Talent Show

My Fall talent show was a huge success! I had no idea that we would have such a great turn out of talent or audience. I believe we raised about $700 which will be split between the Yearbook club and Drama club.

Whatever Winsted lacks, they always turn out an enthusiastic crowd of supporters. Everyone was clapping and cheering and getting into it. It made my talent feel good--everyone just fed off of one another. All in all a super fun, relaxing evening.

The seniors had a concession stand-let me tell you, if you are ever at a loss for a bake sale item, grab a box of Ho-hos! I have never seen a crowd descend on a plate of goodies like that before!!!

I had 15 acts of singers, dancers, piano players and actors. One of the highlights was a faculty/student act performing Abbot and Costello's "Who's on First". I think most people were in tears! Especially when the teacher chased the student off stage with a baseball bat.

My Fall drama group wrapped up the evening with a fabulous performance--I will put the YouTube link here, but if it is fussy, go to YouTube and search for "The Emperor's New Hair" posted by mboucher on 11/16. It isn't quite the whole play, but this parent grabbed most of it for us. I was very proud of them, and sad to see the group come to it's end.

That's ok...because the kick off for the Spring musical starts right after Thanksgiving!!!! Yay!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e8yeZzDkBY&sns=em

And certainly not least.....

STICKY BUNS!!!!!!!

Gearing up for the holidays!

Oh yay! Here we go....

Looking around the house, taking inventory.... (is it worth cleaning all this dirt, or waiting a few more days?)

What is going to be on our Thanksgiving menu? Hopefully lots of food, because there will be a lot of US:
Scott: Turkey, lots of. Gravy.
Allison: Green Bean Casserole, Pecan Pie.
Alannah: Pecan Pie.
Aidan: Creme de' Menthe Syrup on Vanilla Ice Cream, (I have no idea where that came from, but in her memory, grandpa makes this for us every year?!?!?!), everything but Cranberry Sauce.
Angela: Turkey, lots of.
Susie: Pumpkin Pie, Rolls and Butter, lots of.
Kennedi: Shrug, I don't know!? Pizza? (I don't think she likes anything much of the traditional stuff...)
Dan: Pumpkin Pie.


How about you?
Still waiting to weigh in with Grandma and Grandpa.... my guess is that we are having most of the following:

Turkey
Gravy
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Squash
Creamed Onions
Rolls
Butter
Cranberry Sauce: Cooked, Canned and Relish
Assorted Pickles and appetizers
Pie: Pumpkin, Apple, Pecan, Cherry, Blueberry.....etc.
and I guess we better have Vanilla Ice Cream with Creme de'Menthe Syrup!!!!

THAT should keep us busy for a few days.... don't you think?

The Fashion of Disaster

Owego has their flood.... other's have hurricanes, tornadoes and forest fires. We get to claim the gory glory of "Alfred the Nor'Easter Snowstorm of the Century". Twenty inches of snow and a week without water or power, no school for a whole week--yay!! Oh-so fashionable us!

Lucky for us, Scott's wisdom and fore-sight of enthusiastic tree-trimming over the past few years saved us a lot of grief. That seemed to be the root of the evil: heavy wet snow on big old leafy trees crashing down on power, cable and phone wires. Many places around us said that the damage was worse than both the recent hurricanes. Driving around proved that to be true--many roads were closed due to what looked like a giant tasmanian devil that had whizzed through and mangled all of the trees.

I don't think that we have ever been without power or water for that long--it was stressful, at best. At least the weather wasn't dangerously cold or overly miserable. We were able to stay warm in the sun by the campfire during the day. There was plenty of melted snow water for washing dishes and flushing toilets (eww). We were able to travel within a couple days to get gas, food and drinking water. The snow provided the kids (and dog) hours of entertainment. There is probably something to be said for owning a generator--might make the top 10 list of appliances we'd love to own. Stories of Carbon Monoxide poisoning withstanding.

Living without running water just really stinks.

We all enjoyed epic showers today, and I have about 30 loads of laundry to catch up on (mostly wet snow things!) By Monday we will all be clean and fresh, ready to launch back into the hot and furry, electric-buzzy, rat race--Slightly Damp, April Fresh, Cling-Free, Permanent Press!

Get your Diva T-shirts here!

I have a running joke in my drama workshop: if you spout off for whatever reason, you are bound to be "honored" with the Diva T-shirt. Not that there is an actual shirt.... but so far, most of the kids have earned a turn wearing it! (The director has "Diva" TATOOED on her forehead, so don't get all smarky with me saying maybe I should be wearing the Diva T-shirt!)

Ha ha!

The past few weeks have been a roller-coaster of ups and downs:

Downs: The theme of October so far seems to be "waiting for the phone to ring". It can make a person crazy: waiting for a call back. No one calls back anymore. They don't even return emails!? It's crazy. I can't imagine advertising myself as a "caring educational resource" and then never responding to client inquiries. With this whole Alannah process we are obligated (and is our pleasure, of course) to arrange and participate in all kinds of therapies and trainings. This whole thing has been going on since JUNE and we are still struggling to connect with some services. It makes you wonder about parents who are not educated or resourceful. It makes me wonder how many of them "fail" but not for lack of TRYING. How sad for them and their families!

