Forgot to mention our personal favorite German culture credit recipe Steffen and I made this past year, at least this one turned out much better than our poor, pathetic attempt at making Berliners. 

Ingredients:

• 3 oz semisweet chocolate
  
• 1 1/4 cups milk
  
• 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
  
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 3 eggs
  
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
Combine chocolate and 1/4 cup milk in small saucepan. Over low heat, stir until chocolate melts. Let cool.
Beat butter and sugar until creamy in large mixer bowl.
Add vanilla extract and eggs, beating until well mixed.
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Stir flour mixture into sugar mixer, alternately with 1 cup milk.
Pour 2/3 of batter into bundt pan.
Add cooled chocolate mixture to remaining batter. Mix well.
Spoon chocolate batter over plain batter in pan.
Swirl a knife through batters to marble. Smooth top.
Bake 60 - 65 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on wire rack about 10 minutes.
Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.
To serve, place cooled cake top side down on cake plate and dust with powder sugar.

Some of my most fondest and vivid memories of my youth are of me going camping with my parents and younger sisters. I remember my first camping trip, I couldn't have been much older than four and my parents had taken me to Sequoia National Park. Faintly, I can see myself running around those giant redwoods and climbing their massive stumps. I decided when I had children, I wanted to take them on camping trips and give them the opportunity to have the same experiences I had, and I hope we have instilled good memories for our boys. 

This year was no exception. I was looking forward to a camping trip, especially since we were unable to get away last summer, except for a quick trip to Leavenworth, Washington over the Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, we kept hitting road blocks and I fretted if we were even going to be able to make it work. To begin with, the summer was already booked pretty solid with work, scout camps, band camp, and Michael leaving for the MTC. That left us with only a short block of time to squeeze in a trip, throw in a camp staff meeting and a snow make-up day at the end of the school year and we only had an extended weekend to do our excursion. We originally discussed taking a trip to Mt. Rainier, in view of the fact, we had not camped on the mountain for several years. When I went to make reservations, we found out because of sequestration, our favorite campground was closed until later in the month. We then decided we would visit the east side of the mountain instead and was actually looking forward to visiting since we had never seen the east side of Mt. Rainier.  I found a campsite, but while checking road conditions, I discovered the road to Sunrise was not anticipated to be opened until later in the month and the second excursion to Crystal Mountain was out, because the gondola rides were closed the weekend we were supposed to be there. Sigh!

So. . . we did a complete 180 degree turn and headed to the Washington coast instead. We decided to visit Cape Disappointment State Park (formerly known as Fort Canby) because we had never visited the park, although we had visited Fort Stevens on the other side of the Columbia River. Camp Disappointment is where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean and where Lewis and Clark landed and explored when they reached the end of their journey to the Pacific. We drove to the park with hopes of finding a last minute site and we camped in a first-come, first serve campground in the park near Lake O'Neil, a little more primitive (no hook-ups) then other sites available in the park (those near the ocean), but still had water nearby, flush toilets, and showers. I would have liked to have camped at the sites on the Pacific Ocean side of the park, but I understand those fill up weeks and sometimes months in advance and even then it's a .25 mile hike to the beach from the campgrounds. Side note: Watch out for raccoon in this park, they are tenacious, are not afraid of humans, and will steal food and rummage through garbage. Had a bit of an adventure with a raccoon on our first day at the park. I was sitting  in our pickup with the door wide open and a raccoon waddled over to the door and peaked inside. I shooed him away, but my youngest son who was sitting in the truck with me, wanted to know where he went. We found him a few moments later in the back of the truck bed trying to open a storage bin, which I might add, had no food inside. He gave up, climbed out of our truck, and then climbed onto a bumper of another truck. No fear. We kept the doors closed from then on. 

While at the park, we enjoyed several short hikes. We hiked to both Camp Disappointment lighthouse and North Head lighthouse. I love lighthouses as much as I love forest fire lookouts - something about them stirs up the romantic in me. The call of seclusion. The guardians of the waterways. Fantasies of living in one many years ago. We were able to take a tour of North Head and climbed up the 66 steps to the top. Amazing and breath-taking views from up there. We also walked along the North Jetty, Beards Harrow, Waikiki Beach, Benson Beach, and toured the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Have some family history with the Lewis and Clark Expedition - my great-great-great-great grandfather, Alexander Hamilton Willard was with the corps. 

Our final day at the coast, we drove up to Long Beach and spent the day walking along the boardwalk, driving on the beach, and shopping. I highly recommend Anna Lena's Quilt Shop - going to sound strange but she has amazing fudge! Then on our way home, we stopped at Fort Columbia State Park. This historical park protected the entrance to the Columbia River. It is one of the few intact coastal defense sites left in the United States. After lunch at Pizza Hut in Seaside, Oregon, we headed down the coastal highway towards Portland. Just a few miles from Hillsboro, we blew a tire on the trailer. Had a bit of an adventure as the trailer we had borrowed did not have a spare. Thank goodness, we left on a Saturday and not Sunday, because Les Schwab Tires are closed on Sundays. After purchasing a new tire, we were back on the road again, arriving back home late Saturday evening. On Sunday, Steffen left to work at a boys scout camp for the summer. 

