Date night
Thanks to my in-laws, who provide top-notch free babysitting, Joel and I get to have a date tonight. Sadly we don't make use of this option nearly as often as we should. In the past few months, we've realized how couple time isn't a luxury but a necessity. Especially going through the emotional wringer of infertility yet again, we've needed to give extra diligence to caring for our marriage.
I'm excited about tonight's free concert at our church featuring some superb cellists and a young vocalist who is destined to go far in the opera world. The program is titled "Three Cellists + Five More!" (pdf) and will include Villas-Lobos' work for eight cellos and soprano. Our choir director has been raving about the concert for weeks now. How nice it will be to get spiffed up and have some quality grown up time.
But for now, it's time to bundle up my daughter in the scarf I just finished knitting for her and play in the fresh-fallen snow.
2.18.2005
alphabetically speaking
alphabetically speaking
Now that I'm beginning to teach the rudiments of reading--letters and phonemes--to my daughter, I'm realizing more and more what a truly perplexing language English is.
For starters, I think that simplifying our alphabet would be a good start in making it easier to learn. A number of letters could feasibly be eliminated altogether.
One could easily argue that the letters Q and X are not needed. Other letter combinations make the same sounds. While "quick" might look more elegant (meaning, more Latinate), advertisers know that everyone understands "kwik"
well enough. Despite the X-ie moniker on this blog, I would not be sorry to become Lone Zylophone who eschews zenophobes. And what an honor for the fine German Eck family if hospitals everywhere touted their Eck's-ray machines!
Take the "k" sound. Do we really need 2 letters, C and K, to play this function? I think we could happily give up one of the two. My preference would be to eliminate K, because C is useful in consonant combinations like CH that K cannot really approximate. While we're keeping C, let's eliminate its S-like properties and let S carry its own load for a change.
The question is whether the language is ready for cwic changes and ecstreme new ways of spelling. Before the advent of dictionaries (thanks cousin Noah), English was one of the most flexible languages, adept at incorporating any new words it encountered. Unfortunately, it has never looked back to reevaluate how to enable its most ancient components to live harmoniously with new additions. Thus, we have some incredibly weird spellings hanging around. We've got Viking words like knight and knife, but no longer pronounce the initial K. Could the spelling not better reflect contemporary pronunciation? Latinate and Germanic dialects have been forced to intermarry, with no thought to making them a new family with consistent spelling rules.
As 1337 begins making inroads into our language, it seems high time that linguists start working on a simplification scheme for our excesively complex tongue.
Now that I'm beginning to teach the rudiments of reading--letters and phonemes--to my daughter, I'm realizing more and more what a truly perplexing language English is.
For starters, I think that simplifying our alphabet would be a good start in making it easier to learn. A number of letters could feasibly be eliminated altogether.
One could easily argue that the letters Q and X are not needed. Other letter combinations make the same sounds. While "quick" might look more elegant (meaning, more Latinate), advertisers know that everyone understands "kwik"
well enough. Despite the X-ie moniker on this blog, I would not be sorry to become Lone Zylophone who eschews zenophobes. And what an honor for the fine German Eck family if hospitals everywhere touted their Eck's-ray machines!
Take the "k" sound. Do we really need 2 letters, C and K, to play this function? I think we could happily give up one of the two. My preference would be to eliminate K, because C is useful in consonant combinations like CH that K cannot really approximate. While we're keeping C, let's eliminate its S-like properties and let S carry its own load for a change.
The question is whether the language is ready for cwic changes and ecstreme new ways of spelling. Before the advent of dictionaries (thanks cousin Noah), English was one of the most flexible languages, adept at incorporating any new words it encountered. Unfortunately, it has never looked back to reevaluate how to enable its most ancient components to live harmoniously with new additions. Thus, we have some incredibly weird spellings hanging around. We've got Viking words like knight and knife, but no longer pronounce the initial K. Could the spelling not better reflect contemporary pronunciation? Latinate and Germanic dialects have been forced to intermarry, with no thought to making them a new family with consistent spelling rules.
As 1337 begins making inroads into our language, it seems high time that linguists start working on a simplification scheme for our excesively complex tongue.
2.17.2005
2.09.2005
A good sort
Following Valerie's lead and lacking anything interesting to blog about, I tried the latest Hogwart's sorting hat quiz. I didn't have to cheat to get the house I wanted!
I always thought Ravenclaw sounded cool, and I'm most comfortable around people of the nerdy smart variety. Perhaps this is the appeal of Ravenclaw: nerds of a feather flock together to feel slightly better about their lack of cool and leather. (Anyone who can come up with a better rhyme, please do so. (-:)
Following Valerie's lead and lacking anything interesting to blog about, I tried the latest Hogwart's sorting hat quiz. I didn't have to cheat to get the house I wanted!
I'm from Ravenclaw!
