Nesting

It's been a long time since I've done a post about birds. In fact, that was two blogs ago, I think!

I was pleasantly surprised when Craig urged me to come quickly and see what he had discovered while putting our screens in the windows today. 

(Yay! Spring has come to Pittsburgh!)

I love that my family appreciates my interest in birds.

This vigilant mama kept an eye on me as I poked my head out to snap a photo of her protecting her eggs.

Mourning doves can be super annoying, but I still love this season. I just hope she doesn't wake us at ridiculous hours with her warbling, as was our experience in Moçambique.

Hey, Guess What?!

I did a guest food post on Cristie's blog today, if you're interested in learning how to make kale chips.

Check it out!


ETA: Cristie deleted and then re-started her blog, so this post is no longer available. Perhaps I'll do a new post at some time here in the near future.

Craft Book Challenge Update

Liesl is fairest among patient friends.

I dropped the ball on my end of the Craft Book Challenge for March, and she reassured me that it was totally fine and that the blog police wouldn't get me.

Whew!

March was super busy, and I only touched my sewing machine about... well... I don't think I touched my sewing machine in March.

I'm not one to make promises if I can't guarantee the fulfillment thereof. So, I'm NOT going to say that I'll do two challenge projects in April to make up for March.

(But the thought has crossed my mind.

Several times.)

These super cute birdie pot holders came from Zakka Sewing. This book was one of my very few (read "astronomically-priced") purchases while living in Africa.

(I just needed some retail therapy.)

My mom always tells me that I need to make two of everything I sew, so that there's one for her, as well. In this case, I made three so that I may also give one to Craig's mom.

I'm keeping this blue one for myself.

I may even name her.

(She's a "her". I just know it. She likes tea. And flowers. And nesting. My kitchen is a good nesting place, I think.)

Like a Merchant Ship

A fine mess. Grateful Labor.

That's what this represents. 

When I thought that we'd be moving ten days from now, I decided to see how long we could stretch what was already in the freezer and pantry.

Aside from quick trips to the local grocery and an occasional bulk fruit run to Costco, I've managed to squeeze a lot out of what we already had on hand.

However, Mother Hubbard's Cupboard was beginning to echo in recent weeks, especially since I've been traveling and, therefore, neglecting many of my domestic duties.

(Kudos to my wonderful teenage offspring for running the household in my absence!)

Now that we'll be here for a few extra weeks, I realized that it was high time I feed my family sufficiently.

Today's grocery trip could have been made into a reality TV show.

The look on the face of the lady behind me in line at Costco said it all.

I assured her,

"We'll be back in two weeks."

She glanced at her lone case of Frappuccino and added that she felt like a "slacker".

I'll venture a guess that she probably doesn't have seven members in her household.

Two and a half hours after returning from my multi-stop grocery trip, I still have the rest of the pantry items lying on the floor and island, waiting to be temporarily stowed.

I'm taking this in stages.

By the way, behold my new favorite snacks:

I really like edamame. My favorite way of eating it is the way a local restaurant makes it (see note at the bottom).

My second favorite way to eat edamame is outside the pod, in salad.

This roasted snack version is yummy, too. 

Also, if you've never had anything from the Boulder company, these rice/adzuki bean chips are a good place to start. Years ago, I used to buy their malt vinegar & sea salt chips. They were the best ever.

When I buy these rice & bean chips (chipotle-cheddar flavor), I lose control. And sometimes I share.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

NOTE: Make this --

Edamame in the Pod

(Our family is large, so I buy the big, honkin' package at Costco.)

Follow the package directions for blanching them.

(approx. 3 minutes, I think)

In a large mixing bowl, coat with olive oil, salt (optional; soy sauce is involved later, which is very salty), pepper, and ginger.

Prepare in a ramekin (or ramekins, if you're germ averse, like me) a mixture of:

soy sauce

Hoisin sauce

rice wine vinegar

(The ratio depends on your own personal taste.)

Dip. Savor. Enjoy.

Finally, A Long-Over-Due Scrap Swap Update

I recently participated in Sara's Scrap Swap, but my schedule immediately kicked into turbo mode, which is why I'm just now getting around to talking about it.

I'm convinced that as scraps are weeded out of my stash, they reproduce before leaving. But why am I belly-aching? The very word "swap" implies that what is given will be replaced.

How is this a bad plan?

Anyway, here's what I got in the mail from my six partners. 

I'm thinking "mug rugs". 

