Thursday Notes

Each day I hope to find time to practice piano, and to knit.  Those are my two things, my “me” things.  Knitting is for sanity and to play piano has always been a dream.  It’s hard to consistently make the time.  I am making slow progress with piano, having started lessons earlier this year, but slow progress is still progress.

Larkspur would like me to spend my time cutting out little paper hearts for her to paint.  Today she discovered that she can do it herself.  I am the happy recipient of many little watercolored hearts.

We have a new favorite game.  It’s fun and addictive and helps the boys with their math skills.  Thinking about it right now, I want to stop what I am doing and go play.

She thinks it’s her chair.

She flew the coop.  I couldn’t help but write that.

Most days the boys gather the eggs, but sometimes I get a turn.

Silas tolerates the girls and even seeks them out for affection lately.

But, he doesn’t love having an overgrown puppy bound towards him.

Beatrix now insists on picking out her own clothes and dressing herself.  She often struggles and yells in frustration, but will scream “my turn!” even louder if someone tries to help her.  She doesn’t mind wearing her dresses both inside out and backwards.  What does it matter, since she will surely be changing her clothes in five minutes just like big sister.

I think I will start reading Catherine of Siena, but I also want to read Katherine now, and I am not over my Willa Cather kick.  I am thinking I want this volume that contains quite a few of her novels that I would like to read.

We had left over minestrone soup for dinner, and while the soup is good, eating leftovers sometimes calls for dessert.  We love this egg custard:

2 cups whole milk

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 300.  Heat milk to a simmer.  Mix remaining ingredients and add to simmering milk.  Whisk thoroughly.  Pour into ramekins, or mugs and place in a baking dish (you may pour through a sieve to eliminate any egg lumpies if you wish.)  Sprinkle with nutmeg.  Pour hot water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the side of the cups.  Bake until custard is set, about half an hour.  Let sit in the water bath for about two hours (if you can wait that long) before serving.  Makes 6 servings. 

So easy.

We double the recipe, and tonight I used brown sugar because we didn’t have any other.  I think this makes a good bedtime snack.  I am off to share it with my family and put my children to bed.