Hogwart's Sorting Hat Quiz
made by The Genki Gang
I always thought Ravenclaw sounded cool, and I'm most comfortable around people of the nerdy smart variety. Perhaps this is the appeal of Ravenclaw: nerds of a feather flock together to feel slightly better about their lack of cool and leather. (Anyone who can come up with a better rhyme, please do so. (-:)
2.05.2005
Chillin'
We saw this cute guy lolling happily in the remains of our rapidly melting snow while visiting the Philadelphia Zoo this morning. When the forecast was for mid-50s temperatures, we decided to take advantage of the relative balminess and our membership pass to have a little fun family time. It felt especially deserved after our attempts to have family fun time the previous evening fell pretty flat (see Joel's blog for details).
We saw this cute guy lolling happily in the remains of our rapidly melting snow while visiting the Philadelphia Zoo this morning. When the forecast was for mid-50s temperatures, we decided to take advantage of the relative balminess and our membership pass to have a little fun family time. It felt especially deserved after our attempts to have family fun time the previous evening fell pretty flat (see Joel's blog for details).
2.04.2005
Twenty five years of laundry
I'm not sure whether to be embarrassed or proud of the fact that I have been practicing the fine art of laundering for 25 years. My mother went back to work when I was 10 and began training me hard to be the domestic queen I am today. She practiced that old school of parenting in which it was essential for children to not grow up helpless, but be able to function as adults before reaching college age.
I took over all responsibility for the family laundry at age 11. With adequate training, this really is a pretty easy chore, even for a preteen (and anyone else at least as smart as a 5th grader, such as spoiled husbands). Not that I didn't have a few mishaps in the beginning--a wool sweater wound up toddler sized, I had occassional dripped bleach and a sneaky black sock once turned a load of whites gray.
Rather than wax nostalgic about washing peasant dresses and terry cloth shirts, I thought I'd celebrate this anniversary year by sharing some of my best laundry tips.
Best time savers
+ Don't handwash hoisery. Invest in some mesh lingerie bags (try Target or Walmart). Stick the hose in the bag and wash with your regular laundry. Wash light colors in warm and darks in cold. Hang to dry on a drying rack or on a plastic hanger.
+ Most "handwash" sweaters can be washed on delicate cycle in the machine, if they are colorfast (dye does not bleed when you get a small section wet and squeeze it). Turn the sweater inside out (to prevent friction pills) and wash in a large lingerie bag or pillowcase tied closed. Wool items seem to shrink no matter how you wash them, so use the machine, but be sure to reshape the item as it drip dries. (Personally, I save time by having wool sweaters bulk dry cleaned by the pound.)
+ Items that aren't colorfast must be handwashed, but forget about squeezing or wringing. After washing and rinsing in the sink, put the lone wet item in the machine and run it through the spin cycle.
+ If you have some consistent types of stains (baby spit up, toddler food drips, grungy socks) you can save time by soaking big vats of stained stuff for 8 to 24 hours in oxyclean or borax or bleach instead of pretreating individual stains.
+ Items labeled "drip dry" or "lay flat to dry" can be helped along by running through a second spin cycle and/or drying on low heat in the dryer for just a few minutes (too hot or too long will cause shrinkage). Caveat: never put wool in the dryer.
+ Speed drying times by mixing the weights of fabrics in the load. A load of all towels, for example, dries far slower than towels mixed with sheets and Tshirts.
+ Unless you have run out of clean clothes, wait until you have full loads before washing. You just waste time and money running the machine half full twice as often.
...stay tuned for more tips in this continuing series.
I'm not sure whether to be embarrassed or proud of the fact that I have been practicing the fine art of laundering for 25 years. My mother went back to work when I was 10 and began training me hard to be the domestic queen I am today. She practiced that old school of parenting in which it was essential for children to not grow up helpless, but be able to function as adults before reaching college age.
I took over all responsibility for the family laundry at age 11. With adequate training, this really is a pretty easy chore, even for a preteen (and anyone else at least as smart as a 5th grader, such as spoiled husbands). Not that I didn't have a few mishaps in the beginning--a wool sweater wound up toddler sized, I had occassional dripped bleach and a sneaky black sock once turned a load of whites gray.
Rather than wax nostalgic about washing peasant dresses and terry cloth shirts, I thought I'd celebrate this anniversary year by sharing some of my best laundry tips.
Best time savers
+ Don't handwash hoisery. Invest in some mesh lingerie bags (try Target or Walmart). Stick the hose in the bag and wash with your regular laundry. Wash light colors in warm and darks in cold. Hang to dry on a drying rack or on a plastic hanger.
+ Most "handwash" sweaters can be washed on delicate cycle in the machine, if they are colorfast (dye does not bleed when you get a small section wet and squeeze it). Turn the sweater inside out (to prevent friction pills) and wash in a large lingerie bag or pillowcase tied closed. Wool items seem to shrink no matter how you wash them, so use the machine, but be sure to reshape the item as it drip dries. (Personally, I save time by having wool sweaters bulk dry cleaned by the pound.)
+ Items that aren't colorfast must be handwashed, but forget about squeezing or wringing. After washing and rinsing in the sink, put the lone wet item in the machine and run it through the spin cycle.
+ If you have some consistent types of stains (baby spit up, toddler food drips, grungy socks) you can save time by soaking big vats of stained stuff for 8 to 24 hours in oxyclean or borax or bleach instead of pretreating individual stains.
