A Delicious Gift From the Sun

I vaguely remember as a child wondering why my mom's lemon pitcher (a clear glass pitcher with etched lemons on the exterior and a yellow plastic lid) frequently sat perched on the railing of the back deck. Eventually she explained the process of making sun tea and let me sample her brew; I much more clearly remember that it tasted terrible.

Since living in Texas we have (slowly) developed an affection for Texas' signature beverage: TEA. We've sampled sweet and unsweet, and while Tom, Will, Hallie, and I each have a preference for one over the other, tea in general has become quite popular with the four Ferri.

While in Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago, I asked my mom to remind me of her "recipe" so I could brew my own sun tea when we returned home. She walked me through the process, and then a few hours later... Tom, Will, and I drank tea until we had emptied the pitcher, and then I brewed a second batch.

If our eagerness to drink my mom's sun tea didn't confirm our status as Texans, my still-Midwestern sister's distaste for the same drink did - she thinks tea tastes like soap.

In case you'd like to try brewing your own sun tea (because after all, what else do we have around here these days but sun), here's how!

Fill a large pitcher with water. We used filtered water in
Madison, but I would just use tap water here in Texas.

Add five or six tea bags (we used Luzianne iced tea bags, but any
green or black tea bags would work) to the pitcher, making sure the tea
bags are in the water and the paper tags are hanging outside the pitcher.

Place the pitcher in a sunny spot...

...and return a few hours later to enjoy!

If you like tea even a little bit, I promise this sun tea will not disappoint.

And yes, my mom still has and we used the same pitcher she made iced tea in when I was a little girl. "Vintage Iced Tea" has a nice ring to it... 

That's a Wrap (Leg #3)

In some ways, these month-long summer trips to the Midwest have gotten easier: easier travel both in the car and in the skies, easier (and lighter) packing, easier (and more flexible) scheduling once we arrive. In other ways, our four weeks spent on the road have gotten harder: harder to leave our friends back home, harder to work around the kids' busy schedules, harder to leave our families once we've settled in during our visits, harder to fit in all we want to do now that the kids are older and want to experience more than just the zoo and the park. We make it work, however, and will continue to do so as long as it makes sense for everyone involved; spending quality time with our extended families while the kids and grandparents (and parents, for that matter) are in the "sweet spot" is invaluable.

The last leg of our Wisconsin trip included a few day trips - including a bucket list visit to the historic and architecturally stunning House on the Rock (post coming next week) - as well as plenty of fun in and around Madison.

We played at the park, swam and built sandcastles at the beach, and visited the animals at the zoo (including once with friends of mine from high school and their kiddos) multiple times. The boys fit in a few rounds of disc golf, one round of miniature golf, and one round of stick and ball golf, the highlight of which was Will driving the golf cart against the rules and like a pro. Both Will and Hallie "skied" on our waterski trainer (though Will has now surpassed the trainer's weight limit by a full 10 pounds and we pulled the trainer 10 MPH faster than its speed limit) and Will not only got up on skies like he did last summer, but stayed up long enough - about the distance of two football fields - to have earned the right to call himself a water skier. Will and Hallie, as well as niece/cousin Lily, learned to dive off the diving board. All four grandkids rode their new scooters (thanks Grandma!) and raced popsicle stick "boats" in the street streams with Grandpa. We (kind of) learned how to play pickle ball. We toured The House on the Rock and spent an afternoon at the Dane County Fair. And as always, we ate too much Chocolate Shoppe ice cream and Union popcorn and the adults drank too much beer and wine.

They mastered diving off the side first...

...and then moved on to the diving board.

Ready for the high dive? I most certainly am not...

Sand Angels...is is weird that when I saw this pic my first thought was
that someone photoshopped the background to make snow look like sand? 

Cousins hanging out at Lake Wingra's Vilas Beach. 

Jumping off the Union Terrace dock into Lake Mendota. (The lifeguard
was surprised at how well Will and Hallie could swim in water that was
both above their heads and rough because of the wind. Proud mama.) 

Ready to tour The House on the Rock.

Visiting the lion family - mama gave birth to twin boy cubs earlier
this summer (you can see one of them trying to climb the tree to
the right) - at the Henry Vilas Zoo.

With Laura and Emily, two of my oldest
friends dating back to middle school. (6th grade?) 

Hallie showing off her tricks on the water ski trainer.
She would literally ride all day if we'd let her.

Serving as spotter for her brother on skis.

And he's up! In last summer's pic of
Will up on skis he looked nervous and
timid; now he looks strong and confident.
Another proud mama moment!