And, of course, none of the 8 or so services that we are working with currently ever communicate with each other. We spend most of our time sorting out contradictions instead of actually working toward measurable goals. It is just not right. It is not fair.

Sigh.

Ups: Have had several wonderful weekends full of family and friends!
Mom and Dad were here with the kids a few weeks ago and we enjoyed a great time going to watch Alannah march in the half-time show at the football game. She was the only girl to not drop her flag.

We visited the Action Wildlife Animal Park in Goshen, CT which was a lot of fun. The kids got to feed a bunch of animals in the petting zoo and then Dan almost got eaten by a baby cow who reached out and nipped at his shoulder. (seeing how big the BIG cows were, it wasn't as scary as you think!) He thought it was cool, and it didn't hurt him, so all's well that ends well I suppose.

Aidan has been spending some time with new friends she is meeting at her new school. We have enjoyed getting to know them. Scott taught one of her friends how to split wood. I don't know who Alex likes to visit more--Aidan or the woodpile!

Angela and Kennedi were here this past weekend. We had fun visiting Six Flags New England. They have all of the Halloween things going on. They were not excited about the scary parts, but it was fun to try out some of the rides and family shows.

I sang in a concert Saturday night with my Laurel City Singers group. Sunday we went to NY to watch the football game with Scott's friends.

My drama group is performing a little play for the Talent Show next week. They are doing a great job. Today we added props. Thursday and next Tuesday we have a mini-dress rehearsal before the main-show Wednesday night.

I am working pretty steadily now, which is good.

I have a few Halloween costumes to work on still, a birthday gift for Erica and one more baby gift. It is getting chilly, so not sure how much longer I can sew out in the garage!

Mom and Dad are in Texas for a couple of weeks, so they will miss the snow and cold....for now!

There! I knew if I listed my joys and sorrows the joys would have it.

(AMEN!)

A really good day

It was the most beautiful, crisp, Fall day here in Ct.

Not only did I get most of the bedrooms cleaned, I did laundry and even hung a bunch of stuff out around on the deck. Since the kids were here this weekend, it seemed like laundry has been going on all day..... arrghhh.... I am also cleaning out drawers and filling donation bags. Everyone grew this Summer!

Susie is able to use many of Aidan's hand-me-downs. Dan needed all new things, but I lucked out at Goodwill in Torrington--ended up with almost all new name brand things for under $3.00 apiece! I never appreciated school uniforms--otherwise Aidan would have worn us out of house and home this year. She is getting to be a very picky dresser. Alannah isn't, so I know she will enjoy the bag of my stuff that I sorted out to give her when she comes for her visit on Wednesday.

Scott is having a blast trying to rebuild a really nice high-end computer monitor he and Dan found at the dump. (are you sensing a trend here in the Graboski household?) He ran around to various Radio Shack type places today and then spent an hour with the solder iron. Aidan seemed to enjoy helping him.

I am ending the day cooking chili and apple crisp. Between all of that cooking and the fresh-off-the-line laundry, the house smells amazing. I am super hungry after all that work, so hopefully dinner will happen soon!

Definitely a KEEPER

I was going through Dan's and Susie's papers this morning, and I came across a little booklet Dan made in school about the flooding in Owego. It was a neat project to get the kids talking about and working through the trauma I imagine invaded their little lives.... luckily Dan was saved from most of that tragedy. Anyways.... there were three questions asking what he did and who helped him feel better about the flood. All of his answers said: "Mom", or "A hug from mom" or cuddling with mom".

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Leave the sombrero, take the cannoli!

Another day at home.... the house is clean, the laundry done. Oh, what to do?

:) :) :) Says the evil domestic goddess......

I have been obsessed with the thought of making cannoli.

We were at a very authentic little Italian restaurant a few weeks ago. "Fresh cannoli"was on the menu board. While we were waiting for our pizza, I was entertaining this wonderful dessert fantasy. A little old Italian lady hobbled in. The little old Italian lady running the place greets her, IN ITALIAN. The customer lady asks after the cannoli, and come to find out the lady has one left for her husband, and two for her customer. She warned her that they may not be that fresh, as they were ready at 10am. (It is merely NOON, btw.....) The lady actually apologizes for being so late, but is happy to get any cannoli she can get. HER husband wanted one too, [interject dainty little Italian grandmother giggle]

I can't honestly remember the last time I actually ate a cannoli(o). I have a vague New York City memory from when I was about 10 that was disappointing: not sweet enough, maybe the seasoning (booze) was too strong.... But can't get the darn things out of my head now...that I'm old. And bored.

Good bye dessert, but HELLO PROJECT!

