The Sunday edition of our local paper ran a big article on me yesterday. Here’s a link to the story.

Saturday night we had one of those rare moments where someone volunteered to take our children for the night, so we decided to use the opportunity to check out the new Irish pub downtown. (This is why I love living downtown so much, we can walk to all the cool places.) We headed out and were halfway there when a homeless man in a wheel chair, with a dog, asked us where 6th Street was. “Three blocks that way,” I pointed. Turns out he was looking for the homeless shelter, which was quite a few blocks away. After we had given him directions and he started to wheel away Jim asked him if he was going to make it. He said “I hope so.” So Jim volunteered to push him for awhile.

We ended up pushing him all the way to the shelter. Jim wheeled him in the door and we wished him well, as we turned to leave we heard someone inside the shelter yelling at the man saying, “I told you to be here at 7pm. You can’t stay.” Feeling some responsibility now for this man, we went back in to try to work things out. Apparently this shelter has a strict policy: If you’re not there for the preaching, you don’t get to stay for the night (or meal).

After Jim was unable to get anywhere with the shelter, I tried to no avail. My stupid blackberry (luckily) took that moment to work and I was able to google and call the other shelter in town. When we found out they had room, we called the man a cab and waited for it to arrive so we could pay for it. The other shelter required that anyone staying with them blow a “0” on a breathalyzer and the man assured us that he could. I hope that when he got there, he did, and got to sleep somewhere warm that night.

Jim marveled at the exact timing involved… that we were walking by just as this man was crossing the street. I’m thankful for Jim’s willingness to help someone we could have just as easily walk right by.

I have to say, when I was in high school, I used to volunteer at that first shelter on Saturday nights. I don’t remember or didn’t realize their policy about not feeding people unless they were first there for the preaching. We work with a local nonprofit that supports 3 orphanages – 2 in Africa and 1 in Mexico. Their slogan is “Hungry stomachs have no ears.” How true. How can you hear anything anyone has to say when you’re starving… or freezing? How can the “salvation of your soul” mean anything to you when you’re too worried about making it through the night? I feel ashamed of those who wear Jesus’ name as a badge, but don’t act like him. I can’t help but think “Christians” are taking 1 step forward and 3 backward.

Last weekend Jim and I ran out to Doug Jones’ sawmill and picked out a piece of wood for my weekend project. I’d been hearing about Doug Jones for some time now and was really interested to meet him. He was exactly what I’d pictured him to be with neat white hair and teeth, flannel shirt and jeans. He spoke slowly with a deliberate drawl, in a smokey, gravely voice, warn from years of smoking. It was like meeting a cowboy from way back when.

So I spent Saturday and Sunday, sanding and polishing and my old piece of wood turned into my new bench. The legs were salvaged from an old coffee table I found at the Salvation Army.

Instructions: Readymade mag Feb/Mar 2010
Wood beam: $10
Legs: $2
Paste wax: $7

Sunday, I took a break from sanding and helped Jim set up the kids new trampoline. Eden has been relentlessly begging for a trampoline. Jim was adamantly against it, but she finally wore him down and he agreed to pay for half if she could save up the other half. I think he didn’t think she could do it, but in less time than you’d think she had amassed $150 and we had to go to Sams to buy the giant, bouncing monstrosity. Our backyard isn’t that big and since we already have the swingset, it’s being overtaken by kid stuff. (We start out parenthood so idealistically, thinking that our kids aren’t going to mess up our design style, and then one day, we wake up and our lives are filled with brightly colored plastic crap that makes casino-like noises… such is the life…)

I think I will always remember the moment that the trampoline was finished and we all climbed in for the first time, hysterically giggling and bouncing to our hearts content.

(I started writing this way back in early January, and everything I wrote was lost, so here we go again!)

• I made bath bombs, eye makeup remover, candied citrus peel & daily shower spray.
• I painted my kitchen – finally a color I like.
• Carrie and I took an amazing trip to NYC. I need to live there for a couple of years at some point in my life.
• Eden turned 7.
• I remodeled the living room which required a long weekend camping in March and ended with us sleeping in the basement with towels stuffed under the doors so we could escape the oil paint fumes.
• The poker night dudes “broke in” my new living room floor and I cried.
• Jim started playing in the band, the Pineapple Crackers.
• I learned how to quilt… And then took a quilting class and then took it again so I could hang out with some friends who wanted to take it.
• Jim turned 34.
• We found out that my sister was pregnant.
• I sewed a bag from a pattern for the first time! And several smocked dresses for Eden.
• Jim, Caleb and I built our pergola.
• I planted a garden.

