...and just look at that shine!

When you have kids of just about any age, the kitchen floor always seems to be sticky. So why not ask (tell) them to help?

Janine was a big help cleaning the kitchen Saturday. After I swept the floor, she got to mop it. Of course I also had to scrub the area where we were processing the tomatoes.

Naturally she had to strike a pose. With that shift style dress and the hair band, she looks as if she stepped out of a '60s floor wax commercial.

Perhaps this one, or this one, or here's one with a celebrity's real kids.

TomAHtoes

It all starts in the field. But since I don't have any photos of that, we will start in the sink.

Bobbie went to a local Farmer's market this past Friday and bought a bushel of tomatoes. As in past years, she puts them up as simple tomato puree. She then adds seasonings only when she actually opens a jar to make something.

Yesterday she started the canning process by washing them all. As you can see they filled the sink nicely. At this point I was off to a meeting and conference call only to return in the afternoon.
Then they all got to cook down on the stove. This photo was taken in the afternoon after I got back from my meeting so I am sure the tomatoes cooked down from the morning. With three burners on the stove cooking the tomatoes, I was glad it was a cool day.

Finally, here's John running the food mill. It's really quite a contraption. The cooked tomatoes go in the top skins, seeds and all. An auger device forces out the juice and pulp through a cylindrical screen on the side. The skins and seeds are then pushed out the end of the cylinder. It's all quite efficient and fun. All three kids took turns cranking the handle.

Sorry to miss getting photos of the canning process today, but I was in a meeting this afternoon as well. That's OK however, because I still get to enjoy the sauce for months to come.

First Anniversary!

September First was the first anni- versary of Little House in the Suburbs. Our very first post is here.

Sorry so slow to post and celebrate, but things have been quite busy with the new season of kid's activities, and lots of new business. So, I have no complaints whatsoever.

Except perhaps that we really didn't have a cake. Yes this is a clip art image "borrowed" from another blog. Looks good!

So, here's to another year of the Little House. In the coming weeks look for our annual trip to the Outer Banks as well as an update on the fall activities.

Janine's New Look

Last week Janine got her hair cut. Check out her great new look. Her hair was so long, the hairdresser cut off more than 10 inches. So Janine qualified to contribute that hair to Locks of Love. It's a charity that uses the hair to make wigs for kids who have lost theirs to cancer treatment. She got a free haircut to boot!

Still, look at her! Like her sister and brother, she is growing so fast!

Wilma's Party

Saturday evening we went to a graduation party for Wilma, one of the ballet ladies. She just received her Master's this summer and threw a big party to thank everyone for their support. Here she is doing just that.

It was great fun because the kids were invited too and had a great time. They got to run around the yard, drink soda and eat potato chips to their heart's delight.

Wilma and her husband Matt live in the neat old house in the lower photo. I love the stone used for the foundation. But like many other houses that age around here, there are stairs by the dozen. While it is a very interesting place, I would have a challenge living there because there is a Dairy Queen about 75 yards to the left...too much temptation.

The Best Part of VBS

The best part of Vacation Bible School this year at our church was the end of the last day. This year's theme was space secret agents, or something like that, so the kids were treated to a model rocket demonstration. (This is a late post. VBS was two weeks ago.)

Here's Wendy, this year's VBS director, sending one up. She did a great job pulling it all together, so I hope she got something more than just pushing the launch button.

The kids had a great time this year. Sarah was one of the bad guys in the daily skit now that she has officially moved out of VBS eligibility.

John was in a group of boys who all had a lot of fun. They were blessed to have a male leader who took the time to make special crafts that were more boy-oriented. What a great guy!

Janine never lacks for fun or friends, but this year she had a fever for two of the five days. Still she made up for it by getting everyone's phone numbers on Friday and set up play dates for the past two weeks.

Still, I was most impressed with the volunteers. I am very happy that John's leader was a man. Even more, this guy used some of his own vacation time to do it. One of the ladies at the check-in desk was kind enough to take the kids home on Tuesday when I had a new client kick-off meeting early that afternoon. (Bobbie did not return from her cousin's funeral in Philadelphia until later that day. ) Great folks all.

Backyard Buck

Look what I found on a memory stick the other day. Sarah took this photo a few weeks ago in our backyard. There's at least four points I see on that rack. Thankfully he's nowhere near all the yummy plants in the front yard choosing to hang out near our unmaintained apple trees instead.

(That's our bamboo in the background. If only the deer developed a taste for it. Sigh.)

New Section of Garden

It's time for a garden update. Here is the new section of the garden that Bobbie cleared last summer and planted with annuals. This summer she moved the lavender from one of the more shaded plots as well as other perennials. She left the peonies, Stella d'Oro daylilies and the yews in back next to the driveway.

Take a look at the area nearest the sidewalk for some dahlias. Then there's gladiolus in the back. This plot will become more interesting as the rest of the plants grow in.

