greetings from clay ball!

•June 20, 2010 • 14 Comments

 

 

 

My Dear Readers,

 

 

I am writing to you from my home planet!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned home to the Andromeda Galaxy!  I still can’t believe it myself!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My children, LB & Seala, need to swim in our shimmery, magical  home waters, so they can grow healthy…

 

 

 

 

…and then, of course, there was another small matter! We were asked to bring home  a satellite dish, so our planet could better watch the World Cup!  All of the clay balls on our planet are great soccer fans!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I miss you already, & I hope to return to your beautiful planet one day, my dear, dear friends!  Thank you for your hospitality!  Take good care of your amazing & colorful  planet Earth & take good care of each other!

 

 

 

In the meantime, until we meet again,

 

 

 Love rocks the stars!

 

 

 love,

 

Clay Ball

 

 

 

 

       See you later!

 

welcome home, daughter

•May 22, 2010 • 2 Comments

 

 

 

 After 2 very long nights, our young daughter Seala returned home!  I found her curled up in a little ball, fast asleep in our space kayak very early this morning, just as the sun rose  in the morning sky.

 

 

 

Two nights ago, instead of having to go back to school, Seala ran away from home!  Nobody could find her, not even the police.

 

 

 

Her Dad & I learned that our daughter is such a resourceful young clay ball…with a circle of loving & caring friends.  We kept going around the neighborhoods & talking with her friends &  families, hoping her friends would help her come back home if they saw her…

 

 

 

I think Seala herself did not know how much she is loved & what she means to all the people in her life!

 

 

 

 

 

      Welcome home, Seala!  We love you with all of our hearts!

 

 

 love,

 

 

your Mom

 

 

a busy week…

•May 15, 2010 • Leave a Comment

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it’s been a busy week…Ai Ai Ai! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has something to do with my children’s school, The School of the Old Sister Oak

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My dear son LB did a flip in the hallway, & landed with a concussion…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…and my dear daughter Seala informed me she was quitting school to join the workforce.  She is still a little on the young side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, LB slept quite a bit, had a big headache for a week or so, & now is back to his usually bounding self…maybe a little bit calmer.

 

 

 

…and my beautiful, loving, kind daughter Seala is still not budging.  She does not like school at all.  She feels trapped & lonely there, and anxious, & very, very  tiny.  I had talked with the school, & they said they would help her, but I don’t think they had the time…

 

 

I don’t think they know my daughter.  At all.

 

 

 

Hmmm…I am not sure what to do.  Maybe I will home school Seala?  She loves to be at home  & then goes & plays in the sunshine with her friends after school.

 

 

 

And here is a little-known fact:  An unusual  after-effect of your child having a concussion, is you get a big, giant, splitting headache yourself!

 

 

 

How was your week, my dear readers?   I hope you & your loved ones are all well! 

 

 

love,

 

 

 

Clay Ball

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

rainbow weather

•May 4, 2010 • 4 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                    Today was rainbow weather…& finally I found a rainbow for you!   

 

 

 

love,

 

 

 

 

Clay Ball

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

fresh mango sorbet

•April 28, 2010 • Leave a Comment

 

 

 

 

This is a sweet & refreshing, light & sunny dessert to brighten up any evening!

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

3 ripe but firm mangoes (note: mangoes do not ripen once you bring them home~what you see in the store is basically what you get!  So just avoid the temptation to bring home those rock hard mangoes!  If you press the mango firmly, your finger should leave an imprint–but it shouldn’t just yield like softened butter–then it will be over ripe!)  (Also, it may take a bit of patience, until the stars are aligned just right, to find mangoes that are both ripe & on sale!) 

 1/2 cup sugar

 1/3 cup water

 1/4 cup corn syrup

 

 

 

 

 First, remove the fruit of the mango (easier said than done!).  One method is to make a cut all around the long circumference of the mango, where you imagine the edge of the pit to be, & then slip a large spoon under the skin & fruit, pushing the spoon along the contour of the mango pit, to release the pit.  (I learned this method from a video on Youtube…& somehow the gentleman was much more adroit at this than I turned out to be!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After doing this to both halves of the pit, score each half of the mango fruit,
invert the skin so the fruit is popping out, & cut the fruit loose from the skin. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 In an epic battle between mango & me, mango emerges as the clear victor…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Another method is to just peel the mango with a vegetable peeler, & whittle the fruit off of the  flattened-football-shaped pit.  In any case, once the mango fruit has been released, add mango & all the other ingredients to a blender or food processor, & puree until smooth…

 

 

 

 

 

 …& then just place into a freezer-safe bowl, & allow to cool for 3 or 4 hours,  then stir well.  Allow to cool again until desired consistency, usually another couple of hours, stirring the mango sorbet once or twice during that time if you are at home.  If the mango sorbet gets too hard, just remove from freezer & allow to soften a bit before serving.  And that’s all there is to it!

