The Pilgrimmage, in Pictures

Not pictured:  my favorite part of Plimoth was the costumed  role-players.

Look, Ma, no hearth!

Obligatory view down the center of the English Village at Plimoth.

That's the Mayflower II in the distance.  Tide was out every time we were near water!

Waiting for the first star, with a view of Plymouth harbor.

Mayflower II

Beavertail Lighthouse, site of third oldest in nation.

Narragansett Bay, off Beavertail Light

Great minds (mine)

think alike (Mama, but in lower resolution 'cos her camera is too fancy for the  blog.)

The Breakers in Newport.  "Mantions are cool!"

Actually, my favorite houses in Newport were the 18th-century ones.  Would the Pilgrims have come if they knew this was in the future??

Right Now

Starting the second day of a mini-Massachusetts vacation.  Be back soon.

By the Skin of His Tooth

Bud lost a tooth on Monday, on a piece of watermelon, just hours after a good visit to the dentist.  (When he  got agitated about the blood, Neighbor Boy took him by the shoulders and said, "Be a Man!"  ERGH.  I'm sure my explaining that manhood did not rest on reactions to blood didn't remedy that.)  He proudly put it under his pillow.

And then we all promptly forgot.

Until the next morning.

Has this happened to . . . your Tooth Fairy?

We were talking about sharks over breakfast.  About how many teeth sharks lose in a lifetime (it's about 30,000, Bud learned at camp).  Teeth.  Tooth.  Tooth Fairy.

Oh, no.

And by the grace of all that is magical, the Tooth Fairy managed to have the right tools in her purse, get upstairs, do her job undetected, and ease back to her proper location as the shark tooth conversation continued for another few minutes before Bud and Sis (thank heavens she had a  very rare lapse in memory) remembered his tooth.  They raced upstairs excitedly and retrieved his money.

Whew.

A miss is as good as a mile, right?  Better lucky than good?  That's one lucky Tooth Fairy.

Summer Fun: Twinsleep

On Wednesday, Sis relished being the only child at home while Bud was at kung fu team.  She even went to bed early so his "talk talk talk talk talking" wouldn't keep her awake.  I said that if it really bothered her she could have her own room.  Her reply, "But how would I sleep without him?"  But Friday night, she couldn't even get in bed without his coming home from team first.  In fact, she spent most of the approximately 3 hours we had together wondering when he'd get here.  Because they've only slept apart maybe 3 nights (all that first week when he was in the NICU) in 2,555 days!

Summer Fun: Body Tricks

Sis and I had a good time waiting for the doctor this week (awful post-nasal drip + sensitive gag reflex = vomiting and no sleep for almost two weeks; new prescriptions are helping the presumed allergies), playing games I remember from childhood.  I don't know what  the category would be--ways you can trick your body into feeling something that isn't happening?   Yeah, that's gonna draw a lot of odd visitors.  For instance, pretending to crack an egg over someone's head and smoothing your hands over their head so that they really feel like the slime is on them.  Getting the sound of the crack just right is key!  Another:  karate chopping them on the upper back for a long time and then "stabbing" them with your fist and removing it slowly feels like, well, I'm guessing, being stabbed and feeling the blade come out (yeah, I guess that is pretty sick.)  Finally, if you lie down on your stomach and someone holds your arms off the floor and over your head for awhile and then slowly lets them down, you loose all sense of depth perception and feel like your arms are going into a hole--just try predicting when your arms should reach the floor; it's always inches off!

Next up:  "light as a feather, stiff as a board!"

A Prayer for Aurora

May the souls of the Aurora, CO victims be at ease.
May the survivors of the shooting be comforted.
May their family members and friends be comforted.

May the police officers, rescue workers, and medical teams be comforted.
May the Aurora community be comforted.

May the shooter be comforted.

May the family of the shooter be comforted.

May other people who suffered loss, pain,and  illness during this time be comforted.
May people who suffer loss, pain, and illness be comforted.
May the people who help and care for them be comforted.
May we all be at ease and come to the end of suffering.

Weather the Weather

Today's weather--60s and overcast--has been a wonderful salve after weeks of 90Fs.  And tonight the low is 59F.

And as much as I appreciate the drop in temperatures, the gulf of 30ish degrees between the two--plus record droughts out west, record rain in the UK, record heat all over the US--brings climate change to the fore.  We do the average as far as environmentally-conscious practices go, but I can't help but feel it really doesn't matter if I recycle one more can in light of such ecological disaster.  Sure, I'll keep doing it, but it seems like the proverbial drop in the dirty bucket.

Summer Fun: Thunder Bundt

34.  Make a bundt cake.


With all the thunder in the last few days, Sis and I read Patricia Polacco's Thunder Cake last night.  And today, we made it . . . as a bundt cake (because I wanted to make a bundt cake for the look and they don't like frosting enough to put between the suggested two-8" rounds.)  I was uncertain about the secret ingredient--pureed tomatoes!--but they seem to contribute moisture and a certain je ne sais quoi.  It's actually a pretty good chocolate cake, even without any kind of frosting.  And it looks great as a bundt!


-=-=-=-=-=-

Thunder Bundt Cake
Cream together, one at a time
1 cup shortening (we used coconut oil)
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
*3 eggs, separated (Blend yolks in.  Beat whites until they are stiff, then fold  in.*Do this first?  Unless you have more than one bowl.)
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup pureed tomatoes

Sift together
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup dry cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix dry mixture into creamy mixture.
Bake in greased and floured Bundt pan for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Optional--frost with chocolate buttercream and decorate with strawberries.

