Raspberry Cobbler Flambé

No, this is not a recipe.

A couple weeks ago, our oven/range tried to kill us. We had gone up to Ogden to visit Grandma Britt who had surgery to repair her broken foot. We got home, I made dinner without incident. Then later, I started talking crazy about cobbler, and Jim got all excited and soon we were making Charity's yummy, easy cobbler with raspberry pie filling. My favorite!

Then Jim and I got busy emailing Jeff in Taiwan. A few minutes later, Kenny yelled up the stairs, "Dad! Dad!" Jim went out into the hall, and we quickly discovered that smokey smell that seems to penetrate every corner of a house in a millisecond, along with actual smoke in the kitchen. Kenny had taken the cobbler out of the oven and put it on the front porch. The thing was, the cobbler had only been in for about 10 minutes, and it's supposed to cook for 30-40! We briefly debated which of us dummies had put the oven on broil instead of bake. Without too much finger pointing, we determined that neither of us had. AND we quickly determined that the oven was still on! Yes, the possessed appliance was broiling at full speed while we stood there, and...while the knob was in the OFF position.


Quick-thinking Jim went to the circuit breakers and flipped the switch, killing power to the oven. We examined the now-cooled cobbler and realized that it had indeed been broiling in the oven. Hence the smoke after only 8-10 minutes. No, it was not salvageable. :( Sinister forces were at work.

Jim flipped the breaker back on and began setting the clock. A minute or two later, I opened the oven (turned off) and, lo and behold, it was broiling again! Pure evil. Back to the breaker box.

We hurriedly shopped for a new range/oven the next day, quickly realizing that not many stores stock many models. We had a bbq that night, and our shiny new sight-unseen Whirlpool was delivered the next day. So far, no stubborn broiling.

We did discover via the Internet superhighway that other people have had this same trouble with Kenmore ranges. Ours was 14 years old, and we couldn't really expect much more life out of it. So it found a new home at the dump. And all is well in the Britt kitchen.

Spring in Utah

Yesterday, April 16th, we had an interesting April shower. It was of the snow variety. Like 6 to 8 inches! They had forecast it, so we were forewarned. But it still didn't seem likely. All evidence, as you can see here, points to the fact that it was real.

8:00 am: I stuck a large dinner fork straight down in the snow on the back step. This, of course, got Angel's attention. Luckily she didn't injure herself on the fork or the slick steps.

Jim spent several minutes shoveling the wet stuff off of the driveway. If you look closely on the RH side, you'll see the snow was 6 inches deep. Our willow tree broke one branch, but many trees in Provo didn't fare as well and will need major trimming.

The kids are all home for Spring Break (though maybe we should call it Winter Break) and the girls went sledding while the snow lasted. Honestly, 99.9% of it is gone today, so no harm done except to the worms that got flooded out and to the broken branches.

This is pretty dark, but it's our backyard with a cloudy sunrise. I kinda like it.

Happy Spring to you all!

The April Fool

So the kids were all excited about April Fool's Day. Last night they were scheming about doing "funny" things to their teachers and here at home. Two of the girls followed through on their plans. Becky spotted herself with a washable red marker, so she looked like she had a pronounced case of the pox. (Can you say overdone?) She hammed it up and her teacher took it in stride, telling her to get away so she wouldn't get sick too.

Alicia had a more subtle approach. She asked for an envelope and gave her teacher a "note" that had a blank sheet inside. ha ha, ha, ha ... ha.... Yeah, I don't get it either. But she was happy to have been a part of this special day.

I didn't do much at all. Just a little blue food dye in the water pitcher, which Katie loved. I told them it was diet Kool-Aid when they thought it was real Kool-Aid.

Becky, in all her 10-yr.-old wisdom, decided to fool herself. Drawing from Troy's punking of Dad last year (which was not too successful), she dumped Kool-Aid powder on her OWN towel and then got it all over herself after her shower. Needless to say, she was red, and she showered again. She was still red. And then I gave her 10 minutes to clean the bathroom and take everything tainted to the laundry room. AHEM. Ah well, what can you do? Just keep laughing.

Heard and Overheard

At the dinnertable...
LL: I’m an herbivore.
Dar: You eat plants?
LL: Yes and other stuff.
Dar: Do you know what you call a person who doesn’t eat meat?
Becky: A veterinarian.


Heard from upstairs...
Jim to the girls while serving them dessert: You guys are about as grateful as a $3 bill! (Como?)


