Winter, here is your Sting.

Last night, as the civic idled beyond our back door, Dan kissing goodbye's with Ana, I had the notion to come with him. I couldn't stand being alone for 2 days without him. So, I packed Ana and myself up in five minutes and off we went with my incredulous husband to Minneapolis. There's one thing he can't say: That he's not sure if his wife loves him or not.

I thought maybe we'd miss the dumping of snow that Marshall is due to get (and should be in the middle of right now). But alas, Minneapolis is to get the same amount. Oh Winter. Can't you take a hint?

Go find yourself a nice bowl of soup and curl up with My Antonia (only because it's such an awesome book and you should read it if you haven't). This should be the last of the snow socking.

Again.

Good times.

Was browsing old photos as Ana goes to sleep for a much much much needed nap (she's working at a 10 hour nap deficit right now. Not good for house plants.) Found this photo from last Memorial Day.





Here we are, in Nederland, Colorado. That's my dear friend Andrew, his wife Paula, a younger Ana, Dan, and another dear friend Carrie. Everyone but me and Ana had just run the Bolder Boulder 10K that morning, and we were replacing all those energy K's with some yummy yums at the high altitude (around 8,700 ft.) Sundance Cafe. Oh. So. Tasty. What a grand weekend we had of visiting and giggling.

Sigh.

I miss those guys!!!

Post Preview

Well, I've had it in my mind that I was going to post a pic of Butterscotch, our mama cat, in her pregnant state. But she is elusive this weekend!

Instead I'll just report that our trees are giving so much sap that we can't keep up. Today, we're dumping all the sap that collects. If you want it, come on down and bring a 15 gallon container! It's yers!

Gold Star.

Finally! The lettuces are burgeoning from the ground under my cold frame. There will be modest sized salads on our dinner table in a week! Okay, maybe two weeks.

And the trees are giving of their life blood to us in spades. Here's a peek at it's amber goodness.

I did it.

Yes, I did. I was collecting sap just now. And out of pure curiosity, I tasted it. Got a little on my fingers and stuck them in my mouth. And I have to say, it wasn't bad. Like sugary water. Which is what it is of course. I'm not replacing my coffee with it though.

Which brings me to this next story. It happened thusly:

About 20 minutes ago, I was on the north side of our home site giddily looking ahead to see how full our sap buckets were (5 gallons already Dan!). What joy. It's going to be fat syrup eatin round these parts this year. As I poured some of that liquid candy into our 5 gallon pail, I noticed the air smelled sweeter. A little flowery, a little earthy, a little bovine dung-y. I thought that was odd because the wind was coming from the north, and there's really no cow/steers that a-ways. No matter, on to the next tap. Hmmm, I thought. That's an odd looking rock. Moist. And green-ish. No matter, on to the next tap. There's one! Across the little field I spotted an almost full bucket. Sweet! I trotted over gaily.

Midway to the tree and bucket I stopped. Hoooooo! That's definately poo, I thought. I looked down and holy expletive. I was standing in a field sprayed generously with cow/steer poop. I had already traversed a good 20 feet over the ... well ... you know ... sh*t. And I had to trod at least another 20 to get away from it.

Apparently, one of our neighbors forgot to turn off their manure spreader while traversing our field to theirs, or they didn't think we ever used ours and just didn't turn it off. Either way, I've got some seriously affected shoes and jeans. And I JUST DID LAUNDRY THIS MORNING. Next time I get excited about sap, I'll have to remember that no matter how great it is to see a bucket full of sap at the foot of a tree, I must watch where I walk!

Ponder, if you will.

What a morning.
The cats are snoozing peacfully in the warm sun, Ana is napping, and I've already ticked off a handful of cleaning jobs. Glory.

Last night Dan and I went to what has become the highlight of my month. E-team, which stands for Evangelization Team. We shared a meal, complete with yummy scalloped corn (read early death) and this incredible tray of bars that turned out to be laden with corn syrup (read death at age 32). My taste buds couldn't have been happier.

With our group of 5 couples and the good Reverend, we hashed out Pope John Paul II's encycical Redemptoris Mater (Mother of the Redeemer). Well, the 5 couples did. Father Jeremy read the wrong document. Especially strange since he was the one to suggest Redemptoris Mater. Okay.

Anyhoo, so many thoughts and favorite passages were exchanged. But I loved this one this quote from the document the best: "The Church proceeds along the path already trodden by the Virgin Mary, who 'advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and loyally preserved in her union with her Son unto the cross.'" Beautiful. Mary's abandonment, her perserverence through the hidden years (before Christ's public ministry, I picture her looking at Jesus and quietly asking herself 'I did see an angel, right? This is the Son of God, right? Someone tell me I'm not nuts.')

