We got snow again

Snow still falling. We shoveled the steps yesterday. This morning B is out with the big snowblower.

Snow??

It's gloomy outside at 1:30 as the picture shows. Usually the sun is shining right in my eyes right about now. A bit of snow remains from the small amount that fell Christmas Eve. More as snow on the way with the question how much

The nut roll I made several days ago really turned out GREAT! That makes up for the first effort that bombed. We had prime rib from Price Chopper for Christmas and it was exceptional! Right now we are looking at The Chew. While a repeat that we saw, it's still good.

Minimal goals for the day. I'm going through magazines and throwing them out after the re-read. I'm also trying to email a recipe using a new program I got a bit ago called Master Cook. Something is not working...so I have to reread the directions. When in doubt, read the directions.

Merry Christmas

A bit of snow last night gave us a White Christmas. Honey is busy enjoying her present while B is on his iPad. I'm looking at the paper and we are in joking Good Morning America. Merry Christmas!

Heavy Rain Now Snow!

Yesterday was rather warm and we were expecting a storm. It's been gloomy most of the week with light rain. Yesterday late afternoon the winds were kicking up a bit and we could tell the rain would soon reach us. What we didn't expect to see was SNOW which was very evident when we turned the outside flood lights on to take Honey for her final evening walk around 9:00. Out we went and the air did not feel very cold. The snow quickly turned to rain and it rained all night - at times quite hard. This morning it was in the 40s with wind and heavy rain. The water was racing down our road and the stream by our property was fast and wide. Honey did NOT want to venture out despite the fact that she needed to "go potty". So, I tried the old back door sneak - for some reason when she balks in going out in the rain by the front door she will go right out the back door. It was still dark but the back floods were on so out we went through a downpour and back in - both of us rather wet. We went out to breakfast and could see the lake was high and run off from the woods and yards cascaded down the gullys and yards pushing leaves into the road. By the time we were back home the temperature had dropped several degrees. Later this morning the rain turned to snow. The snow isn't amounting to anything - just tiny little flakes that disappear when they hit the ground. It's 34 outside (3:00 PM) and our low tonight should be in the 20s.

My main goal for the day was to make nut roll. B and I were talking about various holiday food and his mom's nut roll was part of that discussion. I had a cook book she had gotten for me that had a number of Polish recipes in it. I found one for nut roll but it called for a yeast cake. Now I know what that is but haven't seen them for sale for quite some time. After several google searches I found a conversion from yeast cake to rapid rise yeast. The recipe called for half a yeast cake so I halved the yeast not realizing that the cakes are two ounces rather than one. Well, the dough was like lead never rising. I threw it out and went back to the Internet where I found an "easy" Croatian nut role recipe that only took one rising. The filling is cooked on the stove to thicken it and then the dough made (very sticky). The filling came together well, the dough was so sticky I added flour and then followed the directions.

Half the dough was rolled out and the filling spread over it. It's been a long time since I've made a bread roll so I took a lot of pictures to refer to. I was surprised how easily this rolled out once I had the dough the right consistency.

 

 

 

 

 

I rolled from the bottom up and then pinched the two edges and used some water to seal the seam.

 

 

 

 

Only a little of the filling leaked out on the left side. They baked for 30 minutes.

 

They are cooling right now - I'll report later on how they tasted!

 

A productive day!

 

 

 



The Week Before Christmas

It's hard to believe that next Tuesday is Christmas! The house is decorated - lights on the railings outside and on two smallish "Christmas Trees" at the steps to the front door. It really looks nice. Inside we have a small tree on a table in the lower level. Since Honey came, large trees on the floor don't seem like a good option. So, the main level is minimal decorations. There is a ceramic tree in the loft - one that was made for me by a co-worker who owned a ceramic shop. The two angels that another friend made are on the mantel in the bedroom (along with our Christmas stockings). It really does look festive but minimal. Works for us!

