Curious Bird

The dog days of Summer at our house

Hello! It has been a little while since my last post and SO much has happened.
But before I say anything more, I must first say Thank You Thank You Thank You to all the lovely ladies who so graciously agreed to guest post in this space during my time away. It was beyond helpful to put everything here on autopilot and be able to focus on moving and settling into our new home in Durham. It was also fun to see what other people do to get through their own dog days of Summer. So, again, THANKS a million. I owe you one.

Like I said earlier, a ton has happened. Lots of really good stuff. But for now I wanted to wrap up the dog days of Summer posts with my own words on the subject. Nothing mindblowing, just what I/we do (are doing) to get through these final hot days and nights of Summertime.

As I've mentioned many times before, for years I spent most of the months of July and August running a summer camp, which caused me to live away from home (in the woods. out of a suitcase). This meant that my dog days of Summer looked a little different than they do now. They felt hotter and longer and filled to the brim with tasks that needed to be completed so that camp kept running smoothly. Phew!

Nowadays, things are a little different. One major difference is that instead of having people --the camp kitchen staff -- cook all my meals for me, I now do it myself. We make a ton of different things (although last night was one of those nights where I was was just too exhausted and chose to have a bowl of cereal. ever have those nights?) One new thing we've been obsessed with since moving to NC is making LOTS of homemade ice cream. Fresh peach ice cream. Fresh strawberry ice cream. Vanilla ice cream. Pistacio ice cream. We are in ice cream making overdrive here and we're not stopping anytime soon.  I'm even thinking about making a batch with pretzels in it. Perhaps I will do that and it will be delicious and I will have to call it Leya's dog days of Summer ice cream. I can see it listed among the other recipes in one of those spiral bound family cookbooks, can't you?

I'll be back soon, friends

L.

 

 

The dog days of Summer: Erin from House on Hill Road

I have been a fan of Erin and her lovely blog House on Hill Road for years now. She is one talented lady who could likely whip up a beautiful skirt or blouse in her sleep. Seriously. And don't even get me started about her beautiful quilts. Like I said, she's talented...and smart...and funny.  Erin writes House on Hill Road from Kentucky where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

When another hot weekend is in the forecast, my husband, Fatty, and I like to beat the heat with some Mexican inspired cocktails. Margaritas are my drink of choice whereas Fatty prefers a refreshing a spiced up beer, also know as a Michelada. Here's how we make them. Cheers!

 

Fatty's Spicy Michelada - makes 2

2 - cold 12 oz. bottles of Mexican lager, such as Pacifico

the juice of 2 limes

2 tsp. Chipotle Tabasco

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Salt the rim of 2 16oz. glasses and then pour the beers into the glasses. In a separate cocktail shaker filled with ice, mix the other ingredients. Shake and then strain the spice mixture into the beers. Stir a bit and enjoy!

Erin's Favorite Margarita - Makes 1 large and strong drink, or 2 small

2 oz. lime juice

2 oz. Cointreau

3 oz. silver tequila

Agave Nectar

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and squeeze some agave nectar over the ice - about 2 tsp to 1 tbsp. Add other ingredients and shake well. Serve in a salted glass over ice. Garnish with a lime and sip slowly.

The dog days of Summer: Amber from Open Roads Mama

Sometimes I stumble upon a blog after receiving a comment here in this space, which is exactly how I discovered Amber's blog, Open Roads Mama. I've always wanted to live in Vancouver, so perhaps by reading her blog I'm living vicariously through her a little too. Over at Open Roads Mama, Amber writes about motherhood, knitting, exploring beautiful outdoor spots, and lots more. Amber resides in Vancouver with her husband and son. 

I love summers in the Canadian West Coast, they're only occasionally unbearably hot. But we sure do get visits from the summer heat waves!  And when the dog days of summer hit, my family and I tend to instantly think: 'WATER!'

 

I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to pack the car and stand at a lakeside in a very short period of time.  The Vancouver area is famous for its nature and I'm one who takes full advantage of it. It's not hard to turn your whole summer into a stay-cation around here, especially if you're just looking to spend time in nature. We walk and bike and spend lots of time outside every day. But when the real heat of the summer comes, we gravitate towards the water immediately. The city beaches are great, but they're often too crowded for our liking. So our choice is usually a short trip to one of the lakes in the area surrounding Vancouver. We set up camp for the day, or half, or however much time we have, and just chill - feet in the cold water (always an instant relief from the heat!), munching on fresh berries or raw vegetables we brought form home in our little day-trip sized cooler, inhaling the fresh air, enjoying the massive amount of trees all around us, and just being in the moment. If I could, I would plant myself here for good, on that beach, feet in the water, holding hands with my love, next to us - our little one playing in the water with other little happy kiddos, it's just a really great place to be on a hot summer day.

