Basil is a pretty significant ingredient in this soup. I thought it was a great time to teach Aubrey how to "chiffonade" the basil (translated from French: "made of rags"). It is a pretty simple technique. Though it is a little time consuming, it is a safe way to cut it up. This is where things took a bad turn.
I cut up a whole plant of basil the correct way with just a couple of left over leaves. I grabbed up the stragglers and instead of stacking and rolling them up to cut, I just started cutting. As the picture shows, I missed the leaf at some point.
The doctor said that the nail slowed the knife and saved the tip of my finger. It will know act as a splint to hold the finger together until it heals. You can't see it very well, but the cut goes around the back of the finger too.
I would say it was a successful lesson for Aubrey. She not only knows HOW to chiffonade, but also WHY. She cut the other plant of basil while Brian and I were at the urgent care. :)
When we bought the house, the bridge was old and rotted. I asked Brian if we could pay someone to fix it this summer, but he thought it would be a great project for the family. It turned out AWESOME, and the kids learned a lot. It took more time, but he was right in making it a family affair.
This year Jon experienced his first round of "Certificate of Merit" evaluation. He was nervous to perform in front of a strange "judge" who couldn't give him much feedback. Still he did well under pressure and got 100% on his theory test which earned him a music trophy. He says he loves piano, but still plans to start up trombone next year in 5th grade band. My hopes of having one kid stick with piano are all but dashed. Still, they all love hearing and playing music. In the end, that's what counts.
