Focaccia-cha-cha, Pancho Returns!, and Yo Yo Mommy

On Sunday, I went with my mom to a baking class at Sur la Table. It was really fun, and we learned how to make herbed focaccia among other things. So I decided to make some at home. There it is, above. It was my first time to make a bread from scratch with yeast, and it turned out really good and made the house smell great. Next time, I shall use more herbs. I was too conservative.



This morning, we realized we did a bunch of laundry including a stick of lip balm which was left in a pocket accidentally. There are now oil spots all over lots of our clothes. My favorite skirt is ruined. RUINED! As we were lamenting this situation, I looked into the back yard, and who came scampering across the lawn but Pancho, our long lost possum, this time with MRS Pancho following right behind. They apparently have moved in under our back porch. Welcome back, little friend. Please don't bite the Peanut! If you have forgotten the tale of Pancho, you can search this blog for more posts, or listen to this PPHPHB classic (scroll down to Song for Pancho):

That is Julie and Rob on vocals, by the way. Great work.


This morning, Yo Yo Ma was on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, so we got out the old family cello and sqeaked around a little. I love Mister Rogers. I hope he has a show about going to the doctor soon. And maybe one about how you can't really eat oatmeal with your fingers.

One more quick thing. Daphne has all these Playschool Little People, like 12, and all but three have disappeared. While they were in NY, I looked all over for these missing Little People. I looked under the couch, between the cushions, everywhere I thought Daphne could have possibly shoved, stuffed, or hidden them, and no luck. They're just gone. I'm thinking about offering a reward. Where have all the Little People gone??!! It's a mystery.

OK, so there's a quick blog for ya. I haven't forgotten about What is the What, but it deserves a post I can concetrate on.

Phew!

We have one tulip this year. Here it is from the outside



and from the inside.

What a change from my last post which featured lawn furniture covered in snow. That's Texas for ya.

So, after two cancellations, countless delays, lost luggage, and apparently the poopiest diaper in the history of ever (don't ask, I didn't), Daphne and Kev arrived in New York last Thursday where they enjoyed lots of good times with Kev's family, including some sing-alongs, Easter Egg hunts, and a HUGE announcement. It seems I am going to be an aunt for the third time! Woohoo! Congratulations, and all the best to Kim and Marty and their little chickpea. K and M are going to be the most awesome parents. And bonus: Now I will have a new baby to make stuff for. Yay!

Meanwhile, I have been in Texas. At home. ALONE. I have about an hour before I have to leave for the airport, and although I have THOROUGHLY enjoyed my free-time, I cannot wait to see my little family.

Here is a quick breakdown of my big week:

• Cleaned Daphne's room and closet. Got rid of stuff. Put away some toys for future rotation. Assembled new small shelf/stand for the diaper wipes so they are no longer on a tower of empty boxes.
• Went shopping with my mom in Historic Downtown McKinney and the Allen Premium Outlet Mall. Had pie.
• Sewed: a skirt, a pair of pants, a pair of pj bottoms, and a shirt for Daphne, a skirt for me, and a coaster and a tissue holder with some scraps just for fun.
• Did a couple other secret projects.
• Watched three movies on PPV: Superbad (A-...the minus is for too much swearing), Stardust (B+...the plus is because Robert DeNiro was great), and August Rush (C).
• Finished the novel I was reading.
• Went to IHOP. Yuck.
• Ate Haagen Daas coffee ice cream with magic shell.
• Relaxed.

Then there was this morning, my last free morning. What a whirlwind. I got up at 7:30, put some pork in the crockpot, started some laundry, went to breakfast at the coffee shop, drove through the carwash, stopped by the fabric store, went by Tom Thumb for some bread, went to the party store to get airport balloons for Daphne, dropped off some stuff at Goodwill, and made it to the nail place by 10:00 for one last treat: a pedicure. Happy Feet! Then when I got home, I prepared corn fritter batter for dinner, put a loaf of lemon poppy quickbread in the oven, and blogged. That is why the title of this post is PHEW.

Time to check on my bread and prepare for my family's arrival.

See ya later.

Hello

It all started last Friday morning, actually 2 Fridays ago, when I woke up and saw this. Snow. So we immediately got the Peanut dressed in the warmest outfit we could assemble and took her outside. At first, she didn't want to step on it, but after I demonstrated the fun of stomping around, she joined me in the yard. Not exactly a winter wonderland, but it'll do. Too powdery for a snowman though. Maybe next year.



That afternoon, the snow melted and we went to Oklahoma, where we lived for 3 days in a treehouse. It was a great weekend, spent with good friends. Daphne had kids to play with, and after they all went to sleep, we grown-ups played dominoes and had grown-up people conversations that did not involve snacky-snacks or the Backyardigans. We also went on a safari and went to a big waterfall, and ate Original Fried Pies. These fried pies were so good that I bought four more and brought them home. They are in my freezer. The fried pie lady offered me a lengthy explanation of how to freeze, then thaw, then re-heat my fried pies once I got them home. This explanation, which was delivered with a very very strong small-town Oklahoma accent (think Oh Brother Where Art Thou), ended with these words: "They-ull keep prob-lee six to tee-un days in yer ice-box. (Thoughtful pause, knowing smile) Well, mine never laysted that long cuz they wuz ate." I believe her. This woman was no stranger to fried pies. Friendly as could be, she even gave Kev a small sample of the coconut cream. I have rarely seen him look so happy because of a food. Pictures from our Oklahoma adventure are here if you are interested. You can see the fried pies for yourself!

