Noah is 17

And just like that, and our baby Noah is 17. It seems it was only yesterday we had to call in emergency assistance from Minnesota grandparents as this little guy was in a hurry to join the family. And now, he is tall, smart, funny, creative, innovative, and generous. We are so blessed to be Noah's parents and brother.

Graduation Photos

Although there will be no ceremony, no open house, no speeches, Lukas will graduate high school. To commemorate this milestone, he donned his cap and gown and we headed out to get a few graduation photos. Since the gown is long, and we were only opting for a headshot, we could laugh at his outfit.

Proud Dad making final adjustments

The wind... 

Mischief

Lukas and Noah had fun plotting and scheming this week. Good friends, twins, are turning 18 and a proper celebration includes both ingenuity and a healthy dose of pranks. Lukas had fun filling their inboxes with all sorts of emails - maybe the first time spam emails brought a smile to a face?

Spring is Here

Spring has arrived. The trees are blooming. The flowers are popping through the dark crusted dirt. The sun is shining and the temperature is inching up towards 70 degrees. After weeks of being inside, this brings a smile to our faces.

"Where flowers bloom so does hope."

– Lady Bird Johnson

New Line of Business

Lukas and Noah have been sewing a lot lately and it was inevitable that at some point one of the machines would protest. Since Lukas had already worked on this machine once before, he was not afraid to open it up to see if whatever ailed it could be fixed. A careful inspection, a few tightening of screws, and a couple of pulls using his handy dental tools and the machine was like new. Now back to sewing masks.

Croissants

I think watching cooking shows while eating runs in the family. Noah has a few favorites that he watches while enjoying his break from school work. Most recently, he watched someone make croissants and of course had to take up the challenge.
The first order of business, get European butter. After consulting several cookbooks and other websites, it was determined that European butter was worth the additional expense and hunt.
Noah scanned a few different recipes, watched a couple more shows, and was then ready to make his own batch.
Since this was a three-day affair, the timing had to be right for the proper day for such a delectable breakfast. On second thought, every day during Covid-10 is a good day for croissants, so Noah set the dough without further delay.
Combining, turning, rolling out, folding, rolling out, folding - that was the routine for the next two days. Noah began to doubt the recipe, the instructions, and the workload, what this recipe truly worth all this trouble?
The croissants could barely cool before consumed - and before lunch, every one of these rather large delicacies was gone. Yes, it was worth the trouble. Yes, Noah now is ready to do it again. Yes, he will make a few adjustments.

Regulation Uniform?

Now that all the Scout meetings are on-line, some parts of the uniform is not visible... I guess it means it is not required for the meetings? At least the camera is on the table, so his non-regulation bottoms are not showing.

Another Meal

One good benefit of us being home more is the chance to cook together. Lukas made tasty rolls, and Noah made excellent hamburger sauce. With lots of toppings, we enjoyed delicious hamburgers for dinner.

More Experiments

Noah baked brownies to drop off for a family. Once he finished, he was inspired to make his own cookie-bar. Brownie batter, chocolate chip cookie dough and of course marshmallows. Judging by the fact that two days later there is not a crumb left, it must have been tasty.

Production

We continue to make masks - most days our dining room table is taken over by sewing machines, notions, and scissors. This past week, we added gowns to the production line. These are made out of Tyvek and are pretty noisy to sew. Fortunately, it does not take very long to complete a gown and these are desperately needed as a stop-gap measure.

Easter Sunday

It certainly was a different type of Easter Sunday. The rain hung in the air, it was gray and chilly, a perfect day to stay home and remain in your pajamas. We did church online, indulged in tasty breakfast treats courtesy of friends, lingered over puzzles, chess, and books, and enjoyed dinner together.

At Least It Ended Well

We tried to make Vietnamese pancakes for dinner. It came from Cooks Illustrated, which usually does not disappoint. This time, though, it did. Not worth the effort, not a lot of flavors, not a repeat in our home. Maybe an internet search will turn up a better version if we are tempted to try it again. We have after all a pound of brown rice flour to use up. Fortunately, dessert was a hit - Ben & Jerry's never disappoints and since it is only the four of us, it is a free-for-all with tubs and spoons standing in the kitchen.

Catching Up

We are grateful for the technology that allows us to keep in touch with family and friends, near and far.

Talking

Chess-playing cross- country

Easter Egg Decorating

Easter means decorated eggs. We boiled a dozen and set out the coloring bowls. Noah had fun experimenting with additional adhesives and wraps included in the kit, whereas the rest of us were content to dip and an occasional crayon pattern.

Consolation Prize

Friends of ours had planned a family trip to Germany with grandparents to walk the paths the grandmother walked as a young lady. This, like many other summer activities, was canceled. As a minor consolation, we put together a German basket. Lukas and Noah whipped up pretzels, we found German treats, beer, and wine in the store, and Noah decorated the basket with flags and appropriate colored confetti.