"It's great to learn, 'cause knowledge is power."*

I was over my parents house this past Sunday helping my dad with a project in the basement. It was kind of dark, and he warned me not to trip over the base of the Lally column.  I quickly replied that I thought it was called a "lolly column", not a "lally column". And then completely without thought, I started singing "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here!" from that old episode of Schoolhouse Rock!

My dad had NO IDEA what I was singing, so I had to explain about Schoolhouse Rock! and how my siblings and I (and pretty much an entire generation) grew up watching it on Saturdays between the cartoons.

Aside: do you know that the big three networks no longer show cartoons on Saturday mornings? WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?!?!? Poor kids. What's the point in getting up early on Saturday now? Oh, wait. I think I understand this now...

I found him the video on YouTube so he could actually see what I was talking about, and he has been singing the song ever since. (My mother is not best pleased.)

Cut to Monday night: I am over Sister B's house for dinner. I answer a call from my dad on my cell phone. He has the song all cued up, and it starts playing "Lolly Lolly Lolly, get your adverbs here..." I hang up on him, laughing at having been "Lolly-rolled". Sister B asks me what I am laughing at. I start to tell her the story, as I just did here, about the "lally" columns vs "lolly" columns, and before I even finished my story, she starts singing...



*Schoolhouse Rock! slogan

Happy St. Crispin's Day!

One of my favorite speeches in all of Shakespeare:



Henry V Act IV, Scene iii.html

"This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."

RAH!! Let's go win the Battle of Agincourt!

Shakespearean/PBS Public Service Announcement

image source: Amazon.com

Just learned that American iTunes is selling episodes of "The Hollow Crown" NOW, before the program has been shown on "Great Performances" on PBS. You can also pre-order the DVD from Amazon with a release date of September 17th. (Oddly, you can rent or buy the series from iTunes in either standard definition or in HD, but no word on a BluRay version yet from Amazon. I am holding out for Tom Hiddleston in high-def, because that's how I roll...)  ♥ ♥

The premiere date for the first play in the set,"Richard II", starring Ben Whishaw ("Name That Brit" installment 549: he plays the new "Q" in Skyfall ) is on Friday, September 20th... set your DVR early so that you don't forget! (Although you should check your local listings just to be on the safe side.)

If you don't know these history plays, I highly recommend reading the synopses on the "Great Performances" website. (You can also check out the trailer.) The synopses are really helpful if you are unfamiliar with the plays or with the historical figures/activities they represent. (I read both parts of Henry IV and Henry V in college, as well as studying medieval and Renaissance English history.) NB. It is not a good thing to treat Shakespeare's history plays as fact. True story: My Renaissance history professor asked the class why Henry V declared war on France, and a classmate answered that it was because the Dauphin had sent him tennis balls, which is a plot point in Henry V. I will never forget the lecture the whole class got after that... (It does make for really good drama though.)

"'Thee did well, child, to come to to the Meadow. There is always a cure here when the heart is troubled.'"*

This past weekend I went on a Witchcraft and Tombstone tour in Old Wethersfield, CT, and, as a part of the tour, we visited the Buttolph-Williams house. Built in 1711, this house is the inspiration for the home of the Wood family in the Newbery award winning book The Witch of Blackbird Pond. ::cue my friend MEM having literary tour envy::


I had loved that book as a child, and it was the book that I read the very first night in my new house. (I love to reread old favorites from childhood when I am sick or nervous or blue. I don't know if it is the story or nostalgia or a combination of the two, but it always makes me feel better.) The novel, for those who haven't read it, tells the story of a young woman, Kit Tyler, who, after the death of her parents and beloved grandfather, leaves her privileged life in Barbados to live with her mother's sister and her uptight upright Puritan family in Wethersfield, Connecticut in 1687. Kit has difficulty fitting in with both her family and the community and finds herself becoming friends with other outsiders, including a old Quaker woman named Hannah who lives in a shack by the river and who is a suspected witch, which then throws suspicion on Kit!! SO GOOD!!!


