Settled! And possibly back for good...

Wow. Where does the time go? Hard to believe I started this blog in 2008! Life has seriously gotten in the way, but it is entirely possible that we have a handle on things now. Oh, how I've missed you!

Quick update:  We bought our home August 31, 2012. We spent our last rental year in the inner city of Schenectady, NY. It was beyond miserable, and I'm not quite sure how we managed to get through it. I've never been so homesick in my life. But now we're in our sweet little white and green foursquare on a quarter acre in a tiny town on the Hudson River. Back to the mountains and homegrown crunchy hippie land. WE ARE HOME!  Insert big smiles here.

The Tall Guy continues his battle against chronic Lyme disease and related co-infections. He's been on antibiotics almost non-stop, and had a PICC line in 2011/2012. Like I said a hundred weeks ago, I won't go into his illness in great detail here. It has eaten our lives and I want this blog to be a safe place where I don't have to think about it. That said, if you are struggling with vector-borne disease, or want any information, please feel free to message me. I would be more than happy to help you locate resources. And my heart is with you.

I have a grandson! We call him Mander, and he may just be the most perfect child in the history of humanity. Grandmotherhood has completed me in ways that single-motherhood often fell short. Love him this much.

Oh, and one more big piece of news: I quit my day job! Yes I did. I opened my own business. Actually a few different lines of business. I have a jewelry/craft thing that soothes my spirit, a home-inspection gig suits my need to ramble, and a construction-consultancy that actually pays the bills.

We continue to take baby steps on our path to off-grid self sustainability. Gardening was impossible this year, we're working on getting the house together, and it's a challenge with The Tall Guy's health. But we are fortunate to live in an area loaded to the ears with local farms, markets and CSAs. More pickles this year!

So now you're all caught up :)  I have pics of a recent knitting machine rehab that I want to post, since info is scarce for my particular model (Singer LK-100). I'll also put up some pics of my jewelry and crafts. I promise to stop by more often with tutorials, tips and tricks for living simply in a complex world. Blessed be, my friends.

Silence

I haven't updated lately, but in all honesty, I haven't had much to say. Yes, Mom, you can mark it on your calendar! Work is fine, home is fine, The Tall Guy is fine, the kids continue status quo. I've had bronchitis for two weeks, but am recovering now. We're settling into the house, which will be better once we buy some furniture. The garden is gone, leaves are changing and things are starting to snuggle down towards winter. My energy and motivation are pretty low these days, in keeping with the diminishing daylight hours and f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g morning temperatures.

But I will pick this up again soon. A dear friend and her new hubby are expecting their first child in the spring, so that means lots of sweet little baby creations over the winter. I've been working on a pizza dough recipe and will share it when it's perfected. The Tall Guy has taken on some projects to be completed over the winter season, and we'll keep you posted on those also.

In the meantime, I have two recipes to share with you:

**The World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies, And I Mean That Sincerely**

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and grease two cookie sheets.

1. Mix together flour, baking soda and cinnamon.
2. Beat together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
3. At low speed, beat in flour mixture until blended. Note: I use my food processor for steps 1 & 2, it just seems easier 'cause I'm lazy.
4. Fold in oats and chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap, chill for 1 hour.
5. Shape dough into 1" balls, place 2" apart on greased cookie sheets and flatten each cookie slightly.
6. Bake until lightly browned. The recipe calls for 10-12 minutes, but I take them out around 8 minutes since we like them very soft and chewy. Use your own judgment. Put cookie sheets on wire racks for 2-3 minutes to cool, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.


**Chewy Flour Tortillas**

These are ridiculously easy and SO MUCH BETTER than store-bought tortillas.

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm milk

Mix all ingredients together and form into a large ball. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and rest for 20 minutes in a warm place. Separate into 8 balls and rest another 10 minutes. Roll into discs, they will be smaller than you're used to, around 6" in diameter and irregularly shaped. Heat a pan, skillet or griddle over medium - high heat. DO NOT USE OIL! Place tortillas on dry surface for 1-2 minutes. When one side starts to get light brown spots, flip over and toast the other side. Use hot for tortillas with Mexican ingredients; or use cold with hummus or salad / sandwich toppings as you would flatbread or pita. Fantabulous!

