Today my parents came out for dinner. My mom helped #3 and #4 make a dessert they'd picked out of the Crock Pot cookbook, and then made a 4x version of stir fry (which by the way, doesn't come out right)... It wasn't horrible. It was nice, but the sauce was very runny and the flavors a little muted. The dessert was mediocre too. Chocolate, but not delightful. I don't think we'll be repeating the recipe. I will share it tomorrow as tonight I'm falling asleep trying to write this up (yawn).
I also managed to finish my cat toy project today. It started with a baby mitten that #5 had long since outgrown. It was singular, no mate to be found. So I figured it'd be a perfect cat toy. I took an old stained onesie from when #5 was an infant, and I cut the crotch portion off (front and back). I cut the three crotch snaps off, then took the remaining fabric and carefully folded the longer portion (from the back of the onesie) and rolled the smaller portion (from the from front of the onesie). They fitted perfectly inside the tiny mitten - the rolled part in the thumb and the folded part in the finger portion.
I will admit, I was a little surprised by the initial response. Typically any catnip in the area becomes property of Henry. He will lay in it, roll in it, eat it, and just go nuts for it. But this time it was Mabel who played hard with the new mitten toy. So hard in fact, that the mitten fell out of her top tier on the cat tree and onto the floor. As she gazed over the side, Netherquartz, who just happened to have been sitting at the bottom of the cat tree, couldn't seem to belive his luck ... An entire mitten of fresh catnip had just fallen from the shy - just for him!
Zombie does not like catnip, and it seems that Henry prefers dried catnip. I want to dehydrate some from the plant, but I worry the smell from the dehydrator will drive the cats crazy.
The German thyme I put in the dehydrator yesterday was done today and I have stored it away in a plastic baggy. The sage is still drying. I hope it will be done tomorrow. It started to curl last night and by this evening it is mostly curled up, severely shrunken, and the smaller pieces are starting to crisp up. Perhaps Lemon Thyme will be next. Or catnip. Maybe blushing sage. I'll have to see what I have the most of.
Tomorrow Tony gets off work early. We have a meeting with the local high school to get #1 and #2 scheduled for classes this fall, followed by #1 having a sleep over with some of her friends at the house. It should be interesting with less indoor space (but a lot more outdoor space). I'm hoping for good weather so they can go exploring. The current forecast is for possible rain Friday evening, but sunny skies on Saturday.
In other news, the kids have rediscovered the joy of the DVD player now that we don't have internet. We've already watched Rango, Willow, Wizard of Oz, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and two versions of Spiderman. Some several times over. The kids have half watched the first Lord of the Rings movie, and had to stop Wizard of Oz in the middle to go to bed tonight. Ah, the entertainment of the 90's!