Dear Jesus, I would like some more presents...

Yes, this is what Danny said for his prayer tonight. Apparently he feels shorted. Sarah prayed that we might consider those who have less stuff than us. She followed that up with "Please help us to get more and more stuff, and help us to give them some of the not good stuff." I am just overflowing with pride. Really...you just can't tell.

At any rate, our Christmas was lovely, even though I did have strep and feel kind of punk the whole time. Everyone made it, the food was good, presents were incredible, and no one fought. (If they did fight I wasn't paying attention!)

Sarah's favorite present is a Wall-e shirt from Grandma and Poppa, while Danny's is the chocolate lab Webkinz that he named Sparkly, just as promised. My parents also bought us a Wii...our foray into video games that we've always sworn we would never get. It's so cool!

Home Stretch

This was the craziest week of the Christmas season, by far. We had parties for both kids at school, Christmas programs, a party out, and two parties at our house. Don't ask me why I do this every year. I guess I like it!

Tonight is Steve's family celebration at our house. Christmas Eve will be spent with my parents, as usual, eating my mom's cioppino and some other soup that I will choose. Christmas Day, my brothers and family will come for dinner and presents for the kids. I just love all of the time we get to spend with people we love at this time of year.

This morning was Sarah's choir program at church. I have a couple of excerpts, and will post the best...hopefully in a day or two. She was a bit nervous at the first performance, which is of course the one I taped. Additionally, she was walled in by two boys and couldn't move her arms well. The second, she saw her brother and couldn't stop smiling and waving. It was very sweet!

Angels We Have Heard...In the Laundry???

Is this what happens when your child goes to church too often? This was the end of about two hours of singing the SAME thing after my choir practice.

Scary

An article about a local food co-op owner and how the Department of Agriculture feels about them. Those of us who enjoy farm markets, farm tours, or aspire to farm need to get behind small farms now, before they are forced out of business.

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/08/swat-team.htm

O, Christmas Tree!

The blasted Christmas tree is up...mostly. I have never wrestled with something so much in my life. (I guess I should consider myself quite lucky.) My mom said that I need to find some more Christmas cheer, but I assured her I have plenty of cheer. It's just not directed at the tree.

We decided not to use our special ornaments again this year, after Danny tried to climb said tree yesterday. I have plenty to cover the front and the side that is most visible, so that will just have to do. Most likely, people will not notice much of the tree once they get past the blue rug (from Lola) and the spots on the rug (from coffee). We are so blessed!

Speaking of blessings, Sarah is becoming quite the singer. She goes around the house all day singing her choir songs, as well as mine. In fact, last week at practice, she sat with us in the alto section. I looked over next to me, and that girl was singing every note right alond with us. It's so neat to see your kids develop interests like this, especially when they are shared interests.

For A.

Spaghetti Sauce for freezer

1/4 c olive oil
1.5 large onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
12 c tomato, chopped
1 small can tomato paste
3T or more shredded carrot (depending on how sweet you like it)
1 t dried oregano, or more if fresh
2 t dried or 2 T fresh basil (or more to taste)
4 t salt (or to taste)
1 t black pepper

Saute onion about 3 minutes in oil over medium heat, do not let it brown. Add garlic and saute until onion is soft. Add everything else and cook at least 3 hours, partially covered. Blend in batches until desired consistency, then cook some more, until you are happy with it.

That's about as specific as I can get! I haven't made it the same twice, but it's certainly more crowd friendly when it's blended pretty smooth. A purist would seed the tomatoes. I think that's a waste of time.

Sinking

I have sunk to a new low. Parents who Christmas shop in search of one item for their child, seemingly losing all sense of reason in the process, have always mystefied me. Well, I'm one of them now.

Danny asked for only 3 things...3 simple things...Play Doh, a green cat, and a chocolate lab Webkinz to name "Sparkly" (or Barkley, if you actually listen to him say it). I have learned that this Webkinz is retired. Aaaahhhh!

I have just placed the first of many bids on eBay.

Random Thoughts

What a month it's been. We have had a great time with the kids, doing all of the fall things we love. I have been reading about homeschooling and trying to decide what's best for us. Some really tough times and tough decisions ahead, I think. That said, we are blessed to have a nice house, good neighbors, and a family that has stayed together. Steve is being told to travel even more, which will certainly stress our relationship, but there's really no other option. At times like these, I have to trust that everything is working just the way it should, and I try to look for the lessons in all of it. That's about all I can do, is try.

