here's what you could do if you come to houston

before i had misplaced our camera behind the cushion of the chair, i took some photos of our family vacation in our own home.  Two saturdays ago, we wanted to do something fun as a family, but also wanted to sleep in.  So between the hours of 10 and 1 we packed the morning with some things we love to do and some things we have always wanted to do.

First stop: Catalina coffee.  This must be the best coffee shop in the entire city.  Not only is the coffee amazing, but that morning (and maybe it is daily - i am not sure) every person who worked there was dressed up.  All the girls had on cute skirts and shirts and the men had on vests and hats.  I so wish i had had my camera inside.  the pastries are beautiful and the coffee truly is handcrafted.  here is a link to their website.

Second stop: David Adicke's studio.  

frank is winking here.  George Washington is his favorite president.  Anyone know who the one behind him is?

Third stop:  the farmer's market on Airline.  it is always a treat.  I am forever wishing i spoke better Spanish when we travel to the back.  Frank wanted some peanuts so we asked for a scoop.

I got a cold Topo Chico and some mangoes as well.

Fourth Stop: Beer Can house. 

Unfortunately we arrived 15 minutes prior to it opening and the precious one in the back of the car was starting to fade, so i have still never been inside the fence of the beer can house.  But it was a sight to behold.

Fifth stop: Wabash feed store - again.  This time just to find out what to do about my ailing Norfolk pine.  Apparently all we can do is pray at this point.  Which i did.  because i love that tree.  It belonged to the elderly, crazy haired lady down the street before she died.  I love that it was hers and that it reminds me of her home and how she was a hoarder and how michael got to go inside.  I'd like to think that all the stupid stuff i hold dear will one day be a treasure to someone else when they have my estate sale.  Like my folder of unsent mail, it is always growing an maybe someone will be interested in my unsent thank you notes for people who's addresses that i couldn't find.  but anyway, i digress. 

next was home and some housework, but we all got cleaned up in time for watching the Kentucky Derby.  I just barely made it out of the shower in time so i threw on the first hat that i could find.  It is not proper attire, i apologize.  Have i mentioned that Michael makes the best mint julep known to man?  

i'd take him to contest if they had mint julep making contests.  he would win.  unlike my horse Noble's Promise, who did not win.  But frank's horse won - of course.  Have i mentioned ever how my son has a freakish ability at winning games and contests?  He beats me in marbles every single time we play.  I find it annoying.  Why can't i shoot a marble straight, anyway?  I have never won contests or games.  Why?  Is there a genetic component to these things?  Michael is a winner and overall good performer, too.  Congratulations to all of you who thrive during competition, and to all of you who can guess the number of jelly beans in the jar.  All i know is that if losing is character building, then i should be darn close to shakespearian by now. 

With that, i will go to bed and try to think of more fun activities to either make you thankful for or jealous of living in H-town in the summer.  It's hot.

so the dishwasher was open...

and i was checking my email, and all of a sudden, i was stabbed in the side with a sharp steak knife. 

Fortunately, my uber strong 17 month old was just trying to "hand" me the knife i believe, or i would have been in the Emergency Department instead of the podiatrist this morning.

p.s. michael found the camera.  the thieves cannot be blamed for this one i suppose.  BUT i am sure that they have borrowed those two netflix that we cannot find....

And by the way, completely altering the subject, have you ever tried to whisk your own mayonnaise?  what the ____?
I attempted this last weekend after the recipe from my glorious new cookbook made it sound so simple.  let me tell you something - it is not simple, Frank Stitt. 

adding one cup of oil "drop by drop" while whisking vigorously is far from simple in my opinion.  someday, if one of y'all can give me a tip, i will try this again so i can make some spicy coleslaw. 
But i did want to say thank you to my sister and my sister in law for their love of cookbooks that caused me to ask for this gorgeous cookbook on the left for mother's day.  If i can only master a few of these dishes, i will feel like a James Beard award winner myself.

Now the cookbook on the right is one that i had splurged on a while back. (and that is just how i felt when i got it, Jen - you read my mind)  So far, i am pretty in love with it.  Remember the homemade bread?  It was cinnamon swirl bread and it was amazing.


I don't often ask to have my picture taken with my food.  but i was pretty proud of this one. 

i am already ready to change my hair color again by the way.  

more excuses...and a recipe

i am grateful today to announce that we are officially 100% after our family's worst experience with a stomach flu.  that is all i need to say about that.
 
