i'm going there.

Okay, Julia. I'm pretty close to done with you. My arteries just aren't up for this. Nor is my wallet.

So, here's the scoop. If you saw Julie and Julia, you might remember the scene toward the beginning where Amy Adams is having a little moment talking about butter. She's basically having a verbal love affair. And, I was buying it. I have purchased a lot of butter in the last few weeks. And today I weighed four pounds more than usual. I'm not saying they're connected, but they're probably connected.

Anyway. I've made Supremes de Volaille a Brun. Sounds fancy, huh? Not really. It's chicken breasts sauteed in butter. With a brown butter sauce. Served with buttered potatoes and buttered peas. I mean, come on. Are you sensing a theme here? Butter. Butter. Butter. So much butter. I am getting more than a little sick of it. When M took his first bite of the chicken, he bore a quizzical expression...one that said, "seriously, what are you feeding me?" He asked what was in the dish.

"Nothing really," I answered. "Just a little parsley and a squirt or two of lemon juice in butter."

The light bulb flashed on.

"Butter, that's it," he replied.

When the first thing that hits your palate is butter, there is too dang much butter. I mean, the chicken was good, but if I'm going to give myself a heart attack, I'm going to add some flavor and make fried chicken the way I always have. And I'll make mashed potatoes. Julia's buttered peas can stay.
I've also made another clafouti, and it was good, but it wasn't great, and those suckers do not keep well. That's a strike against in this house. We like to keep a dessert around for awhile.

So, Julia isn't faring well around here. I find myself looking over her recipes and consulting Ina Garten's versions. Then I remember that I love Alice Waters. And Orangette. And I've decided that, for the most part, I'll only plan on immersing myself in French cuisine if I'm in France. So, toodles, Julia. For now.

I'm going to make Orangette's tried and true chocolate cake.

did you know?

Sunday is the beginning of Banned Books Week. I had never heard of it before, but A was telling me about it the other day on one of our many trips to Reading Rock last week. Now I feel like I should start a crusade on behalf of all the challenged books in America. I really don't understand banning books. Really. If someone could explain it to me?? Probably I still wouldn't get it because it's just not the kind of thing that I can understand. My brain doesn't wrap around things like banning books or art and hatred and all those things that I think are basically the same thing: a product of a lot of fear and a healthy dose of ignorance. Anyway, I'm planning to devour as many banned books as I can next week (though mostly classics that I've never read). I've already started Catch-22. It's not a terribly easy read, but I'm determined. And you know how stubborn I can be.

Anyway, here's a link to some information and some lists of books. I would love it if at least one of you devoted readers would pick up even one of those books next week. I don't know why it seems important, but it does. Maybe it seems extra important because of the ridiculousness happening in our beloved county right now.

That's it for me today, peeps. I'm going to go nurse my sore arm. Stupid flu shot.

quit buggin' me.

The Ouiser family has been victimized by the stomach bug. Well, not the whole family. I've been drinking Emergen-C like mad, so I've stayed well. S has been hit by what seems like two separate bugs...one that caused projectile vomit on Thursday and one that caused ED (explosive diarrhea) yesterday. M had something last weekend, and his stomach is still a little wonky. Anyway, there's been way too much belly-achin' round these parts. Otis even did some barfing yesterday to get in on the action. Peer pressure, you know?

Anyway, it's kept us on our toes.

Other than that, things have been pretty low key. I haven't been able to do too much cooking since there are sensitive tummies in the house, but I did manage a couple of Julia recipes last week, and I obviously think really highly of myself because I tinkered with her recipes. I will say that the results of one experiment were delicious, so I'm not sorry. I was making her potato and onion soup. Her recipe called for just simmering all the potatoes and onions in water before pureeing them. Then there was some salt. That sounded a little bland, so I cooked the onions in butter first, then I added a little garlic. Then the potatoes and some chicken broth. It was very yummy. Not bland. I also made her blueberry clafouti, and it was good, but my tinkering with that one did not end as well. I cut the sugar a little, and it needed it, so I added a little extra confectioner's sugar to the end product. So, right now ol' Julia and I are tied 1-1. I'll keep you updated on the progress.

