What a fun night!

On Wednesday, Jane and Ken kindly opened their lovely toy store, I mean home, to us for a pizza party in honor of Gordon and Lydia's stop in Maryland on their grand cross-country tour. How exciting for Lydia to be starting grad school and how wonderful for us to get a chance to spend some time with her and her dad!

Lydia has turned seemingly overnight from a sweet young girl to a mature and accomplished young woman. I am amazed at her fearlessness at starting a new life in New York but if there is anyone who will succeed at such an adventure, it is our Lydia. I would compliment Gordon and Liya for being great parents (and I do) but I honestly believe that with this particular child it was more a function of just staying out of her way and letting her do her best.

Laura and JiaJia got to spend time with their beloved Aunt Janey K, we all ate a ton of pizza and ice cream cake (yes, the girls are still talking about the cake), some of us got our baby fix by cooing over Jimmy and Ronke's adorable little Jordan, and the adults spent some quality time out on the deck at twilight, just enjoying being together. In all, just the usual good time at the Broadwaters.

Our Yearly Fireworks

Every July the Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department has the obligatory Firemen's Carnival. It is what every mother fears - poorly kept up rides, weird carnies, "games" that take all of your kids' money, and greasy horrible funnel cakes that smell like they were cooked in what drained out of your engine block last week at Jiffy Lube. The only redeeming characteristic of this hot mess is the fireworks.

We left the house at about 10:15 for the scheduled 10:45 start and, with my amazing parking space karma, were able to park at the Rite Aid with a perfect view. Just after 10:45 the show started and honestly, it was every bit as good as anything the National Park Service puts on. I don't think even the National Symphony Orchestra could have improved this. We built a nest in the back of my car for Laura, JiaJia and Sophie (lots of pillows and a big cozy comforter) and we all enjoyed the show immensely.

Now, the monkeys are in bed but still giggling and I'm here on the computer, amazed that a city girl like me can enjoy the essence of small town America on a night like this.

My most favorite dessert

Okay, I know this isn't a food blog but I have a new favorite dessert, Buttermilk Yogurt Panna Cotta, and I have to share it with those I care about the most. If you can imagine a cheesecake flavored custard, then you get the idea. Flavor it with just about anything, it doesn't mind. I've done ginger, Kahlua, lemon - the list is endless. It is fabulous with berries or other fruit and is way low in calories and fat. Just what we all need at the end of a long day. This version serves 6.

2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon water
1 cup fat free milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt

1. In a small bowl, mix the gelatin with the water and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer with the sugar and cook until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in the softened gelatin until dissolved.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the yogurt. Whisk in the warm milk mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into six 4-oz. ramekins (or one big bowl or teacups or whatever you have that you can serve the stuff in) and refrigerate until set (about 4 hours).
4. Serve with berries, cherries, grapes and honey, or whatever your little heart desires.

I don't have a picture but will take one when next I make this. Yum!

An incredible dinner

This time of year there are so many choices when it comes to great vegetables that I asked Cecily if we adults could just have a big salad for dinner Tuesday night. We were headed back home yesterday (with Sophie!) and I wanted something delicious and light for dinner. One Salade Nicoise later, my wish was granted.

I picked up a fresh baguette on the way home from the office (although I didn't stick it under my arm like a Parisian riding le Metro) and we boiled eggs and potatoes. Cecily had anchovies with hers (the work of Satan, in my mind) and I had tuna. Tomatoes, baby romaine, fennel and avocado rounded out the plate. It was a simply amazing dinner.

If you're wondering about the table on which the glorious salad sits in the picture above, Cecily painted it one day when she was bored. When I'm bored I watch pointless television or surf the web. When she's bored? Art happens.

So I blew National Blog Posting Month...

