Sewing with snowflakes

It is cold here today, actual temps in the negative numbers and a little windy. It takes your breath away when you go outside.  There is a little valley across the street from my front window, and the houses on the other side of it look blurry like it's foggy but it's really just the blowing snow.  We are out of milk, but I don't want to leave the warmth of the house to go get any and I'm hoping I can convince Mike to pick the Pirate up from school. Thankfully, we have no real plans today and we can hunker down and hibernate.

I plan to do nothing productive except laundry and a little sewing. I've starting making a list of sewing goals for the year, kind of like we make reading goals, and I'm looking forward to actually completing a few projects. I might work on those or I might work on the shop, it's undecided at the moment.  My sewing room is a little chilly but once I get going I tend not to notice.

I'm also tempted to go curl up in bed with the baby girl, but that sounds better than it ends up being.

What would you do if you were stuck inside on a weekday?


I am an Amazon Associate. As such, any purchase you make at Amazon.com after following a link from this blog will earn me a (tiny) percentage back as income. Thanks. All content copyright Books. Lists. Life. at http://bookslistslife.blogspot.com. If you're reading this post anywhere other than there, you are reading stolen content.

Rannnnndom Friday

Random Thoughts:

•  I should really make a new banner. This one is quite old.
• What is on your table? I mean when it's all nice and clean, not when you just came home from work and dumped everything you were carrying on the table to join the breakfast dishes. A table runner? Candles? What? Mine is currently empty but after a month of a Christmas centerpiece I feel like it's so bare.
• I interviewed for a job on Monday. I have not heard from them but the ad is back in the paper. I suspect this is not a good sign.
• Baby girl is out of sorts. She's five months old this week so I suspect teeth are the culprit.
• They are showing the house that I live in tomorrow. The house that I own now has a sign in the yard. Don't worry, as soon as there is a listing I will be spamming it all over the interwebs.

Books I Read This Week:

• Finished The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World's Most Famous Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn. Good, but not the best foodie book out there, nor the best memoir.
• Devotion: A Memoir (P.S.) by Dani Shapiro for an upcoming tour.  I'm enjoying it.

A Look Back:

• I'd really like to hear about your dinner traditions.
• Our favorite pictures books from the last month.

Shop Update:
Not a lot of sewing going on this week. I did make up a custom name banner, and tried out an idea for fabric cuff bracelets, but no new shop listings.

 I am an Amazon Associate. As such, any purchase you make at Amazon.com after following a link from this blog will earn me a (tiny) percentage back as income. Thanks. All content copyright Books. Lists. Life. at http://bookslistslife.blogspot.com. If you're reading this post anywhere other than there, you are reading stolen content.

Two dogs, a duck, some kisses and a bunny.

I've been keep track of all the books I check out of our local library and I thought that I'd start sharing the picture books that we've enjoyed, maybe on a monthly basis or so. We tend to bring home 5 or 10 new books every time we visit the library, but we're not very picky so a lot of them turn out to be duds. Here's the best children's books from the last month or so.

McDuff's New Friend by Rosemary Wells. This was a Christmas story, but could be read any time. We'd never read about McDuff before and it led me to pick up a couple others. I love the old fashioned setting and feel of it.

Grumpy Gloria by Anna Dewdney. So nice to call someone other than the Bug grumpy! Bug! are you Grumpy Gloria today?

I Will Kiss You: Lots & Lots & Lots by Stoo Hample. The boys crack up at tushie every time.

Thump, Quack, Moo: A Whacky Adventure by Doreen Cronin. These are just fun to read, I love most any kid's book with repetition.

Henry & the Crazed Chicken Pirates by Carolyn Crimi. Definitely gonna be picking up Henry & the Buccaneer Bunnies. I mean, any pirate bunny who is worried about parrot poop in their eyes? A hit.

What pictures books have you discovered lately? Are your kids, like mine, easily amused with any sign of poop in their books?



I am an Amazon Associate. As such, any purchase you make at Amazon.com after following a link from this blog will earn me a (tiny) percentage back as income. Thanks. All content copyright Books. Lists. Life. at http://bookslistslife.blogspot.com. If you're reading this post anywhere other than there, you are reading stolen content.

Eating together as a family and The Family Dinner by Laurie David

When I was growing up we ate dinner at the table with the family at 6:00pm every night. EVERY night. All five of us ate dinner together every night. At 6:00. Did I emphasize the family dinner, every night enough yet? The only exception was if the whole family was at baseball practice, which was only for a few years.  Sometimes we had dinner on the river (one day I will post about this) but it was still family dinner, at 6:00, or as close to six as possible given that we were on the river. I don't think I can stress it hard enough that Dinner Was At Six. Our family had a cowbell outside the front door that was rung when it was time for dinner and you were expected to hear it, no exceptions.  I don't want to romanticize my childhood (some of those dinners were downright unpleasant!) but I do love traditions and rituals, and  family dinner falls into both those categories for me.


