We celebrated J’s birthday this weekend with some of his favorite things: steak and asparagus on the grill, plenty of beer and a special bottle of scotch, a new drill and a future appointment with his tattoo artist. His mom and her husband joined us from the Corning area of New York, and we all took the girls to swim in the lake. It was a nice laid back weekend.

My mother-in-law and I had a chance to poke around the two antique shops here in the village with Swee. We started at Barbara’s place at the bottom of the driveway, Lakeside Serendipity. I made sure to snap some pictures during this visit because I love the way she has her items arranged and displayed. I came home with a beautiful blue Pyrex bowl as an advance birthday gift, which was quickly washed and filled with Loaded Ranch Potato Salad for dinner.

There’s another shop at the other end of town called Corner Antiques. She opened a little later in the season, so this was the first time I’d been in. Swee settled herself among the bracelets and loaded her arms up. Daphne, the owner, was very sweet and understanding of my little one – she has a granddaughter almost the same age.

All in all, it was a very pleasant and relaxing weekend. We’ve been trying to squeeze everything we can out of these last few weeks of summer before the weather changes, and before our schedule changes. We have some new and interesting things happening around here that will necessitate a shift in the way we operate. I’ll share more as I can, and am looking forward to being able to write more substantively.

Until then, I’ll be on the glider in the sunshine, enjoying the flowers and the lake with a glass of mama juice in my hand – and sharing photos here.

My glider is back together! This is where we started:

And this is where it is today:

I knew when we pulled it out of the weeds that it would never be pristine, no matter what we did to it. We just don’t have the tools or skills to strip all of the paint down to the metal, and it was pretty badly rusted in some places. But I decided that I wanted to do what we could to make it functional without breaking the bank.

When J took the bench off of the frame for me to clean, I realized there were at least three coats of old paint peeling and crackling among the patches of rust. After hosing it off and letting it dry in the sunshine, I dove in with a wire brush and quickly switched to a small beveled putty knife. The grass was littered with flakes of forest green, mint green and butter yellow when I called it quits.

Neighbor Barbara suggested a Rustoleum product called Rust Reformer to use as a base to stop some of the deterioration. I used a full five cans of that, partially because I wanted to make sure I got a good layer on, and partially because I’m not very skilled with a spray can. This returned the bench and frame to a nice flat black, which actually looked really even. You couldn’t see any of the imperfections. I was tempted to change my plan and keep the whole thing black, but I really wanted to go bright with this.

We chose a new Rustoleum color called Gloss Light Turquoise, and on our first shopping trip, we seriously underestimated the number of cans we’d need, only buying two. After using five whole cans of the black, I went in search of more blue and struck out at three different stores. Barbara came to the rescue again, and picked up two more cans for us. In the interest of not wasting paint this time, I asked J to do the blue. There’s enough left to do the frame, but I kind of like the contrast. I think we’ll live with it like this for a while and see how it goes.

The surface definitely isn’t perfect, which is due both to paint that wouldn’t come up and sections of the metal being terribly pitted from rust and age. It’s possible that a darker color would help hide the texture, and when the time comes to repaint, maybe we’ll try something different. For now though, I think it adds character, and the girls love to use it. Swee and I enjoyed our breakfast and a little “rocka rocka” outside this morning and it’s particularly enjoyable in the evening with a glass of mama juice.

I think she’s pretty.

I spent much of the weekend in awe of the fact that we actually live here. Our time here so far has felt more like an extended vacation in many ways, but for whatever reason, I realized this weekend that this actually is real life. While riding in the car on Saturday, I mentioned to J how I’d noticed a difference in the air and the light here. There’s a clarity to it, when you look out the windows, that is just striking. What is so astounding is the fact I had stopped noticing the haze in Baltimore, and that it had become so commonplace so as to make the change in quality something remarkable. Even with my worsening eyesight, the details I can pick out are incredible. I caught a glimpse of the clouds the other night, and ran across the street to catch the photo above. Amazing.

The girls and I walked part of the Kennebec River Rail Trail on Friday morning. It took some serious “Google fu,” as my husband says, to find the darn place. The website for the trail mentions access points in terms of local landmarks, but does not include street addresses, which does nothing to help a newbie like me. I finally figured out that we could catch the trail at Capitol Park, and my GPS knew how to get there, at least. I’m glad it did; what a beautiful park! It’s clean and well cared for, and we enjoyed the walk through it.

August seems to be the month for flowers here. Everything is in bloom, everywhere we go. Our yard is just teeming with color.

