Midweek with rosemary and garlic

I was finished with school at the great and alarming hour of 5:00, and I was ready to put my sparing creative juices to work. After a bit of messing with the piano and keyboard (I was toying with rhythms to incorporate into a piano lesson  tomorrow) it was time to begin the preparation of a long-awaited dinner production (something I had at Olive Garden a while back and haven't been able to forget). My plans were Baked Rosemary-Garlic Chicken, Cheese and Herb Potato Fans, and a garden salad. To my taste, the results were a bit too salty and "green with their coats of dried herbs", but Mama and Ladybird approved, so it must just be me.
Four baking potatoes were briskly scrubbed and thinly sliced, each one maintaining a thin spine of uncut fiber so the potato remained whole. I splayed the little layers as well as I could and drowned them in melted butter, salt and pepper. After about 45 minutes of moderate baking they were sprinkled with a handful of grated Parmesan, Cheddar, and Italian herbs. As soon as the cheese melted they were ready.
The chicken was more fun: Four whole breasts rubbed with salt and pepper, tucked into a dear old glass dish. They were drizzled with white wine vinegar and olive oil, and a scattering of whole garlic cloves was allowed to caramelize on top. Dried rosemary, fennel and thyme provided their "green coats". This baked at 450 for longer than expected (between 30 and 40 minutes, I think). My salad was a lively and simple affair of fresh lettuce, cucumber, purple onion and an exciting cilantro dressing.
We were all quite full after our warm, candle-lit meal, but couldn't resist a bit of dark chocolate to end it. I chose a chunk of frozen, home-made deliciousness studded with hazelnuts. And (with painful generosity) shared it with Gavin. Then me and Ladybird did the washing up and went out for a short walk. I hope I'm not the only one around here who has noticed the striking young moon tonight--it is slim and elegant, and cosseted by gentle, mysterious ash-colored clouds.
I'm still enjoying the "new" school year. Ladybird is finally beginning her second year of college, and it seems impossible that her summer break could really have been that long; but it was. So it's quiet around here, with me, Mama and Gavin puttering happily through our simple days (though we do tend to wear thin at the end of the afternoon, when he gets tired and hungry). I started my first research project of the year yesterday, and I'm surprisingly intrigued with the concept. I've chosen to write about Agatha Christie--maybe I'll gain some inspiration, or at least a little peak into the genius behind Murder on the Orient Express.

French bread and cheese

We had a wonderful last weekend of summer. Friday was spent at the Woodburn Outlets doing some back to school and birthday shopping, including a bit of chocolate with caramel and macadamia nuts in the late afternoon, and we met Daddy for dinner at a Mexican place in the outlets. It was a happy end-of-the-work-week reunion, and we were satisfied with our purchases. On Saturday we celebrated Ladybird's birthday with a family breakfast and a relaxing morning. In the afternoon I had a picnic in the woods with the birthday girl, during which we read a good bit of The Fellowship of the Ring and dubbed a squirrel "Sophie" after it's sound-alike, a squeaky plastic giraffe of Gavin's. The evening was a real celebration: creamy enchiladas with mango salsa, a friend over to help us enjoy it, a happy mound of presents, and Almond-poppyseed cake with chocolate vanilla tea. The three of us girls disappeared upstairs soon afterwards for a movie and some hair and make-up experimentation.

Yesterday started early--the 10-mile run to church with Daddy was first starry and dark (with a sliver of golden moon), and then ghostly grey with creamy-peach blushes on the horizon, and finally coolly spread with mellow, orange light of morning as we crested the last hill before town. Church was nice (after a quick, hot shower) and then we were home again (don't worry, we drove back!) to eat sausage-corn casserole, salad and slices of leftover birthday cake. I had a quiet afternoon of reading and being with family, and another workout with Daddy (push-ups this time). Before I left for youth group we shared fresh bread of Mama's making, bright, sweet grapes and pieces of cheddar and garlic white cheese--it was wonderful.

And now Monday. I'm busier, but still delighting in life. There is truly something to learn in each moment during the school week!