Now that I have my own family, I have this strong feeling that we should be having dinner every night as a family as well. And usually we do, but it's nothing like the dinner we had growing up. For example, there aren't as many rules (drink all your milk before asking to be excused, for example) and drink choice is not mandated (as a child, our choice was milk. Wait, one thing is not a choice!). Ours is a bit more relaxed, we prep our plates in the kitchen and no one is every required to eat all their food, so long as they are behaved and polite at the table. We do require them to ask to be excused and to return their plates to the kitchen and push their chairs in when they are done (and return their trays to the upright position.)  Some things are the same: no hats at the table, no tv, no wandering off and coming back, you still have to ask to be excused.

So with this background, when I saw The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time by Laurie David at the library, I knew it had to come home with me. I'm struggling to implement a little bit of ritual into our family life. I know this is my own way of trying to control the unknown in our new life, but whatever the underlying reason, I think we need a little ritual.  The Family Dinner is full of excellent suggestions to get this done. It's got tons of recipes, each of which includes the parts the kids should be capable of doing. David has her own list of rules for the dinner, one of which is water, only water, to drink. Interesting, when I grew up with milk, only milk. There are entire chapters of conversation starters and table games and ways to bring current events into the conversation.  Many of the suggestions are meant for older kids and would be hard to do at my table, but I'd love to own a copy to refer back to when they are a bit older.

I am taking a few of her suggestions and trying to slowly work them into our dinner. Instead of prepping plates in the kitchen, I'm going to start moving some dinner components to the table itself.  I'm trying hard to limit the number of times people get up for something forgotten (David says that no one gets up, at all, until the meal is over. Have it all on the table.) I want to work in some candles, to make it special to eat together. The boys will LOVE that. (Btw, anyone seen my candlesticks since we moved?)  We already force some conversation on the boys ("What was the best part of your day?") but I'd like to start talking a little bit about current events with the Pirate, even if it's something like "did you know that a girl the same age as cousin T sailed around the world? How do you think she did that?"  David suggests newspapers and magazines, and everyone finding something relevant to talk about, which would be great with older kids. This wouldn't work so well with non-readers, but I'm thinking about checking out Guinness World Records 2011 for conversation starters.

I'm curious what your dinner ritual is like. Do you eat as a family? Do you have strict dinner rules? What is the conversation like at your table? Does your family see it as time to spend together or as simply a way to get food in their stomachs? I'd very much like to be able to see that 30 minutes or 45 minutes or hour (ha) as a relaxing, enjoyable time, rather than something to rush through to get to baths and bed time. I'm open to suggestions, what has worked for you? What doesn't? 


I am an Amazon Associate. As such, any purchase you make at Amazon.com after following a link from this blog will earn me a (tiny) percentage back as income. Thanks. All content copyright Books. Lists. Life. at http://bookslistslife.blogspot.com. If you're reading this post anywhere other than there, you are reading stolen content.

Random Friday for the 21st, brownie making edition

Random Thoughts:

• I signed up for Jill's Jousting with Joyce. Come on, read Ulysses with us! Yes, I might be crazy, but I've been feeling outside of the blogging community lately and wanted to participate in something.
• I also signed up for Joanna's Food Challenge, and posted my first recipe here.
• Last weekend we went back to the old house and did a TON of little tiny things. Just one more trip and we should have it all spiffed up. It goes on the market within the week.
• They are showing the house today at 5. 
• I have a brand spanking new nephew! We're going to go visit him while they show the house.
• I want this. I want it so bad that I leave the link up all the time in on of my tabs. I keep thinking I could make one, but then I don't have the money for a color ink cartridge. Plus I'd rather buy a nice one. I'd buy that one but see lack of money above.

Books I Read This Week:

•  The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time by Laurie David - Excellent, really inspires me to solidify the routine to be unbreakable.  At least one more post about this book to come.
• Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott- I did not like it. There, I said it.  I thought Kate was whiny and unlikeable for way too long. It wasn't until over 200 pages in that she began to redeem herself and then never fully did. Bloom was much better.
• The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World's Most Famous Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn - Still working on this one, pretty close to finishing.
• Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi - I heard it won the Printz so I grabbed it up quick. Have only read a chapter or so.

A Look Back at this week's posts:

• A Yummy chicken recipe, make sure to add the olives.
• I'd like to know your pantry must-haves.
• A brief review of The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Shop Update:

I added a handful more knitting needle rolls this week, in case the birds weren't your style. Last night I whipped up an adorable little bib that I'm thinking of perfecting for the shop as well.  Hey, what do you think of that picture? Do you think I should crop in more? Is it attention getting at all? Is it better like this with the interior needles peeking out:

Also, I got a new signature for email this week.  It's big, but I like it.

Online at: Etsy Twitter  Facebook Blogger
Latest Blog Post: Moroccan Chicken Tagine for the Foodie Challenge

Signature powered by WiseStamp 

I think that's it, have a great weekend!

