Progressive Pioneer

Homemade Hammock

With yards and yards of that thick, woven fabric I got, I decided that a hammock for the backyard would be the perfect project.  As far as sewing projects go, it was a piece of cake, just one big rectangle. 


I got a long length of pipe at Home Depot, which I had them cut in two pieces.  I have to admit, I felt kind of tough buying, and cutting, metal pipe.  I also got four of those little rubber stoppers that grandmas put on their walkers.  Didn't feel quite as tough buying those.  They were for the ends of the pipe to keep the rope from rubbing against it and fraying.



It took a few tries to get it hung just right, but now it is bliss; dappled shade, a view of the phlox, a constant bird symphony.  I have a feeling it will get a lot of use this summer.

Sweethearts in San Francisco

We're headed to San Francisco, the city where we first met, for the weekend!  Lots of fun things planned and family and friends to see; Makerfaire, China Town, the conservatory of flowers, Paxton Gate, Design Within Reach, the zoological gardens, Rodeo Beach, and a few nights at the Inn Above Tide in Sausalito, for starters.  Four days is all too brief, but we plan to pack in as much as possible!  I've got a couple posts scheduled for you on Friday and then I'll be back Monday with plenty of stories from the City by the Bay!

The lovely picture above is by photographer Jonathan Canlas, who recently shot my brother and sister-in-law's wedding.  The nicest guy and SO talented.

Baby Animals Day

This past Saturday was Baby Animals Day at Heritage Park.  Of course Sam was in heaven, but I think I enjoyed myself nearly as much.  Who doesn't love baby animals?  There's got to be something rooted deep within our DNA that engenders tender feelings towards soft, fuzzy things. 

There seemed to be something intuitive about the way the little kids were interacting with the animals.  I saw a little boy scoop up one of the lambs like he was born to a life of shepherding, so confident and so gentle at the same time.  I know animals are a lot of work, but for all the wonderful things they teach kids, I hope that some day we have room for a few more farm animals alongside Nellie and Rockefeller. 


I was listening to a program on NPR the other day about the benefits of having dogs.  Apparently kids with dogs have less allergies, more social skills, and are more empathetic and confident.  I'd imagine similar benefits are derived for caring for barnyard animals, but minus the hair on the sofa.

On a related note, on seeing that flock of little fuzzies, I decided that Heritage Park might be just the place for our little duckling to live.  I'd been feeling sad that it didn't have any other ducks to be friends with.  So, a few days after we visited, I called up to see if they had room for one more duckling. They said they'd be happy to have him.  Now when we go to the park, we'll keep our eyes out for our very own little duck!

Honey in my Hair

This is what I've been using in the shower as a detangler and moisturizer for my hair and it works great!  I've also been foregoing the shampoo and conditioner altogether in favor of a few other edibles from the cupboard, but give me a couple more weeks to test it out and I'll report back and let you know how my little hair care experiment goes.  But as for the honey, that's a definite winner.  It's not sticky and rinses out cleanly.  There are plenty of bottles on the shelves that tout the humectant properties of honey in their lotions and potions, but why not just use the real thing?  I'd say that for 99% of companies, the dollar is the bottom line and there's simply a much greater profit margin when you use fillers like alcohol, sodium lauryl sulfate and propylene glycol, rather than using whole, plant-based ingredients.  So, I figure, why not just go straight to the source?  If honey is so great, why not just use it straight out of the honey bear, rather than just a token bit mixed in with chemicals?  Give it a try; I think you'll love it!

Book of Signs

Sam uses quite a few signs; milk, dad, all done, bird, dog, eat etc.  He's been adding to the list quite quickly.  I tried doing the Signing Time videos with him, but not being big TV watchers, it just never occurred to me to stop what we were doing and watch them.  We do, however, read a lot of books, so I decided that the best way to help him learn new signs would be to make a picture book.

I bought five blank board books and printed up a bunch of images on full sheet labels.  Then I just stuck the labels onto the books and trimmed the edges.  I put two books together so in the end I had three; two fat ones and one skinny one. 
For the covers I used images from Honeylux.  It's a beautiful shop with lovely letterpress cards and images.  The images are of hand shadow puppets, which I thought were perfect for signing books. 
Here are a few of the pages:

Shoes and sleeping.
Milk and outside. 

