We hope all of you have a wonderful Easter tomorrow!
(My Favorite)
(Their Favorite)
Dear Nettie And Bobbie,
Thank you for sending the Easter Cookies, and Chocolate, and Chocolate Bunnies, and Egg, and Bunny with Chick…
The kids will be sending better thank-you notes next week!
Hugs!
Sunday Opi celebrated his 80th birthday. Happy Birthday!
It was wonderful to spend time with family and friends.
Having cousins Ciara and Fiona in town was especially AWESOME.
We enjoyed a beautiful lunch at L’Olivier restaurant, which was open just for us!
I made a couple of small efforts with the birthday gathering in mind. Bob doesn’t like a big fuss, and he specifically asked for no gifts, books, slideshows, prints or albums!
No fair!
Still, I had to try.
Candied Meyer Lemons (from Bob’s Tree!)
Bob has always grown beautiful meyer lemons in the backyard. I think it must be the combination of the gardener and the bartender in him!
I picked a bag full of lemons one night last week, and when I saw them on my counter then next morning, I knew what I wanted to do. You can “candy” any citrus fruit. Now that I’ve done it, I realize it’s not difficult, and I’m sure I’ll try some other fruit soon.
Lucy helped me with the sugar part. I ended up cutting these guys in half lengthwise again, in order to have more to package up. Also they were pretty strong, so smaller bites was better.
Here’s what I did:
Quarter the lemons and remove the fruit. Put the peels in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Strain and repeat two more times! This removes the bitterness. I had two pots going due to so many peels. Make simple syrup (1 part each water and sugar) and simmer the peels for an hour and a half. Strain and dry on a rack for 24 hours. Toss the now very sticky peels in sugar. (This is when I cut them in skinnier strips, and tossed them again.) Dry on a new rack for one more day. Package and tag.
I wish I had counted how many lemons I started with. Meyers are smaller, and I think it was around 12 or 14? I know I ended up with 17 little bags containing about an ounce each. And I barely remembered to get a photo of the finished product! The bag shown is missing a couple of pieces! (shh!) We put them out as ‘favors’ at a big family dinner the night before the birthday. I was happy when I saw folks eating them, smiling, and trying to accidentally take home each others’ bag.
The View Master
I got this idea from Pinterest! The link to the company is here.
This was So Fun! I can’t wait to do more reels. It was nice to pass the viewers around the table, and with only 7 photos each, the viewing was short and sweet.
Reel One:
Reel Two:
Here are a couple more cute phone pics from the lunch. Omi, what a great weekend you hosted! Happy Birthday Bob! XOXO
Lucy achieved her green ribbon in swimming today. It represents “Swimming six feet in a horizontal body position, using paddling arms, and having proper breath control.”
hamming it up for the camera..
no paparazzi..
The blue ribbon is the next award.
-Completing five “Up-Faces” in a horizontal swimming position
-Climbing out of the pool from the wall
-Sit-jumps.
She has the middle one already.
All in all, we are looking good for Hawaii…
I realize your birthday was March 7th, but Nanu says you get the Whole Month! So, Happy Birthday!!
And this.
Hope it was terrific, and that Uncle Joe spoiled you!
XOXO ~ Love, Mark Vale Oscar and Lucy
They are headed to Oakland! We are a little sad to see them leave SF, but so excited for their new home! I got to go see a preview of it tonight! It’s AWESOME. They are in the Piedmont Avenue neighborhood, just below Pleasant Valley.
There is so much there! We did a little driving and looking, but I know we didn’t even see half of the shops and restaurants there. (We totally could have walked. I’m sure the walk-ability rating is 100.) They had me at Peet’s 3 blocks away, but I’m also super excited for the Tiki Bar a few blocks in the other direction. There’s a movie theater, Fenton’s Ice cream parlor, and even a little Deruta shop we were ogling.
(Cole took this at Fenton’s, May 2009 – Oscar is about Lucy’s age now: 3 and a half)
But back to the new house. Madie and Alex have the sunny front side with a view all the way to Mt. Tam! There’s a sweet and generously sized front porch on the quiet tree-lined street. I look forward to sipping tea and watching the sun set this summer!
Here’s a couple of shots from my phone – the place is in great shape with gorgeous Edwardian details.
And, look how cute Madie is in her scrubs and belly! (Baby is due End of July.)
{Nanu, please feel free to illuminate your Irish strain of heritage for the kids…}
Photo by Dad