T and My Christmas Cookies

I boxed up cookies and sent them West. :) Jeff got his today and shared with T. He's so CUTE!

Anticipation...

Ian is telling anyone who will listen that the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series JUST FOR HIM. They did, after all, win it on his birthday.

This year for Christmas, I ordered a baseball cap in his size from the Cards, and when it comes, if it comes in time, I am taking it to Lids to have 10-28-11 embroidered on the back. He'll love it.

I hope it comes in time!

I'll Be Home For Christmas

My favorite acapella

Cookie Plate

For my neighbor, Michaelea. :)

A little sample of the cookies we've baked over the past few weeks: peanut blossoms, chili chocolate chip, Chinese almond, mint pastels, peanut butter, mint chocolate, salt nut truffles, and Mexican wedding cakes. We've been busy!

I'm sending out packages of cookies to my brother and nephew in Seattle and a friend in Texas. I have to remember to give them a head's up - the chili chocolate cookies have a bit of heat to them. They are SO good.

Cookie Swap

Mexican Wedding Cakes and Mint Chocolate Cookies all ready for the Cookie Swap on Monday.

Oh, Calvin...

My friend Denise: So, Ian, what do you want for Christmas?

A hydrogen-powered remote control car!

Heaven help me.

Calvin Strikes Again

First thing this morning.

Mom? Can we fill my pants with helium?

Errr....why?

So I can fly.

Um. The helium would all leak out of your pants because they're not sealed.

No, it wouldn't. We could use duct tape.

No. No, we can't. I don't have any duct tape.

Maybe we can get some at the store.

Maybe, but we don't have any helium, either.

We could call Mythbusters.

No. I don't know their number. And you don't either. Are you getting ready for school?

Oh. Yeah. One minute.

6:30 comes WAY too early for this.

Cookies

Hair pulled back? Check.

Nails trimmed and hands well washed? Check.

Counter-top and sink disinfected? Check.

All of this germophobia stuff is done for a reason. First, Ian hasn't been feeling well. I don't want to serve Christmas cookies with a side of flu to anyone! The second reason involves a memory...

I was invited to a friend's home one evening a couple years ago for dinner. She prepared the meatloaf we were going to eat after I arrived. After she mixed the meatloaf with hands I did not see her wash, she cleaned out the meat that got caught under her fingernails into the bowl! Needless to say, I could not eat anything that night, and I have never eaten in her home since.

Besides. Do I really want to give my Christmas cookies as gifts with a side of hair? No.

So let the Christmas Cookie Baking begin!

I haven't baked Christmas cookies since I moved in here 11 years ago. My counter-top is 30" wide by 24" deep, so I have very little working room. I decided it has been too long, so I got the ingredients and gave it a go. I only burned myself on a hot pan once.

I managed to extend my work space a bit by using the edge of the kitchen sink. Here you see the first batch of cookies ready to go in the oven.

Here, I balance the sheets of peanut butter cookies ready to go in the oven.


Thank goodness for stacking cooling racks! I used the top of my portable dishwasher to stack the racks on. It was JUST wide enough. :)


These are Pastel Mint cookies and Chinese Almond Cookies. YUM!

And my last two cookie recipes of the day, Peanut Blossoms and Peanut Butter cookies. I moved the racks to my counter-top from the dishwasher so they could cool overnight. Then into the freezer they go to await the gift-giving season.

I just looked at the photo closely - seems like somebody snitched a peanut butter cookie off the third rack!

Tomorrow I am going to tackle sugar cookies. I have a set of cookie cutters that have never been used. It's time!

Happy Birthday to Me!

My friend Nancy gave me this poinsettia for my birthday this year. Love it!

Calvin

I'm not sure what he was playing...hockey? contact baseball?

Stalked

Finished a great novel today. Stalked by Brian Freeman was excellent. Murder, mayhem, what more could a girl ask for on a pleasant Sunday afternoon?

Dave-1993

Another feel good, bad guys lose, good guys win, movie.

Door Prize

I won the door prize at Emily's baby shower. They played the "guess how big new mama is" game and I was only about 1/2" off. Some people were unintentionally not very kind to her. :D

I figured, since she looked like a thin girl with a basketball stuffed under her shirt, that the circumference of a basketball is about 29 inches, add ten more inches for the rest of her, and there you have it! My strip was 39 1/2" long, and she was 40" around.

It's all about the math. :D

'Christmas Fantasy' Christmas Cactus

Blossomed already....absolutely beautiful.

Casey at the Bat - Ernest Thayer

The Outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, if only Casey could get but a whack at that -
We'd put up even money, now, with Casey at the bat.

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped-
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And its likely they'd a-killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two."

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud;
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out.

"Phin"

Retrieved from http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_case.shtml

Mythbusters

Ian's new FAVORITE show!

Adam Savage

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/mythbusters/

(They blow stuff up. Kind of says it all, doesn't it?)

My Plants

The Awesomeist Kid...

...has begun posting on his blog again.

I finally received his scores on the State-mandated tests. While his Math scores are off the charts (is anyone surprised?), his ELA scores fell below proficiency level. He is an outstanding reader, but the problem is his writing. Truth be told, he hates it.

Our compromise?

If the physical act of writing bothers him, instead of writing in his journal every night, he must post on his blog.

We'll see how it goes.

The Summer Game

Baseball's time is seamless and invisible, a bubble within which players move at exactly the same pace and rhythms as all their predecessors.

This is the way the game was played in our youth and in our father's youth, and even back then

back in the country days

there must have been the same feeling that time could be stopped.

Since baseball time is measured only in outs, all you I have to do is succeed utterly;

keep hitting,

keep the rally alive,

and you have defeated time.

