Okra, you are truly lovely!

    

    On a whim, I planted okra last spring. Katie and I have a fondness for it. I don't think anyone else is a big fan. I planted four plants and they've done beautifully. We always have enough pods ripe at the same time to fix a light lunch for the two of us. 

Every Saturday, I buy okra from my favorite farmer at the market. It's a luxury to have enough okra to fix a proper side dish for the family. When I stop to think about it, I recognize that most of them barely touch it, so I'm pretty much just cooking okra for Katie and me to enjoy as leftovers.

    I'd never seen okra grow before this season. I was happily astonished by its stunning flowers. Even if you aren't a fan of the "slime," or the fuzz, you have to admit, okra blossoms are beautiful and those pods make pretty cute floral-stars when sliced. 

    I think fried okra comes to mind for most people, but I'm not a big fan of things breaded and fried. Mary Beth tinkered with okra and tomatoes a few weeks ago and came up with this recipe. It takes polenta to delicious places.

• 36 okra pods, cut into 1/2 inch pieces with bottoms and tips discarded
• 4-6 full sized tomatoes, diced
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tube of premade polenta, cut into 1/2 inch thickness 
• 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
• 6 tablespoons of olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat your skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season okra with salt and pepper.
2. Add okra to your skillet, frying it until it's just brown. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
3. Next add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil to your skillet and add your tomatoes and green onions. Cook until carmelized. Add Italian seasoning. Remove the tomatoes and green onions from the skillet, cover them, and set aside.
4. Wipe out your skillet so there are no tomato juices left. Fry the polenta in the remaining olive oil until brown and crispy. About 3-5 minutes each side.
5. Remove polenta, top with browned okra and tomato mixture. Add more salt and pepper as needed.

{this moment}

This is my husband Mike, with our friend,Brian. We all went to high school together. Brian was the best man in our wedding. He's Nicholas' godfather. He's the kind of friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Mike and Brian were on the USS Ronald Reagan this week for this moment:

This is Chris, taking command of an aircraft carrier. Chris went to high school with us, too. And I'm blessed to call Chris' high school sweetheart (now his wife), Shelley, my dear friend. Chris was in our wedding, too and Mike was in his. That was the first wedding Michael, a tiny infant, ever attended.

So there they were, all of them in San Diego celebrating something that seems so surreal to me. I had hoped to go, to make another California trip like last year's, but it was not to be. Instead, Mike went and took pictures and told me all about it. While they all heralded the milestone, I moved through my daily round, remembering.  I remembered being about 15 on a rowboat on Lake Accotink with these guys (and I remember getting perilously close to the waterfall--ahem).  I remembered my father drilling Chris at my dining room table before his Naval Academy admissions interviews. I remember when Chris and Brian heard they were "in" at the Naval Academy. And I remembered all the moments we've treasured in the last thirty years. These are moments you can't imagine when all your friends are scattering from your small town high school to colleges far and wide. You think it's all over forever. 

But it's not.

Genuine friendship? Endures and grows.

Moment by moment.

needle & thREAD

I finished last week's headbands. Zoe and Katie and I sewed away the morning on Thursday and dashed all fourteen of them up to the studio in time for ballet. They looked so pretty all together.

And I totally forgot to take pictures.

Here are three I found in the studio this morning. Pretty cute:-)

I woke up super early on Tuesday with every intention of sewing something for myself. But I couldn't get past the "research" stage. This is where I get stuck sewing for me everytime. I look at the pattern, search Flckr for pictures of other people's projects, read all those notes, search the Lisette blog, and basically just psych myself out. 

Really, I should just make a muslin and get on with it. But that would require cutting the pattern and once it's cut in that size, I can't use it for a different size if the muslin turns out too big or too small. And I don't want to trace. Besides, I don't have any tracing paper. All this to say, I'm still stuck.

But I'm going to sew this weekend. Mark my words.

I'm reading an advanced copy of Hands Free Mama's new book. Anyone who reads here at all knows that this message is probably dearest to my heart. I'm really encouraged by this book and I personally believe that a copy should be handed to every new mama along with her newborn. 

And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I need this message, well beyond the obvious need to control technology. Karoline confirmed it for me. This week, we've been blessed to have a baby around. While her mom teaches dance, we've been playing with Kenley, who turned one yesterday. On Monday, after I dropped Sarah off at the studio, I surprised the kids at home by bringing Kenley home with me. Mike stopped to play with her before he left for the airport (again). Kenley loved Mike. Mike loved Kenley. And my girls were impressed with his baby skills.

