Brunchtime!

Sometimes, I post recipes simply because someone asks for a recipe they enjoyed, and this is the most convenient format for sharing.

This is one of those times.

Sorry if you have no interest in Overnight Blueberries and Cream French toast.

Feel free to ignore this delicious recipe if you are so inclined.

Ingredients:

1 loaf eggy bread such as challah or brioche. 16 to 20 ounces, preferably not pre-sliced. Cut into one inch cubes
**You can substitute another type of bread, such as French or Italian, but brioche is what I used.

12 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes

3 cups fresh blueberries, divided

12 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup water

1 tablespoon butter

1. Place half of cubed bread in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups blueberries and all of cream cheese.

2. Top with remaining bread cubes.

3. Whisk eggs with milk, vanilla and maple syrup.

4. Pour egg mixture over bread in pan and press to be sure all bread is submerged.

5. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight.

6. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.

7. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes covered.

8. Remove foil and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.

9. While French toast is baking, whisk sugar, cornstarch and water together in a medium saucepan.

10. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, 3 to 4 minutes.

11. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups blueberries, reduce temperature, and simmer for 10 minutes. Berries will burst.

12. Stir in the butter and pour over the French toast.

Serves 12.

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What to do while waiting for your new tires to be mounted . . .

*read South Shore Living cover to cover and vow to attend an event in the South Shore Music Circus. Really a venue in a tent in Cohassett! Who knew? Also take a moment to feel grateful I no longer have children in day camp as it appears the prices have risen drastically in the last 6 years.

*search my sent messages for house plans to send to Lilia, who begs me every day for the opportunity to bid the siding on our new house.

*ponder the difficulty of finding a new insurance provider who will insure my waterfront property, and offers a building rider for less than $3300. Really?

*ponder the ability of the New England weather to go from 'baby, it's cold outside' to 'it's gonna be a scorcher' in 48 hours.

*hone my iPad solitaire skills, which are dismal despite my best efforts and time commitment to improving them.

*attempt to eavesdrop on other customers phone conversations, some of which are in foreign languages.

*write fascinating blog posts which will entertain my friends and family.

I am into hour 2, so let me know if you have any suggestions!


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The eye of the beholder

Look what I got!


A really huge dumpster!

And . . .



a moderately huge DEP file # sign.
I made it myself. Actually, Dave made it himself. I just wrote the words. And numbers.

And . . .


a not at all huge BUILDING PERMIT!!!!!

I did not make this (that would be illegal).

But I feel a great sense of accomplishment nonetheless.

And . . .



orange lines on the grass. I hope the excavation people can read these.

And . . .




last but not least, an erosion control fence. Hooray!

It was a family project.

Some people might think these things make our house look hideous.

But not me.

I think they are beautiful!

A boy and his dog

Milo loves Tagg.

A lot.

He loves all his people, but Tagg is his best friend.

Tagg gets the full body wag every time he walks in the door.

And all the love and affection he can take.

Family scripture time is a Milo favorite.

Everyone sits still.

So he can do this.




- aaww, that's so sweet.

How can Tagg even consider going to college and breaking that up?

He should just live at home with me . . . I mean Milo.

Insurance agents say the darndest things.

The events you are about to read actually occurred.

Dave is the king of online shopping.

Really. It's in his job description.

So, when we started shopping for a new insurance company in Massachusetts, it made sense to go with an online company.

Especially since we were living in Utah at the time.

We were wrong.

This real, live conversation actually occurred.

Today.

Prompted by a message Dave got saying our homeowners policy was being cancelled.

Prepare to be amazed. Or confused. Or, both.

Me: hi, I'm calling in response to notification that our policy is being cancelled.

Them: okay. Long pause.

Me: I'm wondering why.

Them: can you hold, please?

Me: yes.

Hold, hold, hold.

Them: do you live within 500 feet of the ocean front?

Me: yes.

Them: we can't insure homes on the waterfront.

Me: but we've always been on the waterfront.

Them: since you moved in in October?

Me: confused pause. Yes.

Them: okay. Can you hold please?

Me: yes.

Hold, hold, hold.

Them: you recently made changes to your policy to include new construction.

Me: yes. Last week.

Them: we can't support that change in your state.

Me: confused pause. But you didn't know that last week?

Them: no, we didn't. Would you like to talk to one of our in house agencies for a quote?

Me: really long, really confused pause. But you are canceling my policy.

Them: yes. But you could talk to one of our in house agencies to get a bid.

Me: who is canceling me?

Them: Ameriprise.

Me: who do you work for?

Them: Ameriprise.

Me: but you can give me a bid on a new policy?

Them: yes. Through one of our in house agencies.

Me: ummm. I don't think so.

The end.

Questions that come to mind:

Do some people move their home closer to the ocean front after they move in?

Does the ocean front move closer to some people's homes after they move in?

What the heck is an in house insurance company? And why didn't they insure me in the first place?

Cooking and cleavage.

I am opposed.

I will admit to being a huge fan of cooking shows.

I like to cook. I find watching people cook enjoyable. I come up with great ideas from watching Rachel, Giada, and the gang.

What I do not enjoy is watching their boobies. Sorry if that is a bad word in your world. I mean no disrespect to womanhood.

But really ladies. Cover up, in the name of all that is decent and delicious!

