noted in passing

Tomorrow, we're going back to the local organic farm to pick blueberries and dig up earthworms (as above). But tonight, it's late on Thursday night (aka pre-shabbat prep night) and I have a large list of urgent things to do, so naturally I'll babble to you all a bit.

It's been a full week, and I've spent a lot of it roaring at the children. And then feeling awful about it (this tends to help with the roaring - guilt as curative) and then feeling like I'd betrayed the point of last weekend, which was obviously meant to fix me so that I am, however briefly, a more mellow and loving person.

whoopsie.

Instead, this was the week of stumbles and bumbles and impressively loud grumbles. I used words like unfair a lot, and a vague not nice - both of which I interpret as I can't really figure out why I'm draggin here, but I am NOT happy and somehow NOT kicking into the higher mama gear necessary to deal. Suck it up, shorties. This, as you can imagine, is seriously inspirational stuff, which is why I blog about it.

In short, this has been a fairly typical Imperfect week, with some added baggage. (see guilt, above):

* I created myself a nifty email addy, all anonymous and suchlike

* I signed my real name to a couple of emails from my nifty addy. erm. This is extremely uncool, the Man points out, in terms of the whole blogging deal (negotiated way back when), in which I promised not to endanger my future chances of getting insured by using real names. Argh. The Man is now politely ticked off (he does this extremely well) and I feel like a ripe idiot

* I sold an essay. To someone with an actual printer.

* I watched a book contract start to go down in flames. Mayday, mayday.

* I made food

* I was to rushed to actually slow down and taste it. Which is a real shame, because I made things like basil-artichoke pesto (see below), which is amazing. Hat tip to The Allergic Kid for the recipe, now happily adapted.

* the Toddles got hives - for no apparent reason

* I celebrated how calm I was about the hives by yelling at the kids for something completely unrelated. See how good?

* I invited a bunch of people to come and visit

* I realized that September is coming, complete with school training sessions and deadlines and freaked out...and then decided I was freaking out over the people coming to visit. See how more good?

* I ate peaches, warm from a tree. They taste so good that I deliver some to a friend who is currently a bit short on both sunshine and trees. Well, maybe not the sunshine.

* I started reading Barbara Kingsolver, who is currently trying to persuade me to only eat my peaches warm from a tree. I decide to resent Barbara, and eat several plums cold from the fridge. They do not taste nearly as good, and Barbara snickers.

* I volunteered to be an editor at Bridges, a really excellent new website that looks to become a resource for people working through a wide, wide range of challenges. I've been reading things that are (gasp) unrelated to my children, food allergies or hemophilia. While eating chilly grapes. (Take that, Barbs!)

* I failed once again to understand why Blogger occasionally double-spaces my posts. Anyone? Any ideas? I do not, apparently, speak Blogger help well enough to get this sorted out.

* I had coffee with someone who really could not have been my friend, who chewed me out spectacularly, told me that she thought I was a terrible parent, and now seems rather nice. My thanks to a certain librarian, who helped me with some necessary translation.

* and more, but who has the time to type this stuff up? or read it, for that matter. I'm off to bed to catch some shut-eye before the morning coffee and earthworms. So, I shall leave you with a recipe, a couple of things to think over, and a shabbat shalom.

May your week draw gracefully to a close, and conclude with family, good food and a much needed nap.

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Basil-Artichoke Pesto (or That Which is the Best-o, saith the Toddles)
serves many, or makes enough to generously coat 1.5 bags of spaghetti

1 large bunch basil, well washed and thoroughly dried
1 can artichoke hearts
juice of 1/2 lemon (optional: toss in the zest)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1/3 c sunflower seeds
1/4 c olive oil

In food processor, blend garlic and salt. Add artichokes, basil, sunflower seeds and blend a bit more. Toss in remaining ingredients. Consider that, were your food processor less than 12 years old, you are probably going to be able to get away with chucking everything in at once. But what would be the fun in that?

Taste, and adjust seasonings. Toss with hot pasta, or use as a sandwich spread. When saved for the next day, avoid oxidization by gently pressing a bit of plastic wrap right onto the surface of the pesto.
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a couple of things to consider:

The FDA is taking comments on those pesky allergen advisory labels. May have peanuts seems clear, but how does it compare to made in a facility that processes peanuts? Or made on shared equipment with peanuts? Or good manufacturing standards used in a plant that also processes peanuts? Argh? Feel free to weigh in here - and hat tip to the Allergic Kid.

seen this? It's a great little video on von Willebrand's Disease - an astonishingly common bleeding disorder that affects 1-2% of the population.

An enjoyable discussion about pareve vs dairy-free over here: these guys definitely don't live in Allergy World. But it's interesting stuff, nonetheless.