Programming the Thingy...

 

 

I used to be so independent... 

 

Years ago, as a single girl,

I could navigate anywhere if I had a map... 

 

 People, this was before GPS and Caller ID... 

 

I found my way around New York,

rural New Mexico, Kauai or the streets of Milan,

alone and fully self sufficient... 

 

I paid all my bills, on time,

balancing my check register

(remember those?)

to the penny... 

 

 If something broke, I fixed it,

or if desperate, I asked my dad to help... 

 

 I was "That Girl", dammit and I was proud

of my autonomous, working girl status... 

 

Fast forward fifteen years or so

and my, how things have changed... 

 

Some repairs, around the Herlihy house, 

are gender based, but not all... 

 

However, I must reluctantly admit

that I have become reliant on T$ for many things,

and, if I pushed myself a little harder,

I could complete many projects myself... 

 

Such as small fix-it jobs,

like nailing heavy objects on the wall... 

 

I can use a stud finder and level like any jamoke,

but Tom does such a good job

of ensuring not even an 8.0 quake on the Richter Scale

 will budge said item,

that I ask him to do it... 

 

When the light bulbs expire, twelve feet up,

T$ hops up on the ladder

and saves the day... 

 

Televisions and computers are a serious no-fly zone for me,

but if T$ were out of the country for a month

and the TV broke down Day One of his trip,

I had better figure it out

before the kids come after me with machetes...    

 

 We both have our strengths,

and we determined that early on... 

 

 If it needs to be cooked, cleaned, organized

or nursed back to health, that's my department... 

 

If it has instructions, blinking lights, remotes

 or an engine, it is all T$... 

 

This week, our new tenant moved

into our apartment unit... 

 

She is a dear friend whom I have known many years,

so it is like having my sister downstairs... 

 

It is a dream come true, really... 

 

In preparation for her arrival,

 I learned we did not have a spare garage door opener

for her use...

 

It meant that I must program the button

on my car to open the door... 

 

OMG...that caused me to have to open the glove box,

motions saved only for finding the lost registration

or an insurance card... 

 

Who really pulls out the owners manual anyway?! 

 

Jeezus...the manual was thicker than a phone book! 

 

Somewhere, on Page 42-g, I found the instructions

 (bells and whistles scream, "T$'s Jurisdiction!!!")... 

 

I stopped hyperventilating

and tried to read without skimming... 

 

Step One: Hold the hand remote close

to the Transmission Button... 

 

Step Two:  Press both the remote and Transmission Button

at the same time for five to nine seconds... 

 

This is assuming I am thusly coordinated...

 

Transmission light should show a fast blink.... 

 

Now what the hell is a fast blink

versus a perhaps medium blink?! 

 

Step Three:  In the garage is the ceiling mounted

Transmission Unit. 

 

 Push the "Learn" button, then run like hell into the car

and press the Transmission Button for two seconds... 

 

I went into the garage,

which right now is infested

with some spider party... 

 

Brushing away years of dust and cobwebs

from the thingy on the ceiling,

I could not, for the life of me, find this "Learn" button. 

 

I was about to "Learn" to swat it down from the ceiling

with a baseball bat... 

 

After pulling off the lightbulb cover, sending clouds of some disgusting fine dirt

all over myself, I discovered a tiny, lavender button,

 microscopically labeled, "Learn"... 

 

At this point, Jack was roped into the project... 

 

I needed some testosterone

to give me machine-related super powers... 

 

Tentatively, I pushed the "Learn" button

and then shouted down to Jack

to press the Transmission Button...

 

The garage door smoothly dropped to close... 

 

I was euphoric, joyous, ecstatic! 

 

Without my man about the house,

I overcame my fear of programming anything,

and I got the job done... 

 

Now I know why men like this kind of stuff... 

 

This gratification feeling is pretty damn good! 

 

Jack and I accomplished something... 

 

Now every time I drive down the alley

and press that little Transmission Button,

I will feel good, knowing I made it work... 

 

As Jack says, it's the little things that count... 

 

So are we totally self sufficient without T$? 

 

 No way... 

 

He had to talk me off of the ledge this morning,

all the way from Dubai, to help me straighten out the computer

Jack managed to screw up in 30 seconds flat... 

 

But let's just say that we are making do

and figuring out challenges when we have to... 

