CREATIVE KIDS

I feel lucky to have had the 'creative bug' most of my life, and I am thrilled to see it manifesting itself in these youngsters.  Iris and Elsa come by it rightly, as their father and his father, too, are quite artistic and musically talented as well.  Their mom, perhaps not a 'drawer' has plenty of creative juices of her own.

Both girls like to sketch and spend much time in detailed work.

 
On our last Nonnie day we had arranged to have Iris and Elsa's close friends Quinn and Abe come for a couple of hours.  Unfortunately I arranged for them to come in the afternoon and not the morning, because typical of children, every fifteen minutes or so I heard, "When are Quinn and Abe coming?"  

Awhile back I heard about a new game created by a Wisconsin man, I think called YOXO, but have never been able to find it.  The object of the game is to make things out of cardboard tubes, etc.  The 'game' provides connectors, etc., I believe.  At that time I started saving all the cardboard tubes we came across.  I had quite a collection.  So I put the tubes out, duct tape, masking tape, Popsicle sticks, other cardboard pieces, markers, and a random bunch of things.

The kids picked these up and immediately started making music, and having such fun doing it, too.

The I simply left them alone, with only one suggestion that they work cooperatively as a team.  

They worked long and hard and made the above ship from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

and the Chocolate Factory itself.  Their 'invention' was quite elaborate and took them a good long time of being a working team.

On another note when Jonel was growing up our household was rarely without multiple cats, both adult and kittens.  When we lived in the country we always had a plenitude of outdoor cats, so it was a real pleasure to see the girls get their first kittens.

They called me almost as soon as these two little ones got to their 'farm' and begged me to come see them, and without much hesitation I was on the road.

These cats are so adorable, and woke up my latent longing to have a cat as well.  Perhaps this is in my near future, too.

And not to forget my love of food...
Sunday mornings I prepare dough for fresh pizza, which we have with a movie each Sunday evening.  The batch of dough is enough for either 3 loaves of bread, 3 pizzas, or any combination thereof.  I usually refrigerate the remaining dough to be used during the week in some way or another,

...this time it was for calzones...

I fried lots of onions and garlic in olive oil, when they were soft and sweet I added Italian sausage removed from its casings and cooked until no longer pink.  I then added chunks of zucchini, and when that was soft topped it with a bunch of basil and cherry tomatoes.  Added salt and pepper and just a touch of sugar....

Believe me, I cannot tell you just how delicious this was...

It is amazing that it took only about 8 minutes in a hot oven to bake.

With the abundance of veggies I believe we will be having calzones on a weekly basis for the near future.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

A lazy Sunday morning, well, not so lazy, made bread, canned tomatoes, and froze beans, when a call from the Jonel and Andy came, wondering if we wanted to join them for a bike ride on the trail starting at Union Center.  Sounded good to both of us.

Freddie's bike shorts have lost their ties (I said when they were clean I'd repair them) in the mean time, he uses his dress belt to hold them in place....

which actually goes well with the black dress socks in which he rides.  

Just before embarking on the ride...

Elsa getting ready to pedal on the Tag-along behind her papa, and Iris preparing  to ride her bike which, she will soon outgrow.  These two girls are growing so fast, before we know it, they will be beyond bikes and wanting cars.  

On our return to the cars, this Monarch hitched a ride on Jonel's  back much to everyone's delight.

Oh, if only time (especially as we grow older) went a bit slower.  Still I will not complain, time has been good to all of us. It is important to truly live in the moment, knowing the utter fullness and beauty that surrounds.

Building fairy gardens on the front lawn on the Nonnie Day

great concentration and effort went into these beautiful creations.

My Italian Heirloom tomatoes are coming in daily, the one above came in at 2#'s, it sits next to a Peace Vine cherry tomato.

I have started preserving 

some of the whole tomatoes and enchilada sauce I have canned thus far

and the green beans are still abundant

ready for the freezer.

 I vividly recall the basement of the home in which I grew up.  It was pretty crude, nothing fancy, and I swore that the 'boogy man' lived in the coal cellar.  Still I spent much time there with my grandmother Josephine and my mother and my aunts.  There was a stove and table, and lots of shelves which were filled each summer and fall.  The small town I grew up in (Fredonia, NY) had a canning factory, which I think was called Red Wing, and in the summer and the fall the entire town smelled of stewing tomatoes.  This is what our basement smelled like, and it was wonderful.  The shelves were soon filled with beautiful jars of red, red tomatoes, kind of like summer jewels sparkling throughout the year.

I think about those days while I am canning, knowing that the 'old ones' surround me still.

VEGETARIAN NIGHTS

Zinnias are far and away my favorite summer flower.  Their vivid colors, distinct and varied shapes and sizes never cease to amaze me.  They are in their full glory now.

I almost cannot keep up with the flow of vegetables from the garden, despite battling rabbits and deer, and NOW a groundhog, the yield is prolific.

Below...eggplant, cauliflower, zucchini, yellow squash, onions, broccoli, all being marinated in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, prior to being placed on the hot grill.

Potato slices at the ready, too...

Home made pita's just out of the oven...

...chopped all the grilled vegetables into smallish pieces, filled the pita's, topped them with Bart's versatile tomato 'relish', made for a great meal.

The next night an oven frittata of zucchini, cauliflower, onions (lots of caramelized onions, with some reserved to spread over the top along with sliced cherry tomatoes.)

...unbelievably delicious...

And the next night...

...eggplant sliced the long way, salted and left to drain in a colander under weights for an hour or two...

dipped in flour, then egg, and then Italian bread crumbs, roasted in the oven until tender, Organic Valley Raw Milk Jack Cheese sliced and placed on top and back into the oven for a few minutes until melted.

These were delicious plain, and even more delicious with Bart's tomato 'relish', served with a cool cucumber salad.