Patricia Polacco, Thunder Cake

Summer Fun: Kickin' at the Kung Fu Picnic

64.  Have a picnic at a new park.

On Sunday, Bud's kung fu academy had a big summer picnic at a local beach which we had never visited before.  It was hot, with threatening storms so that we hadn't made up our minds to go until after church (which, coincidentally, was also about kung fu--the complementary philosophies of kung fu and UUism--the style was Ving Tsun and very different from Bud's wu shu--without much movement and a focus on the core line and balance, Bud thought it was "boring.")  We picked up snacks at a grocery store--watermelon, cookies, and crackers and cheese.  Mama kindly pointed out that perhaps cheese wasn't the best thing to take to a picnic of mainly Chinese people, who tend to be lactose intolerant.  I hadn't thought about that, knowing that our family ate cheese and crackers and those snacks always seem to be at gatherings.  Sigh of embarrassment.  All the kids at the picnic downed the cookies and watermelon right away and some of the cheese and crackers disappeared . . . .but even I liked the fried wontons and special Taiwanese noodles better.  I'll remember next time.  (I do that with my in-laws, too, always think to serve cheese--mercy, we Euro-Americans serve cheese all the time!  But I usually manage to remember).

The kids had a great time.  There were friendly three-legged races, balls, the beach, and boardwalk.  Later, I saw Sis tearing away from the beach and figured she had to use the restroom until I spotted the ice-cream man!  Strawberry fruit bars, fudgesicles, a coconut bar, and creamsicle melted fast in the heat.  We left when it started to drizzle, really glad we'd decided to go, even with the heat.

Right Now

Where is our rain???

It's so hot.

Summer Fun: Pool Pool Party

32.  Go swimming.

The mommy campers went on a field trip today:  a pool playdate with Mrs. S, her daughter, and granddaughters!  And goodness, did they have old-fashioned summer fun.  Diving for rings and lost goggles, kickboard races, spinning on tubes, almost cannonballs, "Marco Polo" and other games like "Toothpaste" plus an out-of-water turn at "What time is it, Mr. Fox?"  Plus a huge sandwich lunch (what is it about swimming and sun that doubles an appetite?  No wonder they sprout in the summer!).  All while the grown-ups watched and talked (and listened--if you haven't read this, "Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning," please do so--about half of the children who drown each year do so within 25 yards of an adult).  It really was the perfect summer day.  Even with the incredible heat.

Thanks, Mrs. S and co!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

To Goo on doing well on his boards and earning his white coat!

Right Now

Eating lunch....and they like broccoli and not fried mozzarella??!!

Right Now

Grown-up seven-year olds don't need me at the dentist this time!

Summer Fun: Not-So-Fun Right of Passage

There is a toy stuck on our roof.

I'd post a picture, but it's so high up that I can't get one.

It started this morning with a toy--specifically a stomp rocket--stuck in a tree.  It was so high that sticks and such couldn't get anywhere near it.  But I brought out the hose and shot a stream of water up 20+ feet and it eventually came down.  "Ooooh, it's wet!" they said to me, as I stood there dripping from the leaky nozzle.

I told them that stuck toys are part of summer and childhood--frisbees, balls, even once a Luke Skywalker doll (henceforth "Luke Treewalker")--all get stuck.  And most eventually come down.

Not 10 minutes later, another rocket ended up stranded, this time, on the very top of our roof, totally unreachable by sticks, brooms out of windows, ladders, or even the hose--because if I hit it incorrectly it would just end up in the gutter.  Which is probably where it's heading during the next rain.

Until then, it's there on our roof, a badge of summer fun . . . interrupted.

Summer Fun @ Mommy Camp: Making Crayons

A great way to use up crayon bits and turn the blistering heat to creative use!

Cover a craft cookie sheet or cardboard with foil, as well as one end of toilet paper tubes.  Place tubes upright on cookie sheet and fill with unwrapped crayon bits.  Leave in sun until partially melted.  If it gets too liquid, the wax will seep out.  We tried this for about 5 hours on a 90F day, but it was not quite long enough.  The next day, also hot, we put the tray on the dashboard of my car for about 2 hours--that was too hot and too long--the crayons totally liquified!  I think an hour in the hot car, with frequent checking, would be enough.

Summer Fun: Mommy Camp

With camp over until the end of summer, the kids begged me to design a "Mommy Camp," complete with activities, swimming, and even kapers (chores).  So I made a quick list of activities until Mama informed me that Sis expected a "schedule," you know, by the half hour, just like at GS camp!  And so I made one up, for fun:

7 a.m. freeplay (basically DIY time--Legos, art activities, Hex Bugs, marble run, dollhouse, reading etc.  Not screen time)
8 a.m. breakfast
8:30 a.m. chores and getting dressed
9 a.m. morning activity
11 a.m. lunch (including mini-cooking lessons)
12 p.m. freeplay (may or may not include Mommy)
1 p.m. rest time
2 p.m. afternoon activity
4 p.m. freeplay (maybe screen time, at Mommy's discretion)
5 p.m.chores and clean up
5:30 p.m. dinner and "Day is Done"

And then each day has a theme:

Monday:  Arts and Crafts, including making crayons, sun prints, chalk drawings, sketching, painting also any other indoor art kits like vases, mandalas, bracelets, etc)

Tuesday:  Tie-Dye Tuesday

Wednesday:  Wacky Wednesday

Thursday:  PJ Day

Friday:  Camping at Home, including s'mores, camp songs, games, stargazing, and sleeping in sleeping bags downstairs

Of course, that all looks more official and formal than it is--for instance, right now instead of prepping lunch, we're watching "Phineas and Ferb," having had a late breakfast, then swim lessons, and then made our crayons outside where it is incredibly hot.  And in about 30 minutes, they have a dentist appointment!   It's the idea of it that they like, I think.  And it will give a focus and rhythm and even an energy to our week.  Who knows, we might have "mommy camp" the rest of the summer . . .

Right Now

Such a light and sound show tonight, from Mother Nature herself!  Loud thunder, bright lightning, and pounding rain.  The kids are asleep, except when Sis wakes up coughing miserably.

Right Now

Playing Hedbanz while thunder booms and lightning flashes in the darkness.

7th Heaven

Tuesday
Sis was too excited to sleep on her birthday eve, almost like it were Christmas. Of course, by the time birthday eve had rolled around, the kids had already received and opened a few cards and gifts in the mail.    We also let them exchange presents early.  Sis gave Bud a Phineas and Ferb playset and Bud gave Sis a perler bead kit and some clothes for her AG doll.  Hugs and squeals and tackles and "awesomes!" abounded.  So by Tuesday, excitement was at a high.  She knew we were downstairs wrapping presents--earlier in the day when Mama Teacher told me there were boxes on the porch and I said they were presents, Sis piped up from another room, "Those are presents?!"--and desperately wanted to check on us.