 

It is a good lesson in keeping your skill set broad,

so to speak... 

 

Because sometimes you have to do it yourself... 

 

Our Sonos system stopped working

the moment T$ boarded his plane,

so we are a home without music for a while now... 

 

Please come back soon, Honey! 

 

I miss cooking to Thievery Corporation!

Apple Cider Doughnuts...

Happy Friday!  

Happy Friday the 13th!  

It's a little known fact 

that eating fresh apple cider doughnuts 

are a suitable antidote to sightings of black cats, 

broken mirrors or spilled salt...  

I suggest you try this easy, 

fast recipe to preserve your good luck on this day...  

It was high time I began my annual 

feed the teachers campaign, 

so I got up early and tripled the recipe 

to make three dozen doughnuts...  

The wind shifted to the north overnight 

and the cool breeze smells of fall...  

The change in the weather is so refreshing 

after the tropical heat we have suffered all week...  

What better way to celebrate a crisp day

 than with an apple cider doughnut? 

Okay, maybe a honey wiess beer and a hot pretzel, 

but I can't serve those to the teachers, now can I?  

Maybe after school...hmmm...  

Anyway, this doughnut recipe calls for simple ingredients 

and a doughnut pan 

as these babies are BAKED...  

Let's face it, fried doughnuts are delicious, 

but the mess and smell of the hot oil 

is not my idea of fun at 6 am... 

However, popping baked doughnuts 

from a nonstick pan is faster, 

easier and much less mess...  

Dredge those hot circles of cinnamon-y joy in the glaze 

and THEN dip them in cinnamon sugar...  

Ohhh, it is autumn in one bite! 

It took longer than I thought to make three dozen doughnuts 

and I began to run out of time 

before the kids needed to get to school...  

So, I did something I haven't done before; 

I took the kids to school in my pj's...  

Have you done this?  

I threw on a jacket to cover my state of undress 

and Jack was tasked with delivering the doughnuts 

to the teacher's lounge this time...  

It was no biggie...  

There was a dad last year 

who would WALK his kids to school 

in his bathrobe and slippers...  

At least I was shielded from discovery 

in the car...  

Anyway, I hope the school staff 

enjoys Friday coffee and doughnuts...  

Oh jeez...  The school just called and Kate is sick...

See ya...time to get dressed!

Apple Cider Donut

Courtesy of tastykitchen.com

Prep Time 10 Minutes Cook Time 10 Minutes

Servings 12

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

• FOR THE DONUTS:
• 2 cups Flour
• ¾ cups Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoons Allspice
• ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
• ½ cups Apple Cider
• ¼ cups Applesauce
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• 2 Tablespoons Apple Cider
• 1-¼ cup Powdered Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Allspice
• ¼ cups Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

Preparation Instructions

In a large mixing bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon. Mix until blended. Add in the apple cider, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
Lightly grease a doughnut pan (I use Norpro brand). Pour batter into a large Ziploc bag, seal the bag, and snip off the corner. I find this the easiest and cleanest way to get batter into pan without dripping. Pipe the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake doughnuts in a 325ºF oven for about 10 minutes, until they spring back when touched. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before removing from pan.
To make the glaze, whisk together the apple cider, powdered sugar and allspice until completely smooth.
In a separate bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon.
Dip each doughnut into the glaze (top of doughnut only) and then into cinnamon/sugar mix. The glaze will run down the sides and coat nearly the whole donut. Allow to dry on a cooling rack. Enjoy!

This Day....

If you are over the age of twenty, 

then you will, most likely, remember 

where you were on September 11th...  

Just as our parents can tell you 

what they were doing when they heard 

that President Kennedy had been assassinated...  

And your grandparents, if still alive, remember hearing 

that Pearl Harbor had been attacked...  

Those are the huge, horrible days 

in our American history, 

where time stops and the memory 

becomes preserved in one's mind forever...  

This morning was clear, dry and warm, 

almost exactly as the weather was twelve years ago, 

as I walked to the farmer's market...  

It was peaceful outside, much as it was in New York,

 relatively speaking for a big city, 

before the horror ensued...  

As I walked through the produce, 

I noticed the sound of planes 

making their final approach to O'Hare...  

I remembered the absence of that familiar roar

 in the days after 9/11...  

So terribly quiet, it was...  

