Tramp

Spring is here. In more ways than one.

Two weeks of soccer

Last week.

Spent half the time in the car staying dry.



And the other half on the field trying to stay warm.



This week.

Dry; great soccer weather.



Good moves.

Dark day at my house

Trevor has joined the Civil Air Patrol, and I'm excited to post pictures of him in his uniforms. We picked up a set of BDUs and dress blues last night from a leader's house.

The negative side of this is that he must maintain the uniforms. This means ironing.

While I have an iron, I joyfully ditched my ironing board four years ago when we moved here. It was so incredibly liberating, freeing--quite similar, I am sure, to the way the bra burners felt in the 1960s.

Since I only iron twice a year, I can live without a board. It is a true story that Trevor once asked me, "What is the difference between ironing and sewing?" Great question, really, when one considers that I only hem when absolutely necessary (once in the last 14 years), and I used the iron-on tape. And it's easy for me to drop a towel on the counter and iron there.

But it's not easy for a 12 year old to iron with a towel and counter when he has to iron a dress shirt and slacks. Even if he's not sewing.

So the day I thought would never happen has. My doorstep has again been darkened, a permanent shadow cast upon my basement floor.



(That's not the real ironing board. I bought it yesterday, but it was a piece of garbage, so we returned it and spent a bit more money for one that would at least balance on all four of its legs at the same time. It was worth it; I expect to have this one until I die.)

Goats

Earlier this week, friends invited us to join them at another friends' house to see new baby goats. It's such a pleasure to live "on the way" to somewhere else, instead of totally out in the middle of nowhere!

The babies were three days old. They were bigger than I expected; I was thinking they would be like puppies, small, still stumbling around. These two were quite active and curious. And stumbling a little, truth be told.


And cuddly.


And sleepy.


The boys donned mud boots and took off for the creek. I was worried it would make Trevor miss the creek at our old house. A creek is a hundred times more fun when there are other kids to enjoy it with.


Turns out, they missed half the fun. Another goat was clearly in labor, and all of a sudden, she decided IT WAS TIME!! I know you will appreciate that I am not posting my oh-so-graphic pictures of a goat being born. Trust me on this.


I ran up to the house to let their older son know to come NOW, but by the time we got back to the barn, the second baby had already arrived.


We hung out with the momma goat for quite a while to watch her figure out the baby thing, before returning to the house and enjoying each other's company. The boys returned, with their pants soaked, changed into shorts, played video games, ping pong, and snacked. It was a quite lovely afternoon. I was overwhelmed once again with the blessings of homeschooling (no thoughts I can logically seem to pull together for this post though).

It was a sweet start to our week.

Morning

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,


Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.

Ps. 139:9-10

$$

I received a telephone call a few weeks ago from a young man purporting to be from Discover (card), who announced that we had won a $25 gift card. He claimed it was part of a giant Discover giveaway promotion.

Cynic that I am, I kept waiting to be asked for personal information. Any response of mine was a basic, monotone, "Oh really." The enthusiastic caller even asked, "Aren't you excited?"

Oh yeah.

After hanging up, I looked at the Discover website, and the giveaway seemed to be authentic. But I wasn't in a rush to spend that $25 yet.

It came a week later in the mail.



So it was a nice little win. I'm guessing I was the most indifferent and apathetic winner that the poor guy talked to that day though. It must be lousy to be giving money away and still not have people want to talk to you on the phone.

Spring storms

Who covers



the heavens with clouds,



Who prepares



rain for the earth,



Who makes grass



to grow on the mountains.


Psalm 147:8

Book Reviews

Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke

Another mindless installment in the ridiculous life of cookie queen Hannah Swensen. Great fluff that requires no thinking on my part.

Firehouse by David Halberstam

The 40/35 firehouse in NYC sent 13 men in response to the World Trade Center terrorist attack on 9/11. This is a very topical story about the firehouse, about as much as I could handle. I prefer to avoid much in-depth reading of something so awful and overwhelming. Because it was such an overview though, it didn't make for great storytelling or paint a very vivid picture of the firemen.

The 5 Minute Face: The Quick & Easy Makeup Guide for Every Woman by Carmindy

Boring, nothing new. In fact, there were plenty of old things that I didn't think people did anymore, so there.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond

I guess I haven't read this book before. I'd looked at the amazon reviews, many of which panned the book for being a duplicate of what can already be found online, or for the nothing-special recipes. Although I'm quite familiar with PW's blog, I enjoyed reading through this recipe book and fondly "re-living"/remembering her experiences shared in the past. While there were a few new recipe additions, I also was reminded of other recipes I'd wanted to make in the past. It's a nice book to check out from the library.