I have now read a whole bunch of stuff on cannoli. Andrea and her husband are my foremost authorities. They actually have real Italian grandmothers. Their general advice was not to be disappointed--cannoli are tricky little buggers. This sentiment was repeated across the internet.
I was prepared for time and mess.

What wasn't repeated was one darn recipe. There were barely any that were even close to each other. Andrea was tied up with kids and work, so I decided to go ahead and at least find a frame of reference recipe to start with. I found one that seemed promising on Serious Eats.com: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/homemade-cannoli-fresh-ricotta-recipe.html This one seemed fairly simple compared to some of the other recipes.

I just accept the fact that I can't pan-fry anything to save my life, so I super-cheated and heated up the deep fryer to 350. (all the Italian grandmothers moan and groan.....) Honestly, I think that it made things a heck of a lot easier and safer. Andrea complained that she got totally burned by flying oil using the pan method. The little pastry shells crisped up perfectly without any fuss, and no more mess than I normally have when I use the deep fryer.

I used the pasta machine on setting #3 to roll out the dough. I probably could and should have gotten it thinner, but it worked for a first time try.

Dad's homemade taco tool (see pics) doubled as a perfect cannoli tube. (hence the sombrero quip) You can buy some pretty nice cannoli kits for a lot of $$... Gotta feel nice and smug about that. Although one girl on the blog was saying that her grandmother used an old broomstick. (eww?)

It helped to wet the edges of the dough with some egg to make it stick. Before I figured that out I had a couple really nice pieces of fried dough because it fell off the tube. The other common complaint was that unless you had more than one tube, it took forever and was hard to coordinate the wrapping, frying, cooling and filling. I only had the one tube, and wayyy too much free time. It probably made it a more relaxing experience that way since I could really only make one at a time. It took 3 minutes to cook one, and about 6 minutes to cool. The pastry fried right around the tube, and then just slid off when I took it out of the oil. Filling took about two seconds--good ol' pastry bag.

I didn't have anything fancy lying around to decorate the ends with, so I just sprinkled them with powdered sugar. The filling was super simple: ricotta, granulated sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Andrea suggested draining the ricotta which I did for about 5 hours on layers of paper towels that I changed 4-5 times.

Can I hear a collective YUM? I have no idea if they are "authentic", but they are very, very delicious.

Uhhmmmm..... was it wrong to (only) eat cannoli and spiedies for lunch?

Bits and Pieces and a nice dinner

Working a bit, playing a bit.... My little drama group is growing and developing. We should be ready for working on an actual skit/play in two weeks! I am glad that I am doing this, as this will help them be prepared for what it is like to be part of a high school play. Hopefully it will save me some headaches in the Spring! The talent show is scheduled for November 2nd. FINALLY we were able to pick a date. That was so hard, that planning everything else will be a breeze! I have a lot of help as we are sharing the evening with several groups. This weekend I am also working on choreography notes for the Spring show and writing a grant for new microphones.

Aidan and I went to the football game yesterday to see Alannah's half-time show. She did really well! She was the only color guard girl to not drop her flag. I was proud of her. The band's show is coming together. They didn't get the plans for the show until pretty late, so it is a work in progress. They have extra practices this week as they have a competition next Saturday. The football team is getting started with one loss last week, one win yesterday. Poor Enfield--Gilbert-Northwest had them creamed at 24-0 before the end of the first quarter! At least Enfield came back a little toward the end of the game with a final score of 36-20. Aidan and I left in the 3rd quarter, so didn't see the big comeback. (Enfield only had 7 points by then....) I like watching high school football when the score is that huge. The coaches start putting all kinds of kids in to play and they start running all of these exotic plays. It is a good way for me to appreciate the art of the game. Sometimes things move too fast and slick at the professional level.

Other fun things: Scott's mom retired this year so she has been cleaning out closets. She sent a huge box yesterday that was a treasure trove of fun. There were treats for everyone, including the dog. Very special was a handmade bedspread made out of yo-yos that was made by her mother. It is amazing--there must be a thousand tiny little circles of fabric stitched together. I will take a picture of it soon. It makes my yo-yo project look rather pitiful, but I will keep plugging along faithfully. What an inspiration.

Last, but not least:

Scott and I actually went out on a DATE last night! We went out to The Tributary restaurant.

http://ra.rep-am.com/dining/menus/TRIBUTARY%20RESTAURANT%20menu.pdf

It is a nice place--kind of the "fancy" place to eat in town--the waiters even have cloths over their arms, and when you get a peek into the kitchen the chefs have the big hats and everything. If anyone from Owego remembers "Surf and Turf"--this is very similar, with a big salad bar, traditional menu and a dessert tray. We love Marios, but it is nice to break away from the big Italian theme once in awhile. Sometimes they have a live piano player. Thankfully not last night, as we were sitting practically on top of the piano! (We got there at prime time without reservations...oh well....) I had the Duck a L' Orange with wild rice and a very nice apple/walnut stuffing and sauce. This is how fancy it was: my plate was garnished with a fresh orchid. Scott had the prime rib which was absolutely gorgeous and at least 2 1/2 inches thick. (oh yum!) It was even served with a giant popover. (Dad would appreciate this--they were amazing) We were there for probably 3 hours just taking our time, laughing and having a great time. I think everyone else there were jealous of us.... hee hee as they all kept looking over and smiling at us sitting up there all cozy in the corner. Yeah.... we needed that!

