June 27, 2009
Honorable mention for Yoli
Today, the Ferguson Farmer's Market had its pie contest. Yoli really likes these dessert contests.
Last year, the market structured the contests around various fruits. One week they'd have a berry contest, and any sort of berry creation was okay to enter. We weren't so fond of that. But Yoli did take first place with her Strawberry Palmiers.
In 2007, her apple cranberry pie came in second at Ferguson's Fourth of July pie contest. This was a big contest, with 35 entries.
Today's pie contest wasn't as big, only 9 entries. Still, they were all pretty tasty-looking and the judges commented on how tough a choice it was.
Yoli recently tried out a cherry pie recipe, but we didn't feel it was contest-worthy. And with all the hubbub surrounding the arrival and stay of her parents, she never really had a chance to experiment again with other recipes.
So she fell back on the apple cranberry pie, but created a different crust/cover design than what she used 2 years ago. This one featured lots of stars around the border and shooting stars in the middle to evoke fireworks.
One of the other entrants remarked to me that only 3 of the pies had truly flaky crusts, Yoli's being one of those.
I could tell that some of the judges had Yoli's pie on their list, but one or two of them didn't. I overheard a discussion between two judges, one saying she thought Yoli's pie was too sweet, the other laughing and saying he thought it was a bit too tart. People's tastes can be pretty tricky. I tried the pie later myself, but I thought it was a pretty good balance between tart and sweet. (My personal preference with apple pies is for more tart)
Ultimately, Yoli's pie didn't place. But the judges decided to make hers an honorable mention because they thought the crust was so outstanding.
It was fun to watch the proceedings, and Yoli's parents were there for the experience. Yoli's dad and her grandfather were bakers, so there is a family history of excellence in pastries.
Of course the most fun part was sampling all the contest entries.
June 24, 2009
Playdough, Garbage, Zoo and Botanical Garden
Check out photos from the last two days!
Learning how to make play-dough empanadas:
The garbage truck is just as interesting to adults as it is to kids:
A hot day at the St. Louis Zoo:
An equally hot (but beautiful) day at the Missouri Botanical Garden:
First week, in photos
Here are a few photos from the first week of Yoli's parents trip to the United States.
We start off by taking them to the Delmar Loop for lunch at Fitz's, followed by a look around Plowsharing Crafts, where Yoli once worked years ago.
This past Sunday we took them to Grace Church - St. Louis. My mom runs the café and she gave us all a tour of the kitchen.
On Monday we visited the Arch, as well as the Museum of Westward Expansion.
June 21, 2009
The arrival
It was Tuesday night and Yoli and I were a bit exhausted.
We had been running around for days, making preparations for the arrival of her parents from Bolivia. Perhaps the biggest of these was the purchase of a minivan, which required a test-drive, offers, counter-offers, and a used car inspection.
By Tuesday night, our house was fairly clean. The sun room had new curtains and rods installed, bamboo chairs and table, and a bed.
We had put the girls to bed, knowing that Yoli's parents would arrive late. I was afraid they might not sleep, since they sometimes stay awake too long laughing, talking, singing, etc.
As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about. Yoli's parents' flight was delayed, and the girls did indeed fall asleep.
Our neighbor came over to watch the girls, and Yoli and I piled into my car. I had removed the carseats from the back not long before, a task that had been overlooked. Of course the backseats were covered in cereal crumbs and other detritus, which I swept away as best I could in the dark.
We were planning to meet Yoli's folks at the baggage claim. As it was, we were running just a bit late. When we got there, we saw no sign of them. Only a couple people were at the carousel -- their bags hadn't shown up.
We looked high and low for Yoli's parents, and were having no luck until at last Yoli found her dad.
Don Hector explained to us that they had been steered outside by a flight attendant or somebody who thought we would be driving up to the curb to pick them up.
Together, we three went outside to recover Dona Lucila and go to the car.
My suegros explained that their trip had gone pretty well. The main problem was at Miami International Airport where they were twice misdirected, so that they ended up visiting three different gates.
Now at least they were out of airport confinement and "seeing" America for the first time. Of course it was dark and we were only on the highway, but still. We were pointing out everything we could.
Actually, driving north on Florissant Rd. from I-70 at night is kinda neat once you are in Ferguson, because of the nice lamps that line the street.
We spent some time visiting and getting settled, and after a while, it was time to sleep!
June 16, 2009
Today is the day
Yoli's parents should be here late tonight.
This morning, I got the title to our "new" minivan: a 2000 Mercury Villager in really good shape. For those who care about such things, it is a dark green color. It should be of great service to us while our family temporarily grows to 7 people.
I still need to take care of inspections, etc. Hopefully it will be drive-ready Wednesday or Thursday.
As far as the house goes, we have made a lot of progress, but much remains to be done. I guess I better stop typing and get back to cleaning while the girls are still asleep!
June 13, 2009
Getting ready for visitantes
We've spent the last week slowly making progress toward getting ready for the arrival of Yoli's parents.
A few things we've accomplished:
- clean sun room
- make curtain rods and hang curtains in sun room
- make tentative deal for a minivan
Of course we've been doing other stuff, too. Today we hit the farmer's market and bought some peaches (and soy candles). Later I took Jadzia to the library for a presentation by the Butterfly House about ladybugs, which was very good.
Yoli also wrote up a 4-page step-by-step guide for her parents on how to traverse the airports and airplanes from Santa Cruz to Miami to St. Louis. We hope they make it with no problems. Thankfully speaking Spanish is not an obstacle in Miami, and in St. Louis all they have to do is follow the crowd to the baggage carousel.
Tuesday night will be here before we know it. Now all we have to do is clean the rest of the house.