Day 58

Hello All!!!

If you are wondering about the large gap between this post and the last post, (day 22), I was in Maine for 3 weeks and had no access to a computer. But now I am back and have many stories to share with you!

This year, instead of spending the entire time staying in our Nana's house, we went and stayed on an island. The island we stayed on is called Peaks island and it is about 20 minuets away from the bay in Portland Maine when you're on a ferry. My Nana kept asking us "have you ever heard the saying that when you sleep on an island you're never the same again?" And we'd always say that we hadn't. I don't know if that's true, but one thing that is true is that when you stay on an island you get the feeling that you never want to leave.

Island Hobbies:

• Collecting sea glass
• Playing at the beach for hours
• Staying up really late playing card games (mostly BS)
• Eating good food
• Riding bikes
• Taking naps
• Swimming in the ocean
• Eating LOTS of ice cream

My brother, sister, and I in the ocean that felt warm but that's only because our ocean here on the west coast is sooooooo cold!

After spending a few days alone on the island, we were joined by cousins and friends. It was a little island party! I think everyone had a great time!

After a week on the island, it was time to pack up and head back to the mainland. We were going to spend one more week in Maine.

Day 22

Yummy Homemade Desserts!

My family and I went to Krugers Farm On Sauvies Island and Picked Raspberries, Blueberry, and strawberries. When we got home we made jam, the cheesecake, the Gallette, raspberry frozen yogurt, and raspberry sorbet. We still had left over raspberries that we put in the freezer.

Blueberry Cheesecake

Crust:

1/2 cup walnuts, lightly toasted

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 large egg white

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 tablespoon canola oil

pinch of salt

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese softened

1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 cups fresh blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 325
2. Coarsely chop walnuts in a food processor. Add graham cracker crumbs and mix until it looks like fine crumbs.
3. Whisk egg white in a medium bowl until frothy. Add the crumb mixture, butter, oil, and salt. Press the mixture into a removable bottom tart pan. Set the pan on a baking sheet. Bake until dry and slightly darker around the edges. About eight minuets. cool on a wire rack.
4. To prepare filling: Beat cream cheese, sour cream, and 1/4 cup maple syrup with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. When the crust is cool, spread the filling evenly into it, being careful not to break the crust. Arrange the berries on the filling pressing lightly so they set in. Drizzle the remaining two tablespoons of maple syrup over the berries. Chill for at least an hour, to get firm.

Raspberry Gallette

1 10-12 ounce disk of all butter flaky pie dough

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 pints fresh raspberries

1. Measure the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, and salt into a large bowl. Add the berries, toss to coat. Let stand until moist.
2. Preheat the oven to 375
3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough. Fold the dough in half and then in half again. Transfer to pan. Carefully fold out the dough.
4. Gently spread the fruit over the pastry leaving a three inch border all the way around. Lift and fold the edges up over the filling, letting the dough pleat each time you lift and fold it. Chill the tart for 20 minuets before baking.
5. For a shiny sweet finish, lightly brush the dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 45-55, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time.
6. When its done, the pastry should be golden brown and the filling should be bubbly.

Day 22

Happy 4th of July!

Around 9:00 PM, my parents, my brother, my sister, and I walked down to the waterfront to watch the big fireworks. They were amazing! Sometimes, it looked like the whole sky was on fire. I was holding my little sister and every once and a while I would hear "wow!". I guess she thought they were amazing too.

Day 19

I just got back from Camp West Wind!!!! For those of you who do not know what Camp West Wind is, it is a sleep away summer camp that was from last Saturday to yesterday, Friday. Camp is on an island about two and a half hours away from portland. It is just a few miles away from Lincoln City. Camp is so much fun! Last week was Session two out of the six sessions. We were lucky enough to have great weather all the way up to thursday when it started raining. But even when it was raining, it was fun.

Camp West Wind is split into three sections. Sherwood, Highlands, and Alpine. Sherwood is for the littlest kids, ages 5-9. It is the lowest section. Highlands is for kids ages 9-11. It is farther than Alpine but the hike is not as steep. Alpine is ages 11-13. It is straight up the hill which is very steep.

