This Day

my card missed the mail in time for June 14th & 15th

sorry
dad.
i sat here today thinking of yet another Father's
Day that has come around without your presence
i thought of a collective amount of memories, teachings and nostalgia about my childhood
memories and thoughts, i am sure that i have
filled past hallmark cards to the brim with

reference to your dedication to our
joy and love for
life:
lessons on the
tetherball
pole,
basketball hoop, bicycle and fishing
pole

even
domestic
wisdom on how to whip a stitch
to fix a button, cook a mean
roast and tend
to the beans in the
garden

for the first
year around
of
having a child of my own, i am holding those
close and begging to not replace them just yet with memories of my own. i am not ready to grow up completely yet and turn all of those experiences into new one's. forgive me for being childish, maybe i never grew up, maybe you were (are) too
good of a dad- enabling me in my fear to relinquish the innocence of growing up with you cheering me on.

riding in the cab of
the
Ford, sticky seats in
the summer with Chissy Hynde
or "Stay(just a
little bit longer)" playing
while dusting sawdust off of your RC
cola.

hunting at the
cabin with snow filled
boots

helping me rescue the baby
starlings who took up
residence in the
shop

crying at
my solo
performances

camping at baker
lake- even when it rained

above it all, you have shown me
more
than life skills and how to tie a
knot-you have unspokenly taught me about family, redemption and what it means to be alive.
we have had our differences and now move past them and
thank you for the person you've helped me become.

i love you more than you know

here's "the" song:

Thank you for all the tea parties with Stump & I.

Love Smasherelli~

How does your garden grow?

Almost exactly a month since my garden has been in, I have been able to reap some of the benefits. The herbs are thriving (especially the lemon balm and chamomile) and beans are growing high! We ate the onions and radishes in the salad last night. I was pleased that the radishes were peppery but not bitter hot. Must be due to the small size. Can't wait for my tomatoes and carrots to start showing!

(left to right) spearmint, peppermint, spanish lavender, nasturtium & radishes


I hope to utilize my herbs for oils, lotions and seasonings for gifts later on. Trying to find a good resource to find out how to "infuse" the oils and teas with the herbs. It will definitely be a trial and error sort of thing when I blend different herbs and find out some don't match too well. A few combinations I know will work:

• lavender+mint
• rosemary+mint
• chamomile+lavender
• mint+basil

I still have sage, lemon balm and oregano to add to the arrangement... please let me know if you have any reccomendations, requests, or thoughts.

Southern Dinner (sort of)

I love to cook, so in deciding what to make for guests (Jamie, Kim and their beautiful 2 daughters) I waffled ten times... Oooh, what about waffles with a creme aglaise sauce??? No. Stick with the menu, Ashley.

Hawaiian Spareribs and Country Style Pork Ribs with Maple Glaze Sauce

Asparagus Potato Salad

Grilled Corn Salad with Pesto Dressing

Homemade Sweet White Bread (rising on the stove right now)

Chocolate Caramel Cream Pie

I have to go make the Pate Sucree(fancy word for the crust- who knew!) right now... Wish me luck. I have only 2 & 1/2 hours left!

Hope my pie looks like the picture above when it's done. Here's the recipe if you want it.

Shout out

This awesome new blog just popped up on the blogosphere. (what the blog?) (honest to blog.)

This guy is intuitive, thoughtful, smart, encouraging and all around cool. Thought you might like to read one of his first blogs.

That's my plug.

Go to Watching the Grass.