+ Items labeled "drip dry" or "lay flat to dry" can be helped along by running through a second spin cycle and/or drying on low heat in the dryer for just a few minutes (too hot or too long will cause shrinkage). Caveat: never put wool in the dryer.
+ Speed drying times by mixing the weights of fabrics in the load. A load of all towels, for example, dries far slower than towels mixed with sheets and Tshirts.
+ Unless you have run out of clean clothes, wait until you have full loads before washing. You just waste time and money running the machine half full twice as often.
...stay tuned for more tips in this continuing series.
1.31.2005
Bad Mommy
Nothing makes a parent feel worse than knowing you've caused harm to your child.
Poor Claire had a terrible rash all over her torso on Saturday that I didn't discover until fairly late in the day. I rushed to my Practical Pediatrician book to try to figure out what was wrong. Joel said, "looks like hives to me."
Hives. Ugh. Not another allergy to figure out! This summer she proved to be allergic to raw tomatoes. Could this be a food allergy? Hmm, those give you hives all over. Her rash was only on the chest and back and stopped at the diaper line.
Epiphany: evil new undershirt! Gerber onsies come nice and stiff from the pack thanks to some sort of starch or sizing. Claire's allergic to that.
Fortunately, her rash cleared up by this morning with a bath, benadryl and hydrocortisone cream. I was somewhat heditant to put her in Sunday School yesterday, mostly because of my fears about what her teachers might think of my parenting. What good mother gives her children rashes? Well, my pride be darned, she loves her class, so off she went with a note from Bad Mommy that she's not contagious, just sensitive skinned.
Now I know to prewash anything new that's stiff. Doh!
Nothing makes a parent feel worse than knowing you've caused harm to your child.
Poor Claire had a terrible rash all over her torso on Saturday that I didn't discover until fairly late in the day. I rushed to my Practical Pediatrician book to try to figure out what was wrong. Joel said, "looks like hives to me."
Hives. Ugh. Not another allergy to figure out! This summer she proved to be allergic to raw tomatoes. Could this be a food allergy? Hmm, those give you hives all over. Her rash was only on the chest and back and stopped at the diaper line.
Epiphany: evil new undershirt! Gerber onsies come nice and stiff from the pack thanks to some sort of starch or sizing. Claire's allergic to that.
Fortunately, her rash cleared up by this morning with a bath, benadryl and hydrocortisone cream. I was somewhat heditant to put her in Sunday School yesterday, mostly because of my fears about what her teachers might think of my parenting. What good mother gives her children rashes? Well, my pride be darned, she loves her class, so off she went with a note from Bad Mommy that she's not contagious, just sensitive skinned.
Now I know to prewash anything new that's stiff. Doh!
1.27.2005
Infinite capacity for self-deception
I recently finished re-reading Susan Howatch's Scandalous Risks, the only of her Church of England series with a female narrator. The story dovetailed well with the Bible study lesson I prepared this week on Matthew 5:27-32.
Venetia Flaxton, a noblewoman in her 20s, strikes up an unusual friendship with one of her father's friends, a 61-year-old married clergyman. When they begin corresponding about her spiritual questions, trouble begins. Emotional entanglement ensues, and the two of them also begin stealing moments of passionate hndholding, then embraces, then kissing, then petting. The clergyman Aysgarth uses an emerging strand of liberal theology to justify the relationship. In his mind, they love each other, and as long as there is no int3rc0urse, there is no adultery.
This line of reasoning is exactly what Jesus denounces in the Sermon on the Mount. Sexual sin is much more a slippery slope than Aysgarth would like to think. Even without "technical" adultery, the relationship is very destructive, especially to Venetia, a spiritually confused young woman who most needed guidance, not manipulation and exploitation. Because he wouldn't metaphorically "cut off his hands" and give up the companionship, intellectual stimulation and joy of the inappropriate friendship, he ends up in a kind of hell. He wrecks his career and watches several of his children slowly self-destruct. Even when Venetia does find the strength and support to cut off the relationship, she also ends up in a kind of hell. She marries a man she doesn't love to protect Aysgarth, and ends up in self-destructive despair.
The women at my Bible study got into some really good discussion about what it might mean for us to "pluck out our eyes" or "cut off our hands" to avoid temptation. One person mentioned leaving a good job because a coworker flirts with you. Another mentioned cancelling cable and buying filtering software for the computer.
Because Scandalous Risks tackles the slippery slope of infidelity in an unsalacious (yet very readable) manner, I found it a good antidote to the junk I really should stop watching on TV.
I recently finished re-reading Susan Howatch's Scandalous Risks, the only of her Church of England series with a female narrator. The story dovetailed well with the Bible study lesson I prepared this week on Matthew 5:27-32.
Venetia Flaxton, a noblewoman in her 20s, strikes up an unusual friendship with one of her father's friends, a 61-year-old married clergyman. When they begin corresponding about her spiritual questions, trouble begins. Emotional entanglement ensues, and the two of them also begin stealing moments of passionate hndholding, then embraces, then kissing, then petting. The clergyman Aysgarth uses an emerging strand of liberal theology to justify the relationship. In his mind, they love each other, and as long as there is no int3rc0urse, there is no adultery.
