last minute

a quick photo blog before we head off to colorado, for our second christmas.



this "local orange" was given to us by sarah bentley, in houston. it made the road trip up to indiana, where it wasn't local anymore, where carl and i savored its sweet juices. thanks sarah.



making xmas cookies for neighbors.



supplies, and our charlie brown christmas tree, with presents.



cosmo made these bookmarks (with mama's help), for loved ones. it's one of those ideas i found in one of the mommy magazines.



and, lastly, cosmo throwing himself into his work again, making a tummy impression in his playdoh.

one million things

i've got a million things i'd like to blog about from the road trip to texas...like how cosmo seems to have overcome some shyness, and was hugging and climbing on friends and relatives he couldn't possibly remember. how he clung to daily rituals, like taking vitamans, and doing his advent calendar, as a secure structure while we were on the move. how he got to strengthen bonds with nani, justin, aunts, uncles, cousins and papas.


[with nani in the driveway. with justin at the kell house]


[goofing around with uncle D. bedtime story with papa jack]

or, about the cool new architecture we visited in houston: discovery green downtown, and the gorgeous pavilion behind the library on rice campus.


[with chuck at discovery green. $9 snack time at the pavilion]

or, about seeing a new, low slung building (i'm guessing it's a bar), built on the site where my old apartment once sat, before the fire ran us out of there one november day. or about snowfall in houston (!), a vietnamese tofu sandwich in midtown, a handmade scarf, a train ride and a campus bike ride.


[snowfall in front of micheal and taryn's. cosmo in front of the architecture building, where i spent 4 years of my life]

or about the fantasy of lights in wichita falls, and how cosmo got fully and completely indoctrinated into the idea of christmas, and became obsessed with frosty the snowman.


[with santa at the nature center in WF. telling cousin jayna she needs to wait until christmas]

or about the wild child party we threw at chuck and hank's, complete with tickle monster chase, jumping up and down, overturned furniture, broken dishes and hidden shoes.


[lila and clara. cosmo bouncing on the bed with joy]

or, how nice it felt to drink wine and argue about education with my dearest friends, my chosen family.


[uncles chuck and michael. fun with carrie and pearl]

or about pillow fights and couch forts with the grrlz at grrrllville. old friends in new digs (and old), with new babies (or not).


[with chris, michael m. and baby miller. cosmo learning how to hold baby lili]

... a trip that was way too long and way too short, i'd love to write about all of it.

but, instead, in the spirit of the season, i offer a last minute gift idea:



cosmo's aunt jamie and uncle derek gave him a book called one million things: a visual encyclopedia.



this is a book i wish i could give to every child i know. it is filled with images and short descriptions of anything from the human digestive system (represented by beautifully knitted organs), the birth of stars, the velvet revolution, and a fun section in the back full of interesting facts. did you know, for instance, that an army ant can carry 25 times it's own weight? i am completely fascinated by this book, and i think it is something cosmo will enjoy for many years to come. the information is presented in an interesting format, and offers a place to start when a question like "what are germs?" comes up.



with google, wikipedia and you tube at our fingertips, you might think a book like this is outdated. but i believe there is something wonderful about lying on your tummy, on the floor of the living room and pouring over a book like this (as i did our child craft encyclopedias as a child), wondering about the animal that lives in that strange, thorny shell, or what it might be like to do research in antarctica.

i expect a book of this size, scope and quality to cost between $40 and $60, but the sticker on our book says $24 in the US. we've been giving mostly handmade things this year, but if we weren't, and if i had young kids on my shopping list, this is what i'd be getting them.

season's greetings.

the wonder of consumerism

i have a confession to make. i have subscriptions to 3 mommy magazines. glossy paper magazines that come to my mailbox once a month. i got suckered into buying them by this charming guy who showed up at our door one day, in a suit and tie, on a hot day. he said he was trying to stay off the streets and make something of himself through this job training program that teaches him how to talk to people, and be presentable, and make in-person, cold calls, knocking on doors selling magazines. we had a long conversation, during which he asked me for advice on how i "made it" in this world. i didn't want to tell him that i had gone to graduate school for 5 years, to earn a master's degree in a creative and exciting field, only to end up NOT working in that field (yet). in any case, i agreed to help him out.

he said he'd get more "points" if i got 3 magazines instead of the one i would have preferred (which was priced much higher. i actually can't remember now what it was). to be honest, i didn't want any magazines at all. i would have rather just given some cash to the guy. but that's not how it works. so, i went ahead and ordered wondertime, family fun and cookie. i figured i could just donate them to the banneker center.