• The kids and I had a crazy summer:
– We went on a week long camping trip with Brooke and her kids up at Vega Lake. (The week turned into 4 days, but still…) We saw a porcupine for the first time on that trip.
– We went to Glenwood Springs for the day on the train with Mel and her kids.
– We discovered the local rodeo where one time we saw the Flying Angels parachute from WAY up high into the arena.
– We spent so many days at the lake, baking in the sun. Or at the pool for swimming lessons.
– We spent the day at the fair in Meeker and enjoyed their new rec center.
• I participated in a training exercise for our local Search and Rescue team.
• We went camping and the truck broke down just as we were pulling back into town. (I yelled at the dealership owner who sold us our truck.)
• We found out that my sister was pregnant with TWINS! Then she moved to Denver.
• Eden lost her two front teeth.
• Amy and I made a LOT of jalapeno cherry jam.

• Honor started Kindergarten. Eden started 2nd grade. Jim and I reveled in our freedom.
• I turned 28 and with my 28th birthday started collecting Fiestaware.
• I became obsessed with Fiestaware.
• I chopped off my hair.
• I didn’t like my hair.
• Honor turned 6.
• I canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, pickles and peach jam.
• Carrie, the kids and I went to Denver to visit my sister and her husband. We went to the zoo, Casa Bonita and did lots of shopping with a kid-distracting trip to Build-a-bear.
• We got the swine flu. I had it the worst – 16 days total. It was SO bad.
• Jim and I celebrated our 10th anniversary – but I was still sick with the swine flu so it wasn’t terribly exciting.
• Pure Knits came out and I was officially published.
• I went to Denver to help my sister who was placed on bedrest.

• We finally got to pick up puppy Dexter. The kids and I drove to Craig to get him. On the way home I experienced a “mommy moment” involving children pooping on the side of the highway. (Don’t ask.)
• My dad came over for Thanksgiving. We ate on my new Fiestaware. (still obsessed.)
• For Hanukkah we made a gingerbread town with Carrie. (Carrie and I were more into it than the kids.) We had a fun 8 days of book shopping, going out to dinner and building new crafts.
• Jim, the kids and I took a little trip to Denver to shop and have some fun.
• The morning after we got home from Denver, my mom and I went right back because my sister was in labor with the twins!
• The twins were born – Silas and Elias. They were perfect.
• The mountains got so much snow that I ditched my mom in Denver and rode the train home.
• I fell in love with train travel.
• The year and the decade ended and with it I realized how different of a person I have become. 2009 taught me so many lessons and made me a better person, even though there were lots of hard things… but lots to be thankful for too.

For Eden’s 8th birthday, we decided it was time she had her own room. I wanted it to be a surprise, so after much planning, sneaky shopping trips and one very late night, her room was done. And she was really surprised! Can’t believe that kid is 8 years old… doesn’t seem possible.

Before the room was our master bedroom and then converted for a few months into the playroom:
(pardon the cell phone pictures, both camera batteries were dead…of course.)

After:

Menu week of February 15 2010

Originally uploaded by pretendingsanity

Monday: beer potatoes & sausage
Tuesday: Sarah Struwe chili
Wednesday: baked potatoes w/ everything
Thursday: chicken & wild rice soup
Friday: jim plays @ phat thai – I sadly eat lentil soup at home
Saturday: date night!
Sunday: skirt steak w/ roasted tomatoes & polenta

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?”
–Marianne Williamson

Shroom

Originally uploaded by pretendingsanity

Wow, where have I been? Lots of places: back and forth to Denver a lot to help my sis who just had sweet twin boys. Running around like crazy at Tangle during our busy winter months. Crafting my little heart out in the few spare moments I’ve been able to scrape together. I’m in the midst of writing my 2009 year in review but until then here’s my new hat!

The pattern is free from the winter twenytten issue of Knitty.com. The yarn is Outer from Spud and Chloe. I’ve got to say that when we found out Blue Sky Alpacas was coming out with a new line of machine washable yarns, we ordered the whole line sight-unseen. And we haven’t regretted a skein of it. (As if Blue Sky could ever go wrong.)

I used the recommended needle size and whipped up this puppy in about two hours. I love it!

Gingerbread House Icing

Originally uploaded by pretendingsanity

4 cups powdered sugar
3 TBS meringue powder
Just enough water to make it really stiff (a little over half a cup)

Mix. Pipe. Enjoy!

This is a recipe that I grew up eating and it’s something that I always turn to in cold winter months when the cupboards are looking bare.

In a large pot, sautee an onion and garlic in some oil. Add to that chopped and peeled potatoes. I do 1-2 lg potatoes per person. Add just enough water to cover potatoes and boil until potatoes are soft.

During the boiling process I add salt, pepper and a couple tsp of chicken bullion. Also green chiles to taste. Once the potatoes are soft, mash slightly with a potato masher and pour in some milk or cream until soup has a pleasing consistency.

At this point throw in some cooked bacon or hamburger or sausage or ham (turkey of course) and whatever veggie sounds good. I really like frozen corn. The last batch I made I mixed in some cooked sweet potatoes which was amazing.

Cook until heated through and enjoy!