More than a Day Late ….

I received this book through a promotional program with Tommy Nelson Publishers. I understood it to be yound adult (possibly older elementary) christian fiction. I found the book to be disturbing, with little or no relationship to the christian aspect of christian fiction. It is most certainly fiction. I won’t be sharing this book with my 11-year-old son. Young men in particular, I think, would find this book frightening, if not haunting. Since there is enough fear and evil in the world already, I see no point in voluntarily subjecting myself (or my children) to it in the books I read in my free time. Not a “re-read”, and not one I’ll share. (Dec. 2008 – Submitted on Goodreads)

Fabulous GF (Blender) Waffle/Pancake Batter Recipe

A very good friend turned us on to this recipe, or one similar to it.  Of course, you know I have fiddled with it some in the last few months … so it isn’t quite like we originally received it.  Try it this weekend and let me know how yours turn out.  :-)

Place in a blender, at highest speed, for 3 minutes:

  • 1 Cup of Brown Rice
  • 3/4 Cup of Oat Groats (or steel cut oats)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups of buttermilk (or some non-dairy alternative)
  • 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil

(You can use other grain combinations, but the proportions should remain about the same.)  The batter should flow freely in the blender and it should swirl around the “vortex”.  If, for some reason it doesn’t, add a bit more liquid.  The batter for pancakes can be a bit thicker.  Truly thick batter can be used, when complete, to make muffins.

Put the lid on the blender and let it stand at room temerpature overnight (or at least 12 hours, and up to 24 hours)

As you prepare to cook the pancakes, heat the griddle or waffle iron to the highest possible heat that won’t damage the equipment (generally med-high).

Before cooking the pancakes, add:

  • one egg
  • additional liquid if needed

… and blend again on high speed for 1 minute.  Blend thoroughly.  Then add:

  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 – 2 tsp baking powder

You can sift these ingredents into the mix, but I have not found that to always be necessary.

Prepare your cooking surface with a spray on non-stick cooking spray, i.e. spray on olive oil.  Pancakes are ready to flip when the bubbles pop and stay open.  For waffles, definitely spray the cooking surfaces and following the cooking instructions for your equipment.

Serving:  We have added chocolate chips (minis) to the pancakes, and that turned out just fine.  We have also served with organic maple syrup, blueberry syrup and raspberry syrup.  Last week, Pip ate some with honey on them; William Bradford will even eat them plain.  :-)

I have some in the blender now to serve in the morning.  :-)  Enjoy!

Week 2 … and counting

Everything on our weekly menu is prepared with a GF diet in mind.  All the recipes have been “modified” to fit our GF requirements.  The new recipe this week called for Tomato Soup … but we adjusted and it turned out quite well.

Monday

  • Breakfast: Cereal and fruit
  • Dinner:  Potatoes & Beef Casserole (New Recipe-GF) w/Green Beans
  • (Remember to thaw Pork for B’bque.)

Tuesday

  • Breakfast: Fried Eggs or Maple Oatmeal
  • Dinner: Pork B’Bque, Cole Slaw, Deviled Eggs
  • (Remember to check for Pineapple TidBits.)

Wednesday

  • Breakfast:  Muffins and Yogurt
  • Dinner: Pineapple Chicken and Rice w/Broc Salad
  • (Remember to thaw beef for Thursday night.)

Thursday

  • Breakfast: Cereal and Yogurt
  • Dinner: Hungarian Goulash w/Noodles and Green Salad

Friday

  • Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and bacon
  • Dinner: Leftover B’bque and Bonfire Night

Saturday

  • Breakfast:  Eggs and Bacon before Soccer
  • Dinner: Surprise … the kitchen is closed.

Sunday

  • Breakfast: Oatmeal and fruit
  • Dinner:  Sandwiches and Salad

Plan it … Don’t Panic … Hmmm….

We’ll see if this works.  I’m not quite sure how we’re going to swing this with all the variety in our schedule(s), but we’re giving it a whirl.

Monday

  • Breakfast: Maple Oatmeal
  • Dinner:  Beef Tacos and Black Beans
  • (Remember to thaw the beef for chili.)

Tuesday

  • Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and toast
  • Dinner: Chili and Cornbread
  • (Remember to thaw the Pork Roast.)

