Bacon, eggs, and Bubby

When I visited Bubby and Baby Mac last month, one of the things Bubby wanted us to do together was make cookies. Because it was so darn hot in the desert—even in the house—I convinced Bubby that it would be so much more fun to make and eat...well...bacon and eggs!

Believe it or not, it didn't take much arm twisting. Especially once I told him the bacon and eggs we'd be making featured none other than one of his all-time favorite ingredients: "num 'n nums".

Thanks to Grandma Judy, we had an easy recipe for bacon and eggs that required no oven, no stove top. I had made them for Bubby last summer, and he kinda sorta remembered that they were awesome. This time would be even more awesome, though, as Bubby was old enough to help make them.

So he donned his apron and set to work.

First, on a wax-paper lined baking sheet, Bubby carefully laid out double slices of bacon, aka stick pretzels:

Then Bubby separated the egg yolks, aka the num 'n nums, aka—for real— yellow M&Ms.

Once Gramma had the egg whites ready (meaning she had melted white chocolate in the microwave; see, no oven or stovetop required!), she poured the egg whites on top of the bacon. Bubby topped off the whites with yolks:

Time for a quick taste, so Bubby sampled a strip of bacon in the whites:

And again:

Heck, forget the bacon and the yolks, Bubby said, and went for every last drop of the whites:

Gramma placed the sheet of bacon and eggs in the freezer for "cooking" then washed up Bubby and his egg-white mustache.

Twenty minutes later, bacon and eggs were done, served, and savored!

One bite and Bubby was more than convinced that bacon and eggs are indeed so much more fun to bake and eat than cookies—especially on a hot summer day in the desert.

Today's question:

What is your favorite no-bake treat? (Recipes welcome!)

Imagine that

Life in the desert—where Bubby and Baby Mac live—is a wee bit different from life in the mountains—where I live and where Bubby and Baby Mac's mommy grew up. For one thing, it's often too hot in the desert in the summer time for kiddos to play outside. Seriously too hot. As in Extreme Heat Warnings from the National Weather Service hot.

That certainly doesn't mean, though, that there's no fun to be had.

When temps get too hot and high in the desert, folks simply take the fun indoors. They forego sizzling playgrounds and descend upon indoor play areas instead. Air-conditioned play areas.

One of Bubby's favorite indoor play centers is called Imagination Avenue. We visited last week, and he certainly exercised his imagination while there.

He imagined himself as a policeman, a fireman, a doctor, a grocery shopper.  

He also baked cookies and cupcakes, worked puzzles, played school. And he built houses and boxes and a tunnel for taking a break from the workout.

With so much to do and the myriad imaginative options to explore, the fact we couldn't play outside no longer mattered one single bit. Not to Bubby, not to Megan, not to me.

Not even to Baby Mac.

Imagine that!

Today's question:

What is your favorite indoor activity on hot summer days?

Cooling it down

I'm hot. You're hot. Bubby is hot.

Or, Bubby was hot.

Now he's cool.

And he's here to share the cool with all of us:

Aaahhhh! Don't you feel so much better now?

I do!

Oh-so-cool photos courtesy of Megan.

Today's question:

How have you been cooling down in the crazy-hot heat of the past week?

Lazy days and books

I've always been annoyed intrigued by the articles and trite phrases surrounding the idea of "the lazy days of summer." Summer days have never been lazy in my world, not when the nest was full, not now that it's empty. In fact, my summer days are actually far more busy than the winter ones.

One of the craziest of the lazy-day ideas, in my opinion, is that with summer stretched out before us, featuring long, glorious, sun-filled days with no schedule or agenda, we're ripe for doing nothing but lounging around with a book in hand from sun up to sun down. Doesn't happen. At least not for me. (C'mon, does it really happen for anyone?) But if I did have lazy summer days and nothing more to do than knock out a few books in the time from Memorial Day to Labor Day, these are the books I would love to include in this summer's stack:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett — I gotta get this read before seeing the movie! (Thanks, Mom, for the loaner.)

The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy — My oldest friend (in terms of time) and I used to share books and recommendations when we worked together. This is one we both have, both plan to read soon.

Emma by Jane Austen — Find out why this is on my list HERE.

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin — How can anyone resist a title like that?

The Source of All Things by Tracy Ross — Emotionally wrought memoirs of screwed up childhoods are one of my favorite genres. I kid you not. And this one seems to be a doozy. I can't wait.

