***abbytryagain***

lists and such

1. I am so excited to be going back home to visit my family-especially my brand new nephew, Noah!
2. I am making lists of what I want to eat when I go home-the salsas there are amazing-just can't find Mexican food like that in Oregon
3. Looking forward to being so hot and hopefully swimming-it's grey and about 68 degrees here right now...
4. Loving Japan so much and my heart aching to visit--Lisa's amazing stories and photos are helping...
5. Reading old Martha Stewart mags and getting inspiration-see here and here
6. knitting again
7. stocking up on film for my trip home
8. watching this show on netflix-and secretly loving it

summer fruit crisp

1 large handful of black berries
2 small handfuls of blueberries
1 large peach
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
a few tablespoons of white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter-cut into chunks

preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Throw the two types of berries into a bowl, cut the peach into small bits and throw those in. Sprinkle the white sugar over them and grab a fork and mash it all around for awhile. Set it aside and in another bowl add the flour, salt, oats, sugar and cinnamon. Mix it together and then add the butter. Mix the butter with a fork until you have a crumbly mixture. Grease an 8 inch cake pan and spread half of the oat mix in the bottom. Pour the fruit over it and then add the rest of the oats. Cook for about 30 minutes and serve with ice cream! I had mine with a bit of mint fudge and it was a strangely good combo. I think you could use any type of summer fruit (minus melon) in this and it would be divine. I just used berries that grow in the alley and an almost too ripe peach.
   Hope you are all well......

July in Paris-well, sort of

    I have all but abandoned this space, it feels like. I guess my "real life" has been a bit busy for me lately. The summer is just lovely to me, it rained a bit today but other than that it's been swell. The berries in my alley are just about ripe enough to pick and the blueberries at the market are beautiful and tasty.
    A week or two ago i was at work and greeted some customers like usual. I went on to ring up a woman and heard-"Are you Abby?"
    Dory, a girl who was an exchange student with me in France was standing in front of me-very pregnant and very happy. How strange is that? A person I lost contact with nine years ago suddenly pops back into my life!
   Today I  went with her and saw "Paris, Je t'aime". It's 18 short films about Paris. I highly reccomend it. It is weird to reconnect with someone I knew in another country so long ago. IT's good, though-just proves how small the world really is.
   Later I was walking up to meet James at PSU and saw Andrea  and her fam on the front of The Oregonian . WOW!
   I leave you with some graffiti:

babies and blue

   My sister had her baby on Friday, Noah Ellis Powell. They are both safe and sound-I wish I could have been there. This is one of the times I regret living so far away... But I am sure she's doing great and I am so excited to see them! I've been an Aunt since the age of seven-but I gotta say, this is a big one for me. Probably because Mace and I are just a couple years apart-and we are both officially adults. That's a little freaky... I look forward to spoiling them rotten someday....

    I designed these rocket invitations for someone's birthday party. I would have never thought to carve a rocket for myself-but once I did I was happy with the results. I did one big stamp of the rocket and flames and the rest are all smaller stamps. It was nice to carve again-need to get back into it-I've been lazy lately...

   Hope you all have a good holiday tomorrow~be safe!