indigo sea (and edited to add, camp cookies!)

...and a brilliantly full moon sailed placidly on an indigo sea... 'the hills is lonely by lillian beckwith'. 

(can't recommend ms beckwith's books enough)

we're leaving, a week of camping, possibly a hotel in between our destinations, that will be a very welcome bed and bath since we'll likely be hiking too! home is not as much missed anymore with the children grown and gone, but the sea, that is another story...the above image is available here if you

 have a need for the ocean too,

 and for the kind requests (thank you!),

 more embroidered project bags are slowly

 coming together and will be 'in shop' when we return.  

will miss you, if given half a chance, will try to visit,

 and post 'from the field'.

have a brilliant (new moon) week! lori xxx


 *  *  *

i forgot! would you like to see one of the foods i'm making
to bring on our camping trip?

a recipe to share, it came without a name (thank you tammy) so chuck and i
have been calling it camp cookies, perfect for packing, for meals on the go! and the best
part, they only require three ingredients, and so simple, although additions may be added
for taste or preference. here they are:


camp cookies

 three ingredients :  two bananas mashed, one cup of oats and a quarter cup of walnuts, chopped

 mix

 drop by tablespoon on a cookie sheet

bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, cool on rack (or counter, these cookies won't mind)

i would like to eat these right now, they smell SO good baking, but they are going in that container, to come with us. that's it! so simple, nutritious and delicious. sometimes i add grated apple,
or raisins, usually cinnamon too. it is all good  :)

the first good thing

today marks one week of the new year. i'm sorry for complaining about not having my

favorite camera. it took a few people much wiser than i to point out it is not really the problem

i'm imagining. between film cameras and my teeny tiny digital, i don't have to stop taking pictures and participation here is still possible!

the start of january and the first good thing...

the season's biggest swell came to town, making my husband and sons really happy. i love watching them surf. and taking photos. my tiny digital tried it's best. but then i don't think there is a camera that can capture the energy and excitement a large ocean swell brings. salty mist hangs over homes and fields, sea spray is tossed onshore with each crashing wave. at night falling asleep, i hear the rumble and i believe i feel it too. i'm reminded to be thankful we live here at the beach.

 good thing number two : at home a package was waiting for me

 can you see what was in the box?

 it's a portrait done by julie whitmore. if only i were better at this, i would have the proper
words to describe my complete joy and happyness, and gratefulness. and delightedness. thank you julie, for painting this.

in this picture is one of my favorite possessions in the world. a portrait done by my mother, of me as a child. now to have this one by julie too. beyond thrilled almost comes close to how i feel. visit julies shop
here to see more of her exquisite pottery and art.

and then. so many of you asked about the rock house and rock knitting grandma, i took close ups so you could see them better. i did not paint either. the house was found in a gallery in morrow bay, and grandma was at an arts and crafts fair. i wish i would have bought two houses (they were all different colors and shapes), wouldn't they be cute as bookends?

 the side

and the back. hee hee, a bird bath. i would like to live in this little pink house.

good thing number three:  christmas knitting! i forgot to take pictures of completed projects, this is the only one i have, but they were happily received, yay! i made three simple cowls and two pairs of these fetching mitts. (still knitting the second ysolda mitt).

good thing number four:  after recent inspiration found here and here, and all the encouragement to use up our stashes, before buying new. i uncovered an old counted cross stitch sampler i began (feeling a bit silly now) in 1986.

 it was soon after i had my third baby, that this was packed away. my sister and i taught ourselves counted cross stitch, sneaking in a few stitches between feedings and diaper changes. it's a lot like fair isle knitting, reading from charts. i don't know why i put this away so many years ago.

but it's out again now! see the giraffe? LOVE that one best. i've a ways to go on this sampler still, and i think i'm going to need one of those magnifying light up lamps. my eyes are not the same as they were twenty four years ago. 

 and last, good thing number five: a super healthy egg dish recipe. it's very yummy.

eggs florentine

2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
small handful of spinach, or chard leaf, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil

heat a cast - iron frying pan for a minute, then coat with 1 tablespoon
of olive oil. add 1/4 inch of water and heat for another minute.
add chopped vegetables, cover with lid and cook for 3 minutes.
then pour two (beaten) eggs over mixture, cover and cook another
three minutes. scoop out entire mixture with spatula and serve.

this is a great way to add more veggies to your day, starting with breakfast!
(chuck adds salsa, i like it topped with a bit of avocado)
xxx lori

like cake and cookies

~ this weekend

~ my husband was off to the desert adventuring, while i stayed here at home. a cold wind was blowing, keeping owen and i indoors. maybe it was the near hurricane winds that prompted the flurry of activity. we got so much done! (well, owen mostly offered support by watching me from his doggy bed with one sleepy, yet interested eye.)

