A Need to Create

"Don't Stop Believing" - Ellie's Dance Competition

2012-01-29T16:46:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we spent some time at the Denver Dancesport Jam. Her group performed their formation.

They are a cute group of girls.

And silly, too.

They can be intentionally silly.

It was at the Hyatt Regency, a really nice building with some great, artistic touches.

This is Ellie with Alia and Keira. Sometimes it is easy to mistake Alia for Ellie from the back.

Here's a little of what they were doing. They danced to "Don't Stop Believing," the Glee version.

They won first place.

The dancers are always interesting and entertaining. And they are beautiful. It is not unusual to see a dancer with her dress, the rhinestones in her hair and a fuzzy pair of slippers.

On Friday I came across this great recipe. Closet Cooking is a blog worth checking out. He made quinoa flatbread, topping it with the likes of hummus, feta cheese, pomegranate seeds and felafel. I picked up some hummas and cucumbers, intending to make these for dinner. My family did not want to wait so long, so I only got as far as the flatbread. My quinoa flatbread is much smoother than his. They are very tasty! I think they'd be great for my next party with vegetarian friends.

Quinoa Flatbread
via: Closet Cooking

1 cup quinoa, processed
1 cup whole wheat flour or brown rice flour
1 egg
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the processed quinoa, flour, egg, water, salt and pepper and let it soak for an hour.
Heat a greased pan over medium heat.
Pour 1/4 cup of the mixture into the center of the pan, cook for 5 minutes, flip and cook for another 5 minutes.

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I also made a version of this lovely soup. The color is not much to consider, but it is very flavorful.

Curried Lentil Stew
via: Fine Cooking

1 large clove garlic
1 piece (1/3 inch long) peeled fresh ginger
1/2 small bulb fennel, cored and cut into large chunks, or 1 small rib celery, cut into large chunks
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 small parsnip, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 large shallot, cut in half
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 tsp. curry powder
1 cup brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 qt. homemade or lowsalt canned chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 tsp. kosher salt; more as needed
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper; more as needed
(4-6 Lamb Chops, optional)

Pulse the garlic and ginger in a food processor until chopped. Add the fennel or celery, carrot, parsnip, and shallot and pulse until coarsely chopped.

Melt 2 Tbs. of the butter in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, until the curry powder is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the lentils, broth, salt, and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to maintain a brisk simmer, cover, and cook until the lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

(optional - I browned a few lamb chops in a saute pan with a bit of olive oil and a touch of salt. I put them in with the stew, letting it all simmer for a few hours to provide a slow cooking. I pulled them out, deboned and shredded them and added it back in.)

Transfer 1-1/2 cups of the soup to a blender or a food processor and purée until smooth. Stir the purée back into the soup along with the remaining 1 Tbs. butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and adjust the consistency with water, if you like.
Serving Suggestions
Garnish with a dollop of plain whole-milk yogurt and chopped fresh mint or cilantro, or both.

nutrition information (per serving):
Size : based on four servings; Calories (kcal): 330; Fat (g): 11; Fat Calories (kcal): 100; Saturated Fat (g): 6; Protein (g): 19; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 3; Carbohydrates (g): 43; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 1; Sodium (mg): 320; Cholesterol (mg): 25; Fiber (g): 14;

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Ellie enjoys a very basic granola, but many have too many pieces of dried fruit for her liking. I am working on trying to figure out a good, plain granola. I found the "Granola, Deconstructed" blog entry at Gourmande in the Kitchen very informational. I also liked what at Nourish Network concerning granola. I combined bits from both of them for the following recipe:

Granola

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup Coconut Flakes
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp Ginger, ground
1/4 tsp Clove, ground
6 TBL Maple Syrup
6 TBL Molasses
2 tablespoons Coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups whole natural almonds (or other nuts of your choice)

Preheat the oven to 300 F placing the oven racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven.
Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the 2 kinds of oats, rice crisp cereal, cinnamon and sea salt. Stir to mix well.
In a medium bowl, combine the fruit puree, honey, light brown sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Stir to mix well.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, and mix until completely blended (it’s best to use your hands to get everything evenly coated.)
Spread the mixture out evenly between the two prepared baking sheets. Squeeze clusters of granola together with slightly damp hands, allowing for space between the clumps in order for air to circulate while baking.
Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets, flip over the granola with a large spatula and add the almonds and pumpkin seeds. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes (or more, depending on how thick the layer of granola) until completely dry and just golden brown.
Let cool on baking sheets, and store in an airtight container when completely cool. Add in the dried cranberries just before serving.

A Little Distractions - Video Fun, Inspiration and The Like

2012-01-26T19:54:00.001-07:00

Work is filling my days and causing stress this week. So, I have neglected my blog. I must go back to what needs to get done. So, I leave a few fun videos for inspiration:
Ikon Film, "Sound of Silence."

Night Bikes

This one might elicit an emotional response if you are a Harry Potter fan:

A bit of fun out and about:

For the book lovers:

The Sweetness of a Personal Gift:

How about this?

This is out of my realm of creation, but so cool. It makes me thinks about something differently. He certainly makes me think about second hand stores differently:

Absolute Inspiration:

Okay - is that enough? Perhaps, perhaps not... but I really should get back to work. I can be so distracted (and it all makes me want to do art. There an irony about finding artistic inspiration online and then not having the time to create anything yourself.)

What inspiration can you share?

Glass Blowing Class and Dinner with Friends (including the recipes)

2012-01-21T22:26:00.002-07:00

Image borrowed from dreamsofglass.com

Today I attended a glass blowing workshop at Agnes of Glass in Denver. It was a Christmas gift from Larr. I thought it was wonderful and hope that I may get to go another time. You could opt for a paperweight or a shot glass. I opted for the paperweight. Really, it did not matter to me which project I did. I just wanted to do it. When we went to upstate New York a few years ago we spent some time at the Corning Museum of Glass. When Uncle Marty suggested it I agreed to go out of politeness. I thought why would I want to see a museum of cookware? However, once I was there, I found that it was amazing! (If you find yourself in that area of Corning, NY, be sure to visit. I'd even plan two days! There is the museum and a workshop with lots of cool opportunities.) While there we made slumped glass jewelry and a few sandblast designs on glass bowls. After watching a glass blowing demonstration, I knew I wanted to give it a try.

Our small group of three had a wonderful time. Agnes has been a glass artist for over 25 years. She has studied in many wonderful places in the world, including Italy. Her methods are a twist on the Italian method. Her shop is spotlessly clean and well organized. It is clear that she put a lot of thought into the design so that the workflow would be smooth. Agnes clearly knows her stuff, but she does not overwhelm you with information. She speaks in an easy to follow, friendly manner. She was assisted by Cody, a young man who is apprenticing with her.

Image borrowed from timmerdraget.com

We began by learning a bit about the process and the names of the tools. Then we picked out colors for the "flowers" that would be in the center of our paperweights. Some options included shards of glass, others looked like little piles of glass dust. Agnes or Cody puts a bit of molten crystal on the end of a punty (special metal rod) which is then heated up in the special fire kiln called the glory hole. Next, I would slowly turn the glass around to make sure that the shape is fairly even. Next, it was sort of rolled out and centered. We did this a few times. We then pressed the end of the cylinder of molten glass into our pile of colored glass. It would pick up some. We'd heat it again and pick up more glass. From there we worked at the bench to poke the hot glass a few times. This would create what would become the stems of the "flowers" and it would also put a small glass bubble in the center. While on the bench, we worked the glass to a specific, round shape with a wooden shaping tool, gravity, heat and a lot of prompting from Agnes. Once it looked good we would take some clapper type tool to begin to encourage the glass to form a ball at the end. During this part of the process it would be rewarmed many times. Before we cut it off we took them outside to see what they would look like. It was interesting to see that the colors would start out looking black when they were super hot. As they cooled slightly the colors would begin to bloom. Cody helped each of us work the end so that it was a nice ball. We would then tap the punty rod with the handle end of a butter knife. This would cause the glass ball paperweight to separate. Cody would heat it some more so that we would be able to put our initial in the bottom by pressing a metal letter stamp into the hot glass for just a quick second. Cody would then use special gloves to place it gently into a special kiln that would slowly lower the temperature of the glass from about 2,200 degrees until they are cool enough to be removed in a few days. I am very excited to go back on Tuesday and take my paperweight home.

Satisfied with my efforts and my results, I headed home to pick up Ethan and get a few things from the grocery store. At his suggestion, we invited the Cures over for a casual dinner and had a great evening with them. Our recipe choices all ended up being great. I made homemade hot dog buns,roasted fingerling potatoes, chocolate chip cookies and roasted broccoli. Ethan made guacamole. The Cures brought over marinaded beef. Ethan cut up some veggies which were used to make beef kabobs. He used some of the usual stuff, like red onion and young peppers. He was adventurous by including kumquats which roasted nicely. It is really nice to be able to have friends who can come over for a nice evening of discussion.

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Homemade Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns
(using a Bread Maker)
via: Craving Comfort Food blog

1 1/4 cups milk, slightly warmed
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions
(hamburger buns, if you want hot dog buns. cut 'em to that shape)
Place all ingredients in pan of bread machine, according to manufacturer's directions.
Select dough setting.
When cycle is complete, turn out onto floured surface.
Cut dough in half and roll each half out to a 1" thick circle.
Cut each half into six 3 1/2" rounds with inverted glass as a cutter.
Place on greased baking sheet far apart and brush with melted butter.
Cover and let rise until doubled, about one hour.
Bake at 350° for 9 minutes.
Note: Oven temperatures vary so check after 9 minutes to see if done.

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The Very Best Roasted Broccoli You've Ever Had
via: Amateur Gourment
(Inspired by a recipe from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa)

4-5 pounds Broccoli, washed, dried and cut into florets
4-5 Garlic cloves, cut into thin slices
5 TBL. Olive Oil
1 1/2 tea. Sea Salt
1/2 tea. Pepper, gorund

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Line your pan with foil. Toss the broccoli, garlic, olive oil and sea salt. Roast in the oven until it is kind of caramelize(some of the ends will be a small bit brown and crispy), about 20-25 minutes.

(We all thought this was wonderful!)

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Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies
via: The Very Best Baking

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:
PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

Techno Gremlins - Not My Best Day

2012-01-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

It started out just like any other day, but quickly took a turn in the road. It began simply enough with a desire to check my email only to find that my computer was corrupt. It stared me down with an ugly dark blue screen, void of any twinkle of life. On the way to school I found that my speedometer was no longer registering my speed. That was easy enough to deal with by simply pacing myself to the others around me. In the parking lot at school I came to notice that I left some of my water at home and that I was wearing not only my dirty apron, but also my slippers. (Thankfully I had another pair of shoes with me in the car.) Things are looking up, I thought. But oh no, come period 3, my school computer, which housed my lessons and digital material for the day, crashed, too. This was announced by the many error messages boxes proclaiming a doomed hard drive. I had worried how the afternoon might go as I was scheduled to run a webinar that begins a new Web 2.0 class that I started today. Thankfully, my little netbook computer was a champ and saved the day.

After a day like that I decided that I needed the stress relief that a little knitting and movie would provide. So I pulled out my mittens, the ones I started the night I watched a movie with my boy. Laying in bed that night I realized that I had made an error and that I needed to frog it. So, I pulled it out, started the movie and started the knitting again. I found "Marily Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School" while browsing Netflix. It was just the ticket I needed for such a failure of the day.

I don't happen to recall the movie when it was released in 2006, but I did enjoy it. It features an unlikely hero and a wonderful cast of actors.

On a brighter note, Ethan has his first welding class at the local community college this evening. he is excited. I hope that it goes well. I imagine that it is both exciting and scary to step outside of the small world of our school into the bigger community.

Rock Climbing in Golden and a Triple Birthday Party

2012-01-15T21:02:00.001-07:00

This weekend most of my family went rock climbing over at North Table Mountain and had a wonderful time. Each of them remarked about how much fun they had.

On Sunday we had a triple birthday celebration at my Aunt Kathy's house. She hosted a wonderful part. We had a rib roast, steamed broccoli and carrots, crusty sour dough bread, mashed potatoes and salad. For dessert we enjoyed a French Silk pie with vanilla ice cream. She also made a Strawberry sauce that had a bit of Grand Marnier which Ethan really liked.
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Aunt Kathy was kind enough to share recipes for the favorites from the meal.

Clam Dip

6.5 oz. Clams (drained)
3 oz. Cream Cheese
2 TBL Mayonnaise
2tea. Onion, chopped
2 tea. Parsley (or cilantro), chopped
1 tea. Worchestershire
Dash of Hot Pepper Sauce

Combine all ingredients and chill to allow the flavors to blend. Serve with crackers.

Yield 1 cup (double recipe for a group)

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Cold Raspberry or Strawberry Sauce
from: The New York Times More 60 Minute Gourmet Meals

1 pint Fresh or Frozen Raspberries or Strawberries (or 10 oz. Frozen)
1/2 Juice of a Lemon (or 3/4 Juice of a Lime)
1/4 - 1/2 cup Sugar
2 TBL. Framboise or Grand Marnier

If using fresh fruit, rinse and pat dry.
Put the fruit in a food processor with the lemon/lime juice. Add the sugar (use 1/2 cup sugar if you are using frozen fruit or 1/4 cup for fresh fruit) and blend thoroughly. Add the Frambiose or Grand Marnier.

Yields 1 1/3 cups.

The Quiet Beauty Around Us

2012-01-14T19:07:00.001-07:00

Today I am inspired by the quiet beauty around me, whether that be in my own home, or in some remote place. The day is nice enough for me to open the windows and let a breeze into the house. I will make cookies and bread as I work.

The red Amarillas that was supposed to bloom at Christmas, but shared its glory this week. This way we noticed and enjoyed it more, rather than it simply being part of the riot of color we have during the holiday season. Next year I think I will buy some of these preplanted bulbs near Christmas so that I can have this joy repeated.

I also love my snowflake light for many reasons - the clean lines in the design, the glow it radiates, and the memory of our trip to Wisconsin a few years ago. I am tempted to buy a few of the other designs from Kronlume Scandinavian Lighting.

I love the plants in the windows of my kitchen. They, too, are linked to a memory, that of my mother-in-law, Eleanor, who is no longer with us.

I am inspired by this girl, Klara Harden , and her Icelandic journey. I also love the music.

MADE IN ICELAND from Klara Harden on Vimeo.

TheWind from Klara Harden on Vimeo.

I've spent part of my weekend putting together an Indie Music playlist. I have gathered a number of bands and artists to consider:
*Fleet Foxes
* Mumford & Sons
* DeVotchka
* A Hawk and a Hacksaw
* Leonard Cohen
* The Shins
* Bon Iver
* Band of Horses
* Grizzley Bear
* My Morning Jacket
* Cold Play
* Death Cab for Cutie
* Modest Mouse
* Iron and Wine
* Elliott Smith
* Cat Power
* Regina Spektor
* Bright Eyes
* Rufus Wainwright
* Sufjan Stevens
* Jose Gonzales
* The Weepies
* Remy Zero
* Ray LaMontagne
* Joanna Newsom
* laura Marling
* The Wailin' Jennys
* The Unthanks
* The Civil Wars
*Alexi Murdoch
* Cary Brothers

What other music might you add to my list?

A Helmet Liner for Kathy and More Jane Austen - Oh, Emma!

2012-01-14T10:31:00.001-07:00

Coach Kathy is such a wonderful and generous person. I tried to give back to her whenever I can. She love hot, neon pink and I thought she needed a wool helmet liner to go with her neon pink helmet.

Alas, I could not find neon pink 100% superwash merino wool. I got as close as I could with a nice pink and a reasonable purple; they were not what I had hoped for, but it was as close as I could get.
I could have gone with acrylic, but that would not have been as warm as wool. She received it gladly and says that she will wear it during her bid at the Cyclocross World Championship this Sunday in Kentucky.

Here's how I made it:

2 balls of Cascade superwash Merino DK Wool
Size 1 double pointed needles
Size 1 16" circular needles
Size 3 double pointed needles
Size 3 16" circular needles

Cast on 96 of the main color.
Rows 1 Knit the row without joining. Straighten yarn on the needles to be sure will not be twisted once joined
Row 2 *K2 P2* to end. Place a marker.
Rows 3-10 *K2P2* (continue this until the ribbing is how you like it. Mine is about 1'.)

Change to size 3 circular needles. K1, add 1 stitch, K49, add 1 stitch (100 stitches.
Continue stockinette stitch until the hat measures 7.5", creating patterns that please you.
K 1 row, adding markers every 10 stitches.

Begin Crown Reductions =
Row 1 *K2t, K9*
Row 2 *K2t,K8*
Row 3 *K2t,K7*
Row 4 knit stockinette
Row 5 *K2t,K6*
Row 6 *K2t,k5*
Row 4 knit stockinette
Continue until you are down to 9-11 stitches, draw threads through all live stitches. Thread the yarn through the hole to the underside of the hat. Pull tight and weave in ends. Finished length of hat should be 8"-8.5".
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I think I am nearly finished with my Jane Austen inspired movie fest. I left off with "Emma" which I think I like best. I watched the version with Gwenth Paltrow. She is a wonderful Emma. I am add "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" into the mix, too, though it is not strictly a Jane Austen film.

Wintery Scenes with Glowing Sunrises and an Awesome Shrimp and Grits Recipe

2012-01-10T20:06:00.001-07:00

Some mornings I am lucky enough to raise at just the right moment that allows me to sit in my warm, cozy bed and enjoy the glorious sunrise. For much of the year I notice and enjoy it while I am on my way to work. But there is something special about being able to sit quietly and take in the beauty of it all.

Or how about this one?

This tree is off on the other side of the house. In the late spring I am cheered by the chorus of birds who seem to have their morning coffee and chats in my branches.

In trying to mix things up a bit, this is what we had for dinner. It was a hit!

Creole Spice Shrimp and Cheese Grits
via: Katria Runs for Food blog

GRITS

2 Tablespoons of butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup milk
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 cup water, and additional may be needed to thin grits.
1 cup quick cooking grits
1/4 cup EACH of cheddar, parmesan, gruyere cheeses.
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Shrimp

1/2 cup butter, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons creole or cajun seasoning
1-1/5 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 64 shrimp)
8 ounces dry white wine*
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup finely chopped tomato
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Garnishes: julienned prosciutto, crumbled cooked bacon, chopped fresh chives
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan. Add garlic and 1 tablespoon thyme; sauté 1 minute. Add milk and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil; whisk in grits. Reduce heat to lowest setting; cook 10 minutes or until done, stirring occasionally. Add cheeses and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm. If they set too firmly when ready to serve with shrimp, add water or milk to thin and reconstitute.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add garlic, celery, bell pepper, onions, thyme, cajun seasoning; sauté 30 seconds. Add shrimp, and cook 7 minutes. Remove shrimp and veggies from skillet.
Add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to low; whisk in remaining butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in lemon juice, tomato, and parsley. Cook 3-5 minutes. Return shrimp and veggies to pan. Stir to mix with butter tomato sauce. Serve over grits. Garnish, if desired.
* If you would rather not use the wine, use broth or lemon juice.

