Camping in the basement!

This is a long planned nice thing for Hubby and Mr 6 to do together.
They camped out in the basement and used the fireplace and had an extended reading time.
This photo is from the morning when all three boys had some reading time.

Baltimore - Port Discovery Children's Museum

It is called a Children's Museum, but seems really to be a fancy indoor children's play area... We were a bit underwhelmed to be honest. They had various things to do, with a big climbing area in the middle. Mostly all very very played with...
Our kids got to the point where they were overstimulated, and just wanted to float through areas, pressing all the buttons they could on the way through. So there were lots of lovingly thought out exhibits that were only valued for buttons... I don't think the kids picked up anything about ancient Egypt, exports of Maryland, how a garden works, what worms do in a garden, etc.
If we did it again: go early, and just play on the gym, go out for a break, reentry, play on gym again.

Left over Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

This was a really enjoyable leftover that tasted great. I used turkey instead of chicken, and also used a lot of pure turkey stock, and managed to clear out some veggies that were malingering in the kitchen.
I got a very classic reaction from the baby though. I think after about 20 mins he had calmed down enough to try a bit (and realised we weren't going to come up with something better), after which he ate the whole bowl, veggies and all, without pause (while his older brother was manfully eating without complaining, but forensically picking through every mouthful for suspicious looking lumps).

Military Bowl

Quiet day at home today, sadly realising tonight that we missed the parade, with Clydesdale horses, for the Military Bowl game. So on one hand, we got some things done at home, and on the other, we missed a parade! We just hadn't kept up with whether the bowl was even on, never mind if it was in town. Maybe next year.

http://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/navy_sports/cgnews-military-bowl-parade-20151228-photogallery.html

Quiet Waters

We headed out to Quiet Waters today, for a bit of a low key outing. Everyone still a bit tired and overwhelmed after Christmas. The extra bike got officially handed down (training wheels back on, seat lowered), to the breathless and repeated thanks from the baby. Mr 6, with brand new bike, needed to have a few rides himself, to remember how much better his new bike is, and to let go of his old bike. Having achieved that, and the baby having learnt how to steer and pedal at the same time, we set out on a loop we hadn't done, which had a lovely view.
Once again, the time and space and peace gave us all a bit of rest and renewal.

Merry Christmas

Here is our tree, all ready for the day!

Here is our breakfast of waffles!

Here is the tree, all denuded of presents...

Here is Christmas dinner with turkey and gravy made from the giblets and neck (didn't get the colour right, so it is sort of white...). We also ate beans, roast potato, peas and corn, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, lemonade and non-alcoholic champagne (very juice like).

Weather - about 20 deg C, so lots of time spent out doors on new bike and scooter.

Decorating Gingerbread

Well, I've done it twice now, so I wonder if it is a bit of a tradition. Today we had some friends over (my kids plus 5 others, plus their parent) and decorated gingerbread. It was less chaotic than last year, possibly because the kids were older?
I made the gingerbread ahead (Tuesday night...in the thick of my cold-before-Christmas...), bought the icing, and provided enough sprinkles to liberally cover several biscuits in the charming way that kids can. Even googly eyes...
My friend provided craft, which was new this year, which is, clear plastic baubles to hang on the Christmas tree, with paint swirled inside, one for each child. It is surprisingly good at the finish...
I have no examples of what my kids did, because they ate them, but what the baby did, was very carefully cover a gingerbread man in about 1 cm of chocolate icing, then very carefully sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of pink sugar on to it, then carefully placed about 5 mini M&Ms, and 5 confectioners sugar (shiney) balls. Then he ate it, very happily. (and skipped lunch, and ate a very small dinner, and went to bed at 6pm).

The Nutcracker

The weekends in December, a plethora of performances of the Nutcracker take place, across America. Because it turns out that watching the Nutcracker, whether a full version, or part thereof, is a bit of a Christmas tradition for families. I'm intrigued. We haven't been game to spend the money on tickets yet, because we think our kids would probably start being loudly bored half way through, but maybe next year we could give it a try.

Picture source - https://www.washingtonballet.org/season-performances/the-nutcracker

Leaf String

We finally attached the glittery leaves to a bit of curling ribbon... and hung them up. It looks really good. Pity we didn't get it up before Thanksgiving!