*salivating*

From Laura

From Jacey

From Eileen

From Riel

From Shannon

From Sara

Now, if only I can find a long stretch of time, free of responsibility, to put all of this to use.

A girl can dream...

Reunited, And It Feels So Good

There's been a bit of travel going on around here lately. Craig spent some time working in Houston recently. I had the privilege of joining him for part of that time, (Woo-Hoo!) but it seems like we've been separated for SO long.

That could possibly be due to the fact that 1 1/2 days after his return, I hit the road for a completely selfish pursuit.

I rationalized that, because I was taking three of our children with me, it was perfectly acceptable for me to do so.

Our special guest travel companion was my mom!

Some highlights from my mini-house-hunting-conference-attending-family-visiting-quality-time-with-husband trip to Houston:

It was marvelous to sit in a WARM breeze on the patio of a cafe and enjoy a yummy lunch with the sound of birds in my ears, while gazing into the eyes of this man.

I recommend the veggie panini at Cafe Express in Houston.

What a rich blessing it was to hear sound biblical teaching from Conrad Mbewe, known as the Spurgeon of Africa. It was a delight to meet and talk with his lovely wife, Felistas.

We were especially blessed to see the great speaker of the "Truth in Love", our friend, Voddie Baucham. We thoroughly enjoyed our brief time with his family and a few of their friends.

A very special aspect of the visit was partaking of some of Voddie's amazing culinary skills. For lunch, we had some of his leftover chicken curry (some of the best we've had - complete with his own homemade curry blend), and for dinner, we enjoyed his delectable gumbo. This guy is highly skilled in the kitchen, which, by the way, is nicely outfitted with lots of excellent tools and gadgets. (I'm hoping that Craig's competitive nature has been spurred on by Voddie's impressive knife collection.)

Spending time with Titus 2 women was such a refreshment for me. I went home feeling as if I had been to the fillin' station. I look forward to spending more time with Voddie's wife, Bridget, and her wise friends.

The men enjoyed a grand time of "iron sharpen[ing] iron".

Before my flight back to the 'burgh, we had a nice brunch outing with my Uncle Mo & Aunt Shirley; and my cousin, Tammy, joined us with her husband, Bo, and their sons, Tres & Morgan.

Some highlights of my trip to Ft. Wayne, IN, to join my friend, Lauren, for the Vera Bradley factory outlet sale:

Given the number of shoppers over the five days of the sale (we only attended two), I was very impressed by the organization by all of the staff. Other retailers could take some pointers for their Black Friday and other future large sale preparation.

It blessed my heart to have a fellow shopper ask about my purse that I carried. I was delighted to inform her that I had made it myself!

These are some seriously fun shopping buddies! Lauren's youngest son, Timothy, was such a good sport throughout our excursion. It's a wonder we didn't completely wear him out. After the sale, we headed to Panera for lunch, followed by an outing at Hobby Lobby (since there isn't one in Pittsburgh).

We occupied ourselves during our half-hour wait in line with photos, edifying conversation, and determining our plan of action for sale shopping. It helped that we had also gone the day before. That way, we weren't tempted toward impulse purchases, and we knew exactly what we wanted by this time.

I'm really not a die-hard Vera Bradley fan, but I do like some of her pieces. I felt silly even traveling to buy bags, since I enjoy making my own. Still, there are things I'm simply not going to make myself, and it was a fun excuse to hang out with Lauren and her precious family before our upcoming move to Houston.

Vindication: Craig's exact quote (about my travel bag, which was my priority at the sale) was,
"That bag is 'bad', I have to admit."
Yesssss!

I've been wanting one of these double change purses for a while, and I was pleased to NOT pay $25 for it.

I deliberated over getting this wallet, and on the second day of the sale, all of my shopping companions insisted that I get it for myself. They backed me into a corner. What else could I do?

I'm more of a Wal-Mart sort of purchaser of office supplies, but who could resist these adorable binder clips? I really don't care to know how far they were marked down on the final day of the sale...

Gabriela decided to stay behind at Lauren's house and babysit the other children with Craig Grayson. This was her compensation.

Craig's mom recently complimented one of my purses, so I bought this tote for her in the same pattern. She doesn't know it yet. :-)

Although I enjoyed my special trips, it was nice to again have our family all together.  I couldn't resist this moment with the children gathered around Craig.

Looky!

These! Are in. My! Yard!

At long last, spring is making its debut in Pittsburgh, just before we move.

God is good.