On July 1st, I celebrated Anna's 8+1/2 birthday with her. We spent the afternoon together.

Part of our time was spent stamping and card making. Then we went for ice cream at Cream & Dream. It was a fun afternoon, but I ended it exhausted; partly because we had to spend the morning going to & from the foreign police on a long bus ride that nearly made me sick, and partly because I guess I'm entering the third-trimester tiredness.

pie

I made pies to enjoy with our Norwegian friends tomorrow.

This one used most of the marshmallows my mother gave me back in August. It's easy, but incredibly decadent. Hence the name:

Decadent Truffle Bottom Chocolate Cream Pie

Graham Cracker crust
2 cups miniature marshmallows or 20 large marshmallows
1/2 cup milk
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Chocolate Chips
1 cup (1/2 pt.) heavy whipping cream
Sweetened whipped cream or whipped topping(optional)
Chocolate curls(optional)

1. Prepare and bake pie crust in 9-inch pie plate as directed on package for unfilled 1-crust pie.

2. Place marshmallows and milk in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 1 minute; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Add chocolate chips; stir until melted and mixture is smooth. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, just until chips are melted when stirred. Spread 1 cup chocolate mixture over bottom of crust; refrigerate. Cool remaining mixture to room temperature.
3. Beat whipping cream until stiff; gradually blend into chocolate mixture, combining thoroughly. Spread over chocolate layer in pastry crust. Cover; refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or until well chilled. Garnish with sweetened whipped cream and chocolate curls, if desired. Cover; refrigerate leftover pie.

Graham Cracker (or BeBe Cracker) Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (use bebe crumbs here)
1/3 cup white sugar (I skipped because I think the crackers are sweet enough)
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter or margarine, and cinnamon until well blended . Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 7 minutes. Cool. If recipe calls for unbaked pie shell, just chill for about 1 hour.

And I made two apple pies.

I used the family recipe for pie crust:

4 cups flour
2 teas. salt
1 T sugar

Blend in 1.5 cups of margarine (room temperature)

Mix together:
1 beaten egg
1 T vinegar
1/2 cup water

Pour into flour/butter while stirring with a fork. Mix until it's all combined, and shape into a ball. Divide it into 5 pieces. It freezes well.

and Apple Pie

Peel, core and slice 6-8 firm apples for each pie

Add this mixture:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg

Bake at 215C until apples are tender.

Here are two goofy kids, eating pie.

And here's one cute baby. You can catch a glimpse of her teeth here.

baby Mark

A throw back to Texas, 2006.

I think Anna singing in the background might be the best part of this video. 

in praise of winter

This year we got lots of snow in Prague. Except for a year in Slovakia, I don't think I've had a winter where snow stuck around for so long. It was on the ground almost two months, and then it came a get for a bit. I'm excited for spring now, and am looking for the buds that are starting to show on a few branches.

We live near a hilly park, and this winter got to sled with the niece and nephews a bit.

Seven-month-pregnant Elizabeth stayed safely at the top of the hill.
Mark trudges up slowly. Daniel poses in front of the view.
There are a few more photos here.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

baby shower

Yesterday I hosted a baby shower for my sister, Elizabeth. She's 9 months pregnant + counting. It was a fun time. We had a group of ladies talking around pink & blue cupcakes, fruit and cookies. We discussed baby names, and how you guess if it's a boy or girl, and had all those shower conversations. And I asked Elizabeth to share some funny quotes from her pregnancy. I was going to say "funny things your children have said about this baby," but it's more accurately a list of "funny things Mark has said." (Mark, her youngest, is four.)

• When Mark first learned that Elizabeth was going to have a baby, he sat and thought hard, and then asked, "Will the baby be human?"
• Elizabeth took Mark with her to the hospital when she went to register. They were filling out paperwork, and Mark asked for another copy. He asked, "Mommy, if we give them two papers will they give us two babies?"
• After explaining to Mark the different ways people deliver babies, Mark said, "If I ever have a baby, I will have it in the normal way. I will sit on the toilet, and then pick the baby out of the toilet."
• Apparently Mark has reminded Elizabeth multiple times throughout her pregnancy that she will need to take her pants off when the baby comes so that they baby won't get stuck....
  

