Posts from — September 2011

Cute W loves games. He’s always finding a new game to try with the girls.  He particularly likes strategy games, which can be a tough sell for them. But a new favorite with M is Small World. It’s recommended for ages 8 and up, and I think that’s pretty accurate. J finds it intimidating, but she finds many games intimidating. This is partly because Cute W and M are both cut-throat, trash-talkin’ competitors.

I finally tried it recently, and I liked it, too. Maybe because I won! Yeah, yeah, beginner’s luck. Basically it’s a world domination game.  Every games is different because there are different combinations of races (like Amazons or Dwarves) and special powers (like diplomacy or wealth). It’s sort of complicated. No, it’s really complicated. The game includes extra cheat sheets so that you can keep track of who you are and what you can do.

So, you play a round, attempting to take over as many territories in the small world as possible, and then you make money based on how much territory you’ve got. Part of the strategy is to hide your coins so the other players won’t realize how well you’re doing. If it’s obvious that you’ve got lots of money, they might gang up on you. I hid coins behind a hand towel.

I was surprised by how much fun this was. It was similar to Sleeping Queens, one of our very favorites, in two ways. First, it seems complicated, but then it seems natural and fun pretty quickly. Second, even though there’s strategy involved, there’s enough chance to make it possible for a 9-year-old to beat a 40-year-old. Which is the way M likes it.

Ugh, I was putting much of this together in front of the Emmys, and I thought that it was pretty painful to watch for the most part. Except that I did really like watching Melissa McCarthy get her tiara. I’m still not over Gilmore Girls.

Here’s what I’ve found for this week:

All Week:

• The Adirondack Balloon Festival begins on Thursday and continues through the weekend.
• Cats is playing at Cohoes Music Hall beginning on Thursday and through the weekend. Tickets range from $25 to $35.

Monday, September 19th:

• At the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library, they’re celebrating Talk Like a Pirate Day with several movies throughout the day.
• At 3:30 pm, preschoolers can celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day at Bethlehem Public Library.

Tuesday, September 20th:

• At Pottery Barn Kids you’re invited to Read Along with Curious George at 10 am.
• From 11 am to 1 pm, take a Moreau Overlook Hike at Moreau.
• From 2-3 pm at Saratoga Spa State Park, it’s Preschool Naturalists. Call to register.
• Hola La is having a free demo class at 4:30 pm for 2-5 year olds at Hillside Media Center in Niskayuna. Contact Pam at pober@niskyschools.org to register.

Wednesday, September 21st:

• From 9:30-10:30 am, it’s My Parent and Me Preschool Science Class at the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology. This is part of a 5-week session for 2- to 5-year-olds.
• At 9:30 am, there’s a Slingbabies meeting at Guilderland Library.
• Enjoy a Morning at the Museum at 10 am at the Rensselaer County Historical Society. Story time and a hands-on activity for preschoolers. $5/child, adults free.
• The New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers are playing pre-season hockey at 7 pm at the Times Union Center. Tickets are $17.50 and up.

Thursday, September 22nd:

• Take a family-friendly hike starting at 9:45 am.
• Take a Mud Pond Hike from 10 am to 12:30 pm at Moreau.
• At 10:30 am, the Bethlehem Public Library is doing On My Own, a program for preschoolers while parents browse on their own. This occurs other days as a regularly scheduled event as well.
• Drop in for some Preschool Movies at 10:30 am at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.
• From 11 am until 1 pm, the downtown Albany Public Library is sponsoring a big health fair.
• The Bethlehem Public Library is hosting a 6:30 pm Children’s Circle, a story time designed with special-needs kids in mind.
• Tom Chapin is doing a free, family-friendly concert at 7 pm. It’s on Skidmore‘s campus, but it’s open to the public.

Friday, September 23rd:

• Take a Ridge Run Hike at Moreau from 10 am to 1 pm.
• From 4-9 pm, it’s SouvlakiFest at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Albany.

I mentioned that I had bunches of peaches, Deb at Kids Out and About is dealing with piles of cabbages, and the latest produce overwhelming me is hot peppers.

