Golden State

The year after I graduated college, I drove cross country with my high school best friend (highly recommended) from California to Maine in 2.5 days (the timeline is less recommended, but I had a scheduling crunch). During our journey, one of the things we decided we wanted to do was learn the nickname of every state we passed through - the road signs made it clear that Utah was the “Beehive State”, we asked a waitress in Wyoming to learn it was the “Cowboy State.” We passed though the “Hawkeye State” (Iowa) , the “Keystone State” (Pennsylvania), the” Empire State” (New York) and the “Bay State” (Massachusetts), among others before finally arriving in The Pine Tree State (Maine), but the land I left behind in 2005 was the “Golden State.”

Since moving out east, I’ve been a regular visitor to California about ever other year, but I’ve been thinking a lot more about California recently. 2019 marks the year that I’ve lived outside of California longer than I’ve lived in it. It’s the 15 year anniversary of my father’s death. It’s the year I went out to show Little Miss Cleaver my hometown for the first time and to see my mother for what is likely the last. I came back from my most recent trip with two shoeboxes full of family photos. I’m feeling a little nostalgic to say the least.

So, as is only natural for a creative, I’m digging into that nostalgia and reflecting on the Golden State in my designs. Exploring bits of my person history and the history of the state at large, considering how the 31st state in the Union shaped me and shaped the country. There’s a lot to mine there (pun intended!) and honestly, a lot of emotion, so instead of trying to pull together a collection with a set deadline, I’ll be working on this project over the course of the year, releasing things as they are ready and telling the story in bits and pieces as I go.

I’ll start with the first release in the collection - “All That Is Beautiful.”

When I chose to focus my next batch of designs on the Golden State, I knew that John Muir was going to show up somewhere.

My dad and brother, both Eagle Scouts, were/are outdoorsy people with a particular love of the Sierra Nevada, so I grew up well acquainted with the legacy of Muir and once visited his homestead when my brother was doing research for a school biography project. 

For those unfamiliar with Muir, he was a Scottish-American naturalist and writer who championed preservation, was instrumental in the establishment of Yosemite National Park, and co-founded the Sierra Club. Unfortunately, Muir also prioritized natural preservation over the native people who lived in those environments and the creation of Yosemite evicted the Ahwahneechee and other portions of the Southern Sierra Miwok from their native lands. An act that was repeated with other National Parks.*

Muir was a prolific and often poetic writer, and this quote from a state promotional brochure published by the California State Board of Trade, particularly struck me in several ways. It is important to examine the full impact, both positive and negative, of the people and places we respect. I look at this quote and it serves as reminder to me that there is beauty in all nature (which I take to include all life, including human and animal), but also that we can overemphasize an unrealistic idea of “wild” - since there are very few places not impacted by humans and that not all human impact is negative. It’s part of reason I chose a brown for the text rather than a sharper black, because not everything is black and white. It was only natural to pair the text with the California Poppy - the state flower that grows wild in profusion in the state.

The design is available as a complete kit, printed panel, or PDF pattern in my shop.

As a small acknowledgement that there were many other residents of California before the Americans arrived, a minimum 15% donation of profits from any Golden State collection item will be donated to charities that support self-determination and community/economic development led by and for Native Californian and Latinx peoples, including the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples and the Dolores Huerta Foundation.

*For more on the Native American History of Yosemite and the displacement and erasure of Native Peoples from National Parks, check out the following resources as a starting point:
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/special-reports/yosemite-at-150/article19521750.html
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/erasing-native-americans-from-national-parks/

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All That Is Beautiful - Embroidery Kit

from $9.00

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A Spring Stroll

Having grown up in California, and gone to college in the Oregon, I have a slew of friends who still reside in those more temperate climes. So while we still had snow on the ground, my Facebook feed was filled with West Coast photos of freshly bloomed daffodils. Now, June is in sight, the snow is but a memory and the daffodils have come and gone, but it feels as if Spring has just arrived in Maine. Suddenly the grass is green, the trees have leaves, and everything is in bloom.