Since we got back, we have been cramming in as much activity as possible before Kev has to start his new job. Wednesday we went to the zoo. It was kind of a beating, but at least it wasn't too crowded. We've been outside a lot because after last Friday's winter blast, it started getting progressively hotter and hotter, and this past Friday I think it actually hit 90 degrees. Crazy. My allergies do not like all these temperature swings and wind and pollen and I have been feeling yucky all week. But I refuse to get full-on sick, because Kev and Daphne leave for New York in two days, and I have a lot to do while they're gone. But, that's another blog. And so is the Souffle Restaurant, What is the What, the funny list I got at the zoo, and other things I need to catch up on. It's just been hard to blog lately with all the family outings and whatnot.

Anyway, there's a blog for ya. More soon.

Popcorn Experiment

Popcorn Experiment 2
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

So, we watched an episode of Alton Brown the other night where he made popcorn in a stainless steel bowl on the stovetop, and I knew it was only a matter of time before Kev attempted this at home. As it turns out, it was a matter of about 30 minutes. He made some as soon as Daphne went to bed. You can't combine science and snack food and expect Kev to resist. It was pretty good!

We are off to Oklahoma tomorrow to sleep in a treehouse, apparently in the snow. I will report on that, and the souffles, and What is the What when we return. Have a great weekend.

PS Big scary guys with pitbulls will be staying at our house while we're up the tree.

Too Hot for Housepants? Wait 'til Tomorrow!

Here is some snow that happened on Monday night. Two nights before, Kev and I walked to a restaurant, sat outdoors on a patio and ate dinner. Today, it is warm...probably 65-70. Tomorrow it may snow again. So, there ya go. Texas in March.

Kev has taken a (very) short-term contract (3 months) in Dallas, so we're here at least for a few more months. No decisions have been made after that. It seems likely that if we move, it will be to Virginia or some such Washington DC area state. It isn't a lot of fun feeling temporary and uncertain all the time, so I probably won't talk about it much on here. Just wanted to give you the latest.

On the Peanut front, we are making some progress on the potty. She has earned 9 Muppet Show stickers thus far. Every day she makes us laugh by saying funny things like "This is my friend Daddy" or "My name is holly, I live in a tree like squirrels and stuff" or "Baa baa black sheep, any any wolves." She also sings songs a lot. Songs from The Sound of Music, and a lot of Dan Zanes. We love Dan Zanes. He used to be a Del Fuego, you know.

I really like American Idol this season. I am for the dreadlock kid, the cute little 16 year old boy, or the Carly Simon girl with the long blond hair.

Last night, we watched The King of Kong on PPV. It was awesome. You should watch it, especially if you are from the 80s like me.

Next time I blog, I will tell you about a great book called What is the What. I don't have time to do it justice right now because I am getting ready to finally go to the restaurant of all souffles. Our dinner there got cancelled last week, so we are going tonight. I'll let you know how it is.

This blog is for Julie because she complained.

Pitiful Peanut

More video was requested by the people at Jeff's office, so this is for them.

Drumroll, Please...

Tara is actually going to blog!

I have neglected my blog for a long time, so I am going to quickly update if I can before the Peanut wakes up.

So, we are about halfway through Kev's second week as a "Man of Leisure." It has been nice having him home, and we have done lots of family activities. I have also been cooking. Below is experimental Stuffed Artichokes from my New Orleans cookbook. They were good, but I will probably never make them again. Artichokes are a real pain to work with, and they proved in this case to be really only a vehicle for the stuffing, which was excellent. Next time, I will stuff mushrooms with it instead.



Our big outing last week was DOWNTOWN. We took the Peanut on the train, which is fun but is also a breeding ground for germs of all kinds and I was paranoid that we would all get sick. So far, we have survived. We got off the train at the West End, and wandered our way to the Dallas World Aquarium, via Downtown Corn Dog (below).




I could kick myself for not following the directions on the door, and getting N there for a corn dog. (I later read a review of the place that said it's very good!). The funny thing is, you can tell it used to be called Downtown CornyDog, but they scratched out the "Y." I guess they thought Corn Dog is a little classier.





Anyway, we made it to the Aquarium, which is a great place to go. There's me and the Peanut in a fish tank above. Fun times. Except when the toucan flew right at Daphne's face (it was behind a plexiglass panel) and she screamed like she saw Freddy Kruger. I am happy to report that nobody got pooped on by the Spoonbill this time.