I am an Amazon Associate. As such, any purchase you make at Amazon.com after following a link from this blog will earn me a (tiny) percentage back as income. Thanks. All content copyright Books. Lists. Life. at http://bookslistslife.blogspot.com. If you're reading this post anywhere other than there, you are reading stolen content.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine for the Foodie Challenge

A few weeks ago I found a copy of The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect with Your Kids, One Meal at a Time by Laurie David on the shelf at the library. I started to read through it this week and it's full of great looking recipes.  Last night I made one that is well outside of my family's usual fare and everyone except the Pirate and miss le ate it down with pleasure. (The Pirate ate the chicken though and little miss doesn't have any teeth or eat solids yet!) Since I recently signed up for the Foodie Challenge, I thought I'd share this one with you, with my notes.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine

You need:
2T olive oil
1 large onion, sliced into wedges
1.5 lbs skinless, boneless organic chicken thighs, trimmed (I used chicken breasts)
1T grated fresh ginger (I used powdered, cause I didn't have fresh)
1 cinnamon stick (again, powdered)
1/2t turmeric
1/2t cumin
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1.5 cups chicken broth
1/2 c small pitted green olives, like picholines
10 dried apricots
salt and pepper to taste
lemon juice to taste
handful of whole blanched almonds (I used slivered ones)
handful of chopped fragrant tender herbs, like cilantro, parsley and basil

To Make:
Heat up a heavy-bottomed pot and drizzle in the olive oil. Add the onion and saute until it's soft and golden. Add the chicken and the remaining ingredients, saving the almonds and herbs for later. Let the tagine gently simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, toast the almonds in a dry skillet until they are golden. Watch them carefully as they burn easily. Just before serving, taste for seasoning, remove the cinnamon stick and sprinkle on the herbs. Top with the toasted almonds.

Serve with couscous cooked according to the package, then toss with plenty of lemon juice and a mixed green salad with fresh sliced oranges topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Ok, I left out the olives. I didn't think we'd eat them and I didn't want to spend the money. Next time I make it, I'm putting them in, I think it needed the saltiness.  I served it with rice (didn't have couscous) and well, corn. Like I said, everyone in my family liked it and we plan to make it again some time, perhaps even for company!

I'll say more about the book once I get to the end, but it looks to be an excellent addition to the shelf, wish mine weren't a library copy.

I am an Amazon Associate. As such, any purchase you make at Amazon.com after following a link from this blog will earn me a (tiny) percentage back as income. Thanks. All content copyright Books. Lists. Life. at http://bookslistslife.blogspot.com. If you're reading this post anywhere other than there, you are reading stolen content.

Your Ten Pantry Staples or Must Haves

Today as I was making "crackers" from a tortilla, I started to wonder what ten items I'd always want to have on hand. I started with the assumption that everyone would have the same first five or so- bread, milk, eggs, butter- quite like on the Wheel of Fortune final round where they give you the first five letters. Then I started to wonder if everyone had the same staples, I mean, vegetarians would have something different, right?  And maybe you're low carb?

My ten would be:

1. Milk
2. Butter or margarine
3. Eggs
4. Bread
5. Peanut Butter
6. Pasta of any shape
7. Canned beans
8. Tortillas
9. Cereal
10. Coffee

So tell me, what are your ten pantry staples? Are they significantly different from mine?

I am an Amazon Associate. As such, any purchase you make at Amazon.com after following a link from this blog will earn me a (tiny) percentage back as income. Thanks. All content copyright Books. Lists. Life. at http://bookslistslife.blogspot.com. If you're reading this post anywhere other than there, you are reading stolen content.

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han was never really on my TBR list. The cover flap specifically says that there are two different boys for her to choose between, and as I've said (over and over probably) I hate this kind of conflict, but then it was there when I was browsing at the new library and so it came home with me.

Belly, her brother and mom have spent every summer of her life at Cousins Beach with her mom's best friend Susannah and her family. Susannah has two sons the same ages as Belly and her brother and they have always been close. Belly has been in love with Conrad, the older brother, forever. This summer, the summer Belly turns 16,  is the summer that she finally gets noticed as a girl, and not just Steven's little sister.

And that's pretty much it! Belly (this makes me crazy, what a stupid nickname) meets a boy who really likes her (Cam), but can't seem to forget that she loves Conrad, who is a jerk. The entire book rotates around between the two brothers and the new love interest, while Belly tries to figure out who she really wants.   Belly isn't particularly likable nor is Conrad, but Cam is terrific and I really liked Jeremiah, the younger brother. I can relate to teen indecision and feeling like something huge is happening to you, but I had a tough time understanding how Belly treats Cam at the end, and it seems like too much bad behavior is excused by too little. The books ends with a romantic match, but I didn't really feel the romance or the attraction at all.

Despite this, the book was actually ok for me. I love the summer beach teen setting which this one came through with in spades. I just think that Sarah Dessen's Along for the Ride (review) does it much better. Final verdict: nice and breezy, summer romance, not going to hit my top ten list. Borrow it from the library, don't buy it.


The Summer I Turned Pretty
By Jenny Han
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
2009
288 pages
Library copy




I am an Amazon Associate. As such, any purchase you make at Amazon.com after following a link from this blog will earn me a (tiny) percentage back as income. Thanks. All content copyright Books. Lists. Life. at http://bookslistslife.blogspot.com. If you're reading this post anywhere other than there, you are reading stolen content.