hello Autumn

I started this post three weeks ago. And then we went on strike. This has been one of the strangest Septembers I've ever experienced. Here it is, the last full week of September, and it's barely the first full week of school. My brain has had a hard time with that dissonance. So mostly to help myself, here's a photo update.

My CSA box continues to arrive weekly, filled to the brim with more vegetables than I know what to do with. I enjoy the challenge, and enjoy learning about new veggies. Last week was "what do I do with a huge head of cabbage?"

Our new school under construction. September marks the beginning of our last year in our temporary building. This time next year we'll be teaching in a brand new facility!

This huge shawl is finally washed and blocked, just in time for the change in the weather.

Unfortunately, instead of starting school on time we found ourselves picketing. My district, by far the largest in the state, went on strike for the first time in 30 years. Our school community is incredibly supportive, which makes all the difference as we pace back-and-forth, often clocking over 10 miles worth of steps each day.

This year I've committed myself to riding the bus to work more often, so that when I find myself sitting in traffic I can read, or knit, or daydream instead of grit my teeth. So far I've met my goal of taking the bus three times a week.

Kristi and I made it out to our favorite sunset spot a couple weeks ago just in time to see this gorgeous view. I can't imagine living away from the coast (this is technically the Sound).

In the midst of our strike, some of our parents and students installed this banner in the middle of the night. It lifted all of our spirits to be reminded that we have such a supportive community. So supportive, that when they realized other school communities in poorer neighborhoods were not able to give as much, they decided to partner up with one of those schools and help out.

 I volunteered as a picket captain during the strike, and my amazing coworkers gave me these beautiful flowers as a thank-you gift.

peaches

I planned on splitting one 20# box with a friend. Circumstances & misunderstandings left me with one and a half 20# boxes.

Starting early in the morning, I dutifully blanched 20#s in one day. It took hours just for that step.

Blanching is supposed to make the skins easier to remove. Ha! I'd say 25% of them were easy to remove. Maybe I need to work on my blanching skills. In any event, blanching 20#s of peaches in my tiny kitchen was quite the feat!

First up was cardamom peach pie filling. Then I went to my two favorite peach jams: peach cardamom jam, and peach jam with brown sugar and rum.

But I still had so many more blanched peaches leftover! So I dug into my fridge and found about 2 cups of raspberries that had been macerating in sugar for awhile. I used those to make a peach jam with raspberries. So much jam was made that day! Everyone is getting jam for presents. Maybe I'll take some jars to school and put them on the staff table with a "free to a good home" sign. I still have about 5#s left (I sent a few peaches home with anyone who would take them).

Let this be a reminder to me for next summer: small batch canning. Small batch. No one needs 30#s of fruit all at once.

road trip

This summer Joe and I headed out for a two-week adventure: Museum of the Rockies, Yellowstone National Park, the DIG Field School near Hell Creek State Park, and finally Glacier National Park. We camped along the way, read books to each other as we drove, ate a ton of ice cream, saw wildlife up close, learned about the local geology, and dug up dinosaurs. It was also the perfect way to celebrate seven years of marriage and twelve years as a couple. I can't wait for next summer.

goodbye Boomer kitty

Boomer (L), Athena (R)

Boomer (L), Athena (R)

Athena (L), Boomer (R)

Boomer (L), Athena (R)

Boomer (L), Athena (R)

Boomer

Boomer - the night before her biopsy appointment

Friday was the worst day ever. It was preceded by a couple of pretty hard weeks full of various vet appointments, diagnostic tests, and medications. Cancer took one of our amazing kitty-sisters, Boomer, and much too soon. And now, for the first time in her whole life, Athena is alone. We adopted these sisters four years ago when they were barely a year old, thinking that we'd get to spend ten or more years with them. I wish I hadn't taken their presence for granted. I wish I had taken more pictures of their cute antics. I wish...

