Away but not forgotten . . . . .

Yes, yes, yes,  I know it has been eons since I have typed here and shared the daily happenings of Chestnut Hill.   Life continues to be busy and full with the 3 kids,  3 cats and Edna the yellow lab.  It has been a lovely fall, long, full of sunshine and nice days but we have clearly shifted to a winter pattern just in time for Christmas.   The ground is covered with about 5 inches of snow and more is on the way.   We are to get some bone chilling cold later this week- single digits in the overnight and early mornings and only in the teens by day.   The frogs have all dug in, in the pond and interestingly when we get en exceptionally warm day one or 2 will actually surface for the day and then as it gets cold they once again disappear.  A large snail has joined the pond and I will post that later- some people get hand cream from a sister- I got a big Snail.  :) 

Taughannock Falls Trumansburg NY

See the people, where they should not be . . . .On the ledge . . . .at the very top 215 feet vertical fall

Taughancock  Falls

 Martha and Erik

Native Bee Balm

Goosefoot Maple seed chains

  So once a summer my husbands family converges on a State Park in the Southern Tier - often at the base of Cayuga Lake or Seneca Lake.  We like Cayuga Lake even if it is farther because they have Purity Ice Cream in Ithaca and we like to go there for an Ice Cream afterward,  For me this year it was Chocolate Covered Strawberry Ice Cream and I have yummy pictures but they are on my phone and not available right now to my blog . . .  We have been attending this reunion for 28 years and it is interesting to see those that were young back in the day now have young of their own and so the circle continues.  Where will your summer travels take you?

Mothers Day 2016

"Mother is not a title. Mother is a verb. It is not who you are. It's what you do."

~ Shonda Rhimes

Special Christmas gift 2015

My older son made this for me for Christmas.  The bottom picture is the pieces laid out before he welded it.  He made sure to be accurate in the number of bones represented.   I work as an Occupational Therapist  and I am also a Certified Hand Therapist.   This was very special and so appropriate for me.

I hate being away from my blog but life continues to whirr by at a fast pace.  Miss this space.

Cinnamon Pizza

I guess you could say this is a Chestnut Hill Original.  After a variety of trails it all comes down to this very simple thing.   Pizza dough- store-bought or homemade.  The King Arthur Cinnamon Filling from King Arthur online.   Lastly Cinnamon Sugar.    My kids love this and requested it special this week.. It is vacation week this week and due to circumstances beyond our control we could not travel any where so spent the week at home.  For me it was a lot of cooking, cleaning and laundry as always. I keep thinking I will get those moments to paint, sew, quilt of read but then another crisis  needing to be put out arises. I have however made some of the kids favorite things.

             Cinnamon pizza being one of them.   I spread the dough out in a prepared pan- ( olive oil and some corn meal to prevent sticking)  Then I usually mix 1/2 cup of the cinnamon filling dry with 2 Tablespoons of water and spread it all over the dough.  Them simply top it with cinnamon sugar - like you would put on toast.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15 min, cut, serve and watch it disappear.
         

        So no this is not garden related but we did eat it outside.  Yes I have missed posting but we did cut through the internet cable to the house on a Pond project so we were off the grid so to speak for several days.  Get out and enjoy the remaining Summer days - they are fleeting.

Just now . . . .

Just now . . . .

         The Weather  -  it is very cold 21 but getting colder - temperatures will fall to 0 degrees by tomorrow night.  90% chance of snow tonight and tomorrow- but only like 2-5 inches.   We get a lot of snow here in total but often in smaller amounts but like every day at times and then we don't see the sun for days . . . .

        The sounds here at the computer  just now are:  are the hum of the washer and dryer running, the tea kettle on the wood cookstove  hissing,  Edna the yellow lab  huffing and her collar jingling.

           What we are eating just now . . . . Dinner was Turkey, roasted green beans, mashed potatoes, fresh strawberries and cranberry Jelly.  Making cookies and muffins for work tomorrow morning, and for weekend Robotics.

