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November 29, 2005

Decorating the Tree

(Or: Try to Keep a 2 1/2 Year-Old from Breaking Delicate Ornaments)

The Lights

Hanging the lights on the house is a scary proposition for me. Each year I face my fear of heights by climbing on a ladder that doesn't quite reach the roof. Then I climb on the roof. I make my wifely unit stand outside in case I fall to my death. I guess I find comfort in knowing she will be there as I fly toward the ground.

(Could she, would she break my fall?)

Sophia Check It Out

We spent most of the weekend pulling boxes out of the attic and decorating the house. The girls had a wild time getting into stuff that had been out of site for such a long time. Sophia loves all sorts of head gear. Between the antlers, elf hat, and Santa hat she had something on almost the entire weekend. (She even slept in a Santa hat one night.)

Reindeer Francesca

Sunday night we had everything out, the lights on the house, and it was time to decorate the tree. Francesca loved pulling ornaments out of the box. Fortunately she wasn't that keen on actually hanging them, because she doesn't really get the fact that the hook has to actually hook onto something. But she didn't mind Karen or I taking the glass bauble from her and finding a spot for it.

The Decorating is Over

Posted by Rich at 8:34 PM | Comments (2)

November 28, 2005

Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving was filled with food and laughter. So here's a load of pictures.

We stuffed the turkey and got it in the oven by 7am. At 10am guests arrived. This was the first year in quite some time that we didn't have any family in town. We started with a ricotta tart from Tyler Florence's book Real Kitchen. The tart was fantastic and served on a tomato salad with orange zest, basil, and olives. (Of course we also had some mimosas)

Ricotta Tart

Kids' Table

After the tart, we sat on the back porch and Steve and I enjoyed some cigars. It was a fine brisk morning and we all had a good an hour or so of downtime before the cooking continued.

Karen is an apple pie master. She showed the kids how it is done.

Karen Makes the Apple Pie

The Final Result

After a mad dash in the kitchen getting all of the sides done, the feast was finally ready. The turkey turned out great this year (as did everything else). Jeremy brought some curried cauliflower that was outstanding.

The Feast

Afterwards, I watched a disappointing Cowboys loss, the ladies took the kids for a walk, and then we all had pie and coffee. Natalie had brought a pumpkin pie with a praline crust (Yum).

After pie it was time for cards (Spades) until the kids all started having meltdowns. A great relaxing day!

Post Feast Porch Swing Fun

Chalkfest!

Posted by Rich at 8:11 PM | Comments (0)

November 22, 2005

Sabrina

Sabrina in Younger Days

On Friday Karen and I had to take Sabrina to the vet to put her to sleep. Like most big dogs, her back had given out. While the front end was fine, the back end wasn't working the way it should. It was a tough decision. When is it time?

In May she had her first bad set of days. We thought it might happen then, but she bounced back and lasted longer than anyone thought she would. While there wasn't any one thing that tipped the scales, she had a lousy last 4-5 weeks. She just wasn’t having any fun.

Sabrina was a fantastic dog. She was gentle and loving-- always looking for a belly rub. Karen and I had her for almost 13 years. While the birth of our girls was a big change for an older dog that had been treated like an only child, she managed to adjust quickly.

The trip to the vet was much harder than I thought it would be. Fortunately we have a wonderful vet, who has treated Sabrina her whole life. The girls have taken it pretty well. Of course Francesca still asks, "Where's Sabrina? Is she at the doctor?" Francesca was very attached to that huge fur ball. She would bend down nose-to-nose with the dog and laugh or scream. Sabrina would look to one of the adults with a possible plea for help.

Sabrina was a good dog, and we're going to miss her.

Posted by Rich at 8:21 AM | Comments (1)

November 20, 2005

Dallas Zoo - Part 2

Giraffe Junior High

I have had so few enjoyable trips to the zoo because many of the animals make me a bit sad. Many times the cages their kept in are too small and don’t look a thing like the environment that they are used to. When I saw Giraffe Junior High, I got that sick feeling in my stomach. The amazing thing is that the two giraffes at the Dallas Zoo are the oldest in captivity.

