Is This Magically Seattle?

I live in EASTERN Washington. You know, or maybe you don't, the warm dry part of the state. Or at least that is how it usually is, especially by the end of May...again USUALLY! But this year is feeling way to Seattle-ish for my liking. Sure I love a good summer rain when it is warm out and the big heavy raindrops are warm and ripe for running through....but lately more days have been wet and yucky than warm and sunny.
Oh, I know it is great for the often ignored lawn, and the flowerbed that is finally growing, not to mention my garden, but too many days inside the house avoiding said rain makes it feel like mid winter and cabin fever starts to set in and the kids go monkey wild!
That is why, on Memorial day, after heading out the cemeteries to pay our respects to those who have gone before us, we hit the puddle with fierce enjoyment!




Today is much like Monday, only the temperature is not is warm so there will be no splashing away, no running crazily through the falling drops, no dripping wet clothes to climb out of into a hot shower. Just a lazy afternoon watching movies and wishing for the sun to make an appearance!

Sticky (Sin)namon Fan Tan!

Yes, I know I am so punny! But once you try these you might agree that they are sinfully good! We LoVeD them. The kids devoured them and asked for seconds and thirds. I am not a recipe blogger by nature. I love to bake, it is my favorite hobby...thus the reason I weigh what I do, but I shared pictures of these on FACEBOOK and had an overwhelming desire for me to share with my friends, so being the cool cat that I am I gave it to 'em. Since I think of all of you out there in Bloggerville, and Bloggerland and Blogtropolis as my friends too, I thought, what the hay, why not share it here too! Again, I don't do the recipe blogging so alas, I don't have any in the process pictures, no step by step color by numbers here...you will have to read *gasp* the instructions to make these!

Ok, I must mention it is a modified fan tan roll. . I didn't make this entirely out of my head...but as with most recipes I did tweak it a little (The cinnamon and sticky yumminess of this is all mine with other minor changes)! Oh, and I am pretty specific on some ingredients, cause well, they make the bread better....mostly the flour. I am sold on Gold Medal Better for Bread flour. I pride myself on my rolls and breads and this is what makes them so great!
Ok here goes:
1/2 cup warm water (about 110-115 degrees)
2 packages of rapid rise yeast (also works with bread machine yeast...and 2 packages = 4 and 1/2 tsp)
3/4 cup warm milk (same temp as h2o)
1/3 cup butter (softened...mine is usually melted since I heat the h2o, milk and butter together)
1/3 cup sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
4 to 4 and 1/2 cups Gold Medal Better for Bread Flour
1 egg

(the filling is 3/4 to 1 cup butter melted with 1 cup BROWn sugar and about 2 tablespoons of cinnamon...depends how rich you want it. And if you like it even stickier you can make more of this)
Heat your milk, water and butter to about 115 degrees.
In your mixing bowl put in the 1 and 1/2 cups of flour, the sugar, salt and yeast, blend well, then add the milk, water and butter to the mix. Blend well. Next add the egg and enough remaining flour to make the dough stiff. (I usually add enough to make it sticky so I can knead the dough...it is a great tension release for me) once the dough is stiff from mixing (or kneading) grease a bowl and put the dough in it, grease the top of the dough and put it in the refrigerator for at least an hour. (Did I forget to mention this is a refrigerator recipe?) The actual recipe says 2 to 24 hours, but if you are impatient like me, one hour (heck 45 mins. sometimes) is all I can handle. As long as the dough has risen you are good.
Ok, once you have suffered long enough and just have to get on with the process, you take the dough out of the fridge, punch it down ( this is another great way to let of a bit of steam...only hit it once...if you need to hit more find a punching bag or pillow).
Separate it into 2 equal parts roll them out into rectangles or as close as you can get...try to make them the same size, if you are like me they will look a bit gimpy but alas they will still work...trust me!
Once you have them rolled out take some of your topping and spread it nice and thick, cause, come on, face it, you want theses cause of the sticky yummy goodness. Then cut it into 6 to 7 strips of dough, take those and stack em up, then cut your stack. I usually make the rolls about 2 inches wide. Take the sticky goody yum yums and put them in to your greased muffin tins...put them in so you can see the layers (if you want to make mini goodness you will have to take each cut and cut it into half...but for easier making, use the big tins!) Once you have finished the first rectangle move on to the next by following those easy to use directions that I just so lovingly gave you!
The yield depends on how big your muffin tins are and how big you make the rolls. The actual recipe says you should get about 18 of these babies!

You let those rise (according to the recipe) 30-45 minutes, now as I have said earlier, I am not a fan of waiting, I usually let them rise 15 to 25 minutes in a warm draft free place...if you are luckily enough to have a fancy oven that has a fancy bread setting poo poo for you, for the rest of us, 20 minutes usually does fine. I recommend putting a cookie sheet under the muffin tins, the cinnamon filling does have a tendency to try to escape!
You bake them in a nice warm oven...375 degrees for 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and the goo is flowing and you mouth is watering and you just can't take it any more.
Your loved ones will love them so much they might even clean up the mess you made bringing them these tasty treats!

