12.1.12 ... disneyland ii

i know this is a month overdue.

              but here i am, as promised.

making the collages turned out to be a 

bit of a challenge and life kept getting in the way.

better late than never.  

i do like them.  

hope you enjoy them, too.

evan had to have red velvet cake.
it was delicious.

i love the cleanliness and the
wonderfully designed and 
individualized trash and recycling bins.

disney california is just
another spoonful of genius.
love it there.
we feel fortunate that we happened
to visit just before the tim burton
frankenweenie display left.

as you might expect,
it is incredible.

yes we are disnerds. 
these photos are from our second visit.

we've since gone another five times.

can't wait to go back.

and i'll return at some
point with another plethora
of photographic memories.

and this is before my new iphone
arrives.  i'll be a mad woman with
tha camera once it is in my 
hot little disney lovin' hands.

sweet dreams, everyone.  
thanks for stopping by.   
until next time.  
happiness to you. 
from me. 
with heart.   

ox joon

4.16.12 ... easter eggs of a different sort

we had a lovely time decorating these eggs last weekend. evan made the star wars themed egg designs. aren't they fabulous?

scout made a variety of designs and techniques. this tree is one of the greatest easter eggs i have ever seen. what do you think? 

it's crazy.

she also did the split sihouette egg, the one with the groovy tiny curleque lines, the watercolor scenes and the bright blue jellyfish egg! 

love them.

i think we will continue to decorate our eggs in this unique manner every year.

by the way, she also whips hers out in minutes. meanwhile, i am spending an hour doodling around with my silly simple designs.

if you blogged about your eggs please leave me a link in your comment.

 i'd love to see them.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until next time. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

3.21.12 ... shrinky dinks are us

i have missed blogging so i am going to start again.

 i have a plethora of photos that tell stories from the past few months of our new life here in beautiful southern california. 

in no particular order, i begin. 

scout made these chibi shrinky dinks of ev and me and i just love them. they are for our keychains. hope you enjoy seeing them. i am keeping them both since i am not quite so hard on my keys as ev. 

i know these are ephemeral, but i love seeing how long i can preserve delicate items. i have a good record so far.

 

 

See the full gallery on Posterous

i'll be back again soon. stay tuned. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until next time. 

happiness to you. from me. with heart. 

ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

10.13.11 ... golden gate good byes

scout and ev at the golden gate bridge.

hard to imagine how chilly we were. it felt good after our brutal summer.

this was right before we headed to the airport. what a way to end our trip. we didn't leave our heart there. we brought san francisco home with us.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

7.14.11 ... the puzzle

we've been working on this puzzle we found at fred a week or so ago. it was quite challenging as it is one where all of the pieces are the same shape and size. evan got a bit obsessive which was fun to watch. we finished it this morning so here it is along with my two room mates.

we'll take a few days off before we get involved in another one. i used to do these all the time way back when. before we had cats who love to sit on the table - seemingly more so when you have a project spread about.

scout snapped a few photos. i like this one. i did many other creative endeavors today but i'll share those photos on another day when i am low on images. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

7.1.11 ... salvaging things

today ev refurbished this vintage typewriter so that i can list it in my joonE shop. and i cleaned it up a bit. that was one of my creative projects for today.

isn't it groovy?

another project i tackled was cutting these pant legs off of some of scout's outgrown favorites. i will upcycle the fabrics into who knows what. this is not very interesting. what might spice up the report a bit is the 'tail' behind this project. i thought ginny (kitty #3) was missing today and scout and i looked all over. i was getting worried because there's really nowhere out of sight for her to be in this small house. finally i spied her all curled up in my heretofore tidy stacks of fabric! later on, when she'd gotten up i had to straighten that shelf and clean it all up and cover it for future preservation should she or besos decide to nest in there again. this started a chain reaction of my being bombarded with a multitude of mundane reorganizational tasks. about fifteen into the chain were these three pair of pants that i'd tossed up there for future reference. so i sighed and took care of step two today.

we also did a 500 piece puzzle but we just finished that a few minutes ago so scout will post photos on her blog of that tomorrow. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

ProJecT SNoWFLaKe UPDATE & New ART

Hello Earthlings!
Here's my Etsy shop announcement:
Litterbug Success Tally UPDATE April 25: 191 + 377 = 568

Here are some facts:
Between Mar 17 and May 01
I have had 28 sales.
28 X 13 = 364
So we are well ahead of ourselves.
That's the way I like it.

* Talkin' Trash *

We have been out picking up litter on two
occasions. The first time Scout & I picked up
191 pieces in 40 minutes.
Pok-e-dometer {Pokemon} says she walked 2,971 steps.
Scout found one penny.

The second time, Evan joined us.
We picked up 377 pieces in 80 minutes. Ev guesses
we picked up about 5# total weight.
Pokemon says 3,730 steps.
Scout found one penny.

We have two bags,
one for trash, one for recycling.
As we pick something
up we call out its number.

