The only thing in dinner tonight that came out of a can were the olives. Just about everything else can be accounted for. Homemade pizza crust, with homemade sauce. I made the mozzarella yesterday, with milk from Golden Glen Creamery. The tomatoes came from Rockridge Orchards. The zucchini came from the Alvarez Organic Farm.

The pizza was a little overcooked - still trying to find the best way to divide the dough so that Ian and I get a pizza to share and Caitlyn gets her own pizza, with only the things she wants ("Nothing scary, Mama, ok?"). And the sauce needs some work, but all in all, I'm pretty darn pleased with myself right now.

I've had the link to this video on my desktop for months, waiting for a good time to post it here. Not that the "why less stuff is better" shtick is news to any of the five people reading this, but it's a good video with coherent explanations (I thought). Maybe one of the five people reading this know someone who could benefit from a viewing:

The Story of Stuff

Of course, in my quest to minimize stuff and reduce waste, I did just buy an actual plastic waste bin for the bathroom. And storage bins for Caitlyn's enormous collection of project/craft supplies. And I spent a moment thinking about airtight storage bins for 25 pounds of rice. Is it possible to get emergency water storage containers that aren't plastic? So, I'm not sure that I'm exactly succeeding in my quest for less stuff. I'm not sure that I'm satisfied just being lower than the average American in my stuff-addiction. I guess everyone needs a goal...

I'm attempting physical fitness by riding Ian's bike through the neighborhood. Tonight, one of the neighborhood kids spotted me and called out, "Hi, Caitlyn's Mom!"

Awwww... It must be home.

We ate the first of our homegrown peas with lunch and dinner today. With dinner, they were sprinkled on a salad of homegrown lettuce and topped with homemade feta cheese. (For lunch, we ate them straight from the pod.) Very yummy!

Caitlyn went to her third Solstice Parade at Fremont this weekend. We met with friends, picnicked on breakfast carbs (thanks for the idea, Abra!), and had front row seats for the general wackiness that is Solstice in Fremont. Caitlyn got to draw with chalk in the middle of the street, collect candy tossed by parade participants, and then follow the parade by walking down the double yellow line - the only time of year her parents let her do that. Her favorite parts: the cakes and poodles and the butterfly. She totally didn't notice that half the people in the parade had no clothes. "Mama, that person is silver!"

Caitlyn has developed her own personal creation myth. Apparently, I sewed her together, around her bones, then glued her to a piece of paper, stood her up and said, "There you are, Caitlyn!" Sort of makes one wonder what all she thinks I'm doing at my sewing table while she's napping. I'm not sure what I'll say when she tires of asking me to make her new dresses and says, "Mama, make me a friend."

Happy Third Birthday, Sweet Pea!

Proof that the internet is waaaay too much a part of my life:

I hand-wrote a letter the other day. Folded it, put it in an envelope, addressed it, stamped it, and put it where the out-going mail goes. Thirty minutes later, I was obsessively checking my email looking for the response.

Things I've learned today:

• 7 pounds of rhubarb cans to a lot more than the 7 half-pint jars I was hoping for. I have 13 little jars of rhubarb now...
• one really should move the butter dish before firing up the canner...
• Caitlyn isn't quite ready to give up afternoon naps, despite her protests to the contrary. She fell asleep in the stroller today, something she's only done once before. This time, I had the sense not to try to put her in her bed but just draped a quilt over her and prayed the cat would not meow in the living room next to the stroller.

Somehow, I feel I should have more to say...

Things Caitlyn says when she's asleep:

"I don't want the tomato!"

"Mama, wear gloves."

"S T U V W X Y and Z."