Outside Time




A pensive look from Yo Yo the Cat.



Hurray for actually doing something outside today.  The cool weather and the cloudy days make me want to curl up on the sofa and drink coffee--all day, every day.  Tim and Annie are content with hours of television. It's when I actually get my behind in gear and do something different that I feel better.  So, on this day, while sitting on the swing set, I got the idea that we might make some s'mores in the old outside fireplace.

Annie was delighted to pick up sticks for our "camp-out" fire. 

Suddenly, the whole family was astir.  Annie and I collected sticks for kindling.  (And tidied up the yard-bonus!)  Tim cleaned out the fireplace, and we all soaked up a little sunshine in the process.  Even Yo Yo tagged along for the adventure.  I meant to take some pictures of the fire and s'mores, but I was too caught up in enjoying some much-needed family time and eating myself silly.

Quick tip for s'mores:  a clean, unused fly swatter makes a perfect marshmallow roaster.  Just pop off the plastic part and you have two marshmallow tongs, a nice handle, and the perfect length to keep hands from getting hot.  But be sure to pick up an extra one in the spring, cause I didn't find any at the dollar store this week.



Pinecones are great firestarters!