Six Things I Learned This Summer

How to make cheese. In Thailand, cheese is nonexistent or super expensive. Since we will soon be living there and since I already know how to make yogurt (the first step in cheesemaking), I've been wanting to learn how to make cheese. In July, my brother, who is probably the best cook I know, taught me how to make queso fresco. Now, I've just got to try making it once or twice on my own.

How to shoot a gun. My brother-in-law is a little bit hick (love you, Jason!), so this summer, when he offered to teach me how to shoot, I jumped at the chance. Jason, a few other family members, and I all went into the woods in Colorado and shot clay pigeons. I nailed a few which made me feel proud. But, then again, most were only about 15 feet away.

The origins of see-saw. Just a board across a gate. Brilliant. (The image below comes from Over the Hills and Far Away" a collection of nursery rhymes from around the world illustrated by dozens of the best children's illustrators of our day. It's one of the most beautiful children's books I've ever seen.)

I love watercolor paintings. When I see something like this painting or this blog header, I feel inspired.

The potty-train-your-kid-in-one-weekend method does not work for my toddler. Grace needs lots of time and lots of space to process any sort of transition, so what made me think she'd transition from diapers to undies in one weekend? Potty training involved one false start, lots of patience from me, and lots of unpleasant odors on our carpet. But, she's now rocking it.

My husband always teases me for being such an independent woman. And, he's right, I am. But, when it comes to anything techie/geeky/nerdy, Michael is the knight in shining armor rescuing this damsel in distress.