Okay, that's enough for now. I need me some coffee. Stat.

i'm going all emily dickinson

I know the Ouiser posts are kind of few and far between lately. Sorry, but it's only going to get worse. "Why?" you ask. My copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking came in today at Reading Rock, and I feel obligated to immerse myself in its saucy goodness. Also, I pinched my grandma's copy of The Joy of Cooking when I was at the farm yesterday. Now, I will say that I look forward to TJoC, but mostly because it's a little creepy. I was ruffling through the pages and passing things that involved canned tuna and potato chips, and it was freaking me out. I am almost certain that I will make few, if any, of the recipes within that tome, but I'll read it for its, um, historical value. Really it's just like watching Fear Factor for me...much like reading the instructions for making aspics in MtAoFC.

Just the same, I'll likely be a bit reclusive for awhile. Until next time...

FIVE SENSES FRIDAY
Sight: clothes hanging on the line
Sound: S singing "You are My Sunshine."
Smell: basil. always.
Touch: dozens upon dozens of seed tick bites...this is not a good thing.
Taste: oh, dear Rigatoni with Gruyere and Brie, I will love you forever.

delicious.

Sorry I've been missing. We've been busy peeps with trips to the park and cookouts and ballgames and whatnot. Of course, I've been horrible and not taken my camera to document any of the fun. I was too busy actually participating in the fun to take photos of it. I'm not really all that sorry.

Today, however, M is back at work, and life is back to normal. Sort of. S slept until 9 this morning. I guess we wore her out yesterday. She's eating breakfast on the couch and watching Cinderella. She has dance class in a few hours, and we've got a soccer game to attend this evening, but that is all we're doing today. That's it. A quiet day.

Here's a quick shot of our delicious breakfast, which you may have already seen on FB. Oh, and if I had the second at my house, I'd sit there all day, everyday sipping coffee and eating palmiers and reading cookbooks. Wouldn't you?

thirtysomething.

Thirty. I'm loving it so far...except I've either gotten a cold or in my thirtieth year, I may have developed seasonal allergies. But even with a sore throat and a stuffed up head, I am loving thirty. I had a great weekend with my family. My actual birthday revolved completely around food...apple fritters from Dickson Donuts, lunch at Sister's Cafe, cupcakes from Silver Spoon, and dinner at Lugo's. An entire day of food at Dickson's finest...except I never got my coffee from HouseBlend that day. We also snuck in a trip to the Dickson Farmer's Market for a watermelon and a jaunt into the library. It was a great, great day.

Saturday we went to my family birthday extravaganza at my Aunt O's farm. My daddy's family is chock-a-block full of August birthdays, so we always have a thing. This year, O had an "international buffet," and if you've never had a burrito that you accidentally sat on your General Tao's chicken, you've never lived! Then I had dinner at Feathernester's. M and S did not get to accompany me as S was out cold from all the fun at Aunt O's. She played football and croquet and was totally worn out.

Yesterday, we drive out to Turnbull Creek Farm to pick up our Fresh Harvest order for the week, which included a chicken this time. I am really excited about cooking that bird. I've also heard that they are trying to get organic turkeys for Thanksgiving. I might have to score one of those even if we're visiting the MoWasks for the holiday. I don't know that I could pass it up. After the farm, we hit the playground in White Bluff, which is awesome. Then we had pizza, cake, and ice cream at Mellie's. It was a really, really wonderfully perfect birthday weekend. How could I not love being thirty?

So here are thirty things that I'm thankful for/love...in honor of being thirty.

1. My husband. He is the perfect one for me. Seriously.
2. My daughter.
   
3. The rest of my family. It is lovely to have people who love you.
4. All of my friends.
   
5. Blogging..because without it I may never have learned to love and really appreciate MoWask, who I truly adore and miss.
6. Anne A, who I try to be just like as a mother.
7. Michael Pollan. I finished The Omnivore's Dilemma the other night. That man just speaks to me.
8. Reading Rock Books.
9. All things antique.
10. My relationship with my aunt Mellie.
11. Markers and cardstock.
12. My sisters, who crack me up.
13. Otis.
14. Stone fruits.
15. The banana I'm eating right now.
16. Main Street, Dickson...home.
    
17. My house.
18. Warm sunshine.
19. Cool rain (in the summer...not in the winter. That's just depressing.)
20. Happiness. Mine and everyone else's.
21. Barack Obama.
22. My health. My daughter's health. My husband's health.
23. All of my quilts.
24. St. Ives Apricot Scrub and Dr. Bronner's Liquid Baby Soap and Tom's of Maine Spearmint Toothpaste.
    
25. Alice Waters.
26. Fresh Harvest.
27. Good-writing pens. Angie M, you know what I mean.
28. Wine on the porch swings.
29. A warm bed with good sheets.
30. Another year with M, S, and everyone else...
    

help a sister out.