~ i'm pleased that:
the tree was trimmed
house decorated
outdoor lights strung (once the wind died down)
outside cleaned and swept after wild wind
inside cleaned (laundry too!)
marketing was done
day thirty five of eating to wellness, so far i've had no caffeine, alcohol, sugar, bread, pasta,
baked goods, dairy, poultry, meat and anything else that falls in these categories for over a month.
i went to africa two years ago, came home with a mystery ailment, and am still searching for a
cure. even if the africa bug doesn't leave, the rest of me will be super healthy.
recieved two packages in the mail, one from emily and one from andrea, thank you so much.
made one pot of chicken soup for my sick girl who was at her home in bed. delivered soup, and animal crackers, for good measure, too  :)

~ i added one photo in this post twice, a thing was missing from the first i wanted to show. i see it's still
partially missing. i might have been lazy about one or two things this weekend (no photo do overs)
hee hee.

~ the ornaments on my table, the fox, hen, bluebird, toadstool and teacup are from
julie whitmore, potter, artist. she owns a brilliantly creative heart inside a kind and humble (super talented) body. julie's art can be found  here and  here.

~ a recipe for you...

almond bread (shown above with sesame butter)

1 lb. almonds, raw and organic
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup water, carbonated

preheat oven to 350 degrees. blend almonds (a small amount at a time) in food processor
or blender to fine texture. place in bowl and add remaining ingredients.
pour into olive-oiled bread pan and bake 1 hour. can stay fresh for over a week in an airtight
container in refrigerator.

the bread really is very yummy and makes up for no cake or cookies. almost.
:)

seven days

thank you so very much for the kind words on the little red cape post ( previous to this), i read and reread each comment several times. filled me up it did

and now, a photo for each of the last seven days here on the cool and cloudy california coast

there was a walk through the marsh, flower finding and bird watching

celebrating a month late, my son's birthday and today, my mother's

there was cheering my grandchildren as they ran in a school fundraiser on the beach,

cooling off with a jump in the ocean after. time spent in my favorite room, my space

looking through our wanderlust book (turned into guest book), looking forward to this upcoming date, can it be six years already?

and this morning making a batch of little quinoa patties for my husband to take on a backpacking trip

(his request). these are so delicious, simple to make, and if you prepare the ingredients beforehand you can make them as wanted. we like to dip ours in plain greek yogurt. recipe here,  i really recommend buying heidi's books, both super natural cooking and super natural everyday. hoping your seven have had a little wonder and a lot of love. lori

california native

this weekend the california avocado festival came to town. there are so many of these fruit trees in our valley i guess it's natural that there would be a festival to celebrate it. did you know that california grows about ninety percent of this nation's avocado crop? today my sister and i went. we wandered and looked and admired and ate. i took lindy to see our new quilt ~ knitting shop too, it's my favorite place in town.

i bought a new skirt and a tshirt at the festival to benefit here ( i love the mission statement of my friend who began epmov. i chose indonesia for the memories i have of being there). and lindy bought us each a soy candle that's named christmas eve. it's become a kind of tradition for us, we each have the same candle and when we light it, we think of the other. this year we'll both be smelling christmas eve all through december. that little notebook is mine too. it needed to come home with me when i read the words on the cover...'we are all wanderers on this earth; our hearts are full of wonder and our souls are deep with dreams.'

and for you, a recipe i picked up today:

avocado pasta salad with red pepper & feta cheese

serves 4

6 oz. penne (or other short, tube pasta)

1/3 cup vinaigrette dressing

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

1/2 cup feta cheese

1/3 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup pitted black olives, coarsely chopped

3/4 tsp. chopped garlic

2 tsp. chopped parsley

2 ripe fresh california avocados, peeled, seeded and diced

cook pasta in salted, boiling water until just tender, about 10 minutes; drain well.

while still warm, toss with vinaigrette.

fold in remaining ingredients and serve.

for additional recipe ideas, visit california avocado.com and if you need any avocados, i have plenty to share too. xxx lori