I was really excited to visit the house that inspired the novel. I probably read the book for the first time in the fourth grade. We had a hardcover copy that had been discarded by the public library, and I loved the faded cover illustration of a girl in a meadow with the wind blowing her hair and clothes. There was something so free about that girl, which is very indicative of the book. (Who am I kidding? I still love that illustration. Also, I want to go to Barbados for the sole reason that Barbados is where the heroine Kit "grew up".)


One of the things I'd liked about the book was that it was set in my home state, in a town not far from mine. As a child, I had been really interested in the Salem Witch Trials and had taken out several books about them and witchcraft in general from the elementary school library. (In retrospect, I wonder if the librarian loved me or thought I was crazy.)  But this book isn't scary; it's about independence and freedom and standing up for yourself, framed in a historical context. (It's kind of a Johnny Tremain for girls.)  Girl power, circa 1690.


While the Buttolph-Williams house doesn't date back quite so far (built in only 1711), it is still one of the oldest houses in Old Wethersfield, and the preservation work on the house is impressive. I definitely want to go back and tour some of the other historical houses in Old Wethersfield and spend some more time poking around the old village burying ground. Gershom Bulkeley, who is a historical figure who features in The Witch of Blackbird Pond, is buried in the older part of the cemetery.


Sadly, Blackbird Pond no longer exists in Old Wethersfield (it dried up and they built the overpass for Route 3 where Hannah's house would have been), but it still exists in the pages of a great book and the imaginations of readers of all ages.



*The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Down in the Selby Gardens*

It has been really hot here on the Gulf Coast the last few weeks, far too hot to be at the beach during the middle of the day. (I know: boo hoo, poor me.) So one day last week, I went to visit the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, which was definitely a lot cooler place to be, both literally and metaphorically. (Bad pun, sorry! I am out of practice with blogging.)

Their website describes the gardens as "an open-air and under-glass museum of thousands of colorful and exotics plants. Many of these plants have been collected from the wild on more than 200 scientific expeditions to tropical rain forests by Selby Gardens research staff." This doesn't do the place justice - it is orchid heaven!! There is a whole green house full of orchids, and then there is an outdoor rain forest of sorts with a waterfall and orchids growing up in the nooks of the trees! It was really something. Here are some of my photos so that you can get a look.








Part of the gardens is a designated butterfly garden. (The plantings there are chosen specifically to attract butterflies.) There were a several of them flying around very quickly, which made it difficult to get a good photograph of them feeding on the flowers.


We did get to see this male Monarch butterfly that had *just* come out of its chrysalis. One of the volunteers helped the little guy by putting it on this bush so that he could dry out his wings.(Very shortly thereafter, he had his first amorous adventure with another male butterfly. And they say it isn't natural...) ;-)


*Another bad pun, sorry fans of Irish traditional music!

The One Where I Impart Some of My (Limited) Cooking Talent

It should come as no surprise to anyone reading this blog that I am not what you'd call "culinarily inclined". I don't particularly enjoy cooking. I do enjoy eating good food and do enjoy sitting in the kitchen, drinking wine, keeping other people company while they are cooking. If something is easy, I don't mind doing it, but I am much better at mixing cocktails and pulling together a tasty compliment of hors d'oeuvres than whipping up a meal. (My true calling is in ordering good food; hence my profession in event planning.)

When I was in high school, we had a really tough chemistry teacher who used to set an assignment every year that the students would have to make fudge (as in chocolate fudge) at home, write up a report of their observations while making it, and then submit both for a grade. Now the point of this was to observe boiling point, pressure, and a bunch of other things I don't remember.

One of the warnings she gave was not to make the fudge on a rainy or overcast day. The assignment was set in the winter. In New England. Fine days were hard to come by. Even with the help of my mother, I made three terribly grainy batches of fudge, but I DID observe how the boiling point was affected by the lower pressure. While I knew that my paper would be okay, I knew that if I turned in a bad batch of fudge, my grade was going to get hammered, and this teacher was very reluctant to give high grades.

Our Latin teacher, who was a caterer on the side and who knew that we were all having a difficult time in chemistry, gave those of us in Latin III a sure fire fudge recipe that didn't involve boiling sugar. It is SUPER EASY and DELICIOUS, and I am passing this recipe on to you today. I just made some to bring to Sister K's for Thanksgiving.