Seriously, I have never been into bikes. I had a lot of bicycle accidents as a kid, and I'm a 'fraidy-cat. My dear friend MoWask, however, is a bike lover. She also wants that bike over in the sidebar. So, click away dear readers, and let's see if we can't win that bike for her. All you have to do is click. That's it. Maybe every time you're bored.

bits and pieces

Here's what's on my mind today.

• I love Mothers' Day Out. Love it. I am looking forward to hitting the gym without stopping at the nursery, grabbing a little something at House Blend, and checking out the linens and fabrics at Goodwill all by myself.
• I am very sad about Ted Kennedy. S asked me what was wrong, and I answered, "Mommy is a little sad for a minute." She hugged me and said I was okay. And I was, just like that.
• I love that my family is able to sit down for dinner together at night. It makes me so happy to be around the table with my favorite people.
• I am just two short days from thirty. Finally. I've been waiting for it for YEARS. I told that to a high school friend that I ran into the other day and his response was, "yeah, you've been pushing thirty since we were about fourteen." I know. I know.
• The fabric for S's quilt came yesterday. Once she has a quilt, she gets a big girl bed. I'm not in a terribly huge hurry. I'm not going to lie.
• I think I ate my eggs too quickly. I may hit Goodwill before the gym just to be safe. Yowsers.
• I'm out, peeps. Have a good one.
  

redeeming humanity

For starters, this story has made me so happy and hopeful. Starting a day off with that bit of news is a great way to start your day. It makes me want to start a website that only reports uplifting stories for everyone to read before they hop on the train or into the car or upstairs to rescue their toddlers from their cribs. Maybe someday...

So, I'm looking forward to a wonderful day. S has her first dance class today, and I'm really looking forward to it. I think she'll love it. I'm also looking forward to some more tomatoes for dinner. How can this day be bad?

that crazy quilt

Remember that quilt I was making for my cousin Hillary a couple of weeks ago? I managed to score a picture of it from Facebook, which I find a little funny. It is nothing special. Everything but the binding was done on a machine, and the only quilting is in the ditches. But, hey, the kid has something to sleep under, right? Anyway, here's a shot of said quilt underneath my very favorite college freshman. I'm just happy that there is no beer in the picture :)

weekending with the ouisers

We had a wonderfully low-key weekend here in Ouiserland. Saturday morning we went to the Frist Center to see the Chuck Close exhibit, which totally did not disappoint. His work is so amazingly interesting. Then we grabbed a little lunch and headed home. Saturday night, I had a little ladies' night that included some brie, a couple of bottles of wine on my front porch, and Julie & Julia. I do love some Amy Adams. And I now want some checkerboard Vans. Yesterday, we picked up some produce from Fresh Harvest and hit a local playground before having lunch with the fam. And that was just about that. Like I said, low-key. Here are some pics.

more of the same

My daughter continues to entertain me. I guess it's the new routine.

• This morning, when we dropped Otis off at the groomer, S started bawling as we walked back to the car. When I asked her what was wrong, she looked up at me with the saddest eyes I've ever seen, and said, "he stole our dog."
  
• On the way to our playdate, after explaining the the two-year-old that no one stole Otis, he was only getting a haircut, she explained to me that, "he will miss me a lot. He loves me the best." (Sure he does, kid. I'm the one that feeds him, you know. All you do is step on his tail.)
• According to S, Otis is the "best dog she ever saw in the entire world." She also loves my brother the best she's ever seen in the entire world. And she loves M the best she's ever seen in the entire world. She loves her some hyperbole.
• She woke up screaming bloody murder last night because we'd forgotten to put Princess Pinky (her hot pink, tie-dyed teddy bear that now wears a tutu- but not to bed because, "you can't wear a tutu to bed, mom.") into the bed with her. When she got calmed down and I returned Princess Pinky to her rightful place, second position to the left of S, she told me to have good dreams.
• She thanked me for giving her a time out at our playdate today.

That's all for now. I've got to go make some Arthur macaroni and cheese.

geographically content

So, in reading blogs like SouleMama and All Buttoned Up, I sometimes wish that I lived elsewhere. You know, like Maine or Oregon... but then I remember one of the main reasons that I love the south. Heat. Long, long months of warmth.

SouleMama is currently "savoring summer" because it's winding down up there in Maine. Winding down? I've got over a month of scorching, how-big-can-my-hair-get-from-this-humidity days left. Followed by at least two months of warm days and warmish evenings. I remember when she was gearing up for summer, when she and her kiddos were totally jazzed about summer days at the shore and playing outside. We'd been enjoying the summer for at least a month at that point. So, really...she only gets like two months of summer. I get five. She, however, gets snowed in for almost half the year. It's not my thing, people. I like to be warm.

