Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary!

Today is Beverly Cleary's 95th Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Cleary and thank you for the joy you brought me (in your 50s) and my children (in your 80s) and a lifetime of helping children love to read and laugh.

My favorite Beverly Cleary book (though not necessarily her most well-known) is Ellen Tebbits.  Ellen's misadventures include having to wear long underwear under her ballet leotard and her inability to control a difficult horse (albeit not both at the same time). Trust me, it's funny. Ellen's nemesis Otis and his spurs are quite humorous, too.

Mrs. Cleary's other works include the Henry series and the Ramona books (made into a recent movie which my daughter and I disparage.  After all, who could do justice to Mrs. Cleary's writing? Though, the handsome actor John Corbett was, no doubt, awesome casting.) 

We listened to Mrs. Cleary's Ralph S. Mouse and The Mouse and the Motorcycle on audiotape during long car trips when my children were younger.  We loved them both. 

Enjoy your day, Mrs. Cleary.  My daughter hopes you got the fan letter she wrote you when she was in third grade - if not, consider yourself appreciated by our family and countless others.

National Library Week, April 10th - 16th

"When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does."

~ Kathleen Kelly's character in You've Got Mail 

As long as I can remember I've loved books.  In the third grade I read Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory eight times and a couple years in a row I won the grade school award for most books read.

So, instilling a love of reading in my children was/is important to me. When my children were younger, and especially in the summer, we made a weekly trip to our public library to browse and check out library books.  Sadly, with an excess of online resources, Kindles and a Barnes and Noble on every corner, we're far less likely to visit the library these days.

But, we'll always have these special reminders of our weekly treks to the library:

I bought simple canvas bags at Michael's Arts and Craft and gave my children paint pens to decorate them.  We took zip ties and a hole punch and attached their library cards to the bag handle. Their precious handwriting (on both the bags and library cards) is so special. We hung these on our coat rack where they couldn't be misplaced.

I'm happy to say that today both of my children are voracious readers and I know I have the public library (and I like to think, these little bags) to thank for that.

Egg Tree

For at least the last eight years I've decorated a tree in our front yard for Easter.  I usually do this about 8 - 10 days before Easter Sunday.  It is one of my favorite holiday-anticipating activities.

This was last year's tree - 

If you want to make your own egg tree, be on the lookout for the plastic eggs with two small holes already in the top (in the more pointed end). It will make your crafting much easier.

 In the top of the blue egg you can see the holes that the manufacturer so thoughtfully included 😉

You will need: a glue gun, fishing line, and plastic Easter Eggs (I use all sizes, all colors)

Open each egg.

  Place a small amount of hot glue between the two holes then thread a few inches of the line thru the holes and make sure it grabs each cut end of the fishing line. No tying is necessary.

Close the egg (of course)

 I don’t worry about my fishing line being equal lengths. Having the eggs hang a varying heights adds to the charm. My best piece of advice is the more eggs the better. I have about 3 dozen eggs on my tree.

I particularly love the eggs that are bunny shaped.

They're a little sun-bleached, but cute nonetheless.

By the time Easter has come and gone, my  little Japanese maple will be completely enveloped in leaves and my plastic eggs will be hidden in the recesses of the branches.  And that's a whole new kind of Egg Hunt.

 

Golf

If you are a true fan of the sport of golf then this week,  April 4 - April 10th, is a holiday.  Not a holiday as in "I'm taking the day off" but a holiday like a period of festivity, a reason to be excited and joyous.

Yes, this week is the week of The Masters.  The most special, dare I say, sacred week in all of athletics.  I know the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Final Four and the World Cup are special too to their own fervent fans, but The Masters has an aura.  And you can't say that about too many sporting events. 

Now, I grew up with zero knowledge of golf. It seemed to me that golf was a sport for rich people.  Defying my stereotype, my husband (who was decidedly not rich growing up) taught himself how to play golf when he was 12 by swinging a cheap club in his backyard and enjoying the game whenever he could.  He played a lot when he was a single young adult.  Sadly, I don't think it would take two hands for me to count the number of days he played a round of golf in 2010, but still, he loves it.  I mean, LOVES it. So too, he loves this week and looks forward to it all year long. 

Several years ago we had the great good fortune to be offered 4 "badges" (I was admonished by my husband not to refer to them as tickets or passes) to the final round of The Masters. 

If you are familiar with the event, you know that badges are not expensive but almost impossible to come by (many are owned by families and passed down from generation to generation) and so it was such a pleasure and a complete last minute surprise that our family of 4 was offered badges and was able to make the trip.  My husband had been to The Masters but for our family (not all golf-lovers, but since made converts) to make the journey together was really special.  

