So, that was an earthquake

I just felt my first earthquake. I definitely felt a jolt while sitting in my chair and soon realized what had happened when my co-workers all quickly tried to decide what we should do if it continued to shake.

Thankfully it was just a jolt, not continuous shaking.

You can rest assured, though, that Team Thompson has a disaster kit and an emergency plan in place should something horrible happen. My friend Heather and I decided to get 'er done a few weeks ago and hit up Costco for some emergency supplies.

Too bad the kit is at my house...22 miles away from my current location. Smooth. We can only hope that both Justin and I are at home if that time comes.

This is me with my disaster kit. Classy, right?

According to the USGS, this earthquake was just a 3.8 magnitude, centered near Pacifica. I know this because a while back I decided I needed to terrify myself daily, so I download the Earthquakes app on my iPhone...it lists all earthquakes all over the world and will alert me to earthquakes over any certain magnitude around any certain radius I choose.

The green pin notes the epicenter of today's earthquake.

I don't advise downloading this app. It's given me gray hair. It was a bad idea, especially since Jesus says, "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." (Matthew 6:34). That's one command I certainly struggle daily to remember!

One last note. Today is the 105th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake that registered at 7.9 on the Richter scale, destroying much of the city of San Francisco and killing more than 3,000. Here's an article from the Mercury News reporting that a group gathered today in San Fran to commemorate the anniversary and to hold a moment of silence for those suffering from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Working Title

Have you ever wondered, "I wonder what Team Thompson does when they're tired and up finishing work projects late at night?"

Well, here's your answer.



Please keep your 'you're weird' and 'I'm not sure we can hang out anymore' comments to yourselves.

Curd, Curd, Curd. Curd's the word.

We have a lemon tree in the backyard of our new place. Knowing that lemon trees grow well in California was one of the few things that made me slightly excited about having to move to California in the first place...in fact, I think it was one of the phrases Justin used to persuade me to say ok to the move, "someday we can get you a lemon tree in California!"

He knows me so well.

So, imagine my excitement when I learned that moving to San Jose would mean I could have one of my very own!
Once we moved in I did a little more research on lemon trees. I discovered that most lemon trees in our neck of the woods can produce lemons year-round. That's a lot of lemons.

I took one of the fruits to work to see if our produce buyer could identify the variety. Turns out we have a Meyer lemon tree! If you haven't heard of a Meyer lemon and are wondering how they differ from regular lemons, I know of a place that researches and writes about produce every two weeks. As luck would have it, it's citrus season in California and this place recently researched and wrote an article about Meyer lemons. What a coincidence! Follow the link to read up on the variety yourself. In short, Meyer lemon are much sweeter than regular lemons. They have a thin rind, very juicy flesh and are a darker yellow than other varieties.

In another bout of luck, this place also happened to research and post several Meyer lemon recipes, one of which was for lemon curd that sounded too delicious to resist.

A few Saturdays ago I woke up early to pick some lemons and try my hand at making lemon curd.

Lemon curd? Well, it's a lusciously sweet-tart jelly-like spread usually served at high tea in Britain. Some people serve it with scones, some use it as a layered cake layer, some put it in little pie crusts and top it with fresh fruit for a lemon & fruit tart. You can do anything you like with lemon curd. You can even eat it with a spoon if you're so inclined.

And here's how you make it.

You start with a bowl of beautiful little Meyer lemons (they don't have to be Meyer lemons, but if you have a Meyer lemon tree, it's a good way to get rid of some of the lemons).

Fresh picked Meyer lemons from the Thompson Ranch, San Jose, Calif.

Then you make sure you have a LOT of eggs and butter. You should probably make sure you have these ingredients before you get started on the recipe. Note that it's not a requirement to display them in an artistic fashion.

After you've deconstructed your artistic display of ingredients, zest your lemons. Meyer lemons have thin rinds and are quite juicy so I had to use a few more lemons than the recipe called for.
Then you separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Notice that the Meyer lemon is nearly the same color as egg yolks..it's all part of its allure!
Save those egg whites! You can either put them in tupperware and keep them in the fridge for weeks before you throw them away, like me, or you can put them in tupperware and keep them in the fridge 'til the next day and use them for an egg white omelet or an angel food cake, like other people who have a lot more time on their hands.

Then, you juice the lemons. Meyer lemons are more juicy than regular lemons, but they also have a thin rind so they're not as easy to juice as a lemon with a thick rind. Things can get messy quick.
So, I didn't photograph a few steps, but once you've thrown everything in the pot (butter, sugar, yolks, etc.) you whisk and whisk and whisk.
You whisk until it thickens and sticks to a spatula, like this:

Then, you stir a bit longer. The directions don't say "stir constantly" at this point, but I found that it's imperative you do. Don't walk away for even 20 seconds to rinse your fingers. The curd finishes quickly and can start to, well, curdle.

So then you have to strain it. Most curd recipes tell you to strain curd anyway, but I bet that if you don't walk away for even 20 seconds, you don't have to pull out all three of your strainers to try to save your curd. Like me.
Straining takes a while.
But once you're done, you can pour it into a little serving bowl and take a picture of it before it goes into the fridge to chill.
Then you put all our dirty dishes and strainers in the sink, fill the sink with hot, soapy water, take a picture and then cry about not having a dishwasher.

I'm going to assume that the majority of you have a dishwasher, so if you do, thank you for your patience through this part of the post.
If you don't have a dishwasher, like me, you can go ahead and wipe away your tears knowing that later today you can probably talk your husband into washing the dishes...after all, you will have just slaved away making curd all morning!

