Tiramisu

Hi all,

Why, yes, that is the amazingly tasty-looking orange-chocolate cake that I made last night at 11. It included one trip to the neighbor's and then to the co-op for cocoa and chocolate. It was a triple-layer chocolate cake with a bottom and top layer glaze of orange dark chocolate ganache with orange marmalade in the middle layer, surrounded by a chocolate buttercream frosting. Of course, it had zero calories. Well, the cake was a bit better, as I substituted yogurt for the oil, since I was out of applesauce. I do a 1:1 conversion ratio. Honestly, with something so rich, I can't even tell if I'm missing anything!

It was a hit at the cafe, and I luckily got to try it before it was gone. I think the pretty orange twists (waaaaaaaay too much work...I taped thinly vegetable-peeled slices of peel to chopsticks for a half hour!) helped. But ahead of myself here.

Maria's mother arrived before breakfast, and things were a little chaotic. We decided to commence with Saturday morning cleaning as usual, so after I did the orange twists and got Maria ready I: cleaned the upstairs bathroom, cleaned out the back fridge, did a garden run with Beau and something else that I've already forgotten. Oh, then I helped make an enormous salad, pickled some radishes and helped lay out the lunch meats and cheeses that Connie's and Franklin's family brought. Beau's brother came and I really enjoyed him.

It's stressful being with so many of the people's families. I mean, they obviously put a lot of blind trust in us (especially the short-term co-workers!) and I know they have their child's/sibling's best interest at heart, but it can still be incredibly intimidating. A bit like being under a microscope. Even normal interactions can seem a little forced, and the last thing I would want anyone to believe is that I'm faking the relationship I have with them. However, we got a lot of compliments which was really nice, and I'm sure I'll be keeping in closer touch with them, as housemom is leaving. That's kind of a lot of responsibility.

Lunch was a great success, and was completely scrumptious. Afterward we barely had time to clean up. Beau's brother helped me label some old pictures I found in his room and we put them into his photo album. Since he's gotten some cowboy books and the photo album, he hasn't been tearing up Franklin's (or the house's) books. Because there's only so much of a discussion you can have with someone who's essentially non-verbal. Although it's always surprising at how much you can gleam through expressions and demeanor. Because of that, we were late to the ribbon-cutting for the new cafe/library, but still got there in time for cake. Sam was very helpful and brought the one I made for me. After cake I headed up to help housemom get some things down from the attic before going back to take a shift in the cafe. It was pretty much over by then, so we mostly just cleaned up.

Afterward, Maria and Franklin were both gone and Connie went out to dinner with her family. So Sam and I took Beau to Bash Bish Falls (it was SUPER hot and muggy today, I felt like all I did was melt, one drip at a time...) for a little hike down to the river/swim hole (which was occupied) and had a light picnic dinner. It was nice. It was also nice to miss the deer that jumped out right in front of me just a mere 1/2 mile out of the village...yikes.

Anyhow, it will take some adjusting with Franklin and Maria gone - we lost our main laundry person and mail runner. So I spent part of tonight folding and doing some laundry, and of course - baking a cake for tomorrow. I made a vanilla cake and some lemon curd, and housemom will top it with whipped cream and maybe coconut tomorrow. I plan on going to a museum with Flo tomorrow, and hopefully doing some more tomato planters and a sketch for my next stain glass learning project (something with curved lines, and hopefully not completely abstract).

Hope all is well,
Steph

No Harm, No Fowl

Hi all,

Well, definitely an eventful day! I was up at 6:30 (well, really 5:45, but I'll elaborate later...) to drop Sam and Pix off at the train station. They were off to the city to pick up one of Sam's closest friends. Yawwwn. So, an early start to the day. I got back exactly at 8 to set out cold cereal breakfast, and made it through morning cleaning. I did some planting and after lunch we set off for our excursion.

We went to Bash Bish Falls, which straddle the Massachusetts and New York border. Beau latched onto me and practically dragged me up the 3/4 mile path (all uphill, and housemom thought it was only a 1/4 mile). Maria whined the whole way about ice cream. We're not in a good space together right now. Anyhow, as Beau went along, he would cheerfully wave to people and sometimes say his short little "hi!". People find him cute, and generally respond. However, about half way up he started having some gas issues, and after waving to a couple, managed to squeeze out some good loud ones. I think they found that substantially less cute. I found it hilarious.

