I cannot keep up with my tomatoes! It looks like I will be canning again tomorrow. Some ways I have used my tomatoes this season include:

My kitchen counter is full of tomatoes!

• Tomato bruschetta
• Tomato sauce
• Turkey Meatballs
• Tomato Pesto salad
• Tomato and Mozzarella
• Greek Salad
• Fried Green Tomatoes
• Tomato Salsa
• Tomato Soup
• Veggie Soup
• Minestrone Soup
• Tomato and Lentil Soup
• Zucchini and Tomato Casserole
• Slow Oven-Roasted Tomatoes with Balsamic Vinegar

No wonder why I have an acid reflux problem!

Last year I interviewed my friend, Daphne at Dylan’s Smile about her charity and her personal experience with having a son with a birth defect. It remains one of the most read blog posts on the site! Read it here.

http://www.cksinfo.com

Daphne brings comfort to families with children who have cleft palettes, lips and other other birth defects. Her charitable organization is accepting donations that will help pay for beautiful Gund teddy bears for children who are getting ready for surgery. You cannot imagine what a difference a teddy bear can make for a frightened child! Daphne is an amazing person with a great big heart! You simply cannot choose a better organization to support. Please donate today!

Click here for more info about the teddy bear program.

http://www.cksinfo.com

If you are looking for a pediatrician for your newborn or just want to change your child’s doctor, here’s how to go about it. Talk to other parents with kids older than yours and find out what doctors parents like best. You can also call the local hospital for referrals. Ask other parents as well as the pediatrician’s office manager the following questions:

• How would you rate the office when it comes to getting an appointment when your child is sick?
• Is the staff friendly?
• How long do you usually wait?
• Is the office clean?
• Are there separate “well waiting rooms” and a sick waiting rooms” or is everyone thrown together?
• Is there a special waiting room for newborns?
• Do you always see your own doctor, or do you just see whoever is available there?
• How’s the bedside manner?
• Do you do blood work at the office or do you send it out?
• Do you take my insurance?
• Do you take credit cards for co-payments?

There’s nothing wrong with visiting the office just to see what it is like inside, before signing up. In addition, do an online search with the doctor’s name to see if he or she has any malpractice claims against him/her. It’s amazing what you can find out about a person just searching. (I Googled this weirdo MD I once had, and found out that he was arrested in 2001 for illegal drug possession.)

Over the years I’ve figured out how to work the pediatrician’s office system. For example, if my child is sick at night, I start calling the office a minute or so before it opens so I can be one of the first to get an appointment. You cannot expect to call at 3pm and get in to see a doctor. Another tip is that I do not use doctors who are the heads of different children’s departments at the hospital. They make you wait so long, because they get stuck at the hospitals with emergencies in the morning.

Before you take your child in, whether he is sick or just getting a check-up, be prepared with questions. There’s nothing more frustrating than leaving and then realizing you forgot to ask the doctor something important. Good luck getting him on the phone later. But also, mind the doctor’s time. I don’t like it when other parents chit-chat for a long time and make me wait. So I want to be courteous to the doctor and other parents as well.

The most important part of any doctor’s visit is washing your hands and your child’s hands upon leaving. I actually wash my hands in the examining room while waiting for the doctor to come in. I wash them again when leaving. And again when getting home – and I do this thoroughly! When my daughter was small, I supervised while she washed and encouraged her to play in the suds a bit. With all those kids coughing, sneezing, pooping, peeing and vomiting in the office, you’ve gotta do your best not to bring those germs home.

My apologies – there’s simply no other way I could have said that.

Yesterday we spotted a manatee in the river along Fort Lauderdale’s Riverwalk. Learn more about gentle manatees at SavetheManatee.org.

We took our little Darwin on the Humane Society’s Walk for the Animals in Fort Lauderdale.  It was a lot of fun, and there were so many adorable and unique dogs there!

© 2010 by Debbie Glade, Smart Poodle Publishing. All rights reserved.

Click here to read last week’s comic.

