papa safe".

"This is Papa climbing too. He has hair and a rope hanging down and hair on his chin."

"Mom, this is you," (points to center) "and this is a tiger eating you."

Wait, what?

Transition

2011-01-08T19:26:00.005-07:00

It's a bit of a rough transition from this...

...to this...

...but we're working on it.

The fresh snowfall has helped - it's better to have snow to play in (and eat) than just cold wind and gray skies.

Maui: date night @ Sansei

2011-01-07T18:23:00.004-07:00

My sister gave us a great Christmas present while in Maui: her babysitting services so we could go out on a date, our first real date since Doodle was an infant!

We headed to Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar, a restaurant we found listed in some brochure as the best Japanese fusion restaurant in Maui. They weren't kidding. I didn't get any photos of dinner, but lucky for us (and you), lots of other people have posted photos of their fabulous Sansei meals on Flickr. Are you ready to see the amazingness that was our dinner?

The drinks:

Lychee Martini

Lychee vodka martini, garnished with lychee sorbet balls. Yum.

We also had some Sho Chiku Bai “Nigori” (Cloudy Sake). The best sake I've had so far.

The Food:

Panko Crusted Ahi Sashimi Sushi Roll

"Sashimi grade Hawaiian ahi, arugula and spinach wrapped into a sushi roll, panko-crusted, flash-fried and served with Sansei’s mild soy wasabi butter sauce." OMG amazing. Amazing amazing amazing.

Sansei's Shrimp Dynamite

"Crispy tempura shrimp tossed with creamy garlic masago aioli with an unagi glaze drizzle." Yuuummmmm.

Mackerel nigiri, the Alaska Flower Roll, and a Lobstertail and Asparagus roll. All very yummy and fresh. Mmmmm.

Matsuhisa style Miso Butterfish - "Tender butterfish marinated and roasted in sake and sweet miso." Click on the link to see the photo. So SO good.

Finally, Dessert:

Tempura Fried Macadamia Nut Ice Cream

"Vanilla ice cream wrapped with buttery pound cake, rolled in roasted macadamia nuts, flash-fried and served with chocolate and caramel sauces."

I'm of the opinion that this should be the only dessert option they offer. It is mind-blowingly delicious AND decidedly Hawaiian. Why get New York-style cheesecake or chocolate cake and ice cream that you could get anywhere when you can get THIS?

This was such an amazing dinner. It was great to get away with just J, and we got to appreciate some really awesome food while doing so. In all, a perfect evening. Special thanks to my sibs who entertained the kiddos, and family members who gave us cash for Christmas "to spend as we wish". You bought us one heck of a memorable dinner. Thank you!

Haleakala

2011-01-06T19:00:00.002-07:00

Subalpine zone, Haleakala National Park

One of our last days in Hawaii J and I took a daytrip with the kiddos up to Haleakala National Park, the big crater in the middle of Maui. We wanted to see a wild Sandalwood tree (J's Master's thesis study organism), some Silverswords (plants native to Hawaii, some of which are endangered), and some Nene (Hawaiian Geese). We struck out on the Nene, but found some introduced Chukar near the top of the crater. I grumbled a little about the chukar, as a guy had pointed us to the trail saying "There's some Nene right over there!" Oh well.

The sandalwood was everything J had hoped, and even had some bracken fern (his PhD study organism) growing up and out of it. We stopped and botanized in the subalpine zone, where I would definitely spend more time given the opportunity. We saw some Vaccinium (Hawaiian huckleberries), a bunch of neat leguminous shrubs, and even found a cute yellow-faced solitary bee!

cute little male solitary bee!

The silverswords were beautiful, especially in the near-barren alpine zone where they grow. The visitor center at the top is just short of 10,000 feet elevation, and you can see everything from up there. We could see the ocean all around the island, and some of the nearby islands. It was beautiful. I'm glad we decided to head up country because we got to see some beautiful areas and explore some ecosystems that are very different from the beach.

On the long, winding drive up the mountain we saw some hitchhikers with longboards and helmet-cams, and realized they had just done something like this:

We totally would have picked up the guys just to hear their story, but with the carseats and kiddos we didn't have room for them. Bummer.

A little farther up the mountain we saw another pair of guys coming down on their longboards. Looked a little scary, but definitely a rush. The road is perfect for this; it's nice and smooth, long, well maintained, and low traffic. I'm under orders from my mom to not tell my brother about this.

Pretty amazing, don't you think?

