by jphilo | Oct 11, 2013 | Family
The Oktoberfest version of Camp Dorothy is underway. Hopefully, the autumn weather means these two hot babes won’t sweat quite as much as they did in August. Besides, with so many onsite activities on the docket, we won’t need to go out on the town.
So what activities are planned…other than The Price is Right, Judge Judy, and Wheel of Fortune? I’m so glad you asked! Here’s a quick run down:
- Uno and Skippo tournies.
- Plenty of naps for the camps namesake, all taken under an afghan made by her mother.
- A drive through the Ledges to enjoy the fall colors.
- The last BLTs made with the last summer tomato.
- A bean soup eat-athon, followed shortly by a musical tootfest.
- A Harding County History, Volume 2* book read-athon.**
A few obvious things are missing from the Camp Dorothy version of Oktoberfest, namely beer, beer steins, and lederhosen. The first two because Dorothy’s deep German roots have always prospered best in a dry climate, and we don’t want to upset that applecart at this late date. The final item because lederhosen look pretty silly on grown-ups and we don’t want to give PETA a reason to picket on our gravel road.
So, what’s the camp director’s contingency plan if we run out of things to do before Oktoberfest ends on Saturday evening? I’m glad you asked. Since this is Homecoming weekend in our fair city, we just might join the younger crowd and tee-pee a few houses. Now if you’ll excuse the camp director, she needs to run to the grocery store to stock up on paper products.
Auf wiedersehen!
*The camp namesake had to begin with Volume 2 because the camp director is hogging Volume 1. But since the volumes are arranged alphabetically rather than chronologically, collateral damage is minimal.
**This began the minute Dorothy sat down in the living room. She’s loving the homesteading stories and read right through The Price Is Right.
by jphilo | Aug 27, 2013 | Top Ten Tuesday
10. Dorothy: I don’t want to go on this trip, Jolene.
9. Dorothy: That’s a dirty bean field.
8. Dorothy: Look Jolene, another barn quilt.
7. Dorothy: That corn field doesn’t look very good. Too dry, don’t you think?
6. Dorothy: My, my the river’s low.
5. Dorothy: Can you believe all the windmills? On both sides or the road. There’s another batch.
4. Dorothy: Oh, I’m so tired I can hardly stay awake.
3. Jolene: Mom, why don’t you lean recline your seat and take a nap. There’s a pillow in the back seat.
2. Dorothy: Don’t tell me what to do, Jolene. I’m enjoying seeing the countryside.
1. Jolene: Sigh.
Photo Source
by jphilo | Jul 19, 2013 | Family
On late Tuesday morning, I was still at Family Camp in the Idaho mountains, enjoying cool nights, sunny days, and naps in the hammocks on cabin porches and strung from trees in hammock heaven.
Less that 48 hours later, Camp Dorothy began with typical July weather in Iowa: 90+ temps and high humidity which meant the camp director needed iced coffee and the camp’s namesake needed ice cream immediately.
Less than 36 hours after it began, Camp Dorothy will be over. A short stay to be sure, but the schedule has been packed with the following action for the camp’s namesake:
11:00AM–12:00 Noon Iced coffee and ice cream run
12:00–2:00 PM Nap time for campers
2:00–3:30 Crossword puzzles and reading
3:30–4:00 Jeopardy*
4:00–5:00 Puzzles and reading, continued
5:00–6:00 Watched the news
6:00–6:30 Supper and clean up by the camp director and her husband
6:30–7:00 Hot game of Skippo**
7:00–7:30 Big Bang Theory with Bob Newhart as Professor Proton***
7:30–8:30 Watched an episode of Call the Midwife****
8:30 PM–8:15 AM Bedtime
8:30–9:30 Bakery run
9:30–10:30 Naptime*****
10:30–12:00 PM Price is Right and news
12:00–12:30 Lunch
12:30–3:00 Naptime
3:00 Return camp’s namesake to Ankeny for a much needed nap
*Someone chose Jeopardy over Judge Judy. Gasp!