I have some pictures and movies, all of which I intent to post, but who knows. I've gotten awfully lazy with this blog since finding Facebook!!!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

About 8 years ago, Steve and I attended a party where I had the best soup EVER. I loved it, so of course I asked the recipe. The hostess would not share the recipe, so I was quite disappointed. (Surprised as well, since we didn't have the same "group" of friends...we'd never bring it to the same party)



Since then, I have tried several renditions, none of which measured up to the wonderful original. Well....I think I've found it.



Curried Butternut Squash Bisque

1 whole butternut squash
2 T butter
1 c onion, chopped
1/2 c carrot, chopped
1/2 c apple, peeled and chopped
1 1/2-2 t Thai red curry paste
2 cans chicken or vegetable broth, plus more if needed for desired consistency.
2 bay leaves

1/2 c heavy cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Cut squash in half, scooping out seeds and membrane. Place in a 13x9 pan coated with cooking spray, cut side down. Roast in oven for about an hour, until tender. Scoop out roasted squash and measure 3 cups. Reserve rest for another use.

Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and apple; sauté 5 minutes. Add curry paste; stir 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, bay leaves, and 3 cups squash. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered 1 hour. Discard bay leaves. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return to same pot. Stir in cream if bisque desired, but skip if you'd just like more traditional soup. Season with salt and pepper. Rewarm over medium-high heat.

Garnish with sour cream and cilantro if desired. (I do not)

President Obama

The election results have me sincerely distressed. I am not at all surprised, as we currently have a President who is neither conservative nor liberal. I agree as much as anyone that we need change, but I fear that we have gone too far. Great power that is unchecked is bound to lead to disastrous results.

I do not believe that America will cease to be a great nation, but I sense some difficult times ahead. I pray that we can endure what people have asked for.

Who Are You Feeding?

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather "Which wolf wins?"The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Autumn

Autumn in our house means apple picking and the jail game at Grandma and Papa's. We've done both of these since Sarah was 3, and as soon as the weather gets a bit cooler, she starts asking when we're going up there. We did not get to play the jail game last weekend, because there weren't enough leaves down yet, so explanation of that will come later. We did, however, go apple picking at Quarry Hill farm. What a great time! Another perennial favorite is throwing pumpkins to the cows and watching them try to break them open. What a riot!

The most blog worthy event of the weekend, though, concerns Sarah. As most people who know us are aware, she is an extremely jealous child. She is also quite concerned that everything is "even" between the two of them. Well, she decided that she was jealous of Danny's imaginary friend, Sandy. She didn't think it was "fair" that he always had someone to play with. So, she made up her own friend, named "Sis" but it's pronounced Sid. (She couldn't find a D in the magnetic letters) So she carried around the letters "Sis" for a day, talking to them. What a goof!!!

Munich and The Residenz

Salzburg

Dachau

Germany and Other Stuff

Having dropped off the face of the planet for about 2 weeks, I'm ready to get back into things. The world is dragging me, kicking and screaming, back to reality. We have been back for almost a week, but it already feels like a million years ago that we were in Europe. I will try to post each day, but we'll see how that goes.

For now, I'll just tell about our first day. My plane arrived at about 12:30 pm, which put us at our hotel (after renting a car and finding our way) at about 4 pm. We decided to go to a restaurant for a beer, then to Oktoberfest. I did not wear my dirndl, as it was WAY too cold, and I needed a sweater. We stayed for about 15 minutes! Steve says that it's very different inside the tents, but when you arrive late, you can't get into a tent...not even to stand! So, I did not drink a beer at Oktoberfest. I think that I'm spoiled by the Dublin Irish Festival....

We did go back to Solln, where we were staying, and had a good dinner of German cuisine ( I know, that's stretching it a bit) and then I crashed while Steve worked on his computer.

Since returning home, we've been preparing for Halloween and autumn. Danny had a little fall festival for preschool that the kids really enjoyed. What could be better than hayrides and choosing your own pumpkin?

Perspective

Did I actually complain about how much preserving I was doing. How quickly one's perspective can change. Ike brought lots of wind to us. We have a very windy little microclimate in our backyard, and the winds were quite high here for about 6 hours. We lost some siding and shingles, but nothing to complain about. The damage to the garden though. If I could just take back my complaints from last week. Canning and preserving will have to wait until next year, since the plants did not weather the storm well.

We are so lucky to live in an area where weather is rarely an issue. Really, we have very few issues here, other than those of our own creation. Another blessing...I will have enough tomatoes from the plants that survived to make some Balsamic Tomato Bruschetta for tomorrow night's wine tasting. YUM!

