I leaned in to smooch Thing Three on the forehead and noticed he smelled… fruity. I sniffed his hair, realized he’s out of the strawberry conditioner he’d been using, sniffed some more, then asked, “why do you smell fruity?”
He grins sheepishly so I know to ask again, “why do you smell fruity?”
“I rubbed grape gum on my forehead.”
this one is totally on me. we had fresh cheerios and i'd snagged a big bag of M&M's for multiple recipes (which have yet to materialize, but hush) and since peanut butter is an everyday staple in our house, i made a batch of happy trails mix.
what is happy trails mix, you ask?
it was discovered by one lisa and one val at camp lambec one rather chilly summer night around a campfire when friends were frying fresh caught fish from lake erie. they offered us some, but as we'd smuggled these ingredients to camp and had pilfered a big metal bowl from the dining hall, we declined. however, there is no chance of pouring m&m's into a metal bowl quietly and we soon had everyone's attention even though the firelight was the only light around. it was delicious out there in the cool of the evening and it's just as good inside.
here is the recipe, which runs much more like old-timey recipes with absolutely no unit measurements that make me nuts than the precision kind i prefer.
step one: dump your m&m's in a biggish bowl (you will need room to stir)
step two: pour in enough cheerios to cover M&M's and then a little more
step three: spoon a fist sized glob of peanut butter in there
step four: get messy. mix with a utensil or your hands
step five: enjoy and refrigerate any leftovers covered. it's also good chilled! it might even hold together better that way.
By some miracle we got Dada's whole side of the family together in one spot for Thanksgiving. The cousins were PSYCHED. The fellowship was so refreshing. And there was far too much food.
The year was 2010 which feels rather like a lifetime ago:
It certainly was for these cousins who all turned 13 this year. my mother had the brilliant idea of recreating the above photo and the attempt cracked us up completely. life is short. don't blink. you might miss it.
Thing Two came downstairs (which I always hear as part of Bill Cosby’s chocolate cake routine) in his robe and slippers and hair, and Dada quipped, “looks like Bob Marley.”
Now, being married for as long as we have, I knew exactly that he meant Hair In His Face was channeling Jacob Marley from A Christmas Carol. I saw the chains in my mind’s eye, because the posture and plodding pace were both spot on.
But because I was just awake enough to know the Bob part wasn’t quite right, my brain superimposed an image of Bob Marley, hair and all, over top of the Jacob Marley and let’s just say I’m so glad I had just swallowed my mouthful of coffee because it would not have been pretty!
Happy Thanksgiving to all. Be safe if you’re traveling. Count and celebrate your blessings. It’s been a long year and you are allowed to enjoy your time of rest and yumminess. Savor more than the bites. You are so loved! 🥰😋🦃🍁🦥
For how dumb our dogs are. Right now, Honey is laying down beside her food, yet again. She’s not smart enough to realize if she ate it that she then wouldn’t have to guard it. The rest of us have to deal with getting around or over the multiple baby gates set up to separate them until she finishes or we give up and save her breakfast for dinner.
But THIS one, the Small Stupid One as he’s often called, decided instead of running his usual lap or two around the fire pit and back to the deck that he would instead go tearing off for the neighbors’ bushes and then baja back through the courtyard. The completely covered in wild onion, black raspberry canes, and pricker-seeded weeds. Fifty-two pickup on aisle nine…
