Reviews

Here are some of our current favorites:


Timeline American History game:  It's not exactly fair of us to play this game of sorting historical dates in order with the kids, given that they haven't really had much American history and only lived 11 years.  Actually, they do quite well (especially having played once, they remember the dates better than we do) and we have fun playing.


Rock Me Archimedes game:  This game is like Jenga with marbles; steady hands are needed.  And strategy like checkers or chess to block your opponent.  Fun!


kazoo magazine:  A new magazine for girls that isn't "girly."  We all like it.


"Speechless":  The new ABC show starring Minnie Driver about a family getting along, including their son with cerebral palsy, played by an actor with CP!  It's witty, humorous, insightful.  Just don't call it inspirational.


"Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell":  Mama and I are enjoying this BBC miniseries based on the award-winning novel about an alternate history of Regency England involving practical magicians.


"Crimson Fields":  A BBC WWI centenary show, following nurses in a Red Cross hospital in France; only 6 episodes but delightful.


"Home Fires":  This is a BBC WWII who, following women of the Women's Institute during the war, based on the book Jambusters.  More episodes than "Crimson Fields," but not quite as good, I think.


Roasted Carrots:  I made these the way I make sweet potatoes or butternut squash, meaning 1/4 cup brown sugar, some olive oil, and some salt, baked at 425F for 30+ minutes.


Chicken and Peas pasta:   A mozzarella cheese sauce (2 T butter, 2 T flour, 1 cup milk, 2 cups mozz) with cooked chicken and green peas over rotini or penne.


Meatballs:  I use my Wildtree meatloaf mix and roll it into small balls, baking at 375F for 15-30 minutes, depending on size.

Outlandering

Oh, have I enjoyed the last three days:  I binged on all the available episodes of "Outlander," a STARZ series based on the fantasy/romance/time-travel novels by Diana Gabaldon set in post-WWII England and the rough Scottish Highlands of the mid-18th century.

While bodice rippers are usually not my preferred genre (for fiction, I love a history mystery), I do like bodices and was first drawn to the show because of its costumes, delectable heavy, woolen, tartan get ups, with lots of leather and knitware.  The main female character, Claire, even had a stomacher!  (But, wait, no separate pockets??)  In fact, the show had me at the scene where Claire is dressed by Mrs. Fitz, all the layers added in the correct order (though, again, no detached pockets??)  The clothes aren't that far from what colonial Americans wore, and mainly differ from my own get up in richness and historicity (I don't have wool or linen, only cotton.)  Though, fie on the producers--there's just no way you could rip sassenach Outlander, get all of the outfits at the drop of a hat, unworn and fitting perfectly?  Just no way.   Regardless, I love watching for her very outfits, and those around her--I think I even like the workaday woolens better than the prettier gowns, though the wedding dress was beautiful.  Makes me ready to add some embroidery to something . . . and some plaid!  And I want to get a bum roll for my skirts!    I just recently found a whole blog by the costume designer and can't wait to read it!

open a bodice that way, corset and all.  No way.  But that's Hollywood for you.
The other fantasy part:  clothes were a huge expense; people had few sets, sometimes only two or three. Where does Claire, the outsider

(Oh, yes, and if you are someone who likes men in kilts, well, there's lots of that.)

(On a side note, one of Mama's coworkers, who notices it as one weakness in many action or adventure films, would ask, where do they get the shampoo out there in the Highlands?  It's true--they always have lovely, clean hair!)

The setting--amid Scotland's prettiest scenery--was also enticing. Those castles, those stones, those mountains, those streams.   I can quite imagine being there in that untouched landscape . . . more than imagine, plan--because now I want to add Inverness to our dream plans to visit Scotland next June!!   (Ideal itinerary right now includes London, Winchester, a stop off to the Pudding Club at Mickleton wherever that is, York and environs, Edinburgh, and now Inverness!)

I've even found a blog about foods inspired by the show, Outlander Kitchen.  I might have to try my hand at bannocks.  And I'll bake them while listening to the soundtrack, plus other music by Julie Fowlis, Tartanic, MacTalla M'or (a local bagpipe rockband), and general bagpipe music.

Of course, I'm not new to Hibernophilia, having learned that my own ancestors are from Scotland and were (probably) at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots (rumor has it were related to someone she ordered beheaded.)  We go to the Highland games here, took a Gaelic lesson, bake shortbread, watch caber tosses, like bagpipe music, enjoy the Sailor's hornpipe--mercy, Mama has even eaten haggis.  And we all like the movie Brave!  So, casual, recreational fans of things Scottish.

So, yep, I'm enjoying "Outlander."

Kidbits etc.

