The Fabulous B@ker Blog

Saturday, Mark's birthday, marked the conclusion of the Libra Birthday Mega Palooza Celebration(s)! Looks like we're done for another year, and in a couple of days the many, many birthday cards will be taken off the buffet. Since my last post: Starting with Annalisse's birthday - I think she had a good day (for a Monday!). We sent her a little bouquet of flowers, which she loved (she just loves getting flowers and having fresh flowers around). In the evening, her friends took her out to dinner, so she had a very pleasant and fun day. My birthday, Thursday the 8th, was as fun as any workday birthday could be, I suppose. I worked...BUT, I got a really sweet fall bouquet from Mark. In the evening, we picked up Cam after his class and went out to dinner at Orbs , a cute little restaurant downtown which specializes in meatballs (and other stuff). It was a fun little place. So, in general, nothing too crazy for my big day, but it was very pleasant! For Mark's birthday o...

Hello! It's been a while since the last post AND IT'S ALMOST MID-AUGUST. Seriously depressing. I've heard recently that August is like Sunday night, and it is too true. Blah. Change is in the wind as we start to shift back to school, and everybody is a little upset (me: A LOT upset) that summer is almost over. While it's been a very busy one, it's not totally been the "good" kind of busy, meaning we've been busy with work and school. That's not to say there haven't been weekends (and extended weekends) of fun. In fact, just about every weekend has been filled with day trips or trips up north to clean Mom's house. I have had vacation time, though. During my first week off I did a lot of running around, and Annalisse FINALLY had her road test (she passed by a hair...). We did a couple of historic house tours, but Mark and the kids were tied up most of the week with work commitments. I also did not get as much porch reading done as I mig...

It certainly seems lately that the only time I blog is on Sundays. Maybe it's because the weeks, in general, are so mundane and boring. And maybe it's because the weekends, lately, have been filled with activity, mostly fun. This weekend was no exception, times 10!!! Sue, Ken and cousin San arrived from Roanoke on Thursday to attend niece Lauren's graduation (and related activities) from RIT this weekend. Rolling in around 7:30pm, they were greeted by a big pot of spicy sauce-n-balls/spaghetti dinner (a really good batch), but first there were snacks and wine on the porch. It was a really beautiful, early summer night. We got caught up on all the news, and rose early on Friday (a cold, rainy day) in order for Sue, Ken and San to attend the graduate convocation at RIT. Then around lunch time, Annalisse and I joined them for the "Order of the Engineer," a really neat, albeit extremely unorganized, ceremony where the graduates take the oath to perform their profe...

As a blogger (that's debatable), other blogs tend to catch my eye. God knows there are enough of them out there, and there are quite a few I follow myself. UNTIL, the blogger starts posting recipes on a regular basis. That's when I "unbookmark" them and move on. As a person who does not really like to cook, I can't really see the attraction in all the foodie stuff out there these days: TV shows (networks), magazines, Internet sites, and entire sections of bookstores devoted to cooking. Sure, I like to eat great (fancy) food, but I learned early on how the chef (or book pictures) lull you into a sense of "I could do that," only to find out it takes more chopping, mixing and stirring than I have the patience for. That being said, I can certainly appreciate the experience of eating such creations MADE BY OTHERS. My promise to you, good or bad: You will never find a recipe on the Baker Blog. You'll have to go to one of the other 10,000 foodie blogs...

Look what we raked up. Finally, a weekend where we didn't have every moment planned, just the way a weekend should be. It all started on Friday night after I took Annalisse to work and Mark had an after-work gathering (from which he didn't get home until after 8pm). Can you say " laying on the couch wrapped in a fluffy blanket, watching TV with my pup by my side "?! Rare are these nights! Saturday was another winner, sleeping in and staying in my sweats all day, with just a brief jaunt to take Jasper to the field, followed by a nap (and finishing my book for tomorrow night's bookclub). Mark was off with Scott catching perch all day on Lake Ontario. Once he got home (Annalisse was once again at work) I decided to take a shower around 6pm to look presentable (a relative term) so we could go to Donnelly's for a burger. This morning, it was up for church then raking a gazillion leaves (and they're not all down yet) on what turned out to be an incredi...

Another weekend come and gone. And what a weekend it was, weather wise. it's a real gift as we drift into the fall. The good news is we've entered the sign of Libra and, unfortunately we've also officially entered the fall season. Ready for the Harvest Dance!  Annalisse continues to enjoy her job at Otto Tomottos, and they enjoy her. She worked Friday night, but took Saturday night off to go to the Harvest Dance with her girlfriends. We took a quick trip to the outlet mall on Saturday morning in a last ditch effort to find a dress as she had searched at the mall last week with no success (panic is rising!). We found a really cute black number that was reasonably priced (it's all relative...) and looked super sweet on her. On Friday night while she was working Mark and I went to Label 7 for our official 24th anniversary celebration. They have great food there, and a nice atmosphere - I would highly recommend it. On Sunday Mark and I were helping out at Fairport C...

