The orange pot

I got a compliment today on the orange enameled cast iron dutch oven I've been cooking with, seen here and here. It's one of my favorite things to cook with. It belonged to Nate's great aunt, "Auntie" to most of us. She was a great cook, a world traveler, a collector of unusual items – she always had lots of stories about her latest adventures. She passed away a few years ago, and I think of her every time I use that pot. I did a little looking to see if I could find out more about it, but I'm not finding much on the internet. The markings on the bottom of the pot are the number "22" and the initials "ac." Anyone have any ideas? 

Game day

Uncle Jeremy invited us to go a Brewer game today – his company was making an event of it. And it really was an event. We got to hang out in the Gehl Club, a swanky area on the club level. It was the first time I've ever had a made-to-order omelette at a baseball game (and I've had a lot of different foods at a lot of different games!) They were really catering to the kids today, too, with face painting and balloon animals. We had a great time, although going to a Brewer game with Walter doesn't leave much time to watch the game. I guess that's ok, seeing as how the Brewers lost, 10-2 – ouch!

 

Changes

You might notice that the layout of Tall Tales has changed ever so slightly. I'm trying some new things to help me stay better organized. If everything works as planned, photos on Tall Tales will now link to my flickr account. Feel free to poke around there as often as you like as there will be plenty of photos that don't end up on the blog. This is one of my recent favorites – Walter, the brave, diving in headfirst. It reminds me of all those weeks spent in obedience class trying to get Molly to go through a tunnel. She was a bit of a coward...

Lounging

Here are my boys, relaxing and watching baseball together. Like father, like son...

Of course, Walter sat there just long enough for me to take the photo. Then he was off to do more important things. Maybe I should say – like mother, like son...

Dinner

Here it is – the chickeny chicken. It was good, but I have some tweaking to do before I'd call this perfect. Julia says the most important part is buying a good chicken, and I have to say she's right about that. I need to find a leaner chicken! I can't believe how much grease this thing produced! I had to skim off a HUGE amount of fat before I could make the sauce. And even then, it was greasy. But it had good flavor. It was a little labor intensive, so I don't know how soon it will be before I try again. But with the right chicken, this could be well worth the effort. Anyone know where to get a really good chicken? You know, a nice chickeny one...

Fly-in pancake breakfast

Sunday morning, Walter and I went to the Morey Airport in Middleton with Aunt Kristin, Uncle Jeremy, Kyla and Finn for the annual fly-in/drive-in pancake breakfast. It's a great event. We had pancakes (Walter ate all 3 of mine!) and then we got to walk around and get an up-close look at all kinds of planes. As usual, I forgot my camera. When will I learn?? Thanks to Aunt Kristin for being the photographer. At least someone is on top of things.

Kyla got to sit in the big yellow Navy plane. We got to see this one take off too!

The kids in the MedFlight helicopter – let's hope this is the only time they see the inside of this one!

Crowded

Every so often, Walter decides baths are the most awful torture known to man. And he screams. And screams. And screams. We're finally past his latest bath-hating phase and we're back to long, fun, splashing and playing baths. My goodness, Walter. There's hardly any room in there for you!

Sneak peek

Check out the trailer for Julie & Julia. Looks like I have a movie night in my future...

Chickeny chicken

I recently finished reading "My Life in France" by Julia Child. I loved it! Her story is so interesting and inspiring that I ended up going out and buying her cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." And then I went right ahead and made an absolutely delicious pork roast, á la Julia. The cookbook is really easy to follow and this pork really was good! Nate agreed (after making fun of me for taking a picture of our food.) Walter spoiled his appetite by eating goldfish before dinner, so I can't tell you what he thought. Sigh...

This week, I think I'll try one of her recipes for chicken – she says it will taste really "chickeny." I guess we'll find out. 

*I would be happy to lend out my copy of "My Life in France" if anyone is interested.

Learning from his peers

When Walter learned to sign "all done" I tried teaching him several other signs but he didn't catch on to any of them. So I gave up. His cousin, Ginny (2), showed him the sign for "more" and he caught right on! He saw her do it just a few times and mimicked it right away! It's good to have those smart older cousins to teach him new tricks.

On the road again

We took Walter for his first bike ride yesterday. This was the expression he wore through the whole thing:

But he didn't cry, so I consider it a success. I, on the other hand, couldn't wipe the smile off my face. It's been about two years since I've been on my bike and it was great to ride again! I'm going to have to make more of an effort to get out there. It's such a good feeling!

First conversation

This morning, while feeding Walter some yogurt, he started flapping his hands – his sign for "all done."

Me: Are you all done?

Walter: Ah dah!

Me: All done?!

Walter: Vigorous nodding. 

Me: That was awesome! Do you know how awesome you are?

Walter: Shakes his head.

He's so modest. This kid cracks me up.