Kings Dominion

A little more then two weeks ago, Charlotte and I joined Jon and some of his orchestra students on a trip to Kings Dominion. Kings Dominion is an amusement park near Richmond, Virginia. We were so excited that Charlotte was finally old enough to take on the trip. (Evan was having a blast at Nana and Grandpa's house that weekend... pics to follow tomorrow)
So, we boarded the coach bus Friday afternoon. Charlotte had snacks, activities to keep her busy, her pillow pet, and two seats to herself. She could not have been more excited.

We were in the very front of the bus and Charlotte loved the view of traffic from so high up. We got stuck in a bit of traffic around 9pm just before we got to our hotel. When Charlotte started getting as frustrated with the traffic as our bus driver, we knew she needed to fall asleep. Jon sat with her and sang to her while rubbing her hair and within about 5 minutes, he had her asleep and drooling on his arm.

Our hotel room was so nice! It's one of the only suites I've stayed in during my life... I think. Charlotte and I shared the king sized bed since Jon would have to get up really early to take the orchestra to their performance.

When Charlotte and I woke up the next morning, we watched Home Alone together and then jumped on the bed.... a special hotel family tradition I'm carrying on.

Even though the breakfast buffet was really exciting for Charlotte, she still couldn't wait for it be time to leave for Kings Dominion.

Finally! We were there and it wasn't raining. We lucked out and it stayed cloudy and a little misty most of the day.

Charlotte loved the characters! She must get that from Jon. I'm not a fan of anyone in a mask or a costume that covers their face. I stayed back and volunteered for picture duty unless Jon forced me to.

The top of Eiffel Tower was hard to see in the thick clouds.

Charlotte's first ride was Snoopy's Driving School. I was encouraged that she stopped at stop signs and seemed to be a careful driver. Let's hope that holds true 10 years from now.

Jon took her on her first mini roller coaster and you can tell by her face that she wasn't a fan. It was a tiny coaster and only went about 8 feet high but it was fast and jerky. She was a little nervous about rides for a little while after that.

She enjoyed the rides in the kid section the most. She didn't mind that they were slower and not as "exciting". She's always been a cautious child and I was not at all surprised that she didn't go for thrill rides. There were hardly any other children in the kid's area so Charlotte got to ride each ride as many times as she liked.

She rode the "Jeep Tours" four times that day.

Her green hot rod blends in with the pretty roses.

I was surprised how much she liked the little bumper cars. She bumped into quite a few other kids and laughed so hard each time.

We took a little break from Kidville to watch Jon ride a few of the rides he loves most.......

Roller coasters!! Jon is in the left front seat getting ready to ride the Volcano. I'm not sure why anyone would want to wait for an hour in line to be shot out of a volcano. Jon says it's fun but I not buying it.

While we waited for Jon, I convinced Charlotte to ride the Scrambler with me. It's one of my favorite rides. It slings you around as if you're going to hit the wall but just before you do, you sling shot the other way toward the other wall. It's fast and so much fun. I was worried that Charlotte would be scared but afterward she said she liked it but didn't want to ride it again.

Do you see that insanely tall roller coaster? That's The Intimidator. It's a 300 foot drop at an 85 degree angle! It goes up to 90 miles an hour! Jon said that after riding that roller coaster, it makes all of the other coasters he's ever ridden seem like sissy rides.

We rode the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Luckily the fog had started to lift a bit so we had a decent view of the area.

We were so excited that my brother, Chris, was able to meet us at the park later on that day. Jon had an extra ticket and Chris didn't mind making the drive to ride some rides with us. So, Charlotte and I watched the fountains while we waited for Chris.

Charlotte and Chris worked together to drive on the Blue Ridge Tollway. Charlotte was in charge of the steering wheel while Chris pushed the accelerator.

They make a great team.

Chris and I rode the Flying Eagles (formerly Parrot Troopers).... another one of my favorite rides.

Then we all went on the carousel. This carousel is from the early 1900's and is just how I remember it as a kid. We used to come to Kings Dominion every year.

Chris and Jon took the ride very seriously.

How funny is that little brother of mine?

Next we all rode the Ferris Wheel. This Ferris Wheel was only added to the park in the past few years. I have to admit that I was a little nervous when we kept stopping near the top to let other passengers on. I don't consider myself afraid of heights but I felt just a wee bit vulnerable up so high.

After the Ferris Wheel, Charlotte and I sent the boys off to ride a roller coaster while Charlotte got her much anticipated ice cream cone. It was nearly as big as her head. I really didn't think she'd be able to eat it all but she proved me wrong. She ate every last big of that ice cream cone.

Jon and Chris really have a hard time getting along, don't you think?

