I've really been feeling nostalgic for Gram what with the recipe site, so I was delighted when my mom found the story of Young Sarah Bing, which Gram had often told to us when we were kids. She also wrote it out a time or two. Once was in a little book of this and that which she put together for Kathy and I to enjoy. It has stories, rhymes, drawings, and other trivia that had been fun for Gram, and so she passed them on to us. Kathy has the book but I'm hoping to borrow it so I can scan a copy for Melody.

Following is a sampling of Gram's sense of humor. I've searched on this story several ways but can't find it replicated anywhere online, and that's saying something. Could this truly be a forgotten story, or even one that Gram created? She was known for her memory for trivia, songs, stories, and etc but I don't know that she was a writer of such. *

Young Sarah Bing

Young Peter Gool, a child of nine

Gave little reason to complain.

Though an imaginative youth

He very often told the truth,

And never tried to black the eyes

Of comrades of superior size.

But not so, Sarah, not so Sal!

She was a most uncultured gal

Who didn't give a pinch of snuff

For any literary stuff,

And gave the classics all a miss.

Observe the consequence of this!

As she was going home one day,

Across the field and far away,

A gate, securely padlocked stood,

And by its side, a piece of wood

On which was painted, clear and full,

"Beware the very furious bull!"

Alas! The young illiterate

went blindly forward toward her fate,

And ignorantly climbed the gate!

Now luckily the bull that day

Was rather in the mood for play

Than goring people through and through,

As bulls so very often do.

He tossed her lightly with his horns

Into a hedge of prickly thorns

And stood by, laughing, as she strode

And pushed and scrambled to the road.

The lesson, as you well may guess,

Was not lost upon the child,

Who since that day, will go a long way

Around to avoid all signs,

No matter what they say,

And leaves a padlocked gate alone!

And also, she is wisely known,

Confirmed in her afore time guess

That literature breeds distress.

* and of course because the word "bing" is in the name, it brings up lots of references to some search engine other than Google, LOL!

Melody has been enjoying playing in the sprinklers. More pictures in the gallery, or click here for a cute slideshow.

For many years now, there has been a co-opting of the rainbow, and darn it, I'm tired of it. The rainbow is a beautiful phenomenon of nature after a rainstorm, next to a waterfall or in the splash of the backyard sprinklers on a lazy summer day.

It's also the international symbol for alternative lifestyles.

I do not care if a man marries a man or a woman marries her ferret or any other sort of non-traditional relationship. I really don't. Whatever floats your boat is good for you and I support your right to live your life according to your needs and choices.

But can someone explain to the LGBT that rainbows are also enjoyed by three year old little girls, middle aged women and people all around the world who are not homosexual? Back in the 70s and 80s you often saw rainbow stickers on cars - the ones like these:

They didn't have a political meaning. They just meant that the person driving the car liked rainbows and was probably listening to Kermit the Frog as they cruised along in their VW. I had a rainbow sticker on my notebook for school and all it meant was that I liked rainbows. And Kermit the Frog.

These days, were I to display a rainbow of any sort on any part of my person, including a decal on my shirt, embroidery on my jeans, or on a hairbow, most people would think it's a visual declaration of my sexual orientation. That upsets me. No one owns the trademark on a natural phenomenon and I don't think it's right that I deny myself beautiful images for fear of being classified as something or someone I'm not.

Can't rainbows just be rainbows and leave it at that?

Recently, my online friend Kate told me that her family would be here in California for a wedding and they wanted to meet us! I was super excited because this would be my first 2D friend from my mom's group that I would meet in person. As the anticipated visit approached we decided we'd meet at the Aquarium of the Pacific, as they were staying in LA and we're in OC. It seemed like a good "in between" spot.

On the day of our Aquarium visit, Melody was beside herself with excitement! She's seen the large aquarium at Rainforest Cafe, and when we told her there would be an even bigger one, plus sea lions, sharks, rays, and more, well you can imagine her ebullience. Needless to say, it was all good! Melody and Jordan hit it off, and I felt like I'd known Kate forever. There's something about sharing your most personal secrets with your mom's group to just tear down the barriers.

Melody did not really want to touch any of the fish although they were in a "touching pool" for just that purpose. The pool contained rays and sharks and a few other fish I don't recall. I did persuade her to touch a starfish and an anemone, but that was where she drew the line. 

The Aquarium also has a lorikeet forest (though how these are fish related I'm unsure) that guests can walk through. I am NOT a bird person but these parakeet-like birds are very tame and beautiful. Their vivid color just doesn't translate in photos. They must be seen to be believed. These lorikeets are likely all raised in captivity and handled so they are very tame. Although we didn't purchase the bird feed, many people had the little cups of nectar that the birds enjoy and were feeding them. The birds would fly right over to the person holding the nectar cup and land right on their arm or shoulder, then proceed to sip the nectar from the cup. Maybe next time we'll do that.

It was a lovely day and we are all looking forward to going back again soon! Pictures in the gallery, enjoy!

I had to take some time off because honestly keeping up with one blog is time consuming, but three is really taking up a lot of my time! So, I'm ahead on Gram's Recipe Box, Past Periods Press is good until July, it's my chance to focus here for a minute.

We are going to be meeting my friend Kate and her family at the Aquarium of the Pacific tomorrow. Kate and I have never really met in 3D, just online through our mom's group. Her daughter Jordan is Melody's age and they have a younger son, Ben. All of us are excited for the day! Pictures to follow I'm sure.

Somehow I missed a round or even two of Baking Gals. It's okay though, because I think I really needed a break. I signed up this month, and we baked for Matt Mobley, currently stationed at Ft. Hood, which we all know is A. the scene of the terrible massacre last year, and B. a bivouac center where units are deployed overseas. Hopefully these treats will reach Matt and let him and his buddies know we wish him the best.

We went old school again and dug up a recipe from "All My Best" which is the cookbook my mom put together of her favorite recipes from a lifetime of cooking. When I realized how simple Grammie Hennie's brownies were, that's what we went with. Keeping with my vow of quality over quantity, I figured I'd make a batch of brownies, include gum/mints/candy and ship. Well, hm, the brownies turned out so good that there were only about half a batch left. So, I though well, I've got a brownie mix here, I'll make those. Yes, we made them, but they are seriously substandard compared with Grammie's. 

Here we melted the butter and unsweetened chocolate. Ghiradelli, because my store was out of Bakers, but still delicious. Next, I have been itching to use this pan, which is one reason we went with brownies this month. It's really a scone pan, but Joyce the Tea Lady told me it's great for brownies. My batch of mix could have made a dozen very plump brownies, but it stretched to 15 okay.

The brownies were insane yummy while still warm from the oven. So yummy that I made a second batch of Grammie's recipe the next day so my family could enjoy a few. The remainder were boxed up to go to Matt.

As you can see, I also stuffed a box with regular treats. Finally I made a batch of Munchie Dudes crackers. Melody is delighted because she usually only gets these at Gramma & Papa's house. I will be shipping these on Monday since our local post office isn't open on Saturdays anymore. Ah, government cost cutting.