Okay, so, for a while, I was doing well. We love to make salsa. And Cute W threw some peppers in with his homemade pickles. That meal that the girls wanted to avoid last night? It was this scrumptious Thai Beef with Chiles recipe.

But the peppers just. keep. coming. I don’t really like dried peppers, which would otherwise be a good option.

I decided to try to make pepper jelly. My mom’s friend used to give us a jar of pepper jelly every Christmas. Sounds weird, but it’s pretty scrumptious spread with cream cheese on a cracker.

So I purchased a bunch of supplies because I can’t bear to throw away $5 or $10 worth of peppers. But whatever. I rationalized that if I were successful, I’d have some lovely homemade jellies to give away at Christmas.

Pepper Jelly

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup ground jalapeno peppers (I might even add some more next time; the 1/4 cup version is sweet with just a little hint of spiciness)
• 1½ cup red bell peppers
• 1½ cup apple cider vinegar (or white)
• 6 ½ cup sugar
• 1 ½   boxes of Certo, or 3 pouches (You can’t cut the sugar or it will not set, although you might be able to try a lower-sugar Sure-Jell).

Directions:

• Put jelly jars through Hot Dishwasher Cycle.
• Grind or use a food processor for the red bell and jalapeno pepper (use rubber gloves & keep away from eyes). At this point, you can bag double pepper amounts and freeze it to continue later. (Oh, yeah, baby! Did that!)
• Pour ground peppers, sugar and vinegar in a very large deep soup or lobster pot.  Boil approximately 8 minutes (mixture wants to boil over so don’t take your eyes off it).
• Cool slightly and add Certo.
• Add Jelly to jars. The original recipe says to seal with paraffin wax, but if you have a new lid it’s likely treated so that it will seal. My recipe doesn’t say to do a boiling water bath, but it’s recommended by most people. But since I’m lazy and I like to live dangerously, I skipped this step. I’ll open up a test jar before I start handing it out.

So, it was a bit of a project. I pureed a bunch of red peppers.

That was easy. But the hot peppers–ugh. There were so many, and they were so hot, that I was hacking and coughing just trying to get them seeded. I had latex gloves, but I was wishing that I had an oxygen mask. It was so much trouble, in fact, that I pureed a whole bunch of additional peppers to freeze for later. We won’t need to buy peppers anytime soon.

When I’d read the recipe about how the mixture “wants to boil over,” I thought that it sounded pretty silly. And it seemed even sillier when my ingredients only reached the bottom fifth of the pot. So, cocky, I left the room to help the girls with something, and when I came back, the boiling goo was alarmingly high.

At this point, it was also smelling just like the pepper jelly I knew and loved. Hooray! And it’s pretty, too. The picture below doesn’t do it justice–not at all. It’s glowing translucent with teensy flecks of peppers all through it.

I used plenty of peppers. Ate a pepper dinner, made a batch of pepper jelly, froze enough for a second batch, along with a whole bunch of plain hot pepper puree.

So, I checked the bag full of peppers sitting on my counter, thinking it must be almost empty, right?

Uhhh. . . .

NO.

That would be a no. A big no. Which would almost be okay.

If I didn’t also have this freakin’ bag in my fridge:

Sigh. Any suggestions?

We hosted play dates today. I know it’s silly, but play dates cause me some anxiety. Part of my problem is that we just haven’t done too many. In first and second grade, M usually didn’t particularly want to invite anyone over, and when J invites a friend, it’s almost always her BFF, who’s practically a member of the family. Last year M finally bonded with a little crowd of girls, which is excellent for her, but many of them have been friends for years, and their moms are friends, and I feel like I’m still catching up and trying to keep everyone’s names straight.

Besides, it feels like everyone’s house is cooler than mine. M comes slamming back into the house and announces that she “needs” a trampoline or a Dance Dance Revolution game or something else that we don’t have at our house. Or, hey, here’s another example: remember how not too long ago I was pining over-but-not-buying duct tape? Well a couple of days after that post, M came home from a play date with a groovy duct tape clutch purse:

You know why? Because her friend’s house is cooler than mine.

