Goodies

Hello, dear blog readers! Fruit season continues to keep us busy these days. We've been picking raspberries and happily freezing them about every 48 hours it seems. This weekend while I was picking early one morning, I even had the privilege of surprising a 6-point buck with the velvet still on his antlers--something I haven't seen in a number of years. Since we live in a rather wooded metropolitan area, we see deer pretty regularly,  just not the males. He eyed me, I pretended not to see him. He ate his grass with a wary eye and I went about picking the berries.

I don't bake much these days since it gets hot in the apartment, but I couldn't resist making raspberry muffins. The baby loved them. (I think Lem secretly liked them, but was contrary just for the sake of argument as most toddlers are want to do at his age.)

In other news, dear blog readers, I have a job interview tomorrow. I have to admit that I am actually *nervous* about this one. It was for a position I hadn't even applied for, but somehow the nurse recruiter passed it onto this hospital. They want a nurse for full-time nights. That would be a real challenge with our two little kids, so I'm hoping that is negotiable.

Here's hoping you had a blessed, relaxing, and enjoyable weekend, dear blog readers!

These were terrible. We couldn't eat any of them. Ha, I say! There is nothing quite like a warm home-baked breakfast. I used almond flavoring instead of vanilla, and it gave a very nice taste to the muffins.

Ohhhh, Weathermen.

Hello, dear blog readers! I have to say that there is a large amount of irony in the way a day can sometimes turn out, especially if you're planning your day based on the weather reports.

I have to say that I respect the profession of weather prediction, but we all know they don't get it right all the time. As a result, here's how my day went.

Morning: Checked the weather report. Scattered clouds and a small chance of rain. I got the kids ready to go to the pool in our complex. While changing them into swimming gear and getting the sunscreen ready, it rained. We went to the playground instead and let Lem play in the dirt. It was a good way to make use of the sunscreen.

Afternoon: Checked the weather report. It said 60% chance of rain. I put off transplanting my bedraggled herbs and geraniums and did indoor cleaning and laundry instead. No rain.

After the kids woke up from naps: I decided to forget about the weather report. The sun was shining. I got the cooler and a few plastic containers out in order to go berry picking. As I was loading stuff down to the car, THEN it decided to rain. (Again.)

I gave up on getting berries today.

But then, my dear wonderful hubby came home from work shortly before the kids' bedtime. Even though the weather report said that there was a good chance of rain, I decided to chance a visit to my friend's raspberry patch sans children.

I can't recall the last time I was so happy to have the weathermen be wrong. It was a perfect night. The bushes were loaded with ripe berries, and since the temperature had dropped, they weren't getting mushy during picking. The mosquitos weren't out in full force, either.

I'm curious as to what these particular plants are. I've never seen them before. They were scattered around the raspberry patch and look as though they might be a relative. The berries are just starting to turn an orange color. Time to get online and figure these out...Unless you, dear blog readers, can tell me what they are, of course! (And more importantly, is it something that I can eat/freeze/use to make jam?)

Happy Thursday to you all, dear blog readers, and here's hoping your weekend plans are not thwarted by the weather!

Learning by Parenting

Hello, dear blog readers! I have found that since I've become a parent, I often find myself (re)learning life's lessons as often as I am trying to teach them to The Toddlers in our house.

For example, we took Lemmy's "commission" (AKA "allowance") money to the store to start teaching him that the green paper bills are finite. I was thoroughly pleased with him for spying colored pencils that are meant for kids his age. Frankly, they don't leave a waxy residue like crayons on the furniture.

We went through the store and I had him hand the clerk his few dollars. I was explaining to him that he just bought his pencils when I looked at the box and realized that there was only *ONE* pencil left in the box. Of course I started looking around on the floor thinking that Lem had emptied all of his wares.

Lesson 1 that came to mind right then: don't let your kids play with things at the store. Wait 'til you get home or in the car.

Lesson 2: Wait until you get home or in the car to lecture your child about losing his or her toy. As it turned out, when the clerk put the pencils in our grocery bag, most of them came out of the box. It turned out to NOT be the fault of Lem.

After all is said and done, we have a little boy who is thrilled to have some colors and some scratch paper.

