first up: we had a blast making delicious & nutritious (and easy!) gnocchi. They turned out okay, but I'll make some adjustments to the recipe for next time. I think I'll try boiling the potatoes in the skins instead of baking. And maybe use more egg and more flour and maybe some ricotta.
Lib's job was to cut the dough into individual dumplings
Fiona's job was putting the divots in each dumpling (the better to hold the sauce)
don't they look good -even before boiling?
after boiling
Fi chose to test the divots & decorated her plate before eating. Presentation counts for something, right?
Dinner at my good friend Kelly's house. Both recipes came from the Barefoot Contessa. So delicious!
I was hungry for matzo ball soup, well before fall. Homemade stock, natch-what else to do with the leftovers from beer can chicken? I took my inspiration & a few tips from this website. MMMMMM comfort food!
the banana bread recipe that I've been using for so long that I don't need to refer to it anymore. This time I improvised a bit & used peanut butter for the fat instead of vegetable shortening. It was tasty without being overwhelming. Bonus: peanut butter has less fat than shortening -& it's a healthy fat too! I also used white chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet or milk chocolate. I will definitely try this again.
I'll post details later...I just wanted to get the pics up since I haven't been here for awhile -& now you know why :)
The first hat is called Spring Beret. I think I'll do another one but in a different color -and probably a different yarn. This is in Lily Peaches & Cream cotton. I'm afraid that it'll shrink like the dishcloths I've knit...and then I'd have an American Girl Doll sized hat for Fiona's Julie ;P
This one is called Foliage. I had seen the pattern last year some time, then while I was still working at JoAnn's I saw this yarn that was part of a four skein kit to make a felted purse. I thought it would be perfect for the Foliage hat. And then the kit went on clearance for $7.00 (plus discount!)!! And voila! A handmade christmas present from me for Olivia (hence Fiona is modeling)
generally don't appreciate their roots. And why, oh why, can't we have decent, innovative music here & now in the 2000's??? Must I ever more listen to "classic" rock? *sigh*
I know dogs have an acute sense of smell. And their hearing is also superior to humans in some respects. I imagine it all works together beautifully, as a complementary package. What I'm wondering today is exactly how acute is that system? I mean, it's one thing for my dog to hear the milk truck coming 'round the corner at 3am -and bark in warning for the whole neighborhood. And of course, the mailman gets a daily dose of "keep away from my territory" starting when he's 3 houses down on the other side of the street. But how hypersensitive are her senses to wake up at 5am when a coyote is padding down the middle of the street? And you know, me being the light sleeper that I am, I was immediately & rudely awoken so as to all the more quickly jump out of bed & take a look out the window at what intruder might be lurking nearby. Don't get me wrong, this time I wasn't disappointed. I'd started to think that the neighborhood coyote thing was an urban myth. But still. The twilight was silent -the birds weren't even singing yet. It's not like a coyote is clomping around in Doc Marten's or unlaced high tops. Padding might even be too loud of a description. Or was it the scent? Funny that she couldn't care less about the neighborhood fox. Ever. And the fox is the stinky one. It's the cat who get's all territorial with the fox. I loved that the coyote stopped to pause & consider our house more than once. Was it tempted to break that Cody mandated perimeter out of curiosity or defiance? Or was it hearing that vociferous warning & moving on down the line to less injurious pastures? Personally, I think our dog would sooner play than attack (not that I'm testing that theory out on the mailman anytime soon.) She's just that kind of gentle soul. Big old bark, no bite at all. And that's fine with me.
a single, tiny leaf suspended in midair on an invisible thread twirling silently, magically, in the early morning light. a wee mobile for a faerie child?
"I'm going to be tall, mom." she says this morning on our walk to the bus stop "I'm going to be taller than dad. THEN I'm going to be a super model." Asserted with the self-confidence of a promising future Like only an eleven year old can muster.
And she spouts poetry off the top of her head At the dinner table. Exuberantly, nonchalantly She doesn't even realize what she's doing.
"I'm really pretty, aren't I mom?" she asked me last night, Not really needing -or even waiting for- my approving response. A rhetorical question. "I could be a model."
And she bursts out in song at the top of her lungs in the car. Proudly, all happy-go-lucky, She can't stop, even when it irks someone else.
"I love you, mom" she whispers to me at night. She snuggles in closer, Though her body nearly equals mine in length. How did this happen, overnight, without my knowing?
Too many memories to trust to my sieve-like mind. My heart aches, Bursting full from the excess weight of delight and wonder And love
I just remembered that I forgot to post this last week:
I haven't read anything yet today about it, but I know that Maddie watched the speech live yesterday. And they didn't discuss it afterwards, but went back to their normal science lesson. Come to think of it, there wasn't a whole lot to discuss. It was a pep talk geared toward the 11+ crowd. The littles didn't view it nor do I think they would have walked away with much from it. Maddie did say that she wished Obama had said her name, as in: "Maddie, who had to live with 3 sisters and yet she is the now the founder of this environment saving thing". verbatim. (I never realized that living with siblings was such a trying circumstance to overcome, but apparently to an 11 year old girl, it is?)
