late november roses

After pouting a little about being moved earlier this year, the roses are happy again. These are from my 'Heaven on Earth' container plant, still pumping out blooms in late November.

Jacky: One!

Yep, he's one!

How can a year fly by so quickly?

So many changes... so many moments I wouldn't trade for anything.

We love you to the moon and back, sweet little man.

xoxoxoxo

A few pics from the weekend:

thoughts on the holidays

Crisp, clear winter sky, looking East.

Shot by Toby from our last house.

The holidays are just about officially here. How are you feeling about it? Joyful? Can't wait? Dreading it all? Ho-hum? Me, I'm feeling pretty good about it all.

This is big for me, as I'm someone who used to yearn for escape and avoidance from everything holiday-related. The dread would set in right after Halloween. Of course, most of this has had to do with loss: my parents, mostly. Mom, while I was in college; Dad, more recently. Losing them kind of took all the air out of lots of formerly fun things. I'd drag myself through the whole holiday exercise, with no baking, no card-sending, no good stuff... and then promptly fall into a mid-Winter depression. To be repeated each year. Such fun.... sigh.

BUT (sorry, that was depressing). Maybe it's our lovely little boy, but even just since being pregnant last year, something has changed in my outlook almost on a chemical level. There's a sense of newness and lightness. I'm not religious, so it's not some sort of epiphany. But, now, I look forward to all that's lovely about the holidays, which are also things that I used to like: the twinkling lights, the homey scents, baking, crafting, seeing friends, (really) enjoying family, looking up at the stars, the winter stillness outside, listening to corny music. (Toby introduced me to the delights of the John Denver & the Muppets Christmas Album--priceless! Can I play it NOW?!?! Oh, too soon? ...How about now?).

Note that I did not mention visits to the mall or any of those insane "doorbuster" sales. Ick.

Now, as I approach the holidays, I find there are so many opportunities to fall into the old traps: stuff you really don't want to do. So, I love a good set of tips on how to gracefully and peacefully move through the holidays. You too? Rachel at Heart of Light is doing a series of posts this week called "Holidays, Managed." Sweet, stylish, sane stuff.

And, since I love lists, I decided to compose my own: a loose list of things I definitely want to try to do during the holidays. You know, so I make sure I don't do other stuff. Like visit the mall :) Ahem, here goes:

• Baking. Preferably with a friend... and then everything gets wrapped up in super cute packaging and mostly given away. Especially to all those people I always say I should bake for: the super nice UPS guy, the organic bin delivery guy, our acupuncturist. I'm collecting recipe contenders now. (Any faves?)
• Shopping for cute packaging/wrapping material (see above). This may sound like drudgery to some, but it's heaven to me: first the accumulating, and then the using. I think a trip to The Packaging Store and Japan Town is in order.
• Hunting for gifts early on Etsy. It's where the best stuff lives, but leaving this type of stuff to the last minute means you're out of luck and heading to the mall. Boo.
• Sending out holiday cards. Like, actually sending them, and not on Dec 24.
• Crafting. Dunno why, but I'm having a felt moment right now. I'm thinking of whipping up some stylish, tone-on-tone white stockings for our little family and new home. Also, I'd like to make some handmade decor for our tree. Like this or maybe some simple paper-loop garlands (which I would always make with my Mom). I just need to do some sort of crafting. Maybe it'll help kick me off on more crafting next year.
• Be prepared for fun. As Rachel mentions in the aforementioned posts, stocking up on wine and appetizer fixings just makes you want to invite people over and celebrate effortlessly.
• Special Sunday dinner(s) with friends and family. Sights, sounds, tastes and scents.
• Quiet moments with tea, a book, some music. Brisk walks in the canyon on cold, clear days or moody, misty mornings.

So, what's on your holiday "must-do" list? I love hearing about other people's traditions--big or small--so don't be shy!

