Note to Self and The Adult Violet: June 24, 2007

It is never a good idea to try to refinish a dresser in one day.

The dresser that was in your room, Young Violet, is the same dresser that was in my room when I was your age. I don’t remember what color it was back then, but sometime during my teenage years it became green. It is currently green…and brown…and some color I can’t even name. I want this project to mysteriously complete itself so that we can put your clothes away. I am so sorry for messing up your clean little room and then leaving it a mess for more than a day. I sorted through all of your clothes and put them into neat little stacks on your bed so they would be easy to put right away.

Last night when you crawled into bed, you just moved a couple of stacks and snuggled up to your sweatshirts. You are such an adaptable little girl. This makes me proud and sad at the same time. I’m sorry that I can’t get it together for you. I keep thinking that tomorrow will be better; but tomorrow seems to bring only another disaster to distract me from what is important. Please know that my current inability to finish your dresser is not a reflection of how I care for you. You are truly a treasure. I know that you are a blessing. Thank you for loving me… in-spite of me.

I’m In Love June 22, 2007

I think I’ve mentioned before that I love to bake…even without the assistance of a Kitchen Aid. I found a recipe that forced me to try a new technique- grating frozen butter. As SmilingMom found out, watch your knuckles! Click on over to SmilingMom, check out her recipes and submit one for her to review.

In the mean time, try these amazing scones. They aren’t dry (thank you, sour cream) and are very easy to make. SmilingMom found the recipe at AllRecipes, tried it and now recommends it.

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
* 1/2 cup raisins (or dried currants) (I used cranberries)
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1 large egg

DIRECTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in raisins.
3. In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.
4. Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
5. Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

Cranberry-Orange Scones

Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding a generous teaspoon of finely grated orange rind (zest) to the dry ingredients and substituting dried cranberries for the raisins.

Lemon-Blueberry Scones

Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding a generous teaspoon of finely grated lemon rind (zest) to the dry ingredients and substituting dried blueberries for the raisins.

Cherry-Almond Scones

Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding 1/2 tsp. almond extract to the sour cream mixture and substituting dried cherries for the raisins. You can substitute any dried fruit.

Thank you, SmilingMom, I am enjoying my coffee with the perfect scone!
Happy Baking!

Pest Control June 19, 2007

Have you ever flipped on the light only to hear the quick pitter-patter of little feet? Have you ever seen those feet crawl out of a drain? Have you ever noticed that after a disaster, those little feet seem to be the only survivors? Those are the feet of cockroaches. Just typing that noun makes my skin crawl….Allow me to liken teenagers to cockroaches….

(I hate to admit the following, and if you tell, I’ll deny it was me.)

The other night, I was that neighbor. At about 1:23 I was awakened by car doors slamming, lots of car doors and loud thumping “music” (I use that term very loosely). About 100 post-prom high-schoolers were “visiting” a vacant house across the street from me. Yes, I called the police. It took one police officer about 9 minutes to get to the house. As soon as he pulled up the roaches, I mean kids, scurried out windows and over fences. He described the scene as total “pandemonium”.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things… June 18, 2007

…At Trader Joe’s.

1. Cat cookies- they make my children happy (and quiet) long enough to check my email everyday.

2. Milk Chocolate Covered Raisins- they make me happy long enough to get through 9 1/2 hours of outside play. (Yes, I know I shouldn’t use food as a reward for surviving the day)

3. Frozen Banana Waffles- because breakfast is the most important (and stressful) meal of the day. Try these with a bit of peanut butter, real maple syrup, and sliced bananas.

4. Tangerine Juice-because finding a bottle of this in the fridge makes The Pilot happy.

5. Nothin’ But Banana…Flattened Banana- trust me, this is good. I don’t like dried banana chips. This is dried and still soft. The kids love it.

6. Pecan Pieces- Good price, good addition to any salad.

7. Veggie Booty- just something nice to have at lunch with a sandwich.

8. Mild Salsa- it looks and tastes homemade.

9. Breakfast Bars- again, this eases the stress of an early morning show time.

10. Watermelon- because Matt at Trader Joe’s told me the secret to choosing the PERFECT melon. Look for one that is a bit ugly with those brown veiny lines- these are sweet spots. Also pick one up, if it is heavier than it looks like it should be, take it home with you. Also, they are only $3.99 right now!

This post is dedicated to my new friend, “Feather”! Happy Trader Joe’s shopping.

