Kairos—“a right, opportune, or supreme moment in which something special and unique happens”
homemaking
Garden Update
We at the Fagan abode have been out in the garden a great deal the past few weeks, and I must say it is starting to feel like we are actually getting somewhere! My hubby got out a couple of weeks ago and planted our beets: Chioggia and Early Blood Turnip. Last week I planted the rest of our greens: Lacinato Kale, Silverbeet Swiss Chard, and Georgia Southern Collards. And my five year old planted carrots: Dragon and St. Valery.
This past weekend, while my husband had the girls up in Wisconsin fishing, I planted my annuals in my herb garden: Grandma Einck’s Dill and Genovese Basil (this I had started indoors back in February). I then added Amish Snap Peas and our beans: Bountiful, Burpee’s Stringless, Dragon’s Tongue (my girls’ favorite because of the purple stripes), Pencil Pod Golden Wax and Royalty Purple Pod. And while I was at it I threw in my Black Beauty Zucchini. (I’m hoping these will do alright since it is not quite past our last frost date.)


Then yesterday we escaped to the farmer’s market for a while, and the girls each bought a basil plant of their own with the money they have been saving since Christmas. They were even lucky enough to get a planting lesson from the farmer who sold them the basil. This is why I LOVE market…The direct interaction with the farmer. So, so, so much can be learned!
Walk
It is at this time of year, when the temperatures begin to rise, that the excitement begins to build inside me because it is nearing the time of year when we can again voyage out beyond the confines of our neighborhood…and walk.
I would have to say that one of my favorite activities, and that of my girls as well, is walking to the places we need to go. My eldest daughter goes to school about six miles away, which makes it unfeasible for a walk to school in the morning. But with summer approaching and the temperatures increasing, we are able to get to the point in the year when the girls and I can walk everywhere. I think that is one reason I am so excited for school to be out. We literally never have to drive unless we want to.
We are lucky enough to live in a neighborhood situated right in the middle of some of the major roads in our city, and that means we are within one to two miles of anything and everything we need or want to do. If we walk a little over a mile and a half in one direction we can patron one of the local farmer’s market, visit my dad’s hardware store, and pop in a local teacher supply store for some fun activities and project materials. If we walk a bit over a mile in the other direction we can buy fabric, visit a bookstore, rent a movie for Friday night movie night, and now with the addition of a new grocery store we can also buy any needed groceries!
This new grocery store is what got the girls going this week. They wanted to explore the opportunities this new establishment held for them. And, my five year old wanted to make freshly squeezed lemonade.
So with tiny wallet in hand, she headed out the door to begin our quest for lemons. She even volunteered to push her sister in the stroller…She really wanted to make that lemonade I tell ya 🙂
After a fun afternoon of walking, chatting and fresh air, we pushed off toward home and indulged in some lemonade courtesy of our five year old chef. And I must say, it was pretty yummy!
A Day of Thanks
Today my family is rejoicing in the final approval of a new career venture for my husband. In this new position, he will be able to positively impact the health and wellness of thousands of children and young adults in our city. We have been truly blessed.
More of my normal musing tomorrow, but for now I wish you all a fabulous Wednesday!
Makings
With Mother’s Day right around the corner, the girls and I got to work last night on some cards for the ladies. Back in December, Santa gave us a great all-natural card making kit by Glob and we had not yet used it. ( I believe the big man in red informed me he purchased this great gift from Nova Natural 🙂
What we loved best about this card kit is that the card stock is seed paper. So, after all of the mommas are done admiring their creations, they can plant the paper beneath a thin layer of soil and some lovely flowers will sprout…genius…a card and present all in one!

It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful the paintings of children turn out. They have no set idea in mind, they just create, and the result is breathtaking. I even tried to just “paint” my own creation last night, but found myself with a flower, leaf, etc. every time. The mind of a child is one I think we all wish we could emulate. That wild abandon that turns out to be true beauty so much of the time. Love.
At This Moment
~thumbing through my favorite Jamie Oliver cookbook.
~listening to the sound of the rain beat against the window panes.
~making a list of needed ingredients for our Mother’s Day Garden Party planned for this upcoming Sunday.
~organizing my thoughts of what else to prepare for my soon-to-be three year old’s birthday party in less than two weeks.
~counting down the days until summer vacation. (I think I’m more excited than my daughter 🙂 )
~preparing pancakes for this morning’s breakfast.
~thanking God for my wonderful weekend which allowed me to recharge a bit….and also thanking Him for bringing my hubby and two little ones home safely from their fishing trip.
~reflecting upon quality time spent with friends.
~hoping my hubby gets some fabulous news this week about a new venture.
~sipping delicious coffee roasted at a local coffee roaster.
~wishing you all a wonderful week!
Kairos
Fruits of Labor
A while back I wrote about our trip to the Northwoods of Wisconsin and my visit to a fabulous little yarn shop. Well, I have been working hard the past several days and have a few new pieces to share with all of you.
Here is my two-year old sporting the first finished product: a little bitty shawl for those chilly mornings in the spring and summer when you just need a little something to snuggle up with. I am sad to say that I have no idea how to read a pattern, so everything I make I create without a pattern. But I did get my inspiration from this blog post. The shawl is made with a beautiful lamb’s wool/bamboo blend, so you get the warmth of the wool without the scratchiness that sometimes accompanies woolen garments.

Next, I made a little something for Mama! A nice cowl made with toasty 100% lamb’s wool.
More projects are in the works, especially after purchasing that wonderful yarn on our farm visit. I will be sure to share soon.
I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing, and crafty weekend 🙂
Wowie Wow Wow!
These are the words my five year old daughter uttered when she woke up Wednesday morning and realized that the day had finally arrived…the day of the first farmer’s market of 2012!
Even though the weather threatened storms, it held off long enough for us to make an appearance. It was truly wonderful to reconnect with those farming families we hadn’t seen since the end of October. We had a chance to chat, catch up with one another, and discuss this year’s harvest. This is why I love going to the market. There are true relationships formed when you interact directly with the person who grows your food. We grow a large majority of our own food, but we still attend the market each week to interact with others in our community. To feel a part of something real.
We left the market with a tote full of rhubarb (we cannot harvest ours until next year), local honey and some delicious brick oven pizza. Who could ask for a better morning? 🙂
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
This week I decided to take stock of our basement deep freezer. I wanted to be sure that we had eaten all of our delicious frozen veg, soups, pestos, sauces and jams from last harvest so I could plan out our storage for this year’s goods. I had to laugh out load when I looked in the bottom drawer of the freezer to find it filled with bag upon bag of frozen shredded zucchini! I was immediately reminded of the chapter entitled “Zucchini Larceny” in Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle when she says, “July is the only time of year when country people lock [their] cars in the church parking lot, so people won’t put squash on the front seat.” I was indeed still finding myself in this position of having an extreme over abundance of zucchini, even though we were far, far away from the month of July.
I struggle to throw any kind of food out, so I racked my brain for something that would utilize at least some of our zucchini stock. And the idea came to me…chocolate chip zucchini muffins! I could use a bunch of the zucchini I had stored, and also use my favorite Pampered Chef stoneware muffin pan 🙂
Like I so often do, I grabbed my two year old sous chef, and got to work.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
3/4 cup stone ground wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (with excess water drained off)
5 oz chocolate chips
(A side note on my recipes: I use all organic products. And I use local products when available.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. Combine eggs, oil, lemon juice and zucchini in a separate bowl. Mix wet ingredients into dry. Then add the chocolate chips and pour into muffin pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes. (Note: I did bake these muffins in a stoneware pan, which often requires a longer cooking time than a metal muffin pan.)