It isn't that I haven't been thinking about blogging, its that I've been too busy with life. We've been at Cecily's since Friday night and it has been a whirlwind of cleaning, unpacking, eating, drinking and gardening since we arrived. Thankfully, the house is looking wonderful and the girls are obsessed with playing the Sims so tonight should be a pleasant evening - perhaps we'll sit on the deck and sip a cocktail while dinner cooks.

Our routine when we're at our second home (Cecily's) isn't too much different from what we do at home except for the fact that I'm still helping Cecily unpack and get things settled. The girls sleep until they're ready to get up (sorry, ladies, that will be a thing of the past in a few short weeks once schools gets going again...) then we have Cheerios. Play, play, play while Mom works, the occasional spat then lunch (usually mac and cheese or tortilla pizzas with the occasional Thai or Chinese lunch thrown in when I'm feeling generous), more play, dinner, play and bed. I feel pretty strongly about letting them be kids this year without a lot of scheduled activities. Has it been a huge struggle for me to work at home with the kids there? Yes, indeed but I think the unstructured time has been good for them.

My nemesis, captured

I know you're probably asking yourself, "What will she obsess about once tomato season is over?" to which I would answer, "I don't know but I'm sure it will be something..." At any rate, the tomato hornworm population has been flourishing as is evidenced by the robust little fellow pictured above. I actually imprisoned him and left him near the tomato plants on the deck in a feeble attempt to show his cohorts that this is hostile territory. Judging from the hornworm droppings on the deck this morning, it doesn't seemed to have worked so my little friend above will soon have his date with destiny.

Tomorrow we go down to Cecily's new house to help her get the final set up done. We'll be there through Wednesday then maybe we'll get to bring Sophie home with us for a few days. One of the things I love about visiting Cecily is the level of civility that exists in her house. We have a lovely cocktail on the deck in the evening followed by a leisurely dinner and dessert then conversation until it is time to retire. Way, way different than my evening routine at home.

We're even considering restarting the Ladies' Front Porch Society, which got its start when Cecily lived in her little farm house on Glen Road. Somehow we would sit on her front porch with a bottle of wine and women we knew would just show up to hang out. We're thinking we'd have to rename it to the Ladies' Back Yard Society (no front porch on the new house) but it still sounds like a great idea to me. You can never have too many smart and interesting women in your life, no matter who you are. Any of you gals out there who'd like to join, just let me know.

Happy Bastille Day!

I've fallen down on the job a bit and haven't blogged in a few days but I'm back now and ready to go. Life at the Wolfe Den has been quiet lately, punctuated by visits from the neighbors' grandchildren, a lively bunch if there ever was one. The girls dress up and prance about in my high heeled shoes after JiaJia has carefully applied makeup in a way that makes sense only to a five year old.

This picture includes Cecily's daughter, Sophie, who we haven't seen in way too long, and two of the three young Wallaces. Their brother was off doing something boyish and noisy when I took this photo.

The big excitement for me is that we're finally getting tomatoes. Marilee gave me a book recently called "The $64.00 Tomato" in which the author bemoans the true cost of producing his own vegetables. I can't say I've spent a lot of money, really beyond buying the plants (note for next year - grow from seed), my only expenditure has been time. Since the weather has been pretty uniformly gorgeous this year, that time has been some of the most pleasant I've spent, so no complaints there.

And Happy Bastille Day to all. Celebrate by drinking champagne and eating something French (and no, french fries don't count).

Back to the old

Yes, we threw over the Chinese restaurant for a regular pizza night but today the girls have begged for Chinese food so off we go. I know Shirley and Reggie will be happy to see us again and their son Alston will probably pop down from their house (right behind the restaurant) to play with the girls. It actually is kind of nice to be the center of a small universe - everyone greets us when we walk in, we have our regular table, even now the servers know what we drink and what the girls want to eat, and the kids play everywhere once they've finished their dinner.

In truth, I'm kind of looking forward to it. And even though I love to cook, it will be nice to leave that to someone else to do and clean up after.