The first coat of color went on the glider yesterday! We used Rustoleum’s Rust Reformer as the base, and I laid it on thick to try and insulate the years of rust that weren’t going anywhere, despite scrubbing and scraping. It took several cans, but it looked pretty good. Unfortunately it was hiding a lot of imperfections that became very apparent with the application of the lighter paint. I knew it wouldn’t be pristine, and I didn’t want it to be, but it’s pretty rough. I suppose we’ll see how it looks after the second coat.

We spent today in the lake. Two months ago, Swee wouldn’t get in the water. Today, she swam out to the first floating dock with her daddy, and again with me. She was so pleased with herself, which made this mama incredibly happy. This happiness, it seems to be a recurring theme here.

My big girl chose all the flowers in this bouquet. We walked the yard together the other night and she told me what to snip. She carried them inside in a big bundle, selected the “big vase,” and then stood on a chair to supervise the arranging of them. And they’re gorgeous. I think they easily rival any professional bouquet.

Hope you’re all having a lovely week.

We are wrapping up a long stretch of veggie refusal by our little one, so I thought I’d share a couple of things that have worked for us recently. Beans is a tank, and eats pretty much anything put in front of her, but Swee has always been a different story. She’s always been a wee one, and around 18 months old, began to refuse certain foods. For a while, we just rolled with it. We’d offer lots of different things but she got so stubborn and we were wasting so much food, that for a while I resigned myself to cooking things she would eat with the knowledge that she would leave the veggies and protein on her plate. Thankfully, we seem to be turning a corner.

Last night we had burgers on the grill with beef instead of turkey, which we don’t do very often. It was my aunt’s suggestion to mix veggies into the hamburger meat. I chopped up some zucchini and some kale from the garden and cooked them in olive oil the night before, and then mixed it into the ground beef with some diced red onion, an egg and a splash of Worcestershire. We were in the mood for cheese so they got topped with some Cooper Sharp, but none of us really care for buns so we did without. Beansie and Swee housed theirs, and J asked if we could have them this way again, so I’m calling it a win.

Since our family has been back under one roof, I’ve been preparing a fruit and veggie plate to set on the table within her reach. She knows that she can help herself to anything on that plate, and as much of it as she wants as long as she eats the majority of her main course. And it’s working! She seems genuinely excited to see the plate arrive on the table and I see her pudgy little hand reach out more often than not. I generally include whatever I have in the fridge. Last night was baby carrots, sliced cucumbers and strawberries with a little bowl of homemade dippy – just sour cream with garlic powder and dill weed. I’ll often cut up red or orange bell peppers, and sometimes there are other fruits. When we had all those black raspberries, they made an appearance just about every night. The plate is almost always empty at the end of the meal.

Perhaps I shouldn’t admit this tactic, but we have employed a bit of bribery to get Swee to eat her dinner. We will sometimes have a treat on hand to offer if the going is particularly rough. There was no need to bribe her last night, but we enjoyed popsicles just the same. These molds are as old as I am, almost. I remember my mom using them when my brothers and I were little, and my girls love them now. I use my stick blender to puree some fruit, fresh or frozen, and add a splash of juice to help it freeze smoothly. I’ve found that freezing straight fruit puree results in mealy popsicles, but the addition of some liquid smooths it out while taking the tart edge off. This time I used watermelon and frozen cherries, with a little Juicey Juice. They stain like crazy, so it has to be warm enough for naked babies to enjoy them, and then rinse off in the pool or bathtub.

We went on an adventure today.

Everyone was fed and in the truck early. We had an easy drive down. J got in free as a veteran, and we found a great parking spot. The beach was spotless and the tent went up without a hitch. Beansie napped to the sound of the waves and Swee got buried. No one got sunburned, and both girls slept the whole ride home.

A perfect day.

There were three of us in high school who always seemed to be together. We lived in the same neighborhood, so we rode the same bus. When one of us got a car (not me), we all chipped in for gas and drove to school and marching band practice together. And when we graduated, all of our parents got our friends small gifts. I think my dad picked up scratch-off lottery tickets. One mom gave us each a copy of Oh, the Places You’ll Go, which I suppose seems cliche, and while I’m sure I read it, I’m not certain I actually thought much of the message when I received it. But it survived the last fifteen years of packing and moving and unpacking and packing and moving again, and today I read it to Swee. I’m not sure what she understood, but she usually absorbs more than I think she will. It was a bit of a lightbulb experience reading the reminders that sometimes you will be on top, and it will be amazing and glorious. And sometimes you will crash and burn, and you will be very, very alone. Sometimes everything will work out perfectly for you, and sometimes it definitely will not. Love Seuss or hate him, the text strikes me now as scarily on point.

