Cherries

Flash fiction

She knew this was supposed to be like eating summer cherries, fleeting but sweet, the hard pits something to roll around in her mouth until all that remained were small bitter shreds of flesh, like the hole in the gums when a molar comes out. It was supposed to be sweet like that, pregnant with its own nostalgia. 

It wasn't terrible, torturous, or an aching grief. But instead of sweet cherries, it was the cherries you buy from the supermarket because they are plump and taut, a deep ripe red, and you buy lots of them because it is mid-summer, and these prices won't last, and you remove them from their ziplocked plastic bag and wash them in a colander because then they look like a feast. But when you finally try one, they are neutral. The texture is right, but somehow modern living has chlorinated out the sweetness.

You roll the cherry against the edge of your teeth, stripping the flesh free of the pit, because maybe, if you eat a whole mouthful, you can conjure the flavor. But no, just cherry-textured neutral. Not sour enough or overripe enough to return to the store. Any romance in the fruit has been lost as a thin film over the asphalt that stretches from the orchards in Washington to the air-conditioned interior habitats of summer in the desert.

So you are left with a pit, shreds of cherry in your teeth, and a colander load of subtle disappointment. 

That's how it was for her. It didn't sour her or leave her hardened. Just fed, in the least satisfying kind of way.

Family Camping Trip Packing List

Some of my fondest memories in Girl Scouts are of preparing for camping and backpacking. I've written before about the "stuff" involved. Although getting out of town puts me on edge and makes me almost unbearable to be around, I actually enjoy the mental preparation for a trip, and I like going over the checklists. I enjoy the anticipation of breaking routine, exploring, thinking about where all this equipment will take us.

Could we get by with less than the list below?  Of course.  The first time I really took the kids camping on my own, I felt that we had really overdone it in terms of equipment.  However, once we had a well-organized camping site, it allowed us to spend several days together without having to flail around, look for things, drop things in the dirt, etc. every time we wanted to prepare a meal or get ready for bed.  A well-organized and well-stocked campsite makes it a lot easier with kids, tell you what.  Mine are elementary aged, and it's the golden age for camping trips.  They are old enough to help, not too whiny, and excited to explore anything new.  I can still get them interested in identifying types of trees, wildflowers, birds and rocks.  It's the best family activity I know.  Hopefully our list helps you prepare your next trip.

This link will take you to my document with any changes I make to it, but here's the list as it stands right now:

Camping Trip Packing List

Shelter and Sleeping

• Ground cloth
• Tent(s)
• Sleeping pads
• inflatable mattress & pump
• cots
• Sleeping bags
• Pillows
• Chairs
• rug for tent entryway

Camp Kitchen

• folding table
• Stove (be sure to test it each time before you go)
• Stove fuel
• Charcoal and lighter fuel (if grilling)
• Firewood and kindling (if allowed)
• Matches/lighter
• Cooking pots and pans
• Cast iron grill
• Extra drinking water & large water dispenser (to get you started & then to refill for your campsite)
• Utensil set (including spoons, knives, forks, and cooking utensils such as serving spoons, knives, and spatulas) TONGS.
• Can opener
• Mess kits for everyone (plates, cups, bowls)
• sporks
• Cooler and ice  (make block ice)
• Dish detergent
• Dish towels/ small towels
• Sponge/scraper
• Plastic basin (for washing dishes)
• Small bottle of bleach or antibacterial kitchen cleaner
• Tablecloth
• Trash bags
• Foil
• Ziploc bags
• Hot pads
• Citronella candle
• Food Items
• Snacks
• Fruit
• Peanut butter and bread (very quick and handy if your kids like it)
• Butter/cooking oil
• Condiments (salt, pepper, multi-spice, and mustard/catsup when applicable)
• Beverages (juice boxes, milk)
• Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate
• Milk, sugar (if needed)
• Desserts
• Makings for s'mores (marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate)
• 2 big coolers.  Picnic cooler.

