Triple XXX Date

Once Ryan finished his semester we took his mom's advice and went on a date - a rare and unusual occurrence indeed. We planned to go to a movie, but the theatre looked more run-down than a Provo dollar theatre, so we decided to pass on that option. Instead we went to Triple XXX. Despite it's odd name, it's just a harmless burger joint. The name comes from the Triple XXX root beer they serve. It is one of only two remaining Triple XXX root beer restaurants in the nation and has been featured on The Food Network. We had a great time - the root beer is superb, I enjoyed looking at some of their old pictures showing views of the area from the restaurant (which has been around since 1929), and they have a unique burger that is served with peanut butter on it. Yes, peanut butter. Ryan was the one to brave it, and he says it's delicious and he can't figure out why no one else has thought to do it. We'll be more than happy to have any family or friends who want to try it come and visit!

Memorial Day Concert

We didn't have a very exciting Memorial Day - Ryan worked and I did laundry. We didn't get together with anyone and we had a casserole for dinner, not the typical bbq. We didn't see any parades or bike races. We don't even have a flag to hang out. I was feeling a little bummed about our lack of celebration, so thankfully I'm playing in the local Citizen's Band this year. The first concert was yesterday evening.

I'd always wrinkled up my nose at the thought of playing in a community band or orchestra. I felt that it would just be disappointing after the other ensemble experiences I've had. But Citizen's Band is unique amongst community bands. It's been around for over 160 years and the performers range from talented high school students to people in their 80's. Some of the older members have been playing in the band for 50 or 60 years. Several members of the band are war veterans, one of whom hang-glided in behind enemy lines on D-Day. Most of the local band directors, studio teachers, and orchestra members participate in the band, which definitely helps the quality of the playing. The band is primarily a sight-reading band. For most concerts we only have one rehearsal the evening before. We don't get the music until that rehearsal, so we sight-read it and perform it the next night. And the band is very skilled at pulling it off. Apparently they're hoping to start having the band tour occasionally - performing at a conference in the next couple of years and then a trip to Europe after that.

The music isn't middle-school level either. Well, occasionally they'll throw one of the better of those in there, but for the most part it's good music. At our concert last night we played the to-be-expected patriotic pieces such as Armed Forces Salute and Stars and Stripes (as a side note, does anyone else get sick of Sousa marches?). But we also threw in there the ever-favorite Beguine for Band (remember that one Susan?), which isn't nearly as annoying when not paired with 15 other schmaltzy pieces, and even a great transcription of Shostakovich's Festive Overture. Definitely sight-readable material (though I did have to practice a few licks in the Shostakovich), but it seems they stick to good quality sight-readable material.

It was awesome to be able to play at the Memorial Day concert. We let Gareth stay up late so that he and Ryan could come. The audience consisted of mostly elderly people (I'm curious to see if that's always the case or if it's just due to the holiday) which meant there were actually several veterans in the audience. Playing that concert was a great way to feel a part of the community and feel that we'd done something to celebrate the holiday.

Farmer's Market

The long-awaited opening of our local farmer's market occurred in the first week of May. I took Gareth out in the slight drizzle and was surprised to find the place packed. Toward the end of last summer it never seemed so busy as it does this month. I was hoping to find asparagus, since I know that it's one of the first crops ready for harvest, and I wasn't disappointed. It costs the same as in the store, but why pay for asparagus shipped from Mexico or Canada when you can get some that was cut that morning only a few miles away?! We've been enjoying asparagus once a week so far. We've also been enjoying the lettuce and spring greens. Ryan's comment on our first salad with the fresh greens: "It actually has flavor!" We're also starting to stock up on the homemade jam, hoping that come wintertime we'll have enough extra to get us most of the way through until we can get it again.

I never thought we'd go this far with the whole fresh food thing, but we're actually contemplating trying out the local pasture-raised meats as well. I was surprised to see that the ground beef isn't all that much more than in the store: $4.25 - $5.25/lb. Just to get 85% lean has been costing us $2.99 at the store lately, with more lean options costing almost $4. Unfortunately the ground beef is the least expensive of the local meats. I'm not sure that the market prices can compete with the store prices where chicken and pork products are concerned, but I've still got some checking to do. If we weren't a poor grad. student family I'd maybe do it anyway.

We did get a couple of tomato plants - an Early Girl and some variety of grape that I can't remember the name of. We've had plenty of rain and sun since planting them and it looks like they're shooting up quite nicely. I'm so excited to (hopefully, if all goes well) have our own tomatoes this summer!

Good Review

I came across this review of Twilight today and thought it was excellent. The book is brought to my attention now and again, so I'm always interested to see what others think of it. Since the author is a scholar in the children's lit. arena, she actually speaks with some expertise and knows how to express her thoughts about the book in an intelligent way, much better than I could do! I like that she balances the negative with some positive points as well, because they do exist. Though some of her points make it rather frightening that I keep seeing 11-year-olds toting copies of the book. Do the parents know what their child is reading?