Today was the first day of Fairy House season 2015!  The kids were up and at 'em by 8:30 this morning.  What is it with not sleeping in during vacation??  Anyway, it's the second or third day in a row that they've spent significant time outside--swinging, running across the rock wall, playing with a homemade bow and arrow (Sis), swordfighting, biking, and now building fairy houses.  Gommie was outside, too, but didn't build one.  Pretty soon--once the ground temp stays at 50F, which isn't quite yet--Sis will plant some bulbs that my friend Miss D, also our ASL teacher, gave me as a gift for my recovery.

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Another gardening thing:  I learned a new flower.  This is a Glory of the Snow, according to my FB friends.  Ours have appeared randomly in a few parts of the yard, not planted or planned by us at all.  Very pretty.

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A big THANK YOU to Granny Q who sent a lovely Edible Arrangement to the house on Friday.  That was so sweet of you.  And we really enjoyed it--ALL of us, as you can see in the picture of Albus eating the ribbon--it was gone by the end of the day!

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Gommie and I watched "Wolf Hall" episode 2 today, enjoying the characterizations and especially the lovely period details.  Of course, we know how it all progresses (having seen "The Tudors," A Man For All Seasons, Anne of a Thousand Days, etc.), but I'm absolutely caught up in it all.  Really fantastic television.

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Which reminds me that a year ago, we were in England having the trip of a lifetime.  I think of that trip pretty much everyday, in some way or another.  Thank you, Lambeth and Mrs. Lambeth, for hosting us to the most wonderful of visits.  I'm trying heartily not to be too down that we won't be returning this December, instead recalling all the great times we had.

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Today was rather an "eh" day.  Achy, tired, tight.  Not terrible just not great, kind of like last Wednesday (but not quite as much.)  So, if I have a mediocre day every five days or so, I'd say I'm doing pretty well.

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This morning, Miss D, my friend and ASL teacher came for a visit.  Not a lesson, just a chat.  We had a great time talking about our kids, contact lenses, Zentangling, our visit to the British shoppe yesterday, baking, even teaching Gommie how to sign "good morning" (which she kept doing with more of those f**k you gestures, accidentally, making us all laugh.)  She asked me if I had ever talked with a deaf person before her and I mentioned the deaf camp counselor I knew as a teenager 30 years ago.  She was shocked then at my skills when she met me last year and said my signing was amazing, essentially for someone who hadn't signed much at all.  Wow.  That felt SO wonderful.  Sometimes I feel so bumbling--trip up my fingerspelling, confuse signs with one another, can't always follow what she says--but, in total, I'm actually doing really well.  I can't say how happy that makes me.  And how happy I am to have made a new friend.

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As you know, Sis and I like to watch "Switched at Birth" together, the story of the two teenage girls, one who is deaf, who are switched and whose families come together when they discover it 15 or so years later.  We watch it for the ASL (and Marlee Matlin!), though there are definitely bits that are too old for her.  With Gommie, we also started watching "Little House on the Prairie," beginning with the two-hour pilot movie.  It's been so long since I've watched that show . . . and in many ways, it's so dated--the pacing is very slow, the drama more low key than dramas these days, even some of the 1970s hair peeking through.  But I love the history, period details, and wholesome moral tales; and I'm much more interested in what Ma is up to in the show than I ever was before.  Sis, who has read all the books (except Farmer Boy--me neither!) countless times, is enjoying it, too, even if it's not exactly like the books.

And now I've found a show to watch with Bud:  BBC's "Merlin," which I'd watched a few years back.  It's definitely a family tale, with sympathetic teenage Merlin (or maybe early 20s??) finding his path, a monster/crisis of the week, and all those wonderful faux fantasy medieval trappings.  Bud seems to really enjoy it and I like watching it with him.  Plus, he likes identifying all those British actors who were also in "Doctor Who!"

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The basement boys aka NYCats are becoming more bold.  Mojito has been "knocking" to be let out of the basement in the late afternoon almost everyday for a few months.  He even slept on the couch with Mama for a couple of hours yesterday!  But now Mr. Big Tabby is also coming up, ostensibly to eat the upstairs cat food, but also to poke around.  It's very heartening to see the boys come up.  (And since we always quietly lock the Connecticats up, it's a stress-free visit.)  The time-share is starting to work out.

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Gommie leaves on Friday and the sad countdown has already begun, but she has some plans for the week to distract them.  We are so very grateful to her for her help and support these last two weeks.  While we could keep her here indefinitely, I'm gaining strength everyday, can be left alone without any trouble, and can do minor house things with the kids' help (like getting them out the door in the morning.)  It means the world that she's been here, though.

No Fat Ladies

In excitement over our upcoming trip to England, we've been watching some British tv, like "Rosemary and Thyme," "The Catherine Tate Show," "Michael Wood's Story of England," and of course "Doctor Who."

