raising money

I've been busy this week with 4 kids + VBS. I was able to bring all 4 kids so I taught the 5th grade class, thinking the kids would be more comfortable with me around and I am teacher, anyway. With skillz.

The kiddos had a lot of fun. This week we raised money to build a school in Papua. I heard about some other VBSers doing a lemonade stand so I suggested we try the same thing. It provided hours of entertainment as the kids were so excited to get ready for the big sell. They made posters, and I made the rest. We learned some valuable lessons that I would like to pass on to other young entrepreneurs.

1. Brownies are big money makers.

2. Lemonade is not necessary. We had a "snack stand."

3. A park is actually "private property" and if you set up your stand there, you may be asked to donate proceeds to the park.

4. Four adorable blondies waving like mad can convince even the surliest truck driver to stop for a drink.

5. Providing change is a great math refresher for the older kids . . . or adult present.

We raised some $$, people were generous with their change and several people from our church recognized us and stopped. The kids, the oldest especially, took great joy in dumping their tupperware container into the offering basket. "Almost enough to send one kid to school for a whole month!"

a summer salad

This salad is for my friend Kelly. She is attempting to collect a bunch of cold salad recipes so as to avoid a hot kitchen during dinner hour. I appreciate this collection, as my house has no air conditioning and the kitchen is especially . . . warm. We've hit another humid spell and my glasses fogged up when I left the chill of our window-unit-cooled bedroom for the unpleasant smack in the face of the humid living room.

How pleasant.

I haven't tried this salad yet but my mom sent it to me this week with the subject: Try this salad . . . so I suggest you do what Carol says. :) The notes aren't hers but I'll leave them in there anyway.

Orzo Salad

1 package (16. oz.) Orzo

14 dried tomatoes (I prefer the oil-packed julienned ones in a jar-I drain & use the whole jar-it is small).

10 pitted ripe olives, sliced (I use the bottled Kalamata ones-you can save them in the refrigerator, unlike canned black olives)

1 can artichoke hearts, quartered

1 stalk celery, sliced

1/3 c. roasted sweet red pepper, chopped (I use a small jar of the canned ones-I hate to waste them, and usually don't have anything to do with the leftovers before they spoil)

2 T. fresh basil, chopped (easiest way is to roll the leaves and snip with scissors)

2 T. fresh Italian parsley, chopped (I have used regular parsley when I didn't have Italian handy, but don't like it as well)

Feta Cheese (I use a small box of traditional flavor/style - or about 3/4-1 cup)

3 T. lemon juice

3 T balsamic vinegar

3 T. olive oil

1/4-1/2 t. salt

1/8-1/4 t. pepper, freshly ground

Cook pasta according to directions; drain. While pasta cooks, soak dried tomatoes in warm water for 10 minutes (if you are not using the oil-packed ones); drain and chop.

Combine pasta, chopped tomato, olives, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl, tossing to coat with dressing. Makes 6-10 servings.

lazy saturday

It's a beautiful day and we're getting ready to fire up the grill for the 2nd time today! It's July 31st and in the 70's. We have to enjoy this glorious day!

So, I can't be bothered to get all the pictures off my camera of this week's exciting highlights (?!), but I do have these from last week's rainy day. Where Moose distracted me with his mischief.

Behold, "the meadow," which is what our neighbor calls it, and is much more glamorous sounding than "the field."

The Meadow, it is, then.

Down by the water I found this tropical beauty:

The upcoming storm provided some interesting lighting.

And then it rained and rained and rained.

don't forget about the moosey.

It has been a while since I wrote an entire post dedicated to Moose, so I hope you can put up with this one. Or rather, you've been missing him sorely, and this is a little Moose fix to tide you over until you can rub his little booty yourself.

Last week a storm was rolling in and I noticed wildflowers blooming in our field so I thought I'd take some pictures of the flowers and wander down to the water and wait for the rain. I invited Moose along since Matt was gone until forever at some meeting.

Moose was dragging his feet, and though he looked beautiful in the evening light, was not really in a good mood.

Glum.

Ill, even?
Well, he knows how bad I feel about leaving him at home while we're gone all day. Especially during the summer, when it's too warm for his delicate constitution.

I knew how to cheer up the old boy.

Doesn't he look sweet, getting ready to chew on that stick?

And then, a change starts to overtake him as his primal instincts kick in.

He gets a little . . .

WILD!!!!!!!!!

All clear.

He was pretty proud of himself.

"Yeah, I've still got it."

Turns out he's not as young as he used to be and needed an hour or so of recovery time.

summer's bounty

A few weeks ago I noticed a hint of red in the tangled bushes growing next to our long driveway. Upon closer inspections, I found wild raspberries and tried pick some a couple times a week so that they don't all go to the birds!

Raspberries seem to have gone out of season over the weekend but blackberries are coming out in full force! The ones along our stretch of road are smaller but by our neighbor's house . . . wow, they are huge and juicy, and I admit I may have borrowed a few. I also discovered some patches while out running that seem to be more 'public domain.' Sunday morning I decided Moose and I would go out and pick a blackberry breakfast.

It's like we're prairie people. Picking berries, sheesh. It's kind of a thorny experience and I was immediately attacked by 800 mosquitos.

But then I made these little cobblers . . .

And Matt smothered his in ice cream.
Hardly a nutritious breakfast, but certainly self-sufficient.

a first

This post is dedicated to Kelly Keller, Allyson Nagle, Joanna McMahan, and all the other women who have sewed for me or created things out of fabric and thread. You are an inspiration.

For years, I have been in a prison of my own making. "I don't sew," I would state confidently, and then scurry off to a tailor for all my hemming needs. This became more and more inconvenient when I left Dubai/Kenya and tailoring was no longer as accessible or affordable. I began to wonder at all the things I could create if I could operate a sewing machine . . .

Moving into this last house sealed the deal. More specifically, walking into the kitchen and spotting this:

Dishes in the sink! Ack! And below that . . . the under-sink curtain. In red plaid.

This just had to go. And in its place, something had to be created. I actually tried the no-sew method first. I searched many stores for kitchen towels that I could clip and hang, similar to my clipped-up napkins I used as curtains in Kijabe. I've been dealing with this lack of sewing thing for years . . . But after my latest visit to Anthropologie in the city failed to produce some towels I could use, I decided I had to learn to make my own. The red had to go.

My friend Melissa dropped off her sewing machine earlier this week and gave me a quick lesson on how to load the thread and sew a seam. Friday a trip to Jo Ann fabrics provided everything I needed - a couple yards of fabric and an "I'm a newbie" sewing-kit. I rolled up my sleeves and jumped in.

My first seam was glorious! Straight, flat, and satisfying.

It went downhill from there, as I struggled to make three panels all the same length. Apparently when you don't cut in a straight line, it's hard to sew in a straight line, as evidenced by this pitiful seam . . .

It took me three hours, or the entire nap-time of a tired two-year-old, and one of the panels may or may not be upside-down. But the feeling of triumph at actually having made something! I was so proud.

If only those dishes were out of the sink . . .

frame 'em

We don't have a ton of pictures of the two of us . . . since normally it's just the two of us. Having friends in town was nice because we got a couple snaps here and there. So you can use these over your fireplace or on your fridge . . .