We finally made it to see and ride the little steamers last weekend. 

Ben was super tired because he was up at four in the morning (the night before) complaining of a sore throat.  It was the beginning of a cold that is just about ending now. 

Waiting on line…..

Daddy – trying to keep him occupied.

Watching all the trains go by…

Craig – Soon Ben soon…

Tired of waiting…

Finally – ALL ABOARD!

Father and son chuggin’ back.  (The engineer looks thrilled, right?)

OK, that was neat but I’m tired now and would like to go home.

Anyways, I’ve heard from several friends that it was a pretty cool place and it was.  It is all run by volunteers and a donation is all that is required.   The season is now over but keep the website faved for next year!

END of Summer

and heading into Fall. I <3 this time of year. The colors, the smell, the crispness of the air, the way my hair is less frizzy…

Have a great day!

I am so nuts right now, I don’t which way is up! 

Is this 37 weeks controlling me right now?  I can’t seem to pick one thing and actually finish it.  Oh and there is a cricket in the kitchen for the past three days which is also driving me crazy.  ACK!

or shall I say day dreaming of all the things I would like to accomplish before the baby arrives. I’ve been wanting to do another belly shot being that I’m 35 weeks but I just don’t have the time or the inspiration. Maybe over the weekend something will come over me. Livingroom is shaping up. Seat cushions are in and the cornice has been made. (Thanks to my Aunt Les who came over last night and worked on the floor while Ben was jumping on her back!) I have to now make another pillow (which I was supposed to do last week or was that the week before?) and hang the cornice. Also, find a rug. I don’t know if the rug will happen before Rosh Hashanah but that is ok. I still don’t have the prints I wanted up. That’s funny, up sounds like I have them framed…..meanwhile……I didn’t even take the shots I want for that wall. As Scarlett always says, “Tomorrow is another day”.

Dropping Monsta off at Grandma and Grandpa’s today.  I will then set out to meet with the guy that will make my seat cushions for the livingroom.  I have to bring him the fabric and the measurements.  Then off to buy the supplies needed for my remaining pillows.  Go to Trader Joes to do some much needed shopping then UH, I forgot all the other things.  I better make a list.

This past Wednesday was the first night that my Mom (Sherry Palencia) was teaching at Jones Beach Bandshell.  She didn’t think we were coming but we ended up surprising her.  She was thrilled!  She had a fantastic turnout.  About 400 people came out to dance with her.  There was a full moon and the weather was perfect.  Everyone was so happy to see her there.  My cousins that I don’t see very often were there so that was really great too.  Ben stood on stage most of the night.  He was directing people where to go and holding the mic and dancing around.  It was pretty cute to see.  We have video of him but I couldn’t get the card to download the files for some weird reason.  Maybe Craig can figure that one out.

 Last night after we put the monsta to bed I spotted the bunnies.  They were out.  I got a pic and here it is.  Can  you believe that they are this BIG?  I can’t…what is it, two weeks?

One of my Flickr contacts posted a picture of a bread that she had made.  She also included the link to the video on how to do it.  I watched and was amazed at how easy it seemed.  Could it be possible?  I tried it because I had all four ingredients in the house and I had nothing to lose.  It took me five minutes, that’s right, 5 minutes to prepare the dough.  Then it sits for at least 12 hours.  The next day it took me another five minutes, that’s right, 5 minutes to get it ready for the oven.  It baked for about 45 minutes and then I looked at it.  Holy Mackeral – REAL bread.  It probably didn’t taste too good, let me try it…..HOLY, IT TASTES AWESOME.   You have got to try this.  I already made 2 loaves this week.  The second one even better than the first.  I’m psyched over the simplicity and the deliciousness. 

No-knead bread

3 cups All purpose flour

1/4 tsp. instant yeast

1 tsp. and 1/4 salt

1 and 1/2 cups warm water

Combine dry ingredients and then add the water.  Stir it with your hands just till it comes together.  Cover with damp cloth and let it sit for 12-19 hours. 

The dough should be loose and stringy.  Lay a dishcloth down and dust it with something.  (I used corn meal).  You can use flour or wheat bran.  Experiment.  Transfer the dough onto cloth and fold it (you will see what I mean when you watch the clip).  Dust the top with more of whatever you used.  I put sesame seeds and sea salt on top of mine.

Oven is really hot at 500 degrees and the cast iron pot is in there.  Plop dough into HOT pot and cover for 30 minutes.  Then uncover for another 15-20 minutes.  You won’t believe how good this is. 

Enjoy!

Outtake:

THE VIDEO

Let me start by saying that this past weekend was the BEST EVER.  I’m sure many of you feel the same way for the simple reason that we had sun.  Amazing what a ball of fire can do for the soul.  The weekend started out early Saturday morning when I discovered five baby bunnies in our garden.  Earlier in the week, I saw a big bunny trapped inside the chicken wire and couldn’t get it out.  I saw that it was making some sort of nest but I hadn’t a clue that it was having babies.  Craig finally lifted up the fence and got the critter out.  The week goes by and Saturday I’m removing the straw I had used for mulch with a pitchfork.  I lifted up a chunk and they they were.  Five little squigly babies with no eyes.

……………………………………………….I freaked out a little because I nearly pitchforked them (Imagine? I don’t know if I could ever get over that).  I was lucky enough to miss them.  It was a sight to see.  I called everyone over.  Ben was all cool like and said, “Wow, bunnies”.  We decided to move them because they did not have the shelter of the straw anymore and it was blazing hot.  Craig put them in a big basin with the straw under a tree for the day. 

We checked on them regularly and they were fine.  I was really concerned because I read online that you should really leave them be because otherwise the Mother won’t find them to nurse.  They only get milk for 5 minutes a day because their tummies are so small.  That evening we modified the fence around the garden and put them back in their original nest.  Sunday morning, we were happy to see that the Mommy had been there and made a better nest and they were all fine.   What a relief.  What a learning experience.  I’m so looking forward to see how they progress in the next few weeks.

Besides the bunny saga, we basically spent the whole weekend in the pool.  By the end of the two days, Ben was swimming in his tube all by himself all over the pool.  I’m so proud.  He was really brave and even mastered the doggie paddle with some help.  We finished up blowing bubbles and having a BBQ while the sun was going down.  Perfect ending wouldn’t you say?

I woke up this morning to find this…

My sweet husband left me coffee all ready to be made.  He makes the BEST coffee (decaf-if you are wondering) and I was really psyched to find this waiting for me.   I drank it along with matzoh and jarlsberg and had a wonderful morning. 

Ben asked for them as a snack = 2 points!

Didn’t make Star Trek but will keep you posted.