Our first day in Cub Scouts was August 29, 2005 when J started as a Tiger. Now we can finally say that our last day of Cub Scouts was February 25, 2012, when C crossed the bridge into the world of Boy Scouts. We’ve been through many ups and downs over the last seven years in our family, and our scouting family was there when it all happened: Going through the adoption process and welcoming A home, DH and I switching roles where I work full time and he homeschools the kids, dealing with the loss of my dad, selling our home and now building a new one. Our boys have learned a lot through scouting and had opportunities to do things that many boys don’t get to do, such as camping on the USS Yorktown. C has come a long way since his first Blue & Gold.
J & C are now Boy Scouts together. We look forward to seeing how far these guys will go with the program. Hopefully they’ll stay with it. Maybe even one or both of them will achieve the Eagle Scout rank! But even if they decide not to stick with it, they will carry what they’ve learned from scouting with them always.
C and his Webelos II buddies getting ready for their big moment.
Getting ready for the flag ceremony
First he gets his 1st Place Fastest Car trophy from the Pinewood Derby
Crossing the bridge, where the Troop awaits
Getting adorned with his new Boy Scout stuff
Saying the Scout Oath for the first time as a Boy Scout (C's in there somewhere)
What has happened since my last post? Here’s what happened. Life. Okay, I know that’s too general, so here’s a summary:
The Holidays. Yes, it’s Valentine’s Day, but we’re still carrying around that pesky holiday weight. The kids’ weight gain is due to growth. But mine? Gluttony. DH‘s? Same. Even Kiwi could stand to shed several pounds. But the coolest thing about the holidays this past year was C’s birthday present. Introducing the 2 newest members of the fam:
I guess another cool holiday thing is this new camera and lenses I got, so I can take awesome bokeh shots like this one:
The House. Roof – Check. Electrical – Check. Plumbing – Check. HVAC – Check. Insulation – Check. Drywall – check, mostly. Next, the floors.
The Homestead. The chickens are back in our custody, so no more mooching off our kind neighbor’s services. Kiwi and the cats are visiting more often since there’s more activity. We’ll be feeding them on our side of the property pretty soon, but the question is, will they stay on our side or become the neighborhood pets? My alter-ego, Blackthumb, has received a pile of seed catalogs, so I’m ordering seeds for our vegetable garden. The place is starting to feel like we actually belong there.
The Kids. Who are they? Where did they come from? How in the world did this tall, ravenous tween get in my house? They seem to get louder as they grow older. Probably because I’m getting older and harder of hearing. Selective hearing, that is. C won first place, fastest car in this year’s, our final, Pinewood Derby! *sigh* seemed like yesterday when he was just a lil’ tyke, all excited about his first race!
And he built that fancy car with very minimal help. I think J helped cut the block and dad just helped glue the weights on. 7 years and 10 Pinewood Derby cars later, we learned that we should’ve just let the boys build the cars themselves in order to win.
Our house project is coming along, and today we put up the gables. “We” doesn’t necessarily mean “me” when it comes to involvement, especially if it involves doing physical labor. I was involved by documenting the process. It’s just as important! Thanks to the strong backs of our Scout friends (just the dads), we now have a structure that actually resembles a house instead of a box.
The gables were built lying down and then were stood up. Looks heavy, doesn't it?
Almost up
The gable is up and bracing is quickly added.
I used my iPhone to capture the "gable-raising" on video.
The house looks like an unfinished Hollywood Studio set now. Next up: the roof rafters.
Since most of the action on our building project is taking place while I’m at work, I’ve solicited the help of my assistant photographer to take photos. Here are some shots through the eyes of my son, C:
Driveway
Pouring the concrete for the footings
J has been a huge help on our building project
The floor system.
The walls!
Looks like the photographer got distracted by cute subject matter.
Why is it that a little kitty can cause so much distraction?
This is the last shot on my camera today. C's been doing a great job taking photos!
Easy as one…
Two…
Three…
Well, okay. It’s not that easy, but it is the easiest pastry crust I’ve ever made, and I love it! For years I’ve used America’s Test Kitchen’s pie dough recipe and it’s not terribly easy to make, with the “schmearing” step involved.* The science behind a flakey crust is the solids you put into it. In this case it’s butter. When the pastry is baking, the butter melts, leaving pockets of air. That’s why it’s important to use cold butter. Another key is to not work the dough too much. The less the dough is kneaded or handled, the less opportunity the butter has to melt, and the “airier” the better.
Crust
2 cups all-purp flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into ‘pats’
1/2 cup ice water
In a food processor, combine flour, salt and sugar; pulse briefly to mix. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is in pea-size bits. With the processor running, slowly add ice water, then pulse until the dough starts to form small clumps. Dump contents onto a slightly floured board and form a ball, working the dough as little as possible. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
The possibilities for this crust are endless. I’m going to use this for pies and other pastries.
For the apple tart pictured above, peel/core/slice 4 medium baking apples; mix apples with 2 tbsp flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice (or add whatever spices you like: cinnamon, nutmeg, etc). Roll crust on parchment paper, dump the apple mixture into the center and fold the edges of the crust around the apples. Place tart with parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour.
*After doing some research on the web, it appears they’ve modified their pie dough recipe and use vodka instead of vinegar and eliminated the “schmearing” step. I’m going to have to revisit that recipe! 
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