blogging break

The blogging world is growing and changing daily.  I have been doing this since January of 2008, as a way to finally keep a diary.  Unlike the handwritten ones I started faithfully each year, that never made it as far as February, blogging my life works for me.  But 654 posts later, I am reaching a cross roads. 

Blogging has become so much more than just telling the story of a life.  People earn a living from blogging, and get book deals, and become very controversial, or universally known throughout the blogosphere. There are blogging groups, and conferences, and having a blog can consume your whole life if you want it to.  And right now it is very tempting to take my blog in a different direction, buy my own domain, gather sponsors, review products, join groups and link up with other bloggers.

But I don't want to, not right now.  I don't have any ads on my blog (other than a link to our business, which is kind of important).  I don't have a huge following so I don't have people beating down my door to have me advertise for them.  And that's how I want it to stay.  I just want to tell my little stories, and share recipes, and tell you about books I have read, or what is growing in my garden.  I want to reminisce about Charlie growing up, and tell you about my wonderful friends and family.  Simple pleasures, with occasional bursts of ire.

(The above photo was not encouraged or endorsed by the Coca-Cola company, and I was not asked to review their product.  But if you have never had a Coke Float, you surely should try one...My fab glasses are from Specs in Uptown, if you need some new ones,  and I got the scarf at TJ Maxx. But I don't remember what restaurant I was at.  See, I'm not very good at the whole endorsing reviewing deal...)

Right now life has gotten kind of out of hand, and I am finding it hard to fit blogging into my day.  I want blog posts that I am proud to have you read, not something I cobbled together in the morning so I could move on to my next task. 

I ran across this old picture, it was taken in downtown St. Paul after we had been to Farmer's Market, clearly many years ago.  Summer is quickly coming to an end, and Charlie starts school in just ten days.  I want to spend some time with him, and go for bike rides, and spend an entire day at the State Fair.

I am working to get my Etsy shop up and on-line by Sept. 1st, so I am creating bracelets and shipping profiles and on-line accounts and designing receipts and shipping tags. I am caring for Sir Claude, who is still having some troubles.   It's time to prepare for the fourth quarter at ACES, and work on our business plan for 2011.  And of course there is laundry to wash and flowers to water and meals to prepare.

Please come back in September, when things have hopefully settled in a bit, and I will continue to share little glimpses of our life here in St. Paul. 

Find some time to enjoy these last precious days of August for yourself!

so much to say

August has been a busy month!

MINNESOTA BLOGGERS

I was lucky to be included in an amazing group of women who I had the good fortune to spend the night with on Tuesday in Prior Lake.  Prior Lake?  Yup.  It was a night of shopping at Camille On Rouge, yummy food, interesting conversation, hand massages, and bags of swag.  You can read all about here, http://sellabitmum.com/?p=855  on Miss Tracy's blog.  I will be posting more details, as she did, at a later date.  But if you have time now, be sure to click on all of her links, as there are a lot of things to see and read, including this link to all of the blogs written by these amazing women:  http://lovefeasttable.com/blog/bloglove-european-marketplace-guests/

 The above photo is by SuzanneJean Photography, you can see more photos of the event on Facebook by clicking here:  http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4785400&fbid=426708455757&id=121407290757#!/photo.php?pid=4785400&fbid=426708455757&id=121407290757

SICK KITTY

When I got up yesterday, Claude was lying by his water bowl, unable to lift his head, and was refusing to eat.  In desperation, I even offered him ice cream, which he looked at and just turned away.  A call to our vet and and they had me bring him right in.  Turns out poor kitty was very dehydrated and had pancreas and kidney issues.  They put him on an iv, and at the end of the day we had to pick him up and bring him to spend the night at the Animal Emergency Clinic.  What an amazing place, I know he is in good hands.  We will pick him up today and bring him back to the vet to continue his treatment, the hope is that he will be off his iv later today and we can bring him home.  We won't discuss health care costs in this forum...


DIRT BIKE BOY

Charlie raced in Akeley during our Bemidji stay, so his cousin Riley got to watch him compete for the first time. 

It was a perfectly beautiful day in the woods, but the course was very demanding, with big hills full of rocks and tree roots, and challenging sections.  But he finished, and survived, and Auntie Heather got to take lots of amazing photos which I will post in more detail on another day.  Mike took these (as he has been doing nearly every single weekend of the summer, and is now even making a little money on!)

The season is nearing it's end, the race this weekend was postponed due to severe flooding in northeastern Minnesota.  I think Charlie was secretly relieved.





