Cat and Mouse
Author: Luisa Perkins
•9:13 PM



Right now, Daniel is obsessed with his Baby Mousie costume. He wants to wear it most days; fortunately, he hasn't insisted on wearing it to church. It's an extra layer of clothing, nice on freezing cold days like we've finally been having.
Goldberry is very tolerant of the kids' displays of affection.
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Winter Games
Author: Luisa Perkins
•11:05 AM

Christian got a great game for Christmas. The object of Carcassonne (photo above) is to build a medieval landscape using tiles that have roads, farm, cities, and cloisters on them, scoring as many points as possible for claiming and completing the various items. Friends have told us that the game can get quite cutthroat, but we (and I'm trying hard not to be smug about this) really enjoy the cooperative alternative. Helping each other build an aesthetically pleasing country (with no square holes in the topography) has been more fun than scoring at someone else's expense every time. The game suggests that it is for ages 10 and up, but even 5-year-old Tess can play with a little coaching.
Patrick and I are big fans of Settlers of Catan as long as we can play with our friends Herb and Elizabeth. They are both smarter in general and better at this particular game than we are, but are so kind and apologetic as they win that it's fun and instructive every time. We can only play three or four times a year; Settlers requires a significant investment of time. Fortunately, their kids and ours can amuse themselves together quite well when we get together.
Karen and Ron introduced us to Pick Two. This game now rivals Big Boggle as my favorite game ever, and it's way more fun than Scrabble (no more interminable waiting for someone to set down a word). Apparently, it's now being marketed as its own game, but all you really need is a set of Scrabble tiles (I like playing with three sets at a time).
Turn all the tiles face down; each player draws seven tiles. Turn them over all at once and begin building your own crossword puzzle, freestyle, right on the table--no board needed. Scrabble word rules apply. When you've used all your tiles, shout out, "Pick two." Each player chooses two more tiles to add to their own puzzle. When all the tiles have been taken, the first player to use all his/her tiles wins. You can keep score if you wish, subtracting the values of the unused tiles from the losers' scores, but we never do this. A potentially hilarious option is to require each player to tell a story using all the words in his/her puzzle. Our kids love this game; it's quick and challenging. We're happy to help James and Hope with their construction, but Tess is happy making up her own words.
I love to sit with the family around the table, everyone glowing in the lamplight as they concentrate on the play at hand. What do you do when it's too dark and cold to play games outside?
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Strange Dreams
Author: Luisa Perkins
•3:13 PM

I've always found the phrase 'strange dream' to be redundant. Aren't dreams strange by definition? I've never had one that wasn't. Take Monday night, for example. I dreamed about Sir Philip Sidney, and he looked exactly like his portrait. Why would he, of all people, appear on the stage of my slumbering brain? I have no idea, unless my subconscious was trying to remind me of the couplet most often quoted from his writings:

Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite,
'Fool' said my Muse to me, 'look in thy heart and write.'

Yes, yes, milord; I'll get back to it straightway.
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Tonnerre mes chiens!*
Author: Luisa Perkins
•9:05 AM


It was James's turn for CIA Night last night. He'd chosen to make Jambalaya, always a crowd pleaser. I promise, he didn't really use the green spoon for tasting--only for stirring.
Unfortunately, I've never been to Louisiana. Most of what I know about the Cajun culture has come from my long-distance love affairs with Queen Ida, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Donna the Buffalo. The rest has come from eating at restaurants in Manhattan. Many years ago at Harglow's (now closed), I tried Jambalaya for the first time. Love at first spoonful--slow-cooked rice with tomatoes, onions, and peppers, studded with tender morsels of shellfish and andouille sausage--what could be better on a cold January night?
We used the Cook's Illustrated recipe, but modified it quite a bit. For one thing, we added small red beans, because Red Beans & Rice is my second favorite Cajun dish, so why not combine the two? I'm sure it was very up the bayou of me, but it was delicious. Just so you know, Applegate Farms makes a kickin' Chicken and Turkey Andouille--highly recommended.
One of the many terrific things about James is his gift for mimicry. We all adore Luis, the child prodigy chef featured on the Noggin channel. Luis was born in Guatemala but lives in Australia; he can't be more than six or seven years old, but he's a brilliant and enthusiastic cook. James does a perfect impression of Luis's endearing accent, and assumes his persona ad libitum whenever he's in the kitchen.
The Jambalaya turned out great. A bonus is that Jambalaya, like so many other slow-cooked dishes, is always better the next day--and we have plenty left over for dinner tonight!
* Tonnerre mes chiens = literally, thunder my dogs, or Holy Cow!