After the aquarium, we walked to the House of Blues for lunch. Daphne was wearing the right hat for it! Man, oh man, do I love the House of Blues! It is a really cool place, and the food is terrific. It was a big day, and Daphne was wiped out.

Saturday night, Daphne spent the night with Gma and Gpa so Kev and I could go out. We had big plans to go bowling, but when we got to the place, there was a 2 hour wait, so we went to the Studio Movie Grill instead, and got tickets to the movie that was starting next. Unfortunately, this movie was "Vantage Point" and it was one of the worst movies we've ever seen. On top of a really gimmicky plot, there was a car chase scene that lasted about 30 minutes. It was really loud and stressful, and there were tons of scary crashes and by the time we left, my nerves were shot. But, at least I got to hang out with Kev and have a BBQ chicken wrap and sweet potato fries.

Sunday morning, Kev and I went back to the House of Blues for their Sunday Gospel Brunch. The food again was awesome, and included things like cheese grits and bread pudding. There was a big show on the stage...several large African-American women singing very shouty music about Jesus, while waving scarves all about. It was fun. Definitely something you don't see every day.








Yesterday, we went to the Arboretum for a picnic because it was 80 DEGREES. In February! More big fun. Daphne ran and ran. I got to see the first tulips of the year. So pretty.

Now I am tired. I need a day off from fun. Today it is windy and cold out. I am going to go take a little rest now.

Tomorrow night I am going to dinner with a couple of friends to a restaurant that is All Souffles, All the Time. I will report back.

So long for now.

Happiness in a 9 x 13

Officially, Kev's position on Valentine's Day is "against." This is based on it being a made-up holiday pushed upon us by the people of Russell Stover, Hallmark, Zales, and the like. I am pretty sure that a quick search of Wikipedia would prove that Valentine's Day was around long before "Every Kiss Began with Kay (sic)", but I can see his point. All that being said, Kev always gets me a nice gift and gives it to me the day before so as not to be accused of participating in the madness.

This year, he gave me a cookbook from Williams Sonoma's series of cookbooks from cities around the world. I got New Orleans, which is where we spent our honeymoon, and is the city, in my opinion, that has the best food on the planet. Williams Sonoma cookbooks are great because in addition to good recipes, there are lots and lots of pictures. It's a really nice gift.

So, I decided to try some of its recipes over the weekend, and I made variations of a grilled chicken in the book, and some fried bananas as well. But the best, BEST thing I made was a Cheese Grits Souffle. Oh my gosh. Just when you think cheese grits can't get any better, you find out it can be made into a SOUFFLE! I swear, I would have been happy if the grits were the whole meal. It was like eating a fluffy cloud of happiness. I know all the clouds in Heaven are made of Cheese Grits Souffle. I am tempted to make Saturday night officially Cheese Grits Souffle night at our house. Just look at them up there, all puffy and steamy and golden and cheesy.

So, happy Valentine's Day to me...I don't think Kev knew just what a great anti-Valentine he was giving me.

My Funny Valentine

PRESS PLAY

Daphne and I went on a Valentine's date today...breakfast and ice cream at the mall. She's a good little kid and we had fun. Now, I am going to take a Valentine's nap.

Groovy hat knitted by my friend Cheryl, who once had a cow in her living room. On purpose.

The Big V

Happy Valentine's Day to you all, and just for you, I have a little Valentine's Day tip: If you are having trouble expressing yourself to your friends and family this Valentine's Day, you can go here and get all the help you need by simply filling in the blanks. Have fun!

Na-Nanny Boo Boo

Na-Nanny Boo Boo
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

It's February, and we have spent the whole weekend playing outside. As Kev said, this is our reward for making it through August in Texas.

Yesterday we played in the yard, grilled burgers, and ate dinner on the front porch. Today we went to the lake and fed the ducks and coots and gulls.

It has been a good weekend.

And to make things even better, it is close enough to Mardi Gras that I decided to make Jambalaya for dinner. Hoooo-Weeee!

Just a note: We told Daphne to make a happy face for this picture, and this is what we got. I guess Fake Smiling is a skill that takes more time to develop.

Palo Pinto Kitchen Disaster Causes Panic, Ends Happily, Then Causes More Panic

Last night I decided to continue my effort at trying new recipes, and attempted this one for potato-chip crusted chicken. As I was putting the chicken in the pre-heated 450 degree oven, my hand slipped and all the chickens slid off the cookie sheet and onto the oven rack. Potato chip crumbs were everywhere, the oven started smoking, the fire alarm went off, and I ran around in circles like Robot from Lost in Space, crying "Danger! Danger!". What a mess. Dinner was ruined, the yummy Indian food smell was replaced by charred potato chip and smoke smell, my recently cleaned oven was no longer clean, and I got made fun of for crying, "Danger! Danger!".

So, we went to Gloria's and had a much better dinner. Everyone went to bed fat and happy.