Mr. McCreesh's Super Easy Fudge

• 2 cups of chocolate chips (or 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup of peanut butter chips)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla (I omit when using chocolate AND peanut butter chips)
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (I made this with the light kind recently, and I didn't notice a difference in the taste.)
• 1 brownie pan, greased (you can use butter or non-stick cooking spray - guess which one tastes better?)

Heat the condensed milk in a double boiler until it is really runny. (I don't have a double boiler so I use a metal bowl fitted into a pan of boiling water. Same difference.) Stir in tthe 2 cups of chips until they are fully melted into the condensed milk and the mixture starts to thicken. Quickly transfer the soft fudge into the brownie pan and spread it out in the pan to set. You can top the fudge with decorative whole nuts or you can add chopped nuts to the mixture itself. (I prefer it plain.)

(This time, I pre-lined my pan with aluminum foil for easy traveling, but it made things a bit messy. I wouldn't do that again.)
I think that my project got a "B" from the really tough teacher. From my dad, it got an "A++". I think that he will be pleased when he sees that I made this for him!

"All around the Cathedral, the saints and apostles look down as she sells her wares."*

Great article and video up at The Telegraph about the completion of the 15 year renovation project at St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

I have had a bit of a weird history with St. Paul's: it took me multiple trips to London to actually visit the building. This was not from a lacking of desire or attempts! The first time I went to London in 2000 with my family, we couldn't get into St. Paul's because there were private events that week for the Queen Mum's 100th birthday.

I made my second attempt during my visit in February of 2003, but JR and I couldn't go in because it was too close to Vespers. (Permanent note to self: don't plan on doing sightseeing at a church on a Sunday.) That trip, we got stuck in London an additional day because a blizzard in the Northeast canceled our return flight, but we visited too late in the day and had only an hour to sight see before the building closed. We got to hear choir boys rehearse, but I didn't have enough time in the crypt, and the interior renovations prohibited us from seeing much of the Nave. We did make it up to the Whispering Gallery, but my fear of heights prevented me from going any higher up.

Third trip was the charm. When Je Glide and I went to London in 2008, I finally got a proper visit to St. Paul's. (Although we were at first told by the police that we couldn't go in because there was some kind of scare there. I felt CURSED! We went to lunch, and when we came back, we finally got inside. I was ECSTATIC!) The interior renovation was completed, and the building looked AMAZING. While Je Glide climbed up into the Dome, I crawled around in the crypt and explored the ground floor of the church, seeing the effigies of Donne and Lawrence and the tombs of Wellington and Nelson. We met up again to look at the American Memorial Chapel, dedicated to the memories of the American service men and women based in Britain who died in WWII. While we were in the Chapel, a bell sounded, and everyone there was invited to join in saying the Lord's Prayer for peace. It was very moving, and I remember thinking to myself that maybe I was meant to wait to see the Cathedral until it was restored to its proper glory.

St. Paul's Cathedral is definitely a MUST SEE during a visit to London: for its architecture, its history, and the sacredness of its space. (Just be sure to check the website ahead of time to make sure that you are well within visiting hours!)


* "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins

Gifting a beloved book is gifting a friend

I have gotten to that point in life when my friends are starting families. (Or have started families; the Niblet to whom I occasionally refer is now in middle school. EEK!) I went through a point of trying to figure out what kind of gift I would give the parents when invited to a baby shower or a christening. I wanted to get them a gift that lasted and something that would be meaningful. Kids grow out of clothes and toys; they also have a tendency to wreck them. I finally hit on a totally appropriate gift that would have both meaning and staying quality: books. Books can get expensive, even if they are paperback, and I think that it is a nice gift to a parent to help start off their child's library. Books are something that can be used over and over and can stimulate a child's imagination and vocabulary.

