Market morning

Another Saturday morning spent at the farmer's market. Walter eats his way around the square, starting at Chris and Lori's for a cookie, then to D&G Sausage Shoppe for a beef stick, then a sample of the pesto at Renaissance Farm, then cheese curds from Forgotten Valley. And he picks up samples of anything else he can find in between. There were lots of cherries out today – we had to find just the right ones. We ended our trip with a stop at the balloon guy. Walter asked for a blue helicopter. The poor guy got flustered and Walter ended up with some abstract balloon art. And he couldn't be happier.

Busy, busy, busy

How does a week slip by so quickly? I'll tell you how. With buckets of black raspberries, bowls of beans, and piles of zucchini. Beets, chard, and peas are filling all the spaces in between. And then there's the running. Have I mentioned Nate and I are in training? For a marathon? I know, I know. I often question our sanity. It takes place in December, so for the next 20 weeks or so, we will be running and running and running some more. This will be Nate's first marathon, my second. I'm actually enjoying the training so far. After a day of work and an evening of cooking, gardening, and hanging out with Walter, it's good to have that little bit of quiet time to myself. I could do without this crazy heat though. 
So, we're busy. But I'll get back into the swing of things here soon enough. I think my camera is hiding somewhere under a pile of canning jars. 

Bike night

A new (used) bike from the thrift store and a park with a big flat patch of concrete is all it takes to put a smile on this boy's face. The one thing our house is missing is some level ground for practicing on the bike, but the park is just a short drive away – and it's right in Gramma and Grampa's backyard! By the end of our stay, Walter was pedaling and steering like a pro. 

Buzzed

No more shaggy hair for these boys! (Would you let a three year old cut your hair?)

Up, up and away

Today was the annual fly-in breakfast at Morey Airport. This was our third year attending with the Lee family. As I was looking through my photos from this morning, I realized I had almost none of the kids faces. Either they are getting faster, or I'm just too tired to keep up with them. They ran from plane to plane and watched a lot of take-offs. Here are some photos... of their backs...

Starting to stock the pantry

Saturday afternoon was spent making filling for two peach pies, 5 jars of black raspberry peach preserves, and 6 jars of dilly beans. The canning kitchen isn't ready yet, so I heated up/messed up the kitchen in the house. So, Saturday evening was spent eating burgers from Culver's and cooling off at the beach. The perfect reward. 

Berry bliss

We've discovered that our property is full of black raspberries. We can easily spend an evening gathering a few beans and zucchini from the garden, then wander the paths and fill the rest of our bowl with berries. Walter gets the low ones, I get the high ones, and Nate gets the ones way back in there, far off the path. It's a good system. By the end of the night, our fingers (and mouths) are stained purple.

Befores and afters

Well, I can't think of any excuses to put it off any longer. The kitchen table is in place, we've hung a few things on the walls, and I had this long weekend to clean. So, finally, 6 months after moving in, I give you: New House Photos! To recap, we tore out most of the whole first floor and rearranged everything. Here are some before and after photos. 
What used to be the dining room, is now the kitchen:

Those big, pretty doors aren't gone! They found a new home in the back room, leading out to the porch.
What used to be the living room, is now the dining room (plus the pantry and a little more kitchen):

What used to be the kitchen, is now the living room:


The kitchen was our main focus and everything else kind of fit in around it. It's where we spend most of our time. There's plenty of space for visitors to gather. I can keep an eye on Walter, wherever he happens to be. He spends a lot of time drawing and coloring at that little red table while I cook dinners. 

We eat most of our meals at this table. Nate designed and built the bench seating. The benches lift up so we can store things inside. I still haven't filled them. 

And this is Walter asking, "Are you done taking pictures yet?" 

Yes! I'm done. Thank you for helping me, Walter! Now let's mess it up again.

A long weekend

After being away all last weekend and having a busy week, I've been loving this weekend at home. We've been playing and cleaning and gardening and baking – being productive in relaxed sort of way. Walter and I picked the first beans from the garden and cooked them up for dinner tonight. They were the first things to disappear off his plate. We've spent some time with family, watched fireworks and played at the park. All that and I still have one more day to go! What am I going to do with all that free time? I'm sure I'll think of something.



Get a load of these lanky boys. I just don't know where Walter gets it from. :)


This is Strawberry Summer Cake from Smitten Kitchen. I didn't have enough berries for a big cake, so I halved the recipe and made four little cakes. They baked in half the time and we all got our own cute individual desserts. Plus one extra. I call dibs.