Wednesday
They were both awake by 5:15 a.m.  Though we informed them they weren't actually seven for a few more hours, they were ready to celebrate and so we opened presents, all in one rush, the exact opposite of Christmas.  Paper flew, squeals sounded, hugs tackled us.  Legos (Ninjago, Friends, and a Kingdoms chess set), electric circuit boards, "Phineas and Ferb" dvd, a mandala maker, and a woodland critter village.  They raced downstairs and played hard for the 1 1/2 hours before Bud headed to camp.  They liked our presents almost as much as the ones they'd exchanged between them.

While Bud was at camp (after a birthday pancake breakfast), Sis and I visited our church friend, Miss M, who is undergoing treatment for cancer.  We had a great time talking to her and especially exploring her garden.  Sis liked her "money plant" and another that made little "purses" containing a seed similar to ground cherries.  After lunch, Sis played with young babysitter M while I had an appointment.  M brought each child a dessert kit mimicking flower pots--one even had dirt and gummy worms--as well as markers and glow sticks and such.

Thursday
Mostly, a break from birthday fever.

Friday
On Friday, Goo came up early for the birthday party.  He helped us shop for last-minute food, birthday girl/boy badges, and thank-you cards.  More importantly, he also helped us pick up not one but two birthday cakes, chocolate-frosted chocolate and vanilla-frosted with strawberry (yes, I buy them from the bakery frosted but undecorated--I can't bake, torte, frost, and decorate two cakes the day before so opt for decorating over baking).  We spent part of the afternoon decorating the cakes.  Using a toothpick, Sis drew her standard bunny and then we outlined and filled it with white.  Sis also added grass, flowers, and the sun.  Later, in the day, we helped Bud do a facial portrait of his stuffed penguin, "Mr. Big" (aka Mumble from Happy Feet).  Because it was a portrait, Bud asked for more help but was similarly  pleased with the results.  

Then we all went to dinner at the local Tex-Mex place, which we chose because we knew they make a big deal about the birthdays.  After shrimp fajitas, chicken mole enchiladas, fish tacos, vegetarian quesadillas . . . and chicken fingers, plus chips and salsa the staff brought out apple burritos, flan, and sopapillas, along with giant sombreros.  With candles aglow, they sang first in Spanish and then in English.  The kids were thrilled.  Mind you, this was the third birthday meal for each--they both went for individual meals with Mama (sushi for one, pancakes for the other) and then a big Italian lunch with us after seeing Brave, almost all with singing and desserts (not free ones, though; no one does that anymore, it seems, which is fine).

Saturday 
The kids woke not-as-early-as-we-expected and headed straight to Goo's room, where he had tucked his presents--Legos for both of them.  They put together and played with those until the three adults got into the kitchen and started breakfast.  Goo made homemade scallion pancakes with dipping sauce a la Alton Brown and I made sourdough biscuits.

Soon Ma and Gong arrived and we packed the car to head to their party at the Eli Whitney Museum, where they would make wooden toys with their friends.  I'd say about 10 kids were there, neighbors and classmates, plus their parents, Ma, Gong, Goo, and Babysitter.  They separated into two tables--one for the dragon toy that moved head and tail in sync (Sis's choice) and one for the Frankenstein's Cat toy that had a motot that made it wiggle (Bud's choice).  Wearing safety goggles, they sanded, colored, and constructed their toys, with the careful, double-sided coloring taking by far the most time.  Then everyone ate pizza and cakes, which I think were much appreciated for their decoration--all the kids knew how much Sis and Bud like penguins and bunnies, strawberries and chocolate.  After taking a picture of the group, we wandered the park outside the museum (the museum seems pretty disorganized during the summer--marble run is broken, no exhibitions) and particularly played in the water tables.

We got home midday and spent the heat of the day in the house opening their horde of presents.  Mercy, such great games (Headbandz, Apples to Apples, Blink), books, arts and crafts (beads, bracelets, vases, bird house, snow globes), make-a-story book, books, doll clothes, dress, Legos.  I still think it's odd to open presents at home--sure, there never seems to be enough time at destination parties and parents are uncomfortable with the inherent greediness of opening piles of presents (plus the fear of ungrateful or untactful kids)--but I'm not sure it's less greedy to disassociate gifts from the gift-giver and prevent kids from practicing the fundamental skill of receiving gracefully and gratefully (also, the art and joy of giving, when they're on the other end--it's so odd to deposit a gift like a toll and only know later that they got it when you get a generic thank-you note, if you get one).  Still, I haven't bucked suburban tradition.  Yet.  Maybe next year if there are fewer kids or if we have the party at home.  Especially because I'd like people to know how much the kids really enjoyed and appreciated all the presents.  There were squeals, exclamations, and then the opening of practically every kit and game . . . .

We went for an early dinner altogether, at a Japanese place.  But we didn't get the birthday dessert--Bud had been there for birthday sushi and gotten one 10 days earlier.

Yep, that's a lot of celebrating.  so, we tucked them into bed tonight, wished them "happy birthday" one more time and called the fete over, as great as it was.

"And I Helped!"

The kids decorated their own cakes this year (one with more help than the other; both started by drawing with toothpicks and then using my Wilton cake decorating arsenal--note the fancy "grass" tip--and pre-tubed icings.  And, of course, bakery cakes purchased frosted but undecorated).

Can you guess which is whose?!

The Summer Unplug

This summer I'm trying to unplug during daylight hours unless the kids are plugged in, an extension and adaptation of my after-school unplug,  And they haven't been DSing much, choosing movies for their limited screen time instead (they get about an hour a day unless we're watching a movie--see why they're choosing movies??), which we mostly watch together.  And at night, I try to observe another unplug with Mama--no smartphones or extended computer time in the bedroom!

