She's The Best

This was taken in 1973. The old man is my dad's old man, my Grandpa Fred. The curly-headed toddler is my cousin Amy and the cute baby in the picture is my sister, Katy (I'm above her rocking my crooked haircut by mom). We're on the stairs of my grandparents' house in Cincinnati sharing a box of raisins but the back of the photo claims it's Christmas.

Looking at this picture reminds me of how much I adore my sister. We've been through the shit together and no body knows me better than she does. Of course we've had our disagreements over the years, what siblings don't? But I can't recall any argument of note past 1985 when she yelled at me not to stretch out her shoes.

My sister is an amazing mother, wife, teacher and friend. Katy is one of the most thoughtful people I know. She's beautiful and vivacious and bubbly and can talk to anybody about pretty much anything - something I'm not good at at all. I honestly don't know who I'd be without her presence in my life, but I can hazard a guess that I wouldn't be very much fun to be around.

I love her with all my heart.

And I wish her the happiest of birthdays today.

Soup's On!

It's a bright, sunny, yet blustery day today. I love it. Fall is my favorite season and what's not to love? Mulled apple cider, that crisp fresh smell in the air, cooler weather necessitating the wearing of jackets and sweaters (though Flynn is still trying to convince me it's not too cold to wear sandals and halter dresses), piling blankets on beds and breaking out the down comforters in anticipation of even colder nights, hot filling meals.

Today was perfect for heading to our beloved, out-of-the-way pumpkin patch. Frank had ideas of making a Death Star pumpkin this year in addition to the traditional kitty cat and bat. It's a good thing I decided to call my sister to chat before we left because she told me, "Don't go. They're out of pumpkins. They had a lousy crop this year and were short something like 20 truckloads."

What? How could the pumpkin patch be out of pumpkins? So with spirits deflated we decided to get our pumpkins at our local grocery. Not exactly the fun I had envisioned today. But it did give me the opportunity to pick up the ingredients I needed for tonight's dinner: veggie soup.

So this afternoon while Frank took the kids out to hawk Boy Scout popcorn, I made my favorite veggie soup from a recipe out of my head involving carrots, white onions, crushed tomatoes, garlic, cabbage, lots of low sodium V-8 juice as the basis for the broth and canned chick peas thrown in at the last minute.I usually play around with the amount of ingredients until I get the consistency I like. Today I used a purple cabbage just because I thought it would be fun. I really like the way it colored the broth - making it a deeper, richer red than it is normally - and the onions, which turned a pretty lavender.

Of course when it was finished I could not wait to have a wee taste.So, so good! Especially with a dash of hot sauce.

Just the thing to hit the spot on this, or any, chilly day.

The Great Compromiser

The ride home from school today was filled with discussion on who I had voted for and why.

That's right, I voted today to beat the rush. Mine was the 689th ballot cast in my ballot-holding-machine-thingy at the County Clerk's office.

Anyhoo, the school my children attend is holding a mock election on Nov. 4th. Evan says he's voting for "Barry O'Vama." Flynn immediately took a contrary position until she found out that I'd also voted for "Barry".

Trying to put my reasoning for voting for the person I voted for into words and concepts my 7- and 5-year-old could understand without sounding jaded, cynical and (more than) slightly bitter was a daunting task. I told them that most of the ideas that Senator McCain has are ideas and beliefs I don't share and I'm more in harmony with Senator Obama's ideas. And while my kids tried to paint McCain as a bad person, I tried to tell them that Sen. McCain is not actually bad, he's a good man but he's just not the right choice to be president.

I couldn't tell them how disgusted I am with our current president and that Sen. McCain's presidency would mean more of the same; that the United States is currently a corporate state thanks very much to Mr. Bush and his greedy cronies. I also didn't mention McCain's running mate.

I did tell them that Senator Obama would change things for the better; that the thought of his presidency makes me hopeful for a better future for them; that Sen. Obama is fired up and his energy is infectious.

After this, Evan was silent for a bit then said, "Why don't they just work together?"

I couldn't answer him. Who knows? Maybe they will. Maybe they'll think like a 7-year-old.

Behold, The Brownie!

Last night and most of today I was in desperate need of a rich, fudge-y brownie. I perused my copy of Veganomicon and, sadly, did not find a brownie recipe (though I'll make that chocolate bundt cake someday soon).

This morning, I went online and found this recipe. After reading some reviews I made some adjustments: substituting raw sugar for white, chocolate soy milk for water (I was tempted to use almond milk or coffee), and halved the oil replacing the other 1/2 c. with cinnamon applesauce. The recipe came together very easily and the tempting smell of baking brownies filled the house well within 20 minutes.

The result is this:

And because I'm in a Mexican chocolate kind of mood, I dusted the top of the brownies with a mixture of cinnamon and confectioner's sugar.

The brownie itself is a little cakey in texture and that may be because of the applesauce and is very chocolaty, like a brownie should be, but in a healthier form and paired well with vanilla ice cream (no, I didn't make it) and a slice of orange.

Both Evan and Flynn declared the brownies a success with a full-mouthed "Yum!"

Yes, Sir, That's My Boy

One of Evan's spelling words this week is "who."

Me: "Evan, spell the word 'who'."

Evan: "What, like Dr. Who?"

I'm so proud of my nerdy boy.

12 Years Ago Today

Frank and I were married.

We recently remarked to each other that getting married was the easiest decision we've ever made.

The same goes for staying that way.

Twelve years is a drop in the bucket.

Because I'm In An 80's Kind Of Mood

Whip out your peg-legged jeans, black loafers and white socks everybody. It's the lovely Housemartins with their classic, Happy Hour.

Enjoy!