New England Mamas

Star-Spangled Manners

If you're planning - or attending - a 4th of July celebration this weekend, might I suggest a few things to consider? You know, to make sure your star-spangled manners are up to par.

For those of you hosting a party:

1) Make sure you have enough food for all your guests. I was invited to a party once and the invitation said it would take place "From 2 PM - ???" When I showed up at 4 PM, there was no food left. Not even a potato chip. The host had given his guests a window of three question marks, and yet had run out of grub in 2 hours? Not acceptable. Similarly, I was invited to another party where the guest wanted to know beforehand how many hot dogs and/or burgers I would be eating. This was not a wedding, it was a back yard BBQ! Bottom line: don't skimp out on your guests.

2) Unless you have managed to gather a crowd of 5,000+, fireworks are not a good idea. You could shoot an eye out, you know. That, and when people want to see a fireworks display, they'll travel to a location specifically for said fireworks display. Having a cheapo display go off from your back yard is just going to piss your neighbors off. This includes their dog(s), who you really don't want to piss off.

3) Even if you're not going to risk life and limb to set fireworks off, you'll probably still be drawing a crowd, what with the free food, drinks and Bocce Ball setup. So be considerate of your neighbors. Make sure your guests' cars aren't blocking their driveways. And turn that music down! Better yet? Invite your neighbors over. Nothing will prevent them from calling the cops like the previously mentioned free food, drinks and Bocce Ball.

For those of you attending a party:

1) Bring something for the host - but not an entourage. Even if someone tells you, "the more, the merrier" this usually means, "Yes, it's fine if you have to bring your mother-in-law, or your son wants to bring a friend." This is not an invitation to pack as many people possible into a clown car and head over. Bring a bouquet of flowers, a bottle of wine... bake a cake! Just don't arrive empty-handed.

2) Don't mock people who get festive. Decking oneself out in red, white and blue may not be your thing, but some people like to rock the patriotic garb... and that's OK. This rule doesn't apply to Christmas sweaters, as those tend to offend throughout the whole season. We're talking one day of red, white and blue here. Deal.

3) When the party is over - the games have stopped, the grill is turned off, the parade is over, the fireworks are done - LEAVE. No host wants to keep entertaining when the overwhelming majority of the party guests have gone home. Even if you can't take a hit that the party's over, it's time to go home, at the very least, help with the clean-up.

But most importantly: have a safe, fun and Happy 4th of July!

My Ultimate: How to Screw With Your Customer; or, When The Right Hand Doesn't Even Know It Has a Left Hand

("My Ultimate" will run most Tuesdays and will feature any topic that hops into my head.  The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the other New England Mamas. . . although they should).

Late last week, we lost our internet connection.  One minute, I was checking my email, the next minute. . .blam!  Nothing.

Husband called our esteemed (cough, cough) digital internet company (rhymes with FlomFlast) who told us we'd have to wait four days before the could get a service person to come to our home. 

Four days.  Four days!  Gee, thanks for the service!

The night before the service call, we received an automated phone confirmation that changed the time of our call from between 2pm-5pm to between 11am-1pm.  We made sure we were home until 1pm, at which time I called the company, only to be told, "Sorry!  The phone call must have been in error!  You need to wait from 2pm-5pm!"

And we waited, and waited.   I called them at 4pm.  Was told that they'd be there by 5pm. 

Called at 5pm; was told that I would hear from someone within 30 minutes with an exact time. 

At 5:30pm, I called again and was told that, not only was no one on their way, the call had been canceled internally at 4:45pm. 

Would I like to reschedule? 

I went ballistic. 

The service person got a little nervous and decided to see if she could figure out the problem on her end.  I handed the phone to my husband because I was ready to start talking in a devil-voice to her. 

Five minutes later, the internet was back.  All she had to do was push a button on her end to reset our internet connection. 

Now, one would think that "Push the Reset Button" would be something that FlomFlast would do before scheduling an expensive, time-consuming service call, but what do I know? 

I'm just the customer. 

Summer Camp Day 1

Today was the first day of summer camp at school.  The girls aren't going full week, but rather day here and there spread over two weeks - mainly so we can get some home improvement projects finished without them underfoot.

This morning started off with a few tears - all from Moe who wanted to go as well.  Last week, she happily joined her sisters for a week (9 am - noon) at Vacation Bible School.  And so she thought, she'd be allowed to attend school camp as well.  Unfortunately, we didn't sign her up. And so all I heard was "I want to go to camp too.  I'm a big girl now".

And then of course there was Einey.  I packed there lunch together in a big cooler (I had to toss one lunch box this morning as it had started to grow some mold between the end of school and now - YUCK - and I couldn't find the other one).  Einey saw what I was doing and then got crestfallen.  "You mean, I have to sit next to HER for lunch?"  Um yeah, sitting next to your sister at a camp where there are like 20 kids is a bad thing?  Deal with it.

