Eleven Eleven Eleven

Happy 11-11-11, and a shout out to all the good Veterans.   It's been busy as usual around here.  Daphne was out of school on Monday and Tuesday, so we had a four-day weekend.  Highlights included a trip to Build-a-Bear workshop and a visit to Our Nation's Capital for museums, planetariums, barbeque with Uncle Jeff, a carousel ride, and ice cream on the National Mall.  Big Fun for a Monday.

It was a beautiful fall day.  We really got lucky with the weather, because now it is cold and windy. I don't mind cold, but I'm not a fan of windy.

The planetarium was cool, but it made me carsick!  And the show we saw was narrated by the very irritating Whoopi Goldberg.  But it was still cool.  Daphne loved it.

We almost didn't get to go to the planetarium, because Kev had his Swiss army knife, which is against the Smithsonian rules.  Don't tell anyone, but he went outside and hid it in the bushes while we went in the museum.  The security guards were very rude.  They were just doing their jobs, but they didn't have to be such jerks about it.  This is the one and only negative thing I can think of to say about the Smithsonian museums.  All of them are really great.  And free.  DC is awesome.

Yesterday was Daphne's 50th day of school, so they had a Fifties Day party.  Daphne's teacher invited me to go, and I'm so glad I did.  It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen.  The kids and teachers dressed up.

There was a dance party, decorations, root beer floats, bubble gum, the limbo, the chicken dance (did they have that in the 50s?):

and some very wheels-off hula-hooping:

I loved every minute of it.  The kids did too.  So dang cute. 

And now, it's Friday again.  I am hoping for a low-key weekend, but not holding my breath.  I am pleased to report that I am about half-way finished with my Christmas shopping, and almost completely prepared for the repeat of last year's popular Advent Bags.  My goal is to be done with as much as possible by December 1st so I can coast through the month.  We shall see.

Anyway, enjoy the weekend, wherever you are.  If you don't have anything to do, make the apple crisp I told you about the other day.  You will not be sorry.

We've Been Fairy-ed!

At 5:40 am, we were awakened to the sound of excited pitter-pattering, the flinging open of our door, and shouting.  "Guys!  Guess what!  The Tooth Fairy came!  Turn on the light so I can show you what she brought!"

5:40 am.  FIVE FORTY.  AM.  In the morning.

Rewind to yesterday after school, when my kid, who cries at the mere thought of removing a band-aid, who runs screaming at the suggestion of tasting something that has touched melty cheese,  decided that nothing would do but that she must pull out her loose tooth, all by herself,  immediately.  There was quite a bit of blood, but she was not deterred.   Once the decision was made, there was no turning back.  The whole procedure took about 10 minutes, but there was (shockingly) nary a tear.  Not even a wince!  Someone brave took over Daphne's brain long enough to get that tooth out. 

She was so proud, and so excited.  And I was in shock.  I have never seen her so determined to do something new and sort of scary.  Way to go, little Peanut.

In the evening before bed, she wrote this note:

Short and sweet, and right to the point.  The kid wants to keep all her teeth, because she "will miss them too much." 

The Tooth Fairy, as you can see at the top, was kind enough to let her keep this first one, but hopefully will be collecting all the rest.  She also left a very nice, very tiny note, and a one dollar coin with Andrew Johnson on it.  We know this because Daphne came in and showed us.  At 5:40 am.

And in spite of being really tired, I am really happy that Daphne was so excited that she woke up early for a little happy magical childhood moment.  Everybody needs those now and then.

Off to make more coffee now...

Oh Dear

There seems to be no end to this stuff:

Get ready to be Elf-ed.

If I have to Elf somebody, I am going to put a bag on their porch containing a bottle of maple syrup and a box of spaghetti.

Apples and Pumpkins and Daisies, Oh My.

I jumped into October head first, and I am finally coming up for air.  It was a busy busy month. We picked apples:

And turned some of them into this skillet apple crisp, which resulted in my family giving me three cheers:

Here is the recipe.  I am telling you it is delicious.  Really really good.  And easy...way easier than apple pie, and just as good in my opinion.  It's the topping.  Holy cow, that is some good topping.  Make some today and your family will probably cheer you. And being cheered is better than being boo-ed.