:)

Fun in the Kitchen

There was threat of frost last week, so we hauled out the garden. This is not saying much, because then the entire garden was in our kitchen! ha ha! I have been working quite a bit, so today was the first day we had a chance to do anything. We have been up since 5:30 working--I am going to wish I got called in to work. zzzzzzzz....

At 6:30 we were out at the fire pit roasting chili peppers. So far we have made green cayenne/cherry pepper sauce and are drying red cayenne for grinding. I made a giant pot of roasted chili sauce with a variety of chili peppers: Green, Red, Anaheim, Fresno and Cowhorn. We also threw a bunch of Jalapenos in there as well. I cooked them until they were soft (oh yeah--I also threw a random peck of misc. tomatoes in there....) and ran the whole thing through the food mill. It came out this absolutely gorgeous thick sauce. It has a very nice flavor to it, and "Woah Nelly!" some pretty major heat. (see pictures!) It will make a very nice base for enchiladas and/or chili or anything else like that. I got about a gallon of sauce.

I was musing about making this sauce while we were at Mom and Dad's this past weekend. Dad was fantasizing about a green chili stew with veggies and potatoes in it. Inspired, I cooked some onions and garlic in a little shortening in a skillet, threw in some chopped carrots, celery, garlic and potatoes (salt, pepper, onion/garlic powder, cumin) and a handful of leftover chicken spiedies. Oh boy, is it ever good--just VERY SPICY!!!

We were joking that after today in our house, flu shots were optional. I don't know about Scott, but my airways are feeling quite purified! I promise I will not let you know how any other of my bodily pathways are doing after eating the chili stew..... heh heh heh....

Research

So... I've been puttering around making yo-yos out of the huge box of old quilt pieces that I have... It is fun in and of itself--especially since the vision of a project are forming in my head. It is kind of soothing, mindless work, so of course the ol' brain gets cranking. I found many of the quilt pieces in a box from my grandmother's marked "1940". They are soooo cool--obviously vintage, so many unique prints and colors--flowers, children, animals, geometric shapes. The fabrics represented by the quilt pieces certainly support that era in style and color.

It got me thinking, and clicking. (What would we do without the internet?) A few furious hours of clicks later, and I think that all of my quilt pieces are from old feed/store sacks! I generally know that the quilt squares are from my various maternal aunts, passed down through my grandmother, and they all lived in a rural farm town. My grandmother was very frugal, and proud of her participation in the depression and war efforts. I am sure that she would have been very supportive of using the feedsacks for other purposes--as promoted by the government and feed suppliers. I wish I would have thought of that while she was alive to ask her and confirm my suspicions firsthand.

If I am right, then I have a real treat of a find on my hands!

Back to School--for everyone!

Will have my first sub job tomorrow--this might be a record (?!?!) it only being the 3rd day of school! In the 5+ years I have been subbing that is pretty darn early. But.... cool. Might as well jump right in. I think I will be covering 9th and 10th grade science, so some new kids and some "old" ones.

I went in to the school for a few hours today to take care of Drama stuff and get my name changed on my paycheck and email account. It was a great day for my ego--everyone was so happy to see me, and wishing me well on my new marriage.

I hung 45 posters around the school advertising my Fall Drama program (starts next Tuesday), signed the contract for the Spring Musical. I also negotiated space for my new (and not improved) prop room. It is full of ancient choral music and....spiders. Ewww. My old (amazing space) was commandeered for the ISS room. That just seems soooo unfair!!!! But... I was very pleasantly surprised that the principal was so kind to spend 40 minutes walking me around the school and talking to the music teachers to help me find new space. That was pretty amazing. I worked it out with the choral teacher that I will come in and help him clean it out and.... de-spider it on Thursday after school. (ewwwwwww.......)

The school is all moved around now that the 7th and 8th graders are there. There is new lighting, every inch is spotless (Except for my new prop room....) many empty rooms now bright and bustling. It feels like it was a good move. There were many new adult faces running around looking cheerful and energetic. (Hmmm.... maybe I have not been in a school so early in the year before? Maybe by October-when I usually get there--they won't be quite so chipper?) :) :) :) :) :) har har har.

I just got off the phone with Susie and Dan--they are all excited about starting school tomorrow. They spent a long time telling me what they were going to wear-even Dan. Alannah called last night and we had a very nice chat. She is excited about all of her new classes. Unfortunately she had to give up Concert Choir, but will still be in Women's Choir. There are just too many credits to cram into the next two years. Scott is at unemployment "school" tonight, so when he gets back we will call Angela and Kennedi to find out how their first day went. They are both in new schools, so that should be exciting. Angela's school is very large--1800 students or something like that---grades 6-8. At least, that is a very big school to us!

