the Giant cookie

I call it a fresh fruit tart. Buddy Boy called it a giant cookie. I tried to duplicate a tart I had last summer. It turned out OK, but there are a few things I would do differently. Here is what I did.

The first thing was the crust. I wanted something crisp, flakey, and sweet. I tried a shortbread cookie recipe, just flour, sugar, and butter. yum. It was pretty good, but didn't have the flakiness I was looking for. Next time I'll try something a little more like a pastry crust recipe except still sweet and buttery. It also needs to be a little thinner so it is more like a crust and less like a giant cookie.

The next step was the chocolate. It is good for its chocolaty goodness but it also works as a moisture barrier to keep the crust crisp. I melted chocolate chips and spread them around. It didn't set up the way I thought it would. It was a little soft and was actually a little bit too sweet. Next time dark chocolate or semi-sweet chips.

After the chocolate came the custard. I went with an easy option and used an instant custard. It wasn't very flavorful so I added vanilla. I wish I had some whipped cream to add as well. This layer was OK, but really needed the cream.

After that came the berries. Yummy yummy. It just doesn't get much better than fresh sweet berries.

I'll definitely try this again and see if I can improve on the fruity chocolaty goodness.

Its a fauxhawk

The past six months have flown by. Here she is fauxhawk and all.

And they call it finger paint

Well, it started out on the fingers at least. He had a lot of fun and it is all washable. You can see why we do art projects outside.

What a difference a week makes

30 degrees. Weather should not be a major preoccupation in the modern era, but living in a little house with little insulation, a poor heating system, and no air conditioning changes that a bit. I check the weather before getting dressed in the morning and before planning the days activities and outings. Last week the high temps were hovering around 100 degrees. Today it didn't reach 70. I enjoy warm summer days, but that is a little much. It isn't so much the 100+ outside as it is the 85-90 inside that gets to me.

Leaping lizards

This morning I went out to pick up the patio umbrella that had blown over. As I moved it a lizard scuried out from underneath. How cute, a little lizard, I thought. It wasn't moving very fast since it was still a little chilly. I like having the little bug eaters around. I just don't ever want one to find its way into the house. I moved the umbrella closer to the house and started to put it up when a second lizard fell from the top. It startled me a little and I was certainly glad it hadn't dropped on me. When I looked up I saw the shadow of a third lizard sitting on top of the umbrella. I was pretty glad that it was on the top and not the under side. I don't mind the little lizards in the yard, but I don't want one scurrying down my back. Then I saw the fourth lizard on the underside of the now partially raised umbrella. This one gave me the shivers and I jumped back a bit. Buddy boy thought it was fascinating and pulled a chair over and climbed up to get a closer look. After a few minutes in the sun the one on top ran to the edge and jumped off. The one on the underside was probably to cold to move much so I tried to help it out by shaking it off. It stuck. I tried some more and finally knocked it down. It fell to the table and after a minute in the sun was able to move when I dumped it off the table. I'll have to watch in the mornings outside and beware of the sluggish lizards.

It's Raining

Buddy boy loves to make it "rain". He waters the flowers and also waters himself in the process. He has fun, but we have to change clothes afterward.

Boats and beach

Buddy boy just can't stop talking about our trip to the beach. He climbed on rocks and watched the boats at the yacht harbor. We weren't there very long, but it was a lot of fun. There was a volleyball tournament at the beach that Buddy boy found interesting. So interesting that I had to pull him out of it a couple times. What a nice evening. We like going to the beach in the evening after the crowds have gone and you can park reasonably close to where you want to be.

Lots of fun.

Toe muncher...

She found her toes a little while back and tasty things she thinks they are too.

Arrgh matey

We had a fun little pirate birthday party for Buddy boy. His favorite books lately are How I Became a Pirate and Pirates Don't Change Diapers. He can quote the first page and a half of Pirates Don't Change Diapers. It is pretty funny. Everything is all about pirates and treasure chests (when it isn't dinosaur bones) so a treasure chest cake was perfect for the occasion. No pirate party is complete without digging for treasure so we made a map and hid little chests full of chocolate treasure in the garden. I think they likes the chocolate better than if it had been the real thing.

A Snoofy?

A snoofy, what's a snoofy? Buddy boy kept saying, "Snoofy, a snoofy". I couldn't figure it out. There didn't seem to be any particular pattern to it except it was usually when he wanted to say something to me and he often pointed up while saying it. I didn't know if it was a noun, a verb or what. Well, I finally figured it out. A snuffie is Excuse me. What a polite little boy.