Hoppy Easter!

Little Miss Cleaver and Miss Maggie RabbitUntitled Untitled Untitled Untitled Untitled Untitled Untitled Miss Maggie Rabbit Untitled When the day starts so early, it’s hard to get non-blurry photos of an increasingly active (and expressive!) little one. She’s just on the cusp of toddler-hood these days – walking more than she crawls and understanding things and almost almost talking. But Easter started around 5:30 AM with opening the basket/bucket and a low-key egg hunt with 6 or so eggs placed in highly visible places filled with cereal puffs.

Having put my clothing-making energies into her birthday dress not that long ago, I turned my maker skills to toys this go around. The rabbit is Alicia Paulson’s Miss Maggie Rabbit kit, which was a joy to put together. I misplaced the yarn that came with the kit, so I made the capelet out of some Berroco Vintage DK I had left over from earlier projects. I also dyed a pair of playsilks with Kool-Aid (Mixed Berry blue and 2 packs of Lemon-Lime green), which was quick and fun. Of course, I got totally upstaged by her Memere who showed up with a tricycle! Not that her feet touch the pedals yet, but I imagine they will before too long.

Little Miss Cleaver has become obsessed with belly buttons of late, whether it’s spotting mine and poking and laughing or displaying her own upon request. Onesies are definitely out. So obviously she had to check her new bunny for a belly button.

After some unwelcome snow on Tuesday, the weather seems to be settling into spring. My daffodils are blooming, with tulips coming not too far behind. It means we can go to the park, try out slides for the first time and play in the yard. Now if only we could convince LMC to wear shoes. Right now it's like putting booties on a dog, with much awkwardness and whining.

We’ve already had one happy afternoon with a batch of neighbor kids in the driveway. We’ve got sidewalk chalk and digging tools at the ready.  I’m hoping to get together with our neighbor in the next few weeks to have a raised bed building day. It’s been so long since I’ve had a veggie garden  and I want to get out there and grow some things!

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Epic Birthday Weekend

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Little Miss Cleaver turned one this weekend, and it's hard to believe it's been a year already. The days can be long (3:30 wake up calls, anyone?) but the weeks and months, and now year (!), just speed by.  It seems not so long ago she was just this tiny squishy thing and now she's walking and babling, and has opinions and is just a tiny little person.

To celebrate her first birthday we made a weekend of it. First on Friday, Mr. Cleaver and LMC met me at work and we went out to lunch at the Olive Cafe, picked out some birthday presents at the local toy store, and LMC tasted her first ice cream - Gelato Fiasco of course!

For her actual birthday on Saturday we kept it fairly low key. She wore a new mom-made birthday dress. There was breakfast and cards. Then we went to LMC's very first swim class, the first half of which involved a wet baby clinging to me like a barnacle, until we got to the picking up and splashing into the pool part and especially the singing part. During the singing she clapped her little hands with joy and looked at me as if to say, you didn't tell me there'd be singing mom, I'd have been more open to this whole thing if I knew there would be singing! The swim class totally wiped her out and resulted in a nearly two-hour mom lap nap.

In the afternoon Memere joined us for a few balloons, a few presents, and a cake. In honor of her birth on Maine Maple weekend, I made a applesauce cake with maple buttercream frosting. I modified the original recipe to use 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour, less sugar in the cake, and no nuts/raisins. I'd probably cut back on the whole wheat flour next time, as it got a bit dense. I also added a bit of water to the frosting to get it to a spreadable consistency, but it was otherwise delicious.  The frosting tasted almost exaclt like maple sugar candy. The cake decorations I made myself out of some scrapbook paper. The birthday crown was a free pattern on Ravelry that took about an hour to make.

Later in the day our neighbors, who watch LMC two days a week and are like second family to her came over for a while.  Then we ate some pizza, gave LMC a bath, and everyone went to bed about a half an hour early and slept in late.

Today was Maine Maple Sunday itself, and we made our usual jaunt up to Sebago for a pancake breakfast and sugar shack visit. All in all it was a sweet time with a sweet little girl and a very good first birthday/first year of parenting celebration.

Sunlight and Spring

Untitled The light in the evening is coming back in spades theses day, for which this California transplant is grateful. It makes me feel so much for active and productive in the evenings, which is great, because it's been a busy week and it's going to be a busy spring.

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Because with all the bright happy sunniness of spring comes new responsibility - probably a day a late and a dollar short, but I've started thinking about all the stuff I need to do to get  vegetable garden in the ground this year, not to mention spring cleaning, repainting the peeling deck, and all that sewing I want to do as soon as it starts getting warmer.

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But for today, I'm taking it easy (as much as that's possible on a work day) and not worrying about all the work that's to come.

Deep breaths, and one day at a time.

All photos of Barley Herb Salad from Martha Stewart Living. Which is totally delicious, especially if you add extra mustard.

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Maine Maple Sunday 2012

I feel like I had a whirlwind of a weekend: we had friends over for dinner Friday night, I spent Saturday running errands, and Sunday we took our annual Maine Maple Sunday trip, which I followed up with an up-close viewing of the Hunger Games with some of my knitting buddies.

One of the things I love about Maine is it's seasonality, there's a time for syrup, and a time for apples, a time for shrimp, and a time for blueberries.