Aidan came right home to do her homework. So far, so good. I am very encouraged how "into" school she is right now--she is really throwing herself into it with a lot of effort. One can only hope that sticks, right?

Susie's 10th birthday party will be in Owego on Saturday with her friends. Her theme is "Tinkerbell". She asked me to make her a costume to wear, so I whipped one up for her with a pattern that Scott's mom gave me. Scott will get it shipped out tomorrow so she should have it in time.

I started playing with the yo-yos...... they are soooo adorable!!!!

The last days of summer.....

I noticed, sadly, that the trees have a slight blush of orange, yellow and red on their edges as we drove throughout parts of NY state this weekend. Irene knocked a bunch of leaves down in our yard--a sad reminder of what the next few weeks are all about. Susie and Dan went home yesterday--you can imagine why I might be feeling a little bit blue.

I fertilized my planter flowers one more time--I expect frost will come by the time I would do it again. The garden is pretty much done. I think there are a few more tomatoes (as if anyone cares) and 2 watermelons that are just about ripe. (boy--are they soooo much better than the store ones!) I should collect the last of the herbs before they totally go to seed and freeze/dry them. Last year I could not believe how much fresh basil cost--now this year I can't believe that I don't turn around and sell it--I have so much of it!

Regardless of what the foliage is doing, it is a dreary, hot muggy summer day outside. Angela and Kennedi are here for a visit, which is great! They don't start school until Tuesday. Aidan is outside with them painting a "Girlz Only" sign for the forest fort. We are planning a good ol' American cookout for dinner with hamburgers and hotdogs, and apple pie. Hopefully the storms will hold off! Tomorrow Gina and John will come pick up the girls and eat lunch with us. We are having chicken spiedie salad, watermelon (from the garden, hopefully!) and fresh made rolls and cupcakes.

Scott is busy getting all of his fantasy football stuff together. He has his big "draft party" on Wednesday. I should be working on my Fall drama program. I have to go in on Tuesday and move my prop/costume room--so hopefully I can get a bunch of other things done as well: like hanging posters and submitting announcements. I am trying to decide if I will join Laurel City Singers again.... or wait until they begin rehearsals for Boar's Head. My heart is not in it, maybe because Alannah won't be able to join me. Will have to see....

We went to a craft fair last week and a lady was selling yo-yo quilts. It got me thinking..... :) Always on the prowl for a new project!

Blogger-vention

Ok, ok--I get it! Thank you to the 15 or so of you that sat me down, cyber-style and admonished me to get back at it. There are always excuses why blogs go astray, so I will spare you the grovelling and will appease you with a mere three.

1. I did get MARRIED this summer--As of August 17th, We are now Mr. and Mrs. David Scott Graboski! We've been engaged forever, and we finally found a week that all of the kids could get here. It was a very special week of events that we were blessed to share with family and friends. We are in the process of creating a photo book which we will share SOON.

2. It is always a wild ride with six kids:

A--We thoroughly enjoyed an increasing amount of time with Scott's girls Angela and Kennedi. They are beautiful girls, fun and surprising reflections of their father in their own unique ways.

B--Alannah has been spending the Summer in a more therapeutic setting as we all get to know her diagnoses a bit better. What seemed like an impossible and painful decision is (as it always does!) steadily melding into another one of God's mysteriously wondrous blessings.

C--Aidan is off this week to her new technical high school. We are very proud of her! She made the decision to go into carpentry, and did all of the application and interview process on her own. She will have to work very hard, as getting into her technical area of choice will be competitive. If she stays with it, she will graduate high school and receive an associate's degree/trade certification at the same time.

D--Susie finally came "of age" this summer and got her ears pierced! She is going to take dance this year which I am THRILLED about. I think she has some serious potential.

E--Dan had grown and grown and grown this summer! He is finally old enough to keep up with the boys in the neighborhood, and seems to enjoy Scott's company more than mine.

3. It wouldn't be US without the GARDEN! Thirty quarts of marinara sauce, tons of pickles.... All of the cherry tomatoes we planted last year came back in rouge force.

On today's garden management menu:
Scott's Salsa, Stuffed Cherry Peppers and Allison's cherry tomato jam.

I have no idea what Scott puts in/does to his salsa. (It smokes, and makes weird moaning noises...)

The cherry peppers are stuffed with Parmesan cheese and prosciutto and packed in a garlic oil dressing. It is REALLY hard to wait 2 weeks for them to pickle. They taste soooooo good.