Birthday Cake and Phantom

2012-01-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

Photo by Glenn Ross for the Denver Post December 2011

It was a fine weekend for relaxing. Saturday morning Ethan and Larr went rock climbing. Ellie return from a sleep over at a friend's house and I mostly hung out. I cleaned a little, watched a "Sense and Sensiblity" (I am on a Jane Austen movie streak) and tried to decide on my next knitting project. I am pretty sure it will be a pair of mittens.

Saturday evening we all met back up to go to the Weisner home where we shared fine company, a wonderful meal and a birthday cake made for me.

I was touched that they would do that for me.

Most of the folks then headed off in the fluffy snow to take in a University of Denver hockey game. Wendy, Caroline and I stayed home. Caroline and Wendy began decorating the felt heart cut outs from the kit I put together for them. I balled four skeins of year and we chatted a lot.

I have come to realize that I appreciate a quiet, thoughtful knitting project every January; one where I can nestle into a chair or couch and simply enjoy the process and the magic of witnessing the emergence of the pattern. I had considered a few different patterns including:

I gave "Deep in the Forest"

mittens some very serious consideration. If I had the proper yarn on hand, I would have gone that direction.

Hiroshage Mittens.

I like Kanagawa, too. I actually purchased that pattern and will knit them in more social situations where I can't focus on a complicated chart.

In the end I have settled on Tourbillion mittens done in shades of purple.

On Sunday my mother and aunt were to go to the Boulder Dinner Theater to celebrate my mother's birthday, but my aunt was sick so I went in her place. I always enjoy time along with my mother and I love the theater, so it was a great afternoon. They put on a small scale version of "Phantom of the Opera" that was very clever. The costumes and acting were great. Even though I knew what as comig, I cried at the end of the story. My mother thought that was a little funny.

Tiny Putz Houses - A Job Done From Love and Memory

2012-01-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things at my mother's house during the Christmas season is her little Putz house display. For the past few years I've been looking at patterns and Putz houses that others have made. This year I decided to take it on and make a few of my own. I originally thought I would give them to her, but now I am not so sure. They were such a labor of love, taking much more time than expected, of course, but seemed to come together very suddenly at the end. It was very gratifying! Besides, I am not even certain that they are the same scale as her set.

Saying Good Bye to the Holidays, Seeing a Few Good Movies and Visiting with Friends

2012-01-03T16:07:00.002-07:00

Today I am back to work. The anticipation of break being over is always hard to take, but once I am back, I slip right back into what I do - teach.

The first two days of the year have been wonderful. After a great birthday on New Year's Eve, I had a relaxing day. The house was mostly clean and there was plenty of food that could be heated up for meals sitting in the fridge.

Ellie and Ariana showed up at our house rather early as the eletricty in Golden had gone out and the girls were cold. I made them a nice breakfast which provided them with the fuel to go ice skating at the lake in Evergreen. I was happy to see that she was able to get on the ice again.

Ethan slept in and spent the day doing his own thing. Larr read and I worked on finishing the Putz buildings. I am quite happy with how they came out, though they were much more work than I had anticipated (as most projects are.) I learned a lot in the process which I will write about on another day. I also cut out a new skirt, did some knitting and watched "Mansfield Park" on my netbook computer while sitting in the glow of our Christmas tree. Sipping tea, knitting, watching a movie and having my family about - it was almost magical.

The next day the kids were off to school, but I was not. I spent much of the day with my mother, by myself - a rare treat. We went to Sam's Club and to see "Hugo." It was a really wonderful film. I will have to own it once it is available on DVD. I may even go to see it in the movie theater again. I'm certain that my boy would love it, too.

We hurridyly picked up Ellie as we had friends coming over. Iris, Maxl, Pam and Stephen were joining us for dinner. The kids would hang out and play video games. We ladies ate at a leisurly pace and visited. It too, was wonderful. The boys were sad to go, but we promised that they could all get together again soon.

I resisted going to bed, even though Larr, who is still feeling ill, had already headed up. The time to take the tree down has come. I always hate that - it is like saying goodbye to a friend that I will not see again. I know the cats will miss it, too. However, it is also a nice feeling to have the house free of the clutter of holiday decorations, no matter how festive they are. It is time to move out of the holiday season and embrace the possilities of the new year that is ahead of us.

A Low Key, Relaxing Birthday (Plus Recipe for Ginger Butter and Sweet Potato Pancakes)

2012-01-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, New Year's Eve, was my birthday. He was very thoughtful about making my birthday great. We began at Snooze, a very hip breakfast joint on 2263 Larimer Street in downtown Denver. Larr and Shawn ate there a while ago. Larr had this gem tucked away for a special occasion.

The food was wonderful. We started out with coffee and Chia. They serve Third Street Chia, which is great stuff. I thought it was interesting that it was served in a pint glass with a cozy.

Ellie was too much of a sleepy head to join us. We had to roust Ethan out of bed to join us, but we had his permission. It is a very popular place and so we aimed to be there at 7:00 a.m. when the doors opened.

Ellie would have appreciated the decor. It was very fun.

It was difficult to decide what to have. Here's what we ordered:

Snooze Spuds Deluxe A heaping portion of our hash browns, covered with melted cheddar & jack cheese, scallions plus two veggies , meats, or combo of your choice

Corned Beef Hash Snooze’s signature shredded hash mixed with locally made corned beef, caramelized poblanos and onions. Topped with two eggs your style & toast or tortillas.

Breakfast Pot Pie Snooze’s homemade rosemary sausage gravy smothers a flaky puff pastry, topped with an egg your style (we’d say sunny side up!). You’ve reached breakfast bliss, complete with hash browns.

They also gave me a special birthday sweet potato pancake topped with caramel sauce, chopped pecans and ginger butter. It sounds weird, but is really very wonderful. (I'd like to figure out how to make them at home.)

That evening we watched a few movies on Netflix while the kids were out doing their thing with their friends. Ellie went to the 16th Street Mall New Year's Eve party and fireworks display with Ariana. Ethan hung out with friends and took photos of the fireworks display.

"Balzac and the Little Seamstress" (with subtitles)

"Amadeus" (This is one of my favorite films. I did a cutting from the script for dramatic interp. in forensics in high school.)

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Ginger Butter
via Epicurious

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons finely chopped drained stem ginger in syrup,* syrup reserved

*Stem ginger in syrup is available in Asian markets and some supermarkets.
print a shopping list for this recipeview wine pairings

preparation

Beat butter and chopped ginger in small bowl to blend. Beat in 2 to 3 teaspoonfuls ginger syrup to sweeten to taste. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ginger-Butter-5779#ixzz1iG4Kp9U7

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Sweet Potato Pancakes
via Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

3/4 pound sweet potatoes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
Directions

Place sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan of boiling water, and cook until tender but firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, and immediately immerse in cold water to loosen skins. Drain, remove skins, chop, and mash.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Mix mashed sweet potatoes, eggs, milk and butter in a separate medium bowl. Blend sweet potato mixture into the flour mixture to form a batter.
Preheat a lightly greased griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter mixture onto the prepared griddle by heaping tablespoonfuls, and cook until golden brown, turning once with a spatula when the surface begins to bubble.

Christmas Lights Party Bus Tour

2011-12-31T15:10:00.001-07:00

As a treat to the family, my mother took all of us on a Christmas Light tour in a party bus. We had a fun time.

We go down and see the City and County building every year. Here I am with Ethan and my mom.

Ellie's friend, Christy, came along, too.

I've passed this house many times during the year and never noticed it. You can tell that they love doing the displays.

This is another part of their yard.

The man who lives here has a lab named Daisy who rides in a cage attached to his Harley. They go to Sturgus together each year. Daisy and Bob were happy to greet everyone who came to see their display.

This family made a diorama or two every year. Each one represents some aspect of their lives. The husband is a carpenter and the wife collects dolls. They both seem to love the trains. They've been decorating like this for 29 years.

I think I liked this box best.

The trains were fun, too.

Here's his son's house just a half a block away.

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And a little video to set off the day:

Zoo Lights - A Lovely Date with My Husband

2011-12-30T15:36:00.000-07:00

Christmas lights are my favorite non-people part of Christmas. Last night my husband and I went to the Denver Zoo to take in the glow of the season. It was a perfect evening. Cool enough to feel like wintertime, with just a slight breeze, but not so cold as to be uncomfortable.

We arrived a bit early to see who would be out. Not a lot of animals were walking around. They were mostly interested in watching for the dinner time delivery. Many of the enclosures had Christmas trees. The Rhinos like to eat theirs.

The birds seemed the happiest. I had never noticed the giant swans before. We watched them for a long while. There was a goose who wanted to tell me all about it, even as its dinner sat untouched.

The penguins seemed pleased, too.

We were surprised at how many people were there. The zoo closed at 4:00 and the Zoo Lights started at 5:00. It was kind of magical to watch it all unfold and notice all of the glorious colors.

There were lighted arches where you could take your photo.

Many of the light sculptures had motion.

This was one of my favorites. There was a big tree dressed in a similar fashion. The lights faded from white to red. There was a clever display that looked like a Yeti was tromping through the trees, complete with the sound of foot steps in the hardpacked snow. The red eyes are the last thing to fade in that display.

A Small Hallway Enlightened

2011-12-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

We have a small, pivotal hallway in our home where three rooms and a stairway intersect.

It had been left white - uncharacteristic for our house. For the last 19 years I have simply be uninspired to do something about it.

However, Ellie, my girl with creativity and drive, was inspired. So much so that she spent a few days before Christmas painting it. I think the colors she had in her head were different than what was in her head, but in the end we all love what she created. It feels so much more inviting now.

I wonder what her next project will be. The two of us have ideas for my bedroom, but they have not come together as of yet.

A Lighted Headboard - a Special Gift For My Girl

2011-12-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

Every year I try to make a special gift for each person in our family. As the kids get older, it has become more of a challenge to find the right thing to make. Ellie, being the teenage girl that she is, loves to redecorate her room. She has a talent for it, too. (It's true - I would say this even if she was not my daughter.) She has wanted a headboard for her bed for a long time and Christmas lights are one of her favorite things.

From: Shelterness.com (very basic instructions)

When I stumbled upon this light up board, I was set on fire. I knew instantly that this was the direction I needed to go. I also knew that those kinds of things are always harder and more expensive than they look. In my excitement I drew up a sketch of what I wanted to do.

I tromped down to the wood shop teacher at my school and asked for his advice. John is wonderful that way. He never poop-poops my ideas, but gently grounds me in reality. He said that it would be an easy project. I would need to get a special drill bit to deal with putting holes in the Lexan. I would also need special screws called furrows so that they would look nice.

Next up, I went to our robotics teacher, Daryl, who is an equally wonderful guy. We had a chat about the virtues of plexiglass versus Lexan (polycarbonite).He invited me down to have lunch in the electronics room. In the interim he pulled out a small strip of each of the materials. He did a hand-on demonstration of the difference. Lexan is a wonderful, nearly shatter proof product. Plexiglass can be broken. Both can be easily treated with sandpaper to make it frosted. The catch was the cost. A sheet of plexiglass for my project, measuring 39" x 24" would be about $26 (I had a special birthday coupon from Ace Hardware and got it for half off.) whereas the Lexan would have been around $67. Since we had to buy not one, but two sets of snow tires and two dental crowns last month, I knew which option I had to take. It would be the plexiglass, but I was okay with that. No one would be sitting on or hammering the headboard; it would be a safe option. Daryl also demonstrated how I could take an orbital sander with 220 grit sandpaper and frost the surface. I could take out any patterns from that process by repeating the process with a much finer grit of sandpaper. Thank God for such great and helpful people in my life! These friends armed me with knowledge and the confidence that I needed to move forward.

Now, this new found knowledge is good, but I still needed more help. That help came in the form of my father-in-law, Don. He is a great woodworker. We have many lovely things that he has made for the kids over the years. I sent him the link I offered above. I also shared my sketch and away we went. Don, being the creative type that he is, redesigned it so that the plexiglass would not sit on the surface, but would sit in grooves instead. He sent me off to Jordan's Building Center with a list of what I needed: 2 2"x4"x8' pine boards, 1 piece heat temptered hardboard and a bunch of specific kinds of screws. We hauled that into the basement and away he went. When I returned the next time, Don had it mostly constructed and stained. Some of the measurements were off, so we had the plexiglass recut. I spent time frosting the plexiglass and then holding various parts together while he put in the screws. Originally we were going to install two verticl brace, but those did not work. He applied a small, wooden block to keep the plexiglass from bowing too much. I took three sets of special white Christmas lights with little faceted globes around each light and set to work attaching them with gluedots. (They are a wonderful, thick, sticky dot that was perfect for the application.)It was more challenging than I expected to make them random. My eyes and hands wanted to make them evenly spaced. In the end it took much longer to get done than we had expected, of course. (One should estimate the time for a given project and multiply that by 4 to get a real time estimate!) However, I am ever so pleased with the outcome. It felt really good to do that project. I needed that to help move away from the stress of getting everything ready for Christmas and tap into my creative side instead. I think it was good for Don, too. He seemed to enjoy having a special project to work on. I am thankful that I have such a great father-in- law who loves his grandchildren.

I was gitty with excitement to give her the gift. I had hoped that it would have been a complete surprise, but it was not. Ellie had started to move her bed into her loft when her dad stopped her. His remarks led her to guess what the big project that grandpa and I were doing was. I thought surely that she could not guess that it was a light up board, but somehow she guess that it involved lights, too. I don't know what she thought it might look like, but she is oh so clever and sly like that - kind of figuring out my surprise for her! Anyway, I dispensed with trying to hide it. The headboard was too large to stow away in my van without notice and it seemed silly to schlep it to the basement. Instead, we threw a blue sheet over it and called it good. Christmas morning Larr plugged it in and we waited the kids to stumble down the stairs to begin the holiday. Ellie seemed to like her present, thought I think I was way more excited than she was. I am an exuberant person, she is much more restrained. She installed it that very morning. One or two of the lights came free from its gluedot, but otherwise it traveled beautifully. She brought everyone up to her room to see her new stuff for her room. This included the lighted headboard, the new grey and white curtains I made for her windows and the cool light up Flamingo lamp that her dad got for her. My girl's room is stylin'!

Relaxing in the Post Christmas Glow

2011-12-26T23:35:00.002-07:00

I have a small confession to make- as fun as Christmas is, I think I like it best once we have arrived at Christmas morning and begun the day. I might even enjoy the days after even more. I have a good time decorating, baking, making presents and going to parties, but I love the relaxation after it is all over. My house is mostly clean. The presents have been completed and there are less demands on my time. I have certain traditions, like listening to or seeing "The Christmas Carol" or reading "The Cat Who Came for Christmas" by Cleveland Amory, but they often have to wait until after Christmas so that there is time to focus on and enjoy them, instead of feeling like I am stealing time away from something else that I should be preparing.

We hosted the Christmas festivities at our house this year. It was a big change from the past. We used to have a special breakfast and open presents here at home, but then go to Don and Eleanor's house for Christmas Dinner and extended family time. I contributed several things to that dinner (usually rolls, a side dish and a bushe de noel for dessert) but the time there was very relaxing. After Eleanor died three years ago we kept a similar schedule, though I cooked much of the meal, the other families brought food to the party as well, and we all relxed at Don's house. His house works well for that kind of party. This year he was not up for that so it happened here. We cleaned the house and set tables in three rooms, with five people at folding tables in the living room, three at the craft room table and five or six in the big room at our usual dinner table. We moved out some of the furniture to make room for it all. I was worried that we would all feel seperated, but it worked out well. Every one seemed to have a good time. With Ethan, Evan and Anna all 18 years old, post high school plans were discussed. The boys spent some time together. Ethan and Evan talked skateboarding and long boarding well into the night. My cousin, Marianne, and I also had a chance to have quality time together.

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Ham and Potato Soup
via: Allrecipes.com

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
Directions

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

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Split Pea Soup

1 pound Split Peas, dried, rinsed and cleaned
8-10 cups Water
Ham Bone
Extra Ham (at lest 1 pound, diced or cubed)
3/4 cup Carrot, thinly sliced
3/4 cup Carrots, thinly sliced
1 Onion, diced
1 1/2 tea. Thyme
3 Bay Leaves
1 1/2 tea. Parsley (optional)
1/2 tea. Smoke Flavoring (optional)
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put the ingredients in the slow cooker or in a large stew pot. Cook slowly until the peas have softened. I cook my soup overnight in the crock pot.

The Tinkling Lights of "Silent Night" and Ushering in the Holiday Season, plus a few fun recipes.

2011-12-24T23:22:00.001-07:00

Today was a day for finishing handmade presents and prepping for Christmas. We will be hosting the party and the dinner at our house this year. It has been a lot of work, but I am pleased with how it has all pulled together.

Every Christmas eve early evening is spent at my mother's house where she hosts an annual party. When I was little it was the meeting spot for the neighborhood, and what a bustling place it was. Walt and Audra, an adorable old couple, lived nearby. They would waddle, hand in hand, from their house to ours. They would have gussied themselves up,both of them wearing a little too much of Audra's perfume. But we did not mind. It was fun just to watch them take note of everything, like they had not seen it before. They would savor every bit of the food they were served. They would beckon us over, one by one, and ask us about our year, what we had enjoyed, what we hoped for in the new year. They would pat us on the head or shoulder, lean in for a quick hug and press two quarters into the palm of our hands. One of them died and the other followed quickly. We missed them, a whole where their glow had been, each year at the party. I imagine that I carved out some distance as I became a teen-ager. One of the constants was going to the candle light service with my mother. I knew all of the songs by heart, every verse they had us embrace. I knew the story by heart, but listened to it each year, as if it were new to me. My favorite part was when the lights would be dimmed and we would light our small candles. We would softly sing "Silent Night" as the candles twinkled. When the kids were smaller we went to church, alternating from year to year, which grandparent we would accompany. Some years I would miss the service, being too drawn up in the frenzy of Christmas day preparations to take time to attend the special service. This year, though there was still much to do at home, I went to church with my mother and my sister's boys. We have had a big snow storm of late, so the older crowd did not make it in. They simply could not make it through the snow. The gathering was small, but sincere. Nelson, a man who had introduced me to many adventures when I was in the youth club at church, sang several songs beautifully. As he sang, I could not help but think of my first camping trip and ski trip he helped make possible. I watched as an elderly mother leaned into her elderly son, his arms around his family, as they sang "Silent Night"with all of their hearts, swaying to the tune. Near the end of the song he raised up his candle in honor and praise of the event. I was thankful to witness it. Going to church with my mother was the very thing I needed. We held hand through most of the service, my heart thankful that she is my mother.

