Not to Scale

Some of our flowers...

Dictionary Moment: Snallygaster

The word "snallygaster" caught my eye as I flipped through the SOED the other day.  It looked like a fun word to say, but the definition really got my attention: "a mythical monster supposedly found in Maryland."

Maryland?  I had to learn more.  Wikipedia reports that the snallygaster was reputed to be a dragon-like blood-sucking monster, terrorizing Catoctin Mountain.

I was born and raised in Maryland, and went camping on Catoctin Mountain.  When we got lost on a hike there, my friends and I focussed our giggling concern on running afoul of security at Camp David.  No one ever warned us about the local dragon.  No, years later and a continent away, I learn about it from a foreign dictionary.  I feel safe, but cheated.  Clearly, I'm going to have to do some more research on the snallygaster.

Do you know your local monster?

Egg Hunt

D2 was very excited about hunting for Easter eggs.  He kept asking us to hide them, reminding us, and even giving us hints about good hiding places.  So when we finally banished the boys upstairs, we snuck out the back door.  They had no idea.  After we returned, they came downstairs and started looking in the usual spots in the living room.  Usually they ask for the rules, to know which rooms to search.  This time D2 just asked if the eggs were "hidden around the house."  Which they were, in a manner of speaking.  Ha!  We surprised them.

Seeking eggs outside was a challenge, but the boys rose to the occasion. 

D2 found this one on the fence, with only a little prompting.

I don't know if the Caterpillar remembers the birds that built a nest in this bush, but it seemed like a good place for an egg.

The Caterpillar walked right over this egg, kicking the leaf off and leaving it in Rollo's sight.

Scoot was feeling rather dramatic.

We used regular food coloring to dye the eggs this year, with some interesting results.  The blue-green was everyone's favorite color.

D2 made a portrait of his favorite one-eyed monster, so the Caterpillar made one with his company's logo.

Everyone agreed that this looks like a dragon egg,

and Rollo drew an Easter dragon to go with it.  I wouldn't want to steal an egg from her, though.  Yikes!

Angelic Eggs

A few years ago, my husband's doctor diagnosed him with Laryngopharyngeal Reflux, or LPR.  It's sort of like heartburn, but the acid goes all the way into his throat, with dire consequences.  The doctor sent him home with a list of foods that could possibly trigger his reflux:  onions, peppers, garlic, tomatoes, chocolate, curry . . . pretty much everything that makes eating worthwhile.  It was overwhelming, and we had some exceedingly bland dinners for a while. 

By experimenting with recipes, we found that many of these foods are not that dangerous for my husband.  Tomatoes are not a problem.  Onions seem to be all right, in reduced amounts.  Chocolate is a tonic, not a trigger.  Pepper, however, is right out.  And mustard.  I don't care for mustard, myself, but my husband loves it.  And it really makes him feel awful.  With admirable restraint, the poor guy eats his sandwiches with wasabi, instead (which, curiously, the doctor recommends).  But he misses mustard.

Which brings us to Easter.  We enjoy coloring hard-boiled eggs, hunting for them, and eating them, deviled, for our Easter feast.  My husband thought he'd have to give up deviled eggs, depending as they usually do on mustard.  But I knew there must be a better way. 

And there is--with these ingredients:

hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, and basil.

Just as you would for deviled eggs, remove the shells, cut the eggs in half, and remove the yolks to a bowl.

Add enough mayo to achieve your preferred level of creaminess.

Then stir in basil, to taste. 

Fresh basil, finely chopped, would be even better, but I never have any around at Easter time.

Scoop the yolk mixture back into the whites.  I garnished these with fresh chives, which are growing in my garden, and seem to be safe for my husband.  Instead, you could add parsley, or more basil.

Happy Easter!

Sunbreak

Flowering Quince

This has been a rainy Saturday.  It rained all morning and half of the afternoon, long enough to cancel baseball practices and keep us inside.  Which was a blessing, really.  No pesky secondary commitments to tempt us away from General Conference.  But we were a bit jealous of the blue sky over Salt Lake City.

And then the sun came out.  I went outside to bask in its warmth, to admire the blossoms as they shook off the raindrops.  I watched puffy white clouds hurrying along in the wake of their gray counterparts.  It was glorious.

The world can be a gray place, with difficulties and bad news raining down around us.  But, just as the sun is always on the other side of the clouds, divine truth and love are always ready to shine down upon us.  We just have to break through the gloom and look up.  Going to church is a great opportunity to look up, Conference doubly so.  And why wait?  Personal prayer and scripture study can brighten any day.  Let's open our windows to the light of Christ!

Little Writer

D2's kindergarten teacher has been providing the class with writing prompts, and D2 is rising to the occasion.  Earlier, she challenged him to fill every line on the paper, so he'd put one word of his brief sentence on each line.  Now he is waxing more eloquent. 

In this one, a girl wants a sandwich, but has no bread.  The class discussed her options before writing.  Most of the children would go to the store; a few would decide to eat something else.  Here is D2's solution:

"She could make home made bread in the breadmaker and waited for the bread to get ready."

Well, that's what we would do, if we planned ahead.  It's a long wait, but worthwhile.

As telling as that composition was, I think this one is even more telling.  D2 brought home a library book called Marley Goes to School, by John Grogan, in which a loyal dog gets through many obstacles (literally) to follow his little girl to class.  One scene stayed on D2's mind, and some time later, I found this:

"So Marley dug up Daddy's daffodils and Mommy's violets" (sticking to the story, so far)

"and Baby Louie's mandrakes. 

Baby Louie said, 'Mom, give me my milk plug.'"

(the mandrakes say "skreem")

What does that reveal about our family culture?  "Milk plug" is the name Rollo invented for a pacifier when D2 was a baby.  Seems rather obvious, once you think about it.  And what would be more comforting for a budding herbologist?

Once, there was a snowman

It was small, small, small to begin with.

And it melted without benefit of direct sunlight.

But after waiting patiently through a snowless winter,

D2 finally made a snowman.