Bake Sale

Last Saturday was Sam Houston High Band Booster’s annual Bake Sale and Barbeque. All band parents are expected to bake either a cake or two pies. Or for those not inclined to bake, a $12.00 donation may be made. Last year, I poured my heart into a pretty two-layer cake with colorful sliced gumdrops on white icing. My mother made me this cake when I was maybe 5 or 6 years old. The gumdrops look like jewels on a princess crown. To this day, it’s my favorite birthday cake ever. Anyway, back to last year, when I returned to the school later that afternoon to pick up my BBQ dinners, there was my cake, still sitting on a nearly empty bake sale table. No one had bought it. My heart sank. I told myself it was because I had covered the cake with that plastic wrap that’s kind of opaque, and no one could see how pretty it was. Nevertheless, this year, I considered simply writing the check in lieu of baking. Wouldn’t that be easier? But no, I decided I’d make a Pittsburgh favorite – jello cake. Jello cake, for my readers who don’t live in the ‘burgh, is a white cake with holes poked all over it, and liquid jello poured over so the jello sinks down into the cake and makes a pretty marbled effect. Since this is Mardi Gras season, I decided to make a Mardi Gras Jello Cake. I drizzled grape, lemon, and lime (purple, gold and green are Mardi Gras colors) over the cake and spread the top with Cool Whip. I had planned to decorate with purple, yellow, and green sprinkles, evenly dispersed over the cake, but Bob got to the sprinkles before me. With his hand, he deftly poured the sprinkles over the cake, and after about two minutes, this was the result.


Bob still surprises me. He still makes me laugh. He still knows how to make me smile.

By the way, it’s a bronco, not a horse. And notice I used clear plastic wrap this year. I don’t know if anyone bought it. I did not go back this year to find out.

Kemah, Texas

Did you know that Kemah, Texas is home to the third largest fleet of recreational boats in America? I did not. Until I read it on the website. After having visited Kemah today, I believe it. Marina after marina after marina all look like this. I think more boats live in Kemah than people.

Kemah, slightly southeast of Houston, is a touristy summertime kinda destination known for its boardwalk, amusement park, shops, restaurants. And, of course, boats. Which is why we were there. Bob was boat shopping. He seems to be fond of this little one with the red tarp.

We ate dinner at a humble little Italian restaurant called Frenchie’s. Came highly recommended by the boat broker, and he wasn’t kidding. The food was fabulous. I hadn't eaten homemade gnocchi's since I lived in Pittsburgh. Not far away is Johnson Space Center. When you walk into Frenchie’s restaurant, there are many photographs of astronauts that have eaten there. Bob says, “Well, if all these astronauts have eaten here, the food must be out of this world.”

Haha.

We didn’t have time to stroll the boardwalk after dinner. Not this time. Maybe rather it was a lack of inclination. Like I said, it’s a summertime destination. This is winter. And right now it’s cold outside.

This may be the view out my kitchen window someday. I love kitchen windows. What do you see out yours?

Star Wars at the Lafayette Science Museum

The boys and I drove to Lafayette, La. today to see the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit at the Lafayette Science Museum. The show was larger than I expected, chock full of props, costumes, clips, and directors’ comments as well as plenty of interactive robotics and science stations including weather, biomedical prosthetics, transportation of the future, space and aeronautics and more. There's a Millennium Falcon simulation we didn't get tickets for and a robotics video we didn't have time for. The show ends January 17.

Looking at the displays, I realized there must have been a few Star Wars episodes I missed. I didn’t recognize the white woolly snow creatures. I’ve never been a huge Star Wars fan. My boys wanted to see the exhibit. But it did bring back memories. Star Wars was one of the first movies I saw at a theater without my parents. Jaws may have been first.

Here’s Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder.


We also went to the planetarium. Nothing like a show on the stars, sun, and galaxies to make an earthling feel humble.

After our museum visit, we ate a fabulous dinner next door at Athena Greek and Lebanese Restaurant. Gyro, falafel, hummus, greek salad, and tiramisu . . . all delicious!

Got any Star Wars memories or stories you’d care to share?

May the Force be with you!

New Years Eve, 2010

I'm not big on late-night parties, crowds of people, noise. But there's something about the New Year holiday I love. It's like a gift from the calendar. A clean slate. A fresh start. A new beginning. There's something forgiving about turning the page and putting the past behind. Like most folks these days, I shun resolutions, but around this time of year, I tend to think about how I might do some things differently, how I might change a pesky pattern of behavior. I want to be less critical of myself, and at the same time, I want to be better organized and more efficient with my time, especially the time devoted to writing.

But I'll think on that tomorrow. Tonight we say goodbye to 2010. And dream wishes for 2011. We've become so accustomed to staying in and celebrating the New Year with the boys, it's hard to imagine doing anything else.

How do you celebrate and what are your dreams for 2011? Whatever they are, I wish all of you a very blessed and Happy New Year.