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Sock and Scone
Author: Luisa Perkins
•3:56 PM


Perfection. I'm always reaching for it, nearly always falling short. Perfect writer? Hardly. Perfect knitter? I wish. Perfect wife and mother? Lamentably, not even close. But when I do attain perfection in some tiny corner of my life, it makes the reaching in all arenas easier to continue.

I tasted perfection twice the other day--a rare occurrence indeed. I made a batch of scones on Wednesday morning; this is a recipe I've been tinkering with for over a decade. The original recipe--called "Dried Fruit Cream Scones"--came from The Breakfast Book, by Marion Cunningham. I've changed it enough by now though to call it my own, even by the strict interpretation of my copyright lawyer husband. I've made it frequently enough to have gotten it into the category of "Very, Very Good" for a long time, but a new twist (sour cream instead of my usual buttermilk) the other day brought it into a flawless state.

Chocolate (or Peanut Butter) Chip Scones

2 cups flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips (or peanut butter chips, if you like)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix the first four ingredients together well; add the chips. Add the sour cream and the melted butter; mix only until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 15 minutes.

Full credit goes to Shauna for suggesting years ago that the scones were great with dried fruit (when I want to go that route, I use chopped dried cherries and apricots), but that they'd be outstanding with chocolate chips. Pure genius, Shauna--thank you for once again dramatically improving the quality of my life.

I can't stress how easy these are--such delightful payoff for very little work. Of course, perfection in the realm of food carries a degree of subjectivity about it, but give these a try and see what you think.

The other instance of defectless excellence was my first-ever full-sized finished sock. I grafted the toe Wednesday evening, wove in the two ends, and presto! Completion. I'm sure a discerning judge at a County Fair might find fault with it, but what a thrill it is to put on something that I made to fit my own foot exactly. Impeccable comfort. Can't wait until the other one is done.

Failure frequently looms large in my life; I try to be patient with its bitter presence, as I know that there is much to be learned with each new mistake. How pleasant is the contrast then, once in a great while, to savor perfection's rich flavors.


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Inspiration
Author: Luisa Perkins
•9:16 AM

Someone emailed me and asked whether I had made an inspiration collage for the other novel I'm working on. Yes, I have, and here it is. This book will be finished first, mainly to make Patrick happy. Of course, I'll be happy, too; it's just that for a long while, the other manuscript was flowing better for me.

This one is going well at the moment; I like my story, and I think about it all the time. Knitting is especially conducive to my musings on plot points and character details. I'll let you know just as soon as I'm done, I assure you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your kind phone calls and emails regarding this blog. It's nice to know that others are enjoying it; I certainly am. Feel free to leave me comments right here on the blog page, though. It would be ideal to have an organized record of your responses. Thanks again.
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Look to the Cookie!
Author: Luisa Perkins
•5:06 PM

Someone requested that I post this email of mine (first sent out last spring) to my blog, so here: your wish is granted!


As Jerry Seinfeld famously decreed, the Black & White Cookie is a perfect dessert, symbolic of the unity that should exist in society. But long before Seinfeld featured this NYC delicacy on his show, I was on the search for the perfect B&W, because when they are good, there's nothing better. On the other hand, a bad B&W is more than disappointing: it's an abomination.

Today was a rainy, crappy day on a lot of fronts. At about 4:30 this afternoon, I found myself seeking comfort through food, as is my wont. I stopped at the fabulous Garrison Market (more on them later), thinking I'd have a little scoop of heaven (Blue Pig ice cream, made by local genius Julia Horowitz down in Croton-on-Hudson).