As Hurricane Irene batters the East Coast (it's dark and windy here, and Jasper is a little freaked out), and hot on the heels of this week's other natural disaster (the earthquake centered near Richmond VA), we conclude our staycation week. Of course, I didn't get as much accomplished as would have liked. A couple of things I should (could) have done the summer, but did not (yet) were to paint the front steps and the back privacy fence. I'm just not good at home improvement, and Mark can't be convinced to do those things either. So, alas, they still look bad: all chippy and faded and such. Maybe I'll get some ambition to do those things in the early fall. Another thing I did not yet get around to do prep work for a church committee I'm heading up this year. Procrastination at its finest! (AKA vacation) The week wasn't too exciting, and it was even a little boring. We did all the running around we wanted to do, and with being a little cautious about ...

This has been a wonderful, action packed, fun-filled (hot) summer so far, but there are two areas that have not been successful: my garden and week 1 of eating out while the kids are at camp. I'm not much of green thumb, but most summers I manage to get some nice, colorful annuals and a bunch of herbs into my garden by the end of May so that I might enjoy them all summer long. This year, according to my usual routine, I picked up my herbs and a couple of flats of nice red verbenas, along with a couple of pumpkin plants just to shake things up a bit. I also found a couple of packets of peas and green beans in the garage and decided to give them a try, growing them in a pot so that I might have a nice little patio garden. Unfortunately, I had two main forces working against a hearty garden this year: the heat and the squirrels/chipmunks/rabbits (I don't know which one is the culprit, so I might as well list them all). Within days of planting the verbena, the plants has been merci...

My yard is mushroom heaven due to the unrelenting rain we've had all summer. What is up with the rain? I think I heard a statistic that this is the rainiest, coldest summer since sometime in the 1860's (which is probably when they started keeping records). I would take pictures of the mammoth and plentiful spore-bearing fungi but my camera has pooped out and I'm waiting to get a new one. The kids are back at camp for another week (it's Cam's first actual work of week), and that means another week of eating out. If you sense the lack of excitement, as indicated by the fact that I did not capitalize those words or use an exclamation point, you're onto something. My waistline is still recovering from our last week of eating out, and all the weeks in between. So, I think it will be the "Week of Eating Out - lite ." I'll keep you posted on our selection of culinary delights this week. On a house note: Mom (so glad she's home!) came over for dinn...

On Friday I had a pig roast for the good folks at my work. I've been wanting to have a party on our back patio for while now, and a pig roast seemed like a great excuse. The pig-man, Dave, rolled up around 9am hauling his giant cooker and laid the poor guy out on a table to prepare him for the spickett. Then, after hours of turning and checking, he shrunk to half his size but still yielded a ton of meat. I resisted the urge to give Jasper the less-desirable swine parts (ears, hooves) because, while I know he would have ENJOYED THEM IMMENSELY, I didn't want to clean up the result during our walks for the next two days. Was it worth it? The meat was "okay." I expected it to be as tender as pulled pork and I think it was just a little undercooked because it was on the tough side. But, now I can cross "pig roast" off the list of things I want to do at the house (I've been to many, but never had one).

If you've followed the Baker Blog for any amount of time you will know that we LOVE to eat out. But, during a couple of very special weeks each summer, our gastronomical foodfest goes to new heights when the kids are a way at camp. We use these kid-less days (nights) to try restaurants we've heard or talked about over the year, and use it as a chance to revisit some old favorites that the kids don't like. Well, we pick the kids up tomorrow, so here's a round up on this year's selections: Sunday: We went out to dinner with Grandma Pat to Flaherty's, always good! Monday: The Tap & Mallet , Gregory Street: we had heard about this pub from several friends so decided to give it a try. Mark was pleased (and a little overwhelmed) by the five pages of micro-brew selections, and the food was pretty good. It featured the usual pub-type food but also had some other really interesting stuff that is worth another trip back. Tuesday: Le Lemon Grass: our old Vietnamese ...

...is like a week without eating out! We dropped the kids off for a week at 4-H Camp Bristol this afternoon. They could not wait to get there!! I always find it so ironic that Cameron, the sit-on-the-couch-play-video-games-kid loves going to camp, and wants to spend all next summer there if he can. This summer he'll be a CIT (counselor in training), and this is his last hurrah before he heads to Europe late next week. Of course, we'll be taking advantage of "our vacation," too, by eating out several times this week. It looks like we'll make it out Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights. On Wednesday we need to head to the west-side with Cameron (we'll be picking him up at camp for a couple of hours) for a mandatory People-to-People picnic to finalize details before his trip. On Thursday I have a work picnic, and the kids will be home Friday afternoon. We're still not exactly sure where we'll find our culinary delights...I'll keep you posted! Until the...

