The Great deWitt Family Cook Off of 2006 - The Results

After every meal, each person filled out the score card and rated the meal from 1 to 5 for taste, originality and difficulty. And then there was a section for Comments. Each card is then folded up and hid away until the results will be read after all the meals. Nick was a celebrity guest judge because he wasn't around to sample every dish.


Anton and Apple made a spur of the moment visit to see us so they got to be the objective readers of the scores and comments. Some people were quite HONEST with their comments so it was good that none of us got to see the handwriting and carry resentments around for the rest of our lives.
They counted up the scores and the winner was...

MAMAM!!!

With an impressive grand total of 56 points, Mamam won, by a nose, (by a controversial lamb kabob) for her Indian Delight meal which was very incredibly delicious.

The contest was a lot of fun and it introduced many more exciting meals into our usual repetoire but by 6th night of grandiose meals, including Christmas turkey dinner, no one wanted to eat dinner again for the rest of the year.

The Great deWitt Family Cook Off of 2006 continues...

More nights of giant, extravagant meals. The family is feeling very sluggish and chubby by this point:



Dad made a garlic crusted roast that cost a ton of money, twiced baked potatoes that blew doors and a salad.


Grandpoop made a seafood bouillabaise (sp? - I can't spell!) with clams, scallops, shrimp and halibut. Everyone was pretty impressed. It was definitely adult food, no nibbling off Mama's plate for me this time.

Next, the winner is revealed....

The Great deWitt Family Cook Off of 2006

Okay! Let me tell you all about the Great deWitt Family Cook Off of 2006. I think it begins with my parent's love of the Top Chef show on the tv, so they came up with the idea for a big cooking contest. 6 people, 6 nights of gourmet meals. The rules were that it had to be something that you've never cooked before, you couldn't have any help, and it had to be delicious. Uncle Mike went first:


He made a hearty sausage ravioli with a pesto garlic bread. It looked pretty darn strange to me in the pan, like Lowly the Worms on steroids, but it made for a tasty meal.



Night #2 was my Mama's turn. She did a whole Asian inspired meal: Chinese spareribs, Magic string beans, a vegetable fried rice, green tea and Pocky for dessert. She went the extra mile on presentation with the bamboo centerpiece and traditional Chinese dress. The family was impressed with the effort and everyone started getting nervous because the ante had officially been UPPED.

To Be Continued...

Christmas Day 2006

What a day! What a day! This year I have learned about who Santa is and what he does, but I have to say I was a little skeptical. It all sounded a bit too good to be true. But I woke up Christmas morning and there were so many new presents under the tree for me that He brought in the night with his mooses. I woke up Uncle Mike with my newest most favorite toy, the fire engine. He seemed very excited to hear its loud siren first thing in his morning. And then Dad delivered all the gifts around and I ripped open all the pretty paper and it was just toy after amazing toy. I couldn't think straight and it was hard for me to decide which one to play with first and my brain tried to figure out how I could play with them all at once. It went on and on and on and I felt like a super lucky person. I will remember all this all year, the colorful twinkling lights, the pretty singing music everywhere, the hope for Santa and the zillion presents....it is magic, that's all it is, magic. If this is not magic, what is? Don't forget about this my friends. Now that the day is over, please try to keep the magic in your head.

Merry Christmas One and All!

I would like to wish you guys that read my blog here a real MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAY TIME. I had what I guess I can call the best morning of my life on Christmas. I didn't know that life could be that good to me. I will show you pictures of it all as soon as I take my post-Xmas nap. Could be a rip van doozie.