We had low expectations for the motocross showcase at the
Dane County Fair...as you can see from the pic, we were
wrong - the show was incredible!

Following their boats down the street stream in the rain.

Gramps and his rugrats.

New scooters!

Just three orangutans hanging out at the zoo.

Our last night in Wisconsin spent at the Union Terrace.

Oh, and we put more than 3,200 miles on my car.

We feel tremendously grateful to have spent many of our summer days with family, and just as grateful to have returned safely to the place and people we now call home.

We may not return tomorrow, Wisconsin,
but we will always come back.

Flashback Friday: Where There's a Will, There's a Way

I knew that Will and Hallie occasionally took pictures and videos of themselves on the computer in Grandma and Grandpa's office. I did not know until this week, however, that over the course of the last few years, Will and Hallie had taken hundreds (thousands?) of both, almost all of which remain on the computer and available for viewing.

After discovering the photo and video stash, I asked Will to help me sort through the massive compilation and pull out a few of the best videos. Here's a snapshot of what has gone down when my little loves - primarily Will - were given free reign at the computer...the quality is poor, but the content precious.

I think Will is gunning for his own YouTube channel, on which he'd offer personal words of wisdom and share chess and Rubik's Cube tips. I think he should call it, "Where There's a Will, There's a Way". 

Do (More Than) Your Part

These days one doesn't have to look very hard to find a trash can. (Recycling bins are fewer and farther between, but that discrepancy is 1) thankfully improving, and 2) a topic for another day.) As I write this post in the waiting area of the Dane County Regional Airport, I can easily spot three without much effort.

Positioned near many of these trash cans are signs politely asking people to - obviously - throw away their garbage.

"Please dispose of your waste here."

"Dispose of your cigarette butts here."

"Please pick up after yourself."

The verbiage almost always suggests and/or requests that people take responsibility for their own messes, which I whole-heartedly support. 

But then I walked past a trash can at the park near my parents' house and realized how a simple change - to a sign but also to a mindset - could make a difference in how our communities look and feel.

"Please pick up SOME trash."

Not "your" trash, but "some" trash. 

I love the idea of looking out for the community as a whole...of going above and beyond for the greater good rather than doing just what's expected and/or required.

As a Girl Scout growing up, whenever we used a public space, park, or campground, we recited and followed through on the Girl Scout pledge to "leave things cleaner than you found them". This mentality - which I try to maintain 25+ years later - can be applied in a variety of circumstances (leave people happier than you found them, for example), and I think these simple stickers on Madison's trash cans could be the first tiny step toward sharing that mentality on a grander scale. 

Note: I TRIED to pick up some trash, but I couldn't find a single piece within a 20 yard radius of this particular trash can. Way to go, Madison!

Monthly Medley: July 2017

Writing
During the school year, I can find at least an hour or two almost every day to crank out a couple hundred words. But during the summer months and especially when we're on the road, I can barely find 20 minutes to sit down at my computer. Writing in June, July, and August feels cumbersome and strenuous, rather than fulfilling and rejuvenating.

That said, anything good in life requires a little work at times and a lot of work at others. I don't for a second take my dream job for granted, so during these challenging times I put my head down and try as hard as I can to "power through". I made my monthly Mama Bear Dares deadline and now have two weeks (not nearly as long as I'd like, but I know I can make it) to finish an interesting restaurant review for Texas Living magazine. The mama in me isn't ready for the school year to start, but the writer in me feels differently...

Reading
Does People magazine count? I knew I wouldn't have time on this trip to read, so I didn't even bother to bring a book with me. I did, however, bring a few People magazines (I start buying them four weeks prior to our annual summer trip so my SILs and I can read them while lounging on the lake) and I made it through all of them. I plan to delve into something a little deeper and more intellectually stimulating in August.

Watching
I caught quite a few movies in July, though I had seen many of them - Big Hero 6, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and Step Brothers - once already. In the first-time viewing category, I enjoyed both Moana and Despicable Me 3, and I loved My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. I couldn't stand, however, The Batman Lego Movie. After being pleasantly surprised by the original Lego Movie I had high hopes for the Batman follow-up; it did not live up to my expectations.

On the small screen, I enjoyed the Amelia Earhart: Finding the Lost Evidence television special. I have a fascination with Amelia Earhart's (assumed) airplane crash and subsequent death, and therefore found this investigation into newly discovered evidence captivating and ultimately convincing. I believe the program is available On Demand if you missed it the first time around.

A photograph that appears to show Amelia Earhart and Fred
Noonan in the Marshall Islands after being captured by the Japanese.

