Author Archives: cathyboettner

I always make whatever the birthday boy requests for their cake (and their dinner). I asked Chris what he wanted this year, and he chose a milk chocolate cheesecake from Cook’s Country. (Unfortunately, this is not one of their free recipes.) It isn’t a difficult recipe, but it bakes really low, so it takes aContinue reading “Chris’s birthday–the Cake”

Now that Chris is 23, I am going for a more adult look on the table. I started with a great printed green, blue, yellow, and white table cloth–my table is 42″ wide, so finding great tablecloths can be difficult. Then I added some blue pitchers with all yellow flowers–mums, alstromeria, carnations, and one thatContinue reading “Chris’s birthday–the table”

Chris is turning 23 this year and is officially an adult. He has his own apartment, benefits, a real job–and is officially off our “payroll”. We will celebrate with him a couple of days after his actual birthday. Here’s some of what we’re working on: The Present: I found a machinists toolbox from the 1930’sContinue reading “Chris’s Birthday Celebration”

We started making these when we were in charge of the food when the boys rowed in regattas. There is some initial prep work, but then you can just grab and go the rest of the week. Breakfast Burritos 1 large onion diced (or green onions thinly sliced. 2 red, yellow, or orange bell peppersContinue reading “Breakfast on the Go–Three”

When we moved to this house, we still had the farm, and still had to keep up both yards and landscaping. We knew that eventually, we would lose the storage at the farm and would need somewhere to store the mowers, leaf blower, weed eater, spreaders, sprayers, and all the other garden implements. I knewContinue reading “The Shed”

This is not the healthiest breakfast, but if you’re in a hurry, it is a good substitute for a granola bar, or especially a Pop Tart. These cookies pack a protein punch with loads of peanut butter and eggs, and also lots of fiber since they don’t contain any flour, only oatmeal. They are sturdyContinue reading “Breakfast on the Go–Two!”

I’m going to do a series of breakfasts that are easy to take with you to your designated work location. These are some of our family favorites. Breakfast Number One: Mike has been eating High Protein Nutella Granola with Vanilla Greek Yogurt for months. Because the majority of the granola is nuts and/or seeds, itContinue reading “Breakfast on the Go!”

2020 has been a tough year for us. We lost our dear neighbor, despite Mike and Chris’ valiant efforts at CPR. We also said goodbye to our two dogs, Delilah in the summer, and just a few weeks ago, our sweet Charlotte. Chris didn’t get to enjoy a proper graduation ceremony after finishing a BSMEContinue reading “Goodbye and Good Riddance 2020!”

2020 has been a tough year for a lot of people. Even if your employment or your health (or that of your loved ones) haven’t been affected, it’s been a stressful year. We’ve missed sharing time with friends and family and celebrating life’s big events with one another. At times, we’ve had way too muchContinue reading “Merry Christmas!”

It’s been such a weird year, and the holidays are definitely no exception. We wanted to put together some holiday arrangements for family, friends and neighbors since we can’t have our normal gatherings. I started with flower arranging foam–that will hold water to keep them fresh, and then added greenery that I clipped from aroundContinue reading “Making Christmas presents….”