And our first favorite, "Two Fat Ladies."  We love their crazy motorcycle, blunt talk, literary references, breaking out into song, on-location trips, and, of course, their food.  So entertaining, so fascinating, so funny.  We haven't ever cooked any of it--I've read that their recipes don't often work--it's more like how I like to read cookbooks rather than repeat it myself.  And I did read Clarissa Dickson Wright's book on the history of the food of England--witty, erudite, obscure. fun.

And then last week, Clarissa died.

(Jennifer Patterson had died years ago)

And so we're watching our way through the series again, in their honor (I got the dvd set for Christmas) and for our trip.  When we get to London, we'll raise a fork in their memory.

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Raspberry and Strawberry Shortcake

12 ounces fresh raspberries or frozen raspberries
7 ounces self raising flour
1 ounce ground almonds
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 tablespoons/2 ounces butter
3 ounces caster (superfine) sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 pint (1/2 cup) milk
2 tablespoons raspberry jam
1-ounce icing (confectioners') sugar
1/4 pint (1/2 cup) double cream
DIRECTIONS

Thaw the frozen raspberries, if using.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Sift the flour, almonds, salt and cinnamon into a bowl and rub in the butter, mix in the sugar. Add the beaten egg and milk to make a scone-like dough. Divide the dough in 2 and gently shape each half to fit into greased 8-inch sandwich tins. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. When cold spread one of the layers with raspberry jam, then generously with the double cream and raspberries. Sprinkle raspberries with icing sugar, cover with the second layer and top with more cream. Decorate with a few raspberries. Best eaten when fresh.

© Recipe courtesy Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright

Gleefully I Roll Along

As usual, I'm coming late to a trend: I watched my first episode of "Glee" a few weeks ago. And I love it! I'm simultaneously watching the beginning of the first season and the current new episodes, more for the music than the plot. Though, in its almost surreal wackiness (the musical numbers, of course) and humor it reminds me of "Northern Exposure," which I liked a lot too.

Last night's "Sexy" episode particularly caught my attention for its deft handling of sex. Straddling (tee hee) between the over-the-top (and in relationship to high school students) over-the-hill sexuality of Gwyneth Paltrow and the geeky, daresay (and they did) frigid Chastity Club, the episode delivered both some important PSAs on STDs (To paraphrase, "When you sleep with someone, you sleep with everyone they've slept with. And everyone has a random.") and illegality of sex tapes of minors, and two very touching scenes, both involving same-sex love, but really so much more than that. The most talked about sex-talk scene was between gay crooner Kurt and his supportive dad, who told him:

You’ve got to know that it means something. It’s doing something to you, to your heart, to your self-esteem, even though it feels like you’re just having fun…. When you’re ready, I want you to be able to do everything, but when you’re ready, I want you to use it as a way to connect to another person. Don’t throw yourself around like you don’t matter. Because you matter, Kurt.

I have a few years to memorize that because I think it's perfect. Which is why this Glee episode was so powerful: amid all the usual songs and humor were these real jewels. Sure, both ends of the sex spectrum were exaggerated, with the "do-it" end receiving more attention and less ridicule, but any student--gay or straight or questioning--and their parents, could find something in it. And since most Gleeks will watch it over and over again, the message will hopefully sink in.

Okay, back to the other scene, between Santana and Brittany, who are exploring each other and themselves. Santana realizes why she's angry and bitchy all the time. It's because she's scared to realize her feelings for another woman and even more scared of the labels. "I can't go to an Indigo Girls concert. I just can't." (I love that the IG are still a current pop culture reference some 20 odd years on.) And Brittany turns her down--she loves her, but she loves her boyfriend, too. If you've ever had your heart broken, as all teenagers have . . . . Mama would say straight girls will break your heart every time (I did. But I fixed it. Maybe Brittany will come around, too.)

All this musical watching (and I caught both High School Musical 1 and 2, neither of which have the depth of "Glee," but have talented casts and peppy songs. Yes, I like pop.) had me remembering the high school musical of my own era (the genre seems to have a long pedigree. Think West Side Story)--the movie version of Grease (I saw the stage show as a young girl and remember being asked after by an older woman if I'd learned any new words, since it was quite graphic. I lied and said yes. My mom thanked me later!). Talk about a completely different show. I was listening to it, gulp, with the kids, as I realized the lyrics of the songs I was singing out loud--"you are supreme, the chicks'll cream"--mercy. How did I not notice that for 30 years? Sure, it's got the sex continuum from Sandra Dee to the T-Birds, and even an unwanted pregnancy, just like on "Glee", but I won't be quoting it to the kids as advice.

We'll just dance around the living room to it. And all the other high school musicals . . . .