Critters and Claws

More photos from January. Here are some of the animals in our life these days, and some photos from a mother-daughter day at the spa.

This is a view from our upstairs window. We have a family of 4 deer who consider our back yard their home.

Sometimes, making up the bed is not an option. Pixie is too cute to move.

Ninja is not sure what to do about our backyard ‘neighbors’. They’re not scary, but they are close and quite big too.

Pumpkin NEEDS attention.

I showed Honor an old video of “The Surfin Bird – Bird is the Word” song by “The Trashmen”. I don’t remember what made us look it up, but we found the video and it’s hilarious. I grabbed some photos of Honor’s expression as she watched it!

Sunbeams and cats equal the perfect nap zone.

Brian is making up proud at school.

Honor and I went out for some girly fun. We had our hair cut and nails done.

And Pixie looks like she is up to no good.

Craft Room

I have too much craft stuff. I admit it. I like arts and crafts. I like yarn, cross stitch, weaving, embroidery, sewing, carving, painting, drawing, sewing, etc. Some of these hobbies I’m pretty good at, some I am just learning. It doesn’t matter, I like them, and in our new home, I have a place for them!
This is what I did today. I started with this room filled high with boxes… some things had been in long term storage (spinning wheels and sewing desk) and some things (finally) arrived from Kuwait.

And by this evening, I have a craft room!

It still needs a bit of sorting and organizing, the sewing desk needs loading up, the drawers need filling, the bins need to be opened and sorted, the books need a better book shelf, and the little cabinet (bottom photo, left) is where I keep all the school and office supplies too and that needs straightening… but I now have a room for all of my toys and well-lit space to work with them!

Happy Halloween, and Pumpkin Seeds

Hope everyone has had a Happy Halloween! Here are some photos of the kids in their costumes this year.  Both dressed up for school. We were too disorganized to arrange a party or find a trick or treat location, so we decided to celebrate at home this year.  I’ve roasted piles and piles of pumpkin seeds (see below for recipe) and we have a pumpkin pie for dessert later too.

Halloween morning…

 

For the pumpkin seeds, I decided to try something a little different this time. I tend to always overcook them, so last night, I washed the seeds and set them out to soak in plain water over night. I rinsed them this afternoon, and then boiled them in salty water for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400F

I divided our seeds into 3 bowls. I added about 2-3 tbs of olive oil to each bowl and stirred it in. Into the first bowl, I added about 1-2 tbs of salt and stirred it in.

The second batch had ‘sweet’ spices: sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, anise

The 3rd batch was to be ‘spicy bbq’. I added 2-3 tsp of honey bbq sauce, some carne asada spice mix, chili pepper and paprika.

I cooked each for about 10 minutes, stirred them, and then put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remember, I soaked these all night and they were coated in oil, so they had a lot of moisture. If I hadn’t soaked them, 20 minutes at 400F probably would have burned them! The shells came out soft but ‘done’. They don’t crack well… but I just eat them shell and all anyway, so I’m happy with the result. 

Here are the salty ones. They came out perfectly.

The sweet ones were a bit of a sticky mess, but very tasty.

The BBQ burnt just slightly, otherwise they are great too. Mmmm!

Happy Halloween!!

Trimming the Tree - 2013

Our tree has been up for over a week, but with homework and school and cooties and working late, we simply have not had the chance to put any decorations on it yet… until today! We were supposed to go out and join the embassy Christmas party, but Brian decided that it was his turn to get sick and so we stayed in, had cocoa (with peppermint candy canes to stir), and trimmed our pretty tree. The cats were even helpful and stayed out of the way, mostly… there were a few moments of grabby-ness and a number of wild leaps into boxes. There may have even been a few instances of bad kitty language when a sibling interfered with another’s nefarious plot, but we made it!

It was Honor’s turn to put the topper on the tree. She can’t quite reach, but she can climb – and with dad’s help – place it from the couch!

The topper is a little angel that Brad and I picked up in a street market in Germany about 20 years ago… amazing that it has survived so long!

A couple of pictures of the kids and their dad

Honor was feeling silly… Brian was just feeling hot, like 102F fever, but he was smiling anyway. Must have been those yummy spice cookies I made for them that helped.

Photos of me and the kids too.

Honor and Mom Tribute to Bob Ross

Honor and I painted this on Corel Paint Shop Pro, using my Wacom tablet.

We were inspired by watching this happy little video of Bob Ross

And You Shall Have Some Pie

The other day I lucked into finding some of the small Egyptian-style limuns at the produce stand. They are a ping-pong or ball-golf ball sized fruit. Harder, thin skin. Tart and yummy. I made a pie with them once in Cairo and was surprised when it tasted like a good, authentic, Key Lime pie. After a bit research, I discovered that these ‘limuns’ and key limes are the SAME variety! How lucky is that?? (here’s a LINK to my post about that discovery).

This week’s pie was not quite as pretty as the first one I ever made as I singed the meringue a little… the recipe said “500F oven for 3-5 minutes” I left it in for 2 and a half! I think my oven is a little off sometimes! No matter… the pie, the crust, the meringue were all verrrry yummy!

Brad and I LOVED the pie. Our maid did too. The kids were less enthused – but that makes sense for a citrus pie. Lemon and lime pies are not usually kid favorites. Brian said “It’s not my favorite, but it’s ok.” Honor didn’t like it. I wish I’d had the camera at the ready because she made a great face! The most surprising pie fans though, were the cats! Just the smell of it had them going crazy. ALL three of them. They usually have different taste in foods, and they usually have very good manners, even when it comes to one of those favorite foods, but not with this pie. I had to eat my pieces standing up, and/or walking around, as the cats circled my ankles like feline sharks, begging and pleading.

I had the last piece today. The cats were asleep and I thought I could grab the dish, sit down, and perhaps enjoy it casually. Was I ever wrong!

“Puh-leeeese can I have a bite?”

btw… I generally do not eat with a plate tucked up under my chin (we’re not going to talk about my eating out of the pan – it was the last piece darn it) … I do have some basic manners and holding the plate up was a strictly defensive move!

And these cats, really, honestly, have better manners too, and do know to wait for treats… but this pie is terribly difficult to resist. They don’t even act this crazy over catnip.

I should have known not to look away to smile at the camera…

I love these girls anyway, even when their manners are forgotten. (Pumpkin was being a good boy… but he was still impatiently begging by my feet…)

The three little kittens they found their mittens,

And they began to cry,

Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,

Our mittens we have found!

Put on your mittens, you silly kittens,

And you shall have some pie.

Purr-r, purr-r, purr-r,

Oh, let us have some pie.

Yes, AFTER I was done with my pie, I let them (finally!) lick the plate… ON THE FLOOR where kitty treats are supposed to be eaten.

The verdict?

Yum!