And now today we head out for our epic road-trip, leaving Athena's care to two of our wonderful friends. I know she'll be okay but my heart worries. I can't help it.

project 52: week 45

What is Project 52? It's a little like Project 365, but instead of the goal of posting a photo each day, I'll post a photo or two each week along with a short update. Really I just need a little push to post something every week. Since I like to keep this space positive, posting every week forces me to look back and find something shiny to talk about (ten points if you get that reference). Some weeks that's a piece of cake. Other weeks it's more of a challenge, and those weeks give this task true meaning.

What's New?
This week was filled with kitty-related stress, and yarn. We took that adorable cat to get a lump biopsied only to discover that it's cancerous. So now we are faced with figuring out next steps. Our kitties are only 5 years old so we never imagined dealing with cancer so soon. The bright side is that right now the tumor is not affecting her overall health at all. She's happy and (relatively) healthy.

The yarn part of my week involved a long-overdue trip to Tolt Yarn and Wool in Carnation, WA and Quintessential Knits in Duvall, WA. I've heard such good things about Tolt, specifically, but hadn't made it out there to check it out. I came away with yarn for two projects: Tin Can Knits' Bonny top in Quince & Co Piper yarn, and Zuzu's Petals in Malabrigo Sock.

Currently Reading

• The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell - This book is long! I'm reading it on my Kindle so I didn't realize just how long it is. Plus, it's weird, which makes reading a little slower. There are many times I have to slow done so that I can process what the heck I just read. Body-jumping, immortality, and strange interconnections... all of that amidst a story that jumps through time and narrators sometimes jarringly. But overall I enjoy the read.

On the Needles
Still plugging away at my Earth & Sky shawl. I've put the Wood Hollow Vest aside for a bit, but I imagine I'll pick it up again before our road trip so that I can at least finish the front.

Looking Forward To

1. Our road trip!
2. Another CSA box
3. Getting my hands dirty with gardening

a few things

:: I had the pleasure of reading this book by one of my former coworkers Megan Morrison! A fun adventure story that is a bit of a twist on classic fairy-tales. I bought two copies at her book signing: one for me and one for my school, since I work at a K-8. I think this book would appeal to 5th grade and up.

:: So far I've really enjoyed my weekly CSA box. The CSA season runs through October, so I have many more to come. This week, while looking at the contents, I think I see a plan: bruschetta! There are other things in the box that I'll need to plan for: carrots, potatoes, kale, and something completely new to me... fennel.

:: This year I've only made two small batches of jam. The first one was strawberry balsamic, and the second one was blackberry apricot. My blackberry apricot recipe is adjusted from here to be a small batch. I have a bunch of raspberries in the fridge that need to be processed today, but I haven't decided just what to do with them yet.

Blackberry Apricot Small Batch Jam with Cinnamon

• 4 cups fruit pureed (roughly 2 cups blackberries, 2 cups apricots)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 10 minutes in the boiling water

4. Those tomatoes have really taken off. They are now taller than the tomato cages and don't show any signs of slowing down. There are countless blossoms, and many baby tomatoes, growing on each plant. There are three plants, in three colors: red, orange, and yellow. I can't wait for ripe tomatoes fresh from the garden.

on the needles

Earth & Sky

Pattern: Earth & Sky by Stephen West
Yarn: Madeline Tosh Pashmina in worn denim, victorian gothic, astrid grey
Notes: This is my summer splurge knit. I seem to average three skeins of Tosh each year. Last year they ended up as three separate mini shawls. This year, I'm going big.

Wood Hollow Vest

Pattern: Wood Hollow Vest by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in celery heather
Notes: I frogged my tea leaves sweater, since it never really fit well, and am using the yarn to make this vest. I've started this project three times. Once as written, the second time attempting to knit it in the round, and this third time (third time's the charm?) again as written. I really want to be able to wear this vest this autumn, which is my motivation to knit it up so quickly.

Hue Shift Afghan

Pattern: Hue Shift Afghan by Kerin Dimeler-Laurence
Yarn: Knit Picks Brava Sport (purchased as a kit)
Notes: I started this afghan in 2013 (yikes!) and am finally started the third block. Once all four blocks are complete, they are sewn together and the edge stitches are picked up in order to knit a border. This is a really good TV knit, since it's all knit stitches, the center decrease is easy, and the pattern is repetitive.