Return from Paradise

2011-01-06T12:26:00.004-07:00

We're back and alive. Still struggling to get back on Eastern time after switching to Pacific (+3 hours), then Hawaii (+2 more), then back to Pacific (-2), then Eastern (-3, and we got home at 4am Tuesday). Our internal clocks are all effed up. We're getting there, though.

Hawaii was beautiful and warm and wonderful. Roo still has sand on his scalp, 6 days later. Doodle and I have swimsuit tan lines. What I don't have, yet, is photos. Our camera has been on the fritz with a busted flash for about three months now (hence all the crappy, blurry photos I've been posting. Sorry.) so we decided not to bring it. My mom, step-bro, sis and sis's friend all took plenty of photos and promised to share, so as soon as we get some of those I'll post photos of our sunny, warm, beautiful escape.

In the mean time I'll work on posting some stories and tidbits from the trip while we get back into the swing of our cold, Eastern time zone days.

Happy New Year, friends!

Mele Kalikimaka

2010-12-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

...is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you!

Hope you have a great Christmas and a fulfilling, joyous New Year. See you next year!

Peace and Love,
MamaBee

Not a fashion consultant

2010-12-21T10:26:00.005-07:00

This is why no one will ever ask me for fashion advice:

Featured:

a sassy homemade apron
seasonally-appropriate grungy Old Navy shirt
my grandpa's old overalls, probably from the 1970s or 80s, complete with stains from who-knows-what on the thighs.
Hair in pigtail buns. Yes I'm 28. Why do you ask?

Not shown:

down bootie slippers
seasonally-appropriate snowflake socks
and the torn cuff of my overalls, still safety-pinned since circa 2003 when I ripped it on my bike.

Yep. Pinnacle of Fashion. I guess that's where Doodle gets it.

Handmade holiday overload!

2010-12-19T20:49:00.006-07:00

The crafting is (again? still? always?) going full-tilt 'round these parts. Yummy sugary things have been made...

...many child paintings have been completed (and then repurposed)...

...and the pile of sewing is slowly getting smaller.

After the traveling and the celebrating (and after these things are no longer surprises) I promise I'll show off some of the things I've been making. In the mean time, I'm off to crank up some festive music and sew and glue and bedazzle and package away!

That time of year again...

2010-12-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

...time to bust out John Denver and the Muppets!

This is what happens...

2010-12-16T09:29:00.004-07:00

...when you leave the 14 month old at the table to play after breakfast. You find him digging all four of his little teeth into the stick of butter, happy as can be. *sigh* Cute happy culprit visible in the background.

Jake!

2010-12-15T10:13:00.001-07:00

Just before Thanksgiving our good friend Jake came and stayed with us for a couple of days. We hung out, drank beer, watched birds in our yard, sang a nerdy plant song (which I will post soon, I hope), played with ketchup birds and went bouldering. We were all glad to spend time with him. Doodle was thrilled to have one of her favorite grown-ups from Utah here to play with her, and barely left his side the entire time.

It was really great to see him and catch up. Thanks for coming to visit, Jake! Next time: another growler and a pollination song!

All About Doodle - Four

2010-12-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

The idea for this interview was blatantly stolen from our Awesome (former) Neighbors. Just to give credit where credit is due. All answers are Doodle’s; my notes come after the *.
 
Favorite Subject: Wishes like hugging bears for my birthday.
 Favorite Song: Twinkle twinkle little star 
Favorite Albums: No! (*by They Might Be Giants) 
Favorite Videos: Thomas 
Favorite Movie: Signing Time Happy Birthday to You
 Favorite Books: Sheep in a Jeep, Sheep on a Hike, Ladybug Girl
 Favorite Toy: Emily (* toy train she got today from Ari), parachutes (*old cargo chute from Granddad is hanging in her room as a fort right now) 
Favorite Color: Purple
 Favorite Person: Ari
 Favorite Game: Run around with friends, Molopoly  
Favorite Place: the Dentist 
Favorite Place to Go: to the Farmer’s Market, Hawaii  (*we’re going to Hawaii for Christmas and she’s very excited)
Favorite Activities: get presents, play games, make friends, to color, watch movies in the movie theater, play at my play kitchen. 
Things That Really Bug You: mosquitoes. 
Your Secret Wish: the secret playground. *restated, emphasizing the Wish part: wishing to get a present that a friend gave me like a pretend candle
Your Best Friends: Ari and Sylvie and Jennifer and Lindsey and Hayley because she’s awesome. 
Favorite Food: cupcakes, chicken soup 
Favorite Trip: hiking, Hawaii  
Things You Don't Like to Do: sometimes I don’t want to say thank you because I’m sometimes grumpy at them. I don’t probably like to get spiders in my body. 
What You Want to Be When You Grow Up: a princess or a queen or a prince. *restated, asking what job she wants to have when she grows up: I want to have a flower job. I want to study flowers.

