3/4/2017


Day 4:
  Lisette spent the whole day with our friends Chris McLean, his wife Candice, their kids and Teresa Carlton (McLean).  They are getting the home they grew up in ready to be put on the market.  I get plenty of kid time on the weekends, but this was a little special.  Sophia wanted to learn how to bake (I've been on a baking kick recently.)  This may have also been due to the fact that the second and third seasons of The Great British Baking Show just dropped on Netflix.  So I taught her the basics of a gluten free chocolate chip cookie.  There are a lot of great lessons found in one recipe.  She learned about melting butter in the microwave.  There is the concept of incorporating dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately.  I was also able to explain the purpose of gluten in baking and why we use other ingredients such as Xanthan Gum or psyllium husks to recreate some of the functions of wheat and gluten in our GF recipes.  There was basic operation of the oven, how to thoroughly mix a batter and the best practices for making proper measures of dry ingredients.  A lot of info in a little recipe.  I tried to be as minimally involved as possible.  It took a lot of self-control to keep from taking the mixing spoon away from her.  That being said, I had her use a spoon and whisk instead of a mixer.  I thought, "well, she should know how hard it is to do it manually so she can value the ease of mechanization."  I let her go on the scooping and forming.  Everything came out great.  Sophia is getting excited about cooking.  That makes me excited.
  Mario was more excited about spending some time playing games.  He really like interactivity, while Sophia likes independent crafts and outlets for her creativity.  I am not certain yet whether the difference is developmental or traits of personality in nature.  I always thought that Sophia and her sensitivity with her peers at school, resulting in introversion was an outlier.  I have a sneaking suspicion that Mario's quiet nature leads to a degree of social dysphoria.  He enjoys company, but seems at times ill equipped to create a situation in which to find it.  It could of course just be that he likes MY company and wants to play games with his daddy.  I do not begrudge him that in the least.  In fact, I am hoping that it burgeons and I can convince him to enjoy some of the things that I grew to love through exposure by my father.  Hunting, fishing, camping and the like were not really my nature but I have grown to appreciate them.  I think Mario has the potential for that as well.  For now, we will stick to Stratego and chess.  He loves playing.  I know I should probably let him win...but then again...you're a daisy if you do.  And I ain't no daisy.  I ain't no daisy at all.