Flour flury

After an afternoon nap for all the gang, me included, I headed into the kitchen to test some recipes and mixes in prep for my next life.

Yes its nearly hot as hades, but I put the oven on and finished several items. With the help of MM, we produced a loaf of beer bread, peanut butter cookies, walnut chocolate chip cookies, butterbrikle scones, and dried fruit scones.  The bread and peanut butter cookies are from scratch, while the others had starts from mixes.  It was so much fun having MM help read the recipes, measure ingredients and lick the beaters was a wonderful time.  It brought back many memories of cooking with my Nana during my summer visits and Grandpa's complaints that it was too hot to heat the house by turning on the oven.  Nana generally settled him and we made whatever treat I asked for and later we all enjoyed it.

The biggest test today wasn't getting so many pans through the oven without burning anything, but my plan for the next round. Half of the cookie and scone batches went into the freezer for later baking.  In my next life having items ready for the oven will save me major amounts of time so the family is my current testing ground.  All the results earned two thumbs up from LB, MM, and DH.  I especially like the dried fruit scones .

New project

And it isn't a scarf.

The yarn is an organic cotton and recycled soda bottle blend I picked up at Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival a couple of years ago from Little Barn.  I was intrigued by the fiber mix and loved the color.  I also knew exactly what I wanted to make, well sort of, it had to be a sleeveless sweater perfect for wearing on the 4th of July.

Last fall I found the pattern, a fitted tank from Blue Sky Alpacas.  The long ribbed bottom is neat and this will be great for work or my next life.

So here are the first 2 1/2 to 3 inches on the front or back, they each start out the same.

Your a Grand Old Flag

And may you for ever wave.

Flag Day 2010

Being in Philadelphia, you have to venture to the Betsy Ross House at least once and especially for Flag Day.  June 12-13 was the third annual Flag Fest which provided an even bigger reason to tour the house and enjoy all that was available to watch, hear, and see.

Heading to 2nd and Arch for the start ensured we would have plenty of time and hopefully not melt, and we were right.  With Arch Street closed between 2nd and 3rd, a city street fair gave time to stroll down the street to see the vendors including Physick House, Clay Studio, and Laurel Hill Cemetery.  Spending quality time with clay was just what LB wanted to do, and he would still be there today if we hadn't pulled him away to something else.

On the courtyard outside brought a variety of entertainment  including a unit from Fralinger String Band, 

Give and Take Jugglers, and the Boy Scouts.  With the jugglers, LB found that he was just the right person for the moment.  This was the start of his segment which ended with him being juggled.  I was laughing too hard to get a clear picture of that feat.

    








The Boy Scouts from Roxbourgh brought the quiet respect to retiring many American flags with a burning ceremony.  They also encouraged everyone there to participate with a flag to add to the flames.  The ashes from this burning were laid near Betsy Ross' grave.    I haven't participated in a flag burning since I was at Girl Scout camp.  This was much more significant then anything I had previously been a part of.

Winding down the year

As the school year comes to the end, tests, parties and trips keep kids busy.

The school trip this year was to Medieval Times for an afternoon of food games and tournament.  Actually for school trips there is a brief introduction to the world of jousting and chivalry.  I chaperoned for MM's class and had to keep  tabs on MM and one of her friends.

LB cruised through the day with two buddies, one dad, and one granddad.  Needless to say there were plenty of  parental units along so none had too many children to keep track of during the day.

Making more fun - MM's group stood to support the Yellow night while LB's group supported the blue night.  These were two of the six nights jousting for the honor of tournament champion.  Neither of our knights won the tournament but a good time was had by all.

If you can enjoy a time of suspended reality, watch beautiful animals, and enjoy a simple meal; a round at Medieval Times can be fun for an entire family.

National Train Day

Saturday the kids and I headed to 30th Street station for the 2010 National Train Day, on the El of course.  Amtrak scheduled a full day of exhibits, demonstrations, tours, and just fun for families looking at yesterday, today, and tomorrow of train travel.

MM and LB love riding the train, whether the El into Center City, New Jersey Transit into NYC, or Amtrak to Washington DC.   Seeing how people dressed for travel in days gone by was an eye opener for my kids who love their jeans and t-shirts.





After a quick lunch, we headed into the Amtrak information area seeing representatives of the Amtrak K-9 unit, the new ecological initiatives, and regional attractions.  The kids found the activity center and added to our collection of coloring pages, collectors cards, and anything neat which they could get for free.

Throughout the terminal were costumed interpreters from the mid to late 1800s.  MM was fascinated by the dresses.  She decided that wearing 3 to 4 layers of clothes including hoops, gloves, and hats, was more then she wanted to do every day.  As we were heading home after several hours, we met a strolling musician with his concertina.  Though he seemed to be heading off for a break, he was very willing to play a short piece.  I'm not sure which child was more fascinated by the instrument and its music.


This was a nice start to an otherwise quiet family focused Mother's Day weekend.  With everyone contributing to the purchase, last month we finished our holiday gifting with a Wii.  This is the first video gaming system to be of any interest to me.  To date everyone has played at least one game which required getting their backside off the couch.  Typically Mother's Day gifts are hand made items, flowers, and cards but this year DH found Wii Fit Plus, which I really wanted.  Of course who was the first person on the balance board - you know it - DH.  He was testing the equipment and software, I know.  I did get a round of Free Step accomplished with more steps in the same amount of time.   Let the fun continue....

Road Rage

Two weeks down and I haven't run screaming from the building.  I may  however have a massive mid-drive hissy fit one of these days.  I thought the bouncing around on the city streets in my neighborhood was bad, but the streets in Center City are exponentially worse.

Cobblestones are supposed to be bone rattling and jarring, but it's nothing compared to several other streets on my daily travels.  Between the sinking manholes, poorly patched potholes, and uneven roadways; it would not be good for me to run into any member of the streets department.

I drive Pine Street daily.  Earlier this year was yet another round of road carving, this time for Fios.  Then turning down Third Street a series of bad potholes patches, rebuilding portions of road way from explosions, or all around uneven intersections is worse.  Emergencies will always happen, but for other subterranean projects, there should be a requirement that all other players with presents underground be notified.  All projects within a 2 to 5 year timetable should be scheduled so the roadway could be opened up and then fully resurfaced for the benefit of those who live or work on the street.

Since I can't change the roads, the mission to find the smoothest roads in Philly continues.  I'm not optimistic in finding an ideal route in the near future.