At the counter I noticed something that had never been there before: a platter of Black & Whites. "Hmm," I thought. "Do I go for the sure thing (the Blue Pig), or do I take a risk and try Garrison's version of the B&W?" I'd been happily surprised before; their lemon pound cake rivals my own, for example. I decided to gamble.

What a payoff, my friends. I've eaten many a B&W, from Zaro's in Grand Central, to a funky version from a Dominican bakery on Amsterdam Ave., to shrink-wrapped numbers from your bodega of choice, to the (previously) definitive version made by William Greenberg. I even made them myself once from a recipe published in the NY Times and served them at our Seinfeld "Final Episode" party.

Garrison's blew them all away. The cakey cookie, potentially dry and crumbly, was light, fluffy, and perfectly moist. The two frostings--vanilla and chocolate--were ideal. Not too sweet, and a bit al dente, but not glue-ish. Fresh and fragrant--mmm. Though milk would have been a pleasant accompaniment, it was not necessary. I finished the entire cookie in the car on my way home.

It's a good thing that Tess's preschool is ending next week, because right now I drive by the Garrison Market four times a day doing drop-off and pick-up. I'm not sure I could resist the siren call of a daily B&W, and that could be disastrous.

Garrison Market―what a gem. It opened up a year or so ago in the former Gulf service station on 9D, just north of St. Philip’s-in-the-Highlands. They make homemade doughnuts daily that are to DIE for. Sandwiches, paninis, dang good cheeseburgers. Lovely drinks, from Italian lemon sodas to Izzes to Ronnybrook's celestial drinkable yogurt. And the Blue Pig ice cream. And now the Black & Whites. And the chance that when you're there, you'll bump into Kevin Kline tanking up on some Catskill Mountain coffee. Life only gets better here in Putnam County, I tell you.

I hope that all you locals come up and join me for a B&W soon. Those of you who are far away: I hope you are drooling by now, and that when you finish reading this, you will go online and buy a ticket to come visit. These cookies are worth the trip.
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Cowboy Stew
Author: Luisa Perkins
•12:01 PM

Our first CIA Night was an unqualified success. Cowboy Stew involves much chopping and slicing, and since Christian has earned his Scouting award for knife safety, proper kitchen knife technique was a snap for him. He did a great job.

Cowboy Stew is one of my favorite comfort foods. Here's what you need for a batch:
1 lb. bacon (or more, if you like)
5 lbs. potatoes (we like Yukon Golds or Russets)
3 yellow onions
water
salt
pepper
butter

Fry up the bacon a few pieces at a time in a hot iron skillet (high heat), setting cooked pieces on a plate lined with paper towels. It is the cook's privilege to eat no more and no less than one piece of bacon while cooking.
While the bacon is frying, chop the onion and set it aside, then peel and slice the potatoes. Your potato slices should be no more than 1/4 inch thick.
Reserve half the bacon fat for another delicious use (like clam chowder or scrambled eggs); saute the chopped onion in the fat that remains in the skillet (low heat). Once the onions are soft and starting to turn brown, add the potatoes in layers. Sprinkle some salt and pepper between the layers (it's better to undersalt than to oversalt, and remember that the bacon will be salty).
Add 3 or 4 cups of water and cover the skillet. Set the timer for 10 minutes. Chop the bacon, set the table, and make the salad.
When the timer goes off, stir the potatoes from top to bottom as well as you can. Set the timer for another 10 minutes and finish your other dinner prep. When the timer goes off again, test the potatoes for doneness. Not only should they be cooked through, they should also begin to fall apart and thicken the gravy. Do a little mashing and a lot of stirring (to avoid scorching) for a couple of minutes over high heat if necessary. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the potatoes on plates with bacon on top. If you are in need of extra comfort, add a dollop of butter.
This batch will amply feed a family of seven with enough leftover for two or three for lunch. Cowboy Stew works very well on campouts!
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The Year of the Garden
Author: Luisa Perkins
•3:45 PM

Above is a photo taken last June of my perennial border, featuring irises divided from my mother-in-law's yard and a rose named Gertrude Jekyll.

