Week in Review: Ah spring! a bluebird has been patronizing our finch feeder, but we haven't been able to get a picture of him because he is an elusive bird and nervously avoids the paparazzi (Bob hiding on the deck with the camera) Listen to me carrying on about birds at our birdfeeder. Man, oh man, are we getting old! The lilacs are glorious this year, and Bob and Rob found a few mushrooms. I'm still working on the English minor. I had a final on Tuesday, and then started on my 19th century British fiction class. I read Pride and Prejudice in two days. I just subbed one day and, we had another FIRE DRILL! On a sad note, Bob's Aunt Laverne passed away and we made a quick trip to Steelville, IL for her funeral. She was 93 years old and a wonderful aunt to all of us.












Rob: Money-Making Man
Rob has always been a bit of an entrepreneur. His knack for making money started early - when he was about three, and he discovered that he could color pictures and sell them to me. He could also glue rocks together and sell them to me. I think once he sold me a toad. He used to root around in the closet checking coat and jacket pockets for money. He'd come and tell me he found two dollars in my coat, and "did I need that money, by the way?" (wait, I think he still might do that)




On vacations, Rob didn't see too much of the Smithsonian, or Jefferson's home at Monticello, or any Civil War battlefield because he was too busy checking pop machines, public telephones, and the ground for money. My very favorite Rob-money-making-scheme? He kept a spare pair of shorts in his high school gym locker. If some poor kid forgot his shorts, for the fee of one dollar, he could rent Rob's extra pair. Yikes.








"Frivolity? in 30 years married, I can't remember a single frivol." Richard Bucket



Recipe of the Week:
I made a Pavlova on Sunday afternoon. The Pavlova was created in 1935 by a chef in Australia, to celebrate the visit of the great Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. Some say it was really invented in New Zealand, but I don't know about that. It's a meringue shell filled with whipped cream and fruit. Very light and tasty - great for summer.

Pavlova
3 egg whites
1 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat egg whites until stiff. Add sugar, 1/3 cup at a time beating well between each addition. Beat until the mixture is stiff and shiny. Fold in cornstarch, vinegar, and vanilla. Pile the meringue onto the parchment paper. Form a 9 inch round circle with the meringue and make sure there is hollow in the center. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hour - until pale brown and dry. Allow the shell to cool then top with whipping cream and fresh fruit.
I don't bother buying superfine sugar - regular sugar is okay.

Next week on the Blog -LET'S CELEBRATE RHUBARB!!!!!!


"When you die, if you get a choice between regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if not, ummmm boy."
Jack Handey