Shorts and undershirts

Merry Christmas! 

As I've been cleaning house in preparation for the holiday season, I found a little box of gently used clothes I was probably saving for Ellie. They might be too small now, though. Does anyone want a really cute pair of girl's tan shorts (knee length) and 4 white undershirts all size 6? 

This habit of mine is just my way to channel Aunt Janet. 

Hwathwugu . . .

Well, I know it has been forever since I posted anything, but I have been busy. Homeschooling, nursing every few hours, doing some freelance editing work, taking over the sewing project for One Heart, and doing some research for the Sugar-Salem education foundation . . . . I'm busy. Add to that Thanksgiving coming up and Christmas around the corner and I am going to have a nervous breakdown. Luckily Devan's mom, Ruth, has been coming over every Friday to help me and last week cleaned all of my cupboards. Love her.

We are excited to go down to see Meredith sealed to Ali and Scott this weekend, and then next weekend we'll go to Herriman to visit with Beebs and her family for a week. Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Rowan is Here!

After a long and distressing pregnancy (can you say "cankles"? I actually saw a NEWS REPORT about cankles during my last week) the boy has arrived. Rowan Spence Barker was born Sep. 1 and is as cute and sweet as they come. Delivery was OK, recovery not so much . . . but I'm slowly getting better. He's eating better, too--I am nursing and was producing nothing for several days. But now I runneth over. His "bris" site is healed . . . and his belly button no longer looks, as Mila said, like a raisin. She suggested that we all tape raisins into our navels in a show of solidarity. It's so fun to watch her with him--she is so gentle and sweet. Tallis also loves to cuddle his little brother and is really a wonderful big brother.

Well, that was short, but I must run. Or waddle, at least.

Rocks, Anyone?

Mila and Tallis have been engaged in entrepreneureal pursuits lately. Yesterday Tallis and his buddies had a rock sale and netted about $12. (No overhead!) Today Mila and her friends made cookies, lemonade, and picked raspberries . . . they sold their wares and brought in about $10. They both had a lot of fun, too . . . there are such good kids around here. Good kids who want to hold a rock sale, and good kids who will stop and buy a rock for ten cents.

The Exodus of the Pigs

The pigs have moved . . . out of Mila's bedroom into the garage. While one pig was not too smelly or messy, three pigs were a different matter altogether. They spend much of their day outside anyway, in one of those wire dog kennels that we turn upside-down so the mesh isn't too big for them to tunnel under. I'm not sure if pigs DO tunnel, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Yesterday Devan moved the piggery down into the bay of the garage where he keeps his tools, and Beanie takes them out every morning when the grass is dry and we move them back in at night. Now and then we move their kennel around on the lawn, because they nibble the grass down so we have rectangular areas of very short grass; but they also fertilize the lawn, so in a day or two we have rectangular areas of very lush grass. They are quite sensitive to heat, so we have to keep them in the shade . . . otherwise we'd move them every hour and by the end of summer they would have mowed the entire lawn.

I enjoy taking them out little scraps--carrot tops, a slice of orange, salad too small to put back in the fridge--but my favorite is to watch them eat dandylions, which are their most-loved food. The other day one got hold of one end and another started at the other end and they met in the middle, just like on Lady and the Tramp.

Yummy

I know some of you also get the "Eating Well" magazine. Last night I thought I'd try a recipe I saw in the June issue, Huevos Rancheros Verdes. (Just think: if I'd added ham, it would be . . . ) I was kind of late getting started and didn't have all of the correct ingredients. So this is what I ended up doing:

I used tortilla chips, and put a handful on each plate. I put grated cheddar on top of each pile of chips. I mixed refried beans with red salsa and heated it up. I made the lettuce / scallion / cilantro / lime /oil / salt and pepper mixture. 

I had each person microwave their plates until the cheese was melted. Then they added a glop of the bean mixture and sprinkled on some of the lettuce mixture. To top it off, I fried each person an egg for the "peak" of their tortilla mountain. 

Well, it does sound a little odd--but everyone loved it. Even the kids ate it all. Milena says, "I'm picky, and even I loved it!" Tal said, "Yum."

I have also made two of the freezer pop recipes in the August issue, and they were both hits. I would love to hear about any recipes you guys have tried.    

I'm trying to be an active poster again . . .

I know that I have abandoned this blog for a long time . . . but I really want that to change. So here goes. This morning I made bread again. I tried out Janice Keller's recipe (from the famlet about 6 years ago) on Monday and it turned out really well . . . so well, in fact, that we needed more bread! (I made 4 loaves.) This morning I thought I'd try using my KitchenAid mixer because kneading that much dough for 10 minutes is nigh to impossible for me given my current bulgy state. I had my doubts about the capacity of the bowl, but thought I'd try. My fears were confirmed. The bowl was too small and every time I added flour it would poof out, covering me, the counter, and all equipment in a film of white dust. But I had to let it knead for 10 minutes, and I had to drive the kids to drama camp . . . . so I hurridly spooned in 6 cups of flour and left the machine on while I raced to the highschool. When I got back the dough ball had engulfed the mixer which was slowly moving closer and closer to the edge of the counter. It looked like a scene from Maurice Sendak's "In the Night Kitchen." The bread, however, turned out fine.

This weekend Omi and I are heading down to Utah to do various errands. We have made a reservation at Daw's Bed and Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Or perhaps we should call it the "Dawmitory." What shall we do to show our gratitude for their constant hospitality? I know Weston wants Omi to clean the fridge out again . . .

Finally, a new post

But don't get too excited about it. It's not that long . . . I just couldn't access my account forever. However, I did just learn something exciting--the new mission president for Bulgaria is a man Omi knew from her mission! (He was just a young whippersnapper then.) Such a small world . . . so we're thinking of making a trip to Bulgaria this summer after the wedding to see him. Val, wanna come?

New Year Waffles

Happy New Year! We've had a wonderful Christmas and a good beginning to 2009. I thought I'd start this year off with a tasty recipe: Yeast Risen Waffles. This is from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything."

The night before: Begin by melting 8 TBSP butter (one cube) and allowing it to cool. As the butter is cooling, combine 1/2 tsp instant yeast, 2 cups flour (you could use half whole wheat, though they wouldn't rise quite as high), 1 TBSP sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir in the milk, and add the melted, cooled butter and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. The mixture will be loose. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or waxed paper and let it sit out overnight at room temperature. Get out two eggs and leave them sitting out, also (the whites will beat better if the eggs are room temperature. The yolks won't go bad overnight).

In the morning, brush your waffle iron with oil and preheat it. Separate the eggs, mixing the yolks into the batter. Beat the whites until stiff in a separate bowl. Fold the whites gently into the batter.

Spread a cupful of batter onto the waffle iron and bake 3-5 minutes until done. Serve immediately with real syrup.

Delicious!