Most of the litter ~ by far ~ is:
cigarette butts
The other top trashy items include:
beer cans * candy wrappers * fast food garbage

We've found some interesting litter.
Like remains from the city electric work
a small nerf type ball and way too many
little packets with a rock and ad inside
that some solicitors threw into everyone's
driveway months ago.

We've interacted with a few people.
Our favorite was a man who was playing with his dog
across a street from where we were.
He yelled out a sincere THANK YOU!
That was nice.

We saw some others
as we were picking
up cigarette butts out by the street
in front of their house.
Evan was told that the two houses
next to theirs had been empty
for quite a while.
We hadn't noticed any trash
in front of either empty house.
One of them jokingly offered
they could bring out more trash
if we needed it.
I merely replied that, thanks, we didn't.

We're enjoying cleaning up our
neighborhood. I'm very glad I
have this new policy. Litter has
always depressed me. It always will.
Even though this is a teeny tiny action,
it's still action. It helps. We'll keep going.

THaNK You All For Your Support!

Meanwhile...
Here are some of my latest ideas turned into reality.
The states bookmarks remind me of tea bags.
These were part of a flying housewife packet.
I love them
and will make more for my joonwalk shop.

This bookmark was a little something extra
I added to a recent order.

This is lovely Ev with one of Scout's lovely omelets.

What have you all been up to?

Thanks for dropping by. Until next time...

ox
joon

MeRrY ChRiStMaS!

A Memory as I Recall It

While searching in my recipe box for
holiday cookie favorites, I came upon this old
photo which graced our fridge for years.
I switched it to the safer
environment of the box as
I felt it had garnered enough
kitchen character.
It wasn't taken at Christmas, but somehow
the sticker frame and the photo became
a duo.

The great memory this picture encapsulates:
I was teaching second grade. It was year three
of my great four year career.
{said the housewife}
During that year, when my students and I
shared all the excitement of little Scout's
impending arrival,
one of the precious side effects was a ritual
that Evan and I fell into.

One day I mentioned in class how we liked to go
to Long John Silvers on Whatever Day ~
I can't recall which weekday or what the special was ~
and one of my students piped up that her family
liked going there, too. And I casually said how we could
meet there one day. Lo and behold, she came to class
with a note from mom and, long story short,
we made plans to meet there.

That first week started a sweet time capsule custom.
In the photo
above, which Mrs. Callihan asked us to pose for
and then generously shared a copy with me,
you see Evan, our Jon Cody, yours truly with Scout
cozily growing and awaiting her debut,
my adorable student, Courtney and her younger brother,
whose name is on the tip of my tongue, but
eluding me at the moment. Isn't he a cutie?
{Michael?}


Some things I especially treasure about this photo,
apart from the obvious happenstance of how special
this impromptu chatter turned into a delightful
extension of my 'career'
and, therefore, defines much about my
short foray into teaching,
and, thanks in large part to this spontaneous photo,
a forever happy memory, are:

Jon Cody's groovy flat top, Courtney's awesome bow
and dress, little brother's Churchville Bumblebee sweatshirt,
the tennis shoe on the car roof ~ what is that? ~
my wedding ring on a ball chain, not because my
hands were swollen but because the pregnancy
immediately caused a strange gold allergic reaction
and,
last but not least,
16 years later I am still wearing that chambray shirt
on a regular basis. I have patched it endlessly.
It still makes me feel as happy as I was when I
first borrowed it from Evan's side of the closet.
And this is the only photo that
serves as the memory of when
that came to be.
Thank you, Mrs. Callihan.

Merry Christmas Everyone.
May all your memories come true.

ox
joon

FaMiLy AffAiR ~ BBQ Chicken Pizza with Fresh Ranch Dressing

Homemade Pizza You Will Love In Every Way

From Start To Finish

Our Favorite Thin Pizza Crust

1 TBSP yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 TBSP olive oil
1 cup cool water
3 1/2 cups bread flour {all purpose is also fine}
1 1/2 tsp. salt

In a large mixing bowl or a Kitchen Aid {this is what I use}, stir the yeast into the warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the olive oil and cool water, then stir in 1 cup of the flour & the salt. Stir until smooth. Stir in remaining flour, 1 cup at a time until the dough is mostly incorporated. If using Kitchen Aid mix with dough hook until you have a smooth, soft dough. You might need to add just a few TBSP of flour, but you do not want a heavy, stiff mass. If kneading by hand, work on a lightly floured surface until smooth & soft ~ about 8 to 10 minutes. Your dough will be velvety.

Cover loosely with a kitchen towel. Let rest 15 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, divide into 4 equal portions. I use a knife. Loosely form each section into a round. Let set on your floured surface under your kitchen towel and let rise about 1 hour. Your dough is now ready to use. Stretch and form it into your favorite pizza pie shape.