Love New Places

Hosted by Cecilyand Debi


Recently, Ok last week, I found a new park (Holmberg Park) to take the kids to. I went there with my sister, brother-in-law, their kids and of course my kiddos too. It is not more than a 10 minute drive from my house and it is gorgeous! The park is butted up next to a relatively new conservation area. We talked to a few hikers while there and they told us the former owner sold the land to the county for a dollar with the deal it had to be preserved and not developed...fine by me, I love new places to take the kids hiking!
We had a fine day playing, hiking and enjoying a snack!
So of course on Saturday I had to get Aaron there so he could see how great the place is too! We also had a fine time...I spent more time looking at it with a photographers eye the second time around. And let me just say, I need to take my family portraits there, I love the grassy meadow. I did a mini shoot of Javin and Aaron to see if I really liked the setting. Yup, I'm sold!! I will have to bring the whole shebang next time so I can get the whole family in the picture!

New Prop!

I got this tea cup for planting so I decided to plant me a Stella! My cool sister in law let me stuff her 3 and a half month old in, to see if she still fit. I plan to do a real shoot with her and the cup, but I just HAD to see if she was too big.

Liam...the newest nephew sweetness

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Spring has sprung and what can be more spring like than new life. My sister had her boy....finally! After a week overdue, he came. I had to go take pictures...so with out further adieu, I introduce you to Liam Henry Barrett. 8 Pounds 9.7 ounces and 21 inches of handsome baby goodness. he came at 1:15 am on the 6th of April.

Dublin Hat

Orissa modeling the hat we got in dublin. It really does look good on boys and girls, and was hand made in Ireland. Isn't she just so cute! I actually got her to sit still without bribing her with chocolate or goldfish crackers (two year olds have SO much energy...if only I could bottle it, I'd be a millionaire)! Woot woot!

Dublin Day 3...

Hosted by Cecily and Life With Kaishon

(OK, I know I wrote it on Tuesday, but that was when I knew I would have time! Enjoy!)


You might not believe me, but I really had planned to post these all rapid fire-like. If you are a long time reader, you might already be aware of how I hope things go, and how they really go. Here it is more than a week since the last Dublin post and I am finally getting to this.
I have been home long enough that when I look at the pictures, I say to myself, "Wow, was I really just in Ireland? Did I really have the wonderful opportunity to see my favorite country (besides these here Untied States) for a second time? Stang, I am a lucky girl!"
Yeah, that is pretty much how it goes, because that is just how awesome I am...and I know I am awesome cause my four year old son tells me that every couple of days!
Our day started out with a big yummy breakfast (not shown)

and a wonderful, and LONG walk to the Dublin Zoo! I admit, I love zoos. There are so many animals you just don't have many chances to see in the wild. I know a lot of people don't like them and that is fine, but I LOVE em! So, here are a couple of the critters we encountered!
Isn't this baby adorable?
"Make sure you get this side! Definitely my best!"
This hippo was very watchful of me as I snapped away at him. I think he had a cold...his eye was watering.
Love the elephants too!

I could put up over a hundred pictures...I had to get a lot, I promised one little boy oodles of animal pictures! However, it was a very full and busy day. After the zoo, we wandered all over Phoenix Park. And let me just say, it is HUGE, and beautiful and well loved and used by the Dubliners (the populace and who knows, maybe even the famous group too!)
So here are a couple of my favorite pictures. The Wellington Monument. I love it! It is to memorialize all the Irishmen who died fighting in wars for the British.
Aaron on the steps of the Wellington Monument.
For scale, you see that dark spot in the middle of the green that is a guy who is about 6 feet tall!

The huge cross that is a tribute to the visit from Pope John Paul, where he held mass for over a million people.
The plaque at the cross. In 1979 Pope John Paul II came to Dublin.
Really like the lens flare here.

And the herd of deer that were just hanging out in the middle of the park, totally unperturbed by the people all around them!

After the park, we walked all the way to the Kilmainham Gaol.
This cross represents the spot where James Connelly was put to death for his part in the revolution attempt. He wasn't killed where the others were, because he had to be brought in from the hospital, where he was already not doing too well. He couldn't stand on his own, so when he was brought into the stone yard, they closed the gates, put him on a chair, and a firing squad ended his life. The cross below this, represents where the other leaders of the revolution were put to death. The interesting part is, before the executions, the people of Ireland (as a whole) weren't extremely keen to gain independence. After the brutal deaths of these men, the resistance gained in popularity.

Aaron standing inside of one of the cells in the nicer, newer part of the gaol. It was added on in the 18th century! Very modern.
(Political graffiti that was done by one of the prisoners. I can't recall who the guide said it was an image of.)
This too, is one of my favorite places in Dublin. yes, I know you are probably thinking, "A jail? Really? One of your favorite places is a jail?" Sounds strange, maybe even a bit morbid, but it is steeped in history of the Irish Revolution. This history is so recent, and fresh in the minds of many of the Irish folks. Men spent their final hours here, knowing they were to die for fighting for freedom. I have to say, freedom was and is worth fighting for. This piece of Irish history lay empty and falling to ruins, and was nearly demolished before being turned into a national treasure. Men and women who spent time here, pled for it's salvation. Without it as a reminder history would have been dimmed.