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Sunday, November 22, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Buddies
Otis has finally found his kayak/canoeing buddy!
On October 4, the two loves of my life set off for a great adventure. They paddled (OK, Otis paddled while Anna Jane sat back like a princess) up and down Middle Creek. The creek runs through the park and nature trail in our neighborhood.
You would have thought that they were going to be gone for days judging by the amount of snack food that they took on their voyage! They paddled around, took the boat out, wandered in the woods a little and then came home.
What was I doing while the adventurers were adventuring??? Taking a bubble bath!!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
I do not fancy myself a cake decorator (although, I do think I'm fancy in
lots of other ways!!). Our good friend, Amanda, celebrated her
Wonder Woman cake!
The frosting was too warm, so it kind of puddled together in places, but
I think it came out pretty good!
Anna Jane thinks so too!
Amanda and her sister, Mary Hunter, come over almost every Friday night
for low-key, casual dinner; usually pizza or other take-out. Sometimes I cook, sometimes they bring dinner...we kind of decide depending on what kind of week everyone has had.
For Amanda's special birthday dinner, I made a pork roast and
some yummy side dishes--but the cake was the big surprise.
Amanda loved Wonder Woman when she was little (even had her own outfit,
I think she still wears it in private...ssshhhh...). I found this cake pan at a yard sale probably
15 years ago and bought it for a quarter. When I found out that she was a WW fan, I knew that I finally had a use for that pan!
I wish I had some pictures of Amanda and her family. Her Mom and Dad
came over along with her sister for her birthday dinner. We ate like pigs, laughed and talked.
It was a fun evening and the dessert was good, but more importantly,
this is a friendship that I treasure because Amanda is...
wait for it...
WONDERFUL!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sea Kayaking with her Daddy!
We are enjoying a fabulous two week vacation
at Atlantic Beach, NC!
It's not exotic or tropical, but we have been
coming to the Crystal Coast every summer since 1992.
It's comfortable knowing exactly where to get the best
pizza, where all the movie theatres are, which restaurants
have two-for-one specials on what night and what time
the dolphins can be spotted every day!
Otis and Anna Jane had a blast in the surf
--it didn't last too long due to rough waves----and one terrible spill!
Anna Jane was a "tough girl" and didn't let it scare her but Daddy
felt like they would be better off bobbing around in their
lifejackets!
She will always remember the time that her Daddy
took to be with her. The way that he makes her feel
special and the way she feels safe with him.
Sowing seeds for future relationships with men, huh?
Someone will have big shoes to fill some day---
even though he only wears a 10 1/2.
Hmmmm...how puzzling...
While at the beach:Mr. Yoohoo nearly met with an untimely death after
being discovered lounging atop this puzzle.
What you don't understand is just how OCD my
Aunt Lynne has been about her puzzles.
She has commandeered the dining table at
one end. Thank goodness it seats about 10 or else
we would have been eating picnic style for two weeks!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Breakfast fit for a Princess!
Friday, August 21, 2009
A Mom's Dream Come True!
This picture is when she figured out that I was standing in the hall taking her picture--gotta love the pose--she can even "work" a vaccuum cleaner!
On Tuesay, I finally had a break-down. I was tired of cleaning
up this room over and over and over again. Anna Jane
was telling me what kinds of toys she wanted to add
to her Christmas list and birthday list (which is our
method of curtailing all of the whining during shopping visits, "Just
put it on your Santa list!") and I just snapped. I told her
that until she could start taking care of all the wonderful
toys that she already has--there would be NO NEW TOYS!
She sulked, she cried...she got busy!
It took her more than 5 hours (because the TV was on
and, well, a girl needs to take her time...) but she cleaned
this disaster area mostly (95%) by herself.
The she asked if she could vaccuum!
I couldn't resist taking pictures of the life event
that I have been waiting for!
She's getting too old, too quickly.
but can she dust?
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Now, finally, a cobbler that I can get behind...
I have never liked cobbler-of any kind.
No peach, no apple, no blueberry--and no cherry--YUCK!
Cobbler was wet, gooey biscuit dough on top of
mushy fruit--and I was supposed to pretend
to like it. As a kid, I didn'tknow that there was the
option of saying, "No, thank you".
If my dear Mother went to the trouble of making a homemade
dessert, I was going to act like I appreciated it, dammit!
And then yesterday, I had a cobbler epiphany:
the filling was delicious, the juices were sweet-yet a bit tart
and the crust....oh, my...that topping was crunchy
like a cookie in parts and soft like cake in others...
I have been converted!
I think I got the recipe from one of my favorite blogs,
A Southern Plate
but I could be mistaken--the recipe was scribbled
on a pad that I keep next to the computer just in case
I feel the need to jot something down.
I made it for just the three of us, so I halved the recipe.
Here it is:
you know what? Now that I look at this recipe--I didn't follow it quite right--
maybe that's why it was so good--I'll tell the way it is supposed to be done
and then what I did by accident!
Peach Cobbler
- 3-4 cups of sliced peaches
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 stick of butter (oh yeah!)
- 3/4 C flour
- 2 t. baking powder
- 1/4 t. salt
- 3/4 C. milk
Mix peaches with 1/2 of sugar (this is the step I missed!). Let sit.
Melt the butter in a 13 x 9 in. pan. Meanwhile, combine sugar, flour, baking powder, milk and salt. (I used all 2 cups of sugar here which probably explains the cookie-like texture)
Pour batter over melted butter--do not stir. Spoon peaches on top (I used peaches that I had frozen last summer--the whole reason for making this was to use up those peaches)
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour--put a cookie sheet under it for goodness sakes--mine poofed up and looked like a pan full of bubbles-then it relaxed, fell and started to brown. You may need more time. I cooked mine until it was nice and browned on top.
Serve with vanilla ice cream, of course! And use a spoon so that you don't miss any of that juice!
Go in peace!
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