This line of reasoning is exactly what Jesus denounces in the Sermon on the Mount. Sexual sin is much more a slippery slope than Aysgarth would like to think. Even without "technical" adultery, the relationship is very destructive, especially to Venetia, a spiritually confused young woman who most needed guidance, not manipulation and exploitation. Because he wouldn't metaphorically "cut off his hands" and give up the companionship, intellectual stimulation and joy of the inappropriate friendship, he ends up in a kind of hell. He wrecks his career and watches several of his children slowly self-destruct. Even when Venetia does find the strength and support to cut off the relationship, she also ends up in a kind of hell. She marries a man she doesn't love to protect Aysgarth, and ends up in self-destructive despair.
The women at my Bible study got into some really good discussion about what it might mean for us to "pluck out our eyes" or "cut off our hands" to avoid temptation. One person mentioned leaving a good job because a coworker flirts with you. Another mentioned cancelling cable and buying filtering software for the computer.
Because Scandalous Risks tackles the slippery slope of infidelity in an unsalacious (yet very readable) manner, I found it a good antidote to the junk I really should stop watching on TV.
1.25.2005
Contenders
When the Oscar nominations were announced this morning, I realized I'd seen almost none of the films. I do have an opinion about one category, however: Animated Feature.
My vote goes strongly for The Incredibles. The premise is tied to a genre, yet is so fresh and original that it definitely deserves the nomination for best original screenplay. The humor is multi-level, full of slapstick for the kids (and Stooges fans), snappy one liners, and humorous allusions to film, literature and pop culture. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard during a film.
At the same time, the film delivers action-packed suspense and touching relationships between characters. I found the morals of loyalty, bravery, community and responsibility put forward without the story getting mired down or seeming preachy. It drove home the evils of envy: the villan is a brilliant inventor who could be using his gifts to the betterment of humanity, but he ends of driven mad by his envy of others' innate gifts, to his ultimate destruction.
Please weigh in on your favorite among the nominees: A Shark's Tale, Shrek 2 or The Incredibles.
When the Oscar nominations were announced this morning, I realized I'd seen almost none of the films. I do have an opinion about one category, however: Animated Feature.
My vote goes strongly for The Incredibles. The premise is tied to a genre, yet is so fresh and original that it definitely deserves the nomination for best original screenplay. The humor is multi-level, full of slapstick for the kids (and Stooges fans), snappy one liners, and humorous allusions to film, literature and pop culture. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard during a film.
At the same time, the film delivers action-packed suspense and touching relationships between characters. I found the morals of loyalty, bravery, community and responsibility put forward without the story getting mired down or seeming preachy. It drove home the evils of envy: the villan is a brilliant inventor who could be using his gifts to the betterment of humanity, but he ends of driven mad by his envy of others' innate gifts, to his ultimate destruction.
Please weigh in on your favorite among the nominees: A Shark's Tale, Shrek 2 or The Incredibles.
1.23.2005
Snow days!
We're kicking back and enjoying our first big snowstorm of the season. The first flakes began yesterday morning, as we watched a flock of corpulent robins take up residence in our juniper tree (below).
Between bouts of gorging themselves on the ripe, silvery-blue berries, the jolly birds perched alternately on the porch rails or rocking chairs and fluffed up their feathers to even more rotund proportions. How fun to offer hospitality so effortlessly.
This morning we missed attending church because the roads were treacherous, public transit is offering only spotty service and it was far to cold to wait for a train that might never come. We did a shortened version of morning prayer at home with Claire, followed by some Sunday-school type crafts based on Daniel 3 (the young men rescued from the firey furnace). Claire had a great time making "stained glass" fire pictures by melting old crayons on a warming tray and transferring the wax onto sheets of thin paper. We also listened to a live webcast of the sermon at Tenth.
After lunch, it was time to do some shoveling and let Claire play in the snow a bit.
I made the mistake of letting Nicky come outside without a leash. He took off in a blind run up the street, with me in hot pursuit. The more I called him, the faster he ran. He ran out in front of two cars, which fortunately stopped to let the demented dog and screeching woman pass. He then darted down the footpath into woodsy Wissahickon Park. The snow was too deep for me to follow very far.
In an act of desparation, I flopped down on my back there in the woods and pretended to be hurt to get him to come near enough to grab by the collar. This too proved fairly fruitless. He came within 10 feet then proceeded to bark and bark and bark at me, as if to say "C'mon, Mom, let's play tag some more!"
I got to my knees and begged the dog to come, my fury finally spent. More barking.
With no other ideas of how to capture Nicky, I got up and started clambering up the trail toward home. He eagerly followed and I finally got hold of his collar. The next back-aching block, I held tight to his collar and brought my chastened pup home.
I think I need a nap now.
We're kicking back and enjoying our first big snowstorm of the season. The first flakes began yesterday morning, as we watched a flock of corpulent robins take up residence in our juniper tree (below).
Between bouts of gorging themselves on the ripe, silvery-blue berries, the jolly birds perched alternately on the porch rails or rocking chairs and fluffed up their feathers to even more rotund proportions. How fun to offer hospitality so effortlessly.