I experimented with the cherry tomato jam and came up with these two varieties:

Red Savory/Spicy Tomato Jam
Ten 4 ounce jars
*serve as a snack/appetizer with Italian hard cheese and crackers, or thin slices of toasted french bread

3 pounds ripe, red cherry tomatoes, chopped fine in food processor
2-3 hot red peppers (I used fresno chilis) chopped fine
1/2 onion chopped fine
3-4 cloves garlic chopped fine
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 white wine vinegar
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme (pull leaves off)
1 small sprig rosemary
1-2 tbsp. dried oregeno
1/2 fresh lemon cut into wedges, remove seeds, squeeze slightly into everything else
1 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf
black pepper to taste

Mix everything in a large, semi-deep skillet. Cook on high until bubbly, then turn down heat and simmer gently until jam consistency--approx. 1.5 hours. Spoon into jars, process safely.

Sweet Green Tomato Jam
ten 4 ounce jars
*A sweet, citrus/mint jam. Serve with cream cheese, chopped green onion and crackers for a light, springy snack

3 pounds fresh green cherry tomatoes, chopped fine in food processor
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 white wine (I used the chardonnay left over from the wedding...)
2 cups fresh mint, chopped (I used lemon balm and peppermint)
1 whole lemon, seeded and chopped fine in the food processor (peel and all)
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 whole clove (optional)
pinch salt
Green food coloring (mint turns a weird color when heated... trust me!)

Put everything in a large, semi-deep skillet and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer gently until jam consistency, about 1.5 hours. Spoon into jars, process safely.

What else are you going to do with cherry tomatoes? :)

These are really pretty. They would probably make a nice hostess gift or little birthday gift for a friend or co-worker.

Snow Day, Snow Day Number NINE

Aidan gets ANOTHER snow day tomorrow as the public school buildings were deemed unsafe by the code enforcer. (Alannah and I still have to go to school tomorrow--our school is private...and already has had the snow removed....) School districts across the state are having to call in the National Guard to help remove snow. The video footage from some of the more urban areas is unreal--at least up here in the sticks there is some place to put excess snow.

Our roof is holding, but the roof on the addition is leaking. Kids at school were saying one kid's roof collapsed--he wasn't in school, so hard to say. The fire trucks blared up the road this morning--not sure for what--there were many accidents with the ice and with the roads being so narrow. Aidan said that they almost had a crash with the school bus today because some idiot blew past the bus and didn't have room. I guess that person ended up getting stuck in a snow bank or something... it held up traffic going into school for a bit.

It was still very icy this morning, even with the 90 minute delay. Scott ended up driving me to work so he could have the truck at home to help get the van out of the ice-rut it had sunk into overnight. When he got home, the truck got stuck, and then the snow blower died. We have our share of problems lately!

We are looking forward to a trip to Owego tomorrow in order to celebrate Mom and Dan's February birthdays. Hopefully we can set troubles aside for a couple of days and enjoy family and football. Anyone who knows my mother and father will appreciate how therapeutic a visit to the Grays can be! They are amazing hosts. Dad is experimenting with Vietnamese soup... sounds appropriate for the weather these days: warm, yet with tropical hints!

I see another storm is due Saturday, and again next Tuesday! Yikes! We may never get this play rehearsed until August!!!! :)

I am trying to keep my chin up. Bad energy is not good for the theater. I have to be the one to force a good attitude, even when things are not going the right way. I will have to think of a way to re-charge everyone, including myself--the family and football should help?!?!

It is amazing how quickly bad weather and unexpected changes can kill morale. The Vice Principal was in to chat and check in with me this morning, and then told me he was off to find something other than snow removal for the custodial staff to do. I guess they were getting a little tired of that, can't say I blame them.

If only the Steelers could win the Super Bowl...... that would fix everything!!!!

hahahahahaha

Just saying....

We are on snow day numero 8!!!!!!!!

I cleaned out all the sock drawers....?!?!

The Family that Sands together

We have been planning to re-do the living room at some point, but were still recovering from (basking in the glory of?!) creating Dan's attic bedroom.

Well, you can only tolerate so many episodes of Jersey Shore.

The girls and I spent snow day number 4 (number 4!!!?!?!?!?!!) ripping out the living room carpet and trying out some paint samples.

http://www.behr.com/Behr/home#channel=INSPIRATION;view=3;vgnextoid=45d93dba0ff8b110VgnVCM1000006b0910acRCRD

Above is our inspiration--on the website it looks very subdued. In our living room it looks..."chooka chooka POW" as Aidan exclaims when she looks at the brighter orange sample. Scott and I are still going back and forth over the lighter vs. the brighter. Hmmmm......! So many possibilities!

In the meantime, we also took out a window left over from the sun-porch addition. For having a 15x20 ft living room, we have very little actual wall space with all of the doorways and windows. Scott has big plans for a new giant MAN TV. I was thinking "built-ins".... but.... giant MAN TV is okay too--think how amazing Mike "the situation"'s abs would look in 100" HD?

(er....) ;) wink!