Or is it?

More on that later.

I volunteered to be a chaperone on the Kindergarten field trip to the pumpkin farm:

It was cold and chaotic and lots of fun.  Then our bus got stuck in the mud on the way out of the parking lot.  A giant tractor had to come and pull us out with a big chain.  Best day ever.

My friends and I also planned a big fall harvest party for 12 kids to practice for our new business adventure planning birthday parties.  The party was great and the kids had a blast.  And we all enjoyed working on it together, which is a good sign. 

It would have been more fun, though, if I didn't have so many other things going on at the same time.  Daisy Scouts is great too, but taking up a lot of time.  I have the cutest little troop, and they all get along great.  Here are some cupcakes I made for our Founder's Day meeting. 

Those are the Daisy Petals in M&M form.  We've had 2 meetings so far, plus I had a leader's meeting.  And we had a nice little fall hike planned for this past Saturday, but we had to cancel it.  More on THAT later too.

In addition to planning parties and leading Daisies, I also became involved in putting together the PTA's Fall Harvest Festival at Daphne's school.  Here is Daphne, on festival day, ready to go as Princess Leia:

And here is my station, the Lollipop Tree (or as it turned out, the Lollipop Pumpkin):

The festival was a big success.  I wish I could say the same for the Ranger's game 7 that same evening.  Here I am, manning the lollipop tree in my Hopeful Ranger's Fan costume, before the crushing defeat. I even let the Girl Scouts paint a "TX" and a "32" on my face at the face-painting table.  Sigh.

Princess Leia, meanwhile, got a spider painted on her face. Perhaps a better choice, all things considered.

The next morning, it snowed.  In October.  Snow.  That's why we had to cancel the Daisy's little fall nature  hike.   Snow.  But Daphne had a blast playing in it:

And after the snow, there was hot chocolate (which resulted in this hilarious Derek Holland mustache):

We also got Boo-ed twice this month, which isn't as bad as it sounds.  Getting boo-ed is when someone anonymously puts a bag of Halloween treats on your porch, knocks, and runs away.  When you get boo-ed, you are then supposed to keep it going by booing two friends, and they boo two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on.  I have never heard of this until this year.  In Texas, there was only the bad kind of booing.

I think this Halloween booing is a cute little tradition, but I can see some potential hurt feelings.  What if all the kids in your neighborhood get boo-ed, but not you?  Awful.  It's like the leprechauns. It's not good when some kids get left out.  Oh well.  There's no stopping these holiday rituals once they get started.  

Speaking of such things, the Tooth Fairy will be making her first visit to our house any day now.  Exciting times.

Daisies, PTA, party planning, field trips, plus all the regular stuff like cooking and cleaning and going to Daphne's art and piano classes, plus night after night of post-season baseball, all in one month, and I am pretty exhausted.  And poor Kev worked ridiculous hours this month, getting home many nights at 1:30 AM, so he's exhausted.  And since Kevin wasn't home, Daphne got dragged with me to lots of extra meetings, so she's exhausted, and on more than one occasion, actually ASKED to go straight to bed.

So, October ends today, and I made it through the month, but I learned my lesson about taking on too much at once.  There was a lot of fun, but there were some tense and stressful moments.  And now, Christmas is coming, and we all know how THAT usually goes around here.  The good news is, the PTA fest is over, my role in the party planning is smaller now, and I now have a co-leader to help with the Daisies.  So, bring on the holidays.  I'm ready!

But first, some apple crisp:

Ahhhh, yeah.

Good Dog

We will miss you, Albert.  

Thanks for being our friend.

Friday Night Blog

Dear Blog,

I miss you.  Out of nowhere, I have become this person with a lot of stuff going on.  I'm spending all my time working on PTA stuff, planning Daisy Scout stuff, dealing with inconvenient fake medical issues, contemplating my future occupation, and watching six-hour baseball games.  Meetings, appointments, training classes, rain delays.  In between all that, I have managed to squeeze in some leisure activities:  First Friday, a cider-tasting party, Elvis Costello in DC, breakfast with my family at South Street, an afternoon with Kev at a winery.  But there has been no time to blog. Or stroll to the coffee shop.  Or read.  Or knit.  Although I should probably be knitting during these six-hour baseball games. 