We sat in the gallery, surrounded by visitors from Scotland (real golf lovers) and California and Arizona and many other far away places.  Having traveled just 90 minutes to Augusta, Georgia, the thrill of seeing the world's best golfers on one the most beautiful golf courses in the world  (the grass is so gorgeous it appears artificial even from inches away) was unmistakable.

So this week my husband will mark the occasion of The Masters by staying up after the 11 pm news to watch the highlights of the practice rounds. He'll check The Golf Channel for constant updates. He'll probably hope a friend or client will call at the last minute with a spare badge but he'll definitely be happy with his 6 day holiday.
 

Carrot Cake Muffins

I know. I know.  I promised this wouldn't be a food blog.  Given my photography/food stylist skills and my limited culinary abilities -- it's the least I can do.  Still, every once in a while I stumble upon a recipe worthy of sharing (e.g., eating) and easy enough that even I could attempt it.  This is just such a recipe -- in time for Easter and all things Easter Bunny, like carrots.

The yummy result! 

I found this recipe in The New York Times online.  There are lots of ingredients, but it's well-worth it and none are too exotic.

You will need:

2.5 c. whole wheat pastry flour (okay, forget what I said about not being exotic.  I Googled "pastry flour" and realized I could combine half cake flour [1 1/4 c.]  and half all purpose flour [1 1/4 c.].  I used unbleached flour and achieved great results)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

Sift these ingredients together into a bowl.  I don't have a real sifter and instead substituted this strainer. 

I know.  Resourceful, right?

In a separate bowl, beat together:

2 eggs

1/3 c. raw brown (turbinado) sugar - it's, apparently, all the rage these days, but I did have to make a special trip to the store for this item

I had to settle for the individuals packets.  1/3 c = approx 10 packets

 1/3 c. canola oil

1 1/3 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

 Also, 

1 1/2 c. grated carrots (hooray for the food processor!) 

Note: The NYT suggests the addition of 2/3 c. golden raisins tossed with 1 tsp. of unbleached all-purpose flour or 2/3 c. chopped pecans.  I didn't add either, preferring pure unadulterated carrot muffins - though the addition of cream cheese frosting or a nut crumble on top did cross my mind. 

Using a spatula, combine the wet and dry ingredients.  Do not beat, even "lumps are fine, but don't leave flour in the bottom of the bowl" (the NYT food writer knows me too well).  Finally, fold in carrots.  (If you include raisins or nuts, you would add them now and stir). 

Coat muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray and fill each cup 2/3 full.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes.  

Not too sweet.  Not too carroty.  Just 12 delicious muffins.  

The finished product minus 1, 2, 3!  

I told you they were good. 

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Yesterday was Opening Day in Major League Baseball.  This had very little impact on our family.  

It didn't affect  her . . .

At a Braves game in 1996

or him . . .

A sports camp photo from 2001 (and he played a few seasons of t-ball too)

though he looks adorable doesn't he?  

or him, really . . . 

My husband played catcher on his high school baseball team. That's him rounding the bases in the spring of 1978. 

though my husband is an avid and lifelong Braves fan and he'll be watching more than a few games this season.

However, hundreds of miles away in Virginia, this guy may be the happiest member of my family to see today arrive.

I don't have a cute photo of him dressed in baseball apparel, but trust me when I say, he's got it. 

My dad is a huge fan of baseball. He roots for the Red Sox and Orioles, but we forgive him!  

Baseball great Rogers Hornsby said, "People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball.  I'll tell you what I do.  I stare out the window and wait for spring" but it sounds an awful lot like something my dad could've said. 

So hooray for baseball season, the boys of summer and the inventor of the major league baseball network! Right, dad?

Play ball! 

La Tour Eiffel

Our daughter took these lovely photos - April 2010

One hundred and twenty-two years ago today the Eiffel Tower was opened to the public.  

The most iconic edifice in the world is beautiful, an engineering feat.  

So, it is regrettable to have to admit that although I have had the good fortune of traveling to Paris twice in the past 25 years, I have never actually been in/on the Eiffel Tower.  

My first trip, just after college, I didn't think I could afford the, what I considered, hefty admission price. So, I was satisfied standing on the ground admiring its beauty and grandeur.  Truthfully, I wasn't heartbroken.  I know I must have felt that I most certainly would be back - sooner rather than later and then I could, if I wanted to, take the ride to the top.  

In front of the Eiffel Tower in May 1986.

Imagine my utter disappointment when last year on my second trip to France, an electrical workers strike "short-circuited" (pun intended) our visit. The Tower was closed during our entire 3-day stay in Paris. 

 

I hope to return one day, sooner rather than later, and ascend to the top, taking nothing for granted.