The dog days of Summer: Jessica from Montalino

I don't remember how I found Jessica's blog, Montalino. How ever it happened, I'm just glad it happened.  Jessica often writes about birth and motherhood. And sometimes she writes great posts about gender. I love that about her blog... I never know what to expect, but I always leave having learned something.  Jessica lives with her husband and son, Oliver, in Holyoke, Massachusettes. 

This summer we've done many practical things to beat the heat like puttering around the garden early in the morning. Some days you'll see us out there as early as 7am with jammies on and sleep in our eyes. Oliver will dig in his sandbox or "inspect" the plants for me, while I water. It's been a terrific way to get outside while the air is cool and the yard is shady.
Up here in New England we sometimes forget to slow down and meet the heat. Many times we bustle around at our regular pace and get overheated and irritable. Having an exuberant toddler during the heat wave I've learned to keep our schedule to a minimum, to be satisfied staying in and finding entertainment in the simple things (that garner lots of laughter).



Stay cool,

Jessica

The dog days of Summer: Meryl from My Bit of Earth

Although I only recently stumbled upon Meryl's blog, My Bit of Earth, I was instantly charmed and knew it would be a good idea to check back from time to time. I'm so glad I have. Meryl writes about raising chickens (jealous), gardening, motherhood, knitting, and lots more. Oh, and Meryl is funny. And you know by now how much I like the funny.  Meryl lives in Kansas with her husband and baby son.

When Leya asked me to write about what we do to get through the dog days of Summer, I have to admit, I inwardly groaned just a little.  Because the honest-to-goodness answer that springs to the tip of my tongue is "I whine".  Not a very graceful way to "get through", but there you go.

Truly though, today it was 106 degrees outside and humid on top of that.  Which, practically speaking, means we're about as trapped inside as we are in December, but--because you can always add clothes and blankets when it's cold, but there is a finite amount of clothing you can take off--it's not nearly as comfortable.  See what I mean about the whining?  

This year though, I'm trying to be more proactive.  This year, I'm using the dog days of Summer to plan for Christmas.

Now I've probably made you all groan, but hear me out.

Once the weather breaks and Fall starts to roll in, it will be time to happily play outside again--garden chores, our little home improvement tinkering, after-dinner walks.  Right now it's too hot to even paint, but come September we'll be spending our weekends finishing up our back porch and planting bulbs and the like.

And, of course, I can quite easily fritter away the entire month between Thanksgiving and Christmas going to parties, looking at pretty lights, and sipping hot cocoa under the tree.  And with a new babe experiencing his first Christmas this year, that will all go double!

At the same time, I like to make handmade gifts whenever I reasonably can, and that takes time.  If I get a jump start on the holidays now, while the weather is horrific, I can have my handmade Christmas, but still get to enjoy the Fall too.  It's perfect, yes?

And it's a nice boost for my psyche, as well.  Because it's so much easier to daydream...about wild sled rides, tromps in my Winter boots, wool socks...with a sweater on my knitting needles or warm quilt scraps piling up on my floor.

The dog days of Summer: Heather from Grow It Eat It

Have you ever made a close friend from blogging? I have.  Actually, I have made a few, but right now I'm talking about one friend in particular.  Her name is Heather and she's the bees knees. We haven't met in person yet, but I'm excited to say that we have plans to meet up very soon. Can hardly wait for that to happen.  Anyway, I have been reading Heather's blog, Grow It Eat It, since forever. I don't even remember how I found it. And it doesn't really matter. What matters is that Heather always inspires me and teaches me something new. And shes always makes me laugh. Always. Heather writes about motherhood, growing her own food, baking, and the adventures she has while living outside of Asheville with her husband and baby son, Oscar.