Mirror Woman

The other thing that bothers me at the zoo is the way the people visiting it act. We ran into one of the more glaring examples of poor patron behavior when we saw the mirror lady. I don’t know her real name, but I know her husband’s. “Artie, get over here!” was constantly screamed by this obnoxious woman. If only she could have seen his eyes roll on one of those occasions. I imagine her giving him an even bigger earful.

We first ran into mirror woman and her brood of grandkids at the chimp exhibit. Unlike Giraffe Junior High, the chimp exhibit follows a more modern zoo trend—larger, more realistic habitats. This woman shows up and states, “Let’s see if I can get him to talk to me.” She pulled out a mirror and started shining it into this poor creature’s eyes. That went on for a couple of minutes with little reaction.

“Ever since that article came out, everyone’s been doing this, so it doesn’t work as much anymore.” That was news to me as I had never seen it before. Maybe there is a way to do this mirror flashing briefly that wouldn’t seem so cruel. “I sure got one of them bamboons…bam…baboons to talk.”

Elephant Shower

Later in the day I saw two other things that I had never seen before at a zoo. The first was an elephant that was playing and happy. The zoo keeper was giving the elephant a spray with the hose. While this happened the elephant got into the pond and splashed around, playing with and old tire.

Mmmm....Lunch

We also got to see a tiger as close as I have seen one. They had a large, nice habitat, but this tiger enjoyed sitting on a rock two feet from the glass and string at the people. I’m sure he was imagining how tasty each visitor might be. The woman in charge of the tigers was there with someone else from the zoo, but spent several minutes answering all of our tiger questions. That was a real treat.

Posted by Rich at 11:41 AM | Comments (0)

November 17, 2005

Dallas Zoo - Part 1

Carousel

We went to the Dallas Zoo Sunday and I had one of the best times I've had at a zoo as an adult. We started with the carousel. The Dallas zoo has a really nice one. Francesca didn't want to ride an animal so I decided we could sit somewhere static...a bird's nest. Little did I know, but this nest which was locked into place when the ride was stopped, it spun once things got underway. There was little I could do to stop the spinning and so the Merry-go-round became the Screaming-scary-go-round. During the screaming Karen, Grandma, and Sophia had a blast.

Grandpa and Francesca

The Dallas Zoo has a monorail that takes you through the Wild's of Africa exhibit. The cars move overhead, through parts of the zoo that you can't get to on foot. The animals seem more relaxed, (which is probably due to the lack of people screaming at them) and the tour guide does a great job explaining the different habitats of Africa and the animals that live there to her vastly different audience.

Sophia Having Fun

We had a bee filled lunch (those things love flavored ice) which made me nervous after hearing the details of Jeremy's trip to a medical facility due to some hornet stings.

Posted by Rich at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)

November 16, 2005

Local

Grandma and Grandpa came to town for a visit this weekend. After a busy Friday with Karen and the girls, Saturday was spent at a garage sale (for me) and a swim party (for everyone else). The swim party was a birthday party for a friend of Francesca's. I wasn't there, or I'm sure there would be an entire entry on the swim nazi lifeguard who scared a bunch of 3 year olds from even wanting to get in the water. Alas, I got a yard pass and worked on the bathroom.

Saturday night we went to a great little restaurant in Deep Ellum called Local. It is located in the Boyd Hotel, built in 1908. The mix of exposed brick, low light, and clean modern tables and decor set the mood. The menu is divided into short and long plates, which you might guess is everything else and entrees.

Champagne

The wine list is nicely done. We started with some Perrier Jouet. This was a first for everyone at the table and a nice surprise. It was crisp with just the right amount of sweet-- not too dry like some brut's. With the meal we had a bottle of Flowers Perennial, a red blend that shines in any year. They also have a signature cocktail made with grapefruit rosemary sorbet.

Janet Ponders

The food at Local is unique and delicious. They have a way of taking a generally mundane dish like pork chops and turning out something flavorful. The lobster bisque was spectacular, and while the lamb and steak were both a bit overcooked for Dr. Bruce and I, the taste made up for it.

Sorry about the lack of photos. The light sucked and I didn’t want to shed my new found urban cool by using a flash.

