buster "cellophane" lidji

I just left Buster at the vets office for a little procedure on his eye. He's lumpy, bumpy, crusty and a little bit gross, but he's our old guy and we love him! He sure was sad this morning as his entire family, one after another, denied (a pre-op requirement) his customary morning snack and healthy gulp of water. I could barely look at him. If given words, he might've said, "What am I, cellophane or something?"

virtuous dinner

Well, things are heating up over on the Biggest Loser campus with accusations of lying and throwing weigh ins and such. Why do the trouble makers always have to reign from Texas?! I just love Tuesday nights! Here is the virtuous meal I'm making tonight.

BBQ Chicken - serves 4 adapted from a Weight Watchers cookbook

3 T ketchup

1 T hoisin sauce

1 T apple cider vinegar

2 t molasses

2 t reduced sodium soy sauce

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1. stir together all ingredients except chicken
2. coat chicken breasts with sauce and bake at 375 degrees until cooked through

I'll serve the chicken with salad and brown rice.

This is a photo of my Weight Watchers journals. I became a lifetime member in 2007. I tracked obsessively to reach my goal. I've put a few back on, so I'm back to writing in my journals and attending meetings once again.

d home best of dallas

Do two mentions in the past few months qualify as a media blitz?!?

In my world, the answer would be yes!

Here is a photo from the current issue of D Home Magazine

and here is a link to the article.

Thank you D Home and thank you Bill and Cindy for loaning

me "our" quilt for the shoot!

photo by Alex Ham for D Home Magazine

a tallit for rachel

By the way, a tallit, or tallis, is a prayer shawl.

the beautiful is as useful as the useful

My apologies if this week has felt like an endless

evening of someone else's home movies. I hope

it's been some fun for you too. I think it's time

to wrap it up now.

Puzzlers Daddy and Tim get in touch with their feminine side

with the completion of bunnies and butterflies.

Suitable for shellacking.

A rustic Brady moment.

Only the finest linens for our crew.

Nature's sculptures.

So true! So true!

Have a beautiful weekend.

grilllzzzz + aliens

Test for determining if someone is an alien from a far away galaxy

according to my friend Malina:

1. offer grilled cheese sandwich

2. if they refuse the grilled cheese sandwich,

you are looking into the eyes of an alien.

3. Harry is an alien. If you saw

yesterdays video, you might

tend to agree

Otherwise, the whole family loved our custom grilled cheese sandwiches.

Sorry David. No special orders.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup - The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

3lbs. ripe plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

1/4 c. plus 2T. olive oil

1 T salt

1 1/2 t. pepper

2 c. chopped yellow onions (around 2)

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 T butter

1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes

28 oz. canned plum tomatoes with their juice

4 c. fresh basil leaves, packed

1 t. fresh thyme leaves

1 qt. chicken stock

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4c. olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in one layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.
3. In a large soup pot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2T of olive oil, butter and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes until the onions start to brown.
4. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme and chicken stock. Add the oven roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet.
5. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
6. Pass thru a food mill on the coarsest blade or just use your blender like I did. I still like my soup a bit chunky so I didn't puree too fine. Adjust your seasonings.

dirty harry

was that ever fun! - one

Our 9th annual family camping trip was a blast!

The fun is best told in pictures.

Today.....the kids.

never forget

whoopie!

I'm spending this weekend with 22 of my favorite people on the planet. My dad, siblings, nieces, nephews (ranging from 2-17 years old!) and a couple of family friends who might as well be family. It's our 9th annual Bastop State Park camp out. We don't actually sleep in tents, but we do sleep in rustic cabins sometimes sharing quarters with a friendly raccoon.

We divide meals and share in the work. This year, I'm in charge of Saturday brunch.

Here is my menu:

custom made grilled cheese sandwiches

I wanted to call them Grillzzzzz, but the girls strongly

objected

roasted tomato and basil soup

cole slaw

whoopie pies

I'm going to let the little kids take "orders" from the grown ups.

They like to help.

Sadie made this colorful order form to make it simple.

I'll post the fun next week. Enjoy your weekend!

life is an adventure

This week our family went to the book signing of Jeannette Walls.

She is promoting her new book, Half Broke Horses. We all loved her 2005 memoir The Glass Castle. It's a remarkable story of stunning poverty, loving but incredibly neglectful parents and resilient children. A great read. Did any of you read it? We waited a long time to speak with her.

While waiting, we watched a little squirt play with his mom's i phone.

And we peered into Sadie's bag of tricks for something to entertain and amuse.

When we finally reached the table, Jeannette was gracious, genuinely kind and beautiful.

You can't fake genuine. She happily posed with the girls.

She also inscribed the last page of Sadie's moleskine:

She would know.

sunrise & sadness

Sunrise 7:15

Dallas, Texas

The girls and I all grabbed

our cameras this morning.

Struck by the beautiful

sunrise.

This morning in Haiti.

Beauty and devastation coincide.

To help the people of Haiti:

www.redcross.org

www.unicefusa.org/haitiquake

photo credit: palmbeachpost.com

sedrick

Not to miss! Sedrick Huckaby: A Love Supreme, at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary in Dallas. This exhibition features large scale paintings (80 ft. long I'm told!) of quilts sewn by his grandmother. His love of family and admiration of his grandmother's artistry are central to all his paintings. Kevin Vogel of Valley House Gallery and Sculpture Garden calls the show a celebration of life, guaranteed to lift your spirits. My idea of a perfect outing. Thanks to Randy, Jan and Kalynn for keeping me in the know.

The exhibition runs Jan. 9 - Feb. 13

Art talk with Sedrick Huckaby free and open to the public: Jan. 20 6:30-7:30

Have a great Monday!

playing chicken with squirrel

Today I bundled up and went for a nice chilly run. I beat a gutsy squirrel at a game of chicken and had fun listening to my kids' ipod. As I've told you in the past, their music is much more energizing! My fingers were bound in gloves, so no skipping through songs. Here's what I heard.

Bad Romance - Lady Gaga

All is Love - Karen O and The Kids

You've Been Recorded - The Dreadful Yawns

Furr - Blitzen Trappen

Yes - Coldplay

I Want You Back - Jackson 5

Hurry Up Let's Go - Shout Out Louds

Because I'm Awesome - The Dollyrots

Clair de Lune - Claude Debussy

Slow Down - Wyclef Jean

In An Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel

And She Was - Talking Heads

Caresse sur L'ocean - Les Choristes

baby woody

This shot on quainthandmade made me smile. It also had me hauling out scrap books and photo albums and shoe boxes jammed full of photos just to find this sweet, long ago picture of Baby Woody and baldy, smiley, dimpley Sophie.

I owned a single baby stroller for Woody long before I ever had babies of the human sort.

Woody loved to be outdoors and take nice long walks. But he was a sickly little guy and couldn't make it very far on his own. Doesn't he have a beautiful smile?

Alan always said Woody was like our neighborhood mayor. He had countless admirers.

When Sophie was born, the only logical answer was a double stroller.

He kept his front seat status until the metronome waggle of his tail proved too enticing and tiny hands kept tugging. He was not happy, but he adjusted.

I sure did love that dog.

Happy weekend everyone.