I’m a big potato chip fan.  I’ve always been.  But I am picky.  I hate the greasy ones, the vineager ones and the over-salted ones.  Not a big fan of the flavored ones either.  Some years ago, Lays came out with a Natural chip, made with: potatoes, salt and corn oil.  They are quite yummy, not greasy and I have to keep them away from my kids otherwise, there are none left for me. 

Well, sometime over the summer, maybe July…I noticed that they were out of stock at my local Scarborough Hannaford. They are always in the same section of Nature’s Place.  I thought it was a fluke and kept checking…weeks go by and there is still the empty place on the shelf.  One day in August, I happen to chat up the fellow restocking some shelves nearby (noticed his name tag said Steve) and ask about the chips.  He promises to look into it and jots down the item number.

Another month later and I see Steve again, and we chat about those chips, and perhaps they were discontinued…bummer because they are the best chips ever!  But he’ll follow up with the Frito Lay guy who is due in the next day, he assures me.

Low and behold, last week, as I make my rounds through Nature’s Place, I see my friend Steve again…and just as I’m about to ask him if he ever found out what became of my favorite chips, he pulls down a bag and hands it to me!  Oh JOY!  I thank him profusely for his help.

I wonder if they would have turned up again if I had not asked the question.  Oh well.  Now, if only I can get them to restock my favorite pickles…Vlasik Snack Umms!  Out of stock since summer as well.

Can’t have a good sandwich without my pickles and chips!

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I finally finished the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer…WOW. It was pretty awesome. Ok, I’m am slightly embarrassed that I’m reading the same thing as my 15 year old babysitter, but I guess I was a late bloomer and still have a soft spot for teenage romance. Despite the fact that this was written to a “young adult” or YA audience, Stephenie did manage to create a little bit of heat.

Well maybe a tiny bit.

The author profusely defends her YA audience and claims that she was writing books her kids would read, and eventually movies would be made that her kids would see. Phoey! My sister, Leila, who is about to begin the 4th and final book, and who began the series upon my insistence has complained loudly and numerously to me about the lack of heat, and “when are they going to get it on”, “hurry up and make her a vampire already!”.

Well I won’t spoil it for those who may still be working their way through. I will say that that I found the end satisfying. Although not in the happy ending sense.

Now, I’ll quickly mention another book that I read in the days following my completion of Twilight. And it’s party due to my sister who came to visit this past weekend and watched “True Blood” with us on Sunday night (HBO). Now that is a show with some heat, and chemistry.

More vampires, again with the human girl and vampire guy…but this show is not for the young adult crowd. It’s kind of vulgar and spicy (caliente)…directed by Alan Ball (our man from Six Feet Under). So anyway, Leila told me that she envisions Bill when she’s reading Twilight and pictures him as Edward. This got me thinking about envisioning characters while reading a book. I decided that since I like the characters Alan Ball cast for his show, I should go and read Charlaine Harris’s books that are the basis for his show.

The first book “Dead Until Dark” provides the basis for pretty much the first season, I’m told. And even though I know how it turns out and ‘who dun it’, it was way satisfying in the happy ending sense. So for those of you adult fans of the Twilight series who are looking for a little more punch, I would strongly recommend Charlaine Harris. I can vouch for her first book, I have no doubt that the other 8 in her Sookie Stackhouse series are just as good.

Cybele, vampire groupie

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Our family recently joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) right here in Scarborough at Broadturn Farm. We pay a seasonal fee and are entitled to a weekly share of the farm’s yummy fruits and veggies ( not to mention fresh eggs, and poultry/pork shares too if we want).   So last week we got our first share and as it is still quite early in the growing season it was on the smallish side (pak choi, lettuce, arugula, rhubarb and chive flowers)…but as my friend tells me by the end of the summer, we’ll need 2-3 bags to bring home our share.

So we made lots of salads this week, with varying toppings, like mango, avocado, nectarines and it’s been yummy served on the side of this giant striped bass that Rich hauled in from off of P-Town last week.

And, Maya and I went strawberry picking this past weekend.  Not too many left after early morning visitors, but we came away with about a quart and a half (for $4)…can’t beat that.  And so since I’m not a pie-maker of any sort, I was struggling with what to do with all this rhubarb and strawberries…until, low and behold in EveryDay Food, I found a great recipe for strawberry rhubarb sundaes…so easy and delicious–
and speedy.  Combine a pound of strawberries, hulled and halved, two stalks of rhubarb chopped into 1/2 inch pieces, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a saucepan.  Simmer over high heat for 6-8 minutes.  Cool and refrigerate for about an hour and serve over vanilla ice cream…the girls loved it and so did I.

