july wrap up photo diary
I know Ive been remiss in posting. Ive been busy reading all of yall’s posts! 
Of course, we’ve been busy, its summer and there is so much to do.
We’ve been getting together with our homeschool group. One day we ended up at lincoln park, just south of diversey. A lot of branches had come down in recent storms, and the kids immediately fashioned a fort out of them.
another time we drove up to Covert, MI to crash the NUG campout (we only stayed the day instead of actually camping)
luckily we did not miss the awesome glow in the dark light saber action
then there was the day we went to the morton arboretum with friends
Thats the kids in the toddler hedge maze and then heres one of zibby and friend marco (and unidentified girl baby behind them) in the creek
then of course there was that visit we took to Kentucky to visit Nana and Grandad (who zibby referred to at various times as “that guy nana lives with”, “our new uncle”, “you know, him”). See, Nana went and got herself a southern gentleman for a husband last year, but this was the first time we really got to spend some time with them. We had a great time.
Grandad and Nana live in a real life holler (hollow, valley) with a gorgeous stream running thru it.
and we’ve been getting to see little baby Augie get bigger and bigger
and watching our garden grow, too. the tomatos have taken off, as well as the bell peppers, and cukes. my sqaush plants look sketchy and the lettuce is about over, but we are so excited to see when the tomatos will turn red. we have to keep henry from the plants because he plucks green fruit without compunction!
june
Here is a picture of me at work:
I love my job!
Summer officially made itself known here in Chicago. Its been storming and now its the regular hot and muggy we know so well. We’ve been hitting all the park days and beach days we can, eating fresh and delicious foods from our CSAs (community supported agriculture-we purchase shares of the farms output and pick up produce weekly, and meat monthly).
I started a yoga class and Zibby started an aerial dance class (today they used the trapeze swing!)
Zibby got kind of close to the peacock at Brookfield Zoo
and Ive been cooking up all the fresh veggies from my CSA
Filed under CSA, Field Trip!, daily life, photos, vegetables | Comment (0)memorial day weekend
Zibby has red hair!
We dyed it yesterday and we all absolutely love it. It looks so great on her and she cant stop talking about it.
It was a pretty good weekend. Today I went notion shopping at my local fabric store which had 50% notions and many fabrics, too. I restrained myself and only got two projects with fabric. Stocked up on velcro, elastic, bobbins, needles and some thread. I got some tulle to make a tutu for my mom. No, my mom isnt going to wear it, she is going to give it to her husbands granddaughter. (this blended family stuff is hard to figure out) I guess she (the little girl getting the tutu) could be my step-neice? but Ive never met her yet. Anyway, she is three, and my mom thought she’d like a fancy pink tutu.
We also had time to go to plenty of parks and play, which of course, Henry and Zibby love.
Oh, and we went to the Constructor Craft Fair on Sunday in Berwyn. I have to confess, I was a little bit disappointed. It was mostly the same vendors as last year, selling mostly the exact same stuff. I did see a couple things that were really cute that I want to try and make, and I saw my friend Kim there, so that was nice.
Checking in on my garden. Its looking good. The bell peppers and the green lettuces look much bigger and are obviously doing well. The red lettuces are slower and the tomatoes are really slow. is that normal?
Spring sprang
Well, I did it. I started a garden. I planted three earthboxes today with seedlings that I bought at the Green City Farmers Market. I had intended to start my own seeds, but then I chickened out. I did a box of sweet bell peppers (orange and yellow), and a box of green lettuce and a box of red leaf lettuce. Tomorrow I plan to plant tomatoes. I bought way too many seedlings, of tomatoes, however. Maybe we’ll plant some not in boxes? I also got some perennials for the strange island of dirt my neighbors created last year in the middle of our yard. I planted them and there were worms and I did not freak out and die.
Now, I suppose we will just have to see if the animals around here eat it all up before we get a chance to harvest it. Not exactly sure where the earthboxes will end up residing out front. I wouldnt mind if they sat on the grass, but other people seem to think thats tacky.
I’ve been busy sewing, too. I made a small field bag for my friends son
I used a denim skirt from Goodwill. The top half of the skirt I am trying to turn into a bag. Its kind of complicated, since I want to line it. We’ll see how it goes.
Our homeschool group started a Roots and Shoots group. We had our first outing last week.
The kids had a lot of fun.
Filed under Field Trip!, daily life, look what I made, photos, reminiscing, vegetables | Comments (3)INHOME and update
Next week is the INHOME conference, where I will be participating on a panel about blogging, as well as running a workshop making Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). I am excited about some of the sessions and hoping mine turn out ok
Zibby started swimming classes today. She did GREAT! That is to say, she participated and had fun. She had so much confidence and was so proud of herself afterwards, it was really nice. She is doing Spanish, Swimming, and will be starting Tumbling soon. Plus, with the nice weather, our two homeschool groups begin Park Days where we meet up at parks around the city. Even Beach Day doesnt seem that far away….
I joined a vegetable CSA, which Ive been wanting to try for a few years. Ive taken the plunge. We’ll share it with another family who lives close by, and split the box each week. Im feeling up to the challenge of the onslaught of veggies. Cmon Veggies! I will eat you! This particular CSA seems great because it helps homeless people with job training.
Ive also been doing a chicken and egg CSA , but to be honest, I think we’ll take a break from it next session. We get one poultry share, which we split with another family, as well. But we pretty much get 2-3 whole chickens each month, and while I REALLY love and appreciate making my own chicken stock, and having my own chicken schmaltz, Im tired of being the only one eating the dark meat, and never getting any light meat, and really, a whole chicken is too much for one meal, and then I have to use up the leftovers the next day or two, and frankly, its kind of a lot of work. The meat is delicious, for sure. And I truly want to support local and humane chicken raising…but sometimes I just want a boneless, skinless chicken breast. What to do….
Filed under CSA, N's Interests, all about the zibster, daily life, ponderings, vegetables | Comment (0)brussels sprouts
This is one of my new favorite websites
The pictures are gorgeous and Ive tried some of the recipes and the food is good, too!
I made brussels sprouts for dinner guest the other night.
Ive only made brussels sprouts once before, in my life, and those were frozen green giant ones or something.
These were good. My friends had NEVER eaten them, owing to the sprouts bad reputation, but they both tried them and even asked for my recipe. indeed.
Its part of my resolve to eat more veg and fruit. Green things. A wide variety of colored things. Kale. Peppers. Berries.
Next up, baby bok choy.
Filed under look what I made, recipes, resolutions, vegetables | Comments (2)