In my own little garden, the sand cherry is in bloom, the violets are out, the bleeding heart has grown to massive proportions and the tulips are starting to fade.  My perennial bed, now in its third year,  is starting to fill in and I may have to start doing some dividing come fall.

Now that the weather is nicer, LMC and I have started taking a little stroll together before I head to work in the mornings, giving me a chance to scope out the neighbors yards for ideas. The phlox that's everywhere? Totally want some of my own. That perennial bed around that birch tree? Divine!

When we first moved into our little house, I  started my flower beds with no real plan or knowledge. I got the gift of some plants from friend's gardens, picked up a few of my own and started digging out red brick mulch, tearing out layers of landscape fabric, and plopping plants down and crossing my fingers. Three years later, between some experience and episodes of This Old House, I'm starting to learn more about this gardening thing. Or at least paying more attention. I know enough to know that moving plants is pretty easy, dark mulch makes everything look better and if something doesn't work out you can always plant something new in its place.

It's good to be out in the garden again.

Our Happiest Thanksgiving on Earth

According to my big brother, I haven't posted anything since November 8th, and I'd be the first to admit that ever since this pregnancy began, I'm lost my blogging rhythm, which I suppose can only be expected. But worry not - things have been carrying on here at the Cleaver household, in perhaps a more chaotic fashion than usual.

Work has been keeping me very busy, we're having new insulation put in the house, I'm trying to finish up a number of deadline projects, and I've been building up a cache of knit and sewn baby things I hope to share with you soon. In the midst of all of this, we took off Thanksgiving week to visit my extended family in Southern California.

With three other shutterbugs snapping photos of all the family gatherings, I neglected to pull out the camera for any of the family events, but I did take my camera with us on our Tuesday trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland, thanks to the generosity of my aunt and uncle. Because everyone else was still working that day, it was just Mr. Cleaver and I, but I was pleased to accompany the Mr. on his first trip to Disney.

We gamely avoided any of the non-pregnancy-friendly rides, but still found more than plenty to fill our day. Mr. Cleaver declared Pirates of the Caribbean to be the best ride, while my favorite of the day was the new-to-me Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Between all the standing in queues and walking, I think it took my legs 3 days to recover!

But it was a fabulous fun day and a great transition into the holiday season!

Northern California Adventures: The Plates

Maybe it's because I have food on the brain, but I took a lot of photos of food on our California trip, and truthfully we did a lot of eating out while we were there, so I thought I'd share some highlights.

Oxbow Public Market

For southern Mainers, the Oxbow Public Market is like a successful version of what the Portland Public Market tried to be. INside the market there are a dozen or so food-related booths ranging from cupcakes and ice cream, to spices and olive oils, to oysters. Even on a Wednesday the whole market was fairly popular.

We grabbed some delicious Tacos at Casa and had the unseasonable pleasure of enjoying them outside on the patio seating. Casa's food is my favorite kind of Mexican - instead of the heayy refried bean and cheese fare at most Mexican chains, their food was fresh and light and featured some tasty but untraditional favor combos, like my blue cheese/onion/steak taco below.

Buttercream Bakery:

My visits to Butercream are more about nostalgia than anything else. The food at the diner is simple diner fare, while the doughnuts come in regular and fancy varieties. We picked up a dozen of my old favorites, but I most enjoyed the red velvet doughnut I'd never tried before. So much for nostalgia!

Genova Delicatessen

A great deli in an unassuming location, this is the one spot my brother always makes sure to visit whenever he's in Napa.

See's Candies

If you're Californian, or ever been in a California airport, you probably know See's Candies. I used to always try to get to the sprinkled one first - never realized they were mocha-flavored. If you visit one of the stand alone-stores, you get a free sample!