BARREN STREET

I will post before and after pictures, so you can get a true sense of the devastation in our neighborhood from the Great Ash Tree Massacre.  PhotoPohl wants to make sure he takes the 'after' picture at the same time of day, with proper lighting and all, so I will post more next week. 

ANIMAL RESCUE

On Wednesday morning, when the saws were buzzing and the thud of tree chunks hitting pavement echoed in our homes, a very indignant squirrel could be heard yelling at the lumberjacks all morning.  Another outcome of losing our trees, many squirrels have lost their homes.  It always amazed me in the fall, when the leaves were gone, to see just how many squirrels built nests in the high branches of our ash trees.  I wonder if the city thought of that outcome?  Charlie and his friend Abe were outside, and noticed some movement in the ivy vines which have nearly covered the lower section of the pine tree in our front yard.  They approached, and found two baby squirrels, clearly displaced and not ready to leave a nest.  They found a shoebox, filled it with wood chips (which were in abundance that day) and gently placed the squirrels inside.  Mike called Animal Control, and someone came right over to pick them up.  Charlie was relieved, thinking they were saved, so I didn't let him know that Animal Control wasn't likely to be putting them up for adoption. 

FAMILY

Spending time with our families when we were in Bemidji was such a joy, all the more so as we know we probably won't see them again now for quite some time.  Fall is busy, and then the holidays hit, and we generally don't make it to Bemidji much.  I will post more on the fun next week, and if my dad would give me his secret recipe for his walleye I would share it on Recipe Box Wednesday, but since it's a family secret I will find some other family yummy to share.

Enjoy this August weekend-how will you spend it?  Farmer's Market?  A day at the pool or beach?  Digging in your garden?  Rummaging?  Buying school supplies?  Too many possibilities...

dancing in the streets

We could have, as there were bands playing in a couple of places on the streets of downtown Bemidji on Saturday night.  And there were people dancing, often in the rain.  Several city blocks were barricaded so we could meander from bar to bar and meet up with everyone from classmates to relatives to former teachers. 

Rather than wandering the streets all night, a friend I ran into earlier in the evening suggested a different approach.  Find a spot and hang out and let people come to you!  Right after that,  it started raining, so I scooted into Brigid's Pub and did just that.  I had the perfect spot, a corner booth with lots of room for people to come and go.

I spent a good part of the evening catching up with my friend Bonnie.  We were best friends our senior year, and she would tote me around town in her little red Maverick since my parents wouldn't let me drive.  She was in OJT, just like me, and in fact introduced me to Mike at their place of employment.  We have the same birthday, but of course our lives have taken different paths.  She lives in Eagan and has been a teacher for years (I so wish Charlie could have had her) and has raised two delightful kids who are nearly out of high school and ready to take on the world. 

We did a good job of staying in touch during our college years, but slowly drifted apart.  We have been Christmas card friends, and birthdays too, but have only seen each other a few times in the last busy years.

Her husband Joe is a sweetheart, in fact I spent a long time chatting with him (I always feel sorry for the spouses who attend the class reunions, and don't know many people and just smile and nod.)  We had many discussions, and found we were like minded in everything from ideas on business to politics to raising kids.   Here we are enjoying our table before the crowds descended:

Life is so interesting, we all get caught up with family and obligations and work and don't take the time to stay connected.  Even though Bonnie lives just down the road, in Eagan, it is rare for us to get together.  After our fun  on Saturday, we pledged to change that.

I have a feeling there were a lot of those promises made throughout our town this past weekend.  It is my hope that we all live up to them. And I am so glad I grew up in a town that gives people a chance to stay in touch and reconnect, every five years.  A huge thank you to everyone who had a hand in organizing all of the events-it was a highlight of the summer, and will be talked about over dining room tables and on Facebook for weeks to come.

in the land of Paul and Babe

A wonderful five days in the northland.  Bemidji High School hosts an All School Reunion every five years, and pulls out all of the stops.  There are specific class get-togethers, tours of the new high school, a Golf Tournament, a 5K run, a fry bread taco lunch complete with Native American dancers, and new this year, book readings and signings with local authors.  On Sunday there is a parade, complete with floats from those classes ambitious enough to put something together. Something for everyone! 

Friday night is set aside for individual classes to hold their reunions, this year it was my THIRTIETH.  I honestly don't know how that happened.  It was my parent's FIFTIETH (they graduated together). 