Today, I debated about re-self-cleaning the oven. Mysterious comments from my cousin Brad made me concerned. But, since I needed to use the oven tonight, I decided to do it. Guess what. Just minutes ago, the house filled with smoke, and the smoke alarm went off and I saw a small flame in the oven. So, I turned on the vent, opened a window, and shut off the oven cleaner. And this time, I thought, "Danger! Danger!", but I did not cry it out, because I didn't want to wake Daphne unless we needed to run from the burning house.

The flaming stopped and the fire alarm stopped, and miraculously, Daphne slept through it all.

Maybe I better not be the one to teach Daphne to cook after all.

Parakeet Peter

A very special thanks to GG for sending me..uh, I mean Daphne... this great vintage children's book about a boy and his bird. I remember having some of these Elf books when I was a kid. This one is great. Daphne enjoyed it at story time the other night.

Speaking of birds, I walked outside this morning to check the temperature (hot) and saw a yellow-bellied sapsucker! It was cool.

Thanks, GG. Watch your mail for a surprise.

Chef Daphne's Cage

In response to my mentioning that I wish Daphne had a place to stand and help me cook, my dad went to Lowes and bought supplies to make this one-of-a-kind PVC pipe Sous Chef Cage. I am going to paint it a pretty color and let Daphne help me cook more often. The sooner she learns, the sooner she can take over. Thanks, Dad!

Tula '08

My penguin, Tula, had two more chicks this season, and in spite of a lot of difficult weather, they have both survived thus far. You can see them there, hiding behind their mommy. So dang cute.

If anyone is trying to think of an interesting and unique gift for Valentine's Day or whatever, I recommend this Adopt-a-Penguin program highly. Email me or Kev if you want more info. I originally got the gift of Tula from my brother-in-law, Pat, and it made me cry when I opened it. Not that it's that hard to make me cry. But still.

Weekend Update Update

OK, so I lied. There is nothing similar to the hot fudge cake in my chocolate cookbook. A little internet searching found lots of versions of this recipe, mostly the same, sometimes with vanilla and an egg. Here is one I found that is basically the same, but with coffee (and vanilla, and an egg yolk). I may give this a try next time. It might be a little better.

Weekend Update

So, I told you I was going to make this recipe. And I did. On Friday when I was at my parents' house, I made this cake, which is cakey on top and hot-fudgey on bottom.



Here it is with some ice cream. Looks pretty good, huh? To be quite honest, it wasn't that great. It needed something. More salt for sure, and maybe some vanilla. Plus, I had to use 1% milk, and I think whole milk would have been better. Anyway, I probably won't make it again anytime soon. But it was fun, and it wasn't bad. I think there is a similar recipe in my chocolate cookbook, so I will compare and contrast sometime in the near future.



The Peanut was sick on Friday and Saturday, but she was feeling better on Sunday so we went to the Arboretum. Not a lot going on there at the moment. Mostly pansies. But it was nice to get outside, and Daphne had a blast running and running and running.

Our Super Bowl Sunday meal was Rogan Josh (below). I LOVE Indian food! All the spices and herbs (above) make the house smell so good. Every once in a while this morning, I have caught a brief whiff of cardamom. Mmmmmm.

We watched the Super Bowl, which is weird. I haven't watched football in years, and don't care a bit about the teams that played yesterday. As usual, I was for the Jets. But since they weren't actually in the game, I found myself cheering for the Giants. Next best thing I guess. I love a good upset anyway. And Tom Petty was so great.

What kind of a name is Plaxico, anyway?

Hope all y'all had a good weekend.

Short Cuts

Not much blogworthy material lately, but I wanted to quickly thank the inventor of the Self-Cleaning Oven for making life so much easier. (Take that, Easy-Off!). I hope with all my heart that that person, whoever she is, is in a room somewhere hard at work on self-cleaning toasters, and self-cleaning toilets, and self-cleaning blinds/windows.

I found this recipe and I am going to make it. Just because. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Last night, Alton Brown showed me how to make home-made corn dogs. I think I'll have to try that, too. Maybe this weekend.

And finally, yesterday I made the easiest dinner ever, using a recipe my mom got at work: Stick a pork loin in your crock pot. Pour a can of root beer and one cup of your favorite BBQ sauce in the pot. Cook it all day. Then, discard the liquid, shred the pork with a fork, and serve it with more of your favorite BBQ sauce. Mmmmm-mmm.

I reckon I should thank the inventor of the crock-pot too.

Someone's in the Kitchen with Mommy

Yesterday I let the Peanut help me make popovers. We donned our aprons and got to work so we could have them ready for our playdate with Julie and Gracie. Daphne did a great job pouring and stirring. She was very serious about the whole thing. She's been watching a lot of Emeril lately. I think she is going to grow up to be either a musician or a chef. Whatever she is, I have no doubt she will be the boss of people.

The popovers were delicious, and we had a great time playing with Gracie.

Today, we celebrated my dad's birthday, so she has had a cinnamon roll, a cupcake, and some ice cream, and only a 20 minute nap in the car. We are in for a delightful afternoon. It's always fun when Daphne's all sugared up and over-tired. I better go see if Kev needs help.