Later, Karoline remarked, "I think Daddy is better with babies than you are. He had nine babies. I know you had nine babies, too, but I think he's more confident and comfortable (her words; I kid you not). No offense, Mommy, but I think he just got good at playing with kids while you were busy cleaning." 

Ouch. 

I will not miss another season.

What are you reading and sewing this week? 

I am eager to hear!

  Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.

    Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your blog post or your specific Flickr photo and not your main blog URL or Flickr Photostream. Please be sure and link to your current needle and theREAD post below in the comments, and not a needle and theREAD post from a previous week. If you don't have a blog, please post a photo to the needle & thREAD group at Flickr. 

       Include a link back to this post in your blog post or on your flickr photo page so that others who may want to join the needle and thREAD fun can find us! Feel free to grab a button here (in one of several colors) so that you can use the button to link:-).

My answer to, "How do you do what you do?"

Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. — “You’ve Got Mail”

There is something about this line that rings so true it makes me smile and reach for the pencil sharpener every time it comes to mind. Especially in the fall. Read the rest here.

Notes to Self

::noticing God's glory: 

My tomatoes are doing good things! We won't have enough to can or anything, but we at least have enough to feed the whole family at once. And okra! Yippee. Look for an okra and tomato polenta recipe on Friday.

::listening to 

Dance studio chatter. 

::clothing myself in 

Yoga pants, t-shirt, lightweight sweatjacket. It's chilly. Really.

::talking with my children about these books

Well, not books, but stories. I love to listen to books/podcasts while I work around the house and I'm trying to share the value of that with my kids. We've recently discovered Sparkle Stories. Love:-).

::thinking and thinking

about the role I want the Internet to play in my life. Food for thought:

What it Looks Like to Have a Cyber Sabbath

Switch off the Static and Turn on Your Mind

and I'm eagerly reading an advance copy of Hands Free Mama's new book. 

::pondering prayerfully

"No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not actually worth reading at the age of fifty." C. S. Lewis

This is my guiding principle for the school year.

::carefully cultivating rhythm

Sigh. We made some major decisions, left two beloved teams with longtime, very close friends, and made our radius much, much smaller. I'm thinking about a post about why we did what we did for as long as we did and why we made a change. But then I think no one would ever do what we did and my experience probably has nothing to offer anyone else. 

::creating by hand

I really want to sew something other than headbands...

::learning lessons in

asking Jesus all day long.

::encouraging learning 

A number of people have asked about math curriculum. I hesitate to offer anything in that regard. Really, I've yet to find the magic math curriculum. But I do love Dreambox. 

I'm super excited about plans this year, which is a lovely surprise. For the younger three, it's going to be a Storybook Year, heavily dependent on these lists (browse the lefthand column--there aren't enough days in a childhood for the treasures here). For the older three (and the younger, too, actually), lots of fresh inspiration from these thoughts:

Nature Deficit Disorder

Teaching Boys & Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day

The Four Language Arts

Nurturing Competent Communicators

Fairytales and the Moral Imagination

::begging prayers

Please continue to pray for Shawn, for Elizabeth DeHority, for my friend Carmen, and for my mother-in-law, who soon begins radiation treaments.

And for a private {all good} intention close to my heart.

::living the liturgy

It's nearly time for the St. Monica novena. What a perfect novena at a time when two of my boys embark on a new college semester. Novena begins on August 18th. Join me?

::keeping house

I frequently refer to the wreck that is the basement. Last week, I posted some pictures of said wreck on Instagram. I think I surprised some people. It really is a wreck. I'm overwhelmed by the wreck. But we're making slow progress. Some big items are leaving permanently, off with Christian and his friends. If I'm honest, I think I'm working up my anger over the wreck so that I won't be leveled by the sadness that will be inevitable when he and his basement band are no longer making gigantic messes down there. What ever it takes...

::crafting in the kitchen 

I ate Domino's gluten-free pizza the other day. It was delicious. It's NOT gluten-free. 'Nuff said. 

::loving the moments

when I'm snuggling her to sleep and her hair just smells so good and life is peaceful. And light. And lovely. 

::giving thanks 

for special prayers at dinnertime.

::planning for the week ahead

The coaches Christian has teamed up with for the last several years have planned a going-away party for him on Friday. And then, he goes on Monday. I sort of have tunnel vision.

 

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iPhone pics, all mine. That one of Mike making wildflower bouquets just about does me in. 

Have a beautiful week, friends!