The Holiday I Dread Most (But Somehow Can't Resist)

I don't know why people say, "Easy as pie."

Making a good pie is hard,

and it takes hours when you factor in chilling the dough,

preparing the filling, and baking time.

Every March 14th, I attempt to make a pie (or two!),

and then vow to find an easier way to observe Pi(e) Day the following year.

This year, I was determined.

No three-hour dinner-and-dessert prep this time!

No more "No-Fail Perfect Pie Crust" recipes that still turn out bland and crumbly.

I was gonna keep it simple!

Then I saw this book at our local library:

I was weak.

The pies looked so beautiful, so delicious, 

so doable!

And for some crazy reason,

I thought that instead of making one savory pie for dinner,

it would be easier to make . . .

. . . eight savory hand pies.

For six people.

Oh yeah, and pecan tartlets for dessert.

I spent over three hours in the kitchen,

and we didn't sit down to eat until about 8:30pm

when the kids should have been heading to bed.

Next year's gonna be different.

Maybe I'll buy a premade pie crust.

Maybe I'll make shepherd's pie, so I don't even have to DEAL with crust!

'Cuz I'm done with crust that crumbles!  And fillings that don't set! 

And--

. . .

Aww . . . how can I stay mad at a face like that?

OK, OK . . . maybe I'll try just one more pie.

The Hawk Wants a Frappe

A local ice cream shop hosted a fundraiser this evening

to benefit Joy's high school.

Eating ice cream for a good cause?

Sounds like fun!

I told the kids they could choose two things for us to share.

Daniel and Joy ordered a sundae.

Anna and Todd were leaning toward a frappe, but they couldn't agree on a flavor,

so they played "Cici, Tia, Hawk" to settle the matter.

Anna won,

and the brookie dough frappe totally rocked.

Next time we need our ice cream fix,

we know where to come.

Purple Is Green

The fourth graders at Todd's school took a field trip

to the Discovery Museum this morning,

and I volunteered to help out.

I was assigned to chaperone Todd and his friends, Cary and Tyler.

Here they are recreating Da Vinci's iconic Vitruvian Man.

Fun Fact: The title "Vitruvian Man" is a reference to the Roman architect Vitruvius,

whose treatises on architecture are still studied millennia later.

He also wrote about the geometry and proportions of human anatomy,

which inspired Da Vinci's famous drawing.

Extra Fun Fact: The "Lego Movie" character Vitruvius

is named after the Roman architect,

because they're both master builders who teach students

the fundamental principles of building cool stuff.

Anywho, back to the museum.

There were lots of fun things to see . . .

. . . and quirky "instruments" to play.

The heat-image camera reminded me that my hands

are much colder than the average human's.

This simple color challenge proved surprisingly difficult.

I was intrigued to find that it's even harder for me to say the right color

when I'm looking at the Spanish words.

The Mandarin ones were easy though, because I can't read or speak Mandarin,

so all my brain sees is a colorful drawing.

The boys' favorite exhibit was the giant lever swing outside.

It's hard to say which was more fun--

using physics to lift a bunch of their classmates high in the air,

or piling onto the net swing and going for ride with their friends.

Skating in the Oval

Joy's winter break bucket list

included an outing to downtown Worcester . . .

. . . to skate at the Oval Ice Skating Rink before it closed for the season.

Anna came with us, and she loved how the lighted trees

made the scene look like a winter wonderland.

Neither of the girls had ice skated before,

but Joy rollerbladed a lot when she was younger,

so she hoped the frozen version of rollerblading would come easily to her.

The rink had "ice" blocks that skaters of all ages

could use for support as they were learning to skate.

To my surprise, Joy seemed really awkward on the ice, 

and we eventually realized that it was because her skates

(which I had found at the swap shop)

were really narrow and uncomfortable.

I offered to let her try my roomier, rented skates, 

and soon she was gliding effortlessly around the rink.

Sometimes free stuff is worth every cent you pay for it.

After we finished skating, the girls enjoyed watching the Zamboni clean and smooth the ice rink.

It reminded me of the zomboni in Plants vs Zombies 

(an iPad game that Papa used to love to play).

 

Play, Reflect, and Meander

February Break is a great time to . . .

. . . play Lords of Waterdeep . . .

. . . play a duet . . .

. . . score some free art at the transfer station swap shop . . .

. . . shop for a mirror . . .

. . . meander about the yard . . .

. . . do Latin homework . . .

. . . have a friend over . . .

. . . go to the dentist . . .

. . . and spend some peaceful, reflective time in the temple.

A DIY Puzzle Piece

February Break started yesterday . . .

. . . and we decided to unwind by doing one of the puzzles I bought at Christmastime.

Anna likes the puzzle because the picture is cozy, festive, and sparkly.

Daniel likes it because it has a cat.

We put the second-to-last piece in place this morning.

The last piece is missing

and we can't find it anywhere . . .

. . . so Anna made a paper version.

Works for me.

So, what should we do now?

Anna: Start another puzzle!

Free Vegan Candy

When Phillip arrived home from the grocery store this evening,

he mentioned that they were giving away all of their Valentine candy for free

('cuz no one' wants to buy Valentine treats after Feb 14).

Free candy?  I had to check that out.

The pickings were pretty slim by the time I arrived,

but I saw a few bars of vegan chocolate that piqued my curiosity.

I figured I had nothing to lose, so I brought them home and we gave them a try.

The texture was a little odd (kind of crunchy, actually) . . .

. . . and it wasn't quite as yummy as the Valentine box of See's from Red Grandma,

but it was still pretty good, and we enjoyed trying something new.

And hey, since it's vegan and unrefined, that makes it healthy chocolate, right?

(Don't answer that.)