"Photos of Abigail...."

My daughter in law, Julie, sent me some more current photos of my granddaughter Abigail. She is now 9 months old!!!! How does this happen that they grow so quickly when one isn't there to see it?

She certainly is a happy child from the looks of these photos. ;)

My sister, Abigail's Great Aunt Sandy, gave her the "I Love Dirt" tee-shirt.

I can almost hear the pleased giggles from when this photo was taken........

I wonder if this was bedtime or morning wake up? Either way, she is happy to smile for the camera.

Ah yes, she is getting more mobile every day, too. ;)

"Last Weekend's Bike Ride......"

Don and I rode over into some of the east side neighborhoods, following the shore of Lake Monona and stopped to take this photo. The original sculpture had been carved from a tree that had been blasted by lightening, but it was cast in bronze later.....I "think" the plaque read 1990....or somewhere close to that year. It truly is beautiful.

We also stopped to eat at Brocach, the Irish Pub on Capitol Square. They had a few tables set up outside which was the perfect place for us to sit, as we could have our bikes parked right next to us. The "stylish" floppy hat is my emergency gear that I store in a pack on my bike for sitting in the sun. I learned the hard way that I have to have head protection now from the sun's rays. What hair is left on the top of my head is no longer sufficient to screen its harmful rays and my scalp burns. sigh..........

We also were entertained the entire time by the numerous bridal parties that came to have photos taken on the Capitol's steps. The most entertaining group were the 10-12 groomsmen who all took their pants off to have their photo taken. They were wearing matching red, white, and blue, stars and stripes boxer underwear. The bridesmaids seemed to all be giving orders to them about where to stand, or who needed to do this or that........we "think" it was purposely done to lengthen the time the boys were exposed. It worked for us, too. ;)

Don was so pleased with having ordered "Bangers and Mash" that he took a photo of his meal before digging into it. I ordered a salad, which was good, but I did look with envy at his plate.......I did get to taste it though.....DELICIOUS!

"Ambition in the Hood....."

Bridget and Tracie were VERY ambitious last weekend. They took on the challenge of cleaning out and organizing their backyard shed. Bridget has been so busy with Veterinary School, working long hours on various rotations, and being on call, but finally has one that is "normal" working hours and weekends off. So what does she do on her first day off in weeks? Work all day cleaning out the shed! See what I mean about ambition?

I, on the other hand, have every day off, and have been making Copper sourdough peanut butter or sourdough cheese treats. I figure I have the sourdough starter and time, why not? I wouldn't really call it ambitious, but the photos worked into today's posting, so I worked that angle. ;)

This is a batch of cheese treats, cut and ready to go into the oven.

Treats baked and cooling. Some of these went to Maggie, our new neighbors Jamie and Zack's dog, as a "welcome to the neighborhood" gift, and I also give them to Ginger and Cheyenne, Bridget and Tracie's dogs, too, when I see them out in the backyard.

"Last Friday's Happy Hour......"

Last Friday's Happy Hour had been a "planned event" for some of Don's current and former co-workers. They had all made arrangements so as to be able to attend......and I, for one, am very happy that they did. I had a very nice time.

From left to right are: Tony (Shari's husband), Gay, Shari, Kate, Michele, and Becky.

Kate and Lori......with Kate's husband, Nick, in the background.

Angela, with Barb holding Becca, chat, as Andy and Rob converse above a happily snacking Benjamin.

Geoff and Woody deep in conversation.........

We all had a good time until the mosquitoes became annoyingly active after dusk, which actually was later than they normally come out to feast.......something that they are VERY prone to do these days. Unfortunately, they have thrived AND multiplied with all the rain and warm weather we've had, making even walking out to the chicken coop or mail box a quick trip.

"Baby Robin......"

This little guy created quite a stir in our lives for a few days. We think he/she arrived late one afternoon/early evening to settle into our rain garden, which enticed Ginger, one of Tracie and Bridget's dogs, to jump the fence into our backyard. We didn't know it at the time, but hindsight points towards that happening. The next morning, Copper got into the act. Thankfully, I happened to see her bolt towards the rain garden quickly, which caused me to wonder and follow her to see what was so all fired important. I found this little one hiding under some ginger plants. Also in the backyard area was one of the parents, frantically making noises to try and get us distracted from her/his young one.

Throughout the day, Don kept track of the little one's progress, which we felt somewhat confident about because we saw Mom/Dad coming down to feed him/her.

Finally, I walked out and saw the little one on the fence! Don immediately came out bringing his camera to document this great event.

This was the last we saw of the little robin who created such drama in our backyard. We're hoping that it gained enough strength to continue getting higher up off the ground and is now flying around the neighborhood. I'm sure there are some of you readers who are knowledgeable about these things and know if it looks old enough for flight. I ask that you keep that information to yourselves........in my case, ignorance is bliss. ;)

"Homemade Pasta....."

As some of you know, I have made homemade noodles in the past.....using the flat pasta/noodle maker that rolls out the dough to the desired thinness, then using another attachment to cut the desired width of noodle. This time I tried another of the attachments for the Kitchen Aide Mixer that Don had bought me......the spaghetti extruder!

It uses the same dough as the noodle maker, although I did have to add more flour to it as I worked with the dough. It was a matter of trial and error until I got to a consistency with the dough that came out of the extruder and wasn't too stuck together. I don't think one is able to make spaghetti that is dryer and not stick, since it is in the directions that one has to pull apart the spaghetti strands afterwards. This pasta making process is a bit longer, but once again, TOTALLY worth the time and effort involved!

Don and I are trying to cut our cholesterol numbers back (eating less saturated fats), so I made the dough without using egg yolks, and only with egg whites. Homemade pasta truly is delicious and quite different from dried store bought pasta, which I would now say is "rubbery" after cooking. I also made Italian sauce from scratch for our dinner, but that was after discovering I didn't have any store bought sauce in a jar when I went to the cabinet ..........thankfully I had a can of tomato paste for the base! Believe me....the sauce was made in record time since the spaghetti was already prepared and ready for the table! ;)

For those of you who have the ability to make homemade pasta, please, please, please try it! You and your family will be glad you did. ;)

"Abigail...."

Patrick took this photo of Abigail a few weeks ago. He took it with his phone and isn't able to send those photos to me, but he'd sent it to Claire and she emailed it to me. I believe it is the first "big girl" photo I have seen of her.....meaning that she is sitting up all by herself. Not only that, but she is also wearing a bib I knitted for her as well. That makes the photo even more special. ;)