And i must announce that i have officially misplaced my camera, which is a tragedy of serious proportion as i just figured out how to work it, and it was my birthday present, and it is awesome, and it contained the pictures for the next 3 blog posts that i had planned in my mind.
i am quite certain that a burglar came into the house and didn't have time to get my fabulous jewels, so he took my fabulous camera.
This may actually not be the case, but the family room was the last place that i used the camera and i am certain that i did not take it anywhere after that, so there can be no other explanation in my mind.

So despite there being no photos to entice you, i must share a recipe that i think rocks my baking loving world.

I recently started a subscription to Cook's Illustrated, i have previously purchased one or two of these magazines and cooked everything i could out of them.  But when i got a recent email with a special offer, i just had to go ahead and subscribe, because it is such a GREAT magazine.  Seriously, i have never made anything bad from these people.  This week was teacher appreciation week at frank's preschool, so it was a perfect opportunity to try this month's recipe entitled:
"Cracking the Code to Chewy Brownies."  the two months the author spent researching this recipe shows.  They are really, really, really, really good.  So good, in fact that i will do something that I HATE to do... i will type up the instructions just for you.  I will do this for you because l like all 12 of you, and because i feel bad that i don't have my camera to post pictures, and because i want you to still like me, even though i have become the world's most inconsistent blog person.  (i hate the word blogger, by the way and will never answer to that term.  in fact i hate the word Blog - but what can you do when that is the name that it has been given?  i wish it was called anything but blog...and tweet, what kind of a word is that?  are all the good words gone?  Why can't the tech people come up with words that have more beauty or meaning to them?  why can't we reuse words that doesn't get used any more like, "Hither" or "Thoust" when we create new software and technology?  why do all new-tech words have to make us sound stupider when we say them?)

anyway. here is the best homemade brownie recipe that i have ever made:

1/3    cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso (optional)
1/2    cup plus 2 Tablespoons boiling water
2       ounces unsweetend chocolate, finely chopped
4       Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2    cup plus 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2       large eggs
2       egg yolks
2       teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4    teaspoons table salt
6       ounces bittersweet chocolate cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1.  Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Make foil sling:  cut 18 inch length of foil and fold lengthwise to 8 inch width.  fit foil into lenth of 13 X 9 inch baking pan, pusing it into corners and up side of pan; allow excess to overhang pan edges.  Cut 14 inch length foil and fit into width of pan in the same manner, perpendicular to the first sheet (it may overhang edges also).  Spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  Whisk cocoa, espresso powder (if using) and boiling water together in large bowl until smooth.  Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted.  Whisk in melted butter and oil.  (mixture may look curdled.)  Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth and homogeneous.  Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated.  Add flour and salt and mix with rubber spatula until combined.  Fold in bitersweet chocolate pieces.

3.  Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted halfway between edge and center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes.  Transfer pan to wire rack and cool 1 1/2 hours.  (unless you are using a glass pan - then you cool for only 10 minutes before removing from pan - so they don't overbake)

4.  Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan.  Return brownies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.  Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.  (apparently allowing the brownies to thoroughly cool before cutting, allows them to have the chewiest texture.  i found that it was worth the wait.)

friday at home

today we are home for the second day.  we still have clothes in our suitcases and stuff to organize, but i decided that this is the day i make my first loaf of bread.  So far it seems like a lot of work, but frank and i are enjoying it.  we stood and watched the dough hook on the mixer throw the sticky dough around the bowl for 10 minutes as i kept adding more and more flour hoping that it would eventually turn, "smooth and elastic."  soon, i will go and "punch it down" and then proceed to put it in a pan and do some more waiting while it rises again.  all i know is that if you were a real pioneer woman, you had to plan your meals ahead of time.  apparently one cannot be in a hurry while baking bread. 

as i was cutting a hot dog in half to split between the boys, i was reminded of King Solomon and his wisdom and about the two ladies who each claimed that the baby was theirs, and how Solomon told them to cut the baby in half...anyway, you know the story...i told this to frank while i was cutting the hot dog up...but apparently i did not clearly explain how the baby DID NOT get cut in half, because the look on his face was in horror when i said, "isn't that a great story?"  i guess i won't be sharing that one with a four year old again.

frank said that the brown on my head is "wearing off."
ford has cut his lip once, and bumped his head twice today.
michael is home for the weekend,
and it is really humid outside - all is right with the world today. 

preview

something i have always wanted to do

excuses, excuses

there are approximately one gillion pictures on my camera to share with my 14 readers (if they haven't given up on me yet).  but every time i want to upload the photos to my computer, either the batteries are dead, or the cord is in the room with a sleeping child, or i am just so tired from going up and the down stairs all day in these midwestern homes that i can't bear to drag out the laptop from underneath the couch.  all i want to do is just sit and watch some Turner Classic Movies when i am at my mom's house. 