One of the things that bugged me about the signing videos was that all the pictures they showed of "milk" were of bottles and big glasses of milk.  Sam doesn't even know what milk looks like!  To most of the world's babies, milk is pretty much synonymous with mama.  In fact, when we used to ask Sam "Who's that?" and point to me, he would do the sign for milk!  I love this picture of a sweet little girl, happily nursing and looking adoringly at her mama.

Cow and drink.

Banana and bird.
Sam loves his books and we love being able to communicate with him.  I can't remember the last time he cried to let us know he was hungry; he just does his signs or points to what he wants.  He's also able to tell me things like that he's thinking of his dad when he's away at work, or he hears a dog barking, or he sees a pretty flower.  It's really wonderful for him to be able share his thoughts and for us to have a glimpse into his world.

Like Staying in Bed All Day

That great 70s vintage sheet set I found seemed perfect for pajama pants; breezy, soft, and in a happy, sunny print.  I whipped up a pair while Clay helpfully took Sam to play at the park.  I love projects that are quick and easy.  It's so satisfying to make something from start to finish in one sitting.  I put them on as soon as the last thread was snipped and stayed in them the rest of the day.

Homemade Bagels

As I delve ever deeper into the Peter Reinhart book the shapes of my bread have been getting ever more exciting, from braids to bagels and soon I may even try pita!  This was a fun bread because it involved boiling before baking. 
Seeing the end result resemble so closely the bakery variety was pretty satisfying, as was the final product smothered in cream cheese and lox!

Maine Cloth Diaper Company Winner!

What a great response we had to the Maine Cloth Diaper Co. giveaway.  It's awesome that so many people are into cloth diapering!  The MCDC has a really helpful website with advice about choosing which type of diaper to use, how to fold them, wash them etc.  And if you still have questions, you can always call them!  They're super nice, knowledgeable and helpful; I loved getting Sam's diapers there.

The winner of the three Haute Pockets diapers, wipes and wet bag is... Erin!  Who said, "Would love to replace some of my old diapers--or rather, some of my KIDDOS' old diapers. :)"

Congratulations Erin!  Email me with your address and I'll send your info to the MCDC.

Little Cottonwood Canyon

While traipsing through the woods and inhaling the heady scent of the spring forest, I said to Clay, "I wish we lived somewhere like this!"  "We do live here," he said.  Point taken.  I meant, wouldn't it be lovely if we could step off our back porch into the forest and hear the rushing river outside our window at night, but he's right, we're so lucky to live just a few minutes from the beautiful canyons and rivers here.  What a treat to be in the shadows of the mountains and to be able to go hiking, exploring or just skipping stones at a moment's notice.



As much as the immense mountains looming over us makes me catch my breath, equally breathtaking are the little details; the electric green of newly opened leaves- the color practically sings! -the bright orange lichen giving new life to a dead branch, and these darling, pink toes all covered in sand.




There are few things I love as much as watching Sam and his dad interact.  Sam is over the moon, in love with his dad.  And his dad is pretty nuts about him too. 

Book Review: Oxcart Man

One of our thrift store treasures was this book, Oxcart Man.  It's illustrated by Barbara Cooney, who also did the illustrations for Miss Rumphius, one of my favorite books growing up.   Oxcart Man tells the simple story of a family who works all winter knitting, whittling, sewing, and all spring, summer and fall they garden, shear sheep, boil sap into syrup and then once a year the dad walks ten days to Portsmouth to sell everything.  The pictures are charming and the story is so appealing.  It really expresses the joy and satisfaction in the simple life, doing and creating things with your own hands.  I've been reading it to Sam over and over.  We both love it.

Rad in Plaid

I couldn't wait to dig into that stack of vintage fabric.  Sewing for your baby is so satisfying.  You get to be your creative, crafty expressive self and your loving, doting mama self at the same time.  And then you get to admire your work on the world's cutest model!  Of course, mine also happens to be the world's busiest, squirmiest model, more interested in chasing chickens than holding still for a photo shoot.

