Under the Tulip Tree

For the Love of Music

My little guy can be shy. Super shy. Although that seems hard to believe in some situations. After all, he loves attention and needs it almost every single moment but if everyone in the room stops what they are doing and focuses on him entirely, he balks. (Me too, babe.)

He had to present his very first book report to his class recently, and every night that lead up to the big day, he told me he couldn't do it. He absolutely, positively could not do it. And since all of the advice that I've heard about public speaking has had zero impact on me over the years, I was at a loss for words. But I thought back to my elementary school days and I thought about what I would have wanted someone to do to help me through those terrifying moments, and I supposed that what I would have wanted was for someone to tell my teacher that I was deathly afraid (not just "nervous") and that maybe if I didn't have to pretend that I wasn't afraid, I wouldn't have to be. So that's what I did. I talked to his teacher who not only understood, but offered to do the report with him to help him through it. We thought that was a good plan. He didn't. A good plan would have been to not do it at all. When she finally called his name to say it was his (their) turn, he politely said, "No thanks." By the end of the week, though, he had agreed to give his report to his teacher alone, and that's what he did. I was so happy he did it, and I was so happy that we found a way that he could.

Then, in comes the Third Grade recorder (you remember the recorder, right?) and suddenly there is something he'll do in front of people, something he'll ask to do in front of other people, for the sake of other people. Every day he showed me the new song he learned in music class and then he practiced at home to get it just right. He even did something unprecedented at Thanksgiving dinner: He put on a little recorder show for the whole family to hear. And he was good.

After putting the kids to bed on Thanksgiving night, Michael and I turned to each other and almost at the same time said, "Wasn't that fantastic?" Yes, it truly was. And the other thing that's fantastic? Perry wants to take piano lessons. And he meets his piano teacher on Friday. No pressure, we'll just see how it goes.

ANY

Giving Thanks

For all of the little things that bring so much joy.

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The Snow That Never Came

When we heard there was a chance of snow, the kids put their pajamas on backwards, flushed ice cubes down the toilet, made paper snowflakes, danced with snow globes, and sang "Let It Snow" over and over. Unfortunately, it didn't amount to anything. Unless you count ice. Ice that made the roads slick and the schools close. Then it worked. Sort of. But ice isn't as good as snow. Of course.

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November Woods

Have you ever wondered what the Pacific Northwest looks like in the fall?

This is it.

Wet and mossy; varnished and green.

On this day, we were on a field trip, learning about the watershed we live in.

We were smack dab in the middle of town but it felt like we were much farther away.

Ferns, firs, and cedars, everywhere you turn.

It's dark on the forest floor.

Perfect for horsetail.

And though I've seen this view a million times, it is always a sight to behold.

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Maple Cake

Arden asked for a Maple Cake again for her birthday this year. It's a very special cake that I only make for very special girls on very special occasions due to its extreme deliciousness. I cannot for the life of me remember where I got the recipe. I thought it was from Martha but I couldn't find it anywhere on the site so…Here goes!

ANY

Maple Cake
16 tblsp (2 sticks) butter, plus more for pan, room temperature
2-1/2 cups flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 + 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tblsp butter, melted
1-1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat 2 sticks butter, 3/4 cup maple syrup, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; mix in vanilla.

3. With a mixer on low speed, alternately add flour mixture in 3 parts and sour cream in 2 parts (begin and end with flour mixture). Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Turn out of pan and cool completely on rack, right side up.

4. Make maple glaze: Combine 1/4 cup maple syrup and 2 tblsp butter, melted. Sift in 1 to 1-1/2 cups confectioner's sugar; whisk to combine. Adjust consistency with syrup or sugar, if necessary. Pour over cake, spreading to edges (it may drip down sides). Let set, at least 15 minutes, before serving.

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I kind of screwed it up this time, though, because I cooked it for a little too long and I didn't add as much maple syrup to the batter or to the frosting—big mistakes! If done correctly, this cake should taste sort of like a richer, tastier, butterier version of a maple doughnut. Heavenly.

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My Garden Workbook

My gardening class ended on Saturday. I'm kind of sad it's over but I'm kind of happy to have my Saturdays back, too. As part of our final assignment, we had to give presentations to the class. I'd been absolutely dreading it since the very first day. I hate talking in front of people. I totally, royally hate it. It helped that we were allowed to present the plans for our own gardens though, because I pretended I was having a chat with my friends about what I was doing in my garden and that made me a little less nervous. And since I am a huge weirdo, I also made a garden workbook to help with my presentation.

I divided the workbook into five sections: Site (before and after pictures of the site along with my garden plan), Soil (soil test information and amendments), Crops (all the vegetables I'll be planting), Resources (mostly notes and handouts from class), and Ornamentals (care and maintenance requirements for all of my perennials and shrubs).

So far, my preliminary veggie garden design is four 4 ft. square beds (with paths in between) made out of 2" x 6" juniper boards placed in front of the fence next to the plum tree. I also want to build a little trellis at the entrance of the space. Something quaint and rustic, I think.

I made a crop rotation chart (inspired by one of the handouts we were given in class) to help me decide what to plant where and when. I'm not even close to being done with this part. It's a huge puzzle of plants based on family, germination periods, harvest times, and a slew of other things— things I never would have thought to consider before.

Now I just want to start planting and see what happens!

Unfortunately, my presentation was pretty lame. I talked super fast and was only up there for 4.82 seconds instead of the recommended seven minutes. And when I passed my book around, I got nothing. Zero feedback. Nothing. Everyone looked at me like, Why would one do this exactly? Maybe it wasn't the right crowd for a garden workbook. I probably could have done more to spark a conversation but my face was too red and my chest was too splotchy and I just wanted to pick up my dinner and go home.

It's alright though. I've got my workbook, a bunch of ideas, and a whole lot of motivation to get this thing started.

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Her

And just like that, she's 12.

Twelve.

My girl. I love her so.

I don't often see myself in her but I certainly see her in me. She makes me do more and be more. She makes me more compassionate. She makes me honest. She makes me kinder. She makes me try harder. She makes it easy to do the right thing. She makes me think before I talk. She pushes me to do things I don't want to do. I do them for her.

Twelve years ago she changed my life and I'll never be the same.

Happy Birthday, my dearest, dearest girl. xox

ANY