Another Day, Another Batch

The Worster family lives on pasta. (Just ask our ex-au pair) The kids love pasta of any shape, size or sauce. Steve and I are a bit more picky, but with it being tomato season, it's pretty much marinara. Although I do agree with Barbara Kingsolver regarding the rewards of preserving the harvest, I am at the time of year where it seems like a grind. Tonight, chicken broth simmers on the stove as does another pot of marinara sauce. I thank whatever brilliant people invented the freezer, since this means I do not have to can the aforementioned items. The rest that will come in late fall, between the end of the harvest and Thanksgiving, will be very welcome.

Now, do I buy that extra bushel of tomatoes or not???

Oktoberfest-Columbus Style

We went to the German Village Oktoberfest yesterday with some of our friends. The kids were unimpressed, which isn't surprising since they are used to the Irish Festival. I tried to talk to them about our German heritage, but they were more interested in climbing the barrier fence and playing in the fountains. I can't say that I blame them.

One highlight of the evening was that I bought my dirndl for the Oktoberfest in Munich at the end of the month. I am so excited, but I feel like a dork when I'm wearing it. I'll wait til I've had a few at Oktoberfest to post that picture!!!

Davis Family Reunion

This weekend was the reunion for my dad's side of the family, which is always quite an event. This time my parents had it at the poolhouse of their marina. We had enough food for about 5,000 people. All of the siblings were there, totaling 7, plus their kids and some grandkids too.

The kids all had a blast playing ball, playing with fire, and throwing rocks in the river. Danny tried to fall into the fire, but thanks to my Aunt Judy's quick reflexes, he is fine. (I was too busy making smores to notice that he fell...oops) I wish that we could do this event annually, as I always feel so out of touch with everyone when we see them.

We went to Kalahari again and stayed there along with my two brothers. We had a good time, but the kids were all really tired. I think that we were tired too! That place is just so cool, and the waterslides are incredible. It's like the Cedar Point of indoor waterparks. I even got to try one of the "real" slides this time. This is just more evidence that my kids are growing up...I get to act like a real person occasionally.

First Grader

I honestly cannot believe that Sarah is going into first grade. She was so excited last night that she had trouble sleeping, but she got up without a problem. We had to do pictures with both dogs this morning, as well as do a production with breakfast. She "needed" to eat one of the eggs they collected at Stratford, but the catch was that she needed to make it herself. These days she's becoming quite self-sufficient with food prep. I know that I will be thankful she can do it herself, but it just takes SO much longer to teach than to do yourself!

We have new chores for the new school year. Everyone must clear their own spot after meals, and Sarah and Danny are setting the table every night. We also have a 15 minute clean up period each night...every family member goes around and cleans for 15 minutes, with a focus on one's own items that are strewn throughout the house. So far, so good, and it's much easier for me. We will still have the additional chores that are worth some cash, but these are just what they have to do because they are part of the household.

So one down, one to go. Dan starts preschool September 9. He needs it BADLY, since the only friend he has to play with now is "Sandy" his imaginary friend. Sandy is a good guy, but I'm thinking that Danny needs a bit more stimulation!

Party in the Park

Lobster Party

Sarah's birthday wish this year was to have a "Lobster Party" and try lobster for the first time. We happily obliged, and lucky us, lobster was $9.99/pound at Kroger! We kept it small, just us and Grandma and Papa.

She didn't care for the lobster, and thinks "I'll like it when I'm 20." But she did try. She loved the lobster cake though, and she also tried the lobster bisque that I made the next day. YUM!

Farming

We spent another morning at Stratford Ecological Center on Saturday. This time, we were able to spend it with Laura, the "girl farmer." We always have such a nice time there, and the kids are learning some valuable skills for our future pursuits.

I remembered my camera this time, so here are some pictures.

Toothless

Well, not really. Sarah lost her first tooth yesterday at the library. We were wondering when it was going to happen, as this thing has been dangling for a week. As we were sitting at the computers together, she said, "My tooth is going to fall out right now!" She then pushed it out with her tongue.

Unfortunately, she is going around with her hand in her mouth constantly. She wants to feel where the tooth was. As a former thumb-sucker, only recently recovered, this is a bad sign!!! Hopefully she'll get used to it and get the hand out of her mouth before school starts next week.

Dublin Irish Festival

What can I say? I haven't posted because I've been having the time of my life. Every year we enjoy the Irish Festival, but this year was even better than ever. My volunteer assignment this year was the Music Workshops, so I spent the days with other musicians, listening to performances and learning a bit about playing Irish music. This might be enough for me to get my violin back out. I even got to the genealogy area this year, which is something I've never done due to my babysitting duties.

