A Colorful Life

The canning and preserving whirlwind is not yet finished. Tomorrow Lisa and I take the kids to the "Fruit Loop" near the Hood River to pick pears. Well, Lisa and I are going to pick pears, Max just thinks he's going to do the corn mazes and climb hay bales and get a tractor ride in. He's been in a great mood these days which is such a wonderful change. If he didn't still smell like my very own little/big boy I would wonder if there really are aliens (as he likes to tell me he thinks there are) and that they have taken him to study his interesting eating habits...I mean, he actually said that visiting all the fruit farms sounded fun. He did add the caveat that it only sounded fun if we could go RIGHT NOW. Still, for the last few days he's been so much less fussy and prickly. It makes me want to snuggle in next to him and inhale his good spirits which look so handsome on him.

For anyone who hasn't figured it out yet, I am a woman obsessed with planting as many edible things on my property as I can possibly squeeze onto ten thousand square feet of clay. We have planted four cherry trees, two apple trees, and one nectarine that I fear will never do well because someone around here told me they never do well. (All of these trees are semi-dwarfs that will be pruned to stay small.) These are all in our front yard. We still have room for a few more semi dwarfs and I told Max that one of the farmers in the "Fruit Loop" has sixty five apple varieties and that we could probably taste quite a few of those. I told him how cool it would be, since apples are the only fruit he consistently eats, if he were to taste a bunch of them and pick the next apple tree that gets planted. His eyes got really bright and after correcting me about his favorite fruit (which is apparently cantaloup, though he'll only eat that a third of the time I buy it) he said that sounded fun.

Seriously, what has happened to the cantankerous little boy I'm used to engaging in major discussions with about how everything in life is not stupid and boring? So this is how come other parents survive parenthood on less beer than me (their kids are not at all like grumpy old men). (See, only three beers last night compared to an amount I refuse to divulge to anyone, all because my boy is acting like an easy-going happy guy! And he hasn't even gotten any new toys recently.)

Last night I attended my first Weight Watcher's meeting with Dominique. Maybe it's because I've already lost a couple of pounds in the last week while practicing better eating choices (I consider not eating an entire block of cheddar cheese at twelve am a better eating choice, though a tiny bit sad.), but I am kind of excited. Alright, it's true that I generally reserve a tremendous amount of scoffing energy for any kind of trademarked institution. The whole copy-righted feel good schpeel they splash on every possible surface of their materials seems so contrived and just cheesy...but I say these things because I have a natural rebellion against nearly all group activities, and against any kind of institution that converts people into walking advertisements. However, I have to report here that everyone at that meeting seemed really nice and genuine and the whole Weight Watcher's plan is actually pretty much based on healthy eating which we should all be doing anyway. So, no matter how much it's fans like to spout the ads out of their mouths, the truth is that this is a pretty good thing. So I'm excited. I know I won't lose weight quickly, which is fine, but I feel like I will be encouraged to tame the wild cheese and beer beast which is something I have been unable to do on my own.

It helps A LOT that Dominique is willing to do this with me. She is hardly what I would call a stout woman. She's got the body I hope to achieve (lovely curves). She's not there because she's FAT, but she feels she needs to regain some of her healthier eating habits. Plus, she doesn't feel like she's at her best right now...so we both have goals. I don't think I could do this alone. So: Thank you Dominique for being such a great inspiration!

Today I make corn chowder to freeze. I love tools. I saw this little gadget that cuts the kernels off of corn cobs much more easily than you can do it with a knife. I instantly wanted to own it, but since I wasn't going to process any corn in great amounts, I knew I had to walk away. Just-walk-away-from-the-tool. But I have to cut the kernels off of twenty eight cobs today, so I think a special tool is called for. Whoopiiiiiiieeeeeeee! Why am I going to try to do this project at the same time I am going to be working on those eighteen aprons? BECAUSE I'M MENTALLY ILL FOLKS. Also, the local corn is almost done for the year. Also because this kind of activity puts me in my element. It's also very helpful to have low-fat home-made dinner choices ready to defrost at any time. Sometimes when I'm hungry and there's no already prepared healthy choices I am forced (yes: FORCED) to eat a grilled cheese sandwich with avocado and some more cheese on crackers while I wait for the sandwich to become golden.

I have revealed many secrets in this post, but I won't say what they are. This is how I reveal all and still maintain a little sense of mystery amongst my friends and acquaintances. I'm off now to make hay while the sun shines. Have a great Friday.