I love to read and have ever since I was little. Over the years, I have come up with a list of books that I think are both appropriate for children and will stand the test of time - nothing too gimmicky and nothing too commercial - the classic children's book. When compiling this "library gift", I try to get a combination of books for when the child is young and their parents are reading to them and books that the child can grow into and read on their own. I also try to stay away from the books that people traditionally give, like The Giving Tree, Goodnight Moon, Make Way for Ducklings, and, now, Eloise. These are all great books, but I don't want to give a book that might be duplicated accidentally by someone else. I also try to stay away from a series. I would rather have a bunch of different things than all of the Chronicles of Prydain or the Harry Potter books. (Did you think I was going to say Narnia rather than Prydain? Nerd Alert!)

The list looks like this (I mix and match from these, which are gender neutral for the most part):
Starter Books
Small Pig by Arnold Lobel
Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel (Caldecott honor book)
Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel
The Mysterious Tadpole by Steven Kellogg (all of his books are awesome; this one is my fave)
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
Morris' Disappearing Bag by Rosemary Wells (one of Sister K's faves)
Elementary School
Henry and the Paper Route by Beverly Cleary (any of the Henry, Beezus, Ramona and the mouse & the motorcycle books are great at this age; this happens to be my first one)
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (Newbery Medal)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (Newbery Medal)
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien (Newbery Medal)
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (Newbery Medal)

If I decide to go with a more gender specific "library", the books I end up including are: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare and Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh for a girl and Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (Newbery Medal) and Sport by Louise Fitzhugh for a boy.

Really, you can't go wrong being guided by the ALSC Newbery Medal and Honor list. Those librarians know their stuff. I sometimes regret that I didn't stick with my childhood dream of being the children's librarian in my home town. Good thing I can live vicariously through my friend MEM, who recently finished her certification to be a school librarian. YAY! (Now she just needs a school...)

Thoughts during the Commencement Season

I have been sad to read about the split up of the marriage of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger, although I can't say I am surprised. Actors and politicians don't seem to have a good track record in marital fidelity, and Mr. Schwarzenegger has both of those things in his background. However, it isn't my intention to speculate on the Shriver/Schwarzenegger marriage other than to say I feel bad that their family is hurting.

I became a real fan of Maria Shriver's back in 1998, when I saw her give the commencement address at my alma mater, the College of the Holy Cross. This commencement address later was developed into a book: Ten Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Went Out into the Real World . Because I wasn't actually the one graduating (some of my younger friends were), I was actually paying attention to what she had to say, and I was still close enough to being a graduate that her words had an impact on me, which they did. I left that ceremony with a powerful feeling in my heart and a sense of renewed purpose. I ended up getting a transcript of the speech from Holy Cross over the summer, but the gist of it is this:

Maria Shriver's top ten list of things she wishes she had been told at her college graduation:
● Pinpoint your passion.
● No job is beneath you.
● Who you work for and with is as important as what you do.
● Your behavior has consequences.
● Be willing to fail.
● Superwoman is dead.
● Children do change your career.
● Marriage is hard work.
● Don’t expect anyone else to support you financially.
● Laughter and a sense of humor about yourself will smooth the road before you.

Shriver concluded by saying, "There you have it - My report from the fighting front of the graduate from a Catholic university out there making it day-by-day in the real world. . . . As you step out of Holy Cross and into the rest of your lives, I know you're wondering whether that jittery feeling in your gut is excitement or just plain fear of the future. Believe me, it's probably fear. But I want you to remember what someone wise just told me: Courage is walking through fear with faith. I wish all of you the faith and courage to pinpoint your passion, to get out there, be free, and achieve it. Congratulations."

"Curiouser and curiouser"*

On Sunday, RJ and I went to the Museum of Fine Arts to see the new Dale Chihuly exhibit, entitled Chihuly: Through the Looking Glass. I have been a fan of Chihuly's work since the 1990s when I saw an exhibit of his sea forms, but this was RJ's first exposure to his work. The intense colors of the glass is the big draw for me, but I also love the fluidity in his studio's work. As RJ noted, some of it really looks like it could be alive... and slithering.

