Bobby's Sunday Summary

The middle of the week was not too out of the ordinary.  But yesterday was a very long day for Alice and I.  Susan had a women’s conference from 3 to 9 and Alice and I were home alone.  We had a lot of fun.  We watched movies, played on the computer, read stories, played outside, and went for a walk.  Because we were running errands earlier in the day she only got about 20 min of a nap.  She actually asked me to go to bed she was so tiered.

Also recently but mostly this week she has really started wanting to help out around the house.  She loves to help put things in grocery bags, to unpack the groceries, and most of all to cook.  She loves to “measure” out ingredients and put them in a mixing bowl.  What is more she really loves to taste things as she cooks.   Today I was cutting up some vegetables to put in the crock-pot for beef stew.  Alice was taking a bath to get ready for Church and I asked Susan if Alice wanted to help put the vegetables in the pot.  Alice came running.  It was all Susan could do to dry her off and put a diaper on her.  If you know how much Alice loves baths and water in general then you will know a big deal this is.

Traffic Citation

I got my first ticket today. There was a cop waiting for someone to turn left onto Green St. and I was that lucky person. I made the turn on purpose, clearly ignoring the brand new "No Left Turn" signs, thinking I could handle the consequences...which I didn't expect to come. But they did. In the form of a $75 fine and my driver's license being held as collateral/bond. I'm still allowed to drive, but the TICKET is my license until I pay the fine which cannot be paid EARLIER than 10 business days after the ticket is issued. It's probably a paperwork issue that makes it necessary to wait 2 weeks before paying the fine, but I feel like they're telling me "You sit on this ticket and think about what you've done."

What's worse is I wasn't alone in the car. I had just picked up all the food and equipment to deliver Meals on Wheels with a friend from church. AARGH! So, I had to share my shame from the get-go, which is probably why I can blog about it now :) The cop filled out the paperwork while Tracy and I familiarized ourselves with the names of those 8 elderly citizens who would be receiving their lunch a little later (and a little cooler) today because of my decision to disobey a traffic rule.

I stewed about it the whole time we delivered meals, embarrassed that I had been CAUGHT! No remorse for violating the law. I thought about spiritual repentance, and knew that shame/guilt is pointless if it doesn't drive you to do something BETTER with your life. I wondered what I might be learning from this experience, and wondered why I was more ashamed of getting caught than actually disobeying the law.

Much thought and dicussion with Tracy ensued and I came to the silent conclusion that I would obey all traffic laws to the best of my knowledge and ability from here on out...all of them. If my friend could give up chocolate for years, I could obey speed limits, right?

It was obvious within seconds that something THAT comprehensive would take lots of practice. Apparently, I've been breaking all sorts of little rules knowingly and without feeling. Not a good sign.

My favorite part of summer...

Bobby's Sunday Summary

This week was fairly normal.  There were a few things out of the ordinary, like the applesauce extravaganza, but Susan has already written about those.  Yesterday was a long day.  We drove down to Effingham to attend the baptism of a friend.  Alice was wonderfully patient.  At work we are coming to the end of a project so it is a bit stressful, but not too bad.  Because there really isn’t too much else to add I have placed these pictures of a us dinking around on the camera (Susan and Alice are having a tickle fight).

Alice caught mid tickle.

Alice exacting her revenge.

Makeup Hug.

Saucy Maids

A couple friends and I got together for a 3-day apple festival of our own...it's SAUCING season!

Monday morning at 8am we braved the cold and wet to pick apples in Rantoul. Thanks to Hurricane Ike whose remnants blew through here the day before, a bunch of the highest apples had been blown from the treetop and dropped onto soft, soggy ground. We just had to pick them up! When the kids started getting cranky, we quit picking and left with a record-breaking haul...about 42 gallons in 90 minutes. Here are Jessica and Ashley showing off the goods:

After a quick change of clothes, we started saucing. The process goes like this: wash the apples, quarter them, cut out any REALLY gross parts (worms, rot, deep bruises, mold), boil them until soft, and run them through a strainer to remove all the peels, seeds, and stems. In a matter of minutes, you've got your first batch of steaming, pink applesauce...one of the most delicious comfort foods on this planet.

Our first day of saucing (11:30-3:00) produced 28 quarts of applesauce.

Tuesday evening (7:00-10:30), Jessica and I prepared and bottled 18 quarts of apple pie filling. What a treat! We made it in 7-quart batches, but any and all stray bits ended up in the 8th quart...our stomachs! We ate it fresh and warm topped with whipped cream. *sigh* It's a pity saucing season only comes once a year.