As exhausting as all this stuff is, I have to say it feels sorta good to have something to do beyond being "Mommy."  I feel like I am actually making a contribution to the world outside my house for the first time in a long time.  And the funny thing is, I think it has been good for Daphne.  I can't explain it, but since I've been busier, her behavior and moods have improved. 

The downside is that I'm not getting much sleep and the house-cleaning is minimal and Kev happens to also be really busy at the moment so whole-family time is minimal too. 

All for the greater good, I reckon.  Things will slow back down soon.

And then, it will be Christmas.

Good grief.

I hope to be back soon.  I have a lot to blog about whenever I can find some time.  Until then, GO RANGERS!!!!!!!!!

Another PSA

Kev alerted me to National Walk to School Day, which is today, October 5.  So, we're walking to school today.  The timing could not have been better, because the sun has come out and it has finally stopped raining.  Don't worry if you are just now reading this, and it's too late to walk to school today.  October is Walk to School MONTH, so just do it another day.

Busy busy busy, like so much Professor Hinkle.  In fact, my brain is so saturated, that when I was mixing up some bread dough today (yes!  bread-making season!), I lost count somewhere between 1 and 6 cups of flour, and may have some very dry bread on my hands for dinner.  It's bad when you can't even count to six properly.  Oh well.

By the way, I am about to change my mind about Zooey Deschanel's TV show.  I like her, but it isn't very good.  I'll give it a couple more chances before I delete it from my DVR recording schedule.

More blogs coming soon...

October. Yes.

 Today is October first.  So, Daphne and I made pumpkin bread.  I'm not sorry to say goodbye to gloomy September.  The man on TV said there was only one sunny day the whole month.  I believe it.  October is off to a cold and rainy start, but I have high hopes for crisp sunny days this month.  The yucky September weather brought me down and made me sleepy and lethargic.  I haven't been able to get things done.  Like blogging.

The pumpkin bread is really good.  And tonight we're having Giada's white bean and chicken chili concoction.  We're starting this month off right.

Last week was busy.  I have a lot going on these days with suddenly being part of the PTA and the Girl Scouts and a new business venture.  Plus, we celebrated my mom's birthday, I went to DC to see Elvis Costello with my brother, and last night was Kev's company picnic, otherwise known as the "Work Festival." Good stuff, but I'm exhausted.

On top of all that, Kev and Daphne have both been sick, and I haven't been getting nearly enough sleep.

But things are gonna change now.  Because it is October.  The very best month of the year.  So, bring it on.  Time to make chili.

PS.  Go Rangers!

Car Free Thursday

Here is a quick LRHS PSA:  Tomorrow, September 22, is World Carfree Day.  So, if you are able, try not to drive.  I will be not driving.  Maybe that means I will get something done around the house since I will be kind of stuck here.  I would walk places, but I think it's supposed to rain.  Imagine that.  I can't remember the last day it DIDN'T rain, at least a little.  The sun was out briefly yesterday.  That was nice.  It's raining now.

PS.  I fully support Carfree Day, but it seems like they kind of mailed it in on the logo design.  At least it's not a car with a red Ghostbuster thing through it I guess.

Also, that new Zooey Deshanel show is pretty good.  She is funny.

Soup Days

Well, fall has definitely arrived around here, and we've had two different soups to prove it.  I made potato soup last week, and Kev made chicken soup over the weekend because Daphne was sick.  She loves that soup.  She calls it "Daddy's famous chicken noodle soup," even though there are no noodles, and she eats every bite without giving us any dinnertime trouble. 

It's been really overcast, and I haven't felt like doing much.  I am looking forward to those crisp sunny fall days that make you want to be outside.  Lately, I just want to curl up under a blanket and read.  Or better yet, sleep.  I lost quite a bit of sleep over the weekend, because when Daphne gets sick, no one sleeps very well.  But she's on the mend, and there are sunny days to come, and I am sure a new groove is on the horizon.

In other news, I have had my first experience as part of the PTA.  I swear I never thought I would end up in a PTA, but here I am.  And I am now in charge of the lollipop tree at the school's Fall Harvest Festival.  And I think I might end up also being the leader of the Daisy Troop.  So, somehow in the matter of one week, I have become all Small-Town-Mom-ified.  I fear it's not my scene.  Time will tell.  Maybe I should do what my friend Jodi said, and drive around listening to the Clash really loud for a while to make myself feel better.