The Victory Club by Robin Lee Hatcher

Nice light reading that was all but forgotten two weeks later.

Gingerbread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

These are such mindless, predictable books, yet apparently I can't stop reading them. This is a mini-holiday story which follows the exact same formula as the other Hannah Swensen stories: New character is introduced, Hannah finds a dead body, she bakes cookies and shares recipes while illegally interfering in a police investigation, solves the crime unexpectedly, is threatened by the murderer, and saved at the last minute. The end.

The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother's Hidden Life by Jasmin Darznik

This is the fascinating true story of the author's mother, Lili's, life as a young girl in Iran. Married at 13, she abandoned her first child and divorced at 14, and continued to pursue her education against all odds. The book reads like a novel and provides historical insight into the modernization of Iran and subsequent Revolution, along with detailed cultural elements . An excellent read, highly recommended. As this is easily the best book I've read in some time, I'm passing the book on to Holly.

Ice cream . . .

in a bun. It's all the rage at my house.



Holly and Trevor say it's very popular in other countries. They like ice cream in a bun even better with caramel sauce. I like that they are using up otherwise lonely buns.

Soccer!

First game of the season last night. After two years of driving waaaaaaay up here for spring soccer games, I was giddy at the thought of being just two minutes away.

Holly plays mid-fielder, and she does a great job getting right in there. She's a super-speedy runner with a lot of stamina, and she is all over, up and down the field.

Look at my baby against these big guys!

I told it was better for her to play well but have the team lose, than to have the team win but for her to play badly. She played very well.


Trevor's team was unexpectedly missing their goalie. Instead of using the back up goalie, the coach asked for a volunteer, and Trevor stepped up. It was a bold move, as he's had no experience there. He did a great job, stopping the ball both times it came through the posts, and his team won.



I was thankful that we had early games, as the later games were rained out.

It's here, it's here, it's here!!

Spring is here!!




Even if these pictures were taken two weeks ago . . .



and we have yet to catch another glimpse.



But I know it's coming!

I love ordering online

I ordered makeup last week. The one item cost $7, but if I spent $15, then I would get a bunch of free stuff. So I ordered two more items, bringing my total to $20. If I spent $25, I got free shipping, so I chose one more item so my order totaled $26.

Paid for: body brush, nail polish, lipstick, eyeshadow.

Free: makeup bag, lipstick, double lip gloss, blush, mini nail polish, set of brushes, eye pencil, lip pencil, mascara, two eye shadow sets, pocket mirror, plus assorted free cologne/shampoo samples.

Happy me.

April Fools' Day!

We've had a memorable one or two April Fools' Days in the past, but it's not a regular thing. This year, I baked meatloaf in a pie crust, and topped it with beet juice-dyed mashed potatoes. (Recipe below.) Trevor had come through the kitchen and was clued in on what was going on. He's always interested in what's for dinner.

I'd already announced that I was making a chocolate strawberry pie. I set a piece on each plate, turned the lights down, and called everyone to to the table. Holly was surprised to see pie, and I told her that, in honor of April Fools' Day, we were eating our dessert first. She thought this was a great idea! She took a bite, expecting sweetness--and was so shocked that she had to spit out her food!

It was hilarious! I couldn't believe I'd gotten her!!! She went on to eat the meatloaf anyway, even going back for seconds.


We had a giant bowl of broccoli with it, and continued celebrating with banana splits for dessert, with Holly making real whipped cream.

We also told Trevor that we'd decided to send him to this camp during the summer. His first question was if he'd get a bigger allowance, but he clued in soon enough.

A fun and funny day; the best compliment was when both Holly and Trevor said they'd do similar food pranks on their own kids.

Fauxberry Pie!