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron — I got this book when it very first came out...and still have not read it. I will, I will. This summer. I hope!

The Twisted Thread by Charlotte Bacon — Compared to Donna Tartt's Secret History? I am so there!

Don't Breathe A Word by Jennifer McMahon — Fairies, and ghosts, and other supernatural things, oh my. Plus a protagonist named Lisa, of all things.

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult — Yeah, she's gotten rather formulaic. But I just gotta give her one more chance. And it came with a CD of songs for which she wrote the lyrics (which I haven't yet listened to...but will...when I read the book).

To say in the intro of this post that I would love to have these books in my summer stack is silly...and misleading. Because they are in my stack. Already. Every one of them. Except the tale of Mrs. Tom Thumb. But with a birthday just around the corner, ya just never know what might turn up.

Note: None of the links above are affiliate links. Amazon.com won't do affiliate business with Colorado residents, so these links are to the publishers or authors and are for your edification only, just because I'm nice like that.

Photo: stock.xchng/juliaf

Today's question:

What books are on your summer-reading wish list?

Odd balls

Those of you who are friends and family in real life have likely been to my oddball house. Those of you who have become friends and like family through this blog, may have read about my oddball house, in posts such as the one about my creepy wallpaper and the one in which I beg to be HGTV'd.

For those who have done neither — and to refresh the memories of others — the condensed story of my home is that a Polish couple immigrated to Colorado in the 70s, purchased parts and pieces of 1800s homes and city landmarks that were being demolished (we're talking staircases, fireplaces, wood floors, cabinetry, and more) and used those bits and pieces to build in 1974 a unique and endlessly fascinating home.

The Polish couple eventually had to part with the home. The second couple who owned it added some artsy pieces, some functional ones (skylights!), and some pretty darn bizarre bits of their own.

Jim and I, the third owners of the home, have done our best to restore and highlight the original charm and historic significance envisioned by the first owners, while keeping a small portion of the whimsy and wackiness of the second.

Wackiness does abound here, and visitors often comment on some of the oddities inside our home (like the aforementioned wallpaper). But the home's interior is not the only place one can find the wacky. No, there's quite a bit of wacky outside, too.

One of the more peculiar things that remain in the yard, mostly just because we like the sheer "WTF?" of them, are the bowling balls. Two of them. In the backyard. Plopped amidst greenery, as if they're growing right along with the flowers, ferns, and bushes. (Well, it's supposed to be amidst greenery, but the green just ain't happening too well so far this summer, thanks to the lack of rain and abundance of heat and high winds.)

Anyway, the other day as I stood watering the wildflowers I hope will soon grow big and tall, I pondered the balls. And it came to me, for the first time in the three-and-a-half years we lived here: I think I know what the odd balls are all about.

I can't confirm this with the previous owners, of course, but I'm willing to bet that the guy who sold us the home was once told that he needs to, well, grow a few...ummm...balls. He's of the back-slapping, beer-drinking-buddy variety, and I have no doubt such a statement certainly came his way, probably more than once, probably all in jest from his similar-minded buddies. Having learned through our summer of interacting with the guy while he wooed us into homeownership that he was quite quirky, to say the least, I'm pretty darn sure he got a kick out of such a statement. And decided to do just that. By "planting" a few bowling balls and pretending to his buddies that he was working his darnedest to make them grow.

I don't know if it's true; I'm certainly not going to contact the guy and ask about his balls. But I say it's as good of an explanation as any. And it's the explanation I plan to share the next time I get the "WTF?" question from visitors regarding my bowling balls in the garden.

If you have a better explanation, if you know of some gardening trick or tradition of which I'm woefully unaware, I'm happy to consider it...later. As for right now, I've got a wee bit of ball-watering to do.

Today's question:

Fill in the blank. The most unusual thing I've ever grown is _____________.

8 ways the iPhone makes this grandma smile

This is the iPhone 4; I got the cheaper iPhone 3GS.I got an iPhone a few weeks ago. I think I'm in love. It makes me smile. Here's how:

One: The speaker phone is 2.3 billion times better than the one on my last phone (the speaker phone I never even figured out). It makes phone calls with Bubby much more fun...and understandable. And especially easy when Jim/PawDad wants to join the conversation.

Two: Apps, free apps, and more apps.

