California Dreamin'

 


 Ok, so this has been going on for 4 days now.  I suppose we could have gotten a whole lot more than the 12+ inches that have fallen so far.  But enough is enough.  It's only the beginning of December! And the forecast calls for another 4 days of the white stuff. 





Lucky Jim, he's basking in the sun in Mexico.  Missing the falling flakes.  His friend Pete left his car here.  And I had to put it on the lawn so the roofing guys could put the dumpster and trailer in the driveway.  (Yes, we're getting a new roof in the middle of the winter.)  Guess they'll have fun digging it out when they get home. (I can't deprive them of such fun!)

At least Jim bought the snow blower before he left for the sun and sand.  Thank you!

The reason Pete's car is buried in snow in the yard!  Yes, they brought it on Friday.  The dumpster comes tomorrow. Oh joy.  At least I'll only have half the driveway to clear now...

 You have to admit, though, the stuff is pretty.

And it makes the Christmas decorations sparkle.









 

bye, bye purple!

When we bought this house, most of the rooms were tastefully done...except the upstairs bathroom.  Sponge painted, purple on white!!!

We decided that it had to go, right away.  Well, two and a half years later, it's still purple...until this weekend.  The time has come.  Procrastinate no more. 

So all day Saturday and a few hours on Sunday, I took the room apart, taped, cut in and rolled.  And slowly it was transformed...from ghastly, to nice!

So, I'll give it 24 hours to cure, and then put the room back together (I'm saving a few things for Jim to do...running off to Mexico won't save him from this project). 

Stay tuned...

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

A few inches on Wednesday...Buffalo got enough to close the Thruway.

Teased with a nice day on Friday.

More snow on Saturday.

On Sunday, it's looking like a blizzard has hit.

At first it was just snowing a little.  So I decided to stay ahead of the game and shovel the driveway.  As soon as I got in the house, it really started coming down hard...big, fat flakes. 

The driveway is covered, you can hardly see across the street. 

We might get up to a foot by morning.

Yeah snow!
 



  

O Christmas Tree

lost glove or marked tree? 

field of weeds and trees

 A  new tradition built on an old one...
Cutting a fresh Christmas tree with Meghan and Andy. 
Walking the fields for an hour in search of the perfect tree.
Bundled up to stay warm. 
Looking at hundreds of trees and other more peculiar sights. 
Looking forward to hot chocolate and a fire afterward. 

this one or that one?

this one will be perfect

Well, not quite.  Meghan got cold. And the trees i liked were deep in the field across the street.  Luckily there were a few Austrian Pines already cut and i found my perfect tree there.

And, indeed, it's 

       perfect.        

I think it's beautiful.   

Fall Golf

Fall golf is all about warm days, reduced rates and beautiful colors.  Last weekend we had it all.  A gorgeous day...sunny, warm without humidity.  Colors near peak.  Good golf on a pretty cool course.  Great company.  Not a better way to spend the day.

Reservoir Creek, Naples NY

 with friends Bruce and Ervina 

October 10, 2010

The philosophy of the course owner, Diane Kochendorfer, and her team of designers and builders was to "lay the course gently on the land." Their efforts were well rewarded - the course follows the natural contours of the hillside and is mature beyond its years.

 

Special Gift of Opportunity

MCC has a great fitness center (PAC).  It's full of a variety of equipment...all new. Elipticals, treadmills and weight machines. Mats, medicine balls and free weights.  The room has floor to ceiling windows on two sides.  It's open to faculty, staff and students early in the morning, over the lunch hours and in the evening.  Plenty of opportunity to make use of the facility...so it would seem.  But it's closed for the use of our athletes from 2pm til 6pm..my favorite time to work out. 


So in a conversation with our athletic director about working out, I mentioned that it was best for me to exercise right after work...around 4 in the afternoon.  He then gave me permission to use the PAC any time I wanted...even when the athletes are using it!  Thus the VIP Pass that never expires.

So I have been given a very special gift...an opportunity to work out at a time most opportune for me.  I won't have to get up at the crack of dawn, work out at lunch and spend the remainder of the day all sweaty in my good clothes or go back to school at night.  Now I guess I really don't have any more excuses...  I took advantage of my new opportunity this afternoon.  Day one of forever...or at least as often as possible.  Thanks Skip!

The Things They Carried

Tim O'Brien is a renowned and prolific writer on the subject of the Vietnam War.  He will be in Rochester the first week of November and at MCC on November 5th, 12 noon, as part of the Visiting Scholar Series.  For the next month, in conjunction with O'Brien's visit, there will be many Vietnam War related activities held around town...book discussions on this and other Vietnam War texts, movie showings, a discussion circle with teens and local Vietnam Vets, a discussion of how this war changed journalism and a tour of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Highland Park to name a few. 

