Woodworking by Bayshore Woods

Bayshore Woods

Reminder: Set Your Clocks Back One Hour This Sunday!

U.S. clocks move back one hour early Sunday, November 6, 2011 as daylight-saving time ends across most of the nation.

The change to standard time occurs at 2 a.m. Sunday in each time zone.

Americans change their clocks twice a year, back one hour in the fall and forward one hour in the spring. Daylight savings time resumes on March 11, 2012.

Halloween "in the neighborhood"

Last night we had a block party with the neighbors, potluck style. Here's what I made:

"Pumpkin" pizza with cheddar cheese

Mouths and Spiders

Mouths made from apple and slivered almonds; spiders made from Babybel cheese, pretzels and dried currants

Eyeball pizza made with mozzarella, cheddar, and mini pepperonis

Also, we hung a sheet in front of our garage and had Ghostbusters playing - fun!

Breakfast Farrotto with Apples

1 cup apple cider

4 cups water

2 bags of herbal apple cinnamon tea

1/4 cup white wine

2 Tablespoons butter

1 cup farro

2 small apples, unpeeled, diced

dash ground cinnamon

maple syrup for sweetening, as desired

In a small pot, brew tea and add apple cider. Keep warm but turn the heat down to low.

In a large saute pan, melt the butter. Add the farro and saute for a few minutes at medium heat until each grain glistens. Add the wine, stir and then let the liquid cook down. Using a ladel, add one cup of the apple liquid to the farro. Even out the grains and allow the liquid to cook down completely. Repeat until the liquid is completely incorporated and the grains are soft. Add apples and cinnamon, stirring them in until everything is hot. Add maple syrup to sweetened if you like. Serves two.

Farro with 1 cup of liquid

Top: Apple liquid; Bottom: farro with liquid cooked down.

Two small apples

Farro with apples and cinnamon

Ta da!

Belly Ache Trick or Treat Bag

Belly Ache Trick or Treat Bag, a photo by dhmspector on Flickr.

Getting ready for Halloween

Today is the day I meet my new kitty

Baby bib

West End Farmers Market

Cruise in the Caribbean on the Disney Magic

Max and I just got back from a 7 day cruise. We had such a good time!  The ship left from Port Canaveral and went to St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Castaway Cay (Disney's private island). St. Maarten was a little grungy so I probably wouldn't choose to go back there - or would just stick to the beach by the boat if I did. Bought a pair of earrings with larimar, the Caribbean gem.

St. Thomas was much nicer! Plus the ability to use my cellphone and go to the U.S. post office really nice. We went on the Captain Nautica's Ultimate Snorkeling Expedition to Buck's Island. Got to see some turtles eating sea grass and then going up for air, sea urchins, a sea fan, fire coral, brain coral, and a conch walking around on the ocean floor.

Castaway Cay was my favorite stop. As Disney's private island, everything on it was theirs. From the ship, we walked to Serenity Beach (for adults only) and explored the shore looking for shells. Max found a conch shell and it was completely intact! For lunch there was a BBQ. In the afternoon, Max sat on the beach reading his book and I went snorkeling again.

Service on the ship was top-notch. Loved our assistant server, Michelle (from New Zealand), and our stateroom hostess, Nicol (from Slovakia). Tea (from Switzerland), the acupuncturist at the Vista Spa really impressed me with her professionalism and I felt very comfortable with her. In general, all the cast members were great... friendly, smiling and helpful. And that's why we love Disney so much.

The food on the ship was fantastic - and not too much. All the seated dinners had very reasonable portions and we never left the table feeling stuffed. Or hungry.

