Tuesday, February 19, 2013

bone pile

When I was a backcountry ranger, I sometimes fought forest fires.  And usually--because I refused to travel too far from my dog--I was dispatched to some pretty small, local fires.  We'd dig a line around the fire, call it contained, then controlled, then we'd scrape up the last remaining logs into a pile.  We called it the bone pile.  After all was said and done, this was the pile that continued to burn.  Those big ol' logs had a lot of rings and a lot left to say.  We stood around this pile, like a campfire, eating MREs, swapping "jalapeno-cheese-spread" for "chocolate-pound-cake" (which, really, was more like a dried up hockey puck), and told stories.
As usual, life around here is full and fast.  We had a horse-filled weekend which I cannot wait to blog about, but first!  There is so much in the backlog and when this many days pass without a post, it comes down to the bones.  So here you are, from the last couple of weeks, this is what continues to burn.  My bone pile:  

:: Hazel's favorite face.

:: She's been signing "more" for a while and now uses it for books, toys, you name it.  (Also--no photos yet--but this girl has entered the baby-doll-loving stage.  I could write a whole post on the baby-doll-loving stage.  Maybe I will.  Soon-ish.)

:: Witnessing the love and protection blossoming between these two.  Sisters.
(We are getting to that point where my kids shut themselves inside Juniper's room and I hear playful noises.  I don't worry until I hear crying or too much silence.  Today I was making lunch, heard the silence, and peeked in to check.  Hazel was standing on the rocking chair with her buck-toothy grin and Juniper was jumping up and down, excited, saying, "We're playing gremlins in here!  I'm the grandma and Hazel's the gremlin.")

:: Hazel's buck-toothy grin.

:: Hoar frost.


:: What I do after kids go to bed.  She loves tracing letters first thing in the morn.

:: What our kitchen island/ life looks like most of the time, with seasonal variation.

:: Juniper loving preschool.

:: Hazel's somewhat concerning coffee mug obsession.  (Actually, I think she'd prefer the coffee, but we're not going there.)

:: Our family's whim to up and go on a "spring hike."  On a ski trail.  Temps in the 20's.

:: Our adorable little elfkin and the number of times in a day we stand in front of her, dreamily trying to soak it all in, saying, Damn, isn't she cute?  Isn't she though?   

:: A lunchtime favorite: *hot pink* mac-n-cheese (with beet puree).

:: Those one-step-forward-two-steps-back days.

:: Confusing "bath crayons" with regular crayons.

:: Helping herself to kitchen island items.  (Garlic stem and clementine "birthday cupcake.")
          Me:  "Juniper, did you peel that orange yourself?
          Juniper:  "Yeah."
          Me:  "Where did you put the peels?"
          Juniper:  "I put them on the floor and Hazel eat them."

:: Getting Hazel out of the backpack.

:: Discovering the steep, slick sled hill behind our house.

(Yes, I need to ask him to wear a different jacket when I'm wearing my new christmas gift.  We just don't think about the fact that we may take some photos, and that I may post those photos to a world audience.  Who knows, perhaps matchy-matchy couples are hip somewhere.)

:: The bear den.  Grrrrr.  
       
::        The Dad, waxing nostalgic:  "She's so long and skinny.  How did that happen?"
          Juniper, looking at her body:  "I'm so skinny!  Oh no!  Where'd all my skin go?"

:: Getting closer.  

5 comments:

  1. Totally hitting up the hot pink mac and cheese- pure brilliance!! Love the bath crayon mishap and the matchy jackets even more, must be love;) xx

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  2. I would love to know more about the pink mac 'n cheese..do you just toss pasta in beetroot or do you mix it into the cheese souce? Such a great idea.. My 15 month pretty much only eats fruit and pasta, im trying to get creative with the veggies here :)

    P.s matchy couples are cool everywhere!!

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    1. I puree the beetroot ahead of time (usually freeze in batches), then just add to the cheese sauce! Very easy. I'm famous for adding all sort of veggies to mac and cheese (shredded carrot and zucchini are one of *my* favorites), but Juniper particularly loves the PINK mac and cheese.

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    2. Thanks for that, my older one is madly into pink now so its on my menu for wensday.
      :)

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  3. I absolutely LOVE this pile of bones! xxx

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