Thundershirt

This is our little pup, Bell. She's a 5 pound toy fox terrier. She's snuggly and smart and loves to hide under blankets and in small, tight, warm places to sleep. Her favorite spot is next to my thigh in the chair all narrow and small.

She wakes every morning ready to be sent outside to do her "business" then comes in all excited for her morning Greenie. She "yells" at the boys every morning when they leave for the bus. She loves to go "bye bye" in the car or run around in our fenced yard like a wild critter. She's very fast. She also "talks" to me using her whines, whimpers, and ears, then hitting me with her paws when I say the right word for what she wants. She's very cute.

Bell, however, hates thunder. She begins sitting on my feet like velcro about 30 min before a storm becomes known to us. She then hides or wants to be carried around panting and shaking and looking like a gremlin. A few weeks ago, I posted a question on The Well Trained Mind boards looking for some help for Bell in a storm especially when I'm not home.

Some wonderful person suggested a "Thundershirt" which wraps her tight and makes her feel secure in situations that normally make her nervous. I have to admit. I was very sceptical but I ordered one and tried it during the next storm. It worked. She was still a velcro dog but she wasn't panting and looking like her eyes would bulge out of the sockets. So, I would highly recommend a Thundershirt to anyone with a dog that gets freaked by thunder.

Above is Tinky Bell modelling her Thundershirt...which was a hard photo to get since she thinks about as much of a camera as she does lightning and thunder.

Pork, the other white meat...

Yesterday was extremely busy with the boys home from school for Columbus Day which was nice because I got to sleep in until 7:40am...really nice because Haley and I didn't get home and into bed until midnight the night before. Haley had a violin lesson so got up and practiced for a bit before we headed out. After violin, we drove the boys to Poppop's house for their daily workout. They are both getting very strong and have been very dedicated to working out. I had about 1 hour 15 min to cook and eat dinner before taking Newt and his friend to wrestling. This recipe worked great.

San Francisco Pork Chops:

6 pork chops (boneless centercut works best with fat removed)
2-3 cloves minced garlic

Sauce: (combine in small bowl)
2 Tbsp oil
1 cup dry sherry
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Brown chops on both sides in a large pan on med-high heat. Remove. Add a little oil to pan if needed then saute 2-3 cloves minced garlic for 1 min. Place chops back in skillet then pour sauce over. Cover tightly and simmer for 30 min. Remove chops to platter.

Stir 8 tsp cornstarch into 1/2 cup water and add to sauce. Cook until sauce thickens. Pour over chops. Serve over hot buttered egg noodles. Enjoy!

Irish Music...

 I have come to the conclusion that for my daughter, no amount of Irish music is too much. On Sunday, she took a 1.5 hour fiddle seminar with Seamus Connolly, had an hour lesson with Brian, went back for another 1.5 hour seminar with Seamus then after a quick meal, listened to Brian play a concert joining him in a tune set at the end, played 3 sets of tunes on her own for the Student Showcase, then played in the session pictured above for another hour before we pulled her away to drive home.

Haley had a lot of fun taking classes with her fiddling friends. Alex goes to Next Generation Kids with Haley but she hasn't seen Jayne since Ireland.

Recipe of the week...

My friend, Kate, brought it to my attention that I have been posting recipes every Tuesday based on what we've eaten the night before. She also informed me that she has been trying those recipes so now I feel pressured to continue to provide her with some dinner inspiration.

The problem is that....I, um, didn't cook tonight. We had leftovers from a party we attended yesterday. So, I am pulling out one of our favorite recipes that also brings back memories of our trip a couple summer's ago to Yellowstone National Park. While at the park we did a dinner where Dylan, Newt, and I rode on horseback while Daddy and Haley rode a chuckwagon out for a campfire dinner. We thought the draw was the horses but it turned out that the food was excellent. I found this recipe when I returned home and we have it every now and then. It makes a great meal with a salad or can be a sidedish (or a great dish for covered dish suppers).