Doodle's 4th birthday

2010-12-13T09:22:00.003-07:00

Four years ago this amazing little person came into the world, into our lives. Before Doodle I never could have imagined I could love someone so very much.

We're busy celebrating her today.

Tonight I hope to read "On the Day You Were Born" with her. At the end we'll whisper into her open, curving ear, "We're so glad you've come."

Happy fourth birthday, my sweet Doodle.

Almost Four and ready to fly

2010-12-12T12:35:00.004-07:00

The birthday crown

She's bouncing bouncing everywhere, reminding us at least once an hour that tomorrow she'll be Four!!!

While watching climbing/base-jumping/wing suit flying videos with J this morning, they struck a deal.

Papa, when I'm big like Jake, I want to fly.
Me too, Doodle.
Papa, maybe we can fly together!
When you're big enough.

14 years (+ 1 day) and she'll be old enough to sign her own waiver. And chances are, she and her Papa probably will fly together someday.

I'll be sitting by, watching and marveling at how the time has flown by. Just like I am today.

The decking of the halls

2010-12-08T11:00:00.001-07:00

Every year until now we've held off on holiday decorating until after Doodle's Big Day. This year, being nearly four and full of opinions, we consulted her. Given the options of only birthday decorations until December 14th or decorate for Xmas now and add birthday decor on top, she chose the latter. I was slightly surprised, but I know how much she likes the sparkles and novelty of decorating for something special, so we went with it.

A small tree was purchased and thoroughly covered in fabric birds, cones gathered on hikes and then smeared with glitter glue, and a bazillion bells.

I love the blend of nature and glitz we have going on. Especially the little fabric bird sitting watch on top, possibly keeping an eye on its nest:

In further Bday-Xmas fusion style, Doodle has suggested that we put her birthday presents beneath the tree until it's time to open them. We'll see...

Counting down

2010-12-07T11:53:00.003-07:00

See that purple link with the star? That's a fourth birthday, rapidly approaching. After that there will be some hanging out and merriment and more presents and flying to Hawaii and such. But right now what matters most is that there are only six! days! left!

She's already planning her cake (the standard maple-carrot cake, but with red and yellow frosting) and her birthday dinner (chicken soup). Plus lots of presents and maybe even some cake eating before dinner. I foresee her spending each of the next six days lobbying for cake-before-dinner.

I foresee myself agreeing with her.

(Especially when she's wearing the awesome birthday crown I finished for her last night. Shhhhh! It's a surprise...)

Birding

2010-12-06T19:34:00.004-07:00

In addition to learning a new flora now that we're out East, I also have a new avifauna to work on. I've never been an avid birder, and am frankly a bit embarrassed by my general lack of birding knowledge. I have slowly been working to hone some birding skillz by attempting to identify all of the birds I see in or near our yard. I have started to keep a Yard Bird List over there ---> in the right sidebar (so you subscribed readers will just have to come look at my blog itself to check it out).

The birds so far are pretty standard for this area. The Downy Woodpecker is nesting in our neighbor's Oak tree, and had a territorial dispute with the White-breasted Nuthatch a couple of weeks ago that was very fun and interesting to watch. The Blue Jays and Dark-eyed Juncos have been making the circuit through our yard each morning for the past couple of weeks, as have the Cardinals a little later in the morning. I'm enjoying getting to know our avian neighbors a little better, and slowly work on my birding skills. Maybe by the end of winter I'll even have a handle on what the darn unknown sparrow hanging out with the Juncos is.

If you're curious and want to see some pretty photos of some of our local birds, check out this blog post by the folks at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center (just a bit south of us). If you've never seen a Tufted Titmouse you should really look at the photos to see what a cute little bird it is.

Oh, and I almost forgot! If you have a bird feeder and are interested in learning more about the birds in your area and conducting a little Citizen Science, check out Project Feederwatch. Lacking a feeder, I've opted not to participate this year, but they have some awesome resources like this poster of common Eastern feeder birds that I just stumbled across. I may figure out that sparrow yet!

Dinos in Durham

2010-12-03T10:14:00.001-07:00

While in N.C. we visited the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. It was AWESOME. We first rode the little train around, from which you can see the longneck (above; yes, she recently watched The Land Before Time) and Meat Eater!!! (below; it's an Albertosaurus).

After the train we walked through the dinosaur park exhibit, marveling at the size of the dinos and how cool they all were.