Man, I want to be there to hear what he says when the baby comes.

It's pretty special getting to be here for all of this. I've got (will have) 8 nieces & nephews, but this is first time I've been living near a pregnant sister and will be near when the baby comes.

Anna, my 7 year-old-niece came to the shower too.

I played for Elizabeth my favorite "baby" song. I think it's so sweet. It's called "Welcome" by Lori Chaffer on her album 1beginning. With a little bit of research I learned that she wrote it for her friend's baby boy, but there after she had a baby boy herself.

Welcome to this dusty land
Where you will cry lots but we'll all understand
Things may not turn out sometimes like you plan
That's all right our little man

Welcome outside of your mother's womb
I know that it's frightening
But now there's more room
Just think of all the great things you'll do
Just by you being you

I don't care what the world
Says about all this struggling
All I know is that now you're here
It's all lovely lovely

I don't care about
All the things that have troubled me
Now that you're here I remember life
Can be so lovely

Welcome to us, oh our little song
You're one part your daddy
One part your mom
They're gonna help you grow up to be strong
But for now little guy
Sleep on

We're very excited to great this new little one into the world.

Mark comments

Last week, when we came into their house after sledding:
"Would you like something to drink?" Mark asks.
"Oh, yes, thank you. I'd like water," say I.
Mark replies kindly, "The faucet is right there."

After lunch, Elizabeth was taking Daniel and Anna to a friend's house and I started cleaning up the dishes. Mark helped. He picked out 4 pieces of tupperware and spent about 10 minutes lining them up on the kitchen floor and finding their matching lids. Then he brought in the pot of pasta, and sitting on the floor with the pot about 1 foot from the row of tupperware, he scooped the leftovers into the containers. By the time I turned around and saw what he was doing, he had 10 pieces of pasta on the floor. I suggested we'd have to throw the spills away, but he assured me the floor was clean, and ate them with his fingers.

Today at our apartment when Garrett was playing with Photobooth on his new mac:
"You laugh like a čarodějnice!" ...which means witch!


oh, to remember all the funny things he says. I know there were half a dozen more, but this is all I've got now.

thanksgiving

This year Garrett and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner! We didn't do all of it, but we did more than I have ever attempted myself. Garrett made the meat: ham and chicken. Turkey is hard to find here, and neither of us care much about it. I made sweet potatoes and peas and gravy, plus pies. And we got drinks, scrounged up plates and utensils and cups for all.

We hosted the Polaks over at my apartment. My roommate Sheila joined us, and so did Karina, my language partner. Here are Daniel and Anna with Sheila and Karina. Sheila pitched in too, getting last minute groceries, cooking and getting our apartment ready. Here's a photo of Sheila reading to Anna.

Here's Daniel with Karina.

Elizabeth made the mashed potatoes, a corn dish, and a pumpkin pie. She also brought serving utensils and dessert plates. After cooking at Euclid where between three roommates we had hosting supplies coming out of our ears, I was totally unprepared to realize we barely have enough plates for a party of 10.But we had a fabulous meal. Mark ate a lot.

have you a good day

enjoy!

wif you would like to read this

i would like to draw your attention to the precious language of my dear niece in a comment from Sept. 06 which I recently came across (as i was laboriously fixing the internal links in my old posts...they all still had the old url. i had no idea it would be so much trouble. but tis done now, and done for the best.)


Anna said...

Thank you for being with us and doing what you want. I love you and we like you to come to us any time you can and wif you would like we would meet you when we're going to Prague and what we would do is we would play together but don't forget to bring your telephone. Your telepone is very cool. I can't believe that you get your message in one whole order. but thank you for being with us to our house. All done.