1. CHOCOLATE (MEAT LOAF) FILLING
   1/3 cup barbecue sauce
   1/4 cup milk
   1 tablespoon dark molasses
   1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
   1/2 teaspoon chili powder
   1 small onion, finely chopped
   1 tablespoon oil
   1/2 teaspoon salt
   1/2 teaspoon celery salt
   1/4 teaspoon pepper
   2/3 cup bread crumbs
   1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
   1 egg, lightly beaten
2. 
   STRAWBERRY (POTATO) TOPPING
   2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
   Salt
   1/2 cup canned sliced beets (not pickled)
   1/4 cup (or more) warm milk
   4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3. Heat the oven to 350º. Sauce onion in T. of oil until transparent, about 7 mins. Combine the barbecue sauce, milk, molasses, cocoa, and chili powder. Mix well. Mix in onion, salt, celery salt, pepper, and bread crumbs. Then add the beef, egg, sauce mixture, and onion. Thoroughly mix the ingredients using your hands or a wooden spoon. It's helpful to make the beef as smooshed as possible so it imitates pudding texture instead of meatloaf. 
4. Place ingredients in a pie pan, spreading evenly with a spoon. Baked until cooked through, about 60 minutes.
5. While the pie is baking, prepare the mashed potato topping. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough water to completely submerge them. Salt the water lightly, cover the pot, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and cook the potatoes at a low boil until they are tender, about 15 minutes.
6. While the potatoes cook, puree the beets and 1/4 cup warm milk in a blender until only small bits of beet are left in the mixture. Set aside.
7. Drain the potatoes and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and pureed beets and, using an electric mixer, whip the mixture until it's smooth and fluffy. Add more milk if needed and salt to taste.
8. Spread the whipped potatoes over the top of the cooked meat pie with a spatula, as you would whipped cream, mounding it slightly in the center. Slice and serve the pie while the potatoes are still hot. Makes 8 servings.
9. It worked best for us to keep the lights down low, haha!

And a redneck cake

As part of my Redneck-in-Training (which, at the time, was still unknown to me), I baked a cake to bring to dinner at our friends'.

KAHLUA CAKE

1 box devil's food cake mix with pudding
16 oz. container sour cream (can use reduced fat)
1/2 c. Kahlua
1/4 c. oil
2 eggs
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together. Bake per directions on cake box. Cake does not need frosting; a dusting of powdered sugar will make it look fancy.

(I usually bake this in a Bundt pan; you must grease the pan very, very, very well. Very well. Trust me on this. I've also made it into cupcakes, and I've successfully mailed them that way too.)

---------------------------

Despite my greasing the pan well, the cake stuck to the pan. No worries, I've had this happen before. I pulled the rest of the cake out, pieced it together and cool it completely. The powdered sugar is very forgiving and hides such mistakes.

Then I thought (mistake #1) I'd just flip the whole thing over, and we could have upside-down Bundt cake.

And I thought (mistake #2) I could use drizzle melted chocolate over the top (or bottom, depending on your perspective) to make it look extra-pretty. But the tip popped off of the bag and melted chocolate plopped all over the cake.

So I used a knife and spread it around like frosting.

Which left me with something that looked like a giant donut that I could oh-so-proudly bring to someone else's house.



A redneck cake. A redneck night. A redneck girl. At least it was a great cake!

SOCCCCCCCERRRR!

Our sixth season of soccer here.



Wooooo!



I LOVE this time of year!

Realization dawns . . .

We were invited to dinner with friends over the weekend.

The three other adults spent time outside shooting. It was cold, so I stayed indoors. Except to take pictures, of course.



Their son let their dog out, thinking that he wanted to go outside. In reality, he was scared of the gunfire, and ran into an adjoining neighborhood. It took one hour, two good samaritans, three cars, five telephones, and six searchers to get the dog back home.



We ate homemade pizza for dinner. Pretty awesome homemade pizza, I might add.



We drank beer. And made cracks about the "J" sounding like an "H."



As I put these photos together and saw the license plate I snapped that same evening, I came to the realization that I AM A



Somebody just SHOOT ME NOW, PLEASE.

(Um, I mean that figuratively, of course, not literally.)

You have GOT to be kidding me

70+ temps earlier in the week.

There was snow on the ground yesterday morning, and it continued for a few hours. I should have taken a picture while it was fresh, before most of it melted.



And by the time I got to work this morning, it was snowing again and continued for the rest of the morning.

Mariner's Museum, Part Three

Some of us were eager to see what we could of more of the museum during the time we had left. Robert ended up going one way; the kids and I, the other. We each figured that the other was just behind us and would catch up. We wandered through a photo display of Chesapeake Bay fisherman, miniature ships, and the Great Hall of Steam.

A small sampling of the figureheads exhibit

Holly and Trevor communicated via Morse Code

"Help! I'm trapped with Mom in a museum!"
"We'll jump in a Titanic lifeboat and ditch her!"