Handy Stuff

• Extra shade-- tarp or whatever

• Paracord
• Rubber bands/ zip ties
• bungee cords
• extra adjustable straps
• Clothespins
• Duct tape
• Multi-tool/utility knife & vise grips
• Small handheld broom (for sweeping out the tent)
• Lantern
• Headlamps for all
• Batteries/ car chargers for everything
• bandana

Toiletries

• washcloths
• Soap
• Hand sanitizer
• Shampoo/ conditioner (if showers)
• Face cleanser/ moisturizer
• Quarters for pay showers (?)
• Toothbrushes/toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Razor
• Toilet paper and trowel
• Sunscreen
• Lip balm
• Baby wipes

First Aid/ Medical

• Bandages
• Gauze/ tape
• Ace bandage  (or instead of tape I buy that stretchy stuff that sticks to itself and it can double for an ace bandage)
• Benadryl
• Neosporin (with pain relief)
• Bug repellent
• Ibuprofen
• Tweezers
• Moleskin (if hiking)
• Prescription meds

Clothing for All

• Shoes/Boots
• Shorts
• Long pants
• Tee shirts
• Sandals/flip-flops or water shoes (for public showers)
• Wool socks
• Underwear
• Rain/wind jacket
• sweater or jacket
• Pajamas
• Bathing suits
• Sunglasses
• beanie-type hat
• Sun hat/ cap
• Swim towels
• Daypacks

Essentials

• Water bottles/ hydration packs
• Camera
• Video camera
• Reading material for all (including good bedtime stories)
• Guidebooks and maps
• Camping reservation info
• Cell phone

Kid Stuff

• Bicycles
• Whistle/compass
• crawdadding equipment (line, hook, summer sausage, bucket)
• knot-tying books
• Toys, board games, or deck of cards
• Journal or sketchbook & writing/drawing implements.

Summer Cooking

This summer, I found an electric juicer at a thrift shop for $3.  A good juicer.

I also had a hard time choosing watermelons.  No matter what, they all seemed a bit spongy or mushy.  Sweet, juicy, but with an unappealing texture.

The result was that I enjoyed a lot of watermelon juice.  "I" instead of "we" enjoyed it because my children are freakish changelings who for some reason don't like watermelon juice.  Weird.  Thankfully, they have redeeming qualities.

With my watermelon juice, I invented and modified other recipes to create watermelon limeade, watermelon-lime granita and tasty watermelon margaritas.  I have a thing about lime juice.


Watermelon Margaritas
Four reasonably-sized margaritas, or two Saturday-Night-At-Home sized margaritas
(As usual, my measurements are approximate.  If I ever write a cookbook one day, I'll get it more down to a science.)
3 cups fresh watermelon juice
2 tbsp - 1/4 c lime juice (to taste)
2 tbsp simple syrup
4-5 oz good tequila (or however strong you want it)
2-4 oz triple sec

Amounts of simple syrup and triple sec will adjust how sweet it is (plus a little alcohol).  If you don't like super-sweet drinks, you could probably leave out the simple syrup altogether.
Serve over well-crushed ice.  I think a sprig of mint would be nice, too, but I didn't have any.


Apple Buttermilk Scones with Apple Spiced Caramel Glaze
I made these on a day my kids asked me to bake something for them like muffins.  Then out of nowhere after morning tennis camp, one of them said, "Actually, I feel like a scone."  I thought that was a funny thing for them to crave, given how limited their scone-sperience is.  So, although it heats up the kitchen miserably in the summer, I baked.

Apologies to Nigella Lawson, who would slap me silly for making her simple, beautifully textured buttermilk scones into a complicated American-style mess.  However, they still aren't too sweet (the sin of many coffee-shop scones) and we really enjoyed them.  Plus, I can't follow a recipe.  I start getting ideas along the way, and I can't hold back, which is why I did the following in the first place, and I think Nigella could appreciate that.

So, I started with her recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/buttermilk-scones-recipe/index.html

I mixed the dry ingredients as listed, substituting brown sugar for white, adding a bit of salt and adding an additional 1 tbsp flour 

I prepared apples:

• Dice 1 large apple (I used red delicious because that's what we had but a tarter apple would add more flavor.
• Grate about 1/2" of fresh ginger over the bowl and scrape all the juice and pulp into the apples (probably about 1tsp fresh ginger; the recipe could have taken even more)
• Grate about 1/4 tsp nutmeg into the apples
• Add about 1 tsp cinnamon
• Toss lightly with fingers so the spices coat the apples

When preparing wet ingredients, I added about 1 tbsp honey, just because I had some and it couldn't hurt.