Well I don't know where you live but where we live it has been h-o-t.  Hot like get out of a cold shower and immediately start sweating hot, hot like who-needs-dinner-anyway hot, hot like you still can't believe that you intentionally purchased a car without air conditioning hot.  So when a few weeks Leya asked me to write a little something about what we do to get through the dog days of summer she could not have been more prescient.  We do a number of things in our little family when the heat strikes around here.  I drink insane quantities of carbonated water.  We go to the river and swim for hours.  We stop cooking dinners and eat salads and green beans and cucumbers and smoothies.  There's a lot of greeting one another in the hallway with a cold washcloth.  And we drink cocktails as cold as we can get them.

In the service of that last one, I'd like to share with you our recipe for Sweet Vermouth.  Vermouth?  Yup, vermouth.  If you've ever made a Manhattan or a Negroni or a Rob Roy then you've had sweet vermouth - sweet and dry vermouth figure in a huge number of cocktails, and at their base definition both are fortified wine with some herbs and spices.  Unfortunately most widely available vermouths in this country are quite lousy so I can sort of see why folks are not inclined to drink them straight or in large proportions.  But my guy and I got our hands on a few obscure brands and were utterly charmed by them.  No wonder vermouth is the backbone of the cocktail hour in Italy and France!  They are bitter yet sweet, light yet flavorful, herbaceous, and really, really refreshing.  Best part?  You can make them yourself.

Sweet Vermouth

Place into a bowl the following ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon of the following: wormwood, elderflower, chamomile, anise seed, chopped fresh ginger, vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon of the following: gentian, fennel seed, angelica
1/8 teaspoon of the following: dandelion root, burdock root, thyme, oregano, coriander
1/16 teaspoon of licorice root
2 cloves
2 peppercorns
4 juniper berries
1/4 stick cinnamon
zest of 1/4 lemon
zest of 1/2 orange 

Bring 25.4 ounces of cheap dry white wine (roughly 3 1/4 cups) to a boil.  Allow to boil for 5 minutes.  Add all dry ingredients, cover and let steep for 45 minutes.  Strain (ideally squeezing the herbs and spices through a cheese cloth).  Add 4 ounces of cheap brandy and 4 ounces of Vietnamese caramel sauce or nuoc mau.  (Note: it is really worth it to go for it and make the nuoc mau - it will give your vermouth a deeper smoky flavor, but if it feels like too much you can just use simple syrup which is a 1:1 sugar water mixture.)  Pour mixture into a jar, cool to room temperature, place in fridge until chilled.  Drink alone, with a splash of soda water, or in your favorite cocktail.

Note: we were able to find all of these ingredients at our local healthy market.  However dry vermouth calls for some even weirder stuff and we bought those ingredients from Tenzing Momo in Seattle.

The dog days of Summer: Amy from Homegrown and Tend

 Amy Johnson takes beautiful photos. They always make me feel instantly calmer, which is something I can definitely appreciate.  Amy blogs about family, making a house a home, and her wonderful adventures to beautiful spots at her blog, Homegrown. She can also be found on Fridays writing about gardening over at Tend.  Amy lives with her husband and two daughters outside of Philadelphia.

We are having such a beautiful summer this year. There have been a few heat waves that have hit (including this week. Today was 100 degrees!). But overall I can’t complain.  Although I can’t say I am a lover of the heat I do enjoy the ways we try to stay cool.

We like to retreat to the woods where the temperatures are a bit cooler and wade in the water .It’s one of our favorite ways to cool down. Sit on a rock and let the breeze dry you off. It’s like nature’s air conditioning.

Popsicle making and eating is a full on sport in our house. We like to make a variety of pops from summer’s sweet fruits. Our all time favorite is simply watermelon and mint leaves.

To keep from turning the stove- top and oven on and heating up the house (we don’t have air conditioning) we eat lots of cold and raw meals during the really hot months.

Fresh fruits, salads, and smoothies make up a majority of our summer diet. And we pretty much eat every meal outside on our back porch all summer long

And when all else fails,  we invite our favorite friends over. We sit on the back porch and drink lemonade, and mojitos. We eat bruschetta, and listen to records all night. And celebrate those dog days of summer

The dog days of Summer: Sherri from Post+Taste

I met Sherri at a little gathering back when I lived in North Carolina the first time (2004-2006). We were set up on a "you would really like each other" blind friend-date. (It was my second blind friend-date ever. Both were total successes, by the way). Anyway, I guess the woman who so kindly introduced us knew her stuff because Sherri and I became instant friends, and our husbands became great friends too. Bonus. When Sherri started blogging (and continuing to crack me up) a few years after I moved to Philadelphia, I was thrilled. I have been reading her funny posts about motherhood, music, being cranky, and crafting ever since. Sherri lives in North Carolina with her husband and two sons. 