So I'm not posting much, especially this busy birthday week.  In the last few days, we've 

• visited our church friend, who is undergoing cancer treatment (Sis loved her garden and brought home "money plant" seeds!)
• taken Sis to the doctor for her 5-day old cough, which is likely bronchialitis; we'll go back next week for meds if it continues
• gardened a few times, trying to prune plants that suffered in the heat, redirected the spiderwort, and watered everything
• baked "birthday brownies"
• designed with perler beads
• drawn mandalas
• played Legos, chess, checkers, Brave
• watched the kids perform a stop-action Phineas and Ferb movie
• experimented with oil, water, sugar, and colors
• decorated the bathtub with new tub crayons
• visited the adoptable kittens at the local pet food store
• had swim lessons
• eaten out
• discovered that the kids will eat homemade quesadillas!
• gone shopping
• watched Mulan
• watched "A Taste of History"--Sis was fascinated to see the chef behind City Tavern, where we ate in Philly
• had babysitter time
• visited with neighbors
• talked to family on the phone

And I'm sure there's more. Though, funny, none of those were on the "summer fun" list.  I'll try to remember the most interesting things so I can tell you about them.

Right Now

Seven years ago today....happy birthday!

Summer Fun: Tidbits

36.  Playdates with friends

"Bud, I want to be your minion forever!"

From Bud's playdate on Monday.  They had performed a magic show and a talent show and then were doing a play, with a wizard and a runaway girl and all sorts of magic and mayhem.

-=-=-=-=--=

I was encouraging Bud to help me with our plan for the day when he paused, "Mom, I can't plan the future."

-=-=-=-=-=-

Sis to Bud at dinner last night, "Bud, say something that makes sense!"  And he wasn't even practicing the Giberrish language Babysitter had just taught him.

Summer Fun: Hanging with Sis

We should have put random arts and crafts on our summer fun list so I can cross it off!  This morning (as well as yesterday afternoon), Sis and I made doodads with perler beads.  I haven't figured out the whole perler aesthetic, though--are you supposed to be able to see the holes or just melt the beads into oblivion?  We tend to the latter.

Otherwise, today we had breakfast together at a local cafe, with Sis eating out the insides of a huge croissant.  We picked up some items at the store.  And saw 3 bunnies and a crossing of geese during our travels.  The goslings are all grown up and indistinguishable from the other geese.  Sounds pretty rural, no?

We played bakery outside in the mud, surveyed and tended to the garden, and then came inside.  Now Sis is taking a break (or, really, humoring my taking a break) to old seasons of the original "Fraggle Rock," as she gears up for more activities this afternoon, including an oil-and-colored-water experiment we just got oil for (wasn't going to use my expensive grapeseed on science!).

Sacrifices to the Sun God

The heat has claimed many victims in our garden, despite protective watering:  potted carnations, lobelia, lantana, and fuschia are dead.  The double impatiens, hydrangea, salvia, pincuschion plant, and petunias are hanging on, barely.  There's been a break in temperature, thankfully; now, we could use some rain.  Usually my garden doesn't succumb until August.

Summer Fun: Busy Morning

8.  Paint

49. Build fairy houses

Summer Fun: Scottish Weekend, Part 2

40.  Go see a movie in a theater.

We loved Brave.  The characters, the plot, the settings, the humor, the themes, the moral, the score, all of which we parsed over birthday pizza lunch.  We liked strong Merida who can shoot an arrow accurately from horseback but who also recognizes when she makes a mistake and is brave enough to fix it; plus unlike ALL other princesses, she is neither interested in falling in love/getting married nor does so accidentally by the end of the film (a la Belle, Pochahontas, Mulan, Rapunzel). Marriage is just not her raison d'etre. Finally. We also liked her three mischievous brothers and her loving dad.  And especially her graying and wrinkled yet beautiful and powerful mum, voiced by none other than Emma Thompson.  After spending yesterday at the Highland Games, we spotted numerous Scottish details--caber tossing, hammer throws, dancing, clans, tartans, bagpipes, frosted biscuits, and all the accents. We liked the magic and the legends, the standing stones and will o'the wisps, even the woodcarving witch.  We even liked the breathtaking scenery and the lovely, lilting music. Sure, both kiddos got scared during the intense bear scenes.  And three of the four of us cried at the touching ending.  But no complaints.  No negative comparisons to other Pixar or Disney films ('cos I didin't really like Cars or Toy Story that much).  No kvetching about weak male characters (anybody else notice that one of the suitors sorta resembled Prince Charles, but blonde?  Or was it just me?).  No complaining about an anti-feminist solution to the main plot problem (because really, it wasn't. Sewing at a full gallop is just not all that traditional.  Especially since she has a dual with her dad afterwards!  Can't find the review I read that in, though.).  Why do I even read reviews?  We thought it was wonderful.  All of  us. 


And we spent the afternoon playing with the action figures and castle!


(We also liked the Pixar short, La Luna, which was very sweet and surprising.)

Right Now

Celebrating birthdays early:  a movie, lunch with desserts and singing, some shopping, and presents soon!

Summer Fun: Scottish Weekend, Part 1

39.  Go to local festivals.

I thought I'd write summation of our visit to the Highland Games today but found I'd already done that three years ago--and not much changed!  We still spent a sizable time eating--including all the same foods, such as fish and chips, scotch egg, "haggis puff", steak pie, Empire biscuits, shortbread, and some frozen lemonade (with a scoop of raspberry sorbet!).  And we really enjoyed watching all the competitions, from the bagpipes  to dancing, plus caber toss, hammer throw, some other kind of heavyweight toss (which actually hit a judge in the arm which luckily and amazingly wasn't broken), and drum major drills,  We  liked the bagpipe-rock music of MacTalla M'or.  We really liked the various bands of drums and bagpipers.  We shopped, getting a "tartan cat" tea towel, our Clan Hay tartan scarf, and some flapjacks (think oatmeal bars).  And the kids relished visiting the Clan Village to complete their passports--learning about clan castles, war cries, the history of the Scottish kings, Stirling Castle, the St. Andrew's Cross, the thistle, etc--and earning a commemorative water bottle for their efforts.

