change

I hope your weekend is full of your favorite things!

I've decided to make a couple of changes. You may have noticed I've changed to a three column format, as things were starting to look cluttered and disorganized to me. Let me know if you think it makes it hard to read. Also, I've made the decision to change my heading to a picture format that I will change monthly. If you are an email reader or use google reader, you may want to click in once a month and take a look! I'm quite excited about it.

These caught my eye:
Making Room For Miss Manners Is A Parenting Basic
Thirty Things I Believe
This Date, from Henry David Thoreau's Journal

a January evening

Last night:

dinner, outside...our first outdoor meal of 2009
moon gazing

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

light wheat bread

bread rising on the counter

The internet is full of inspiration of all different kinds. This week, during a quick browse of my blog roll, I stumbled upon these photos and the accompanying recipe, which promptly got me up off my chair and into the kitchen for a little bread making. It was the perfect antidote to the chill outside. The recipe is so easy (15 minutes labor, 4 hours idle time) and so good! There is nothing like the smell of baking bread; great comfort was found in sending my children off to school with sandwiches made with homemade bread. It is best eaten warm and immediately, of course. Thanks for the inspiration, Deb!

vintage toys

When Abbott was an infant, the bath tub toys available for purchase seemed to lack quality and imagination. I bought the above Fisher Price "3 men in a tub" toy for him on ebay; I remember long baths and lots of imaginative play with this set in my childhood. As Abbott got older, I came to wish that many of my childhood toys had been saved. I missed them and wanted Abbott and Cal to enjoy what I had played with. One Christmas my sister and I were given the Fisher Price "village" set pictured below; I recall long hours of play with it. I spent an embarrassing amount of money buying it for them on ebay. I find it difficult to sort out, as my boys start to outgrow toys, what to donate and what to keep.

We love delivering the mail...


getting gas, fighting fires, driving around....


being an auto mechanic...


barber, jailor...


...even still.

What did you enjoy playing with in your childhood? Was it saved for you in your adulthood? What have you saved of your children's toys?

the walk to school

I have been impressed at the things in my daily life I have never noticed before this past month, when I started bringing a camera with me everywhere for my project. In particular, I have been astonished at what I've captured on the very short walk from where we park to walk into Abbott's school. The rooster above I now notice saying "good morning".

These trees....



This frost...



...all truly seen and properly appreciated for the first time. Try it if you like - I think you'll be impressed at what you notice when you have a goal of coming away with one beautiful picture every day, or of simply paying attention to what you're noticing.

Fun on the Run

When the boys were younger, I carried the kitchen sink with me. Books, toys, crayons, snacks, first aid supplies; you name it, I probably had it with me. I now revel in carrying with me a mere handbag (or a camera bag). The downside to this is those unexpected times like trips to see the pediatrician. Last week I had to take Abbott to the clinic, and we waited and waited and waited for a test he needed. As pictured in the top photo, the boys started wrestling, playing hide and seek...



...lots of general silliness.


One of the things that was abandoned to a book shelf after the diaper bag went away is a great book called Fun on the Run. (A couple of years ago, I gave it to many people as a holiday gift, I like it so much.) This is full of ideas for the doctor's office, restaurants, grocery stores....you get the idea. This book is now going to have a permanent home in the car so that the next time we spend hours somewhere unexpectedly, we have some fun ideas for how to pass the time.

hello weekend!

I hope your weekend is as satisfying as this trip to our favorite neighborhood coffeeshop was.




Have you seen National Geographic's story Inside the Presidency? Alexi pointed it out to me; absolutely fascinating.

I am doing an exchange for Easter with my blogging friend Elaine, who lives in England. I'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments about American Easter treats to send her two little ones. Thanks!

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

For the weekend, here is the chocolate chip cookie recipe our family has settled on as our favorite. When I read the write up of these cookies in the New York Times last summer, I couldn't wait to try them. As someone with a science background, I appreciate the evidence based aspects of the recipe.

When I made these the first time, my testers were unanimous in their dislike of the quantity of chocolate....it was hard to taste the cookie! It was difficult to stir that many chips into the dough. My testers also did not like the bittersweet flavor of the chocolate discs so high in cacao. We tried the recipe again, substituting one 8oz bag of Dilletante chocolate chips for the 1 1/4 pound of chocolate called for in the original recipe and the cookies were a huge hit! In case you would like to try the original version of the published recipe, I have given the original and my modification notes below.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Jacques Torres

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons

(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (available at Whole Foods) (see my comment above - I prefer this with one 8 oz bag of chocolate chips)

Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.

published in the New York Times, July 9, 2008

The SAC

Recently Alexi built a hockey target/goal for the boys to shoot pucks at in the garage. He made a wooden frame and attached carpet to it - it can be seen on the wall behind Abbott in the top photo. The extra lumber has been sitting around in the garage since that time; last weekend Abbott decided he wanted to make something with it. His initial idea was to build a campground for the back yard. He used a hand saw and did almost all of the sawing all by himself, and the nailing with some help and supervision. Once the structure was up, Abbott decided he wanted it to be a club house for the garage. (Fortunately we never park in the garage!) The club is called the SAC, or Secret Abbreviation Club. All week there have been meetings with a schedule of activities including free choice, lunch, recess, and work time. Want to join?

for posterity

When I'm asked, "What were you doing the day history was made?" I will say, I took Abbott and Cal to school. Abbott watched the inauguration and learned more about the Obamas:


Cal's preschool teacher was full of inaugural spirit:


I got back home just before this moment:


Put away 44 dishes:


Read all about it:



And bought special treats to celebrate:

Inauguration Day

A new day....

a recent sunrise seen from our deck

a new beginning.



I have been incredibly excited and emotional all week at this historic moment. A friend of mine who lives in Brooklyn just spent the weekend in DC; here's what she had to say about it: "i got to dc for the weekend! the hooplah is amazing. i have never seen such anticipation and overt, unbridled joy. galleries are sporting special exhibits, every building seems to have at least one picture of bho on their walls, and homemade and pre-printed signs welcoming the obama family are everywhere. and the merchandising? incredible... budweiser created inaugurale for the day, and you can buy virtually everything with an obama name on it: pens, pencils, rulers, tee-shirts, watches, sweatshirts, shot glasses, hats, scarves, socks, belts, drinking glasses, mugs, chocolate bars, mints, wall-hangings, posters, front pages from 11-4-08, postcards, pins, paperweights, key chains, and mouse pads..."

Do you plan to watch the inauguration? If so, how and when? Abbott will watch it at school; I plan to race home after dropping off the kids to watch. And then watch it again in the evening with Alexi after work.

Interesting:

Obama's letter to his daughters

Lifehacker's Guide to Catching the Inauguration from Anywhere

Exactly when can I stop saying president-elect

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr's Last Speech (full text here):




At church yesterday, our pastor read an excerpt from this speech; I found it incredibly moving. I encourage you to take the time to listen to it or read it.