Cold weather

It has been mild recently until the last couple of days. Our energy bill shows that it has been a higher average temp by about 7 degrees (F, I think). We have felt like it is largely just a Sydney Winter! This weekend we got our first feel of  some proper cold, with temperatures below freezing over night, and about 0-5 degrees C during the day. Strangely refreshing. Unfortunately, Christmas day looks like it is about 60F (15C) and cloudy.
Apparently if you wanted snow, Colorado is the place to be. Ahh well.

Flannelette Lined Jeans

These are gold. I am anticipating living in these, once the weather starts hitting its stride. No wind chill at all!

Cinnamon Dough Ornaments

This solves a mystery from last year, when I was presented with some hearts that were obviously made out of spices and something else. (He said glue - I assumed woodworking glue?!)
We made these with our little preschool, and they look great on the tree. I'm hoping some can travel home at the end, but we'll see.
It takes equal parts of cinnamon and applesauce (apple puree). Mix into a cookie dough consistency, roll out and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. We used a straw to cut out the hole for the string to hang them up, and then cooked them in the oven until hard.

Fruit Mince Pies

Yup, I'm posting about fruit mince pies again. Because we think we finally have it...
(when I say we, I mean hubby. I stand in the background offering encouraging noises and occasional semi-useless advice)
He made some just before Thanksgiving, and that was when we learnt the important art of leaving the pies to cool for five minutes before attempting to remove from the pans. We also realized that the small glasses we got from Ikea for the kids were perfect cutters for the bottom pastry.
So, this week, we/he made some more, and there were no casualties!! It is a lot of work, and a little bit of fruit mince goes a long way, but now we/he have the art, including but not limited to:

• Making pastry ahead, and keeping in fridge/freezer until using
• Putting on fruit mince around mid-November so it can sit for three weeks
• The correct sized cutters for the top and bottom pastry (Ikea glass, 1/3 cup measure)
• Rolling out correct thickness, and sealing pastry properly
• Prying pastry from pans Really Gently so they hold together (puts me in mind of holding chickens firmly, but gently, so they couldn't get away, but also so you didn't squash them to death).

There is a great deal of satisfaction in having stuck to something that was hard, and getting there. I feel it, and I haven't even been the one putting in the hard work.

If you need the whole history, see posts number 1, number 2, number 3, number 4 and number 5.

my favrit animal...

I had to put this out there, just for an "Aww", and because I am the proud mother (mom) of a 6 year old who can draw a tigre on the computer.
How precious are our children.

The Handbag

Worth every capital used... Here is the first ever Bag that I Spent Money On, Ever. At this rate, I'll not be getting another bag for about 10 years, but I'm hoping this one works out. It is called a tote by the seller, so big enough to fit a laptop (or, for those who live in the real world, a set of colouring in pencils, some paper/notebook, a couple of books for kids to read, a couple of pieces of fruit, a container of almonds, about three waterbottles, my purse and my list of things to do).
The ironic thing? I bought it through a mail order catalogue... bought a bag, that I hadn't felt in the flesh first, hadn't tried on my shoulder... completely going by the pictures with the model... I agonized over it, and my long suffering husband eventually suggested that as a proportion of the price, maybe the return postage wasn't that bad, and maybe I could just get it and see how it went. It smells like leather, and feels awesome.

Christmas Cake

I got the Christmas cake cooked this weekend. I think I procrastinated over it a little because it was such a big undertaking last year. So it didn't go in the oven until 7.10pm on Sunday night (for a three hour cook...) but it is done, and it smells lovely. I had candied peel and raisins from Australia, and instead of glace cherries, I put in dried cranberries. Downside of cooking before Christmas - I just want to eat it!
The blanched almond in the centre standing on its end is the six year olds contribution - he is very keen on things not just lying flat.

