Welcome to our September 2023
edition of
Tales of the Traveling Tote.
Here at Purple Chocolat Home
the summer has been consumed
with building our new home
(now into it 20 months!)
and trying to go through 33 years
of too much stuff!
It is mind boggling and we
are so sentimental that
we want to bring most
everything with us!
Well, not really, but way too
much! We have already done 16
Suburban loads to thrift stores
and tons of trash can loads,
but between entertaining, costumes,
tablescaping and decorating,
we have so much to sort through.
I am so busy I haven't blogged or
even read emails. I searched my
emails the other night and discovered I
was to create the sidebar for
Tales of the Traveling Tote
for December! Good thing I
checked!!
Well, then I couldn't find my
tote and wondered if I had
left it on my last trip. I was
wondering if I would be kicked
out of the group if I couldn't
find it - a bit of a panic!
After searching everywhere I
could think of - and mind you,
it isn't a small item - I thought
of my purses which were already
packed up in five boxes.
Lucky me, it was at the top of
the first box I checked!
I thought I might have left it
on the houseboat down at
Lake Powell, and since we are
done for the year, it would have
been until next May before I
would be able to check.
Good thing I found it!!!!!!
We were able to sneak away for three
Lake Powell trips this year so that is
where Miss Madi K and I were able
to go.
Miss Pansy got to travel along
too as she makes a nice bag
for boating.
We invited two families from our
neighborhood for the August trip.
We had ten kids and 6 adults.
One of our favorite games we
play with kids is
The Candy Bar Game.
The basic idea of the game is
you place 3-4 packages or pieces
of candy in the center. Everyone
takes turns rolling the dice inside
a bowl. If you roll doubles or
7 or 11, you get to pick a candy bar,
announce what you picked and
then hide it behind your back
or under a pillow. People can steal
it from you if they win a turn, but
they have to remember what it was
and who had it. After three
possessions it is permanent.
When the last piece leaves the
table, the game is over.
Oh, and if the dice fall out
of the bowl you skip your turn,
and if you don't pick your
prize before the next winner,
you miss your turn! Lots of fun.
Well, we had one darling boy
who is 8 years old and he gets
seizures if he eats sugar, so I
had to come up with a
new plan. I decided on the
Dollar Store Game.
We decided it was even more fun
than just candy. Everyone had a
blast and we didn't tempt him.
Miss Madi K helped carry all of
the prizes down and keep them a
secret.
Of course, sugary desserts are a
huge part of our Lake Powell
experience, like this chocolate chip
Pizookie, or Skookie, with homemade
ice cream and homemade hot fudge.
So I found a Pillsbury Sugar Free
Brownie mix and sugar free
chocolate chips at the grocery store,
and I made him sugar free vanilla
ice cream using powdered Swerve.
He was such a happy guy!
His mom had said she would
go without sugar with him,
but at 8, how hard is that, so
I had fun experimenting. I even
made his hot fudge with 1 T.
sugar free chocolate chips
melted with 1 T. cream.
I think besides the Dollar Store
game one of the kids' biggest
surprises was that I got on the
water rockets to battle it out!!
(My favorite thing to do at
Lake Powell!)
Our final night was a
Copacabana Party,
where everyone dressed up
for dinner in tropical clothing.
Summer fun is over, but
we were glad to get away, and
the best thing was, the builders
kept working while we were
gone each time.
When I get time I will post
our Lake Powell menus. I
just ran into someone the
other day who requested I
keep posting those. We love
to eat, so food is a big part
of our Lake Powell experience.
Now for the fun giveaway.
I am hosting this month,
so leave me a message and the
winner will be chosen randomly
on September 8th.
Include your contact information
if you don't have a blog so you
can be notified.
Ooh, this is such a fun, fun prize.
Visit our other fabulous
travelers and see where they
have been off to.