Book Update: I finished The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Justin which is now one of my all-time favorite books. Reading it as a child and adult are two difference experiences. I know this probably happens often… but it really is prominent in this book. Fast read, great characters, great plot, awesome quotations, what more could you ask for? No wonder it is a classic.
A few favorite quotes:
“Just because you have a choice, it doesn’t mean that any of them ‘has’ to be right.”
“It’s bad enough wasting time without killing it.”
“That may be true,” said Reason gravely, “but you had the courage to try; and what you can do is often simply a matter of what you *will* do.”
“Have you ever heard a blindfolded octopus unwrap a cellophane-covered bathtub?”
“That may be true,” he acknowledged, “but it’s completely accurate, and as long as the answer is right, who cares if the question is wrong? If you want sense, you’ll have to make it yourself.”
Sigh, that could apply to so many aspects….
**House Update**
As some of you may know, we are building a house and living in an apartment during the interim (which is why my photos are all done on the only space we have with light – a concrete patio). Since I pretty much have many features and colors of the display home, I thought I could post some “sneak peaks” for fellow display home viewers out there like myself. It’s fun to look at how other people decorate and arrange everything – I could look at display homes all day! This photo is taken from the family room and looking into the kitchen and breakfast room. The cabinets are Aristokraft Durham Toasted Antique, walls are Sherwin William Toasted Pine Nut and the countertop is black pearl.
**Recipe** This is a different banana cream pudding recipe. Not by a lot, but it makes a huge difference. One of my favorite finds is Jello cheesecake instant pudding. I know… I know. It’s bad for you. But, sometimes a girl is craving banana cream pudding! It’s so fast and easy and delicious. So, I had the bananas and went to the store for those boxes of chemicals and made it. I am still alive though for the purists out there 🙂 You can also find cheesecake instant pudding in my favorite ice cream of all time: blueberry cheesecake ice cream recipe.
Banana Cream Pudding
3 cups milk
1 – 3.4 oz. package banana cream INSTANT pudding
1 – 3.4 oz. package cheesecake INSTANT pudding (I think they only make this flavor in instant anyway.)
3 bananas, sliced
real whipped cream (from a can like Redi-whip or made from scratch)
20-30 vanilla wafer cookies
1. Add the milk to a great big bowl with the two puddings. Whisk together for 2 minutes. Let it sit and firm up for another 5 minutes.
2. While it is firming up, slice the bananas.
3. Layer 1/3 of the vanilla wafers into a 7×11 or trifle bowl. The clear ones work well with this dish. Top with 1/3 of the bananas and 1/2 of the pudding mixture.
4. Repeat with 1/3 wafers, 1/3 bananas and the last half of the pudding mixture. Top with remaining bananas and wafers like in the photo.
5. Top with whipped cream! Keep refrigerated and serve the same day. The next day the bananas will go brown.
Kitty cat approved!
I taught 5th grade for a number of years and always read Phantom Tollbooth to my kids. Its a major favorite of mine too! I remember reading it for the first time, as an adult, on an airplane trip. First, people kept looking at me because I couldn’t help laughing out loud, and second I kept highlighting quotes like crazy. There are so many wonderful plays on words and thought provoking declarations! Great book…possibly even better book if read while savoring your banana pudding. 🙂
mmm, that’s how i make banana cream pudding too. sometime i’ll make the ‘real recipe’ but for now the instant stuff is a-okay with me! 🙂