April Food Day

If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one. Mother Teresa

April 1, bloggers are getting together for a very worthwhile cause: fighting hunger. Times are tougher than ever. Unemployment and underemployment have devastated our country, and charitable contributions are dwindling.

Please give to your local food bank. This link can help you find a food bank in your community. For those of you in the Seattle area, my family supports Community Lunch on Capitol Hill; please consider donating to this most worthy cause.

Another option is to make a direct contribution to Feeding America through their secure website. Even as little as $1 will provide 10 pounds of food and grocery items.

Many thanks to Meg from Pigtown Design and Chris from Easy and Elegant Life for coordinating April Food Day.

handmade

Silent gratitude isn't very much to anyone. - Gertrude Stein

This past week I've been the lucky recipient of some wonderful gestures of friendship from blogging friends. Jamie drew a delightful "cat" version of me. I received these lovely trees in the mail from Paige - thank you so much!


You may remember Patricia drew an illustration as a gift for me and my family. Yesterday I received the original artwork, along with presents for the family, in the mail. Cal promptly got to work making a fingerprint Santa from his gift, Ed Emberley's Fingerprint Drawing Book. (If you haven't seen Ed Emberley's drawing books, they are a fun resource for children.)



Thank you so very much, my friends!

a slow moving weekend

Things were moving slowly here this weekend. Alexi was on call working at the hospital. This was our first Saturday without hockey in months, as the season ended last week; baseball practice was rained out. We did some indoor camping. Eating at the campground (tables above made out of blocks - note Bicycle the bear has his own table too - were made to surprise me while I made lunch). Lots of playing, stories, and art. Interrupted here and there by a walk to the beach. Or a little baking.

How about you? How was your weekend?

boats, out my window

Lots of traffic this weekend.

I hope you're having a lovely Sunday!

moving into spring

I'm feeling quiet and sleepy today. Confession: five years behind the masses, we just started watching LOST from the beginning. (We are a no-TV family, except for special events like hockey tournaments. Becky had a facebook update about it that piqued my curiosity; I ordered season 1 from Netflix.) And I'm staying up far too late watching just one more episode, and scaring myself silly.

So I'm looking forward to this afternoon, when the obligations of the day are fulfilled. I'm reveling in these slightly warmer, longer days. Cal and Abbott will play with their diggers and balls; I will sit on the bench of our deck and close my eyes, and let the sun and sounds stream in.

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 20 Year Anniversary

My home town is Valdez, Alaska. I was in Manhattan for college on March 24, 1989, the day the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef. When I heard the news I experienced a shock like the one my parents described feeling when Kennedy was shot. I returned home for the summer a couple of months later, to find my town completely changed. My parents ran the town's weekly newspaper at that time. The paper above is a photo of the Valdez Vanguard "Extra" edition about the spill; the lower paper describes my parents' experience. Click either image to enlarge.

behind the scenes

My day always starts off with coffee in bed, carried up two flights of stairs to me, thanks to Alexi. Saturday his day was spent playing hockey in a coaches' game followed by an evening course in coaching baseball. Sunday he made waffles for us all, spent the majority of the day at a pine car derby with Abbott, then came home and set up egg dye with Cal. Swoon. Does this give you an idea of what an amazing husband and father he is? This post made me think about how, though I blog about much of my life, the man in my life is often behind the scenes. Just so you know...I love him.

Five Senses Friday

I'm participating again this week in Abby's Five Senses Friday, as a way to think about how all of my senses are engaged at some point in the day. Today's Five Senses post is about my morning yesterday.

