Books are magic
“I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.”
J.K. Rowling
Case in point: let’s talk about that uneaten doughnut. With Pink Frosting.
Earth Day
It’s easy to get jaded about the state of the world, and what humans are doing to it: pollution, war, greed, disregard… but there is so much more that’s good about our world.
Sometimes, we just need to step outside to refresh, and reset our perspectives.
John Burroughs
Henri Matisse
May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.
Edward Abbey
Nature gives me hope
Kids give me hope
“seems to me, it ain’t the world that’s so bad, but what we’re doin’ to it”
~ Louis Armstrong
Love, Baby, Love… Yeah….
I hope you can take a moment and get outside to enjoy the beauty and magic.
Happy Earth Day
The recipe reader – and a Chocolate Hazelnut-Pear Tart Recipe
My little girl has become quite the foodie. She loves to watch Anthony Bourdain (at age 2 she declared: “Tony is my best friend”), Chopped, Cupcake Wars, and pretty much any other food related show we will let her watch. She got a kitchen for her birthday: But one of her favorite pastimes is to sit and read out loud from cookbook; one recipe after another. That means my days sound like this:
It wouldn’t be so bad if the recipes were all healthy and nutritious, but her favorite book from which to read is this: All day long with the delicious sounding recipes, delectable ingredient after delectable ingredient. And the recipe she was reading in the video was for a Chocolate Hazelnut-Pear Tart. Mouthwatering.
So hour after hour I sit here having chocolate deserts described to me, and the more she reads those recipes, this more I want to shovel chocolate in my face.
Now I don’t pretend to be a cooking blog, so no, I haven’t made this recipe yet. Although, I do believe this particular tart is in my future. But, since we taunted you with the ingredient list earlier, I’ll go ahead and include the recipe she was reading here: Chocolate Hazelnut-Pear Tart.
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:1]
Interview with a 5-year-old
I’m having a little trouble wrapping my head around Gem turning five. She’s clearly 5. She acts like a 5 year old. She thinks like a 5 year old. I’m just having a little trouble keeping up.
I thought an interview might be a good way to try to catch up
Favorite color: Red and pink
Favorite animal: cheetah
What do you want to do when you grow up: police officer
What is your favorite thing to do: play cooking
What is your favorite book: My Little Pony Equestria Girls
What is your happiest memory: going to the beach
Why do you like being a kid: because I can play more
If you could be any animal, what would you be: a mermaid
What’s your favorite thing to do with Mommy and Daddy: snuggle
Where is your favorite place to go: to the doughnut shop
What is your favorite TV show: My Little Pony
What is your favorite food: pears
What was your favorite birthday present: kitchen and cook book
What is something you don’t like to do: wait
What do you think Daddy does at work: work on his computer
And what does Mommy do: work on her computer, too, and takes care of me
What is something that you’re really good at: running fast
What is something that you want to get better at: going in the water and being safe from the sharks
What is something that you want to learn: how to make a paper boat
Who is your favorite person in the whole world: Bella
What is your favorite thing to wear: dresses
What is your favorite kind of weather: rainy
Why: because I can stomp in puddles with my boots
If we went on a trip anywhere in the world, where would you like to go: to school
What would you buy if you had $1000: cherries
What is your favorite kind of ice cream: strawberry
What are you looking forward to next year: going to Kindergarten
we’ve had a big year
A beautiful day in the neighborhood
The day started out with a plan, and it was all Gem’s idea. We were going to go on a walking tour of all the beautiful flowers in our new neighborhood. And, I would bring my camera, so we could take pictures and use them for a blog post.
My little unpaid intern is really starting to pay off.
We got off to a good start.
But, after a while we came across this:
And inside, they had this:
They also had books.
The walls were lined with old classics
and my little girl was entranced
We spent hours in the doughnut shop, and I got to share with her some of my childhood favorites.
The garden tour / photo walk can wait for another day.
what captured your attention this week?
Still standing
battered
bruised
scarred
tenacious
beautiful
Inspired by a butterfly.
February was a difficult month. We moved, which is always stressful, and then there was all the homework for school, and all that was compounded by my illness and two hospitalizations during the month. My mom ended up coming out for a couple weeks, and that was a big help. Now, we are completely out of the old place now, and I just have to unpack at the new place. I’ll be tackling that chore at a much slower pace.
In the meantime, I’m feeling much better now, and we love love love our new Seattle neighborhood. We’ve had a blast spending the last few days exploring. Now that we survived the move, I can see that this new place will be a good change for us. We’ve already made a few new friends 🙂