Her ability, her incredible love for her Son, to watch him and allow him to be crucified. How could she have known that his crucifixion was part of God's plan of salvation for us? Yet, she remembered Simeon's words, that her heart would be pierced with a sword, that there would be suffering. And in her perfect abandonment to God's will, she watched her only Son die on a cross.

Incredible.

Hello. Goodbye.

You, dear reader, are witnessing the steady decline of my mind into the world of nutrition. My dear husband had no idea, when we were married, that I would turn into the food Nazi.

Some familiar scenes. Scene A: Dan happily munches down a Snickers bar. I walk up behind him and rattle off the unsafe additives in said bar and what they are doing to his liver. Scene B: We are at dinner and Dan joyfully helps himself to heaping spoonfuls of sweet corn doused with salt. From across the table, I practice restraint and mention that maybe we should start eating more vegetables. Bewildered, Dan looks at his plate and says: what do you mean? I'm eating corn! To which I can't help but giggle a little. (Corn is only a little less nutritious as a Snickers bar. See what I mean? I'm a lot of fun at parties.)

And now, the piece de resistance. Today, I bit the bullet and ordered Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon from Amazon. She believes in healthy, fatty eating drawn from research with indigenous diets around the world. Hello Cod Liver Oil. Goodbye refined sugar and white flour. Read on with the Weston Price Foundation if you're interested. I'll keep y'all updated.

And, to be fair. I too love Snickers bars and corn and eat them whenever my will power is low. Like right now.

Bag Lady In the Middle of a Sentence

He is Risen!

Today was Ana's special day, because her names means "The Risen One" in Greek: Anastasia. So, it's fitting that she tasted her first dallop of ice cream today.

I hope everyone had a splendid Easter. We did! We began our day with pancakes topped with out first batch of maple syrup. Mmmmmmmm. Then we headed over to celebrate Mass, Fr. Jeremy did an awesome Homily, and as usual Jesus was there. Afterwards, we went to Dan's folks house where we laughed and visited the afternoon away. What a day.

And then I come home to this. Proof that I have the cutest nieces and nephew.

Pange, lingua, gloriosi
Corporis mysterium,
Sanguinisque pretiosi,
quem in mundi pretium
fructus ventris generosi
Rex effudit Gentium.

Nobis datus, nobis natus
ex intacta Virgine,
et in mundo conversatus,
sparso verbi semine,
sui moras incolatus
miro clausit ordine.

In supremae nocte coenae
recumbens cum fratribus
observata lege plene
cibis in legalibus,
cibum turbae duodenae
se dat suis manibus.

Verbum caro, panem verum
verbo carnem efficit:
fitque sanguis Christi merum,
et si sensus deficit,
ad firmandum cor sincerum
sola fides sufficit.

Tantum ergo Sacramentum
veneremur cernui:
et antiquum documentum
novo cedat ritui:
praestet fides supplementum
sensuum defectui.

Genitori, Genitoque
laus et jubilatio,
salus, honor, virtus quoque
sit et benedictio:
procedenti ab utroque
compar sit laudatio.
Amen. Alleluja

Sing, my tongue, the Savior's glory,
of His flesh the mystery sing;
of the Blood, all price exceeding,
shed by our immortal King,
destined, for the world's redemption,
from a noble womb to spring.

Of a pure and spotless Virgin
born for us on earth below,
He, as Man, with man conversing,
stayed, the seeds of truth to sow;
then He closed in solemn order
wondrously His life of woe.

On the night of that Last Supper,
seated with His chosen band,
He the Pascal victim eating,
first fulfills the Law's command;
then as Food to His Apostles
gives Himself with His own hand.

Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature
by His word to Flesh He turns;
wine into His Blood He changes;
what though sense no change discerns?
Only be the heart in earnest,
faith her lesson quickly learns.

Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail;
Lo! o'er ancient forms departing,
newer rites of grace prevail;
faith for all defects supplying,
where the feeble senses fail.

To the everlasting Father,
and the Son who reigns on high,
with the Holy Ghost proceeding
forth from Each eternally,
be salvation, honor, blessing,
might and endless majesty.
Amen. Alleluia.

Holy Thursday

Sundown tonight will be a special time. For one thing, Lost is on.
That and it marks the beginning of Christ's passion. Tonight we quiet our hearts from the usual daily noise and focus on the true love of Christ. Or, at least, we try to. Sometimes babies distract us.

Tomorrow, Good Friday, we remember the greatest mystery: Christ's death. With his death, we die because we became, quite literally, his body when we were baptized. On Sunday, we celebrate his Resurrection, and with whom we are resurrected from death. It was for this saving act that Christ was born, and the expression of God's perfect love for us. It's a hard one to wrap the head around. That's why it's such a mystery.

