Owls

The owls are back after a three-month absence.  There's two out back right now, maybe fifty feet up in separate trees, loudly calling our their hoo-hoos in the dark.

State of the Farm

Ash and I are watching the State of the Union address. Erin is walking around in her Elmo underpants with an old cell phone pressed to her ear, pretending to talk to her cousin Brendan: "Yeah, so, uh huh... we watching movie..."

Me: "Hey, Erin, tell Brendan that we're watching Obama."
E: "Uh-huh, yeah, Brendan we watching Old MacDonald."

Julia, you are a saucy woman!

Recipes attempted:

Poulet Poele a l'estragon* (Casserole-roasted chicken with tarragon)

Epinards a la creme* (Creamed spinach)

Grain Dauphinois* (Scalloped potatoes with milk, cheese, and a pinch of garlic)

Yes, these were all delicious. Not perfect - the potatoes were supposed to absorb all the milk and did not. So there was a bit of soupy milk in the pan after scooping out the slices. But the potatoes were creamy, well seasoned, and delicious. The spinach, contrary to how I've always made it, were basically stewed in some flour and broth resulting in a silky spinach that wasn't heavy in the slightest. The chicken was wonderful. Again, I was surprised by how simple the recipes were. And these were all keepers. Amazingly, less than 1 stick of butter was used for all of these dishes!

For the record - Erin did not take even one taste of any of these dishes. Guess she's not into French cooking.

* There are all sorts of accents on these words - I have no idea how to type them in. Suggestions?

E-R-11

When we ask Erin how to spell her name, it's inevitably "E, R, eleven". Which I guess makes some good sense if you're two and you take a close look at "ERIN". 

Three months ago she would reply "E, R, Erin", which makes good sense if you're listening to the last two letters.

Erin woke up today and wanted to know what the words on my shirt were.
E: "What dat spell?"
B: "Well I don't know, why don't you tell me?"
Then pointing to each letter in the word "Turner" on my shirt:
E: "E, R, eleven, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, eleventeen."

"It's a dolphin!"

So exclaimed Erin as she looked down in her little potty chair, after producing, for the third time, the type of deposit that earns her some chocolate.

Wordless Wednesday

Reason #563, 873 and 99991 why I love my husband

* He encourages Erin to clean up the noodles she threw on the floor by bringing the trash can over, holding her upside down, and letting her pick them up and throw them away.

* He does play-stroller races with Erin: she pushing a baby doll, he pushing a sock monkey. Sometimes she wins.

* He fixed the front door handle, which wasn't latching. In 10 minutes. And didn't brag.