Unfortunately, the Titanic pics came out too dark. And my kids were stuck with me.

This Confederate flag, with its 14 stars, flew from the CSS Alabama while at sea. The number of stars varied on the first Stars and Bars flag. Interestingly, the flag commonly recognized today as the "rebel" flag (and often incorrectly referred to as the "stars and bars") was never an official national flag of the Confederacy.


My picture-taking began to slow down as we continued to wander through the age of exploration, test out submarine sleeping quarters, and learn about astronaut training and map making. Several exhibits included hands on activities that seemed more appropriate for older kids (as opposed to young ones), and mini film clips. As an aid to storytelling, paintings such as this 17th century oil that reached the ceiling, were mixed into the exhibits.


This museum was fantastic. The exhibits were so well done, everything was very clean, there were many docents, and we ran into just a few other guests. We were not able to see another entire exhibit hall, and we did not tour the 300+ acres that made up the grounds. It was one of the best museums I've ever had the pleasure to visit.

As long as I'm driving with Robert in the car, it can't be an uneventful trip. I knew ahead of time we might hit rush hour traffic between Newport News and Richmond. I must have been paying attention to traffic, as I certainly wasn't watching my GPS or traffic signs. I took a wrong turn and ended up in downtown Richmond.

Who does stupid things like this???

Ah, but it turned out all right. :)


We drove and drove and drove, arriving home at 8. It was a long day, but Holly and Trevor agreed that it was well worth the drive, they'd like to make similar trips in the future, a few times a year. Me, too! (I didn't ask Robert, I was afraid of what he might say!)

Mariner's Museum, Part Two

The origin of the Newport News name is unclear but likely refers to Captain Christopher Newport of the Susan Constant, who brought "good news" of settlers and supplies.

We saw the Susan Constant two years ago during our visit to Jamestown. Whatever the case, Newport News, like the rest of eastern Virginia, is pretty much swampland.

Okay, so it's really Lake Maury, but most of eastern VA is swampy.

Back to the museum . . . Originally a ship in the US Navy, the north burned its own USS Merrimac when it became trapped at Norfolk after (the state of) Virginia seceded. This burning and subsequent sinking was an effort to prevent the Confederacy from capturing the ship. However, the Confederacy was able to raise the ship and rebuild it as an ironclad, christening it the CSS Virginia.

When the north found out about the rebuilding, it responded by building its own ironclad ship. The USS Monitor took a total of 118 days to build and launch. There was doubt as to if it would even float.

The CSS Virginia steamed into Hampton Roads and began its assault on the wooden ships of the US Navy.



One day later, the Monitor arrived, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The 61,000 sf museum is the largest maritime museum in the U.S. Everything is spacious, beautifully lit, and looks brand new. I can't find the cost of it quickly, but it must have come at an exorbitant price, a testimony to the support of the museum. It was also pretty empty on the day we visited, with just one young school group leaving as we arrived. The admission price was unbelievably reasonable. Coming from me, that says a lot. The total price for the four of us was $41 and again reminded me that we need to visit everything we can while Trevor is still 12 and still gets a price break.

We watched from the dock as the Virginia was built for battle.


And we were able to walk inside.


Everyone took a shot at designing their own ironclads.


The guys were successful; Holly's and my ships sank. Repeatedly.


There were three movie theaters scattered throughout the exhibit, each with a well done presentation detailing different aspects of the ship or battle. There were also smaller touch tv screens where you could choose what you wanted to learn. The whole exhibit was very hands on and interactive.

Several months after the Battle of Hampton Roads, the Monitor sank in a storm off the coast of North Carolina. Ten years ago, the ship was raised, with many of the artifacts brought here.

Recovered place setting.

Replica of the turret at the time it was recovered.

We were able to touch a portion of the actual iron plating. As many museums have replicas on display, or the need to protect artifacts from deterioration, this was really impressive to be able to touch the ship.

The propeller.

We were able to tour the ship's replicated living quarters and walk on a full scale reproduction of the deck. This was VERY small. I can't imagine being on the water, standing on the deck, and of course on the real ship, there was no railing.



We viewed the ongoing conservation efforts of the turret and engine. As part of the desalination process, the turret remains immersed in 90,000 gallons of water (still suspended upside down as it was recovered from the ocean floor).



The Monitor Center makes up just one section of this amazing museum. I easily could have spent another hour or two in just this exhibit, taking it all in. We were under self-imposed time restrictions, however, and moved on to another part of the museum.

To be continued . . .