Thanksgiving

We spent this Thanksgiving the same way we have the last few years. All the cartoonists, etc. who aren't going home for the holiday have a big potluck. My job gives every employee a free turkey every year but lucky for me, some of my friends volunteered to cook it and bring it to the potluck. There was a very large turnout this year and tons of delicious food.




Here is what we contributed to the potluck. I went a little crazy this year but I'm glad I did because almost everything was gone by the end of the evening. So back to front, left to right we have homemade applesauce from apples we picked, zwiebach (or rolls), pumpkin pie, blueberry jam from berries we picked, pecan pie, vegan apple pie, pumpkin chocolate chip pie (Joseph's idea, and a good one) and apple pie.




When I was little I loved watching my Mom make designs in the top pie crust and now that I make pies myself, I love the opportunity to personalize the pies a little bit. It's a little hard to tell, but this is my attempt at a turkey. He's facing left.




These are zwiebach. Some people think they are just rolls that are shaped funny but to me they will never be just rolls. They are zwiebach, which my Great-Grandma taught me to make when I was 9 and which I have been making ever since. Both my Grandmas make them, aunts and cousins make them. It's a family tradition. Another tradition is a meal called faspa which is zwiebach, cold cuts, jams, salads and dessert. We had faspa for our wedding meal and the pecan pie I made is from the recipe my Grandma Bartel made for our wedding.

It was a good Thanksgiving and we'll probably spend Christmas in a similar way. I'm already thinking about what I want to bring. Then in mid January, we'll be going home to Kansas for late Christmas celebrations. I'm really looking forward to it. Somehow no matter how many comfort foods I make, it never feels quite like Christmas until I'm at my Mom and Dad's house with my whole family around the table.

Speaking of Christmas, I've been working on making a little present for everyone in my family. It's a pretty large crowd by now and it's taking a little longer than I thought it would but I'm pretty happy with how things are turning out. As soon as I'm done I'll mail them home and once they arrive I'll post pictures but until then you'll just have to wait in suspense because I don't want to ruin the surprise.

Fall!

This summer flew by and was cool and rainy a lot of the time, but it was great anyway. I had a wonderful visit home that was the highlight of my summer. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me. It was amazing though. I spent the first couple days helping my family put up corn from the garden and then we all drove to Colorado to go to Family Camp with most of my Mom's side of the family. On the way, we spent a couple days in Denver and got to eat some really good Mexican food that I miss soooo much living here in Vermont. We went to see the new Harry Potter movie (a long standing tradition with my brother Tim) and I really tried to like it. Ever since I read the books though, the movies are harder and harder to enjoy. We also went to the aquarium, which was really fun, and surprisingly good for something so far from any ocean. Also, they have tigers there. I thought they were amazing, but tigers? In an aquarium? Then we were off to family camp for lots of hiking and good family time (the best thing ever) and introducing my nephew to toasted marshmallows. That's right, I got him totally hooked. I'm such a good aunt. Also, I got to see an awesome thunderstorm (another thing I miss since moving away from the midwest) which then turned into a very brief snowstorm. I got tons of great time with my 1 1/2 year old nephew and I even got some hugs and kisses. He's such a sweet little guy and I love watching my sister and her husband with him.

My garden had it's ups and downs. The slugs slowed down a little eventually and I got to eat a few things out of my garden. Of all the flower seeds I planted though, I still haven't gotten a single bloom except for the morning glories climbing the front of the house. I'm hoping some of the perennial flowers will come back next year and actually bloom, but we'll see. I might have to bite the bullet and buy actual plants instead of cheap seeds.



This huge branch fell on my garden and although my landlord kindly came and got rid of it quickly, it landed right on my tomato plants, and they weren't too happy about it.




Sooo, I spent an afternoon digging up this garden in the front of the house, where the sun shines a little more, and planted a whole bunch of bulbs. 25 crocuses, 18 dutch irises, 14 daffodils and 14 tulips. I'm really excited to see them all come up in the spring. All the bricks that line this flower bed, I dug out of my main garden last spring. I don't know why there were so many bricks in there, but I'm glad I found something useful to do with them.




Also this summer, Joseph and I used the internet to teach ourselves to make sushi. It's really not that hard and it's awesome and way less expensive than going out to eat sushi.




I also internet-learned how to make a yummy vegan chocolate cake in honor of the births of our good friends Chuck and Melissa (their birthdays are a couple weeks apart). I used this recipe and it turned out so well that I made a second cake for us after we sent home most of the leftovers with Chuck and Melissa.






I got a couple of my friends to put layers in my hair and I'm very happy with my new haircut. Here is the back of it.





