Milkweed Dreams

Happy May Day!

2009-05-01T18:02:00.001-07:00

May is here – the quintessential month of spring. Around here, May means the jumble of flowers peeking up through the weeds, the anticipation of the sweet fragrance of lilacs blooming and the glorious pink of the crabapples. It means little boys spending long days outside. Before May leaves us, the tiny sprouts in the garden will have become robust plants, the rigor of school days will have given way to the ease of vacation, and we’ll be in “summer mode”. For now, I plan to enjoy May for whatever it brings.

Hooray for spring!

That time again...

2009-01-25T07:00:00.001-08:00

It’s that time again. The time when, instead of green, everything is brown and crispy and forlorn… The time when I go out to my garden to “inspect” and find myself thinking longingly of little green shoots and the smell of growing plants instead of bare earth… It’s the time when I seem to forget things like earwigs, bindweed, and an over-abundance of green beans… I forget about trying to climb into and through huge, bristly tomato plants, forget about the chore that watering can become… I forget about secretly hoping in October that a frost will come and end it for the year. Oh, this is what is going on in my mind in January.

And then what happens when I am in this vulnerable position? Yes, that’s right – seed catalogs start arriving!

Suddenly I start reading about all the new varieties of all kinds of garden plants, and I begin to have delusions of grandeur. Surely, I must try melons again - no matter that last time I did they tasted of sand… And okra – I need to grow okra. And what about growing several varieties of beans for drying – imagine being able to eat our own beans in hearty soups next fall and winter! This year I will start my tomatoes from seed! – and plant them early! – and grow enough to have lots to can! – enough to supply our tomato needs all year!! This year I will outsmart the wily squirrels and protect my strawberries – yes we will have a big strawberry harvest this year!

The difficulties seem small – surely bindweed isn’t that indestructible – the promise endless… So once again I will make a plan, order some seeds, and give it my best shot. Ask me about it again come October...

2008 in review

2009-01-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

I know that 2008 has been over for a while now, but I really feel like I need to bring a little closure to it before turning fully to 2009. So here they are – the highlights of the year gone by.

**My sweet Jonah transformed from a cuddly, smiling baby at the beginning of the year to a walking, climbing, and talking (a little) toddler. When I look back at how much he changed this last year, and then think forward to how much he is going to change this year, my heart clenches up a little bit, and I feel the beginnings of panic over “losing” my baby. Fortunately, my own wise mama reminded me that my mama self will grow up right along with him…

**A new baby was born! Adelyn Ann was born on May 10 to my brother and his wife. I had the great privilege to be able to visit them right after Addy’s birth and see her wonderful newborn self in person, and then to visit three times after that. She is such a sweet little person – I only wish we lived closer! (Thanks to her talented mama Kelly for letting me post her photo here.)

**Our family gained one more member when my beautiful sister married Joel. They had a lovely wedding in September – and Katie even wore my mother’s (slightly remodeled) wedding dress which my grandmother made for their wedding back in 1973! (Another Kelly photo – thank you!!)

**All four of us traveled to Fargo for Christmas. This was the first time I had been with any of my family for Christmas since before I was married, and what a joy it was! It was quite the journey getting there – think Minnesota weather in December – but it was worth every minute.

** I made many new mama friends! This was a special blessing for me because at the start of 2008 I didn’t really have any other mamas as friends – and they all have filled a special place in my heart.

Okay, I guess that’s it – or as close to “it” as is possible in five bullet points, that is. I look forward to the yet-unknown joys that 2009 will bring!

Getting back on the horse that threw you...

2009-01-21T19:11:00.001-08:00

Getting back on the horse that threw you…

Despite my best intentions, I fell off the blogging wagon over the last two months. However, it is a new year and time for a new start. One of my goals for myself for 2009 is to be more disciplined about keeping up with this blog. I want to take time to stop and reflect, and what’s more, to put those reflections into words before they slip from my memory. I want to make meaningful choices for me and my family, and to keep a record that I can look back on when we get to the end of this year to see where our path has taken us. After all, the time is going to pass regardless of what I do – might as well make the most of it!

A New Coat

2008-11-08T19:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry to disappear on you this week. Jonah got hit with a nasty cold that leaves him (and mama) restless at night and fussy during the day, thus I'm feeling rather drained and not particularly creative. I did, however, finish up a little project this week that I'll share with you. Jonah definitely needed a new jacket this fall. All his sweaters from last winter still fit around his middle, but were quite a bit short in the arms and bodies. I decided to make his coat – prompted in part by the return of seasonally cool weather this week.

I used Burda pattern number 9634, which included a pattern for a coat and pants. (The pants are cut out, but not sewn yet.) I knew I wanted to make it from wool, but that it needed to be washable as well. So, I went to a local fabric store and bought cream colored wool suiting. I took it home, felted it, dyed it blue, and voila- washable, soft wool! I lined the coat with a fun Japanese fabric, and used 4 snaps to close the coat rather than buttons as the pattern instructed. On the whole, I think it turned out pretty well. The only drawback is that the coat is bigger and bulkier than anything J has ever worn – and he has a bit of trouble maneuvering in it. Today, while trying to pick up his toy, he tipped over on his face and couldn’t get up without help. Poor little one! (Reminds me of the boy in “The Christmas Story” who, once dressed for the winter outdoors, couldn’t move.) My favorite part is the oversized pointy hood!

Okay, so that picture makes the wool look really pilly - gah! In real life it is mostly soft and fuzzy and broken-in. On the whole, I think it turned out well. (Or, to stay true to my North Dakotan roots - I'd say its not too bad.)

And the baby in it- well I'd say he's just about perfect!