Texas pt 4

I guess it is time for another installment. Last year I completed the summer-trip-posts in April, so I could still beat my time...

Back in Texas...in July:

Friday evening, when it was cooling down in the Basin where we had some shade, we managed to get out of the chairs and cook dinner. We couldn't have a campfire in the desert of course, but we still managed to do the camping essential:











Mark seemed especially happy.
Too bad there are no showers there...On Saturday we went to the southeast corner of the park and this time the kids were awake and got to see the Rio Grande. Daniel and Anna found it fun tossing in dirt to see it splash in the muddy river. Mark thought it would be fun too, and tossed in his orange cup. I got a muddy sandal rescuing it.

We were hot and drowsy, so we had a snack under tall cottonwoods that had been planted by those who attempted to farm here. We found of respite from the oppressive sun.
And the kids played in the dirt. Elizabeth was a cool mom to let them.





























Mark got sufficiently dirty. He was quite delighted.
Back in the car, he examines his knee-dirt closely.

Daniel and Anna were often most cheerful in the car

...where we had air conditioning. And indeed, we saw much of the park from inside the comfort of the rented minivan. We had good views: While finding a place to picnic lunch, Elizabeth and I caught a glimpse of something that we really think might have been a mountain lion. Then we took a walk on a trail that passed through a variety of ecosystems. We saw water, and desert, and great views of the Rio Grande.




















Saturday evening was a highlight. After dinner we saw javalina at our campground. They were just grazing by the bathrooms. We learned all about javalina: they were the new animal for us at Big Bend. They aren't pigs! (There was a silly book at the NPS center called: Don't Call Me a Pig that taught us all.) They look a like like a p** though, because they have a snout and are about the same size. But they don't have a tail. And they eat cacti.

Mark learned about the javalinas. He could say something that sounded a bit like "a-na-nina." I wonder if he still remembers that word.

We took at walk to see the sunset (and saw some more wild life along the way) and we discovered how nice it is to hike when the sun isn't beating down on us!
After some photos at the sunset we went to a ranger talk on cacti. We learned a lot, and the kids handled it well, even though it was getting late. I learned a lot about cacti, but regret that it was our last evening, so we didn't have any more time to explore for those cacti...so basically I forgot most of it. I learned that octillo is not a cactus. And I learned that you can eat the red balls on top of some prickly pear. Those are fruit. That's about it. I also remember learning about thefts: a lot of people sneak out rare plants from Big Bend- they catch them all the time. I can't think what you call that crime. I can't believe people would do that.

The next morning, we headed home.
Let's see what I can recount.

We left Sunday morning and drove to Dallas. We arrived at a friend's house very late and put the kids to bed. The drive back was difficult. Anna was having trouble understanding the geography of Texas and Dallas. I'm pretty sure she was convinced that Texas was in Dallas, and she didn't understand when we said we're not in Dallas yet, because she insisted that we never had left Dallas! I really didn't understand why she felt it profitable to argue geography with three adults when obviously she hadn't been to school yet. But that sort of logic doesn't really register with four year olds I guess (I learned a lot about kids...) and Elizabeth was very patient and let Anna get upset without arguing back.

Monday morning was our day of departure: it was stressful. We woke up rested and cleaned and had breakfast. Then we had to load the two cars with all the possessions of the Polak family (minus some books that were shipped to NJ). We finished around noon maybe? I forget. In the end we had my car packed, the Volvo wagon packed with its roof loaded and my green tarp over to protect it from rain (which we did have; the tarp was useful until about Alabama when I took this photo). The rented minivan was full of belongings to return to friends throughout the state of Dallas. And that meant goodbyes too. We began with borrowed camping equipment from a fire-fighter friend. And then a last lunch with Milan's dad. Drop off books that public library. And finally goodbyes to their dear friends.

