DGIF, again...

This is the second week in a row that I have not had to work in the middle of the week. I have had a hard time adjusting to what used to be my norm, and have wasted a lot of time. The worst thing about wasting time is that you don't realize the seriousness of it while you are doing it. Like a lot of ill-advised activities, you "just do it". Then, sometime later, you go "DOH!" a la Homer Simpson and smack your forehead. Hard. Which hurts. Ow. At some point in my future I am going to seriously regret all my wasted time. Like somewhere close to the end probably. Right now, I am just going to make a conscious effort not to waste much more. I mean, I am sure I will always waste SOME time, I am, after all, a procrastinator extraordinaire. I majored in it in college, and have kept up my studies since then. I think the key is to do something worthwhile that is VISIBLE, so that you have that thing to point at and say, "This is what I DID today." Then, it doesn't matter what else you waste your time on, you always have that thing that you DID. Just set a time limit. Like, this is what I DID in the last 24 to 48 hours. Don't, for example, use the phrase, "This is what I DID this month" unless it is big. Time limits are important. Unless you are the Doctor.
Then, time is irrelevant.
See, I can work a feel-good Friday moment into anything!!
ahhhhh.....

9/11

What a somber day. I know many people started the day with silence, raising their flags, talking about where they were when it happened. My thoughts are with all of those who lost loved ones on that day, all of those who were forever changed by their service in that time of need. The first responders, the bystanders who risked all to help others. It changed most Americans. It made people think, it made them worry, it made them thankful, it made them wake up. I don't have a lot to say other than that. It feels like a quiet remembrance to me. One you can't talk too much about, you sort of have to feel it. (forgive the Jurassic Park reference, but it applies here.) I did have one small thing to call attention to on this day of reflection. It will change my web browsing habits forever...
Here is what happened today when I "googled" a recipe.







And here is the background image from Bing.com.

I think that about says it all...

669

Why don't I already know this? Ok, I am aware of the state of education in America, it is why I homeschool. This story should be part of every study of World War II, or just of society's response to war in general.
We should all be aware that change is possible, and it can be anyone who effects it, not just the rich and famous or those with clout, but sometimes just an ordinary man can make a difference that saves OVER 600 children from certain death. Winton has insisted that he wasn't doing anything special, "I just saw what was going on, and did what I could to help." Try telling that to the 669 people who made it out of Czechoslovakia and the 5000 children and grandchildren who WOULD NOT EXIST if Sir Nicholas Winton hadn't seen what was happening in the early days of Nazi expansion and done what he could to help. The article here is a good one for the heart of the story.

Sir Nicholas with one of the Czech children saved on his "kindertransport"

Sir Nicholas is currently 100 years old, and has survived to see the recreation of his life-saving trip by survivors, their family members and students who were selected to ride along. He was waiting for them at London's Liverpool Street Station as the vintage steam train pulled in. It truly is a wonderful story, check out my links throughout this post to learn more. Not only did this gentleman feel that a situation was wrong and want to do something to rectify it, he arranges endless details on both the Czech and British side of the journey, lined up foster families for the children and each child also needed a 50 pound "guarantee" (in 1939, remember) and he had to raise the money to cover any additional costs of transporting the children when they parents could not cover the total amount. The parents. Let's think about them for a moment. These were Jewish parents terrified of the encroaching Nazis. Knowing that time was limited and unable to pick up and leave, they lined up in a hotel dining room in Wenceslas Square in Prague and did what they could to at least save their children. Imagine the scene. Then move to the train station on the day of the children's departure. War always causes the unthinkable to become reality. I don't like to imagine the scenario that would have me lined up to send my children away from me. Thank God for Sir Nicholas Winton and all those who worked with him to save a generation of Jewish children from the fate that awaited them at home. Their families perished in concentration camps. A ninth and final train that was scheduled to leave the station with 250 children on it never departed Prague. It disappeared on September 3, 1939. The day Britain entered the war. 250 foster families waited in the Liverpool station for children that never arrived. Not one of those children was ever heard of again.