Back on the home front the rest of my little family put up a few more decorations, set three separate tables for dinner and helped me feel more ready for the holiday. Ellie had taken several things from my craft room table and hung them up. It was a good way to usher in the actual holiday. I spent a bit more time making a few last items for our party tomorrow.

SARAH'S BEST HOMEMADE HOT CHOCOLATE
via: Cooks.com

1 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. water
1 c. milk
a bit of vanilla, if desired
Combine cocoa, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Heat it on low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the paste from sticking to the pan. After about 1 to 2 minutes, add milk and vanilla. Mix it all together until it reaches your preferred temperature.

Ellie tops this lovely hot chocolate with a pile of whipped cream, a few colorful sprinkles and a few chocolate shavings.

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Russian Tea Cookies (Also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies)
via Shared Sugar.com
makes about 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped/coarsely ground pecans

Directions
Toast pecans in oven at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Or, if lazy (like me) or always in a hurry (like me), take the easy route and toast them in the toaster oven for 2-3 minutes. Using an electric mixer, beat butter on medium speed in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until well blended. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon and salt. Slowly add dry mixture to wet mixture, beating until well blended. Mix in pecans with a wooden spoon.

Divide dough in half; form each half into ball. Wrap separately in plastic; chill until cold, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Working with half of chilled dough, roll dough with palms into 1-inch balls. Arrange balls on large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies until light golden brown on bottom and just pale golden on top, about 16-18 minutes. Check cookies throughout baking to be sure not to over bake. If baked too long, bottoms will burn and cookies will be very dry.

Pour 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar in pie dish. Cool cookies 5 minutes on baking sheet. Gently toss warm cookies in powdered sugar to coat completely. Transfer coated cookies to rack and cool completely. Roll cookies in powdered sugar again once cooled. Repeat procedure with remaining half of dough, or reserve remaining powdered sugar and freeze dough for later use. Cookies can be prepared 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature. For extra powdered sugar on your cookies, save leftover powdered sugar and sift over cookies just before serving.

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Nantucket Cranberry Pie
(inspired by the recipe found on The Pioneer Woman)
2 TBL Butter
12 oz. (about 21/2 cups) Fresh Cranberries
1 cup Pecans (or Walnuts)Chopped
2/3 cups Sugar
1 cup Flour (Whole Wheat Flour works nicely)
2/3 cup Sugar
1 stick Butter, melted
2 whole Eggs, Lightly Beaten
1 teaspoon Pure Almond Extract
1 Tablespoon Sugar For Sprinkling

Preparation Instructions

*Adapted from a recipe by Laurie Colwin*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Generously butter a cake pan or pie pan. Add cranberries to the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle on chopped pecans, then sprinkle on 2/3 cup sugar. Mix this around to combine nicely.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, melted butter, eggs, almond extract, and salt. Stir gently to combine. It will be very thick.

Place the batter over the top of the cranberry mixture. Spread gently if necessary.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Five minutes before removing from oven, sprinkle surface with 1 tablespoon sugar for a little extra crunch.

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Magic Spinach Ring

1 box frozen Spinach, thawed and drained
1 egg
Seasonings to taste = salt, pepper, garlic, dried onion, cayenne pepper, basil, etc.
1 pound Swiss Cheese, grated
2 packages Pilsbury Crescent Rolls (I think the Garlic ones are best)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the spinach with the egg and season to your liking. Add the grated cheese.Unwrap the crescent rolls, using them to form a star on your baking sheet. Mold the center of the star to hold the spinach mix. Scoop the spinach mixture to form a circle, twist up the crescent roll dough into the center and press into place. Bake for 45 minutes. Let it rest for 15 minutes before serving and enjoy!

Making Cookies with Friends (Plus a few recipes for cookies, frosting and chili)

2011-12-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

We love to decorate cookies during the Christmas season. Some years it is my friends and I making fancy, intricate gingerbread snowflakes. Other years it is a wild explosion of colors in the form of copious amounts of buttercream frosting and a festival of sprinkles.

This was one such year. We had some young friends over earlier this week to enjoy dinner and some time together.

Jack, David, Christy and Ellie seemed to have a good time.

Each kid had his or her own style of decorating their cookies. Ellie only made a few, but they were nice.

Christy seemed happy to develop a Sponge Bob theme in her decorating.

Jack was very industrious, cranking out more cookies than the other kids. He seemed to have a lot of fun.

David spent some time decorating and some time visiting with Larr. He, too seemed to have a good time. Here he is with his zombie snowman cookie.

Gina, Connie and I took the chance to visit. I liked talking about knitting with Gina. SHe has two shawls in the works, aiming for Christmas.

It is definitely my favorite sugar cookie recipe. It is not too sweet and has a nice crumb in the mouth, but holds together nicely for decorating.

Sugar Cookie Recipe
from: Sweetopia blog

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups butter (at room temperature)

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

seeds from 1 vanilla bean (or 3 tsp vanilla)

5 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt
Instructions:

1. Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer on low to medium speed. (Use the paddle attachment). Mix until thoroughly incorporated – for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula and mix again for a few seconds more.

Over mixing the butter and sugar in this step will cause too much air to be incorporated into the dough. If you’d like a light and fluffy cookie, that’s ideal, however the dough will spread more during baking; not ideal if you’d like the cookie to hold its shape.

2. Add eggs slowly and mix. Scrape down the bowl with your spatula at least once and mix again.

3. Cut open your vanilla bean and scrape the seeds out. Add to mixing bowl. Alternatively, add liquid vanilla extract. Stir briefly.

4. Sift your dry ingredients together. (Flour, baking powder and salt).

5. Add all of the flour mixture to the bowl. Place a large tea towel or two small tea towels between the edge of the bowl and the electric mixer so that the flour won’t escape. Mix on low speed for 3o seconds. Remove the tea towels and observe the dough mixing; when it clumps around the paddle attachment it’s ready. It’s also important at this stage not to over mix the dough (the glutens in the flour develop and the dough can become tough).

6. Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper. Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.

7. Roll out the dough further if you need to, and cut out cookie shapes. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Re-roll scraps and repeat.

8. Put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again. They will then hold their shape better when baked.

9. Preheat your oven to 350°F or 176°C.

10. Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookie.

11. Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate!

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Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:
from: JoyofBaking.com

2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

For Royal Icing with Egg Whites: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

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Butter Cream Frosting
from:the Created By Diane Blog

1 cup butter

1 cup shortening

6 cups powdered sugar

2-4 Tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract. if you are making white frosting use clear vanilla.

Beat butter with mixer until pale and fluffy, add sugar and milk along with extract mix until smooth and creamy.

*If the weather is super hot, over 100 and I’m afraid the buttercream will be a mess, I sometimes use all shortening.

**If I want a very rich butter taste, I use all butter and no shortening.

*** for Chocolate Buttercream I use ½ to 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa in place of some powdered sugar.

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Chili
(I made this recipe up with stuff I had at home as I did not want to go out in the snow.)

2 pounds Ground Beef
1/2 Onion, chopped
3 Garlic cloves, minced
2 cans Busch's Beans
1 can Tomato Soup
1 cup Water
3 tea. Beef Bouillon
2-3 TBL. Basil, dried
1 tea. Cumin
1-2 tea. Chili Powder (depending on how spicy you like it)
1-1.5 tea. Smoked Paprika
1-2 cups Corn, frozen or canned

Brown the beef, pouring off excess fat. Saute the onion and garlic with the beef. Add in the remaining ingredients. Simmer for at 30 minutes. Serve with crackers.

Cyclocross Season Ends with a Plop, Instead of Bang (Sort of)

2011-12-21T16:00:00.001-07:00

Sunday was the Colorado Cyclocross Championship. It brought out a lot of serious competition. People who have been spending their time doing out of town races, or other things, set time aside to do this race. Ellie's competition was stiff. The day was unseasonably warm and the ground was muddy, consistency of peanut butter, or so I'm told. It was a nice, of odd, change from the super cold weather we had been experiencing.

The girls got off to a fast uphill start. Ellie was right in the middle of the pack. She came around for the first lap, but then I did not see her again. I knew that if she was hurt, the network of parents would find and inform me. Instead, I waited at the top of the hill where I could see most of the course, though some parts were obscured by gently hills. It was on the back side of one of those hills that Ellie managed to hit the ground. I am not sure what she did, but whatever it was, it made her seat wonky and rendered her bike unridable. After the previous race when she broke her derailer hanger, our mechanics, Bruce and Walt, tuned up her bike and trued her wheels. It had not occured to any of us to check her seat. Anyway, she tightened the screws that hold the seat rails to the bike by hand and rode it to the pit, being sure not to sit on the actual seat. Once there, a network of dads gathered up her bike, found a multitool and the proper tool within to tighten the seat back on. Maxl offered his bike for her use, but she politely declined as she was afraid that she might break something on his bike. (Later we realized that he has a different kind of shifters, so that would have taken some learning anyway.) This all took a while and by the time she was good to go, Ellie would not podium. She finished the lap and called it good. She was disappointed to not be able to ride the course more as she said that it was a fun course, but her attitude was good. I was thankful for her good attitude. She managed to get through most of the season without technical difficulties. It is odd that she had two in a row. Perhaps it was a sign that it was good that the end of the season had arrived. In the end she did not podium at the state championship, but she did win the Colorado 2011 Cyclocross Cup award.

We had a quiet ride home. I adimred the sunset. Ellie rested. We listened to Christmas music. We capped it off by stoping at the carwash so that we could clean up the van and the bike.

A Little Holiday Cheer (T- Mobile Video)

2011-12-16T15:07:00.001-07:00

2011-12-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law Doug loves to have fun and he loves a good meal. Therefore, he always treats us to a great meal somewhere every time he visits. This time was no exception. In fact, I think I might even have a new favorite restuarant - Vesta Dipping Grill.

We were going to go to a wonderful gumbo joint, but found that it had closed - what a bummer! A friend of mine had raved about Vesta, so we decided to give it a go.

It is a very hip place. The bathrooms were even cool. The table was a giant slap of round concrete. The lighting was funky and the feel was a bit classy industrial.

We started out with appetizers such as golden ponzu shrimp(soy butter, jalapeno ponzu*, sambal) and chinese bbq pork belly (yuzu mayonnaise, orange, shiso). Along with those small plate items came nearly enless, lovely country bread with a crunch crust and chewy center paired with roasted garlic cloves and nice olive oil. We could have stopped there and I would have been happy.

Next up - dinner. You pick an entree and three dips to go along with it. They offer pairing suggestions, but I wanted to pick my own. Here's what we ordered:

boneless berkshire pork chop
adobada, pulled pork chilaquiles, jalapeno cabbage slaw
SUGGESTED SAUCES: salsa verde**, mango poblano salsa, roasted corn

jalapeno grilled tofu
sweet chili carrot puree, white soy kimchi
SUGGESTED SAUCES: korean garlic bbq, tamarind chipotle**, green chili gastrique

sofrito braised short rib
manchego polenta, garlic rainbow chard, smoked paprika jus
SUGGESTED SAUCES: green chili gastrique*, bacon aioli, steuben's chimichurri

They were all wonderful! And can you believe that we ordered dessert, too?!

Yuzu French Toast (made from Brioche bread, served warm)
cinnamon ice cream, vanilla whipped cream, caramel sauce

Sticky Toffee Pudding
with vanilla whipped cream and tuile cookies
dipping sauces:
hot fudge, creme anglaise, strawberry cointreau

Matty's Wacky Apple Pie
caramel dipped apple rolled in sweet crunch served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup
dipping sauces:
hot fudge, creme anglaise, strawberry cointreau

Speaking of wacky, we asked them a bunch of wacky questions which they were happy to answer. I asked every person who came to the table what their current favorite from the menu was. Larr and Ethan wanted to know how much the tabled weighted. We tried to guess at what the building had been used for in the past. We asked about things hanging int he kitchen and about their other restuarant, Stubens. It was a whole lot of fun - you should try it out! Yeah!

Making The Best of It - A Nice Sunday Stroll with a Bike on Her Shoulder

2011-12-14T06:44:00.001-07:00

Cyclocross racing is only for those who are tough. It is a sport that demands a lot out of you and often you have to do that when it is bitterly cold, not to mention early in the morning. Sunday was one such day. We were up and on the road before 6:30 a.m. while the rest of the house snoozed on. I am pretty sure that both of us were tempted to turn off the alarm and roll over. However, once we got going, it was nice.

I always enjoy the sunrise and Sunday put on a blue, pink, purple spectacular show. My photo does not even begin to give you an accurate feel for the beauty of it. The moon, not to be outdone, was in its full moon glory. The roads are quiet at that time of the day. The race was in Lyons, which meant we had a little over an hours to get there. Ellie ate her breakfast and then settled in for a snooze until we arrived.

It was colder than it looked, so the kids stayed bundled until the last moment. Ellie got a front row spot from the call-ups and had a good start. The course was a long one. On the farthest corner out she crashed and broke her derailer hanger (thank goodness for those - better to break that, a $25 item, than the derailer a $$$ item.)

Now, she could have simply opted to cut a diagonal pathway through the course and settle with a DNF (Did Not Finish), but she opted instead to walk the course, most of it with her bike propped on her shoulder. I am proud of her for making that choice. She was the only one in her category in this race, so she still came in first place and earned a few more points towards the Boulder Racing series overall standings and the Colorado Cross Cup. I think she actually did it because it was the right thing for her to do. Kathy, her mountain bike coach, and I stood there waiting and wondering where she was. Once we knew she'd was okay, Kathy retreived her own bike so that Ellie could get it out of the pit and continue with the race. I was thankful for that gesture and for the fact that Tim, the head official, let Ellie call it a finish.

This Day Bought to You By Sugar, Butter and Corn Syrup or Making Candy with The Cures

2011-12-10T15:04:00.001-07:00

The Cures are an instant party. Last year Aaron arrived at our house with a gift of homemade candy. I think there must have been at least 7 different kinds. I was so impressed with his caramels that I knew I needed to make candy with this man.

Sherry and Katie were there to cheer us on and help. It turns out that Katie is a lot of help.

Thankfully, he invited me to make candy with him this year.

You may need to adjust the temperatures when making candy. For every 1,000 above sea level that you are at, subtract 2 degrees. Thus, in Denver I will go to 240 degrees, instead of 250 degrees to make caramels.

Be sure to make adjustments for your altitude.

Here's what the thread stage looks like when making candy.

Aaron's (Endstrom's) Almond Toffee

2 c. Sugar
1 c. Water
1 pound Butter (absolutely MUST be at room temperature)
2 Large Hershey's Chocolate Bars (4.4 oz each)(Aaron actually uses 4 bars)
1 Almonds ground and whole (Use the food processor to break the almonds into small parts, processing them 1/3rd at a time.)

Lightly butter 2 9x13 baking pans. Fill sinks with cold water. Unwrap butter. Place sugar water in heavy pan at hottest heat until syrup spins a thread.(Do not stir while it is cooking - this will cause sugar crystals.) Add 1 cube of butter and stir til melted. Add remaining sticks one at a time and melt each completely. (It is important that the mix does not stop boiling.) Add whole almonds and continue stirring and cooking until almonds are toasted. Candy will be a dark tan and will pull away from the sides and bottom of the pan.(It will feel a bit like wet sand at this point.) Melt chocolate in double boiler.(Chocolate can be melted in microwave very carefully.) If candy starts to smoke lift pan from burner rather than lowering the heat. Pour into the two pans and set in cold water. Spread of chocolate over each pan and sprinkle with ground almonds. Using your fingers quickly flip over the candy chocolate and almonds will now be on bottom of pan spread the remaining chocolate on the top of the candy and sprinkle with rest of ground almonds. Allow to mellow at room temp do not refridgerate for about 2-3 days.

This is a famous recipe made in Grand Junction Colorado. They send millions of pounds around the world. Before the store began Mr. Endstrom taught a candy making class for the county and gave out this recipe.

-------------

Aaron's Aunt Mabel's Caramels

2 c. Sugar
2 c. Karo syrup
1/4 tsp Salt (Table Salt)
1/2 c. Butter (Sweet Cream Salted Butter)
2 c. Heavy Whipping Cream

Boil sugar syrup and salt stirring occasionally. When syrup is very thick add butter and gradually add 2 c. cream dont stop boiling and stirring while adding cream or will curdle. Cook to firm ball stage (235 degrees in Denver) add nuts and/or coconut. Pour in buttered 2 qt. pan to harden. When cool cut and wrap in plastic wrap.

---------------------------------------

Aaron's Aunt Myrtle Cinnamon Glass

4 c. Sugar
2 c. Water
1 c. White Corn Syrup
1 tsp. Red Food Coloring
1-2 tsp. Cinnamon Oil (This may have to be purchased through a pharmacy or a high end cookware shop.)

Combine the sugar, water and corn syrup in a heavy kettle. Stir to combine over high heat and then leave it along. Do NOT stir ever Boil rapidly to hard crack stage (Cook to 290 degrees in Denver, instead of 300). Add 1 tsp Red Food Color. Add 1-2 Tsp Cinnamon Oil at the very end, after you've removed it off of the heat and it has cooled slightly. You'll need to be careful as the oil will boil up, which means you need to hold your face back. (It will cook off it you add it too quickly. You may also want to make sure that you have good ventilation because the cinnamon oil will smell up the room quickly.)
Pour quickly onto greased cookie sheet.

(For licorice use approx tsp. green color and 2 tsp anise oil or a little more.)

----------------------

Peanut or Cashew Brittle

1 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Light Corn Syrup
1 c. Peanuts or Cashew Roasted, Salted
1 tsp Butter (Salted)
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Baking Soda

IN 1 1/2 quart casserole, combine sugar and syrup. Microwave on high for 3 minutes, or cook it on the stove in a heavy pan. Add nuts so that they may roast. Once the cool changes to a bit of brown, add in the butter. Add butter and vanilla; stir well. Add baking soda and gently stir until light and foamy. Pour onto a buttered cookie / jelly roll pan. Cool 30 minutes to 1 hour. Once cool, break it into small pieces.

-----------
Lovely Fudge

3 lg Hersey Bars
1 12 oz pkg. semi-sweet chips
1 jar marshmallow cream
1 tbl. Butter
1 lb. broken nuts pecans walnuts or almonds
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all except nuts in a 6-8 qt. container and set aside.

1 c. sugar
1 can evaporated milk

Mix in 4-6 qt. saucepan. Bring to boil and cook for 6 minutes then pour over remaining ingredients and went until smooth and creamy. After mixture is completely blended add nuts. Let stand 4-6 hours or until completely chilled. Makes 6 pounds.