Before mixing wet into dry, I tossed the apples throughout the dry ingredients to coat them with flour.

Shaped and baked as directed.

For the glaze I started with this recipe because it was a caramel glaze that called for buttermilk, and hey, I had buttermilk from making the scones:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,186,159187-229197,00.html

While cooking, I added the same spices to the glaze as were in the scones:  Cinnamon (maybe 1 1/2 tsp), nutmeg and ginger.  Instead of grating the ginger, I sliced a thick coin of it and cooked it in the glaze mixture.  The fresh ginger lent a great little punch of true spiciness.  I almost eliminated the vanilla, but I'm glad I included it because it adds to the caramel side of the flavor and lends a caremelly color. I cooked the glaze extra long because it didn't seem to develop much caramel color with the cooking time specified.  

When the scones came out, I let them cool a few minutes and then glazed them, let the glaze cool a little and gave them a second drizzling.  The glaze was really, really good, though pretty gooey.  I would love to get these flavors but figure out how to get more of the texture of a powdered sugar glaze.  It might have hardened up better if we hadn't eaten all the scones so soon.

I did freeze some unbaked ones, and they baked up nicely a week later.  The glaze kept in the fridge and I rehydrated it with some buttermilk and warmed it in the microwave. 

We Heart Tennis Camp at Reffkin!

I need to plug the tennis camp my kids attend.  This was G's 5th summer.

Reffkin Tennis Center (formerly Randolph Tennis Center) is a jewel in central Tucson as part of Randolph park, right next door to the Recreation Center and right on the walk/bike path.

Each summer Coach Meghan Houk recruits an outstanding team of coaches who lead the kids in age-appropriate, fun and non-competitive tennis games and drills.  The camps start early in the morning, which can be painful, but it's really the best time to get out of the house and get moving.

While one of my kids is in camp, I can drink my coffee and catch up on Facebook or reading, or if I'm feeling perky take the other child to the practice wall and mess around and hit some balls. The same group of tennis afficionados greet us on the way to the practice wall each summer, and ask if my child is "doing good" at tennis.  Families gather in the bleachers or on benches or folding chairs in the shade and chat about schools, other camps, Parks and Rec programs, parenting, crafts, etc., etc.  I see as many dads and grandparents there with their kids as I do moms, and the crowd largely represents Tucson's diversity.

On Saturdays, camp participants can choose to participate in fun, non-elimination style mini-tournaments at Reffkin in the evenings.  We haven't made it this summer, but they're fun and give kids the feel of a real, scored game.  The Bonanza at the end of the summer is similar, but highly festive.

In addition to the programs at Reffkin, the camp has sites all over town at the high schools and Pima college.  Wherever they could get courts and campers, I suppose!

Reffkin's program is an affordable, fun camp, and I have seen my kids develop not only physically, but also socially and emotionally in terms of motivation, sportsmanship and their self-talk.

I truly appreciate the efforts and enthusiasm of the coaches.  It's clear they love tennis, and kids as well.  Thanks, Coach Meghan!

Here's to Otter Pop day!

Thrift Shop Sculpey

I found two huge bricks of terra cotta colored Sculpey at Goodwill yesterday. O for some reason wanted to make a life sized hot dog (middleground). G is making a dollhouse Wii, television and entertainment center, and my Chicago Dog pen holder is in the foreground. I'll make it into a refrigerator magnet. Sculpey can be painted, so that's what I'll do for mine. Cheap thrills for summer.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Summer Blogging Hiatus... Over

Well, for a variety of reasons (many of which will be blogged-about at a later date) I've taken a couple weeks of hiatus from my blog.

During that time I've tried a watermelon granita recipe, explored my new Kindle Fire and loaded it up with apps like Scrabble and Tune-In, bought a Krups juicer for $3 at a thrift shop, moved from one household to another (several bins and boxes still pending unpacking), slept in, stayed up late, broken up about 50 sibling battles, battled extreme irritability due to previous, sweated it out to Just Dance 3 with my daughter, scored a used trumpet from a friend who wanted to get rid of it, found out I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, explored my husband's company's new website (they are launching their foot soon!) and read Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen (finally.)  See, now I am qualified to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  Then I can read about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  (Then I can see the movie.)  Then I will be a tiny bit on my way to catching up on my paranormal literature and pop culture (almost a job requirement for me.)