Dough may also be stored, short term ~ up to 48 hours ~ in your fridge. Let stand 15 minutes before forming pizza. Dough freezes beautifully. Slip each flour dusted ball into a Ziploc. Freeze up to one month. When ready to use, place frozen dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap, let thaw overnight in fridge OR about 2 hours at room temperature. Thawed dough should be puffy and soft to the touch.

Evan's Fabulous Salty Sweet Pizza Sauce

This sauce is perfect for your pizza. It's simple, easy, quick and just the right flavor and consistency for your pizza. No soggy dough issues. Compliments toppings just right.

This recipe makes sauce for 2 pizzas. Double if making all 4.

In small saucepan on medium heat:

1 TBSP butter
1 TBSP olive oil

When butter is melted and both are nice and hot, ADD & Stir in:

1 can Contadina tomato paste

Simmer for about 5 minutes. ADD & Stir in:

2 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt

Simmer for a while ~ maybe 10 minutes ~ until it begins to carmelize. Slowly stir in just enough water to attain a spreadable, yet thick, sauce.

BBQ Chicken

About 2-3 cups of cooked chicken breast, chopped/shredded into bite size pieces

In a saucepan, preferably non stick, saute your cooked chicken in a little oil or oil/butter mixture until it is a bit dry crispy. How's that for a technical cooking school term? Add about 3/4 cup of any BBQ sauce you love. Simmer until most is absorbed into the chicken pieces. I usually make this amount fresh using a simple ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, molasses, chili powder off-the-cuff sauce. I haven't measured yet. I do have a fabulous Coca Cola BBQ sauce recipe that makes about 3 cups of sauce. It is very easy and lasts in the fridge for at least a week. Let me know if I should post it.

Grate 1 pound of mozzarella per 2 pizzas.
Our pizza also has sliced banana peppers ~ Mount Olive Brand.

Oven: 450*

Sprinkle some cornmeal on your pan & place your lovely crust on it. Bake your formed crust alone ~ no toppings ~ 5-7 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven. This step serves to 'seal' up your crust so the sauce doesn't soak in. Sometimes a crust may puff up in spots during this step. No worries. Simply use a fork and poke the top layer & use your sauce spoon to pat it back down. Again with the technical terms. Top your crust with sauce, mozzarella, then BBQ chicken & banana pepper rings. Return to oven and bake about 10 ~ 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is light brown.

Top individual slices with Scout's Ranch Dressing. Experience heaven on earth.

Yes, she did toddle through the kitchen and it has paid off...

Scout's Sublime Ranch Dressing
{this dressing is so superior to store bought,
is less expensive, healthier & easy}

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 green onion, including top, cut up
4 fresh parsley sprigs, cut up
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. either Jane's Crazy Mixed-Up Salt OR seasoned salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper {fresh or coarse ground if possible}
optional: 1 clove garlic, minced

Simply stir all ingredients together. Become addicted.

This is great on chicken fingers, baked potatoes, chef salads ...
but it really makes this pizza divine.

Looking forward to hearing about your pizza night.

Until next time...

ox
joon

Tales From The Road

At times the 2000 mile
{ONE WAY}
trip from Austin to Hanover
struck us as being this absurd.

Look above the center panels.
You can see Woodstock ! Vermont
...and Hanover & Etna NH
our final destination.

When we moved the 3000 miles
across the country from
Eugene OR to Hanover NH
in 1999, we were despaired
to know we were within 20 miles
of beautiful Niagara Falls.

So close and yet so far.

This time we snuck on up the road.
It was short & sweet.
But, as you can see by the smiles
we found it a wonderful idea.

No Scout on the trip TO.
However...
One Mister Mister was on hand.

We loved that Chip was permitted
in the park. It's a lovely area.
And it was quite crowded.
But until we were on our way back
to the car we never saw another dog
so he was King for a Day.

Road Lesson: Beagles are rather irresistible.

Mom & Pop Motels
are fading into the sunset
at a sadly prodigious rate.
We lucked into one in
Bennington Vermont.

Apart from a dough head* neighbor
{and I use that term loosely}
who inconsiderately parked
in our space
{which, in this scenario, is part of the charming attraction of a motel}
it was a lovely experience all told.

*dough head used in honor of our dear N.E. codger, Hoss.

old school, baby

Right down the street from the motel...
I will never forget my complete spellbound awe.
Seriously.
It just doesn't get any better than this.

The wedding was perfect.
I'll write about it another day.
I know I've been remiss.
There's been a lot going on
here & I'm behind
blogwise.

But I miss it
and think about my dear readers
and I appreciate you all
and I have many post topics
and photos
in the joon queue.

Stay tuned.

ox
joon

Rocket Science For Two

Evan's tutorial treasury. Isn't it lovely? Hurry and go visit it HERE before Friday 5 PM EST.

Sundays Are Looking So Fine

Oh yes they are!

Love is better the second time around.

Yeah. I think I'll keep him.