Annapolis Yacht Club

The Yacht Club burnt down today, very completely. Our claim to fame is driving past it probably about 5 mins before the fire alarms went off (because I commented on the fire engines screaming into town as we drove out...).
We are yet to hear the cause of the fire. No sprinklers (old building) and unusual roof line (lots of nooks and crannies that were hard to get fire out of) didn't help. Second and third floors completely taken out. smoke damage to the rest of the building.
Luckily, the place was closed, so there were only staff who had to evacuate, so no casualties, apart from one fire fighter who got heat exhaustion.
Source: http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/annapolis/ph-ac-cn-fire-jobs-1215-20151214-story.html

Calendar Seasons

Source: http://www.kmvt.com/content/news/Weather-Blog-Welcome-to-fall-Wait-what-323791871.html

Had a discussion with the 6 year old about seasons recently. Turns out, seasons in the USA don't start on the first of the month, they start on the 21 or 22nd of the month.
Winter - Winter Solstice - Dec 22nd
Spring - Spring Equinox - March 20th
Summer - Summer Solstice - June 21st
Autumn - Fall Equinox - September 23rd
Which is still around three months per season, but sort of more in line with the hours of sunlight, I think, rather than a date on the calendar. Further research indicates that maybe the reason is that this is the astronomical seasons, whereas the first of the month is what is used when recording data, as the 1st of the month is at the same time, but Solstice etc might not be on the same day every year.

Site Visit!!

I'm doing this job that is 3 quarters boring and 1 quarter interesting... but it meant I got a site visit!!
How refreshing it was to charge around in steel caps and jeans looking at things. I particularly enjoyed the effluent of this waste water treatment plant - they run it down a cascade (series of steps) that gets plenty of air into the water, and then straight into the local creek (Not bad practise, just I'd never seen it before).

Roundabouts

A rough survey (sitting at a bus stop and watching) of traffic going around a roundabout has revealed that lanes are for wuses.
No matter where you enter in the roundabout, be it the inside lane or the outside lane, you exit exactly where you want to be Next - ie, often changing lanes part way around the round about so you can exit into the outside lane, or just straddling the two lanes the whole way through and sort of casually sorting yourself out later, or (and this is a personal favourite...) because you're not entirely sure when/if someone will be exiting, just entering into the roundabout without giving way, and preferably in front of a car.
Blinkers (turn signals here...) are optional, and not really used much, unless they see that you've hesitated to enter the roundabout because it looks like they're wanting to go straight through, so you get a blinker to indicate that yes, they are exiting and yes, you could have gone.
I am sort of surprised there are not more accidents.
The picture above provides a refresher on how to do it. In my experience, this is not how it is done in real life.

Source: http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/open-house-to-explain-expansion-of-howard-avenue-roundabout

ps - this is a late write up, many thanks to my sister for reassuring me at her visit that no, this wasn't normal, and yes, I should tell everyone!

Charming Charlie

Got an unexpected hour in the mall sans family after I had bought some steel caps - so I gamely made the choice to go in a few handbag stores I had always previously drifted by. Charming Charlie particularly took my interest - if you ever needed to buy something in a particular colour, be it jewellery, handbags or possibly a wrap, shoes, or a top, this is the place to be. It is a huge store, divided up by colour, with all the costume jewellery you could ever want, plus handbags, a range of tops (mainly tops), some hair accessories, watches, etc. There was a red section, a blue section, a black and white section, a gold and silver section, and more! It looks very handy for Christmas Party Outfit Shopping.
I was agog that it is such a vast sized store, and that I've been here for nearly two years, and only just discovering it. It is these handy go-to stores that you need to know about, when you're shopping the day before a night out to complete your outfit...
The photo is a bit non-descript, because I was embarrassed about taking a photo in the store.

Cookies

Cookies are a big thing in America - and the bigger the better. When we get lunches at work, sometimes we get Panera, and they serve a cookie with their sandwiches... This cookie looks better than it tastes. The coloured things aren't m&ms, they're tasteless lumps.

