{p,f,h,r} That Little Bit of Summer Before I Wilt Edition

{pretty}

The "peony plumps", as Bean calls them, have finally burst into bloom, and the first two flowers were lying on the ground, so I felt no compunction about cutting them and bringing them inside. The bushes are a literal heirloom variety, having been taken from my grandmother's.

{happy}

Coffee ice cream. I'd been making mostly Jeni's Splendid recipes, and I'd kind of forgotten the wonders of custard. Now I just need a friend on a diet to pawn off all these egg whites on.

Sighting in the new definitely-not-a-toy, which a friend managed to snag for Bean. Looking forward to a night clear enough to see Saturn!

{funny}

 When Mom won't set up the 'scope inside, you improvise.

Two Thanksgivings ago, we planted a bag of tulip bulbs from Aldi. These were stowaways. None of the tulips came back for a second year, but these are going crazy. I'll take it.

{real}

This was growing not only next to the house, but actually up under the siding. Add to that the mushrooms and wasps, and you'll forgive me if it seems the yard is out to get us this year.

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7qt: Car Sadness and Taco Happiness

(1)

This is what happens when some teenager fails to verify that he has a green arrow instead of a plain ol'green light before turning. Yay for not being at fault, I guess, but boo to not having a particularly drive-able car (the driver's seat belt is locked up) while everything gets sorted out.

(2)

My plan for tomorrow was to go to the farmer's market to get plants for my garden, and then take the boys to Free Comic Book Day (there will be Stormtroopers at our store!), but the other car is occupied, so I guess I'll stay home and sort through stuff for next weekend's garage sale, instead.

Anybody want a bunch of '90s era Praise and Worship CDs?

(3)

In my purging mood, I also hid pretty much every toy with over a half-dozen pieces. I don't want to get rid of the puzzles and blocks entirely, but the fact that they are no longer getting dumped and abandoned has increased my sanity sevenfold, even as the hallways fill with boxes as I hunt for things to sell off.

(4)

Bean's bedtime book for the past few weeks has been "Winnie the Pooh" and "The House at Pooh Corner". For a wonderful exposition of why you simply must read the books, see Kathryn's wonderful post. Meanwhile, I've been reading Milne's poetry to the boys on-and-off during the day. If you have yet to discover When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, do pick them up. There's a bit of Winnie-the-Pooh, but lots of other fun imaginitive tales and musings from Christopher Robin's nursery, along with doses of those tiny delightful naughtinesses that every child needs from time to time. ("If only I were King of Spain,/I'd take my hat off in the rain./If only I were King of France,/I wouldn't brush my hair for aunts.") Milne just got kids, man.

(5)

Next on the docket is Charlotte's Web, presuming it arrives. The tracking info looks something like this. But at least it's finally admit it was missent, so... progress!

(6)

Is anyone else's garden on a super late schedule this year? Because I'm starting to think that last year's tulips just decided not to be perennials. At least it's going to be a good year for the lilacs.

Also for the dandelions...

(7)

Sangria not optional

It's grilling season, and pork was $1.39/lb at Sam's, so it we made the family favorite Tacos al Pastor this week. If you use the guajillo chilis, they really aren't spicy at all, so it's a great family recipe, especially with the pineapple (except both my kids refused to eat the pineapple. Weirdos.) The epiphany I had this time was that the sauce is only enough to braise 3 lbs of meat at a time, but you can do as much as you want in batches (You'll probably want to skim some fat at the end, though). So there's another batch in the freezer for a day when it's too hot to simmer anything for two hours, but perfect weather for a quick sear on the grill. Yum!

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