Yours 'til Niagara Falls

The Greatest Sporting Event of the Summer

Betcha thought I was talking about that little get-together in China this August.  Wrong!  I'm talking the  Diaper Derby held at 25th Annual Canal Fest.  There were about thirty entries- all of them as cute as could be.  Each baby came with a "pitcher" and a"catcher".  Each baby's team had a bag of tricks to motivate their little athlete, with cell phones and keys being suprisingly common. Here's how things went down:

The race was held in heats with four babies competing at a time.  Once the race begins, no one can touch the baby and the baby must cross the finish line in his or her assigned lanes.  Ready, set, go!

In lane four, a very cute contender named Nicholas is coached by his father at the start of the race.

After listening to Daddy's encouraging words, Nicholas takes a moment to check out the competition.

Our little contestant realizes that his competitors are pulling away.  He puts it into gear and starts scooting down his lane, heading toward his Mommy.

Success is his!  He has won the first heat!  A little later, he competes again.  He is poised at the starting gate.  The race begins.

Just seconds into the race, disaster strikes!  Our little athlete flops down.  Having only mastered crawling three days ago, Nicholas is unable to regain his form.  Another racer pulls ahead.  Although she is the winner, she doesn't appear to be too happy about the whole contest.

Our little hero gets a well-deserved drink to celebrate his first, but certainly not his last, athletic competion.

Chunky Crayons - the Real Story

A couple of nights ago I found myself in Hellmart.  (I always promise myself that I'll never darken their door again, but I am prone to backsliding in so many areas... )  In the stationery department I noticed that Crayola crayons were on sale for 22 cents a box.  I've read posts describing how easy and fun it is to make multi-colored chunky crayons so I figured the price was right and I'd give it a go.  As it happens, it's not as easy or fun as one might think.

Materials/ Equipment: 24-count boxes of Crayola crayons (made in the USA, by-the-by), a paring knife, a silicone ice cube tray, an oven

If you had a bin of beat up crayon nibs, the next step wouldn't be neccesary.  I discovered that new crayons and hard-boiled fresh eggs are similar in that they are both very, very hard to peel.  I needed to employ a paring knife to slit the paper covering of the crayon.  Do not allow yourself to be distracted by conversation or television when you do this.  Although I have seen this whole crayon refashioning thing described as a "great activity to do with young children" I think not.  This step is tedious and requires intense concentration.  Tearing the paper off even with the help of the knife takes quite a while.  I was suprised to note that there is a layer of adhesive between the paper and the crayon.

After you have accomplished denuding the crayons, put them in a bag. I sorted them by color families. What is pictured here is an unbleached waxed paper sandwich bag.  I employed a rolling pin to break up the crayons, in the manner of a cookie pie crust.  The first whack of the rolling pin on the counter resulted in an explosion of crayon shrapnel spraying the kitchen and sent Little Frida running for cover.  I then used a heavy-duty plastic zip-lock bag.  It too, ruptured with the application of the rolling pin.  I ended up using more of a crushing technique to get the small pieces I needed.

I put the shards into the ice cube trays.  I've used these same trays with melted beeswax to create lovely little cakes of wax for sewing purposes.  ( A much easier project, I'll have you know.)   About ten minutes in a 200 degree oven allowed the wax to melt nicely.  I allowed the newly-minted crayons to harden overnight.  I peeled them out of the trays and was actually quite pleased with the finished product.

I do have to say, though, this would take a little bit of thought if you wanted to make this with a child, or a group of kids.  I'd approach it by having a lot of the prep work done (i.e., the peeling of the crayons) done beforehand.  I'd also let the little ones know in advance that they have to wait about twelve hours before they can use the finished chunky crayons.  Won't they be thrilled with that bit of news!  My vote is to make them on the sly and present them as a gift.  You'd have to worry about a child who would actually enjoy the whole start-to-finish sequence of this project. 

