Kyle's birtday was great

See a few pictures of the occasion:

Kyle's Birthday 2008

Happy Birthday Kyle!

This is just a quick happy birthday to Kyle, who is now 26 years young. I hope it was great!

I might miss hot-wiring my truck, but it's worth it

Virginia is not like Idaho. In Virginia, cars must pass both a safety inspection and an emissions test annually in order to be legally registered. (Whereas in Idaho, the car owner must only give his word of honor that the car has at least three wheels and that any dead wildlife in the back was actually shot in season). This means that at least annually (not to mention any service actually needed) I have to take my car to a service station and pay money to have a monkey with a wrench tell me why I need to pay him more money for a service that I don't really need. One mechanic actually told me that my Flux Capacitor had completely stopped fluxing. (Joke.) Seriously, Last year I spent over a thousand dollars to have a mechanic fix my starter and fix my brakes, neither of which got fixed correctly--I have had to hotwire my truck for the past two years.

Ever since I moved away from Idaho (and since Lorin Hales retired) I have never felt comfortable about any place I have taken my vehicle for service. After being ripped off enough times--either intentionally or by sheer incompetence--I have resorted to taking my car to McDonalds -- the service is about the same, but at least I can play in FunLand.

My decade-long agony is finally over -- I have found an honest mechanic! Last week, my air conditioner stopped working. On the recommendation of a ward member, I took my truck to Patton's Garage, outside Fredericksburg. I was skeptical. I brought along my "Common Phrases in Redneck" pocket reference and approached the garage, hand on wallet. What to my surprise, when I was greeted in English (with a slight Virginian tone) by a friendly man with a firm (clean) handshake. Long story short: my air-conditioner is fixed AND my starter is fixed AND I have a new friend. The damage: $83.

Hooray for an honest mechanic!

Gerbie

Today Scott cooked himself a steak. I had been at the store, and as I walked into the house, the smell smacked me in the face and memories of Gerbie flooded my mind. Does that smell remind anyone else of Gerbie??? I remember her cooking her tiny steaks on that tiny stove and giving us grizzle (is that what it is?). Shout out to her and all the great memories she provides for us: Christmas in July, Handy Candy, letting me put curlers in her hair, feeding the birds bread and popcorn, and buying ice cream from us when we somehow pumped it out our upside down bikes.

Free Fruit Dryer

Omi
There are currently three fruit dryers residing at the ORH. We only need two. If you would like a really nice fruit dryer, let us know.

I was in Albertsons the other day and saw a great sale on bananas--a huge box, maybe 20 pounds (or more) for $5. I bought it, brought it home, and Omi and Opa made tons of frozen bananas (for smoothies) and bags and bags of banana chips in the fruit dryer. The kids love to help with that--they use the egg slicer to make perfectly even banana chips. Tallis is an especial fan. Maybe we'll do apple chips this fall.
Omi

A Mess and a Recipe

First the mess: I got up this morning and made blueberry muffins. As I was putting the batter into the pans I noticed a strange smell coming from the pre-heating oven. When I opened the door I saw why - - Noah had put a pair of scissors in there. The handles had completely melted and the plastic smell was terrible. I turned off the oven and opened all the windows and doors, but I still got a terrible headache from the fumes. New rule: always check oven before turning it on!
Now the recipe. Inspired by Mom and Dad we recently bought an ice cream maker. Ethan and I wanted to make lime sherbet but there was no limeade concentrate at the store, so we settled for frozen raspberry lemonade concentrate. We mixed about 3/4 of a can of that with 3 cups of whole milk, 1/4 cup sugar, a couple of drops of red food coloring and about 15 fresh raspberries. We mixed it in the ice cream maker, then let it freeze for a while. Served with a few raspberries on the side. It was delicious, and so refreshing!

Delicious Dinner

Hey folks, I made an amazing dinner tonight. It was very messy and took some time, but so worth it. The link to the recipe is here. (If you want to link something, look at the icons above the composition box--there is a small green ball with a paperclipy looking thing on it. Highlight the word --in my case, "here", and then click the icon, and paste in the address. Just FYI)

Along with the Chicken Pot Pie, we are having Jumbleberry Pie. Again, delicious!

Mom, your pie crust recipe is the BEST!!!!!!!!!! I am very full, and a few pounds heavier, but with a smile on my face!