Today the girls and I started the tedious job of sanding the floor. It was a pretty gutsy move: ripping out carpet that is probably about 10-15 years old in a house that is over 80 years old. Who knows what we would find? Lucky us--the original hardwood floor is in pretty decent shape. Pretty much all it needs is a general sanding and a good cleaning before refinishing. There is one small spot under the main window that was cut out presumably from water damage and is patched with plywood. We are going to switch out that area with the floor boards we take out for the corner stove/fireplace we plan to put in later on.

It actually seems like a fairly uncomplicated project--with lots of room to grow. I am excited about the corner stove/fireplace, and the orange color will allow room for some really fun accessories!

Weather, weather, weather:

Five inches of snow today, and then an ice storm this afternoon and evening into tomorrow morning. If we ever get back to school, I am going to have to double up on rehearsals! It is supposed to be exam week, so Alannah is taking a break from sanding to study. Scott is on his way to Home Depot for more sand paper and supplies, I am going to find coffee, a brownie and something other than the Little Shop of Horrors script (or Jersey Shore) to curl up with!

At some point I need to plan Scott's birthday dinner--he never wants anything special, but we did make him some cards and found him some football shaped Oreos to take to work and share! Aidan is going to clean out his truck and Alannah promised that she would "disappear" tonight--it was a very well delivered, funny and sweet offer--100% pure, lovable, Alannah.

A little "cease fire" is probably the best gift to give any of us! :)

Oh the weather outside is football

Greetings fellow snow-bunnies!

We have enjoyed a past couple of days enjoying the winter weather ups-and downs. Our yard looks like a strange, tumultuous ocean--or planet--with churned spots, wandering trails, odd shapes poking up out of the landscape. Upon a closer look I can make out an overturned lawn chair, an odd assortment of a dozen or so sleds, sticks, icicles and.... urp... dog leavings. (ewwww) A quick head count assures me that none of the unidentified lumps is a child left out in the cold. I could have also told that from the scum of half-dried hot chocolate leftovers smeared all over the kitchen! Gotta love January in the Northeast!

It was a football weekend in the Team-Graboski home--if you hadn't figured that out already. A nail-biting, seat clutching yet spectacular showing of football genius on Saturday with the Steelers overcoming all odds in the second half against Baltimore. Amazingly enough, not sustaining any major injuries. I woke up with a massive headache--admittedly, we did have half of the neighborhood over for a party--but not from any imbibing: just yelling! Aidan was keeping a "bad word" tally and charged everyone a fine at the end of the game. She collected about $15--I will let you ponder how much each word cost.....

Last night Scott and I went down to support all the Jet's fans that own Mario's restaurant. (in Ct--I think every decent town has a Mario's) It was a good move as the place was hopping with both Jet's and Patriot's fans. The owners/managers are a lively bunch of brothers and cousins from Montenegro. Every exciting play you could hear all kinds of shouting (presumably in Serbian, and not all of it sounded positive: Aidan could probably have picked up another $50?!) There was a lot of good natured joking from the Patriot bound natives. We left at half time, so I can only imagine how much fun was had at the end of the game when the Jets won 28-21. (As far as I can tell, no post-game crimes were committed as the morning news was quiet and I never heard any sirens or anything) THAT was a good game as well--Scott and I tried very hard not to wish horrific injuries on any of the players, but it was tempting!

Scott is on the rampage now to get tickets to the game in Pittsburgh next week. I'm not going--the last couple times I was present at a Jets/Steelers game, the Steelers lost abysmally. I will spend a nice quiet weekend with Susie and Dan....baking cookies or arranging flowers. I won't even watch the game. While Scott was on the phone with various Pittsburgh buddies, his cousin mentioned that she might have a couple of extra Super Bowl tickets available on the off/awesome chance the Steelers make it to Dallas.

I think that sounds like the makings of a fabulous honeymoon, don't you?!

;)! wink!

Boar's Head 21 take II a major success, what does next year hold?!

This weekend marked the 21nd annual Boar's Head Festival for our church and artsy community. For those of you just tuning in, The Boar's Head Festival is a musical and theatrical celebration of Epiphany--Renaissance style. Approximately 100 people: Adults, children, musicians and live animals fill our church to re-create a live nativity: Wisemen, kings, sprites and all. It also marked the second year we personally have been involved. Alannah and I sang in the choir last year. We did this year as well, adding Susie as "family gentry" and Dan as a shepherd. (He got to carry the dove and feed/brush the donkey, goats and chickens!) Three performances later it is Monday--everyone is back home and basking in post production glory. Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for bravely dodging New England storms in order to get everyone back and forth safely and on time!

Who knows what will happen next year?

Aidan is under a lot of pressure to join in the fun--she IS accepting a lead in the Spring play at her middle school--she can't keep using the stage-fright excuse. Grandma Gray was campaigning for a choir-loft guest spot in "Gloria". Even Scott showed he could tend the donkey--like a pro: The donkey needed a little help after she helped out during the children's sermon Sunday. (trust me--you go through the trouble of driving to Goshen to rent a donkey for the weekend, you use it as much as you can!) After the children's sermon, the donkey was a bit keyed up. Scott volunteered to sit with the donkey so Pastor Mike could continue on with the service. He sat with her during the Joys and Concerns, and then walk her the long way around the sanctuary back to it's pen in the fellowship hall.