This morning we missed attending church because the roads were treacherous, public transit is offering only spotty service and it was far to cold to wait for a train that might never come. We did a shortened version of morning prayer at home with Claire, followed by some Sunday-school type crafts based on Daniel 3 (the young men rescued from the firey furnace). Claire had a great time making "stained glass" fire pictures by melting old crayons on a warming tray and transferring the wax onto sheets of thin paper. We also listened to a live webcast of the sermon at Tenth.
After lunch, it was time to do some shoveling and let Claire play in the snow a bit.
I made the mistake of letting Nicky come outside without a leash. He took off in a blind run up the street, with me in hot pursuit. The more I called him, the faster he ran. He ran out in front of two cars, which fortunately stopped to let the demented dog and screeching woman pass. He then darted down the footpath into woodsy Wissahickon Park. The snow was too deep for me to follow very far.
In an act of desparation, I flopped down on my back there in the woods and pretended to be hurt to get him to come near enough to grab by the collar. This too proved fairly fruitless. He came within 10 feet then proceeded to bark and bark and bark at me, as if to say "C'mon, Mom, let's play tag some more!"
I got to my knees and begged the dog to come, my fury finally spent. More barking.
With no other ideas of how to capture Nicky, I got up and started clambering up the trail toward home. He eagerly followed and I finally got hold of his collar. The next back-aching block, I held tight to his collar and brought my chastened pup home.
I think I need a nap now.
1.18.2005
Alas
My poor tulips are unlikely to survive this winter. They were sadly tricked into pushing up out of the soil over the past few weeks when our temperatures were as high as the low 60s. (In fact, I've hung out laundry four times this month, which I never do unless the temp is above 55 and sunny.) Tonight the temperature is slated to fall to 6 degrees, so I hold little hope for those tender little shoots, despite my attempts to provide a little insulation with mulch.
Sigh.
My poor tulips are unlikely to survive this winter. They were sadly tricked into pushing up out of the soil over the past few weeks when our temperatures were as high as the low 60s. (In fact, I've hung out laundry four times this month, which I never do unless the temp is above 55 and sunny.) Tonight the temperature is slated to fall to 6 degrees, so I hold little hope for those tender little shoots, despite my attempts to provide a little insulation with mulch.
Sigh.
1.16.2005
Gulp
I've been sick for nearly a week now with some sort of infection that seems especially to be attacking my throat and tonsills. After poring over our home medical guides, I'm pretty sure it's not strep throat because of the lack of tell-tale white patches in the throat. It's likely a virus that I'll simply have to ride out.
I've had strep only once in my life, back in 1986 (nearly 20 years ago, double gulp!). How foolish I used to be about illness back then. I remember putting in full days at school, going to my part-time job and even participating in the county band festival with hellfire burning in my throat.
I wonder how many customers and musicians I infected in my stupidity. Granted, going to county band was a HUGE deal for a mallet percussionist, as there were only two spots and like 10 school districts to draw from. At the time, it seemed completely worthwhile to run myself into the ground.
How we suffer for our art.
I've been sick for nearly a week now with some sort of infection that seems especially to be attacking my throat and tonsills. After poring over our home medical guides, I'm pretty sure it's not strep throat because of the lack of tell-tale white patches in the throat. It's likely a virus that I'll simply have to ride out.
I've had strep only once in my life, back in 1986 (nearly 20 years ago, double gulp!). How foolish I used to be about illness back then. I remember putting in full days at school, going to my part-time job and even participating in the county band festival with hellfire burning in my throat.
I wonder how many customers and musicians I infected in my stupidity. Granted, going to county band was a HUGE deal for a mallet percussionist, as there were only two spots and like 10 school districts to draw from. At the time, it seemed completely worthwhile to run myself into the ground.
How we suffer for our art.
1.10.2005
Pumpkin
Wondering what to do with those extra cans of pumpkin puree you bought at super bargain prices over the holidays? Try my perennial favorite quick bread recipe that yields best results if frozen first--a great timesaver when preparing for a brunch, or, in my case, snack for a 70-member choir.
Supermoist Pumpkin Bread
yield: 2 loaves prep time: 20 minutes bake time: 60-70 minutes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 standard 9"x5"x3" loaf pans (or 3 smaller 8.5"x4.5"x2.5" pans).
Cream together until fluffy:
2/3 C shortening
2 2/3 C sugar
Stir in:
4 eggs
2/3 C water
16 oz. (2 C) canned pumpkin puree
In a separate bowl, sift together:
3 1/3 C flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. If desired, add 2/3 C raisins.
Pour batter into greased pans. Bake for 60-70 minutes (less time for smaller or dark metal pans). Bread is done when inserted knife or tester comes out clean.
Cool bread for 20 minutes, remove from pans, wrap in foil and freeze overnight or until needed (up to 1 month). Thaw and enjoy!
Other hints:
Most canned pumpkin comes in 29 oz. cans, which would yield a recipe and a half, with a little waste. The above recipe can be halved easily, except the flour is trickier--use 2.5 Tbsp and you'll have approximately 1/6 of a cup. Alternately, freeze the extra cup of pumpkin puree for later use.
