I mentioned at lunch today that it was Pi-Day (3.14 etc), and I barely had the words out of my mouth and Dad was saying, “What do you need?” So he headed to the grocery store for emergency pie making supplies. Premade pie crust and frozen fruit.

When he was checking out, the woman on the register called over to her boss, “I’m clocking out and following this guy home.” Tee!

Frozen peaches, frozen blueberries, tossed with sugar, flour and a dash of cinnamon, then dotted with butter. The entire assembly process took about 7 minutes once the groceries were in the house.

The pie with all its edges tucked in, ready to go in the oven. I never try to do the pretty, fluted crust around the edges for a few reasons. One, the premade crusts don’t reach over the edge of this, my favorite pie plate. Two, nobody here really likes eating the crust edges. So, I fold the top crust in, along the outside of the bottom crust and kind of tuck them in together, which pinches the edges closed enough. Then, when it bakes, yes, you end up with a thick crust at the back, but it’s covered in fruit juices and much more “edible” (for Dad) than the drier, crispier crust on the edges of more traditional pies.

Besides, it’s easier.

And see how pretty? The finished pie has a ring of fruit juice around the edge, but nothing burnt, nothing bubbled over.

But, the best part of celebrating Pie Day?

My favorite furry pie eater is acting like himself. Spring in his step, joy in his heart. Yay!

He didn’t get out for a walk, though. It showered on and off all day. And when I say “showered,” I mean RAINED. Hard. We even had thunder! In March! Practically unheard of. The odds of us having timed a walk so that we would NOT have gotten drenched are pretty slim, and anyway, he wasn’t giving any hints over by his leash, either.

Incidentally, I got a ton of knitting done yesterday. First on my sock at McDonalds with Risa and Kim, then on my sweater while we all watched the Toy Story movies … and even more later while watching “Catch Me If You Can” with Mom. My sweater’s just past 15″ long now from the neck.

Believe it or not, Spring is coming. Gray and wet (really, really wet) as today was, looking out back, there are hints of real, fresh green.

Hey, did you know the Juniper Moon Fiber Farm Lambcam is up and running again? And not only that, but they had their first babies of the season about two hours ago, live on camera. Two twin baby angora goats. Awww! I haven’t seen both of them on camera yet, but I have seen at least one of them crawling around.

I’ve got two videos for you.

As much as it kills me, this is practically a perfect ad and it didn’t use a single word. It’s just perfect, and you will particularly love it if you like dogs … but even if you don’t, you should watch. It’s beautiful and beautifully done.

And then, this one has been making the knit-blog rounds the last couple days, but I wouldn’t want you to miss it. It’s just a wonderful evocation of what a warm home is–using yarn.

(Don’t miss this little gem, either–the “making of” film behind that commercial.)

(I’m not the only one who loves a truly good television ad, am I?)

Tags: Baking, Chappy // 3 Comments »