 

So, I don't believe we've met.

 

I'm Sherri. I used to blog as "the claw" and now I have a new-ish blog, post+taste. Do swing by some time, won't you?

 

I was oh so pleased when Leya, or Ley-D, as I sometimes call her, asked me to do a guest post on her blog.  I am happy to help. I am happiest because the reason she needs help in the first place and is that she and Dustin will be relocating back to North Carolina, where my husband and I first met them about six-ish years ago. We had just both moved to Winston-Salem, NC, when a mutual aquaintance introduced us.

 

You know when you and your spouse/partner meet another couple and everyone gets along? You get each other's jokes, it isn't ever boring or awkward and you have things in common? Yeah, we had that.

 

Then Leya and Dustin moved to Philly. Nice. Thanks a lot. Way to go guys. Cool.

I was still a bit bitter (read: sad) that they had picked up and moved to Philly but now I am replacing my angst with joy that these two - plus the newest most adorable addition to their family Mr. Felix - will soon be in our state once more. Good times a comin' people. Mighty good times. I have two young sons, ages four and five and they love Felix as much as I do and can't wait to show him big boy shenanigans (like how funny it is to make jokes with the word "poop" involved).

But I'm supposed to be blogging on here about "the dog days of summer and how I get through them" as assigned to all of us guest bloggers by Leya, and not potty humor. I need to focus. 

 

Hmmmm.

 

Lemme think. Dog Days.

 

Pools. Yep, the guys like to float about in a pool for sure.

 

Popsicles. check.

Fla-vor-ice is the frosty treat of choice at our house. And rainbow sherbet with ginger ale.

 

Movies. yup. Air-conditioning is good. Might I recommend Winnie the Pooh?

 

Mainly, we spend a lot of time indoors. Much like in the dead of winter but with better light coming in from the windows and no one has to go to school, and so the day is just laid out for us to do whatever we want with, which we all dig.

 

Lately, after noon or so, it is just too gross to be outdoors this time of year (sorry Leya, I know you may have blocked that out), so we just avoid the outdoors unless we are under a sprinkler, at a pool or at a friend's house or children's museum.

 

We build a lot with Legos. We make a lot of art. We play a good deal of Candy Land. We bust out the play dough. We have pajama day if it is rainy. This means we just stay in our pajamas or put on our pajamas if the rain starts late in the day and generally chill out. Scooby Doo may or may not come into play.

 

But art always seems to be a constant past time. Here are just a few pictures from what my guys did today.

 

My oldest son starts Kindergarten next month (yipes!) and I have to say that these days where we are just home alone with no agenda, no summer day camps, no plans for the day at all, no plans whatesoever, have been my favorite ones this year.

 

I know that all too soon that time will be gone and I'll be wishing I had my little guy home with me all day.

 

So I don't feel couped up by the dog days of summer.

 

I am relishing each one this year.

 

I hope you are too.

The dog days of Summer: Kathy from While Tangerine Dreams

Kathy has been inspiring me for years now. She knows how to sew her own clothes like a pro and that's just skimming the surface. This girl is talented. On her blog, While Tangerine Dreams, she writes about living sustainably, raising kids, caring for a slew of farm critters, and endless creative pursuits. She recently started a nifty newsletter and has a Spring Sew Course ready for purchase right now.  Kathy lives with her husband and two children in a strawbale house on a gorgeous piece of land in British Columbia.

When the dog days of summer howl at my door I'm always at the ready  with my favorite cool down bevy – a short glass of Kombucha.

A friend who grew up with hippie tendency leaning parents was told as a kid that what she was indulging in was called 'pop' and this is exactly what this drink reminds me of. I'm not a pop drinker but when the day calls for something cold and fizzy, and it's not organic chicken wing and  beer night quite yet, this is what I reach for. Not only does it hit the bubbly drink needing spot but it has been treasured for thousands of years for its health giving properties. I know my digestion runs way smoother when I indulge but I won't get into details here on this respectable blog of Leya's. I'll  wait until I'm more of a 'regular' here (ha, ha).