Monday we took a trip to Target in search of a door mat. It's been rainy and warmish (above freezing) and so it's very muddy. Our last door mat vanished around the time we had the deck painted - we probably threw it out due to age and condition. Target had some on sale so off we went. We found a very nice one with three large ornaments on it. We also found a non-holiday one that says Welcome that we also purchased. Picked up one or two other things. Yesterday we went to two places for kielbasa. There had been an article in the Scranton paper about these two so we figured we would get a ring from each place. Tonight is the tasting - perhaps we will just try one tonight and the other another night. I'm planning on making nut roll. B's mom made the best nut roll for the holidays. I found a recipe on line that sounds similar so that's on today's schedule.

This morning, when we headed out around 7:15, the windshield of the car needed to be scraped. The past several days, while rainy, were warm enough that that was not a concern. At least today is sunny. The chance of snow over the weekend is in the forecast. We will be happy if that doesn't happen.

Next up - Honey is indicating she needs to take a walk!

Snow in November

We expected snow and when we awoke this morning there it was! While we have had flurries, this is the first snow that stuck. At 5 this morning it was just a dusting. Thick, fat flakes fell fast and by 7:00 there was enough to make the roads a bit slick. Off we went to breakfast with the main roads a bit snow covered. I generally go to the library to work Tuesday morning but as the snow accumulated I decided that I would stay home. After an email to the library, I did some work around the house and then set up the printer that was delivered yesterday. This HP printer will allow us to print from our iPads as well as wirelessly access it. I have it up in the loft for easy access from down stairs and will use it for color printing up here. I do mostly print using the laser printer as that is much less expensive. However, the ability to print from the iPad is a great convenience!

We were out often today with Honey, who really enjoys the snow. Below are some pictures I took on one of our "out and about" walks.

She is so cute - she just plunks down. 

These pictures were taken a bit before noon. The snow fell straight down as there was little or no wind. 

The trees and shrubs were quite lovely!

By afternoon it warmed up enough that the snow melted on the roads and driveway. As I look out of the window up in the loft, the trees are still dressed in snow. What's left will probably freeze overnight. 

Snow

Yikes it's snowing! Not much in town and temps above freezing

SuperStorm Sandy - That was the Week That WAS

It’s hard to believe that anyone was not aware that a major storm was approaching this past week. Predictions and computer models were talked about morning to night. The weather people did a fine job of alerting everyone we were in for a doozie. Because of this we made several runs to the store Monday in preparation “just in case”. The loss of power seemed a real possibility and our electric company had left a phone message saying we could be without electricity for several days. While we have a generator that gives us some lights, TV and Internet, pumps the water and also powers the freezer, it is not hooked up to the heater. To prepare for this event, I vacuumed, did several loads of laundry, and generally tidied things up while B blew leaves (again) and did some other prep stuff. We also watched TV to monitor the impending storm, choosing to watch WPVI in Philly as they had the best coverage and we still have many friends in the Philly/South Jersey area.

Dinner was stuffed round roast pounded thin with gravy. We were eating dinner when the lights flickered and then went out. The generator kicked in and all was fine. Had water – hot and cold, TV, Internet and lights. We finished dinner and I washed up rather than put anything in the dishwasher because YOU NEVER KNOW! We went to sleep with the sound of the generator…and it was getting cold.