Jews who escaped Nazis as kids recreate train trip

Shared via AddThis





















Nicholas Winton, photo: CTK

Fab Fall

Ok , it is likely no secret to anyone that I LOVE this time of year. I know "officially" it is still summer, but I am not fooled by officialness. I can feel it. I can smell it. Fall is waiting in the wings. And I am feeling all thrilled. Do not panic. This is a normal transition for me. I don't mind any season while it is here. I tend to find ways to enjoy anything, but something about the first cool days of Autumn just send me round the bend. We have had a treat the last three or four days, with mornings that feel like October, so I think I have been hit by my "fever" a little early, but whatever the cause, I am lovin' it. So, I have spent hours over the last two days searching my favorite crafty sites on the interweb and have come across some FABulous fall blog candy.
Here is one I am particularly excited about! If I could have my choice,
I would pick this:




Olde Cape Primitives has been on my favorites list on
eBay for a couple of years now, and I am always trying
to duplicate her treasures, since there is no way I can
afford to buy one! They are quite popular!

I know the odds are slim, but I believe it is possible!
When Fall is in the air, and I feel like this, it is easy to
believe in anything!



Another awesome giveaway can be found here. Also a favorite eBay seller, Cart Before the Horse are spectacular artists! Very quirky and unusual dolls and quilts. Right up my alley!
These are not the blog candy giveaway, just a representation of what lovely dolls they make! The cat face is actually a mask that the doll wears! How cute it that??!??

Dessert and the Doctor

My Blueberry Crumb Cake turned out pretty darned well. Freshly ground nutmeg or no, it was a little dry on the cake part, but otherwise, was perfect! The blueberries were nice and plump, the crumbles were nice and crumbly and just-right spiced. I imagine the slight dryness would have been well compensated for my adding some sweetened whipped cream, or vanilla bean ice cream. I haven't mastered the art of cooking with whole wheat flour, but I hope to eventually perfect it, since it is so much more interesting than white flour. Dinner itself went nicely and the kids all had a blast, which is what happens when you get three completely bonkers siblings together. Sometimes I can't believe I am really responsible for that much goofiness. We ate, we drank and we laughed until we cried and our stomachs were killing us. Then we settled into a nice, dark living room around the gentle glow of our HDTV for a dose of The Doctor. Doctor who, you might ask. Well, yes, actually, that is the one. We pulled out the ole DVD box set and watched "Tooth and Claw" from Series Two. I love this one, not only because it has a great werewolf, and the awesomely sexy David Tennant, but it is the episode which gives insight into the foundations of Torchwood, and manages to get us all thinking that the British Royal Family may possibly be, or not be, werewolves. It does NOT get much better than this, folks. I sliced up the Blueberry Crumb Cake about halfway through, and we all enjoyed dessert and The Doctor together. Ah, family. When you can gather round with your crew and have fruity cake and commune over superb entertainment brought to you by the Beeb , how can anything get you down? One glance around the room gave me the warm fuzzies, and they are still kind of squirming around in there.
You will find the Blueberry Crumb Cake recipe at this lovely site.
Like I said in my previous post, I substituted half of the flour in both the cake and crumb topping with whole wheat flour. I halved the recipe overall and baked it in a square 8x8 glass dish. It was perfect for one serving for everyone of us (6), with three slices left over.

Funny, but that will be JUST RIGHT for breakfast in the morning!

I'm going to look into taking out some of the butter and adding something like apple puree or something similar. Why look, we will be on a journey together, gentle reader! Yay! It will be much more fun that way, as I stumble through the adventure of healthy baking! I have been steering clear of anything sweet for so long! Ok, let us NOT bring up the graham crackers. I love to bake in the fall and winter, and instead of giving up on it completely, which, let's face it, would suck, I will attempt to learn how to make things which are tasty and healthy (at least somewhat healthy). This will make my kids happy, as they will get more than just fruit for desserts and snacks, and it will fill my "must bake" days, which are those days that are cool and crisp and just beg me to pull out my Martha Stewart fall decorating magazines and rearrange my non-Martha furniture in various ways to try to make it feel better about itself. Then, I move to the recipe sections and feel that I have way too few kitchen gadgets. Why DON'T I own a cherry and olive pitter? How can one offset spatula possibly be sufficient? These are the questions I ask myself...