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Why is it so hard to find a good car these days?  Not that I’m actually looking yet…my Subaru Outback ‘99 only has 75k miles on it and should easily last another 5 years (nice not to have a car payment…) but eventually, vanity will triumph over finances and I’ll begin to crave that new car smell–or at least the spray they use for the slightly used cars.

But when I do finally cave in to replace my car there are a few things that are definitely on my list of “must haves”…namely,

1) it has to be all wheel drive or offer 4-wheel drive for those snowy Maine winters…I’ve always had 4-wheel drive and could never go back at this point.

2) it needs to have the capability of seating more than just 4-5 people…yes that’s right, I’m talking about that 3rd row seating capability all the new cars are toting.

3) and finally, it would be super nice if I could get 1&2 along with a hybrid option with the way gas prices are going these days.

So why is it so hard to find what I want?  currently there is only one, ONE car out there that meets my requirements– The Toyota Highlander.  I can find cool hybrids with all wheel drive, like the Saturn Vue (Green Line) and I can find plenty of cool cars with all wheel drive and a third row, like the Hyundai VeraCruz…but none that meet all three.

I wouldn’t be caught dead in a mini-van, and even there, only one option offers all wheel drive, the Toyota Sienna…but they are really bigger than I need, (only occaisionally will I need to actually transport more than 4-5 people) and their fuel efficiency is a joke (18 miles/gallon) with gas prices pushing $4-5 /gallon soon enough.

I’m totally in love with the Mazda CX-9, sleek, sexy, and 3rd row with all wheel drive.  All they need is a hybrid option and I’ll stand in line.

So why is this so hard?  Increasing fuel costs, increasing desire to transport more people/car pool and be cost conscious with a hybrid car and so few options.  We need more family friendly cars, that are safe in the snow, and fuel efficient.  Is that asking too much???

I can only hope that by the time my trusty Outback kicks it, there will be plenty of options available.  For now I can only dream about my perfect next car.

-Family chauffeur, green mom

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This past weekend, our family stayed with friends on Pleasant Lake in Otisfield, Maine. It was a winter wonderland…There was easily 4+ feet of snow on the ground. The camp sits right at the water’s edge and faces west across the narrow part of the lake. We obtained fishing licenses in advance so that we could participate in one of Maine’s winter pass-times, ice fishing. After watching our friend Mark handle a manual ice auger to efficiently drill 6 holes in the ice to set up traps, by girl friend Jo and I took our best shot drilling a hole in the ice. 15 minutes later, the kids are starting to lose interest. It’s not as easy as it looks!–the ice was about 14 inches thick…

We are now ready for Survivor Winter Edition. Jokingly we wondered aloud why after 8+ years, there has never been a winter-time themed Survivor. Our best guess is that there is very little skin opportunities, (no bikinis, no boobies, no 6-packs), just frost bite.

We also enjoyed some xc skiing, sledding (or sliding as they say here in Maine), and of course Knob Creek.

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Here we are in February and we are on our 5th snow day. As if there aren’t enough staff development days and early release days already, they seem to cancel school at the first sign of a snowflake…I remember back when I was a kid, I’d lay in bed at 6am and listen for the local fire department to sound it’s very loud siren to signal a snow day…than happily roll over and go back to sleep.

Now, as a parent, I see snow days as more of a nuisance than anything. Ok it’s one thing if we’re having a real blizzard or something, but today, the bulk of the snow fell overnight, and the storm is moving away as we speak. All the weather stations reported Winter Storm Warning until 10 am. Why couldn’t they just have had late start, Snow Delay? It certainly would have made more sense.

Now my gym down the road, Lifestyles is ALWAYS open during the storms. I just love that. Their staff drive reliable 4-wheel drive vehicles. We do live in Maine after all, it snows and we all should know how to drive in the snow.

My childcare is also AWESOME when it comes to winter weather. Children’s Time has always stayed open during snow storms because they cater to working parents. Ok, once or twice they have closed early, but bless them for staying open. They will even take our Kindergardener on school snow days so she can hang out with her 3-year old sister and mom and dad can get some work done.

Cybele Brooks

Mom, Marketing Maven & flyte co-pilot

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