Nikki had to watch it in one of her classes & there was debate afterward that leaned into politics. I guess anyone can read politics into anything, if they really want to. Someone said Obama was spoiling little kids' dreams by telling them they wouldn't be professional athletes -like telling them there is no Santa. Someone else said that he was excluding the blue collar jobs that are necessary for the country to function by encouraging kids to want to be scientists & doctors, etc. I say, thankfully he didn't mention that there's a place for everyone in society to be a "worker" -can you imagine the field day the conservative right would have with a "socialist" statement like that!? Poo poo.
As it was, the speech was merely a nationally televised, beginning of school year rally encouraging kids to do their best. Who better to deliver this message to our children than the president of the US. Pep talks from the president shouldn't be reserved for graduation commencements only.
Proof positive that we all breath the same air -when a wildfire burns unabated in Cali, the sky in CO is blech & the mountains disappear. Look at that horizon. I could be in Kansas....
And the sunrise outside our house. Wah! It was like this for four days too long! Hope the firefighters continue to be successful in the fire's containment.
Look what Maddie & I found at ARC last weekend! We were going to take it outside but when Maddie started carrying the book it was on, the Katydid started freaking out so we left it there. Yeah, I empathize; sometimes I'm most content when surrounded by books, too :)
I've been waiting on pins & needles for this speech with great curiosity as to what the all the furor is. Lucky for us, written speech was published today. I cannot fathom what fear the conservatives & stalwart anti-Obama folks have about this. I mean, seriously. I've read people comparing this to nazi indoctrination in 1930's Germany. Oh.My.God. Same people state that they will not allow their children to attend school on this day. That's right. Go on and hide your heads in the sand.
I personally feel that there is nothing wrong with the President of the United States speaking to children via a live broadcast at school. It's not a secret. It's not something that's been all on the down-low & children aren't allowed to talk about it with their parents. Or that parents can't view the same broadcast simultaneously as their kids. Now, if any of those factors were in place, THEN I'd have a problem with the speech.
What about the accompanying curriculum that the Board of Education has constructed that schools MAY use as a tie-in to the speech? I see nothing wrong with my kids writing a letter to themselves to be opened at a later date -no matter the "wording" in the purpose (i.e. "to help the President"). My 11 year old did this activity in school at the beginning of the year in, I think, 3rd grade. Not at the suggestion of the Board of Education. Or was it? She was in a US public school, led by a teacher who went through her own higher education in the US, and as a public school teacher in the US has to adhere to rules & suggestions made by the local school district -which in turn is accountable to the BOARD OF EDUCATION. Oh revelation of revelations! (And you know what?? My daughter's taken it upon herself to write subsequent letters to herself -sealed, to be opened at a later date -because she thought it was a good idea.)**
The thought occurred to me the other day -actually, a few thoughts: "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what can you do for your country"; and "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
People can run scared from the unknown- the leadership now at our country's helm is just that. A black man in the highest position of power in the USA with new ideas. But really, the only cure for fear of the unknown is education. I suggest instead of dragging heels into the present (and ultimately the future) like a petulant child being made to do some necessary chore, we be supportive of our President -all the while keeping an open mind to possibilities of success and staying abreast of the FACTS of what's happening. Change can't happen if we continue the way things have always been. And change is what we sorely need, as what's been done in the past clearly isn't working for the present.
Instead of "listening" with fingers in ears because the suggestions come from "a black man", (yeah, people may deny that, but you & I KNOW that covert racism in this country is insidiously rampant & that is the exact, albeit unspoken, sentiment of some Obama foes), actually listen. And listen well. And THINK before shooting down ideas that are different from the past. God help us all if we can't get over ourselves & come together as reasonable, responsible adults to fix what's wrong in our country and the world.
addendum: **(nor would I have any problem with my kids actually learning about the PRESIDENT of the United States in SCHOOL -living or deceased, whether or not I voted for him/her & whether or not I agree with all of his/her policy stances. As far as I know, there's still a system of checks & balances in place here that sometimes works in MY favor, sometimes not, so I'm not worried much about any one politician "indoctrinating" my kids. It's all a part of civics, is it not? to be aware & educated about how our government works & who exactly comprises said government. Hello!?!!)
Lib asked me this morning why do I make green smoothies every day. Because they're good for me & they taste good too. I think I've become kind of addicted to them. I can't imagine starting the day without one, actually. This one has spinach, o.j., banana, vanilla spirutein, and beet. Yes, beet. It was quite tasty. Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it!