I was in Alpine in a cabin called Klickitat. Lucky for me and my cabin, Klickitat is the closest. My counselors camp name was Tulip. We were her first cabin she had ever had. She was very nice and fun to be around.

Counselors:

Platypus, Pippin, Tulip, Cloud, Rhapsody, Goggles, Gex, Mars, Sparky, Nala, Pepper, Happy Feet, Kicks, H.M, Cullaby, Narwal, Shango, Starburst, Koala, Calypso, Otter, Ace, Eire, Walkabout, Gaia, Ukealali, Cascade, Pippi, and Kermit.

Camp Songs:

• Its Cheese
• DISCO
• PARTY
• Sigfrued the slug
• Smiles are made out of the sunshine
• I wuv da wabbits
• Louise
• Murray the rabbit boy
• The West Wind song
• I love my shirt
• The donut song
• Aardvark
• All the raindrops
• John Piare and Anne Marie
• 60's party
• Frampton the carb
• Vampire bat/frog song
• The duck song
• Shoe fly pie
• Coconut song
• Shake your booty
• Alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic
• The round
• Walrus song
• Sarah the whale
• Diamonds on the sole of her shoes
• Chilly chilly
• We come from the mountain
• Big dipper
• Baby moon

Camp Vocabulary:

Ort~Food waste

Flag~Putting up and taking down the flag

The View~Alpine's outhouse

Kapers~Chores

Hoppers~People who get and bring food to the table for every meal

Intrest Groups~Activities that you do with other people outside of your cabin

Round Robin~Last day of camp activities

All Camp~A themed activity that the entire camp does

I highly recommend going to West Wind! It is an experience you will never forget!

Day 9

When you go outside, you can finally tell that it is summer!

Today is the perfect day to play outside in the wading pool!

Day 7

Happy First Day of Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so happy that today actually sort of felt a little bit like summer! I mean, it didn't even rain once today!

Today I made some yummy snickerdoodle cookies! Already almost all of them are gone.

Snickerdoodles

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups plus two tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Put butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar into electric mixer and mix on medium speed until smooth. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture.
2. Stir together the cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. Shape the dough into small balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar. space 3 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake cookies for 12-15 min. until edges are a golden brown. Cool on a cooling rack. Cookies can be stored up to three days in an airtight container.

Also today since there was actually a little bit of sunshine, I went outside and drew a picture of a flower on the sidewalk with chalk.

1st Book Review of the Summer!

47

By Walter Mosley

47 is about a young slave boy. The story starts when he is a very young. He lives with Big Mama Flore instead of his father. His father is his master. When his mother died, Master did not care for him and was planning to stick him in the fields when he grew to be big enough. Big Mama never fed him meat or milk so that he would stay little and therefore wouldn't have to go work in the fields.

By and by, Master noticed that the boy who lived with Big Mama, had lived with her for an awfully long time. He decided it was time for him to go into the fields. Master sent Mr. Stewart, the overseer to go and bring him to the slave quarters. The boy was brought to a cabin that was filthy and that stank. He was left there, feeling alone and forgotten. Then a slave that they called Pritchard came in. He sat down at a wood stove and took from it a branding tool. Pritchard yelled at the boy to come here, that he was going to brand his number onto his arm, that it would only hurt for a day or two. The boy looked at the hot tip. 47. So that was to be his number, his name.

47 fought against Pritchard as hard as he could, but the grown slave was stronger than he and soon 47 was pinned to the ground. Everything went black.

* * *

47 then became a field slave. Every night he would get chained to his bunk. Every morning he would get up at the crack of dawn. Every day he would work tirelessly in the fields, picking cotton.

One day, a strange slave boy shows up at the plantation. His name is Tall John. 47's life changes after that. He finds out that he is someday going to be a hero and save the world from and evil creature called Wall that lives in Tall John's world. For Tall John is from, as 47 puts it, beyond Africa.

47 is a story you won't forget reading. I highly recommend this book for people who like historical fiction mixed with a bit of fantasy. I think this is a good book for ages 11 and up.