In-N-Out Burger

What is there to say about In-N-Out that hasn't been already said. Of all of my food photos from the trip, this is one that made Mr. Cleaver the most hungry again.

Boon Fly Cafe

I was most excited to visit the Boon Fly Cafe.

One summer during college I worked at the under construction Carneros Inn (its parent/location) as a temp in the accounting department filing papers in a trailer full of soap and shampoo and one day my supervisor took me to lunch at the Boon Fly, which I remembered as delicious.

My memory served me well.

The Boon Fly is my favorite kind of restaurant, simple food done incredibly well. The blackberry lemonade and flatbread pizzas were especially tasty. As a bonus the restaurant boasts a beautifully designed and relaxed atmosphere.

Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop

After all this food, there's still a place for desert. While in San Francisco we stopped at the Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop, and let me tell you they do not mess around with chocolate there.

Other notable stops (non-pictured):

Gillwood's Cafe - Napa locals' favorite brunch spot

Norman Rose Tavern - a new spot w/ great comfort food and an impressive tap list that includes several local beers and ciders in addition to the expected wines.

Northern California Adventures: The Places

Last week Mr. Cleaver and I headed out to Northern California to visit my family. The weather was beautiful and we ate enough food for the entire month of January - in fact most of my trip photos were of food, so I'm going to give the eats their own post.

Today I wanted to focus on the last day of our trip when my big brother (hi Luke!) took us to Muir Woods and San Francisco before depositing us at the airport to catch our red eye back to Maine, where it promptly snowed 8 inches on our return.

Luke had suggested we go to Muir Woods, and since Mr. Cleaver had never seen a giant redwood tree, I heartily agreed!

If you're not familiar with redwoods, the coastal redwoods are the tallest living trees in the world and can grow up to 380 ft (115m) high. These amazing trees grow only in a small region of Northern California and the the Pacific Northwest and I visited them often growing up on camping trips with my family.

Perhaps even more amazing is that these giant trees grow from the tiniest pinecones!

Coming from Maine, it was fun to see how green everything was, even if the non-evergreens had lost their leaves.

For a complete 180 from our woodland trekking, we ended the afternoon at Ghiradelli Square and Pier 39 in San Francisco- the epitome of touristy hustle and bustle.

The  Bourdin Sourdough Bakery

Checking out the Sea Lions at Pier 39

Sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Thanksgiving 2010

John and I got back home late Sunday evening after a wonderful week with the family in Southern California. It was nice to have so much time to spend with everyone. We could relax and enjoy the beautiful to us (cold to them) weather.

I am especially grateful for the stories I learned about various family members, like how my great aunt and uncle met at a roller skating rink he was running, and how when my grandfather was born they had to light the stove in the farmhouse with walnuts, because all the wood had already been taken to the new farm his family was moving to.

Mr. Cleaver and I stayed with my Grandfather, who requested a turkey dinner for Tuesday night, so my brother and I spent the majority of the day cooking Thanksgiving dinner #1, which included turkey, stuffing, pumpkin cake and whoopie pies. Mr. Cleaver took on dish duty. We were joined by my sister-in-law after work, and Grandpa invited his friend Patricia from church to join us for supper. Patricia has encouraged my Grandpa to take up yoga at the age of nearly 83!

On Wednesday we explored San Dimas and joined my Aunt, Uncle and cousins for some ten pin bowling followed by In-N-Out. Mr. Cleaver was excited to bowl over 100 for the first time ever.

Thanksgiving day was spent at my Aunt and Uncle's, playing games (like Clankers( like horseshoes, but with washers), Corn Hole, and Skittles), chatting round the fire, eating delicious food, and gathering in the rec room for slideshows.

Friday we visited the Rancho Santa Ana Botantical Garden, goofed around in Claremont, and had dinner with my Great Aunt.

Saturday we spent with my Aunt and Uncle, looking through photo albums, walking in Bonelli Park,  and catching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

A big thanks to all my Southern California relatives, who made our visit so wonderful!!

