Ditzy Blonde Moment

More like a ditzy blonde weekend!
I was toolin' around in my little car all Saturday... went shopping, chores, lunch, etc. I drove, Sweet Hubby crammed himself in the passenger seat.

Nooooo..

I wasn't really going that fast! tee hee. I just like that snapshot!
See that left guage there? Below? The one that says 0 mph right now?

Well, that's where the miles per hour show up when driving. REALLY! And it can show me how many miles I have left until I need gas too. It can also show temperature outside. In fact anything below 36 degrees it tells me it's icy out. HA! It doesn't seem to know that freezing is 32 degrees!!! I digress.


So Saturday we are cruisin' and that guage keeps flashing! I thought maybe it wasn't working right, did I need some kind of service? Was something wrong? Nope everything worked fine and besides, it kept going back to how fast I was going. All was right with the world.


Well Sunday morning I was driving to church and it was flashing again. How annoying! STOP IT!!! Um, isn't this a lesser number than yesterday when Sweet Hubby was with me? OOhhhhh, Uh Oh, now I get it. Oh NOOOOO!! I only have 18 MILES left! That guage flashes when I'm getting low on gas!! Hey, so what is that little red light next to the gas guage??? Duh! So I drove home after church and parked it. It's not around the corner to a gas station since we live out in the middle of nowhere so I figured I'd wait until Monday. When I started her up in the a.m. it said 14 miles left, then before I got out to the road, 11!! Even though I was freshly showered, I was sweating as I was drove the 7-8 miles into town. I made it!! (were ya worried? hee hee) When I finally got to the filling station (do they still call them that?) and filled that baby up (she only takes the best Pree-Me-Yum!) she only had LESS than half a gallon in there.


Now maybe you live that close to the edge all the time but not me. Maybe you play a game with your gas guage, kinda a mental "Chicken", not this chick. Trust me friends, I have only run out of gas ONCE in my life and that was in 1975 when I was still in college in the San Fernando Valley!!! I'm not playing that game again. This is THE closest I have been to running out of gas since then... REALLY! And I bet it's a long time before it happens again! Realllllly!


Meanwhile, whatta ditz, duh, "What's that guage flashing for?" har har

Tell me your recent ditzy story!!

Scandinavian Update

Friday my students had their Scandinavian Lab.

When we do Foods 2 aka International Foods I always require tableclothes and simple flower vase centerpieces~~

this week I put flags in each vase.

And usually I have a CD that is appropriate

(this time I recycled the Paris Sidewalk Cafe CD).

They always surprise me with what they like and don't like.
They thought the cucumbers tasted bad, like something was wrong.
I reminded them of the ingredients and did it taste like the ingredients?
Yes. So they just aren't used to that flavor combo. Yes. BINGO!!!

Some didn't know what to make of the custard,

MY FAVE (Swedish Pan Cake),

served with whipped cream and lingönberries

not pictured here,

(but the Fingerprint Cookies are pictured here).

My husband loves flat bread so I include this in the menu.
The kids don't quite know what to make of it
since it is not salty, not sweet, not soft, not anything with which they are familiar:

Here's what the inside looks like.

They enjoyed cracking them into pieces but did not enjoy eating them !

My goal is to broaden the world of these small town Missouri teens.

Many will never eat at a REAL Mexican Restaurant

(only Taco Bell or Gringo's) and most

will never venture beyond the borders of our Great Nation.

I show a travel video rather than a Social Studies type video.
I want them to know the world is bigger than just our little burg.

I am not the world's biggest traveler, but I have either been to these places or God has put me in places to experience the peoples of these places.

My best friend through elementary school is Japanese and we are still in touch.

My roommate in college was 1st generation American Chinese. Her uncle had a restaurant in Chinatown in L.A. She would bring home the little white boxes when she returned on Sundays... containing the most amazing things inside. She taught me how to stir fry and some secrets of Chinese Cuisine.

When I was in college my mom was a member of the Explorers Club, headed up by Elmer_Dills of KABC tv in Los Anegles. The goal of this montly club was to enjoy the finest yet affordable ethnic cuisines of the Greater L.A. Basin. What an education that was!

I married a second generation Finn.

My mom is 1st generation Irish American but hated most of that fair isle's bland foods so she never prepared it for me. As I began to celebrate my heritage by teaching my own children I learned to love corn beef and cabbage and singing "Irish Eyes". They had wonderful cuisine when we toured the entire coast in 2002.