The parties range from organized events complete with slide shows, decorated halls, and cheerleading squads showing their stuff, to casual drinks on a lakeside patio.  That's where Mike's class congregated on Friday night (he is the class of 79), and my friends and I headed there first.  The first photo of the night, I had yet to perfect the chin tilt to prevent showing two of them:

Even though I graduated in 1980, I have spent far more time with Mike's classmates than my own, and it was great fun to catch up.

Mike's friends (a professor at Notre Dame, a teacher at Red Lake), and a welcome smooch from a pretty girl (she's an opera singer!)

Our accountant!

John works at the capitol in St. Paul, and Janet is an actress in New York City.  People travel from afar to join in the fun!

My class held theirs at The Corner Bar, conveniently located in Nymore, always known as a suburb of Bemidji (although how a town with 15,000 people can have a suburb is beyond me....).  We congregated in the parking lot and drank beer as the sun set and the band geared up to be so loud we had to shout to be heard all night.

"Oh my gosh!  I haven't seen you since high school!  Where do you live?  Do you have any kids?  How old are they?  What are you doing?  Do you remember when Miss Galloway....."  and off to the next person.

I got to see my dear friend Mary, she lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan now, so our visits are few and far between.  She is taking a new position with the Girl Scouts of America.  I was happy to see that she could still play a tune on a beer bottle (a metal one, no less!)  I don't think there's a merit badge for that, but I could be wrong....

I was delighted to run into Rob Grillo, our parents were friends when we were very young, and we fondly remembered sneaking down the hallway to watch "The Birds", while we were supposed to be elsewhere in the house, since it was far too disturbing for young children.  He is a scout for professional hockey players (having been one himself for a while) and also runs a hockey camp each summer near Brainerd.

Paul Maus was there, I literally hadn't seen him since high school, and we quickly caught up.  He works with the forestry division in Colorado to do terrain mapping, and has his own business.  He was sure I had become a writer, remembering my days as editor of The Ax (our school paper).  I laughed as I told him I ended up a bookkeeper!  (albeit business owner as well, I doubt anyone could have predicted I would end up in flight simulation...).  I had a major crush on him, and had held up high hopes he would ask me to senior prom.  Clearly, I was still nervous to be next to his handsomeness...

The organizer of the party, hamming it up with a classmate-Marti is a scream and was voted Class Flirt back in the day.

Nick sat by me in drama class, and teased me about my legs.  He lives in Alaska now.

Mike with Kyle Young.  Back before I knew him, I always used to get these two mixed up in the hallways.  Later on in the evening, after an altercation, Kyle performed CPR on the guy who had been knocked unconscious.  Just another night at the bar....

Others heard of the fun, and joined in the party.  At one point there were at least 1000 people standing on the pavement, ranging in age from 20's to 50's.  It was the place to be.  My brother and his wife showed up, and I even convinced my sister to head out for a bit. 

Tired and losing our voices, we headed home to rest up,  for Saturday night was another night of fun!

sawdust

Back from Bemidji, just got in last night, will have lots to post about this week.

For now, the great tree massacre has begun, the saws started in promptly at 7 am today, rousing me from my slumber.  The street is completely closed off for eight blocks so they can do their dirty work.

Mike took some beautiful photos last night, as the sun was setting, and they will have to be the pictures for my memory box.

Heather decided to recreate my senior picture of thirty years ago, while I was home, out in the woods, watching Charlie's race on Saturday.

See?  I have always been a tree hugger.

gone fishing!

...and attending my 30 year class reunion. 

I am guessing I may have some good stories next week!

ashes, ashes...

...they all fall down.

On Tuesday, the City of St. Paul came out and painted a bright red ring on every single boulevard tree on both sides of our street.  When I had read in the paper a few weeks ago that they were planning to remove a large portion of ash trees, due to the discovery of an Emerald Ash Borer bug in a distant neighborhood, I was smug in the fact that OUR trees would be fine, as we have elms.

Clearly, a botanist I am not.

As they ARE ash trees.  They are removing 65 ash trees on Hamline Avenue on a stretch of about 8 blocks.  I cannot begin to imagine how naked and sad our street will look.  In the mornings, while I took my early walk along the street, I would wonder how they could be taking that many, as clearly there just weren't that many ash trees on our street. 

They are taking down healthy trees, that are not bug infested.  They claim that the trees are old, and not in good shape, and if the bug comes our way they will die anyway.  Like Mike said, substitute the words "senior citizen" for trees in that last sentence, and imagine the uproar.

They say they have the funding to cut them all down, and replace them with a different tree, but they have no funding to chemically treat them so the bug won't get to them.  Talk about some really ridiculous "preventive maintenance".