Yesterday we took a ride with our neighbors Morey & Ann to The Windmill, a farm and craft market about an hour way in Penn Yan . The Windmill is an eclectic blend of nice crafts, junky crafts, baked goods, meats and cheeses, speciality foods [jams, dips & spreads], and flea market stuff. As always, the goal of the day was food-based: to buy sticky buns and cheese curds. Those Amish and Mennonites! Man, do they know how to bake (and make cheese)!! It was a really nice day, with Cameron's highlight being able to buy those really tiny donuts (smothered in powdered sugar ~ although he did, once agan, lament the closing of Krispy Kreme) at a Mennonite stand (thank God they can use electricity). When we got home, we took Jasper for a run in the field, then, the kids each had a sleepover. What a day!

What has the world come to? First the mortgage crisis, then, yesterday, we lost the only Krispy Kreme in our area. And apparently the carnage doesn't stop there. I had to sit Cameron down to break the news to him. Never again will I hear him ask, "Mom, why does my stomach always hurt when I eat four Krispy Kremes ?" Sure, there are the pre -packed versions you can get in supermarkets and convenience stores, but who are we kidding? It's not the same as a KK employee plucking one of those hot "samples" right off the conveyor belt. We will miss you, oh pillows of fluffy hot sugar -- and you didn't even taste the first one. Could we have a moment of silence, please? (I'm sure it was purely a business decision - apparently they weren't "making enough dough...")

Today to avoid vacuuming I sold the task to the highest bidder for $5 ($2.50 for upstairs, $2.50 for downstairs). Annalisse took the bait, but, of course, gave up after only finishing the downstairs (the dust dinosaur army was growing). These kids! They want to be paid for everything. Cameron wanted to be paid for hanging out with the dog all day. At dinner (one of the rare ones I've cooked these days), I protested, saying, "I clean the house, and cook dinner and no one ever pays me." Annalisse , not missing a beat, said, incredulously, "Why would they? This food is terrible!" That just about sums up the fact that: I'm a self-admitted bad cook and I hate to cook, and I love to eat out! Still, you need to consider the source - this comment came from the picky eater who wants Kraft Mac-n-Cheese or canned ravioli every meal, and thinks last week's meals at 4-H Camp was the best food she's ever eaten (ditto for her brother - he gained two pounds at camp...

The kids come home from camp today, thus concluding Week 1 of Eating Out. Well, it wasn't a banner week for dining...a combination of house and pet expenses cut our restaurant options way back, but we did manage to eat out a couple of times. Some highlights: Monday night: Out to Mom Shiao's (Mark's mother - rhymes with "cow") for my favorite Chinese pork dish (followed by a raspberry/ pina colada smoothie from Fairport Village Coffee ). Tuesday night: burgers on the grill followed by another smoothie run at FVC. Wednesday night: yummy pulled pork and jambalaya at The Beale Street Cafe . Thursday night: a walk over to Donnelly's for great pub food. Friday: before picking up the kids this afternoon, we're going out to one of my favorite lunch places in Rochester - The Open Face Sandwich Eatery . There is nothing like their pickled ginger carrots - I know it sounds a little weird, but I'm hooked!! The week was still good, even without the food f...

We dropped the kids off for their first week of camp today at 2pm. They could not wait to get there-Annalisse has been wound up and excited for at least 4 days now. I expect I will get a letter from A., but I'm sure no such luck from Cameron. I don't take it personally anymore...last year I even bought him "camp" stationery where it was preprinted with statements like "Today at camp we ____________" (fill in the blank). He still didn't write! Tonight we're not doing anything very exciting for the 1st night of eating out - just going over to Lindburger's in Penfield for a good juicy burger and some crispy sweet potato fries.

I have a revolutionary idea for great community building activity and a way to slow down during our way-too-busy lives: the Stay-Put Weekend. The stay-put weekend would start Friday after work (which for me is noon), and last until Monday when we leave for work. We would plan the weekend in such a way that we did not need to drive anywhere for those days. This idea is a little bit scary since the weekend is the time when we do our shopping/catch-up/errands that we can't do during the week. Not to mention that on weekends we often visit friends and relatives. It would be a little easier for those who live in a small town or village setting and have access to great services and restaurants within a two-mile walking distance (in Fairport , most are within blocks), but even for us a stay-put weekend would take a little planning. But still, if you want to stay-put in Fairport , it's easy! Need fruits, vegtables or baked goods? Visit the Fairport Farmer's Market on Saturday mor...

It occurred to me today that we're a little over a month away from THE WEEK OF EATING OUT - a glorious quasi-vacation week when the kids are at 4-H Camp Bristol. That week, we go to work merely as a means of killing time until we can out to eat that night. For five nights we visit restaurants "on the list" that we've compiled since last year's week of eating - new places we really want to try, and old favorites that the kids hate. On this year's list so far: Le Lemon Grass - an old "Week of Eating Out" favorite. A Vietnamese restaurant on Monroe Avenue where the flavor literally explodes in your mouth. We always get the stir fried tofu and, of course, for dessert, bananas with chocolate and coconut wrapped in won-ton and deep fried (and topped with chocolate and whipped cream). Awesome! Ariana Kabobhouse - A new Afghan restaurant for us to try. http://arianakabobhouse.com/ Delmonico's Steak House - Also new to us. I think it's related...