Monday, February 28, 2011

Tapping the trees


"Before the bud swells, before the grass springs, before the plow is started, comes the sugar harvest. It is the sequel of the bitter frost; a sap-run is the sweet good-by of winter" John Burroughs

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Valentines Day 2011




We made 3 outstanding chocolate treats but I failed to take pictures of any. THese are Mocha Brownies from a Pioneer Womans Cookbook. Yoda made his own Valentines and I did too for work but somehow I did not get any sent out to family and friends - so very sad!!! It will ahve to be Easter for sure!!

Friday, February 25, 2011

Our Town on a rare Sunny Day!


Library- note new construction in background.

The "Lower Mill" Restaurant, Art gallery/ classes/Yoga

First Presbyterian Church

Local Micro Brewery
Custom Brewcrafters

So this rare sunny day was a real treat and we were out to snap photos to work on Citizen in the Community Merit Badge. It is a very cute little Mill town. The falls are right in the center of town. Today they are partially frozen still but also lots of water going over them from snow, snow melt etc.. More coming on Monday in Rain. We do not live in the village but if we did we could walk to almost everything. The upper Mill is the Town Hall and right next to the Falls. ( no photo here though) We are having a good wet snow snowstorm today. Time to make Bread i this type of weather!! Stay warm and safe.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Where have I been . . .#2?





30 Mile Point Light House
at Golden Hill State park

Last weekend we rented and stayed in this Lighthouse. We had the second floor to ourselves. The first floor is a museum. Being winter the park was virtually deserted aside from a dog walker each morning. We took a long snow shoe/ x-country ski Saturday and played board games, read, worked on art, took a nap watched the lake, and the weather. Sat. afternoon there was a good snowstorm dropping about 6 inches quite rapidly. The lighthouse is perched on the northern most point of the southern shore of Lake Ontario. It is 30 miles from the mouth of the Niagara river where it meets Lake Ontario. There is a sandy Shoal just out from this light hose and 5 known shipwrecks the most famous was HMS Ontario sunk in a blizzard on Halloween losing 88 souls and 15,000 in US Army Payroll, gold and silver coins. The light house was built in 1875 and house a keep and his family as well as assistant Lighthouse keeper and his family. The light could shine out 18 miles. Decommissioned in 1958 NYS developed it into a park in 1984. Sunsets and Sunrises are fabulous from here. The light house is haunted and we had fun reading the journals from over the years of people staying there and adventures they had. It was pretty quiet on our watch though. It was a wonderful break and fun family time, we can't wait to go back , most likely in the spring in a tent but it is still a lovely place to camp so near the lake and its beauty.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Where I have been . . .#1




Nashville Tennessee about a month ago. My conference was at the Gaylord Opryland resort and convention center which was in the process of taking down Christmas decorations and it was gorgeous. This was my second time there. It has 4.5 acres of indoor conservatory, just gorgeous. It was flooded last spring May 2010 by the Cumberland River and closed for about 6 mos. you would never know it today. I talked with a Gardener to understand how the water affected all the plants. He also told me they have 14 indoor gardeners and 14 for the outdoor grounds. They had more than a 1000 Poinsettia's in all the plantings, truly striking. We did get a chance to take a tour of Nashville and saw many of the recording studios- all very modest buildings. A stop at the Ryman Auditorium- home to Grand Ol Oprey and a stop at the Country Music Hall of Fame. The building is spectacular- if you stand back from it, it looks like a Piano keyboard and this picture does not do it justice.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Birthday 2011



Another Birthday . . .another year ahead
Life is good!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Snow Day 2011

Well it might have been a day off school and the first in about 5 years despite the 150 inches of snow we get each and every year. But it was far from a "snow" day. The "big" storm was a near miss. No high accumulation, some blowing and drifting and that can be pretty bad but all in all it was a quiet day. When we got up this morning every school was closed. We went out and shoveled and went for a walk before the road was plowed or driven on for that matter. Kinda strange walking down a well traveled road that is thick with snow. It was quiet. We could hear the plow in the distance but other wise all was quiet and still - all the houses that are usually bright and waking up were quiet and dark, taking advantage of a rare day to sleep in. We did a lot of baking- cheesecakes, chocolate Amaretto Brownies and cooking- Stuffed shells, Shepherds Pie and Homemade Mac and Cheese and we are not done yet. Some is for the weekend to come and some for a Rotary dinner dessert raffle to benefit the Girl Scout troop.Hoping you had a good day and stayed warm and dry and enjoyed the view from your window!!




Quinzee - slept 11 blissful hours there

about 2 feet of snow fell over night - need aluminum poles for the cold temps- fiberglass breaks.

Anyone in there?

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Where Did January Go?



Sometimes time passes like the wind, one minute you are observing the passing of the New Year and the next you are at a new month- today. January was much like that, a lot was going on and it moved quickly. So quickly that I never quite got to my Blog other than to think about it or make notes for a few posts. January brought me a new refrigerator, dishwasher and vacuum cleaner. When you move these things into an old home c. 1822 it is no small task, doors removed, trim altered but in the end we have entered the 21st century. I made a trip to Nashville on the cusp of a snowstorm but when has there not been a snowstorm this month? Here we sit awaiting a storm of "historic proportions" but really they say 15-20 inches and we have certainly seen more than that at a time. We have been busy making costumes for Geology Rocks school play, building a Raingutter Regatta boat for Cub scouts. Searching out Sunday School Curriculum. Trying to stay healthy an lose weight. We need to make Gourmet desserts for a Rotary Club Diner Thursday - they will be raffeled off with the benefits going to my daughters Girl Scout Troop. So stay tuned - lots in the news. Meanwhile lots of snow, cold, tundra like days that the dogs love no matter what. Only the blonde one is ours the other is a walking buddy. If you are here in the Northeast, stay warm and travel safely.