So, even though everything is beautiful there, and I'd love a ton of blueberries and lobster, I'll stay right where I am, thankyouverymuch.

Here's to loving where you are.

a first time for everything

S has successfully completed her first day of "school." Or what we're calling school. It's really just Mother's Day Out, but that's a mouthful for a toddler. She loved it. She didn't even flinch about being left. She asked me where I was going. I told her I was going to run some errands and I'd be back in a little while. She said, "Oh, okay. Bye." She gave me a kiss and turned to play. That was that.

She made it through the day with no tears and no accidents, and she ate the turkey from her lunch but not the strawberries or crackers. She did however take some other little boy's pears, and she says they were very good. Awesome. We were afraid she'd steal food. What can I say? We know our daughter.

Here are some pics.

S's new school bag. Check out the awesome map fabric and the GIS patch!
A would've-been-great photo that she refused to re-cheese for.
Off to school.

In other S news...

• After weeks of sickness and having the floors refinished, we hadn't seen Mr. P in a good long while. When M brought him over for dinner last night, S walked up, shook his hand and said, "it's nice to see you, Mr. P." I almost peed.
• She's now telling Otis to, "chill out, buddy," when he gets overly excited.
• My kid loves a musical. We are now listening to the soundtrack of Oklahoma! nonstop in the car.
• She picked out her first set of sheets for a big girl bed, which we don't have but are looking for. They are white with hot pink and light pink polka dots, and they have a nice thread count.
  
• She is a potty machine. If we can just graduate from the potty chair to a real potty, she'll officially be like...a big kid. How did that happen so fast?
  

you learn something new everyday.

We've been out of the house for several days now as the floors get refinished. We're staying at my daddy's house. Here are some things that I've learned in the past four days.

• Otis can be trusted off a leash. This is a really wonderful discovery that M still doesn't trust.
• S is destined to become a world-famous dancer. She has watched my sisters' dance recitals non-stop since Monday. We're all getting a smidgen sick of it.
• I love Dickson County. We went to downtown Franklin on Tuesday, and there are some awesome shops there with some awesome stuff, but I really, truly love the lack of attitude in Dickson. I refuse to purchase anything from a store where no one speaks to me (unless they are super busy). It's like Drum Eatenton says, "an ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure."
• My sisters' have the world's greatest book sitting above their computer. It's The Words You Should Know by David Olsen. It's a little dictionary of "1200 essential words every educated person should be able to use and define." It's crazy cool. Most of the words are words that you know, but today I learned the meaning of the word "bugaboo." It's an object of fear. Something that causes worry or dismay. Okay, so now I have to wonder who the genius is that named Bugaboo strollers. And, um, would you buy one knowing the literal meaning of the name? I don't think I would.

That is all.

what a week.

There's no sense in lying about it. This week was a doozy. Maybe I should say has been a doozy as we're only partially through Saturday. M is working on the world's most intensive proposal, so we've seen next to none of him over the past few weeks. Last week, I made the request that he come home in time for dinner at least once. I didn't even request it this week, though he did make it home one night...after I'd informed him that I had, in fact, contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease from the little one.

So, I've got a fridge full of produce to cook, which I'll feed our extended family tomorrow because we're going to be out of the house next week to have our floors demolished and refinished. In case you're wondering, that means we've got to move furniture if the ol' hubby ever makes it home. I've been moving all the stuff I can move alone, but I'm getting bored with it, and I've also got to finish binding a quilt for my cousin before we leave as she leaves for college next week, and I need to stain the inside of the front door before the floors get done so that any accidents will be taken care of when that portion of the floor gets removed. Plus, I've got that pesky little virus, so the inside of my mouth feels like I've burned the heck out of it on straight-out-of-the-oven lasagna. It's not been my week.

