17 years

That's right.  Brian and I have officially been together for 17 years.  Wow.

We celebrated by getting a sitter (Awesome Anna!) and took BART to Lake Merritt in Oaktown for some walking. Brian took more pictures than me, so hopefully he can post more.  We walked around the botanical gardens, checked out a bonsai garden (some of the specimins are older than me!!!), did some paddle boating, then walked back around the lake for a quick cocktail, hightailed it back to BART and had a lovely time.  Can't think of a better way of celebrating our first 17 years than a long stroll, hand-in-hand, in perfect fall weather.

He's silly! 

He's handsome!!

He learns about the Oakland Scottish Rite Center and all the intricacies of the Freemasons at the bar.  

Happy 17 years, Mr. B.  I promise the next 17 will be even more fun!

What to do with 6# of apricots

Belonging to an all-fruit CSA has meant the kids gorge themselves for the first day and a half, then the fruit just sits there.  I've gotten some great suggestions for how to preserve/enjoy the bounty.  Here's the latest venture: 

Pit and halve the apricots. Place them face-up on a cooling-rack lined cookie sheet. Put in oven, with oven at 170F. (or the warm function. I actually used 170 on convection) 

A few hours to a day, depending on your oven, will yield you lovely, dried apricots.  This is a fine stopping point.  They are sweet, chewy, easily packable, awesome. 

But then... you could do this.

Take the dried apricots... 

... melt some dark chocolate .... 

... dip .... 

.... let set.  Yum!!!!

Congratulations for making it to the end of the post.  As a reward, the first 3 people who comment on the blog will receive 6 of these treats in the mail by the end of the week!

Super Bouncy Fun

Our neighbors gave us this slide.  It shoots water.  This is going to be a fun summer. 

Play time: Water beads

I've been reading about water beads for sensory play and finally figured out what water beads are. They are small polymer beads that expand greatly in water.  They come in a rainbow of colors, are meant for flower cuttings/soilless plant growing, and they are very inexpensive. 

Mixed up a first batch.  The packet on the left is 3 grams.  The bowl on the right is two packets worth, soaked in water for 2 hours.  They swell for 4 hours, so they probably could get bigger.

I set out the beads with some bowls and spoons as a first foray into water bead play.  No explanation, just the invitation.

The girls LOVED it, and played for about 45 minutes.  First, exploration, "They feel squishy, they feel slippery, they bounce, they shoot when I squeeze them, they tickle. " Then projects. Pouring into bowls, mixing, spooning, bouncing. Then gear shifting as we put them in baggies to squish around.

Finally moved it outside to the water table.  Lots of giggles, lots of good fun.  And they watered the potted plants, placing many of the water beads right where they're "supposed" to go.

We had so much fun and I bought so many packets, we'll share the love and try a McMiller PDX giveaway.  I'll mail a packet to the first 10 people who leave a comment.