The only difference from three years ago?  Oh, the heat.  It's been quite a hot spell, with heavy humidity, making it really a struggle to enjoy being outside.

Party City

It feels like one big party-prep over here.  Bud and I spent the morning running errands for their birthday party:  two cakes--one chocolate and one strawberry-filled--frosted but undecorated so I can add a bunny and Mr. Big respectively (good thing I took that Wilton class, Mama Teacher!); investigations on sandwich platters, which are much more expensive than pizza, but Sis doesn't eat pizza; and emails both to invited guests to generate some RSVPs (there are more than 14 outstanding, I believe!  We invited the whole class but of course don't expect them all to attend . . . still, that's a huge differential for planning purposes).  The kids are really counting down to the party, almost more than their actual birthday.  Can you believe they are seven?

Then this afternoon, I've been prepping for tonight's farewell shindig for my dear playgroup friend Miss BB, who is moving about 45 minutes away--mercy, that's practically half the state away (east to west, it only takes about 2 hours).  I'm glad she's getting her dream home of more square footage and more land.  And I know I will still communicate with and even see her (though that distance is beyond me right now).  Still, it's not the same as the unexpected meetings at school functions, the last-minute drop-in coffee dates and, before that, weekly hours-long playdates we've known for the last 6 1/2 years.  She's loved and she will be missed.  So, it was with a heavy heart that I made Cheese Dip (Queso) and cut up veggies for dip (Wildtree Dill--1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sour cream + 2 teaspoons dill blend), gathered plasticware and checked on refrigerated sodas.   Still, it will be great to gather together tonight, knowing she'll be close enough to continue partying with us on occasion.


-=-=-=-=-=-


Cheese Dip (Queso)
2 lbs. Velveeta
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes with chilies


Combine til melted and heated through.  Eat with corn chips.


(The slower version has you sauteeing some onions in a bit of oil and then adding the cheese and tomatoes. Eh).


traditional Texas party dip




"Fancy" Cheese Dip
1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. sausage

1 onion, chopped

2 lbs. Velveeta

1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and chilies

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

1/4 teaspoon garlic power

1/4 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

            Brown meats and onion.  Add remaining ingredients and cook until onion is tender and cheese melts.  Serve warm with corn chips.

Gommie Hungry

                                                                        

Score One for Corporate America

Okay, I know I often rail about consumerism and corporate America, but I'm here to say kudos to one of the biggest of them all:  Kraft, by way of Nabisco, which makes Oreos.

Yep, the Gay Oreo.

I guess there is one major advantage of such huge corporations:  they are so bent on profits that they'll follow and support dominant social trends, in this case LGBTQ rights.

So, for once, it's sweet to be in bed with the enemy.

Texas in the Times

I usually don't like to see Texas in the NYTimes, but this week was a rare exception.  There was a review of a wonderful-sounding barbecue restaurant on 26th Street, Hill Country Barbecue.  And then descriptions of three of their dishes, including a recipe for corn pudding, in the Diner's Journal.  There was even an article about a barbecue contest in NJ, though I was suspicious when a supposed master of Texas-style bbq mentioned his pulled pork sandwich.

In another section altogether, there was a review of Gail Collins's new book, As Texas Goes, which sounds more like the usual news about the Lone Star State in the Times.  But Collins is usually funny and perceptive, so the book would probably be worth a read.

While I'm eating some of that Hill Country banana pudding . . . .

-=-=-=-=-=-

Mommy Hungry's Banana Pudding 

12 oz. vanilla wafers, reserving 8-10 and crushing the rest (beyond recognition)

tub of Cool Whip (large)--I haven't made this since I gave up fake whipped cream and will have to test it with the real thing!

package of cream cheese (large)

package of Jello Instant Vanilla pudding (large)

5 bananas, sliced in rounds

milk

            Line the bottom of the dish with uncrushed wafers.

            Make the pudding.  Add cream cheese and cool whip, beating with mixer.  Add bananas and half of the crushed wafers.

            Spoon pudding mixture on top of whole wafers.  Cover with remaining half of crushed wafers.

            Refrigerate and serve.

Mommy Hungry

Right Now

I love the Boston Pops's piccolo players, who stand up in "Stars and Stripes Forever" every year!

Right Now

Was that 1WTC lit up in the background of the Macy's fireworks??!!!

Summer Fun: Happy Fourth!

54.  Celebrate July 4th


It's an odd holiday this year, on Wednesday, smack in the middle of the week.  Sis wasn't even be home because she had GS camp (I know, odd; it was a quiet day for us and I missed being part of a big gathering of family, friends, food, and fireworks).  So we saved our big meal for late in the day, which is just as well because Mama took Bud on a sushi date, an early birthday present for just the two of them (you won't believe what they inhaled: squid, octopus, tuna, salmon, ikura/salmon roe, tobiko/flying fish roe, sea urchin, freshwater eel, unagi and anago/fresh and seawater eels, shrimp, jumbo sweet shrimp, crabstick, salmon skin handroll . . . and dessert for his birthday, a tempura ice cream!).  I stayed home, making food and hanging out.  When Sis got home at 5 pm, we started with nachos and later had our indoor July 4th picnic, including:

• Shish kebabs, actually just the chicken because the kids weren't up for the rest and we were cooking indoors
• Oven fries--we ate two whole trays of this!  And that's without Bud's help.
• Sumi Salad--Bud's favorite red cabbage slaw, from a recipe at our new church
• Pasta and Bean salad--very good with red kidney beans and tri-color penne
• My adaptation of the mint iced tea we had at the Greenmarket last weekend
• Strawberry Soda Ice Cream--Wow!  This was the best strawberry ice cream I've ever had
• Chocolate sorbet--this didn't freeze well because we overworked the machine but since it's just chocolate sugar-water, we're gonna try again tomorrow.  Sis likes the mix, though.