**Someone chose Skippo over Wheel of Fortune. Double gasp!
***Someone kept saying, “You can’t beat Bob Newhart for comedy.” That someone is absolutely correct.
****The camp director thought someone would like since that someone birthed all her babies in the 1950s. Judging from someone’s frequent query, “How much longer do we have to watch?” the camp director was wrong.
*****Only the camp’s namesake used naptime for its appointed purpose. The camp director used that time to blog, balance someone’s checkbook, answer emails, write a little, cook meals, exercise, pack for a weekend with the kids, and make a birthday cake…not necessarily in that order.
by jphilo | May 22, 2013 | Recipes
Yes, you read that right. Today’s post features an asparagus recipe, even though I do not like asparagus. Wait. That’s an understatement. I despise asparagus.
But last week a friend gave us a bag full of the despicable stuff. So the man of steel and Camp Dorothy namesake rustled up one of their favorite springtime meals. One of them had a wonderful time oohing and ahhing, smacking her lips and and saying, “Jo, you don’t know what you’re missing.” Then she bailed and left the other one on dishwasher duty while she watched Wheel of Fortune. Don’t ask me to name names because I’m not that kind of person.
This recipe is mostly guesswork (Translation: Mom didn’t use a recipe years ago when she taught us to make it.), but here’s my best guestimate at ingredient amounts and cooking times.
Creamed Asparagus on Toast
2 cups washed, fresh asparagus, cut into 1/2 inch lengths
2 tablespoons butter
2–3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup ham, diced (optional)
Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Add asparagus and ham. Saute for 2 minutes. Add flour and stir until the flour/butter mixture bubbles.
Add milk, a few tablespoons at a time, stirring well after each addition so the mixture doesn’t become lumpy. Stir constantly until mixture comes to slow boil. Turn down heat and boil for a minute or two. Serve over toast.
by jphilo | May 17, 2013 | Family
Camp Dorothy is the place to be after a rocky start yesterday. Late Thursday morning, Mom and I thought we had the world by the tail after the doctor’s office completed her appointment and blood draw in record, painless time. We hopped in the car and headed to Ames for lunch.
Mom wanted to go to a restaurant that serves breakfast because a) she hadn’t eaten breakfast because the doc wanted a fasting blood draw, and b) she always wants to eat breakfast when we go out. Mom was practically salivating when we entered the Ames establishment, which shall remain nameless, at noon. We were seated quickly, and things went downhill from there.
- When the waitress brought our coffee, she brought only one cup and a pot full of decaf for me. Nothing for Mom because, the waitress explained, they’d just started a new pot of regular. It would be done in a jiffy.
- Then she said a different waitress was taking over our table.
- Five minutes later, when the new waitress came to take our order, she didn’t bring Mom’s coffee. Mom looked as pathetic as possible while I explained how hungry AND THIRSTY my frail, elderly mother was. Our histronics made little impression on the waitress.
- Five minutes later, Mom finally got coffee.
- Five minutes after that, our orders came, and we dug in.
- One minute later, I realized the cheese hadn’t been left off my salad as requested.
- One minute after that, the waitress took my food back to the kitchen.
- Ten minutes later, my new salad arrived just as Mom finished her meal.
- While Mom watched me eat, she decided the strawberry-rhubarb piekin pictured on the table display looked mighty tasty, so she flagged down the waitress and ordered one for each of us.
- Five minutes later, the strawberry-rhubarb piekins made us forget all about the rocky start to Camp Dororthy. While we ate them, we decided to go to breakfast at The Dutch Oven Bakery in Boone on Friday morning.
Because the camp director decided breakfast is the obvious theme for for this session of Camp Dorothy. To paraphrase what my then three-year-old son said to his daddy the first time they walked to the bottom of a roadside ditch to pee, “Camp Dorothy is gonna be fun!”