Who came up with that idea? A male food network executive?

Perhaps the lights are so hot they need to wear low cut tops?

Maybe they are trying to increase male viewership?

I do not know.

But in my world, cleavage does not belong in the kitchen.

Hooray for Kelsey's Kitchen and her Shade t-shirts!


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Snap, crackle, pop . . .

. . . drool, smile, chomp.

Your favorite marshmallow crispy rice treat.

Only better.

And slightly more time consuming.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 vanilla bean
1 10.5 oz. bag mini marshmallows
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups crispy rice cereal (sometimes referred to as Rice Krispies)

1. Melt the butter in a large pan over medium low heat.

2. As the butter is melting, cut open the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the pan. Yes, you can substitute vanilla extract, but if you do, add it after the marshmallows are melted, but before you add the cereal.

3. Once the butter has melted, you are going to wait for it to brown. This is one of the things, along with the vanilla bean and salt, that makes this recipe extra special. It will bubble and hiss, but not boil, for about 4 to 5 minutes before it starts to brown. You need to watch carefully because it is a very short trip from brown to burnt.

4. Add the marshmallows and salt as soon as the butter starts to brown. Stir over low heat until marshmallows are completely melted and seeds are evenly distributed.

5. Stir in cereal until well combined.

6. Pat into prepared pan.

7. Let sit for about half an hour, if you have very good self control, then cut and enjoy!



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I have this many pennies.

Yesterday, we resorted to my last ditch effort to get a new house.

We called our favorite builders (meaning they had the lowest bid).

Okay, they also seem honest and reliable and are not ridiculously condescending. And did I mention they had the lowest bid?

And we said, 'we have this many pennies, how much house can we have for that?'

Fortunately, the owner came along for the meeting. He has a very reassuring habit of saying how inexpensive everything is.

We do have to wonder why they bid everything at 250% of the reasonable numbers he is letting slip.

Let me add that the worker bee, who puts the bids together, is looking uncomfortable at the rapidly shrinking profit margin.

Too bad, so sad. Keep those numbers falling!

Today, we get the new and improved number.

Now, for the building inspector. Permit, please?


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What makes Mother's Day Great

We got a copy of a Sheri Dew talk today in our ward. No flowers, no chocolates, no accolades to the greatness of Motherhood even, really. Just a stapled version of a talk entitled 'Are we not all Mothers?' from 2001.

I admit to surreptitiously leaving it sitting on the table in the lobby. I kind of have a no more paper policy at my house. And, what with the Internet and all, let's be honest and admit that we don't need quite as much paper as we used to back in the day.

I will also admit that I have a no guilt inducing Mother's Day gift policy. I do just fine convincing myself of my inadequacies all on my own. But because our bishopric seems to appreciate women, and Mother's in particular, I assume the intention was not to tear us down, but to build us up.

With that thought as my inspiration, I looked up the talk and skimmed the content. I feel confident it is quite nice, and will plan to read it someday that is not Mother's Day. Instead, I had some chocolate and contemplated what makes Mother's Day great.

I had a perfect model to contemplate, because I had a Mother's Day as near to perfect as is possible when half of your children are out of the country.

Yesterday Dave planned a trip through New Hampshire and Maine visiting Architectural Salvage places. This was my request as a Mothers Day gift. The surprise came about 45 minutes into the trip when Dave said he wanted to stop at McDonald's for a smoothie. Okay, I said. Kind of weird, we're not really smoothie people, but if Dave wants a smoothie, I'm fine with that. He went in and came out 10 minutes later, with McKay and Annie! They had driven down to surprise me for the weekend.

I was really surprised! And really happy. They came at Easter, and I was not expecting to see them again so soon. We had a wonderful day driving through the New England Spring ( half the day was sunny, half was rainy, just like a New England Spring should be) and looking at cool old stuff I might some day use in my house.

Sunday morning Dave made homemade Belgian waffles with strawberries and toffee sauce. Absolutely delicious! After church he cooked one of my favorite meals of grilled salmon, asparagus, and roasted potatoes. Delicious again!

After lunch, we called Kami in Chile and it was amazing to hear her voice. It it a surprise every time we talk that her voice sounds the same. It is very reassuring to a Mom to hear her child's voice sounding happy and health. About 45 minutes into the call Chase called. We were able to conference him in and I had the relief of hearing his voice as well. They got to talk to each other. In Spanish even. I heard all my children on the phone together laughing and talking. It was marvelous!

I can hear three of them upstairs laughing right now. The most wonderful sound in the world.

My children talking to each other, and to Dave and me, is a priceless gift. That I have a family that loves each other, and loves to spend time together, is wonderful.

Having children is what makes Mother's Day great. Having a loving husband makes it perfect. I feel like the luckiest Mom on earth.


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Location:Nantasket Rd,Hull,United States

This is the house that Jack built.

Yes, this is the view from my front window.


as opposed to this, which is the view out my back window.




And yes, it is sunny in front and cloudy in back and I don't know how that works.

But I do realize I'm lucky.

And I do envy just a bit that little bird in my lantern who is building her nest by the sweat of her brow, with supplies she finds herself. No million dollar framing bids for her.

I am tempted to follow her lead and see what I can find laying around the neighborhood.

There is quite a lot of wood washed up on the shore these days. I just might use it!

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