The Dream Yeller

My morning started with this dream:

I was at the hospital, and I had a new baby girl. Everyone was so happy! A sister for Daphne! Yay! Madonna was there...she was the nurse. So after the new baby was born, they wheeled me off to recovery, and when I came back, I learned that Kev and Madonna had decided to surprise me and they named the baby "Suki Robert."

Suki Robert!?!

Su-Bob.

Kooky Suki.

Oh, I was so mad. There was lots and lots of subsequent screaming and yelling. Then I woke up and I was all tense.

I'm always yelling at people in my dreams. Ask Kev. I never yell at people in real life. Maybe I should start. Then maybe I'd have more nice relaxing dreams about baby ducks or being at sea or eating cheese grits.

Anyway, then, I got up and took a freezing cold shower. We just got a brand new water heater about two weeks ago, but I guess it is no match for a 34 degree morning. Maybe I should call up the water heater guy and yell at him.

Yeah, right. Maybe in my dreams.

DAD DO NOT PRESS PLAY UNTIL TOMORROW!

I MEAN IT!

STEP AWAY FROM THE MOUSE!

A Song for Grandpa

I think she needs a candelabra.

Happy birthday, Dad. Thanks for all your help, and for the picture and the book. We are waiting for the sequel.

Love,

T, K, and D.

A Lotta Frittatas

Breakfast for dinner is always a treat for me, and this is what I made last night: Individual Muffin Frittatas, recipe from the Dallas Morning News.

The basic recipe:

1 English Muffin
8 eggs, beaten
2 T milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 and grease 4 (4-inch) ramekins* **
Use a food processor to make the English muffin into crumbs
Beat together the eggs, milk, cheese, and bread crumbs, season with salt and pepper or whatever you want, and divide evenly in ramekins.

Here is the good part: throw in whatever else you want. I used some ham and sauteed mushrooms. You could use sausage, bacon, onions, peppers, spinach, a different kind of cheese, whatever. And if someone in your family doesn't like something, you can leave it out!

Bake about 30 minutes...they will puff up a little and look like the picture.

Very tasty.

* Really butter up those ramekins. My frittatas stuck and it was kind of a mess. I guess you could use Pam. Pam sorta freaks me out though.

** Kev wanted to name our kid Ramekin if it was a boy.

Unrelated to frittatas: Today, after a long winter break, the new sememster of Daphne's music class begins. I can't wait. We've missed it.

Samsara

So, I used to have this friend who got into Buddhism for awhile, and was telling me about the concept of samsara*, which he interpreted as basically dealing with one's problems, or trying to find happiness, by doing unproductive things that have absolutely nothing to do with the problem and are pretty much a waste of time, like shopping, eating chocolate, doing unnecessary craft projects, etc. Anthropologie should re-name itself Samsara, because it is a whole shop full of wonderful things that no-one really needs, but that make you feel happy, albeit superficial, for a while. And I LOVE it. Pictured are some of my samsara from Anthropologie. No one NEEDS any of those things, but look how pretty it all is! The cool bowls were a gift from Kev, and the owl S&P shakers were from my parents. The owl candle holder I got today, as well as the orange chicken egg cups, and the bird stamps (below) that I have wanted for a long time. I think sometimes it's OK to need things you don't really need, as long as you don't go overboard. Tomorrow, I shall have my hard-boiled egg in style.

*I don't think this interpretation is quite right, by the way, but oh well.

Retail Therapy

Today I am going to the mall to spend my Anthropologie gift cards. I have 45 free dollars to spend there. When I get home, I will show you what I bought.

I think we will get some ice cream too.

The first thing Daphne did this morning was to dump out all the pretend food we keep in those little wooden crates (see photo). Then she put the crates on her feet and said "I am ice skay-din'."

I have no idea where she could have possibly learned about ice skating unless she remembers it from Charlie Brown's Christmas. It has to be from TV, because there's certainly no real ice skating around here.

What a funny little kid.

Orange

Orange
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Daisies sit still for pictures. Toddlers do not.

Well, It's Wednesday

Here's the thing: No amount of apple pancakes and orange daisies can make your troubles disappear. But this little face ALMOST can...

Keep on the Sunny Side

Today, since we are on winter break from Daphne's music class, I had a couple of kids from the class (and their mommies) over for a small playdate. I decided to try a new recipe for a German Apple Pancake I found here so that I could use my cool apple peeler/corer/slicer. It turned out pretty good, although I didn't get quite the puffing action I was hoping for. That might be because my oven light only works when it wants to, which was not today, so I had to keep opening the oven door, which probably caused the pancake to deflate.


Here it is, right out of the oven.



Then, I flipped it onto a plate and sprinkled it with some powdered sugar. Not quite as good as apple pie, but very fast and easy to make.




This morning, I had to go get apples at the grocery store, so I picked up some orange gerbera daisies. I am going to go sit in my chair and knit now, or maybe read (What is the What) while the Peanut is napping. I feel something resembling happy for the first time in several days.