The mature trees on our block have always been part of the charm of our neighborhood.  In the eighteen years we have lived here, each time I turned down our street and drove under the canopy of trees I would sigh, knowing I was nearly home.  The first spikes of green appearing on their branches in the spring brought delight, and the leafy tunnel they made of our street in the summer gave ample shade on hot days.  Their colorful leaves in the fall provided a golden glow as kids walked home from school.  In the winter, when the snow was just the right consistency, it coated the branches creating an artistic sculpture of nature.

I know there is nothing I can do.  They held a public meeting, to inform the neighborhood of what would be happening.  Not to get any input, as they had already decided how to handle it.  And the folks who disagreed with them, were listened to, but of course those folks may have been talking to, well, a tree, for all the difference it made. 

The only bright side I can see is that we will have less leaves to rake this fall.  But I would rather have the trees, and the leaves they showered down upon my yard, and the old sturdy branches that supported many a squirrel and bird nest, and the trunks that occasionally held a sign for a lost pet.  You stood strong through years of storms, and road construction, and everything else a modern city dishes out.  Hard to believe the threat of a nasty little bug and the fear it inspires could bring you down.

recipe box Wednesday

Actually being held on Wednesday this week...

(no, I didn't take this pic, wish I had!  see below)

Today I share with you a summer salad I have made a couple of times this season, Charlie loves it nearly as much as Ina's Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad, so I thought it was time to share.

It's from The Barefoot Contessa Parties-a copy of which should definitely be part of your collection. 

And rather than type it out today, I am just going to give you the link to find it here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chinese-chicken-salad-recipe/index.html

When I first made it, I thought it was too overdressed.  So the next time I made it, rather than reducing the dressing, I tossed it with a pound of cooked pasta and that made it perfect.  I have substituted green beans for the asparagus, and really like it that way.  All of that crunchiness combined with the peanutty dressing, and the moist chicken is YUMMY!  And as for the chicken, if you don't feel like turning on your oven, I often just boil some skinless chicken breasts on the stove until cooked through (with some seasoning and fresh herbs thrown in the pot to add flavor) and go from there.  It reduces the caloric factor a little too (not an easy thing to do with Ina's recipes!)  Yes, do take the time to toast your sesame seeds, it really does make a difference. And Charlie says "Mom, it tastes even better the second day" which is good, as it makes a lot.  In fact, I do make it the day before we plan to eat it, so all of the flavors mix and mingle.

In looking for the link, I even found that there is a group called Barefoot Bloggers that picks a recipe a month from one of her cookbooks to cook, and then they blog about it.  Fun!  Where do I sign up?  The picture of the salad is from this site:  http://www.ezrapoundcake.com/

primary day

They have moved Minnesota's primary from September to August, for reasons I do not wish to research.  I am already weary of the commercials, and seeing yards littered with signs.  In honor of primary day, here is my wish list for politicians, be they local, state, or national:

1.  Stop being so negative.  When you have 30 seconds to tell me something, please spend it telling me what you believe in and hope to accomplish, not whom your opponent has been endorsed by.  I have already worn out the mute button on my remote, as the commercials are nauseating.  No matter who is making them.

2.  At this point, don't tell me what a horrible job our current governor has done.  He isn't running.  Please refer to point number one.

3.  Really, how many people decide who to vote for because they saw a sign in someone's yard???  I would think that now that we are on a green kick, and recycling, and saving the world, we could save a lot of trees and resources by skipping the yard signs.

4.   Can we please put a limit on how much a candidate can spend?  Wouldn't it make a more even race, if each candidate had the same amount of money, and we could see how well they manage those resources?  Might help us understand how they would manage a budget.

5.  Stop calling me.  I am on the do-not-call list, and I believe that should apply to any political campaign as well.  (I know, it doesn't, but a girl can dream.)

6.  Please don't make lofty promises, that you, as one person, cannot possibly accomplish all on your own.  YOU cannot create more jobs, or raise or lower taxes. 

7.  The first candidate who tells me "I have beliefs and ideas, but I am willing to work with the opposition to make the best compromise for the majority of the people" will get my vote, no matter what party they are from.  I firmly believe that people are sick to death of partisan politics, and would love to see politicians stop serving their party interests at the expense of accomplishing anything.  I know that isn't how politics work, but wouldn't it be dandy if it did?

I do have to say, I admire anyone who wants to run for public office.  To me, it sounds like the most distasteful job I can imagine.  But somebody has to do it.  So I will go out today, and exercise my right to vote. 