White Chocolate Fudge

2 c. sugar
1 c. evaporated milk
1 pt. jar marshmallow cream or 24 lg. marshmallows
stick butter
12 oz. white chocolate broken up
1 c. chopped nuts
1 4oz container of candied cherries or use maraschino cherries cut and drained well

Bring sugar milk and butter to boil over low heat. Cook to medium soft ball stage. Stir frequently remove from heat and add marshmallows white chocolate pieces and nuts. Add cherries after chocolate and marshmallows are melted. Pour into butter dish.
May substitute 6 oz. bitter chocolate for the cherries and add vanilla

Peanut Butter Fudge

1 powdered sugar
1 can evaporated milk
4 squares dark chocolate
1 tbl. Karo syrup

Cook VERY slowly bring to a boil then turn down heat never let it boil fast in heavy saucepan for AT LEAST 2 hours uncovered stirring once in a while until mixture forms a firm ball in cold water. When done add 1 jar of marshmallow cream and 1 c. peanut butter. Beat until well mixed then pour in buttered 8x10 pan.

-------

Cherry Chocolate Candy
(Tastes like Cherry Mash)

2 c. sugar
2/3 c. evap milk
Dash salt
12 marshmallows
c. butter
6 oz. cherry chips
1 tsp vanilla
12 oz. chocolate chips
c. peanut butter
1 lg. pkg. salted peanuts crushed (Aaron used cashews instead of peanuts for this recipe.)

Combine sugar milk salt marshmallows and butter in pan. Boil over med heat 5 minutes. Remove from heat add cherry chips and vanilla pour into 9x13 buttered pan. Melt chocolate chips add peanut butter and crushed peanuts. Spread over cherry mixture and chill.

Bracelets for Friends

2011-12-04T13:53:00.002-07:00

Ellie and I made a few small presents recently.

This is a cool project using a ball chain as part of the weaving for a friendship bracelet. You can find an excellent tutorial here.

This is a more typical style of wrap bracelet that I made with semi-precious stone beads. She looks cute using it as a necklace instead of a bracelet.

This hexnut bracelet looks fun, too. You can find the tutorial to make it over here.

Ellie's Winter Hat to Match the Team Uniform (Plus the Knitting Pattern)

2011-12-04T13:51:00.001-07:00

This year the team changed their colors from red, black and white to green, black and white. That meant that I had an opportunity to make a new hat. The last one was much more subtle. Ellie decided that she wanted this one to be pretty full of pattern and fun.

It actually took three times to get this hat right. The first two were variations on black, white and green checkers. I just could not get it right. They were too tight. I guess that I have not figured out how to work the tension on carrying two colors.

I simplified my idea and went back to two colors. This one worked out nicely. Here's the instructions:
Ellie's Fun Patterned Hat

Needles & Yarn:

Size 1 16 inch circular needle
Size 1 double pointed needles
Size 4 or 5 16 inch circular needle
DK weight yarn (black, white, green)

Pattern:
Using the size 1 circular needles, cast on 98 stitches. Knit the first row without joining it. You can opt to do a *k2,P2* if you like. Next, straighten the knitting on the needles to make sure it is not twisted. (This is a secret Larr's Aunt Lynne taught me. It helps reduce the chance that you end up with a twisted, modius, round.) Place a marker and then join them, beginning to knit the ribbing with *k2,P2*. Continue this until you have achieved the desired amount of ribbing. Elli'e hat has about 1.5" of ribbing.

Switch to the larger circular needles and begin the body of the hat. I knit 6 rounds of stockingette

Patterns -

* = Black
O = White
G - Green

Jagged Lines 1 =

*GGGG*GGGG
*G*GG*G*GG
*G*GG*G*GG
*G**G*G**G
**********

Knit 3 rows of green.

Checkers =

OOOOOOOO
**OO**OO
**OO**OO
OO**OO**
OO**OO**
OOOOOOOO

Knit 3 rows of green.

Jagged Line 2 =

**********
*G**G*G**G
*G**G*G**G
*G*GG*G*GG
*G*GG*G*GG
*GGGG*GGGG

Vertical Cheveron =

**********
*OOO*OOO*O
O*OOO*OOO*
OO*OOO*OOO
OOO*OOO*OO
OO*OOO*OOO
O*OOO*OOO*
*OOO*OOO*O
**********

Repeat Jagged Line 1.
Knit 3 rows of green.
Repeat Jagged Line 2.
Kint 2 lines of black.

Begin Decrease to shape crown=
Place marker, Using the black yarn, knit 8, place marker. Repeat to the end of the row.
*K2tog, K7* repeat to the end of the row.
Knit 1 row.
*K2tog, K6*repeat to the end of the row.
Knit 1 row.
Switch to the size 1 ciruclar needles.
*K2tog, K5*repeat to the end of the row.
Knit 1 row.
*K2tog, K4*repeat to the end of the row.
Knit 1 row.
Continue in this fashion, changing to the size 1 double pointed needles when needed.
*K2tog, K3*repeat to the end of the row.
Knit 1 row.
*K2tog, K2*repeat to the end of the row.
Continue until you have between 10-12 stiches left on the needles. Cut your yarn so that you have a tail that is about 10" long. Use a crochet needle to move the remaining stitches from the double pointed needles onto the yarn. Pull to tighten and weave in. Use the tail to attach a pom pom, if using one. Weave the end of the yarn into the inside of the hat.
Weave in the loose ends from the color changes.
Block the hat as needed.

Cyclo-X - Snow Much Fun in the Cold!

2011-12-04T13:48:00.003-07:00

While driving home from the cyclocross race on Saturday morning Ellie noticed a car with a bike on the rack. She remarked casually that she wondered why anyone would want to ride their bike in such snowy, cold weather, and then caught her self, "Oh wait, I just rode my bike in the snow. It was really fun." Then we both laughed quietly to ourselves. It was, after all, great cyclocross weather. Only the hardy show up to race.

She was sporting her brand new winter coat, an early Christmas present, and did not mind the cold.

She likes riding in the deeper snow. This race was a bit more like singletrack, so she had a few chances to ford through the fluffy, cold stuff.

Earlier in the season Davis borrowed Ethan's bike to see if he liked cyclocross. It turns out that it is not his kind of biking, but he is a great sport who helps his younger sister get prepared to race. He is a really nice young man. After the awards were given out we went back to their house. The kids watched a movie and I helped their mom move big stuff from their apartment.

We had been planning to spend the afternoon in Colorado Springs, but the road were too icy to chance it. In the afternoon the sun came out, making it a perfect winter day.

----
Here's what I am cooking up in the crock pot:

Honey Garlic Chicken
slightly adapted from More Make it Fast, Cook it Slow
Via: Taste and Tell Blog

serves 4

prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 3 to 4 hours, on high
6 to 8 hours, on low

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 garlic cloves, chopped or grated
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup honey
fresh basil, shredded, for garnish

Place the chicken in the bottom of a 4-quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, soy sauce, ketchup and honey. Pour over the chicken and cover.

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours. Remove chicken, place on a plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Transfer the remaining sauce to a saucepan and reduce down over medium heat until desired consistency is reached. Serve over the chicken and garnish with fresh basil.

Serve over rice.

A Small Purse for the School Auction

2011-11-29T06:31:00.002-07:00

The school live and silent auctions ended on Monday. People were generous with their bids. I usually make jewelry, but this year I wanted to mix it up a bit.

I was smitten with the handmade bags over at 7 Layers Studio blog. I decided that I needed the patterns to make the Infinity Bags. Graciously she gave me permission to make them for sell since it was to benefit the school.

Ellie helped me pick out the fabric. We selected thicker material so that the bags would have some strength. As we began to assemble the choices we could tell that we had Katie in mind. We opted for black and white zebra, bright pink solid and multitone pink cheetah canvas prints. The button is from a vintage sweater that once belonged to my Aunt Zora. The photo is not really very complimentary, but the bag is pretty fun. I made it more useful by adding pockets on the inside. I also quilted the main body with hot pink thread. It was a fun touch, I must say.

We paired my bag with a box set of pink lip glosses and got a very nice price for it. Although several people placed bids, it did end up with Katie, just has we had thought might happen.

Recipes and Riding

2011-11-27T13:51:00.001-07:00

The last few days have been a bit of a whirlwind. Larr came home mid-morning on Thursday, in time for Thanksgiving. Larr's brother, Doug, helped get the cooking done and so we were able to continue with Thanksgiving, almost as if nothing had happened. The food was great, as was the company. I will write about it in another post. Today I simply want to post a few recipes so that I may find them again.

On Saturday Ellie had a cyclocross race. Uncle Doug and Grandpa Don came out to see her race. She was the only one in her category. Those points keep her in first place for both the Boulder CX series and the Colorado Cross Cup standings. At first she shot out like a rocket, out pacing many of the boys (we wonder a bit what those boys think about that) but then she let up on the pace since there was no real competition for her. Many of our friends remarked on how well she seemed to be doing.

We had a nice visit with Doug and Don while we were waiting for results. Later that evening they came over for dinner and to watch a movie. We opted for "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" which Doug had picked up at a video store. It was an interesting movie about branding in movies. I thought a healthy meal would be in order after so much rich stuff for the holidays; I opted for slow roasted salmon with lemon and dill. I also made a variation of a rice dish from the jambalaya dish I made earlier.

Today is much more relaxing. The kids went for a mountain bike ride, Larr read and I did a variety of things, including clearing off my craft room table so that I can begin to make some stuff.

Salmon with Lemon and Dill
via: allrecipes.com

1 pound salmon fillets
1/4 cup butter, melted
5 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.
Place salmon in the baking dish. Mix the butter and lemon juice in a small bowl, and drizzle over the salmon. Season with dill, garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper.
Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until salmon is easily flaked with a fork.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
From: Cooking Light magazine, Oct. 2011

2 teaspoons canola oil
6 ounces reduced-fat smoked sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 fresh thyme sprigs
1 (14.5-ounce) can fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (I used turkey)

Preparation

1. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add sausage; sauté 1 minute or until browned. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Add rice and next 5 ingredients (through broth); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is done. Remove thyme sprigs; discard. Stir in tomatoes and chicken. Cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

An Emergency Appendectomy

2011-11-23T16:43:00.001-07:00

This week has been peppered with many unexpected events that have turned things on their head.

On Friday my hard drive crashed. I spent a few days being upset about losing my photos for I had not backed everything up recently. Dell sent out a new hard drive. On Sunday our computer whiz friend discovered that it was only a corrupt operating system error and that the data is still all safe. He has hooked it up an an external USB reader and now I can access everything. A technian visited yesterday and installed the new hard drive. I am in the process of putting everything back in its place. Let's hope I have learned my lesson about backing stuff up!

Today my husband was woken up by a lot of pain in his abdomen. As I write this he is in surgery having an emergency appendectomy. It is all very routine, but scary nonetheless. I am thankful for the diversions I have as I wait for his surgery to be complete.I am thankful that my son is old enough to drive and a good enough boy to make himself available to help in any way I might need him to help. Larr will stay at the hospital tonight and then come home tomorrow near noon. We will have Thanksgiving in the late afternoon. I thought about canceling it, but I've already prepped so much of the food that it would need to be cooked anyway. We will simply set him up in the recliner.

Green Mtn Composite Fall 2011 Racing Season

2011-11-21T23:14:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Build your own high-quality photo books at Shutterfly.com.

Our Fancy Holiday Card

2011-11-21T22:57:00.001-07:00

I usually make our holliday cards by hand. It often takes me until the following January to get them sent out. I received a very generous code for 10 free premium cards from Shutterfly as a thank you for hosting a Shutterfly party. Here's what I created:

Scrappy Happy Holiday Card

Click here to browse Shutterfly's holiday card collection.

View the entire collection of cards.

Posters For Charity Events

2011-11-18T06:35:00.001-07:00

This last month I've done a lot of graphic work for charity work.

This one is for the Live and Online Auctions we are hosting as a fund raiser for our tuition assistance fund. The online auction starts this evening, as does the live one. It will be a lot of fun!

This poster is for an event that my school does every year. The kids from the area schools make clay bowls. Teachers make huge crock pots of soup. We host the event at my school. People pay $5+ dollars to get a soup dinner and a ceramic bowl. All of the proceeds go to the local food bank. It is an important cause that is close to my heart as many of the kids I teach rely on the food bank to help them have something to eat.

This poster was for the End of the Season party and mountain biking season. That is Maris on his bike. His parents were thrilled that I featured him. Perhaps it feels a little bit like being well known or famous for a short while.

I enjoy having the opportunity to use my graphics skills for good.

Colorado State Mountain Biking Championship 2011

2011-11-16T10:59:00.001-07:00

I love this photo of my girl; she looks so happy - almost sparkling. Did you notice the crown that is attached to her helmet? Her coach, Kathy, gave that to her because she sees Ellie as a princess (the good kind, not the demanding kind.)

We were at the Colorado State 2011 Mountain Biking Championship at Bison Park in Castle Rock. From the parking lot the race course did not look like much, but all of the kids LOVED the course. Ellie says it was a ton of fun and others echo the sentiment. Ethan joined us for the day, hoping to have a chance to see friends that he had not seen in a while. He had fun, too. It made him wish he had done the series, too. Next year he will be too old to race as a junior.

It was an intense battle. For much of the race Ellie and Seirra were nearly neck to neck, trading first and second position. Then on the tough uphill during the second lap Ellie's bike dropped the chain. By the time she was able to get it back on Seirra had pedaled far ahead. The next day, with sore legs and still feeling tire, Ellie says it was good to have such and intense race.

Our friends who watch her race often said that she was shining that day. It was also lovely that both of Ellie's bike coaches Kathy (for mountain biking) and Lawanda (for road)were able to meet.

We spent the entire day at the races and had a lot of fun.

In the end she was awarded a hard earned 2nd place in the Freshmen Girls category. This will bump her up to Junior Varsity next year.

We think these medals are pretty cool.

Ellie moved from 11th to 8th to 2nd in the overall series standing, losing to Sierra by one point. It will be good to take up where they left off next year.

A Video Ethan Found - No Shave Novembeard

2011-11-14T21:26:00.001-07:00

Trim from Petey Boy on Vimeo.

Crate and Barrel Christmas - Lovely Things

2011-11-14T19:07:00.001-07:00

I love stuff from Crate and Barrel. Here are some things that are in the new holiday catalog that I think are lovely.

I had a dental crow put on and another one prepped with a temporary crown. I feel like I've been hit with enough tranquilizers to take down an elephant. I hate mouth pain. I was going to do a bit of sewing for the silent auction at school, but I am worried that in my pitiful state I might sew through my finger with the sewing machine. I decided to do things on the computer - no chance for bodily harm.

Recent Racing

2011-11-10T21:47:00.001-07:00

I've been remiss about posting recent biking pictures and results. Now that the sun goes down so early practices have been discontinued until mid spring. I like the new amount of scheduled time, but I think Ellie and I also miss the opportunities to hangout with our biking friends.Now we just see them when we happen to be at the same cyclocross race during the same part of the day.

On Oct. 29 competition was tough - nationals level - at the Colorado Cross Cup. These girls are gunning for good call-ups at nationals in Wisconsin in January.

Ellie was able to hold her own in that fast crowd. Stephen raced, too and Maxl came out to spend the day at the races. Being on crutches did not seem to slow him down much.

Photo by Mountain Moon Photography
The day had a deep seated nip in the air, but when the sun shone, it was glorious and beautiful - a wonderful day to live in Colorado. When the sun dipped behind the clouds the wind came into play, whipping leaves, papers and assorted spare items into the air to dance.

photo by Annette of Mountain Moon Photography.

There was a fun race, one where many folks race in costume, on Sunday. We usually really enjoy that one. However, Ellie was feeling a bit like she had a mild flu, so we stayed home and hung out, resting, instead.

Last Saturday she took to the bike again and raced in the icy mud. The School Yard CX races was brutal. Some of the young racers simply could not take it. One young girl got her brakes caked with mud within the first 100 feet. As tears began to flow, five racer dads descended upon her and became her race support crew, getting back into the game very quickly.

In some places the mud was tacky and thick. One boy threw his bike down the side of the hill in frustration. Another older boy ran into the pit with his bike on his shoulder. In his struggle with the mud the tire had been ripped from the wheel. Ellie prevailed, trading first place and second place with another girl in her category.

Close to the end in the last lap Ellie had a small crash and came in second. She seemed happy enough with those results.

Shutterfly PARTAY

2011-11-06T21:51:00.001-07:00

Wen I applied to host a Shutterfly Give and Get Joy party, I did not expect to be choosen. I was excited to receive the email and so I started planning right away. I was even more excited when my package of fun stuff arrived earlier than expected.

Ellie is wonderful with setting a lovely table and festive atmosphre so I asked for her help. I do a decent job, but I love watching her in action.

She has such a lovely eye and a sense of color, elegance, grace.

She has some mad skills with the camera, too. Oh, how I love my girl.

I wanted my guests to feel honored and special. We wanted to usher the upcoming season in with a gentle happiness and sense of creativity, a sense of can-do attitude. (Ellie will think it is dorky that I said that, but it is still true.)

I had considered paper plates and plastic silverware, but changed my mine. I'm so glad I did.

I invited a bunch of my girlfriends who take photos. I thought they might enjoy the freebies; gifts from Shutterfly. Each person received codes for a free photobook, 10 premium

Cranberry Spritzer
from: Cooking Light, December 2010

2 3/4 cups white cranberry juice drink (such as Ocean Spray) (I used 100% Cranberry Juice)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
12 mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 cups club soda, chilled
(1 1/2 cups white rum - I did not include this)
Pomegranate Seeds
Crushed ice

Preparation

1. Combine cranberry juice, sugar, rosemary, and 12 mint leaves in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature. Strain juice mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Stir in lime juice; cover and refrigerate.
2. Combine juice mixture, club soda, (and rum) in a large pitcher; stir well to combine. (optional - place pomegranate seeds in each glass along with a small quarter of a slice of lime) Serve mixture over crushed ice. Serve immediately.

Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light
DECEMBER 2010

November Arrives Cloaked in White

2011-11-02T17:10:00.003-06:00

On Halloween evening I was thankful for the mild weather that allow the kids to have their fun without having to dress for the arctic. In Colorado Halloween can go either way. The adults think of the years where lovingly made costume creations were cloaked in layers of sweaters, parka, mismatch gloves and the first knit cap you could lay your paws on. When the night is so cold that the thin handle of your trick-or-treat pail feels like it is out for revenge. The kids are oblivious to such goings on. We send the kids out on their own, trusting that they would look out for each other, hoping that the wind would not whip tornadoes of leaves upon the cheery groups begging for the goods.

But soon enough Mother Nature let November slip out the door and into the night on quiet, padded cat's paws. November morn was quiet, but cradled a small promise of snow that evening. As October turned her coat tails to leave, the wind blew in, stirring up the leaves, hustling many of them down the street. We braced ourselves for cold rain during rush hour, but it waited until most of us were tucked in a home to begin the rain. It too started quietly enough, but soon changed its tune, with the rain drops turning chunky and chasing snow flakes. The rain eventually gave way to the snow that covered the night trees and roof tops with a few inches of graceful whiteness. We knew it was coming so we were prepared. The outdoor cat seemed to know it, too, as she kept asking for more dinner. Her bed lain in wait for her two houses down where she really lives, but she takes up residence in our back yard, sleeping under an overturned wheel barrow by the pond. Gone were the sounds of cracking branches that rang out with last week's storm. In its place was the gentle, soothing sound of snow brushing against the dry leaves that remain on our grape vines. The sky decided to match the mute white wonderland, not allowing blue to peak out of the horizon until late this afternoon.