However, by the time we made it to the top (and me to the bottom of the falls), it was clear he and Maria both had to use the bathroom. So then I got hurried along back. We made it in time, but it took for forever for the rest of the group to meet us back at the van. Connie apparently took a trip down the stairs and banged up her knee quite impressively. She decided to soldier on and still have us go out for dinner. Which was a mistake.

The children were definitely not on restaurant behavior, and stirred up Maria and Franklin into being incredibly loud at times. Plus, I was seated right across from Maria and any time I made eye contact I got 1 million plus questions, to which she already knew the answers. To top it off, on the way home the youngest decided that speaking at top volume and then screaming would be fun. So I moved seats, housemom had to pull over and give him a talking to, and the drive was agonizing. So that was fun.

There was a Mother Fletcher concert tonight, but I called ahead to my potential ride to say I wouldn't make it. Housemom had her hands full putting the kids to bed, it was a shower night for Maria and I had to help Beau since Sam was off and housedad is gone. Again.

However, my night did end on a bright note.

The last few days we've been plagued by a rogue rooster. His story will pluck at your heart strings: he and 4 other roosters were tagged to be slaughtered. Somehow, against the odds, he managed to escape. He managed to evade capture for a good 4-5 days now, flaunting his speed whenever Ole (the co-worker who was supposed to be in charge of the slaughter operation) tried to catch him. Sounds like a disney movie, right? Well, it's not that cute when the damn bird is crowing at 5 in the morning (hello, this morning...), provoking other roosters into following. From the back yard, and then the front yard. And then, he decides to do it during rest hour as well. That was the last straw. I vehemently told housemom yesterday that I was going to get that rooster taken care of. This morning at 5:45 was the last straw. I had lost my faith completely in Ole and others and decided to take it into my own hands.

My genius idea came from Roald Dahl. In one of his books, they catch birds by soaking raisins in brandy and essentially getting the birds drunk by eating them. However, with a no-alcohol tolerance at the commune, it's slightly scarce. And would be hard to explain later. The neighbor suggested we hunt down his roost at night (which I strongly suspected to be in the garden shed...), although housemom said it wasn't likely we'd find it. So I told her my last resort was to call up someone I knew who had a gun (one of the housedads). She immediately said she'd help me tonight.

So tonight rolled around. We trekked down to the garden shed (housemom, her oldest and myself) at 9:20, carrying a flannel sheet, gloves, a cat carrier and some mesh net. Sure enough, the wily fellow was perched by a rafter near the front of the big (enough room for 3 decent-sized John Deer farmer tractors) - about 12 feet up. Housemom was afraid that if I poked it down with a stick that it would get hurt and suffer until Ole took care of it. My sympathy had run dry. After consulting with the same neighbor, we decided to wing it.

I climbed a bent and rickety ladder we found hanging on the wall (yes Bean, I put it back...), and housemom and her oldest held the sheet and net in ready. There is no wall on one side of the garage, so it wasn't a very sure thing. I poked him towards them, only to have him tenaciously cling onto the beam. Another poke sent him flying...in the opposite direction, towards the middle of the garage. Right on top of a big piece of Styrofoam. So I took the stick (well, shove handle) and gave it a great big push or two. The rooster flew/fell/fluttered to the floor near the back of the shed, where the oldest and I cornered it behind a cart. She held the net in front of it and I tossed the sheet on it. She, having far more experience with her pet chickens, swooped in and captured the bundle. Housemom got a peck on her gloved hands, but we got him safely (for us...) stashed in the cat carrier.

Oh, but it gets better.

Remember the Mother Fletcher concert?

I walk over to Ole's house, hoping to find a co-worker. Housemom made an impassioned plea on the rooster's behalf, claiming that since he was able to evade death she would be willing to honor his karma (exact words...) and release him far, far away to live out his days. Or until something else ate him. Anyhow, I trekked over to his house, but it was almost 10 and so everyone was in bed - and not a co-worker to be found. While wandering the halls (I'd never been inside this house before...), I stumbled upon a room with his name on the door. Hating to intrude (but what the heck else am I going to do with the rooster? Leave it out for some villager to free in the morning? Uh, no.), I slipped in and wrote him a note. I left the carrier in plain sight, although housemom said I should've hid it and let it wake him up at 5 tomorrow morning. I'm not sure how that would effect "Rocky" 's karma though...

At any rate, he will be in for a rather big surprise either late tonight or early tomorrow. I'll keep you posted about his fate. Don't feel too bad for him, I (literally) won't lose any sleep over it!

Hope all is well,
Steph