Happy Halloween!

I wasn't going to dress up as anything this year. 

Then I learned that costumes are mandatory at my clinic, the Friday before Halloween.
  

 

Truth be told, it was pretty fun being in costume, and seeing everybody else's.

 

 I'm not sure you can make out everybody's costume in this photo, but we had 2 fairies, a pregnant nun, a baby, a fortune-teller, 2 pirates, a cowboy, 2 witches (including me), a Dorothy, and an Indian.

 

Hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween!

Really Good Pies

Unfortunately no pictures, but I wanted to share some really great pie recipes!  These came from All Recipes.  I've made them 2-3 times and had great success with them.


Key Lime Pie
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh squeezed key lime juice, strained (or you could mix 1/2 lime and 1/2 lemon juice in a pinch)
2 14-oz cans of sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks

1 pie crust: combine 1 and 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 c. white sugar, and 6 Tbs melted butter, pat into pie crust, and chill 1 hour

Combine the first 3 ingredients and mix well.  Fill the pie crust and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, or until the pie is set but the center still quivers when you nudge the pie. Garnish with whipped cream or limes or lime zest.


Peanut butter pie:
Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter (don't use the natural kind that separates)
1 Tbs butter, softened
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa (optional) 
1 and 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped



1 chocolate crust: combine and press into a pie pan: 1 and 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 c. white sugar, 6 Tbs melted butter, and 1/4 c. cocoa and bake at 375 for 10 minutes

Combine the first 5 (or 6 if you choose to add cocoa) ingredients and mix well.  Fold in the whipped cream until all is combined, and then fill the pie crust.  Chill in the fridge until serving time.  May chill in the freezer, in a pinch.  Garnish with more whipped cream, cookie crumbs, or shaved chocolate.

Whirlwind Weekend--back to Galveston

Wowsa--what a weekend.  

We left Saturday morning in the dark to get down to Houston in time to meet dear Sarah and Joe for breakfast.  And wouldn't you know I left my camera in the car?  Sarah and Joe have been such a big part of my life since I met them, and it was so nice to get to meet one of their two daughters (finally!).  

So strange to be back on the island--like we never left. All the landmarks, restaurants, and beautiful historic homes looked exactly the same as when we left them.  And it made me miss living there.  Made me miss the beach, and just the feel of the island... and island life.  

We met up with our good friends, the Hannings, who took us in on very little notice.  Micah and Ava are so fun.  Ava has gotten so big, and she has so embraced being a girlie girl.  So fun.  

We made pizzas from scratch, using our favorite pizza dough recipe from All Recipes.  Any homemade pizza with freshly fried bacon on it is a good one.

And finally we got to spend some time with our new niece!  So good to see Daniel's sister, husband, and kids.  Jonathan taught Daniel all about excavators, front-end loaders, tractors, dump trumps, and much more.  Truly remarkable, that child's knowledge of trucks, at age 2.  

I'm not sure that we could have crammed anything else into the 36 hour trip.  But we certainly enjoyed it!

My Niece, the Artist!

Lizzy, my niece, who we just discovered is an artist!

I like how she re-adjusts her hold on the french fry.  Usually she is quite the eater, so the fact that she is not eating the fries/ketcup--but painting body art instead--is all the more remarkable!

My only Fall Decoration. And a random song.

I love fall decorations.  The problem is that they take up so much space in storage during the rest of the year that I haven't actually purchased any. 

But I found these gourds and pumpkins over the weekend, and I figure--I don't have to feel bad about tossing them after this season b/c they'll compost nicely.

I've had this song going around in my head for the past 24 hours, straight. 

Winter's Coming!

We bought our house almost exactly a year ago and moved into it about a month later. What with moving in and getting settled--and all that it entails--firewood was the last thing on our minds.Not this year!
We are all set--A half a cord of firewood was delivered this week. Doesn't it look fantastic??
I can hardly wait for the 40-degree weather that I'm sure is around the corner.Daniel swapped out our gas logs at the end of last season, so our fireplace looks empty... and lonely... like it can't wait to do it's thing.

Photos courtesy of Daniel

PS - Do you like the new look? Figured it was time for a change.

How Cool is THIS?

I know it's been too long since I updated the blog when the site forces me to sign back in to post.
I might be a little behind the times*, given that my mom informed me she had already seen this (because my brother showed it to her a while ago), but holy cow. This is the coolest invention I have seen in a while.
The Gorillapod SLR Zoom with Ballhead, from L.L.Bean, complete with built-in level!
Isn't it cute? Looks like a puppy looking up at me.


On a different note, the Intimate Mystery Conference (see below) was well-timed, as Daniel and I recently got volunteered (by me) to lead the Sunday morning discussion at our young married's class at church. We talked about communication in marriage the first week and then family ties this last time.

Between that, and having people over for several dinner parties--which we love--we have been busy busy. We are anxiously waiting to meet our newest niece (Daniel's side) in Houston and will update with pictures.




*Actually I'm not that far behind the times. The Gorillapod did not make its appearance until after 2005. It was invented by JoeBen Bevirt, according to my sources.