and the birds are just singing....

 It's that intoxicatingly beautiful time of year here in central NY state, when the grass grows lushly right before your eyes, and the flowers are everywhere.  The birds won't shut up, they wake you at dawn and keep at it all day long.  Go for a ride, and see the fields and the rolling hills, the woods all green again, and you'll find yourself saying that yes, this is God's country.

The kids are feeling a bit better, but Wulf is still pretty sick, Margaret and Adrian's little guy.  Please pray for him that he can start keeping things down, it worries me a bit.  I did encourage Margaret that we do live in a country where we have an excellent health care system, and if she needs to bring him in for fluids, they'll take good care of him.  Then Sam said, "What if she calls the doctor, and the doctor says, no more monkeys jumping on the bed!?"  

Sam, he's too funny sometimes.  He's here again, when it rains it pours, he has Army Reserves drill this weekend.  He had a PT test this fine morning, and he let me take his pic, for the blog, what a good sport.

Paul and I, and Charlotte Claire are still fine and dandy.  I am hoping that if I get it, I get it fast, and get well, because on Tuesday, I'm flying across this big beautiful country of ours, and yay, seeing Kathryn and Darius and little Achilles, and maybe a newborn baby.  If I'm REALLY lucky, I'll get there just in time for the birth, then have maximum baby time before leaving, as we are only staying one week.

The pool is doing fine, Paul's little fix-it idea worked, it's crystal clear, but still has the pile of leaves in the middle.  What?  I tried to get in there, but it was under 70 degrees, too cold!  Maybe over the next few days as we climb into the nineties, it'll warm up, or it'll be so hot out it'll be refreshing.

Okay, my chocolate chip cookie recipe...I'll give you the original, which is tripled, then the one I've used lately that seems good too.  I don't eat the cookies anymore, but it's my love language, giving people cookies...

One pound butter (4 sticks), soften a bit

1 cup of shortening

(cream together)

3 cups brown sugar

1 and 1/2 cups white sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla

(mix together)

6 eggs, room temp

(beat all together)

Separate bowl:

7 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking soda

3 scant teaspoons salt

Sift together and add to butter mixture

(I usually make one tray without the choc chips, then add 6 cups of them to the rest of the batter)

Bake at 350, for 6 minutes, then switch trays from upper to lower, two trays at a time, then 3 more minutes...I take them out just as they are browning...love baking on parchment paper, just pull the paper off the pans...

I've tried this recipe too:

3/4 cup of butter

1/4 cup shortening

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

scant teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips

The latter recipe tends to be a bit puffier, not as flat as the first recipe...but the first one produces a very chewy, classic cookie.  

Wow, now I want to make cookies!  Jonathan was craving ice cream yesterday, after not eating anything much all day, so Charlotte Claire and I went to Byrne Dairy and got a few half gallons.  We also got four half moon cookies, as they were a dollar each, Wednesday special, in case they wanted a little something to eat, tempt their appetites.  Cam managed a half of one, and enjoyed it.

Sam arrived last evening, it's always so good to see him.  He's bringing Grace and Grant up in a few weeks to stay for the week, it'll be nice.

So the kids here are feeling better, not 100% but definitely getting better.  There's nothing like an illness to show us how fragile we really are...