To begin with you will need a starter culture. If you don't run in kombucha drinking circles yet you can buy one online here otherwise a friend would be more than happy to pass on a mother to you, for they propagate like mad.

The next step is a strong pot of tea. I  bring eight cups of water in a saucepan to boil and  add  a cup of sugar. Once the sugar dissolves I turn off the heat and add four tablespoons of black tea in a reusable tea bag. I'm partial to black tea with pretty pink rose petals sprinkled throughout and some of my friends prefer to make this a half black/ half green tea affair. So basically you want a super sweet and strong pot of black or dark green tea.

I allow  the brew to cool to room temperature and then pour  into a pyrex bowl (I love using the one I have that has pouring spouts built in to it). Now is the time for a cup of kombucha from a past batch to hop in the bowl along with the mother. Again, mothers make lots of daughters so after every few batches or so I toss the mama in the compost or give it away to a friend in kombucha need.  I make a cross of masking tape on the top to suspend a tea towel to fend dust off while the kombucha 'cooks'. Later I place the bowl on the shelf in our back hallway and when I can smell kombucha (kind of like sweet vinegar) after a few days  I know that it's just about time to pour the loveliness into mason jars and place in the fridge. I keep Mama in one of the jars, covered with kombucha, and when I get to that jar it's time to make more. Easy and cool. Kind of like me in high school! Kidding. Stay cool y'all!

The dog days of Summer: Kelly from Last Day of May

On her blog Last Day of May, Kelly writes about motherhood, her wonderful tag sale and thrift store finds (jealous!), a variety of nifty projects, and family life in general. Also, she recently found out that her young daughter has several food allergies, and instead of falling apart, she did her research and began tackling cooking and baking delicious and safe food for her. I certainly appreciate that Kelly has chosen to share a little bit of her life with all of us out here in blogland.
Kelly lives with her husband and daughter near Cambridge in England.

summer greetings everyone! it is so lovely to be reaching out to those of you who follow curious bird and i feel incredibly happy to be involved in the guest posts here whilst leya and her boys are in the midst of their big move and big adventure.

so hello. my name is kelly and i can be found in my own little blog space over at last day of may where i journal about my creative projects and family life. and in the real world i live in a small village near to cambridge in england. like leya i am fairly new to motherhood and every day involves a whole lot of joy teamed with all sorts of challenges (namely our daughter’s food allergies). elsa just turned 18 months and so this summer is very different from last year. we now have ourselves a feisty and beautiful wee girl who is very much on her feet and loving being outdoors. she has discovered so many of the season's star line up. yes we are talking ice lollies. stroking our cat’s warmed up fur. paddling pools. blowing bubbles. collecting sticks and stones. chasing bees (eeek!) and smelling lavender.

i had hoped to be able to share with you tales of our balmy and heat drenched english summer. in fact i kept holding on thinking surely a day like that will pop up soon. (just so i had the fresh vision to bring to you of what a hot hot july could be like in this part of the world). so apologies. that day did not come this month. instead we have been treated to a little sunshine here and there. downpours of rain that makes the garden smell wonderful. blustery cloudy skies that get the laundry lovely and dry on the line. let’s just say it has its own charm and it makes good for sleeping when you don’t need a fan!

 
and so even though i managed to get tan lines on my feet in may i often need to dress my girl in tights right now. we eat outdoors in the evening with an extra layer on but keep the food very summery. my husband plays his guitar in the garden. we barbeque a lot and enjoy mixing up little cocktails of roasted nectarine leftovers topped up with prosecco when the girl has gone to sleep.



this is one of our favourite menus right now which all 3 of us can tuck in to.

(e.g. no dairy and no eggs which is perfect for elsa!)

carrot and ginger salad (inspired by tessa kiros)

…with spring onions/lemon juice/olive oil/ground cardamom.

barbequed shwarma salmon (inspired by the bon apetit recipe)

…marinated in a paste of ground cardamom/cinnamon/ginger/fresh coriander/lemon juice/garlic.

dried apricot and cardamom couscous (just our own version!)

…mixed thorough with some olive oil and lemon juice and a little chili.

roasted nectarines (that we eat warm over vanilla ice cream) and elsa enjoys just as they are.

and so dog days of summer i challenge you to come find us but just the same i am quite content with wearing my sunglasses and my socks as we sit on patchwork quilts teaching elsa new words in the fresh air.

thanks leya for making me a part of this series!