Our family has spent so much of the last year in a holding pattern. Waiting. Waiting for feedback from job interviews. Waiting for our house to sell. Waiting for a moving date. Living in limbo is mighty stressful, but then you think about it, and you realize that a year is really just a blip on the radar.

The funny thing about the end of the waiting period is that it’s not really an end at all. Hitting one goal is really only the beginning of a new plan, often kicking off more work, and yes, more waiting. Even when you are actively working to make things happen, you still have to wait for the rest of the world around you to catch up before you can take the next step.

Life happens, and it’s been happening a lot around here the past week or so. The brakes we replaced on the truck last weekend? They failed last night, leaving J to limp home leaking brake fluid all the way, and now we wait and see what the prognosis is. The propane tank that heats our house and water and food? Empty, and now we wait on the company to process our application to have more delivered (though they were super nice and brought a temporary mini tank over. Shout out to Mr. John who knocked on the door with it on his way home after his shift because he knew we had small kids). The list is long, and so we wait. We’re getting pretty good at it, even if we don’t enjoy it.

Someone commented that we’ve been living a “charmed life” since moving here, and I suppose in a sense that’s accurate. I also know that there are people who just could not grasp the WHY behind this move, and thought we were completely nutty. Maybe we are, but if so, we’re nutty together. We’ve escaped an environment that while perfect for some and charming in its own way at times, had become toxic to our goals and our relationship.  We jumped into this new life with two feet and some vague semblance of a plan, and are trying to make the most of it. Is everything going according to that initial plan? Nah. But you know what? Life is a working document. When the plan changes, and changes again, and probably again after that, it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a good plan at the start. There should be no shame in revision, both of the plan and of your definition of success. Life is not one size fits all, nor should it be. I think that’s a lesson that a lot of people miss. Maybe it’s not being taught. Or maybe we’re not reading the right books, because now I’m pretty sure Dr. Seuss knew what was up.

I spent an entire Sunday taking photos without a memory card in my camera. The silly thing pops up an error message on the screen when I forget to put the card back in, but I rarely look at it, and never check quality on my pictures until I get home, especially if I’m with the girls. They move too fast for me to be fiddling with the camera.

So that’s how it is that I’ve gone so long without posting. I was so frustrated with myself because I “took” so many great shots I was excited to share, and then I couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

On this particular day that went completely undocumented, we went raspberry picking as a family. The brakes on the truck had been locking up and smoking, so we had to drop it at the mechanic. When J told me where this fellow was located, I realized that I’d seen signs over that way for pick-your-own raspberries.  I grabbed his gram’s enamelware popcorn bowl before hopping in the car, because that’s obviously the most photogenic receptacle for freshly picked berries, and we told Sweebee we were going on an adventure.

We followed the hand-stenciled signs onto a back road with no painted lines and a “No Outlet” sign, and turned into a dirt driveway. There was a pop-up tent to the right, and rows and rows of raspberry canes to the left. Another stenciled sign let us know that the proprietor had stepped away, but to go ahead and start picking. We helped ourselves to a fabulously rustic wooden basket with paper pint boxes, and headed out.

Beans studied J and I for a few minutes as we gave Swee instructions and began picking, and then proceeded to stuff her face. Amazingly, she only seemed to pick the ripe berries, so she clearly knew what she was doing. She wandered up and down the row, and around the end to join her daddy on the other side, happily indulging herself. Swee picked a few while muttering “kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk” to herself (another Blueberries for Sal reference. I told you: obsessed), but also ate more than she saved.

Half an hour of picking and a mere $11 later, we wound up with four pints of warm, fresh, organic raspberries. It was a beautiful adventure, maybe even more so because it was so spontaneous.

What do I have photos of?

– The first cherry tomato from our garden, picked this morning. We’re going to be swimming in them in about a week. I may set up a table at the bottom of the driveway with the ubiquitous coffee can honor system if we can’t eat them all.

– The last of the black raspberries, I think. There are more out there, but they’re up high and well into the weeds, and as I am not very tall and definitely not a fan of ticks and snakes, I think I’m going to cede the rest of them to the birds.

– This newly blooming flower which the pollinators are clearly loving. Does anyone know what it is?

Hope you’re all having a lovely mid-July. I’ve got a couple recipes to share with you tomorrow and early next week, hopefully with photos this time.