To mark the occasion, we talked about patriotism (love of country vs. nationalism, belief in your country's exceptionalism and superiority) and what was special about the USA--freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to gather, votes for women, some state legalization of same-sex marriage, the new changes in healthcare law and immigration (that executive order that resembles in part the Dream Act), the gumbo (not melting pot) of diverse religions and ethnicities, the beauty of the land, the rich history--but also noted that many other countries have such rights and resources (cue "Finlandia" here--"But other hearts in other lands are beating/with hopes and dream as true and high as mine"), mentioning though the countries that didn't have such freedoms (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Uganda, China, etc.  We also talked about things that we wished we could change about our country, desiring full nationalized healthcare, federal same-sex marriage rights (like Canada or Denmark), maternity leave, the full Dream Act and other issues.  More than that, we wished for peace at home and abroad, more equality (racial, gender, economic) and compassion.  

Then we ate ice cream.


The kids are in bed and we're watching some of the televised celebrations, just enjoyed John Williams conduct (I saw him once conduct his famous movie scores in Houston), was touched by Javier Colon (a local CT boy, whom we saw open for the Indigo Girls a few years back) singing "Stand By Me," and looking forward to Megan Hilty (oops, missed her in the opening and saw her on DVR--great!) and Amber Riley.  


And to waving at the crowd at the Macy's fireworks in NYC, somewhere within which is dear Mrs. S.!


(Maybe next year, we'll cover the myths of July 4th!)
-=-=-=-=-


Authentic Texas Nachos
bag of corn chips
block of sharp cheddar cheese
jalapeno slices, if desired

Spread chips in single layer across a large cookie sheet.  Put a single, thin slice of cheese on each chip and a jalapeno slice, as desired.   Do NOT dump a bag of grated cheddar cheese on top of the chips.  (And if you want cheese sauce, well, that's queso and a different recipe--melt a lb. block of Velveeta with a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes, eat with chips . . .or a spoon!)

Broil until cheese bubbles and turns slightly golden.

Eat immediately, careful not to burn yourself on the edge of the tray.

Mommy Hungry


Shish Kebabs

2 pounds meat (peeled shrimp, chicken, or beef)

1 dozen cherry tomatoes

16 oz. pineapple chunks

1 dozen small fresh mushrooms

2 green peppers cut in 1” squares

½ cup chopped parsley

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup fresh lemon juice

½ cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

            Place in a mixing bowl with the oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, parsley, salt, and pepper, and mix well.  Add the meat, pineapple, mushrooms, and green pepper, and mix well.  Let it marinate for one hour, stirring now and then.  Mount everything on skewers, which have been soaking in water.  Leave a little space between them so the heat can circulate; otherwise something may come out raw.  Place over hot coals for five minutes, basting them with the marinade now and then.  Turn them over, baste some more and cook for five minutes more.

Gommie Hungry

Oven Fries
Slice into strips washed, but not peeled, potatoes.
Place potato strips in ice water in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
Drain water. 
Toss 1 tablespoon of oil in potatoes, totally covering.
Place potatoes on greased (Pam-sprayed) cookie sheet. 
Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes or until brown.
Sprinkle with Lawry’s season salt.




Sumi Salad

3-6 oz. packages shredded red cabbage, or 1/2 head of firm cabbage, chopped
1 package Ramen noodles, crushed while in package (save the seasoning packet)
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons slivered almonds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sesame oil
6 tablespoons rice vinegar, plain, not seasonred
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt

In small pan, heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil.  Add sesame seeds and almonds.  Brown, stirring constantly.  don't let burn.  Set aside.  Chop scallion, using tops as well.  Combine crushed Ramen, scallion, and cabbage in a large bowl.  Mix together. In another bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, 1/2 cup of sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar, seasoning packet, salt, and pepper.  Combine all, stirring well.  Store covered in refrigerator overnight.  Stir a few times during the day before serving.  (*I'm working on using less oil and substituting olive oil in this recipe).

Church cookbook




Pasta and Bean Salad (Seed Savers' Heritage Bean Salad)

1 1/2 cups dried beans (I've used a mixture of heirloom beans from Laurel Hill; Seed Savers calls for Lena Cisco's Birds Egg)

1 box pasta, cooked al dente according to directions (any shape, I used tri-color penne)

Vinaigrette -

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 t. Dijon mustard (I used spicy brown)
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Cook dried beans (I soaked them overnight in salt water) by bringing to a boil for five minutes and then simmering for about 1 1/2 hours.  Cook pasta al dente.   Prepare vinaigrette. Add dressing ingredients while beans and pasta are still warm. Chill for several hours. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Add corn, red onion, chunks of fresh mozzarella, red/yellow bell pepper, celery, olives, or whatever sounds good.

Mommy Hungry via Seed Savers

Mommy Hungry's Greenmarket Mint Tea
2-3 cups mint leaves
2-3 tablespoons sugar, to taste
juice of 1/2 large lemon

Steep mint leaves and sugar in 2 cups hot water.  When water is much cooler or even room temperature, add cold water to fill pitcher (1 liter+) and lemon juice.

Mommy Hungry




Strawberry Soda Ice Cream
Just saw this in Food Network Magazine and it reminded me of the Big Red soda we made at camp (sans strawberries)!  It was delicious.  We also made root beer ice cream at camp, which was also awesome.  This recipe, below, makes about the best strawberry ice cream I've ever had.
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
3/4 cup red cream soda (Big Red!) or regular cream soda
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and mashed


Whisk the condensed milk, half-and-half, cream soda, cream and strawberries in a medium bowl.  Churn in ice cream maker.  Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.


Laura Duckworth, Food Network Magazine




Chocolate Sorbet
2 cups water

1 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened (or Dutch process) cocoa powder

Combine the water and sugar in a heavy saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the cocoa and bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat and pour through a fine strainer into a bowl. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Stir the cool mixture, then freeze in your ice cream maker. When finished, the sorbet will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer sorbet, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.


Bruce Weinstein, The Ultimate Ice Cream Book

Right Now

I bet that gullywasher just now interrupted several picnics.  But it's over and festivities can resume.

Have fun in the city at the fireworks, Mrs. S!

Camp Candy

Sis came home yesterday brimming with another recipe from camp, this time the one thing she had most looked forward to:  rock candy!  She had been talking about making rock candy since choosing her camp session way back during the winter.  Even though she didn't really even know what it was!  But candy is candy . . . .

