Meyer Lemon's

I decided to join Finny & Donk's craft along this year. They are using projects from Craftzine this year. One of which is Lemon Drop Cookies.

I used Meyer Lemon's from Rosie & Woody. The first step is making sugar mixed with lemon zest.
Mix it together with all the other components and put on a cookie sheet. See that fancy layer under the cookies? It is Silpat my sister brought back from France on a recent visit.
After they came out of the oven.

Meyer lemons....

And then my friend, Jen, recommended that I make a lemon drop drink. Yum...mixed vodka, leftover lemon zest sugar and juice. Yum!

An Afternoon Bike Ride

I realized AFTER we got back from our vacation last year that there was an attachment for women's bikes that make it MUCH easier to get them on standard bike racks. It is called a "boomer bar". (Don't get me started on the fact that when I was at the bike shop buying the bike rack you would have thought they might have told me about it since the odds were REALLY high that there would be at least 1 girl bike on the rack.)
Basically it fits between the handle bar stem and seat stem. It makes it so much easier to fit a female bike on the rack.

Voila.....much less time and a lot less bad words said while getting the bikes on the rack.

While on our bike ride, we saw a pair of Mallard Ducks.

We went with the neighbor's on some trails near the house.

A great way to finish up our girl's day!

Roasted Vegetables

I cut up some of my haul from the farmer's market on Saturday and put them in the oven to roast.
The finished product....parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes and fennel.

Yummy!

Slumdog Milliionaire

I just saw this movie today. I really enjoyed it!

There are quite a few scenes of brutal squalor and violence but pivotal to the story.

Definitely a great movie!

An Evening with Rosie & Woody

I went to Rosie & Woody's house before dinner. I visited her birds....
Bella.....

Then we went to dinner at Roka Akor.

We started out with sashimi.

My entree was grilled cod.With sides of eggplant....

and asparagus....

Rosie & Woody each had spare ribs....they were good too.

After dinner Woody had iced tea..he thought the oranges around the inside was cool. They must have frozen the slices to the glass. Very pretty.

A final photo of the evening with Rosie, her step-brother Peter, Woody & I, on the way out of the restaurant.

Farmer's Market

There is a farmer's market near the house on Saturday's so I headed down there to pick up some local produce.
I loved this one that specialized in Asian ingredients.

I had no idea what this is but it sure looks cool! It is part of the bok choy family so I bought a "flower". I'll probably saute it.

The spoils of my trip. The bok choy, parsnip, fennel, grape tomatoes, cluster tomatoes, fresh seeded baguette, sweet potatoes, roasted peas for snacking and a container of fresh salsa!

I am going to make a soup with most of the sweet potatoes and then roast the fennel, sweet potato, carrots and parsnip and either make a winter salad or eat them as a side. Yum!

Zoo Lights

Hannah, Simon & I finally got to Zoo Lights last night. We have been trying since before Christmas but something always came up.
Some lights....

And more....

Don't you love Hannah's "pose"?

Simon and his light saber.

Hannah & her lighted teeth.....

We always love Jenga the giraffe. This year she was not quite as good with the names of the kids....hmm...next year.

A good time had by all!

Dinner

Hannah wanted to help make dinner earlier in the week....
She followed the directions for Cheesy Enchilada Hamburger Helper.

The cat was checking out the counter and my book.

Thank you to our military!

I forgot to write about some experiences on a flight I have taken.

I have always been a patriotic person and am thankful for our those that serve or have served in the military, like my Dad, my brother, a college girlfriend and her hubby.

While waiting in the airport to board recently, I was watching as those before me got on the plane. I see a young man that is being kissed and hugged by what looks to be his parents and his sister before he gets on the plane and they leave. He also has a few tell tale signs of being military....short hair and a camo backpack.

I get on the plane some people after him and want to shake his hand and thank him. I see him sitting towards the back of the plane so I head further back and stop at his aisle. I put out my hand and shook his while thanking him. He was bit shell shocked as to why I was thanking him and so I said, you are in the military, right? He said, yes. I just said thank you again and chose a seat a few rows back.

A few minutes later, he turned around and thanked me. He said that no one ever does that anymore to the military and that it meant a lot that there were people who still appreciated our military personnel.

On the next leg of the flight, since I got in the second row I sat by an unaccompanied minor and a young woman who looked like she had been crying.

Turns out this young woman had just left her husband for their last visit before he shipped out to "parts unknown" for 7 months with the Marines. She just needed someone to talk to about what she was going through and the sadness and worry she felt about her husband shipping out for 7 months.

I thanked her for the sacrifices her family made and to know that there are people who appreciate our military forces. She said it meant a lot to her to hear that and she would tell her husband.

Do I agree with what we are doing as a country with our military? No, not so much but I am a big believer in supporting the people!

So, next time you see our troops, say thank you. It will mean more to them than you will possibly know!

Gingerbread House

Gingerbread house.......the bag that came with the kit broke with the first squeeze so I improvised with a ziploc bag.

The house after gluing together with the royal icing.

Making desings and watching MORE holes sprout in my new bag. The kids just ate the extra frosting that came out the holes.

The finished product.

New Year's Day

One of our neighbors suggested we go on a picnic bike ride at a park near our house so we could have lunch at the "secret pond".
We found the pond and Simon threw a lot of rocks! Thankfully, he did not fall in.

And had our picnic before heading home.

The weather was beautiful and a great way to spend new year's day.