Next Chris and I went on the Wave Swinger. This is my all time favorite ride. When you ride it, you feel like you're flying. You can swing your feet and put your arms out and you may as well be a bird. I can remember riding this ride with my mom and sister. We rode countless times in a row one time since no one was waiting in line to ride it.

I love looking at the pictures painted on the outside. I love that they've stayed the same.

Jon took Charlotte on the big bumper cars. I couldn't get a clear picture of them because they were moving so fast.

Around 7:00 that evening, a storm rolled in. We all made a mad dash for the bus and left the park sooner then planned. Even though Jon didn't get to ride The Intimidator at night, we had such a wonderful day. Charlotte kept telling Jon thank you for taking her along on this trip. She felt so special that day getting to have all of our attention. It was a great day.

Strawberry Season

Strawberry season is almost over here in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Last weekend I bought 7 gallons of strawberries (for $10/gallon) from the farmers market. These strawberries, along with many other local strawberries that were for sale, are pesticide free. That's fantastic since conventional strawberries are listed as one of the "dirty dozen" (fruits and vegetables most highly contaminated with pesticides).

I'm stocking the freezer so that we'll have strawberries to enjoy the rest of the year. We don't buy strawberries in December. December strawberries come from far away places and because of that, they're picked when they're pink in order to make the journey. A pink, hard strawberry is not a strawberry as far as I'm concerned. Nothing compares to the flavor of strawberries picked at the peak of the season.

I froze 5 1/2 gallons of whole strawberries. I froze them whole this year so I can use them in smoothies, baked goods, or puree them to make freezer jam later in the year.

Come January, it may be winter outside, but it will always be summer in our freezer.

I Don't Remember Planting This

Yesterday I woke up to the kid's wading pool in the garden. We had a storm during the night and the wind tossed it over the garden fence. Luckily it seemed to land in the perfect spot to damage as little as possible. It broke a few bean seedlings but that was it. I guess I'll start anchoring the pool after the kids are done with it.

Big Batch Whole Wheat Raisin Bread

I have a copy of "Stocking Up" from 1977. It's a fantastic guide for preserving food and it has a lot of great recipes using produce and other healthy ingredients. I recently tried the Raisin Bread recipe from the book and the results are delicious! It makes 4 loaves so after I sliced each loaf, I wrapped 3 tightly with plastic wrap and foil and put them in the freezer. They freeze really well.

This recipe makes a slightly dense, moist loaf that makes perfect toast.

Raisin Bread (from "Stocking Up")

1 medium potato

1 quart of water

2 Tbsp. butter (I used coconut oil)

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. yeast

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup honey

11-12 cups flour (I used mostly white whole wheat and added 3 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten)

1 pound raisins

2 tsp. cinnamon

Peel potato and cut into pieces. Cook until tender in quart of water. Mash potato, return it to the water in which it was cooked, and add butter and salt. Cool until luke warm.

Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Add honey.

Add 6 cups of flour to the potato mixture (in a large bowl) , beating until smooth. Mix in the yeast. Beat thoroughly. Cover and let rise for about 2 hours.

Work in remaining flour to make a soft dough. Stir in raisins and spices. Knead until smooth on flour board. Put dough in a greased bowl and grease top. Cover and let rise until double.

Punch down, and divide into 4 portions (the book calls for 3 but I found 4 works best). Place each in an oiled loaf pan. Cover and let rise again until double. Bake in a preheated 375* oven for about 40 minutes.

This recipe has been linked up to Simple Lives Thursday.

A Little Chalk And A Lot of Imagination

Charlotte and Evan created a chalk town a few weeks ago. They had roads, houses, and stores. Creating their town and driving around with their trucks consumed much of one afternoon and evening. Lately I've been making encouraging them to stay outside each afternoon until dinner is ready. It's so good for them. The fresh air and exercise gives them such an appetite. It's great for their brother/sister relationship too. I love that they're close enough in age to be able to really play well together. They've loved their time outside. Every few days Charlotte will tell me she doesn't want to play outside but within a few minutes, she's running through the yard playing a new game with Evan and begging to go back outside after dinner.

It's also been great for Jon and I. We have time to talk while I cook dinner. We can actually have a conversation about our day without interuption.

I started this "outside until dinner" time early in the Spring so they could get used to it as summer approached. When we have a hot day, I send them out with buckets of water and rags to wash their ride-on cars. This summer I plan to fill the wading pools most days to give them a chance to splash around when they get hot. Of course, in the summer they'll be outside earlier in the morning and later in the evening to avoid the hotest part of the day.

I think it's about time kids spent more time outside and less time playing battery-powered toys that do the thinking for them. Fresh air, sunshine, and time without parent-directed activities.... important parts of childhood, if you ask me.