For the final German culture credit assignment of the school year, Steffen and I decided we would try our hand at making spaetzle. I remember on special occasions my mom heating up Bird's Eye Green Beans & Spaetzle in Bavarian Sauce. So yummy! Unfortunately, it's impossible to find this side dish in the grocery stores anymore. 

Anyway, we found a very simple spaetzle recipe online. 

Ingredients: 

• 4 cups all-purpose flour 
  
• 5 eggs
  
• 1 teaspoon of salt
  
• 3/4 cup of water 

Directions: 

In a large bowl, combine flour, eggs, and salt. Then slowly add water until forming a soft dough, 

Boil two quarts of water in a large pot. Squeeze dough through a spaetzle maker or fruit press or by pressing through a colander with large holes into the boiling water. When noodles float to the top of the water, they are done. 

We did not have access to a spaetzle maker, a friend suggested using a potato ricer, but had no luck locating one at any of our local stores, so we just rolled out the dough and cut into thin strips. Probably thicken and longer then we should have - they looked more like french fries. In addition, sampling after we finished cooking them, I personally thought they tasted like boiled dough. So I sauteed the noodles in some butter and garlic and crumbled in some bacon giving it some extra flavor boost. 

I'm sorry to report the very talented actress, Jean Stapleton, our beloved Emily Farnsworth, passed away on May 30th. May she rest in peace. 

Out of all the guest stars on the series Scarecrow and Mrs. King, she was my favorite and I also dearly love to write her into my stories. Emily was a fun character and Jean portrayed her brilliantly. 

A shy, introvert, wallflower was I, until a high school drama teacher opened up a whole new world for me. I hero-worshipped her. Energetic, engaging, knowledgeable—her love of theater came across in the way she taught and directed. And from the time I was a freshman in high school, I knew what I wanted to be. . . I wanted to be a drama teacher.

My senior year, I applied and was accepted to Western Oregon State College, which at one time had been the Oregon College of Education. I had heard fantastic things about their education department and looked forward to becoming a teacher after I earned my degree. I also loved and appreciated the drama department, and although WOSC was a small school, I valued the more one-on-one time attention I received in the smaller classrooms. I feel if I had gone to a larger school, I would have struggled and eventually failed.

I became heavily involved in the drama department and enjoyed working both onstage, as well as, off stage. I also took just about every drama course that was available and worked towards a double major in Language Arts and Theater Arts with a minor in Communications. My English classes were more hit and miss, not that I did poorly in the classes, it just wasn’t my passion, but in order to get the degree I wanted, I had to have the double major. (Side note: At the time you could not get an endorsement in Theater without the English endorsement, too). 

The Fargenstropple Case is celebrating it's 1st anniversary! Get your giggle on with "Outrageous British humour!" US or UK. Free Monday through Wednesday. 

I had a lot of fun participating in this particular collaboration and look forward to helping out on the second book. Hurry, Lia!

Sigh! What am I going to do with my youngest son? I’ve never had a child who has been suspended from school before. And even though he swears he did not do anything to deserve the suspension, I’m going to back up the teachers and administers on this.

I remember seeing a cartoon a few months ago, discussing the difference in parents attitudes about student grades, as all responsibilities fall on the teacher and not the student nowadays.  I chuckled, but having worked as a substitute teacher, I have seen it firsthand. I believe this holds true on behavior, too. 

Moreover, I want my son to respect authority figures, not argue with them. If he honestly feels he was right, then he needs to come to the school counselor or us without arguing or back-talking to the teacher.

This all started a few weeks ago, when Joey was caught playing with his Nintendo DS (which he has repeatedly been told by his teacher and us not to bring to the school). He said it had slipped out of his pocket and he had not been playing with it. Whether or not, does not matter, the fact of the matter is he argued with his teacher. Let me add, Joey has always been very passionate when he thinks he was right. He was sent to the principal’s office and instead of spending the time cooling off, he began to express his feelings in writing, and using words I didn’t even know he knew, or doubt he even knows the meanings of said words. He was caught with the notebook by the Dean of Students and after a phone call home; he was given a one-day at school suspension. 

Fast forward to a few days ago, and this time he was caught teasing another student. I don’t understand how a child who hates to be teased himself, could be the one upsetting the other student. He was sent to the office and the Dean of Students called home and told me Joey would be suspended the last day of school. I rolled my eyes, wondering how missing the last day of school could be punishment, but agreed to the suspension. Then less then an hour later, I received another phone call to come get him – I guess he was just having a rough day. I went to the school office and chatted with the Dean for a few moments. She informed me Joey had been caught teasing again and when his teacher called him out on it, he argued with her. And because he had just been sent to the office earlier in the day and already warned about harassing and being argumentative, he was now facing a three-day suspension.

*Facepalm*

I’m not going to defend his actions. He’s always been a little hothead, but in the same vein, can be very caring, loving, and concerned. I asked the Dean if this could be something we could address at his next IEP meeting and she agreed, we could discuss behavior modifications, although, it would not been changed until the next school year. I’m also very concerned with him associating getting angry equates to a free day from school. I'm also hoping and praying we can do this without the use of medications. 