A folksy trio played music 

at the periphery of the market 

and toddlers danced with their mamas...  

I thought about all the families torn apart that day, 

all the tweens and young teenagers 

who lost a parent when they were just innocent babies...  

Tom has family in New Jersey 

and they attended funerals, 

non stop, for two weeks...  

That morning, I took the El to my office building 

on Wacker Drive, as always...  

We were still newlyweds, 

having been married just eleven months...  

Tom was looking for a new job 

and I was bringing home the bacon...  

As I walked into the office,

 I noticed a bunch of people 

hunched around a computer...  

Thinking they were enjoying a dumb joke, 

I kept walking to my cubicle 

until someone told me about a plane 

hitting a building in New York...  

As the morning went on, 

many of us watched the events 

from the television in the fitness center, 

in numb disbelief...  

My security-minded husband called me 

and told me to come home...  

My office building would have been flattened like a pancake 

if terrorists also took down the Sears Tower... 

It was that close...

I hesitated, since no one else 

was making any moves to evacuate...   

And then T$ used "The Voice", 

of which everyone around me heard, 

as I had unfortunately put the phone on speaker...  

"Do you think anyone in your office 

knows more than the rest of the world???!!  

GET HOME NOW!!!"  

It was a good thing that I left when I did 

because an hour later, the Loop was jammed 

with the rest of humanity, trying to leave the city...  

As I rode the El northward, 

the skyline was eerily still...  

The usual airline traffic was no more...  

As soon as I arrived home, 

Tom and filled the white Yukon with gas 

and took money from the ATM...  

We didn't know if we would need to leave town, fast...   

Twelve years hence, 

the farmers market thrives...  

The tomatoes are plump and rosy...  

The squash, brilliant yellow...  

The grapes, sweet and inviting... 

Little ones dance and have no idea

 of that unimaginable day...  

Life goes on and hopefully we will not ever forget 

September 11 and those who were lost...  

I have not shielded my children 

from this historic event...  

They have watched television specials 

and videos on the subject...  

We have discussed it at length...  

Without creating fear and worries,

 they need to know what happened, 

why it occurred

and what is being done 

to keep it from happening again...  

It was beautiful here today...  

I am so grateful for this gorgeous 

Indian Summer day as I quietly remember 

that September Tuesday in 2001...

I made Raspberry Chip Crumb Cake today...

It is a nice way to soothe the soul...

Raspberry Chip Crumb Cake, Courtesy of Family Circle.com

Serving size: 9 Prep 20 mins Bake 350° 40 mins

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 1/4 cups  all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup  sugar
• 2 teaspoons  baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon  salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup  whole milk
• 2 tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup  dark mini chocolate baking chunks
• 1 container raspberries (6 oz), about 1 1/2 cups

Topping

• 1/2 cup  all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup  sugar
• 4 tablespoons  unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup  chopped walnuts

Directions

Cake

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees . Coat an 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil and vanilla.

3. Make a well in center of flour mixture. Add egg mixture to well and beat with a wooden spoon 1 minute, until evenly moistened; stir in chocolate chunks. Spoon into prepared pan and top with raspberries.

Topping

4. In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. Sprinkle topping over raspberries.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 9 squares. This cake is best eaten on the day its made.

 

Renegade Craft Fair...

Finally, finally, this year I had the time 

to visit the Renegade Craft Fair...  

It is this super hip, unique, clever, fun art fair 

that is held in major cities,

around the country, twice a year...  

This is not your grandma's craft fair 

in the basement of the Congregational church...  

And it ain't your typical summer art fair 

that sells everything from mortgage busting oil paintings 

to beer tab chain mail bustiers...  

 

(emmie bean)

 

Most of the items for sale are more affordable

and they appeal to the younger, sustainably living, 

Divvy riding, Lolla attending, IPA drinking set...

 (inedible jewelery)

What's funny about that statement 

is that none of those descriptive terms 

resemble me in any possible way...

I suppose if you have somewhat of a creative brain, 

if you love Threadless T shirts 

or maybe you just enjoy a sarcastic comment 

on a poster now and then, 

Renegade is for you, too...  

 

T$ was flying over Syria 

and Jack was much too interested 

in merging his butt with the couch to join us, 

so Kate and I headed over this morning

to catch the fair early...  