But I think I'll take a nap first.

Monday Again

Another good weekend is in the books, and another week is underway.  Saturday, we tried out the new fancy bowling alley here in town (King Pinz).  They have an arcade with games - air hockey, guitar hero, etc. - they have bowling (obviously), and they have surprisingly good food, which they bring to your cushy couch right at your lane.  It is a very luxurious bowling experience, much different from the days at Blazer Bowl in Garland.  The lanes have big screen TVs, and bumpers that go up or down, depending on whose turn it is. So the bumpers popped up on Daphne's turn, and down when Kev and I bowled.  Honestly, I coulda used the bumpers.

After bowling, we went to Pinkberry for a frozen yogurt treat.   This place is GOOD.  We got there just in time, because by the time we paid for our yogurt, a line had formed all the way out the door and across the big wide sidewalk.  I still like ice cream better, but I am a Pinkberry fan.

Sunday morning, Daphne said it looked like a nice day for a family bike ride.  So we took a family bike ride.  This old barn and silo are on the trail.  

Then we went to South Street Under for our post-bike ride ciabatta breakfast sandwiches. It was nice to be outside and not get rained on for once.

Of course, we took a walk last night, and got rained on.  Oh well.

On Thursday, the high temperature is supposed to be 64!  That is so great.

Also this weekend, we saw a lot of 9/11 stuff on TV.  I don't care how long it's been, I'll never get used to seeing that footage.  It's always shocking.  Every time I see a plane hit one of those buildings, it's like getting punched in the stomach.

It just started raining.  Dangit.  We almost made it a whole day with no rain.

The pumpkin ravioli filling was terrible, by the way.  It was not worthy of going to the trouble of making the pasta, so I didn't.  I just threw it out.  Yuck.  Luckily, we had a bunch of left-over casserole.  We finished it off yesterday.  It was a very casserole-intensive weekend.  This week, there will be soup.  Because on Thursday, it will only be 64!  Sixty-Four!!!

A very happy birthday to Kim up there on L.I.  I hope it's a good one!  Please send me a pumpkin ravioli filling recipe if you have a one.

Comfort and Joy

Well, it's been a long time since I blogged about food.  I didn't really do a lot of cooking in August, I guess.  But, I got a little money for my birthday, and used some of it to get myself a copy of The Joy of Cooking in hopes that I could use it to learn some of the secrets of the Cooking Universe.  

Yesterday was grocery store day, so I decided to try my first recipe from the book.  But this is a BIG book.  4500 recipes.  Good grief, where do I start?

So, I was flipping through, and then I remembered the shocking statement that Kev made the other day about how my cooking rotation lacks casseroles.  WHAT?  Casseroles?  All this time, I was pretty sure Kev was against gooey comforting things like casseroles.  Live and learn.  And if Kev wants more casseroles, that's fine by me, because they are EASY and they are good for several meals worth of left-overs.

I found the recipe for Chicken Rice Casserole on page 96.  Hmm....sounds pretty good and very simple.  So I decided to do some googling to see if others out there had had any luck with this recipe.  I came across a blog called "The Joy of the Joy of Cooking,"  and it turns out that Jessica, the writer of this blog, had tried the recipe.  Awesome.  Her biggest complaint was that it was bland.  And when I looked at the recipe, I wasn't surprised.  There was no mention of seasoning of any kind in the recipe.  Not even "salt and pepper to taste."

So, I used the recipe as a guide, and added some things.  To the melted butter, I added some garlic and diced carrots (and salt!), and cooked that for a minute before adding the mushrooms.  I added some fresh thyme.  I used long grain and wild rice instead of white.  And more salt.  And pepper.  And, following the snooty foodie advice I read somewhere in the book, I passed on processed store-bought bread crumbs, and made my own.  Here is the resulting Chicken Rice Casserole:

And it was good!  Not bland at all.  My biggest complaint was that it was a little dry.  I used whole milk because my grocery store was out of half and half (!?), so it probably took away some of the creaminess I was looking for.  But the crunchy bread crumb topping was great, and the overall flavor was good.

