Today's Encaustic Painting

I'm telling you...this is fun!

For Micah: Lollipops and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com

Jacques' Lollipops and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com

I dont wanna snowshoe anymore! (It's a new hit song)

Grant and Victoria got a taste of the good life with Dad taking them on sleds behind our very expensive brand new snowmobile! Ha. (Craigslist is the hubby hobby) He found two matching racing sleds that have some sort of steering apparatus and hooked them behind this old snowmobile he found for $300.00. Renting one is $500.00 so he thought we could try out the concept this way for less. I call that justification. Wink.
Slogging up the hill in knee deep snow- the snowmobile wouldn't make it up in the powder so they had to pack down a path for it.

Geared up and ready to roll. Apparently they only fell off a couple of times. They went into the camper, back out and the kids wanted to go again so they did the whole trip all over again. There is not cushion on those little sleds so Victoria has a pretty sore differential as well as a sore back. She said she wants to go again today so she must feel it is worth it. She gleefully told me that it was a bit dangerous, but so much fun. Uh Oh.

Poppy Field: Melted Crayon Painting

This one was much harder for me and it did not turn out like I was expecting. Crayons are funny, and it takes some getting to know which ones are transparent and which are opaque. I need more white so will have to order a box of them. There is only one in each box so it is quite limiting. Anyway, I think I am addicted. Could it be the smell of melting wax? Smile.

Do the Mango!

While Gentry took the kids up to the mountain to enjoy the snow we have been having, I have been doing my own kind of play: painting with crayons. If you have a warming tray and some crayons you too can paint! It is a kick to watch the crayons melt and form shapes and new colors. Kids as young as 2 years old can do this activity -with supervision of course. Just make sure to tape the paper down and tell them to only touch the crayon not the paper. I still love to do it. Try it!

Candy!

I decided to make some no preservative, no artificial color or flavorings candy for my little darlings. They were so sparkly and pretty I had to post them. Some were dipped in sugar, a few I made into lollipops but all of them are real lemon flavored, with annato for color. (Annato is a seed that is used for alot of orange foods such as cheese...it is natural!) They looked so springy for such a weird weather day. We had snow! At the end of March!!

My Favorite Banana Cream Pie!!

Active 35 minutes: Total 6 hours 30 minutes

Makes one 9" pie

Pastry:

1 1/4 cups flour

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1 stick of butter-chilled

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. cider vinegar

3 Tbsp. apricot preserves, melted and strained

Filling:

2 cups milk

2 large egg yolks

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

2 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. light rum

1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin

2 Tbsp. cold water

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

2 Tbsp. superfine sugar

3 ripe bananas, sliced 1/4" thick

2 ounces white chocolate curls

1. Make the pastry: In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter; pulse until the mixture resembles small peas. In a bowl, combine the heavy cram and vinegar, pour over the crumbs and pulse until moistened. On a floured surface, knead the pastry 2-3 times just until it comes together. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to a 12" round about 1/8" thick Fit the round into a 9" glass pie plate, trim the overhang to 1/2" and fold it under; crimp decoratively. Refrigerate until chilled.

3. Preheat the oven to 400. Prick the crust with a fork, line the pastry with foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for about 25 minutes or until set. Remove the foil and beans, press down any air bubbles and bake for about 8 minutes, until the pastry is golden; transfer to a rack and brush the bottom and sides with the preserves. Let cool.

4. Meanwhile, make the filling: In a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of the milk, the egg yolks and vanilla. In a saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt and nutmeg. Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups of milk and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. Add the butter and stir over moderate heat until thick ad smooth, 2-3 minutes. Remove the heat and whisk about half into the egg mixture. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over med. high heat, stirring constantly, until thickened., about 3 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve set over a bowl and add 2 Tbsp. of rum. Press a piece of wax paper on the custard; refrigerate until chilled.

5. In a small glass bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water, let stand until softened. Microwave on high until melted, 15 seconds;cool. In a bowl beat the cream with the superfine sugar, the remaining 1 Tbsp. of rum and the melted gelatin until soft peaks form. Arrange the bananas in overlapping layers on the crust and pour the custard on top. Tap the pie on the counter so the custard settles. Spread the whipped cream on top, and using the back of the spoon, make deep swirls. Refrigerate until firm, 4 hours. Garnish with the chocolate curls and serve.

I know this recipe is a bit more complex than some but if all you do is add the apricot preserves on the crust and the rum in the pudding and whip cream to your favorite recipe I think you will really enjoy the flavor they add!

