Birthday-Addendum

Our tummies full.
Our children asleep.
What a lovely day it was.

Birthday

You may think it's the kids' birthday. It might as well be since they are as excited about it as I am. Kids change everything, people told us that before we had them. And it is so true, and it is so very wonderful.























I have had a wonderful birthday. The kids gave me three presents this morning: they dressed themselves, they walked to (their first day of) school, and they did not cry when I left. They also helped me make cupcakes and tonight we are all going to celebrate at our favorite Korean restaurant. I am one lucky duck!

Butterfly Hunt

You are a good butterfly-catcher, Mommy. Or so they say.

Our kids are sweet, aren't they? They like to compliment us when we make them happy. Another one I like is: You are a good cooker, Mommy. But that's another story.


There are a few spots at Codman Farm that the butterflies (and bees) adore. These are spots overgrown with cosmos, zinnias, snapdragons, daisies, and several other flowers that just attract these beautiful creatures like honey for the bees.

Our destination today: Codman farm, for a picnic lunch and a butterfly hunt. Today we caught a bunch of different ones, including two Monarch Butterflies. Back in Santa Cruz, there was a Monarch Butterfly Grove at Natural Bridges State Park where thousands of them congregate in one place at the same time. Here, they are not as common, so when we see one, we get quite excited. And for me, a little bit nostalgic.


I am particularly proud of this photo of the butterfly AND the bee. I can't say it was on purpose, but I am glad Mr. Bee came by as I snapped the shot. It adds a little drama to the picture, don't you think?

Sharing and letting go. Our lesson of the day. The kids understand now that they can only enjoy the capture of a creature for a short while before letting it "fly south" as Claire would say.

Our Girl

She is not quite four.
She has more shoes than I do.
She also has blouses and purses for her bear.
She is our Claire!
We love you so, our little girly girl.

Vermont Weekend: Luck

When we left Vermont after our last visit, we knew we needed to return soon. Labor Day weekend would be perfect, we thought. It's a long weekend, it's harvest season, it's prime time in rural New England. We made sure that our friends did not mind our self-invitation back to their home.


We would have gone regardless of the weather. Good friends make up for any rainy day. But luck had it that we hit the jackpot. Big time. It could not have been a more splendid weekend. Enough said.


Because of the weather, the location, and the friends, everybody enjoyed the experience in every regard. The four kids were usually off playing together while the adults chatted, or got chores done. A few times, I did not even know where my children were, except I knew that they were close by and safe. One time I had finished doing something, checked in on the kids who were being entertained by big sister Haley (telling a story of the giant beet). Jim was breaking down camp with Randy. And I was, well, free. So I grabbed my beloved new toy, and wandered around the property to catch some neat moments in time. Imagine the joy!



Claire rightly blurted out one time during the weekend that it felt like California. Yes, we said. Enjoy it, we said. This will not be here in a couple of months time. We were indeed very lucky to be in a beautiful place, with wonderful friends, and the best that summer had to offer.

Vermont Weekend: Prelude

A little glimpse into our weekend spent in Vermont. Many more stories to come. Stay tuned!

Watermelon Day

We were treated to the Watermelon Field at Blue Heron today. The kids had never seen watermelon in the field before. And Momo used to not really care to eat it, but look at him now! Ellery broke one open right there at the field. It was amazingly sweet.


We harvested a bunch of different kinds of watermelon. The kids helped arrange them in the back of the truck (which we got to ride on). Momo and Joe had a little game going. It was another fun and beautiful day on the farm!

Fun

Can you tell I am liking my new camera? It means more postings with more photos! I hope you are enjoying them.

Late Summer

The sun sets earlier now. The light is softer in the late afternoon. The air is cooler. The squirrels are gathering acorn for the winter. Even without any fall leaves on the trees (which there are), we can tell that summer is coming to an end.

Dandelion Seeds

We found them before the wind blew them away.


On the way to gymnastics class this morning.

Faces

Early Birthday Present

To myself...


I don't know if it's apparent. But with the previous camera, I could not take this kind of photos with this quality.


I am still playing around with it.


The lucky girl that I am.

North End

A subway train ride to 'Little Italy' of Boston, known here simply as the 'North End', was our adventure today. Not that the kids could tell the Italians from the Chinese, but we were determined to at least show them a part of Boston that is uniquely, well, Boston.


Unknowingly, we stumbled on a street fair in honor of St. Anthony. Many stalls selling traditional Italian foods lined the narrow streets:cannoli , pizza, pasta, Italian sausages and Italian sodas. Of course, we are still in America, and street fair is equivalent with fried foods. Here was our opportunity to introduce our kids to the ubiquitous fried dough! The kids loved it, and renamed it 'sweet pizza' as they munched down the scrumptious triangular pieces.


Surprisingly, we didn't stop at a gelatoria today (I only went in to take a photo). Instead, we had a lovely meal at the Daily Catch restaurant. It was lovely except for when Claire choked on a piece of Calamari tentacle. Well, she wasn't literally choking as her face was still red, and she was breathing. Panic was more like it. Imagine a piece of food stuck between your mouth and your throat for the first time in your life. Poor thing. She declared after the incident that she didn't want to eat squid ever again.


We all recovered after the event. Claire actually tried another piece of calamari, chewing it 100 times before (not) swallowing it.


Feeling full, and cultured, we hopped back on the subway for home.

Book to Read

I don't finish a book cover to cover too often. Even less often now with children. But I am approaching the back cover of this one, so there must be a good reason for it.

Barbara Kingslover, the author of this book, had a mission with her family: to live for a year off their land, almost completely. They grew most of the food they needed for the year in their garden, ate it, stored it, learned from it. I hope someday to be fortunate enough to be able to accomplish such a challenge.

We had friends in Maine who practically lived this way, all the time (or at least when we knew them 10 years ago). The husband, Tom, built their house from scratch, literally using the rocks and stones from the land to build the foundation of the house. His job was to grow their food, barter from neighbors, and forage for wild or unwanted fruits and vegetables off the land. His wife, Eileen, a family doctor, was the bread-winner, the financial liaison for the family who only worked enough hours to support the family's needs for health insurance, clothing, and maybe salt and sugar. She needed the rest of the time to raise their one daughter, and help Tom in his ventures.

One memorable night in their home, after touring their incredible garden, we sat around the harvested bounty in their kitchen. It was early fall, the apex of the harvest season. Tom and Eileen were at their busiest. Like little animals trying to store away food for the winter, they, too were shelling beans, canning tomatoes, grinding grains into flour (I kid you not). The meal served to us that night was utterly home-grown and home-made, except for the few grains of salt that went into seasoning (and they didn't use much). After the meal, we participated in the bean shelling as we listened to Tom telling us about how he built the house, and how one day Eileen stumbled on it during her walk in the woods, and how they fell in love.

In some ways, reading Kingslover's book isn't as much fun as listening to Tom's stories. But perhaps what the book is doing for me is reminding me of that sense of awe I had for Tom and Eileen's life, their dedication and willingness to be self-sufficient and living off the land, using their own sweat.

In this day and age, it is impressive enough for one to have a garden, let alone a garden that can feed a whole family for a whole year. Kingslover went as far as to raise her own meats: chicken, turkey, and the like. I don't know if I could go that far. If we ever succomb to this kind of challenge, we will have to be vegetarians for the year (or have a fish pond). Go read the chapter on the meat 'harvest' and you will know what I mean!