fairy tea

thank you, kate, for inviting us on this charming adventure! last week, our beloved neighbour informed us of the upcoming "fairy tea party" to be held at an amazing little teaching garden across town. since that day, no mention had been made of the upcoming event, and indeed, i think it had actually slipped my mind. this morning however, esther woke me with a question about one of her wings being broken, and could we fix them before the tea party?

at that point i was sure the gathering was yesterday, and that i had some e'splaining to do...but no, she was right...today was the day.

well, we fashioned a whole new pair of wings, and some for edgar, just in case he got the urge to join in the fun, too. i had considering dressing him in only wings and a diaper, all cherub-like, but he hadn't napped yet, and wished not to rue the day.

so, we met kate, jamie and georgia at the lush community garden. the place was already glimmering with fairies...

we felt a little shy at first, but then dug right in to the activities!

the kids made wands and crowns, there was face-painting (an activity which these ones declined)
the children were given little unicorns and fairy statues to cache amongst the plantings, and there were sprinkled fairy cupcakes and flower-shaped cookies to nibble.

the gardens we buzzing with 25 or 30 fairies, all exploring the bean teepee and tuffets.
(seriously, there were tuffets.)

edgar was one of three boys there...one was dressed as elvis, one as a superhero. fairies? sure!
there was racing around to be had, and i got a compliment on esther's fairy crown ( composed of packing tape and sparkly string, two random elements which had been lying around on our dining table for a few days...)

and after one last check on the tiny unicorns, we were off...

i am so thankful to the parents who hosted this magical event; a community-minded activity, presented gratis to any interested fairy princess. what a beautiful indulgence to take part in such a day, and certainly an equal indulgence to create it.

bunbury-ing (sorry, oscar)

two completed projects! a wee stuffed bunny for georgia, (to befriend the wee stuffed bunny i made for my girl,) and a pin-cushion-berry (just in case i do any more hand sewing...) the bunny is an adaptation of a lovely little pattern i found at www.craftbits.com .

the berry is a felt and french-knot item, contrived on our holiday, and is stuffed with fluff and enough sand from the path to watabeag lake to ground it quite nicely.

this being the 6th anniversary of the day i walked that very path to wed my sweetheart, it seems a good time to showcase it as well.

and his middle name is barry....hmmm...

i 'qued.

homemade pizza yum! but how does a family reconcile a desire-for-pizza-night with 40-degrees-in-the-shade-night? by using the barbeque! david and i have been keen to try out pizza grilling techniques, and what better day than when the kitchen itself is an oven.

both kiddies were eager to pitch in, but the smallest one really enjoyed it.

the final product was enjoyed al fresco, and was indeed outstanding.

now for the how-to.

prepare the dough.

(i usually entrust the ingredients listed below to my breadmaker, but tonight, i simply walked to the local italian deli with two dollars in my pocket. )

1 c water

2 c all purpose flour

1 c whole wheat flour

1 T olive oil

1 t kosher salt

1 1/2 t dry yeast

dough setting.

then look in the pantry and fridge for the tasty things you need to use up.

tonight, red pepper, red onion, yellow zucchini pepperonis, a few artichoke hearts and cherry tomatoes.

grate some cheese up too!

preheat the grill to 500 degrees, or just damn hot.

divide the dough into a few lumps, roll out each to 1/2 cm thick or so.

pop them on the grill, close the lid, then turn the heat down to medium.

remove them after about 2 minutes, turn them over so you can admire the lovely grill marks, then coat the q'ed side with garlic & olive oil, pesto, or marinara sauce.

layer on the cheese and toppings,

slide the pizza back onto the grill to finish up the uncooked side.

this could take 2 or 3 minutes, with the grill still set at around 300 degrees.

seems to depend on the depth of the toppings.

clearly one must be mindful not to overcook the crust at the same time...

just delicious.

where is my (n)icon?

once again, a measly little cable has gone missing, trapping my photos in my camera...

so i will try to explain something i found both charming and odd, of which i took no picture.

see?

we pit stopped in north bay on our way back from watabeag lake, just in time to see the last few innings of aysha's softball game.

we found the field, parked, unfurled from the car, and were just gaining our land-legs when david and i shot one another a glance of astonishment...

we had both spotted the seemingly dangerous yet exceedingly practical set-up

of spare balls, tourney rosters, and yes, large trophies,

cubbied like candles and virgins within the shrine of a large, forbidding, open electrical supply/control box.

the thing faintly hummed, and a knot of earnest ball players and kin consulted the hand-printed neon bristol-board info posters, as though unaware of any impending electrocution...

aw, heck...i'm sure it was perfectly safe.