That's where it's at, pretty baby

Had this all ready to go on Friday and. . . didn't post it. Well, hope you all had a

HAPPY WEEKEND!

Yay, baby rhubarb (thanks, Jessie!)

Whew, Tres has been unexpectedly away this week and I've been trying hard to keep up with everything (tomato seedlings, bees, chickens, oh, and that little kid) while maintaining a semblance of sanity (jury's still currently out on that one). That guy does a lot around here, let's just say. I hope that all is well with all of you and that you have a wonderful weekend!

Something delicious: Ok, this is another one that I haven't actually made yet, but I'm pretty sure it's a winner. Bienenstich wasn't one of the German staples we made growing up, but a treat we encountered at the local German bakery and, on a few lucky occasions, in Germany. Lacking any German food, other than what we make ourselves, where we live now, I'm excited at the prospect of trying it myself. With all of the talk about  bees around here, it also seems timely.

Something neat: This company basically makes you into your own mini recycling center for hard to recycle products. You collect a certain number or weight of a particular item and then send them in (usually for free). How sweet is that?

Something to read: I read this about a month ago and found it quite fascinating and, unsurprisingly, disheartening. Reading it has had me thinking a lot more about my consumption, both clothing and otherwise, lately, which is certainly not a bad thing.

Something to make: Every day, I look at the homemade (not by me) bar of soap I'm using (which I love, but is decidedly pricey) and think: I should really learn how to make soap. Well, I guess that our friend Becky was receiving my thought transmissions, because she emailed me last week to ask if I'd ever made soap and to recommend this recipe. I know that my aunt has some experience with this, so I'm going to pick her brain too. Off to find myself a cheap immersion blender and get cracking!

Let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees

We had the luxury of a guest photographer when Tres's dad was up here for a visit, so here are a few more shots of us with the bees, including some comb - cool, huh?

Tres blows in a little smoke

 Brushing the bees off

And there's a (fuzzy) closeup

Aren't the combs amazing - I can't believe how much they've built in a week! Bees are neat.

You know what I like

HAPPY WEEKEND!

That hen is totally drinking my tea

Something delicious: We're currently in that frustrating time of year when we're ready to be done with winter/preserved fare and we're still a few weeks away from any greens in the garden, which makes for a pretty uninspired dinner maker. This onion tart (with this crust (divide it in half if you're only making one pie) helps tide a person over to real pie season and, as you can see in the variation she posted, lends itself to lots of season-specific tinkering. We're eating it with just onions and cheese right now, with a beet vinaigrette salad on the side, but it's really nice with a bitter salad (arugula, anyone?) to balance out the rich saltiness or with some seasonal additions, once the veggies are coming up.

Something neat: These photos are a pretty amazing time capsule and the story is something too - the negatives were discovered when the locker in which they were stored was auctioned off to pay the photographer's debts;  no one close to her even knew they existed.

Something to read: A few weekends ago, my dad told me a story about measuring the amount of grain in a silo by riding up to the very top on a manlift (like this, if I understand correctly) and dropping his tape measure down to where the grain was, then calculating the amount of empty space, in order to help the company with its finances. To me, that seems more than a bit outside the purview of your typical accountant, but it becomes considerably more impressive when you consider the fact that heights are difficult for my father, particularly the idea that he could "fall down and break his neck." So, I was pretty amazed that he'd done it on more than one occasion and also amazed that I'd never heard the story before. That's an incredible thing about friends and family, though, no matter how well you know someone, there's always something that you've never heard about them before. On the other side of that coin, are the stories that become family lore and are repeated over and over again. I love both and was pretty fascinated by this story and the study it cites, that positively correlates children's emotional health and happiness with how well they know their family stories.

Something to make: As we've had some (teasing) warmer days here, I've been realizing how handy it would be to have a long skirt or two to wear most days. I know, I'm becoming more like a pioneer lady every day (can a sunbonnet be far behind?); I think mine would be knit instead of calico though, guys. This looks like a particularly helpful tutorial, although there are quite a number when you google "foldover maxi skirt tutorial."

Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet

Ready for their 2 hour car ride home

The bees are here! And I am an awkward, (very) novice beekeeper. After a 4+ hour round trip to pick them up (note for next time - ha - probably best to have done it alone, so that Silas could have stayed home, but I digress. . . .), Tres and I are now the proud keepers of 2 hives of Carniolan honey bees. They were super buzzy when we first picked them up, but quieted right down in the car. Once we got home, Tres and I worked together to transfer them into the hives and it went quite smoothly. I really wasn't sure how I was going to feel about bees buzzing around me in that number (it seems like it might get a person's panic response going), but having the full suit made me feel surprisingly safe, if not quite confident. Mostly, I'm afraid I'm going to crush them and there are so many in one place at any given time, that it's very challenging manipulating the hive without doing so.

Today I went in for the first time by myself, to check on their combs and see how they were doing. It was a little more exciting as just one person - I'm definitely not very facile with the hives yet and was pretty clunky and slow and it's a lot of bees seemingly everywhere you want to be - but it was super neat to see all the work they'd been doing. There were lots of little combs and a couple good sized ones (4" x 6"?) in each hive and, most excitingly, they were all pointed in the right direction, so I didn't have to remove or move any. I've seen a few bees venturing out around the yard too, which means they're starting to seek out and gather pollen, so it looks like things are going well. Hopefully we'll get some consistently warmer and less windy weather for them soon too. Tres planted a bunch of lavender today, I bet they'll enjoy those flowers when they bloom. I wish that I could get more photos, but I suspect that that time is a long way off. It's enough right now to open up and inspect the hives while trying to disturb them as little as possible.

The goofy novice beekeeper

Silver white winters that melt into springs

HAPPY WEEKEND!

 We attended the wonderfully happy wedding of a dear, dear friend

last weekend - hats were crafted, old friends were reunited, copious

amounts of cake were consumed - I never wanted it to end

Something delicious: Homemade yogurt is really delicious, but after a couple of unsuccessful attempts, I haven't made any in a few years. These ideas make me super excited to try again. I gave the crock pot method a go and wasn't completely satisfied, but I think I can tweak my technique and make it work. More updates to come.

Something neat: I found this quite entertaining and adorable - Maurice Sendak!

Something to read: Ok, this isn't a book for reading so much as making, but it really is a good one. If you want to sew things for small people, I can't recommend anything more highly. The directions are clear and easy to follow and the resulting products are sturdy and finished beautifully. Each project I try makes me like the author more. If you're interested in seeing more, check out some of the projects other people have made from it.

Something to make: Our hats above are loosely based on this tutorial. I wish the directions were a bit clearer, but it's easy enough to experiment and figure it out. None of us used the headbands suggested - Anna crafted her own (incredible) pill box hat, Erica made a sort of mesh from floral wire, and I attached mine to a comb, so lots of interpretation/creativity is possible.

Dapper gentlemen at the wedding