All in all, it seems to be going well.

As to what I got accomplished today - not a whole lot of anything.  Moe and I ran some errands this morning, including stopping for Moe and Mommy's Coffee Break and cleaning out the old lizards cage (which a friend wanted to borrow for her frogs).  Then we filled the bird feeders and Moe watered my plants.  I did get some general stuff- laundry ect. finished) but still need to clean out my van.

Tomorrow - I am going to attempt to rescreen and rehang a door off the back door so when we leave the door open all day, bugs don't come in. The Dog ran through it when she was a puppy putting a large hole in it (she's seven now).  When I went to Lowe's to inquire about a replacement door track, they looked at me like I had three heads and informed me their screens were replacements for sliding doors.  Already installed.  With the tracks already installed.  Which we have.  or had.  The track is no longer there - it's old possibly shody construction.  I think I have the track piece in the basement, so I need to figure out how to re attach it to the frame if I want a screen door.  Or ask someone who knows something about it (I don't have much faith in those who work in Big Box Stores and Dole out information). Wish me luck!

Today - to the lake after I pick the girls up from camp.

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Cross Posted at Whirlwind.

Cabbage and Lettuce and Collards, Oh My!

(A quick recap:  this is my second season belonging to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture---basically I pay a farm upfront for a share of their season's harvest).  Every week from now until October, I'll drive to my farm's pick-up spot and get my share of whatever is in season.  When I remember, I'll take a photo of the week's bounty, tell you what I got and what I did with it.  Hope you enjoy this ongoing project).

Week Four

We've had a great start to this season, although from what I hear, this year started particularly robust.  I remember last year started a little slower---we had plenty of vegetables at pickup but it wasn't the overflowing bounty that hit us at Week One this year.  The rain, temperatures, soil and even pest control all came together in a way that was very good for us share members. 

This concept of 'feast or famine' is something I never thought much about when I did all my shopping at the supermarket.  There is always enough lettuce on the refrigerated shelves, even in January (except for when an E. coli scare removes spinach or tomatoes from the store). 

This hit me today when I stopped at our local Farmer's Market to buy a pint of strawberries (yes, I actually wanted some more strawberries after last week's pick).  Surprisingly, there was not a strawberry anywhere.  Puzzled, I asked the farmer where her strawberries were.  She told me that they lost the entire crop this year.  "Hail" was her one-word explanation.  My oldest stood quietly next to me and then said, "Like Little House on the Prairie", reminding me of  when hail destroyed their beautiful wheat crops.   One storm did them in, and one storm ruined one farmer's strawberry season.  It's a stark example of how hard farming can be and how much we take for granted when we stand before those racks of berries on the store shelves.

Getting back to the issue at hand, we had another huge pickup.  (we are having some major computer issues here at the Casa di Odd, so if you see a photo below, hooray!  If there is no photo, there will be one uploaded as soon as possible).

Pictured are (clockwise from top left):  Garlic Scapes, 3 Heads of Lettuce, 2 European Cabbages, Beets, Collard Greens, Zucchini, Snap Peas, Bok Choy, Chinese Cabbage

So far this week, there has been Homemade Coleslaw, Napa Cabbage Salad, Salmon Bulgogi and Garlic Stir-Fried Snap Peas.  There has also been a Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake that the kids love, even with the teeny bits of green that peak out from the inside of the cake.  "It's magic fairy dust", I told them, lying through my teeth.

Here are any recipes that didn't have a link:

Creamy Coleslaw (Everyday Food, Issue 44)

1/2 cup light mayo

2 TBS cider vinegar

2 tsp sugar

coarse salt & ground pepper

1/2 head green cabbage, cut lengthwise into thirds and thinly sliced crosswise

2 medium carrots, sliced with a vegetable peeler, then cut into shorter strips

2 medium scallions, minced (I left these out)

Combine mayo, vinegar and sugar, then season with salt & pepper.  Add cabbage, carrots and scallions (if using).  Let stand 15 minutes before serving, or cover and refrigerate up to one day.

Garlic Stir-Fried Snap Peas (From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook)

3 cups sugar snap peas

1 TBS oil (any mild one)

2 large garlic cloves, minced (I used some of the scapes I had)

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

cooked rice (optional)

Heat oil in skillet.  Stir in garlic, then add peas.  Cook and stir for 2-4 minutes on medium heat.  Remove and sprinkle on lemon juice, salt & pepper.  Serve over rice if desired.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake (From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook)

3/4 cup oil (I used Canola)

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

1/2 cup sour milk or buttermilk (I used 1/2 soy milk with 1 TBS white vinegar)

3 TBS cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp each cinnamon and cloves (ground)

2 1/2 cups flour

small bag of chocolate chips

Heat over to 350.  Grease a 9x13" pan.  Mix all ingredients, dump in pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes. 