Roosevelt Western Beans

1lb. ground beef or sausage (I double the recipe and use a combo of both)
1/2 lb. bacon chopped in small pieces
1 onion diced
16oz. can pork and beans
15.5 oz. can kidney beans drained
17 oz. can lima beans drained
15 oz. can butter beans drained
16 oz. can spicy pinto beans (sometimes hard to find)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. cidar vinegar
1.5 Tbsp. mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
salt and pepper to taste

Brown bacon and meat. Drain and add onion. Cook until soft. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bake at 325 deg for 45 min (+) or put into crock pot and cook all day.

I didn't cook dinner tonight but I did bake an apple pie. Apples are definitely in season. Did I ever mention that I love fall??

French Apple Pie

Crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. Crisco
2-3 Tbsp cold water

Mix salt and flour. Cut in Crisco until resembles small pebbles. Add water a tbsp at a time until crust comes together. Roll out between 2 pieces floured wax paper and put into deep dish pie pan.

8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
dash salt

Mix together and put into prepared crust. Top with crumb topping:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup firm stick butter

Cut butter into flour and sugar. Bake 50 minutes being sure to cover top with foil for last 15 minutes to prevent excess browning.

Enjoy!!

Writing

While visiting the historic areas of Philadelphia on Friday, Haley and I purchased a quill pen and ink set with parchment paper. She was very excited to try her hand at writing and is busily writing a letter to her friend Sofia. She practiced on one piece of paper because she found that if she pressed too hard, the ink splattered. She's doing fairly well but I am not sure if we have the best mix for the ink. We'll get it in the mail once it dries.

A Tale of Two Orchestras...

Haley is in two orchestras this year and they couldn't be more different.

Last year she did Temple Classic Strings Orchestra and is doing it again this year. The conductor is completely child-friendly and very calm. The orchestra is very small (20 kids total) and they are all around Haley's age...8-11yo mostly. Rehearsals are an hour. The music is relatively easy to learn but not anything we've heard before. Last year, the kids didn't talk much to each other but this year there are some new kids and a few are very friendly. Haley's friend Natalie is there in 1st violins and sitting right in front of her, for now. The conductor moves kids around for different pieces and there really isn't competition for seating. It is a learning environment.

Haley is also doing PRYSM this year. This is a very large strings orchestra with 16 seats in just 1st violins alone not even counting 2nd violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. It fills an entire room. Rehearsals are two hours and include sectional practices with sectional coaches as well as the conductor with the whole group. The conductor was a top Philadelphia Orchestra violinist and is very strict and not very warm and fuzzy. He listed the Don'ts list for the orchestra and Haley was a bit taken aback.

Haley is definately among the youngest at PRYSM. Her violin teacher told her to expect to be at the back of the 2nd violins but the preliminary seating chart had her as the 4th seat in 1st violins. Seating is competitive so she may not stay there. They have seating auditions and the final seating arrangements will be made in a couple weeks. There are many, many kids closer to her brother's ages than her's especially in 1st violins. Haley caused a bit of a stir among the parents due to her seating assignment. The music is much more difficult but the pieces are more common orchestral pieces and Haley likes them.

I am amazed at how much her reading has improved since last year. She did well during the initial readings at both orchestra rehearsals and is doing a good job learning  her pieces.

Touring Philadelphia Old City

Haley and I have spent a lot of time in Philadelphia the past couple years. Usually on weekends with someplace to go and little time to get there. On Friday, Haley had a very early violin lesson then orchestra in the city in the evening so rather than drive back and forth all day, we thought it would be a good day to see the sites in the city.

Haley had a list of things she'd like to see...some of the buildings we've walked past on Sunday late afternoon when heading to the Plough and Stars and the Liberty Bell. We parked then walked through the Independence Visitor's Center and came upon one of Haley's adult musician friends dressed in period clothing playing his hammer dulcimer.

We stopped to listen and chat then headed on to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Ben Franklin's house (or what's left of it...basically the hole for the privy), the Ben Franklin Underground Museum which had a nice video of Ben Franklin's life, Carpenter Hall, and a Military Museum. We enjoyed the old buildings and bits of buildings. They are rebuilding Washinton's house when president and there's a neat exhibit of a workman's home...way small.

Haley and I had fun imagining what it would be like to live back then and thinking about walking streets and into buildings where those great men who founded our country walked. It was a nice day!

Haley and I are heading toward the American Revolution in another week or two so the trip served many purposes.