Weather – Page 36 – M. Sullivan Photography

April 26, 2010April 26, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Cooking, Family, Flowers, Photos, Sports, Weather

Weary Weekend

The weather was less than fabulous this past weekend – windy and cooler with off and on sprinkles. We were all wiped out from traveling last weekend and a busy work/school week. It was nice to stay home, get a few projects and some cleaning done and just hang out. Since outdoor play was less than favorable, we decided to set up Sophia’s tent in the living room. The kids plugged in their portable DVD player, grabbed some snacks and camped out in the living on Saturday afternoon.

Sophia and I did sneak outside between wind gusts and sprinkles to pick some spring flowers.

We decided to go to the movies on Sunday and see How To Train Your Dragon. We all enjoyed the movie…and the buttery popcorn. Despite the windy weather in the afternoon, the boys headed out to the baseball field to practice pitching and batting. At home, Sophia convinced me to do some baking with her. A friend from work had passed along her child’s Easy Bake Oven. We made two batches of cookies. Sophia ate one batch and Sebastian ate the other. Mike was disappointed that there weren’t any left for him. I had to explain that each batch makes only ONE cookie. Not only does the oven only bake one cookie at a time, they take FOREVER! At least that’s what it seemed like when Sophia was waiting for her cookie to finish baking.

After cookies, we went out to take a few pictures of the cherry blossoms. A pleasant way to finish the weekend.

February 19, 2010February 19, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Animals, Photos, Weather

Daphne

We have had beautiful weather this week. Sunny and highs in the 30’s – great for northern Minnesota in February. The kids have been off from school all week and have come home from daycare soaked after playing outside all day. I think Daphne is getting spring fever with the rest of us. I couldn’t help but take her for a long walk during my lunch hour yesterday. Now that the snow has almost cleared from the streets, she was able to take a walk without her dog booties. Yeah, our dog not only wears a coat when it’s cold outside, she has sensitive paws and needs dog booties to walk/run in the snow. Part of the problem is the salt that is put on our streets during the winter. We found booties for her that work great and are also inexpensive from a local company – doogbooties.com. If those tough dogs in the Iditarod can wear them, our sensitive Boxer can wear them too.

After we returned from our walk, she rested near our front window and soaked up the sun’s warm rays.

January 27, 2010January 27, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Cooking, Family, Photos, Weather

Winter Activities

The weather was wet and snowy this past weekend. We had ice and sleet overnight Friday, rain and snow on Saturday and more snow on Sunday. The snow total for the weekend was over 10 inches. The rain didn’t do any favors to our sledding course in the backyard, but the snow at the end of the weekend made up for it. Sebastian was disappointed that he couldn’t achieve the same amount of speed as he did in the previous weekend. With the cold weather forecasted for this week, ice should replace the slushy snow. I’m sure the kids will be back in business for the upcoming weekend. Sophia didn’t mind the conditions and practiced with “no hands”.

After the kids were thoroughly soaked from the wet snow, we took a break to make a batch of cookies. I had promised Sophia we could try out the new Valentine sprinkles we picked up at Target earlier in the day.

Photos to begin, recipe to follow.

Bake Until Lightly Golden Brown On Edges

From the Land O’Lakes Cookbook

Cookie Ingredients:

1		cup butter, softened
1		cup sugar
1		egg
2 1/2		cups all-purpose flour
2		tablespoons orange juice
1		tablespoon vanilla
1		teaspoon baking powder

Frosting Ingredients:

3		cups powdered sugar
1/3		cup butter, softened
1		teaspoon vanilla
1		to 2 tablespoons milk

Combine 1 cup butter, sugar and egg in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add all remaining cookie ingredients. Beat until well mixed. Divide dough into thirds; wrap in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours).

Heat oven to 400°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-third at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with 2-inch cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 6 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute before removing from cookie sheets. Cool completely.

Combine powdered sugar, 1/3 cup butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla in small bowl. Beat at low speed, adding enough milk for desired spreading consistency. Tint frosting with food color, if desired. Frost and decorate cooled cookies as desired.

Preparation time: 20 min Baking time: 6 min Chilling time: 2 hrs Cooling time: 15 min

Yield: 6 dozen cookies