Pioneers and Mountain Men

Our trip to Heritage park with Morgane, Lucy and Patrice (our French couchsurfers) was such a treat.  Sam and I hadn't been for awhile and it was fun to see things through tourist eyes.  The Mountain Man Rendezvous was happening and we watched people making obsidian knives, shooting rifles and making fires with flint and steel.  Morgane bought a little obsidian knife to bring back to her godson.


I always love visiting the apothecary.  It's so fascinating seeing all the different remedies from pioneer times, especially some of the herbal ones that are still in use today.  Down the street is the barber who also specializes in pulling teeth and applying leeches!


Morgane and her mom tried on fancy hats in the general store and at the hat maker's.  I wish that we still wore fancy hats today.  Doesn't Morgane look lovely?


On the outskirts of the pioneer village several Native American dwellings are being built.  An Apache man told us the most interesting things about this hogan, which we had to walk into counterclockwise and never walk in the other direction, in order to keep the energy flowing right.  It's built to represent the womb and is known as the women's hogan.  There's a pointy men's hogan as well for men's rituals, but the family lives in the women's hogan.  If a woman wanted a divorce, she simply put the saddle outside the door and when the man came home he just knew it was over, took the saddle and left.  And the woman got everything; hogan, kids, food, blankets. 

Sam's favorite part is definitely the animals.  We missed the petting paddock this time, but we're going back this Saturday for Baby Animal Days and will definitely make sure to pat plenty of soft fuzzies.

Bonjour, Couch Surfers

Thanks to the couchsurfing project we had three of the loveliest house guests from France last weekend.  I love meeting people from far away, sharing a good meal, a cup of tea, stories and impressions.  Morgane, Patrice and Morgane's mom Lucy were on their way to Yellowstone from Moab and needed a place to stay in Salt Lake City.  We were only too happy to have them stay with us for a night.  The next day Sam and I took them to Heritage Park to share a little bit of our local history and culture. 

Lucy spoke the least English of the three (but her English is still light years ahead of my French!), but she and Sam had no trouble at all communicating.  She played with him and sang him French songs and he just adored her.  She can come back and be his French grandma any time!


Morgane brought us some lovely gifts from France; candles, a French picture book and this silky soft teddy for Sam.  She picked out the bear because in our email correspondence prior to her visit I had told her about the mama bear and two cubs we saw in Yellowstone on our honeymoon. I hope they had similar luck on their visit!

Thrift Store Treasures

I have this problem where I go to the thrift store for one thing, say children's books or silver mixing bowls, and come back with that, plus half a dozen things I didn't know I desperately needed!  Thrift store shopping, like garage sale-ing and antique-ing, gives me a certain adrenaline rush, the thrill of discovering the hidden treasure is addicting. 

This week Sam and I went specifically in search of fabric and come home with some fabulous vintage pieces; a thick green stripe and a plaid for some snappy pants for him, a heavy woven material that I hope to make a hammock out of, and some great king sized floral print sheets from the 70s that I'm going to make some summer pajama pants out of.  Of course, we also found a few kitchen gadgets, some wonderful old patterns and a children's book we couldn't live without.

Maine Cloth Diaper Company Giveaway!

Before Sam was born I spent many hours in the Maine Cloth Diaper Company's brick and mortar shop in downtown Damariscotta, Maine.  I visited the store multiple times, always asking half a dozen questions which, to the well-seasoned diaperer probably sounded inane.  But they were happy to answer my questions, let me examine all the various wipes, inserts, and covers, even help me learn the not-so-complicated tying of a Moby Wrap.
I'm so excited that the Maine Cloth Diaper Company is giving away three new Haute pocket diapers, a wet bag and Fab wipes!  How cool is that?  Enough to get the timid cloth diaperer started or a few new diapers to replace the tired old ones for you cloth diaper pros. 
MCDC is the best place to start if you're thinking about cloth diapering.  Give them a call, check out their website or shoot them an email.  They know all the ins and outs, pros and cons of all the diapers out there and can give the expert advice of actual cloth diaper using mamas.  The store is always staffed by a mom who, 90% of the time is carrying a little one in a sling.  It's such a cozy, lovely place.

As usual, you can enter by leaving a comment, adding a button,tweeting, blogging etc.  Just remember to leave a comment for each entry.  I'll announce a winner on Monday.  Good luck!

