The BEST Sugar Cookies

I am not really a sugar cookie fan.  I think they are dull.  After baking these today, I may change my mind because they are oh so good dunked in some tea.  The only reason I baked them is that I have a four year old in the house.  Nothing screams holiday baking more than festive cookie cutters.  I had about five of my own that proved to be worthless so my daughter got out her play dough cookie cutters and viola! Success! I hooked on this recipe at All Recipes.  They truly are TASTY!  I had to bake slightly longer than the recipe indicated (10min), but the rest went off without a hitch.  And now, I may have eaten too many.  Sigh.

Poached Eggs Anyone?

While in Nebraska for the holiday we were able to stop in Fremont for a wonderful little breakfast with my Aunt.  She served a fabulous breakfast of poached eggs, sausage, fruit and friendship bread.  Very TASTY! I never poach eggs for guests because my poacher only holds 4 cups.  What is a person to do if you have more than 2 people eating?  Well my dear Aunt had the answer.  She put several little custard dishes into her largest  skillet and filled the bottom with about a quarter to half inch of water.  Once the little bowls were tinkling together on a low boil, she added the eggs and put the lid on.  Voila!  Breakfast for four!  How could something so simple have passed me by?  I found that putting a little dab of butter in the bottom of the bowls makes the eggs slid out easily. Breakfast anyone?

Birthday Dress

My baby is one year older and much to my delight she requested a birthday dress!  I have to say I was rather delighted to oblige her since she cut me out of Halloween!  Yes, you heard it right.  A near four year old took command of her Halloween costume.  She came up with something already in her dress up stash and could not be swayed.  I have to say I was seriously disappointed. As  a a result, I was giddy with excitement when she announced a birthday dress was in order.  If you are a Pinterest fan, you may have seen something very similar circulating recently.  I used two different patterns to get the look I wanted. Most of the time even new patterns are just a remix of the same basic parts.  I would be willing to bet that if you have even a dozen patterns in your stash you will have what you need to make just about anything by mixing and matching.  I must say I am rather pleased with this one wishing only that I had made it just one size larger so she could wear it longer.

I Saw a Rainbow.......

A few weeks ago when all the snow was flying around and  tree limbs were crashing down I saw it.  Something I have never seen before.  A rainbow around the sun.  It was the most surprising thing I have ever seen.  I wasn't even aware that it could happen.  From the research I have done, it would appear to be called a solar halo not to be confused with a sun dog.  I could however, be wrong about that.  The thing that I know for sure is that it made me stop the car, and gaze in admiration at the extraordinary things that nature can do with an ordinary day.

Last Harvest

This is the last thing I harvested before the chaos of our first winter storm.  This broccoli seemed to keep giving and giving for  the entire season.  Each harvest included nice full heads not just the little off shoots you get after the main harvest.  It was truly amazing.  I would have to say the broccoli was the garden star this summer.  I have never done so well in this category.  We had 10 plants.  That seemed to be plenty for fresh eating and preserving.  I believe this was Calabrese from Lake Valley seed.  I will have to plant it again to find out if it was the seed or just the weather that made for such a wonderful harvest.

Slow Progress

As you can see, the deck is well on its way.  It goes frustratingly slow.  I think its because I dedicate 40 hours a week to something besides deck building.  I am learning a lot and might be able to help someone else someday... but for now, I am a long way from a garden party and I am certain we will not be celebrating a harvest festival on this deck by the end of the year.  Did you make some lofty goals this year that might need to carry over into the next?  Let me know.  I need to feel like I am not the only one!

Spring Snow

We have officially had our first spring snow.  It was tragic.  The entire tree canopy of Greeley looks like a tornado swept through it.  Branches are on cars.  The streets are piled with branches.  Trees are in living rooms and we have lost some of our oldest and record holding trees.  

Fall has been very warm and pleasant.  A warm weather lovers haven.  Unfortunately the trees were enjoying it too and not dropping their leaves.  18 inches of heavy, wet snow landed on our town last week.  It clung to the tree leaves and branches dragging them to the ground.  Even the healthy and trimmed were no match for the weight on the snow.

I am sad to say that my favorite "bird" tree is no more.  The top is broken from my plum and many branches were drug to the curb.  The city will be coming by to scoop them up and haul them away for grinding into mulch.  It really is a sad state of affairs but one that could not entirely be helped.

Your only recourse in these situations is to physically shake and knock the snow from the trees hoping that you have done enough to prevent the damage.  The damage from this storm will probably not be fully realized until spring and summer of next year.  If you have lost trees, you still have some time to get something new in the ground yet this fall or you can spend the winter thinking about what you want to plant in the spring.  Do you your research, make wise choices, and don't let this discourage you too much.