That's what I should be doing--packing. I am doing some laundry, but mostly I'm baking and playing with the little girls.
LG and I bake another batch of the Pillsbury ready-to-bake Halloween cookies. This time the scary ghosts. Before I catch on, LG has eaten 3! And that's before lunch.
Then, we decide to bake a pumpkin pie--a favorite for MK and LG. I have a leftover Pillsbury pie crust in the frig, so this should be a 3 or 4 step no-brainer, but the crust has gone bad. Who knew it could? It has a small blackish dot on it, like mold, which I think I can just remove. But, either I catch a whiff, or have a prodding and decide to take a whiff. WHEW! Definitely it's turned the bad, bad corner.
So, no problem! I whip out Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts and throw together a little pâte brisée (Or, as Martha's website calls it "pate brisee." What? they think the common folk can't handle the correct spelling?) Whatever! Martha's pâte brisée is the best! CA and I use it every time, except when we are making a quick quiche (love the alliteration!)--then we sometimes default to the Pillsbury Ready Crust. They work well--especially if you serve immediately.
Anyway, so the pumpkin pie gets a bit more gourmet, but no problem for 4-1/2 year old LG. She LOVES baking and cooking and can crack an egg or knead some bread with the best of them. We bake the pie in my deep dish 9" tart pan with the self-fluting edge. We aren't sure how deep this pie will be, so after filling the shell we scrunch the fluted edges down a bit to snug things up.
LG knows the tricks, so she rescues the trimmings from the pâte brisée and rolls out the leftover dough for cinnamon rolls. I dab some butter on the dough, and she handles the cinnamon/sugar shaker--taking time to admire the star cut-outs on the shaker lid. I promise that she will own this shaker when she grows up. It is antique and very special. The base is fluted glass and the topper is silverplate. I remember salivating over it at the Crystal Point Mall Antique Show many years ago. It cost $16--a fortune I felt--and worth every penny and more for all the joy it has brought over the years.
While LG and I are baking, KF is fighting her nap--for the second day in a row. The first two tries, MK finds her stripped naked in her little bed. She redresses her each time, and the third and fourth times KF is naked and has pottied on her sheet and blanket (the third time) and her clean sheet and pillow (the fourth time). While she can't manage the doorknob to escape her bedroom, she has figured out how to win!
For the next hour the little girls are playing dress-up with the wonderful fake jewels we "inherited" from CA's great aunt, and also playing doctor. KF won't let anyone touch or hold her unless she is in the mood, yet she will lay on the floor endlessly when she is the patient and LG is the doctor!
Dinner will be homemade pesto sauce on pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and chicken. Yum!
LG and I bake another batch of the Pillsbury ready-to-bake Halloween cookies. This time the scary ghosts. Before I catch on, LG has eaten 3! And that's before lunch.
Then, we decide to bake a pumpkin pie--a favorite for MK and LG. I have a leftover Pillsbury pie crust in the frig, so this should be a 3 or 4 step no-brainer, but the crust has gone bad. Who knew it could? It has a small blackish dot on it, like mold, which I think I can just remove. But, either I catch a whiff, or have a prodding and decide to take a whiff. WHEW! Definitely it's turned the bad, bad corner.
So, no problem! I whip out Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts and throw together a little pâte brisée (Or, as Martha's website calls it "pate brisee." What? they think the common folk can't handle the correct spelling?) Whatever! Martha's pâte brisée is the best! CA and I use it every time, except when we are making a quick quiche (love the alliteration!)--then we sometimes default to the Pillsbury Ready Crust. They work well--especially if you serve immediately.
Anyway, so the pumpkin pie gets a bit more gourmet, but no problem for 4-1/2 year old LG. She LOVES baking and cooking and can crack an egg or knead some bread with the best of them. We bake the pie in my deep dish 9" tart pan with the self-fluting edge. We aren't sure how deep this pie will be, so after filling the shell we scrunch the fluted edges down a bit to snug things up.
LG knows the tricks, so she rescues the trimmings from the pâte brisée and rolls out the leftover dough for cinnamon rolls. I dab some butter on the dough, and she handles the cinnamon/sugar shaker--taking time to admire the star cut-outs on the shaker lid. I promise that she will own this shaker when she grows up. It is antique and very special. The base is fluted glass and the topper is silverplate. I remember salivating over it at the Crystal Point Mall Antique Show many years ago. It cost $16--a fortune I felt--and worth every penny and more for all the joy it has brought over the years.
While LG and I are baking, KF is fighting her nap--for the second day in a row. The first two tries, MK finds her stripped naked in her little bed. She redresses her each time, and the third and fourth times KF is naked and has pottied on her sheet and blanket (the third time) and her clean sheet and pillow (the fourth time). While she can't manage the doorknob to escape her bedroom, she has figured out how to win!
For the next hour the little girls are playing dress-up with the wonderful fake jewels we "inherited" from CA's great aunt, and also playing doctor. KF won't let anyone touch or hold her unless she is in the mood, yet she will lay on the floor endlessly when she is the patient and LG is the doctor!
Dinner will be homemade pesto sauce on pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and chicken. Yum!
So, Packing? Not so much. But, once everything is clean the packing will get done.
CA is driving back from Central Illinois. He went to the memorial service for his high school football coach. A large group of friends from those years has gathered this weekend to share stories and memories. DM is at a charity golf outing. So, MK and I will continue to hold down the fort until dinner time and after... I told MK we will pray that baby girl #3 is as sweet and compliant at little Miss LE.
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