And, alas, it’s not limited to play dates. This week I went to a friend’s for a visit. In fact, I’m going to quote her: “Nothing fancy–just a snack and a warm beverage and most importantly some time to catch up. . . .” Now, if I said this, I’d have water in the kettle and maybe a bowl of cut-up fruit. And I’d try to find three clean napkins. At my friend’s house it was:

A delicious spinach-and-tomato quiche, berry bread, cinnamon rolls, and a fruit salad all on a nicely-set table, with a choice of coffee or several different herbal teas. Jeepers. It was more beautiful than anything I could pull together that early in the morning, and she’s still got a toddler.

So today, our play date escalated until it was a grand total of 6 girls (including mine), and so I just did it up, baking cookies, making nachos, and I even had a craft under wraps that didn’t have to be pulled out because of the splendid weather.

By the end of it, I was feeling better. Our house isn’t grand, but it’s an easy walk from the school playground, which was fun, and it’s on a road that’s active enough that the girls could hoot at random middle-schoolers (oh, yes they did). So they enjoyed themselves without anything fancier than the tree swing (come to think of it, my underdogs are popular).

I felt good, at least, until later this evening, when M’s friend, L, invited her for a sleepover, and there was discussion of where M should have dinner. I was on the phone, and M walked over to the stove, checked out what I was making, and announced, “Yeah. . . I’d much rather eat at L’s house.” And J followed her and looked at me and said, “If I were invited, I’d rather eat at L’s house, too.”

Just went to little J’s Back-to-School Night. Her teacher’s the same person M had in first grade, and she’s just gotten better. Plus, there were slides of our children looking adorable, so what’s not to like? Except, of course, that it’s after 8 and I still haven’t had dinner yet. I’m waiting to have dinner with Cute W, and he’s reading to the girls. Wow, it’s almost like a date night. Except with crappy frozen food and possibly the tv on.

There are a ton of things going on this weekend. Seriously. And the weather’s supposed to be pretty fabulous. So. . . let’s bring it.

All Weekend

• It’s Clifton Park’s Annual Farm Fest from 10 am to 5 pm both Saturday & Sunday.
• There are Hudson River Valley Ramble events scheduled for this weekend and next weekend.
• It’s the Apple & Wine Festival at Altamont Fair Grounds. Admission is $8 at the gate for grown ups, $7 at Price Chopper. Haunted House, face painting, petting zoo, kids circus, pony rides, and more. Kids 15 and under are free.
• If you’re up for a drive, The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown is having their Harvest Festival. I recently visited The Farmers’ Museum and wrote a review on Kids Out and About. If you don’t want to click over, the basic verdict is: super-fun.
• The Irish 2000 Music & Arts Festival begins at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds at 5 pm Friday and continues on Saturday.
• There’s a Saratoga Civil War Encampment in Congress Park.
• It’s St. Gabriel’s Church’s 4th Annual Fall Festival in Schenectady.
• The town of Charlton is having a big Explore Charlton weekend, which I know because they took out a huge ad in the Gazette. A lot of it seems to take place Sunday afternoon. Alas, the Charlton website doesn’t mention it at all.

Evening of Friday, September 16th:

• It’s Art Night Schenectady from 5-9 pm.
• From 6-8 pm, it’s Garage Bands in the Garage at the Albany Public Library.