The kids seemed to have a good time as well, as they do every year. Sarah just loves to see the dancing, and her favorite band is, surprisingly, Gaelic Storm http://gaelicstorm.musiccitynetworks.com/. She was really ticked when we left at 11, before they were done playing. Danny wanted to dance his pants off...which would be possible since he's no longer wearing diapers and everything is so loose around his waist!!

Next year, we're thinking about doing the Milwaukee Festival, which I hear is great, and I'd love to do Peoria as well. (Peoria since that's where the Dunlea side of our family lived, or at least I think!!) We'll have to wait and see.

Landscaping...er...gardening

Much to the chagrin of some of my neighbors, my yard is very quickly turning into a garden. I am waiting to see how much I can get away with before I'm turned in to the "association". This year, things seems to be working pretty well. We've had 2 meals of our own green beans, countless salads, 3 cucumbers, 5 tomatoes and LOTS of jalapenos. 3 of my tomato plants are so heavy that the cages are falling over! I hope to take pictures, but my camera is currently MIA.

I cannot wait to make salsa and spaghetti sauce, with an eye toward preserving enough for part of the year. We are trying to wean ourselves from processed food, but it's so much easier in the summer, when fresh produce is bountiful.

So what for next year? Another raised bed, some blackberries, strawberries, and possible some elderberries for wine. Anyone have some land available???

Tree Climbing

Last night I had a sweet tooth attack of mammoth proportions, and we HAD to go to Graeter's for some ice cream. The one in Dublin has some trees in the back surrounding the patio, and the kids love to climb them. Sarah is finally learning that she can climb pretty far if she takes her time. So after ice cream, she's up about 3/4 of the way up a tall white pine, and says "Wow! I can see half of the universe from here!" She then turned around "Yep, and there's the other half!" I love moments like these.

Sour Cherries

I think perhaps I was a bit misguided, or ill informed anyway, when I ordered 2 buckets of sour cherries at the local farm. I assumed that they'd be small buckets. Well, each is 10 pounds of cherries, already pitted. Did I mention that I've never made ANYTHING with a sour cherry? No time like the present, I guess. I plan to make some preserves, at least, and we'll see where else this goes. One step toward eating more locally...learn to use the ingredients available to you when in season!

Zubin and Lola

Okay, I was informed by my friend that I have not kept up to date with my dog postings! Lola is now 5 months old. She is ALMOST as big as Zubin! (Not weight, just height) She is pretty much house trained, but if I leave water out, she'd drink it all, and just stand there peeing. She loves water! I even asked the vet if she might be diabetic, but they said she's just addicted to water. I need a little of that.

RIP

It seems I am saying goodbye to many things, tangible and intangible, and so I will say farewell to some of my plants. Rhubarb, for which I had to quest high and low, has been eaten by a creature of 4 legs, either rabbit or dog. Same goes for ALL of my basil, except the one in my raised bed, which just isn't growing. Oh, and one pepper plant, which the dog ate. And two tomato plants, from which Danny decided to pick all of the green tomatoes.

I built a tripod for my cucumber plants. That blew over in the thunderstorm today. NOT A GOOD DAY!!!

Strawberry Preserves - and the Winner is....

The clear winner of my preserves "war" was the basic recipe with pectin and nothing else. I made 3 batches. #1 and #2 are described previously, #3 used pectin but also a little bit of lemon juice. Both 2 and 3 are too runny to really use on sandwiches. I have found that #2 makes a great strawberry yogurt when combined with plain yogurt, so that's a consolation. The taste of the second is very cooked, even though I pulled out the berries to cook down the liquid. I will not make it again, or at least I don't think so. Again, KISS.

Booky Party

Danny had his 3rd birthday party the other day, which consisted of our neighbors and us. The catch was that everyone had to look spooky at Danny's request. Perhaps an odd request in the summer, but hey, I wasn't going to tell him no!

It was so nice to pare down and have something small. Now we don't have a bunch of toys that we don't need, and we could really enjoy each other. Dan had a blast, as usual, with the girls from next door. He got a super soaker, so I'd better watch out for the rest of the summer!

Bible School

Sarah attended Bible school this week at Northwest Chapel, just across the field from us. What an incredible setup. There were 465 kids that attended. Our bible school growing up was probably 40 kids. This thing was like a rock concert! She was so excited to go each day, and she really learned some good, basic principles about Jesus' power. (The theme was Power Lab, loosely based on science) It was just really cool, and we are so happy to have this place in our backyard.