           Life is full just now, work, medical appointments, kids doing midterms, starting the college semester after moving home, pets with medical issues, family and friends passing on, un-relenting cold and snow, paperwork . . . . .

           I am creating just now . . . . not very much- not much time for that.  I am participating in a Intl. Multimedia postcard swap, a very little knitting, and dreaming of all that I want to sew, draw, paint . .
           Just Now, I am reading  Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

What are you doing Just now?

Hoping to get back to semi-regular blog posts . . I never mean to step away, life just steps in.

Christmas Tree Picking 2014

There may have been a little sun but it was bone chilling and I do not want to know what the wind chill was.

The final selection!

Goat on the loose!

Loved the sheep!

Thanksgiving 2014

So many things to be thankful . . . . good food, family, warm house, health, jobs, college kids at home. . . . Winter weather, feeding chickadees by hand.  . . . .  especially glad for wood cook stove- 2nd oven for pie baking . . . . Hoping to be present on this here ole blog more in December . . . and hoping that every one had a Happy Thanksgiving.  Blessings to all.

Everyday October . . . .

"What I really love about them... is the fact that they contain someone's personal history...I find myself wondering about their lives. I can never look at a garment/shoes... without thinking about the woman who owned it. How old was she? Did she work? Was she married? Was she happy?... I look at these exquisite shoes, and I imagine the woman who owned them rising out of them or kissing someone...I look at a little hat like this, I lift up the veil, and I try to imagine the face beneath it... When you buy a piece of vintage clothing you're not just buying the fabric and thread - you're buying a piece of someone's past.”
― Isabel Wolff, A Vintage Affair

What Story's do these shoes tell?  It is in interesting question don't you think? Where have they traveled ? What have they explored?  How many inches taller did the boy wearing them grow - while wearing them?  They belong to a 14 year old who has all but grown out of them in a mere 5 months.  He shopped in stores and online to get them and realized the cost of some of the shoes and sneakers that his friends were wearing. He was surprised to say the least.  He got these for around $50.00 so this mama was pleased as these days that is pretty good for sneakers.

Labor Day Camping 2014

Bald Mountain

Our lovely very waterproof home away from home

Our Noah Tarp keeps us nice and dry!

Fall Beauty

Fourth Lake

Just perfect end of Summer photo don't you think?

Lovely Sunset with Loons calling on the water

This Blog has been eating Blog posts . . . I have written more than you have seen.  I am not sure quite what to think of it but trying to not get to frustrated by it.

 Obviously this trip was about 10 days ago . . . but it was a lovely albeit short getaway to the ADK for a little respite with Nature and friends.  This trip left at least 18 hours after it was supposed to- we were just not ready and it seemed to make no sense to get all stressed out over something that should have been restful.  So we took a little more time to get ready with less stress but it made for a short trip.  Of course the rain on Sunday also shortened it up quite a bit.  Heavy rain does not make for friendly mountain climbing/hiking. So we packed up and hit the road for home. Looking back at the images- it was so very lovely in so very many ways!
         We enjoyed the view and Friday evening the Loons on the Lake were so very talkative it was incredible.  We went hiking-on Saturday and visiting with friends. Our campfire on the cold night- Friday was the campfire that never happened- as we talk about it because the wood that we got was fireproof wood- it would not take off and burn for any thing. Hot tea on a cool morning, the quiet of the Lake and Forest are so restorative.  You can see we are among the minority and are still tent campers.  Driving around the campground it was readily apparent that tent camping is dying. So many campers and RV's. While tent camping although not always comfortable it is certainly simple. Although I still applaud those with RV's that are getting out and spending time in Nature.
        I think that spending time in nature is so very important and whatever way works best for you is great!  I think it is the simple aspect of camping in general that appeals to me. Time to do just one thing at a time. Less multitasking that has become the everyday of this busy world we live in. Time to sit, to think , to watch and listen.  Time to be.   May we all find this simple time of being,  somewhere in someway in our lives.