I am thankful for the calm that comes with November. October was great fun, but also crazy busy. I will welcome more nights when I can put on my slippers and have a cozy evening a home.

Halloween Night - Not Really a Fright! (Plus a Halloween Punch Recipe)

2011-11-01T21:29:00.000-06:00

Ellie, Ariana, Maxl and Stephen had been planning to spend Halloween evening together for some time. They had planned to go trick-or-treating together and having fun. Then Maxl broke his ankle in a race and the plans changed. At first his ankle was very swollen, making it difficult for him to be mobile. The kids were faced with a choice of hanging out at his house watching movie and playing games or going trick-or-treating. They didn't even have to think about it. Maxl was way more important than free candy.

By the time Halloween came around Maxl's ankle did not hurt so much, so trick-or-treating was on. Ariana has to bow out at the last moment and could not join in the fun, but we had a blast.
Iris, Maxl's mother, made a fun Halloween punch in which she placed chunks of dry ice. As she scooped out the dry ice with a metal spoon, it sang out, vibrating happily in the scoop. It plopped into the punch and began bubbling away like something out of a production of "King Lear." We all thought that was great fun. The boys tried to suck in the fog it created and blow it out of their noses. It only made them giggle and cough. When they sucked in the fog it looked like a death eater from Harry Potter.

Iris also put out a bunch of German sweets that you can see on display in the photo above. She always has fun stuff to try.

I made a nice apple pie to enjoy later. Stephen's mother, Pam, joined in, too. She shared homemade pumpkin bread.

In the silliness of things the boys took one of Ellie's markers and wrote on her. Stephen asked, "Ellie, what are you?" "A nerd" she replied happily. Soon she bore the "nerd" tag in large, black letters on her forehead. Maxl could not resist and wrote "I heart Maxl" on the back of Ellie's neck, though he told her that it said, "Kick me!" One of the boys also supplied a pair of inked on vampire bites to round out the effect.

Once darkness fell the kids headed out to see what they could get. Stephen was funny in his too small Yoda costume. Looking at his mask and his neck makes me laugh. Maxl donned a silly mask and added hand gestures to go along with it. For good measure he added a fart machine (noise maker) to his treat bag. As they left each house he would "fart". Some of the guys replied, "I understand how you feel, man!" A few of the women seemed a bit embarrassed. The kids thought it was all great fun!

Halloween Punch

4 cups apple juice, chilled
4 cups pineapple juice, chilled
4 cups orange juice, chilled
2 liters ginger ale, chilled
2 quarts orange or pineapple sherbet

Directions

Combine juices in a punch bowl. Stir in ginger ale. Top with sherbet. Serve immediately.
Add pieces of dry ice directly to the punch to make it have a flowing fog appeal. (The dry ice effect lasts for about 5-7 minutes and does not change the taste of the punch.

A Snowy Weekend in a Wiki-Up - Ethan's Weekend

2011-10-30T22:31:00.000-06:00

This weekend Ethan went winter camping with Scott.

The snow was incredible.

Here, he tries to show the size of the snow crystals.

And the foggy lake in the distance.

They spent Saturday building a wiki-up.

They had to collect the tree boughs from another spot.

They built a fire inside and kept it going all night long for warmth.

I think that both Ethan and Scott felt a sense of accomplishment. They left a note in the wiki-up inviting others to enjoy it, hoping that it would not get simply torn down needlessly.

What a Difference a Day Makes

2011-10-30T13:02:00.001-06:00

This fall has been one of the most beautiful ones I can remember. As I drive, I try to take in the glow of the trees and the feeling of the season.

These are the scenes I witnessed as I drove around last Monday. Tuesday started just as nice and many of us began to disbelieve the forecast for a storm that would dump a major amount of snow starting that evening. When we went to bed it was just raining...

But this is what we woke up to. The morning started with at least five or six inches of snow, with more falling throughout the day.

Those glowy trees were noe dressed in a heavy blanket of snow.

Halloween Party at School

2011-10-28T23:15:00.001-06:00

Pumpkin Carving Party

2011-10-25T22:25:00.000-06:00

We had our annual pumpkin carving party last night. We usually have a big shin-dig, but this year I could not get my self together enough to pull that off. We had a much smaller group who had a great time none-the-less.

I made some fun cupcakes for the event. I love the tiny cupcake banners from michael's.

In addition to the pumpkin carving, there were a few tickle fights. Can you see that mischievous look in their eyes?

Toby loves to be part of the party each year.

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
From: Savour Fare Blog

1 cup pumpkin seeds
2 Tablespoons melted butter
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 large pinch sea salt
1 small pinch cayenne pepper
Wash the pumpkin seeds, remove any traces of pumpkin flesh, drain them in a colander and then spread on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil and dry in a 300 degree oven for about 15 minutes. The seeds should be dry and crisp.

Combine the melted butter, the brown sugar, the cumin, the garlic, the salt, the cayenne pepper and the worcestershire sauce in a medium bowl. Toss the pumpkin seeds in the mixture to coat. Raise the oven heat to 375 degrees, spread the spiced pumpkin seeds back out on your tinfoil, and roast for 8-10 minutes. Let cool, and enjoy.

Read more: http://savour-fare.com/2010/10/31/sweet-and-spicy-roasted-pumpkin-seeds-happy-halloween/#ixzz1bvBdtr7L

Spiced Apple Cider (sans alcohol)

1 (64 fluid ounce) bottle apple cider
3 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 teaspoon whole cloves

In a slow cooker, combine apple cider and cinnamon sticks. Wrap allspice and cloves in a small piece of cheesecloth, and add to pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, and keep warm.

Dia de los Christy

2011-10-24T06:46:00.001-06:00

Ellie and I had so much fun doing the Day of the Dead photos that we thought we would share the fun with Christy who would like to be a model.

She was very accomodating and had fun, too. When we did Ellie's make-up I used cheap white clown paint. This time I dug out the nice Ben Nye professional stagemake up white that I had. It was so much nicer to work with. We still have to figure out how to make better thin lines. I suspect that Ben Nye has stuff to solve that, but I just didn't want to make any more trips to the store.

I modified the photo above.

I thought the girls were cute together.
Ellie did a few modifiacations on some of the photos. I hope to add those to this post soon.

Dia de los Ellie - Part 1

2011-10-20T22:30:00.001-06:00

For about two years I have walked around with this vision and a desire to execute it. I wanted to take some Dia de los Muertos photos. I find them so wonderful; just a touch macbre.

Recently I decided that this was the year to do it. Thankfully, my lovely daughter agree to help me. It was much more difficult to do the makeup than I had expected. I am pleased with the results and could play with them in Photoshop, but alas, I have to go to work tomorrow. Since I do not want to be Zombie Teacher (it is a week too early for that) I limited myself to a few variations. This is one that Ellie actually manipulated.

Here is one of mine.

Here's what it looked like before I played with it.

As you can see by this image that Ellie edited, she and I have very different tastes, but both of us produce interesting stuff.

A Crashing Good Time!

2011-10-17T07:17:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago Ellie joined a mountain biking team. She had so much fun at her first race: she could hardly wait for the second race. After the cross race on Saturday, we headed to Monument to pick up Laurel so that she could go out and preride the course out at Peaceful Valley Scout camp.

After taking a few laps we headed back to the Rathbun home for a quiet and restful evening. Mike made everyone a lovely dinner of meatloaf , mashed potatoes made from scratch, glazed carrots and a nice salad.

We were off in the early morn to make sure the girls could get settled in at the race location. As you can see above, Ellie got a great start right off of the line. Her roadie skills paid off with the up hill start. The kids had two laps to race. Ellie raced in the Freshmen Girls category.

I positioned my self at the most scenic and interesting spot on the course near the rock section. It does not look like much from this angle, cut was in fact pretty impressive. She came flying through, cutting a quick corner, and then...

Through the viewer of the camera I saw her crash. There was an audible inhale as all of the viewers gasped at the sight of Ellie doing and endo (this is where the bike wheel hits something, in the case a ditch, and the bike flips over, propelling the rider along with it.) Frankly, I was stunned. Then time went into overtime. Ellie's coach, Kathy, jumped onto the trail and scooped Ellie up. A race official steadied Ellie and her bike, checking to make sure she was okay. She was anxious to go. Kath said, "There's no blood and she wants to go...let her race!" The official, satisfied that Ellie and the bike were in good enough shape, jumped back into the race. As she sped off the official asked her to go slowly at first, but I believe Ellie was already too far to hear him.

She speed up to catch up lost time. I stood in the same spot for a while, waiting to see if my girl returned for a second lap. After listening to the coaches talk, I decided to go up farther on the trail to advice her to carve the rocks to the left. It was a long, anxious wait as the
the laps were about 25 minutes long. Ksenia's mother rode by me, telling me that Ellie was flying. That brought me relief to know that she was not only okay, but really back in the game. I had worried that she might have suffered a concussion or some other non-bloody problem. Sure enough, she sped past me and down the problematic rock section. The announcers had to scramble when Ellie finished the races as she came in many minutes ahead of the expected finish time for the freshmen. Later we were delighted to find that she won first place,
about four minutes ahead of the others in her category.

Like fire, rumors spread about her crash. Many people thought it was a girl who looks much like Ellie. The races continued, we cheered on her team mates and Ellie hung out with her other biker friends. Though she was sore, she was happy.

We were sad to learn that one of her varsity team mates, Audie, who was the race leader and expected to win his race, crashed, breaking his collarbone in two places. He had to go to the hospital straight away. He has since had surgery where they placed six screws and a titanium plate, helping him to heal quickly and grow strong again.

Her coach advised her on how to get onto the podium as the first place block is pretty high. At the awards ceremony later that afternoon her name was called and she tripped her way onto the box. We all had a good laugh about that, including her.

The drive home through the plains and gentle valleys of Elbert County was beautiful. As Ellie unwound she began to feel the pain of her crash.

Later that evening Kathy sent out a note praising each rider. For Ellie she wrote,

"Ellie you are the Princess today!!!! You did so great. Going from a nasty face plant to winning by four minutes is phenomenal!!! I knew when you took off it was your day to SHINE! You did it Girl! I am so proud of you recovering so quickly and continuing on. Most girls would have started crying. YOU just get up, spit the dirt out of your mouth and keep going - Can I ride with you? GREAT JOB!! Let's hope they let you finish as a freshman."

We hope that Ellie will be able to race as a freshman for States. It is possible that she will be upgraded to
Junior Varsity based on her racing results.

Since the race Ellie has sprouted many bruises, all black and purple. They are badges of her tough girl status. Her arm hurts, as does her head. She feels a bit better each day. Today she skipped mountain bike practice in hopes that sh will heal more quickly for States on Oct. 30.
---------

At the cross race on Saturday a colorful hot air balloon sailed gracefully past the race.

She had a good race that morning, too.

She won the girl's prim (first girl over the line in a specified lap) which included a pair of Pearl Izumi socks, a character to color, and a few other things. A person from Coldstone Creamery gave the older riders gift cards for ice cream. That made the kids very happy.

Ellie also won the JR Women's 15-16 race. Prizes included a "Fast Girls Unite" shirt and an excellent pair of racing gloves, both from Pearl Izumi. I was especially thankful for those as a prize. We are pretty sure that she lost her usual long fingered gloves and we were goin to have to replace them. Thanks to Pearl Izumi for providing such wonderful prizes!

Quaking Aspens

2011-10-12T08:39:00.001-06:00

And just as quickly as Jack Frost had trapsed across our fields, pouring rain, sleet and snow across our fields, he left that night - as if he was on a journey else where. The next morning the sun gladly chased away the few remaining and whispy clouds so that it could reign sunny and supreme on Sunday. Ethan enjoyed a day of complete relaxation, gettting caught up on watching shows he loved through Netflixs. Ellie slept in and then returned to Fort Collins with Stephen and Maxl to see the pros race again. Larr and I went for a quiet drive in the hills. I had wanted to see the changing of the colors. I had fear that the rain and snow would have washed them all off of the trees, but I was thankfully wrong. Here and there we found pockets of the quaking Aspens in their various shades of change.

Many trees were festive and glowing dressed in the shimmering gold leaves. A few still sported the green on the edges, fading like an old tattoo on a wrinkled arm. Others took on a pinkish hue, making me think of little girls in two tone tutus. And then there were the trees like the one above. It was like it could not make up its mind and decided to keep both colors. I like that.

Other places reminded me of the value of solitude and quiet. It is calmness in physical form. In this quiet space I enjoyed the time with my husband. It is rare to have time with him that is not full of the chatter of scheduling plans, replays of the day or parenting issues. We simply enjoyed our time together, living in the moment and not on one found somewhere else on the calendar.

As the sun began to retire for the night we rounded the bend and drove into Central City, once a blast from the cowboy past, now a small gambling town. I spied this recently painted building. I love the image and the attempt to hold on to the past culture. Larr thinks the painting is less than a year old. I'd never really walked through a casino, so I wanted to check it out for my self. My brother loves to spend his birthday at the hotel casinos so I wanted to see what his excitement is about. We strolled through the Ameristar. It was certainly nice. We learned how to play craps, sort of (it is complicated) and we saw lots of slots going. We even check out the hotel, the roof top pool and walked through the spa. Those were very nice. I just don't see the excitement of it all. Thankfully, those games do not call to me.

Back home we went, driving in the dusk and dark. Happy to hav spent the day together.

CycloHell - Be Careful What You Wish For...

2011-10-09T22:19:00.002-06:00

Ellie loves racing cyclocross, especially when it involves mud and snow. But yesterday, well... we got a bit more than we had wished for. After a week of shorts and sandals kind of weather, a storm rolled in at about 2:00 a.m. on Saturday and set up a new challenge - bitterly cold, relentless rain.

Ethan, Ellie and Ariana

But the kids opted to race anyway - they love the mud! But soon they were frozen to the core. Ellie wore two jackets, one of them even a rain jacket, but was still soaked all the way through. The spectators were, too.

I think it would have been more fun if they weren't so cold that they fingers and toes were numb.

Stephen

Still, they proved that they are fighters.

Maxl

Hats off to those hearty enough to go for it.

Ellie had a pretty good race. She had a great start and was in fourth place for a few laps. Then came the all-too-slick mud that took down a girl right in front of Ellie. After a quick recovery, she was back in the game, but by then she lost a good bit of time. She placed 6th or 7th, not a bad standing considering that many of the national hopefuls were racing, too.

You go - my tough girl! I am proud of you.

Shutterfly Give and Get Joy Party

2011-10-06T14:12:00.001-06:00

I love Shutterfly. I've been working all year long and have create a lot of our Christmas gifts through their site. About a month ago I got an invitation to apply to host a Shutterfly party. I put my name in the hat, but did not expect to get selected. After all, thousands of people applied and only a few select people were chosen - and I am one of them! I am so excited! I will host my party in November. We will have a potluck dinner and then get serious makin' stuff. Each person will get:
1 set of 15 premium Holiday cards
1 Photo Calendar
1 Card Holder
Sample Cards
Party Prizes

What a lucky girl I am. The tough part is figuring out who to invite. Next, what will my theme be like? I think I will have a look around at the new card design to find inspiration.

A Little Mother & Daughter Graphic Design Goin' On

2011-10-04T09:15:00.001-06:00

At the mountain bike race on Sunday Ellie noticed that many of the top teams had special t-shirts. She thought it would be nice for her team to have one, too. So we set out to create a design. The ram's head is different from the one on the jersey. It is one that I modified from an image I found online. I added chainring teeth to the horns and modified the face. Ellie did most of the remaining design. The bikes are Specialized Rockhoppers which we made into a graphic. Ellie has a good eye for design. We're sharing the design with the rest of the team to see what thier reaction is.

Here's a glimpse of the race. Thanks to Carrie Dittmer, Ariana's mother, for the photo.

Each Going His or Her Own Way

2011-10-03T15:35:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we all were productive, but each person went their own way.

Ethan's Weekend:
Tom, one of Ethan's best friends, finished up his Eagle Scout project this weekend. He ran a crew of people who rebuilt the dumpster structure, put together a box to hold the rain drain tile (hose) and sand bags, and cleaned up the playground. The kids at school will be happy to find a freshly combed sandbox, free of fall leaf litter and debris that collects when then wind picks up. Tom helped with Ethan's project. Ethan said it felt good to be part of helping Tom earn that important rank. (I love it when my boy does good!) After a fairly lazy Sunday day, he attended a birthday party at Big Fun trampoline center. It was pretty cool until a person bigger than him jumped onto (into?) him. His legs still hurt. Ethan will take that in stride, but may not be back to such a place for a long while.

Ellie's Whirlwind Tour of a Weekend:
Ellie, ever the social butterfly, stuffed in a ton this weekend. On Friday after school she had me take her to Cyclocross camp in Lafeyette. It is on a beautiful campus of a small private school. This year there were a ton of great coaches so each rider had plenty of help improving his/her skills. She had lots of fun and got almost no sleep - just as expected. A bonus was the chance to get to know Marta better. She is the girl who is often on the podium with Ellie. They forged a friendship by being the only two girls in their group and by planning defenses against a silly boy who was assaulting them with grasshopper missles. Ellie found out that Marta is very funny. Marta says casually to Ellie, "hey, guess what..." "What?" Ellie replies in the voices that knows a joke is coming. "I'm naked under these clothes." After a bit of giggling, Ellie replies, "hey, guess what..." Marta offers up the obligatory, "What?" " I shower naked." And that is pretty much how it rolls. (She giggle just a bit even as she is relaying this scene.) The nights were a bit more rocky. The room where the girls were sleeping on the floor had a motion detector which meant that the lights went fully on about five times on Friday-Saturday. (The chaperones were planning to trick the sensor into thinking that no action was taking place on Saturday-Sunday morning.) Amazingly, that was an improvement over the shenanigans over in the gym where the boys were "sleeping." Imagine the reaction when boys standing full upright drop a shoe on the tummy of an unsuspecting sleeper - yeah, I'm sure it was a quiet riot for a while.