Beautiful bread display at Parrot Cay welcome lunch buffet

Cove Cafe treats

Blue cheese souffle with parmesan crisp

Beef Wellington

Cheesecake

Pineapple filled muffin

Tuna Tartare

Brulee Cheesecake

Grilled pineapple and banana in coconut

Shrimp, scallops with spaghetti in a creamy tomato sauce

Mushroom risotto

Wild mushroom soup - Best Dish Award

Chocolate molten cake with vanilla ice cream

Celebration cake

Apple crumble

And there was so much to do onboard! The live musical shows were good - and two of them were really great (Dreams and Twice Charmed). We went to a great presentation about animation by the VP of Production at DisneyToon, Sean Lurie. An adults-only swimming pool and coffee house. Comedy shows with magic and juggling. We watched three movies in the Disney Theater: The Help, Cars 2, and Real Steel. Also watched Hop in our stateroom. Plus there were tons of character meet and greets.

If you're looking into going on a cruise, whether you have children or not, I highly recommend that you go on the Disney Cruise Line!

Kitty, soon you will be mine

Putting up

Tomatoes! Picked up a large bag of tomatoes at the West End Farmers Market and diced them. They are now all in my chest freezer for when I decide to make chili this winter.

My Memories giveaway

I was recently contacted by My Memories asking if I was interested in doing a giveaway on my blog. Of course I am!

The software allows you to make scrapbook layouts, photo books, cards, videos, you name it!  Visit their site www.MyMemories.com, blog, Facebook page, YouTube page, or Twitter feed to check them out. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment telling me what you think. Simple!

Winner will be chosen randomly on Tuesday, October 25 - just in time for Halloween! [cue spooky music]

Thumb sucker

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Bayshore Woods: A BABY'S CRIB - FINAL

My Dad made a crib for my niece Chloe and it's beautiful!

Bayshore Woods: A BABY'S CRIB - FINAL: It seemed like such a long journey to get to the point where all the parts of the crib were completed. Although it took a tremendous amount ...

Look at that cute face!

Love my niece Chloe! She's getting bigger, smiling, blowing bubbles... and starting to suck her thumb. Any advice on how to get her to stop for my sister?

The West End Farmers Market invites you to the Halloween Costume Contest (Oct 31, 2011)

		Hello! You are invited to the following event: Halloween Costume Contest at the West End Farmers Market Event to be held at the following time, date, and location: Oct 31, 2011 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM West End Farmers Market Ben Brenman Park Alexandria, VA 22304 View Map Wear your best costume to the Farmers Market - kids, pets and adults! Prizes will be awarded for the following categories: 1) Best farmer costume 2) Best fruit costume 3) Best vegetable costume 4) Best use of recycled materials 5) Best family costume 6) Best pet costume Read More Share this event on Facebook and Twitter

This email was sent by Eventbrite. Anyone can use Eventbrite to spread the word, collect money, and track RSVPs for an event. you can too

Cuisinart Food Processor

Having grown up using my Mom's Cuisinart food processor, I've always wanted one myself. And although that's what I put on my wedding registry oh so many moons ago, I got something else instead.*

It has been fine all these years but still I've been waiting patiently for the day when I could buy a Cuisinart food processor. The time is now! There are two that I'm looking at:

DFP-14BCN features:

• 14-Cup Work Bowl with Handle
• Work Bowl Cover with Extra Large Feed Tube
• Large Pusher and Sleeve Assembly
• Small Feed Tube and Pusher
• Stainless Steel Standard Slicing Disc (4mm) and Medium Shredding Disc
• Stainless Steel Chopping/Mixing Blade and Dough Blade
• Detachable Disc Stem
• Spatula
• Full 5-year Motor Warranty
• Limited 3-year Warranty on Entire Unit

DLC-10S features

• 7-cup Lexan® work bowl
• Extra-large feed tube holds whole fruits and vegetables
• Powerful enough to knead bread dough with ease
• Additional accessories included for even more versatility
• Stainless steel medium slicing disc (4 mm)
• Stainless steel shredding disc
• Chopping/mixing blade
• Dough blade
• Small and large pushers
• Detachable disc stem
• Compact flat cover
• Spatula
• Full 5-year motor warranty
• Limited 3-year warranty on entire unit

Which one would you get and why?

*If someone takes the time to put together a registry, shouldn't you assume that the items on it are the ones that they really want? Specifically?