Wednesday afternoon (12:30-5:00) Ashley generously volunteered her immaculate kitchen and all of its contents to the cause. Saucing and canning this volume of apples will throw any house into disarray...sometimes for several days. Many, many thanks to Ashley for her patience. I missed the last 2 hours of the saucing frenzy due to a miserable trip to Alice's pediatrician. It was just a well-baby checkup, but SHEESH! Incidentally, I'm in the market for a new pediatrician :)

We got a little giddy when Ashley informed us we were down to the last few apples, and took a few giddy pictures.

Ashley, wielding the two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of edible and waste...discerner of the texture and flavor of each apple*

Here's what I look like when people say, "Hey! Go stand next to those pots so I can get a picture!"

Jessica and Parker at the table where all the apple action was taking place.

By the end of the day, we had bottled another 24 quarts of applesauce. Exhausted, reeking of apples, we split the booty and headed home. It's a great joy that saucing season only comes once a year.

Worth it? I say YES! Locally grown, hand-picked, fresh applesauce prepared with friends simply tastes richer to me. Hard work, sore muscles, trudging through soggy orchards, slopping through gallons of boiling water, wondering how people did this centuries ago, and knowing that we can still do it for ourselves...it's an experience I love. Love it, love it, love it.

Wanna learn how to do it?

*wording heavily adapted/borrowed from Hebrews 4:12 in the King James Version of the Bible.

Bobby's Sunday Summary

This week started out like a fairly normal week. Nothing too out of the ordinary happened until Saturday.  On Saturday we went down to the temple.  We had some friends from church ride with us.  Unfortunately, when we got there and I went to go in I found out that my recommend had expired so I got to spend the entire day with Alice in St. Louis.  It wasn’t bad, just not what I had planned for.  Especially with it being 88 degrees and 70% humidity.

New Friends

Alice has a couple new playmates from our ward who come over every week. Both Mary and Spencer are easy-going and friendly, so Alice has fallen in love with them quickly. Despite the seemingly WIDE range of developmental stages (1, 1.5, and 2.5 yrs old) they all tend to do the same thing at once. Mary is the leader as they move from activity to activity like a pack of puppies. Even falling off of chairs, running into walls, and learning to take turns is great fun when Mary leads the way. Here, they were waving and shouting "hi" to a random pedestrian who just got off the bus. I wasn't fast enough with the camera, though, so the pedestrian has passed and Alice and Spencer are looking to Mary for their next cue:

It's so fun to see them interact that I find myself playing with them the whole time. I wonder sometimes about how Alice's experience in our family will differ from all future siblings' experiences. Will I still be able/willing to play with them and their friends for a few hours every week? Will it even matter then? Life isn't fair, I know, and it will be IMPOSSIBLE for me to spend as much attention and time with each future child as I have been able to spend on Alice alone. I just wonder how I will make up the difference in the end.

I wonder sometimes if I shouldn't spend so much energy and attention on Alice...just so it's more "fair" to future kids. But that's not how this "growing family" thing works. Kids come one at a time (mostly), and it's impossible to have another one after the first is an adult (though some people may like to push that physical limitation), and I KNOW siblings are an important and wonderful part of the whole family experience, but I still wonder how life will be different for future kids. I wonder if future kids will see me differently as a mom. I wonder if I will BE a different mom by then.

Peppers and the Snuggle Chair

It's a rainy day, so I've been working on some indoor tasks. I decided to process all the peppers and onions from our CSA shares over the last few weeks...FINALLY! Sorry for not posting my weekly CSA haul in a while...it's been lackluster and I've been lazy :)

Anyway! I'm cutting and gutting a bunch of sweet bell peppers to freeze when Alice runs in and asks for a taste. This girl will eat large amounts of almost anything as long as it comes off the cutting board. Weird, I know, but I just can't say "no" to a babe asking for fresh fruits and veggies! I hand her one of the red peppers and watch. She grips it with her little hand, stuffs one end in her mouth, then suddenly jerks her head backwards and shudders. She drops the pepper to the ground and starts clawing at her tongue. She's done similar things in response to leaf lettuce and fuzzy toys, so I don't catch on right away that I had actually given her one of the "mystery hybrid" peppers Bob warned us about. He isn't sure WHAT they are because they're a freakish cross from a couple peppers the previous year. I put the pepper in my mouth and INSTANTLY realize my mistake.

Yikes! By this time, Alice is crying and signing "hot" and saying "mouf" "mouf" "mouf" through her sobs. I get the girl some cold milk and a slice of bread. The milk appears to help a bit but she keeps pointing at her mouth with a hurt expression. I figure some of the pepper oil is on her lips and I should wipe it off. So, not thinking, I use my pepper-oil-soaked fingers to grab the corner of a rag, wet it, and wipe her mouth. More screams! More cries! D'oh! Realizing my mistake, I rush her off to the snuggle chair, being careful not to touch ANYTHING with my fingertips. We rock for a few minutes and alternate a bite of bread with a swig of cold milk. She eventually calms down and runs off to play.