Learning to Drive

My sons are presently attending drivers’ ed. So far it’s only the classroom instruction; they’re not yet on the road. That comes the week after Christmas. Curiously, I’m not the slightest bit worried about this. Aren’t I supposed to be concerned? Somewhat nervous? But no, I’m not. Although I do foresee a whole new lineup of prayers on my horizon. Maybe I trust the boys and feel confident they’ll be good drivers? Maybe I trust the driving instructor? Maybe I’m delusional?

What a right of passage – learning to drive and getting a license. Does anything say freedom more to a teenager than a driver’s license? I remember my father, never one to procrastinate, taking me out when I was 13 or 14 years old to a dirt road way out in the country and teaching me to drive his puke green vintage 1957 Ford pickup truck. I liked it better when Grandma Lowdermilk let me drive her red 1976 mustang. When I was in college, Grandma sold this car to Mom -- for me -- for $1,000.00 and a waterbed. I loved that car and drove it till it rusted away beneath me and left me stranded on the roadside one too many times.

After getting my permit, I wasn’t a bad driver, but I recall side-swiping a telephone pole once. And there was the time I got a flat tire and didn’t realize why the car was swerving erratically until I arrived at my destination. I was a pretty good driver, but I failed my driver’s test first time around. In Pennsylvania, rather than take you out on the road to see if you really know how to drive, instead there’s a little maze behind the DMV that a driver-candidate must navigate through. Parallel parking and three points turns, no problem. But since I knew there were no other cars in the maze, I didn’t see the point of stopping at the stop sign.

How do they test in Louisiana? I don’t even know.

So tell me. Got any good learning-to-drive stories?

Getting in the Spirit

After this weekend, I am officially in the holiday spirit.

It actually started last weekend, when Eric was home and we pulled out all our Christmas CDs, put out a few decorations, and decked the tree. Thursday at Sam's Club, I got my first whiffs of fresh pine from the trees and wreaths. Friday I started holiday baking by making two kinds of biscotti; cranberry pistachio and chocolate walnut. Saturday, I shopped, listened to the music, and watched the holiday bustle. Evening found Bob and I at Lake Charles' annual Christmas boat parade and fireworks display. We capped the night with a drive down Shell Beach Drive to gasp at the dazzling light displays.

It's a start but there's so much more; cards to send, gifts to wrap, more cookies to bake. The Moss Bluff Christmas parade (featuring SHHS's Pride and Spirit Marching Band) and a couple parties to attend next weekend. And Eric comes home for a month! I love Christmas. And in the midst of enjoying all the sights, sounds, and scents of the season, I take time to remember the Reason we celebrate.

How about you? What have you been doing to get into the holiday spirit?

Thanksgiving in Louisiana -- Vive la difference

I love to compare and contrast the cultural differences between my home state of Pennsylvania and my new home here in Louisiana. I love the culture here and find it fascinating because it's so different and new to me.

Naturally, I've been thinking lately of holiday variations. Of course, there are many similarities between Thanksgiving here and back home. We are, after all, still in America. I have to remind myself of that occasionally. For example, most people try to connect with family, if travel and distance are not prohibitive. The holiday generally focuses around eating a large meal together. Sports fans rally 'round the television and watch hours and hours of football. And people go crazy to start Christmas shopping the day after. But that's about where the parallels end.

Here are some interesting differences I've discovered. Please keep in mind, these are purely my own observations, they're certainly generalizations, and there are always exceptions to any rules.

• While turkey seems to be the protein of choice on Thanksgiving day, in Louisiana, folks seem to be more open-minded to other options. I don't think it would be uncommon to find something a hunter may have bagged, such as duck or venison, a nice pork loin or beef brisket. A little boudin on the side. Or a turducken.
• A turducken is, as far as I know, a uniquely Louisiana delicacy . . . a chicken stuffed into a duck stuffed into a turkey. All de-boned and stuffed again with dressing, usually rice dressing. I'd never heard of this until moving to Lake Charles. Our first Thanksgiving here, we bought one out of sheer curiosity. Frankly, we were not impressed. Not that it was bad, necessarily, but it just wasn't . . . good. And it was a mess. There was no way to slice it neatly. It just sort of fell apart on the platter. Since then, I've never heard anyone say they actually like turduckens. Yet thousands are sold this time every year.
• Yes, Louisianians eat stuffing, or dressing, but it's usually rice. Maybe cornbread.
• For some Louisiana families, Thanksgiving dinner is a big pot of gumbo and some pecan pies. Can't argue with that.
• In Pa., from the time I was a kid, Thanksgiving break was always a long weekend, Thursday-Monday. Here, the kids are off the whole week. Add the two weekends on either end, and that's nine days off. Makes traveling for the holiday a lot easier.
• In Pa., if I'm not mistaken, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving starts "hunting season." Lot's of men take this day off work, making the weekend just a little longer. The hunters in Pa. hope for a dusting of snow, so they can more easily track the deer. Snow tracks do not cross a hunter's mind in Louisiana. And in La., (I know this can't be true but it seems to me) it's hunting season year around!
• Shorts and t-shirts. 'Nuff said there.

How about you? What are some of your Thanksgiving traditions, where do you go to celebrate, and what's on your holiday table?