And here's the front.





Joseph goes to a lot of conventions and I usually have to stay home, but I try to go to SPX every year. He has to work quite a bit, but for me, it's just a nice little vacation from work and a great chance to catch up with a lot of friends I hardly ever get to see.




I spent very little time here, behind the table. It's busy and cramped back there and I'm just in the way anyway.




So I spent most of the convention time with my wonderful friends, such as Melissa here.




Kristen and Jacie and I spent an afternoon just napping in our hotel room. It was lovely.




We also went shopping with Emily and baby Gus. It was a great weekend and I'm already looking forward to seeing everyone again next SPX.


Now it's fall here and it's really beautiful. The leaves are all starting to change and this afternoon I went apple/pumpkin picking with Melissa (but forgot the camera) and it was amazing out. For some reason, fall always makes me feel like a total Susie-homemaker. Is that a term everyone uses or just my family? Anyway, I made two kinds of soup in one day, I made blueberry jam, apple blueberry pie, apple sauce, and apple butter. Next I'm making pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. Maybe my body thinks I'm going to hibernate so it's just trying to fatten me up for the winter.




A new blog post just wouldn't be complete without at least one picture of Mosley. He got into a little trouble while we were at SPX but he didn't harm himself and he didn't destroy anything that can't be replaced. He just keeps getting bigger and now that it's getting cooler, he is getting even more snuggly, if that's possible. He likes to try to drape himself around your shoulders, like he's doing in this picture.

The biggest news in my family is that I have a new nephew!! James and Courtney had a baby boy on September 21. I haven't met the little guy yet but from the pictures I've seen and from what I hear, he's pretty adorable. I'm looking forward to meeting him when we go home next January.

Summer!!

I have been very busy in my garden lately. Last year, the area surrounding our parking area was filled with weeds and pretty much nothing else. Some day lilies and a little rose bush were the only things someone put there on purpose. I was sharing a garden with a couple friends just up the hill from me, so I didn't try to take ownership of the weed patch. This year however, the shared garden wasn't going to happen and I really wanted to put some things into the ground. So I checked with our downstairs neighbors, who said they had no plans for the space. So I decided to go for it. It's a pretty good sized area, but because we live on the side of a hill, it only gets morning sun. I wasn't sure how well anything would grow, and I also wasn't sure how much money I could throw into it, so I bought a few plants, and a bunch of seeds, including a perennial mixture with cone flowers, black-eyed susans, columbine and a bunch of other stuff. I've spent a long time staring at all the little green things coming up, trying to figure out which ones are flowers, and which are weeds. The garden is on three sides of the parking area.





This is the right side of the parking. I've got some rhubarb, strawberries, jalapeños, and a few flowers here.






Here is the same spot a few weeks ago. The rhubarb took a long time to recover after I transplanted it from last year's garden. Most of the leaves died and I started to lose hope but all the sudden it started putting out new leaves like crazy. You can also see in this picture, I hadn't cleared out the whole garden yet. The entire thing was covered in that landscaping fabric you can see sticking out in the back.






Here is the garden along the back of the parking. It looks smaller than it is in this picture. You can park three cars facing this space. This is where I planted all those flowers. I'm sure I have a lot of cone flowers coming up, a bunch of lupines, and I'm pretty sure some black-eyed susans and maybe some columbine. Plus a bunch of mysteries. I just found out that most of that vine stuff hanging off the hill is wild grapes. I'm pretty excited about this.






See? Baby grapes!






As I was examining the grapes, I also discovered a big patch of wild blackberries!!! I love my generous hill even if it does shade my garden most of the day!!






Here is the left side of the parking. On this side, you can see the little rose bush that was already there. I planted some mint, basil, cilantro, lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, and more flowers. I went to buy some flowers the other day and the lady there was so nice, she just gave me the tomatoes and eggplant. I haven't really cooked with eggplant before but I'm sure I'll find something good to make out of it.






Here are some of the flowers I bought from her. She told me what they are called but I've completely forgotten.






I love our day lilies and as I wait (somewhat impatiently) for the tiny seedlings I planted to hurry up and grow, I really appreciate the bright lilies making my garden look a little more like a real garden.






This isn't a great picture but this is the front of the house. I planted snap peas and morning glories alternating all along the front of the house. The snap peas are growing much faster than the morning glories and as soon as it stops raining long enough, I will go put up some string for them to climb.






Besides gardening, I've been eating a lot of ice cream.






Also hanging out with Mosley. He is getting really big. He was four and a half pounds when we got him in December, and now is almost twenty pounds!






