The beautiful drumset

This morning when we came downstairs for breakfast, Sebby looked out the window, gasped, and said, "Oh, yooooooook, Mommy!!! Yook at the beautiful drumset!!"

It was the sunrise.
a.k.a. "the sunset."
a.k.a. "the drumset."

And it was, indeed, beautiful. :)

2

Balance Sheet

Created:

1 tail for a monkey suit

2 dozen ghost cookies
1 newspaper article

2 "computer-berry-machines" made of pillows/tupperware

Destroyed:

1 jar of pureed butternut squash (dropped)

1 clear IKEA drinking glass (dropped)

2 light bulbs---energy-efficient, of course (dropped) (what is WRONG with me?)

1 wax ghost (arm bitten off)

2 dozen ghost cookies (does "eaten" count as destroyed?)

1 cardboard knight helmet (ripped while being fought over)

1 grocery store receipt (eaten)

1 lawnmower handle (hit with car)

NET NIELSON CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD: -2
(Needs improvement)

2

Good riddance to bad baggage

Hmm, actually these bags found at random on Google image search are rather cute!

Well, I believe the time has come for me to purchase a bag. A MOM'S bag. (Or purse, as the case may be. What is the difference?) I have a little brown purse (very little) (I would say, the size of, a cantaloupe. Flattened into a square.) which has been through a lot (stolen from my car and then recovered in someone's trash can later) and served me well (if in a very utilitarian way). But it's bulging at the seams from all the things I put in there. Which are:

• bandaids
• 2 suckers from the bank, saved for kid-emergencies
• 2 pkgs. smarties from the grocery store, ditto [I think that's the first time I've ever said 'ditto', so enjoy it]
• a "feminine napkin," naturally [Let me digress to say that when I was little, I saw the signs for those in bathrooms, and I thought they referred to beautiful, frilly, delicate, feminine table napkins---and I collected pretty napkins at the time---so I was always turning the knobs hoping I'd get lucky and one would fall out.]
• Library card
• Debit card
• Credit card
• Community Center Access card
• Blood donor card
• "Fresh Values" card
• 1 million other cards I never look at or use, such as my "KBYU Member card," "Borders Rewards" card, etc etc etc
• Checkbook
• Change
• 3 Packages of "moist towelettes" (sounds worse than "feminine napkin"!)
• 3 reusable grocery bags---by the way I LOVE these---I have 6 which I use for all my groceries and other shopping--they are here
• receipts
• coupons
• business cards
• directions to various places scribbled on scraps of paper

Much like your own bag, perhaps. Anyway, I need your help. I've never really had a BAG-bag. In fact, I feel like I'm the last person in the world to realize that one is supposed to have a bag, accessory-wise. We used to watch "What Not to Wear" a lot at our old house, and after a while I realized that all their outfits always had a coordinating bag. Cute! But I feel so clueless. Do any [normal] people really do that (buy several different bags to go with your outfits, I mean)? What do you do for carrying your money? (Not that I ever have actual money. Cards and checkbook, yes.) Do you have to have a separate wallet inside the bag for that? Is your bag also your diaper bag? (I don't think I would do that, since I often don't carry the diaper bag into the store with me.) What constitutes a cute bag? Are there "trends" in bag fashion? Am I potentially going to commit a bag faux-pas by carrying a white bag after labor day, or some such thing? What else do I need to know to enter the wonderful world of bags?

4

Spooky jack-o-lanterns

We carved our jack-o-lanterns last night. Abey and Sebby drew faces on their pumpkins and Sam carved them out. (And I roasted the pumpkin seeds.) Spooky!

0

Giving him the business

Do you have some things that just remain funny to you, no matter how many times you hear them? Certain movies have parts like that for me (or TV Shows: Arrested Development has a lawyer named Bob Loblaw, the thought of which never ceases to amuse me). When we go to a football game and I ask Sam if he has the tickets and he says, "I have MINE . . . ", it's funny to me. Every time.

