"Pulled through the hedge backwards" -Aunt Da

Oh gawd, talk about your expectations being wildly mistaken. I had two lovely glasses of wine with my Indian meal and went to bed at 8:50p. Took a melatonin for good measure. Oliver was up at 2:45 and then again for good at 5. Is someone joking? And why does this always happen when Tom is out of town? When Jack was little and O not yet an idea, Tom went to China for work and J had two night terrors in a row. Just after the second one, T called from the Great Wall, boasting about the view. If I could have put a fork in his head through the phone, I would have. I'd love to actually and accurately know how many times since then the boys have gotten sick as soon as T left for the airport. Blast.

New funny pronunciation from Oliver: impact hammer is "hammocka hammer." Wha??

Do you think my food mill will come this morning? The clock is telling me that I need to get Jack dressed for school. Mother of god, this is going to be a long day.

911 take-out

I just had to order take-out tonight as I am bushed, beat, done.  Good but extremely (!) busy day, and I just didn't feel like having anything more to clean up tonight. So, Cafe of India, thank you for being on your way with my goodies. Pindi Chole, Punjabi Tikki, Basil Mint Paratha! Jack has discovered a complete passion for watercress and cucumber tea sandwiches. He ate 7 small ones this evening. He also wore blue shorts, a green shirt and his cowboy boots on an evening walk and played the maracas the whole time. It was really a sight. Oliver was committed to a sourpuss mood all afternoon- you'd catch him smiling and he'd immediately put the bottom, sad-lip out and pout to beat sixty. Jesus. And I think both of them had a fever at some point (but at different times, naturally) today. Weird.

My food mill is coming tomorrow, and I'm inordinately excited. I'm going to mill apple butter like it's my job!

Do you need any sort of linens? The Company Store is not only having a good sale but also I found a 15% off + free shipping coupon code today. And that is on top of sale prices! Got all manner of lovely organic bedding for such a great price. If you need anything, check out with FAL8. Fab!

Have you tried Fiano di Avellino yet? It's such a lovely wine. I'm celebrating myself right now, yes I am. I was such a good mom today! Sold a beautiful cake and a delicious cornbread! Took the dog for 2 walks!

Cornbread made, gorgeous day -again!, finished off beet tart, frosting to be whipped

Jack and I took Oliver to family visiting day at O's school this morning- so cute to see J in his old classroom. Everything was the same, but now he's so grown up. It's almost hard to remember him at 2 years old. Then we came home, walked the "canine", got a cookie treat and have been snuggled up reading Aladdin on the couch. I made the red chile cornbread, and once I get Mr. O down for his nap and J into his quiet time, it's whipped cream-mascarpone frosting time- SUCH a good icing for cakes. Jack refuses to eat buttercream so I found this recipe out of necessity but am so glad I did and will post it soon. It's so beautiful again here today. I just want to go roll around in my yard, but having seen Percy and his "spot-treatment" on my plants, I think I shouldn't do so.

Can I just tell you that the beet tart ages well? Heck- I just finished it off for a mid-morning snack. The goat cheese-onion mixture is really sublime. Ok, we gotta get O. How gorgeous are these apples and pears?