Monthly Archives: August 2011

The kite-wreck tour

Posted on 29 August 2011 by pattiblaine

One of the several things Bruce in particular likes to do when we are in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is fly kites on the north edge of Lake Michigan. Our first day there was beautiful, if a bit gusty and so, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crazy talk, Extracurricular | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Note to self: Vacations are good for you and should be long and occur with more regularity

Posted on 28 August 2011 by pattiblaine

Until a few weeks ago, we had not had a proper vacation in three years. Sure, we have traveled now and then, usually connected to a work- or piano-related event that required staying in a hotel away from home for … Continue reading →

Posted in Connections, Extracurricular, Finished things | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Sugar Bush Softies

Posted on 25 August 2011 by pattiblaine

I promised myself I would not make fun of the name of this cookie. It sounds vaguely naughty though, doesn’t it? Yes, these are soft cookies. They are of the drop variety and despite the frosting they are easy to … Continue reading →

Posted in Extracurricular, The Joy of Cookies | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Soggy Sunday

Posted on 22 August 2011 by pattiblaine

Yesterday, as it was the first and last free day we had during blueberry season and disregarding threatening rain (sort of disregarding, that is, as in Bruce brought a raincoat, Kate and I did not) we set off on our … Continue reading →

Posted in Extracurricular, On the fly (aka from a mobile device) | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Ruminations on legumes and locusts

Posted on 20 August 2011 by pattiblaine

This past spring I ordered seeds from Hudson Valley Seed Library, an excellent seed source I learned about a couple of years ago from a friend who lives in Australia when she surprised me with a membership (art packs are … Continue reading →

Posted in Extracurricular | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Linzer squares

Posted on 7 August 2011 by pattiblaine

Also known as Linzer Törtchen, from Austria. Sharon Tyler Herbst (The Joy of Cookies) says she based this cookie on the Viennese Linzertorte. Ground hazelnuts in the dough, a layer of semi-sweet chocolate under the red raspberry jam filling, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Extracurricular, The Joy of Cookies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sweet caramel-pecan bars and bitter disappointment

Posted on 1 August 2011 by pattiblaine

Through a series of unfortunate events beyond our control, plans for amusement park visits this summer have been called off not once but three times. Mind you, these were successively planned visits that had to be cancelled for varying reasons; … Continue reading →

Posted in Extracurricular, The Joy of Cookies | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments