Happy Halloween to You!

With my Dad's medical issues and being so far away from him right now I admit, I have not been in a Halloweeny mood.  Not only that but let's face it, Halloween here is just not what it is in the States.  Not one of my friends kids went Trick-or-Treating, as some of them feel like it is begging for candy and others just don't like it.  Oh well.  I still took my sweeties out for some fun.  We still decorated the house, and bought fun costumes for them to wear.

Some of tonight's highlights:
-Joe's favorite house that we went to was one where two little old ladies answered the door and chatted with them for several minutes.  He kept saying how nice they were.
-Joci's confidence in going up to the door and taking charge in ringing the bell or knocking on the door, and how sweetly, and clearly, she said Trick or Treat and Thank You.
-Both kids racing to the door to hand out candy to the Trick-or-Treaters.
-Joe saying that he was glad it wasn't raining anymore as he didn't want to wear the hood on his Harry Potter costume as he felt that would be out of character and he wanted to avoid that.  Yes, he did say that!
-Joci coming up with a plan to split up our leftover candy between she and Joe as we had loads left over.
-Watching the Adams Family on telly and having Joe jump up off the couch exclaiming "that's Doc Brown from Back to the Future"!
-Jocelyn wanted major red lipstick.  Not very angel-like, but I don't care.  She loved it.
-It was the first time that I have ever been Trick-or-Treating in the rain with an umbrella.
-It was the first Halloween I've ever put my pumpkins on my windowsill to keep the slugs away from them, and they didn't get gross.

All in all it was a good night.  I had fun, the kids had a blast, and even with Jon out of town for this evening, it was a good time for our family.

My sweet little Angel and excited Harry Potter.

This was the first year my kids actually carved their own pumpkins without help. 

Our finished product.

Halloween, October 31st, 2012

The BEST Spaghetti Bolognese I've Ever Made

Tonight, thanks to Jamie Oliver, I made the best Spaghetti Bolognese I've ever made.  You can check out my inspiration recipe here.  I kind of looked at his recipe, and then did it my way, which is I never looked at it again while making it.  So here's what I did:

6 slices of bacon rashers, diced
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves of roasted garlic
1 lb. ground beef
2 italian sausages (casing removed)
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 small can of tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon of fresh oregano
10 large basil leaves, chiffanode
1/2 Cup shredded Parmesan Regiano cheese

In a large, heavy bottomed pan put in the olive oil and bacon rashers to render the fat and crisp the bacon.  When the bacon becomes crisp remove it with a slotted spoon and add the carrots, celery, and onion.  Stir occasionally until the veg starts to turn a bit brown around the edges and add the garlic.  Now add the ground beef and italian sausage.  Mix and stir without letting any of the meat to 'crisp', mix and stir the meat and veg until the meat is barely cooked and in small grains.  Add the can of chopped tomatoes, fill the can with water and add that as well.  Now add the tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, and the reserved crispy bacon.  Let simmer on the stove for at least an hour.  The goal here is to get those vegetables so broken down that they almost disappear. If your sauce seems to get too thick, add more water.
When you're ready to eat, put on your pasta water.  Don't forget to salt the water, but do NOT add oil to the water.  After getting your pasta going reserve a coffee cup full of the starchy water and add it to your sauce, and remove your sauce from the heat.  Add the basil and cheese to the sauce and stir.  After the pasta is done, drain well and serve with the sauce with a bit more cheese on top.

More Sights from Bristol

We had a hard time finding a restaurant that we could all agree on while walking in Bristol.  We came upon this place, the biggest buffet I have ever seen.  Each station had a different region for food.  Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Indian, Thai, Sushi, and so much more.  It was delish!

My cute little monkeys getting ready for bed.  I love how they still like to snuggle with each other.

August 2012

Banksy in Bristol

Bristol is a very interesting city.  It has an odd mixture of old and new with a very street-wise edge to it.  It is a city that has a large urban art movement, and thus tons of amazing graffiti art.  One of, if not the most, famous graffiti artists, Banksy, is from Bristol.  So we thought we would do a Banksy graffiti treasure hunt, trying to locate and photograph as many original Banksy's in Bristol as we could.  It was so much fun being on the lookout from the car having the kids try and spot where the Banksy was.  It was a great bonding experience for us.

The masked gorilla was my favorite.  While we were taking the picture the owner of the building walked up to us and profusely apologized as he had the one that painted over it, not knowing it was a Banksy.  He had tried hard to restore it to the best of his abilities.