 

(yard sale press)

 

It's a big fair, chock full of beautifully crafted jewelry, 

posters, tee shirts, tee pees, soaps, salts, shoes, 

cupcake boxes, knits, hand dyed yarns, 

toys, on and on...  

Kate fixated on anything plush...  

(steff bomb)

She dug the toy vegetables, 

but settled on a felted mustache..

.  

My desires were for cool tee shirts 

or frame-able art...  

Loved this catsup piece 

and found some really tasty salts 

to give as a gift...  

Yard Sale Press...

But there was so much more to love, 

although my wallet would not have loved me back...  

Thus, the restraint!  

 

Clearly, though, our favorite of the day

 were the super delicious gourmet lollipops 

from This Charming Candy... 

(this charming candy)

 

AT $3.00 a pop, I hesitated to buy them, 

but I gotta tell ya, Kate and I agreed 

they were the best lollipops we had EVER tasted...  

My Salted Caramel was sweet and salty heaven 

from first lick to last crunch...  

Kate enjoyed a Cherry Jubilee pop 

and she was all smiles... 
 

The Renegade Craft fair comes back to Chicago 

December 7 & 8th...  

You can bet we will be there to find some 

one of a kind Christmas gifts for our loved ones...

Smokin' Hot....

Today it is ninety four degrees in my neighborhood...  

Hot enough to fry an egg 

on the hood of a car...  

Hot enough to slide around in your chair at school, 

or so my kids told me...  

Stifling...  

Oppressive...

Smokin' hot...  

Mr. Skilling says that the temps will fall 

to only eighty degrees tomorrow...  

He'd better be right...

As we head into this holiday weekend, 

I thought I'd share the perfect iced coffee recipe 

for you to enjoy as you watch your family frolic in the pool, 

as you sway on your porch swing

 or as you watch your fave 

guilty pleasure on the boob tube...

Mine would be "Extra Virgin"  

on the Cooking Channel...  

Super babe, Debi Mazar, 

 

and her hot Italian husband,Gabriele 

cook up a storm in their villa in Tuscany 

or at their apartment in New York...  

They are glam, in love 

and great cooks...  

   

Anyway, this iced coffee recipe, 

courtesy of Pioneer Woman, 

is very easy and worth the wait 

for the grounds to steep...  

Perfect Iced Coffee

Prep Time 8 Hours

Servings 24

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Coffee (good, Rich Roast)
• 8 quarts Cold Water
• Half-and-half (healthy Splash Per Serving)
• Sweetened Condensed Milk (2-3 Tablespoons Per Serving)
• Note: Can Use Skim Milk, 2% Milk, Whole Milk, Sugar, Artificial Sweeteners, Syrups...adapt To Your Liking!

Preparation Instructions

(Adapted from Imbibe Magazine)
In a large container, mix ground coffee with water. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature eight hours or overnight.
Line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth and set over a pitcher or other container. Pour coffee/water mixture through the strainer, allowing all liquid to run through. Discard grounds.
Place coffee liquid in the fridge and allow to cool. Use as needed.
To make iced coffee, pack a glass full of ice cubes. Fill glass 2/3 full with coffee liquid. Add healthy splash of half-and-half. Add 2-3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (can use plain sugar instead) and stir to combine. Taste and adjust half-and-half and/or sweetened condensed milk as needed.

Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!!

Summer Report...

Geez, did summer fly by, 

or what?!  

When summer vacation gets reduced by two weeks,

 it makes a big difference...  

The kids are back in school a week early this year 

and they let out for the summer a week late, 

so vacation was over in a blink...  

August is when we visit the grandparents, 

and given the choice to hang at the pool 

or post blogs, 

my absence of writing reveals my decision...  

Now that I am back among my friends,

 "Reality" and "Routine", 

it is high time I submit a report 

of what happened this summer...

1. Camps:  I wish I was a kid solely because of the incredible summer camps that are offered now.  The kids attended basketball, tennis, sewing, circus, golf, dance and overnight camps.  Years ago, my choices for camps was park district camp and, um, park district camp.  I would ride my bike down sixty-degree hills to get to the tennis courts by the river.  In searing humidity, we would slog the tennis ball back and forth, trudging to the rusty water fountain every few minutes, before eating our mushy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.  Exhausted and minutes from heat stroke, I would pedal up those hills and through a huge cemetery, I might add, home...  Good times...