That and those v's that geese make. I've been seeing quite a few of those these days. How do they do that?

Run Forest Run!

This is for all you runners out there who take the winter off (and sometimes post-partum summers).

Last night, Dan and I pulled into our home. Five days before we left having just started some lettuces under a cold frame, potted some seedlings, the trees just beginning to give some sap. In short, if it weren't for Dan's weekend of theology and me and Ana's weekend with Yi and Gramps, we would've stayed and doted over everything. Now we were back to our home full of hope. But, the seedlings hadn't germinated yet, the trees had given but an inch of sap, and the cold frame was still cold under the clear, starry sky.

Three hours in a car will twist my back into a swollen mass of tissue. So, after we assessed our projects, I pulled on my running gear and headed out into the still night air to do what I needed to do. Run. The night was calm and black. The half-frozen grass lit by a near full moon.

Most runners run in the morning. That thought sends shock waves through every muscle in my body. I've tried it a few times, heck, even trained for a half-marathon in the morning. But I just can't get into that rhythm. At night, the birds sleep, everyone is winding down and looking forward to bed. The world closes down, except for me. I get it to myself.

It was only my fourth or fifth run of the year, but the night air exhilerated me so that it could have been my thirtieth. Chugging along, one foot in front of the other, my mind unfolded, as it usually does. I pondered the land around me, ready to be worked and seeded. The smell of animals thick in my nose. The cool air filling my lungs and loosening my back. The sound of gravel and dirt grinding under my shoes.

At the Bloome farm, I turned around and started to realize that I was beginning to hurt. Ah yes. I am not in shape after all. One foot in front of the other. There's something about not being seen by anyone that allows me to tune out the hurt in my body and lets my mind spill over. Was I a good enough mother to Ana that day? Why was I so short with Dan when he was just asking me a simple question?

Our farmhouse approached. The lit windows punctuated the night with an orange glow. A mile north, a train whistled through Green Valley, dogs answered with whines. They continued to talk to each other long after the train has left. Then I remembered that even in August, the tenth mile feels the same as the second. And the second mile really doesn't feel much different then as it does now. If I can just keep going, I will be fine.

Start at the Beginning.

It's the beginning of Holy Week. This is my absolute favorite time of the year. A spiritual odyssey. Even when my spiritual life is dry (which is usually is), this is the week I can tap into a liturgy that makes Jack from Titanic look like the spiritual equivelant of a mouse compared to Christ's lion.

I hope your Holy Week is a true journey of love!

I've got dreams.

Dan: I had a terrible nightmare last night.
Me: Really? What was it about?
Dan: I got a B+ on my paper.

Today was one of those days that I dream about all winter long. The grey, dull winter clouds were replaced with the fluffy white summer variety. Here they are as seen from our garden.



Ana was in a glorious mood from sun up to sun down (and longer apparently. I can hear her playing in her crib while she's supposed to be sleeping right now.) My baking projects for the day were completed by noon and all turned out very tasty. My first stab at Graham Crakers -- success.



The mercury hit 58 degrees with the sun shining so bright that I put out the laundry to dry. Oh glory.



And Ana and I spent much of the afternoon outside basking in the beauty of spring. Me chasing Ana, and Ana giggling and falling down in the mud. I felt like I could do anything. I felt like I could have six kids, I even wanted six kids for a brief moment. And for those of you who are thinking, "I wonder how many kids they're going to have?" I reply: Let's take 'em one at a time people!

I wish I would remember days like this when everything seems to be going wrong. When my bread falls, when Ana is sick, when Dan is gone to St. Paul. But for today, at least, I'm going to enjoy it. Because it won't be long and Ana will be leaving home for college. And I'm going to wish I had these days all over again.

As I gently washed away the last of the mud from Ana's legs in the tub tonight, I pondered her small, chubby, fuzzy legs. How fast we grow, how precious time is.

So, what else is new?

I planted lettuces today. Work that half-frozen ground! I know it doesn't look like much now, but just wait. In a few weeks, it'll look exactly the same!



Wow. That rhubarb in the bottom right corner has definately seen better days.

So, what else is new? Well, I guess I could mention that Mary and her trio played a recital at Carnagie Hall on Saturday night. AGAIN. But, that would be kind of boring, and I'd like you to keep coming to my blog.

Oh I'm joking! We couldn't be happier for Mary! She's the one in the middle, playing the piano.



And check out that red shiny skirt she's wearing! And who says bridesmaid dresses can't be worn twice.

Spring Revival.

A few years ago, Dan and I went through a few seasons of the British comedy 'Allo 'Allo, thanks to DVD Christmas gifts from my dad. We just found out that we can get them off of Netflix too, so of course Dan jumped on the net and put season three on our queue.