Yes! A garden update. A long overdue garden update.

When we built the box, we chose a spot in the yard that gets full sun from 4:30am when it starts getting light out, until almost 8pm when it starts getting dark. This is great for most of the veggies. However, I severely underestimated the amount of water a spot like that would need. After several days of soaking rain, the plants went bonkers, and I realized I really needed to soak the raised bed twice a day. Things have been going much better since then.

The black raspberries aren’t exactly in our designated garden space, but I think they deserve a place in this update. Swee and I went out this morning to check the bushes and came back in with five cups of berries. There are still more out there yet to ripen, so I think we will be heading back out before the weekend is over. I stashed some in the freezer, and we ate a bunch with dinner. If anyone has a good berry tart recipe, I’d be interested!

I planted both pickling and slicing cucumbers for the first time this year. The little picklers are doing far better than the others, and are climbing their way happily up the trellis. We already have two small cucumbers, and there are a ton of flowers. Has anyone ever canned pickles in a water bath? Everything I read says the process will turn them to mush, but I’m not quite ready to invest in a pressure canner, and I’d like to make pickles with more longevity than simple refrigerator pickles this year.

I have to stake the tomatoes this weekend. I really should have installed stakes when I transplanted the seedlings so as not to disturb the roots later on, but it’s too late for that. The cherry tomatoes are enormous and covered in flowers. A curious Swee popped the lone green tomato off the vine, so we’ll have to wait a little longer to taste them. I moved two beefsteak plants over and with some serious watering, they’re looking really strong. Hopefully we will get enough fruit to make some sauce for the winter.

The peas are also flowering, and the peppers have buds. The lettuce is doing well and the kale will have to be harvested tomorrow – it’s huge. My basil is taking a beating because a certain little one likes to pull leaves off and eat them. The arugula is starting to bolt, so it’s about done, but I think it had a good run. This is the latest in the season I’ve kept it going so I’m pleased.

We have an apple tree in the backyard that I’ve been watching. The fruit is still small but are starting to pink up. I am loving this mild version of summer, but I’m also looking forward fall, and to applesauce. And pumpkins! We received a packet of seeds in the mail today, and I can’t wait to plant them.

What are you harvesting this weekend?

We have a running joke around here. I ask J what he’d like for dinner, and he pretends to think for a moment, and then says brightly, as if inspired, “How about chicken?” I guess we eat a lot of chicken.

This isn’t chicken, and it was a deliciously welcome change of pace. I found some boneless pork chops on sale, and decided to try something outside our comfort zone. I grew up eating pork chops over white rice, smothered in Cream of Mushroom soup gravy. Yum, but not exactly clean and healthy.

I followed this recipe from blogger Jessica Gavin, and oh. my. goodness.

These were wonderful. I wasn’t sure about the cinnamon in the rub to start, but it was really good. My cayenne and paprika apparently didn’t survive the move, so I subbed in some chili powder, which seemed to work well. Beans ate almost a whole chop by herself, and J and I could have eaten twice what we did. They were so good, I didn’t get a picture of the finished product.

We ate them with grilled asparagus (tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper) from the farmers market, picked and sold that morning, and a big bowl of bright red cherries.

Grilled Pork Chops with Honey Mustard Glaze – from Jessica Gavin

2 pounds (4 portions) boneless pork loin chops

Olive oil, as needed for grilling

Honey Mustard Glaze-

2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

4 teaspoons honey

Pork Seasonings-

Salt, as needed

Freshly ground pepper, as needed

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon cayenne powder

¼ teaspoon paprika

Honey Mustard Glaze-

1. Combine mustard and honey in a small bowl, set aside.

Pork Seasonings-

1. Combine all pork seasonings in a small bowl, set aside.

Grilled Pork Chops-

1. Generously season each side of the pork loin chops with salt and pepper. Evenly sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of pork seasoning on each side of the pork chops. Lightly drizzle olive oil on both sides of the pork chops. Set aside at room temperature while you heat the grill.
2. Heat grill to medium heat. Add a small amount of vegetable oil on a folded piece of paper towel, and then carefully grease the grill with the oil. Once the grill is nice and hot, add the seasoned pork chops. Cook pork on each side until an internal temperature of 135-140°F is reached, about 7-8 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the pork.
3. When the pork is just done cooking, use a pastry brush to generously glaze each pork chop with the honey mustard mixture. Save the extra glaze for serving on the side of the pork loin.
4. Remove the pork from the grill and transfer to a clean plate. Serve warm with honey mustard glaze.