2. Baseball:  Starting with sleet, and ending in scorching heat, Jack's baseball team survived a long season of tough losses.  There was not much to cheer about except that the field backed up against the best bar in Lincoln Square...

3.  Floods:  After a particularly torrential rain, my parent's basement filled with twelve inches of dirty water.  While the event was a catalyst for parting with clutter, it was a messy, emotional situation.  It is hard to see cherished items covered with mold and wet.  Now their basement is cleared out and perhaps the positive feng shui is the silver lining...

4.  Pies:  Dang if I didn't get on a pie jag this summer!  Apple, blueberry, shoo fly, lemon meringue were some of the gems my family enjoyed.  Maybe that is why my clothes are too tight!

 

 5. Florida:  Every year we spend a few weeks visiting the grandparents in Florida.  We are blessed to have such a fabulous place to relax and play.  The great thing is that kids are now old enough to swim in the pool without hanging on me.  After all, have you tried to hold a pina colada in the pool with a kid on your arm?  It's a challenge!  The kids made plenty of new friends at the pool, which gave me time to catch up on People Magazine...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Shrimp:  Fernandina Beach is a big shrimping destination, so we filled up on as much good, fresh shrimp as possible.  One day, we took a tour on an educational shrimping boat.  They cast the big net three times and then unloaded the catch on a pan at the back of the boat, to show everyone what is caught in the estuaries of Southern Georgia...  We saw tons of shrimp, puffer fish, gar, horse shoe crab, blue crab, and all kinds of fish...  We were followed by a massive cadre of sea gulls, who feasted on the sea life the kids tossed their way...

 

7. Shark Teeth:  This part of Florida seems to collect a large number of fossilized shark teeth on the beaches.  For years, I have hunted them with ZERO success.  One of my friends on the island can spot a tooth a mile away and I have watched her, with envy, snatch up five teeth in a two minute stroll on the beach.  Those damn teeth eluded me until this year.  Jack and I headed to the beach to search for shark teeth and to my amazing luck, I saw a gleaming, black tooth staring up at me, right away.  I squealed with girlish glee and showed my prize to Jack.  He was none too pleased at my finding a tooth before he did and he began to scan the sand with vigor.  Within five minutes I found five more teeth!  Jack looked like he was about to cry and I tried to console him, but inside I was so pumped about finally being able to "see" the teeth amongst the millions of shells in the sand.  Soon, Jack found a tooth and then the race was on for him.  All told, I found 30 shark teeth while on vacation, but Jack found 62.  He beat his mom and I think that was more important than the actual discoveries.  You do get addicted to searching them out;  they gleam black and shiny, in their pointy T shapes...

8: New/Old Friends:  Facebook is many things, good bad or otherwise, but sometimes you become reacquainted with people from your past.  I'm not talking about old boyfriend hook ups, because that is never a good thing.  An old high school classmate and I became friends, mostly through a mutual friend.  Although I didn't know her well in high school, I began to like her over Facebook.  She has a wicked sense of humor, which I prized, a really nice family, and the fact that she was friends with my old friend gave her instant street cred.  Well, we decided to meet up over a weekend and it was so much fun.  I feel like I made a really great new friend and to that I thank Facebook...

9: Food:  I can't post without talking about good eats!  I made this, 

and this 

and THIS 

over the summer....  OMG!!!!  Super tasty....Try 'em!

10: DIY:  Yep, this old house was on a fixer upper tear this summer.  

 Although not close to being finished, I pretty much painted 90% of the interior myself.  

 The process was tough and my hands looked like I was in a war, but the results were pretty satisfying. 

 

 

This money pit of a house has a lot of needs, 

but we checked a few things off of the list 

such as a new kitchen back splash, 

redone floors and new sliding doors...

It's been a wonderful summer... 

The kids have grown like the proverbial weeds, 

Jack has matured so much it's scary 

and Kate is becoming such a little lady...  

When Tom the Traveler was in town, 

the family had fun together,

 shooting off fireworks

 or playing a round of golf...

  

 

 

Friends and family are all that matters, 

as we were painfully reminded this week 

at a funeral for a friend taken too soon...  

 

 

 

 

So I cherish the summer 

and look forward to a crisp, happy autumn, 

full of fun times and apple cobblers... 

Hope your summer was one to remember, too!