Six years ago, I was merely an armchair gardener. Living in our Upper West Side apartment with young children afforded little opportunity for working the earth; lack of childcare resources frustrated my desires to join the doughty corps of the Central Park Conservancy Volunteers. As it was, we loved and nearly daily appreciated Manhattan's parks. I was never happier there than when pushing the stroller along the Hudson River or through the North Woods near Harlem Meer. Much as I loved city life, I did find sweet escape from life's travails reading Barbara Damrosch's Garden Primer or Sallyann Murphy's Bean Blossom Dreams.

Michael Pollan wrote, "Much of gardening is a return, an effort at recovering remembered landscapes." This is certainly true for me. My love of gardening stems from my memory of the Edenic harmony achieved by my grandmother in California's Central Valley. Grandma's front porch was lined with a hedge of gardenias--blissful on a steamy August evening.

In her back yard, my sisters and I were free to pick and consume as many strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries; apricots, plums, Concord grapes; and walnuts and pecans as we liked. I recall with deep gratitude lying in Grandma's hammock and turning the pages of Felix Salten's Perri or Howard Pyle's Robin Hood with fruit-stained fingers. It was not until I was much older that I realized that gardenias, apricots, and blackberries are counted as luxuries in today's world. They surrounded me as a child, and as such I both treasured them and took them for granted.

Five and a half years ago, we moved to the country, and my aim became (and remains) to recreate Grandma's haven for our family. Our first spring I started with just one four-by-four-foot square plot, a la Square Foot Gardening, plus a little extra room for James's kindergarten-sprouted pumpkin plant. I quickly learned that all the book learning in the world is no substitute for hands-on, dirt-under-the-fingernails experience. My most vivid lesson was realizing that there may be little hammock time for the person who is creating and maintaining the garden--and I'm actually okay with that. Flushed with a little success (a few salads and a mammoth jack-o-lantern), we expanded the following year.

I continue to read gardening books voraciously. Patricia Lanza was very influential early on, as was Mrs. Greenthumbs, a.k.a. the late and very much mourned Cassandra Danz. Michael Weishan's aesthetics awe and inspire me; if I were a millionaire, I'd hire him to come in and do my landscape design. I just finished reading Second Nature, by Michael Pollan. What a gift.

Then there are the catalogs. Someone more witty than I once wrote that White Flower Farm's catalog amounts to gardening porn; I have to agree. I haven't yet been able to afford any of their gorgeous offerings, but I drool and swoon over their full-color coated stock pages like a hormone-crazed teenager. Far more within the realm of my budget (and with peerless customer service) is Bluestone Perennials. They actually guarantee their seedlings for a year. Don't ask how I know, but they're good for it.

For seeds, there is no substitute for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I try to order as many of my vegetable seeds as possible from them--they are good folks and support a number of worthy causes. Forget Burpee; these people collect exotic melons, tomatoes, and other specimens from all over the world. Why plant hybrid cantaloupes when you can have Tigger Melons (from Armenia) or the Hero of Lockinge? Look at their website; you'll see what I mean. I also order from Seeds of Change--most of my herbs come from them. They have seed donation programs similar to Baker Creek's and are big permaculture fans.

Speaking of permaculture, that's our focus this year. I own several weighty textbooks on the subject, but the clearest and most succinct book on the subject is In Gaia's Garden, by Toby Hemenway. What is permaculture? I'm not going to bore any of you still reading at this point with a lecture; look it up on Wikipedia. It's very, very cool, though. I met with a permaculture designer last fall. He's working up a plan for us to incorporate a considerable portion of Edible Landscaping's catalog into our yard this spring--very exciting.

You already know about my addiction to English Roses. Antique and English roses tend to bring out the excess in anyone who experiences them first hand. Rosarians are often British and therefore somewhat stoic about life in general. Ask them about their subject, however, and steel yourself. They will wax rhapsodic in an embarrassing manner usually reserved for teenagers gushing over their favorite rock star. Trust me: these roses are nothing like the ones in your prom corsage. Lush, fragrant, sensual--I can't get enough of them.