Posted by Rich at 8:17 PM | Comments (0)

November 8, 2005

Nana's Visit

Nana and Francesca

Mom's visit was a great one. (Outside of Sophia's short episode of vomiting flu...) After our ravioli dinner Friday night, she played with the girls and helped Karen re-arrange furniture, pictures, books, and miscellaneous other. While they worked on sprucing up the house, I continued work on the Master Bath. (It should be done this weekend.)

Sophia colored lots of pictures for Nana and Francesca gave her plenty of big bear hugs.

The Re-decorating Agents

Posted by Rich at 1:43 PM | Comments (0)

Mushroom and Veal Ravioli

My mom came into town on Friday. After I picked her up from the airport, we went shopping and headed to the house to cook. I decided to make ravioli. I knew it would take some time, but ultimately be worth the effort. Plus it was cool to cook and catch with Mom.

Roll

Stuff

The afternoon reminded me of being a kid of about five or six. My great-grandmother had come to visit my grandparents and she spent the entire time in the kitchen. That woman lived to cook. She would get up at around 5:30am and start breakfast. When she was done with breakfast she would relax in the kitchen for a couple of hours and then make lunch. Once lunch was over, she would immediately start on dinner.

She would cook all afternoon. The rules were simple: You could watch, talk, listen, and even occasionally taste, but you could not help. She didn't want anyone doing what she considered to be her job, not even my grandmother. I really learned to respect what went on in a kitchen on her visit. Gram-Gram was proud of her skills and the meals were all the proof a kid like me needed.

So in the kitchen 30 years later, making ravioli, while my mom watched and asked questions, gave me a strange sense of nostalgia.

Dry

The filling made of ground veal, shitake and cremini mushrooms, eggs, and ricotta, is amazingly rich and tasty. I did a good job sealing and drying them, because not one broke in the pot. I chose to sauce them in a brown butte sage sauce. The result was silky and the sage compliments the veal and mushrooms well.

Eat

Posted by Rich at 1:40 PM | Comments (5)

November 4, 2005

Trick or Treat

The Group

Halloween Night. We took the kids to Steve and Natalie's place. We have been taking Sophia and Barrett trick-or-treating together since their first Halloween. We started with a small meal for the kids and then hit the road on a crisp and windy night. The big girls had lots of energy this year and did a great job of saying "thank you" at each house.

Francesca rode in the double stroller between houses. We referred to it as her coach. She would run back from a front door and hop in. Lying back with her candy filled pumpkin; she relaxed as I pushed her down the sidewalk.

Of course what would Halloween be without obnoxious teens. I can safely say that if you are old enough to have your own cell phone (and carry on a conversation between houses), you are too old to go trick-or-treating.

On the Candy Trail

We had left a bowl of candy on the porch, and when we got back found it cleaned out (probably by one group of kids). The kids watched a movie while we sat outside, handing out candy and eating some fantastic chicken and dumplings that Natalie had made. Nothing is better on a cold fall night!

Post Candy Shock Syndrome

Posted by Rich at 10:26 AM | Comments (0)

November 2, 2005

Fall Carnival

Snow White and Jasmine

The girls both decided to be princesses this year. This wasn't a surprise. Most of what they watch is on DVD. The discs they really like are the Disney feature length animations. I don't blame them. Those films are well made with engaging stories and songs. (Also, I'm still not sick to death of them, which is more than I can say for something like Dora or Angelina.)

Mr. David Does His Thing

Sunday was the Fall Carnival at the girls’ daycare. The event is a fundraiser and a fun time for the kids. This was the first year that Karen and I didn't have to function as patrolmen. Francesca is finally old enough to roam around which makes for a much better time for the parents.

Mr. David, a local kids' entertainer, put on a great little show. He really knows how to work a room of 2-5 year olds with silly songs and puppets.

Francesca Loves Dancing

There was a lot to do at the carnival. There was a disco room, where Francesca started the first-ever daycare mosh-pit. She was insane for a while there. (Could it be the cupcake she had a few minutes earlier?) There were plenty of crafty things to make. The girls decorated picture frames, little pumpkins, bags for trick-or-treating, and cookies.

Crafts!

Posted by Rich at 1:16 PM | Comments (0)