Simply Appalling

My mother is home after being hospitalized for a few days.  I was not even remotely happy with the level of medical care she received.  Some of the more memorable events:  This morning she had her blood pressure taken.  When my average-sized mother told the woman that the blood pressure cuff was hurting her, the response was "Your arm is too fat".  When we were waiting to be discharged, a nurse came in to discuss matters.  I asked her what her name was.  She rolled her eyes, reached into her pocket and took out her name tag.  It indicated that she was an RN with a bachelor's of science.  She stated that my mother would need weekly B12 shots.  I said, "Oh, I thought it was daily".  She refered to the scripts and said, "Oh, yes, you're right".  She then said, "Earlier, I removed the IV she had for her antibiotics".  "Antibiotics?", I ask "Why on earth was she on antibiotics?".  The nurse walks over to the IV pole and shrugs.  "Oh", she says, "It's magnesium, it looks like the antibiotics".  At that point I ask when the neurologist would be stopping by.  The nurse said, "She was here for a half an hour this morning.  She gave your mother an exam and talked with her".  The nurse, up to this point, had been talking only to me although my mother (her actual patient) was sitting three feet away.  At this point my mother said, "The neurologist didn't come this morning".  The nurse rolls her eyes and says to me, "Your mother is very forgetful".  She then turns to my mother and says in a patronizing sing-song voice, "Dr. So-and-so came after breakfast.  Do you remember what you had for breakfast?"  My mother did indeed remember exactly what she had for breakfast and told her so.  This is where I loose my temper.  "Look here,"  I said, "My mother has a slight word-finding problem, but she could certainly remember a neuro exam and a discussion!"  I went on to itemize all the errors the nurse had made since out little meeting began and told her that as far as I was concerned, I had no confidence in her and our discussion was over and I was taking my mother home.  The nurse shrugged and asked if I wanted to speak to the doctor before we left.  I said I did and that I'd also like the name of the person in charge of patient care.  The woman shrugged again and said, "I don't know of any such person at this hospital."   The moral of the story is... If you go to the hospital, take a bodyguard along with you.

In other medical news... Little Frida got spayed today.  All went well.  The office staff was sweet, kind and most importantly, competent.  How utterly ironic.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Epiphany

I enjoy the Wednesday New York Times because it features good food and wine articles. (There used to be a swell column by Nigella Lawson, but that went the way of the wind)  Today's article  (found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/09chip.html?_r=1&oref=slogin  )

is a revalation to me.  I too have had the quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie.  One of the secrets, according to this article is to let the batter hang out in the fridge for 12-36 hours.  I never did this because I thought the leavening wouldn't work if you didn't bake them off right away.  Au contraire, mon frere!  What actually happens is the liquids (eggs and butter) are given the opportunity to meld more completely with the other ingredients.  The results, according to the big-name bakers interviewed for the article, is a more complex, flavorful cookie.  I don't care if it's hot out, I plan on mixing some up this week!

The Olympics are Coming! The Olympics are Coming!

In just one month we will be watching the Olympics.  Like a lot of people, have very mixed feelings regarding the political aspects of this years' Olympics, but I plan to enjoy the events.  I heard this morning that NBC will have more coverage than ever before by virtue of the fact that they own about 100 cable channels (including Bravo and Oxygen- news to me).  In addition to that coverage, I get to watch the Canadian coverage.  I kind of like the way the Canadian sportscasters are so unabashedly partisan when it comes to their countrymen as they compete in an event. But, you don't have to cope with the "up close and personal stories where you have to listen to how an athlete had to overcome a very bad hangnail to compete.  I digress, however.  Being a month away, we all have time to figure out what our Knitting Olympics project will be.  The rules are simple.  Cast  on during the opening ceremony and work like a fiend for 17 days and finish before the closing ceremonies.  For myself, I'm thinking a pair of socks.  Or maybe a shawl.  Or a baby sweater.  I'm glad I have a month to decide.