But there have definitely been bright spots. S inherited old dance costumes, so there has been a constant parade of tulle and sequins for days. It's cute. Really cute. And Hillary's quilt, which I started on Tuesday, is looking good. I had the entire thing pieced and quilted (very minimal machine quilting...nothing to write home about) by Wednesday evening. And S and I had ice cream for lunch today. And, honestly, packing all my stuff away to have the floors done has provided me with an excellent opportunity to look at all of my stuff and remember how much I love it. So, I'm looking for the silver lining...but I'm wishing that M's proposal was done and the Ouisers could be the Ouisers once again.

not for bovines

S has been to the doctor again. It's like we're trying to keep the pediatrician's office in business. Between the bladder infection, the 2.5 checkup, and this weekend's visit, I am seriously sick of it. The kiddo has hand, foot, and mouth disease, which should not be confused with hoof and mouth disease. So, we're quarantined for a few days. Oh, well. Maybe the floors will get mopped. Maybe. I'm currently baking strawberry and basil scones instead of mopping. I have, however, done laundry and hung it out to dry on my new clothesline. (Thank you, M, for putting it up for me. I love it.)

Really the reason that I'm posting is to tell you to do the following things.

• Make Lemon-Rosemary Salt and rub it on something. Steak, fish, potatoes. Something. Anything. It is so good.
• Make some scones. I used this recipe from my friend Holly. She used strawberries and added fresh rosemary. I made them last week with fresh cherries. Now I'm working on strawberry and basil. Seriously, these suckers are good and quick to make. Plus, they are not brick-like in the least.
• Find yourself a locally grown fresh cantaloupe. Do not hesitate. I picked one up from Fresh Harvest Saturday, and I just cut into it. It is one of the single best things I've ever eaten, and I don't even really like cantaloupe that much.
• Go read some poetry. I've been reading poetry lately to S, and we're both loving it. I had forgotten about the following: So much depends upon/a red wheelbarrow/glazed with rain water/beside the white chickens. I do love that. Love it.
  

is that a kookaburra in your chest...

...or are you just happy to see me?
Background. For some reason S is weirded out by doctors listening to her. She does not like the idea of the stethoscope, despite the fact that it doesn't really bother her. It's just the anticipation that's a killer.

Anyway, when she was diagnosed with her bladder infection a couple of weeks ago, we told her that the doctor was listening to the butterflies in her chest and looking for butterflies in her ears. She thought that was funny, and she kept telling me that she had a pink butterfly in one ear and a green butterfly in the other.

Then, yesterday, we had to go for her 2.5 checkup. The whole way to the doctor's office, she whined, "I don't want him to listen to me." So, I told her they weren't going to listen to her, they were going to listen to the kookaburra in her chest. (Kookaburras are the fave animal du jour.)

Now, she keeps coming up to me with her play stethoscope and telling me she needs to listen to the kookaburra in my chest. Then she wants me to listen to her chest, and then she tells me what animal I'm listening to. Sometimes it's a kookaburra. Sometimes it's "just a ladybug." Sometimes it's a mary-kat (meerkat).

This kid. She wears me out.

my girl v2.5

S is now officially two-and-a-half. Here's a look back...

0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5 (She is apparently so old now that she requires the use of a cane.)

our morning at carnton

Since I just finished The Widow of the South last week, Mel and I decided to head over to Carnton Plantation today. It was a gorgeous day outside. So, despite some hiccups the day went well.

We left late because the floor guys decided to come over this morning to give us a quote on fixing our floors. When we got there, we had to wait about a half an hour for the next tour of the house to start. No big deal. We hit the cemetery (or "cemquary" according to S) before touring the house. I know what you're thinking.

"You took a two-year-old to a historical tour of a plantation?"

Well, the tour was supposed to last between 45 minutes and an hour, and she can hang in for that long. Unfortunately, we got the long winded tour guide. Seriously. Long. Winded. We spent twenty minutes in the first room, and we were stuck in a corner. I thought S would burst. When we went to the second room, the furniture wasn't roped off, and S took that to mean she could climb all over it. When she first went and calmly sat down on an antique sofa, I was cool. When she climbed down and calmly sat on a footstool, I was cool. Then she got back on the footstool and she leaped off. Not so cool. We decided to go outside. There were outbuildings and a very nice garden to tour, not to mention that the weather was divine. So, we went out to play, leaving Mellie to tour the house, which meant I was going to miss seeing the bloodstains and the view from the back upper gallery, but that was alright.

Over an hour later, after a tour that started after ours had ended, S and I were getting a little cranky and hungry, and we had to pee. Alas, the keys to the car and my wallet were in Mellie's purse. Luckily, she finally made her way out just after I sent her a very smarty-pants text message. Really, we had a very nice time, but S is not invited when we hit the Hermitage. And, I got some nice photos of my girl.

for MoWask.
I'm not entirely sure this is appropriate. At all.

My favorite little face.
Holly Hobby in her new bonnet.
Running in the garden.