Christmas in California...

...or you really can't go home again.

Mr. Cleaver and I just returned from an almost week spent at my Mother's in Napa, California. Our flight out was delayed (canceled and re-booked, really) by two days due to a huge snowstorm on the east coast, but our actual travel was fairly uneventful.

It'd been two and half years since I'd last been back and it was the first time I was truly hit by the fact that I didn't live there anymore. Though in general Napa has gotten more touristy, with large hotels and tourist-aimed shopping centers being the most noticeable changes, not all that much was different (the Uptown Theatre is still closed, the flood abatement project still isn't completed, the Cinedome still stands tall, my mother's favorite restaurant is still the Red Hen, and Butter Cream still makes the best doughnuts in town).

But it wasn't home - I didn't remember my way around the roads, my childhood bedroom was filled with boxes of things that weren't mine, all the art seemed lower on the walls, I couldn't recall where the pots went in the kitchen, the bakery I once worked in was now a hair salon. I not longer had any ownership of the place as it is, only as it was and it was a sobering feeling.

That said, the weather was beautiful and it was nice to see family (Mr. Cleaver got to meet a lot of my mother's side of the family for the first time) and friends (shout out to Angie & Steve, Sean, Heatherly & Angelina!). I love that there will always be people in my life that no matter how long it's been since we've talked or seen each other (which is regrettably often too long), we can always pick back up right where we left off - and that's a comforting feeling.

I didn't take many photos while on the trip, but I did take a series of shots on Christmas morning when Mr. Cleaver and I visited my neighborhood park (which is, yes, also a city drainage basin). I'd like to point out that Mr. Cleaver is wearing my Christmas gift to him, a Woven Bands Pullover re-imagined as an Elizabeth Zimmerman shirt-yoke seamless sweater knit in Cascade Eco-Wool.  Mr. Cleaver loves it, which makes me so happy  - you have no idea.

S'more Pie: Take Two

Back on May 14th, 2008 I posted a pie without a recipe or a link to a recipe - it was an attempt that didn't quite work out and I hadn't gotten another chance to test out a new version.  My brother has not let me live this down. He pretty much brings it up every time we talk.

In general, I just wasn't all that inspired to give it another try, but then I had the Snicker's Pie at the Great Lost Bear and found my chocolate filling. That, along with  having my company holiday potluck today, gave me enough reason to make a second go. (Oh  - and can I say my company's Christmas potluck includes a fresh raw oyster shucking station and a pound of local shrimp is the parting gift? I love Maine. )

The tart was a big hit at the party -  it turned out exactly how I wanted, chocolately without being too much like cake or pudding and a perfect balance of flavors.  And so after a year and a half of waiting,  here it is.

Merry Christmas, Big Brother.

S’more Pie

Makes 8 to 10 servings

For crust: 8 to 9 graham crackers,  finely ground (about 1 cup) 5 to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1/4 cup sugar

For filling: 1 1/4 cups (10 oz.) heavy cream 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (not more than 65% cacao if marked)(as always, I prefer Ghirardelli’s) 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt

For Topping: Half a bag of mini-marshmallows

Equipment: a 9-inch round fluted tart pan (1 inch deep) or 9-inch pie pan

Make crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Shift together graham crackers and sugar. Stir in melted butter and press evenly onto bottom and up sides of tart pan. Bake until firm, about 10-12 minutes. Cool on a rack 15 to 20 minutes

Make filling:

Bring cream to a boil, then pour over chocolate in a bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Gently stir until smooth. Whisk together eggs, vanilla, and salt in another bowl until frothy, then fold into melted chocolate.

Pour filling into cooled crust. Bake until filling is set about 3 inches from edge but center is still wobbly, 20 to 25 minutes. (Center will continue to set as tart cools.) Cool completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour.

Add topping: Distribute about half a bag of mini marshmallows on the tart, until the top of tart is evenly covered and place under broiler until marshmallows are golden brown (about 1-2 minutes, but watch carefully and rotate as needed).