Saturday, September 17th:

• From 8-9:30 am, watch Birds Take Flight from the Albany Pine Bush to warmer climates. Pre-register; it’s $3/person or $5/family.
• It’s LarkFEST in downtown Albany from 10 am to 5:30 pm.
• From 10 am until 4 pm it’s Nature Fest at Moreau Lake State Park.
• Orenda Yoga is hosting a Family Peace Day celebration from 10:30 am to noon. It’s free.
• At 11 am, 1 pm, & 3 pm, Johnson Hall State Historic Site will enjoy A Visit from Ben Franklin. Free, but donations are appreciated.
• From noon to 4 pm, it’s the Annual Fall Festival at Five Rivers.
• Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company is dancing Undercover Playground at a variety of locations. Thanks, Alex, for passing on the details. The planned schedule is: 12:30 pm at Riverfront Park, Broadway, Rensselaer NY (off 9/20 bridge); 1:15 pm at Frear Park, 2701 Lavin Court (off Route 40/Oakwood Avenue); 2:00 pm at Prospect Park, 65 Prospect Park Road, Troy NY (off Route 2); 2:45 pm at Grafton Lakes State Park, 100 Grafton Lakes State Park Way, Grafton NY (Route 2), with a first performance at the Deerfield pavilion, second BONUS performance at Long Beach.
• Do a special Art Smart project from 1-3 pm at the New York State Museum. There’s a fee for this program, $10/non-member.
• From 2:30 to 4 pm, kids ages 8 to 13 can do Imaginative Computing for Kids at the Albany Public Library. Call to register.
• Pottery Barn Kids has a Star Wars Red Carpet Event from 3-5 pm.
• From 3-8 pm, it’s the Hannaford Hispanic Heritage Celebration at Empire State Plaza.

Sunday, September 18th:

• From 10 am to 4 pm, it’s “Wheels in the Woods” at Thacher.
• At Crailo State Historic Site, they’ll have Trade Partners, a program that highlights Native American skills and art, from noon ’til 4 pm. It’s free.
• At 1 pm, learn about Spa Science: the Chemistry of Lotion  at the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology. Ages 5 and up, $2/non-member. Pre-register.
• It’s Discovery Day at the Hyde Collection from 1-3 pm.
• From 1-3:30 pm it’s Africa Day at the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga. $5 admission.

We’ve been getting peaches from our CSA. Cute W and I are temperamentally incapable of having peaches in the house without singing that peaches song “. . . peaches come in a can, they were made by a man. . . .” Of course, then the girls protest, outraged, “Peaches don’t come in a can! They’re from trees! What are they talking about!?!” At some point we offered them some canned peaches just to end the argument. They both thought the canned peaches were weird and gross, which made us feel pleased with ourselves as nutritionally successful parents.

Mary pressed even more peaches on us, so we used them to make  a recipe that Cute W’s always called Good Pie Stuff. This recipe is from Cute W’s family. Mary said it reminded her of what she called “the national recipe of New Zealand,” pavlova. But those recipes don’t have what we consider the key ingredient (besides the fruit): saltines. The result is salty-sweet yummy goodness.

Ingredients for the bottom of the pie:

• 3 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• 15 saltine crackers, crushed

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Set the eggs out and allow them to come to room temperature before you begin.
• Beat egg whites until they are stiff. Mix in baking powder and sugar. Fold in vanilla, nuts, and crushed crackers.
• Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove and allow to cool completely before adding the topping.

Topping:

• 1 cup whipping cream
• powdered sugar to taste
• 1 or 2 cups fruit of choice: we usually use peaches, berries, or mangoes

Directions:

• Whip the cream and add a little bit of powdered sugar if you’d like it extra sweet.
• Slice fruits into bite-size pieces. This pie is really not worth making unless the fruit is very good, so make sure there’s some yummy fruit available.

For the record, Cute W says that this is too much whipped cream. Personally, I don’t believe in the phrase “too much whipped cream.”

How’s everybody adjusting to the new routine?

And why, oh why, does it always turn warm and beautiful just after all the schools open and all the pools close?

Yesterday we biked over to Central Park and playing in the hiking trails. The mosquitoes were fierce early, so we didn’t last long. Here’s M scaring the hell out of her mother by climbing along a fallen tree far overhead.

