Contemporary Earth Mama

some celebratin'

This weekend marks many things in my life:  my brothers birthday, my grandparents 55th anniversary, my birthday, my anniversary, my in-laws anniversary, and lots and lots of fun.

My grandparents chose to spend their 55th anniversary by hosting a campout at their place for all kids, grandkids and great-grandkids.  We have a huge family when we're all there at the same time.  For example, I'm the oldest grandchild at now 34, and the youngest grandchild was born three weeks ago.  There are 10 great-grandchildren (and another on the way...not mine!) within that mix as well.

For the weekend they are opening the RV, the pop-up camper, the floors, couches and beds in the house and the yard for all of us who want to camp.  They have outdoor games scheduled, a hayride at a neighboring orchard and food, food, food.  I can't think of a better way to spend the weekend, especially when it's 70 in Minnesota!  It was almost that five years ago when we got married...so beautiful.

How will you be spending this beautiful fall weekend with your family?

 

remembering t-ball

We started soccer with Sunny this fall...she was both excited and nervous, that's her M.O.  Once the practices were over and we were into game time, she's turned into a great player!

To boost her esteem a bit I shared with her my fear of playing t-ball.  Seriously, how easy is/was t-ball?  I never liked it, and never understood where I was supposed to be, why I was there, or what I was supposed to do.  I played shortstop and during one game where each player parted for their various position, I stood there giving my ginormous coach (not really, he was just SOO tall to me)a deer in the headlights look.  He finally lifted me up right onto his shoulders, walked me out to shortstop, set me down, looked at me, and said, "stay here.  catch the ball."  Got it.  Thanks.

What happened next was so embarrassing.  Here's the thing.  I had to pee.  And I had to pee before he brought me out to he field, but I didn't know who I was supposed to tell or where I was supposed to go.  I hung out there in the field and eventually wet my pants, so my dark denim jeans were completely dark and hot and wet all down the front and insides of my legs.  Someone became privy to the issue, and I recall my dad scooping me up and setting me down upon newspaper in the maroon cloth covered backseat of the Dodge Caravan we had at the time, and off we went for home.

To this, Sunny laughs and says, "I hope something like that never happens to me!"

Anyone remember anything like that happening to you?

we're back from Ely

The girls and I are back from spending a week with my parents at their cabin in Ely.  We hiked, caught frogs, swam, played in waterfalls, fished, read, and enjoyed being together ( until those moments snuck up on us where we weren't so much enjoying the time together and had to enjoy a bit of time apart, of course).

We've got big adventures up our sleeves for next summer...hmm, what about a whole month instead of one week?  A girl's gotta dream....

 
 
 
 
 
 

let's paddle, shall we?

family camping

The girls and I are off for camping this weekend with nana & papa.  Swimming, hiking, catching night moths, reading by flashlight, and making s'mores are on the schedule of activities.

We are headed to a campground I visited as a child.  I can still remember a photo of my second cousin and I walking hand in hand down the path toward the rickety metal swing set where we big kids spent most of our weekend ( when we weren't being pulled behind the boats), telling stories about So-and-So-Mr-Hot-Stuff  at each others schools.

It's so fun to take a walk back in time to share with our children memories that seem like just yesterday.

What are some summer childhood memories you've shared with your little ones this month?

rope swing fun

 
   Who doesn't want to me pushed so high on a little rope swing?  I can't get enough of it.

summer fun

A day of fun on the lake...we convinced Fannie that we wouldn't go fast and she agreed to join Sunny and I on the Ski-Bob.  Considering we were behind the pontoon, we weren't really cruising...just enough for the girls to have a great time.

Though it did bring up a memory of B.C. (before child):  at a family reunion camp weekend the summer before I was pregnant with Sunny, my siblings and then boyfriend ( now husband) were out on the lake tubing and kneeboarding.  I say kneeboarding because none of us were cool enough to know what a wakeboard was.  Nevertheless, after a slow little pull with my 10 week old puppy on the tube next to me, my dad thought it was time for my younger brother...the second born, to join me on the tube just like old times. 

***Warning, the content ahead may be TMI.***

Just to give you an idea of what exactly "old times" meant...when we were kids, my dad would tear around the lake trying to lose any or all child-like cargo on board any flotation device attached to the boat he happened to be driving.  There were times when we'd roll on top of the water and only get wet because the rolling met a huge wave and, BAM, under we went ( while the others in the boat laughed hysterically until it was their turn.)  SO, my brother Jason and I get on the tube and dad starts pulling us around the lake.  We get a little cocky and hold on with one hand, start goofing off a bit, then realize dad's speeding up a bit and pulling corners pretty tightly.  We were getting knocked around something fierce, when, between sprays of water into our faces, we began reminiscing ( yes, we were on a tube in the middle of the lake being pulled swiftly by a boat) about these exact times from when we were young.  Before we knew it we were cracking up, I mean we were L-A-U-G-H-I-N-G so hard...you know when you can't catch your breath, that kind of laughing.  

***Here's the part where I tell the truth.***

I am laughing so hard ( and realizing I ought to do this more often) that I begin to pee myself, and it wouldn't be so bad if I were solo, but my kid brother was just inches away from me.  I am trying so hard to tell him that I am peeing but my  must have looked like a lunatic.  To top if off he managed (between cracks) to comment on how warm the water suddenly felt.