Then there's this:

I can't watch that without laughing. And laughing. And laughing. So, enjoy! (The funny part doesn't come till about halfway through)

1

Song of Jello

And now, by popular demand, I present the words to my jello song. For the full effect, imagine me singing this about a half-octave too low for my voice, so I have that little tremble in it when I try to be loud enough. And also imagine me hitting the wrong chord occasionally on my guitar.

Hello Jello my old friend
I seek your jiggling arms again
Because the world is sharp and hard and rough
And frankly I have nearly had enough
And I’m ready for something that will yield to a simple squeeze
So won’t you please
Give me a taste of jello.

For in this world of spite and fear
I hear your wobble in my ear
Your wordless strength inspires me to fight
Your glossy radiance makes me more bright
And the rhythm of your vibration sweeps me along,
Mysterious song,
A song of rage and jello.

And when the lonely nights are long,
I murmur "jello" like a song
Your name is balm to all my darkest fears,
Enchanting music to my willing ears
Though I know that some here would correct me if they could,
For the public good:
They’d say it’s gelatin, not jello.

But jello by another name
Would surge and wobble just the same,
Mere words cannot describe your throbbing heaves
Your ripples spreading out like falling leaves
Like a walrus emerging in triumph from the stormy deep
It makes me weep
To watch you move, oh jello.

And though you tremble as you move
Your surface still remains so smooth
Half-Liquid/Solid—you break all the rules
I love the lattice of your molecules
No colloidal suspension so excited me before,
Made me ache for more,
Long to be filled with jello.

Jello, when all the lights are out
Do you know what I dream about?
The slippery meal that I could make of you
I would not even really have to chew
You’d just slip down the throat like a whisper in the night,
A flash of light,
A shining star, called jello.

5

A few things

I'm on my way upstairs to take care of my poor, sick, shivering husband, but here are a few miscellaneous items before I go:

First, something political in nature. I usually try to stay away from politics here, trying to follow the advice in General Conference to focus on the truth we share rather than on our differences---however, since this is from one of my favorite Mormon Democrats, Orson Scott Card, and a very thought-provoking and enlightening column (and new information, perhaps, to some of you) regarding the current financial situation, I thought I'd link to it here.

And now on to the topic of Balloon Animals. You know that guy at Brick Oven that makes balloon animals? He is, truly, a balloon genius. I LOVE seeing all the designs he can come up with. We went there awhile ago and Seb requested a monkey and Abe requested "A Honey Bear" (which is his bear's name--"Honey"--not that he wanted one of those bottles of honey shaped like a bear. There was some confusion about this at first, naturally).

This is a very, very good monkey.

But this bear is the best!! The guy said, "Well, I'll try to make him holding a little pot of honey." So he did, and do you see what else? He made a little bee to fly along that clear tube, buzzing around trying to get close to the honey pot. When you shake it, the bee flies back and forth. Isn't that awesome?

Lastly, Sam and I have been developing a hieroglyphic language to write in (H is for Hieroglyphics), so the above is the type of thing that greets me every time I walk past our message board. I must say, it's becoming quite a good language. It's really fun to write and decipher each others' messages. Each of us in the family has a different symbol--- Don't you think Malachi's is especially appropriate? Sam said the other day Ky was looking up at him and he thought, "Wow---he looks exactly like his hieroglyphic symbol!"

1

More Jello Hilarity

Okay, the following is maybe my favorite series of pictures ever. Parents, perhaps you didn't know how much fun your children were having outside making jigglers. Observe the joy and merriment:

Seb

Clara

Abe

5

Jello Banquet recipes

Well, my dears, we had a lovely time the other night at the ISFAJ (International Society for the Advancement of Jello) Banquet, didn't we? I was SO glad for all of you that could come, and for your excellent contributions. We will definitely have to get together again soon. Meanwhile, here are the recipes. I will post a few more pictures later.

**Update with better pictures: here

Rainbow Layered Jello

1 6-oz. package green jello
1 6-oz. package lemon jello
1 6-oz. package orange jello
1 6-oz. package strawberry jello
4 c. sour cream, or plain yogurt

*Remember to start making this early. If you want it done by dinnertime, you should have it started before noon. Or make it the day before.*

Mix green jello with two cups boiling water. Take out ½ cup of this jello mixture and, in a separate bowl, combine it with 1 cup sour cream. This is your creamy layer. Pour it into a 9x13 glass pan and refrigerate until set, about ½ hour–45 minutes. Pour remaining 1 ½ cups (or so) of clear green jello over creamy layer and refrigerate until set. (The clear layer usually sets faster.) Repeat process with yellow, orange, and red jello, alternating clear and creamy layers.