That's basil along the stone border on the left. Originally Bobbie thought this would be a dedicated herb garden, but once she realized what a nice sunny plot it is, she changed her mind.

Oh, the ballet ladies are not having a garden tour this year. Too bad, this plot looks much better this year compared to last.

It's a Festival!

Last night we went to the parish festival at Nana's church. It was Inter- national Night in the school cafeteria in the basement of the church. Their interpretation of that term is fairly loose as we had bar-b-cued chicken and ribs along with the obligatory (for these parts) pirogi and kielbasa sausage.

There were exactly three "rides." Here's Janine and Sarah on the spinning teacups. The other two were an inflatable jumping surface and a portable funhouse that was not working. The sloppily dressed kid taking tickets in front of the ride said it was broken. I thought, "so why are you taking tickets and letting people on the ride?" But remembering that this is a fund-raiser, I shrugged my shoulders and walked off.

These festivals are all about raising money for the church and school using gambling -style games. Nana had the right idea. She went straight for the one-armed bandit and dropped five dollars in less than five minutes.

We gave the kids five dollars each and they had a great time. They gravitated toward the ball toss types of games, but the best was the balloon races. Two people pump up balloons at the same time. The first one to pop wins a prize. Sarah thought she would beat John, but he was sure and steady to win. Then Janine did the same. J and J both chose the inflatable hammers while Sarah was crushed to have lost to both her little brother and her little sister.

What happens when you unplug the TV

Two weeks ago Bobbie and I were upset with the kids over excessive TV viewing. Janine was getting herself up at 6:00 AM to turn it on. Sarah and John were spending all afternoon in front of a melange of Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Nothing wrong with any of those channels. But they are like Twinkies, one won't kill you, but a too many are not healthy.

So we took "drastic" action. We calmly disconnected the TV and declared a TV hiatus. It's been quite nice to have a lower noise level around the house and to see the kids playing outside again.

Yesterday morning took the cake, or pie if you prefer. Sarah was bored so she open Nana's 1940s vintage Betty Crocker cookbook and made a peach pie. Bobbie bought a peck of peaches Sunday. (I have no letter P alliteration jokes here but I wish I did.)

You see the result in the lower photo. Sarah peeled the peaches, made the crust with butter and shortening, baked the pie, and helped herself to a piece for lunch. So did the rest of us.

Today when Sarah asked when we could reconnect the TV, I paused and thought about what other wonderful things she might cook if it stayed disconnected...

Roll up the Rug

...and have it cleaned. John and Janine helped me do just last last week. We have a very nice machine made oriental rug, but it was getting dirty and the fringe was beginning to fray.

So, last Saturday Bobbie took it to the rug cleaning and repair shop. Then while everyone else was out of town, I got to paint the living room. No great change here, we weren't switching colors, but there were many holes to fill and stains to cover.

Finally, we are planning to recarpet the room and replace the molding from the "builders' special" ranch molding to something nicer. We will keep you posted. But while I got the room painted, we need to get moving on the rest. Piano lessons resume next Monday after a three week hiatus. (Note the piano over Janine's shoulder.)

It's been 20 years...

...since I moved to Pittsburgh from Minne- apolis. While the Twin Cities are great, I am glad I moved because it allowed me to meet Bobbie and started our family.

Still in the summer sometimes I miss the city of lakes. Here's a view of Lake of the Isles looking north toward downtown. (As if you couldn't tell.) Canoes and sailboats are the only boats allowed on the 10 lakes within the city limits.

This photo is from a photo blog called Uptown Mpls Blog. Uptown is a neighborhood on the eastern side of Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun. I lived there for a few years and enjoyed it. So, I guess this photoblog reminds me of my youth. Nice to recall, but I wouldn't trade a moment since.

Flat Janine with Aunt Mary

Flat Janine arrived last week at Grammy and Gramps' house in Nebraska. They were kind enough to take it over to Aunt Mary's (Gramps' sister) later over the weekend. Here she is with Flat Janine on the deck behind her house.

Gramps was kind enough to send Flat Janine onto Aunt Barb in Colorado. We will keep you posted on her progress.

100th Post!

This is the 100th post to Little House in the Suburbs!

We have been at this since last August and have just reached the century mark. It really is a lot of fun sharing our family photos and art with you here on our virtual refrigerator. (This latest one is a Photoshop compilation of pictures downloaded from Flickr.)

Now it's your turn. Please post a comment by clicking on the button below, or send me an e-mail. We would like to hear your comments and opinions.

Summer Snack

One evening this past week we were all out on the deck when Sarah made herself the snack she is holding here. It's figs and pepperoni.

After sharing this plate with us, Sarah returned to the kitchen. This time she came back with a plate of figs drizzled in 30 year old balsamic vinegar, shaved parmesan, and prosciutto. Sarah has been a foodie almost since birth, and we want to do everything to encourage it.