A Fearsome Predator

I mentioned before how much I enjoy visiting with my tomato plants in the morning and now I must admit that I spend a bit of time with them in the evenings too. The other night I had done my deck time and was inside making dinner when Vince came in to tell me that something had attacked the tomatoes and eaten a bunch of the foliage. It was literally about 15 minutes since I had checked on them but darned if he wasn't right. Three branches on my Early Girl plant had been eaten down to nubs and one on the Beefmaster had been consumed.

I didn't think it could have been deer although they have been known to walk right up onto the deck if there's something they deem tasty enough for the effort (like my basil plants last summer), especially since they would have had to walk past two other plants to get to the ones that had been consumed. One thing we noticed, though, was little black things all over the deck around the involved pots. That's when it hit me, it had to be tomato hornworms.

With JiaJia's assistance, we rounded up five of the little monsters and threw them in the trash can. Believe it or not, even though I smushed them and wrapped them in tissue, two of them survived and escaped later on. Thankfully Vince saw them and dispatched them off to the great tomato plant in the sky.

And the tomatoes live on for another day...

A Summer Day, A New Routine

This week is a bit out of the ordinary for us as I am going to the office in Virginia for three full days. Normally I go once a week, if that, mostly because I refuse to drive down there (125 miles round trip) when the world's third largest defense contractor is telling me they can't afford to reimburse me for my mileage.

This week, though, I've had to forge a new routine which involves getting the girls up and out of the house WAY before they really want to be. The gratifying thing is that we're only on day two of this and they were remarkably agreeable about it this morning. Yesterday I can only say neither one of them was particularly happy with the new regime.

But next week we're back to sleeping in and slacking off (or at least they are). Of course, I keep waiting for the day that I get to sleep in and slack off but, well, we all know that will never happen.

This week's new routine

Since the girls' camp was canceled this summer I have been letting them be kids - as in sleeping late, not doing anything structured, etc., sort of like things were when I was a kid. This week, however, that all changes. I have a brutal week at work and have to be physically in the office three days so I begged the director at Children's Treehouse to let me take them there this week. JiaJia is thrilled, Laura not so much.

I have a soft spot for the place because it has been a part of our lives since Laura was two. We've met so many people through their kids being there and I've enjoyed being a part of that little community.

So this week, the little people will be up at 7:00, out the door at 7:30 and Mom will be on the road by 8:00. It'll be good practice for the fall when the school bus arrives at 8:10. Hard to believe the first day of school is less than eight weeks away.

These pictures don't really have anything to do with this post but I liked them, even though JiaJia seems to have perfected the "cheese face." I think she thinks she's somehow being glamorous but really, she just looks silly. I loved finding Laura scaling the door jamb, though. I think they both are actually monkeys who somehow pass as little Chinese girls.

Sunday Routine

I always find it interesting that my children, products of Asia that they are, have distinctly Southern taste in food. Fried chicken? Check. Cornbread? Check. Hominy? Check. The funniest thing to me, though, is their complete infatuation with sausage gravy and biscuits. Barely a Sunday goes by that I don't make this for them (and then I recycle it through the week, although thankfully we're now going through a Honey Nut Cheerios phase - much less work for Mom).

I learned to make biscuits at the knee of the master, better known as Ellen Bell Tuohy, but got my sausage gravy training from Claire. I'm not sure where she picked it up considering the fact that her dear mother would probably have run naked down Old Georgetown Road before she would have served sausage gravy, even to the dog. Not for people of our class, dear. At any rate, it is more technique than recipe - brown a package of sausage (Jimmy Dean's is the preferred brand unless you can get homemade from someone), add flour and mix until you don't see white any more, pour in milk to cover the sausage, add LOTS of salt and freshly ground pepper (this is key), then simmer until it is thick enough to pour over the biscuits.

This is deliciousness of the variety that makes you want to go out and plow the lower forty after you've finished eating it. That, or go back to bed and nap until next Sunday...

p.s. It isn't possible to take a picture of biscuits and gravy that doesn't look like dog food, so for that I apologize.

