Weekend :: Me ::

I did not have my camera with me most of the weekend, so I missed out on 'documenting' the most important part...time spent with my kids and dear friends!

Scotty and I 'babysat' our friend Aidan on Friday night. Aidan is actually Tommy's teacher's little boy, and she and her partner went to a 'parenting class'. They take it so seriously! haha Aidan is a cutie pie in Scotty's preschool classs. He calls me "Mama Mia" and snuggles into my lap every time I see him. Love.

Before we babysat him at his house, he and Scotty, plus Tommy and his friend from school, all came home with me for a few hours after school. As I was leaving school, every mom who saw me... four boys in tow, backpacks akimbo, voices permanently at "11" (because it's one louder, isn't it?)... mumbled something about either "brave" or "crazy" or both. Pretty funny!

Saturday, after the baseball game, my friend Marjan dropped by and I got two hours of her all to myself. She brought me a piano bench which is the perfect size and height for weaving on the loom! She's moving next weekend, and though she's not going too too far, she'll be a couple hours away by car. I'll miss her so! She's part of a small but tight group of four that I get to spend time with every few months. Last time we saw her was at her house, and I had brought her a crocheted dish rag. She loved it so much that she asked if I'd show her how I did it. So we sat on the back patio, alternating between our little projects in the sun, negotiating pool protocol between the boys, and painting with them, too. She'll be moving (temporarily) in with her son and daughter-in-law to help with their kids, so she was making lots of mental notes when dealing with my rowdy bunch!

Later on Saturday, I took the boys to the Anthony Chabot park in Oakland off Skyline for a brief, but lovely, birthday celebration. We sat in the sun, ate apple cake, and caught up with friends. Playing catch, running through the playground. *sigh*

After watching Erik's show on Saturday night (and getting pleasantly tipsy), we went out to breakfast the next morning ("For the first time since 2004!" according to Erik!) and picked up our boys. I got zucchini from my mom's garden, and some beautiful red and white onions too. I grilled them for dinner...be still my heart.




On the way home, we picked up another friend for another play date with Tommy. More swimming, more playing, more projects in the sun. Under 'happy coincidences', I was packing up a few of the zucchini, a loaf of bread I was baking while the boys played, and a dozen eggs from mom's chickens...as I was handing it off, they passed me a half flat of huge, yummy strawberries! Life is so good! Next time I'll be sure to have a commemorative tote knitted up for their goodies. haha!


I also baked chocolate chip cookies, but it was after they left. When they were leaving, Tommy got ready for baseball practice and we FINALLY got home (last game of the season was Monday night...I will miss baseball, but NOT the endless output of hours on those benches in the (too) windy evenings or (too) hot days) and the cookie cooking commenced. These are, bar none, the BEST chocolate cookies EVER. They are big and chewy and homely, exactly like they are supposed to be!

1 c margarine
2/3 c golden brown sugar
1 1/3 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 extra large eggs
3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt 24 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 f. Cream margarine with sugars until light. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt; beat into batter. Add chips and nuts, mix thoroughly. Drop onto baking sheets (lined with parchment paper or a quick spritz of non-stick spray). Bake 12 mins. Cool on sheets, move to rack to cool completely. (If they last this long, you're a better woman than I am.)

Makes 60 large cookies. LARGE. And yes, 60. This recipe is no joke. It was given to me by a teacher I used to work with in my first couple years of teaching. All four years of undergraduate, one year of credential work, and 2 years for my Master's? All paid off when I got a job with Pat Keanan, who shared this recipe one day so casually, it was like it hadn't changed her life at all. Me? I'm still reeling.

By the way...you should know that I make the biggest mess when I'm cooking. It doesn't matter if I'm making homemade pizza, a four-course meal, four dozen cookies, or boiling water and pouring cold cereal. It's the same mess. I literally destroy the place.





And, thanks to apple cake, warm bread, and chewy chocolate chip cookies, there was a little of this, too!