two months later, the first one arrives. it's wondertime. i feel a little strange flipping through it, in the comfort of my own home, since magazine reading, for me, is usually confined to the dentist's office. to my surprise, i find some okay articles, and some great ideas. like the women's magazines my mom used to get (women's day and family circle) they're packed with recipes and crafting ideas, and things to do with children. i fit nicely into the target audience--that scares me a little. so, family fun arrives a few days later. it is pretty much the same as wondertime, only slightly less hip (i just discovered they are put out by the same people). it was in one of these two magazines that i first heard about felting soap. in the most recent family fun, i saw a great idea for book marks that cosmo can easily do (with some supervision), and i've tried a recipe or two.

then cookie arrives. from the cover i can see that the target audience for this magazine has a much higher income than than i do, but once i started flipping through it, i was truly insulted. not only was the thing packed with ads for high end children's fashion and pharmaceuticals, but most of the "content" featured more stuff to buy. while wondertime and family fun encourage DIY projects to make your life better, cookie encourages spending money to make your life better. maybe that's appropriate for urban professional moms, who simply have more money than time (most working moms i know have very little of either). wondertime does have a regular feature called "stuff we love," but cookie recently had a fifty page section called "the cookie 100," which highlighted 100 items moms just couldn't live without. it seemed to me like the magazine was one big advertisement. in the current issue, there was a piece on putting together an all purpose holiday party outfit by getting a great blouse, a great skirt, and a great pair of shoes. they had several options pictured for each, including info on the designer, the price tag, and where you could find it. a cute skirt will cost you anywhere from $149 to $995. on the next page you can find a suggestion for a toddler's faux fur coat (to be paired with "thermals or tulle") for $328. remember that she'll get a good 4 months use out of it, if that. what economic recession?

i don't mind the other two (though i won't be renewing the subscription), but cookie? i find it so offensive, i didn't even want to take it to the banneker center. it's packed with the pretty colors and patterns often found in high fashion magazines, so i guess we can recycle them for collages and other craft projects.

in the future, i'll stick to harpers.

pumpkin pie for dinner?

well, sort of. i made this winter squash galette, and chose pumpkin for the squash. it is savory, delicious, wintery and warming. and, considering the cookbook it comes from, surprisingly simple. if you are comfortable making pie crusts, it is especially easy. you make the pie crust while the squash bakes, chill it while you mix up the filling, roll it out, drop the filling in, and roughly fold over the edges. then bake, and voila! pumpkin pie for dinner! sage, pecorino and winter squash go beautifully together. this author has a squash soup recipe that features this same combo, also incredibly yummy. my neighbor lara has large, beautiful sage bushes in her garden. they are hardy enough to stand the winter cold, and she (thankfully) allows me to snatch a few leaves now and then.

so, without further ado, here is the recipe:

winter squash galette

galette Dough (see recipe below)

2 1/2 pounds winter squash (I used pumpkin)

1 small head garlic, cloves separated but not peeled

1 Tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for the squash

1 onion, finely diced

1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino or parmesan

12 fresh sage leaves, chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried

Freshly milled pepper

1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the squash in half, scrape out the seeds, and brush the cut surface with oil. Stuff the garlic into the cavities and place the squash cut side down on a sheet pan. Bake until flesh is tender, about 40 minutes.
Make the dough while squash is baking.
When the squash is done, scoop out the squash and squeeze the garlic cloves. Mash them together with a fork until fairly smooth, leaving a bit of texture.

Warm one tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sage and cook until the onion is very soft and beginning to color, about 15 minutes. Add it to the squash along with the grated cheese and seaon with pepper to taste.

Roll out the dough into a 14-inch circle and spread the filling over it, leaving a border of two inches or more. Pleat the dough over the filling, then brush the edges with beaten egg. Bake until crust is golden, about 30 minutes.

the galette dough

• 2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 12 tbsps cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water, as needed

1. Mix the flour, salt, and sugar together in a bowl. Cut in the butter by hand or using a mixer with a paddle attachment, leaving some pea-sized chunks.

2. Sprink the ice water over the top by the tablespoon and toss with the flour mixture until you can bring the dough together into a ball. Press into a disk and refrigerate until ready to use (you may want to take it out a few minutes before rolling it, but it will soften quickly).

recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

(p.s. this dish makes wonderful leftovers, and i think most kids would like it.)

on the day cosmo turned three...

there were
presents (i built cosmo an easel),



friends and family,



more presents,



desserts (carrot cake, chocolate swirl cupcakes),




and prismatic squawker blowouts.




there was
a stray cat,



music,



a pinata (it's supposed to be jupiter),



a bonfire (not pictured),
and a jam session with kid kazooey.



as cosmo was laying down to go to bed tonight, he asked "i'm three, now?" and practiced holding up three fingers.