Shrinky Dinky Doo

One strategy I like to use when I am feeling troubled about the uncertainty of my future, is to completely avoid thinking about it by distracting myself with a Super Fun Timewaster, and what could possibly fit that category better than doing Shrinky Dinks? Did you know that you can now get Shrinky Dink sheets that you can run through your inkjet printer? Imagine the possibilities! You can now turn pretty much any image you want into a miniature piece of hard plastic. Yesterday, I Shrinky-Dinked this LRHS logo. As you can see, I put a hole in it, so it can be a keychain or pendant or Christmas ornament for next year or countless other things.


I have also been teaching myself to crochet flowers. I didn't make the hat, but I did make the Sock-Monkey inspired flower pin that I stuck on the side of it.




And I made these owl magnets for one of the craft swaps on Flickr.

So, during the day, I don't have a lot of time to worry.

Speaking of owls, this morning at 5:00 we heard Octavio's return! I went outside but couldn't find him. I know he was really close by though. You might be wondering what I was doing up at 5:00 am, and I'll tell you it was the same thing I was doing at 4:00, 3:00, 2:00, and 1:00: trying desperately to go to sleep. Daphne woke up crying at 12:30, just needing to be flipped around, so I flipped her around and then I couldn't go back to sleep. All night long. It was truly horrible. I finally dozed a little between 5:30 and 6:30, and then it was time to get up. It's a good thing I didn't have anything to do today. I did get to take about an hour-long nap during Daphne's naptime, in spite of the fact that the very minute I got into bed, the lawnmen at the house next door fired up their mowers. When will someone invent a lawn-mower silencer? Talk about your million-dollar ideas! Anyway, I still feel a little like a Zombie, but the nap helped some.

On a happier note, Mockingbird and Vine delivered its second order to the swanky children's shop, KidBiz. We found out that all but two of the hair clips in the first order sold! That means that somewhere out there, there are 13 children that I don't know, wearing my little creations on their heads. Pretty cool.

And below is the sketch of the Peanut that my dad gave us for Christmas. That and the little book he wrote are way better than anything he could have picked out at a store. Sorry about the glare in the photo. If I could get everyone to go for it, which I know I can't, I'd say we should go completely Handmade Only for Christmas next year. I wonder what LarryFeathers would make me...

On that note, I think I'll move on to the next distraction.

Hard Times in Big D

So, one minute, you're sitting there basking in the post-Christmas glow, knitting a sock monkey scarf, and putting Vicks Vaporub on your feet, and the next minute, you're shocked back into reality by the dropping of this bomb: due to circumstances beyond our control, Kev only has four weeks left at his current job.

Damn.

So, now what?

Over the next few weeks, tough decisions will have to be made. I don't like tough decisions. I don't even like easy decisions. I struggle with what to have for lunch every day!

So, I am trying to stay positive and look at this as an OPPORTUNITY, but I'll tell you honestly, our house has been the House of Blues for the last few days. Thank God for Daphne, who keeps us entertained constantly. Keep a good thought for us, and I will keep you posted as things progress.

And in case you've been wondering, the Vicks thing helped a little, but not a lot. Other people still swear by it though, so next time I'll try using some Vicks from THIS century.

Blogsperiment

I have a bad cough. A really bad bad annoying and painful yucky cough. I have recently heard of a crazy home remedy for coughing: put Vicks Vap-o-rub on the bottoms of your feet and then put on socks and then you won't cough in the night. I know people who have tried this and they said it works. So, tonight, I am going to grease up the ol' hooves and give it try*. I shall be reporting back on my very scientific findings. All this I do for you, the two readers of this blog, in the name of public service.

*I think we only have Children's Vicks, so results could be affected.

UPDATE:

Field Notes:

3:40 PM - Scoured medicine cabinet for adult Vicks. Found some. Noted expiration date of 1999. Took a whiff. Still smelled pretty strong, so decided to give it a try.

3:45 PM - Applied expired adult Vicks Vaporub to bottoms of feet, covered with socks, and changed into old slippers to as not to Vicksify new slippers.

3:50 PM - Found and read this.

3:52 PM - Coughed once. Not nearly as harshly as before.

Note: I think this remedy is primarily for nighttime coughing, but what the heck. I'm not going anywhere this afternoon. More findings as they come...

4:45 PM - So far, this is not really working. Still coughing quite a bit.

Possible reasons:

• Expired Vaporub
• Did not apply enough Vaporub
• This only works at night when one is under the covers
• This is a bogus remedy

So, tonight I will put on some more, and see what happens. Dang, I really hope it works.

7:45 PM - applied Baby Vaporub to the Peanut's feet. Will apply more to mine at bedtime and update with results in the morning.

Who Cooks for You?

So, we haven't heard from Octavio the Eastern Screech Owl since a couple of nights after we saw him in our oak tree. I suppose when the weather turned cold, he left for warmer parts. However, to ring in the new year properly, tonight we heard this sound outside our window. If you don't know, it is the easily identifiable "who cooks for you" call of the Barred Owl!