At any rate, I've had some lying-around time, but things have been darn busy.  I still have a laundry list of to-do items that have been waiting around for months.  It'll all get done by the time school begins.

My review of Pride and Prejudice:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had great fun reading this book, especially at the end of the school year. I felt that I already understood the broad lines of the plot because there are just so many references to this book in popular culture (movies, etc.) My literature professors would probably be disappointed to know how many times I had Bridget Jones Diary flashbacks while reading. Jane Austen is of course awesome, and it was fun to finally read the original.

I've been moving houses, too, and reading this during my moments of complete exhaustion has made me realize that moving houses has a strange way of bringing out the Victorian in me. I find in myself a renewed interest in household furnishings, whether things match, where items are hung on the walls, or which way they are placed onto surfaces. I stand and unwrap the most frivolous and unsentimental knick-knacks thoughtfully, evaluating whether they can be of good to anyone. I am temporarily convinced that children are to be seen and heard as little as possible-- can't someone else be in charge of feeding them after a day of moving? I can't be bothered. A governess seems highly desirable. I invent a thousand small projects I can do to beautify things-- armrest covers for our child-worn couch, touch-up grout in the shower, the exact combination of color and design and economical value for the shower curtain. All these domestic details would have amused Jane Austen. As I read I imagined Lady Catherine de Bourgh making her way through my tiny abode, disapproving of every room.

Also, I love the story between Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books, but this one is superior in terms of the balance of power in the relationship. Jane Eyre still wins out in terms of the Gothic good-times and the mousy heroine, but from a feminist perspective and within the limitations of the culture and time period, Lizzy Bennett is awesome.

View all my reviews

What I Will Miss about Summer 2011 (and NOT)

Let's begin with the negative, so then at the end we can get all nostalgic and misty-eyed.

I will NOT miss:

• endless episodes of iCarly and Spongebob.
• the whines of protest when I turn off the television.
• the feeling of being stuck in the air conditioning
• the financial stress and hard-won lessons of putting everything and then some into rehabbing a house as an investment.  
• the all-consuming-ness of above project.  
• the non-vacation, non-date nights and non-matinees.
• nonstop Barbie fascination, especially naked Barbie fascination.

I will miss:

• working alongside my dad and learning and re-learning skills I'd never otherwise learn (not leaving one's crowbar in the sun in Tucson, how many hits it SHOULD take to drive a nail when framing, how to use a bulldog drill to screw down wall firring, why you keep paint rollers wet and re-use them in the same colors instead of trying to clean them out each time, grout wiping techniques and procedures, how to cut in with an angled brush, why not to give the concrete guy beers while he is doing your kitchen counter)
• the all-over tired muscles from above activities, and also from lots of sweeping, cleaning, dumping of drywall fragments and leftover concrete.)
• working on the house as a whole family:  husband, kids, dad. 
• my daughter being a pre-schooler.  Very cute.
• seeing my kids learn to communicate and play together successfully on several occasions.
• discovering a baby mockingbird in our back yard (pretty sure it lived).
• seeing my dad help the kids embellish a train table and learn about HO scale, etc.
• getting to sleep in a few times, surrender myself to books a couple of times... these are always welcome aspects of summer.

A new school year is here.  One that will surely be a challenge as I pursue my National Board Certification.  Although I have dubbed this summer the "Summer of Austerity," I hope that I can delve up a few fond summer memories throughout the year to keep me going.

Summer is finally, truly in our hearts.

Today is the first day that I have felt summer in my home.  I'm not talking about heat, the application of sunscreen or the joy of sleeping until someone wakes me up.

I am talking:  imaginative play.  That's right, folks.  My kids have not asked to watch TV all day.  They have only bickered half-heartedly in between long bouts of puzzle-doing, dot-to-dots, dollhouse arranging, drawing, stuffed-animal-cardboard-box-train making, bubble blowing, HO scale train community building, sitting down for lunch together, asking me to play with them, dancing and playing with the dog. 

Holy cow.

I was beginning to believe that days like this might not really exist, that I had somehow invented these days in nostalgic delusion that folks my age are almost old enough to indulge in.  (Well, almost old enough.  I'll feel more entitled to it when I feel old enough to stop covering up the gray.)

I'd better get out of virtual reality and into real reality myself before the spell breaks.  Happy summer!