Well, they're on their way! Dan and I have agreed that the show is basically the same 5 jokes told over and over again. But they are 5 really funny jokes.

Here is Renee, the proprieter of a Parisian bistro, who tries to assist the French Resistance and stay on the good side of German officers.

You are what you eat.

Yesterday evening, I had the opportunity to visit with other vendors who will be working at the Walnut Grove Farmer's Market this summer. What a great time we had! We met at the home of Sunny Ruthchild, and discussed some possibilities to expand the market and get excitment going within the community. It was wonderful to be welcomed into such a dynamic group of people.

Did I mention they were an eclectic bunch? To name a few, a bubbly family of hutterites who recently moved to Minnesota from Germany, an elderly old farming couple, and Sunny herself, an older gal and a West-coast hippie type. Looking at the potluck table, I spotted sausage in sauerkraut (all homemade), tater-tot hotdish, and a heaping plate of curry and rice. Guess who made what.

Ode to the Cow.

Last weekend Ryan and Tiffany Batalden were over delivering one of their tasty tasty cows. I can't bring myself to pay supermarket prices for organic beef knowing there was a grass-eating cow out there with me and Dan's names on it that is much more in my price range. So, a few months and a couple of buffalo burgers later, and we are in beef heaven. Saturday night, we had burgers. Sunday night we had burgers. Monday, TUesday, Wednesday and Thursday we had meatloaf (that's the problem with cooking for two). Tonight, we are taking a break with vegetarian chili. But tomorrow night? Look out. I love you cow!

In other news, we woke up 15 below temps this morning. The maples are laughing at me so hard the taps are bouncing up and down.

Literary Man.

Me: Goodness, look at Ana. She is just eating and eating!
Dan: Wow! She's like a bottomless pit that ... doesn't ... have ... a ... bottom.

Happy Birthday Mom!

My daily confidante, my cooking instructor, my shopping partner (grocery, that is), my anchor and my best friend. I love you mom!


Here's mom as a little girl. Awww! The first time i saw any pictures of mom before she was age 25 was when we were in Thailand a few years back. It was so strange to be seeing that time of her life so late in mine. It made me appreciate her more I think.


And here she is with her dad in Pon's front yard. The only picture we got of grandpa smiling. 5 minutes later he was back in his underwear.

Finally!

Oh beautiful Khai Pa Lo (no idea how to transliterate the thai) that tastes like mom's! And mom knows how many times I've banged my head into the wall over this one. Ta da!! I made 5 eggs, and I ate them all they were so good. Ana had a modest 1/2 egg. Sissy. Although, before bed, she did have a boatload of tofu soup. I don't know what it is about tofu and Ana. But she can't get enough of it.

Thai Eggs (Khai Pa Lo)
2 cloves minced garlic
2/4 Tablespoons Chinese 5 Spice (I just use cinnamon, and so does mom)
1 star anise
2 T. oil
a pinch of cumin
soy sauce or fish sauce
black pepper
water
1-2 T brown sugar

Heat oil over medium heat and add garlic. Cook until the air smells like garlic. Add 5 spice, star anise and cumin and heat, stirring, until aromatic (1 minute or so). Add 2 T soy sauce or 1 T fish sauce (I used soy, but I think mom usually uses fish), and a few shakes of pepper. Heat until aromatic (lots of aromatics!). Add shelled hard-boiled eggs (I did 5 and had a good amount of sauce/egg ratio), and heat a bit. Add 1/4 c. water and 1-2 T. brown sugar. Stir and heat s'more. Done! Eat ravenously with rice.

Speaking of Ana, here is a shot of her looking mighty cute. She just got these new overalls in the mail today. Plenty of room to grow, that's how we like 'em! Sorry about the fuzziness. It's getting harder by the day to photograph her without lots of action on her part going on.

O Maple Tree!

The sure sign of spring at our house has most definately become the tapping of the maple trees. So, imagine the saliva dripping from my mouth having seen Dan collect and present the tree tapping tools yesterday.

We spent a good hour hand drilling and tapping in the frigid wind, grinning like snowmen about to thaw. Life doesn't get much better. But in a few weeks it will, when we evaporate all the water to reveal what remains: golden syrup-y goodness.

Here's a pic of Dan doing his hand drilling thing. A tap is already in place, he's putting in a second on this tree. See Stewart on the bottom left? He still thinks he's a dog and follows us wherever we go. Janie, I think he misses you.

Oh, help me I love this time of year.

Joke Time!

Okay, okay. It's not a fart joke. Don't click away yet!
It's still pretty funny:

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Euripides.
Euripides who?
Euripides pants, I breaka your face.


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Tomorrow: Maple Tree Tapping!