Currently on my needles is the February Lady Sweater by Flint Knits (sorry, I'm just too vexed by Typepad's new and unimproved linking procedure to do it).  I'm to the lace pattern bit which I love.  I'm also pleased with the yarn I've chosen.  The second picture shows my thriftstore score for the day.  It's a kokeshi doll I snagged for 49 cents.  It's missing the usual red wooden bow on the top, but I think she's just dandy.

P.S.  Poor little grandson.. He's just 10 months old and has one of those crummy summer viruses.  He's running a temp of 103.  The doctor says he'll be good as new in a day or so.

Happy Birthday Frida

One hundred and one years ago, Frida Kahlo was born.  She suffered a lot in her life:  polio at age six, impaled in a streetcar accident when she was 18 which broke her spine in several places, crushed her feet and other injuries.  After that she married a bully and had numerous miscarriages. And yet, she was able to create beauty.  Not suprisingly, the theme of many of her works is suffering.

Where There's Smoke, There's Turkey

For dinner yesterday, we had a smoked turkey.  It was much nicer that the store-bought lunch-meat stuff I've bought before.  It wasn't hard to do, but it did take a little bit of planning.

First, buy a turkey.  I waited too long to get a frozen one, so I got a fresh bird.  The day mefore cooking, I made a brining mixture in a large plastic bag (water, kosher salt, demerara sugar and some dried herbs) and had the whole arrangement sit in the fridge overnight.

Early in the morning, drain the turkey and have Helpful Neighbor put it in his ginormous smoker.

In eight hours, you will be rewarded with a beautiful golden bird.  Much nicer, in my opinion than a weinie roast.

And, as long as I'm chattering about food, Dr. Andrew Weil posted this info on his vitamin-shilling website to which I subscribe.  It's probably true:

Seven Reasons the French Are Slimmer

For years, scientists on both sides of the Atlantic have been trying to unravel the "French paradox" - the finding that despite a high-fat diet, the French appear to have a lower rate of heart attacks (as well as a lower rate of obesity) than other Western countries, particularly the United States. While no definite explanations are available, it may have a great deal to do with how the French approach eating:

1. Their portions are smaller
2. They eat only at mealtimes, snacking is frowned upon
3. They eat a wide variety of food
4. They don't skip meals
5. They enjoy their food, emphasizing dishes made from quality ingredients that are fresh and locally grown
6. They stick to internal cues - primarily, no longer feeling hungry - to stop eating
7. They tend to eat meals with family and friends, making eating a pleasurable experience and not something to “fit into” a schedule or feel guilty about. 

P.S. I was lucky enough to spend a few days in Paris about five years ago.  Make no mistake, those people are getting pudgy, according to what I observed in the Metro.

Happy Independence Day!

 I hope everyone enjoys the cookouts, the parades and spending time with folks you enjoy.  Today is also a good day to pause and give thanks to all that serve to keep our country free. 

Half-Year Resolutions?

Today is July !st.  That means the year is half over.  So far, so good.  But, combined with the fact that my summer break is just starting, it's probably a good time to make a few resolutions.  I have a friend who seems to get everything done.  She doesn't talk about it, but I've seen her system when I've visited her home.  She takes 3"x 5" cards and writes tasks on them.  Some are daily tasks like washing dishes. I think she has a number of these which she re-uses over and over.  Some are specific one-time tasks.  Anyhoo, the system really works for her because, as I said, she gets it all done. 

So, to follow her good example I wrote today's to-do list on a scrap of paper ( I know myself, I'd keep shuffling the index cards until I could pick a card which read "go to the movies" or some less-than-productive activity like that).  My first job was to clean my very cluttered bedroom.  Five minutes in, I found a Dayrunner organizer I bought 90% off a month or two ago.  I think I might give that a whirl. Here's to organization!

Note:  I used this image because the girl was writing AND because Niagara Falls was, for many, many years the home of Shredded Wheat.  It was manufactured just a couple miles down the road.  Like countless other industries, it has left the area.

Happy Birthday Canada !

Today is Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day.  I can actually see Canada from my back yard.  I plan to drive down to the falls tonight to view the fireworks tonight.