On Saturday night I arrived to swap out bikes and gear. I brought up the mountain bike Ellie is borrowing and delivered it along with the food I made for the team which included breakfast burrittos, healthy cookies and pumpkin blondes with homemade caramel sauce. I've included the recipe below. The next morning Kathy wore up the appropriate kids at about 6:30 a.m. so that they could get to Snow Mountain Ranch by 9:00 a.m. I forgot that Ellie does not like salsa, which was mixed in with the burrittos, so she skipped those, having only the healthy cookies for breakfast. Originally I had expected to stay and help at camp, only they did not need my help. This meant that I had options. I had already arranged for Ellie to ride up with Coach Kathy, but I could have taken her up myself, or met them there. I was very tempted as I wanted to see how it went, her first mountain bike race. When I asked her if she wanted me to go, or if she wanted to go alone (sort of) she said she was neutral. Earlier she said, "it's okay for me to go without you. I got this. I am old enough to do this stuff on my own." In the end, I decided not to go. I thought it would be good to cut the apron strings a little bit.

They arrived just in time for Ellie to do part of a quick loop on the trial and then line up. There were only three call-up so Ellie was able to secure the last spot on the front row. (She said it was wild to go from sleeping, to riding in a car for a long time to racing quickly.) Ellie got a good start and was in the break away right from the uphill start. Some people thought she was in the wrong gear to go, but her road skills helped out here. It took her a while to figure out how to use the gears without having to think about it too much. She was even in the lead for her group of ten riders for a while, but the lack of enough good nutrition and sleep took its toll. Eventually she came in third place and was happy with that result. She is sure the next race will go better sinces she will be well rested and fed for that one. Lots of people said to her, "You're a roadie so you will go fast on the uphills, but slow on the downhills." She is out to prove that wrong. Several of the boys placed well and now her new team is ranked 4th overall, a nice improvement from 11th place. That will make her happy.

After the race Kathy packed up the kids and headed down the mountain. I picked up Ellie at a meeting spot, had her change quickly at home and then we were off to cotillion. We even arrived with three minutes to spare. That too was a fun night. During one of the activities the students were supposed to figure out the order in which people should be introduced. The junior assistance were dressed up in parts. Ellie sported a baseball hat. Derrick, a tall Asian youth, got to wear a wig of blonde braids and Gracey was a little girl with a doll. Derrick turns to the girls and says, "Oh, today I get to be a blonde" Ellie quickly add, "I'm a blonde every day!" And they all had a laugh.

Once I picked my girl up she was pooped. She never let on how tired she was. By the time we arrived back home she was really draggin'. No one can say she wasted her weekend.

Larr's Weekend:
A main theme in my husband's life right now is meeting. He was at the school during Tom's Eagle Scout project, then over to help Karen with something she needed and finally home at the end of the evening, just after I headed out to make a delivery to Ellie. The next morning he was back at school for a long but productive meeting. He rounded out his weekend with a drive in the hills to take in the turning of the leaves. This weekend they are at their peak. We've had such good weather that the leaves have stayed on the branches, for the most part, and so Mother Nature looks quite regal these days.

Tammy's Weekend:
It is an odd time when I have so much time to myself. I was tempted to do something fun, but decided to take care of some deep cleaning that I had been putting off since the beginning of summer. I cleaned out the main bathroom and started in on my messy closet. On Sunday I cruised the internet taking in eye candy. I had a head-ache from the dust the day before and did not want to go back to it. I did finish up most of the laundry. My room is a mess with all of the piles to be sorted through, but it is a good start.

A New Biking Adventure

2011-09-29T09:18:00.001-06:00

Photo by Annette Hayden

On Saturday Ellie had a good race, but the day itself was very exciting. Kathy, a biking friend of ours, approached me to see if I thought that Ellie might be interested in joining her Colorado High School Mountain Biking League team. They are a brand new team and are in great need of a female member. Having a girl racing on your team improves the team standings greatly. Many other people had suggested to Ellie that she should join a team, but at those times she was not intererested. I told Kathy she could ask, but that she should not hold her breath. I did not think Ellie would even give it a second thought. However, I was very wrong. After finishing her race, Ellie went to find Kathy, talked with her and came bounding back to me. She is over the moon with excitement. Kathy said she would be able to find scholarship money (or even help Ellie on her own) to pay for the league and racing fees. Kathy is even pretty sure that she can get a Specialized mountain bike for Ellie. That is exciting to her; she is equally excited with the idea that she can make a very real and big difference for for the team. Kathy told Ellie that if she had been on the team the week before that the team would have gotten second over all instead of eleventh (which is still pretty good considering that there are 27 teams in our division of the league.) Since then Ellie was been awarded money to cover the costs and Kathy is lending Ellie one of her own mountain bikes. It is a nice, light one. Ellie got a chance to ride it last night. She is nervous about being a newbie in the race on Sunday. I told her that Kathy and I think she will do great. Her strength and skill will transfer nicely to that kind of riding. She simply needs to get used to the bike.

I am thankful for people like Kathy, the coach, and for Kate, the league director who awarded Ellie money for racing. It is one thing to have your parents believe in you. Ellie tells me, "Mom, you have to believe in me. That is your job." Having others show the same support is completely different and affirming. What a lucky girl she is.

Harvesting Honey

2011-09-25T10:31:00.001-06:00

This is the second year that Ethan has kept bees, but the first time he could harvest honey. It was exciting!

First, he and his dad put on all of the special bee keeping gear, being careful to seal up any place a bee could get access to skin, even through thin or knit material (like socks). Next, they smoke out the bees. Most go into a very relaxed state.

They collect the honey comb frames from the upper box, leaving the combs in the lower boxes for the bees to feed on during the cold season.

.These bees were very happy and productive, making a lot of honey this summer.

The honey combs are placed in a centrifuge machine that spins the honey out without hurting the wax comb. It only takes about a minute to do this part. The machine was a gift from a good friend who pasted away recently.

Ethan takes the honey, cleans it up a bit and put it into containers. I believe he got 4 quart jars and eight honey bears full of honey. When he came home he was anxious to have some of it so it went on toast and into tea.

He has the option of putting together one more tower of boxes which he is thinking he will try. It is mostly a matter of getting a queen which can be purchased through the mail or, if you are lucky, caught. The other two boxes you see in the photos were dormant this summer as there had been a bee disease in them and leaving them empty for a season gets rid of the problem.

A Beaded Shoulder Bag

2011-09-23T15:26:00.002-06:00

I am not very good at just sitting still. I admire the fact that some people can do so and be very happy. I, on the other hand, am always a busy beaver.

I recently purchased a nice shoulder bag from IKEA to use as a carrying case for my little netbook, but the design was not at all me. SOMETHING had to be done! So after a short search I found the perfect fabric at a quilting store.Red is really not my color, and the red of the bag is very particular, like a little kid on a hot afternoon who has had too much sugar and not enough "real" food to have a reasonable response to anything.

But this fabric jumped right up, waved its hand frantically and said that she was the perfect candidate, and indeed, she was. I took her home, quiltered her a bit with bright green thread and then broke out the box of bead (well, a whole case of beads, actually).

Each week while Ellie danced, I carefully picked my way through my beads, carefully pouring the desired colors into tiny silicone bows. I used a tiny, short quilting needle to do the work. Ande even though I could see the finished project in my head, it was still like magic slowly appearing on my fabric.

It was interesting to see how much interest the red, the quilting and especially the beads commanded. People were often drawn in, hesitent to touch for fear that it was not the right thing to do, and very animated when I invited them to amble their fingers over the small, round seed beads, to follow the shaft of a bugle bead and to compare what each beaded design felt like. It was fun for me, too. Most people remark that they do not have the kind of patience it takes to do such a project. I suspect they just don't know the kind of joy it brings, either. Even the neighbor's cat, Gorham, was drawn in by the glimmer of the beads in the fading afternoon sun. She apologised for being being late to the photoshoot, smoothed out her ruffled fur and then jumped in, posing like a pro.

Do you think I might get a few extra pats on the super soft fur before you trot off, my dear?

ACA Awards & Ham, Spinach and Cheese Savory Crepes

2011-09-21T17:16:00.000-06:00

On Saturday Ellie received the American Cycling Association Junior Women 13-14 Best All Around Rider award and her team was awarded many awards, including Best All Around Team Junior Woment 13-14. It was a nice evening. Dinner was sponsored by Basil Doc's Pizza. They are so good to the ACA and we love their pizza. There was a raffle, lots of time to visit and many opportunities to celebrate season long accomplishments that take from Feb. to August to earn.

I am in the process of trying to use up stuff I have in my freezer so we had savory Ham, Spinach and Cheese crepes for dinner so that I could use the crepes we got from IKEA. They were good enough, but crepes should really be served fresh out of a hot, lightly buttered pan. It was a hit:

Crepes
via Julia Childs from Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home by Julia Childs and jacques Pepin

Yields 12-15 crepes (7")

1 cup Flour, all purpose
2 Eggs, large (sometimes I have to use 3)
1 Egg Yolk
3/4 cup Milk
1/3 cup Butter, melted
2 TBS Sugar (I leave this out if I am making savory crepes)
A large pinch of Salt (I leave this out if I am using salted butter)
3/4 cup Water, warm

2 Tbs+ Butter, melted, for brushing the pan.

Filling:

1 Ham Steak, finely diced
4 slices Canadian Bacon, finely diced (optional)
10 oz. Spinach, thawed and squeezed to release extra liquid
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 - 3/4 cup Cheese (Swiss is best, but Cheddar works nicely, too) shredded

Instructions for the crepe batter
Add all ingredients to the work carafe of a blender, add the lid, and blend on HIGH for about 20 seconds. Stop the blender, scrape down the sides, replace the lid and pulse three more times. Put the blender carafe in the refrigerator and let rest for 30 minutes to 24 hours before proceeding.

To Cook Crepes:
Place a heavy-bottomed non-stick skillet, crepe pan or well-seasoned cast-iron pan over medium heat. Use a heat-proof pastry brush to lightly brush the pan with melted butter, taking care to get the edges of the bottom of the pan as that is where batter tends to stick.
Pour about 2-4 ounces of batter into the center of the pan and immediately tilt and swirl the pan so that the batter covers the entire bottom of the pan.
Set the pan back over the heat and let it cook until the crepe has no visible wet areas on top.
Use a semi-flexible spatula to run around the edges of the crepe before lifting and turning the crepe. Cook the second side for about 10 seconds only. The goal is just to lightly color that side.
Transfer the finished crepe to a cooling rack. Repeat until you have used all the crepe batter.

For Filling:
Lightly butter the bottom of a hot pan. Add in the bacon and ham. Heat until cooked through. Remove from pan, or at least push it to the side. Lightly butter the pan again and add the spinach. Cook until it is warm. Add in the mayonnaise and the Dijon mustard. Stir to mix and heat through.

To serve place the ham, spinach and sauce mix in a thin line down the center of the crepe. Add a bit of cheese and roll up. Heat up, if needed, before serving.
Serve hot.

A Date with My Husband

2011-09-19T09:32:00.002-06:00

It was a really lovely weekend, one of the best I've had in a while. I am pretty sure this might be my favorite time of year. The weather is mild enough to enjoy being outside without overheating or getting too cold. I

On Sunday morning Larr and I had brunch at my favorite fancy restuarant, The Briarwood Inn, located in Golden. I had not been there in a very long time.

It was so nice to have some uninterupted time to just be together.

The meal started off with an offering of many drinks and beverages. I opted for orange juice and Earl Grey tea. Larr simply had coffee. Next came the pastries. I think there much have been around 20 little bites to share. The French orange macaroon was my favorite, followed by the flaky, light puff pastry with chunky apple filling. Those were accompanied by a nice serving of fruit salad. Really, I could have stopped there, but more food arrived. I had prime rib and potatoes. Larr had a smaller bit of prime rib, an Eggs Benedict with a nicely poached egg and potatoes. Afterwards we wondered around the building, admiring the beauty. I really liked the tavern section and plan to return some day to have a nice bowl of their French Onion soup. I think it is fun to sample it as often as I can. They are never the same.

On the way home we stopped by the garden center to have a look-see at what is on sale. Planting this time of year is a bit of a crap-shoot, but generally safe, unless we get a sudden heavy storm. The advantages are that the plants are on sale at a significant discount ($3 each, instead of $8-$10) and the roots will have a chance to get established before spring arrives. That should mean happier plants next year. I will detail what I got and planted in another posting.

Once home, we sat on the back porch and talked more. We also visited Gorham, the visiting neighbor kitty, that drives our kitties insane with jealously. I am pretty sure that Moxy and Toby have set up a watch to keep track of when she in the yard. Yesterday evening Toby was on the look-out even after it had been dark for a long while. On one hand, I feel a bit bad that they are so jealous and upset. On the other hand, they do seem to like having a mission. I did have a few chores that I should have gotten done. I put them off in favor of good weather. I can clean closets when it is raining outside.

That evening we were happy to greet Ethan when he returned from his three day adventure to Lake McConaughy in Nebraska with the Sea Scouts. (He jokes that since we live in a land-locked state perhaps it should be Lake Scouts, or maybe even Harbor Scouts.) He had been part of a four man crew on a sail boat. It was foggy, rainy, cold and interesting to him. He picked up on what needed to be done easily. They also practiced many essential skills like saving a man overboard, piloting the ship, putting out a fire that starts on the ships, etc. He had a good time and looks forward to going again. I am thrilled that he has such adventures.

A Little Racin' and a Little Bakin'

2011-09-17T17:24:00.003-06:00

After a wild week at school during Homecoming week, it was nice to get back to our usual route. On Saturday Ellie raced at the Valmont Bike Park in Boulder. The kids had a wonderful time at the park when it was still just rural land. It was something to see how it has has been developed. It is a fine place for a ride, whether you ride cyclocross, mountain or BMX.

I hope that these photos show the beauty of the day.

Ellie had hoped to find mud since we had a lot of rain of late. She also hoped for rain last night, but it did not come. Instead we were greeted by the mountains lit up like they were on a stage.

Ellie was her entire category today. She had fun and set in for a good run with the boys.I love the brief fall weather we have here. It put me in the mood to do a bit of baking on Friday night. Here's what I made:Pumpkin-Walnut Focaccia with Gruyère 3/4 cup warm water (100° to 110°) 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) 3 1/2 cups bread flour, divided 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1 cup canned pumpkin 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Gruyère cheese, divided 1 teaspoon cornmeal 1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts 2 teaspoons pumpkin seedsDirections: In a large bowl, combine water, sugar, and yeast; let stand 5 minutes. Add 1 cup flour and butter to yeast mixture; stir just until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 30 minutes. Add pumpkin, salt, and nutmeg to flour mixture; stir until combined. Add 2 1/4 cups flour and half of cheese; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining 1/4 cup flour to prevent dough from sticking to hands. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide dough in half; shape each half into an 8-inch circle. Place dough circles on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle remaining cheese, nuts and pumpkin seeds evenly over dough circles; press lightly to adhere. Lightly coat dough circles with cooking spray; cover and let rise 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°. Uncover dough; bake at 400° for 28-30 minutes or until loaves are browned on the bottom and cheese melts. Cool on a wire rack.Yields: 2-8inch rounds, 8 servings per roundSource: Cooking Light, October 2005

2011-09-15T15:33:00.001-06:00

T.V. is not really our thing. Larr and I did not want our kids to grow up being glued to the tube and scheduling their lives around television shows. We don't have cable, but we do the the internet and we love Netflix, as well as Hulu. We love that we can watch the shows we like on our own time and by our own schedule.

This summer Ellie and I enjoyed all of the episodes of "Pushing Daisies." Those shows had great color, design and wit. They series run was cut short by the writer's strike in about 2009. We were disappointed when we ran out of shows to watch. That led us to look for more sort of witty, cerebral comedies. "Dead Like Me" answered that call. Ellie and sit together and watch it from time to time. It is a way to simply spend time together. I like it much better than the many and varied reality shows that are so available one the television. Ethan has been hooked, too. Sadly, it too had only two seasons. Who knows where our hunt for good shows will lead us to next.

How to Host an 18th Birthday Party and A Hot Start to Cryclocross Season

2011-09-12T06:36:00.002-06:00

This past Saturday we hosted a birthday party for Ethan and about 30 of his closest friends. It was a good mix. We had kids here from 14 to about 25 years of age. That meant that we needed a lot of food.

Here's what you need for a party like ours: * 36 bottles of Coke (Mexican Coke, if you can get your hands on it. Being made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, it tastes better and is less bad for you.) * 12 cans of Doctor Pepper * 24 bottles of Water * 6 batches of Rice Crispy Treats ( regular straight up RCT, RCT with sprinkles and small candy mixed in and Cocoa Pebbles RCT. These take the place of cake - what kid doesn't love those? * 45 Hot Dogs * 50 Hot Dog Buns * 5# Chili (Hormel is best) * 5# Nacho Cheese * 4 Family Size Bags of Chips (Lays Regular, Lays Sour Cream andChives, Doritos, and BBQ chips) * 2 bags Tortilla Chips * Ketsup * Mustard * Relish * 1 bag of M & Ms Here's what you do to have fun: * Talk * Eat * Hook up computer speakers and play music from your Ipod * Take the pop bottles out of the steel tub that holds some of the drinks and have a contest to see who can hold their breath while their head is submerged in ice water for the longest (very popular - go figure!) * Do a handstand, have a buddy hold up your legs and dunk the top of your head in previously mentioned ice water (really now...) * Take off your shirts and compare muscles (guys only. Girls shake their heads and walk away) * Many rounds of arm wrestling * Climb the rope tied to the swing in the tree (best if done without your shirt on, again, guys only) * Longboard/Skateboard in the street in front of the house (taking turns nicely, of course) * Suck helium out of the ballons and talk funny * Eat more * Talk more * Play "Rock Band" * Take the very large excerise ball, have one person hold it and have another person playing. Have them run into each other and see who is still standing, or is withou an injured forehead * Have a fire in the fire pit * Relax * Eat more * Chat * Have some of them stay the night. The others go home pretty late into the evening. * Be okay, happy actually, that various groups of friends form smaller groups and enjoy each other's company. Being happy that everyone seems to have found good people to hang out with. If you are the birthday boy then you rotate through, making sure to spend time with everyone. * Stay up really late, trying to be not too loud The next morning Ellie had her first race of the cyclocross season.

She never wants to miss a chance to hang out with her cycling friends.

She started to feel sick during the race, even puking a bit in the second lap, but she kept on and finished the race.

She won an alien head light for her bike. It has eyes that flash read. She thinks it is cool! After the race we went home and she slept until it was time to go to cotillion. This season she is a cotillion junior teaching assistant and she thinks that is pretty cool.