The exhibit is a collection of really different kinds of pieces (baskets, mille fiore, chandeliers, sea forms) from the last 30+ years. I loved the flow of the exhibit; the MFA did a great job putting it together. And I was so pleased for the museum because there was a really great turnout for this on a sunny-ish Sunday afternoon with the Sox playing at home.

Now, normally, I would not have taken photos of an exhibit at a museum, but there were TONS of people with cameras openly taking pictures, so I threw my cares to the wind and started snapping away. (No, I didn't - I took these photos very surreptitiously because I thought I was going to get snagged by a vigilant docent.)



Gorgeous, don't you think? (And you don't have to pay extra to see it; it is part of the general admission!)

We also made our inaugural visit to the new Art of the Americas wing of the museum. We both loved it. In particular, I loved the room full of paintings of the early American presidents, but there is also a Winslow Homer room and a room full of Hudson River school painters. While plenty of old favorites were back up on the wall, like Childe Hassam's Boston Common at Twilight, there were a lot of new things to see, despite my frequent visits over the last 15 years. I definitely will be going back soon to spend more time there.


*quote from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

"Seven years passed, I stopped going to Paradiso Perduto, I stopped painting. I put aside the fantasy and the wealthy..."*

Last week, I was on vacation on the Gulf Coast of Florida. My family has been vacationing in Sarasota for the last 25+ years, but this year marked my first visit to John Ringling's (of Ringling Bros. circus fame) fabulous winter home, Cà d’Zan.

Built in the Venetian Gothic style in 1924-25, Cà d’Zan (which means "House of John" in the Venetian dialect) is both a relic and a reminder of a time when American opulence was at its pinnacle, and the wealthy tried to outdo each other by recreating the splendor of European palaces in American settings. Sitting right at the edge of Sarasota Bay and certainly as stately as any of the "summer cottages" in Newport, RI, Cà d’Zan is considered to be the "last of the Gilded Age mansions."

The house went through an extensive restoration within the last ten years, and it is simply splendid. The grounds include Mable Ringling's rose garden (the most outstanding American public rose garden of 2006), the "Secret Garden", and some fascinating banyan trees. Also on the property is the John & Mabel Ringling Museum of Art and the Circus Museums. You could easily spend the whole day there.







*If Cà d’Zan looks familiar to you, perhaps you recognize it from the Hawke/Paltrow version of Great Expectations. It was Anne Bancroft's house in the film!! (Quote is from the movie...)

"Ring out with your Hoiah and a Chu! Chu! Rah! Rah! "*

This past weekend, I did something I haven't done in a really long time - went to a football game and tailgating at my alma mater, the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. It was great to catch up with many of my dear friends from school, and it was really nice to be back on campus. I have so many wonderful memories of that special place.

The sun came out and the weather warmed up just in time for this Homecoming Weekend. We had a great time tailgating; I don't ever remember going to such a fancy tailgate when we were in school. It was like Martha Stewart's version of tailgating!! And I got to meet my friends M&A's three kiddos, who are simply adorable, friendly, imaginative, and delightful. The game was a lot of fun too, especially since we beat Sister B's alma mater, Fordham University, 36-31!

I wasn't particularly looking forward to our 15 year reunion this spring (how can it be 15 years since we got out of school??), but, if this was just a taste of what is to come, I can't wait!!!



* from the Holy Cross fight song

Perspective

Aunt E forwarded me this email, and I really liked it a lot, so I am sharing it with my blog readers. It is about keeping things in perspective, which I find hard to do sometimes.

As is the way of email "forwards" some of the truth of this original column was lost, and with this post I am trying to restore the truth. The original email came with this header: "Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio 'To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:'" I Googled Regina Brett, and she is not 90. That is an urban legend; she is in her 50s. (Either that or she has some DAMN FINE genes.) Anyhow, these are Regina's perspective on perspective.

Regina Brett's 45 life lessons and 5 to grow on

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Éire go Brách

Yesterday, I was invited over JR & RH's house for some St. Patrick's Day celebrating. RH made a delicious Irish boiled dinner of (red) corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots in their fancy crock pot. (NB: we all know that this is not really "Irish" dinner; it is Irish American dinner.) JR's dad phoned while I was there and gave his report on the NYC parade; he is a drummer in one of the pipe bands. They had a gorgeous day for it!! Following dinner, we watched Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, which was as ridiculous/awesome as the first one. I ended up leaving before the end of the movie, but I do intend to watch the rest of it soon. (Judd Nelson plays the bad 'un in this one. I was reminded a couple of times of The Godfather, Part II, which I suspect was intentional.)