Some Family History

This will probably only be of interest to our family but here it is anyway. I was talking to my dad on the phone and he got to talking about old times growing up and events that happened so I thought I would try to write them down before I completely forget again. The picture above is of my Grandfather Hugh (Hugo) William Frohbieter. He had one older brother Ben and then after his mom died his dad got remarried to her younger sister and had more children. (I can't remember how many.) He and his oldest brother were always best of friends. When he met my grandmother he was working in Denver on the railroad as a mail sorter. Dad called it "casing" the mail and he would ride the train from Denver to SLC and back casing the mail along the way for each destination. Grandma was working in the hospital in Denver then too. Dad seemed a bit unsure as to when they were married in the sequence of events but anyway soon afterwards Grandma was contacted by "old Doc Jeffrey" in Rawlins. It seems that he had a special patient at the time and needed a nurse who had specialized training for this patient. (Details are missing on what those needs were.) Grandma then moved to Rawlins and Grandpa really enjoyed it there. He liked the small town and the access to hunting and fishing so they moved there and Grandpa got the job of delivering the mail in town there. Dad said he never remembers him complaining about it. He might come in and say, "Well, it sure is cold out there today," or something similiar but not really any real complaints. Think about living in a place where there is a lot of snow, even more wind and walking with the mail to every porch or mailbox in town. They did not have the little cars we see now. He would fill up his mail bag, and it had to have been heavy, deliver that mail and then pick up the next batch at some check station. (Sounded like these were scattered around town.) Dad was in the Army when his dad got sick with Lou Gehrig's disease. Grandpa was at a hospital in Evanston, Indiana and the family all stayed with Grandpa's half sister Elsie and her husband Everett. Dad came in to see him and said that he could not talk or swallow, but his mind was very sharp and Grandpa could write notes to him. He didn't live much beyond that. Dad would have only been in his 20's when Grandpa died.

It was pouring in the basement!

Ah! This was a grand thing to see! A concrete pump truck in our driveway has been a long anticipated event.

On no particular Friday we got our foundation walls poured for our basement remodel and it all went very well. See all those studs? 12" apart I am told and while that turned out to be sufficient it was not too much. We would have had some problems if they had been the typical 16" as it was there were a few worrisome creaks and pops but no blow outs. We have definitely gotten more settled with stronger foundation under us! Wow is that a relief! Everyone kept asking me if I was excited to get it done. Hmm. Apparently there was some misconception about women that needs to be cleared up. New kitchen cabinets are exciting for us females but we will leave excitement about foundations up to you guys. Weird, I know.

"Wind in the Willows"

Gentry has been reading to the kids and we are all enjoying it. He only has one chapter left of Wind in the Willows, so we are looking for suggestions for an uplifting, family friendly story. What do you think we should read next?

Vroom!

A group of boys including Ty, Gentry, Reed, Alan and Ben along with Troy and Brian (from Cheyenne) went go-cart racing. Victoria and Grant also got to have a go at it on a smaller track. The kids even had gas powered go-carts. See all the smiles? It was a blast!
Grant- aka ACE
Victoria aka: GOMW (Get outta my way!)

The big boys gearing up! It was very hard to tell who was who once they got thier helmets and those very cute outfits on. They could have used some shoe advice...they all needed some black boots, tennis shoes are so lame.
Vroom! Vroom!

Is it TY?? They were all going too fast to tell but hopefully they knew who they were.

Snoqulamie Falls, we do live in a beautiful place!

Snoqualamie Falls...roaring and radiantly beautiful.

Grant wore his heelies which were not great on the trail, but were a lot of fun on the boardwalk!
The Snoqualamie River!
The power transfer station and my favorite little pump house at the top of the hill. For being utility buildings they have quite a bit of character.
And there were some folks who thought a dip in the river was appropriate. Anything for a little attention I guess. Gentry was cold with his long johns and leather coat. And I am sorry, flip flops??? on a gravel trail? Where is your mother?

Another funny people watching thing we saw was a girl in her bathing suit (she had to be freezing!) with a friend taking pictures of her, and the target market (Ty) was helpfully giving her some tips- but to no avail. Thankfully the little thing could not hear the comments, but we were all wondering...what are they thinking? All for the my-space page?

A Fun Day with Ty!

We took a little jaunt up to Snoqualamie Falls to show Ty some of our beautiful scenery around here.
It is a picturesque place with the Lodge sitting right there above the falls.
You always hope you won't see someone do something stupid. This picture of the guys talking makes it look like they were watching someone jump. No, but they were discussing the feeling of conoeing down the river, getting a little to close to the falls and backpaddling like mad to not go over. That might get your heart rate up, which can be healthy. Going over, not so healthy.