If nothing else, to honor the women who worked so long and hard to get us the right to vote, ninety years ago this month.  I found this little piece in an article on the suffrage movement, that I share with you today:

Opposed by a well-organized and well-funded anti-suffrage movement which argued that most women really didn't want the vote, and they were probably not qualified to exercise it anyway, women also used humor as a tactic. In 1915, writer Alice Duer Miller wrote,



Why We Don't Want Men to Vote


•Because man's place is in the army.


•Because no really manly man wants to settle any question otherwise than by fighting about it.


•Because if men should adopt peaceable methods women will no longer look up to them.


•Because men will lose their charm if they step out of their natural sphere and interest themselves in other matters than feats of arms, uniforms, and drums.


•Because men are too emotional to vote. Their conduct at baseball games and political conventions shows this, while their innate tendency to appeal to force renders them unfit for government.
 
Will you be voting today?

a tale of two vines

We are in day two of a heat wave, this summer we have been fortunate that when we got really hot and humid nastiness, it only lasted a day or two, and then a lovely Canadian front arrived to refresh us.  Not so this week, yesterday it hit 96, with a dew point of 78, making it pretty miserable to even sit outside and do nothing.  They predict this oppression will last through Sunday.  yuk.  This is one of those days I am really glad I don't have an outdoor job. Perhaps I will have a nice cold bottle of water ready for the mailman when he arrives.

The garden seems to be surviving, heat often brings with it sporadic thunderstorms and welcome rain, and many varieties of plants seem to thrive on the humid air, drinking in all of the moisture they can.  Case in point:  hyacinth bean vine.  Last year I thought this is what I had planted on my iron dress form, as I adored how it bloomed and flowered so gracefully.  Turns out it was scarlet runner bean (the photo on the right).

And while this vine, (photo on the left) has been completely taking every plant near it prisoner, in a graceful iron grasp of tendril, it has yet to bloom, or show any sign of flowers-to-be.  The garden center assured me it would, in a splash of purple, so I will be patient.

The window boxes are happy, any plant that seemed like a good idea at the time, but wasn't, is long gone, leaving plenty of soil and room for the survivors.  I need to make notes so I don't waste money next spring, when all of the varieties are whispering for me to take them home. "You know you want me. Yes, my plant marker tells you to put me in full sun, but why not give it a try in a shady spot?"  I have been lured into plant hypnosis before, and vow it will not happen again.  (The only reason I included the ugly wires and Qwest box in my photo, is that the nicest repairman came to our house on Saturday and completely rewired us, so we can now use our phone again and our internet speed is truly blazing fast-huzzah!  Now I just need to coax something to climb up and over it so I don't have to look at it....)

For now, things have been watered, and I shall tuck myself into my house, in my little air coniditioned office and work the day away, and plan something for dinner that requires minimal cooking.  I see "Splendor in the Grass" is on tonight, with Natalie Wood, and it seems the perfect movie to sit back and enjoy in cool comfort.

What will  you do to combat the heat?

a summer Friday

Nasty, serious, slow as a snail internet issues, don't even know if I will be able to publish this post...sorry!  It is times like this that we realize how completely dependent we are on our computers....and my phone line is down altogether, thank goodness for cell phones.  At least the telemarketers won't be able to reach me....

Perhaps I need a Laura Ingalls day, where I have to fetch my water, and read by oil lamp, to fully appreciate what an easy life I have!

Thursday was a gem, a lovely Canadian breeze flowing through the yard and floating through my window screens.  After several days of ridiculous dew points it was such a treat.  Made me wish for a clotheline in the back yard to hang my sheets on. 

Did you have a clothesline growing up?  I remember pretending the sheets were my tent, and lying in the grass under them, and peeking at the clouds in the sky as they billowed around me.  I remember how wonderful my sheets smelled, after a day in the breeze, and I would bury my nose into my pillow and inhale deeply.  I remember realizing I was getting older, when I was finally tall enough to reach the line and help my mother peg the sheets.  And then realizing it would now be my job....

And just like many things I hated having to do in my childhood, I find myself wishing for my own clothesline, to recapture the moments.  But I know for sure I won't be canning my own dill pickles....

summer daze

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."

I borrowed this from an email I received from one of my favorite stores in Chicago.  It seems perfect for this week in August, when it is sticky, and warm, and just breathing in the humid air makes you tired.  The cicadas are calling, the cedar tree near the patio is shedding it's seeds, and the leaves on the plants are drooping in the stillness.