Will I ever achieve the garden of my dreams? Maybe when my own grandchildren are running around our place. Fortunately, I find the journey as rewarding as my contemplation of the vision--the only reason to keep doing anything, in my opinion.
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Superlatives
Author: Luisa Perkins
•9:47 AM

Years ago, my good friend Trevor started publishing his Year's Best list and emailing it to his wide circle of acquaintance. Several of us in that circle reciprocate, blithely clicking on the "Reply All" button and scattering our opinions far and wide. Every year it's a treat to discover what people known and unknown to me relished and despised in the year before.

Trevor waits until Oscar season to publish his list, but my life is too much of a blur to wait that long. I find I have to summarize pretty early in the new year so as not to lose all memory of what I read, watched, listened to, and tasted in the previous twelve months. So, here are my lists. Some of them are in order; some are not.

Top Ten Books:
1. Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl
2. Lisey's Story, by Stephen King
3. The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
4. The Ladies of Grace Adieu, by Susannah Clarke
5. Coming Up for Air, by George Orwell
6. if on a winter's night a traveler, by Italo Calvino (Yes, I read it again. Still a work of genius.)
7. Perfume, by Patrick Suskind
8. The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield
9. Rome, by Mauro Lucentini
10. Return from Tomorrow, by George G. Ritchie

Most Disappointing Book:
Eragon, by Christopher Paolini (How did this book get published? It is a puzzlement.)

Top Ten Movies:
An Inconvenient Truth
Casino Royale
Glory Road
Lady in the Water
The Prestige
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Invincible
Stranger than Fiction
Akeelah and the Bee
16 Blocks
Happy Feet

Looking Forward to Seeing:
Wordplay
Who Killed the Electric Car?
Children of Men
Miss Potter
Dreamgirls
Pursuit of Happyness

Top Ten Songs:
Reservoir (Hem)
Pride (Syntax)
Steady as She Goes (The Raconteurs)
Short Skirt, Long Jacket (Cake)
Firecracker (The Wailin' Jennys)
The Seventh Wave (The Duhks)
Woman (Wolfmother)
Jubilee (Alison Krauss)
Hey Ya (Outkast)
Beautiful Garden (Toni Price)

Top Eating Experiences:
10. Chicken Salad and Pink Lemonade at Pittypat's Porch (Atlanta, GA)
9. Chicken Burrito and Tres Leches Cake at Cafe Rio (St. George, UT)
8. Truffled Mac & Cheese and Sticky Date Cake at Cafe Umami (Fishkill, NY)
7. Black & White Cookie and Ronnybrook Creamline Milk at Garrison Market (Garrison, NY)
6. Thanksgiving Stuffing with Gravy Chez Les Perkins (Cold Spring, NY)
5. Return from Chiang Mai at Bouley (NYC)
4. Roasted Bluefoot Chicken at Alain Du Casse (NYC)
3. Bread and Butter and Hot Chocolate at Hotel Exedra (Rome)
2. Pizza and Carciofi alla Giudia at La Sagrestia (Rome)
1. Fettucine with Truffles at Il Colosso (Rome)

Yarn of the Year:
Malabrigo

Rose of the Year:
Sharifa Asma

Compiling this list, I am struck by the fact that 2006 was an amazing year--"the best of ever," as my nephews would say. Here's hoping 2007 tops it.