And more about the woodpecker that is not to be missed...Very educational!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFdeuh6_1-I&feature=related

Mercer Slough

Grant and I (and his classmates) went to a local wetlands to explore nature with a naturalist (naturally). It was interesting and informative. It was one of the best field trips I have been on. I say this because our 1/2 of the class got to spend the time while it was pouring down rain in the lab and we stayed relatively dry.
The funny thing was that while we were in the midst of the city there is this huge park that is part of the slough and looks like it would be nice and quiet. It was not. There was construction noise all around us from some condo project. Another funny thing: I am new to this school as a mom, so my child keeps mentioning rats in his suggestions of what could live here, what other animals feed on etc. One mom made the comment (thinking she was humorous) that Grant sure knows a lot about rats! Rats! my cover has been blown so soon in the game.

Grant enjoyed looking at all the little swamp critters he found under the microscope. There is a lot of life in a table spoon of swamp water as it turns out. Pretty neat.
Here the girls are all excited, but the male part of the group doesn't look like his tummy is enjoying all these creepy crawlies!

Did you know????? that woodpeckers have a very long tongue with a hook at the end? That they bash their heads at break neck speeds against very hard objects all day long? That they do not get brain damage from this activity? (See? It sometimes is beneficial to have a tiny brain!) AND the best part? That long tongue does not go down their throat, but wraps around their brain to protect it like a helmet! Pretty cool, is that not?

Tunes to dance to

Wow! Look at that long long song. It was enough to make us feel like young kids wiggling our tootsies to the beat. And running around, and squealing with the fun of it!

Happy Face!

Original Watercolor Painting, it's for Sale!

This is a painting I did with some great moms who asked me to have a watercolor class for them. I really like the subject matter and (by some accident) felt it turned out pretty well and had it framed. It has been hanging in our spec house and even though I have a great place for it I think I am finally ready to sell it. The frame has a bit of a rustic look and has the little bumps along the inside of the frame somewhat like the French dinnerware you sometimes see. I have another painting waiting to be framed so I want to sell one to make wall space. I have not sold many paintings so do not really know what to charge. It is 21"x 28" with the custom frame. I thought I would offer it here first for friends and family. I would be happy with $500.00 but feel free to make me an offer. It is painted on archival watercolor paper with professional quality paints and placed behind glass coated with UV protection. Thanks for looking!

For the Grandparents

I thought you would be interested to know that Victoria is now on the Jr. Honor Society. She has worked so hard this year to get straight A's, the carrot being a laptop at the end of the school year. So far that is working for her. Congratulations Victoria! Keep it up!

Frustration!

Folks, I have a problem. All of a sudden I cannot change the page elements on this blog. It only shows me the first 6 or so. Willy, WHAT happened?? I can delete to my hearts content but cannot move them around like I like to. Hmmmm. I am not happy with these goings ons. Any suggestions?

Newspaper Article: Jeffrey City High School

This article was sent to me from my sister-in-law as it appeared in the Riverton newspaper lately. It is of my brother Brad and his best friend Justin during shop class from his senior year of high school. I had almost forgotten how Brad had worn his hair long and had sideburns for awhile. Brad was so tall, look how much bigger than Justin he is! A gentle good natured giant. He would let us girls style his hair, admittedly a bit reluctantly, and certainly not publicly, but we had such a great time together. I guess we were full of fashion do's and don'ts at that age ourselves.

I had to laugh at the "Uranium Giant". For some reason I never saw it like that- it was a small town then and a ghost town now. The brand new gymnasium that was built when I was a senior is what the locals call, "the most expensive calving barn around." I guess it is always good to remember that fortunes can be changed in a day. There is no security in this life.

And to commemerate that time in our lives, my page is the school colors, green and white with the longhorn as our mascot. "Green and White, fight, fight, fight....we are the longhorns, longhorns are we, we do what it takes to gain the victory!"

How smart are you? (Me..not so very.)

I have been reading a book by Michael Perry titled "Population: 485" I have enjoyed it very much except I feel so illiterate when I read his work. He uses a lot of big words and so far all the ones I took the time to look up have been legitimate. Smile. They really were in the dictionary!So here is your test....how many definitions do you know without going to the dictionary?
1. Vertiginous
2. Egregious
3. Acculturation
4. Otiose
5. Denoument
6. Aggrandizement
7. Autodidacts


That is just a taste. I felt like egregious seemed sort of familiar but I really couldn't put an exact definition to it. The rest I can say I have never seen. I did feel happy to be comfortable with a few other "big" words in the book like...
1. Cumulonimbus: If you don't think you know this one just look outside at the sky here in the northwest pretty much any winter day and there it is!
2. Gallumphing
3. Stubbornness
4. Refrigerator
5. Conglomeration


I am pretty sure you can find #5 in #4 above.

Dedicated to all the crazy people who like to "take it to the next level."

http://www.komotv.com/news/local/16102862.html