Three: It's fodder for long discussions with Brianna and Andrea. Who both have iPhones. Who both are much more savvy with their iPhone than I am with mine. And who both recommend awesome free apps for me to try.

Four: My iPhone helps me track my calories in hopes of looking and feeling better by the time I head to BlogHer '11. Via a free app Brianna recommended, called LoseIt. So far, so good. Of course, it's only been four days since I started using it, but it makes me smile when I'm below my allowed calorie count for the day. (We'll just ignore here the day it made me wince and whine as I was 883 calories over what it should have been. Darn cupcakes!)

Five: Bejeweled 2. On the phone. Need I say more? No, but I will anyway. You'd think I would play Scrabble or do crosswords or some other word-y time killer, but when I have a moment to de-stress and waste in a game, I want it to be mindless and wordless, as words fill my day from morning to night. Bejeweled has no words...unless you count the times the guy says "Excellent!" because I've made an excellent move. Which I do often. Because I'm awesome at the wordless game. And I can knock out a level or two in the time it takes the pasta to boil while fixing dinner.

Six: I now have (free) shiny, happy ringtones and text tones for people. Blues-y notes are Jim; Andie's are happy-go-lucky; Megan's include a bicycle horn each time she texts; and Brianna's ring — which makes me chuckle every darn time — is a robot voice that sounds just like her when she calls with her chirpy-chippy-chit-chat. Music to my heart each time my loved ones call...or text.

Seven: Less than 30 minutes after Mac was born, I had photos of him on my iPhone. Okay, my iPhone had nothing to do with it, as I would have gotten the same photos on my old phone, too. But Preston has an iPhone, which made it easy for the doting dad to take and text photos of the newborn. And that made me smile...even at 3:40 a.m. (Mountain time). And made me thankful for iPhones, even when they're not mine.

Eight: Even though my iPhone had nothing to do with getting the photos of Mac, it made a world of difference in my ability to forward those precious photos to Brianna and Andrea. And to Jim's phone. Even at 3:40 in the morning. Without my glasses on.

See? Lots of smiles that little more-expensive-than-I-expected-because-I-need-a-large-data-plan gadget brings. And this is just the beginning of the love affair! I've not yet even traveled with the thing, but I can just imagine the joy when I use a mobile boarding pass, check flight status in an instant, and keep tabs on my e-mail — and blog — without ever having to open my laptop (or depend on spotty airport Wi-Fi).

Consider, too, all the smiles there will surely be when I share with Bubby all the apps I downloaded just to impress and entertain him when I visit.

Yep, my iPhone just may turn out to be this grandma's very best friend.

Disclosure: This is not an ad, not a sponsored post, not anything more than my honest opinion. I love my iPhone...and no one has compensated me in any way for saying so. I wish they had. Maybe they should.

Photo © Apple

Today's question:

What is something you wish your phone could do, realistic or not?

Pine cones, pain, and peanut butter

I mentioned in yesterday's post that the book Grandma's Bag of Tricks: Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars is a great boredom-busting book. It's also an awesome need-a-mellow-activity-while-recovering-from-tonsil-and-adenoid-surgery book. I can vouch for that because that's exactly what it offered up for my recent visit to see Bubby while he healed from his surgery.

The mellow activity I chose to do with Bubby was to make a pine cone bird feeder, using the pine cones I packed away in my Grandma Bag for the trip. (I lugged them along because while I have far too many pine cones in my yard in the mountains, they're nowhere to be found in Bubby's yard in the desert and he didn't even know what pine cones are.)

This is how the activity went:

First you take the pine cones ...

Then you add a wire to the top and coat them with peanut butter:

You taste the peanut butter, of course:

Then you spread a little more on the pine cone:

You roll your coated pine cone in birdseed:

And realize too late that tasting the seed probably wasn't such a good idea:

You finish the feeder:

And take a break because your throat hurts so cuss bad (maybe as much from swallowing peanut butter and seeds as from the T&A surgery):

Next, you hang your completed bird feeder in the yard:

And smile so proud for a job well done:

Then you sit back and wait for birds to arrive. Or for a dog, enticed by the scent of peanut butter, to nab the low-hanging fruit and gobble it down within a day of being hung. Which Roxy did. Twice.

So you complete the process all over again (thankful that Gramma brought spare pine cones and seed) and hang your new feeder up for the birds ... only this time you hang it high enough that Roxy can't reach it.

Today's question:

What is your latest project, completed or still in progress?