Sriracha Ranch Dressing

We have been enjoying this salad, that is essentially cabbage or broccoli slaw, or bits of Brussel sprouts, sometimes kale, or all of the above, with sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries, and ranch dressing. You can buy a bag with all the bits and bobs, but we wondered, surely we can put that together ourselves?
So, we bought the bag of brocoli slaw, dug into the Christmas cake supplies for the cranberries, pulled out some sunflower seeds, and felt very satisfied. I bought ranch dressing and we served it to our family biblestudy as part of dinner.
Turns out, if I was American, I would understand that 'Sriracha' means hot sauce, very very hot sauce...Named after the province of Thailand where the hot sauce was first served. I had thought the red colour was just a variation on Ranch Dressing - it is everywhere here.  I was nice and generous with the amount of sauce in the salad too.

Our Christmas Tree!

We waited until the first weekend in December to get our Christmas tree, it is what we have been doing for a while, so it is starting to feel like our tradition, although we still have to work hard at getting it done...
Glorious early winter day today, unlike last year (raining), today was sunny, clear, about 48-50 (about 10C). We are experiencing the 'Sydney Winter' part of the Winter.
Photo is a bit scrappy, because as it turned out, it was hard to keep track of two semi-tired kids who wanted to be hands-on (but didn't accept direction), a trolley with a Christmas tree and the saw that we used to chop the tree down (the baby got hold of it for this photo...).

Brussel Sprouts

In case you were wondering about what season brussel sprouts grew in - here is how they are being offered in the supermarket. I hadn't realised they grew like this!
Another realisation (after volunteering to take a veggie dish to a party, and then having to do a desparate google for ideas, and then doing the weekly grocery shop that night) a lot of the traditional Thanksgiving/Christmas dishes that come up on American websites - those ingredients are available in supermarkets at the same time!!! like, sour cherries, or lots of brussel sprouts, or fresh cranberries!! Who would have thought! So, those recipes that send us panicking into the outer reaches of shopping trying to find obscure ingredients, or worse still, having to do some huge substitution - they're EASY here...Unlike traditional British Christmas recipes like fruit mince with candied citrus peel...

The big box from work

Continuing on from the train, the fire engine, and the train plus carriages...
I just knew this would be a winner, a shooting star, if you will. Both kids could fit inside, with a lot of giggling, and the lid meant they could play jack in the box. It could also be used as a secret cubby house at the end of the behind the couch secret lair. It failed completely from the rough treatment about 2-3 weeks later, to our secret relief.

Resoled Riding Boots!

Last Winter I spent a lot of time worrying about boots - nice boots that I could wear inside. All I had was a pair of riding boots that were getting past their prime. I felt uncomfortable about the boots available in stores (actually, I felt really stupid wearing them), and just didn't know what to do. Enter a genuine shoe repair shop, with custom made shoe repair sewing machine...
He recognised the brand as Australian, and fully appreciated that I wanted to keep them going. He got an $80 pair of leather soles from Italy, and resoled them, recoloured them, and it is practically like a new pair of boots! I added a cushiony insole, because they were a touch hard, and the boots are good to go, and probably better, for this Winter.

Christmas Lights

Turns out that a lot of people get organised with Christmas tree and lights after Thanksgiving.
The kids and I went for a walk and looked at some of the lights in that awkward half hour before dinner. Love the winter season! Christmas lights really make sense in this context...

Christmas Wreath

It is a big part of life here, not sure about the rest of the USA, to have the appropriate wreath on the door for the season. I got enthusiastic after seeing a cheap wreath at the supermarket and thought, I can do that! I did of course, have second thoughts, when trying to tie the bows, but too late. We have to work out how to hang it now.
We also discovered that possibly, the wreath we bought was a blank for a 'harvest themed' wreath, given that there are now wreaths of oregano and also wreaths of pine needle origins at the same supermarket, but there you go. It has a red bow and bells, it must look sort of Christmassy.

Quiet Thanksgiving

We had quiet Thanksgiving, with some friends nearby who had kids younger than ours (so leaving at 8 wasn't leaving early and ruining the party!!). We also managed to rearrange our lounge room and clean out our basement (quite a lot of recycling occurred!). Now we need to have the four days again, so we can get more of those obscure, important but not urgent projects done...
I will say again, I find Thanksgiving to be completely relaxing, given that it is a celebratory meal together with friends/family, without the stress of finding appropriate Christmas presents for people who generally have all they need and more. Although I should admit here that I have never had to cook/host a Thanksgiving meal...