Best served when marshmallows are warm and gooey! (If you don't eat it all in one sitting - and I'd be amazed if you do - it's seriously rich, store in the fridge. Let sit out until room temperature before eating and if desired, microwave for a few seconds to re-gooify the marshmallows).

In other news, last weekend I made my annual batch of peanut brittle and this photo op was too good to skip, even if my hair is a little crazy and I'm wearing one of John's flannel shirts.

CHOMP!

In other, other news. I'm off to my hometown of Napa, California for a week come Sunday. I haven't been back since before I was married! I may not have internet while I'm gone, but I'll let you know all about it on my return. If you're a Napa-based reader, send me a email/comment before Sunday - I'd love to meet up!

Leota

Between my last post and this one my world stopped. After church on August 16th, while washing her hands to make lunch, my Grandmother collapsed and never got up again.

Though she was 81, she was in excellent health and her death shocked us all.

I felt the same way I did when my father passed away five years ago - that the world has lost one of it's greatest members and most people didn't even know what they missed, and what I am missing so very very much.

This blog was the home page on my Grandmother's computer. We always talked about it when we spoke on the phone or when she wrote. I only feel it appropriate to put down some of my memories of her in this space.

Leota was a wife of 58 years, mother of two, grandmother to five, great grandmother to one, with another on the way.

She was a home economics teacher, a part-time bookkeeper, a bridge player, a quilter, a needleworker, a cook, a collector of sterling silver napkins rings, and the consummate hostess.

She was always stylish and had her hair done every Thursday. I though I got my red hair from her, until my mother told me she got it from a bottle.

She was born in Missouri, but called it Missoura in a town named Isadora she called Isadori -

that she took each grandchild to visit when they were twelve.

She started life on a farm, but traveled the country

and the world

She had a succession of somewhat sad-looking Southern California Christmas trees

and made fantastic feasts.

She quilted each of us a blanket and stitched each of us a specifically chosen Christmas stocking.

Mr. Cleaver's was the last stocking she completed and our wedding quilt was the last quilt she finished. Her round robin quilting group was working on a biography quilt, when she passed away - the squares she made for her own quilt depicted the farm she lived on after she first got married and of the balloon ride she took over the African safari.  That's my grandmother in a nutshell.

Oftentimes when someone dies, everyone scrambles to find a photos or an object to remind them of the one we lost, none of us had to scramble pieces of her handiwork were already there.

I can't believe she's no longer with us, but at the same time, every time I pick up needles, or press a seam, she'll be there.

I love you and I miss you very much - and if there's internet in heaven, I know you're still reading this blog.

(Thanks to Jen for the scans)

Giving Thanks

So after a week and a half of work at the new job (by the way, I'm working at a Community Development Entity -we're helping people through building business and bringing development to low-income areas - it's very cool), I was allowed to take a day off of work to take a 5:30am flight to Southern California for Thanksgiving.

Yes, the weather was nice (65°F!). Yes, I enjoyed my In-N-Out Burger on the way back from the airport. Yes, the food was excellent. And yes, Mr. Cleaver ran into a cactus. But the best part of the whole trip was this:

photo courtesy of my big brother Luke

I got to meet my little cousin. I got to learn a three-needle cast off with Jeanine. I got to go through my grandmother's quilt collection. I got felting tips from Zoe Ann. I got to hear about Alexis's wedding plans. I got to talk about living in the Midwest with Ray and got to know my sister-in-law better. I talked photography with my brother and Mr. Cleaver spoke French with my Uncle's mother. I tested the law of probably with my grandpa on the Roulette wheel in the "man room" and walked the Huntington Gardens with mother. I learnt that most of my family reads this blog (Hi Family!) and got to see the lighting of the Mission Inn with all of the population of Riverside.

In a word, my trip was wonderful. 

And I couldn't be more grateful.