Tis the season to be jolly

Tis the season is right! I am really really into a house full of friends and family who kiss me and hug me and say hey gus hey gus and like to watch everything I do. I will dance, I will try on every hat in the house and then even trash cans, I will scream and shout and smile like crazy. There are Christmas lights and music and a kazillion presents with my name on them. There are heated games of Taboo and a neverending supply of sweets. Currently on the counter: apple pie, marion berry pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate covered orange sticks, fruitcakes, lemon bars, pfeffernusse, nanaimo bars, sugar cookies, oatmeal raisin, and 6 kinds of ice creams in the freezer. I am not joking. FA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA

Finally Uncle Mike

Uncle Mike is here! I've been waiting forever, looking at his picture, practicing his name, calling him every day. And now he's here for the Christmas and we are playing oh yes. I walked up and down him for hours and made his whole body curl up just by stepping on one special spot. We played ball and listened to music and watched tv and then just hung around shootin' the poo poo with our hands in our pockets like a couple of dudes that are real good friends.

PITCH BLACK OUT

...After 3 days of no power, we were all going a little nuts. It was a miracle that Hannukah came and I got to open my big present from Amy Lou. She is Jewish. It was my own tool shed with my own lantern and tools and more. It came just in the nick of time. Too bad Mama didn't get a new toy to keep her occupied. She ended up turning to pacing back and forth and red wine.

And then finally--


LIGHT. LIGHT. GLORIOUS LIGHT.

The Night the LIghts Went Out in Bainbridge

...Well, the last stage of the long project of the big giant monster tree that fell on the cupcake was to cover up the hole in the roof so that Uncle Nick's bed and musical equipment would not get rooned. That men Dad had to go up on that dang slippery slidey roof again. This time he climbed a ladder to the tippy top and then shinnied all the way across to the hole. I've never seen a man shinny before so it was fun to watch.


So then, we were left with our longest lingering problem: No electricity. When the lights went out suddenly I stopped being my usual loud mouth fun loving self and became a very quiet and serious person that needed to sit very near my mom always. I'm used to darkness in my bed when its sleeptime but not out in the house when its not even dinnertime. It made me feel weird. Once I got to hold the flashlight I felt more in control and let my face smile like it used to.

To Be Continued...

Bainbridge Chainsaw Massacre

...So, since the men could not get at the tree from the slippery roof they had to try from the other side on the ground. Grandpoop got out the ole chainsaw and began his buzz buzz buzzing. When that chainsaw broke he got out the other ole chainsaw and buzzed buzzed some more. But the big giant monster tree wouldn't budge from the cupcake. So then Grandpoop tied a rope around it and tied the other end to his truck. He put the pedal to the metal and tried to yank the tree off with him but the rope broke and went PING and ALMOST KILLED MY DAD. After more tries, and returned attempts with the ole chainsaw, the tree finally budged. And then shifted. And then came tumbling off the roof so Grandpoop went falling and running with the chainsaw straight for my dad, ALMOST KILLING HIM. (Later Grandpoop remembered the #1 rule of chainsaw safety: Drop the saw before running. ) After a day's worth of strategy and struggle and numerous near deaths, dad returns to the theme of his life: So It Goes.

To Be Continued...

The Big Storm of '06

We had a MAJOR STORM! You may have seen it on the news. There was crazy rain and something like 1000 mile an hour winds. We battened down the hatches but the winds howled and whipped and made all the lights go out for days and days. (I'm real sorry for all the missed blog days lately!) And then, suddenly, just as Grandpoop was coming out of the basement, the biggest wind of all blew, cracking a big giant monster tree in half, hurling it through the air like a rocket, right onto the cupcake! It was a 60 foot tree and the top 30 feet broke off. Thank goodness Nick wasn't in there! Thank goodness it didn't spear my Grandpoop like a shishkabob!

This is the "tree toupee" on top of the cupcake.

This is it going all the way over to the back side of the cupcake. See how big it is? Grandpoop saw it fly through the air!


Then there is the long and exciting struggle to remove the big giant monster tree from the cupcake. This story has many parts:

First, the men must build a scaffold to get up on the roof.

Then Dad climbed up on the roof, but it was so slippery from the wet and the ice that he slipped and had to dive on his belly and grip the top or else he would have fallen all the way down. (No pictures because the women were too scared to use the camera) Dad has an owee now on his chin from the big dramatic dive to save his life. So then, Grandpoop, not believing the roof was really so slippery, thinking my dad was just being a weenus, tried it himself. He slipped and slided too so now it was on to Plan B

To be continued:

(oh, an p.s., sorry for the sideways photos. Its Blogger's fault and they won't help me fix it. You'll just have to crook your neck, okay?)

while the mom is away...

