The amazing garden bounty from our very own tiny yard.

Interrupting this list of Bestest Summer Moments to insert a quick least bestest (worstest?) moment from today.

That would be the moment I nearly killed my beloved husband.

Coming home from a morning out at the thrift shop and picking up some more coffee at Zarra’s, I’m looking forward to getting in the house and making a little lunch. I’d already gone without a mid-morning snack which is very unlike my pregnant self. Translation: do not stand between me and the refridgerator. Or a burrito.

I start making sandwiches (one for each of us, i’m not THAT hungry) while Neil carries a sleeping Dash up to his room.

Lightbulb goes off in my head!

I made french onion dip yesterday and there’s a whole lot of it waiting for me in the fridge! I tore into the fridge, practically salivating (I didn’t say this story was pretty) at what I’d find.

And what did I find, you ask? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No bowl of dip. Not even a little. Depression and disbelief sets in as I scanned the counter. And what did I find there? Dirty dip bowl, scraped of all its goodness. Depression set in deeper and I dipped a toe in the lake of rage.

I walked quietly upstairs to where Neil is working, contemplating divorce. “I am so mad at you right now,” I seethed.

Bewildered and a little scared, Neil barely got to wonder why before I let him know exactly what I thought of what he did. Then he confessed that since it was trash day, he took it upon himself to go through the fridge and toss anything that looked like it’d been hanging around for a month or more. He thought I would love him for it. Most wives would.

Anger melting, I had to admit that if you didn’t know you were looking at french onion dip, you’d definitely think a bowl of yogurt had gone terribly wrong. And smelled terribly wrong.

So I get it. I do. And it turns out that love can survive a husband messing with his pregnant wife. But it doesn’t put the dip back in the bowl, now does it?

In summary, I will be home the rest of the afternoon. Please come by with dip.

Mom’s Day 2008 was simple, delicious, and all-around lovely.

We hosted a Mother’s Brunch (attendees: my parents and Neil’s granny) chock full of cinnamon swirl french toast, asparagus frittata, bacon, fruit salad, bloody marys, and strong, strong coffee. We all ate a lot, talked a lot, and just enjoyed the sunny Sunday morning.

Dash wandered off after brunch and played by himself for a while (something he doesn’t do for more than, say, 10 minutes usually). I sat back and listened to him talking to himself and to his toys and was reminded of how much I adore him and how lucky I am to have him in my life.

When he was done playing, he helped Neil and my dad assemble an Ikea shelf that has been sitting around since our big trip there a month or so ago. Showing some true skill, he put one dowel after another in the holes. Kind of amazing to see.

While the men put the shelves up, we ladies and Dash took a walk down the street. Walks with Granny are done at a slower pace, and I figured it would be a short one. There are bad knees and general old age to contend with after all. And maybe it was the french toast, who can say, but she decided to make it all the way down our street and up the big hill. Probably just under a mile in total. I was so proud of her for pushing past what would have been her normal stopping point, and so pleased to be holding her hand the whole way. My maternal and paternal grands all passed away years ago, so to have a grandmother in my life again has been such a blessing. I love to hear her stories of momhood (when she had her babies, a nurse from the hospital came home with her for a week to help out, imagine that!) and tales from years ago (summer vacations with friends in the Poconos, ironing every single piece of clothing every single time it came out of the wash for years and years and years… hmm, that must be why she suggested I iron my cloth napkins for the next breakfast she comes over for).
Anyway, it was a lovely multi-generational walk with Granny, my mom, me, and Dash. So many mothers in one place, it felt powerful.

Oh, and gifts! I’ll add some photos of these soon, but for now just the descriptions. Neil had a great photo of him and Dash taken and printed out for me. It’s wonderful and makes me tear up. Must be framed. And… he bought me cable tv. I hear most of America has had this “cable” for decades now, but we’ve been getting by on rabbit ears and a whole lot of patience. Good god, I can’t believe we’ve lasted this long. The cable lady came this afternoon and we’re now the proud owners of some 30-odd stations (odd might be a key word, actually) of sports, shopping, and a few miscellaneous channels from the next package up that snuck their way in. Spike network anyone?
I was luxuriating out on the porch with a book while she hooked us up and when I came in to see the results, our rabbit ears were mysteriously nowhere to be found. Do you suppose she confiscated them? She was probably mortified to see them and thought she might do us a favor and just have them put down for us. Thank you cable lady.

My third and most creative gift was from my mom. She’s gotten into making altered books lately though I didn’t expect to ever receive one. Well, she made a lovely themed book (theme= me) with page after page of things that I like to do or read or eat, and one final page about being a mom with a photo of Dash as a baby-baby. Thanks Mom. I love it.

Hope you all had a nice Mother’s Day too.

Did I mention that I will be accepting gifts for Valentine’s Day? That’s right! For a limited time only (it’s just one day) I will be receiving gifts through the mail, online, or in person. To take advantage of this fabulous offer, just keep reading.

I’ve made a simple list of some of the many ways you can participate:

Visit Three Potato Four. Purchase anything. Anything at all. Man I love that shop!

Take me out for a drink at the Top of the East.

Visit the Old Port Candy Co. mmmm… gummy things, chocolate things, things….

(And while we’re talking candy, if anyone can figure out how to get the swedish fish people to start making the grape flavor again, please let me know. Do you miss them too? Let’s band together! We’ll hold a caucus if we have to. I just know we can make a difference.)

So there you have it. Just a few simple ways to say “I Heart Tonya.” And while we’re at it, I heart all of you, too. And I hope you have a divine Valentine’s Day.

I know I said I’d do this before the weekend, but well, I lied. Hopefully this gave you plenty of time to gather the necessary ingredients. Not that you knew what they were yet, but you know.

Without further ado or excuses, here is the recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. Originally given to me by my mother and adapted by me so she doesn’t kill me.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 can pumpkin (or homemade puree if you have it)
2 eggs
3/4 cup safflower (or canola) oil
1/4 cup water
3 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar (half a cup more if you want it sweetsweetsweet)
1 Tbs pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups really good chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.
In a small bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, oil, and water.
In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients (not the chips). Add the pumpkin mixture to this and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.

Place spoonfuls of batter onto a greased cookie sheet. They won’t spread too much, but leave some room between. Bake for 13-15 minutes, depending on your oven. Let them cool on the sheet for a moment or two while you get out the cooling racks. Transfer to racks. Once cool, or at least not raging hot, try one. You’ll be happy you did.

They freeze well, so if you can stand it, put some in a freezer bag and hide them from yourself. It is a happy day when one of those bags is uncovered in the freezer after you’ve forgotten about them. Yum.

So enjoy! Write in with your baking experiences if you’d like. Or share the pictures. We can all start a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie flickr group together. We’ll be the coolest!