Jim's job: Foster's Market & Catering

I'm now working part-time at Foster's Market, a longtime Durham eatery that is well-known in the Triangle area and throughout the country. Since opening the Market in 1990, Sara Foster has added a second location in Chapel Hill and authored four cookbooks. Visitors come literally from far and wide in order to experience Foster's firsthand! I've met folks from New York and Philly, Arizona and San Diego, all of whom gushed about how much they loved Sara's cookbooks and were so excited to finally visit her restaurant in Durham. There are also our regulars, for whom Foster's is a part of their daily routines.

It has been fascinating to see the insides of a coffeshop/bakery/restaurant, especially one that is managed very well and serves high quality food. They make as much of it from scratch as they can: the baked goods, the mayo and all the dressings, plus house-roasted meats for sandwiches and salads. I've learned a lot and I'm thankful to work with and for good, interesting, fun people. Sara herself works nearly everyday.

Scones, muffins, quick breads, cookies, and New York style coffee cake are baked daily. My favorites are the chocolate chip peanut butter scone, the whopper (a chocolate cookie with walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips, and a dash of espresso), and the coconut macaroons.

It took some time to learn the system for taking orders: each item on the menu has a special code and an individual price, and as you can see from the green boards hanging from the ceiling, there are a LOT of items.

Foster's also sells various unique foodstuffs, such as local/organic/gourmet dressings, spreads, chips, bakery kits, chocolates, candies, baskets, beer, and wine.

Yes, the cakes and pies are baked daily, to, and they are Yummy! Cakes: chocolate, carrot, coconut, German chocolate. Pies: mixed berry, apple, pecan, french silk, lemon chess, chocolate chess. Even though I don't usually go for cheesecake, the oreo chocolate cheesecake looks amazing...I want to give it a try sometime.

One of our signatures is the plethora of salads made fresh each day using the best ingredients available. Tarragon chicken salad; roasted new potato salad; tuna salad; sesame roasted veggies; watercress with tomatoes and bleu cheese; ceasar - these are just a few on offer. All are extremely tasty!

Come for a visit and we'll make a trip to Foster's!

Cousin Love

Gemma and Asher LOVE to be together! Here they are earlier this week at Indian Trail park (down the road from Mom & Dad's), eating a snack before hitting up the huge slides and rope ladders.

Snacktime

Though he isn't 6 months old for another day or two...Timo has started participating a bit at snacktime and mealtimes. He is quite insistent. Eager. We discovered that he can sit quite well in the booster seat (and so Gemma has transitioned out of it and into a booster seat at the table) and is beginning to work on grabbing chunks/sticks of food. So far he has nibbled/sucked on cucumber, celery, rusks, apple, watermelon and kale. In fact he had the best time with kale and was able to hold onto it quite well!

Meanwhile, some peanut butter and crackers and orange slices for Gemma. Don't get any on your new tutu!

Whoops! Look at that concentration!

Success, one day at a time

Success for Gemma: wearing underwear and staying dry! 

She is an "old pro" now for staying dry and using the toilet during the day, and still working on staying dry all night. One reward system we used for training were these sticker charts (using Dora stickers; Dora is a new favorite character of hers) where 5 stickers equals a surprise. The first chart was what we used at the very beginning, and she received stickers for every time she went on the toilet. The grand prize was an ice cream cone at McDonald's. 

After that chart filled up, we made a second chart for dry naps and nights. When that filled up, she got this beautiful pink tutu (hand-me-down from Lillian - thank you so much!!!!). Dance heaven for this little ballerina! When she first put on the tutu, she looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I need a hair bow." (!)

Here's Gemma giving an explanation of the charts.

Hurrah! Marvelous job for Gemma!
 

Afternoon snuggles

Afternoon snuggles and playtime in Gemma's crib is a new favorite activity for the sibs. It starts out with giggles and sharing the blankie, and usually ends up with Gemma jumping and singing while Timo laughs and tries to roll around.

Sunny morning at Duke Gardens

Last Saturday morning was beautifully sunny - chilly when we woke up but warm in the afternoon - and we couldn't resist the opportunity to check out what is currently blooming at Duke Gardens. Tulips, tulips, tulips! Absolutely beautiful! Fifty-five acres of trails, trees, gardens, ponds and grassy areas (and about 2 miles from our house). Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to photograph any flowers this time. 

The Gardens were quite busy since it was also the Plant Sale day; plus, just as we were parking, Gemma looked out the window and said, "There's Asher and Adah Joy!" Sure enough, there were Rachel and the kids heading into the park in their double stroller, obviously thinking the same things as us that morning! (Craig has to work Saturdays.) I wish we could have lingered for longer, seeing the flowers and walking around on the paths. But...after a quick lunch picnic it was naptime (and meltdown time for Timo), so we will have to save that for our next visit.

Going down to see the ducks and swans

curly-haired, anyone?

oh good, Asher and Gemma did some racing up and down this field!

swinging Timo - and getting some good laughs out of him

Easter weekend

Over Easter Weekend we enjoyed full days of activities, time spent with John & Karen Friesen (in town from Winnipeg) and even some March Madness b-ball games. Saturday was beautifully warm and sunny, and even though Sunday was cold and rainy we still celebrated He Is Risen! 

Here are some pics from Saturday. Unfortunately we didn't take any photos on Easter Sunday.

Gemma experienced her first egg hunt (although "hunt" is a bit strong), held at Oval Park in Mom and Dad's neighborhood. A church down the road sponsored the event, and dedicated different areas of the park for different age groups. The 1-2 yr olds and 2-3 yr olds had sections of the baseball field roped off and the eggs were just lying all over the grass, so the kids just ran around and picked up the eggs. Of course, most kids Gemma's age just meandered slowly, collecting eggs, at the encouragement of their parents. Gemma picked up one egg and wasn't quite sure what to do next, until she discovered there was candy inside, so then she opened it and wanted to eat the candy right there. Even better, it was pink. And she was content with that! (I had to resist the urge to yell out, "Come on, Gemma, keep going, hurry hurry get as many as you can!" After all, she'll learn that eventually on her own.) But she did end up with about a dozen eggs, which were played with and "organized" (as she called it) all weekend.

On Saturday afternoon we hung out in Miss Betty's yard (she is our kind, elderly neighbor who loves to see kids playing in her grass), with Gemma running down the hill and doing ballet moves.

Gemma loves it when Timo "tackles" her.

After the kids were in bed, John and Karen came over to hang out. It has been 6 years since they were married and 10+ since Karen moved from Durham - so what a joy to re-connect and spend time together!! We loved getting some wisdom and encouragement from these older friends.