Celebr-EIGHT-ing Big B

Yesterday, we gathered at one of our family's favorite beach spots to celebrate Big B's eighth journey around the sun. I arrived by car with the feast for our family and friends, and Papa and Noni brought the boys and the (surprise!) inner tube by boat.

At one point I walked down toward the water and saw so many of our village there, floating in the sunset lit water, every single one of them with a smile on their beautiful faces--and soaked in the good fortune that my children have to be living in a place with such abundant love, friendship, and beauty. We struggle with lessons of gratitude, humbleness, perspective--but I am confident that when they are grown, wise men, they will reflect on these days of innocence with appreciation and joy.

Big B's Eight Cake was a big hit! I used this tried and true recipe, per his request for a chocolate chunk brownie cake--with this amazing buttercream frosting. To make the "8," I just doubled both recipes and baked the cakes in identical Bundt pans. I sliced about an inch and a half off of the end of each and matched their edges to make a perfect eight. Bonus: The inch and a half remains were a perfect day-after-party treat for Big B and little b.

My wish for Big B for his ninth year is to be confident, creative, and happy. He was born with such rich gifts in his intelligence and his spirit--now I think he is ready to use those gifts in a new way, one that is on his own time and by his own design. I continue to feel the honor and privilege of the best seat in the house to watch him unfold. Happy BIRTH day, my prince. Thank you for making me a mama--the greatest gift I'll ever be given.

Pickled Green Beans

Among the bounty collected at The Farm was a bag full of gorgeous green beans. Inspired by this recipe (passed along by a garden muse with a great attitude and a serious pocketknife), the boys and I got to work to create our own summer treat.

The first jar was opened this morning on our beach blanket. Deliciously crisp and tart! Cheers!

Summer Pickled Green Beans

2 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed

4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced lengthwise

8 sprigs fresh dill

4 jalapenos, sliced lengthwise and de-seeded

4 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 cups white vinegar

2 1/2 cups water

Snip green beans and cut to fit inside pint-sized canning jars. (We like the wide-mouthed kind for this treat--better suited for little hands.) Place green beans in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender but still firm, for 2-3 minutes. Plunge beans into ice water. Drain well. Sterilize four jars. Place 1 clove garlic (sliced lengthwise), 2 sprigs of dill, and one jalapeno (sliced lengthwise and de-seeded), into each hot and sterile jar, against the glass. Pack the beans into the jars and add 1 teaspoon of salt to each. In a large saucepan over high heat, bring vinegar and water to a boil. Pour over beans. Fit the jars with lids and rings and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Enjoy!

The Last Farm Day

We are so lucky in sunny Florida to have a growing season that just won't quit. Except when it does. Sadly, on Saturday, we said goodbye for the summer to our local organic farm. (We're not the only ones who love this place and mourn its seasonal hiatus.) The fields were still full of deliciousness, but their days are numbered with the rising heat. So Big B, little b and I loaded up our market bags and meandered the aisles one last time, stocking up on only the best our climate has to offer.

When we were laden with lacinto kale, arugula, green beans, sorrell, strawberries, blueberries, and two dozen farm fresh eggs, we looked out across the fields of Romaine and saw a familiar straw hat.
Little b's preschool classmate has a daddy who works this farm. He was kind enough to give the boys a tour, and explain how the plants are grown, harvested, and sold. He showed them how the heat brings more bugs to the plants, and showed them the cover crop (sorghum) that would soon replace the remaining jewels of the fields, destined for local vegetable co-ops. And he let them sample lettuce, chard, onions and basil, straight from the earth.

After only a few minutes in the fields, the boys were hot, thirsty, and ready to leave. This was a great lesson in gratitude for farmers everywhere, folks who work long, sweaty, buggy hours each day to bring us the divine nourishment we so often take for granted. A thank you note promptly ensued:

The bounty was too good not to share. We created a little sampler basket for Great Grandma Ruth, and drove southward to bring some summer sunshine her way.

"Shake the hand that feeds you."

--Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

Cows and Pigs and...Elephants? Oh my!