(Above: Leptoceratops)

We even got to dig for fossils, and found some! The museum had trucked in a bunch of soil from a nearish quarry where lots of small shell, coral, etc. fossils are regularly found. That was cool.

In all, the museum was amazing. There was a large outside portion, including the train, dino trail and a butterfly pavilion (also very cool). In fact, we hardly spent much time inside, but what little we did see was really neat. We'll definitely have to visit this museum again.

Wish I could remember the name of this one. Has anyone else noticed how many more dinosaur names kids know these days? Why, back in my day, we had Stegosaurus, T Rex and Triceratops. Everything else was "a dinosaur like..." one of those three. Oh, plus dinosaurs like the characters from Land Before Time. At least until Hollywood brought us the Velociraptors.

Doodle even got to sit on one. It's a Parasaurolophus, of course.

Fishin'

2010-12-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

Doodle & J went fishing while we were in N.C.

No fish were caught, but she had a lot of fun in the process.

First

2010-12-01T12:58:00.003-07:00

Our first dusting of snow in State College. The holly looks so festive, so perfect for the season. (Note the oaks, still with a bunch of lower leaves, in the background. I wonder when they'll finally drop.)

Today we made a paper chain to countdown the days until Doodle's birthday and Christmas. This year she has declared that we should start decorating for Christmas before her bday, so we're putting wires on our stuffed birds (to perch them in our tree, once we have it) and glitter-gluing our assortment of collected cones (also for the tree). I'm enjoying the holiday crafting with Doodle, plus sneakily sewing some surprises for her after she goes to bed.

Here's to embracing the magic and the fun of December!

The Bird

2010-12-01T08:01:00.001-07:00

Is it bad that I'm so very amused by this photo?

She had a sweat bee on her finger, and was showing it to me. I swear I didn't pose her.

Excuse me while I giggle inappropriately, and save this photo for her to see when she's 16 and will think it's awesome. Heh heh.

Thoughts and ramblings on radical homemaking and such

2010-11-30T08:05:00.001-07:00

I recently posted on facebook that I'm fantasizing about rural/communal living. I was only a little bit joking.

I am reading Radical Homemakers. (It feels ironic to link to big corporate Amazon for this book.) I'm thinking about society, what I value and how I want to live. Thinking about our consumer culture, and how I want to fight it, subvert it. Avoid corporate anything as much as possible. Make my own, or buy directly from the people who do grow/make things. Local meats, eggs, dairy, veggies, grains. Make our own pasta, graham crackers, soups, snacks ... what about cheese? yogurt? I haven't tried making these but I know it's do-able and well within reason. Sure it takes time, but I'm home. Plus I feel it's valuable to teach the kids how much we really can do or make ourselves. Teach them skills, not consumerism.

I'm also thinking about what I can do, what things I can make or services I can provide that might be tradeable; what I can contribute to my community. I'm not sure. I need to look into local native bee stuff, maybe start doing some outreach. I plan to talk to the Master Gardener group coordinator to see if I can maybe give a talk about native bees and how to manage for them.

I miss living next door to The Best Neighbors Ever, swapping kid care, feeding their chickens and stealing eggs, borrowing their dog for the occasional hike, and sharing the yards we collectively (mostly jokingly) referred to as The Compound. I miss seeing and interacting with our neighbors. This isolated living, houses close together but closed up tight is not my thing. People are hardly ever out in their yards. I've barely talked to one of our neighbors, and hardly ever see the others. It feels cold. It doesn't feel like home.

I'm thinking about the possibility of moving to a smaller house, one with a gardenable patch of yard (and just maybe a place to have 2-4 chickens). Less house square footage but more livable real estate as a whole. Maybe it's just a fantasy. I'm not sure yet. I don't know if it's worth the stress and hassle of finding another house and moving again.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, or where these ramblings and ideas will lead. We may or may not move. Someday we'll probably have chickens, though that may not happen while we're in PA. I don't know.

Thankful in N.C.

2010-11-26T09:57:00.002-07:00

We're enjoying North Carolina. The kids did well on the drive Wednesday, and we only got lost near the very end of the drive (curse you, Google Maps!). Yesterday we hung out, relaxed, chatted, and baked. J made the pecan pie while I got Roo down for a nap - his first pecan pie attempt and it turned out great! A former undergrad lab tech of J's, who is now in J's Uncle's lab here, came to dinner and it was fun to catch up with him and his wife. Dinner was delicious and the company was great.