At this moment, he will be missing the last four days of the school year and more importantly, the fun days; i.e. a school trip to Wild Waves and Enchanted Village. I know he is not happy about missing out of the outing, but he brought it upon himself and must face the consequences of his actions. I also told him, he would be doing schoolwork for me and not for him to think of the suspension as an early start to summer vacation.

In the meantime, I am hoping for a more successful school experience for him next year. Actually, I can’t complain too much. I think Hawkins Middle School has been good for him, especially now that he is back on an IEP (which, in my opinion, the previous school district should have NEVER exited out of special education – but that’s a story for another day). I also really appreciate the band teacher and all the one-on-one attention he has given Joey on teaching him how to play the drums. He’s really grown as a drummer this past year and looked and sounded great at the concerts and parades. I think the more Joey finds he appreciates and enjoys, the more successful his school years will become. 

I love both shows equally, although Scarecrow and Mrs. King still edges out Chuck as being my favorite television series of all time. Nonetheless, I thought it would be fun to take a moment to discuss the similarities between the two shows. 

Scarecrow and Mrs. King was a American action-comedy/spy-drama television serial that aired between 1983-1987. Usually somewhere in the middle of the Nielsen rating numbers, it did quite well in it's time slots until the lead actress was diagnosed with cancer and the show was not renewed. The show ran successfully for four seasons and finished with 88 episodes. Chuck was an American action-comedy/spy-drama television serial that aired between 2007-2012. Always on the cancellation bubble, it struggled to stay on network television, but after successful fan-mounted campaigns, the series ended with 91 episodes. Although, there is no proof the creators of Chuck watched Scarecrow and Mrs. King, I find many of the similarities quite humorous and a bit suspect. 

To begin with, the whole premise of the show. Both revolved around ordinary people becoming paired with the loner spy and being thrust unexpectedly into the world of espionage. Amanda, a mother of two and a homemaker, is passed secret government information by a spy who is in trouble. While Chuck is a young man working at a computer store, who is passed secret government information by a spy who is in trouble. Both Chuck and Amanda help the agents they are paired with by often thinking outside the box and using unconventional ways of taking out the bad guys. In addition, both Chuck and Amanda dislike guns, although both as they progressed as agents learned how to handle them. I also have to add a similar plot device, in Scarecrow and Mrs. King Amanda put sugar in a gas tank to help her and Lee escape, while in Chuck, Lester put sugar in the gas tank to stop the baddies from kidnapping Casey's daughter. 

Both shows focused heavily on relationships. For Amanda it was her mother and two boys, while Chuck had a close relationship with his sister. For both of them family meant everything.  While Lee and Sarah were the hardened agents, both with circumstances that lead to them growing up in a hurry and each having to deal with the element of abandonment. Of course, these tough agents were never supposed to fall in love with their partners for it was against the cardinal rule of spying; however, cover kisses lead to real kisses, and denial lead to dating others and finally them getting together and getting married. Both shows also had a great ensemble cast.There are several other reasons; i.e. both shows were filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, both shows moved to Friday nights their last season and lost viewers, and both shows ended before they should have. In addition, most fans feel the last three or four episodes do not exist; Scarecrow and Mrs. King, because of Kate's illness and the star being unavailable to film those last episodes, and Chuck, because the final story line had Sarah losing her memories and forgetting Chuck and the five years they had together. Of course, the series finale, fans cried in agony as we did not get closure or our "happily ever-after." I feel the same way about Scarecrow and Mrs. King because us fans never got closure or had the chance to say goodbye to the characters we had grown to love over the years.  

Finally, both shows have the brilliant and talented Bruce Boxleitner. In Scarecrow and Mrs. King, he was of course Lee Stetson, codename Scarecrow, while in Chuck he was Dr. Woody Woodcomb, also known as, Captain Awesome's dad. Then the most humorous coincidence was the house on 4247 Warner Avenue. In Scarecrow and Mrs. King this was Amanda's house on the fictional street of Maplewood Drive in Arlington, Virginia, but in Chuck the same house was used as Sarah's dream house. The house she longed to live in with the white picket fence and red door, where she and Chuck could grow old together, and she could finally live the normal life she had always dreamed about.

For those who have watched both shows, I would love to hear your thoughts. 

Back in the good old days, when people dialed the wrong number, they would apologize to the recipient with a “Sorry, wrong number.”  Today, manners are as outdated as good grammar. 

Last week, I received a text message from a phone number I did not recognize, asking me, “Where RU?” I looked at the phone number and not having a clue who this person was, I politely asked, “Who is this?” This caller then sent me a text filled with profanities, followed by, “You know who this is. You gave me this number last night.”  I knew whomever was on the other end, had the wrong number and again with as much politeness as I could muster, I texted, “Listen, I think you have the wrong phone number. I don’t know who you are looking for?" 

A simple, "I'm sorry" or "My mistake" would have been appreciated, but I heard nothing back from the caller. Whether texting or calling could we please remember some effortless phone etiquette, people? Sheesh! 

Getting off my soapbox now. . .