Peach Tarts.

Peach tarts!
Originally uploaded by Ruth Ruthie Ruth

In Wisconsin, mom and I hit the pie train early and hard.

We took Tim's little sisters to the grocery store and loaded up, and then Olivia even managed to help us make all pies---after friend Gwen Goos taught me the art of distraction, I think I did a very good job being my Type A Baking self with an excited nine-year-old at my hip.

Her only slip up was putting her foot on the counter where I was rolling out pie dough. What? That must have been on purpose? I beg to differ.

She's just one of those kids that is so long and gangly, when she's running across the front lawn she resembles Gumby completing a decathlon---all puppy feet and squirrel hands. Oops, goes Olivia's brain in a sing-song voice, I'm just talking, I'm talking, I'm talking, I'm talking, I'm talking...and my foot is on the kitchen counter. How did that happen? I don't know. It's just natural to have it at shoulder height during a conversation.

Anyway, neither my mom or I knew what we were doing, but we used over-sized muffin tins and made some delicious peach tarts, as you can see. Yum. Oliva was a very good baker and experimenter as well.