In church on fast Sunday...
A little girl : I know that Bishop Gervais is a true prophet…


Becky’s birthday, opening a small package that revealed two chapsticks…
Kenny: Don’t eat them all at once.


Family Home Evening re: Heavenly Father's plan
Jon: In heaven we chose to follow Jesus. We came to earth as part of his plan. We HAD to come to earth so that we could get a …

(Dar points to and pokes herself in the arm to give girls a clue for “body”)

Becky (not looking): BRAIN!
Katie: ARM!

(Jim and Dar look at each other and can’t hold in the laughter.)


While walking to the park last week...
LL: Most boys have short hair and most girls have long hair. You have short hair.
Dar: Right.
LL: Yeah, and you’re a girl.
Dar: Good thing, or else dad wouldn’t have married me.
LL: Because boys only marry girls…that’s the law.
Dar: Yes, it is. At least for now.

Watch where you're running!

Saturday, March 7, approx. 11:45, 400 South in Springville

Suddenly, the sidewalk was flying up at me. Strange, this feeling of no control. What happened?

A sudden stoppage killed my momentum and left me on the ground. My hand was scraped up and my knee was sore. Whoa. Oh my gosh! I tripped. How did that happen? Get up quick! Holy cow someone's going to honk at you. Oh man, that must've been funny to see. Wow, my hand is bloody and throbbing. Dang it. Oh, my favorite running pants are ruined! I burned a hole in my knee. What the heck! Good thing I was wearing that knee support, or my knee would hurt a lot more!

Am I so old and uncoordinated now that I can't run from here to there without falling down? Good grief. I guess I better go home and clean myself up. I hope no one saw that. Well, if they did see me fall, they had a good laugh. "Look at that lady--holy cow!" HAHAHAHAHA. Nah, I gotta run more. Don't be a wuss. Finish your measly three miles.

Thinking back on it, I had so much momentum, I actually kind of rolled up and not quite over into a somersault. I think it was more forward and sideways. What an idiot. Now I wish I DID have a video of that. Because I'm sure it was funny to see.

48 hours later: my hand is healing pretty well with band-aids and various goo. My knee is tender but it will be fine. I found a new sore spot on the outside of my left elbow. My pants are lying in state on my bedroom floor as I mourn them.

A Busy February

Last Sunday we drove up to Farmington to hear Matt Harris give a "previously known as homecoming" talk in church. We visited with the Harris family afterwards. Becky's favorite part was the gerbils. (No, we don't need any.) It was great to see family and support Matt. Tracy, Rachel and Liz sang a beautiful song. I think it was called the Olive Tree. Wow. When we arrived at their house, I had parked in the deep snow to not clog the road. When we left, I wasn't thinking and just hit the gas to get out of the snow. I ended up throwing mud/lawn many many feet. Chunks were all the way to just short of the maroon car. I apologized to Brad who said he had some dirt and he would throw it down with some seed in the spring. Oops. Bad, Dar.

On Feb. 11, we went as a family to the Draper Temple open house. It was a chilly day, so we rushed our photos. But it was a great experience. We look forward to going there later. Kenny wore his new suit and shades and enjoyed thinking he was a CIA agent...or something.

Last, but not least, we celebrated Becky's 10th birthday last week. Her favorite present so far is her hot rollers from grandma, something I know NOTHING about. I stalled as long as I could (four days) and finally caved in today. We rolled some of her hair and well, it was ok. I'm not quitting my day job to become a beautician or anything close. But I think Becky can learn to do this herself soon, hallelujah. I'm missing some serious motherhood genes.

Katie's Baptism

Katie got baptized by her brother Troy last Saturday. It was a fun day for her, and lots of family was there to share the experience with us. Grandma and Grandpa drove down the day before and were happy to be part of the program. Grandpa's talk on the Holy Ghost will not be soon forgotten. My favorite parts:

1."Heavenly Father, Jesus and the Holy Ghost make up the Godhood."

2. "Heavenly Father doesn't like bad people. He only likes good people."

3. "The Holy Ghost is your special friend. You can pray to your friend when you need help."

Yeah, so he will probably just give a prayer at the next baptism...

Katie was called up to the stand on Sunday to be welcomed as the newest member of the ward. She corrected our new bishop when he accidentally called her Becky. Speaking of our bishop, one of my favorite testimonies shared Sunday was from a young girl, probably 9 or 10. She said, "I know Bishop Gervais is a true prophet."

Happy six more weeks of Winter to all!