Daphne didn't like it.  I knew she wouldn't.  But at least she tried it.  And now I won't have to cook this weekend because Kev and I can have left-over casserole.  For every meal!  Just kidding, Kev.

Today I am making pumpkin ravioli.  It isn't in the book.  So I'm winging it.  I'll probably use my Giada butternut squash ravioli recipe and just sub in the pumpkin.  Daphne's already turning up her nose.  She's gonna be eating a lot of Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches this weekend.  That means more raviolis for me and Kev!  I won't have to cook again for a week!

The honest truth is, I rarely experience the Joy of Cooking.  Sometimes I enjoy it, but mostly, it's just a chore.  But I regularly DO experience the Joy of Eating, and since I am the one who cooks most of what I eat, I might as well do it well.

I've heard good things about the brownies in the book.  Maybe that'll be next.  But now, it's off to experience the Joy of Laundry.  Have a good Friday.

Rainy Weekend

You know it was a pretty good weekend when there was splashing in puddles, a birthday party, a cookout, a movie date, lobster bisque, apple pie, homemade ice cream, a finished book, Star Trek night, Jamaica Jerk Chicken, and a couple feet of knitted scarf.*  And new shoes!

*18 more inches and this will be done and I can start my sweater.

Vacation Part 4 - Food, Field Trip, and the Fair

One day, we decided to take a break from all the relaxing at the lake, so we went on a little field trip.  First stop, the Village of Red Hook, where we had lunch at Lucy's Taco.  If we had read the really really bad reviews, we might not have gone there.  Apparently, people think it is so bad that there is a whole Facebook page about how bad it is (click the Lucy's link above).  The food was pretty meh.  It wasn't the worst, but it wasn't great.  It was really really messy and greasy.  But I loved Lucy's Taco, because the minute we walked in, it was like we had been magically transported to Austin.  The dude at the counter was Austin.  The other customers were Austin (girls with no makeup and long flowy skirts, head scarves, vintage thrift dresses), and the decor was totally Austin.  It made me happy/sad.  So, thanks, Lucy's, for the trip back home and the mediocre lunch.  Try to make better tacos.  Then again, you're in New York.  So good luck with that.

(On the other hand, I had the best barbeque I've had since leaving Texas in the same village, at Max's Memphis Barbeque.  Holy meat!  And, there were GRITS! Go there if you can.)

After Lucy's, we decided to take Daphne to see the Saugerties light house.  You have to hike in to it, which was fun.

You can stay there overnight, because it is also a B&B, but I don't think I would like hiking in with my suitcase.  Still, it might be kinda cool.  It's expensive, though, and usually booked up far in advance.

It has a little beach, where I guess you can swim if you want.  We watched some dogs chase tennis balls.  Daphne liked that.

Our last day of vacation just happened to be the first day of the Dutchess County Fair, which has become a staple of our summers.  We had our annual milkshakes:

Went on the Fun Slide:

Watched the Frisbee Dogs:

And generally had a great day with our good friends, Nate, Angela, and their cool kids.  I love the Dutchess County Fair.  And this year, it wasn't hot.  It was perfect.  A great way to end an awesome vacation.

I was telling Kev that we need to find our own fair.  We went to our local county fair a couple years ago, but it was really rinky-dink, plus we had a...um...situation.  I don't think we'll be going back to that one.

Nothing will ever top the Great State Fair of Texas.  And the Dutchess County one will be hard to beat.  But I just found out about the Frederick Fair, and it looks pretty promising.  It is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I am hoping to go.  There will be a full report if we do.

The first week of school seems to be going well.  Daphne seems happy and I think she's making friends.  She doesn't really tell us too much.  I plan to volunteer in the classroom, so maybe then I'll find out more.  I just hope I don't run into Newman, the nemisis mommy.  I was reading the giant pile of handouts from the school, and it appears that school volunteers have to get a tuberculin test.  I am not looking forward to that, but I'll do what I have to do I guess.  I've been enjoying my free time while Daphne is at school.  I've been working out, and shopping, and cleaning, and knitting.  I need to make a list and get going on some projects.  Plenty of time for all that.

OK...dinner duty calls.  Leftover beef and noodles.  Woohoo!