In her words . . .

Camp Rock Candy
8 cups sugar
4 cups water
7 drops food coloring
2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Huge pot.

Mix.

Boil.

Put in Jar.

Let harden.

Eat.

(For real instructions, see here.)

Summer Fun: The Nano-Honeymoon

After dropping the kids off at Ma and Gong's for their first sleepover--and our first weekend alone since their births 6 years and 50 weeks ago! (we called it the nano-honeymoon because we never had one, unless you count our decade without children!)--we headed to the Lower East Side.  We had a long list of possibilities, from bialys to knishes but settled on doughnuts for breakfast.

Great place to start the day-- Doughnut Plant !

Ah, Doughnut Plant.  They really rival the doughnut place in Westport for the best doughnuts ever.  They get extra points for unique flavors (and for spelling doughnut with "dough").  Mama devoured the luscious Coconut Cream and I was rapturous over the Orange Blossom Cashew Doughseeds (holes).  We both also liked the others we got--lavender, creme brulee, and chocolate black out (hmm, I feel like there was one more).  We got there too late to try the Rose one, which I know I would have loved.

Lowe East Side Tenement Museum--not air-conditioned.

The temperature was close to 90F mid-morning when we started our guided tour of the Lower East Side Tenement museum, which is NOT air-conditioned.  Yes, it gave us the real tenement experience.  Almost, because there were still electric fans and we weren't wearing long dresses with corsets.  Still, even on such a bright day, the unlit entranceway was forboding and the back room of each tenement was dark and airless.  The three rooms in each "apartment"--four to a floor--were smaller than my living room and probably held many more people than my family of four, including employees who worked in tenement sweatshops, i.e. the parlor, for 60+ hours a week.  We were on the "Sweatshop Workers" tour and heard all about long work-weeks with no access to the downstairs privvies because it caused such delays (all workers shared the chamber pot!), the effects of the Triangle Shirt Waist factory fire, the implications of the six-day work week in factories for Jewish families and the younger generations who became more "Americanized."  It was all quite sobering, the grinding poverty and miserable conditions.  But many got out of the tenements--and descendants of the original families at 97 Orchard are still in the 5 boroughs.

I had just, purposefully, read a wonderful book, 97 Orchard:  An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families by Jane Ziegelman, which investigates the foodways of immigrants and tenement families in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  The book was fascinating not only for the original recipes but also for its explications of similarities (they all seemed to eat herring in some form or another) and differences (how the Italians were very poor but dedicated to imported Italian foods while the Irish didn't have much dedication to their own indigenous foodways; also, the different relationships to alcohol) of the successive waves of foreigners.  It also provides a mini-history on immigration in this country, at least on the East Coast.  While my family immigrated here from Germany as well as French Canada (very few French actually immigrated to the US, except some of those in Canada, proportionally a very small number), ours is not the urban immigrant story.  No one went through Ellis Island--most came before that--and they all headed to the rural South--Tennessee, Louisiana, and, of course, Texas--to be farmers, ministers, and the like.  Still, I recognized specific German food traditions--dumplings and noodles, especially.  And, as a former New Yorker, I connected with this aspect of the city's history, though my own emigration--with money, English-language skills, a home, resources and connections--was so much easier.

Colorful yarn at the Green Market of Union Square

After our tour, we left the "Downstairs" aspect of our "Upstairs, Downstairs" weekend--though, really, I doubt many of those tenement girls or boys became servants on the Upper East Side, except perhaps the most menial.  We headed to Union Square, where we wandered through the tempting Green Market.  I admired some beautiful yarn and lots of produce but in the end only got a thirst-quenching citrus-mint iced-tea sweetened with maple syrup.  We had lunch at Chat 'N Chew, a comfort-food diner where we'd eaten years ago when I worked off 13th Street nearby.  We shared an amazing macaroni and cheese and house salad; Mama also had refreshing gazpacho.  And an icy Boylan's Black Cherry.

The staircase of the Rubin Museum of (Tibetan) Art

After checking into our hotel, leaving our luggage and having a brief respite, we went to the Rubin Museum of Art, a museum devoted to the art of the Himalayas.  I love the staircase, with its Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired spiral under a beautiful dome.  You have to always note the staircases in museums--they are multivalent, raising the pedestrian both literally and figuratively off the mundane ground into the high realm of art and often the main architectural statement.  The Met (and many institutions in classical buildings) does it twice--once off 5th Ave and then again up out of the lobby to the centrally-placed European art department.  MOMA does it with escalators.  The Guggenheim very famously makes the twisting ramp the actual galleries.  The Rubin has the same spiral shape, more oval than circular, but there are stairs not a ramp.

I was even more impressed with the holdings and the layout of the museum.  Even with some undergrad credits in Asian art, I appreciated the Gateway to Himalayan art galleries that elucidated iconography (Buddha, Arhats, Boddhisattva, Wraithful Deities, Tantric Deities, plus their hand gestures and accoutrement), media (lost-wax casting, scroll painting), and religious function.  There was also a first-rate handout summarizing all of it for when we went to the other floors.  I especially liked the shrine room set up to evoke a wealthy Tibetan's own shrine, with numerous statues, offerings, and the sounds of chants.  I was unaccountably moved to recite the phrases of metta as I stood there, never having been so touched in an art museum.  I was also captivated by the digital representation of the kind of visualization Tibetan monks do with mandalas.  An animated short showed a palace in brightly-colored three dimensions and the path to successive floors until you reached the top, which in the two-dimensional mandala is the center.  Fascinating.

We also liked the installation of sacred texts, with the rectangular Tibetan sutras and their wooden book covers.  They're rectangular because they were originally printed on long palm leaves.  Interestingly, there were Korans, Bibles, and other important texts on display to compare and contrast the physical treatment of sacred texts across cultures.  (Mind you, it's not often that a Bible is a "token" in an art exhibition.  Usually, it's the other way, with one vitrine dedicated to non-Western/non-Christian.)