Enjoy :)

I'm back - kinda, sorta, whatever...

So we're in, more or less. Meaning The Tall Guy is here, the cats are here, ALL of our stuff is here, and so am I. And it's not the complete utter mayhem it was even four days ago (a hundred million thank yous to my darling organized husband). But I'm feeling very disorganized and overwhelmed at the moment. Which is ridiculous, because all I do is go to work in the morning and come home at night. The Tall Guy does all the cleaning, unpacking and essential house stuff, as well as tending to the care and feeding of Yours Truly. He is an amazing man, and I stand in official awe of him.

These feelings are a normal part of moving for me. In a week or two, I will settle down. Goodness knows when I'll get some more pics up, but I promise to try soon if you promise to come back and look at them. Deal?

One a positive note, I spent all day Sunday cooking in my VERY OWN KITCHEN!! Life is good.

CAUTION - May Contain Profanity

So I got an email from a friend the other day, accusing me of misrepresentation of our life with the in-laws. And she was right (as usual - it's so annoying). It looks like everything is happiness and sunshine up here, with us in our space, them in theirs, and all of us meeting in the garden to dance in the moonlight.

Well, it's not. At all.

***This section edited for the health of my reputation and that of my family. It was a long rambling vent, for which I apologize. And now, back to our originally scheduled program, already in progress***

So, armed with my new promotion paycheck, we step back into the swamp of rentals - heat included or utilities extra - pets or no pets - and who is going to plow the driveway this winter?

Wish us luck!

I miss our old house

I know why we had to move. It was too big, too expensive and just wasn't working for us anymore. But I miss it. I miss 1400 square feet of hardwood floors, even though they weren't in such good shape. I miss 15 windows and a skylight. I miss my 20'x20' bedroom, and my living room of the same size. I miss five closets, and two spare rooms to keep our stuff. I MISS BEING QUEEN OF MY OWN KITCHEN! And I miss being surrounded by my books and crafts.




These are some pics I took in April of the huge tree outside our door. Our apartment was on the second floor, and the deck seemed to sit right in the lower branches. I loved this tree.










So we're here, cramped into a little tiny space in someone else's place, trying to do the right thing. Granted, it's not so bad. We are with family who love us. Our space is totally ours and relatively private. We have our very own yard and a shared garden that's growing like gangbusters. We're saving lots of money so we can buy our very own home in a year or two.

But I miss our old place.

Present and accounted for

Well, we're moved. Kind of. Which means all our earthly possessions (except the essentials) are in boxes and bags and sacks and containers of all shapes and sizes. Fortunately, The Tall Guy is a miracle worker and we're settled a little more every day. Today he started hanging pictures and what a difference it makes!

I've got lots to tell you, hope to return for a longer post soon. Beans are vining, yarn is knitting and I recently came across the world's best tortilla recipe. Until then, take care and keep it simple!

Moving to Mama's

Yes, you heard me right, we're moving in with in-laws. And although it sounds like a recipe for disaster, the reality is much more optimistic. First of all, I have the second best in-laws in the universe...The Tall Guy has the very best, of course!

What it comes down to is simple math:
Our ridiculously expensive apartment x 3 years = No $$ saved.
Living with the parents x 3 years = Lots of $$ saved!

The Tall Guy and his father have spent the last few weeks renovating the back half of the house - taking down a wall, installing insulation, sheet rock, primer...they've been very productive. Maybe later I'll post some before and after pics. We're moving May 1st, our apartment looks like a train wreck, and The Tall Guy is giving away all our possessions every time I turn my back.

The bottom line is this is the step we have to take in order to realize our goals. And it's not a bad deal. I'll have a yard of my own to do whatever I want (I'm visualizing a labyrinth, some gardens and just maybe an outdoor oven with an open fire pit for cooking and dyeing fiber). We'll finally have space to start our Great Garden Project, or to just sit in the grass and be lazy. And I am looking forward to spending more time with family. Hm...check back in six months and we'll see if I still feel that way!