 

 

 Enjoy!

 

 

 love,

 

 

 Clay Ball

 

 

 

 

 

 Copy-and-print recipe below!

 

FRESH MANGO SORBET

 This is a sweet & refreshing, bright yellow dessert to brighten any evening!

 

INGREDIENTS: (for approximately 3 cups of mango sorbet)

3 ripe but firm mangoes (mangoes do not get more ripe or improve once you bring them home~what you see in the store is basically what you get!  So just avoid the temptation to bring home those rock hard mangoes!  If you press the mango firmly, your finger should leave an imprint–but it shouldn’t just yield like softened butter–then it will be over ripe!) 

 1/2 cup sugar

 1/3 cup water

 1/4 cup corn syrup

Remove the fruit of the mango.  One method is to make a cut all around the long circumference of the mango (where you imagine the edge of the pit to be), then slip a large spoon under the skin & fruit, pushing the spoon along the contour of the mango pit, to release the pit.  After doing this to both halves of the pit, score each half of the mango fruit, invert the skin so the fruit is popping out, & cut the fruit loose from the skin.   Another method is to just peel the mango with a vegetable peeler, & whittle away the fruit from the very-flattened-football-shaped pit!

 

 Add mango & all the other ingredients to a blender or food processor, & puree until smooth.

 

 Place into a freezer-safe bowl, & allow to cool for 3 or 4 hours, then stir well.  Allow to cool again until desired consistency, stirring once or twice again during this time.  If the mango sorbet gets too hard, just remove from freezer & allow to soften a bit before serving!

 

 Enjoy!

 

 love,

 

 Clay Ball

 

 

the birthday party

•April 25, 2010 • Leave a Comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

This morning, I got up very early, for a special space mission…a birthday mission! I had found out that it was the birthday of my dear friend from work, the Hubble telescope, who just turned 20 years old!

 

 

I know Hubble from my occasional little weekend space missions working for NASA.  (As it turns out, I am rarely taking part in any space missions anymore, because I found that my children missed me too much when I was that far away…or maybe it’s that I missed them too  much!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, in any case,  I called up Hubble, & the very kind telescope said we could meet close by, just near the outer hedge of the Earth’s atmosphere.

 

 

As a little surprise, I brought along a birthday cupcake with a single candle!  I guess I have my son LB’s pyromaniac tendencies, because I think I almost caught the whole Universe on fire! But luckily enough, Hubble blew out the candle & made a wish, just in the nick of time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that, we chatted a little, about Life, the Universe, and, of course, Spitzer & Chandra,  who are Hubble’s best friends. Then we fondly said our good-byes…

 

 

 

Happy Year, Hubble!  Keep up your beautiful work!

 

 

 

love,

 

 

 

 

Clay Ball

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These photographs are courtesy of NASA–thank you, NASA!

composting with red worms!

•April 23, 2010 • Leave a Comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, when we got back from swimming, there was a mysterious package on our front stoop! 

 

 

 

It had holes in it.

 

 

It was the red worms!  They had just arrived after a long & arduous journey from Canada…They said that they heard rumors that their trip was held up because of the Icelandic volcano eruption, but who could know for sure?   (These worms were ordered from The Compost Guy ) 

 

Since the red worms were a little tired & thirsty, we showed them right to their new home out back in the compost bin…(we did not have the heart to ask them to pose for photographs after their long trip…)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…but here  is an artist’s rendition of what the leader of the worms, Samuel, looks like…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a little sample of the food we had prepared for them a while back…then added shredded up egg cartons, pasta boxes, & some water….

 

 

There was already a compost bin here when we moved in (which looks like it was ordered from the Massachusetts DEP, with a lid on top & a little door at the bottom of the bin, from which to remove the newly-formed compost!)…The red worms are delighted with their new home!  They are settling in & growing plump & talkative…& boy oh boy, the stories they have to tell!  They are a friendly group of neighbors, I am happy to say!  Welcome, Red Worm Family!

 

 

 

love,

 

 

 

Clay Ball

 

 

 

 

 

 
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