Raspberry Season

Hello, dear blog readers! We had the opportunity yesterday afternoon to get together with a new friend who graciously allowed us to pick raspberries in her yard! I cam prepared for all but the rain that hit during the picking time, but we still managed to get somewhere between two-three quarts, despite a certain Lem getting his mitts involved to squash, eat, and otherwise mangle the berries we were picking. Blossom sat on a blanket and was determined that grass was for The Boy only.

 No little lady picnics without a Cheerio snack and Mr. Potato Head parts.

 Lem: Explorer of Jungles Local and Otherwise

Tired...But Good

Hello, dear blog readers! I just looked over this blog and realized that I have been incredibly remiss about reporting on our summer. I guess that since the last two summers have entailed pregnancy/morning sickness/moving to another state, having some laid-back fun has been something that is taking me by surprise.

A few weeks ago, we picked strawberries. Now the cherries and a few raspberries are coming upon us, although there is (at least the locals tell me) a delay from a colder-than-usual spring. (I can't vouch for this not having lived here for most of the spring.) I am THRILLED to be picking raspberries tomorrow in the yard of a friend!

In other news, Grammy came to visit us this past week while Hubby was in Canada. Lemmy got a toy vacuum for his upcoming birthday, and I have to say: I don't remember the last time I've seen a child so excited about a piece of plastic. If would be right on par with a girl getting a new pair of coveted shoes or a doll, but for him, it's a vacuum. He loves to take mine apart and lost the attachments, so now he has his own!

Happy Sunday evening, dear blog readers! Here's hoping the strange weather and summer activities are treating you well.

New Treats

Hello, dear blog readers! I attempted to make homemade frozen strawberry yogurt. I have to say it turned out a lot like the flavored yogurts one can buy at the store, and didn't particularly freeze very well. But, the kids LOVED it and keep begging for more, so that's something.

I love the fact that fresh fruit is in season. I went to Delaplane last weekend and picked two very full flats of strawberries. I'll admit it was such a beautiful day that I felt a small twinge of guilt for not taking the Toodlers (aka Toddlers) with me, but in the end, I got so many berries prepped for the freezer that I think they'll thank me later. One can hope, anyway. I'm looking forward to taking them next year.

 

Experiencing the Fair

Hello, dear blog readers! I have to admit that this past week, I have fallen (a bit) into the "After Move Blues." I feel like part of this may or may not be brought on by the fact that the kiddies are now waking up at 5:30-6:00 in the morning. (Don't worry, dear blog readers, we have ordered blackout shades, which will hopefully be coming tomorrow!)

A few weeks ago, we attended the Delaplane Strawberry Festival. It was a lot like the state and county fairs I remember attending when I was a kid. The day was sunny, but windy and cold. We were hoping for strawberries at the time, but since they came a bit later this spring, we didn't procure any that particular day.

What we DID procure was the mistress of sticky temptations of all fairs, Cotton Candy. The kids loved it. It was yummy and messy and fun was had.

 The eternal optimist hoping to be (someday) the Climber-of-Tall-Trees-With-No-Low-Branches.

There were even farm animals for the kids to pet. We kept them in strollers since they weren't keen on the wind and WERE keen on making good their escape into the crowd.

Happy Thursday, dear blog readers! I hope that you are all enjoying your summer!

Yummy Yummy Goodness

Hello, dear blog readers!

I had LOTS of help with preparing our farmer's market produce. I have never made beet greens before. (I tried collard greens years ago without a recipe, and as you can imagine, disaster ensued.) Due to the poor lighting from the fluorescent lights in my kitchen, most of my photos didn't turn out well, but even Lemmy was excited to "help" with mise en place.

 Here is a link to the recipe we used. http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/beet_greens/

Another dish we tried with the green onions and some organic broccoli we picked up was a vegetarian pad thai. (The recipe was from the Engine 2 Diet cookbook. The website doesn't have the recipe listed, but they have some other great dishes on this link: Engine 2 Diet.)

I inadvertently bough the wrong noodles. When I tried to cook the vermicelli noodles the same way that the directions called for soba noodles, I was fairly convinced that I was about to have another "flop" on my hands. However, after some extra soaking in hot water and further stovetop cooking, the dish turned out surprisingly well. Oh, that I should be so lucky as to have the rest of my dishes turn out ok!

Happy Tuesday to you all, dear blog readers!