Meet the Family: Simon

Simon is a devilish cat of many nicknames; SimoneyBaloney, fattie, kiki, and I'm thinking of testing out Ghost Face Kittay on him.

Simon recently put out a personals ad in the local paper - this is it:

Large and in-charge, I'm one big ginger with lots of loving to give. Don't let my curves fool you, I'm all muscles kitties. I enjoy eating, torturing field mice, eating, climbing shit, sneaking up on the dogs and jumping on them when they least expect it, eating, and curling up by the window for naps. I'm open to both kitties and dogs who are willing to pull me around on the floor by my ears, or in general, just a good cuddle buddy. 

Simon's been known to be malicious - when he doesn't get his way of late, he has taken to pooping in the sink. But Joe disciplined him pretty well after the 5th incident, so we are hoping he just goes back to doing what he does best, eating, napping, and killing mice.

light it up...

It's December & that means it's time for Channukah - The Festival of Lights!

Joseph and I went to a Channukah party in Olympia, and when we got back home around midnight we discovered Simon stuck about 50 feet up on a tree to the side of our driveway. I have never heard a cat mew so despairingly before. Joe climbed the tree and branch after branch broke off as he ascended. I was standing underneath it shining a flashlight up at him while simultaneously shaking because I was so scared of him falling. But - he is quite the monkey on a tree. He finally reached Simon, and managed somehow to climb down with him most of the way and then tossed him down for the last 10 feet or so. My hero! Simon thanked him by pooping in our sink about an hour later. Clearly, the cat has some behavioral issues we must work out.

In other news, winter in the woods means that you will lose power. If there is a strong storm, chances are the lights will go out, the electricity will go off, and it will be blacker out than you can even imagine. We've begin to learn how to prepare for these times. The wood-burning stove gets pre-set. The flashlights and candles are accessible. You make the best of it and get cozy with the guitars. I wanted to make my own candles to stockpile, so I've started out making beeswax candles, which I have deemed to be the easiest starting point. I'll work my way up.

Honeycombed beeswax candles - Start off by getting sheets, or foundations, of pure beeswax. You want them to be room temperature or they will crack during the process of making them. You can try warming them up if they are too cold with some source of heat for a short time - like a blowdryer or direct sunlight (Not so much of that up around here now!)

Place a piece of candle wick on the foundation sheet around 1/8' to 1/4' away from the edge facing you. Place one end of the wick even with one side of the sheet and allow the excess to hang over the other side. Start at the middle edge of the foundation and fold the edge of the sheet over the wick to encase the wick with honeycomb. Fold the edge gently, working evenly from the middle out to the sides. Then start rolling - for those of you who make sushi - it's the exact same thing. Or, for those of you more medicinally inclined, it's much like rolling a joint. Roll evenly, not too tight, not too much pressure.

When you have rolled the entire sheet, trim the wick to about 1/2" in length. Now light it, and enjoy!

These candles are dripless and they smell ah-mah-zing. I highly recommend making some for your home. Happy Holidays everyone!

snowed in

We were snowed in this Thanksgiving week. It was completely gorgeous.

The chickens stayed in the coop for the most part - They treated the snow as though it were fire to their feet. Here is our adventurous little Americana.

 The sneaky Simon lurked through the snow waiting to catch unknowing prey (Which, one little bird, I discovered him munching on in our kitchen!)

 The dogs had a blast!

We did some sledding and snowboarding about... I had so much fun I screamed like a little girl.

And then we warmed up in the evening over some wine, hot chocolate, and games of chess.

Every time I step outside here, I am forced into an attitude of gratitude. So, Thanksgiving aside, I am very thankful for my family and friends, and I wish for us all happiness and health.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Fall Flew By...

Hi friends - So, it's been a while since I posted - I got a new job up here doing Development & Grant Writing for a theatre, I left town for a convention where my mother was being awarded, and I've been otherwise super busy. But I intend to get back to blogging regularly from here on out. Tonight I will be making and sharing with you my festive honeycomb candle tapers, and later on this week will be introducing more of our furry friends up here. Sadly, we will have to harvest one of our chickens next week (Sicily - and this is why you aren't supposed to name them), and I will be documenting that entire process from the neck slicin' to the pluckin' to the cleanin'  to the cookin'. So, glad to be back here - and for now, I will leave you with an Olympic Peninsula Winter Sunrise. It's getting cold up here. (but I've got my love to keep me warm...)

Meet the Family: Louise

After Katrina, Joe went to New Orleans to help out with the Red Cross. During his work there he rescued a little cat whom he named Reno. He brought Reno with him to Los Angeles, and not so long ago, Reno and an unknown lady cat in Highland Park became parents to this little baby scrapper. We decided to take her from the streets of LA and bring her to our piece of heaven in the Pacific Northwest.

The entire drive up (it took us 2 days) we tried out different names for this little kitty who would not stop crying. "Mew, Mew, Mew. Mew, Mew, Mew." Chinese water torture, I kid you not. Then it hit me - SING OUT LOUISE!!! (I'm a sucker for show tunes and anyways, Louise... Louisiana - it worked.)
Once we made it up here, she disappeared for a week. Upon resurfacing, Louise no longer mewed.She now spends her days snuggling inside, or curling up by the strawberry plants to watch the chickens. She likes catching and beheading field mice and she loves being pet and cuddled as long as you don't pick her up.

Mushroom Pumpkin Soup

My favorite season of the year is Fall, and all that comes with it. Pumpkins, warm spices, pumpkins, hot drinks, pumpkins and lots of cozy layers.

To celebrate the beginning of this gorgeous season @ Maple Creek, I had to make a pumpkin soup.

I started out by taking a farm fresh pumpkin, slicing it up, and baking it into little squares.

Next I took a handful of dried chanterelles that we had picked from the mountain, and soaked them in a small bowl with hot water for about 15 minutes.

I added a pint of freshly picked chanterelles to the mixture. Soak, strain, then chop.

Next I heated a tablespoon of Earth Balance and a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet with medium heat. I threw in a half cup of minced shallots, and all of the mushrooms and then seasoned with himayalan salt and thyme.

When this was done cooking, I took this mixture and poured it into the blender along with 4 cups of free range organic chicken broth. Puree till smooth. When this is nice and creamy, pour into a soup pot and add the baked pumpkins. Boil, then simmer at a low heat. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Pour into bowls, add a little flax seed on top, and serve. This got me rave reviews last night.

"It was AWESOME." - Joseph