Day 8 and Mountain Lions

Whew....so it has been 8 days since the kids started school and I think we're finally getting into a routine. Don't laugh but the hardest part for me is trying to decide what to fix my son for lunch. There is no lunch service at his elementary school - what? Yep, that's right! the state of California is so poor that they don't even have enough money to pay the lunch ladies! And you know what else? There are no school buses either!! So all you lucky parents out there who see your kids off on a school bus every morning, you have got is so made as we here in our community have to drive/walk/bike our kids to school. Twice a day. Five days a week. And in my case since my kids go to 2 different schools, all the numbers double.

This is what we did last weekend when it was very HOT in our neck of the woods:



If you zoom in on the picture, you will see that it says "Mountain Lion Habitat"! And it was NOT my idea to hike there....it was my husband's! I got the kids so paranoid about the lions that my daughter decided to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" really loud all the way up the hill to scare off any lurking mountain lions. Also, the sign tells you what to do in case you get attacked! Above that sign is also a warning that there are rattlesnakes, ticks and poison oak. And this is supposed to be a kid-friendly hike???(at least according to this guidebook that my husband got at the bookstore). The good news is, obviously, that there were no encounters with any of the dangerous things on that hill and all in all, it was a fun thing to do together. But I don't plan on going back there any time soon! LOL!

Later on tonight - if I get my act together - will hopefully post some pictures here of some new Halloween tags you can use to put on your treats. Simple design and handmade (no mass manufactured embellishments here ever! Or at least I try to always handmake all that goes into my products).

Golden Gate, Bay Area Discovery Museum, a 30% off sale and R.I.P.

You can just make out the Golden Gate Bridge under the fog....we're continuing to do last-minute fun activities before school starts this Wednesday!!!



Here are my 2 silly kids hiding from their parents at the park. You can't miss those big ol' feet under the pines and the Crocs kind of make you conspicuous.



No, not a real one.....



Oh, no! They're caught in the giant spider web!



I would LOVE having steps like these in our future home! What a great way to re-use old tree stumps.

If you live in the SF bay area, go visit the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito. It's a beautiful spot and former Army fort with great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay. They say that the museum is appropriate for ages 0-8 but I'd say it's better for up to age 6. The hands-on activities are great for younger children but if you have a 7 year old, they may get bored. However, the playground was amazing and worth the $8 child admission fee (and free parking!!).

Two more days before school starts!!!!! My baby girl will start kindergarten and my son will enter 2nd grade! I'm going to miss them so much and wish I can just keep them home with me all day (nope, am not nuts!). I keep telling them when they misbehave that if they don't straighten up I'll homeschool them! LOL!!

In celebration of school starting, Dizzybroad is having a "BTSS" sale - Back to school Sale! Items marked with BTSS on the title are an extra 30% off! Also a couple of new items like this one:

Lemons and Zucchini! and Witches, Ghosts and Spiders, Oh My!

My little patio Meyer lemon tree is TRYING really hard to give me ripened lemons but we're in a microclimate where it is 64 degrees during the summer! Aaargh! It has managed to ripen a half dozen so I quickly picked those, zested them and squeezed the wonderful juice from them to use for these delicious Lemon Zucchini Drop cookies.





These are soooooo good! So good that my 7 year old, who plugs his nose when he has to swallow vegetables, devours them! I got this recipe from my MIL. I'm sure she doesn't mind that I share it here. These are soft and almost cake-like and are not very sweet. If you have a garden with an over-abundance of zucchini, shred some of it and use for this recipe!



Lemon Zucchini Drop Cookies
Stir together
2 c. apf (all-purpose flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream together
3/4 c. softened butter
3/c c. sugar

Beat in
1 lg egg (egg substitute ok)
1 tsp grated lemon peel

Stir in Flour mixture until incorporated.
Stir in 1 c. grated zucchini
1 c. chopped pecans (optional - if you do add these, toast them first to release their flavor)

Use a small ice cream scoop for uniform drops. Bake at 375 oven, 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden.

Meanwhile, make the frosting:
1 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbls lemon juice (fresh is the best - don't use bottled or it will taste like medicine!)

When cookies are done, immediately spoon a small amount of frosting on top so it coats the top of the cookies. Use the back of the spoon to spread the frosting around. Frosting goes a long way so don't spoon too much on each cookie.

Makes about 3 doz.



Here is a comparison of regular sized lemons and Meyer lemons...Meyer's are much smaller, thinner peel and very juicy. The flavor is out of this world!



This is how cold it is where we live...basil DOES NOT EVER GROW here!!! This is the 2nd year I've tried to grow basil and it just spits out little tiny leaves, shrivels then goes straight to flower. Now, if we lived just 3 miles from here across the freeway, the temperature there is 10 degrees hotter. I see people with huge lemons on their trees and herbs that are growing all over the sidewalk. Sigh....



Look at what's new at my shop! Go get them before they're gone!