Wondering what to do with those extra cans of pumpkin puree you bought at super bargain prices over the holidays? Try my perennial favorite quick bread recipe that yields best results if frozen first--a great timesaver when preparing for a brunch, or, in my case, snack for a 70-member choir.
Supermoist Pumpkin Bread
yield: 2 loaves prep time: 20 minutes bake time: 60-70 minutes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 standard 9"x5"x3" loaf pans (or 3 smaller 8.5"x4.5"x2.5" pans).
Cream together until fluffy:
2/3 C shortening
2 2/3 C sugar
Stir in:
4 eggs
2/3 C water
16 oz. (2 C) canned pumpkin puree
In a separate bowl, sift together:
3 1/3 C flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. If desired, add 2/3 C raisins.
Pour batter into greased pans. Bake for 60-70 minutes (less time for smaller or dark metal pans). Bread is done when inserted knife or tester comes out clean.
Cool bread for 20 minutes, remove from pans, wrap in foil and freeze overnight or until needed (up to 1 month). Thaw and enjoy!
Other hints:
Most canned pumpkin comes in 29 oz. cans, which would yield a recipe and a half, with a little waste. The above recipe can be halved easily, except the flour is trickier--use 2.5 Tbsp and you'll have approximately 1/6 of a cup. Alternately, freeze the extra cup of pumpkin puree for later use.
1.08.2005
Wow
I haven't blogged in so long, I'd nearly forgotten my login for the blogger site. Now that we have a laptop (that my husband is supposed to share), I thought it was about time to drop into the blogosphere again. (Dawn and Valerie have something to do with it too.)
I don't have any really great excuse for not blogging other than that I'd grown somewhat bored with it. I also suffer from the curse of the youngest child--having been told by older siblings for so long that I'm pestering them, I've begun to believe that no one is particularly interested in what I have to say. This is not reallly a conducive attitude for blogging.
Blogging requires a certain amount of chutzpa that has been more on the wane in my personality of late. I am constantly humbled in my attempts at parenting. Despite best laid plans, my daughter does not always sleep when I want her to, wear the outfits I pick, or eat the nutritious fare I prepare. Housekeeping is also very humbling. I can vacuum and dust and tidy with the best of then, only to have toys and fingerprints and dog fur reappear in a matter of hours or minutes.
I am deeply living in the experience that I am nothing, and yet, I am the glue that holds my home and family together.
I haven't blogged in so long, I'd nearly forgotten my login for the blogger site. Now that we have a laptop (that my husband is supposed to share), I thought it was about time to drop into the blogosphere again. (Dawn and Valerie have something to do with it too.)
I don't have any really great excuse for not blogging other than that I'd grown somewhat bored with it. I also suffer from the curse of the youngest child--having been told by older siblings for so long that I'm pestering them, I've begun to believe that no one is particularly interested in what I have to say. This is not reallly a conducive attitude for blogging.
Blogging requires a certain amount of chutzpa that has been more on the wane in my personality of late. I am constantly humbled in my attempts at parenting. Despite best laid plans, my daughter does not always sleep when I want her to, wear the outfits I pick, or eat the nutritious fare I prepare. Housekeeping is also very humbling. I can vacuum and dust and tidy with the best of then, only to have toys and fingerprints and dog fur reappear in a matter of hours or minutes.
I am deeply living in the experience that I am nothing, and yet, I am the glue that holds my home and family together.
10.29.2004
I now pronounce...
It's so fun to observe Claire's language skills growing. She can recite almost the entire book "Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman. Her sentences grow longer and more complex every few weeks: "Mommy, Cwaire go up-tairs, take teddy, use my new bwocks, build big house!" (Those Ls are still pretty tricky to say, poor kid.)
I was looking over one of my posts from earlier in the summer (when I was blogging more) and thought it would be fun to show an update. Watch Clairish slowly evolve into English!
1. zebra
deebah (21 mo.); zebwa (26 mo.)
2. butterfly
buckeye (21 mo.); bufwy (26 mo.)
3. squirrel
squeal (21 mo.); squill (26 mo.)
4. bunny rabbit
boggy ragit (21 mo.); bunny rabbit (26 mo.)
5. Christopher Robin
Critfer Rogick (21 mo.); Crissfer Robin (26. mo.)
6. blueberries
boo-boo bays (21 mo.); boo-boo baywies (26. mo.)
7. melon
may-ya-ya-ya-uhn (21 mo.); mewon (26 mo.)
8. noodles
noo-noo (21 mo.); noodos (26 mo.)
9. pretzels
backles (21 mo.); pretzo (26 mo.)
10. Caesar salad dressing
teaser sauce (21 mo.); Seazo dwessing (26 mo.)
11. Sing "Running Over" again
Moe ruck ogre (21 mo.); Sing again, "runnik ober" (26 mo.)
12. clean blanket
key backie (21 mo.); kween bwanket (26 mo.)
13. My hands are dirty
hanks duty (21 mo.); my hans vey duty (26 mo.)
