Hi, everyone!
When we got back from Hawaii, I thought it would be starting to get warmer. But instead we’ve had more cold weather! We even broke a record for the coldest temperature in March at -9 degrees F.! Grandma said we could try to make everybody feel warmer by serving food from Kauai at our travel dinner. She had to experiment to get the taste right for the roasted lamb meatballs. I helped her keep track of all the different combinations of spices she tried — four at a time! Then I helped Grandpa try recipes for roasted banana ice cream.
It has been so cold that the apple trees are still asleep for the winter. Grandma decided she still had time to prune them before spring comes. That’s a big job, because they haven’t been pruned in a long time! We had three days warm enough to work outside, and Grandma got the biggest apple tree pruned. I was a good helper with the pruning saw. Look at all the branches we took out of the tree!
On Wednesday, the day after Grandma finished pruning the first tree, we had a blizzard! It snowed all day and was very windy. Most schools were closed and people were supposed to stay off the roads. I was very happy to stay inside all day and watch the weather! On Thursday, it stopped snowing but it was even colder. Grandma and Grandpa got out to rake the snow off the edges of the roof and shovel the driveway, so it wouldn’t be icy for the travel dinner on Saturday.
On Friday, Grandma really got busy cooking for the travel dinner. She got all the ingredients ready for the pizza appetizer and put them in a drawer in the refrigerator. It was cold enough to use the trunk of her car like another refrigerator and we needed that space for all the food! On Saturday morning, I helped Grandma mix up the lamb meat balls with just the right amount of spice. Then Joe-san and Nancy-san and Moose-san came to help cook. Moose-san was really excited to see all the kale, because kale stems are some of his favorite snacks! Moose-san and I helped Grandma get the pork and pineapple pizzas ready to bake — just like the ones she made in Hawaii.
The guests for the travel dinner include a lot of my travel buddies and I was happy to see them! I was a good host and showed them the list of food Grandma and Grandpa were going to serve. LaVache came, too! Moose-san and I made sure everybody met LaVache, and we all made sure the guests were having a good time and had enough to eat. Nancy-san gave us a hug for being such good party helpers!
Today it’s cold again, but yesterday it was warm enough to melt some of the snow. And the Christmas cactus has even more buds that are about to open! Maybe spring will come soon, after all!
Love,
Lion-san
Yes, Lion-san, spring will come soon! You were all great helpers at the Travel Dinner. And Lion-san that was a lot of apple tree to trim. We are all glad you didn’t get hurt! Nancy-san says she knows spring will come soon. The days are getting longer and the sun is stronger. Soon she will start seeds!