Outdoor Adventures

We've been on vacation since the 20th and have been thoroughly enjoying all the snow we have have gotten. It's a real winter this year! We've spent as much time as possible enjoying the snow and when the roads have been good we have traveled some short distances.

Adventure 1: Hiking in Rockbridge, OH

We went to look for a rare fern. It was this way or the long steep hilly way.  The water was over the top of our boots.  We decided to wade. Beats the alternative.

Just mugging for the camera on the tripod. Southern Ohio in this area got a couple inches of snow

Sandstone cliff with ice formations.

 Through the woods and over the creek..

Adventure 2:  Canoeing on Darby Creek

Nice sunny day on the creek just after a snow fall.

Goofing around-this area in southern Franklin Co got 12 inches of snow

Here we are just just after escaping the strainer that you can't see to the left.

Really neat ice formations

Adventure 3:  Cross Country Skiing at Boyer Nature Preserve

We had to cut the trail

 

The snow continued throughout the morning

 This is one happy man who got to have his skis out this year.

Holiday Goodies

A friend of mine over at Spinners End recently blogged about making Apricot Rugelach.  I had never heard of it and I thought it looked and sounded delicious so I Googled it and found a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa. The ingredients in the recipe are very similar to a cookie called Noft Kipfle that my great grandmother used to make for us at Christmas. It is a family favorite and the recipe has been passed down through the generations.  Later I found out that rugelach is closely related to Noft Kipfle. No wonder I was drawn to it.  It is absolutely delicious!

 Prepping the cookies

Finished cookies

Rugelach (pron.: /ˈruːɡələx/), is a Jewish pastry of Ashkenazic origin. A more probable origin is that of its eastern European (Romanian) traditional pastry counterpart called Cornulete.
Traditional rugelach are made in the form of a crescent by rolling a triangle of dough around a filling. Some sources state that the rugelach and the French croissant share a common Viennese ancestor, crescent-shaped pastries commemorating the lifting of the Turkish siege, possibly a reference to the Battle of Vienna in 1683. This appears to be an urban legend however, as both the rugelach and its supposed ancestor (the Kipfel or Kipferl) pre-date the Early Modern era, and the croissant in its modern form did not originate earlier than the 19th century. An alternative form is constructed much like a strudel or nut roll, but unlike those, the rolled dough and filling is cut into slices before baking. Wikipedia

Elisha made some Salted Caramel Chocolate Pretzel Bark for Thanksgiving. I couldn't stop eating it-it was that good.  I made some of it yesterday for a party that we are going to this weekend.  I'm sure it will be a hit. Here is the recipe.

A Greeting from Lilac Haven

Rabbit to Yarn

I took off Castanea's baby coat last night because the fiber was getting on the sides of her cage and I didn't want waste anymore of it or have her get wool block from licking herself. She sat quietly in my lap while I removed the fiber and played with Daisy in the house afterward. Here's a few photos of the before and after, the fiber pile, and the yarn. She a beautiful copper color. I will probably use the yarn to accent some fingerless mitts for myself. It is very nice and has a gorgeous sheen which is what distinguishes satin angoras from other angoras.

