lenten blueberry muffins

 When my sister drove over four hours on her day off to visit me, lugging all manner of nonsense I left behind, I felt I must reward her.  Enter the vegan blueberry breakfast cakes from veganyumyum.com.

We didn't have any Ener-g Egg Replacer, so we combed through Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian for an alternative.  Three tablespoons of silken tofu later, we had amazing lenten muffins.

If you want a taste, hop in the car and come visit!  (yes, I'm resorting to bribery...)

 Though these pictures don't do it justice, I wanted to share. 

Pete and I went for a walk last night just as the sky started threatening rain.  Sure enough, we were caught in a tremendous thunderstorm.  It let up after a while and we began walking back.  The whole world had awakened with the returning sun.  Everything, including us, was drenched entirely and the colors were intensified as a result. 

We nearly missed this perfect, bold rainbow that careened over the entire eastern sky opposite the lowering sun.  It's one of those moments I hope never to forget.

Juliana in Uganda

 wearing her Alabama Studio Style dress. 

I miss her like crazy.

new project

 This portable herb garden enables me to escape all the aspects of gardening I don't like.  The bugs, the sun, and the backbreaking labor.

So basically it's gardening without gardening.  Awesome.

I. just. saw. a. hummingbird. 
That is all.

Trifecta

June 20th:  my 24th birthday, our 4 month-iversary, and the first day we woke up together knowing we'd never have to live apart again.
We spent it quietly.  Took a walk, picked wildflowers, baked a pie.  It was peaceful and perfect and I can't wait to do it again next year.

One last gem

In honor of my last day of teaching 1st grade in the foreseeable future...

Me: Hey, Kid, where'd your hair go? 
Kid: I got it cut yesterday.
Me: Oh, good. I was afraid someone was going around snatching hair.
Kid: Nope! I went with my mom. She got her hair painted.

I'm going to miss those little beasts.

Girls just want to have fun

I've spent the last few evenings with my sister Anna.  Mud masks, trashy tv, cheeseballs, chocolate, and knitting.  Oh, I'm going to miss this...

Spelling test fail.

Distopian overload...

A Room of One's Own

BHG

I'm a great believer in Virginia Woolf's advice to women to set aside a room for their creative pursuits.  It may not always be practical, but I'm fascinated by the prospect.

Apartment Therapy

I've been daydreaming about carving out a creative space in our new home.  Someplace to knit, sew, paint, write letters, and read.  I've been inspired by a few different sources, many of which I've included here.

Country Living

I recently stumbled upon Eileen Spinelli's bio in I Like Noisy, Mom Likes Quiet, which stuck with me for obvious reasons.

She writes,

As a young child, I spent Saturdays at the Sellers Memorial Library in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.  It was there that I fell in love with words and decided to become a writer. 

Apartment Therapy

My father gave me his old black manual typewriter.  The key of Z stuck.  Fine.  I would not write stories about zebras or zippers. 

My father made me a desk from orange crates.

My mother filled a box with paper.

French Press Knits

And that's how I began. 

French Press Knits

I love my writing life.

PB

My office is on the second floor of our home.  It's quite cozy.  Plants at the windows.  My desk, our old dining room table.  A Teddy bear.  Photos of my favorite people.  An overstuffed chair.  An electric typewriter.  (No, I don't use a computer.)

PB

Sometimes I'm so eager to get to work that I don't take the time to get dressed in the morning.  I just run upstairs in my nightie, with a cup of tea and an idea or two.

BHG

Honeymoon!

We finally found a honeymoon spot!  It looks like we'll spend a week in the Catskills at Handsome Brook Farm.  This bed and breakfast rivals the best hotels.  My friend told me she had the most delicious bacon she has ever eaten there.  They even let you explore their working farm and pitch in if you choose. 

Check out this article in Time Out New York about it, or watch this episode of Good Morning, America that features it.

The funniest twist?  It's right around the corner from yet another Orthodox monastery.  That's how I knew we'd feel at home there!