So in spite of the unseasonably warm weather we'd had the previous week, Maine Maple Sunday stayed true to form and was cold (and rainy!), but it didn't dampen our spirits as we drove to Sebago for a pancake breakfast and some sugar shack tours. (Though a bad map did cause some frustration).

We picked up a pint of syrup and a bag of maple candies, but the variety of maple products is always fun to see.

I'm thinking I need to make a batch of my maple walnut granola soon - do you have any favorite maple syrup recipes? Or do you save it for pancakes and waffles only?

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P.S.: Check out this preview from the upcoming Knitscene summer issue - it hits newsstands April 17th, but if you live in Portland be warned, I'm so excited about my first print publication that I may buy all the copies. ;)

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Right Now

Tabouleh

Spinach Basil Pesto

(to borrow from Soulemama) Right Now I'm...

  • nearly a month into this Lent thing and trying out a new recipe or two a week;
  • two buttons bands away from finishing up a new design sample;
  • into running again, signed up for a 5k and everything;
  • enjoying the increasing hours of daylight;
  • loving the unseasonably warm March weather we're having; and
  • obsessing over a new music find: darlingside

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x95JQFOcuTg]

What are you up to?

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Checking In

Mr. Cleaver and I tried quinoa for the first time this morning, we used the Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa Recipe from Chef MD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine via 101 Cookbooks and it was definitely tasty and filling. I'm looking forward to trying quinoa in more savory and salad dishes too.

In other news, it looks like spring is finally making it's way to Maine!

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Red Bird, Blue Bird (Lent Day #13)

My First Robin of Spring One of my favorite things about the new house is the absurdly large number of birds that live in the trees in our yard. I've spotted chickadees, tufted titmice, blue jays, cardinals, hawks, grackles (I think), woodpeckers and more. This morning I spotted my first robin. Quite fitting for the first day of spring (and more fitting than the current snowfall).

Lent 2011 Day #13

For today's outfit I pulled out an old sewing project. I had this skirt in the "to mend" pile, but don't remember what needed mending. It might have been that I wanted to hem it differently. I was pleased to discover I had done a really good job lining and finishing this skirt - despite having made it a long time ago (over 2 years!!), before I had started focusing on finishing.

Lent 2011 Day #13

Blue Blazer: LL Bean Outlet

White Tee: Target

Butterfly Wing Necklace:  D. Cole Jewelers, gift from Mr. Cleaver

Brocade Pencil Skirt: Burdastyle Alexis, made by me.

Shoes: Bass Outlet

In other news, my Krona knitting patterns were featured today on the Quince & Co. Website. Much thanks to Pam for including me!!

It feels like forever since I've put out a pattern, but I've got something very springy currently in testing and it should be out by April 1st. For at least one reader of this blog it will look very familiar...

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Lent 2011 - Day #10

Lent Day #10 Ahoy there! Contrary to yesterday's post, it's actually been freakishly warm (over 50°F) here the past few days. I took advantage of the warmer day to put on a slightly less bundled-up outfit for today. Of course, I've lived in Maine long enough to know this warm weather won't last, but it hasn't stopped me of dreaming of the barbecues and gardening that are sure to be in my future.

Lent Day #10

Sailor Striped Shirt: L.L. Bean

Necklace: Fallen Horseman Coin. Coin purchased on ebay, hole made by me. A nod to that classical studies minor I got in college.

Navy Tank: Gap Outlet

Dark Denim Skirt: New York & Co.

Shoes: Bass outlet

Bracelet: Puka shell necklace, worn as bracelet

Lent Day #10 - Detail

I hope it's sunny where you are today!

Lent Day #10

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Lent 2011 - Day #9

Lent 2011 Day #9Happy St. Paddy's Day!! St. Paddy's Day Smooch!

Tonight Mr. Cleaver and I will celebrate in our usual fashion - Corned Beef and Cabbage.  In honor of the holiday, I'm wearing my brightest greens today, which includes a silk scarf that is hands down one of my favorite things in my wardrobe.

Lent 2011 Day #9

Velvet Blazer: Rafaella, ebay

Green Long Sleeve Shirt: Old Navy

Silk Scarf: Birthday gift

Dark Denim Skirt: New York & Co.

Pinstripe Tights: Target (currently on clearance)

Shoes: Bass Outlet Lent Day #9 Detail

There are signs of spring peeking out in our yard...

Signs of Spring

But it's still pretty cold!!

Lent 2011 Day #9

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A Walk at Wolfe's Neck

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Last night after work Mr. Cleaver and I took a walk at Wolfe's Neck State Park - it was warm and we were two of about a half dozen people at the park. Afterward, we oogled camping equipment at LL Bean and chowed down on slow cooked meat at Buck's Naked Barbecue. That's what I call a perfect evening.

We'd been at Wolfe's neck in the early fall and the late fall, so it was fun to see how the park is different in the spring/summer:

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I love the color contrast of new growth -

New Growth

These are the first wild orchids I have ever seen - they were everywhere!

Wild Orchids

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This was the highest the tide has been on our visits here, it made the coastal parts of the walk look very different.

Man on a Rock

I couldn't believe how big some of the dandelions were! I saw another non-blooming one that was a least 4 inches taller.

Giant Dandelion

The osprey nest. The chicks should be out an about in another few weeks.

Osprey Nest

Taking in the Scenery in Suits

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