Finding ourselves on a fault line between baby and boy, Axel and I took this hot summer day to dig in the dirt and harvest perhaps his favorite garden find, carrots.

Although our entire stock measured less than a bag of grocery baby carrots, he was thrilled with every pull, every un-earthing, every bite.

Almost all of the carrots ended up in his belly, not without an examination, a puzzled look and an exclamation of "deeeeliciousssss".  It was worth all the watering, the hauling to the balcony and the wait.

Today we received a call that Axel had climbed to the top of the Montessori waiting list.  After talking with the teacher, she invited us for an interview tomorrow.  Needless to say, although I am pushing for a break, for him to make friends and to see what he is capable of, tonight I feel protective.  My little carrot eater may be on the brink of his own ideas, revelations, and life.  What would I do if he were to be my only child?  Whether he will be, right now he is, and in all of his milestones I try to remember to be thankful, smile excessively, and eat from the garden.

I'm actually speechless when it comes to a major project that I've just completed.  Having mentioned to many people that my grandfather was the original scrap-booker, now, publicly in print is a 166 page book of his collection!

After a summer of scanning, editing and having a little faith, I have published his collection through Blurb into an 11x13 semi-chronological book (can be found under search: Richard Ruedy).  The outcome is stunning, the publishing is beautiful, and the image quality is spot-on!  I honestly cannot believe how it looks in print.

Wishing he were alive to see his treasured collection preserved forever in the pages of history, I can only imagine the stories he would tell about the articles, pictures and captions he placed on each page.  I know it was his hand guiding me on late nights of formating, re-formating and making final editorial decisions.  In the end, the book is more or less exactly how he scrap-booked it, and exactly how he would have wanted it.

Perhaps the most compelling part of the book is the final third.  This part of the book came from a separate album that he held of Memorials.  Clipping each obituary from the paper, he honored and preserved every fallen member of the Saint Paul Police, retired, killed in the line of duty, family members of Police Officers, and it was clear how much he cherished each and every friend on the force.

Yesterday the book was officially presented to the Saint Paul Police Historical Society.  Nana brought us all together at their monthly meeting and she generously donated a copy of the book.  What's even more wonderful is that on Blurb, the book will always be available in their bookstore and people can order them for gifts, as memorials and to leave to their own children.  For any Minnesota, Saint Paul, Police or history collector, it covers a remarkable time in history.

With gratitude for all the circumstances surrounding this year, truly the gift of free-time has been my blessing.  Feel free to "preview" the book through the Blurb website.  If ever you are interested in creating a similar book, I would be more than happy to throw a few pointers your way!

So I'll admit to being entirely selfish lately! After spending the majority of last week in New York City (a city that I feel beats parallel to my own heart), I have returned to a luxury weekend of relaxation.

I met a few friends in New York, from...get this...elementary school!  I don't have a single friend from High School, but can connect just fine with my old first-grade pals!  We shopped on 5th Ave, dined in Little Italy, went to "Promises Promises" and the Museum of Natural History.  I hardly missed pushing the stroller, listening to a familiar whine or answering questions on Etsy.  It was bliss!

I'm not sure if Axel even missed me as we clearly needed a break from each other, he did seem happy to see my however when I presented him with a 6-foot stuffed snake from the museum!  Someday I hope to take him there as it is FABULOUS and he would love it!

This weekend the weather here in the mid-west (most recently known as the "oven of america") has turned the corner and I woke up today to a brisk breeze, lower humidity than we've seen in months and a happy smile on my face.  I woke up just a bit early, so I could steal a few minutes reading silently on my new "nook".

While lavish shopping trips to the Big Apple, self-gift of a new eReader, and making myself a new guitar strap may not be what causes happiness, taking care of myself for the first time in 2.5 years is a good start.

Any nook users out there interested in sharing books?

Two years, yes, two years since I joined the blogosphere.  Not knowing where this would take me, or rather where I would take you all, I search now for a momentous topic.

I can't help but notice how different my surroundings and life are from my first post, 2 years and 150 blogs ago.  I like to write about home, I like to notice the "little things," jumping out at me this morning is a little thing indeed, my butter dish.

What's that?  It's odd to have colored specs in my butter!  Is this the "fun-fetti" sprinkle variety of butter?  No, it looks more like acrylic paint.  Uh huh, it could be, Axel did have a wild paint party this week...I wonder what else ends up on my toast?

It's very curious to me that we leave butter sitting unprotected to the elements of our kitchens. In other parts of the world, they leave most of their food out and refrigerate very little, but they also don't spend much time cleaning with toxic chemicals such as Windex.  Suddenly it occurs to me how often I clean this counter, I obviously avoid directly spraying the butter, but a fine mist must find it's sticky self once-in-a-while.  My butter clearly cannot fend off dust, bugs and the occasional flung paint, how much of these in-edibles have I consumed over my lifetime and love affair with butter?

Although I may never know what exactly I'm smearing on my food, this morning I have made an executive decision, stop shelling out the big bucks for organic butter.  What difference do a few antibiotics make?  Those antibiotics may just save me from an embarrassing butter reaction.

As I venture into the unknown of my third year in the blogiverse, I won't promise or commit to anything, I've tried that to no avail...ok, maybe I'll just promise one thing...you will never see me in a pair of "jeggings."  Seriously, google that one, a fashion trend that has been haunting me since it's introduction.

Perfectly happy in their new home, my garden (or "gordon" as Axel calls it) is thriving.  Not being able to wait any longer, I just had to bring in a few crops.  I decided the Basil would be my first victim and after weighing the options, I decided drying the leaves into a spice would be the best idea.

First I picked the leaves, literally stripping the plant bare!  I laid them on a dish towel for a few hours in the sun and then finished the job in the oven (pre-heating to 200 degrees, turning the oven off, letting the Basil sit on a cookie sheet over night in the warm, dry space).

I am quite happy with the results.  After a night of drying, they were very easy to crumple into a crispy and aromatic spice!

A butterfly has also found my plants and I was able to capture his picture the other day. Despite nearly destroying the basil, it has bounced back in a matter of days, bringing new leaves with promise of yet one more harvest this season!