Oh, and I'm not boasting or anything, but in the morning I managed to fold a completely complicated origami paper aeroplane from instructions in Japanese (and pictures...). It is such an awesome flier...

New Orleans - thoughts

A very typical balconied house (prob small flats by now)

View through to the courtyard of our guesthouse

Architecture - after a couple of huge fires that burnt most of the original structures in the French Quarter, the government (Spanish at that time) banned building with wood, and imported building codes from Spain including having to have an interior courtyard with a well for defense against future fires. The back of the house faces onto the street, and the interior courtyard was the front of the house. Used for hanging laundry and hanging about. The street balconies were only added on after sanitation improved beyond chucking it out the window. The courtyards were sort of open air extensions of the very open house, with lots of big shutters front and back to provide airflow and storm protection. Thats my summary anyway. There are whole books on the subject if you want more precise details. It is all beautiful, and I loved seeing it. There are other styles, from later on, but I loved seeing the glimpses of the courtyards. I also loved the idea of sitting on your balcony with a drink watching the world go by. It was too cold for this when we were there.

Music - they are very proud of their musical heritage. There are heaps of buskers. The first day we were there, a brass band made up of teenagers were on a street corner going for it, with about 5 brass instruments and a couple of drums at the back. They were pretty good. All the shops and restaurants play jazz music. The National Parks Service runs a Jazz preservation park there - essentially a service to encourage the music.

Food - seafood based, simple, usually stews, we ate very well, and enjoyed every bite. We even got the kids to eat some Jambalaya, because it is sort of a rice dish with shrimp and chicken and sausage.

Bourbon street - I walked down Bourbon St, including the busy end (full of clubs and pubs) that we had previously avoided, on a quiet Tuesday morning. My experience was that it stank... no matter how the pavements were washed down (and they were all sprayed, every morning) the smell of stale beer and worse lingered. It just didn't seem like a nice place.

Alcohol - New Orleans has an open carry licence, so you can purchase alcohol then walk around drinking, or purchase a drink then stand around on the street drinking, so there seemed to be a lot of random drinking, from around lunch time onwards. I wondered at the point, given a lot of places had a 'no outside drinks' rule. It looked like a lot of people were just doing it because they could.

Homeless - Maybe because we're out in the 'burbs here at home, and maybe because of the tourist activity, I'm not sure, but there were a lot of homeless congregating on the streets of the French Quarter.

Beads - I don't get the beads. I think they are some sort of party favour,thrown from Mardi Gras floats, but they are generally very cheap, imported from china, and worn by tourists whatever the time of year? They are strung on balconies or trees or bits of ironwork.

Hurricane Katrina - most locals have a story to tell, or an opinion to voice. It felt like a semi-oppressive elephant in the room actually. Because although life goes on, you can still see the occasional boarded up house, and it was all such a big shake up of the city. One big change was the skyrocketing cost of real estate in the French Quarter (which didn't flood), which means it is now being (or has been?) gentrified or turned into B&B's.

New Orleans - Horse and Carriage Tour

Today was a designated to be spent  doing a self guided walking tour around New Orleans. We realised that our boys have a very low tolerance level for self-guided walking tours (or any sort of aimless walking at all)... So spent some money and got a half hour ride around the quiet end of the French Quarter. The driver also gave some commentary, giving a potted history of the development of New Orleans, and pointing out some of the more typical house styles, so it turned out to be quite a peaceful half hour.
After that we went to the Tuesday Piano hour that the National Parks Jazz Preservation office puts on, and as it was Scott Joplin's birthday, listened so some glorious rag on the piano, as well as a bit of a history of the development of the ragtime style. The boys got bored about half an hour in, so they went and bought lunch, and we reconvened to eat it in the courtyard of our hotel. It was finally warm enough to do that!
We spent the afternoon in a local park, then had baths, then went and got dinner at a restaurant down the street, which was 70% chosen because we were looking at its menu when Mr 3.5 declared he needed to go to the toilet. He should get commission.