You can half the recipe (using small 3-oz. jello packages) and use a smaller casserole pan, if desired.

For the Black Bean Chowder with Yogurt-Cilantro Relish recipe, I direct you here. (I left out the ham hock). And as you may recall, the bread recipe is here.

Quinoa Cakes with Shrimp and Lemon-yogurt sauce
1 c. red or white quinoa, or a mixture of the two
2 c. water
salt
Combine quinoa, salt and water in saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.

Grate 1 carrot, 1 small zucchini (with peel), and 1 small onion. Add vegetables, along with 1/4 c. parmesan cheese, to the cooked quinoa. Stir in an egg to make a moist mixture that will (sort of) hold together.

I formed it into little cakes for frying, but they didn't really hold together, so you could probably just add it in a thin layer to some olive oil in a hot pan, and fry on both sides till crisp. Then form into cakes by packing into a measuring cup, and top with a cooked shrimp and the sauce (below).

Lemon-yogurt sauce:

1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. plain yogurt
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. mustard

Stir together and heat in saucepan or microwave until warm.

Chocolate Basil Torte
for the cake:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
4 oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate (or chocolate chips)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 packed cup fresh basil (leaves only)
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
for the ganache:
4 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate (or chocolate chips)
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1. Preheat the oven to 375F and center a rack in the middle of the oven. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of wax paper or parchment paper, and butter the paper.
2. Place the butter and the chocolate in a glass mixing bowl, microwave on high for 1 min., and stir till smooth. Stir in the vanilla and salt, and set aside.
3. Next, make a basil sugar: pulse the sugar and the basil together in a food processor until the basil is very finely chopped and uniformly green in color. The sugar will look slightly wet.
4. Add the basil sugar to the chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, blending completely between additions. Sift the cocoa powder over the batter and fold it in until no dry spots remain. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
5. Bake the cake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top of the cake barely begins to crack. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then invert the cake onto a round serving plate.
6. While the cake cools, make the ganache: place the chocolate and the cream in a small glass bowl, microwave on high 1 minute, and stir until melted and smooth. Using a flat spatula or knife, spread the ganache over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides, if desired.

6

A trip to the pumpkin farm

A trip to our favorite pumpkin farm: Southridge Farms in Santaquin.

Donuts---enjoyed immediately

(Cider brought home for later. Mmm.)

Hayride to the pumpkin patch

"So many of us! So many of us!"

Pleased with our selection

Happy boys

Back along the country lane (pulled by a tractor)

Moonrise over the Red Barn

Ghost stories and spooky songs on the drive home
BOO!

5

Manna from [office supply] heaven

Malachi assists with some secretarial work. (N.B.: unsightly smear on upper left corner of white board)

Sam and I have a little whiteboard calendar that has hung on our fridge since we first got married, which has served us well, except that about twice a month, it falls off and one of the corners breaks. ("This whiteboard must have more than the usual number of corners," your super-duper math-oriented brains are thinking. Yes. It does.) And usually at the same time, one of the magnets falls off. I was examining the back of it and saw that each magnet was glued, hot glued, and then taped on with a tape roll. To no avail, I might add. The poor little thing just won't stick anymore.

So, onward and upward: we bought some new whiteboards at IKEA quite some time ago, and I've been trying to figure out how to make one of them into a calendar. After much deliberation, I tried drawing on lines with permanent marker, assuming that since people are always telling you not to write on white boards with permanent marker, it must mean that it doesn't erase. Well---this is not quite true. After leaving it on several days hoping it would "sink in," I sprayed the thing with white board cleaner (since I will have to do that every month to erase the words on the calendar) and it smeared all around and just looked awful.

