let them eat cake

i just found the most lovely little internet radio station...

nothing at all to do with the video, just a cozy background to my evening.

(spent kissing sleeping children, eschewing t.v., washing floors, handsewing a bunny doll, and noting this day...)

http://www.live365.com/stations/tothedeath

the cocteau twins, really?!!

bunny photos to follow, i'm sure.

do we have birds?

apologies, but you need to re-orient your head for this video.

the girl as a very down-to-earth blueblood.

a voice from a far room..."do we have birds?"

"hmmm?"

"do we have birds in our garden?"

"i suppose so"

"what do they eat?"

"seeds, bugs, worms..."

"do we have those things?"

"yes...oh, i get it...do we need a scarecrow?"

"we really do. and a scarecat"

we started with the scarecrow queen;

her cat intimidating minions will certainly require a separate project.

pooch

the first day of summer

another lost archive:

finally, the actual anniversary of esther's birth.
(after over a week of intermittent cakes, gatherings and presents, she woke this morning wondering how we would mark her birthday this day...)

we walked through the italian week festivities with kate and georgia. 

 esther won a kitty for herself playing balloon darts (what an arm!) then insisted on returning to win one for her brother.  win she did, his is the blue one.

rides, games, and carnies, the scent of cotton candy, hot asphalt and russian olive trees, and our small girl grows bigger and i cannot be more proud.  

neither can he.

four

we celebrated esther's fourth birthday with
facepainting, pizza, games and cake under a great oak tree in the arbouretum.
a day that had alternately promised to be either baking hot and sunny, or pouring rain, was neither/nor.
(although we did all eye the watercolour-grey clouds in consideration of a quick escape.)
thank you, friends, for venturing out into the unpredictable.

(incidentally, we recently learned that thomas was placed in the morning class, and and oliver in the afternoon class for junior kindergarten. likely for the best.)

and i stand amazed at how four little candles throw such light.
happy birthday, my girl.

recipe for a robot

a rainy day afternoon, a cardboard box and some time.

the buttons are labeled:
on
off
silly
killy
hokapoka
crazy
and happy.
the white plastic box add-on is labeled:
treasure box jewelery.

did you say an aunt?

marg fulfilled received a birthday wish early today! when asked months ago what sort of cake she would prefer, esther replied, "an ant cake". this is what one looks like.

we were all delighted by the macabre deliciousness of the thing.
it had enjoyed a brief stay in the deerhurst lodge freezer en-route to ottawa, which soggied its' licorice legs somewhat, but man, talk about chocolate covered ants!

thorax for me, please.

cuter suitor

our little neighbour came by with flowers for esther today...he picked them while catching bugs and butterflies behind the city centre with his papa...
daisies and bladderwort!
the girl received them graciously, and i immediately ran for the camera,
thinking, you know,
that they may want a shot of this moment 20 years from now at their wedding...

very shoesy

edgar as a garden gnome.

brewer park

b

our new pal

here is our new buddy, sixteen inches tall and jammed with jellies.
we could not leave the chinese market without adopting him.
neither of the children is interested in consuming the confections inside,
but boy, do they find him fetching.
the label includes the information
"contains no konjac"
which begs the question....
????

ginger cake

a no dairy ginger cake recipe that is simply outstanding.

photo yet, since it was eaten up like that!

~~~~

sift together dry ingredients:

3 C flour

1 T cinnamon

2 t baking soda

1 1/2 t ground cloves

1 t ground ginger

3/4 t salt

1 1/2 C granulated sugar

~~~

whisk together wet ingredients:

1 C fancy molasses

1 C veg oil

2 eggs

1/2 C H2O

2 T minced fresh gingerroot

1/2 C chopped candied ginger

~~~~~

fold the dry into the wet in three additions,

pour into a greased and floured bundt pan.

bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

then...

cool in pan on a rack for 1/2 hour,

invert onto a plate to allow to competely cool,

dust with icing sugar.

take a picture, then eat.

from the complete canadian living cookbook.