Today was J’s first ballet class. We’re trying Orlando School of Dance. We visited at an open house, and M thought that she might try jazz, but we were closed out of the class. I’m a little bitter–oh, well. Here’s J practicing her curtsey:

And with my vast stretches of free time, I took myself shopping for some jeans. You know I don’t love shopping, so I tend to have few items, and they’re all cheap. Which meant that when things started getting cool I realized that I only had one pair of jeans. And frankly, they’d seen better days. The shopping trip alone was  much better than that time that J came with me when I was swimsuit shopping, but I have to share a little pet peeve. Has anyone else noticed those little labels that stores often put with hooks these days? In Marshall’s, my choices were “definitely,” “possibly,” and “tomorrow.”

This drives me crazy because of course the store designers stay super-positive. Old Navy, at least, provides a little honesty with the “NOT FOR ME” option.

But every time I use one of these dressing rooms, I imagine more accurate hook labels. You know, I’m not opposed to some sort of  “Pretty cute” option. But for filing purposes, it would be easier if there were something along the lines of Yes/No/Maybe. So each time I try something new, I imagine the label in a colorful, splashy font stickered above the dressing room hook,  like “No freakin’ way!” or  “poorly designed” or “Makes me look fat” or  “Yikes!”

In spite of these dark thoughts, I found two or three pairs of jeans that I like. Too bad it’s warm again. . . .

I’m not feeling creative. Lucky for me, I just received an email from a reader jam-packed with info. So I’m going to mindlessly share it. Ready?

It’s from Erin McKinney. She says, “I am a massage therapist who specializes in Prenatal and Postpartum massage, childbirth educator and doula.  I am affiliated with the Family Life Center.” Here are a bunch of their offerings, from Erin:

Alright, here’s what I’ve found for this week:

All Week:

• They’re celebrating an Apple Festival at the Children’s Museum of Saratoga. They don’t have the information on the website, but according to their email, all of the regular events, like Story Art, Wiggle & Giggle, and others are apple-themed. On Wednesday from noon to 3 pm, there’s an Apple Taste Test; pre-registration required, and it’s $2/child.

Monday, September 12th:

• The Delmar La Leche League is meeting at 9:30 am at the Bethlehem Public Library.
• Make a Terrific Twig Vase at Saratoga Spa State Park from 11 am until 12:30 pm. Register; it’s appropriate for ages 4 and up and it’s $3/person or $5/family. Bring a glass jar.
• Take a Moreau Overlook Hike at Moreau Lake State Park from 5-7 pm. Fair warning: it’s described as “challenging.”

Tuesday, September 13th:

• At Pottery Barn Kids you’re invited to Read Along with Curious George at 10 am.
• From 6:30-8:30 pm, kids ages 3 to 8 can drop in for Apples, Apples at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library. Sing and read about apples, then make some applesauce.
• Take a Full Moon Hike at Moreau Lake State Park from 7-9 pm.

Wednesday, September 14th:

• At 10 am, kids up to age 6 and their families are invited to Say NO to Germs with Scrubby Bear at the Bethlehem Public Library.
• Take the Red Oak Ridge Hike from 10 am to 12:30 pm at Moreau Lake State Park.
• At 7 pm, kids up to age 6 and their families are invited to Pajamarama at the Bethlehem Public Library.

Thursday, September 15th:

• After being closed for renovations, there’s a hands-on science class at 10:30 am for ages 2 to 5 called F is for Fall at the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology.  $2/non-member. Pre-register.
• From 1-3:30 pm, you can go on a Sherman Island Kayak Trip at Moreau Lake State Park. Kayaks are available to rent on a limited basis.
• There’s a Grandparents’ Gala at 4 pm at the Colonie Public Library. Pre-register.
• From 7-8 pm at the main branch of the Albany Public Library, children ages 3 to 13 are invited to Lights, Camera, Literacy with the Albany Tulip Queen and her court. Call to pre-register.