Listening To
Tom and I listened to a l...o...n...g but engrossing book while driving from Texas to Wisconsin and back. Dean Koontz's Ashley Bell started off slowly, but as is often the case with Koontz's stories, eventually drew us in and kept us mentally jumping back and forth between perplexed, astonished, confused, and intrigued. If you find yourself with 17 hours and 26 minutes to listen to the 15 CDs, give Ashley Bell (or anything by Koontz for that matter - we've enjoyed quite a few of his stories) a try!

Trying/Using
I generally don't purchase bracelets without trying them on - I have oddly small wrists - but after Facebook "recommended" Sashko bracelets to me four or five times, I decided to give them a try. I have no affiliation with the company, but have to give them a shout out; not only do the bracelets look lovely and fit well, they arrived quickly and the company emailed me multiple coupons toward future purchases.

Wearing
Earlier this month my mom, my sister, and I made the rounds to the many stores found in Madison but not in College Station. First up on my list: Athleta and Lululemon. Lululemon had little that impressed me this season - sometimes colors and styles just don't align with tastes - but I did well at Athleta, walking away with the fabulous Studio Wrap in marl gray heather. Its price point forced me out of my spending comfort zone, but the material is "beyond soft" (the company's words, but I concur) and layers beautifully. The piece also has magnets in the corners of the collar so it can drape closed, comfortable thumb holes in the sleeves, and...POCKETS! All good clothing pieces have pockets, wouldn't you agree?

It may be 99 degrees in Texas today, when fall winter rolls around, I'll be ready.

Eating/Drinking
While we ate and drank extremely well (perhaps a little too well - I feel a little fluffy right now) throughout July, our meals and desserts were primarily tried-and-true family favorites rather than new recipes. I look forward to returning to my own kitchen - and my 50 States of Cookies challenge - in August!

I spent quite a bit of time and money clearing the shelves at Trader Joe's and the coolers at The Chocolate Shoppe.

And last but not least, I discovered a drink working mentioning. My sister and brother-in-law buy their family's milk from a dairy. Like an actual dairy. One that employs milkmen who deliver glass bottles of fresh milk to the front porch. I grew up drinking milk and love it still today; I have a glass with a square of chocolate or a cup in a small bowl of cereal almost every evening. But I didn't realize how differently milk from the grocery store and milk from dairy taste until I tried a cup of fresh skim...HEAVEN in a glass. I don't know if dairy delivery is available in my area, but I plan to find out.

What's new, good, and/or interesting in your life this month? Please share!

Wisconsin's Finest "Vegetables"

While vacationing at the Lincoln Lodge near Minocqua, Wisconsin, my SILs and I went into town for lunch. We chose an Irish Pub - an establishment that had come through for us a few summers back when we needed a place to watch World Cup soccer games. Pleased with both how quickly we found a table and the drink prices, we decided to stick around for lunch and started perusing the menu.

One of my SILs follows a vegan diet, so she was excited to find that the pub offered two vegetarian/vegan entrees and a lengthy list of vegetables that could be piled onto any one of a number of breads to create a hearty veggie sandwich. Impressed, we all three began reading through the veggie list: romaine lettuce, onions, tomato, mushrooms, cucumber, green peppers, green olives, hot peppers, banana peppers, and pickles...and BACON.

Only in Northern Wisconsin (at least out of places I've lived and visited) is bacon considered a vegetable. I'm not complaining.

'Tis The Gift to Be Simple

I mentioned in a previous post that my travel plans allowed me to celebrate my dad's birthday with him this year. We spent the afternoon wandering the Madison Art Fair, and then we returned home to enjoy drinks on the deck, a delicious dinner of grilled pork chops and corn on the cob, and a delectable homemade chocolate pie for dessert.

While our chops cooked, I grabbed my DSLR camera and started tiptoeing through the tulips, so to speak, in my dad's garden. He soon appeared at my side, and for the next 20 minutes, he led me and my camera from one lovingly tended bed to the next. He affectionately named each flower, and explained what he thought I should know about its size, shape, color, and/or smell. When one existed, he shared a story about how the plant first began to grow, where it had been transplanted from, or who of our family members or friends claimed it as their favorite. I snapped pictures at every turn, thinking ahead to ways I could display or use the photos as a future birthday or Christmas gift for my dad.

The four Ferri went in on a larger gift for my dad with my mom, sister, and sister's family, and a back-ordered gift for him will arrive later this summer. But I realized, as my dad and I talked and walked together - just the two of us for the first time in ages - that maybe our time spent together was all the gift either of us needed.