Book Fair Goodness

School is finally out!

Due to snow days we didn't get out until the 24th of June. And during that last week, the school hosted it's final book fair of the year. I think this is a privately run fair (as opposed to one by Scholastic or some other publisher) and most of the books are used, if only gently. I'm not sure if they are surplus library books or what, but I managed to find a few treasures.

The prices were nice and low, my priciest choice was $3.00. I think the picture books are all Caldecott award winners. I checked out and read one of the novels - "The Wheel on the School" by Meindert DeJong - from the library fairly recently and loved it, so I was excited to find and purchase it. And I remember when "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" came out in the 70's though I have yet to read it.
But that's what summer is for, right?

Queen for a Day

One of my very best friends will hit the mid-century mark this week. I am going to surprise her by flying across the country to wish her a "bon anniversaire" and present her with this crown. Hopefully it will distract her from the whole mid-century thing...

Measuring the Day

Growth

It's hard to believe that this

is now this.

snarled up in a terrible snerl

Due to wind storms and an enthusiastic 9 year old.











Sure looks stormy today.











Why did I wait to pull this down?













Why didn't I do this yesterday, or Wednesday? When it was 65 degrees. In Washington. IN NOVEMBER!










I still can't believe I extracted all those spiders.












The trick is not to think about what you are doing.










Because if you do, you will actually go
insane.

Earning yourself the whispered neighborhood nickname "Crazy Spider Lady."

Soft Dog Treat Recipe

I'm just going to post this because I tried to find a recipe online and while I found out that tons of other people are too, I did not find the kind of recipe I was looking for; a soft, pea-sized yummy treat for use in training of our puppy. I have purchased a similar treat at the Mud Bay Granary in Olympia, but for a premium price. These can be made for a fraction of the cost.


Soft Peanut Butter and Molasses Training Bits


makes about 2 cups of bits

1 c oat flour
1/4 c peanut butter
2 T unsulphured molasses
1 T honey
2T carob powder
olive oil and/or water to adjust consistency of dough

Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl with a fork or spatula or in a food processor. Add water and/or olive oil by teaspoonfuls for desired consistency. You want a fairly stiff dough, kind of like molasses cookie dough. Ideally it should be squishy enough to form into little pea-sized tidbits, but firm enough to hold its shape. You can either roll into ropy snakes and then cut into nuggets, or (easier) pinch into appropriately sized bits and place on a cookie sheet. Dehydrate the bits at 140 degrees for one hour, or leave them out on a cookie sheet overnight to dry out a bit. They can be stored in the freezer.

It's feeling very fall-ish lately.

I view this with mixed emotions; on the one hand, my garden has barely had a chance - the tomatoes are still hanging greenly on their vines.

On the other hand, I really love fall weather. All the drizzle and half-light makes me want to sit in a cozy chair by a window with a mug of hot something.

Since I haven't posted here in quite a while, I'll try to bring you up to speed. Just days after school let out, we began an earnest search for a  Labrador Retriever puppy. My 9 year old son had been asking for one for almost a year and while initially I thought it would make a wonderful Christmas surprise, the fact that we left for a week of vacation a few days after the holiday made me give up that idea. Instead we decided to wait until summer when Ben (our son) would be home all day and able to fully appreciate the responsibility of taking care of "his" puppy. I hope he will think long and hard before asking for another gift that requires so much care and attention (thinking 8 years ahead to "car"...). After we had viewed 7 litters in as many days, we settled on a little chocolate brown male that Ben promptly christened Gage.

His name has grown with him and he now goes by the more formal title of 'Gager von Pupperdoodle.'

Today I took Gagers for a nice walk around our neighborhood. We live in a rural community outside city limits and most people have at least an acre of property, if not more. So I was kinda surprised to see how many folks were dumping their yard waste on empty lots and public park land. We have a compost heap that is the envy of many friends, family and acquaintances, and it requires little to no maintenance (until you are ready to use it in the garden...) so it really baffles me that anyone with property to spare would choose to haul their lawn clippings, garden detritus and leaves out of their own yards to dump elsewhere. I just don't get it, but maybe that's me.

I have been really delinquent with my etsy shop this summer. While items still occasionally sell, I haven't added anything new in months. I'd like to rectify that, but I'll be substitute teaching again this year so I have no idea when that might happen.

The up-side of all this is that I need to learn how to balance all these chairs, or juggle all of these balls, or any other circus-metaphor you can think of, and it sure sounds like opportunity is a-knockin' on my front door.

but for now...