December was jam-packed over here, one I'd like to think broadened everyone's horizons a bit. The month was kicked off by three days of animal admiration. Big B's first grade class took a field trip to our local dairy farm. I was so grateful to be invited to chaperone this one, as we use their delicious farm-fresh cream to make butter and I've always wanted to visit the source.
Such sweet and gentle animals.
It was amazing to watch them move as a huge group into the milking area. The cows knew which stalls to turn into, and seemed very polite with each other--no shoving, single file, etc. Hmmm, perhaps this was a subliminal message to the first graders?
The cows were given ample room to freely range.
The children were taken on a very malodorous hayride,
watched a piglet race,
and took turns bottle-feeding baby calves.
This little guy won my heart.

The next couple of days were consumed with Christmas decorating, us in our homes and the City outside. Our home has a rich circus history, and this year's downtown holiday parade welcomed two special guests: elephants, trucked in from Gainesville. We were able to get a sneak peek of their arrival, a special treat for which we were all very, very grateful. After much kid-patience, the elephants finally emerged from their chariot, in all their magnificence.

We are so grateful for these moments that allow our boys to open their eyes a little wider.

The Greatest Gifts

I have not posted here since December 1st. For me, that seems an eternity. It isn't for lack of material--goodness knows we've been a busy family. It just felt like the time to post and write about the things that bring us joy simply wasn't there. There has not been a moment's pause, a deep breath, a sit-and-relax hour in a very, very long time.

It is amazing how the universe works.

Today, just as things are spiraling a bit too chaotically for my comfort level, I receive the sweetest, most grounding gift imaginable. My twin sister, Aunt S, created a beautiful, 400+ page, hardcover book, comprised of all of the posts published here in this space over the last two years, as my Christmas present. Its slight belatedness added to its reception, as I was able to spend still moments looking through its gorgeous pages, remembering small details about my children, their papa, our creations, our adventures, our color walks, our love.

...and now, ironically, all I can think about is chronicling the wonderful things we did over the holiday, and rediscovering my pride in being the keeper of this family's story. I am so grateful to Aunt S for this gift, and can already feel my roots sinking deeper into the earth.

BONUS GIFT: as if that wasn't enough...a few hours later I received a surprise visit from The Voice of the Village, with the sole purpose of gifting me a bread machine--something I recently coveted at Aunt S's house. A full circle indeed. If there is anything that can help get one back to the basics, its breadmaking. And that's just what I intend to do. Live, laugh, love, create, write--and bake bread.

Thanksgiving 2010: An Ode to Trees

We tiptoed onto Papa's Grandma's land in the darkness, and were greeted the next morning, the day before Thanksgiving, by this magnificent tree. It was the perfect beginning, the perfect reminder to give thanks for the beauty that surrounds us. We celebrated it by adorning our trusty Vagabond with Andy Goldsworthy-esque devotionals.

Big B, little b and their Georgia kin experienced the joy of jumping into a huge crunchy leaf pile, making leaf angels, and basking in the shade and raining leaves of the changing trees. We read The Giving Tree a lot during the trip, resonating deep in the heart of our eldest, who called his favorite climbing tree "Mama Tree" and talked to her every day.
More tree love: deep into the swampland on a brisk four-wheeler ride, we found this incredible cypress wonderland.

At our family reunion on Saturday, we hosted a children's craft table. I braided raffia throughout the trip in preparation for more leaf crowns. Papa and the boys went on a leaf-hunting expedition and collected the most beautiful fall leaves I've ever seen. The kids were crowned, created leaf rubbings, and wrote their gratitudes on paper leaves.The most beautiful tree I saw over the weekend: the family tree. I am so lucky to have married into this family, and so thankful that my children have this kind of history and sense of home to revisit, connecting them to their roots.

After the reunion, we visited a dear friend's property, one of the most beautiful pieces of land I've ever stepped foot on. She took all of us on a magical four-wheeler ride just as the sun was setting. About twenty minutes into the ride, when all daylight was gone, she asked us to turn off our lights and engines. She told us about the forest fairies that help the trees grow and the flowers bloom. The fairies only come out on chilly nights when all is quiet. She told the children to watch out for them, glowing in the trees. We continued our ride, and sure enough, as we neared the creek, there they were--and our children were mesmerized. I am forever grateful for this sweet woman.

The morning we left, we helped Papa's grandma with another special tree, infusing us with Christmas spirit for the long ride home.

Driving away, we passed the orchard of pecan trees that finds its way into Papa's retirement dreams. Such a sense of peace is found between these branches.

Another Thanksgiving, come and gone. And I have never been more thankful for the gifts of my life than I am at this moment. Hoping you all had a restful holiday filled with pause enough to count your blessings.