I'm planning to get this book read before attending O'Brien's reading/book signing engagement at MCC.  My reading time is limited, so I guess I'd better get started...

 Publishers Weekly synopsis:
Weapons and good-luck charms carried by U.S. soldiers in Vietnam here represent survival, lost innocence and the war's interminable legacy. "O'Brien's meditations--on war and memory, on darkness and light--suffuse the entire work with a kind of poetic form, making for a highly original, fully realized novel.

http://www.amazon.com/Things-They-Carried-Tim-OBrien/dp/0618706410/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1287019211&sr=1-1

Yarn Crawl part 2

Yarn Crawl 2010....conclusion.

I won two door prizes!  Amazing because i never win anything. 

 The first is a small basket with 3 skeins of yarn...kitty is helping me check this prize out.  She thinks i won it just for her!

The second is a book of children's knitted clothing patterns.  I tried for a basket full of yarn with nine of my tickets.  I threw one last ticket in for the book.  Guess I'll keep this one for future use?

I'd better get busy.  Lots of knitting to do...

Yarn Crawl

          YARN CRAWL 2010

                  Sat & Sun Oct' 2-3

             Join the Journey

You ask "What is a Yarn Crawl"?   I admit, I'd never heard of one until I got an email from the Yarn Boutique last week. So here's a synopsis... 

- four stores participated:

Yarn Boutique

"Therapy on a Stick"

 
- visit each store on either Saturday or Sunday and have your "passport" stamped. 

 


 - then turn it in at the last store you visit and you're entered to win a gift package from that store.

- enter to win any other "giveaways" the each store might be holding

- everything in each store is 20% off (a pretty big deal, since yard is expensive)

At these prices, It was hard not to pick up a few skeins for some small, easy-to-complete projects.  Cooler weather, more couch time and Christmas is right around the corner.  It's knitting time.  

Pasta Party!

Facebook invite from Meghan: Pasta party. Saturday 10/2.  3pm til....
Making ravioli...squash ravioli to be exact.  Such an art.  Attendees were me, Alexis, Katie, Liz and Shannon (in spirit, since Denver is too far away for a day trip)
.
Everyone brought an ingredient or two.  I brought squash and sage...both from my garden.  Alexis brought the Romano cheese and a batch of very delicious chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Liz brought ingredients to make pesto (i made mine last weekend).  Katie brought wine.  Can't have pasta without wine!

So with 6 batches of dough (that Meghan made with Nana earlier in the day), Katie and Liz made 3 batches of squash ravs and Alexis and I made 3 batches of regular cheese ravs.  And all the leftover pasta (trimmings from the ravs) was cut into strips.  Not a drop wasted. 

Meghan instructing Katie and Liz in the art of shaping the dough.  With a motorized machine, the dough can be made into a circular loop.  Then it's run through settings 1 to 5...thinning the dough to just the right thickness.

the pro

squash and ricotta mixture

ricotta mixture

squash ravs

the final product...sheets of ravioli

Andy and Devon returned with bread, steak and more wine.  Pan fried steak with a peppercorn marinade.  And cooked enough ravs to eat and still leave enough for each of us to take some home.  Also, a little bowl of pasta mixed with fresh pesto.  And, of course, lots of wine.

Two pans of ravs, one of pasta and one of fried steak

mmmmmm.  almost ready to eat

who said too many cooks spoil the pot.  here's a kitchen full...

ravioi with sage butter sauce

steak, two kinds of ravioli, pesto pasta and garlic bread

good food and great company

mmmmmmmmmmmm.  It was all delicious.

Shannon, we were sorry you couldn't join us, but were happy to have you in spirit and photo.

A few of my favorite things...at least for today.

Bear claws and grilled veggies.
I bought the bear claw forks in the general store at Fishing Bridge village in Yellowstone National Park.  They are fabulous.  My best purchase at the park.
Grilled veggies...some of them from my garden.  Marinated with herb basting oil, salt and pepper.
Oh so good!

Sunday Mornings

Sunday mornings...  sleeping late, then lingering over coffee, breakfast and the crossword. Rarely a puzzle that Jim and I can't solve when we work at it together. On the deck in the summer.  In front of the fire in winter.  Love those lazy Sunday mornings.

basil to pesto

future pasta dishes and pizzas.  I grew the basil in my herb garden.  Not the best crop, but i managed to nurse along enough plants to make a batch and a half.  So, fresh picked basil, added to parmesan cheese, garlic, olive oil and pine nuts became six small jars of pesto.  Frozen for yummy dinners all winter long.