Today Doodle and J are off with Cousin R to try and catch Doodle's first fish. R is an avid fisherman so he's playing guide today and humoring Doodle's interest in fishing. I'm curious to see how it goes.

After they return we'll make an outing to J's Uncle's Lab (at UNC Chapel Hill), then we're off to the children's science museum for additional geekiness that's right up our alley.

Tomorrow: meeting up with a friend from Duke for some indoor rock climbing and a social gathering of pteridologists (fern folk). Then Sunday we hit the road back to PA.

I'm very glad we've made this trip. NC is pretty, and it's fun to see new areas. More importantly, though, it's nice to spend time with family and get to know people better. So in this season of feeling thankful I'm thankful for every member of my family, be they blood relative or not, and whether I've seen them in the past week, month, year or decade. You're all in my heart and I'm glad to have you there.

N.C. bound

2010-11-23T16:00:00.002-07:00

Tomorrow we hit the road to North Carolina, where we will be spending Thanksgiving with J's uncle and his family. I've met this uncle once, and not yet met his wife or kids (college-age). I'm both excited and a tiny bit nervous, but I think it'll be really good.

Happy early Thanksgiving everyone!

Stuffed

2010-11-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

Stuffed birds made to humor Doodle in her desire to decorate our Xmas tree "with birds! All over! And even a red one on the very top!" this year.

Morbid staging by me.

Host/ess gift ideas?

2010-11-20T10:14:00.004-07:00

We're heading to J's Uncle's house in N.C. for Thanksgiving. J hasn't spent much time with this Uncle, Aunt and cousins, and I've only met him once (in October at the wedding).

I'd like to bring them something as a thank you for hosting us, ideally something we can make. I've thought about homemade cloth napkins, a loaf of bread... I really don't know.

Any ideas? What's your favorite "thank you for hosting me/us" gift? Help!

Parachute Fort

2010-11-20T07:45:00.003-07:00

It's amazing how an old cargo parachute can transform a boring living room into "The Coolest Fort Ever!!!" Kids can hide under it, hit it, slide small stuffed animals down it over and over (and over and over...) It's great.

Doodle and Roo say "Thanks Granddad!"

Beware the dangers of tuning out

2010-11-19T10:38:00.003-07:00

This dialogue with Doodle occurred this morning, while I was stumbling about and still not fully conscious.

Doodle: Mama, did you know that... [insert big long explanation about something]?
Me: Mmhmm.
Doodle: And did you know that... [more explanation]?
Me: Mmhmm.
Doodle: And Mama, blah blah blah blah blah blah [something I totally missed]?
Me: Mmhmm.
Doodle: Okay! I'll go get some!
Me, regaining consciousness: Wait, what?
Doodle: You said I could have two cookies before breakfast!
Me: What? When?
Doodle: Now.
Me: Umm, let's talk about this.

Apparently I need to pay closer attention to the spunky kid ramblings early in the morning, or else I run the risk of agreeing to convert the lower level of our house into a swimming pool or something. Yikes!

Overambitious

2010-11-18T12:11:00.003-07:00

...should be my middle name. But you already knew that, didn't you?

So I did manage to bake one cookie sheet worth of coffee crisp cookies, plus made the graham cracker dough and nearly completed the PB Crispies yesterday (did all but the top layer). It was a day of near-finishes.

Today I topped the PB crispies and baked most of the graham crackers (which are divine, I might add). I still have 1/3 of the graham dough in the fridge plus ~~3/4~~? ~~4/5~~? a bunch of the coffee crisp dough to be baked sometime later.

Good enough.

Now for the mile-long list and foot-high pile of sewing projects lying around... *sigh*

Overambitious indeed.

Heh. Right.

2010-11-17T09:47:00.003-07:00

Alternate title: Wishful thinking, Take 2.

All that baking talk yesterday amounted to a whole lotta nothin'. Technically I did attempt to make the spaghetti squash recipe, but our squash sucked and it was the least noteworthy part of dinner.

But today will be different! The kids are still snotty and crabby, but right now Roo is napping and Doodle is being digitally entertained (thank you Pixar!). So I'm off to the kitchen to attempt a PB Crispy/Coffee Crisp/Graham Cracker bakefest. Updates to follow.

Baking weather

2010-11-16T08:57:00.005-07:00

Today it's cold and rainy outside, and gunky and crabby inside. I feel like baking. I'm thinking homemade graham crackers or these awesome-looking peanut butter crispy bars.

Or maybe all of it.

addendum: Or homemade pasta. Ooh, or this spaghetti squash. Oh goodness. Or these cookies. Too many yummy things to make. Time to quit browsing recipes!