The 9/11 Memorial Special Event at Arvada High School

2011-09-11T20:06:00.002-06:00

On Friday the school where I teach put on a special 9/11 Remembrance event. One of the people killed in the 9/11 attack was a graduate of our school. He was a 29 year old father of two sweet boys when he was killed. In an effort to keep his memory alive and positive, they put together a scholarship fund. So far four students have received some of those monies. A number of dignitaries were present. The most riveting part of the event was the guest speaker, a fire fighter that survived his rescue efforts. This is considerable considering that 343 of his fellow fight fighters perished trying to help others. His was a story with pictures, facts and stories. He had many interesting things to share. Here are a few of the more unusual things he told us about:The first person to respond in a fighter fighter's uniform was a New York chaplain. He was the first person to die in the first tower. His was also the first whole body recovered. The fire fighters present were sure that has was sent by God to help shephard others through the awful attack. Of the 2,819 people who died in the attack of the World Trade Center, only 174 were found whole. * Body parts were found as far as seven miles away.* At first rescue dogs were brought in. These dogs are trained to find live people. They became depressed, just like those who were working to rescue people. The dogs would shut down emotionally from the sadness and despair of it. The fire fighters kept up the dogs' spirits by hiding and having the dogs find them. This helped to keep them working.* Later the dogs trained to find corpses were brought in. They suffered similar depression, though this time there was no easy fix.Parts of the planes were found up to a few miles away. Those photos were a bit alarming since I had not expected to see them.The kids seemed to be really impacted by the stories the fire fighter shared.It is their hope, and mine, that this very personal, touching story will help this generation of students (who were just 4-7 years old when the e attacks happened) understand the importance of acceptance and the sacrifices, and successes we as a nation have endured as a result of the attacks.(more to come, maybe)

...And Suddenly, Just LIke That, It is Fall!

2011-09-05T14:33:00.002-06:00

Fall arrived this weekend, as if she had boarded a train and showed up on my doorstep just in time.I love...... The symphony of crickets that at times get so loud that you can hear them clearly through a closed window.... The gentle, cool breeze that comes through my window at night. ... That is is cool enough at night to need the comfort of a blanket. I like sleeping in a cool room.... That the sun comes up at the same time I do most mornings. ... The dappled pattern of sunlight that comes through the leaves that is the first thing I see when I awake up at a leisurely hour.... Being able to snuggle with my husband and not have him get too hot since I am a human heater.... Having enough morning light to be able to watch my husband sleep on some mornings when we are not in a hurry to get ready for work.... How my kids enjoy the company of each other, even when it is loud, silly and pesty.... How the cats light to sleep on the edge of my sewing table or on the extra chair in my craft room as I sew and make things.... Being at home when each of us is content with our personal activities, but still feeling connected by proximity.... Having some time to do a bit of creating. This weekend that has involved a lot of ironing, measuring, cutting and some sewing.... my family.

My Boy Turns 18!

2011-09-03T23:08:00.000-06:00

It is hard to believe. The last eighteen years have flown by so quickly. I'm so proud or and pleased with the young man he is becoming.

In keeping with tradition, we played "Ring of Fire" to celebrate him. I don't remember how this tradition got started, but it is much more fun than "Happy Birthday".Then Larr added "Eighteen" by Alice Cooper. This one is not tradition, but it was fun to add.

To celebrate his entrance into manhood he did many of the things he needed to be 18 to do. He bought lottery tickets (won, bought more and lost some), purchased spray paint and well,... I think that might have been it. I made his favorites. We had crepes for breakfast. He likes his with real maple syrup (we were out so his dad went to the store and got a new bottle), Ellie smothers hers in powdered sugar, Larr likes his with jelly. I like mine plain and hot out of the pan. We hung out together and did a bit of shopping, including purchasing some fancy new Brooks running shoes for him. He decided that he would like calzones from dinner. So we had cheese (Port Salut, Smoked Gouda and Habinero Cheddar Cheese) and crackers, baguette with aged balsamic vinegar, and sweet chili marinated shrimp. That was followed by calzones with pepperoni, sausage, black olives, red peppers, mozzarella cheese and red sauce. That was a big hit. We finished up the night with lots of conversation, a silly movie and ice cream.

USA Pro Cycling Challenge - Stage 6 Golden to Denver

2011-09-02T09:34:00.002-06:00

We knew that the final stage of the USA ProCycling Challenge would be a big one. Starting in Golden and finishing in Denver, it was sure to draw big crowds. And it did, of course

Barb took the kids down to where the finish line would be by 8:00 a.m., even though the racers were not due until around 1:00 p.m. This was very important to the kids. Their efforts paid off with front row seats about 15 yards from the finish. I had school work to do so I did not join them until around 11:00 a.m.

It was an exciting place to be. There was a huge festival. People were giving away free stuff. Each of the kids got shirts for this, the final stage. The crowds gathered and started pushing in about noon. By the time the riders came by the crowds were whipped up into a frenzy. You knew it was time when the offical cars, the state patrols, the wheel cars and the camera crews came through. After treking through Golden, up and down Look Out Mountain and then to downtown, the riders had five laps left to go. By the time they arrived they had split up into four distinct groups with a lag time of about 4:30 between the leaders and the last rider. Each lap it got closer and closer. They whizzed by so quickly that we simply attempted to get some photos. We'd have to actually look to see who they were later on. By the last lap the riders had bunched into three groups and cut the time down significantly. I think they shaved off almost two mintutes. The crowd was thumping, pulsing and cheering. The riders were focused, sweaty and fast.

Even before all of the rider came through the crowds broke down the barriers and headed towards the stage for the podium event.

(to be continued)

USA ProCycling Challenge - Stage 5 Steamboat to Breckenridge

2011-08-27T21:19:00.007-06:00

Ellie is back on the USA ProCycling Challenge tour with the Wilkeys again. This time they joined the huge crowds up in Breckenridge. I am sure it must have been a ton of fun for them.

The riders raced from Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge.

Levi Leipheimer and Cadel Evan high fived Ellie, Davis and Skyler as they rode by. I am pretty sure that is one of the absolute highlights of this entire adventure. They are huge in the world of road bike racing.

Back on the home front, I did a bit of shopping and purchased a La Crueset Oval French Oven. Sur La Table had them on sale from half off the usual price. I am excited to use it soon.

For now I am cooking food for the week and for the post race BBQ we will host this evening. In between cooking duties I am working on course work for school.

Here is the recipe I am adapting this evening. I thought it sounded like a nice twist from the usual zucchini bread.

Zucchini Pumpkin Bread
adapted from Allrecipes.com

3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose flour
1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
1. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Add pumpkin, butter and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until breads test done. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.
(I made 18 muffins and 1 miniloaf from the recipe above.)

A Dancing Whale to Make You Happy

2011-08-23T15:49:00.001-06:00

My First Day with Students and the USA ProCycling Challenge Prologue Time Trial

2011-08-22T21:37:00.003-06:00

The school year has begun in earnest. School is so much more fun when the kids are there, but the first day is always a bit awkward since you can't really get started much do to schedule changes and such.

On an entirely different front- Ellie is spending most of the week with friends going around and watching the various stages of the USA ProCycling Challenge. It is hoped that this will become like a Tour de France that takes place in Colorado.

She saw a number of her biking friends in the audience. One of the riders, Danny Summerhill, is a local young man who has been racing in Europe and is in the ranks of this event. He has been a coach at camp for both of my kids. Very cool!

Today they were in Colorado Springs doing a five mile time trial to determine ranking order for starting positions.It was exciting! Ellie and her friends each got a water bottle from one of the riders. She thought that was pretty cool. I included the video to give you a sense of what the ride was like.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game and to See Long Lost Friends

2011-08-21T13:43:00.003-06:00

Bart was one of our best friends from high school. Larr was Bart's best man when they got married. Soon after that they had their first daughter, Betsy, who is now about 23 or 24 years old. It has been MANY years since we have seen them. They came to town on Friday and we all went to a Rockies baseball game. Bart had not really changed much. He said the same was true of Larr.

We have not been to a game. Ellie loved it. I thought it was interesting. Great sights to see.

We all had nuts, sunflower or peanut, that we enjoyed. It felt strange to spit the shells out onto the floor, but it is the norm.

A storm had been brewing so we had a cool night. The rain showed up during the 7th inning. We left our seats and watched from the first floor where we could be dry and still see the game.

It was a lot of fun.

On Saturday Ellie and I worked an aid station for the "Tour De Cure" bicycling benefit for Diabetes research. Our spot was up near Carter lake at Highway 56 and country road 23. We had about 1200 riders come through. It was great to be part of such and important cause.

Pike's Peak - Clouds, Rock and Silliness

2011-08-17T21:42:00.010-06:00

Yesterday was my last day of summer break. We went to the top of Pike's Peak.

We spent the day on a family outing. Larr had wanted to go up the mountain for a while. We had a great time together.

We had thought about taking the Cog railway, but it was a bit pricey. Besides, we had the option to stop when and where we liked.

The clouds were amazing!

At one of the gift shops there was a fun guy with his donkey, Honkey.

The rock fields were beautiful.

The kids were in a silly mood and having fun together. I felt rather like a zombie as the altitude was effecting me.

Making Pasta with My Boy

2011-08-15T15:55:00.005-06:00

I recently purchased a hand-crank pasta machine for Ethan's birthday. We have one that helps us make flat noodles. The new one makes all kinds of fun noodles like Macaroni (two sides); fat, ribbed Rigatoni; thin, tubular Bucatini (like a spaghetti tube); Maccherincini and delicate, twisty Fusilli.

After doing a little research, we decided to try using bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. I am not sure that we noticed a difference, but we did have a lot of fun.

The kneading was tough, so we simply cranked it through the machine twice. Interestingly, it heated up as it came out. We kneaded it a bit more and made pasta for dinner.

We promptly cooked up most of it and had it with Alfredo sauce mixed with Italian sausage and black olives. I think there was a wee bit of Canadian Bacon, too.

I love cooking with my boy.

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I've also cooked up a bunch of stuff including two batches of Kevin's Awesome Cookies and Big Sky Chicken Salad.

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Handmade Pasta Dough
from About.com

7/8 pound (400 g, or 3 1/3 cups) fine white flour (grade 00 if you wish to use Italian flour, or American bread flour, which has slightly more gluten and is thus better because it will make for somewhat firmer pasta)
4 eggs (you can also increase the number of yolks while decreasing the volume of whites proportionally to make richer pasta)
A healthy pinch of salt

Make mound with the flour on your work surface and scoop out a well in the middle. Pour the eggs into the hole, add the salt, and work the eggs and the flour together till you have a smooth dough, adding just a drop of water if necessary, and no more. Knead the dough for ten to fifteen minutes, until it is smooth, firm, and quite elastic. Don't skimp on the kneading or the dough will tear while you're rolling it out.

You are now ready for the hard part: separate the dough into two pieces. Flour your work surface (the marble counter tops in Italian kitchens are ideal for this, though wood or Formica work as well -- a pastry cloth gets in the way) and start to roll out the dough, rolling from the middle, flipping it occasionally, and flouring it as necessary to keep it from sticking. To keep the sheet from breaking, once it has reached a certain size, roll it up around the rolling pin and then invert the rolling pin; you can, as you are unrolling the sheet, gently stretch it by holding the unrolled part firm and pulling gently away with the rolling pin. Keep on flipping and rolling till you have a sheet that's almost transparent -- as thin as a dime, or thinner, if you can manage it (the pasta will almost double in thickness while cooking). The Emilians, acknowledged masters of home-made pasta, say your backside should work up a sweat as you're rolling out the sheet.

Once you've rolled out the sheet, either use it to make stuffed pasta such as ravioli or tortellini, for lasagna, or cut it into strips. If you choose the latter course the easiest thing to do is roll the sheet of dough up into a tube, then slice the tube into rounds of the desired width and shake the skeet out with your hands to free the strands; set them to dry on a rack or between two chair backs, supported by a towel (you often see this in the country). Roll out the second piece and cut it as you did the first.

Cook the pasta in salted, boiling water. Since it's fresh, it will cook in three to five minutes. Do not let it overcook! Soft wheat flour has much less gluten than the durum wheat used in commercially prepared dry pastas, and will consequently become flabby if it overcooks.

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Kathy's Baked Beans

3 cans (16 oz) Baked Beans, drained (we use VandeCamp brand)
1 med. Onion chopped finely (or 1 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix)
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Dark Corn Syrup
1 tea. Paprika
1 tea. Basil
1# Bacon, cut into pieces

Place everything in a crock pot. Stir to mix. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (or overnight). If you are in a rush you can do the crock pot on high for 3-4 hours.

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Big Sky Chicken-Salad Sanwiches
from Taste of South magazine, June/July 2009 issue

1/2 c slivered almonds
1/2 c chopped pecans
1/2 c pineapple tidbits, drained
1/2 c cranberries
1/2 c mandarin orange segments, drained
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/2 c honey mustard
1/4 c apricot preserves
2 c chopped cooked chicken

Combine nuts and fruit in a large bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, mustard, and preserves, whisking until combined. Add sauce mixture to fruit mixture, along with chopped chicken, tossing gently until combined. Spread mixture onto bread slices to make sandwiches. Serves 6.

IKEA in Denver

2011-08-12T14:30:00.003-06:00

I never thought that we would get an IKEA store in Denver. Afterall, part of what makes it affordable it that the original stores were next to the boat docks, thus cutting out the need for a middle man. However, one opened in Centennial in late July. Ellie and I were excited to check it out. We've heard about the great deals, and wanted to see them for ourselves.

Originally Ellie was going to go and camp out at the store for the opening with Ariana and Carrie. The first 38 people got a free couch. The next 100 people got a very nice sitting chair and the next 500 people got an envelope with at ticket for something, such as a 50% discount on a purchase, or free lunch, etc. There were reports of people driving up from New Mexico and down from Wyoming, camping out days before the opening. Online there were videos of people going crazy and hurting each other at other openings. I was glad when the plans were changed.

I thought it would have died down since that was several weeks ago, but it was still a mob scene. We arrived at just the right time, hoped on an elevator and went upstairs for lunch. The line was long and winding, but it went quickly. We were determined to give it a go and check out the store. The lunch was reasonable and good. I had Swedish Meatballs with mashed potatoes and gravy. Ethan had spinach and cheese crepes. Ellie had a buffalo chicken and veggie wrap.

After lunch we proceeded to do a bit of shopping. We left from the cafe and wondered into the store. It let out in the baby and little kid section. We quickly found that we were moving against the flow of traffic. Soon we spotted the arrows on the floor. I reasoned that just around each corner it would let up and we could wander, that was never the case. We went against the flow the entire time.

The store did have lots of cool stuff. I think my favorite area was the lighting section. I found a few nice frames for the pieces I created at Anderson Ranch. I also picked up some Swedish candy, a few drinks and a messenger bag which I will jazz up before using it on a regular basis.

It was worth my time to go, but I don't think I will be back anytime soon. I had big crowds and that placed is packed. I also don't care for the whole directional element of the store. Ellie wanted to go back and get a mushroom lamp, but there was no direct route. You had to go through the maze of departments to get anywhere. I will be interested to see how long is it so busy.

The Glorious End to Road Season

2011-08-10T11:34:00.002-06:00

When road racing season began back on March, I was unsure how it would end. The previous year had been rough on her.

Between sickness, injury and her emotional life being dumped on her head, she had developed a case of burn out. I knew it could go either way. I don't know what kept her going into this season. Was it tradition, a sense of duty or a desire to keep fit? Perhaps some mixture of those.

She placed a lot of limits. She would only do the BAR/BAT (Best All-Around Rider/Team award) races and she would not train. She would only ride at practice and when racing. Previously she had done almost every race for road and cross seasons. I trusted her instinct and did not push her. I respect her need for a more balanced life.

Over the course of the season her attitude changed. She went from riding her bike because she "had to", to liking to race, but not liking practice, to being excited to be on her bike again. The sparkle had returned. You could see it in her recent races. Others remarked on it, too.

She ended the road season on a high note. On Saturday she placed second in the JW 13-14 Look Out Mountain Hill Climb and on Sunday she placed second in the 2011 Colorado Criterium Championship at Bannock street.

Now she can't wait to shift her groupo onto her cross frame and begin doing the dirt trails.

Photoalbum - Ethan's Trip to Jamaica in 2009 + Jamaican Beef patty Recipe

2011-08-08T19:26:00.005-06:00

It has been a wonderfully relaxing day. I slept in late, did a bit of digital scrapbooking, reading, playing with the kitties and having a low key day. It feels great to finally finish this project. I hope you like it.

Click here to view this photo book larger

This put me in the mood to make a nice Jamaican style dinner.

Jamaican Beef Patties
adapted from a base recipe found on Eatjamaican.com

PASTRY

2 cups Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt (leave out if using salted butter)
1/2 tablespoon curry powder (I will double this next time)
1/4 cup Solid shortening
1/4 cup Butter
1/3 cup Cold water

Sift the flour, curry powder and salt into a large bowl. Cut in the shortening and butter until crumbly. (I do this quickly by placing this all in my food processor and pulsing it until it looks like sand.Then I add in the ice water and quickly incorporate it.) Add the cold water to make a stiff dough. Divide the dough into 5 equal parts. Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and roll out the dough until about 1/8-inch thick and roughly circle shaped. Place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to chill. Cover with wax paper or damp cloth until ready to use. You can place the dough in the refrigerator overnight.

MEAT FILLING

2 tablespoon oil
1 Small white onion, finely chopped
(1/4 teaspoon Chopped Scotch Bonnet pepper - I did not have this)
1/2 lb. Lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Curry powder (I used Madras Curry)
1/2 teaspoon Dried thyme
(2 cups Frozen Peas)*
(1 - 1 1/2 cup Rice, cooked)*
1/4 cup Breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Beef or chicken stock
(1 Egg, beaten - I did not use this)
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded

In a heavy skillet, sauté the onion and Scotch Bonnet Pepper in olive oil until they become limp. Add the ground beef and cook until the beef is done. Drain if needed. Next, salt, pepper, curry powder, peas, rice and thyme and mix well.

Add the breadcrumbs and stock and combine all the ingredients well. Cover the skillet and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When all the liquids have been absorbed, the filling is ready. It should be moist but not watery. Remove the skillet from the stove and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Uncover the dough circles and place 4-5 tablespoons of filling on half of each. Top with the shredded cheese, if desired. Moisten the edges of the dough with water and fold the dough circle over the meat filling. Pinch the edges closed with a fork. Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet (or a cookie pan with a silpat liner) for 30 to 40 minutes or until the pastry are golden brown.

Serves: 5 Patties

Art Camp Days 3-4 & The Maroon Belles

2011-08-05T13:27:00.010-06:00

Each day at Anderson Ranch gets more fun for Ellie, just as I had hoped it would.

If Brittany lived near Ellie, they would be fast friends. The kind who really understands you and with whom you can be totally silly. What a give that it. For now they will have to be content with time together in class. Perhaps we can arrange get togethers in the future.

The silly girls swapped shoes and gave eachother sailor style tatooes with Sharpie markers. When Ellie and I went into Apsen for dinner people looked at her. She looked kind of street tough with her stomach muscles showing through her neon pink tank top, the buff arm muscles and her fake tatooes. One guy at the restuarant even asked if they were real - that cracked me up.

They've printed lots of stuff. Each day they make more shirts and posters. Here are just a few of the designs she has come up with. Some of them are collaborative projects with Brittany.

I love art supplies.