Thank goodness for infantile amnesia.

Now I'm stuck with spicy fingertips that won't go away after repeated washings with every soap/detergent in the house. Maybe I can get Bobby to take out my contact lenses tonight...

Bobby's Sunday Summary

This week at work was a little bit stressful.  We had a project at work due on Friday, but we did get it done, and it was not too terribly stressful.  On the home front Alice had spots this week.  We are not totally sure what it is, but the rash has almost completely cleared up so we are not going to spend too much effort trying to figure it out.  We are keeping her home from church today just to be on the safe side.  Other then that the week has been mostly normal.

Food Tasting

I was challenged to complete this meme by my sister, Erin. All these years, I thought I knew a little something about food and it turns out I'm a COMPLETE novice!

The Food Tasting Meme

Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions. Bold all the items you've eaten. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating (or eating again). (For this blog entry, I've created an educational link on all the foods I had to learn more about)

Venison
Nettle tea
Huevos rancheros
Steak tartare
Crocodile
Black pudding
Cheese fondue
Carp
Borscht
Baba ghanoush (the only way I've managed to enjoy eggplant so far)
Calamari (i.e. rubber bands with tentacles? no thanks)
Pho
Aloo gobi (I like Indian food as a general rule)
Hot dog from a street cart
Epoisses
Black truffle
Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (I'm a teetotaler) Steamed pork buns (breakfast in SF China town, AWESOME!)
Pistachio ice cream
Heirloom tomatoes
Fresh wild berries
Foie gras
Rice and beans (Hey! Great idea for dinner tonight!)
Brawn, or head cheese
Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
Dulce de leche
Oysters (Can't stand the taste of the ocean)
Baklava
Bagna cauda
Wasabi peas
Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
Salted lassi
Sauerkraut
Root beer float
Cognac with a fat cigar
Clotted cream tea
Vodka jelly
Gumbo (ocean taste)
Oxtail
Curried goat
Whole insects
Phaal
Goat's milk (does it count in cheese?)
Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more (Again, teetotaler)
Fugu (Not on your LIFE!)
Chicken tikka masala (I hear Dr. J's recipe is awesome)
Eel
Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (the blueberry cake doughnut is better, though)
Sea urchin
Prickly pear (fresh and ripe, YUM! Catalina Island, 1997)
Umeboshi
Abalone
Paneer (looks yummy!)
McDonald's Big Mac Meal
Spaetzle
Dirty gin martini
Beer above 8% ABV
Poutine
Carob chips
S'mores
Sweetbreads
Kaolin (this is a rock...why would I eat it?)
Currywurst
Durian
Frog's Legs
Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
Haggis
Fried plantain
Chitterlings or andouillette
Gazpacho
Caviar and blini
Louche absinthe
Gjetost or brunost
Roadkill
Baijiu
Hostess Fruit Pie
Snail (yup, I've eaten snails. Garlic, butter, a little chew and DONE!)
Lapsang souchong (I'm not a tea drinker, either)
Bellini (teetotaler thing)
Tom yum (the version I had was made with chicken, not seafood)
Eggs Benedict (I CRAVE this food sometimes)
Pocky
Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (an undergraduate research grant provided a generous per diem on one of my little undergrad conference trips and we went all out on the last night)
Kobe beef
Hare
Goulash
Flowers (daylilies, marigolds, nasturtium, rose hips, honeysuckle, and of course broccoli)
Horse (yes, I would be willing to try some horse)
Criollo chocolate
Spam
Soft shell crab
Rose harissa
Catfish
Mole poblano
Bagel and lox
Lobster Thermidor
Polenta
Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (I don't do the coffee thing, either)
Snake

Cheese Curling Details

Though we have no photos of us competing in the International Cheese Curling Championship THIS year, here is a photo of our efforts LAST year. Our teammates this year were our neighbors and friends from church, Joe and Ashley. Baby Spence was kind enough to hold/squeeze/lick our wheel of cheese until showtime. We saw quite a few people there from our ward, and one team actually curled a PERFECT score (3 bullseyes = 12 points). My good friend from Effingham and her family came in second by only one point.

After all the sporting excitement, we tried our first Lemon Shake-ups. It's a lemonade drink prepared with fresh lemon, granulated sugar, and freezy cold ice water. The idea is mouth-watering, but I wasn't impressed with this particular cupful. The sugar never quite dissolved and yet it was STILL too sweet. This is something I will definitely have to tinker with at home.

The cheese itself, however, is delicious. I'm a big fan of swiss cheese, and Alice appears to like it too, though she tends to like EVERYTHING. Bobby made some tasty grilled 4-cheese sandwiches for dinner tonight (baby swiss, mexican mozzerella, regular mozzerella, and cheddar). Alice will be old enough next year to compete with us. We'll be sure to take pictures THEN!