A Little Adventure

2008-11-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

Jonah and I went on a little adventure today. Before I tell you about it, I’ll give you a little hint as to what it was:

You probably guessed it – wading! We’ve been hiking at a local open-space park a few times this fall, and a bit of the stream has been blocked off by a beaver dam, creating a perfect wading area. Poor Jonah was beside himself to get into the water when last we went, so I decided we needed rubber wading boots. His feet are just barely big enough for the tiniest boots I could find, and when he was wearing them around the house his feet slip out with each step. (Also, these are the first non-soft-soled shoes he’s ever worn, so walking was a big challenge.) Putting some bulky socks on him seemed to help, and once he got into the water with them, he did really great. No tumbles at all!

We are having such unseasonably warm weather that we wanted to take advantage of it right away, lest it disappear on us. Hard to believe we were wading while wearing short sleeves in November! We had such a fun time playing with sticks, our little boat-on-a-string, and of course petting any dogs that came by.

Once he got tired of the water (it is hard work slogging around in knee-deep water!) we played in the leaves for quite a while.

Even after we changed out of our wading boots, he had fun with them.

It was just our sort of adventure!

Halloween

2008-11-01T19:10:00.001-07:00

I hope you all had a fun Halloween!

We had a low-key but nice day around here, and the 75 degree day didn’t hurt, either. Jonah and I started off by meeting a group of friends at the Children’s Museum in the morning. They have a big Halloween event with outside booths for trick-or-treating, games, pumpkins and hay bales for the little ones to climb on.

Jonah got one package of candy corn and one dried fruit thingy which was just about the right amount of candy for him. Mostly, he enjoyed the hay bales. After a couple of very stimulating hours, we headed home, ostensibly to take a nap (mama really could have used one!) however due to all the fun we’d had, the nap just didn’t happen. Sigh…

Once home we had a slightly disturbing revelation. Willow, my goofy deaf cat, is apparently a hunter!! Don't be deceived by her cozy sleepiness (although we certainly were) - she is a force to be reckoned with.
True to the spirit of Halloween, she happily deposited a bloody, headless mouse on our back step. (Don’t worry – I didn’t take any pictures!) Now I guess I know where the occasional dead mouse I find is coming from. Poor Alex was quite upset when he got home (“Why did she have to kill it?”) but was slightly impressed at the same time.

Okay, back to Halloween. Well, Alex had declared a couple weeks ago that he didn’t want a costume this year. Of course, the night before Halloween he changed his mind. After discussing why he couldn’t wear a gruesome costume like some of his friends, he decided he would be a ghost. So, Friday afternoon at 4:00 we headed across the street to the ARC in search of a ghostly costume. 20 minutes later we emerged with a white thermal shirt, a pair of baseball pants, and a sheer curtain panel – ah victory!! Once home we tied a dish towel on his head, pinned the ghosty curtain to his head and drew on a couple eyes, and, voila! He was in such a hurry to get going I only managed to get one (blurry) photo before he and his dad took off. (I like to think the blurriness adds to the ghostly-ness.)

Oh, yeah, somewhere in the middle of all this we carved our pumpkins too. It was quite a night! Poor Jonah passed out at about 5:45, but Alex and Matt had a fun time going around the neighborhood with the neighbor boys. All in all, it was a rousing success.

Autumn!

2008-10-31T18:49:00.000-07:00

The signs of autumn are everywhere – literally! Despite our unseasonably warm weather, autumn has crept up on us in so many ways. Fallen leaves, cool crisp mornings, and dark evenings all tell us that autumn truly is here.
Nothing says “fall” to me quite like apple dishes. This apple crisp was a joint effort (Alex turned the peeler and ate the apple peels.)

The first time we pretty much followed this recipe – and it was delish, if a tad sweet for my taste. Last time, in true Erin fashion, I had to modify it. I didn't have an orange or a lemong, so I left out the zest and orange juice, used ¼ cup of lemon juice instead. I also used half the amount of sugar, and whole wheat flour.

The result? Well, lets just say that there’s a reason I don’t have a picture of the final product.

What is this all about??

2008-10-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

Oh, my! I finally did it. See, I've had the idea of a blog kicking around in my head for quite a long time now, and here it finally is. There were a number of factors that had to be worked out before I could get this going, including computer issues (involving a sick baby in the middle of the night, a sleepy mama, and a computer left on the floor... you get the idea), a trouble coming up with a name (more on that later), and a general lack of "gumption". The stars must have been in alignment, because it all got worked out around the same time and here I am!
Now, about this "milkweed" business. I've always loved milkweeds. The first time I remember seeing one was on a trip in college - I remember being fascinated by the seed pods, and I took one home and stored it in a Ziploc bag. (I found it years later gone to seed right in the bag!)

Fast forward to now. A couple weeks ago I had to go in for jury duty. I was extremely worried about it, as it was to be the first time J and I had been apart. Fortunately, after only a couple hours, I was dismissed and able to go home. My husband (who had taken the day off to be with J) and I went out to a local trail to let Jonah walk, and what did we come upon but a huge patch of milkweed, just beginning to go to seed. We were amazed at how beautiful the seeds are, all snuggled up in the pods.

We blew the seeds out and watched them float away, like hundreds of little fairies, much to Jonah's sweet delight. The fanciful part of me got to thinking about those seeds, growing over the season tight inside the pod getting ready to fly away in autumn. I wonder what dreams are sent out in those fairy-seeds? As they fly freely on the breeze, what must it be like for the newly-released seeds? Everything that had once been stored up in the milkweed pod all summer was now let go to explore the world. All these thoughts went through my head on that beautiful afternoon and stuck with me as I came to set up this blog, and it seemed an obvious choice. I want my thoughts and dreams to be “milkweed dreams” set free to go where they will. And, like the milkweed seeds, I don't know where I'll end up, but the journey is sure to be amazing!