Spending Time

The "living at home" portion of our family spent Labor Day weekend at our favorite haunt for vacationing, a quiet, snug cabin about an hour Northeast of home, where the air is filled with pine scents and the freshness of the river. Craggy rocks add character and immense beauty to the softly dark green mountains--I like to admire them from the vantage of the porch swing just on the other side of Opal Creek, with a big mug of a spicy, hot tea (mountain mornings do tend to be chilly). We had a rich, chocolatey ganache cake both evenings after our special Trader Joe's dinners, while we watched Little Dorrit (Friday night) and The Croods (Saturday). Me and Ladybird worked up hearty appetites swimming in the icy cold, crystal green water and going on inspirational hikes in the rain and dew-glinting sunshine, and spent a bit of our time reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (we're making not very much headway in the series, although we both love them). I also got to go on a wonderfully stormy, 9-mile run with Daddy, read my own fun book, The Eagle of the Ninth, and play Ticket to Ride with Ladybird. Mama may not have had as relaxing a vacation as I: Gavin woke up at 4:30 on Sunday morning and could not be convinced to go back to bed. We finished our trip with Sunday dinner at Olive Garden on the way home (I thoroughly enjoyed my Garlic Rosemary Chicken and mashed potatoes, and am now determined to recreate the delicious concoction, with a valiant attempt at those garlic cloves, chewy, whole and caramely sweet). And then Daddy had to drive all the way back to the cabin to fetch his laptop, forgotten on the antique stove in the corner of the kitchen.
I spent my real Labor Day catching up on school reading, which was actually very pleasant, putting my room to rights, watching Doctor Who with Ladybird, doing push-ups with Daddy, running for an hour along my home roads... it was good. And in the afternoon, when everything else was happily accomplished, I slipped off into the woods, found a resting place, and lay there letting time slide by while I watched birds and dancing fir boughs, felt wind and fir needles wafting around me, and thought contentedly about life and health and beauty.
P.S. Happy September!

Up and Running

It seems a little early to start back to school, but I'm doing it, and it's not bad. Especially because my strategy this year is considerably less rigorous than in past school years: I'm going to grow and enjoy. That's it. No up at five, run in the dark, work till I drop schedule for me this year, just a simple succession of good days. Work days, true, but good days with lots of sleep, lots of running in the fresh air, plenty of geometry and music, Spanish, philosophy and writing, and hopefully a bit of spare time to devote to cooking and scrap-booking, gardening and bird-watching. There's no reason for summer to be over because I'm starting up another school year; it has just become even more full and beautiful!
P.S. I know it's not always that easy--I just happen to have a delightful junior-year curriculum and am very pleased with the prospect!

Goodbying

Funny how words work: I thought of the title "goodbying" to write about Lavender Girl heading off on her grand adventure, thinking "Autumn Rain might have written something like this before", only to find that Mama titled a goodbye album the same way. I suppose it makes sense that we both use Mama's words--she taught us to talk!
Our big family is spreading out even more now. With Lavender Girl, Cassio and Lulu on their way to build a life in Colorado we have shrunk to a house for five: just Mama, Daddy, Ladybird, Gavin and I. And Autumn Rain is home for a visit; impeccable timing.
The house is a little sad and quiet, but we will get used to it. For now we need to eat German Chocolate Cake (the leftovers from Daddy's birthday celebration yesterday) to cheer us up.

Summer Days

One partial week of quietude before the next roller coaster. It's going fast.
We started off with a trip to Ocean Shores for my cousin's graduation retreat. The next week cousins from Mama's side visited. The next one we had a reunion with Daddy's family, followed by a week with cousins from that side. It has been tiring, but fun, and I'm looking forward to another family reunion this week (this one a gathering of Mama's family at my grandparent's summer property in Idaho).
I spent Saturday recovering from the last spurt of busyness (including a wonderful trip to the ice cream parlor and the park with my home family). Yesterday I rescued my garden from the onslaught of thistles, chamomile and bachelor's buttons--chamomile and bachelor's buttons are lovely flowers, but far too quick to propagate in my tiny garden, and tall enough to block the sun from my gladiolas. I also cleared out the circular paths between my flower beds (these, too, had been taken over by bachelor's buttons and a host of thistles) and made vibrant plans for next year's garden, when I will be the one to plant and keep it. I'm thinking fruit trees and blueberry plants in addition to the vegetable and flower beds.
Today has been thoroughly summer-ish, even marked by a little bit of boredom. Tomorrow will be a bit more productive because I'm going to make a few car-drive/picnic snacks to take to Idaho on Wednesday--spiced pecans and almond-coconut energy bars. I love to cook and bake, so between a garlicky green side that I'm making tonight and the snacks tomorrow, I should get my fill of kitchen creativity for a few days.

A soft orange light rested across the track--orange light to temper the rough red rubber surface and smear the treetops, and grace the fields with shimmering wonder. 5:00 AM. Running with Daddy. We warmed up in cool grey light and balmy air, did breathtaking speed work in the building glow of sunrise, and one last mile to cool down as the light grew bright and yellow. It was lovely.
Amid several days of busy fun with cousins, involving late nights and too-late wake-ups, it felt wonderful to get up so early and run (especially having gone to bed early with such a good excuse). And having done that, I was able to have a quiet hour, shower and eat, and practice piano before any other project got too far underway. This is summer break at its finest :-)