Sneaky Husband - Part Two

And now, the REST of the story (continued from HERE).

So, one huge surprise wasn't enough for this birthday, I guess.

Last night Chris and Kelsey said they wanted to take us to dinner. Dan told us that he made reservations for us at Black Angus, for 6:45. We drove over there, and were taken to a back room to be seated. As we walked into the room, the host stopped, and I was wondering why he didn't seat us. That's when nearly the whole room broke into "Happy Birthday to You!" Seated at various tables surrounding ours were all sorts of dear friends, and Tim was already seated at the family table. In the center of our table was a stunning bouquet of red roses (from Dan), along with a pile of cards from everyone. I really couldn't have been more surprised!

Friends and family
Roses from Dan

It must have taken a good 15 minutes for me to get around and hug and thank everyone who was there to usher me into senior citizenship! After dinner came a pretty decorated cake, and a sort of a roast/toast/"This is Your Life" from our preacher and good friend, John.

Part way through the dinner it dawned on me that I not only have a sneaky husband (as I said in the first post), but an entire sneaky family and a host of sneaky friends! Dan pulled it all off without a hitch, but being the perpetrator and secret-keeper took a toll on him. He was pretty drained by the end of the evening. He asked Chris to do the driving when we left the restaurant, and, after we got home, he didn't take long to drop into bed.

What a guy! And What a family! Having Chris, Kelsey, Sweetpea and Tim at our family table and so many loving friends there with us, was a sweet reminder of the blessings God has showered on us over the years.

The "Sneaky One" and me with my cake

Chris, Kelsey and Sweetpea

Sweetpea's favorite part of dinner was the cake

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This morning Tim and our friend, Keith, joined us for a final breakfast together, before Chris, Kelsey and Sweetpea took off for the airport. Here are just a few more pictures, taken over the past few days, of my favorite "subject."

Sweetpea has her own little Fisher Price camera, and here she is taking a picture of Grandma's robotic puppy, Rocky. This was the first time that Sweetpea was around Rocky and not terrified of him.

"What do you mean? Take WHAT finger out of the ice cream?"

A contented Grandpa, with Sweetpea in his lap

Sweetpea and Grandma, before the party

Time out to do a little "work"

A big smile from our pride and joy

The Daring Bakers' January Challenge - Tuiles

It's the end of January already and time to post the results of the first challenge of 2009, from the Daring Bakers. This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Baking Soda and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux. (Recipe HERE.)

The ingredients are simple: butter, powdered sugar, flour, egg whites (slightly whisked), vanilla and, for my decorations, a tiny drop of red food coloring. The recipe results in only a tiny bit of dough, but it is sufficient for making quite a few cookies, since they are shaped by spreading the dough with a spatula over a thin template, so the dough is no thicker than the template. I decided to do hearts, since Valentine's Day is coming up. And I made my template from a piece of art foam, a little less than 1/8" thick.

After laboring (albeit with love) over the Yule Log last month, these thin, crisp, delicate little cookies were a breeze, and lots of fun to bake and shape. "Tuile" (pronounced "tweel" - sort of) is a french word meaning "tile," because the cookies are supposed to resemble the curved tiles on a roof. Traditionally they are baked flat and then set over a curved surface while still warm, giving them their characteristic curved-tile shape. I chose to shape my valentine cookies over a series of three small dowels, laid side-by-side, trying for a rippled shape.


I read somewhere that the surface should be slightly bumpy, something like the skin of an orange. There was a French word for that texture, but I've forgotten it. If you look at this closeup, I think you'll see that typical surface texture.


The Daring Bakers challenge also required that we serve the tuiles with some sort of a fruit accompaniment. For mine, I made a berry compote, by cooking up raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Here is the final result. The little vanilla flavored tuiles, along with the berry compote and a dollop of whipped cream were really tasty. Just ask Dan!


I wasn't really satisfied with the thickness of my tuiles. I decided that my template was slightly too thick. I used a second, thinner template with a bit of the left-over dough, and the result was a couple of cookies thinner than potato chips (see above). They were almost transparent, and extremely fragile. But they tasted wonderful, literally melting on the tongue. I think the proper thickness of template lies somewhere between my two, and I know I'll have to keep trying to get them perfect.

Other Completed Daring Bakers' Challenges: Lavash, Pizza Napoletana, Caramel Cake, French Yule Log

CLICK HERE FOR NEXT (CHOCOLATE VALENTINO)

I Have a Sneaky Husband

Today was my birthday. It was a BIG one - you know, one of those that ends in zero! The one that gives one senior citizen status in some restaurants.

We had talked about going to a movie this weekend to celebrate. And Dan told me that Tim was meeting us for dinner at Jason's Deli this evening, before church. I was looking forward to both of those birthday highlights.

So around 5:30 this evening we pulled up in the parking lot of Jason's. As I was walking toward the glass doors, I saw a little blond head peeking out and thought to myself, "Oh, how cute. She almost looks like . . . she looks JUST like . . . that IS SWEETPEA! My jaw dropped to the ground, and I just stared at her, open-mouthed, through the doors. She had her little Fisher Price digital camera in hand, and I think she snapped a picture of me in that dumbfounded pose.

I finally pulled open the door, and got a huge hug from Sweetpea, then from Kelsey, Chris, and Tim. I felt like I was dreaming, and was hoping I wouldn't wake up too soon. In the course of conversation, I also learned that Dan had already called my boss and arranged for me to be off work tomorrow and Friday, to spend as much time as possible with the kids before they leave on Saturday.

Yes, I do have a sneaky husband, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks Dan, Tim, Chris, Kelsey and Sweetpea for the best 60th (oops, I spilled the beans) birthday ever.

5 Things . . .

5 Things I Was Doing 10 Years Ago

1. Starting a new job at the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
2. Thinking about buying my first digital camera
3. Digging my car out from under a ton of snow every day
4. Planning a valentine cookie-baking day at my house with two little girls, Kaylee and Sarah (cousins)
5. Painting the living room and office of our condo in Juneau

5 Things On My To-Do List Today
(Note: No work today because it's a holiday (MLK), so it's not a typical weekday)

1. Write up my Daring Bakers blog (to post on 1/29)
2. Fold clothes and put them away
3. Watch a movie on TV
4. Go out on some errands with Dan
5. Read (my current "read" is Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi)

5 Snacks I Like

1. Chocolate coated gummy bears
2. Popcorn
3. Nectarines
4. Grapes
5. Nuts - especially cashews and almonds

5 Things I Would Do If I Was A Millionaire

1. Retire!
2. Buy a new digital SLR camera
3. Take my kids and granddaughter on some fun vacations
4. Help pay off the loan for the new construction on our church building
5. Buy Dan a classic sports car to restore - and rent/buy him a place to do it

5 Places I Have Lived (For Various Lengths Of Time)

1. Juneau, Alaska - 22 years (not counting college years, when I was out of state)
2. Newberg, Oregon - 14 years
3. Albuquerque, New Mexico - 5 1/2 years (so far)
4. Abilene, Texas - 3 years (plus 1 year in nearby Anson)
5. Adak, Alaska - 1 year

5 Jobs I Have Had

1. Elementary school teacher
2. Welcome Wagon lady
3. Assistant to the VP for Academic Affairs at a small university
4. Assistant to a private investigator
5. Mom

5 People I Tag (to post a "5 Things . . . " list on their blog)

1. Kelsey
2. Papa John
3. Patty S.
4. Becky C.
5. Mom (Come on, Mom. This will give you something to write about.)
and a bonus (I know, that makes six, but . . . who's counting?!)
6. Betty W.