You remain forever young.

- Roger Angell

Meat Glue

Movie Night

My friend Denise badly needed a break from reality for a couple hours, so we had

an impromptu movie night with an oldie but goodie. LOVE James Garner!

Source Code

Excellent movie with a surprise ending - loved it!

A. Bartlett Giamatti

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game beginsin the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in thesummer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chillrains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count onit, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshineand high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, whenyou need it most, it stops. Today, October 2, a Sunday of rain and brokenbranches and leaf-clogged drains and slick streets, it stopped, and summerwas gone...

-A. Bartlett Giamatti, the seventh Commissioner of Major League Baseball

Making Strides for Breast Cancer

Hope, Trisha, Ian and I made strides for a cure today. It was about 50 degrees, raining, and hours later, I'm still freezing. Thank goodness for electric blankets!

For more information, please see the Susan G. Komen website here.

Movie Night

Love Steven Seagal. :)

In Memory of Bradford Bosley

My uncle, Bradford Richmond Bosley, passed away on September 12th. This is the obituary my cousin, Dorinda, wrote.

****

My father, Bradford R. Bosley was 79 years old. He served in the Korean War. He retired from American Airlines at age 55. After he retired, he had a few rental properties he maintained and he spent a good amount of his time serving the god he believed in. He later moved south and ended up living in Andalusia, Alabama with my youngest brother, Mark. He was an avid Jehovah’s Witness and part of my family remains in that religion. I had recently been reacquainted with my father through my brother, Mark. My last visit with him was last February after he had recovered from his most recent stroke. He was speaking slowly and sometimes the words he wanted to speak would not come out the way he wanted them to, and he was walking slowly but surely. He had been in the hospital in Buffalo again after that in May of 2010 and had seemed to recover okay. He and my step mother maintained a home in Buffalo, so he would travel back and forth to a home in Andalusia.

He died in his sleep Monday morning, September 12 and we believe that he may have had another stroke in his sleep or perhaps a heart attack. He is survived by mom, Mary (Mike) Holmes; my step mom, Evelyn Bosley; my step siblings Uland (Janice) Gladden, J. Daniel (Donnis) Gladden their daughter Leandra, and Yolanda (Terence); my other siblings Barn (Marlene) Black and their daughter Amanda (Jeff) Buchholz their children: Nolan, Eliana, and Easton; Laureen Black (her children were deceased Darrell at 16 and Davina as an infant); Karen Soccio her son, James Soccio his son Rocco; my brother Dan (Laura) Bosley and their daughters McKenna and Natalie; my youngest brother Mark (Toneishia) their daughter Alasia; my sister Jodie Judd and her son Joshua; and finally me (and Bill).

His parents, my grandparents died in their mid 60’s. He had a sister Anne, who passed a couple of years ago, younger brother Frederick ("Teddy") who died quite some time ago; and my Uncle Tony is still living.

*****

The memorial service will be held on Sunday @ 7pm at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 185 Kensington Avenue, Buffalo, New York.


A eulogy, written by my brother, Michael, for those of us 'on the outside' is here.

School is Back in Session

So here it is, the first day of school. What have I already received? No, no, Ian's not in trouble for forgetting his homework....yet. I got:

DON'T FORGET...PICTURE DAY IS COMING!


Really? Can we not get the first week of school under our belts first?

Religulous

Excellent! Bill Maher explores religion.

Some completed projects

I spent some time today finishing up some projects I started. All in all, a very relaxing weekend.

A League of Their Own

One of my favorites. :)

Mata Hari bracelet

Trophies

Chase and Ian at T.A.L.L.

Baseball

Years ago, my father and I went to an exhibit at the Albright Knox Art Museum called 'Diamonds are Forever'. It was all about baseball. Writers, sculptors, painters, artists of all kinds, all expounding on the wonderfulness of the game.  One of the writing exhibits showed quotes of famous people and what they said.  One said, "You know it doesn't have to mean anything, it's just very beautiful to watch."  I think that was said by Woody Allen? Can't remember for sure. I do know, however, he definitely had it right.

Two Generations of Nephews

Lucas, Tristan and Ian at Niagara Falls, New York

Generations

Sir Tristan, his father Jeff, his maternal great-grandmother Doris, his maternal grandmother Linda, and his paternal great-great-aunt, Marlene.

I had a wonderful time Friday night, such a good time, in fact, that I forgot to take a picture. {heavy sigh} That is one of the main reasons why I'm never going to spend a small fortune on a camera. I always seem to forget I have one!

Camille's friend, Erin, came over for dinner, we killed at least three bottles of wine (but who's counting?) and we drove Mike crazy. We were all talking. Sometimes at the same time. I told Mike, that's what women do. :D

I wish we lived closer to each other. I'd love to spend more time with them. Mike is so lucky to have found Camille, and Camille is so lucky to have such a wonderful friend in Erin. I'm fortunate to have all three in my life.

I know I won't be able to afford a trip out there next year, but I'm definitely going to shoot for the year after. In the meantime, there is always Skype.

The Science Experiment

Here are Ian and Uncle Michael looking (safely) at the sun:

Sun spots:


Michael said...
I use a pair of binoculars, aligned so the sun comes through them and is projected onto a piece of paper. You actually have to focus the binoculars in order to get a sharp image.

I'm holding the binoculars against the windowsill to steady them, and by my foot is a clipboard with a piece of white paper, onto which the sun is projected.

If there are sunspots, you can see them clearly.

Views from the top of the Space Needle

All photos taken by Ian Tabor

Flowers in Seattle Center Park

All photos taken by Ian

Tyska Traveling Fish

Here they are, in front of the Space Needle, Seattle, Washington.