I need to dig up some good Collard Greens recipes asap.  Have any you'd like to share? 

Kids, Robots, and Peter Gabriel in Mind

Took the Kidlet to see WALL-E last night. It received an enthusiastic four thumbs up from the two of us. The trailers didn't give us much to go on except that it's a movie about a cute anthropomorhised robot who fall is love. It's actually a very clever meditation on our consumer culture, gluttony, and stewardship that manages to move its audience without being preachy. One of my favorite moments actually took place during the closing credits when Peter Gabriel's contribution to the soundtrack unwound it's lush, swoon-y goodness. (this is an unauthorized video, sorry I could find the track itself to embed- lyrics are in the description box- song is available on itunes)


On the off chance that the showing we wanted to see was sold out, I decided to check my favorite movie site to see the ratings on some other films of interest. Back when Kiddo was an infant, a friend of mine sent me two websites designed for parents who want to research movies before screening them for their kids. Now as much as we love these people, we know that they are staunch Calvinists so I usually take a deep breath before going to sites they recommend. Our religious (and most social views) couldn't be more different, but we all adore one another on a thousand levels that have nothing to do with our personal beliefs about gay marriage.

The first of the two sites I found very... preachy. Imagine Mandy Moore from Saved! writing movie reviews. SO not for us. However, the second site Kids in Mind was a different story. It lists in exacting and excruciating detail every possibly questionable scenario played out on screen and leaves it to the parents to decide what they think. For example, Kiddo loves Ann Hathaway- she thought her performance in Brokeback Mountain was vapid, but adored Princess Diaries- so I was thinking of taking her to see Get Smart. After looking at the details (and you have to be content with spoiler alerts on this site) I decided it wasn't anything I wanted her to see; not the nudity and violence, necessarily, but because of the name calling, specifically "retard and whore." (and no I didn't really let my kid watch Brokeback Mountain. Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

After I checked out Wall-E, I looked at the review of Sex and the City. Heh.

After a long hiatus, I'm back to blogging at my new site: www.intothesilentwater.blogspot.com and www.thankastranger.blogspot.com  Come on over!

When the rain stops in for a few days

We have had a series of amazingly fun thunderstorms. Fun? Oh yes, we are big fans of the thunderstorm in my family. Especially when it's steaming hot outside and all of a sudden a front moves in, the sky starts to rumble (my son used to think it was God farting) and the lighting puts on a fabulous show. As soon as we hear the first of the thunder, we're likely to hightail it onto our front porch, which is screened in and overlooks the hill we live on right down to the street.

Across the big expanse of lawn we can see the first droplets hit the treetops, and then we count to see if we can guess exactly when the downpour will begin. Once it does, we move as close to the steps as we can, so we can stand right under the waterfall of rain from the porch roof without getting wet. The water falls in sheets there because our gutters, well they kinda suck. But that's OK because we LIKE the way the water falls.

As the rain pours down, the ground can't absorb the amount of water and puddles start to occur. First one right in front of the steps, and then as the rain continues, a river begins to take shape flowing down our driveway. We're on a big hill with a long drive that curves in the middle, and watching the river accumulate is like watching the Mississippi overflow it's banks in miniature. It's a wonderful lesson in erosion, too. The sides of the driveway start to crumble and little bits of the dirt wash away with each storm.

The lightening shows we get here are wonderful. The crack and boom of each forked bit of electricity makes the afternoon sky, all filled with gray clouds and dark ominous rain clouds light up like a county fairgrounds. When the lightening  first starts to light up the sky, we count the seconds until we hear the rumble of the thunder. This tells us how far away the storm is. As it gets closer we all get excited. The kids run from the back porch to the front porch to see which side of the house will get the first drops. Sometimes they'll stick their hands out from underneath the porch roof just to get wet.

If it's hot enough, I'll take my big golf umbrella and just walk out into the storm on our front lawn. It's a grand way to cool off if the storm is not actually overhead. I like to walk in the puddles barefoot and feel like I"ma little kid again.

The rain comes and goes all summer. Right now we've had a storm every day, and soon it will be hot and dry again. I'll miss the rain, but it will return for another viewing very soon. That's one of the great joys of living in New England.

Good Old-fashioned Play

Something strange has been happening in my neighborhood since school let out last week, and it's got many eyebrows raised.

You see, a curiously large gaggle of kids of varying ages has come together to play - in a good, old-fashioned, spontaneous and creative, unstructured sort of way.

From dawn till dusk, children circle the block en masse on bikes and scooters. They assemble teams and play raucous games of kickball and wiffle ball. They jump on pogo sticks and shoot hoops. They collect insects  and study their squirms, then run off in bathing suits to the nearest slip-n-slide or sprinkler.