I don't have a photograph to represent our afternoon activity:  tea at Lady Mendl's, which is inside the Inn at Irving Place, where we were staying.  We showered first--mercy, did I mention it was just crazy hot?--and put on our fancy clothes.  And really just relished the entire experience, all five courses of it!  From an amuse bouche of butternut squash tartlet to various tea sandwiches (the usual egg, cucumber, turkey and cranberry, and salmon), from delicate butter scones with very authentic clotted cream and jam to a slice of signature Lady Mendl crepe cake, to assorted cookies (Eh, mediocre.  Cookies at these teas always are) and a chocolate-dipped strawberry.  I had a pot of Marbury rose tea (Marbury was the last name of Lady Mendl's female lover of many years . . . before Lady Mendl married Lord Mendl!).  We talked about all the times we've had tea together, beginning at the Palmer House in Chicago, then tea all over England (Leeds, York, Marlborough, Salisbury, Fortnum & Mason's in London, which doesn't include my tea with Lambeth at the beautiful manor), Silver Tips in Tarrytown, Alice's Tea Cup, and the British Shoppe in Madison.  It's one of our favorite things to do and Lady Mendl's was a high point.

In the kids' section at the Strand

We waited until sundown and a drop in temperatures below 90F before heading out again to the Strand, our current favorite bookstore.  What's not to like about 18 miles of books?  Except maybe not being able to peruse even a fraction of it in a single visit.  We spent a lot of time in our favorite sections--Buddhism, cookbooks, children's, manga/graphic novels, audiobooks--and ended up with three heavy bags of purchases, most of them half price.

New veg fast food in the city--a great snack!

After another respite, we headed out for a late-night snack, our fifth of the day (including an unremarkable breakfast in CT before we left).  Maoz is a European import with outlets mainly in big cities (and Austin, TX, I think).  The main food is a falafel and eggplant pita, with hummus, with all the salads you can stuff into it, like marinated beets, tabouleh, chickpeas, marinated carrots, marinated broccoli and cauliflower) plus garlic sauce and tahini, with a side of Belgian-esque fries (seemed like steak fries to me) and a mint iced tea (or was it lemon?).  We reveled in ours while watching the action in Union Square.  I wished they'd had Maoz when I lived in NYC.  Mmmmm.

Our home-away-from-home--the Inn at Irving Place

We'd been in and out of our hotel several times throughout Saturday and ended the evening just enjoying the space.  The boutique hotel has 11 rooms in two early 19th-century mansions, which are now joined and decorated in what I lovingly called shabby Victorian chic.  Downstairs is Lady Mendl's tearoom, as well as the little lobby, which was redolent with jasmine and other scents from these Trapp fragrances (Bob's Flower Shop, actually).  We didn't play chess but did borrow some books, one on tea houses and the other on women in art.  Yep, books.  Our room--the O'Henry--also had books, real ones, including O'Henry's stories.  

The Lobby/Parlor

Our room!!

Anyway, it was absolutely lovely, totally relaxing and comfortable, enveloping us in peace and tranquility, all with an historic flair.  Just the opposite of the Tenement museum, though pretty much concurrent with it.  Talk about haves and have nots.  

Sunday Chocolate Brunch @ Max Brenner's

We luxuriated in the room until midmorning, with a breakfast of almond and chocolate pastries and more tea (this time I tried lavender mint and Mama had peony, neither as great at the night before).  We then browsed Forbidden Planet and headed for brunch (yes, we squeezed in as many meals as we could).  Mmmm, chocolate brunch at Max Brenner's.  We started with beer batter onion rings with Ranch-cocoa dressing (no you couldn't taste it) along with a hazelnut milkshake and dark chocolate granita.  Mama had a skillet breakfast (eggs, onions, mushrooms, cheese, potatoes, spinach etc) and a side of baguette with milk and white chocolate dipping sauces.  I had dark and white chocolate blintzes with milk chocolate sauce.

With that, we were all done.  With breakfast, with our hotel, with our weekend in the city.  Re-entry into the real world of parenting and work was messy, but much of the rest and relaxation of the weekend (along with the jasmine scent because I bought some spray!) have stayed with us.

Mommy and the Giant Falafel

We're reading James and the Giant Peach these day and got a tickle out of coming up with other titles:

• Bud and the Giant Strawberry (Blueberry, Raspberry, Blackberry . . .)
• Sis and the Giant Chocolate Chip
• Mama and the Giant Potato Chip
• Mommy and the Giant Bean
• Bud and the Giant Fish Ball
• Sis and the Giant Baguette
• Mama and the Giant Half-Sour Pickle
• Mommy and the Giant Truffle

Summer Fun: What a Weekend!

So much to tell you about the weekend, which we referred to as a "nano-honeymoon."  We spent 24 hours all by ourselves in Manhattan, first on the Lower East Side and then around Union Square.  It was wonderful!  Highlights to talk about later ("camp" is over for me, so it might take a bit):

• delectable doughnuts from Doughnut Plants
• the Lower East Side Tenement Museum
• walking the LES
• Hot hot hot
• the Inn at Irving Place
• Chat 'n Chew
• Greenmarket
• the Rubin Museum of Tibetan Art
• tea at Lady Mendl's
• Strand Bookstore
• Maoz vegetarian fast food
• brunch at Max Brenner's

Just call it our "Upstairs, Downstairs" weekend.

Meanwhile, the kids had their first sleepover at Ma and Gong's, enjoying the beach and the ice cream truck, hanging out with Goo and watching a movie (the Depp Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and eating a ton of food and playing with all of the toys, including new remote-control cars.

Which means we crossed more items off our list (we didn't all do them altogether but that's okay):


21.  Sleepover with Ma and Gong
24.  Go to an art museum.
30.  Go to the beach.
31.  Build sandcastles.
61.  Visit an historic house or living history museum.

Now, we're home, with Sis at camp again this week and Bud here with me.  We've already built a furnished house out of Legos, been to swim lessons, and watched "Phineas and Ferb."  Soon he'll be going with me to Pilates and then he might be having a playdate with a friend. Whew, plus kung fu tonight (he's on the team, now, to see if he likes it, and it meets for two hours twice a week) and it's a long day. 

Whew!