Tuesday found us with gloomy skies, rain and the aftermath of the high winds we had overnight. The generator was still on – TV and Internet were out – bummer! We used the cell phone to check and found on Facebook that downed wires on a road close to us. OK, maybe that was the cause of no power. We agreed that if the electricity was not on y 8:30 AM we would turn off the generator in case this was going to last several days. I filled several pots and jugs for both flushing and drinking. I also moved perishables from the refrigerator to a cooler with some of the ice we had. We then turned the generator off. And we moved down to the family room where we have a propane fireplace. It got colder with the outside temperature dropping to 45 and the house temperature was dropping too. B made a trip into town and noted that while the Post Office and diner was open, most businesses were closed. Trees down but no major damage that we could see to homes. The loss of electricity looked wide spread. On our walks with Honey we could hear other generators working. One we knew was for an a house used only on weekends. While the generator goes on automatically they only go off when you turn them off or they run out of propane. We did see two PPL trucks at the bottom of our road checking the power lines. B had called to report the power was out so it was good to see they knew about us. We turned the generator back on around 4 and charged the phones and turned on the lights. Still no TV or Internet. I cooked dinner on a single burner electric hot plate. As we finished diner, there was a click and the lights went on! We also had cable TV and Internet. So we put the house back in order, empting pots of water and plugging in things to get charged. We were looking at TV when the lights again went off and the generator went back on. After 5 minutes it was still running so B went down and turned it off and we went to sleep.

Wednesday was again gloomy and dark. We again turned the generator back on and made breakfast. This is getting bad! It was really cold in the house. Outside it was 39 and inside it was 54. B had an appointment and the place was open so off he went while I again filled pots and such off, made sure everything we needed was charged, and again turned the generator off. I went down to the fireplace and worked on my laptop. Honey laid by the fire for a bit and then moved as it was really warm there. Around 11:30 AM the power came back on. It did flicker once but stayed on. The heat came back on and all was good!

We are aware that our experience is nothing compared to what folk in Southern Jersey and New York are dealing with. Some pictures below that I took over the three days.

 Tuesday night dinner was better with this big spot light flashlight along with the three candles.

No TV but at least we could see

 A tree down on the other circle in our community

 The other circle had a tree on some lines. Could be why they got power after we did. 

 At least the trees that came down didn't hit any houses on the circle

Lots of woods means lots of trees

More Cabbage Used

Dealing with 14.68 pounds of cabbage is a challenge! I started with cabbage soup - 2 containers are in the freezer. This morning my goal was to make a small batch of sauerkraut. I sliced 2 1/2 pounds in the food processor, added salt, mixed well and let it sit for about 2 hours. The cabbage was soft and water/brine had formed (what I wanted to happen). I then put the cabbage into a quart canning jar and the little bit that didn't fit went into a jelly jar. Right now they are sitting on my kitchen counter doing their thing. The anticipated result is fermentation and then sauerkraut. I'm to skim any scum off every day or so. I'm not sure how long this will take as temperature of the kitchen controls the speed. (spent some time this morning reading in canning books and on line. I don't intend to can - will just refrigerate.   Because there was still quite a bit of cabbage left, I shredded some more and after steam blanching and cooling, filled several trays of my dehydrator and am drying it. I've not done cabbage before but I have dried other veggies so this should not be a problem. I'm so pleased with myself I took a picture!

The red jar is 2 red peppers I put in the dehydrator yesterday. As you can see, the cabbage is packed into the large jar. It should bubble and maybe spill over, thus the plates. 

It was a successful day!

Some pictures for Mike

Here is the new car! It is quite nice and beeps as a safety feature if one gets too close to something when you back up. It also has this neat light that flashes on the dashboard by the window on both sides to tell the driver someone is in their blind spot. I haven't driven it yet but it is comfortable!

B was blowing the leaves on the driveway while I took these pictures. If you look back you can see where he had been and where he was going. It will look good for about an hour as it's windy and the leaves are really falling!

Cabbage Soup

We were shopping earlier this week and purchased a head of cabbage - all 14 pounds of it. Yes, one head, 14 pounds!

One VERY large head! Clearly too large to put in a pot to loosen the leaves for stuffed cabbage. So I went to my box of recipes to try and located a recipe from the local paper for "Sally Beckering's Cabbage Soup". Of course I made some changes but it's basically her soup.

First off, cut the cabbage - so I took about a fourth of it.  

I decided to first chop the onions and celery and start them cooking in 6 cups of water. Diced about 3 stalks of celery and then a rather large onion. I use coffee liners to hold this type of thing as it makes it easier to add to the pot when cooking.