Sight: blossoms beginning to open


shop windows



Smell: Arosa: waffles, coffee, grilling sandwiches


Taste: Arosa: mozarella-artichoke-roma panini sandwich


Sound: yoga: inhale exhale



Touch: yoga: maintaining a stressful pose with a sense of ease; taking this experience into my day

Flat Stanley on Vacation

Flat Stanley, a boy who was flattened by a bulletin board, is the main character in a book series by Jeff Brown. For one of his many adventures, he is sent in the mail to visit someone. For decades, first graders across the US have made their own Flat Stanleys, and mailed him to a host. The host takes him places, takes vacation photos, and returns him safely home. I posted recently about making Flat Stanleys with a group of first grade moms from Abbott's school. At the time, I thought the post would only be interesting to the other mothers with whom I did the project; I ended up getting lots of comments and emails about people's experiences with Flat Stanley. Many thanks to everyone who sent photos of the Stanley they hosted! Abbott's Stanley is currently on vacation at Grandma's in Minnesota; we're looking forward to seeing more of his adventures, and the adventures of the Stanleys of his classmates, on their return to Seattle.

The Stanley pictured above and below belongs to blogger Brooke Reynolds' nephew Jamie, who lives in Maryland. These photos of him were taken at the beach in Southern California. If you look carefully, you'll notice he got a bit of a sunburn from his day at the beach.


Alaskan blogger friend Ina sent me this photo of Stanley at the opening ceremonies for the Iditarod:


The following two Stanley photos are from Things That Inspire. The map shows where this Stanley traveled - Georgia, Florida and Colorado:

Sledding in Colorado:


The photos below were taken by Tania Lance, when she hosted her cousin's son's Stanley while living in Paris:







Rachel and David DeBusk hosted the Stanley below: " We saw an art show and 14/48 (RIP) on Saturday night, had a leisurely coffee with the NYT on Sunday morning, and a movie and popcorn at Cineplex Odeon to finish off the weekend. He's an easy going guy you just want to do fun stuff with. We loved every minute."




The following Stanley is in the snow near Mt. Rainier. This Stanley belongs to Sawyer Baugh, age 7; the photos were taken by Doug Baugh. "Flat Stanley is currently in the British Virgin Islands then he goes to visit our cousins in Australia followed by a visit to another cousin in St. Louis."


Stanley on vacation in Chicago from an anonymous contributor:



According to this source, Keith Olberman's show said that there was a Flat Stanley on US Airways flight 1549 that landed in the Hudson.

St. Patrick's Day

A bit of green for my lovely friend Patricia on her St. Patrick's Day birthday: hellebore that grows in front of our house.

Music for the occasion, via Jamie:

Interesting reading about today's history:
St. Patrick Was A Slave

And a most excellent soda bread for the occasion:
Irish Soda Bread


xoxo Lecia

The Best Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies have been my favorites my entire life, and I enjoy making them as much as eating them. My boys have more fun making these any other; it was a great activity yesterday when they were both sick. This recipe is from The Fiddlehead Cookbook, a cookbook out of Juneau, Alaska that contains a few of my favorite recipes, including the carrot cake recipe we used for our wedding cake!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Just a little bit chewy, just a little bit crunchy, these are just about perfect.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Baking Time: 12 minutes

1/4 pound plus 4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup well-packed brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F and arrange racks so they are evenly spaced in oven.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until soft. Add white and brown sugars and beat until fluffy.

3. Add egg and beat until smooth, then add vanilla and peanut butter. Beat well.

4. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt and add to butter mixture. Stir until completely combined.

5. Spoon walnut-sized balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly with lightly floured tines of a fork.

6. Bake for 12 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to racks. When cooled, store tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Yield: 36 cookies

birthday wishes

Today I'm wishing my sister a happy, happy birthday and sending lots of love her way! In the photo above, I'm with her when, according to the back of the photo, she is nine days old.

Here we are with dolls made for us by our maternal Grandmother. Note the matching outfits - all sewn by our mother. And how about my hair?


Matching again! I still buy matching outfits for Abbott and Cal and they still like it - fingers crossed it'll be a while before they refuse to wear them.


Me with my sister and brother:


I hope, my dear sister, you're happy and spoiled today. Let's all have some cake to celebrate!