Gone Fishin'

My brother took E to our local hatchery to try her hand at hookin' a trout. There were a ton of kid's there for the open house and all of them got to break in their fishing poles. Just look at how excited they all got when one of them caught their first! So cute! Not exactly sure when we'll get it out of the freezer to fry up, but E had a nice time.

ZuKafe Closed

With no warning, all of the sudden our little coffee shop; baker of gooey pecan cinnamon rolls and our local vendor of Stumptown is gone. Apparently someone made an offer they couldn't refuse...

...Goodbye Zu.

French Blueberry Breakfast Coffeecake

I grew up with my mom making a muffin version of this, and today I decided I needed to make the coffee cake version. With all this wonderful fruit popping up at the market's, coffee cake seems like the most natural place to put it lately, with these lingering cold mornings.

French Blueberry Breakfast Coffeecake

• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 cup flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh or frozen then thawed blueberries
• 1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1-2 tsp cinnamon

1. Cream butter, sugar, and eggs
2. Sift flour, b.powder, salt, and nutmeg
3. Add sifted ingredients to butter mixture alternately with 1 cup of milk
4. Grease and flour 1 9x13 pan, scoop in batter, it's very thick so pat it out evenly
5. Spread blueberries over batter (maybe push in a little), then sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mix
   
6. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until wooden skewer poked in the center comes out clean.
7. Let cool (slightly) and enjoy!
8. Cover tightly, this one dries out easily
   

*Disclaimer: I have no idea why this is labeled a "French" coffeecake.

*If you wish to make muffins, hand mix in 1 cup of berries into the batter, spoon into muffin papers at 2/3 full. After they are baked (20-25 minutes) and cooled, you can melt a bit of butter in a dish, dunk the tops in and then into cinnamon/sugar. These are nice with or without the berries and freeze quite well! It makes 2 dozen.

Memorial Week(end)

Discovering those simple reminders that we, along with nature are moving toward summer!

berries are plumping

ferns unfurling

new things can be fun (2 wheel's!)

curling up on the couch is cozier with two

sun on our toes feels so good

working the soil is important

ballet is, what you want it to be

life's too short to not be silly!

Mabel's 6 Monthes Old

I can't believe how quickly time has passed! Our little Mabel is growing and changing each day; she just learned how to sit up on her own, is trying solid food, and was christened this last Sunday. We so enjoy our mornings with her and often find that we miss her during the weekends. We'll have to find a way to get in our squeezes this coming summer...

Arrested Development

D and I spent most of our evenings last week watching this hilarious show. We got all 3 seasons from the library and watched episode after episode until we were so exhausted from laughing we had to go to bed. Get it. Watch it. It's brilliant.

Walking Up Hill, Both Ways

We've had outstanding weather over the last few days, and some moments were just too warm (near 90) to document, but here's our latest walk down to the farmer's market. The 2 mile journey usually takes us about 45 minutes, but with the heat and high humidity, repeated rock removal from E's sandals and no stroller we made it in just over and hour. Coming back home with a full backpack of groceries, tired little legs and the sun beating down on us was a bit longer... but nature was beautiful and we shrunk our Carbon Footprint a smidgen.

She Made Me A Mama

I love you as BRILLIANT
as each sparkling star,
and as WAY OUT as space,
I love you THAT far.

I love you as GIGANTIC
as a great lion's roar,
and as DEEP as the ocean,
I love you MUCH more.

"That is a lot," you say,
"but HOW did it start?
WHERE did love come from
to be in your heart?"

YOU put it there, really,
when you and I met.
And I knew for certain
WITHOUT you I'd fret.

From MY HEAD to my TOES,
I was feeling inside
a devotion for you
SO DEEP and SO WIDE.

And now it's ENORMOUS
and wonderfully real
and hard to describe
HOW MUCH I feel!

I love you as AWESOME
as a thundery sky,
and as SOARING as mountains,
I love you THAT high.

I love you as SILLY
as a puppy dog's kiss,
and as QUIET as midnight,
I love you like THIS.

"Do you love me EVERY day?"
you ask with doubting awe,
"or does love go UP 'N DOWN
like a teetering see saw?"

I love you as STEADY
as the earth rounds the sun,
though SOME days of life
are the FARTHEST from fun.

"Like when you feel MAD?"
you ask with distress,
"cause I've BROKEN the rules
or made a big mess?

Or, when I'm UNKIND,
and your feelings are BLUE,
do you love me ALTHOUGH
I do what I do?"

I love you being NICE,
and when you're CRANKY, too.
I love you without liking
the NAUGHTY things you do.

My 'love you' DOESN'T change
like the temper of days.
It's a CERTAIN kind of thing
in many DIFFERENT ways.

You're me SWEETIE, my dear,
my SMILE and laughter.

You're my PLAYMATE for always,
and my JOY ever after.

Hanging out WITH YOU
is where I want to be...
eating ice cream sundaes
or watching the TV.

UNDER your umbrella,
behind you on a bike.
BY you and BESIDE you
is what I REALLY like.

"Do you love me just AS MUCH
when I'm FAR from home?
Is your loving still THE SAME
in distant lands I roam?"

I love you NEAR or FAR.
I love you HIGH or LOW.
My love is there with you
WHEREVER you may go.

"Even when I'm SICK...
and I can't get out of bed?
Do you love me better HEALTHY
than with a fever in my head?"

I love you sick or able.
You're ALWAYS you to me,
the ONE I LOVE forevermore.
Undeniably.

I CAN'T IMAGINE life
before YOU came along...
me there singing senseless,
no MEANING to my song.

Call it MEANT TO BE
or simply blessed fate,
you fill my heart WITH LOVE...
and for THAT I celebrate.

* This (not so) little poem says it so well, it comes from the book I Love You So... by Marianne Richmond.

10 in 10 on 10 - May

Lines

7 o'clock hour

8 o'clock hour

9 o'clock hour

10 o'clock hour

11 o'clock hour

12 o'clock hour

1 o'clock hour

2 o'clock hour

3 o'clock hour

4 o'clock hour

To Market We Go

Our yearning came to end with the opening of our small town farmers' market! You could feel the buzz in the air, I swear even the dogs were smiling. We quickly filled our bag with asparagus, pears, rhubarb, and one celery root. We're already looking forward to our visit next week.

Plan B

berry blanket

bloom

baseball

bonnet

baby with a bristle ball

ballet

bagel, blueberries, and a box of juice

* sometimes I just need an exercise in helping me capture the world a little differently