14. city bus
ditty buts (21 mo.); ceety bus (26 mo.)
One of her cutest Clairisms dissappeared very quickly. At around 19 months, she called apple sauce "backel doss." In no time, that became, distinctively "appo zauce." I will be especially sad when she stops calling that silly, willy-nilly, old bear by the name "Wibby Pooh."
It's so fun to observe Claire's language skills growing. She can recite almost the entire book "Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman. Her sentences grow longer and more complex every few weeks: "Mommy, Cwaire go up-tairs, take teddy, use my new bwocks, build big house!" (Those Ls are still pretty tricky to say, poor kid.)
I was looking over one of my posts from earlier in the summer (when I was blogging more) and thought it would be fun to show an update. Watch Clairish slowly evolve into English!
1. zebra
deebah (21 mo.); zebwa (26 mo.)
2. butterfly
buckeye (21 mo.); bufwy (26 mo.)
3. squirrel
squeal (21 mo.); squill (26 mo.)
4. bunny rabbit
boggy ragit (21 mo.); bunny rabbit (26 mo.)
5. Christopher Robin
Critfer Rogick (21 mo.); Crissfer Robin (26. mo.)
6. blueberries
boo-boo bays (21 mo.); boo-boo baywies (26. mo.)
7. melon
may-ya-ya-ya-uhn (21 mo.); mewon (26 mo.)
8. noodles
noo-noo (21 mo.); noodos (26 mo.)
9. pretzels
backles (21 mo.); pretzo (26 mo.)
10. Caesar salad dressing
teaser sauce (21 mo.); Seazo dwessing (26 mo.)
11. Sing "Running Over" again
Moe ruck ogre (21 mo.); Sing again, "runnik ober" (26 mo.)
12. clean blanket
key backie (21 mo.); kween bwanket (26 mo.)
13. My hands are dirty
hanks duty (21 mo.); my hans vey duty (26 mo.)
14. city bus
ditty buts (21 mo.); ceety bus (26 mo.)
One of her cutest Clairisms dissappeared very quickly. At around 19 months, she called apple sauce "backel doss." In no time, that became, distinctively "appo zauce." I will be especially sad when she stops calling that silly, willy-nilly, old bear by the name "Wibby Pooh."
8.12.2004
Hanging
Well, I've survived over a week without my husband and with my mother. You can probably imagine why Joel is the one of us who's blogging all the time, seeing that I have to keep up with Claire, run our home and somehow be entertaining and willing to sightsee with mom.
We three generations have kept a pretty full calendar, with trips to the zoo and feeding the ducks in Fairmount park, getting to some of my regular stuff like Bible studies, visting with other family and holding a Pampered Chef party.
At the party tonight, I was reminded yet again of what a pain in the neck the dog is when we have company. Nicky barks and howls and barks and howls when people arrive, so much so that no one can carry on a conversation. Gating him in another room seems to make him howl and bark more. Put him outside and he just annoys everyone in the neighborhood. I think my only option when we hold a birthday party for Claire next week is to put him in his crate in our detatched garage before any guests arrive. I think he'll be less likely to be so barky if he can neither see nor hear the guests.
I'd love to hear any other humane suggestions for curbing the noisyness of a half-husky when company comes.
Well, I've survived over a week without my husband and with my mother. You can probably imagine why Joel is the one of us who's blogging all the time, seeing that I have to keep up with Claire, run our home and somehow be entertaining and willing to sightsee with mom.
We three generations have kept a pretty full calendar, with trips to the zoo and feeding the ducks in Fairmount park, getting to some of my regular stuff like Bible studies, visting with other family and holding a Pampered Chef party.
At the party tonight, I was reminded yet again of what a pain in the neck the dog is when we have company. Nicky barks and howls and barks and howls when people arrive, so much so that no one can carry on a conversation. Gating him in another room seems to make him howl and bark more. Put him outside and he just annoys everyone in the neighborhood. I think my only option when we hold a birthday party for Claire next week is to put him in his crate in our detatched garage before any guests arrive. I think he'll be less likely to be so barky if he can neither see nor hear the guests.
I'd love to hear any other humane suggestions for curbing the noisyness of a half-husky when company comes.
7.27.2004
Madison
One of Claire's current favorites among her books is the Madeline anthology. After reading two or three of the stories and putting her to bed, I find myself thinking in Bemelmans-style rhyme. I think it might be fun to someday write a Philly version, sort of a parody. It would start something like this:
In an old house in Philly
covered up with graffitti
lived a plump, kindly mama
who made killer baked ziti.
In her tall, narrow house
lived six little girls
who used straightening irons
to flatten their curls.
With hair in tight buns
they went searching for fun
the bossiest one was Madison.
Mikayla, Mia, Casey and Karly
fell in line when Madison called for a parley
Only her sister Annemarie
was nearly as headstrong as she.
I'm not sure what sorts of Philly-style adventures I'd dream up for these girls. Any ideas? I'd definitely have plently of late-night waking. Miss Clavel always seems to be waking in the middle of the night sensing something is not right.