I recently read a ranking of the top ten states with the most inactive people (not sure how they determined that...) and 9 of the 10 were in the south.  And when it is this hot, I totally get it.

Remind me of this whiny post when I am crying in January about how cold it is.

I need to make another pitcher of iced tea, and go sit in my backyard, and read my book. The gardening tasks can wait until the dewpoint drops.

a literary gem

There isn't much better than finding a book you LOVE, and want to share with everyone.

I am not sure where I heard about this one, I keep snips and snaps of paper with books I want to read that I cut out of magazines, and newspapers, and other blogs.  I eventually get around to requesting them at the library, and mostly I enjoy them.  If I don't, I stop reading them and return them.  My mother would be horrified.  She was of the Finish Your Book Club (closely related to the Clean Your Plate Club).

But I am big girl now, nearly 50, and it took me that long to realize I didn't have to finish a book I wasn't enjoying.

But as usual, I digress.  Please run out and get this book, I guarantee you will want to finish it:

(photo borrowed from the author's website)

It is a first novel for Tiffany Baker, and she must be so proud.  They say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but in this case, I did.  It appealed to me on multiple levels, with the embroidered flowers around the edge, and the antique dress form (I really want one like this someday-I am keeping my eye out-there is one at Gypsy Moon but she isn't selling it.  Smart lady.)  But it was the idea of the book that reeled me in, and I devoured it and absorbed it and find myself thinking about it all the time.

The characters are beautifully crafted, the language lovely.  I found it reminiscent of Alice Hoffman, one of my top three authors of all time.  There is sadness, and pain, with a sprinkling of magic and hopefulness along with some mystery woven through.  I want to buy it for everyone I know, and can't wait to see what she will write next.

Here is a link to the author's website, I loved reading about how she wrote the book, almost as much as I enjoyed the book. 

http://www.tiffanybaker.com/book.html

By the way, sorry my brain is scrambled this week and I posted Recipe Box Wednesday a day early-must be the heat....

And on another note, Happy Happy Birthday to my dear friend Tracy!  Can't wait to celebrate with you!

recipe box Wednesday

Fun with Nigella continues!

Today I share with you "Eton Mess" (so called as young boys attending school would create their own desserts from ingredients on hand...)

(picture from Food Network website)

I picked this recipe as strawberries are still available for reasonable prices, and also because she made it on the show last week and I have been craving it ever since.  Such a fun change from strawberrry shortcake!

Clearly, you can do all kinds of things to vary this dessert.  I will present it as it is in her cookbook "Nigella Express" (with me editorial comments....):

4 cups strawberries
2 tsp. vanilla sugar (plain sugar is okay too)
2 tsp. pomegranate juice (can substitute balsamic vinegar!)
2 cups whipping cream
4-6  purchased meringue cookies

Hull and chop the strawberries.  Put into a bowl, add the sugar and pomegranate juice, and leave to macerate while you whip the cream.

Whip the cream in a large bowl until thick but still soft.  Roughly crumble in the meringues, you will need chunks for texture as well as a little fine dust.

Take out about half a cupful of the chopped strawberries, and fold the meringued cream and the rest of the fruit mixture together.

Arrange on 4 serving plates or glasses or in a mound, and top each one with some of the remaining macerated strawberries.

never enough time

My sis and her son were just here-we thought five days would finally be enough.  But it never is, right?

We did so much:  Ikea, Galleria (as we both needed a Crate and Barrel fix), the Mall of America, Cascade Bay waterpark, and Grand Avenue shopping.  We had nights drinking wine outside by candlelight, a trip to the Galaxy drive-in for burgers, and movie night with "Sherlock Holmes".  Mike took the boys to Sonic and Grand Slam.  We had a wonderful brunch at Pizza Luce on Sunday morning, and the boys rode bikes and Ripstix and got LOTS of Xbox time.  We hit up SuperTarget and Trader Joes.  She filled her pantry with a trip to Penzeys, and we hit up yard sales and took a morning walk in the rain.

And it still wasn't enough time.

Now they have left, and are winding there way home to Bemidji on Highway 10.  We won't get to have a visit like this again until next summer.  And we did not take ONE PHOTO.  And I am sad.  But I pulled this picture from my archives, it was last summer in Bemidji.  And both Riley and Charlie have grown about a foot since then, I think.

But we took lots of memory pictures, and that will just have to suffice.  Back to work, and laundry, and house cleaning.  Because school for Charlie is less than a month away, and August will fly, and we have a lot to pack in!