And of course knitting. This is a camera case I made for a friend. I made one for our camera too, but I don't have a picture. Ours is orange, yellow and green.


WARNING!! If you are squeamish, or if slugs gross you out, do not scroll down.












I have been picking obscene amounts of slugs out of my garden. Since my garden is shady, and right near a foresty hill, and it has been raining nearly every day, I have a major infestation. I decided to start counting them. I told people I had a lot of slugs in my garden, but I felt they didn't really understand how serious I was. Also, when you are picking that many slugs, it helps to focus on something else, like counting. Usually, I drop them into soapy water to kill them, put a lid on tight, and then toss the whole container into the dumpster. The first time I decided to count, I got 214 slugs. A few days later though, I was getting ready to pick slugs again, and I decided I needed to document this. So I just dropped them into this clear honey bottle, and skipped the soapy water. There are 477 slugs in there.






This is after I knocked them down, to show how full the jar is when they aren't climbing up the sides.






And the view from the top, just to give you a few more nightmares. I picked slugs again today and got 292 so the ones pictured are still the record for most slugs in one day. These guys are crazy. They totally destroyed my marigolds and have eaten most of my zinnia and sunflower seedlings. I'll keep picking them though, and I'm going to try some other natural remedies and hopefully I will be able to enjoy lots more out of my garden.

February Update

Mosley is getting pretty big these days. He's more than doubled his weight since we brought him home two and a half months ago. He's learning a bunch of commands and he's really good most of the time. He spends as much time as possible napping on Joseph or me. He is so dedicated to snuggles that if you are cooking, or doing dishes, he often brings a toy over and sits on your feet just to be near you.

Often, if he is really upset, it is because he did everything right and he still wasn't allowed to sit with us. He'll sit politely (which is what he must do before being allowed on the couch), if that doesn't work, he'll bring a toy over and sit politely, sometimes he'll give a little bark or pat you on the leg to get your attention and then sit again. If none if these things work, sometimes he goes a little berserk. He tears around and around the room making the strangest little growl/grunting noise. After a minute or two he usually finds a toy to take his aggression out on and sits next to your feet. It's pretty hilarious.




Here's Mos in one of his favorite spots, relaxing on Joseph's lap while he works at his desk.




Here's Mosley with his Santa toy (which for some reason is Easter colors?) which he has de-thumbed. He feels it's unfair for his toys to have thumbs if he doesn't have any.




And finally, here is Moses at his craziest. He was extremely freaked out by this ab roller. I promise he isn't usually this insane. Right now he is fast asleep on my lap.

My Mom and Dad get here in just a few days and I can't wait!!! I've been planning for weeks and cleaning for days in preparation. Dad, I know you aren't the biggest fan of indoor dogs. I promise if Mosley starts going crazy like that, we will not antagonize him like we did in the video and we can put him in his crate until he calms down.




Here are a few plant cuttings I'm trying to root. This weekend we had a really nice sunny morning which makes me, Mosley and the little plants happy. See? Peaceful sunny mornings.

Home for the Holidays

We got to go home for a week to celebrate the holidays a little late! Luke is getting so big and staying adorable. He's so great and it's so much fun to watch him figure things out. He was a little shy at first but he warmed up pretty quick.




Once he wasn't feeling as shy, he held my hands and we walked all over the place! When we were there he was just starting to walk by himself but if he held onto someone's hands, he could go pretty fast.







Every Christmas at my Grandparents' house, Grandpa reads a sweet children's book before we exchange gifts. This tradition also includes Grandma and Grandpa and probably a few other people crying as Grandpa reads the touching parts of the story. We kept that tradition but we had some other tears too. Thanks to Luke stealing the show several times and Grandpa accidentally skipping a line of the story, pretty much everyone got the giggles. This is a really shaky video because I shake when I laugh. If you watch the end of the video, Luke walks almost all the way across the room by himself.





Although it may not look like it in this picture, he warmed up to his uncle Joseph too.






He looooves Grammy and Grandpa!!










It's always so nice to go home and see everyone and always a little hard to leave. It was a little easier this time knowing that I'll be back for my brother's wedding later this year and that I'll have visitors before then. My parents are coming up in about a month and I can't wait!!! I keep thinking of more things to do but I'm also really looking forward to just hanging out at home with them. It's the first time I've played hostess to my family and it feels like a big deal. I'm also excited to introduce them to our puppy Mosley. My Mom's dogs are extremely well behaved so Mosley will be practicing his manners a lot this next month so he's ready for Mom and Dad's visit.




I think he'll be ready. :)