(Heh heh....I can just see/hear some of those Owego Presbyterians clutching and grasping....a live donkey living in the fellowship hall, walking through the sanctuary, eating hay off the choir loft steps!)

;) wink!

It is cold and blustery here, with a lot more snow expected Tuesday/Wednesday. All of the storms so far are blowing in up from the Long Island Sound--for once the Northwestern Mountains are not to blame. I learned this week that CT is covered by 4 different weather alert systems. We are "governed" by the agency that covers Albany, NY. (that is how close we are to NY.....) Our TV weatherman is always pulling his hair out because none of the weather services ever agree, and they never report simultaneously. In the end we just have to wait and see what happens. And stock up on milk, bread and toilet paper!

Beautiful Day

Got to enjoy a day in Sophmore Biology with a bunch of really great kids. Beautiful snow started fluffing down outside around 9:30, and kept up until noon!--totally un-predicted by the usually overly prepared weathermen. The sun was glowing behind it: picture perfect. Previously bleary teenagers cheerful and excited about science!

Drama-women SUPREME--we should be a new superhero duo

Alannah's most recent therapist made the observation that Alannah and I were "rather dramatic". I felt a little ruffled by the label.... although.... she has a point. (?!?!?!?!)

Speaking of drama--the happy drama is that I am now full force into directing Play II. THAT is fun drama--the kids are getting into it, my artistic team is starting to get things together. I am teaching A LOT no thanks to the flu raging through the last of the substitute teachers that haven't flown off to Florida for the winter! (First year I got a flu shot--guess that was a good move) Most of us are happy (resignedly) to be back to work and school following a more or less wonderful holiday break.

The best part was having Susie and Dan here for a week. Mom and Dad were the heros and brought them up and stayed with us since we couldn't leave Alannah's hospital program for our original plans to visit Pittsburgh. We ice skated, fished, sledded, watched movies and...ATE.
A LOT. But all of you who know us are not surprised! We had one wonderful amazing day when we got to have all of the kids together along with Scott's girls.

Oh yeah.... SCOTT AND I GOT ENGAGED!!!!! That was mom's Christmas present as much as it was mine. We will get married sometime this Spring. Maybe. Hopefully. I think?! HAHAHA.

The unhappy drama is Alannah. I haven't written very much about her on this blog, mostly because she ends up being the center of things so much as it is. The blog was kind of a sanctuary for the normal part of our family to exist. A gentle edit for the sake of Scott, Aidan, Susie and Dan, Angela and Kennedi. We are a joyful, God centered family--I don't want to lose that focus on what is really important in the big picture.

Having a child with a mental illness is tough. Medications help. Intervention from good people and services help. We read all the books, we take her to all of the specialists. We put her in a great school. We go to family therapy, group therapy, church. However, the illness takes over periodically and hits like a tsunami, and she chooses to just ride the wave right over all of us. There are no drugs, people, services or magic wands that make it stop, go away or get better. We flounder, sputter, grasp...what else is there to do? No one has better options for us at the moment.

She has had a rough year to say the least. Two hospitalizations toward the beginning of 2010 got her back into regular therapy, then another ER trip began special in-house treatment twice a week with a team of specialists. THAT didn't work so she was back in the hospital earlier in December. That landed her in a partial hospital program for ten days over the holiday break. Now she is in a 3 day a week intensive treatment program. She goes half-days to school now, and half-days at the hospital M-W-F. Adolescent psychiatric services in our area have been pretty decent. Anyone who has ever had any experience with this particular service system will attest that it is abysmal at best, so we are feeling pretty fortunate for what help we are able to get. We also only have to travel about 15 minutes--a huge difference from the 2 hours it used to be in NY.

Of course, while we are working hard to follow the instructions of the 10+ professionals working on Alannah, the success is really up to her. This is where things get depressing. She is still stuck on feeling that everyone ELSE is wrong, and not her. It is like living with a giant 2 year old. In "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" this was cute--this is NOT cute. If she can't/won't change--we have some scary decisions to make. Not a pleasant place to be as parents.

However--we cling to what we are sure of: Extraordinary things happen to extraordinary people. (thank you, wonderful quote from the most recent Narnia movie!) She is a creation of God, as is her illness. Somewhere in all of this are clues for each of us as to what our greater purpose is; how we will use these gifts to honor and praise God. I don't always feel that way. I fight my own inner rage and frustration. I need to take breaks from her periodically in order to keep myself strong and healthy--like writing on here!

THANK YOU to all of you who pray for us and her. While you are at it, pray for all parents and families who are blessed with mentally ill adolescents. Pray for better medications, better care systems, better health care options--too many insurance companies don't cover enough. Count your blessings for all the healthy children you have or know!