Creme Brulee recipe

Mostly because I can't find it easily.

Makes 2

3/4 cup cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp orange zest
2 egg yokes
1/4 cup sugar

Makes 6

2.25 cup cream
1.5 tsp vanilla
6 egg yokes
3/4 cup sugar

Makes 8

3 cup cream
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange zest
8 egg yokes
1 cup sugar

1. Ideally use a fresh vanilla bean. 
2. Slice the vanilla bean in half, scrape it into the cream and bring up to a boil.
3. In a different bowl, add egg yokes and sugar. 
4. Strain the heated cream to get rid of the bigger chunks.
5. Whisk egg mixture in a double boiler and slowly add the strained heated cream.
6. Transfer to ramekins and put into a bain marie and bake in oven at 350F
7.  Cook for 30-40 minutes (?) until only slightly jiggly. Keep checking.
8. Cool completely
9. Before serving, put some white sugar on top, roll around and dump off excess. Torch lightly to caramelize.

To Toronto and Back

We booked an adventure to Toronto. Since we thought that it would be really nice, we booked it on the train. Then all the trains were cancelled. No issue, so we drove. After we were on the road, we found out that there was a bad collision and they closed the 401. From the GPS, that added at least 2 hours 20 minutes, but between now having to do an extra meal stop and then getting stuck in late day traffic and an advent around where we were staying, it took us about 8 hours and 15 minutes to get there. On the way home it was 4.5 hours. So a bit of a bump to start the trip, but the kids handled it really well. I think that's due to Laura being Super Mom and having piles and piles of snacks.

When we were there, we visited the CN Tower, Ripley's Aquarium, wondered around the lakefront, spent a bunch of time in the hotel pool, and on the last day we went to Medieval Times. One of Isaac's highlights is being allowed to eat dinner in front of the tv while watching the lego Batman movie. All seemed to be a big success.

The CN Tower seems it me that it got an upgrade. Pretty nice inside and would be an awesome place to have a fancy cocktail party. The weather was great and even had those perfect clouds with sunbeams. Alice was a bit nervous with the glass floor and being so high up, but I think that she really enjoyed it.

The aquarium was great. Lots of interesting things to see and seemed to be a good length. We were able to get there close to opening, so the crowds didn't seem to be too bad until we were leaving. Seeing the kids expressions as they excitedly see the animals was great. Lucy likes flashing her $100 smile.

At the pool the 2 youngest kids were floaties, but Alice just swam around (and could reach the bottom). They all played so well together and had such a nice time. They all seem so comfortable in the water which is a really nice thing. I think the visit to the cottage will go well.

I had been to Medieval Times before. When I was five. In Florida. So my memory of how it would go was a bit rough, but the kids really liked it. Alice had it all figured out which knights would be announced in which order, and who would lose. She's really quite clever. Isaac seemed enthralled by the sword fighting. Lucy had a great time. We all did really well eating in the dark, with our hands. Honestly I didn't think that Lucy could eat half a chicken, let alone two.

After a long and busy weekend, the biggest issue has been the kids being so very sad that we were not going back to the hotel. It was a very good time.

Grandma's shortbread

SHORTBREAD

1 lb. butter
1 cup white sugar
yolk of 2 eggs
5 cups flour
2 tsp. vanilla
salt

Combine like pastry, adding flour until combined.  Pat out and lightly roll, cut

into at least 1/2 inch sizes.  Bake 350 degrees until slightly brown.

Feeling Lucky

The more I see of the world and people, the more I see relationships that just don't work out. Sometimes there's something that you can point to and say "oh ya, that's totally the problem", but most of the time it's just... done. At least from the outside. It makes me sad for those people, but I'm not really surprised anymore by it.

Which is why I feel so lucky right now.

Which is why I'm motivated to keep working on what we've got.

There will always be difficult times (8yo puking off the upper bunk comes to mind).

I just hope that all my puppeting practice will put me over the top. [ squeaky voice ] I'm sure that it will!

Commuting with family

September is about 10 months away, but that will be the first time in a long time that I will not be commuting without taking kids into work with me. They can be difficult, but as I think about it, I'm really going to miss it.

It's been a "forced" time with the kids. The most enjoyable of course are biking, but the train is a close second. For those 20-30 minutes it's just us exploring the world together, talking about what we see, making up silly things (me: "did you see the elephant hiding in the tunnel? It's grey and puts its trunk by the pipes... you have to look hard". Lucy: "No, but I see a purple kitty cat and a pink dog. Woof woof woof!").

Ah, one of these days I'll be less sad as my kids grow up. But today is not one of those days.

The quiet moments

Today when I got to daycare to pick up Lucy I was able to get into the room without her seeing me. Usually when that happens the other kids point out to her that I'm there and we start the pickup routine. Today was different, no one payed me any attention. Lucy was sitting on her knees facing another girl while watching this girl playing with drumsticks on drums. You could tell she wanted to play, but was waiting patiently. After about 30-60 seconds this girl handed Lucy the sticks and went onto another task and Lucy happily played the drums.

It's really nice to see those moments.

Loss of trust

Loss of trust is a shitty thing. Trust takes years to build up, but it's very easy to lose.

The other day something happened that I keep on thinking about because it's really bothering. me. Someone lied to someone else, while smiling, about the stupidest thing: the booking of a boardroom. Not a mistake, not confusion, but a flat out lie because they had mentioned the truth shortly before.

If you're willing to lie about the inane thing to a coworker, where exactly is the line?

Have you been lying to me? How could I ever trust that you're not going to in the future? I don't think that I can, and that makes me very sad.

An easy lie. A smile. A broken trust.