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The valiant man and free
Author: Luisa Perkins
•9:33 AM

I love the peculiar mix of melancholy and hope that is Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "Ring Out, Wild Bells." That's exactly how I feel standing on the cusp of the new year. New Year's Resolutions have become a painful irony in today's society; nonetheless, I continue to make them. And not just at the beginning of January--I tend to make them at the end of August as well as I contemplate the start of another school term.
Self-sabotage comes when we don't make our goals simple and reachable; more comes when we lose the vision of why we made them in the first place. I'm taking my cue from Tennyson this year. A little more kindness, a little less greed. Less feeling sorry for myself; more trying to help others. We can all do that, right?
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Warmth
Author: Luisa Perkins
•9:14 AM

Generous gifts from friends and Patrick's clients prompted a Hot Cocoa Taste-Off in the quiet days between Christmas and New Year's.
Being quite familiar with the charms and strengths of our everyday standbys, Nesquik and Droste, we made a batch each of Ibarra, Godiva, and Marie Belle. We used milk with each, and blended each in our trusty VitaMix for optimum frothiness and smoothness.
Ibarra is a treat fondly remembered from my childhood. It's from Mexico, and you may be able to find a similar product under the brand name Abuelita. Milky, sweet, with strong cinnamon overtones, this was the kids' favorite.
I've never been a Godiva fan. I like my chocolate either a) American--which to me means homey, milky, and indulgent, See's being my favorite brand in this category; or b) Swiss--refined, less sweet, and smooth as silk. Cailler's Frigor and some Lindt work for me in this regard.
Godiva has always seemed to me to be a very awkward marriage of these two types, the lovely packaging notwithstanding. Sometimes the chocolates are nice, but too often I find them to be shrill flavor combinations housed in brittle couverture: not my idea of an treat. Unfortunately, the Godiva Hot Cocoa did nothing to change my opinion of the brand. It was redolent of powdered marshmallows--nothing more than a tarted up Swiss Miss.
The Marie Belle was the clear winner for me. It was the most like the celestial brews I've had in Paris (at Angelina's) and in Rome (at the Hotel Exedra)--thick, creamy, and to be sweetened at the drinker's discretion. No off flavors polluted its singular charm; it was nothing but good, dark chocolate, through and through. Marie Belle will be the gift that keeps on giving whenever I'm feeling the need for a little warmth in the coming months.
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Jollity
Author: Luisa Perkins
•9:11 AM




"Good times." That mantra, spoken in unison by the bemused hosts of "Delicious Dish," an NPR radio show spoof on Saturday Night Live, is one of Patrick's and my favorite code phrases.
We've had good times aplenty in preparation for Christmas this year. A highlight was our annual Gingerbread Construction Night, usually held the last Monday before Christmas.
We use graham crackers instead of gingerbread. This way I don't stress out over broken or eaten pieces that ideally would have been used as structural material. I've experienced the joys of working with real gingergread in the past, the most famous example being the year we made the Chrysler Building complete with internal lighting system. Also, for my kids, authenticity is eschewed for the finer pleasure of eating and building with as much candy as possible. It's all about the candy.
What did we use? Two batches of buttercream icing; two boxes of Honey Grahams; one box of Frosted Shredded Wheet (great for snow-covered thatch); one cardboard box, cut into six pieces and covered with aluminum foil; and pounds and pounds of candy. Mini marshmallows are great for internal buttressing, by the way. And buy twice as many Crunchy Gummi Bears as you think you'll need. Not only are they tasty, they are also excellent for representing anyone from Santa to members of the Holy Family.
Sometimes we go for theme with our buildings. This year I made an a-frame creche; James favored a rendering of a house damaged in a California mudslide. In years past, we've had models with such diverse inspirations as Stonehenge, the Provo Temple, and Fallingwater.
After construction was completed, we did some dancing. I treasure this image of Hope and James cavorting, and I'm sure I'll be blackmailing them with it for years to come.
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CIA Night
Author: Luisa Perkins
•8:41 AM
I'm big on traditions and routines for our family. Family Prayer, weekly Family Home Evening on Mondays and weekday Morning Scripture Study: these are the foundation of our religious life at home. But we have many other rituals that are just as important. In the past, we've had Family Movie Night on Saturdays or Sundays, always accompanied by popcorn and chocolate milk. Then there are the pancakes we have for lunch almost every Sunday after church (yes, many of our traditions feature food as the central component). Patrick and I have Date Night on Thursdays; this time is a priority for us both, and the kids respect this commitment.