I go 39 years with no owls, and I'll be danged if I don't hear two different ones in less than two months time. This one we only heard once, so he may have been doing a quick fly-by rather than staying around a while like Octavio. But if I hear him again, the search is on for a second sighting. I'm naming this one Bender the Barred Owl, because we were watching Futurama when we heard him.

Yay!

A Very Special Shout Out

Congratulations to Gye Greene and family on the birth of twin boys. Yay!

Jingle All the Way - Hey!

I left the room for a minute, and came back to find this happening. Our little Schroeder.

She put the hat on herself. It's very Van Morrison.

Aaaaaahhhh...

A delicious warm and frothy treat on this cold winter morning. Thank you, Secret Santa.

Twenty Aught Eight

Note the Hotdog
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Big giant deep heavy sigh. Of what? Maybe a mixture of relief and nostalgic melancholy. The Christmas season is over. It flew by yet seemed to last forever. How does that happen?

Our Christmas officially started way last Sunday, the way all Christmases should probably start: with church and cheese grits. We have taken the Peanut to our local church exactly twice. Both times, she lasted about 10 minutes (until the milk was gone). Fortunately, St. Thomas has several rows in the back of the church reserved for crying babies and loud toddlers who say things like "Mo' snacky-snack PEESE!" at quiet moments, for the congregation to be amused or irritated by, depending. We spent most of the time taking turns taking Daphne into the vestibule, where it is sort of more OK to be loud and whiney. Anyway, after church, we went to the Dream Cafe, which has Mickey Mouse pancakes for little girls who at least tried to be good at church, and cheese grits for their harried mommies, and this made everything better. If you have never had cheese grits, you should really try them. They are especially good with some black pepper, and some little pieces of bacon on top.

We decided to try to spread Christmas (the gift part) over multiple days rather than give the Peanut everything at once. This turned out to be a smart move. That day, we gave her her new Ladybug tent from Kev's sister's family. It has a tunnel. Needless to say, all the excitement of crawling in and out of the tent/tunnel for an hour wore her out, and she took a good long nap while Kev and I opened our gifts to each other. Kev is a very good gift picker-outer. This year as usual, he got me lots of very cool gifts, and topped it off with a bike, which I was not expecting at all. It is the best bike ever. (You can see pictures of it (and the rest of Christmas) here if you want). He also got us tickets to Van Morrison, which I will get to later.

Christmas Eve, we went to my parents' house. We had a great dinner and opened more gifts. Daphne got a kitchen from Grandma and Grandpa and a little real-looking piano from Uncle Jeff (which is sure to work its way into the PPHPHB if we ever record again). I got two of my favorite gifts from my dad this year. One was a framed pencil drawing he did of Daphne, and the other was his autobiography which he typed up and made into a book. He said he did it because he doesn't know much about his grandparents, and wants Daphne to know about him. I knew my dad could draw, but I had no idea he was a good writer. The book is full of funny stories about when he was a kid. It's almost like reading the Christmas Story. Daphne is going to love it. Now we just need my mom to write one.

Christmas Day was spent at our house. For the first time ever. There are lots of flickr pictures of Daphne getting her gifts. She got many nice things this year. In addition to the tent and the kitchen and the piano, she got a nice table and chairs from Kev's parents, and some giant foam blocks to climb on from Mommy and Daddy, and a whole bunch of other stuff. What she liked the most, though, was a plastic hotdog that Santa put in her stocking from the $1.00 aisle at Target (seen in the picture at the top of this post). She carried that hotdog around for two days, and it is in about 80% of our Christmas pictures. My mom and dad came over for breakfast and hung out for a little while. It was a very nice Christmas.

The day after Christmas is Kev's birthday. This year, for Kev's birthday, we went to the playground at the Galleria so Daphne could play. Probably not everyone's choice of the best place to turn __ (I won't tell you but it's the same age as me). Then we went to the Irish pub for dinner. Daphne insisted on bringing the hotdog. Kev got to have steak, so his birthday was a little bit about him.

I don't remember what we did Friday.

Saturday Daphne got sick. She went to spend the night with my mom and dad so Kev and I could go to dinner and Van Morrison, so I didn't know how sick she was until the next morning. (Dinner and Van Morrison were GREAT by the way). I had a little brunch planned for Sunday morning with a couple of friends, which was really nice, but I was worried about Daphne the whole time, and had to cut the morning short to take her to the doctor. Daphne is not a very good patient. She cries and cries. I guess she thinks she is going to get a shot. She hates the doctor. So after a big production with lots of tears, we found out she has croup. None of us has had much sleep since then. Thankfully, she is much better today, and was able to get a good nap. Anyway, for New Year's Eve, Kev and I took care of a very sad and sick little Peanut, and then watched Ratatouille on our new surprise TV (thanks Mimi and Papa!) , and today, New Year's Day, we didn't leave the house. Kev made chicken soup, and we had countless tea parties with Daphne, and that's how the year has started for us.