Swap boat ride (no Alligators)

Timeshare shacks - people come to fish, boat, or just have some time out

Cypress tress in swamp. All trees were about the same age - from 1910 on, when the clear cut logging stopped (presumably that was when they ran out of the original old timber)

Early start this morning, to go on a boat ride in a swamp, hopefully to see some alligators. Unfortunately, it was cold, so no alligators had yet risen to sunbake. We saw one grey heron, and a whole lot of swamp, mostly beautiful, and endured the strange commentary of the boat driver, who was playing some sort of Southern/simple/backwoods person, and who had an obsession with children getting eaten by things in the swamp. I think he thought it was funny, I'm not sure Mr 6 always understood he was joking.
Highlight of the tour - when we went at 30 mph down the river to see a different bit of the swamp - the kids loved it. On the way back, he did some swerves from side to side too, maybe to make up for the lack of alligators.
Another lesson - those touristy necklaces that have alligator teeth plus some beads, and cost $5? Kids love them...

The Creole Queen - paddleboat on the Mississippi

Streetcar

Ride on a paddlesteamer on the Mississippi. Very big brown river! The rain had gone this morning, but it was cold, with a big wind, which got worse when the boat got going...We had packed full winter coats, then thought we'd overpacked, then realised that we were needing every last layer. Apparently we were visiting in a bit of a cold snap. Typical.

Paddlesteamer went up the Mississippi for half an hour, then we visited the site of the Battle for New Orleans, where Andrew Jackson, future president of USA, led a rag tag army of locals and pirates (free pardon for all in return for use of their extensive weaponry and huge numbers) against the British, who had finished burning Washington DC, failed to take Fort McHenry in Baltimore, and were now trying for a tail-end victory over New Orleans. The boat trip included a local 'historian'/storyteller giving a commentary of the history of the development of New Orleans, and retelling the battle, so it was much more interesting than visiting an empty field and reading some signboards.

The afternoon was spent fruitlessly walking down Frenchmans Street, the plan being to find a pub that was playing music we liked and to sit and watch it. The problem - they all had video gaming, which meant that anyone under 21 was not allowed in. The other problem - our kids tended to listen to maybe 1.5 songs, then lose interest and loudly ask to go, even when we found a place where we could sit outside. Lesson learned - don't bother with Frenchman St with under 21 year olds. Just go to Jackson square and see what buskers are around.

New Orleans - getting there

First plane trip after three international flights... I was definitely a bit worried about how this would go. Additionally, we decided to travel with a car seat on the plane after realising that it is a half hour taxi from the airport into the French Quarter where we were staying.
We got there fine, and went to find the Farmers Market where we had planned on buying fresh fruit for snacks. The Farmers Market turned out to be less fruit and veggies and more local shops, like a spice shop, a local photographer and several prepared food stalls, which left us a touch worried about accessing fruit. It was also very crowded, and we were a touch exhausted after the early start (5am) and the travel, and a change in time zones.
Dinner: The Gumbo Shop, which is set up for tourists, but the wonderful thing is, the local food is so fresh and simple... So while our boys had grilled chicken and pasta, we had gumbo,  and a sample dish containing jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, and red beans and rice.

Leaf Day

Today was leaf day in our community - that is, the maintenance company got the troops together and collected all the leaves that are lying around.
Requirements - 10-15 men, 8 leaf blowers, 1 ride on mower, 2 sort of wind machines, 1 large covered truck with huge vacuum cleaner on the back.

At back of playground at around 10am

It is like a muster - the men with the blowers 'muster' the leaves to collection point, usually gutter or middle of road where truck can drive and vacuum can be applied. Man on ride on mower was using mower like a small digger, scooping piles of leaves on the front of the mower, and then driving to the collection point and dumping them. Two men with blower things - were doing something as well, but I'm not sure what.
And they went like that, all day, from one side of the community to the other...These guys, they really work. When you see them, they always have something to do, there is very little standing around and yakking, except at lunch time (I presume). They start at about 8am, and disappear at about 3-4pm.

Out the front of our place at 2pm.

Covered truck with vacuum on the back. One to operate the vacuum, two with blowers to collect the leaves that are left behind, one with rake to direct stray leaves under vacuum. About 8-10 guys were in front of the truck. It took them about 5 mins to come and go out the front of our place.

Our front yard on Friday. It will be 98% leaf free now.