We left Dallas (which actually we know is a city in Texas) probably around 5, in the rain. We drove till we did actually leave Texas. Just inside Louisiana the Polaks were ready to stop for the night. It was an interesting night what with one hotel room, a sister, a brother-in-law, two nephews and one niece. I believe experiences like that are ones that you treasure as "remember when" most of all. Elizabeth and Milan put Mark on the bed between them: not sure they got much sleep. I slept with Daniel crowding my pillow and Anna at our feet. This was most amusing. A few times I had to get up and move Daniel off my pillow, and then he would pick up and dramatically plop down on top of me again. sheesh. it was kind of funny. We splurged on a nice warm breakfast at ihop that morning, and then headed for B-ham.

The two older kids were quite happy taking turns in my back seat. Mark gave me a big smile whenever we stopped to rest. We had lunch in Vicksburg at a park by the River. It was hot, and there were red ants that bit hard. We got a nice Polak family picture though, documenting the span of years they were in Dallas: on the way to Dallas they took the same picture, but the kids were three years younger, and baby Mark was not yet.

That night we stayed with friends in Birmingham and on July fourth I headed home for two nights rest in my own bed. Then the journey north would begin.

Texas pt 3

moving onward...

When we woke up in the morning, we understood what it meant that our campground was in the Chisos Basin. We were literally in a bowl of mountains. We saw some deer bound through the campsite.

The place was pretty deserted Friday night/Saturday morning, but the following nights it was filled up for the 4th of July weekend. Daniel and Anna filling up the water jugs.

After we had breakfast and got ready for the day, we set out to explore the park. We drove up out of the basin, over the mountains and caught the view:

Daniel, who of course had slept through our entry (which was in the dark anyway), was duly amazed, and his face was priceless. (and he was willing to reproduce it for me to photograph.)

Anna's face was maybe a bit fake. (but so cute anyways)

but Mark slept through it.
Generally, if we were in the car, he'd sleep.

I think the first thing we needed to do was buy ice. The was pretty much a continual concern. It was, to put it mildly, hot there. Big Bend is simply really hot, and I'd recommend visiting it in April (besides the weather, more plants are in bloom then). A shadeless 105 degrees is brutal, and generally our thoughts, while outside, were consumed with finding shade or air conditioning. We went to the visitors center and walked around the small "garden" that had cacti labeled. I tried in vain to learn the plants so I could recognize them later. The photo to the right has, I think, as nice shot of some vegetation. The tall plant on the left, the signature plant of Big Bend NP, is the octillo, and it's not a cactus. It has the neat quality of being able to be cut off and stuck in the ground to regrow, and farmers would use it as a fence. In the foreground, hiding under the brush, you can see the prickly pear, which is a very common cactus. This one has fruit on the top, and that is probably the edible stuff. (I may perhaps sound knowledgeable there, but I have just about exhausted what I know...)

Our next destination was the Rio Grande in the southwest corner of the park. The kids slept through this stop, and Milan waded into the river...a bit far for Elizabeth's comfort, as I recall. But she was willing to photograph me in it too. It looks like I'm a lot farther out than I really am. It was moving quite fast, and as you can see, very opaque. It looks like we're really close to Mexico, but it's just an illusion of the camera. It was a ways away, and if I tried to swim it, I would get swept a good ways down stream. Plus, that's illegal.

We went to another fort and refreshed ourselves with a cool drink. The kids woke up and we had lunch. Then they climbed on an old locomotive.

After this we attempted a hike. I believe it was our only real attempt, and I say it was a valiant effort. We stopped at a trail along side the road to walk down into a canyon. Mark was put on Milan's back and Daniel and Anna were outfitted with water. But really, it was just too much. I got some great photographs of the adventure. But prominent in my memory is this image of Anna: very uncomfortable, and very unhappy. (Anna tried to later convince me she could have done more and would have liked to go on a real hike.) Here are the good photos:

in the canyon

not sure if we'll make it out...

and we're nearly there now (but inconsolable)
i think this is my favorite shot of Daniel:
he looks so small in the vast landscape



on to part 4