and speaking of Turner Classic Movies, i woke up the other morning- and because my bed was full of little boys when i was not yet ready to entertain a bed full of little boys... i took advantage of having a television in my bedroom and of course it was still on TCM from the night before.  Rather than flipping the channels for a cartoon, i saw that there was a silent movie at 6:00am.  I thought, "perfect." It is quiet and dark and all i have to do is read a few words for them every 5 minutes or so.  But then i realized that I was enthralled at just how funny it was.  It was a movie called, "Speedy" with an actor named, Harold Lloyd.

you can watch a little clip, here, if you are interested. 

It was amazing.  The clothes, the time period, it is like being in a  little time machine.  The humor is all visual, so a four year old boy can get the jokes and yet it was still clean and i didn't have to worry about the content - besides, the boys can't read anyway.  It was a mother's delight.  Now, i just have to convince frank that silent movies are cooler than cartoons...

and speaking of cartoons.  there is some seriously stupid *^&% out there in the cartoon/nickelodeon world.  i had no idea.  Our family has been sheltered by our "only one option and that is PBS" type cable.  i felt this week a little like my dad when he said that Pretty Ponies were disgusting and that he would never purchase one for me.  But when i saw a preview for some weird Dora/Diego-type of new show with creepy twin babies with super powers - i had to draw the line.  I informed frank that he would never be watching that show because it was, and yes i said it, STUPID.

here is to the silent movie - i look forward to getting to know you better in the future.

Potty talk - forgive me

Do you ever look at your stomach in the mirror and think, "how did i get so big in just a few days?" and then you finally have a big ol' poop and remember that you haven't pooped in about 5 days because you have been out of town?  And then all of a sudden you feel lighter and your pants fit better - and you can even breathe better - just like magic. 
Does that ever happen to you?

thank you, Fiber One Bar.  you made my day.

Resurrection Day!

when asked, "what color do you want to dye your eggs this year?" 

Frank said, "blue, and black and gray, and brown."

Here are the two of them going after some bold colors despite my having purchased the lamest kit of Paas on the market - only red, yellow and blue to work with.

Each year it is unclear to me which of them enjoys the egg dyeing the most.

at the end of the evening, they mixed all the colors together in one cup and put an egg in and left it over night.  Frank woke up Easter morning and ran to the kitchen.  His basket full of candies and little gifts was sitting on the kitchen table, but instead of excitement, I heard crying...when he came to our room he was so sad, and said, "you threw away the cup with the egg in it!  It wasn't on the table!"  He never noticed the basket at all.  This black egg was all that he wanted on Easter morning.  If only i had known, i would have saved some money at Target.

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after church, michael suggested we try for a family photo on the couch using the timer on the camera.  Here are the attempts.

 note: we did not ask angus to be in the pictures.  We even tried to push him out - but he is part of the family and refuses to let us forget it.

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3rd annual super casual Easter picnic

 i am using some of anke's pictures because they are better than mine.

fordy was having a full on allergy attack, but that didn't stop him from being awesome.

(forgive my lack of editing.  i can never narrow the number of pictures down to a reasonable number.)

the sacrifice of so many chickens

I am at a loss at this time each year.  What do i do with all these eggs? 

This Easter, at the time when I want to be reflecting on Christ's life and resurrection and the gift of eternal life with Him in heaven - instead, this year i was hung up on irritability and eggs.

The irritability was based on upon my own selfish nature and frustration with our current living arrangements.  But the eggs - that was just plain craziness.

My sister and I believe that our grandmother, Boo, makes the best deviled eggs in the world.  They are delicious and we always eat them all within a day.  So when we were planning our super casual easter picnic this year, i thought: "i'll make Boo's eggs, it will be a cinch." 

Oh how naive i am.

Here is her recipe: 
8 hard boiled eggs,
Kraft (not hellman's) mayo to taste,
1 can of Underwood Deviled Ham. 

Doesn't that sound simple?  It does, but of course I decided to use hellman's because i am stubborn like that, and then i accidentally forgot about the eggs cooking when i went to put frank down for a nap and they cooked for 3 times the length of time that they are supposed to, Oh and of course - Underwood deviled ham spread tastes like feet.  So when i put it all together in the food processor - it was just nasty.  Perhaps Boo has some sort of magic with the deviled ham.  she is quite an amazing cook after all.  But just as with Ma Maw's chocolate pie - i believe there must be something missing to this recipe.  I will watch her make them next time.