That was it.  I couldn't hold on one second longer and I rolled both of us off the tube where I swallowed a gallon of water ( because I was still laughing as I hit the surface).  Needless to say we were dying when we tried getting into the boat because of the whole thing.

My stomach muscles were so sore the next day ,but it is one warm ( no pun intended) memory of my brother I will never forget.  Good thing he's still around, so I can poke him about that time his big sister peed on him on the intertube...didn't matter that we were in our twenties, we were having a great time.

Hope you're enjoying the summer sun! 

beach days...

 
Today the beach fit in between a couple other errands made fun by this pitstop.  Enough time to romp, play, and feel the spray from the large waves from this windy day proved to be just what we all needed.

Other recent beach days up north resulted in meeting this gal right here...I must say she was a bit snappy ( no pun intended) as it appeared she had laid eggs as revealed by several stirred up "pits" in the road.

 What unusual critters have you stumbled upon on your beach days?

strawberry jam for everyone

Our day was supposed to be spent with friends, but when Fannie woke saying she didn't feel great and Sunny is now heading to the cabin this weekend with Nana and Papa, I figured a trip to the orchard for berry picking would suit us all well.  And it did.

Mr. Sun managed to stay tucked behind the clouds for most of our tasting picking time, and we found a way to keep Fannie from eating the berries out of our baskets as quickly as we tossed them in: let her be in charge of the wagon and gave her my water bottle and reminded her of how we pick berries at home to eat, and she was off.

Over twenty pounds of strawberries later, they caught a ride on the cows before heading across the street for some lunch.  I did recall on the way home, that buying this amount of berries at once means I I need a plan for using/preserving them fairly quickly, and I hadn't spent an ounce of time in that direction, SO my afternoon was spent making jam ( because I have so much time on my hands!).  Twelve jars of jam later, and we couldn't resist busting one open during dinner to taste the fresh soft texture of those ripe berries!

Some of you emailed with questions about my recipe.  Having typically made freezer jam in the past with grapes from our grapevine, I used the Pomona's Pectin recipe versus just boiling down the berries with a ton of sugar....not that I don't L.O.V.E. the taste of jam made with a ton of sugar, BUT, with the way we go through it, it's nice to have a no sugar style on hand!

I followed the Pomona's Pectin recipe for All Fruit Cooked Jam until the part about apple cider or juice concentrate.  I used lemonade, because I had it on hand and it's typically my thing to start a recipe before checking to make sure I have all the ingredients.  I didn't use any sugar at all and the result was a very mild jam that will be great for stirring into yogurt, pouring over ice cream, dipping waffles into, and for dabbing up with some angel food or pound cake.  We all loved it.

Then, my aunt called and said she's got some currant bushes ready for picking in the next couple weeks, so we'll steer into uncharted, but yummy territory.  We'll keep you posted.

All Fruit Cooked Jam

3 c mashed fruit

3 t. pectin

4 t. calcium water

1 c lemonade

mash all fruit in large bowl, stir in pectin and calcium water.  Heat lemonade over stovetop in sauce pan seperate of fruit.  Heat fruit over stovetop until it boils, then remove from heat, pour lemonade into it, stirring consistently to make sure the powders dissolve.  Once that is all mixed together, I pour into jars ready for canning, toss into boiling water for 5 minutes and wa-laa! 

If you've got a great jam recipe, I'd love to give it a try ( especially for currants!).

a garden just for her

When we planted our family garden last year, Sunny insisted on her own plot, which happened upon a random patch of grass near the stick fort.  With no help from Grown-Ups, she dug, planted and watered, though haphazardly, and soon excitedly pointed out the green sprouts of peas and beans.

This year, after planting the family garden, she again insisted upon her own plot, which happened upon Mud Hill.  As some of you know, Mud Hill is a spot in our yard that was left behind as we work bit by bit to re-landscape.  It was a spot that doesn't grow any grass and is only about sixteen square feet in size.  It is a spot we dig into when in need of black dirt for some other gardening project and is also the preferred digging and pouring spot for the necessary mud play that takes place around here.  I am certain there are neighbors who think it unnecessary when there are such entertainment models as video games, but my girls...they play in the dirt.  And I love it.

So, she dug and planted and up came green bean sprouts, then a fence, then a walking path, then string to hold the fence together and to keep the bunnies out ( never mind the large gaps in the said string and fencing).  As the dirt in our yard tends to be hard, she allowed me to help a bit over the weekend.  We worked the soil, pulled out rocks and grass and prepared the garden space for more seeds.  It soon saw carrot, cucumber and basil seeds, and was put all in place before a friend ::thanks, Nikki!:: offered three extra tomato plants, two of which found homes in this cozy little garden.

And every day, she waters, checks the soil, does a little digging here and there and mostly comes in the house to be sent directly to the bathtub or back out to the hose.  And every day, she grows more independent, more in love with earth, more in love with who provided us this earth to walk on, and more in love with the idea of eating what she herself has grown....and I consider it one of those moments when I have succeeded as a parent.