Summer nights

One of the most wonderful things about summer is CORN! Yes, I love tomatoes but corn is right up there with them in terms of things that can only really be enjoyed when the time is right.

When we start getting local corn, which has finally happened, there is nothing I love more than taking a big bag of corn, the trash can, and a glass of wine out onto the deck. I shuck corn, occasionally take a sip of wine, and listen to my children and the neighbors running wild in the yard. We'll have corn on the cob tonight and an amazing corn salad tomorrow. I am in heaven.

p.s. My nails are not really that dirty - I canned cherries in red wine today and I can't get my hands free of the cherry juice. Can't wait to try to end result poured over brie though.

Routine, a bit late...

Okay, so I missed yesterday. Not such a good record when you decide to post every day for a month then miss the third day. Yeah, I know I suck at blogging but I'm trying, really.

Anyway, because I missed yesterday I'll do two posts today.

When Laura was a baby and Vince was working at the Clarion (which basically meant he worked all the time and we never saw him) she and I got into the habit of going to our local Chinese restaurant every Friday night. This continued well after Vince came back to the land of the living and we adopted JiaJia. One day, though, we just got tired of it and decided to devote our Friday nights to something different. Thus came pizza night.

Now every Friday afternoon I mix up our pizza dough using my favorite recipe from http://www.breadtopia.com/ and grate a secret blend of cheeses (0kay, if you must know it is mozzarella, a bit of white cheddar and a lot of parmesan) in preparation for the main event. I put the pizza stone in the oven and heat it to 550 degrees for an hour before the first pizza goes in. I make our own sauce but unbeknownst to the smaller members of the household I put it into a Contadina pizza squeeze bottle so they think it is filled with horrible stuff, which makes it much more desirable.

Laura and Vince like pepperoni while JiaJia and I are purists, preferring just cheese. When the night is over, we are in carb heaven and I am pulling out my Swiffer vac to remove the light mist of flour that covers the kitchen floor.

Summer Night Routine

When the weather is hot there is nothing kids like more than popsicles. In our case, the ante has been upped considerably by Aunt Cessy introducing "soda pops." Garishly colored and filled with unrecognizable ingredients, they have immediately become the frozen treat of choice in my house. The delicious and wholesome frozen fruit bars that I've offered in their place sit lonely and pathetic in the freezer, waiting for the phone to ring, metaphorically speaking.

So each evening after dinner, the girls take their hideous bounty and go outside since I fear if they dripped on the floor the chemicals might just eat through to the basement. Last night we had a huge thunderstorm so they got to have dessert in the garage. Do you suppose when they grow up and reminisce about their childhood summers they'll wax poetic about their mother feeding them artificial dye, chemicals and water wrapped in plastic?

Routine

Since I always say I'm going to be a better blogger and then I never seem to do anything about it, I decided to get serious about National Blog Posting Month. This month's theme is "routine," which I suppose is one of those things that people don't like to admit they are mired in. Me, I am a creature of routine and love to know exactly what should be happening when.

So here's what I do every morning on days when I don't go into the office. I get up before the kids but after Vince leaves for work (generally about 5:30 but sometimes as late as 6:30) and drink my twelve ounces of the elixer of life, better known as Coca Cola, while I check e-mail and figure out what the day holds. I absolutely love this time of day because it is the ONLY time I am ever alone any more since the girls aren't going to camp this summer.

No morning is complete without a visit to my tomato and herb plants on the deck to see what is getting ripe and what needs attention. Don't think the irony of having land but having to grow my vegetables on the deck due to our hungry deer population escapes me. At any rate, there's always something new to see or bugs to pick off or herbs to pinch back before one of my little people wakes up and starts yelling for mom.

As a lagniappe, here's a recent picture of the little people in question from when we visited the local horse rescue stable. Their friend's name is Smoky.