Necessary Chocolate

Friday night at the movies

So, Friday night I went to the 9:30 showing of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. I wore my new sneakers:

(They're Camilla Engman's Red Riding Hood sneakers, one of the (Product) RED selections from Converse.) The kind of shoes you wear to the farmer's market, or to the independent movie theater.

Marianne - you're right. Miss Pettigrew was a charming movie, and I highly recommend it. But if you go to the late show on a Friday night, take your self-esteem with you. Because when you're one of five people in the theater, all of whom are women, alone and of a certain age, you'd better feel confident about your social life.

The shoes helped.

It's Easter - do you know where your Christmas tree is?

'Cause one of mine is still up in the living room:

But the tree is so pretty in that corner, and today my front yard looks like this:

Aaahhh, New York in the spring.

Another deadline, another holiday

It seems to be the theme of this blog, doesn't it? I met another deadline (three, actually). The first deadline was tough to meet, so I couldn't work on the next project until it was almost too late, and that left me only a few days to get today's report out the door. But the nights of working are done again, and I can once again be a caring daughter, relative, friend. I managed to play a little. I decorated eggs, and made the traditional first lemon cake of spring:

Doesn't that batter look scrumptious? It is. And using pretty eggs makes me happy. (In case you haven't seen previous Easter posts, I decorate raw eggs. I'm not adding hard-boiled eggs to the cake batter.)

I wasn't going to do much for Easter; there just wasn't time. This was one of the years when I told the Arizona girls that "Easter isn't about dresses." This year, April is soon enough for spring outfits.

But luckily I bought flowers and decided to make a little feast for me, and ended up sharing it with surprise lunch guests! Not a bad Easter, after all. I made one of my favorite holiday side dishes - potato fans with leeks and onions.

You cook down leeks and onions, then place the potatoes on top and cook them for more than hour to get this:

It really does taste that good.

Embroidering with the kids

Well, only one kid. Laura's "GATE" (gifted and talented) teacher had a baby last week, so Laura learned embroidery and embellished a onesie. I had happened to pack six or so, just in case I was bored. Ha.

I sketched up a gate at church and traced it onto the onesie, and then Laura embroidered it with backstitch, lazy daisies, and french knots.

Isn't it pretty? Not bad for two nights worth of work.

Making sugar cookies with the kids

Christina was in charge of treat for family night, so I decided to complicate things and suggest that we make sugar cookies. That was the day after we'd made cinnamon rolls, lemon bars, and chocolate bars for another family activity. In her usual intelligent way, Janet stocked up on butter and sugar before I came.

A lot of butter, a little sugar, a little milk, and a lot of flavoring. It's a melty combination for frosting, but it sure tastes good.

Baking cinnamon rolls with the kids

Last week was one of those trips where you change cities every two days. But in two-and-a-half days with the Arizona kids, I managed to get a few things out of my system. Like making cinnamon rolls. We always have to make cinnamon rolls and get as much brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon all over ourselves as possible.

Christina, who is now 6, can now do picture-perfect knots. I showed her once, and expected her to squish the dough into a blob. The blobs taste just as good, but look how beautifully she forms her rolls? Man.

No finished photos of the rolls, but they looked like these. I didn't take photos of the lemon bars, or chocolate bars that we made, or of the luncheon or reception of the wedding I attended, or the dinner I attended later on in the week. I'm tired. Everyone involved in the trip is tired. That hour less of sleep didn't help. But it's six o'clock, and the sun is still up! I will see the sun today! I do love it when daylight savings time starts.