We're flexible enough to drop an activity when it no longer serves the family's greater good, and we're always on the lookout for something new that will help keep us learning, growing, and enjoying each other's company. Recently, I had a brainstorm for the new year and shared it with the rest of the crew.

Christian, at age 13, needs to be honing serious cooking skills in preparation for adult life. He and all the other kids love time with me in the kitchen, so much so that the bickering over who gets to 'help' can be a problem.

Here's my new solution: Friday night will now become CIA Night, named for the famous Culinary Institute of America just an hour upriver from our house. Each of the four bigger kids will have a Friday night tutorial with Iron Chef Mom (their appellation, not mine) per month, in which we will make a dinner of their choice, then serve it and do the clean-up.

Once in a while we'll have a Guest Chef. Our good friend Mike, who has been to culinary school and whose smoked spare ribs are the best I've ever had, has already agreed to several appearances in Perkins Kitchen Stadium.

The plan was met with great enthusiasm--everyone has already decided what they want to make for January (Christian: Cowboy Stew; James: Jambalaya; Hope: Scratch Mac & Cheese; Tess: Quesadillas). I haven't yet figured out what to do about the occasional fifth Friday night of the month; maybe we'll have a Family Restaurant Review. I'm open to other ideas, though.

I'm excited! Of course, the kids will still be pulling up a chair to watch what I'm doing in the kitchen, probably on a daily basis. But somehow even the prospect of scheduled one-on-one time with Patrick or me can cut a lot of arguing out of the kid mix.

My goal with all of our traditions (and of most of my other parenting strategies) is this: I want our home environment to be so fun, warm, and attractive that it is always everyone's favorite place to be. Of course, family members will always enjoy outside activities, as balanced and healthy individuals should. But I want Home to be first in their hearts. That can't come through compulsion; it only comes through the powerful attractive forces of unconditional love, clear expectations and communication, and absolute safety. Plus good food, of course.
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Domestic Artists
Author: Luisa Perkins
•8:20 AM









Cooking, knitting, sewing (and all the cleaning up afterwards)--not only are these activities satisfying and productive, but they are also great for building confidence and strengthening family bonds.

Tess got the Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook for Christmas. It's perfectly suited to her temperament; if Dr. Seuss had known Tess, he certainly would have written a book about her. We've made several of the recipes so far, including the title recipe (guacamole makes the eggs green; a parsley coating colors the ham). Tess is now planning our menus for the next several days.

Santa brought Hope a swell sewing machine. It's from the Discovery Channel Store (I had to explain Santa's outsourcing strategies to the girls), and it's a great value. Limited in scope and options, it nonetheless sews much more effectively than you would expect from a toy. Hope made a little handbag yesterday and is anxious to try her hand at a skirt for herself next. Ever inspired by accessories (whose daughter is she?), she has special affection for the wee pincushion that came with the sewing kit.

We're having a luncheon after church on Sunday; the men are in charge of the food. For some reason, the pot luck has turned into a testosterone-fueled lasagna bake-off with many motivated entrants. Patrick made his offerings last night. I'm sure he'll win with this particular judge; Patrick taught me everything I know about pasta sauce, a fact I freely admit whenever someone compliments my Bolognese.

Mom was here over Christmas. We couldn't resist a trip to the fabulous Knittingsmith together. Mom got some chunky yellow alpaca for a cute sweater by Pure and Simple Designs; I got some gorgeous sock yarn. My bulky plum pullover is coming along well, but I felt the need for a quick-gratification project after the success of the girls' hats. The sock does not disappoint in this regard.

And the boys? Christian and James have been prowling the yard with metal detector and large magnet, cleaning up all the screws, nails, and other metal scraps that have been scattered about with abandon throughout the renovation. It's great when cleaning up can be an entertaining adventure. If only I could figure out a way to make dishes and laundry as exciting...