Time Warp

I now know what it is like to emerge from a time warp. One in which you go back in time almost 32 years and nothing has changed.  Last night I got together with my favorite high school teacher Betty and my good friend from school and partner in crime, Rob. Betty taught Broadcasting and Communications and managed our high school radio station WRSF 89.9 -Bob and I were DJ's at the station which was all Classic Rock and 80's disco except for our morning show-we were rebels and played Country Music which was coming back into vogue after a hiatus during the 70's.  Rob and I have talked somewhat sporadically via email over the years (having ownership of a Bichon Frise in common) but we haven't seen each other despite living in the same area since June of 1981.  We lost track of Betty shortly after graduating as she was laid off during district budget cuts and eventually left our school and got married and changed her name.  This past summer late one evening the "boys" and I (I was the only female disc jockey at our radio station our junior year and henceforth most of my best high school friends were male) were chatting away on Facebook and thinking about having a reunion.  To give you the Reader's Digest condensed version someone suggested we try to locate Betty. I got elected to find and contact her (of course).  It really wasn't too hard with the Internet and the fact that Nancy Drew was my idol ....the problem we encountered was that Betty had disabled the friending AND the messaging option on her Facebook page-meaning she could friend and message anyone but no one could friend or message her.  That gave us (me) the option of a). cold calling her house after 32 years or b). sending a message to her husband who had both friending and messaging enabled and who could break the news gently that she was being sought and thus saving the excuse making if she didn't want to be found.  I chose option b. because the boys were too chicken for either option and I hate phone calling people.  Shortly after I sent her husband the message Betty friended all of us - Ron, Rob, Jay, Bob and me; she was tickled pink that we had all reconnected and said she had thought about us all over the years and wondered what we were doing. We tried to get a reunion set for Thanksgiving but that didn't work  out because we all have crazy schedules and Ron lives in DC.  Betty messaged me and Bob last week and said she would be in town on the 12th and did we want to meet?  And the rest is history. Bob and I rode over to the restaurant together and on the way decided that it was embarrassing that we had lived in the same town all these years and had never gotten together. We chatted like we had never spent a day apart. We decided that when we were in high school we thought all adults were old; but that Betty couldn't possibly be much older than us.  Turns out she is 10 years older than us but doesn't look it. I thought perhaps 5. But I digress.  We ate at Cracker Barrel and Betty called us her "kids" and I said her twins and I'm sure everyone in the restaurant thought we were nut balls.  The manager took our picture and the three of us had a great visit and caught up as much as one can in one sitting, on the years past, and decided we were going to have to make this an annual visit from now on.  We laughed so much our sides ached.  It was really nice.

Here we are before Christmas in 1980.

I'm in the front row in the light pink and Betty is next to me in burgundy. Rob is in the back row (right) with a white shirt on.

Here we are before Christmas in 2012

Betty, Bob and me   

NEW FRIENDS AND OLD FRIENDS

MAKE NEW FRIENDS, BUT KEEP THE OLD;

THOSE ARE SILVER, THESE ARE GOLD.
NEW-MADE FRIENDSHIPS, LIKE NEW WINE, 
AGE WILL MELLOW AND REFINE. 
FRIENDSHIPS THAT HAVE STOOD THE TEST
TIME AND CHANGE ARE SURELY BEST;
BROW MAY WRINKLE, HAIR GROW GRAY,
FRIENDSHIP NEVER KNOWS DECAY. 
FOR 'MID OLD FRIENDS TRIED AND TRUE, 
ONCE MORE WE OUR YOUTH RENEW. 
BUT OLD FRIENDS, ALAS MAY DIE, 
NEW FRIENDS MUST THEIR PLACE SUPPLY. 
CHERISH FRIENDSHIP IN YOUR BREAST
NEW IS GOOD, BUT OLD IS BEST; 
MAKE NEW FRIENDS, BUT KEEP THE OLD; 
THOSE ARE SILVER, THESE ARE GOLD.

Joseph Parry

Indiana Squirrel

Andrew has been feeding the birds since October. He's hoping to attract a pine siskin and some woodpeckers and really anything else that we don't see on a regular basis throughout the warmer months.  The squirrels in our yard are a nuisance most of the time. Now that we have the feeders they have gone wild. Andrew has been successful up to today at outwitting them and thwarting their attempts to get on the feeder. He has greased the pole that the feeder sits upon and has stuffed wire inside some homemade squirrel guards and has moved the whole setup twice in order to get it far enough away from the trees so they couldn't jump onto it.  The whole process has definitely kept Andrew on his feet to stay one jump (literally) ahead of the squirrels and we have gotten quite a few laughs watching these goofy little animals trying to get up on the feeder over the past few weeks. Indiana Squirrel took a leap of faith today and finally got to the holy grail of nuts. We watched him do it over and over and over again until he gleaned every single peanut (that were meant for the blue jays) off the tray. Alas the feeder has been relocated once again....here's 27 seconds of amusement. Stayed tuned - I'm sure we haven't see the last of Indiana.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I took advantage of the unseasonably warm 60 something degree weather we had on Saturday and took some photos of my rabbits in their "holiday attire".  I found the little hats at Target and we picked up the poinsettias at Home Depot.   

 Luna - Blue Broken Mini Rex

 Castanea and Ryan - copper and tort Satin Angoras

 

 Zena the Warrior Princess and Molly-New Zealand Reds

Beautiful Skies

We have had some extraordinary sunrises and sunsets of late. Here are a few photos of the splendor.  I have been fascinated by storm clouds and clouds and sunrises and sunsets for as long as I can remember.  It just pains me to be in the city when I see a spectacular scene and there are power lines and light posts blocking my view. Here are a few photos of the splendor.