Crock Pot Alert: Pulled Pork Sandwiches

All day long, our home has been sheer torture. Since 9:30am, the divine smell of a pork shoulder braising in the slow cooker has permeated every inch of the house. Mmmm, so good. So hard to wait until dinner time.

As I mentioned earlier, our beloved crock pot is from my parents, no doubt a 1970s wedding present. Dig the Harvest Gold color. Classic.

Anyway, since I did mention this recipe earlier, it seems only fair to share it with you. It's the kind of recipe that makes you wonder why you don't pull your slow cooker out and use it every single Sunday.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Adapted from Everyday Food, but we made some pretty significant changes, so we vouch for our version:

1 cup ketchup

6 garlic cloves, chopped

1-1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1 teaspoon dried oregano

salt & pepper

4-5 lb bone-in pork shoulder (very important that it's bone-in, as you'll use the cooking juices to make a homemade BBQ sauce. Just like bones make a good chicken stock, this bone will make your sauce.)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a slow cooker, stir together all non-pork ingredients.

2. Add pork shoulder and turn to coat.

3. Put lid on slow cooker.

4. Cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 6 hours).

5. After cooking, remove pork shoulder from slow cooker to a large work bowl.

6. Pour cooking juices into a fat separator and set aside.

7. Using two forks, pull pork apart until shredded. Set aside.

8. Pour reserved juices (discard fat) into a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce by half.

9. Build your homemade BBQ sauce to taste (amounts we use are in parenthesis, but taste it often and tweak it to your own taste). To the reduced cooking juices, add: cider vinegar (1/2 c), brown sugar (1/2 c), soy sauce (1/4 c), worcestershire sauce (1/4 c), lemon juice (1/4 lemon), ketchup (1/4 c), garlic powder (1 T), onion powder (1 T), mustard powder (2 T), chili powder (2 T). Taste and tweak the flavors. Hold over low heat until needed.

10. Make a quick cole slaw: whisk together 1/4 c mayonnaise, 1 T red wine vinegar, 1 T lemon juice, and 1 T grainy mustard. Add 2 cups shredded cabbage and toss well to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

11. Sauce the meat: In a smaller work bowl, place the amount of pulled pork you plan on eating (unless you have a huge family or four stomachs, there will be lots of leftovers). Sauce lightly with your homemade BBQ sauce, and toss to combine.

12. Assemble sandwiches: On warmed rolls, place a generous portion of sauced pork, a drizzle of more sauce, plus a nice dollop of cole slaw.

13. Serve alone, or with a nice side like we did: Smitten Kitchen's Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato Gratin. So good.

next house project: re-painting!

With all the plastic over our windows, it either feels like Tom Ridge gave us some questionable advice... or we're finally painting the house! OK, it's the latter. We no longer live in the Mint Green Manse. Sadly, it makes our home not quite as easy to spot from a mile away. But, I guess we'll have to adapt. Prepping and priming are underway... the job should be done before Turkey Day. Hope we picked the right colors!

it's hammer time

Man, that song has been in my head for DAYS. I blame Jacky. He used to be obsessed with a spoon, but now it's all about his hammer. Gotta have the hammer!

Hammer takes a hike.

Hammer hungry.

Hammer sleepy. Crib time.

Oh, hammer hungry again.

Doo doo doo dum, dah dum dah dum. It's hammer time.

garden update: veggie beds!

OK, so this might look like a whole buncha redwood boxes, but dang... lookee what my mister done made! This is the biggest swarm of raised vegetable beds that I've ever had the pleasure of filling with dirt and seeds. I can't wait to plant!

First, I must finish putting down pea gravel. Which inspired a very geeky gardening-meets-graphic-design moment as I was spreading tiny pebbles here and everywhere: pea gravel is the gaussian blur of gardening. It smoothes out everything and makes all rough edges pretty. I'm just sayin'.

Oh, and in case you missed the "before" of this particular scrap of land, lookeehere.