Home :: Found

These Foothills are my Home.

I have always felt them welcome us when we return. Tim and I grew up in the shadow of these Foothills, their silhouette a sign that we had reached the end of a journey, whether it was down the freeway to the beach or returning from Africa, Australia or Oregon.


Along with the familiar rolling lines always comes the unmistakable scent of home. It is from the chaparral, the native bushes and plants that grow rampant over the foothills, shrouding them in light golden green brown that turns to a dusty dry dun color as the heat approaches.

The release of their unique scent is strong, and smells to me like instinct. I cannot descircbe it other than sweet and dry, smoky and somehow cleansing.

I have explored those Foothills since I was small; walks with my Mom, excursions on bike with my group of teenage guy friends, a night trip to view an abandoned coyote den with the boy that would become my husband.

Endless experiences that have accumulated so much depth I sometimes feel the hills are as intrinsically home to me as the structure that lives at its base.

We brought the boys up for their first home hike of 09, marveling at the way time changes them so quickly.

The short loop we have designated as walk-able for them is not very difficult anymore, the uphill no longer challenges their balance and the downhill is a source of delight when no hand holding will suffice, they must run down it themselves with full speed, shouting ‘More!’ before they even reach the bottom. The only reason it took a long time to do the loop was their insatiable need to pick up every rock in the path and throw it off.

Watching their ease and familiarity there strikes a chord in my heart. I want them to grow up in these Hills. I want them to feel welcomed and comforted and joyful in their exploration and discovery of the nuances. I want them to be there more than in front of a TV screen, have more time there gathering findings from Nature than from the aisles of a box store that promotes gathering of a different sort.

I want so much for my boys, but I think we are on the right start. I love giving them time and space to explore. I love the way we share what we love with them. They are already fascinated by the mountain bikers that scream by, by the animals we spot, by the smell of the chaparral.

I guess one finds home by learning of it from the time they are born. We find it by connecting. I hope you have found a place to call Home, one in the open, in the light and full of joy and discovery you might be able to share with your little ones. Home found.

Back for Friday :: KNitties!

Well, I took a little break from the Friday Finishing as I was enjoying the holidays and thinking less on deadlines and more on resting those sore knitting hands. I loved giving all hand made gifts, but it did just about do in my poor wrists and I felt a bit burnt by Christmas Eve. Next year, me thinks I will sew a bit more and knit a bit less.

Once I recovered, my love of the knitting craft returned and I found inspiration in a few new places. I looked through the stash and found some lovely sock yarn dating back to my last trip to Oregon. It is Lorna's Laces, my first time working with it. And my first toe up sock (Rav), loosely based on this pattern .

It was easy and fun and quick due to my vow to only knit sockettes. I love the freedom to explore a new technique in the short row heel, though I would like to play around with it a bit.

The socks fit nicely and warm the toes, which is about all we need right now as our temps steadily climb into the 70s. I look forward to using my newest sock yarn in a toe up pattern, maybe with a bit more flair, I am thinking some smallish cables on the foot with ribbing. Hmmm, I think I like this sock thing. Finally.


And the other little bit to leave the needles was this simple but adorable hat for a bebe to be, Aviatrix (Rav) . Modeled by my trusty friend Clyde.

I love the construction, simple wedges created by using short rows. The pattern did not call for knitting the wraps, but I did. Not sure if that matters. I think it will look a lot cuter on a bebe, Clyde's head is a bit flat.

But he is my go-to now as my boys have gone and grown up and I cannot make them model any new knitties coming off the needles. They did not feel warmly towards Clyde during his photo shoot and kept ripping the hat off his head.

Now I just have to decide which bebe to give this first one to, believe me, this is one of many to come. I really like this pattern. And it looks super cute on, I have seen it on a real baby and that is what drew me to try it.

Next week I plan on featuring my sister's amazing Christmas gifts. She sewed up a storm and gave us some treasures that I will use and cherish for a long time to come. And I might get to the mosaic of all my knitted gifts. I think I photographed them all, now just to locate them in Flickr. Until then, happy crafting. I feel like I am back in the proverbial saddle. No plans to dismount anytime soon.

And speaking of bebes. The boys had their 20-ish month check up and Mace is in the 3rd percentile for weight/10th for height. I was a bit surprised, as it seems like he was a little higher up there before. O's head still measures in at amazing and I think he is more towards the 25th or something. Carrie: I think they were 20# (M) and 23# and change (O). Why do they feel like they weigh 70 LBs when I pick them up? They did great on their shots and actually made our fairly stoic, fairly old Dr L. laugh. Highlight of my day. And they watched as the RN that gave the shots dropped the used needle into the sharps container, with intense laser focus..tracking the offensive object. Yes, my boys crack me up.

Back in the Kitchen

Since we rang in the New Year, I have found myself in the kitchen more time than the craft corner. I don't know, my urge to cook has been undeniable and I have been googling recipes that I have always wanted to try and then just going with it. I thought I might share the winners and let you try out any that seem to be intriguing. I can assure you that all have been delicious, but not all are health conscious.

So New Year's Eve, Tim decided to make me a special anniversary dinner. It was a recipe he saw Giada prepare with her crotchety auntie. Perverse she may be, but that old lady can cook. It is a fairly simple shrimp dish, served over rice.