Backyard Details

I lay in the grass in our backyard today.  It is blisteringly hot.  The air is heavy, lightly humming.  Lying down, on the grass, it is several degrees cooler and there is a definite sense of recharging, from being there only a few minutes.  It's amazing how much I can refill my reservoir simply by taking a brief moment to be present, to observe, to be still.  
I loved the new perspective I had on the ground.  I thought about Sam and how he views the world, everything new and exciting.  I couldn't help but dash back inside for camera, then settle back onto my blanket and peer around at the yard from bug's(or baby's)-eye vantage point to see what I would discover. 


All within arms reach were dozens of delights in texture, color and pattern; Rockefeller's speckled, soft feather, the weightless dandelion seeds, ready to take flight, and the darling purple phlox blossoms.  I adore phlox.  When I was young my dad and I would canoe down the river by our house.  The steep banks would be covered in sweet smelling phlox and forget-me-nots.  The perky pink, purple and white flowers always remind me of those canoe rides.  So happy to have them growing in our backyard.

Chocolate Chips in the Bath

Some days feel like a marathon.  Noses to be wiped, bread to be made, garden to be watered, bills to be paid, emails to return, laundry to fold, all with a little munchkin permanently attached to your ankle.  In true post-marathon style, all I wanted after my long day was a looong bubble bath.  And a bag of chocolate chips.  My mother used to eat freely from the chocolate chip bag, handfuls at a time if my brother and I were in rare form.  "At least it's a bag of chocolate chips and not a bottle of sherry I'm nipping from!" she'd say.  Amen, Mama.  Here's to the therapeutic powers of hot baths and chocolate chips.

The Go-To Summer Menu

I've been drawing up a grocery list for two weeks' worth of simple, savory, summer meals.  I'm all about things that can feed a crowd, be frozen, or made in advance.  And if they can do all three, even better!  This is why we have a lot of soup and pizza at our house.  When you make the pizza with whole wheat crust and go light on the cheese, it's completely healthy, despite its party food reputation. 
Here's a line up of this week's meals:
Shrimp, roasted pepper, pine nut and pesto pizza; Chilled garlic and almond soup with grapes
Lox, cream cheese, red onion and tomato pizza; Cauliflower, cannellini beans and fennel soup
Garlic mushroom saute pizza; Pea soup with prosciutto
Butternut squash and blue cheese pizza; Roasted root vegetable soup
Texas grilled corn pizza; Fava beans and rice soup
I love the simplicity of soup and pizza and the fact that you can rearrange ingredients in endless combinations so it never gets old.  The more pizza I make, the more daring I get with the toppings.  And I always double my soup and put half in the freezer for a truly effortless meal on those really lazy evenings.

Puj Baby Winner

Congratulations to commenter #17 who said "Btw, added your button! http://homegrown-love.blogspot.com/" Email me your address and your fabric choice (Dianna or Florence) and I'll have them send it out to you right away!
Remember that Puj Baby is still giving Progressive Pioneer readers 20% off through July 31st with the promo code "ProPioneer20!"

Garden Plots and Plans

This past weekend finally saw the last of the seedlings snugly tucked into their garden beds.  Clay did the heavy lifting of breaking up the sod and preparing the beds and I mapped out where everything would go and arranged it all just so.  Of course, I've probably squeezed way too much in, as usual.  There's a deceptive amount of space in a spring garden.  By July it will be a big green mess of chaotic veggie goodness.  But I like it that way.

We used the book Great Garden Companions as a guide for where to plant what.  We had so many seeds to choose from, thanks to the seed swap, and so many interesting heirloom varieties.  Wherever I could I snuck in an extra row of greens or beets.  And in any left over space I scattered alyssum and marigold seeds as a nice home for friendly bugs and a pretty splash of color among the green.

Our seedlings that Clay grew in his studio were just aching to stretch their roots in some good, deep soil, out of the confines of their recycled rice milk boxes, I just know it.  This little heirloom French squash is now living in the green strip between the road and our sidewalk.  We ran out of room in our three front lawn beds!