I then cut the cut the piece of cabbage into rather large slices and then chopped it into small pieces. Since the recipe called for a medium head of cabbage and I was cutting back on the water, I went with 10 cups of chopped cabbage. I added this to the simmering water and cooked 1 pound of 85% hamburger in another pan while I stirred the simmering soup every so often.

After simmering the cabbage, onion and celery until tender (about 20 minutes) I added 2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce, 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes with juice and a teaspoon of beef base and the drained ground beef.  I also had some tomato slices left from last night's dinner so I chopped them and added to the soup. Stirred well and after bringing up to a boil, I turned the soup down and had myself a glass of wine!

I let it summer about 20 minutes.

I then added 1/3 cup of catchup, stirred well and let it simmer while I cleaned things up and set the table. The recipe also had you adding some brown sugar which I did NOT do.

It was very good - a filling soup for a cold fall night. 

Since it was cool out last night I just plopped the lid on the pan and set it out on the deck (fenced in and up rather high)

This morning I brought it in and filled 3 freezer quart containers. I think I'll freeze two and we will have the third for lunch sometime over the next few days.

This was good and would have even been better had I served freshly baked bread (dream away).

At this point I'm not sure how I will use the rest of the cabbage.

Good Bye Summer

One of the clear indications of summer ending is the docks coming out. Since the docks come out this weekend, the boat needed to come out this week. B had scheduled it for today - with the understanding that weather would be the determining factor. At first the forecast sounded good but by yesterday they were calling for fog. They were right - fog on the lake but not really heavy. So, off we went. As First Mate, my job is the lines - tying up, casting off, so on. So while the Captain started the engines, I untied the lines totally removing the ones in the front as well as the spring line. However, due to the shortness of the dock (or the length of the boat) the aft lines went with the boat to be removed on land. It started to drizzle as B backed out of the slip. I walked down the dock and drove off to meet B at the public ramp where the marina would pull the boat. 

He made it! Here he lines up to be pulled out

And here is the boat on the trailer. They clean the bottom then shrink wrap it for the winter.

While I'm sorry boating season is over, fall is a lovely time of year. Our leaves have been turning and as you look around you can see yellows, reds and orange as the leaves change and then drop. 

Here I looked down - one of many leaves on the driveway. B has to get the blower out almost every day due to the leaves and acorns that fall at this time of year.

The trees you go through to get to the docks. You can just about see the road. 

The day has turned muggy and we should be warm tomorrow also with temperatures in the mid 70s. Then rain and cooler temperatures next week. At least it isn't snow!!

Happy Birthday Honey!!!

Today was Honey's birthday - she is 2 years old. It is amazing how much she has grown both in size and behavior. There was a time we were not sure we would make it - such a little stinker. She ate several Cable remote controls during the phase of eating electronics. Pillows, toilet paper, shoes, pens, magazines - so much was eaten, chewed and played with. I'm just starting to leave a pillow on the bed and we still move TV clickers and phones when we leave the house. She still will grab a sweater left on the chair or a sock if left on the floor. We can now leave shoes on the floor when we sit in the living room and while she checks them out, she doesn't eat them. She still barks way too much - at many things that move outside the window. I often get an order from Amazon delivered by UPS. Honey hears the truck before it turns into our road and is up on the chair barking. She is ecstatic when the UPS guy pulls into the driveway. Several neighbors wave as they pass as you can see Honey in the window on one of the two chairs. She keeps us active as we take her for walks around the property. Sometimes for a potty break and other times just for a walk about. She gives great kisses and often sleeps in Bs lap on beside me on the sofa. She makes funny noises when she sleeps and at times you can tell she is having a nice dream. She is good at night and very rarely needs to go out unless she is sick. She loves raw carrots, special treats, eating and just being our girl. Happy Birthday, Honey!!

Boating

Another ride on the boat. lovely day

The Lake

Lovely day for a ride on the lake!!