This is my version via Tim's scratchy notes in my new notebook:


Spicy Creamy Shrimp with Rice:

You need: 2 c. rice, chicken stock,heavy cream, butter, garlic, fresh large shrimp uncooked, hot sauce (your favorite), a lemon, and salt and pepper.

Prepare rice: Saute 1 smashed clove garlic in 1/2 stick of butter until garlic is soft, remove garlic, add rice and saute lightly, add four cups stock, bring to boil and lower flame and cover and cook for about 20 minutes.

Shrimp: Saute smashed clove garlic in another 1/2 stick of butter, remove clove and add shrimp and saute until almost pink, add juice from 1 lemon, 1 Tablespoon hot sauce and, um, heavy cream. Like a cup. Because the cream is the sauce and you need sauce. Lower heat and simmer gently to thicken cream but do not overcook shrimp because that would make you sad.

Spoon rice into bowl, then shrimp on rice, then sauce. Lots of sauce.

Eat and do not feel too bad because it is sooooo good. This is sexy food, people (borrowed that phrase from my friend Kate). Think quiet easy Valentine's dinner at home. With wine. And fire, fire makes it better.

I swear. Good stuff.

The other recipes are all links. I have had the urge to try a few classics that I have never eaten because I grew up in a household that eats mostly Indo food or some good Italian pasta and sauce dinners. These are a few of the links I liked.


:: French Onion Soup : Smitten Kitchen has a lovely deep rich soup and it hit the spot on a cold night. FYI, I was reheating the leftovers the next day and, oops, forgot about them.

When we remembered it had cooked down quite a bit and was even darker and richer. We did have to add water as it was really cooked down. But totally edible and almost better than the first time.

:: Chicken and Dumplings : I read a few versions but went with Paula Deen's cause she is Southern. Is that weird? It was good, the 'biscuits' were dense and chewy and seemed just right. Comfort food all the way.

:: Chile Rellenos : I have used this recipe once before. The egg batter really makes it.

Seems a little laborious but it is really quite easy. We serve them with homemade smashed beans (just saute onion, carrot and chiles and add a can of pintos, simmer then smash) and Mexican rice (no recipe here, the husband uses his Mama's and it is always much better than my attempts).

The last week has been awesome in the kitchen. Now that I am less focused on crafting, new avenues are opening up. I have 'clarified' that I want to cook more often and in a healthy fashion (with a few exceptions, like, every recipe listed above). So the last 2 days have been "Kitchen Sink Soup' days. Just veg and a little protein and stock and small pastini or rice. Mmmmm, this will work for me. Here is to hoping I can keep it up.

The Old Neighborhood

When Tim and I lived in Portland we were in an old Victorian home (rumoured to have once been a brothel for the seamen...pun intended) converted to apartments. We had the second floor unit and our view was stunning. It was the 405 freeway as it descended from the giant Fremont Bridge and dipped it's way through the city. Our little balcony was rendered fairly useless unless you liked the noise of Jake brakes as the big rigs tried to slow down, always right in front of our home. I loved the neighborhood though, I could walk to work at one of the hospitals where I was regularly staffed, there was a Trader's down the street and the emerging Pearl District was being shaped in front of our very eyes. A few converted lofts had been finished, but the majority were under construction and the Pearl had some very cool elements, but was not yet full.

We had a favorite hang out, Bridgeport Brewery, just a few blocks away. Our first experience of being hammered in Oregon occurred there...we tipped a little too much of their IPA and had a stumbly time finding our way back to the sister in laws via transit. Now the rustic atmosphere has been traded for sleek and refined surfaces, but the beer still rocks and the food is stunningly good. Just quite a bit more than their old stand by pizza once was. Sorry, no pics of that, we made the decision to take the boys out to eat there and that allowed no photo time, very little eating time either. But lots of scream fest on the way back to the GPs. Our apologies, Mona and Nick.

There was one afternoon I slipped away that I spent with Mona and Kyle (my nephew) walking a bit and rediscovering some old spots and finding some new.

I made it into Knit Purl, a lovely place chock full of good yarn and good people. Met this lady who was sporting the cutest yarn wrapped baby and found an inspiring hat to knit up for the newbies to be in my life. I did pick up a few yarn bits, some Habu to play with and another skein of sock yarn in a very spunky colorway.

And then we found my favorite-est place yet.

A little shop full of interesting well priced pieces, all of which I would have loved to take home if I had the bankroll to do so. My MIL loved these,

I loved these,

and I bought these, because of budget dictation (spent my self imposed amount at the yarn store).

The shop was named Canoe and if you are near, I highly recommend you drop in. The proprietor and I had a nice discussion about having more children, she was lovely and easy with us browsing for a long time and they have impeccable taste.

As much as I do think that I might live living back in Oregon, I see the Pearl and the metamorphosis and like/dislike it.

This gentrification happened in my old NYC neighborhood on the Lower East Side and I recall feeling the same. There is something about being witness to the change that leaves one feeling a bit bereft of the old. And it makes me realize I am no city girl at heart. I love coming home to the same worn trail that varies only due to the season, not due to the latest trend.


So, Portland, for now, nice to have visited and I look forward to an afternoon together in the future. Especially if it involves yarn.