Yes Cari, it's going on the blog.

Dinner for Eight. And two cats.

Mark, Steven, Michael, and I went to Cari's last night for dinner. Doug took himself and a friend to the beach.

Cari and Richard were cooking up a storm when we got there. Chicken, rice, and broccoli. It was excellent. Thank you all for making dinner. We loved it, and we had a great time.

I love the typewriter. I remember typing on something pretty similar at one time. Not sure if I was just playing around or what. Amazing.

Erika showed us how one of the cats plays fetch. I LOVE these cats!

Steven and Michael hung out. A bit bummed because there wasn't a TV and there was a Blazer's game on. But they kept up with the scores on their phones, and I actually think it was nice for them to just hang out and NOT have something else to do while they hung out, like a computer or TV or Play Station. Novel idea.

Cat tricks were done for our amusement. We were amused. Thanks Tyler.

And when it was time to leave I discovered my purse had made a new friend.

Hanging out

We've been doing the cold thing around our house. Bites. I was sick all last week, feeling much better this week, but a bit tired all the time. Taking it easy so that I can get back to feeling like myself. Cold medicine all over the place around here.

The boys have been hanging out since it's Spring break. What is Doug doing?

Video games on the big ole honking TV. Coolness.

Steven gets the computer. Mellow times around our house folks. And that suits me just fine.

Blankets and books

Deacon was taking a nap, Steven came by and covered him up, and Deacon thought that was pretty darn nice of him. He cuddled in further, seeming to enjoy snuggling in the blanket.

As I took his picture, he seemed to look for approval. "Should I let her? You KNOW it's going to go on the blog. Is she only USING me?"

So it was obviously all right, because then he turned and gave me this picture perfect look. How could you not love this dog?

Doug assured him that being in the blog wasn't as bad as it seems, and to humour me. Story of my life.

Steven had some friends over last night. Does this combination tell you the party game they were playing? And blueberry beer. Wasn't my idea. But it did match the cups.

Can you fall in love with a book? I think you can. While at Powells, looking for another book, I came across this gem, 'Victorian Cakes', by Caroline B King. She writes about her childhood, concentrating on the kitchen, and it's a lovely story. Her mother, sisters, and house girl are amazing cooks, and she shares not only family stories that make you wish you could have been there, but shares many of the recipes. I LOVE this book.

I found this very interesting: she discusses the fact that oven temperatures were often checked by throwing a tablespoon of flour on the floor of the oven, and if the flour turned a brownish-orange in 5 to 1 seconds the temperature was correct. I think I would has SUCKED at baking in those days.

Here is a taste of what is in store when reading this book:

'It's a bustling place, that shabby old kitchen of ours, on a morning like this, and a fascinating place, too, even for a girl of twelve or thereabouts. There in the place of honor stands the chief actor in the morning's affairs, the heavy iron stove beaming under its coat of fresh polish which Anna, our hired girl, has applied by dint of elbow grease. Anna's strong hands have also brought the sheaf of nickel-plated calla lilies which decorates the oven door to a state of dazzling splendor, raked the ashes from the grate, and coaxed the fire to that glowing complexion which to Mother meas a 'steady oven,"just right for the generous cakes and loaves that will shortly be entrusted to it's keeping.'

This is the book I was looking for. Wonderful recipes using the base of cake mixes. Every recipe I've used has been wonderful, and I've played around with some of the to good results.

Deacon, the penguin, and one bum leg.

Lire and that leg of hers. She's adapting. She's using the leg as a tool: 'feel sorry for me. feed me every time I look sad'. She's good, real good, but since her weight is down we're working hard to keep her slim and trim. Even with the sad looks and the bum leg. It's for her own good!

And Deacon still loves his penguin, even though the poor thing is now in pieces throughout the house! It's so crazy!

Clover all over

Today the rain and wind are going crazy. Friday was beautiful, sunny, and warm. Mark mowed the yard and it smelled LOVELY when you went outside. Just mowed grass is amazing.

Last Sunday we got lots and lots of hail (is that how you spell it? Gads).

What the heck is going on? You never know what you're going to get day by day. Oh well, it's a living.

This Saturday I decided to do some St. Pat's Day baking to take over to the House. I made up some vanilla cake batter, put some green die in half of the batter, swirled it around, and baked it up. And you know what? I didn't use enough green coloring and once it was baked up I couldn't even tell the batter had been dyed. Oh man, you live and learn. BUT the cupcakes taste amazing, and that's what counts, right? I also baked up a batch of lemon. Those were darn good too.

And I decided to bake up some cookies I'd never tried. The one thing is you use peppermint extract in the frosting. That was good, but I think I'll try this recipe again and use vanilla instead. The cookies are very delicate, and buttery, and just enough chocolate. In fact, I might even try a fudge frosting the next time.

Fun to try new things. And since I take the goodies to the House, they don't sit around and tempt me. And trust me: when I have stuff like this in the house, it tempts me. I'll never be the type of person who can have baked goods in the house and not eat my fill. That's just the way it goes. I'm good with it.

I found a great little cake decorating store in Tigard. I love going there and finding special sprinkles (like the shamrock sprinkles above), and fun rings, to go on the cupcakes. I also bought some really large tips to pipe frosting on the cupcakes. I admit it, I need more practice, but I finally got more of the results I've been looking for. Nice and swirly. I think the frosting needs to be a bit stiffer. Learn and learn.

And the lemon cupcake, with cream cheese frosting: GOOD!!! The vanilla is good, but the lemon cakes came out so nice. I do like me a lemon cupcake.

Saturday afternoon Doug had a game. Here they are warming up in the 'sub gym'. Doesn't the lighting look cool? That's Doug in the center.

Doug pointing.

Doug waiting.

I got in trouble for taking this shot. See the ref at the right side of the pic? Well, I was trying hard to ensure I was not using my flash, but this time I didn't take the time, flash happened, and he came over and asked if I was going to turn off my flash. I assured him I was. Bummer dude, getting busted for something like that. At least it wasn't a big ole flash, like in the Buffalo Wild Wings commercials. Now THAT would be something to see. And MAN would he have been mad. Now THAT would be something to see. LOL

Rebirth

Mark has been researching the issues with our big ole screen TV, and lo and behold he found a fix! He ordered the parts, worked on the darn thing, and it's now up and running. I'm so proud of the time and effort he put into it, and how he took the time to ensure he knew what was going on. Good job honey!

I've been enjoying using my new appliance. It's so nice, and while I still love my little hand mixer, this is a new way of life for me.

Cupcakes. Oh yes, cupcakes.

Deacon needs me to do some surgery on his penguin. He's literally loved it to death!

Road kill or not, he loves this little fellow and takes him everywhere.

Lire is learning to adapt to the issues with her leg. On her last checkup the vet said she's doing great, and she is now much more cuddly than before the accident.

The leg has a life of it's own. It's been 'reborn', and thank goodness it's up and running. What a sweetie.

Someone had a good ole time in Tigard

Went to get in the car Sunday morning to get some groceries, and low and behold someone had shot at the car with a paintball gun! Kind of a shock, but after some thought it was harmless.

Livened up the car a bit, don't ya think?

We noticed later the house also got into the game.

And it all came right off when washed thank goodness! We were the only ones hit in our neighborhood (we did see a road sign spotting a few bright spots of orange for the world to see a few blocks over, but that's about it), so probably one of the boy's 'friends' left a calling call. Thoughtful boys, so very thoughtful.