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Stumps, rocks and fudgy pops

My co-workers asked me what I was doing for the 4th of July.

Co-workers: "What are you doing for the 4th of July?"

Me: "Digging rocks out of my backyard."

Co-workers: "Really? For five days?"

Me: "Yes"

When we bought our charming little bungalow, the backyard was shrouded by a blanket of white. When the snow melted, we were greeted by stumps, fountains (seriously), underground hoses (they're for irrigation, duh), and lots and lots of rocks. In the middle of the yard

Lots of rocks.

So two solid months of rock digging led up to this very special weekend, when the last of the rocks were finally cleared out of the middle of the yard (there are still plenty along the perimeter), and, in it's place, SOD!

As a part of this transformation, we were also forced to finally address the 5-ish maple stumps in the way. Like this doozy, for example:

Now those of you who have spent any time with Nancy or me lately know that stumps have been on our minds. So this was a pretty big weekend for us.

Here's the result of our weekend outside in 90+ degrees, digging rocks and stumps:

And I can think of nothing better after that than a homemade fudgy pop.

Homemade Fudgy Pops

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. sugar
• 2 TB cornstarch
• 2 TB cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 C. milk
• 1 TB butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and milk
2. Heat on medium, stirring constantly, until boiling and thick
3. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla
4. Pour into popsicle mold and freeze until firm

* Tip: to get them out of the mold, Nancy told me to pour hot water over the mold to let the plastic expand and release the fudgy goodness. I learned this the hard way.

Kitchen organization and visions of zucchini muffins

I'm a bit of a freak when it comes to kitchen organization. Take for example this shelf in the baking cupboard above. Yes, each item is poured into a clear glass container, and yes, Each clear glass container is labeled with a labelmaker.

What goes where is also exceedingly important. Everything has to be in a cupboard that's accessible to what you're doing. Cups next to the fridge, potholders in the drawer next to the stove, plastic baggies reachable with one hand to where I make sandwiches in the morning.

It took me five years to perfect the old apartment kitchen, and this one is twice as big with three times as many cupboards. I've rearranged twice already (much to Nancy's dismay), and I just finished the third installment. Admittedly, it's putting me in the mood to bake...

Record heat is the talk of the day on the Book of Faces, and all I can think about is hot, delicious zucchini muffins.

The thing is, there's a delightfully cool breeze coming through the kitchen window, it's reaching noon-time and still 74 out, and so while it seems crazy to voluntarily heat my kitchen to 375-degrees on the purported hottest day in five years, this run-on sentence is trying to say that I'm going to do it anyway.

Who could refuse this already defrosted shredded zucchini from last summer's bounty??

Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. applesauce
• 1/4 C mashed banana (applesauce and banana can be substituted for 2 eggs)
• 2 C. sugar
• 3 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 C. vegetable oil
• 2 C. shredded zucchini, unpeeled, liquid squeezed out
• 3 C. flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 C. chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375-deg F. Whisk applesauce, banana (or egg), sugar, vanilla, and veg. oil together until well blended.
2. Stir in drained zucchini. Add flour, baking powder, salt, soda, and cinnamon and mix until well blended.
3. Fold in nuts, if desired.
4. Turn into greased muffin tins and bake 18-25 minutes or until pastry pick comes out clean

** You can also cook the batter in a loaf pan to make a bread. In that case, bake 45 min-1 hour

Makes approximately 20 muffins

Bike Commuter

I admit it. Operation Bike Ride 2011 has, for the most part, been an abysmal failure.

Until now, that is.

I ran out of money on my transit card, and decided to pay for a tune-up on my bike instead of reloading my card.

It just so happened that I got my bike back from the shop on Chicago's "Bike to Work Week", and it also just so happened that it rained 3 out of 5 days during that week. I rode all that week, and every day since. And it's pretty much rained every day.

The pros:

• zero dollars spent on transportation in two weeks
• getting my bikini body back
• shaving 30 minutes off my commute time

The cons:

• having to use my bike as a clothes line and publicly display my sports bra on a daily basis

Strawberries!

Or, I should say, strawberry.

This excites me with geeky giddiness - partially because I have a backyard to grow strawberries in, and partly because this one was ready to pick when I checked the patch today, which means I got to this beauty before the bunnies did.

This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Zen and the Art of Reno

I knew that renovating a home wasn't going to be easy, and at times that it wasn't even going to be fun. What I wasn't prepared for was the emotional highs and lows of living there while it was going on. I suppose I've adjusted fine to living in a chaotic environment (from a lady who thrives on routine), but to exist in one in which I don't see progress is frustrating. Plus, all the things I usually do to relieve stress, like knit, or workout, or cook, aren't possible because the things I need to do those things are either still in boxes or covered with a tarp, or dust, or both. Awesome.

But here's the uplifting point in this mild rant: this week our new place is still dusty and still chaotic and still under construction, but we are starting to see progress. In renos and in life, progress is important. You can deal with a lot as long as you feel like today was a day that you got closer to your goal.

Operation Bike Ride 2011: Status Report

Mission: Shed reno-related stress pounds in time for pending photo shoots

Outside Air Temperature: 60-deg F

Sure Sign of Spring: short socks

Impressions: bliss

Status: complete