playdough

One rainy day not so long ago, Rowan and I decided to make playdough.  I've made playdough once before and, in all honesty, it came out awful.  The color was dull, it was more tough than stretchy, and it smelled funky.  It lasted about 2 days and I threw it out.  This time, I consulted the web before I did anything and found a ton of recipes.  Here's the one I used:  

Playdough
3 cups flour 
1 1/2 cups salt
3 cups water
2 TB vegetable oil
1 TB cream of tartar*
1-3 drops lavender essential oil
Food coloring


* I didn't have any cream of tartar on hand.  After a quick online search, I learned you could substitute vinegar.  I put in a bit more essential oil to cover up the vinegar smell.


Mix ingredients in a large saucepan and cook over medium low heat - until the dough comes away  from the edges of the pan and it becomes difficult to move the spoon. Remove from heat. Cool until it can be handled. 
Turn the dough out onto a clean counter or silicone mat, and knead vigorously until it becomes silky-smooth. Divide the dough into balls for coloring. Make a divot in the center of the ball, and drop some food coloring in.  Fold the dough over, working the food color through the body of the playdough.  Store in an air tight container.

The key to nice looking play dough - use LOTS of food coloring.  No, don't be shy.  The key to nice smelling play dough - lavender essential oil.  And the key to great texture - cooking it!  Who knew? 

happiness is....

sun kissed skin
sandy toes
cliffs full of climbs
laughing boy
giggling girl
sand dollars & seashells
living here...

 

Juneuary

After a wonderful weekend enjoying the sun in Canada, we return home to yet another day of misty cold rain.  This happens every year in June...every year...yet still, somehow, I am not used to it.  Or perhaps I am used to it but unwilling to accept it.


Juneuary jün-y-wer-ē, -we-rē [joon-yoo-er-ee]
-noun pl. Jun·u·ar·ies Abbr. Junry.
1. a season in the Northwest United States that occurs in the months of April and June where the weather or climate appears to be more like Winter instead of Spring
2. a seasonal weather pattern where the sun is concealed behind rain clouds that never end resulting in below average temperatures.

-adjective
1. a Winter-like cold rainy weather day in Spring.

-synonyms: cold, rainy, sunless, cloudy, misty, grey

Juneuary

hungry for more

I can't put this book down.  Can't do it.  I found myself pushing Charlie in the stroller yesterday while reading (which isn't so easy considering the book is hardcover and you really do need to use two hands to steer).  I read a couple paragraphs while the kids were taking a bath.  I stayed up way too late reading it last night.  I think about it when I am not reading it.  I don't want it to end.  It's candy.  Pure candy.  And, I love it!  So, I'm going back to it.  I dare ya - pick up a copy.  See if you can stop.

and this could be yours...

Sweet little 3 bedroom, 2 bath house available in a quaint cohousing community.  House is designed but not yet built (you can choose the finishing details such as countertops, flooring, plumbing).  No commitment needed until after we secure our financing (appraisal WILL come through this time).

Seriously, one of our cohousing members backed out.  This is a GOOD thing...a very good thing actually.  I won't go into boring details but they now have other plans for their future.  We decided to take the opportunity to sell an already designed house rather than just a "spot" on the property as we have done previously.  This house is perfect...and it could be yours (yes, you Rebecca)!  Spread the word...

on a whim

sunset from the porch

On Thursday night of last week, Chris & Shannon invited us to come stay the weekend with them at their family cabin.  On Friday, we were on a ferry heading to Lopez Island.  The weekend was spent enjoying sunsets, visiting beaches, eating cinnamon rolls, shopping at a quaint farmer's market, bouldering (let's just say Eric was in heaven when he spotted the big bad boulders on the beach), laughing, and relaxing.  You can't get much better than that.

family love

little char char

Rowan, Julia & Leah eating cinnamon rolls

sparkly shoes

Chris, Shannon, Julia & Leah (thanks guys!)

and we are moving forward...

...only it seems as though we are moving backwards.  The bank threw out the entire appraisal (this is good news...the best news we could hope for considering the situation) and a new one has been ordered.

So, now we are back where we started.  Only this time they are looking for someone who has experience appraising green building projects.  This time they are going to let us present our project to the appraiser.  This time, it'll get done right. 

The down side?  Time.  It's taking more time.  Hopefully weeks, maybe months, possibly even a year.  I'm not known as the most patient of people but somehow, I'm okay with this.  I can wait.  I'll even do it patiently....I promise!

(Wait...I take that back...the promising part...but I'll try to be patient - I can promise that)

keeper of dreams

We had our monthly Millworks meeting today.  As I sat there on the back porch of our common house (our common house, in need of some remodeling, is the house that "came with" the property) enjoying the sun on my back while I simultaneously cared for my baby and listened to the ensuing conversation about appraisals and delayed ground breaking, I realized that there is no way this isn't going to happen.  No way I say!  The people surrounding me this afternoon are my future neighbors.  They are good people.  We all share this dream.  It's remarkable how well we get along, how well we deal with these challenges, how we share the patience/frustration/excitement of this project.  I love our differences as much as I love our shared vision.  Sure, we may be dreamers, but together we are keeping that dream, damn it!  And we will continue to plod along because we all know it...we are doing the RIGHT thing. 

maybe it is a case of "too good to be true"

We have been working on our Millworks Cohousing project for just over two years now.  Two years!!!  To put it in perspective, Charlie wasn't even a thought when this all started for us.  When I say "working,"  I really mean working.  Countless hours of time, so much energy, lots of excitement, plenty of frustration, some disappointment, many unknowns.  We have come so far.  All the houses are designed, the infrastructure is planned, we have all our members (and a waiting list), we restored the wetlands, and we are ready to build.  We all thought we have 8 big ole holes dug into the ground by now.

But, our last stumbling block has proved to be a huge mountain.  In order to secure our loan, the project needs to appraise for the what it will cost to make this dream a reality.  This is challenging since our project is unique and there aren't any "comps" out there to compare it too.  We received the revised appraisal reports yesterday and, once again, they are too low.  The devil is certainly in the details...and it's too much to summarize here but basically appraisers don't value things like quality, small footprints, and green building.  We are still hopeful.  Well, I guess I am hopeful....but this has been a major blow to all of us.  There are some things we can do to protest the appraisal and we are working through that now.  More work...so much work.  Oh, and time...more time.

I have been consumed by this question all day today - how could we come this far for it to fail?  I think the worst part of it all would be knowing that we are good people trying to do a good thing in the right way.  If we were to build all our houses on the cheap, ignoring any consideration to our planet or our health, the appraisal wouldn't be an issue (or perhaps, not as much of an issue).  But, none of us want to do that.  I think we would rather walk away.  I just hope it doesn't come to that.