I've eaten my way thru a week in France.

I learned to make paella in Spain.
I lived in the San Diego area for 20 years and experienced the best Baja Mexican cuisine.
For her 80th birthday, my sweet foster mom requested dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. (For her 90th in February, they took her to a Thai restaurant). My niece had spent 3 weeks in a village in Africa so she taught us how to eat.

For my 50th we went to a Greek restaurant.

I think I mentioned in my profile that I love food.

Is it any wonder?

Scandinavian Food! Sisu!

My students are cooking Scandinavian: Swedish Meatballs, Ga Ga's Dill Cukes, Thumbprint Cookies, Ga Ga's Pan Cake (actually a custard but she called it pan cake), and a big round of rye flat bread will go on the side. The Pan Cake is still finishing in the oven even tho the kids are gone. They will eat tomorrow. Mmmmmm that cinnamon smells delish!

Swedish Pan Cake
Kim’s grandmother: Hildur Hendrickson (1900-2000), born in Finlandia.

4 eggs
4 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp sugar
3 C milk
Dash salt
2 Tbsp butter
Cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°F
Beat eggs. Add sugar and flour. Beat. Beat in milk. Add salt. Melt butter in baking dish in preheated oven until bubbling and just starting to brown. Pour liquid mixture into dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 450°F 15-20 minutes (should puff up big). Lower temp to 325-350°F and continue baking until done (15-? minutes) until no liquid, like a custard. If starts to brown too fast, turn oven off & leave until done. You can fix ahead and chill or serve warm.
Serve with Lingönberries and whipped cream or Cool Whip. Yes, you should share.

Ga Ga's Dill Cukes (very refreshing)

3-4 Cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin
2+ Tablespoons dried dill weed
1 C Sugar
1 C White vinegar

Peel and slice cukes and place in a plastic or glass bowl.
Sprinkle dill weed over cucumbers.
Sprinkle sugar over all next.
Pour vinegar over all and give a nice stir.
Cover and chill for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Daffodils, Easter dresses, fishies and boats!

We dressed the girls up in their Easter dresses

to get a good pic (yeah right!) down on the dock.

H loves her daffodils:Hmmmmm. They're not dandelions!!!!This girlee has one pose... hand in mouth!!!

Drool on dress!There's the girls together!!!Daddy & Pop were fishin'

Daddy caught a fish!!!!!"I can touch it!"She really really really really wanted to go out in the boat,
and wasn't scared at ALL!

"I ready!""Go back Charlie!!! Jay, if Charlie drowns or has a heart attack
I'm blaming you!!!", yelled LJ."That was FUN!"

We're happy!

We're kinda happy!
HUNGRY! NOW! I am blessed to have the BESTEST daughter-in-law in the world.

I think we get along so well because:

#1 We both love her husband

#2 She bore my grandgirlees

#3 We are SOO much alike!

Spring is teasing us!

A storm is coming so I only have time to post one photo! Here's a little peek of a warm afternoon the kids were able to paddle on the lake. This is J and his sister LJ and his eldest girlee: H.

The King of My Castle!

We are studying Daniel in Sunday School. Today was Chapter 2, where King Nebuchadnezzar has that troubling dream and orders his sorcerers and wisemen to TELL him the dream as well as interpret it. Well, our teacher Marie had my Sweet Hubby be the King! He milked it for all it was worth! I couldn't pass up a chance to share the photo!

Sorry he looks so goofy, he kept laughing! And talking. (No surprise to those who know him)


Note that his button says "World's Tallest Leprechaun". Was King Nebuchadnezzar Irish? My Hubby is not. He's 100% Finnish, Swede-Finn to be exact, but he loves wearing this button each year because he is indeed tall... 6'6".
I however am half Irish. I took my fave St Pat's button to the hospital today and pinned it on Mom's pillow: "I'm Irish-Eat Your Heart Out!" She got a kick out of that!

The best way to get rid of your enemies is God's way, by loving them. (Irish proverb)

Happy Saint Patty's Day tomorrow!

Snowshoeing in Upstate New York!

Snow Shoeing in the Frederick Olmstead Park across the street from their house.
Doc & T & N went snow shoeing today. Here, N is not happy b/c she got "oldschool" snowshoes, not the bright orange ones that her Mommy & Daddy have. She's a little mopey.


Nana thinks she's perfect anyhow!!! Go check out T's blog for more photos: craisydaisy