Further deliberation followed. I decided something like black electrical tape might work, if I could cut it into thin strips and get it to hang straight enough. Failing that, I was prepared to color masking tape with a black marker. (I felt this was quite a creative solution.) So, I headed out to Office Max to get some tape.

As I walked in the door, the lady asked me if I was looking for anything, and I said, "Yes, I need some black tape."

She said, "Oh, the thin kind, for white boards?"

???!!!!

"Well . . . yes!" I said (somewhat . . . hmm . . . can I use the word 'flummoxed'? If not, try 'taken aback') "IS there such a thing?"

"Aisle 5," she said.

So I got some. And what a day and age we are living in, I must say, when one can go to the office supply store and find the exact weird little thing one needs in less than 5 minutes and for less than $2.

0

Quiet as a mouse

I don't know what it is about me that makes me seem "quiet" to some people. Certainly I don't seem quiet to myself. (Or to Sam. Sorry, Sam.) (Or to anyone who is reading my lengthy posts. "Quiet? But you never shut up!" you are thinking to yourself right now.) But people [you know who you are . . . Beth] will say to me all the time (really, this happens all the time) as they leave, "Sorry---I feel like I did all the talking!" or "Wow, I've really talked your ear off" or "Sorry to monopolize the conversation!" etc., and I'm always really surprised, like, "Um . . . no . . . I said lots of things too, don't you remember?" Is it my memory that is faulty? Do I just think I am contributing to the conversation, when in actuality I am just sitting there silent? Or perhaps my contributions are more . . . intangible, like, positive vibes or something? :)

Also, I used to do some accompanying for this children's choir, and one time as I was gathering up my stuff to leave, the director was like, "Quiet little Marilyn! You're just as quiet as a mouse, aren't you!" I looked at her kind of shocked, and gave this half-hearted laugh, and she's like, "You just never say a word . . . you just sit there quietly . . . you're just such a quiet person, aren't you!!" She seemed so pleased with her assessment that I didn't want to contradict her---but what I wanted to say was, "When am I supposed to have been talking? While I am playing the piano? While the children are singing? While you are giving them directions? What are you expecting me to say, since I come, play the piano for you for an hour, and then go? WHEN SHALL I DO ALL THIS TALKING YOU ARE EXPECTING ME TO DO??!"

Anyway. It's weird. But, maybe the perfect job for such a "quiet" person is---listening to other people talk. And helping them along; getting them to talk more. Which is just what I get to do!! As follows:
1. Listening to my boys. They talk all the time!!! Blah, blah, blah. All day long. I get so tired, sometimes, of just responding to them. Even though I love it, too.
2. Maybe I've told you before, I write for the Spanish Fork News---a small-town newspaper in (yep) Spanish Fork. My brother-in-law used to work there, and they needed writers, and it was something I could do mostly from home, so I started doing it about two years ago. I usually write about one article a week, just on whatever my editor tells me to write about. It will be something like, "This guy won an award from the PTA---will you do an article on that?" or "The cemetery is building a new monument---can you write about it?" or "This event is coming up---find out the details." So every week I get to learn about something different. And, it turns out, I love it!! It is so much fun just to talk to people and find out what they have to say. I used to get nervous about what I should ask them (and sometimes I still get nervous right before I make a call), but it's not hard, really---I just ask what I am honestly interested in---just like you would ask someone when you met them, "What do you do? And what is that like? How did you get into that? And how do you like it?" etc.

I am certainly not a trained journalist---and thank heavens we aren't some sort of heavy journalistic paper that tries to find out scandals or trick people with our questions or anything like that. But I have gotten a feel for what kinds of things to ask, and how to write up the articles quickly, and it's really fun. I feel like I've become part of the community down there, too---we'll drive by and I'll say, "I've been to that school---I've written about that place---I've interviewed that guy running for city council" etc.