Wednesday

  • Breakfast:  Muffins and Yogurt
  • Dinner: Pork Roast, Sweet Potatoes and Green Veggie

Thursday

  • Breakfast: Cereal and Yogurt
  • Dinner: Mushroom Chicken (slowcooker) w/ rice and glazed carrots
  • (Remember to start the Slowcooker in the AM, and thaw the Ground beef for Friday.)

Friday

  • Breakfast: Fried Eggs and sausage
  • Dinner: Beef Lombardi and fresh salad

Saturday

  • Breakfast:  Muffins and Fruit
  • Dinner: Pork Tenderloin w/buttered potatoes and veggies

Sunday

  • Breakfast: Oatmeal, fruit or Cereal
  • Dinner:  Soup, Sandwiches, and Salad

Today, she wrote me a song …

A few days ago, Twinkle-Toes told me that she thought about being a professional musician, or a song writer.  Based on what I’ve been hearing, I was expecting something with a hip-country-pop sound to it.  Not so, what follows is her first foray into the world of the poetic song writer.  To spare you some time, I’ll only share the last verse … but you’ll get the point rather quickly.

On the 12th day of 6th Grade, my mother gave to me …

  • 12 Music Lessons
  • 11 Notebook Papers
  • 10 English Essay
  • 9 Lab Experiments
  • 8 Math Worksheets
  • 7 Homework Pages
  • 6 Spelling Tests
  • 5 …. New…. Text …. Books …..
  • 4 Sharpened Pencils
  • 3 Grammar Quizzes
  • 2 Read & Thinks
  • and a lesson in Human Anatomy

Now, despite what you might think … this is not entirely true.  I gave her a whole box of pencils.  :-)

Afternoon in the Winthrop Garden

After dropping #2 off for Company Class, #4 and I took a little walk through the newly installed gardens outside Johnson Hall at Winthrop University. She had a wonderful time playing in the fountains and running up and down the colonnade.

At the water wall


Not so tall after all ...


Peekaboo

Not too tiny dancer …

#2 had her spring dance recital last week.  They performed six shows of the ballet Alice in Wonderland between Thursday night  and Sunday afternoon.  #2 had five dances to perform at each of the shows: bumblebees, looking glass, poppies, “tap dancing cards”, and hours.  There were lots and lots of costume changes backstage.  Each of the performances was preceded by a warm up class held at Johnson Hall on the Winthrop Campus.

The classical dance training has helped #2 with poise and grace, which judging from all appearances otherwise could be a challenge.  She has worked incredibly hard this year on technique.  We were amazed at the number of dances, and the difficulty of some of the choreography that she was able to keep straight … especially since she missed all but the first rehearsal due to illness.  We aren’t promoting a career in the professional dance world, but are glad that she has found something she at which she excels and enjoys.  We are promoting hard work, discipline, and cooperation … all of which the dance instructor requires too.

After Sunday's matinee holding the flowers from G & G.

… and now she’s already talking about next winter’s Nutcracker.

“I didn’t know they made them that big?”

Me: “#1, would you please go pick up the Crocs Grandma got you?”
#1: “Okay.”
#2: “I didn’t know they made those THAT big. Huh.”
Me: “Well, they’re not so much Crocs as they are two small fiberglass water crafts fashioned by Grandpa to look like Crocs.”
#2: “Really?”
Me: “Seriously.”
#1: “Aha … Ha ha … Aha ..ha ha ha. Very funny, Mom.”

:-)

18,691,447 seconds …

So, when I opened the laptop and it said (in five languages in the unusual text box) “You must restart your computer” … I knew I was in trouble.

I did restart the laptop, and waited. Then I got a strange and ominous flashing “file” symbol with a BIG question mark in the middle. This did not look good. So I turned the laptop off again.

I decided to remove the battery, and give ‘er another try. Thankfully, this time it worked and all is well. I did go ahead and click the “report” option on the error info screen. I laughed out loud when I read the top line of the error message going back to Apple.

“18691447 seconds since last panic attack.”

LOL!  That’s very interesting.  How does it know?  It seems like it hasn’t been THAT long (216 days), ha ha … or maybe I just have a slightly neurotic laptop.  :-)