At dinner, we were laughing about about St. Patrick's Day from a few year's ago when I invited JR and RH to my house for St. Patrick's Day Irish boiled dinner. JR had never eaten corned beef and cabbage before, and I had never cooked it before. But I had watched my mom do it for years and years growing up so I thought how hard could it be, right? Wrong.

First, at the grocery store, I wasn't sure what kind of beef to buy so I had to call my mom to ask her. (There is that whole gray vs red debate. I bought the red.) When I got home, I put the corned beef into the boiling water with the pickling spices. Now the pickling spices jar told me to put one tablespoon into the water, but that didn't look like enough, so I added two more. After the meal had been cooking for a while, I did a taste test, which FAILED, so I panicked, and I called my parents to find out what to do. Mom said take out most of the pickling spices, pour out some of the water and add fresh water and more potatoes. Unintentional educational moment #1051: following the directions on the package is a good thing.

I ended up calling my parents at least three more times asking for advice and help on things like how long to cook the potatoes and how small do I cut the cabbage. You know how Butterball Turkeys have that cooking helpline at Thanksgiving? Well, my dad started answering the phone "Corned Beef Hotline." If I wasn't having company that night, it would have been funny, but it was actually really stressful. Unintentional educational moment #1052: Test out a recipe before serving it to company. Fortunately, the meal turned out just fine, albeit a little bit on the pickled side, and JR and RH said it was very good.

That is the first and last time I have made corned beef and cabbage. I think that I am going to try it again next year for St. Patrick's Day or possibly one day next month when there is less pressure to do it. I really love to eat it; maybe one day I will love to cook it too!

Checking out the MFA

I had yesterday off for the Presidents' Day holiday, and, because I had been home fighting a cold most of the weekend, I really needed to get out of the house, even if it was just for a few hours. I hadn't been to the Museum of Fine Arts in ages, and, as I can usually find something to appeal to me there, I drove down to the Fenway yesterday afternoon.

Note to self: holiday+school vacation week=crowds at the MFA, which is excellent for them, but crappy for me. I checked out the Secrets of the Tomb exhibit, which I think I would have enjoyed more if there were fewer people and a mummy to see. I love mummies, and I didn't realize that there wasn't actually one in the exhibit so I am passing this information on so that others will not be disappointed. (Speaking of which, I read these articles that researchers now know how King Tut died. Seriously cool.) On the other hand, the stuff that was found in this tomb was amazingly restored by conservationists (after a fire by grave robbers in ancient times), and I enjoyed how they recreated how some of the items looked in situ by using photos from the dig.

I love the "new" Fenway entrance to the MFA. The neoclassical facade is really impressive (reminds me of another impressive neoclassical building across the river), and the Fens from this vantage point is pretty too. (I am sure it will be beautiful come spring/summer.)

Melty goodness?

First of life's little learning lessons of the year:

When bringing a Carvel cake to a holiday gathering, it is a good idea to put it in the trunk of the car rather than on the floor in the back seat. Especially when you have the heat on in the car. Whoops!



Fortunately, it was still pretty tasty.

Gumption

This past weekend, I helped Sister K make homemade pasta with her new professional Kitchen Aid mixer that she bought herself for her birthday. Although I was tentative about it when I first starting making my batch of noodles, it ended up being easy and fun! Plus, mmmmmm, yummy homemade fettuccine!! (Christmas fettuccine reminds me of the movie The Holiday - I love both!)

Here is Sister K making her batch of noodles:




And now we are ready to cook!



Sister K is an excellent cook. (And she has a really nice kitchen, not that I am jealous at all.) ;) She served up our noodles with some chicken broth, artichoke hearts, lemon zest, and parmesan cheese. Delicious!!! (And I helped.)