And so every week, I get to ask lots of questions, do lots of listening, make lots of encouraging noises ("Really!" "No way!" Wow, that's awesome!" "You DID?" "Tell me more about that!" etc.), and learn about some really cool stuff. Some subjects I've written about recently:

• A LEGO city at the County Fair
• A guy who mints coins from his basement
• "Freecycling" where people trade stuff online so it doesn't go to waste
• Miss Jr. Spanish Fork Rodeo Queen
• The demolition of a barn at the SF Fairgrounds
• "Pondtown Christmas" (Christmas lights at Salem Pond)
• A guy who converts his cars to Natural Gas
• A guy injured in an explosion at the pipe plant
• A lady who is dying of cancer and always wanted to go to Iceland, so she went
• A teacher who traveled to Japan
• A boy who was in "High School Musical 2"
• A girl dancing in the ballet "Hansel and Gretel"
• A new clinic for moms who are addicted to meth
• Two sculptors making a statue of a pioneer family

Cool, huh? Even when something doesn't seem like it would be interesting at first, once I get talking to someone about it, it turns out that it IS interesting!! People have such cool stories to tell---and they are usually happy to have someone listen to them---so everybody is happy. Even me. "Quiet little Marilyn." :)

2

Frustration

Conversation in the car today:

Seb: I didn't mean to do that, Mommy.

Me: Do what?

Seb: I said, I didn't mean to do that.

Me: Do what?

Seb: I said, I didn't mean to do that.
Me: I know; I heard you; but you didn't mean to do what?

Seb: I didn't mean to do that, I said!

Me: Do what?

Seb: I didn't mean to do that, Mommy!!

Me: Sebby, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DIDN'T MEAN TO DO??

Seb: Mommy, I already said it! I didn't mean to do that!!

Me: I don't know what you are talking about!!!!

Seb: Well, I'm just not going to talk to you anymore, Mommy!

Me: Well . . . good!

[stony silence]

[5 minutes pass]

Seb: Oh, yook, Mommy, I wish I could have that red truck!

Me: Yeah, you love red, don't you.

5

Sebby loves tiny things

We went over to our poor garden to save what we could after the frost and snow. The bottom of the basil plants were okay, and we had lots of tomatoes, and then there were these tiny, tiny zucchini that I wasn't sure would survive, so we picked those too. Sebby wanted to give them to his Monkey and Baby Monkey. He kept saying, "They're soooo cute, I wish I could just hug 'em!"

1

Halloweeny Witches

Here is the next installment in the Father-Son collaborative picture series (see monkey and train). Abe drew this witch and Sam colored her. (Sam's commentary, and a bonus witch, here)

2

Suspense

It is cold.

Too cold.

Ha, haven't you always wanted to write that? And how would we know if there WAS something ominous or portentous about the weather, anyway? Birds, maybe? (I think ravens always figure in ominous scenes somewhere.)

Look at Abe's face. He looks like an oracle of doom. Perhaps he alone knows what is coming. While the rest of us scurry on, oblivious.

1

Now we are six

Sunday.

Abraham's Birthday. Just the way he liked it:

French toast with raspberries. Vanilla syrup (lots of it). Cocoa (for a cold day!).

His present: a carwash:

Lots of parts. Moveable, flappable, workable, re-arrangeable (on wooden dowels)

Dessert: volcano cakes

"Mommy, if you want to ask me what kind of cake I want next year, you can, but really you can just count on me wanting volcano cakes, because they're my favorite."

"I'll ask you anyway, in case you change your mind."

"All right, and I suppose that sometimes I might have something else, but often, I'll have volcano cakes."

Poof!

And . . . one more thing . . .

A new bike bell (purple for Abey---gold for Honey). Ding-ding!

Happy Birthday to our sweet SIX-year-old!!

3

Fee Waver

Malachi loves to wave these days. If you open the front door, if you walk towards the front door, if you say "bye-bye," or if you say "wave" (even in the midst of other conversation), he starts up his waving arm vigorously, grinning all the while as if he is quite proud of himself.

Sometimes he stands up in his high chair (he's so tiny, the buckles don't really hold him in) and I say, "sit down"---while doing the sign for "down" (which is just pointing your finger down). He thinks I'm waving at him. So he grins and waves back. (Very pleased to be communicating.)

He waves whenever you ask him to. And often when you don't.

Today he was bundled up for our walk in a furry suit. It didn't let his hands or feet be free--which made him a little prone to tipping over. He didn't mind, though.

He just waved happily while falling.

Bye-bye, Ky-guy!

0