In the meantime, i ended up with a dozen hard boiled eggs without filling, a dozen hard boiled eggs for dying and a dozen hard boiled eggs for the second batch of deviled eggs - which i thought were actually really good.  Here is the recipe for those: Buttery Dijon Deviled Eggs.  I chose a recipe with butter because i figured they would taste good with butter.  everything tastes better with butter - and apparently deviled eggs are no exception.

so now here is a question that i have always wanted to know: what do you do with all your dyed eggs?  for real, do you eat them after dyeing them and then hiding them and stuff?  Even after all that time that they get all warm and the dye sneaks into the whites of the egg?  and do you feel as guilty as i do throwing them away? 

picture time

we begin with the photos from Arkansas...it took me a while but here they are

 we began our road trip as all road trips should begin and end - with a trip to Buck-ees.  Texas' finest gas station and convenience store.  Seriously, if you have to poop on the road, this is the place you want to go.

showing off the buick

a shot of the illusive michael smile - rarely caught on film

going for my birthday breakfast in fayetteville

the michaels

the best gifts were that our families came to be with me and the boys during the week

that's michael in the hardhat and yellow vest - looking down, frank was so proud to see his daddy in his "construction costume"

a chilly walk to see michael's work.  i love this.

 

what up.

a trip to the park that randomly resulted in an invitation to check out a fire truck

Paigey and Sloane arrived and we began their visit with a trip to the Wildlife Zoo Safari!

as usual, ford had no fears of the animals. here he was chasing a kangaroo

after a goat ate half of frank's bag of bread, he was able to recover and feed some more animals with his favorite 3 year old cousin

burning some energy off with some blessed bubbles from Wal-Mart.  So much joy for so little money.

I can't believe i didn't take any photos of my precious babygirl Sloane.  I was just to enthralled by her to actually stop and get my camera out.  She is gorgeous and amazing.  I promise I will get some good ones of her soon.  

while i've been away

with a tearful goodbye, the parents have left us once again.  now it is just us chickens, and a few minutes to type.

Speaking of chickens, if you live in Houston, please go to the Wabash Feed and Antique store.  you can get a chicken there for about 30 dollars.  Or a baby bunny.  Or a swan.  Or some blueberry bushes.  Or a strange animal sculpture made from salvaged metal.  What a wonderful place.  When Michael asked the plant man, "what do you know about stinkhorns?"  He started chuckling and said, "you want to get rid of them, right?"  What a place! 

Fortunately though, I believe the organic fungicide he recommended will not be necessary as Poppe has removed all infected mulch, and placed it in 30 of the new houston "bio bags" which will hopefully be carted off on thursday for us.  And not only has he done that, but the men in my life spent the entire weekend fixing up the yard for me.  They transplanted 7 boxwoods, 7 holly bushes, and 4 or more red-tipped fontinas.  They put in my new azaleas (purchased at Costco believe it or not) and my dad cleaned up a trashy corner by the garage and put in a new Yew pine tree (from Costco) that will hopefully fill out and we can shape it like a giant oval or tall rectangle one day.  The weekend included 3 trips to Costco, 2 trips to Houston Lawn and Garden, a trip to Lowes, a trip to Home Depot, and a trip to the Heights to visit Wabash and Joshua's Native Plants (that store is expensive but really awesome.)  I am so excited to be free of stinkhorns and for the house to look like we actually kind of like living here again.  Next we will tackle the backyard and the hardest part of all....the maintenance....in the summer.  Why oh why can't it be spring forever?

And now i am going to put a shout out there to the folks.  i have felt really loved and spoiled by my sweet family.  my mom's unending cleaning of the kitchen and cooking, and entertaining ford while the yard work was happening was completely awesome.  i am extremely blessed by their generosity of time, talent and treasure during this strange season.  (did you catch that Rufus-ism? if not, you can catch that on your way home.)

how blessed i am to have kind parents AND a quotable pastor.

  Dearest Stinkhorns, thanks for being fodder for my winter's thoughts and blog.  May you take refuge at the dump and find a home where you can prosper in peace. 

 my homage to the "Go Wildcats" as frank calls them.  i am so proud our team and am working on a letter of appreciation to Frank Martin.  

 this was where the plumbing problem once lived.  I am excited to see this area fill in and get all hedgey.

while this looks terrible,  it won't for long.  it is a bit of an experiment in salvaging plants we had.  Hopefully you can see some results in the next few months.

one of the few photos from the week.  a typical scene.  Poppe sharing his water bottle with whatever grandkid that wants to drink from it. 

i like this one.

and one to keep you guessing