56. a great day at the DIA

Current obsession: feathers of any kind. {Chelsea can vouch for this as she received 4 feather-themed birthday presents last week.} Found this treasure in the Native American art collection:

Love the colors and patterns in this mosaic by Klaus Moje!

What better way to spend a frigid January Saturday than at a fantastic museum? With a high of 19 degrees and only a dusting of snow on the ground many activities and entertainment (like cross country skiing)were disqualified - the Detroit Institute of Arts provided just the creative outing Donielle and I needed. Enjoy the highlights!To finally see the prodigious Diego Rivera murals was amazing.

My documentation of the wooden motorcycle for Dylan.

18. Fly a kite

On a windy day on Lido Key we set sail a kite of no meager proportions. A nine year old and two twenty-somethings took only several attempts before great heights were reached; then squeals of delight were heard all around. Transported quickly back to childhood the sisters relished in the success of such a trivial feat and the energy of the young boy soared much like the nylon spinner.

81. Don't buy wrapping paper at Christmas.

In the U.S., an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated during the holidays. Four million tons of this is wrapping paper and shopping bags. •www.cleanair.org

Here's one lowly girl's attempt at getting creative with shopping bags, fabric scraps and magazines... to do nothing more than save the world like Dylan does everyday*.

*Inside joke. Call of Duty.

Second Annual Ornament Swap

Here are my creations for this year's holiday ornament swap. It looks as though participating has become a new December tradition for me. My anticipation of opening the mailbox everyday heightens as the ornaments from my fellow swappers start arriving. In addition, Dylan and I decided not to get a traditional tannenbaum this year, but we crafted our chalkboard tree to showcase all our handmade and gifted treasures.

Idea courtesy of The Small Object.

Very serious questions...

How do you take your hot chocolate? With milk, chocolate syrup, real cocoa, marshmallows, whip cream or peppermint schnapps? Do you only drink it in the winter? Have you ever had Mexican hot cocoa?

Today I am Proud

Today is Veterans Day and I'd like to thank my dad for his service to our country. He fought in Vietnam, enlisting before he could be drafted, just after graduating from Yale High School. I'm proud of him for this feat; for leaving his peers and family behind, for fighting for something he may not have believed in as a whole, and mostly, for returning home unharmed to my mom so that our family could come into being. I may not know much about his time in Vietnam, as I'm sure is the case with the children of most veterans, but I know it must have been really challenging to accept the fate of being a soldier at a time when the choice was to serve or flee.

Although we may not agree with the past or present motivations for the conflicts the United States has engaged in, we can agree that the dedication that service members, young and old, have displayed is admirable. Veteran is a word that inspires awe and pride in me. Courage and valor. Trust and strength. Twenty-four million of these individuals share our communities with us and the least we can do is offer this one day to them in hopes that everyday they realize that they are appreciated for the time they gave to their country whether for 1 year or 60.

Where does time go?

We've been in our house one year today. Owning a home comes with a lot of "firsts" but one of the most exciting things that we've realized in the past month is that this is the first time in nearly 8 years that we haven't had to think about moving at any point during the past 365 days. We love our house!

10/24/08

10/24/09

Culinary Contentment in Autumn

Not only is fall my absolute favorite time of year, I think the foods that are ushered in with the chilly weather, changing leaves and the year's harvest are beyond compare. Here is one of my favorite fall recipes and a new illustration to match:
Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients:
1 TBSP olive oil
1 1/4 c. sweet onion
1/2 c. minced carrot
1/4 c. celery
1 large butternut squash, peeled and seeded
1 TBSP peeled and minced fresh ginger
3 c. vegetable stock
1 bouquet garni (2 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp. peppercorns, 2 sprigs of thyme in cheese cloth) or you can improvise by sifting out the bay leaves and some peppercorns before blending and use a few shakes of powdered thyme)
kosher salt to taste

Directions:

• Cook onion, carrot and celery in large pot in oil on medium about 5 minutes.

• Add squash and ginger - cook another 5 minutes.

• Add stock, bouquet garni and salt and bring to a slow simmer. Cook until squash is tender... about 20 minutes usually.

• Transfer soup to blender or food processor and puree. (You may need to thin with additional warm vegetable stock to avoid baby food consistency.)

• Return soup to a low heat and adjust seasoning.

(I doubled this and the portion was perfect for 14 people.)