Friday, September 16th:

• Pam (previously of Barnes & Noble) is doing her first story hour at Open Door Bookstore at 9:30 am.
• At 11 am, preschool kids can watch a film and do an activity as part of  Preschool Picnic at the Bethlehem Public Library.
• From 12-1 pm at the Albany Public Library,there’s an Albany Symphony Prevue.
• There’s a Saratoga Civil War Encampment begins with set-up starting at 3 pm today and continues through the weekend in Congress Park.
• It’s Art Night Schenectady from 5-9 pm.
• The Irish 2000 Music & Arts Festival begins at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds at 5 pm Friday and continues on Saturday.
• It’s St. Gabriel’s Church’s 4th Annual Fall Festival begins at 5 pm today and continues through the weekend in Schenectady.
• From 6-8 pm, it’s Garage Bands in the Garage at the Albany Public Library.

Do you have random things that you Google once in a while? I do. One of them was my search for the lyrics to a song that I learned at Increase Miller Elementary School, written by one of my teachers, Mr. Kahn. In the past I’d looked online and even contacted the school looking for the lyrics, to no avail.

But recently I found a  group on Facebook that was formed just to remember all the lyrics. Yes-the song is that good. It’s a catchy little ditty called “The Presidents Song,” and if you learn it, you, too, “can name all the Presidents/All the White House residents/Of the United States.” Hooray! I was so excited to find it.

I don’t know how to write music, and I wish I did. But if you know me, I’ll sing it to you. My kids love the song. And I’ve used it for years to remember the order of the presidents, even though things got murky around Millard Fillmore. People’s versions differed a bit, so this is not absolutely exact, but it’s my best guess after gleaning from all the different recollections. Mr. Kahn kept updating the song long after I graduated elementary school, and there was a rumor that he got as far as George W. Bush before he died. I didn’t find that very last line. The Clinton line is Mr. Kahn’s, and I added the very last one on Bush & Obama. Here it is:

 The Presidents Song by Jeff Kahn

Washington, then John Adams, followed by Jefferson, number three,
Madison, Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Jackson (Old Hickory)
Martin Van Buren, a little obscure, and he was number eight
William Henry Harrison died too early. . . or came too late.

Chorus:

So you need not be hesitant–
You can name all the Presidents,
All the White House residents
Of the United States!

In a little while there came John Tyler, James K. Polk was next,
Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, check any history text.
Franklin Pierce, then James Buchanan, Lincoln did supplant
When he was gone, came Andrew Johnson, then U. S. Grant.

[Chorus]

Rutherford Hayes, then count the days of James A. Garfield’s run.
Chester Arthur followed right after, then Grover Cleveland won.
Benjamin Harrison stayed 4 years but Cleveland’s support was firm–
Again he ran to be the only man with split presidential terms.

[Chorus]

William McKinley’s luck spread thinly, shot by a mad man’s gun.
Theodore Roosevelt ran two terms and William Taft for one.
Woodrow Wilson went to the Front, then Warren G. Harding died,
And after Calvin Coolidge, we had Hoover’s landslide.

[Chorus]

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, to Eisenhower’s eight-year stay,
When John F. Kennedy died in Dallas, next came LBJ.
Richard M. Nixon, Watergate’s victim, pulled out of Vietnam,
Gerald R. Ford, then James Earl Carter suckered by Iran.

[Chorus]

Ronald Reagan, Star Wars fadin’, Hollywood’s greatest ham,
George Bush cracked the whip on Iraq, but couldn’t drive out Saddam.
William Clinton strayed with an intern, nearly got the sack,
“W” Bush next, then Obama, first president who’s black!

[Chorus]

. . . Now, that’s what I call a teaching legacy!

- – - – - – - – - -

In other news, my struggles to enjoy the many offering of my CSA continue, and I have to strongly recommend the Grilled Coconut Kale that I found in an old New York Times Magazine. It is seriously tasty.

I took this picture, then sat down and ate this entire plate. When I was grilling I was concerned about burning it, and when I make it again, I won’t be so fretful. The slightly-more-done pieces were absolutely the tastiest.

Update: I made more of this and presented it to my family with great fanfare and enthusiasm. . . . Alas, no one else was particularly thrilled with it. And by not “particularly thrilled” I mean that perhaps there were some muted gags. But I swear, it’s delicious. The kale chips, just baked with some olive oil and season salt, were more popular wit the rest of the family.