Gabe in the Herald Journal

Gabe was on the front page of the local paper, the Herald Journal, this week. The featured photo is above (middle row, toward the center). He and his Kindergarten class sang "You are my Sunshine" for Ellis Elementary's 115 anniversary. They shuffled out on the stage, so serious and nervous and silent. Then all 40 of them suddenly burst into song, singing at the top of their voices. 40 Kindergartners, and not one of them hit the same note. It was absolutely a delight. If you are interested in a video, follow this link.

Savvy Cake

A friend, Natalie Moore of Trufella Catering, did a wedding cake with Savvy Suckers for a wedding show. We gave away lots of suckers to lots of brides-to-be, and hopefully I'll get a catering job or two out of it. I loved Natalie's cake, I think she has a lot of talent. I also learned that I need to pay more attention to details ... packaging, display, and labels. So that is what I'm brainstorming now.

I did a very cute little tag that looked like a leaf on individual suckers, but I don't think it was refined enough for a wedding setting. I also discovered how to group suckers in three, in a cellophane bag with a pretty ribbon. It is so cute, and would make a really cute wedding favor. Thanks to those
who have called recently with ideas for packaging and labeling, I love getting them. My sister had a great idea for how to arrange them in vases, using straws on the sticks so they don't tip over.

I had another idea for sucker displays, using some scroll work wood. It is pretty for a birthday party, but still not exceedingly refined. It is tricky finding a stable base that people can easily take suckers out of.

More Movies

My kids are so cute.

Here is Benji, a new walker, plying his trade:


Leo is still in love with Obi Wan:


And Gabe is practicing for his school program. His school will be 150 years old next week:

Happy Birthday Nana!

My grandmother, Nana Adams, was here in Logan with us for a week. We celebrated her 88th birthday while she was here:




The big cup in front of her is our family's birthday tradition. We had so much fun with her, and kept her busy juicing grapes and canning salsa. She helped make suckers too. She was a real trooper, I hope we didn't poop you out too much Nana! We loved to have you here, come again!

Green Tomato Jam

Posted on the wonderful blog Tropical Velvet is a recipe for green tomato jam. Becca gave me a jar of the precious stuff quite a while ago, and it sat unappreciated in my pantry for a good year before I decided to try it on a quesadilla on a whim. Heaven in a bottle. I don't think it is meant to be eaten this way ... I think it is truly a jam, but it has a sour piquant flavor that complimented well the salsa and sour cream. I would call it a chutney, I think it would work really well as a relish for meat. Anyway, if any of you have a derth of green tomatoes in this frost-danger zone, give it a try. I'll make a batch next week and post the results.

I'll also be doing grape juice and domestic huckleberries. Cherry and pear tomatoes are drying on my roof. The farmer's market is full to overflowing. Our neighbors plum tree branches are bent low with tart sugary fruit. I love love love this time of year.

And for more Canners Gone Wild, visit my sister Bryn's house. She is a canning fool. I think she'd can her kids, if it were legal.

Good Guys/Good Hair

A while ago Gabe asked, "So, good guys always have good hair?" It wasn't really a question. He wanted me to confirm what he had observed on the television. I found it very funny -- partly because he put into words what popular culture so badly wants us to believe, but is taboo to say out loud. And partly because of Gabe's innocence. I found it a little scary that he picked that up so easily (I don't let him watch much outside of PBS).

We assign so much of a person's personality to their looks. Give them good hair, a straight, mid-size nose, angular cheek bones, and a fit body, and they are a good guy. Give them a receding hair line, a large nose, eyebrows that meet in the middle, an asymmetrical face, a scar, extra body fat, and they are a bad guy. Have you ever looked in the mirror to see if you are a good guy or a bad guy?

I like to see atypical faces and bodies in the media. It is nice to remember what real people look like. It is nice to remember that good guys can be real looking. We are so saturated by media, it is easy to be hard on ourselves and others based on looks. And this isn't particular to women.

I have three boys, so I thought that I wouldn't have to deal with the scary world of body perception, but I guess I will. I wonder how you teach boys to have a healthy image of themselves and their bodies. And their hair ...

Savvy Suckers Breaks Even!

Today, after my fourth visit to the farmer's market, I officially broke even. I've spent an unnamed dollar amount on my sucker research, experimentation, practice, licensing, and design (that doesn't even count the sugar). And today I reached that unsaid dollar amount in income! Yay! It is a labor of love, but it makes me so happy that my hobby is not costing us an arm and a leg.

There are about three weeks of farmer's market left. If things keep going well, I may even make some money. That said, I did find out today that I have to pay TAXES on what I bring in there. And I want to get some more stuff for making molds. I have some great ideas for elf suckers.