So, with that in mind, you should make blueberry scones to go with your curd. Yes, that simply adds more dishes to the sink, but it's ok because, remember, you're going to talk your husband into washing them later.

That and you probably have a dishwasher anyway.

After the scones are baked and the curd is chilled it's time to eat. Even if your curd is a little more curdy than you'd like it to be (lemon curd shouldn't be curdy at all...aim for no curds).
Know this...once you dig in you won't care about the curd not being 100% beautiful. You just sit back and enjoy the most amazing lemon curd you've ever tasted. If you have a lemon tree of your own, you can smile knowing that you'll have enough lemons around to try and try again to perfect the curd recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp finely minced Meyer lemon zest (about 2 medium lemons)
• 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 3 large whole eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 stick (equivalent to 4 oz/8 TBL) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (about 6 oz)
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (about 2-3 medium lemons)

Method:

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a medium stainless steel saucepan.
2. Place the saucepan on the stove and turn on heat to medium (or medium-low if you are more timid). Stir constantly with a whisk until it starts to thicken a little. Make sure you are standing by your stove the entire time. Trust me, this is not the time to take breaks to watch TV or check on your laundry.
3. Once it starts to thicken, switch to a large flat-bottom spatula and stir frequently, making sure to scrape the bottom of pan so that the curd thickens evenly without burning the bottom.
4. Continue to stir and cook until very thick (about 6 -10 minutes, if you’re cooking on medium heat). It’s pretty quick if you do it this way though you need to be vigilant for that time (about 15 minutes total).
5. Strain the curd (yes, you must do this if you want a really smooth and pretty lemon curd) into a bowl.
6. Cover with plastic wrap right on the surface of the curd (to prevent a skin from forming) and chill.
   

Curtis came to town and we got a new TV

Curtis came to visit us a few weeks ago -- it was the weekend we were to be out of our old apartment, so it was nice to have an extra set of strong arms around to do the heavy lifting.

The weekend he came was also the weekend before his birthday, so we made a celebration out of his stay, complete with two of Curtis' favorite things: apple pie and spaghetti.

He's easy to please.

The most exciting part of Curtis' trip was probably the 45 minutes the three of us spent in the car in the Costco parking lot trying to convince me to invest in a ridiculously large TV. See, we had been out all afternoon in search of a new couch; we'd just received our tax return, and all Justin had done for the last week is curse the couch's name. After resting our rumps on a few, we decided to take advantage of Costco-card toting Curtis to help us decide whether or not it's time for Team Thompson to invest in a Costco membership.

Dear Costco executives and merchandising specialists: if you're reading this, consider this my plea. Please rearrange your stores so that the big screen TVs are in the back, not the front. I'm sure I'm not the only woman you've heard from regarding this matter. Thank you.

Anyway...we walked into Costco and I -- literally -- heard Justin's breath be taken away by the majesty of the large flat screen TV. There were stars in his eyes, his chest was puffed out, there was a hop in his step and there was a lovely ringing to his voice when he found me browsing the furniture section. Then...it began.

"It's either a couch or a TV," I said.

"TV!" said Justin.

Suddenly, I saw all control fly out the window. I'd said too much. Spoken too quickly. Given him slack without thinking it through. Justin was supposed to have hated our couch! Apparently the hatred didn't run deep. This hatred, I was quickly informed, is only severe during the two weeks prior to and following a move.

I was trapped.

After a quick walk through the store to see what there was to see, and to try the freshly toasted bagel samples, we stood in front of the TV section for a good half hour. While Curtis and Justin discussed the pros and cons of various models, I watched some program about the lives of deep sea creatures and tried not to pay attention to their discussion.

Then we went to the car. We sat in the car discussing the pros and cons of investing in the monstrosity as politely as possible, considering Curtis was a spectator. The boys even said they'd let me watch my new Twilight movie Eclipse that night if we got the TV... Then I said ok, so the boys ran inside. But...because I am who I am, I changed my mind and called Justin from the car and told him I'd changed my mind. I told him I thought we needed to think about it more because we'd just moved, etc. Yes, yes...it was a down right mean and cold-hearted thing to do. Especially after I'd said ok.

The drive home from Costco was a quiet one.

The next morning I decided to tell Justin that if he thought it was a wise decision then he could go get the TV. I did, however, make sure to highlight all the important points to consider: Do you really want a TV over a couch? Is this TV going to keep you happy for a LONG time? Do you realize that our future children will have to have graduated from college before I'm a pushover like this and let you get another TV? Do you remember you said we can watch Eclipse if we get it?

Then I left for church because I was signed up to help in the toddler room.

When I came back, there was a new TV in the house. A big [dumb] TV.

We did watch Eclipse that night, though, and it was pretty awesome. Then, this happened:
That's all I have to say about the TV.

Behind

My, my...we're behind in posts. Team Thompson has been moving, spying on rowdy neighbors, cleaning, looking for tips on "what to do what ten thousand lemons," entertaining brothers, trying to remove a pesky carpet stain, updating addresses, doing laundry (in our own home), working, going to bible studies and small groups, sleeping, eating and working some more. We're plum tuckered out!

I do have a few blog posts rolling around in my head, so have no fear!

For now, I'll leave you with a picture of the object of my lust:

Happy Birthday, Curtis!

Happy birthday to a brother and brother-in-law who keeps us laughing with his witty sense of humor and great big smile.
Party time! Excellent!

Down with the leaf blowers!

I wouldn't ever go to this extreme, but I'd like to note that Team Thompson is not alone in their disdain for early-bird leaf blowers. Click photos to enlarge...