a message from Liam

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and his first still life

If you're happy and you know it

Liam learned how to clap yesterday while he was in the shopping cart at Ozark Natural Foods. Gabriel taught him while I was busy in the bulk foods aisle. I came back and Liam was clapping away. And then he continued clapping for the rest of the shopping trip.

So, here is a clapping video. And you get to hear me singing in the background. Sorry.

The Winning Photo

Here it is, at long last, Liam's 2nd-place-winning photo from the Whole Foods Favorite Food Contest.

You can see it on the official site here.

Clearly, Liam is the cutest of the bunch. I guess we should have had him balance the apple on his nose instead.

Grandma Dotha's Poppies

Last Memorial Day weekend, we went up to the farm in Iowa and were nearly blown away by a tornado. Although that adventure will always be the reference point for that particular trip, my garden also holds some reminders: ferns, hens n' chicks, and poppies from the farm.

When I planted them in their new home, the poppies died almost immediately. I thought perhaps I didn't have enough of the roots. I certainly didn't expect to see them resurface.

This spring, that is just what they did. So, here is one of Grandma Dotha's poppy's, straight from the farm in Iowa.
I'm not deadheading them, in hopes of having more spring up next year... We'll see.

a bit of today

If today was only this, life would be calm and serene.

But the dialogue is missing -

C: Put your hand in.
O: I do! I do!
C: The fish will bite you.
O: No!

And then Liam fell face first into the pond.

Today was a long day. A good one. But, still, a long day.

Sometimes I get just what I need to make the day a bit sunnier. My peonies finally bloomed and they smell better than you can imagine.

chicken love

cilantro

I grew up 5 minutes from the Mexican border, which means I grew up eating lots of cilantro.

I love the stuff. It tastes like freshness.

Gabriel hates the stuff . He says it tastes like soap.

When we first got married, there was an entire list of foods he hated and refused to even try. Of course, many of these were foods I loved. Somehow, he's a bit more wiling to try it if I grew it in our garden. If he turns his nose up at a dish on the table, all I have to say is that it came from our garden, and he'll at least give it a try.

This is the story of the sweet potatoes. They used to be the worst. After several summers of growing them in our garden, they are now one of his favorite foods. Triumph!

This is my first try with cilantro. I snuck some into an early spring greens salad the other night. There were no complaints...I'm keeping my fingers crossed.