Oh Raspberries!

We've been picking raspberries every other day for a week and a half now. Every picking yields about 7 quarts of bottled raspberries (I'm taking some to Dad, he's quite fond of them), about 30 half pints of jam and 4 or 5 quart bags of whole berries for the freezer, plus a ton to eat fresh, put on waffles or ice cream, etc. Our biggest picking was Tuesday, I'm afraid it's downhill from now on, which is fine since we're leaving for Idaho on Wednesday. They sure have produced beautifully and now we have jewels to line the shelves of our fruit room!

Celebrating 34 LONG Years (just kidding)

We made it to out 34th! Candace and Kevin took us out to dinner while they were here. The food was great (McGraths Fish House - try the Coconut Shrimp and the Halibut platter) and the company was terrific! Thanks to Alyssa who babysat the whole crew so we could go without kids (even the nursing baby stayed home!)

Father's Day Gifts

For Father's Day this year, I foil wrapped 300 caramels. Then into a box with a little paper shred.
Halfway done.
One hundred boxes to church and not a one left to bring home.

Gardening Night at Enrichment

We recently had an enrichment night on gardening. I put together a deck size herb garden in a fun stacked container. My enrichment leader planted wheat grass and we made these cute centerpieces for the tables.

Stephanie's Pioneer Day Dress

I sewed a pioneer dress for Steph's 4th grade pioneer day. She had so much fun!

Deanne and I have different versions of the chocolate mint brownie recipe so here's mine for comparison.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

 

 

Brownie:

 

            1 cup flour

            1 cup sugar

            ½ cup softened butter

            4 eggs

            1 ½ cup (16 ozs.) Hershey’s Syrup

Combine together.  Bake in greased 9 x 13 in. pan.  Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes.  Let cool.

 

 

Mint Cream Center:

 

            2 cups powdered sugar

            ½ cup softened butter

            ½-¾ teaspoon mint extract

            3 drops green food coloring

            1 tablespoon water

Mix together and frost the brownies.  Refrigerate.

 

 

Chocolate Topping:

 

            6 tablespoons butter

            1 cup Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt together.  Spread over mint layer.  Let cool slightly, then chill brownies for about one hour to set chocolate.

Beauty and the Beast

We had a wonderful time with Lance and Mandy, Janelle, and Stuart in town to see Alyssa play Belle in Beauty and the Beast the opening weekend. She did an amazing and fantastic job in the role. She had seven solos/duets and sounded awesome! This year of voice lessons has really developed her talent. She got a lot of very nice compliments and had several little girls who got pictures taken with her afterwards. She really looked the part too, after her team of stylists- Janelle, Mom, and even Caidin (who will occasionally consent to holding the curling iron after it is rolled up) get done with her. It's two or three curling irons, lots of mousse and hairspray, an hour of time equals dozens of ringlets. Our old friends, Holly Andrews and her daughter Bonnie, who is Janelle's age, came down from Olympia to see the play as well. Bonnie had seen it posted on Alyssa's Facebook page and talked her mom into a visit. We hadn't seen them since 2001, so it was a nice reunion.

If any of you can come and see it Alyssa would be absolutely thrilled to have you attend as it is truly a dream come true for her to be performing this role in this play. The entire cast is absolutely fantastic, from Mrs. Potts to Luminere and Cogsworth. The orchestra even sounds half decent! There are four shows left this week - Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Saturday night (June 4th, 5th and 6th at 7 pm, Matinee at 2 pm Saturday. We'd be happy to put you up for the night!