I am always looking for ways to use my abundance of winter tomatoes (S Florida’s growing season). This is delicious!

Grilled Eggplant Spinach Tomato Soup

• 1 medium size eggplant, peeled and sliced into 3/4 inch slices
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 bag baby spinach
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 onion
• 2 TBS basil pesto
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or canned

Brush eggplant both sides with olive oil. Grill until nice and golden on both sides with grill marks. About 4 minutes each side. Saute onions in olive oil until translucent with a bit of salt. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes stirring so it does not burn. Add chicken stock and water. Add spinach and stir until it reduces in size. This will happen quickly. Chop up grilled eggplant and add the rest of the ingredients (except for pesto.) Let this all cook for about 15 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Add the pesto at the end and stir. Serve with croutons. This will make about 6 servings.

My daughter, Rachel made a Didgeridoo for her friend’s birthday. It was fun, and it looks fantastic!

A homemade Didgeridoo

Materials

• 5.5 feet of wide PVC pipe
• 1 can white plastic primer spray paint
• sand paper
• 2 cans black matte spray paint
• 1 can bold blue spray paint semigloss
• assorted colors of acrylic paint
• reposition-able spray adhesive
• painter’s tape
• artist’s paint brushes
• foam brush
• matte varnish
• 1 block bee’s wax (get this at a craft store or online)
• stainless steel pot for melting wax

Directions

• Have the hardware store cut you a piece of PVC pipe anywhere between 4 and 6 feet long.
• Sand the ends so they are not rough. Use an orbit sander if you have one.
• Spray paint the pipe with the primer. Use the entire can. Shake it well and spray it in fast, short sprays so it does not drip. Practice on something else first so you get a feel for it. You don’t want it to drip down the pipe.
• After it dries, spray paint the entire pipe with the black paint, or whatever color you choose. Do 2-3 coats.
• Make a (thick) paper design as a stencil. Rachel made a lizard with a wrap around tail.
• Spray a light coast of the spray adhesive on the back of the stencil. LET IT DRY COMPLETLY or it will not come off the pipe.
• Tape off the top and bottom 18 inches of the pipe.
• Place your stencil in the center section of the pipe, making sure you press all the edges down frmly so paint does not get under it.
• Spray paint the center section blue, right over the stencil. As soon as you are sure you have good coverage immediately pick off the stencil.
• After it is dry, add more designs freehand with the acrylic paint.
• Let is dry completely. This may take a while depending on the humidity.
• Seal with matte varnish using a foam brush.
• When it is completely dry, you are ready to make the mouthpiece using bee’s wax. Use a heavy stainless steel pot. Pour hot water in it and let the wax sit for 15 minutes. Start working it with your fingers to shape it into a ring the size of the PVC pipe opening. Bee’s wax is flammable so beware! Do not spill it over onto your cooktop.
• When you have finished the ring, melt some of the leftover wax in the pot on low with no water.
• Dip the mouthpiece end of the pipe into the pot of wax, twirling it to coat about 2 inches of the pipe with wax.
• Then pop the wax ring into the microwave in a glass bowl. Nuke it for about 45 seconds to soften it. Quickly shape  it over the pipe opening that has been dipped in wax.
• Then dip the entire mouthpiece end of the pipe back into the melted beeswax to seal completely.

Melting a block of bee’s wax is messy!

Shaping the mouthpiece into a ring from the wax

Then you’re done! It’s more difficult to play the didgeridoo than you may think- here’s a brief tutorial on how to play the instrument: http://www.didgeridoostore.com/howtoplay.html

Have fun trying to play the thing!

You won’t be sitting down when you play this!

I reviewed Frommer’s Bermuda and Frommer’s Bahamas for Wandering Educators. Click here for review.Just look at the book covers and you’ll want to go!

My friend, Taina from Kotka, Finland sent me these. The best way to get around here? Cross country skiing!

Dog Muffin is camouflaged by the snow!

Amazing that the branches can hold up all that snow!

House is being swallowed by snow!

Kotka is down south, to the east of Helsinki