My mom left me with Daddy for the weekend so Auntie Lisa could give her The Works at her salon in Portland. Mama got her hair did and a pedicure with leg and foot scrub with massage. Then they took Emily and Greta to the Nutcracker ballet where there were a lot of jokes and giggling about the tight tights of the man ballerinas. The night she was gone, Dad went with Chiefy and Ingo to the big city to see Arly and the Juno's and didn't come home until after 3 in the morning. Thank goodness Grandpoop was there to get me at 6 am and bring me into his bed where we slept in until a lazy 8:30. When Mama got home Grandpoop tried to get my dad in trouble by telling her all about how daddy was so TIRED that he didn't change my clothes once and kept me in my crib all day.


To my lovely ladies of Oregon: HI !

Chee and Eego

Uncle the Chief and Ingo came stopped by for a visit this weekend because they were in town on official teenager business. My mom had a by-herself getaway planned to Portland for that weekend so she only got to see them for one breakfast which was heartbreaking for her but she will still take whatever she can get. But I got to have fun and play with them. They went through all my flashcards and I think they were pretty impressed with all the words I know, like alligator and umpire and whale. And I bet they wondered why I say OW OW OW and grab my wee wee when they show the zipper flashcard. (Ask my dad!) It was a quick visit but they are real good friends and we know it won't be long until we are all together again. This is all the way love.

R.I.P.

There is a little old man in our neighborhood who is maybe 100 years old. Everyday we see him walking to get his mail, very slowly and super duper crouched over. It must take him an hour to get to the mailbox, but that's what he does and we love him. My parents named him Hunchy (but they say it with a french accent, like 'Onshee.) This is the sign that is up on Hunchy's mailbox now and you know what that means. I actually don't know what that means. My mom says its a very big concept for my very wee brain to understand. Something about he's up in the sky now and very peaceful. I'm glad he's feeling okay but I liked it better when he was down here, hunching down the street. Viva La Hunch!

Ruby's Two, What Are You?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUBY!!!

She's Two. TWO! I knew her when she was just a few months old. I went to her one year birthday party and she came to mine. Now we are separated by the "reality of real life" and we will celebrate these important days separately. Now, I make the most of my life, every minute of every day. I am pretty much happy all the time. But every once in a while, and this is one of those onces, the "reality of real life" gets me down. But hey! Birthdays are a time to celebrate! So here's to Ruby and her big two years. I will have drink a cup of juice to you tonight my friend!

Uncle!

Everytime I turn around there's another uncle. And I'm not complaining. My great uncle Mikey visited from New Orleans because he was here to talk about the food chain of salmon and tiny amoeba shells that no one can see. We played soccer and did our stretches. Uncle Nick is all about the coming and going so sometimes when I wake up from my nap he's there and sometimes he's not. Last night he played the saw for me. (and p.s. to Blogger - why are you tripping on my jpegs all the time now?)

Frolicking

We got all bundled up with sweaters and jackets and mittens and hats and had fun play out in the snow. We threw snowballs at each other and Dad gave Mama a soaker behind the ear. Dad and Mama had a race to the tree and back. Dad won with his long spindly legs. And Dad threw the axe for a bit while Mama and I yelled "Yay!" I guess you could say we are the outdoorsy types.

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!

It snowed! It snowed! For five days we had to stay home because it snowed so much and icy snow was all over the roads and everywhere. I love it when everyone stays home. There is a fire in the fireplace from the time I get up to long after I go to sleep. But it was cooooold outside for sure. In my whole life I have never seen snow and Mama hadn't ever lived in it because she is a California girl and we both think it is amazing wonderful white magic.

what the H-E-double hockey sticks is going on with my stupid blog, blogger?