- Easing the pain

Originally posted in On the Trail ... something for our two toddler grandsons:

One little monkey jumpin' on the bed

He fell off and bumped his head

Momma called the doctor & the doctor said

"Put an All Better Bag right on his head"

All Better Bag - A soft linen and flannel bag filled with rice and stitched with an x (mwah!) in the center. Keep in the freezer to put on bumped heads or warm gently in the microwave for earaches.

Coming soon to a Mom near you.

- Folk art fish growth chart

Originally posted in On the Trail:

Griffin's growth chart was definitely a collaborative effort ... I scanned Pinterest for ideas, from which Meg chose one. Pop Pop cut out the fish from a sketch that I did on waxed paper. After he sanded it down, Meg painted the stripes (rusticly ... if that's a word). I noodged some frou-frou wooden numbers with sand paper to make them a little less loopy, then Pop Pop painted and attached them.

The finishing touches included wood-burned inch marks (Pop Pop), hand twisted gray rope (yours truly), and an octopus tentacle hanger (Meg). Paul got into the act when it came to hanging the fish, which now resides in Griffin's room.

- Eggs a la Wentzville

Meliss made us a wonderful concoction last fall, but I couldn't remember the recipe. When asked for a repeat, here's what she texted:

     "Buttered ramekin, one egg, splash of cream, grated parm, 
       bake 350 for 15 minutes, then top with prosciutto"

I'm glad to see she's working in the family tradition of not being overly rigid when it comes to directions. However, as has been well-documented in the past, I never met a recipe that I didn't change. In this case, after getting clarification on cooking the prosciutto, to wit:

     "Just in a smidge of butter in frying pan"

I decided to freestyle by substituting speck (a smoked prosciutto well worth tracking down) and a generous dose of freshly ground pepper. 

This was the end result, which inspired Don to suggest a spoon rather than a fork as the utensil of choice ...