A Pair of Pairs

Here are two pairs of socks that I knit for myself recently. The wonderful thing about self-patterning sock yarn is that I don't have to switch yarns to create a pattern. I knit with the same yarn the whole time and pattern almost magically happens. The yarn is dyed in such a way that it creates stripes and all sorts of other designs. These socks are knit with yarn that has a bit of bamboo fiber in them. The yarn is Universal Yarn, Bamboo Sock yarn Color 275 50% superwash merino, 25% Bamboo, 25% Nylon. The yarn is soft and very smooth. I knit this pair a bit smaller then I usually do at 60 stitches around. I like the snug fit. They were knit toe up.

Socks as art? Well, apparently, yes! This yarn is dyed to represent artwork. This pattern is called "The Road To Socialism" A variation of the work of Hundertwassers" ( Work 833 , 75% Superwash Wool, 25% polyamid).

Here is Hundertwasser's "The Road to Socialism". I can see the same colors and similar patterns in the socks. Does this mean that I'm making a political statement when I wear them? I knit the socks toe up using 64 stitches around.

Salad Season & Nana's Salad Dressing Recipe

Thanks to many days of rain and cooler then average temperatures, my spring garden has doubled or tripled in size in a matter of a week or two. I've been trying to enjoy every minute of cool, Spring weather knowing it won't be long before the hot weather returned. It's salad season at our house right now. I have salad up to my eyeballs! I took these pictures this morning just before I harvested about 2-3 bushels of salad greens and spinach! I'm so glad I planted so many cool weather crops. I had no idea that our spring would last this long when I planted those seeds. I got very lucky. I told Jon the other day that this Spring garden more then makes up for the loss of our garden last year (due to extreme heat).

The kohlrabi is getting so big. I suppose I should have spaced them out a bit more but they seem to be doing okay. I have the bed edged with spinach. I'm hoping to be harvesting our first kohlrabi in a week or two.

The carrots are growing well, I hope. I've been seeing a lot of mole/vole trails nearby so I hope I won't be disappointed when it comes time to harvest carrots this year.

The sugar snap peas are only about a week away from our first harvest. Charlotte is the most excited about this because she says, "I like garden sugar snap peas better then the stores".

On the left side of the garden I have two beds of hodge-podge planting because I tried to fill in any bare spots with transplants and second seedings. I have 2 purple cauliflower plants mixed in with my carrots and mustard greens.

In the front is my lettuce bed that is producing like gangbusters. I have Ermosa Butterhead lettuce in front of the tall Romaine lettuce. These two varieties are becoming my favorites. I love the crunch from the romaine and the upright nature of it keeps it out of the dirt. Ermosa Butterhead is beautiful and so delicate.

Charlotte saw this Ermosa Butterhead lettuce the other day and said it reminded her of a flower.

My green beans are starting to grow and my swiss chard leftover from last year is starting to bolt.

The snow peas are starting to climb their support and the spinach row in front of them is doing really well.

I'm hopeful that we may get to harvest purple cauliflower this year. Last year it didn't form heads at all due to our 90* temps that started in April.

In the front of the bed I have a mix of spinach and Musclen greens. The arugula in that greens mix is really strong and I don't care for the taste of it. I'm giving most of the Musclen greens to Jon's coworkers in hopes that they like strong tasting greens.

My broccoli is really growing now after the past few rains we've gotten. I have a few varieties of lettuce planted in with them. I love the contrast of colors between the plants.

In the back garden, a few left-behind potatoes from last year have sprouted on their own. I hope they'll produce decent potatoes.

I've planted a few jalapeno pepper plants in with them so Jon can make his own salsa this year. I don't like salsa or spicy foods so those pepper plants are all for Jon.

My back garden bean bed was really spotty with the germination but I think that was due to my using 2 year old seeds. I hate to waste things so I used the seeds I already had but I think I would have gotten better results buying new seed.

Here is just the spinach I harvested this morning.

So, since we've been eating salad almost morning, noon, and night lately.... with no signs of slowing down.... we needed a great dressing. Hands down, our favorite dressing is one that my mom taught me to make as a kid. It's the only dressing that my stomach seems to like (no burping...sorry) and the kids love it. So, now that I've given up the secret family's spaghetti sauce, I guess it's only fitting that I give out the secret to Nana's Salad Dressing.

Nana's Salad Dressing

1 part mayonnaise (I use my homemade... it's really easy!)

1 part ketchup (I use Hunt's since it doesn't have HFCS)

chili powder (I use about 1/2 tsp per cup of total dressing)

water (just enough to make the dressing pourable or skip the water if you're topping potatoes, hamburgers, etc.)

Mix all of the ingredients together and enjoy!

This dressing is also wonderful on baked potatoes, hamburgers, french fries, as a veggie dip... the sky is the limit.

I've linked up with Simple Lives Thursday.

By the way, if any of you are local readers and have a craving for salad... let me know. I'd be HAPPY to give you some greens!