So Violet knows what I’m talking about when she reads this in 20 yrs: When I was a kid, everyone was named “Heather” or “Jennifer”. We met someone this weekend named “Heather” (we already know a Jennifer). Violet had never heard that name and thought she heard “Feather”. She had this to say about it– “Why would anyone name their baby “Feather”? That’s an odd name. Oh, sweet baby Feather”.

Our First Father’s Day June 16, 2007

Over the past 11 yrs. The Pilot has worked a lot. I think his logbook reflects over 8800 hours of flight (that’s more than a year in the air!). During that time he has missed a few special occasions.

Father’s Day is tough this year. I would like to just forget all about it. The Pilot is flying and his father is no longer with us. The Father always made sure the kids and I weren’t alone on holidays. He brought me a Gerber Daisy for Mother’s Day last year. He carved the turkey, actually I think we had steak, last November and he oohed and aahhhed appropriately at the homemade garlic mashed potatoes. He put batteries into the kids’ Christmas toys. And, he encouraged and prayed for me when life seemed to be too much.

He was a man who spoke truth…always. He was committed to following Christ, kind, compassionate, gentle, loving, fun, funny, and always willing to work on the disaster of my day. It was an honor to know and love The Father. It is sweet to see some of his character in his grandchildren.

I also see him in The Pilot. He, along with The Mother, raised an amazing man. I am so thankful to them both.

Oh, Sweet Pilot of mine, you are a wonderful husband and father. Please know how much we appreciate you. Thank you for putting God first and your family second.

Note to My Dad: Thank you for allowing us the room to experience the pain of loss. I appreciate you. We love you dearly and are so thankful to be in relationship with you. Happy Father’s Day.

Two Tbls. Looks A Lot Like One Inch June 13, 2007

I poured oil into the pan. I had too much. I drained off about 2 Tbls. into a small drinking glass and set it on the counter. I then went about my business of making dinner; and somewhere along the line, I decided that I should have a glass of wine. I found a small drinking glass, poured about an inch of white wine, and set it on the counter.

A few minutes later, I might have discovered a cure for alcoholism.

Walking the Unemployment Line? June 10, 2007

To me, life is affected by aviation. To my children, life is aviation and those who don’t know aviation are the ones who are affected.

Violet is in kindergarten. It amazes me what a room full of 6 year olds will talk about. Somehow the subject of dinner came up, and Violet mentioned that her daddy would be home for dinner that night. A classmate said that her daddy comes home for dinner EVERY night. Poor Violet came home stressed out. She was asking how her classmate’s family was going to buy groceries, clothes, ice cream, and sandals. She was convinced that the other daddy had been fired. (She even understood the seriousness of being fired. She had just discussed “being fired” with Grandpa.)

Herbie and Bigweld are convinced that every daddy drives an airplane. They often mistake large garages for airplane hangers. They yell at every airplane that flies overhead, as if their daddy is the only pilot out there! Herbie wants to know if he can be a pilot. Bigweld is more concerned with the wings. He will probably be the mechanic on Herbie’s aircraft.

I wonder what will affect their aviation lives?

The Price I Am Willing To Pay For a Little Peace and Quiet June 6, 2007

I sat in the same recliner for 132 consecutive minutes this morning! I briefly flipped through a magazine, and then spent the rest of the time just laying there with my eyes closed. It was amazing to be without the demands of anyone. I did not hear: “I want something else” or “I want chock-ette milk AND juice” or “Mom, will you get them out of my room”. It was very relaxing Novocaine and all.

Safety Tip No. 101 June 5, 2007

Never put things smaller than your elbow in your ear. Plastic monkeys (even monkeys that are part of a magic trick) get stuck and require trips to the hospital.

 

I Do Wash Every Day, What Does It Mean About Me? June 2, 2007

“The Tall Book of Mother Goose”, illustrationed by Feodor Rojankovsky and published in 1942 has this to offer about laundry:
They that wash on Monday
Have all the week to dry;
They that wash on Tuesday
Are not so much awry;
They that wash on Wednesday
Are not so much to blame;
They that wash on Thursday
Wash for shame;
They that wash on Friday
Wash in need;
And they that wash on Saturday,
Oh! they are sluts indeed.

And they that wash every day, Are … going insane?…using too much detergent?…wearing too many clothes?…busy?…swimming in laundry?…

I can’t believe this little poem is in a Mother Goose collections. I don’t think I’ll be reading it to Violet anytime soon. She always wants to understand every word. She has a habit of storing up the “understanding” and using it later.