unexpected mothering perks

i usually don't relish getting my kids in trouble, but sometimes those 30 minute time-outs (following an especially naughty afternoon where mom felt a bit too long suffering) buy a session of a quiet read (two day old vancouver sun), a handful of bbq baby back rib chips, and a bunch of novel-budding notes

sometimes it's true
we all like each other a bit more after some time apart.

thing one and thing two

i have plans for our dinner, but it's on hold. my four year old has had two minnows in his possession since our beachy Canada Day wednesday and is thinking they might be a mommy and daddy with a family on the way. it might seem weird that this interuppted dinner prep, but we realized that my small rice jar would make the cutest fish bowl so had to transfer them over. hope they like it on the mantle. he is, after our careful research on the captive mating habits of minnows, collecting the most petit of gravel for the bottom.

don't tell the fish, but in a creepy turn of events, our dinner plans include prawns (and some yummy asparagus and rice to go with them)

ok, i suspected this would happen

summer has taken over my worklife. today was a total sleep-in morning, quite unlike me. (not like i'm complaining ;) D had the day off and after i headed off for a morning park date with the youngest's playgroup, we took the kids on an afternoon outing for burgers and a little out of the way used bookstore. it's a mellow comic book afternoon. i will try to do my article and writing planning on the DL so as not to interrupt any lazy summer days.

this old house

most of the time i love my 70 year old house, but what it has in original glass doorknobs and light fixtures it makes up for in pipes and wires that need to be redone. the re-wiring is completed (insurance insisted) and the pipes are in progress. this weekend a new weak spot was found. thank goodness for handy fathers. mine (retirement party only a week behind him) is headed over today.
writing update for monday, june 29: today's article in. (on wondergroup Hawaiian based Hapa) catch them in Hawaii at Kahala Hotel and Resort in Honolulu when they are not touring and if you are BC based, at the Harrison Festival of the Arts on Sunday July 12. Their tour also includes West Coast US stops and Japan dates later this fall.
a few more article ideas in the works, some magazines to read, kids to play with, house to tidy, and summer wardrobe to plan. that's what my day is made of

Prayer request for my praying friends: a good friend's husband was seriously injured during a quadding competition this past weekend. they are in a hospital away from home. prayers for recovery and comfort.

beach camping and mail from dad

this weekend contained a mini camping trip at the beach with a close girlfriend (who also happens to be my cousin -- how fab is that -- we both agree it is like another kind of sisterhood) and our kids. not a boring moment, i can promise you that. lots of sweet ones too, some sitting on the beach (or in my case, it looked more like squats on the beach as my four-year-old kept threatening surrounding tanners with happy-sand-throwing-up-in-the-air) nevertheless, got some vitamin D, fluff reading, and toes in the water (the keys to a good beach visit) hello BC parks photo

my father, best dad ever that he is, sent me the e-mail i opened this morning that contained the stats and stories of famous writers' often decades long paths into steady publishing success. so sweet and encouraging. and something i will definitely look back to when type-plodding along.

wishing you a sunny, slow-down, list-making sunday as well.

pop-up ideas and venison roast

the thing i love about novel writing is that you are rarely at work when the ideas pop in. today something kicked in when i read a snarky bit of dialogue in marina endicott's Good to a Fault that reminded me of someone i know, a bit more when i came across msn's article on bathingsuits promising to disguise flaws, and a bit more when digging in my garden.

having the discipline to get up early and weave those all into scenes is another matter all together ;)

d and I worked together tonight on dinner (these late summer dinners take up way too much of my brainspace -- cooking them is like that lingering over the bbq table when camping) ensenada savoury pesto wraps filled with strips of roast wild venison, brown rice, shallots, red leaf lettuce, green onion, and sweet and smoky bbq sauce. and dark chocolate for dessert (eaten in secret by the dishes so as not to break the heart of my non-sugar-eating 4 year old ;)

1st day of summer

today's article in this morning and the summer has officially begun.
the rest of the day can be about creativity. bring on the scrapbooking and novel writing :)

8:36pm post script:

yup, it was that kind of day.
more adventures in cooking. (love http://www.epicurious.com/) reminds me of when i, as a newlywed, used to check out stacks of gourmet magazines out of the library and cook my heart out only to find out D was missing his mom's bisto gravy. (note to wives -- avoid cooking any of your MIL's specialities and you'll never have to deal with the comparisons;)
and i continue to forge my own foodie style to this day (12+ years later)

today i tried hand battered onion rings cooked stovetop
(a bit too delish to make during swimsuit season, but no one said i was smart about things like that)

3 bowls:
flour and salt
2 eggs
sml package of 8 grain and seed crackers pressed into crumbs

1 large onion thinly sliced and broken into rings

skillet with a shallow layer of extra virgin olive oil over low-med heat

roll onion rings in flour & salt mixture, then egg, then crumbs
place in oil and brown, turning to do both sides equally (a few minutes each)

let sit on paper towel before serving. great as a sidedish or hamburger topping
or let's face it -- a meal unto itself ;)