We looked high and low for this one.  It was much smaller than the others we saw and almost drove right by it.  The sign is actually close to the ground.

 

Take the Money and Run.  Joe and Joci painting to the Banksy tag.

The Mild Mild West is probably considered one of the most famous Banksy, and is supposedly the piece of art that put him on the map.

Not a Banksy, but we thought it was amazing.

Also not a Banksy, but we liked it.

This Banksy in Stokescroft was 'framed' and covered with clear plastic.

Another funny one, but not a Banksy.

Another very famous Banksy.  The funny part was that it happened to be on the side of a sex clinic.  But, I like what it's called, "Well Hung"!

So this one is interesting.  Originally it was 'The Sniper' a picture of a sniper with a little boy holding a paper bag that he had blown up and was about to smash behind the sniper.  Unfortunately it was across the street from the Children's hospital.  We're pretty sure this was where it was.  Now there's the Queen as Ziggy Stardust.  Apparently, it is said to also be a Banksy.

Banksy did an exhibit at the Bristol Museum.  This was one of the pieces.

Also in the Bristol Museum.

Joe pointing to 'The Reaper'.

Never confirmed to be a Banksy, but many believe it is.

 

Banksy Cat and Dog.  Joe had loads of fun photographing everything as well.

August 2012

Our Allotment

We are so excited and absolutely bursting with ideas for our new allotment.  Apparently it's a miracle that we even got one as the waiting list is usually very long.  It seems luck was on our side, however, and we were called last week to claim our new little plot.  It's about (using my big foot as a measurement) 37x22, and very overgrown although mostly with grass and neglected vegetables than with weeds, so that's good.

I went to our allotment today and cleared away a bit around our giant apple tree, hoping to perhaps get some bulbs in the ground soon there.  I also sat and had a few quiet moments just thinking about all the things I want to plant and to make it a bit of a comfy place for our family to visit often.  I sat there looking at the possibilities and thought about how much my Dad would love to be here with us, although probably in the summer, working on it all with us, proud of us for the progress we made.  I love you, Dad!  And, I thought of my Mom, we always call her the slave-driver.  She is definitely a great motivator to get a job done.  I love you, too, Mom!  Missing you both so much!

Our plot is there on the open gate and then stretches to the left of the apple tree.  Our shed is the one all the way on the right and desperately needs some repairs.  Unfortunately, the greenhouse is not ours.

October 22, 2012

Get Well Soon!

Get well soon, Dad!  We all hope your surgery is speedy and successful and that you have a quick recovery!  We all love you very much and you are in our thoughts today. 

We're back, in Cheddar?

I've been having a rough time of it lately.  Life, as usual, has been a bit crazy, which always lends itself to fewer and fewer blog posts.  Also, and more importantly, I've been dealing, or trying to deal, with my Dad being sick, and me being here, and him being there, and you get the point.  I definitely have not been in the mood for making blog posts and editing pictures.  That being said, since Dad is in the hospital tomorrow, and I want him to be able to have lots of things to do and look at while in the hospital, I thought I would try and put some more posts up on the old blog, something new he hasn't seen yet.  I'm sure it will also lift my Mom's spirits, who no matter how strong and stoic she is, is struggling right now with all that is going on.  And...I'm not there.

So, usually when we go on trips, I'm a bit 'in charge' of finding interesting things to do.  I look up things on the internet and in books, magazines, etc, and try to find something that we all will enjoy.  So, on this trip (to Bath and Bristol) I found Cheddar Gorge, which is in Cheddar, UK.  It's where the original cave-aged cheddar cheese was made!  So, you've probably figured out that they have...caves!  I thought it would be fun.  And it was, but it was also one of the biggest tourist traps we'd ever been to, who would've thought?  So, there were a ton of people.  We decided on a bus tour and a cave tour.  The bus tour was neat, all 10 minutes of it (after waiting in line for a good hour!!!) and the cave was even better, educational even.  But when we were done, it was a bit like, we've had enough it's time to GO!

The highlight of my bus tour?  This gorgeous beauty who sat beside me!

Cheddar was very pretty with lots of little nooks and crannies and surprises tucked in around each corner

My super handsome boy!

We bought some REAL cheddar in Cheddar!  This was the cute store that we bought it at.  We all had a favorite, I liked the garlic herb, Joe the cave aged, and Jon the bleu.  Joci liked them ALL!

Loved these little flowers and plants that grew in the cracks of the walls.

Cheddar Gorge was impressive.  It was much bigger than the pictures let on.

August 26th, 2012