December 28, 2018

Christmas was fun...all three days of it. (Photos featured are from the first day.)

December 17, 2018

In which we decorate the Christmas tree...

December 11, 2018

I was dreaming of a white Christmas...

...But this is not precisely what I had in mind.

December 2, 2018

We had our first big snow, about eight inches in 24 hours. We built Shahbaz the morning after. Within another 24 hours, it was all gone. Strange weather.

Thanksgiving was fun. We celebrated on Tuesday since Amos was gone on the actual day. I had friends over on the "real" day...and it turned out to be one of those "ships that pass in the night" moments, since they all showed up after having lunched heartily.

On the way to Home Depot to buy some wire for our Christmas ornaments.

November 18, 2018

Another tune for November...

A Lyke Wake Dirge

This ae neet, this ae neet,
Every neet and all,
Fire an' fleet an' candleleet,
And Christ receive thy saul.

If thou from here our wake has passed,
Every neet and all,
To Whinny Moor thou comes at last,
And Christ receive thy saul.

And if ever thou gavest hosen or shoen,
Every neet and all,
Then sit ye down and put them on,
And Christ receive thy saul.

But if hosen or shoen thou ne'er gavest nane,
Every neet and all,
The whinny will prick thee to thy bare bane,
And Christ receive thy saul.

From Whinny Moor when thou mayst pass,
Every neet and all,
To Brig o' Dread thou comest at last,
And Christ receive thy saul.

From Brig o' Dread when thou may'st pass,
Every neet and all,
To Purgatory thou comest at last,
And Christ receive thy saul.

And if ever thou gavest meat or drink,
Every neet and all,
The fire will never make thee shrink,
And Christ receive thy saul.

But if meat nor drink thou ne'er gav'st nane,
Every neet and all,
The fire will burn thee to thy bare bane,
And Christ receive thy saul.

This ae neet, this ae neet,
Every neet and all,
Fire an' fleet an' candleleet,
And Christ receive thy saul.

November 10, 2018

Sometimes a bagel and cream cheese is all one really needs out of life.

October 23, 2018

Seven years...(plus a month.)

October 7, 2018

Too much Q...

Because that toothy smile is just too much.

October 1, 2018

You don't need to use butter to make excellent chocolate chip cookies. Canola oil works just fine. Your cookies will never know the difference, though it may take them slightly longer to get as brown and crispy as some are known to enjoy them.

The REVELATION!

Actually, this is not new info. I've known this time and money saving secret for years. Just thought I'd share.

September 24, 2018

The muggy days of summer have yet to fully leave us behind, I suspect, though we are in a cool spell now. We continue to alleviate the heat with air conditioning and fun books from the library.

Some of our summer favorites:

The Day Louis Got Eaten by John Fardell

The Man from the Land of Fandango by Margaret Mahy

Lentil by Robert McClosky

A Fine Dessert by Emily Jenkins

Hooray for Bread by Alan Ahlberg

The Baby Beebee Bird by Diane Redfield Massey

September 10, 2018

A brief dispatch from Plant World...

The aloe plant that Amos gave me for my birthday last year bloomed, a gravity-defying display of coral colored tube flowers. A pleasant surprise.

The cuttings from the Pothos plant Mother sent me in early spring had rooted nicely and were just tooling along, doing their thing, when one day something happened.

Can you spot the impostor?

Perhaps it's easier from this angle. What is that Mutant Thing? And where in the world did it come from?

September 3, 2018

How to create a stencil design on a cake...

First, cut the design you want to be on the cake out of light cardboard (like a cereal box.) Amos chose this Fleur du Lis design to be on his birthday cake.

After refrigerating or freezing the cake until the frosting is firm, place the cardboard pieces on top of the cake and press down gently until all edges are touching the cake.

Sprinkle powdered sugar, cocoa powder, or colored sugar until the cardboard design is completely covered.

Gently brush the excess powder off of the cardboard pieces, and then lift them off the cake.

Your design should show clearly underneath. Afterwards of course you can clean the excess sugar or
powder of the cake plate.

August 27, 2018

We celebrated Amos's 33rd birthday this weekend, with, among other things, a visit to the Festival of Nations. Apparently the International Institute here in St. Louis puts this on every year. It's the place to be for the last weekend in August.

Zadok gets an up close and personal with a fire truck.

The Congolese handicrafts stall was just one of dozens from all over the world.

As I mentioned, Festival of Nations is the place to be.

Since it was very hot, we ended the afternoon with a visit to the Splash Fountain, one of Zadok (and Amos's) favorite spots.

August 18, 2018

Qorban is one...actually turned one late last month, but for some reason I was unable to post any birthday party pictures. We call him Qorban, Sacker of Cities. Zadok has taken to storing his Duplo creations as high up on the bookshelf as he can reach and only bringing them down when Qorban is napping.

July 23, 2018

Life with two small boys is unmitigated bliss...

...except for when it isn't.

July 8, 2018

Summer flowers...

That's what the Missouri heat is good for.

July 1, 2018

Zadok is four...

       ...and Qorban is eleven months!