Friday, January 18, 2013

{this moment}


A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, silly, out of the ordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor, remember, and never repeat.

:: Inspired by Soule Mama ::

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments, for all to find and see.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Oooh That Feels Good

The sun is out and it's warm. Mmmmm-oh-mmmm it feels sunny good. It feels bright and healing and warm. Let us not underestimate the glory of warm.

It's bright out, yeah, Ada? It has been bright, clear skied, and sunny all week, but the sun was messing with us, and offering no heat.

I'm sorry... did you just snicker a little bit? Scoff, because this is California and we don't know "cold?" Sure, it's been colder here than places out east, Midwest cold capitals, places you'd expect frost and windchill. But, maybe you think we're just a wee bit wimpy about our winter weather? Yeah... you might be right about that. "Say a little prayer for us. We're suffering here."

Ada, they're laughing at us. In New York, in the North Woods. They're shaking their heads and wondering what we would do if our pipes froze, if we had to de-ice our surfboards. The truth is we don't live in a place that normally gets these low temperatures, and it catches us unprepared in our board shorts, and flip-flops. Our house has these ridiculous high ceilings, minimal insulation, and drafty windows, so if it's 50, or 40, or 30 degrees outside... it ain't much warmer inside! We set our thermostat to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. I do not want to see this month's power bill.

Pfffft!

Light, and warmth... mmmmmmmmm-oh-mmmmm does this feel good.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

I Heart

Just because...

I heart~
Unexpected gifts~
Robots, FIRST, and FIRST 2102 Team Paradox~
Bulbs, gardens, seeds, seed catalogs, and pulling carrots out of the ground~
Cobalt blue~

I heart~
Mermaids~
Matchboxes, candles, Christmas lights, LED lights, fireflies, and campfires~
Acorns, and corn on the cob, and oak trees, and tree houses, and Hobbit houses~
Chickens, hens, roosters, chicks, nests, eggs, cracked corn, and corn tortillas~
Boots, cowboy boots, rain boots, rain, cows, and mooing at cows standing in golden fields with oak trees~
Lathes, dremel tools, sandpaper, drills, yardsticks, wood glue, hot glue, and glitter~

I heart~
Home~
Travel books, maps, railway stations, trains, coming home~
Horse shoes, wall hooks, wainscoting, railings, cable spools, and galvanized steel~
Dishes, sheets, quilts, scarves, sewing, cooking, thinking, dreaming, making, tinkering, fixing, planning, going, returning~
I heart Chickenblog, because I can think out loud here, and find kindred spirits, and little and great things that matter, and that do not matter, yet reveal themselves and want to be out.
I heart~
Laughing, too.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Now This is Interesting

Did I get your attention? Ready for the big news?

The oven is heating!

Everyday, since December 31, 2012 last year, we have tried in vain to get our oven to ignite-light-heat-work... anything! This morning Geoff was researching all the possible things that could be wrong with it. (I strongly suspect our appliance guy has given up on Thermafail.) Geoff is certain that the fan is malfunctioning, and in his free time he will see about replacing it.

In the meantime, the West is in a record breaking freeze, and all culinary hopes and cravings revolve around a working oven, baked goodness, roasted delights. We want our comfort foods! Hot from the oven!

So, as is our habit, we try our oven. Every morning, every afternoon. It is a moment of anticipation, of hopeful suspense, followed by crushing disappointment.

But half an hour ago... success! Armed with the knowledge that the oven is failing because of "a fan," I turned the knob, and opened the oven door and blew into the cavern that is our double-size Thermafail oven. Alex raised an eyebrow, as I crouched forward, looking like I was blowing out candles on a cake. But then we saw the arrow turning up, the temperature was rising. Alex crouched and blew out candles with me. Maria walked in and with amused incredulity asked, "What the heck are you guys doing?" A fair question.

On bended knees, Alex and I were wooing our Thermfail. Whispering sweet nothings into our oven's cold head. And. It actually worked! We really turned our oven on.

When it's so cold you wake your spouse, before dawn, and lure her out to the goat pen to carry two little goats into the house, upstairs, and into the shower stall... well, when it's that cold, you know you need a working oven and something fresh baked... not half-baked!