Martha's Marvellous Munchies

In Texas, state parks are the main way of getting out into some countryside, and they are almost invariably centred around a reservoir.  Back in the UK, the network of public footpaths means that you don't have to go to a designated area to walk around.  However, a proper country footpath often involves mud, brambles, stiles and other such pushchair-unfriendly obstacles, so we have found that, even here, reservoirs are still quite useful, not to mention beautiful, places to walk. A few weeks ago we visited Staunton Harold reservoir, just south of here.  Rain and snow had fallen overnight and frozen, so the visitor centre car park was closed, and the circular southern car park, when we found it, was doing an excellent impression of a skating rink.  Having slid the car into a parking space, we skied gingerly down an icy hill, and a beautiful vista of the lake opened up before us. We might have been content to drink in the view for a while, but Toby took one ...

Yes, I know, it's been aaaaages!  I do apologise.  Moving countries has a way of disrupting blogging.  I will have to think of a new subtitle (suggestions on a postcard, please!) since this won't be a taste of Texas life any more, but I know some of my Texas friends will enjoy hearing about a taste of English life, and I hope the rest of you will too! English countryside. Settling back into your native country is not a particularly easy process, as we have found and many others we've spoken to have told us.  So I thought I'd try and make Shrove Tuesday a bit more of a celebration this year. I kept the main course simple and nutritious - shallow-fried fish, stir-braised cabbage with cumin, and sweetcorn - so that we could gorge ourselves on the obligatory PANCAKES.  While I can make crepes if I have to, American-style pancakes are so much easier.  A huge plateful soon diminished, accompanied with warmed golden syrup, fresh blueberries, butter and yo...

Did you know the Rose Capital of the World is a smallish city in Texas?  Nope, us neither.  Until we took a trip to Tyler, that is.   We were one weekend shy of the annual rose festival, which meant we got all the roses with none of the crowds.  In the early morning sunshine, the Rose Gardens unfolded quietly and beautifully before us.  Paths curled around small splashing fountains and stretched luxuriously through lines of scented petals.  There were roses of every size and colour, from delicate lilac to candy-striped pink and white, and plenty of other plants as well.   From nature to science: we spent the afternoon at the Discovery Science Center, equally marvellous in its own way.  No sweeps of plate glass and polished steel, no 3D interactive computer displays here.  The building was unassuming brick and most of the exhibits looked like they had been put together on a shoe-string - a pile of bolt...

My friend Ellie writes a blog which I now shamelessly crib ideas from, when I am stuck for something new to do with Toby.  Some time ago she wrote about a substance with the poetic moniker of cloud dough .  It sounded simple to make and fun to play with, so I tucked it away in the back of my mind. The recipe is childishly simple: 8 cups of plain flour, 1 cup of vegetable oil, and mix.  It comes out kind of sandy, although softer and more powdery. Now, Ellie has two gorgeous girls.  Her blog entries were full of photos of them adding pretty objects and creating cute little landscapes.  I, on the other hand, have a full-on hands-on get-stuck-in-as-far-as-possible boy.  This is what happens when you let him loose on a scatterable substance. We make it and it all starts well.  Notice I have prepared for mess with a large tarpaulin and lack of shorts. A few minutes in, and the mess is spreading up the T-shirt.  It's still mostly in the t...