Summer Holiday

I hope that everyone enjoyed their Fourth of July weekend. Our office was closed for the week, so I took the opportunity to visit my parents for a long weekend. I had a very nice time with my parents, and a rather eventful visit.

On first arriving at the Detroit airport I was met by my mom and we headed straight to the ice rink. It was nice to be back in my old stomping grounds, so to speak, and to be back on the ice after not skating for a while.

When we got home I surprised my dad. I had my mom keep the visit under wraps, a birthday surprise for my Poppa. And he was pleasantly surprised. It helps that he's a rather oblivious gent and didn't pick up on the possible clues: cleaning the house, washing the sheets on my old bed, stocking up on gluten free foods, my ice skates arriving UPS.

This is the fat lazy squirrel who kept hanging out on our deck. He made himself pretty comfy. I can't really blame him for being so worn out. It was pretty hot and humid when I arrived.

The heat didn't last long. As we were finishing the really nice dinner my mom prepared it started to storm. The picture doesn't really portray how strongly the trees were whipping around in the back yard.




There was a lot more wind than anything else. The sky didn't even get that dark. After dinner I started to make Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies and halfway through the power went out.

As we went out the next morning the we discovered that a tree in our neighbors yard had split, and the half the fell had knocked over the street light on the corner. We were ultimately without power for about 32 hours.

It wasn't too bad, it was just our area, about a half mile radius, and we were able to eat all of our left overs before they went bad, and we had enough that we didn't have to cook. The power came back on on the Fourth, just in time for our neighbors backyard party. Since they recommend bringing a dish to share. Since I knew there wouldn't be a whole lot for me to eat I took a sausage by Amylu, which my mom likes and are clearly labeled gluten free. And I made a Blueberry Tart to make sure that I would have a tasty dessert. It was nice to catch up with folks I haven't seen in years.

Saturday was my dad's birthday, so we had family breakfast and fixed my folks my Teff Quinoa Pancakes, which they loved. Instead of a birthday cake I made a new twist on my dad's favorite dessert, Apple Vitti, which we enjoyed after taking him out to dinner. Our family's birthday restaurant of choice is The Real Seafod Co., where you get a free meal and dessert on your birthday. They also have a special menu that has all the gluten free options clearly marked. Never the less, I asked the waitress lots of questions and she was very conscientious and wanted to make sure she understood my restrictions. When we had concerns about the flourless chocolate cake the manager came to assure us that it really was gluten free (it looked like it had a crust on the bottom, but I guess that's just the way it cooks).

We had a great meal and a great visit. I've been very busy since I got home. It's taken me a whole week and I finally got to finish this post. I wish I could fall asleep as soon as I turn the TV on like my folks can!