One of Claire's current favorites among her books is the Madeline anthology. After reading two or three of the stories and putting her to bed, I find myself thinking in Bemelmans-style rhyme. I think it might be fun to someday write a Philly version, sort of a parody. It would start something like this:
In an old house in Philly
covered up with graffitti
lived a plump, kindly mama
who made killer baked ziti.
In her tall, narrow house
lived six little girls
who used straightening irons
to flatten their curls.
With hair in tight buns
they went searching for fun
the bossiest one was Madison.
Mikayla, Mia, Casey and Karly
fell in line when Madison called for a parley
Only her sister Annemarie
was nearly as headstrong as she.
I'm not sure what sorts of Philly-style adventures I'd dream up for these girls. Any ideas? I'd definitely have plently of late-night waking. Miss Clavel always seems to be waking in the middle of the night sensing something is not right.
7.26.2004
More bloggers IRL
This past weekend we hosted Rick and Rachel Capezza, who have been working at a camp in New Jersey for the summer. I'm just now realizing that we took no pictures! They had a camera, though probably won't be blogging for a while.
We showed them some of the sights (or is it sites?) in historic Philly, lunched on cheesesteaks and hung out talking a lot. Sunday was a little bit Episcopalian, a little bit low-church Presby. And of course, Claire had to share her Veggie passion with our guests with a showing of "Lyle, the Kindly Viking." She could watch that tape continuously all day if we let her.
This past weekend we hosted Rick and Rachel Capezza, who have been working at a camp in New Jersey for the summer. I'm just now realizing that we took no pictures! They had a camera, though probably won't be blogging for a while.
We showed them some of the sights (or is it sites?) in historic Philly, lunched on cheesesteaks and hung out talking a lot. Sunday was a little bit Episcopalian, a little bit low-church Presby. And of course, Claire had to share her Veggie passion with our guests with a showing of "Lyle, the Kindly Viking." She could watch that tape continuously all day if we let her.
7.21.2004
Transit trials
I'm mostly back on track after an across-the-state trip last week with another mom and our two preschoolers. Pennsylvania never seemed large until we started planning for this trip to see a mutual friend who lives in New Castle, up in the northwest corner of the state near the Ohio border. I had some serious doubts that we could do the drive from Philly in less than like 10 hours because the kids would perpetually want us to stop.
My friend had a secret weapon. That's right, a portable DVD player. I'll admit that I used to moan every time I'd see an ad on TV for vehicles equipped with this device. "Great," I'd tell Joel, "just the way to guaratee you never have to actually speak to or interact with your children."
Well, I've revised my opinion a bit on that count. For fidgety toddlers on long rides, the technology can be a big blessing. My friend bought the DVD when her mother was dying from ovarian cancer and she needed to make regular 8+ hour drives to North Carolina with her toddler son. It kept her sane and prevented her son's motion sickness (so long as the player was below window level). When we had her son plus Claire in the back seat, they were far more content watching Elmo or Pooh than my attempts at a puppet show. The power struggles over toys also ended when a video played.
We also didn't need to make many stops. We did the 400+ mile trip in about 7 hours total, not too shabby for travel with kids aged 23 months and 3 and a half years. And I even got to do some needlework in transit!
I'm mostly back on track after an across-the-state trip last week with another mom and our two preschoolers. Pennsylvania never seemed large until we started planning for this trip to see a mutual friend who lives in New Castle, up in the northwest corner of the state near the Ohio border. I had some serious doubts that we could do the drive from Philly in less than like 10 hours because the kids would perpetually want us to stop.
My friend had a secret weapon. That's right, a portable DVD player. I'll admit that I used to moan every time I'd see an ad on TV for vehicles equipped with this device. "Great," I'd tell Joel, "just the way to guaratee you never have to actually speak to or interact with your children."
Well, I've revised my opinion a bit on that count. For fidgety toddlers on long rides, the technology can be a big blessing. My friend bought the DVD when her mother was dying from ovarian cancer and she needed to make regular 8+ hour drives to North Carolina with her toddler son. It kept her sane and prevented her son's motion sickness (so long as the player was below window level). When we had her son plus Claire in the back seat, they were far more content watching Elmo or Pooh than my attempts at a puppet show. The power struggles over toys also ended when a video played.
We also didn't need to make many stops. We did the 400+ mile trip in about 7 hours total, not too shabby for travel with kids aged 23 months and 3 and a half years. And I even got to do some needlework in transit!
7.12.2004
Pah-tee
My husband has been out of commission for two days with a migraine. We had hurricane-like weather and about 5 inches of rainfall today. And yet, I feel like celebrating. Can you guess why? Claire used the potty successfully tonight!
For months now, I've put her on the potty after her bath because she'd say she needed to go, then would not go. Tonight I set her on, left the room to get something, and came back to discover her success. Guess she's just shy. ;-)
My husband has been out of commission for two days with a migraine. We had hurricane-like weather and about 5 inches of rainfall today. And yet, I feel like celebrating. Can you guess why? Claire used the potty successfully tonight!
For months now, I've put her on the potty after her bath because she'd say she needed to go, then would not go. Tonight I set her on, left the room to get something, and came back to discover her success. Guess she's just shy. ;-)
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