Daniel has been our snuggly muse, happy to consume the fruits of Tess's labors, always available for hugs and positive reinforcement for all. It's been a terrific vacation; I'll be very sorry to see it end next Tuesday.
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Merry Christmas!
Author: Luisa Perkins
•10:07 AM

Christmas Eve 1975--Here I am (the tallest one) with several siblings. Note the identical huge smiles--Baby Matthew in particular cracks me up! I hope your holidays are filled with peace and joy. I'm not sure whether I'll be blogging for the next several days; we've got a lot going on here, and I'm sure you do, too. But I'll be back very soon; I hope you will join me then.
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...the past three months, Part 4
Author: Luisa Perkins
•10:00 PM











Even living in sheet rock dust with a plywood kitchen, I was able to be somewhat creative in October. We shopped early for the pattern and material for Tess's mermaid costume; it came together pretty well (don't tell her that I sewed the cockleshell purse upside down). I also bottled some pickled spiced crabapples--mmm--can't wait to have them at dinner on Christmas Eve!

Way back in January, I agreed to create a Christmas card for sale through MAG. I'm glad I committed early, because the card was due in the fall, and without the commitment, it probably would not have happened. What an honor it was to be included in a catalog featuring talented artists like Ultra Violet, Valerie Atkisson, and others. I love being associated with this terrific group.

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...the past three months, Part 3
Author: Luisa Perkins
•9:23 PM











Patrick, aka His Majesty, surprised me with a trip to Rome to celebrate my 40th birthday. Yes, indeed, his stock is very high (as if it were ever low). Here's the Quirinale in the light of the setting sun on my birthday. The art, the light, the food, the company--it was a dream of a trip.

Patrick had also arranged for Carmen to meet us there; we love to celebrate our birthdays together (we plan to go to Antarctica for my 5oth/her 49th), and this was definitely one to remember. On our way to the catacombs of San Callisto, we encountered a shepherd and his flock of sheep! This, of course, made our pilgrimage perfect.

Other travel: In October I went to a conference in Utah. While there, I was able to spend a goodly amount of time with my fab sister Stephanie and my adorable grandmother. I also visited an amazing doctor who specializes in stress management. Amazing results: I haven't had a tension headache or muscle spasms in my shoulders since.

Blog learning curve issue: why won't the photos load where I want them? Must research this.
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...the past three months? Part 2
Author: Luisa Perkins
•5:16 PM



Here's a photo of Marvin working on the renovation of our kitchen/living room. It was taken at the end of October; the job is 98% done as I write. Hurray! I have the house of my dreams. More on this later.


Can you believe I was still gathering roses the week of Thanksgiving? So far, it's been a remarkably mild fall-into-winter. I'm doing everything I can to avert global climate change, but there is a silver lining to every cloud....I have ten David Austin English Rose bushes at last count. This is an addiction I have no intention of overcoming. These roses are hardy, repeat blooming, and disease-resistant; the flowers are fragrant, long-lasting, and gorgeous. Here they are arranged with some late cinnamon basil.

Knitting, knitting, knitting. Tess's teacher requested that all the kindergartners come to school with hats; I made this one a couple of weeks ago from a great knitty pattern ("Coronet") out of luscious Malabrigo wool (Molly colourway). Of course, Hope had to have one next; her colourway is appropriately entitled "Verde Esperanza."

Of course, where there is knitting (for me, anyway), there is ripping out. I designed an aran sweater to be knit in the round using Elizabeth Zimmerman's brilliant guidelines in The Opinionated Knitter. I used the gorgeous wool Carmen and Shauna brought me back from Ireland--a creamy oatmeal tweed--soft, yet crunchy enough for good pattern definition. I knit happily away until I got to the underarms. I then realized that my blackberries were going to be bobbling in strategically bad places. Out the whole thing came. I'll edit my design and start it over once I've finished what's on the needles now: a cropped turtleneck pullover using chunky plum wool bought at La Droguerie in Paris years ago. Down, stash, down!

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What have I been doing for the past three months? Part 1
Author: Luisa Perkins
•5:08 PM

This collage inspires me as I work on The Holly Place, one of two novels I'm writing at the moment. The central image is a photo by Cali Gorevic, a genius who lives nearby.
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