Easter

Before you look at the pictures, yes, the Easter Bunny did make it to our house. We just don't have any pictures of it. We were so busy getting Gareth ready for church and then trying to keep him from the other baskets that I never even thought to get the camera out until well after his basket contents had mostly disappeared/been put away out of his reach. Gareth got some bubbles and an Etch-a-Sketch, both of which he enjoys (bubbles are apparently yummy).

My parents came out for Easter and we had a great time having them here. Gareth learned to say "Pops" and "Gram" while they were here, and he seems to be remembering that that's who they are! Dad tried to teach him some French as well (things like "tu es bete"), but the only thing that stuck was saying "Salut!" whenever my dad put his hands on his head. Gareth would only do that for Pops though.

Our weather that weekend wasn't the greatest, but my dad braved the wind to spend lots of time outside with Gareth. I even let Gareth play outside on Easter because it was actually sunny and almost warm out:



Gareth loves this rusty, mildewy swing set. He'll start on the double swing (on the "floor" of it), move up to the double swing seats, then on to the yellow swing, the white swing, then the slide. Pops taught him how to go down head first. Thanks, Pops.

I decided to splurge and get Gareth an actual Sunday outfit for Easter. His Sunday clothes have consisted of jeans with a button-down or polo shirt for the past several months. I'm hoping this set will last him through the rest of the year:



And possibly the best part of Easter was our fattening meal:

Ham (unglazed - I really think this is my favorite way)
Sweet Potato Rolls
Spinach and Strawberry Salad
Classic Scalloped Parmesan Potatoes
Asparagus Amandine
Strawberry-Lemon Tart
Lemon-Coconut Cake

So, most of those recipes are from Southern Living, which should tell you everything right there. But, man, were they delicious. We had to do two desserts because there were too many delicious recipes to choose from. It was difficult to narrow it down to those two even. Do yourself a favor and print out the cake recipe. The cake itself is just a regular yellow cake, and it has become one of my favorites. I think it's the moistest cake I've ever had - better than store-bought. Ryan wasn't a huge fan of the lemon filling, so we'll experiment with different fillings (but if you like lemon fillings, this one was good). And the icing is just a basic cream cheese icing with coconut sprinkled on at the end.

An uneventful, but very enjoyable Easter.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Yes, yes, I'll get around to Easter and Gareth's birthday eventually. But I have to get pictures onto the computer for that and I haven't done it yet.

In the meantime, I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. If it weren't for the amazing book group I attend, I would never have read this book. I've got to have it finished by Thursday, and for the first time ever I'm having difficulty with that. Not that the book isn't good. It is. But there are recurring portions of it in which the author rants about conventional farming methods and how they're horrible in various ways. Some of these are more interesting than others. Some I know have factual basis, but others seem exaggerated. They also start feeling repetitive. These portions of the book leave me desiring footnotes or parenthetical documentation, not only to back up her claims but also because they start to sound like a research paper. So, while I enjoy reading about her family's experience growing food and turkeys and hens and buying locally whatever they don't grow, I keep having to slog through the rant portions and it's slowing me down.

I'm having difficulty relating to some of her assertions, even when she gives anecdotes from her or her husband's own experience. Do the vast majority of kids these days, and even from my generation really have issues thinking of food and dirt together? Do they truly not understand that those peas and melons start as seeds or that a carrot grows underneath the ground? Really?? As far as I know I don't think I've come across anyone like this. And for me personally, I grew up helping plant all those fruits and vegetables in our small garden. I loved planting time. And I loved perusing the seed catalogs, choosing flowers and vegetables. When I moved away to college I actually missed weeding (the lack of landscaping at my parents' new home left very little weeding to do when I got home for summers). I certainly don't claim to be all-knowing about when to put various seeds in the ground or how to care for them, but I (and I like to think the majority of those around me) know that fruits and vegetables start as seeds!

What I'm enjoying most about the book is that it's giving me the gardening bug. I'm suddenly eager to grow tomatoes in a pot and some herbs and possibly, as the likelihood of our staying here for the summer increases, some chard, peppers and other vegetables. Even if all of those don't happen this year, I'm excited for the farmer's market to open again in a few weeks so that we can return to buying fresh produce from the local farmers. Because it really does taste better. Perhaps one day I'll even start canning a little here and there so that we can have some good fruit to use during the winter months when little of that is to be found at the store.

Now, I'm not going to order my own turkeys and raise and kill them (let alone try to get them to mate), but I am interested in one day trying out cheese making. The chance of that happening before all our kids are in middle or high school is very slight. But it sounds like it'd be fun (and is supposedly easy). I can picture me and my sisters and Kate (our honorary sister) pulling mozzarella (apparently you have to pull it like taffy). And I wonder how much better it'd taste than what I get at the store. Maybe I'd decide it's not worth the effort, but I still want to try it someday, just because. Until then, I'll plan for the day when we own a house with a large yard with plenty of room for tomatoes, peas, lettuce, strawberries, raspberries, and whatever else suits our mood. We'd better end up in a place that's good for gardening!

Oh look a new post!

I love my sister Sarah. She is so funny. She makes me laugh.