I hope to post the crazy hair day picture that we took, but right now, I'm trying to check off my very long to-do list before I go to bed!

Stratford Ecological Center

Although I have no photos to share, you'll just have to trust that we had a great morning at Stratford today. What a beautiful farm. The staff are incredible, and the Director of the center took the families around. He had such a gentle way with the kids. Anyone who can coach 10 or so small children in collecting eggs and placing them carefully in a bucket, without a single cracked egg, has a special gift.

We were also able to feed and milk goats, feed chickens, hang out with the cows, see a very large, very pregnant pig, and browse the gardens. I can't even begin to think about what my favorite part was, but the kids enjoyed the egg collecting the most. It will be exciting to make breakfast with their special eggs tomorrow!

I am more focused than ever on working toward a diversified farm. The kids really enjoyed it, and they are looking forward to the chores. (Now if they would pick up their toys)

Pig Sitting

We had a blast pig sitting last night! The kids got to do all kinds of things...make the pigs jump, watch them eat, pee and poop, and lets not forget the best thing of all...the kids got to pee on the barn floor. After all, what's more fun than going to tha bathroom in illicit places?

All of this is geared toward our desire to eventually have a farm. I don't feel as if I have a good idea of what it takes to care for animals. I have read about it, talked to people about it, but I've never really done it, and there's no substitute for experience. Saturday, the kids and I are going to a chore day at the Stratford Ecological Center, where we will collect eggs, milk goats, and do various other chores at a sustainable farm. I can't wait!

War of the Strawberries

I am testing two different recipes for preserves this year. #1 is the traditional preserves, using pectin. #2 uses only strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. It is cooked longer, and there must be several strawberries with green tips, as these have more natural pectin. I am a bit leery about not using pectin, but figure it's worth a try, and I made a small batch. If it's not good preserves, it will be good strawberry sauce over ice cream!

Check!

I can't get my projects done, and here's why. I am distracted by other wonderful things to do during the course of the day. Yesterday, it was strawberry picking and making and canning preserves. The day before that, it was homemade pizzas. Tonight, more preserves, this time for the freezer. It is so satisfying to cook and have others enjoy the fruits of your labor. Much more satisfying than painting the downstairs. In fact, I would rather go pick 10 more quarts of berries and eat them until I blow up. Maybe I will.

So the check? I learned to make strawberry preserves, and they are good. I also FINALLY made a good pizza crust, thanks to Alice Waters. All of her recipes are incredible, and very easy to follow. (They are not for measurers, though!!!)

Day 3 - Cades Cove

Cades Cove was by far the favorite destination for our family. We played in a stream, collected a few rocks, played with butterflies and a toad, visited an old cabin, walked in the woods, and saw an old grist mill that was still in operation. Additionally, it was the year of the cicada, and the kids had a blast playing with them too...both dead and alive.

Day 2 - Clingman's Dome

Clingman's Dome is one of the highest peaks in the Smokies, so naturally, we wanted to see it. The other factor in this decision was that there is a 0.5 mile paved path to the top of the mountain. We took a scenic and slow drive up to the trailhead, and walked up to the top. Sarah was lagging behind so badly that I wasn't sure we'd ever get there, but we did. My dad took all of the pictures of us, so I'm posting one from the hike on the way.

After our hike and picnic on the spot that the park was "dedicated", we went and did a total tourist thing. Gem mining. Sarah had a blast, and picked out every single colored rock. Every black one as well. It was so cute, seeing her getting into it. "Hey Mom, this not real gem mining is pretty fun!" That about sums it up.

Day 1

Our first day, we went to the Visitor's Center, of course. From there, we were able to hike a short distance to a small waterfall. The trail crossed some moderately dense wooded areas, so the kids had a blast. I was so stressed about them getting into the poison ivy and oak everywhere, but I just gave up and stopped yelling. I think.

The kids were not as resiliant as I figured they'd be. They both love nature, so I thought we'd be able to hike all day. However, they were done after 2.5 miles, and of course, we had to turn around. This was our first lesson in pacing ourselves to fit our children, instead of the other way around.

On Top of Old Smoky

Wow, what a great vacation.

We just returned from the Smoky Mountains (TN side) after a 4 day trip with my parents. We rented a beautiful cabin in Sevierville that was as big as our house. We had a yard for the kids, a hot tub, full kitchen, dishwasher...everything we needed. The last time we were in TN, Steve and I were camping in October, so by comparison, we felt as if we were in a castle! I will do separate posts for each day, since I am too lazy to figure out how to place my pictures throughout the post.