I lined one side of a bed with lobelia and pansies.  Soon the lobelia should spread and sprawl along the edge of the walk.  The rest of this bed has herbs and cucumbers.  But every garden, even vegetables gardens, can make room for a few flowers!
By the end of my planting I'd made so many changes and squeezed in so many extra plants and rows of seeds that my plans turned nearly indecipherable!  I loved mixing and matching the plants with those that make good companions; alyssum under the peppers, cilantro around the tomatillos, parsley with the tomatoes...  I've been watering religiously every day, keeping my little seeds damp.  I can't wait until they start sending sprouts up!

Raw Baby Granola Bars

I got a Pro Bar at Whole Foods the other day and Sam was quite interested in sharing it.  So, I decided to make him his own baby Pro Bars.  I can't remember the exact proportions of what went into them, but they turned out quite yummy.  Basically it was some sticky stuff and some crunchy stuff all whizzed up in the Cuisinart and then pressed into a saran-lined cookie sheet and firmed up in the fridge.  The sticky stuff was dates, coconut oil, peanut butter, honey.  The crunchy was oats, ground flax, sunflower seeds and walnuts.  All raw, no sugar and really satisfying.  Yum!  Sam hasn't been as interested as I'd hoped, but they've made the perfect snack for Clay and I. 

Book Review: Four Season Harvest

Eliot Coleman is a fellow Mainer.  He lives downeast from where we used to live.  He grows greens all winter long and sells them at local restaurants and grocery stores.  And he doesn't use a heated greenhouse!  His book outlines this wonderful system of cold frames, succession planting and cold hardy plants that he's developed.  It enables you to harvest fresh greens all winter long.  Now granted it's not like you're picking baby bibb lettuce and cherry tomatoes, more like kale and mache and wintered over carrots.  The carrots he calls "candy carrots" because apparently there's some sort of gardener's alchemy that occurs in the sugars when they winter over and it makes them extra sweet. 
The book is a really enjoyable read, it's like talking to your expert gardener neighbor over the fence.   He adds little asides and tells you about his favorite plants, tools and tips.  Mostly I like that his methods are pretty simple.  He's not about making more work for yourself just for the sake of getting fancy.  And the methods are tried and tested.  If he can grow greens in the harsh Maine winters, you can grow greens anywhere!

Recycled Compost Bin

Clever, industrious Clay took apart the gate to the backyard (which we'd been meaning to replace) and built this compost bin.  I'm glad to finally have a place to corral our little backyard science experiment, as last week I had to disengage Sam from fighting with the chickens over a piece of moldy bread I'd tossed out.  Yuck!  The chickens are welcome to it, Sam, not so much.  In fact, I love it when the chickens dig around in the compost; it's such a brilliant act of recycling and repurposing; those table scraps are going to turn into delicious eggs come fall!

Whole Wheat Challah

I wish I'd made this bread for Easter, it's so delicious and lovely.  It is, of course, another Peter Reinhart stroke of of genius.  The best part was braiding the six strands together.  Initially it was frustrating; when I read numbers they just buzz around my head like angry bees, as opposed to words, which generally make sense.  These were the directions for braiding: "Number strands 1 through 6 and bring strand 6 over 1.  Stand 5 has now become the new strand 6, and the old strand 6 is now strand 1.  Now follow this pattern: 2 over 6, 1 over 3, 5 over 1, and 6 over 4.  Repeat."  Huh?!?  Now I'm sure that's clear as a bell to some folks, and I'll give ol' Peter a break as the rest of his book reads like a song.  But I just had to throw up my hands and let intuition take over.  Sometimes our body knows things on a level our mind can't access.  So, I just took those six ropes of dough and started weaving, over and under.  And miraculously, except for that one funny lump, it formed some sort of pattern and looked much like challah is supposed to look!
This makes amazing french toast!

Mama Powered Mower

We got one of those old school mowers.  I'd seen Clay use it and it seemed easy enough, so I took it out for a spin.  Turns out it takes quite a bit of sweat and muscle power.  Probably doesn't help that our lawn looks like there are a hundred turtles nesting just below the surface.  It probably would've been easier if it was smoother.  Yep, I blame it on the turtles.  But, turtles or no, I think I'll leave the mowing to Clay, even if I do think the mower is awfully charming.