Spring lunch

This is a recipe I like to make in the spring, whenever asparagus is coming into season. The ingredients may sound odd, but it's truly delicious! (By the way, this is called a sandwich, but I eat it with a knife and fork.)

Asparagus and Cannellini Bean Open-Face Sandwich

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, grated
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
• 14 oz. can of cannellini beans
• 2/3 c. half-and-half (for non-American readers, this is a 50/50 mixture of milk and cream)
• 4-8 oz. young asparagus spears, trimmed
• 4 slices whole wheat bread
• salt and pepper

Melt butter in sauce pan and saute onion and carrots, around 4 minutes. Add thyme. Rinse beans and drain, then add to onions and carrots. Pour in half-and-half and heat slowly, until just short of boiling. Remove from heat and add freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste.

Poach asparagus spears 3-4 minutes or steam until just tender.

Toast bread. Place asparagus on top of toast, then spoon bean mixture over top (or vice versa, like I did). Serve immediately.

Leather toddler shoes

I'm rather behind on posting any projects! Here are the shoes I made for Rosie's birthday over a month ago. I posted a photo on Instagram while I was making them, and you can see that they originally had leather bows for a little feminine accent.


[One shoe down, one to go!]
I handstitched the bows onto the uppers before assembling the shoes, but I'm sorry to report that my handstitching was not strong enough to withstand even one day of toddler crawling! By the end of the first day, the bows were loose, wonky, and falling off. I removed them and pondered how I could re-attach. The only solution I can think of is leather glue, but I am dubious as to how well that would work. Rosie is now walking more than crawling, which means less stress to the tops of her shoes, but still! Even though the bows were cute, I think I will leave these as is, and chalk it up to a learning experience.


Thankfully the quality of the leather hides the holes made by my handstitching. I used the same pattern as my last effort, but resolved the printing issues I had. This time I used a size 6-12 months and they fit her just right. I sewed the shoes on my machine, with a leather needle, and had no problems with skipping stitches except once, when I was trying to sew through too many layers. The leather (and suede for the soles) came from a local shoe repair shop, where I can go and root through bins of scraps and take what I need for a few bucks.


This project earned me the title of "shoemaker" from Edmund. :) I'll take it!

Florida in February

We just got back from a family trip to Florida, our first in three years.


Lots of firsts for my girls. First airplane ride, first visit to the beach, first visit to their great-grandparents' condo.


We built some modest sand sculptures.


The weather wasn't very cooperative. We had one sunny day, and although the temperatures were always more pleasant than what we'd experience back home, it was still a bit cool. The natives were wearing winter coats.


Lots of greenery for winter-weary Northerners, however.






And these kids would not be kept from the ocean! Edmund and his cousin loved to jump waves.


My favorite memory was taking Edmund for an early-morning walk to hunt for shells and other beach treasures. The commonest seashells sparked big-time excitement. You can see we found a nice assortment! God's beauty is everywhere.