Sometimes they just linger, hanging on branches of the nearest tree or lying belly-down on the grass. 

Wanna have a lemonade stand? Hey - let's have a sleep over tonight!  Sure, I'll play badminton with you.  How high can you climb?

Of course, every day sees its fair share of drama. Knees get scraped and egos bruised, a natural consequence of group dynamics at any age.

Secrets aren't nice.  No, I don't want to.  Hey - gimme back my bike!  I 'm going home.

By dinnertime, parents round up their offspring for a quick bite before relinquishing them once again to the intoxicating draw of friends.  The final hours of daylight echo with shrieks of laughter and shouts of, "Hey!  Wait up!" 

Reluctantly, as darkness falls, children trudge home. Just 10 more minutes? Please can we just finish this game? But I don't want to go home.  

"You can play again tomorrow," the parents say.

And the next day...and the day after that, too.

Like it should be.

Dandelion Break

Brought to you by the new caretaker/owner of a little hill with dandelions and clover (house included). Before we head up to our new adventure in Maine next month, we will be having our much-needed and deserved dandelion break over in the Netherlands for the next two weeks.

Have a wonderful summer all. The next post may well be live from the Shiretown.
Til then,
TTFN
Ta Ta For Now.

The Webster Triathlon Course

What a week!  I realize that I'm posting this a little later today than I normally do.  It's been a crazy week starting with a triathlon I did on Sunday.  I thought I would write about it because it's the same course being used for the Danskin Women's Triathlon next month in Webster MA or so I've been told.  Definitely check it out on-line for yourself though!  It's a pretty big deal out here in New England, and I know a couple of New England Mamas who plan on being in the race.  I won't name names just in case you've changed your mind, though! 

Honestly, I had been pretty worried about this course.  I take that back.  I had been specifically worried about one part of the course:  the biking.  It seems like people who didn't even know what sports are in a triathlon knew one thing about the Webster triathlon:  the hill in the biking.  I kept hearing about the dread hill.  It sounded like cycling up this hill should be a sport of its own.  I was so nervous about this hill that my hands were shaking the night before the triathlon when I was pumping my tires and I let out all of my pride and self-confidence the air in my front tire.  There  may be some rumors that I then freaked out because I thought I had a flat.  I have no idea what that was all about, and since my husband was out of town for most of this week, he is also not in a position to confirm the rumor even if it were true.

Back to this hill, I am breaking from the pack, as it were, and writing this post to tell you not to worry about it.  Really, it was not that bad. I was picturing something like Mt. Everest so honestly I didn't even know I had gone over it.  When I looked back (figuratively) I know which hill it must have been, but at the time I didn't think it was The hill.   Good luck and have a great time.  It really is a fun course and I loved the swimming part. 

My Ultimate: Food, Glorious Food

("My Ultimate" will run most Tuesdays and will feature any topic that hops into my head.  The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the other New England Mamas. . . although they should).

I've been making lists lately.  This one is all about food that is made right here in New England.  Anything I've marked with an asterisk (*), I can buy in my local supermarket.  Have any to add?

Echo Farms Pudding* (NH):  Never would I have thought that Tapioca Pudding could make me speechless, but this one does it.

Apsara's Nim Chow (RI):  Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls that I've enjoyed for more than 15 years.   Love going on a Saturday night and seeing the dressed-up adults rubbing elbows with the punk kids.

Wicked Whoopies (ME):  Just had these for my sister's birthday party and, oh my, the Raspberry  & Creme pies are the best.

Red Rose Pizza (MA):  I've already written of this pizza's superpowers.   But, the best part?  I get to have it later this week!  Woo Hoo!

Del's Frozen Lemonade (RI):   Icy lemon with hunks of chewy, frozen rind in it.  Ooo la la!

Ben & Jerry's Lemon Meringue ice cream (VT):  Tried this at the Scoop Shop in Stowe, but (sob) have not been able to find it down here.

Bliss Dairy Raspberry Chunky Fudge (MA):  My latest and greatest crush. 

Stonyfield Farm's Whole Milk Vanilla Yogurt* (NH):  The tippity top of this is heaven in creme form.

Wasiks Nor'easter Pepper Jelly (MA):  Give me a wedge of cheese, some crackers and their Pepper Jelly and leave me alone.

Coffee Exchange (RI):  Before Dunkin Donut's Coolatta, before Starbucks' Frapuccino, I fell in love with the Granitas at this little coffee shop.  Still order my beans from them now.

And, last but not least, we get most of my vegetables through this CSA, we pick fruit in season here and even hope to get our meat locally.  I should just start driving in to meet the fishermen off the docks since the best piece of fish I've ever had was from my husband who caught a haddock on a guys-only fishing trip.