Blueberry Crumb Cake in Smell-O-Vision

In anticipation of having co. for dinner, and in anticipation of fall, when my baking hits "constant" on my activity meter, I decided to hijack my breakfast blueberries and make something that for all intents and purposes, should be yummy. I found it on a foodies blog, and will post the details this evening, after my dinner is done. I don't know why I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off (does that bring back memories, or what??) the co. in question actually grew up in my presence and knows I am a packrat slob, but I have been cleaning all day. I am worried about my cooking too, but it is my son, and he thinks everything I make is spanking anyway! If I make burgers...Spanking! If I bake cookies...Spanking! If I open the pickle jar...Spanking! No one cooks like MOM! Anyway, the Blueberry Crumb Cake is covered with this lovely crumbly mixture, hence the name, and smells out of this world, which is why I tried, in vain, I might add, to post it is Smell-O-Vision. I think I need to read up on it some more, though it might be working, as I CAN smell it here. You'll just have to let me know...

blueberries...meet cinnamon crumbly topping
"How do you do, crumbly topping? You look sexy in white!"
"Merci beaucoup! I'm feeling a little spicy!"

I substituted half of the white flour with whole wheat in both the cake and the crumbly topping mixture, and since I had no freshly grated nutmeg (shhhh...don't tell Martha Stewart!) I tossed in a little ginger, though just a very little, because I have ABSOLUTELY no confidence in my ability to substitute ingredients. I'm like, well, ginger is a spice used in baking as well, so let's roll with it.
"Bring on the heat! We can take it!" -the blueberries

Wild Things

Ok, I knew this was coming, but I don't think I was fully prepared for it. I may or possibly may not have started to cry as I watched the trailer here.



When I was a youngling, I did not have the
happiest of childhoods. However, I could always
find happiness and escape in the pages of a book.
This was one of my particular favorites...












Max making mischief of one kind
......and another


I read this Easy Picture book until I was well over 12 years old...um, who am I kidding? I still pull it out and read it. I have a sacred spot on my bookshelf that holds about a dozen thin volumes which mean more to me than any collectible or vintage book I own. My Where the Wild Things Are hardback is nestled in among them, as is Pierre, also by Maurice Sendak, Johnny Hop's Adventure by Mary E. Roberts, Junk Day on Juniper Street by Lillian Moore, The Story of Zachary Zween by Mabel Watts, The Cookie Tree by Jay Williams, and another personal favorite, Old Black Witch by Harry and Wende Devlin.
Sometimes I find myself cleaning off the bookshelf, or some other surface in my bedroom and before I know it, I am seated in front of that shelf with a pile of slender, colorful books in my lap and suddenly I am transported back in time. My cat Muffin has wrapped himself around my neck as I lay on my frilly bedspread and read. I love my time machine. It has a great filter. Only the good stuff is allowed to come back and keep me company. That cat was a marvel! He let my little sister wrap him up in her baby blankets and tuck him in a doll carriage. What cat does that???? I can still see his orange face peeking through her pink blankets. Only the smallest bit of his nose and eyes visible he seemed to be resigned to his fate. What a good boy! You would think he might have drawn the line at the pink surrounding him and tried to escape, but he was flexible that way. He'd stay on his back, wrapped up like that for several trips around the living room and through the hall. He'd usually slip out at some point, or be freed finally by my sister and slink off to the back of the house somewhere. Always I would find him on my pillow and as I lay down to read or listen to my 45's, he'd lie down across my chest and neck, tail around the top of my head like a fuzzy hat and we would just kind of "hang" that way. I still read lying on my back sometimes on the couch or the bed and I can almost feel him there, keeping silent company, sometimes looking up at the book as if he could comprehend all those letters on the page. I wish I had a photo of him, but I realise that it isn't necessary. He is so tied in with all those lovely books and memories that I can still see him hanging about when I get them out. Funny what you think of some times...