Tomorrow, Kev goes back to work. In my car. Because his car is in the shop. Ironically, on the way to meet him at the shop to pick him up after he dropped off his car, I was rear-ended in the Subaru, and then the guy just took off. Turkey! No injury or major damage, just a scratched bumper and a very annoying noise caused by the tailpipe which got knocked out of place somehow. So when Kev gets his car out of the shop, I guess mine will have to go in for a day or two. Anyway, it will be weird to not have Kev around the house tomorrow. It was nice having him home.

So, there you go. Another Christmas with its highs and lows. Mostly highs. Thanks to everyone for all the great gifts. I now have lots of books to read and projects to make and gift cards to spend etc. I am looking forward to this year and to getting back to normal. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Happy New Year!

Attention Larry Feathers

After While.......Crocodile

A quick shout out to a few members of Daphne's family in Indiana. We miss all of you...have a great Christmas. Send us some of your snow, please.

Three Cheers for the Swing

This video was taken a few weeks ago, but I thought I'd post it now because it makes me happy. Wouldn't it be great to be this excited about something as simple as swinging? I'm glad that Daphne gets to be carefree, at least for a little while, before she finds out about the bad stuff in the world. Look at her face at the end...absolute joy.

(In case you can't hear Daphne because of the dang Chipmunk Song...Sorry! I don't know how to make it stop besides deleting the post, and I don't want to do that...she says "Weeeee...hooray, hooray, hooray").

UPDATE: Chipmunk song disabled!

Monkey Business

Monkey for Jakob
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

The newest member of the Palo Pinto sock monkey family...this is One-Eyed Jack Monkey, and he's on his way to Indiana to live with Jakob.

It's Christmas-Time in Dallas, TX

Big weekend. Here's the basic run-down:

1. Finished placemats
2. Mailed Secret Santa gifts to HPNY
3. Bought Christmas tree
4. Saw owl
5. Ate sweet potato fries
6. Went to breakfast with friends
7. Had tea and chocolate from Portugal
8. Decorated house for Christmas
9. Other

Please check out Number Four. Yes, that's right.

I SAW THE OWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness, I am beside myself with joy.

I didn't tell you that Kev saw the owl a few nights ago when he went running. Oh, I was so mad. But he assured me I would see him, and Saturday night, as we were bringing in the Christmas tree, I happened to look up in our oak tree and there he was. It was too dark to get a good picture, but there he is in the photo below, eyes a-glow. A real owl. In MY tree. We have named him Octavio. There is a chance he should be called Octavia...there is really no way to tell for sure.

You may ask, Tara, now what do you have to look forward to? Your quest has ended. Certainly you feel let down.

Not at all, my friends. Now I just want to see more and more owls. Keep 'em comin'.

Happy happy happy.

Back to Christmas...as you can see from the picture at the top, we put up our tree. We got a real one this year since we won't be travelling. It's taking a while to get the thing finished. We put it up Saturday, put the lights on it last night, and we'll do the ornaments tonight. We have to do things in stages with the Peanut around. She knows the #1 Christmas Tree Rule: No Touchin'. But time will tell if she can resist the temptation. In that picture, we asked her to show us the angel...she is pointing, although it unfortunately looks like she's shooting the bird!

I have been awake since 4:47 am. That is why I have time for all this blogging. We have to go to the Peanut's 18 month doctor visit today and that means shots. I'm taking her for ice cream when it's over. We're both gonna need a treat.

I hope you all had a nice weekend and enjoyed that we finally have some cold weather. I'm officialy declaring Winter and putting the flip-flops away.

Placemats For Us!

Placemats for Us!
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Today I decided to take a short break from making gifts so that I could make something for us. I had this groovy Christmas fabric, so I decided to make some placemats. We always use the same old boring off-white placemats. These are much more festive. One is finished, three to go. You can't get much easier than sewing four straight lines!

HO HO HO

Santa has been hard at work at our house trying to get everything ready for Christmas. And in spite of battling much sickness, things are moving along pretty well. I found...um I mean SANTA found that cool bird paper on the one dollar aisle at Target! What a bargain.

A couple of things:

If you are going to be doing any gift-wrapping at your house this year, go get one of these. It is only about five bucks, and I swear you will thank me. It has made things so much faster and easier.

Also, please please please try to save and re-use gift bags and boxes and such this year. Think about how much trash we throw away each Christmas.

Also, LarryFeathers has a MAC and has started a new blog here. It is very fancy and interactive. Please read his blog entry "A Good Cause" about helping people if you have time.

If you are going to be doing any air travel, I encourage you to consider the people sitting behind you, and don't lean your seat all the way back. It is really rude, and very uncomfortable for the person behind you. Airplanes are bad enough without all that. And take plenty of hand sanitizer. Planes are full of disgusting horrible germs. And if a curious 18-month-old tries to touch the sparkly chip-clip in your fancy hair-do, just smile, because babies are good. No need to get all huffy. It's Christmas for crying out loud.

And if you are having trouble getting the Christmas spirit, try listening to this: