I'm a winner!!

My friend, Jen, writes a blog for Daycare Centers callled Daycare in Demand . Even though I no longer work in that setting (and no longer have kids in that setting!), I still read her blog religiously.  Often her advice and insight for Day Care Centers is valuable for all parents and all teachers.  The other day she wrote an article on Memberhub where she reviewed the book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel Pink.  The premise of the book really hit a nerve--as a high school teacher I am always trying to figure out what motivates students (and parents and other teachers) as well as trying to figure out what motivates my own kids.  Eeesh.  This book was on my (relatively) short list of things that I would like to read this summer...so when there was a chance to win a copy at the end of the blog, I signed up...and guess what? I won!! Yeah! I promise I'll read it soon and let you all know about it!

More about the lobsters

My father in law (Grandude) happened to be visiting on May 24 when I posted the first lobsta post.  He had some stories to add, especially after other family members started commenting on Facebook.

Grandude reported that he isn't sure how many lobster bakes (vs boils) there actually were over the years--that there were many that Mr. Ranch and his sister might or might not remember and some that it is possible that The Girl was actually at (and many in between).  Among those of us at my house there were a lot of discussions that started with, "Now, wait, was that the time....?" and ending with, "oh, yeah...I think I remember that!"

Grandude reports that he thinks the first lobster bake he remembers was at Grandma and Grandpa's house in West Auburn.  Grandude and the Uncles dug a pit and layered the lobsters with fresh seaweed.  The trick is to put the potatoes on the top of the layers, when the potatoes are done, the rest of the meal is done.  The first time they did it, no one realized that the tarp had to be wet and it  almost caught on fire.  After that they knew to keep it wet!

At another bake, according to Grandude, Uncle C thought it would be a good idea to back Grandma's (his mom's) station wagon up to the pit, to eliminate carrying stuff to the pit they just dug.  Unfortunately, he became stuck in mud up to the axles.  It was so deep that they had to dig out under the axles, put in boards, insert a jack, jack up the axles enough that the wheels were in the air, then stick boards under the wheels to drive out.  Through the whole process, Grandpa kept asking how it was going and Uncle C's answer was consistently, "Piece of cake, Red, piece of cake!".  Grandude remembers that it took a really, really long time to get the car unstuck!

Mr. Ranch figured out while talking to his dad that one of the last lobster boils we went to at Grandma's house someone used turkey fryers to boil the lobsters outside.  The discussion continued as to whether it was Grandma and Grandpa or a caterer who used the fryers, but none-the less, we think that is where we got the idea to use a turkey fryer (ah, ha!).

Maybe this summer I should write a series of family history blogs so that all the family members will have more to argue about.

Lobsters and more, Part 2

As promised, here is a report on the latest (Sub)Urban Ranch Lobster Boil.

My adventure began on Thursday evening when I realized I hadn't ordered mussels.  In case you didn't get the memo, mussels are an important part of our Lobster Boil.  Lucky for me, our neighborhood King Soopers had some in stock on Friday morning and were willing to hold them for me until I could get there after school. Whew..

So here we go...steamed corn, seasoned with Cajun spice (instead of Old Bay) this time.  Again, luckily our local King Soopers had corn in stock (whew!) because the corn in the garden is barely sprouting....







Mussels soaking to finish the de-sanding--although these fellows were farmed raised, so not as much sand as the free range mussels.  What is a free range mussel, anyway?  How do they actually range?  Seriously?





No, this isn't garden salad, but it was yummy--a little Caesar Salad action...








What is this, you ask?  Why, that is homemade whipped cream....

 to go with the strawberries....and angel food cake! (yum!)

 Hello Lobsters in my cooler...Of course I will now spend the rest of the week trying to get "that fishy smell" out of the cooler....Maybe I need a dedicated lobster cooler!

 Here is the cooking set-up--a turkey cooker (that has never seen a turkey).  Several years ago we decided (in May) that we needed an additional turkey cooker.  Have you ever looked for a turkey cooker in May?

 Mussels...yum!

 My new lobster potholder--for decoration only, Mr. Ranch!








So, funny story.  The Girl and I set the table inside (see how pretty it is?)....then decided it was too nice to eat inside--

 and the outside table is bigger anyway!  First meal on the patio this spring!

 Here we go...the first course is served--mussels, corn, rolls, and salad.

 The Boy is a mussel expert

 In go the lobstas....

In other news, we let the cats out on leashes and Alice decided she wanted to go in.  Despite running around like a loon while outside on her leash, she was suddenly incapable of movement once she was on carpet.  And she tried to bite me every time I tried to take her harness off. Weird cat.

 Tigger is very happy though.

 Hello, lobstas!  The bucket is our old fireplace ash bucket....it works really well as a shell bucket (Just like Joe's Crab Shack!)

 Someone is an actress...she ate the lobster, the tears are fakey.  She was also excited to have corn on the cob, possibly the first corn on the cob since braces, round 2, came off.

 Do you like my bib?

 The cake is perfect!

 As we started to slow down, it started to cool off

So dessert was an indoor affair

Um, no, Tigger...that is so not for you!











So there it is...our spring lobster boil in full living color...Now it is summer, right?

Lobstas and more, part 1

So this is one of those posts that would have generated twenty more "family history" posts...if only all our photos were scanned in!  I set out to find some photos (that have not materialized yet...perhaps because they either don't exist or I don't own them) and found photos of Ranch cousins (well, really Mr. Ranch's) as little, bitty kids (rather than the successful teens and  twenty-somethings they are now), camping trips from BC (Before Children) and from when The Girl and Indy Dog were very young, a cross country trip that Mr. Ranch and I took in 2000, as well as our move to Colorado in 1996, even a BC trip to Disneyland (with Mr. Ranch's dad and sister)...Unfortunately, none of those photos are scanned...guess that is a project for this summer.  Or retirement.  Whatever.

The (Sub)Urban Ranch has a long history of spring lobster boils.  I found a photo of a very young Tigger Cat examining a cooler full of lobsters in the spring of 1999, shortly after we moved into our Urban Ranch townhouse (again, not scanned..d'oh).  Tigger looked a little skeptical, but interested, like he might eat a live, uncooked, lobster.  Unlike his reaction last weekend--a couple sniffs and then back to his nap.

Technically, it is Mr. Ranch's family that has a long tradition.  When he was growing up, his grandparents lived  in Falmouth, Maine, not too far from Portland, with places to buy live lobsters right on the pier.  Mr. Ranch used to go down to the pier with his Grandfather  to pick lobsters for the family.  Mr. Ranch's mom is the oldest of five (three boys, two girls) and each of the children have 1-2 children.  That's a lot of lobsters to deal with--I always am impressed with Grandma's ability to cook for twenty without breaking a sweat. At one point, before they moved to Falmouth, I guess they even at a lobster baking pit in their yard.  Maybe it was a one-time thing--I'm sure Mr. Ranch will clarify when he reads this. He requested that I find some pictures of those family lobster bakes and share them...unfortunately, we don't seem to have any.  Weird.  I found some photos from Christmas at the grandparents and from my bridal shower...but no lobsters.  I was lucky enough to participate in several lobster boils over the years.  We're pretty sure that The Girl was at one just before she turned one--of course, there isn't any photographic evidence.  That may have been the night that Grandma was trying to get one of the cousins to eat something...anything...resulting in a Boy-worthy melt-down about the wrong kind of ice cream, or the wrong topping, or something.

When we lived in the Midwest, we would bring lobsters back after we visited the east coast--once Mr. Ranch arrived back, late from a trip home, with a live carry crate of lobster(s).  We still laugh about how traumatized my roommates were by our late night lobster boil in my tiny kitchen.

Shortly after we moved to Denver, we  came across an ad for a fundraiser put on by the organization now called Angel Eyes, a local organization that provides free grief support services to anyone who experiences the sudden, unexpected loss of an infant or toddler.  The organization historically has provided not only counseling, but also education about SIDS prevention and about recalls affecting children.  Every spring the organization holds two lobster fundraisers, selling live lobsters (flown in from Maine) for just slightly over market cost.  We usually buy in May, the June date is usually Father's Day weekend, which has been a camping weekend the past several years.  While taking live lobsters camping would be exciting and something to brag about for years, the 10 am Saturday pick up time cuts into the actual camping.  But I digress.

Sometimes we have done the boil all by ourselves and sometimes we invite other people--but no matter what, we always feel a connection to the Grandparents (and the rest of the family).  This year we invited some friends, who did place and order, but couldn't come over for the event, so it was just us this time. Stay tuned for the current standard boil menu and photos from the most recent boil last weekend.  And if you are local, please consider clicking on the link to Angel Eyes and ordering for the June event.

Books I read in April

Hard to believe that it is officially "late" May!  As I sat in Math Intervention class today, reading email while the kids worked, and dreaming of two weeks from tomorrow, when I can turn in my grades and go sit in the sunshine....my email "dinged"...it was an email from The Boy and The Girl's school, stating that the "Fall 2014 school supply list" was attached to the email.  Eesh! Here is my much delayed April reading report....

1.  Guardian of the Horizon (Elizabeth Peters)--Another Amelia Peabody novel--this one brings us up to 1908 and places Amelia (and her family) smack in the middle of an adventure that takes them back to the Last Oasis, first introduced to us in The Last Camel Died at Noon.

2.  Thrift Store Saints by Jane Knuth.  My mom recommended I read this book--I really enjoyed it.  Jane Knuth describes how she "accidentally" started working at a St. Vincent de Paul thrift store many years ago and what she has learned.  My mother-in-law is a member of the St. Vincent de Paul society and my mom works at a thrift store.  I had to order it from inter-library loan (or buy it for $10 on Kindle...I opted for free, but may still buy it--it was that good).  The book made me think about how sometimes "we" start a mission opportunity thinking about "all the good" we will do, when in reality, we are gaining more than our intended beneficiaries.  Anyway, good book, quick read...and there is a sequel!

3. A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters...see above...covers the next archaeological season.

4.  Roof Toppers by Katherine Rundell--This was recommended at one of the sessions I went to at the Literacy Conference early this spring.  It is about a shipwreck that leads to an apparently orphaned baby being adopted by a bachelor.  It is set around 1900 (I think, if I remember correctly).  The little girl and the adopted Dad live quite happily until she is about 12, at which point "social services" decides she should go to an orphanage because a single man can't raise a young lady.  So they go on the run to Paris (did I mention it started in London?) where they meed a secret society of homeless children who live on the roof tops.  It was a good quick read, but clearly aimed at sixth graders, there were some weird historical things, but it was ok.

5.  Silence by Natasha Preston--One of my students told me I "had" to read this because it was so good.  It was free on Amazon, so I did.  It was fine....The story follows a sixteen year old girl who doesn't speak, due to some untold trauma.  The reader doesn't find out the trauma until near the end, when the main character decides to speak.  It also was a quick read, but probably appropriate that it was free on Amazon.

6. The Day Before 9/11 by Tucker Elliot.  This was also free on Amazon.  I think I misread the description though, because I thought was going to be inspiring, and maybe to some people it would be, but I finished it kind of bummed at how the (true) story was presented and where the author ended the book.  And told us to buy his next book.  Blah.  Probably wouldn't recommend this one, unless it is still free on Amazon...

7.The Falcon at the Portal (Elizabeth Peters)--One of my favorite Amelia books, a good "recovery book" after the blah book listed at #6.

8.  Superior Justice by Tom Hilpert--A classic case of picking up something, thinking it was going to be "ok", and loving it.  This (also) was free on Amazon a few weeks ago and I thought it was set in the UP of Michigan.  Turns out it is set in Minnesota, but was delightful.  There is a (small) series of three books, all focused on a small town minister who just happens to solve mysteries.  I've actually read the first and the third...the last time I looked Amazon wanted $9 for the 2nd, so I passed, but when they show up at the library, I'm in!

9.  Superior Secrets by Tom Hilpert--see above--book 3 of the series

10. He Shall Thunder in the Sky (Elizabeth Peters)--Another favorite Amelia book--good quick read during The Girl's volleyball season while The Boy and I hung out in the car and waited for games to start!

11.A Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante My office mate was listening to this on CD in our office one day and I was hooked.  The story follows three women who discover, when their husband dies, that he was married to all three of them.  Good mystery.

12. Three or Four "39 Clues" books  yeah...we are still listening in the car, although we have listened to the last available audio book (at our library).  The book that came out last month (Countdown?) is on order at the library and then there won't be another 39 Clues until August.  Don't worry though, we've found some other entertainment to hold us over!

So there it is, April's book list--hope you find something you enjoy reading!

Alice!

I'm kind of out of words to write about Alice, but here are some new photos and pictures of what she's been up to...

Hiding in the bag for The Boy's new snowboard

Surfing the piano 

Stalking The Girl...

 And her she is, outside for the first time in a year, wearing her pretty harness, because if she goes out in just a collar she pulls it right off.  Of course, the other night she actually got out through the ripped screen (Thanks, Liberty) and sat outside crying, unable to figure out how to get back in through the same ripped screen.

 I think it is very funny that she will walk around with her harness on outside, but when she comes in she is incapable of movement.

 And angry.

Very angry....

Lost in Translation

The Boy recently received a page of stickers in a thank you note from a friend.  He looked at them, then shouted out, "What does 'We're hashtag 1' mean?".

Yardwork, the garden and other fun

Although the garden is coming along nicely...

 the front yard was looking a little rough.

 While the Boy played catch with himself, Mr. Ranch and I did a little work on the front yard--it was looking better (at least before the surprise snowstorm!)

 We even got the boy to help clean up a little.

 Of course this was the view on Mother's day...

 Luckily, I was able to pick enough baby greens for each of us to have a baby greens salad on Saturday night--the kids were not impressed, but the Mr and I enjoyed them very much.  Stay tuned for more produce...we'll see what survives the snowstorm!!

Hiking with the Cub Scouts

The Cub Scouts have been planning a hike to the Red Rocks Park for months.  Since it was planned for May 10 in Colorado, we figured we might have to deal with some rain, but that we'd be ok in the morning, as a general rule.  Little did we know that SNOW would be predicted for the day of the hike!  Luckily we got out early in the morning and had a great hike!  The Boy was really excited for a chance to show off his hiking gear--for our approximately one mile "hike" he brought his walking stick, his overnight pack, his pocket knife, and his emergency (crank) radio.  He does believe in being prepared.

 The Girl, on the other hand, brought a simple day pack and her I-pod, so she doesn't have to talk to us, I guess.

 We met the rest of the den, navigated around a wedding party trying to park, and we were off!

 Nice!

 Mr. Ranch has been talking about adding yuccas to our yard for a year--here are some!














The kids all had a great time and we adults didn't have too much trouble keeping up with them.  Maybe we should have put bricks in The Boy's pack to slow him down.

 This was a nice easy hike--sunny, warm, but not too hot.  We followed up with ice cream and then hustled home to cover the plants before the snow started!