I spent a rainy Wednesday at the famous Maroon Bells. Luckily I came prepared with rain gear and time to wait out the rain.

I caught the bus from the Aspen Highlands to the Maroon Bells visitor center. During the day the road is mostly closed.
Each day at Anderson Ranch gets more fun for Ellie. She has made friends with many of the kids in the workshop. She and Brittany are like a match set. Brittany lives in Aspen for part of the year and in Maryland during the other months.

There is a family of marmots that live in the rocks near the bathroom. It is a sweet spot for them. I imagine they are very safe there, most of the time.

The chipmunks had a similarly sweet gig near the bus stop. They flitted around, busy eating and playing with each other.

I fell in love with these peaks. I waited and waited for the sun to light them up, but it refused. Still, they are lovely, even when stormy.

I knew the peaks would be beautiful, but the wildflower meadow was a sweet surprise.

Here too, I tried to imagine what my husband would notice. It was nice to hike alone. It allowed me to stop and gaze whenever I wanted to. It allowed me to notice small bits of texture, color and beauty. These tassles danced gently in the wind.

I loved the way these looked when dappled with rain drops.

These were wonderous, large and magnificant.

Wednesday night was cold and rainy. We switched up Ellie's sleeping arrangements again and have found a nearly perfect solution by setting up a cot in the tent. We had to take out the middle seats and put them in the spare then. This makes a comfortable bed for Ellie. She only wishes it was warmer. A storm rolled in and stayed for a few hours throwing down tons of rain and sounding off lots of thunder. The noise in my tent was intense.

On Thursday I was pretty exhausted from the storm. My plan to photograph the beautiful houses in Apsen made way to hanging out in the Anderson Ranch library where I did some work, took a nap in a comfy chair and relaxed. In the afternoon I went up to Woody Creek to see an art show of a man that we met at breakfast.

His show was at the Wc3 (Woody Creek COmmunity Center) which was also a nice place for a quiet lunch of bombay curried beef. It was a bit of a drive showing a more pastoral side of Aspen. It is worth the effort to see the lovely houses, the fields of horses and a very friendly part of the Apsen culture. If you are there you might also peek your head into the Woody Creek Tavern, made famous by the likes of Hunter Thompson of Gonzo Journalism fame.

Art Camp Day 2 & The Grottos

2011-08-03T16:51:00.002-06:00

The second day of camp was much better than the first. What a difference a bit of food and rest makes.
On the first day in class each student is assigned a large (about 5’ x 10’) desk. Adults find this much space a wonderful gift. The teens seem to get lonely with so much space and so five of them are crammed onto Ellie’s work table and it makes them all happy as little clams. It also allows them to collaborate. The bottom line is that it makes it so much more fun. Ellie is the only person in class with naturally straight hair and so that has been at topic of conversation.
There is one boy in class who is talented, serious and focused. Ellie says that the art he is producing is wonderful and well done. Two of the girls who appear to be friends even before they took this class are printing logos and images off of the internet and printing those. Ellie and her group of five seem to have compatible artistic styles that work together well. Ellie produced a fun shirt by herself on Tuesday and is working collaboratively with another girl for her next design. The group of girls at her table seem to have complimentary artistic styles. I am pretty sure this makes Ellie happy. I think she expected that all of the other students, excepting herself, would be talented like the boy is.

I spent much of my day exploring the Grotto. It is a particularly beautiful wilderness area with ice caves carved in granite by water erosion and a cascade of waterfall. It was a beautiful walk, though odd to be doing it by myself. I came to the ice caves just as it began to rain. I saw two women struggle to make it up and out of the caves. Then a group of kids had a hard time getting out as the rocks were becoming slick. Although I very much wanted to check out the ice caves, I fear that I would get myself stuck. If my husband had been with me, I would have done it, but getting stuck was simply too much of a risk. I decided to push on to the cascades.

I got soaked while I walked, but having a rain coat on, I was still okay. Once I arrived at the cascades I positioned myself under a group of trees and waited out the storm. I am told that storms move quickly through Aspen and so I trusted it would not take too long. As I waited I watched a group of kids and instructors from Camp Aspen try to zipline across the river. Between the wetness of the rope and the light body weight of the kids, they could not make it happen. Once the rain stopped and I was such the camera would stay dry, I began photographing the waterfalls and the interesting rock formations. I tried to imagine how my husband would see it. His landscape images are always amazing. I made a mental note to myself that I would like to look up more on landscape photography before I go out and do a lot more of it.

At the end of the day I picked up Ellie and we headed for town. Once again she was ravenous. We had dinner at Boogies and did a bit of shopping. Or rather, we mostly did a lot of looking. Aspen is a beautiful place that shows its wealth very plainly. By then it had begun to rain again and Ellie had devised a new sleeping arrangement. This meant that I wanted to be back at camp before dark so we left down a bit early.
Back at camp we removed the air mattress from the back of the van and replaced it with a cot. It looks like an odd sleeping arrangement, but one that might prove to be the most comfortable yet. Not yet ready to go to bed, Ellie and I retreated into the tent where we are keeping stuff. With the aid of the seats from the van and an electric lantern, we had a cozy set up. We talked, we drew and I read a little bit. Ellie focused on making plans for her next shirts. After conferring with her father, she has decided to make one that says, “The Fun Sucker” which is the nick name Larr earned this summer during his time with the youth trail building crews. Ellie was wishing we could watch a movie, but we were both happy to have a bit of undistracted time to share together.

Difficult Campground and a Bit of a Difficult Time

2011-08-03T16:44:00.004-06:00

Sometimes it is easy to forget that Ellie is still a kid. Yesterday her behavior reminded me that she still very much a kid. Part of that is the highs and lows concerning both energy level and emotions. She can go full speed ahead for several days, and then be a slug in an office chair in front of a computer for days, too. It is such an interesting dynamic that is so very different from my own. I am more steady. I need some up time and some down time every day.

On paper and in discussions it seemed like doing the three day bike race series, camping and then going to art camp would be fine. After all, there is a lot of down time in between things. There were ample opportunities to hang out in the hotel room, to play card games, watch a little cable t.v. (which we can’t do at home) and time to visit with friends. There is all of the driving that I am doing. However, yesterday proved that theories that look good on paper do not always translate to real life.

After pulling into the campground very late on Sunday night and not having stuff organized on Monday morning we found ourselves at Anderson Ranch without time for her to really eat a proper breakfast. She just snacked on food in the car until we arrived. She figured it would be no big deal to hold out until lunch time. So off she went to class. The girl I picked up at the end of the day was less exuberant than I had hoped. All she could think of was that she was cold and hungry. She needed food and quick. The hunger, combined with the cold exhaustion showed itself in her sarcastic, biting attitude. Her first comment about the class was to ask how many days she would be doing it because she could not imagine doing what she did for many more days. She said it was too much sitting. She said she could not think of things to draw and that her classmates thought she was funny because she was having trouble cleaning up the big mess she made on her work table at the end of the day. Her responses to me where short and kind of mean.
I spent my time in the dorm lounge doing online work and a bit of laundry. Not an exciting day, but a necessary one.

Off we went at the end of the afternoon to Aspen in search of a battery operated air pump for the air mattress that we could not use the night before, a shower at the Red Brick Recreation Center and a warm dinner. I was also hoping to tuck in a little time at the Laundromat as some of the clothes were still damp, including her warm sweats.
We did not find a pump that would work for our purposes so I changed my plan from having the mattress in a tent to having it in the back of the van. This way I could pump it up using my plug in pump and my power converter. The stuff in the van would go in the tent and Ellie would have a better, warmer place to sleep. At the end of the day she declared it good and went to bed.

During the hunt for dinner we also came across the consignment store I had heard about so we took a quick look. Ellie perused the clothing racks and I helped the shop keeper close up shop. She was supposed to lock the outer door, but it was not functioning correctly. In the end I handed her my stuff, stepped up on the step ladder and used all my strength to get the latch to go down. She was very thankful and sold us the Volcrum hoodie that Ellie liked for half off. It was a nice gesture of thanks. Next we stopped at the grocery store for more food for lunches and then found a restaurant for dinner. We ended up at Boogie’s Diner where we had a nice warm meal. I had a grilled cheese sandwich and a side of wonderful mashed potatoes with gravy. Feeling better, we headed home.

Back at the campsite, we worked together to get things more organized and a sleeping den set up for Ellie. Thankfully we were able to get it done and her in bed by a much more reasonable 9:30 last night. I am hopeful that it will net an improved attitude today. Yesterday’s attitude caused me to take note and reconsider whether I will plan back to back events in the future. It also reminded me that I need to keep a stash of snacks in my van like I used to.

Ellie's Favorite Road Race and A New Adventure Begins

2011-08-01T12:22:00.004-06:00

When we pulled into our campsite last night it was pretty late, easily 10:45. But even in the dark I could see that Difficult Campground is a truly lovely place. We’ve parked ourselves at the end of the main loop in lot 24. Near our spot a small river flows and the wind rustles the leaves just slightly. It is the beginning of the next adventure and an end of a wonderful weekend.
On Sunday the kids woke a bit tired even though they slept in as late as possible, but up in time to get the hotel breakfast that they love. I must say, Comfort Inn in Salida does have a great hotel breakfast. There are so many options. Had I not known it, I would not have suspected that they had planned for a more laid back day than those before it. After packing up and checking out, they were off on their bikes to go to the river in hopes of hooking up with biking friends again. Salida is such a bike friendly place that I did not have to worry about them. Once we all arrived we found that we were the first ones. Davis, Ellie and Skyler busied themselves a casual game of Nerf football and running around while I stitched up the front of Davis’ jersey since his zipper was broken. Scott, Davis’ and Skyler’s dad, showed up and made them happy. You could see that they had really missed him. We hung out at the river and went to the grocery store to purchase stuff for a picnic lunch. Eventually the older kids rode over to the race at the end of town so that they could see the pros. Scott and Skyler did a bit of fishing and I tried to knit, but could not really get focused.
Once we were all assembled at the race location things were not exactly ideal. Due to the problem from the day before, Davis could not take off his back wheel and use his trainer as is his habit. Skyler appeared to be a bit overwhelmed since it is a hard, hilly course. She had only driven it in the car and not done it on her bike yet. All three kids were tired. Some of them had sore necks from playing Chicken in the pool. Ellie was exhausted from going full speed for so many days in a row. To top it off it seems like she broke her pinky while playing in the park. We had to tape it to her ring finger and hope that she could ride well enough. There was also a new, local and unknown girl in her line up. Ellie geared herself up for her race. I was a bit nervous because she seemed to have so many things that were not ideal. However, once the race started that all melted away and they were off. Ellie had a much stronger ride than I had anticipated and won her even, coming in about 7 minutes ahead of the second place rider.
By the time the awards were handed out the sky had a threatening look. We had the option to stay at George’s and Joan’s house in Salida for the night, but Ellie really wanted to go to the camping site so off we went. Although it was dark, I could still see that it was a lovely drive up over Independence Pass. Ellie was in a chatty mood and so we talked the whole way from Salida to Difficult Campground in Aspen. At one point she told me that she was glad that there were other cars behind us and that she was creeped out when she saw people by the side of the road at night. It reminded her of a scary movie she had once seen. Just as we crested the top of the pass there was a person, standing by the side of the road. However, this person had a headlamp on and so was not reminiscent of a horror movie hitch hiker. A few yards later we were treated to the sight of a few deer taking a sip from a large puddle. Down the road a little farther we spied a fox. I was growing tired and was happy to pull into our camping site. We were both ready for rest.

How to Have Fun in Salida with a Gaggle of Kids - Salida Criterium

2011-07-30T22:13:00.005-06:00

Day Two in Salida was a lot of fun. The kids did not race until the early evening and so we had the whole day to hang out. The older kids spent part of the morning riding the Road course for Sunday. Skylar and I did a bit of window shopping. We went to the bead store, the fiber store and fun clothing store. Skylar checked out the toy store while I added art to the sidewalk chalk gallery. We met up with the older kids, grabbed lunch and watched the pro race. It is always an interesting race.

Davis raced first and was doing great. He was hanging with the top 3-4 guys in his age catagory until he had a michanical and had to drop out of the race. He was pretty bummed, but dealt with it well. While the girls raced he had to walk his bike to the bike store and get help. The folks with the guys at Absolute Bike took care of him, jsut as I knew they would.

Ellie and Skylar raced next. Ellie had a great race. She was out in the front and wond her race. Behind her a boy crashed in the first turn, just about 200 yards from the start. That freaked Skylar out and made her a bit more cautious for the remaining laps. She came in fourth.

After the races the fun really got going. We picked up some stuff from the grocery store and joined a bunch of other families with junior racers for a BBQ in the park near the river. Some of the kids played in the river and climbed the tree. After grilling dinner we made s'mores and then headed to the hotel for more fun in the swimming pool. There were games of Chicken, a variation on football. We made a ton of noise. The kids were having so much fun! Skylar said that it was the funnest night.

We closed up the party at a little after ten. We retired to the room for a few more card games and silly company. I rounded them up and put them together so that they could actually get some rest before Sunday.

Racing in Salida - The Time Trial Race

2011-07-30T07:36:00.001-06:00

The Salida Omnium is our favorite set of races for the entire Road season. This year it is the Salida Classic and it is also part of the Rocky Mountain State Games. The place we usually stay in was not available this weekend so we were going to camp. However, two kids on our team wanted to race this weekend, but their parents were not available to go, so we worked out a great deal. I take all of the kids to the races and Barb rented a big room for all of us to share. Ellie was very happy with the deal.

We left the house at around 7:15 am.m to make sure that we had plenty of time should there be any sort of delays. The idea was that the kids would sleep part of the way, but they were little chatter boxes and played games instead. Davis and Skylar are siblings as well as great kids.

Once we arrived in town we drove all of the three courses so that the kids could see where they would be going. Ellie loves the TT course. When we were driving it we saw several sets of deer with their fawns. One little fawn was just a few feet from the car window. It was a treat to see them. We checked in early, enjoyed each other's company, put the TT bars on Ellie's bike, etc. I also watched the weather closely. Last year it was very cold and rainy during this race. This year we were lucky and mostly dry.

Davis was keyed up to do well as he is very close to winning the Best All Around Rider (BAR) award. Ultimely, he placed fourth, which made him unhappy. His main competitor won the race. He is now setting his sights on the Road Race on Sunday.

Skylar ran a great race. She is new to racing and had a good time, coming in third. That means she will earn one of the beautiful medals that the Rocky Mountain State Games folks award.Her competition is much more stiff during the next two days of racing.

Ellie was awesome, coming in ahead of the second place rider by more than a minute and a half.

This is Davis and Skylar being silly. Aren't they cute?

After the race I took the kids down to see the river. We also had a really lovely dinner at 216 Ferraro's where they made the pasta by hand. It was a bit of a splurge, but well worth it. I had the best Caesar salad that I have ever tasted. That was served with ciabatta bread and butter. My main dish was Eggplant Parmesan. Carbs are good the night before a race and this hit the spot. Davis was in the mood for Fettuccini Alfredo and the girls simply wanted noodles. I will have to go there again.

Color Abounds and a Frittata Recipe

2011-07-28T06:57:00.004-06:00

[Photos coming soon]

It began when I didn't feel like paying quilting store prices for white fabric (about $8-$9 per yard) that I wanted to dye. I found that I could get great, soft and oh so pre-washed white fabric by purchasing pillow cases, the ones made of 100% cotton, at the thrift store for $.99. That started a trend. Since then I have been back at least three times this summer. I seem to always have cloth in the dye bucket ready to go. Even as I write this there is a full size flat sheet that I imagine will become a quilt backing at some point.

And so I have had some thrifty fun of late as I dye fabric. The first batch consisted of mostly colors blending into each other. Ellie, Christy and Connie did a bunch of clothing as well. The next round was mostly dyeing solids for a quilt I am working on. This week it was some solids, some blends in specific combinations I need for the quilt and two sets of gradations. One goes from Bright Orange to Fushia. The other is a blend of blues to purples as I had to mix in more than the usual two colors. Even though I have done enough dyeing that I know what to expect, it still feels a little bit like magic to take a tired, plain white pillow case and turn it into a vibrant cloth full of possibility. Washing out the pieces that have multiple colors is always a little like opening a present since you never know for sure how it will come out.

In between bouts of dyeing fabric, I took the time to whip up a frittata that was inspired by the one that Mike made for us last week. I am offering her recipe as she made it and my own changes. Mike says that the beauty of the recipe is that you can really just use what ever you happen to have around. I found that was very true.

Today Ellie and I are prepping for a small road trip. We will travel down to Salida for a set of three races. They are her favorite races of the year. We usually stay in the house our friends own and make it into a small family vacation. However, this year the boys are staying home. We will take Davis and Skylar, two siblings from our team, down to Salida with us so that they can race, too. We will stay in a hotel with them. I like staying in the house because it is flexible and I can cook our meals. However, the hotel will be fun, too. It has free breakfast, a swimming pool, a hot tub, air conditioning and cable t.v. That will be nice, but we will miss Larr and Ethan. Davis and Skylar will go home with their dad and Ellie and I will head out to Snowmass so that Ellie can go to art camp at Anderson Ranch. I am super excited for her to have this opportunity. I am certain she will have a blast. I will spend some of the time exploring the mountains and working on my photography. I will also see if there are volunteer items that I could do to help out the folks at the ranch.

Mike's Flexible Frittata
via Mike Rathbun

12 eggs, large
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 cup Cream
1 1/2 tea. Dry Mustard
2 TBL. Oregano (fresh is best, but dried will do)
Salt and Pepper - just a bit
4 Potatoes, large Russets *
2 TBL. Butter or Olive Oil
1 tea. Italian Seasoning
1 c. Spinach (clean and stems removed)*
3-4 Roma Tomatoes, large, sliced *
1 1/2 c. Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded

* Note: I did not have these items so I substituted 3/4 # Italian Sausage, cooked, 1 c. Zucchini, shredded and Grape Tomatoes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil your pan well. Mike used a lovely Calphalon Dutch Oven pan with high sides. This caused her frittata to dome. I had to use a 9" x 13" pan. It worked, but the frittata was much more dense.

Begin by prepping the potatoes if you are using them. This involves scrubbing them and then microwaving each one on high for 5 minutes. Once cooled, slice them. Saute' them until they are brown in a small bit of olive oil or butter with a bit of Italian seasoning as well as salt and pepper.

In a bowl mix the eggs, milk, cream, dry mustard, salt, pepper and oregano. Fluff it up using a whisk to incorporate some air.

Gently pour in about half of the egg mixture into the pan. Next, layer the potatoes (or sausage), followed by spinach (or zucchini) and then the tomatoes. Sprinkle about half of the cheese on top of this. Next, whip up the remaining egg mixture and gently pour it over the ingredients in the pan. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until it is done. let it sit for a few minutes before serving. Mike likes to offer creme' fresh or sour cream on the side. The frittata reheats nicely.