This weekend we all gathered at our brother's house for family day. We were minus two members who had previous engagements (Tod turned 44!) but all the college kids were home, so it was loud enough to seem like Tod and Wendy were there. And, Karen and I took it upon ourselves to eat their servings of lunch. We are good and loyal sisters.
Highlights of our day:
*Lee and Valerie got
a selfie- stick in Hong Kong and within minutes of trying his, Karen and I had ordered our own.
*Karen made a delicious kugel in a redemption attempt. Somehow her Thanksgiving kugel was not her best. She is still the Kugel Queen!
*Valerie mastered the
seashell casserole so now I can devote all my time to perfecting the corn pudding recipe.
*I made frosted blondies that were hit and miss. 4 loves, 2 hates, and the rest were just eh. I used the
Sally's Baking Addiction recipe for the blondies. My only change was I used white chocolate chips instead of candy bars, and added a dash of orange extract. I made a cream cheese frosting that was 4 ounces of cream cheese, a dash of vanilla, and a few cups of powdered sugar all whipped up. The people who hated the blondies took one bite and handed the remainder to the person next to them. Lee was the most verbal hater, Emily thought they tasted flowery.
*Lee made multiple types of ribs and a tritip and all were a hit.
*I brought a
Spirograph so Karen and I could relive our youth and experience it with the kids. This was also hit and miss. Some got easily frustrated and some hyperfocused and got their hands and eyes working at the same time.
*Somehow the conversation turned to Lemon Drop Martinis and how Dustin used to be bartender (long, long, long ago). We all like experimenting and taste testing, so Lee ran to the store for ingredients and Dustin got to work mixing. The Goldberg- Woods- Dinino Lemon Drop is now a thing. The interesting bit: Two of the blondie lovers (me and Karen) thought the Lemon Drops would taste way better without alcohol. We took a sip and quickly passed them on, just like the blondie haters did.
One of the things I loved about the spirograph drawings in my sketchbook was that there was bbq sauce and crumbs on some of the pages. Evidence of a good meal! I left most of the drawings in my sketchbook but cut a few out to start my new tape journal for 2015. My journal is nothing fancy. It is just card stock cut in half, hole punched, and bound with binder rings. I like being able to add and subtract pages. And, in fact, as soon as I am done writing this post, I will print it out (in my handwriting font) and add it to the journal so I can skip the step of repeating myself and writing it all down again. I am the laziest journaler ever. And, when I get the photos from our day printed, I will hole punch them and stick them in. Easy and fast!
____
Shop: Limited Edition Prints, Greeting Cards, and Pillows | Original Art