HO Ho HO! and chocolate bobka

Chocolate Bobka from Maleks Bakery......I will be enjoying this delicious chocolate swirl inside, with chocolate frosting on top, bread/cake for breakfast tomorrow along with a steaming hot cup of pumpkin spice coffee...then Russian Tea cake after that, with another cup of coffee......

Cookies...

I made cookies yesterday but was disappointed with the outcome.....The weather was giving me a sinus headache and I was tired because the dogs were up 4 times in the night. My heart just wasn't in it. My list of cookie recipients is much smaller then in the past which added to a lack of enthusiasm for baking.

Usually I make 18 different kinds of cookies and bake for 12 hours a day for 3 days. Not this time. I made 4 different cookies. There would have been 5 but I burned the nut wedges and ended up tossing them in the garbage.

Today I get to go out in the snow....which I really don't mind I love the snow......and deliver my measly meager offering of cookies to a few friends. I should be happy, at least I baked cookies. No one else, friend or family, has had the time, and some do not have the money for this luxury. Unfortunately I will not be sending cookies across the country as in the past, overnight delivery costs are to much this year. Plus I do not have enough cookie inventory to do so. How embarrassing.

Baking cookies for the holidays is something I have been doing and have loved to do for 20 years Not to have the heart for it this year is really bothering me. To some this will be the smallest of minor problems and maybe people will shake their heads and wonder why such a big fuss over cookies. There are much bigger problems and issues to worry about. My answer.... the fuss is because baking cookies is something I love to do at the holidays and this year I just don't have the heart for it. That's it. ( maybe it's the hormones that are out of control that are partly to blame)

Whats new in the land of Cheer

My adult children are in Israel for 2 weeks they left yesterday.

The plumber just left after replacing our worn out hot water heater. We are $685.00 poorer.

My car is in the shop....hopefully all the stuff that is wrong with it is under warranty.

Gasoline is $1.89 here.

We are trying to buy a house in Naples Florida....what a funny state to do real estate transactions in......the house is in foreclosure and is a short sale which will cause a 45 day delay of notification if our offer is accepted or rejected........the real estate agent said he does not believe in global warming and has an NRA sticker in the back window of his car, his wife uses the phrase "top drawer" often and they do not do business after 5pm....

I haven't made any Christmas cookies as yet

I am still in my bathrobe sipping pumpkin spice coffee.....life is good

I learned something new......sometimes it's the simple things that make life interesting

While in the Bahamas I wandered into an art gallery and spoke with a young gentleman about some of the the photographs displayed on the walls and handmade Christmas ornaments on the tree.

The ornaments and a few of the photographs were of the same thing. Sea grape trees. I had never heard of or knew anything about sea grapes. Apparently the sea grape tree is a native to the Bahamas and helps prevent soil erosion and is a natural wind shield. Due to over development of the area and some palm greasing (according to the art gallery guy) the protected sea grape tree is a rarity on Paradise Island. ( This is the Island that the Atlantis Resort in on ) For some reason, probably because I had nothing better to do, I made finding a sea grape tree a mission.

It took a few hours but I did find a grove of the trees on the resort property. I assume 3 trees together is a grove. The excellent part of my mission is that one of the tree actually had bunches of the sea grapes. The birds, critters and Bahamians did not eat the grapes from this tree. Most likely because the grapes were not ripe. I was fascinated.

When G man and I arrived in Florida I asked my sister in law if she had ever seen the grapes on the sea grape tree. Her answer was no, she did not know that the tree produced the grapes. We found many trees at the beach and one had a few bunches of the grapes.

Sister in law was as fascinated I was. She has lived in Florida for 35 years and never knew about the grapes. The trees are protected in Florida and are being planted along the coast in great numbers.

Of course I had my camera with me and snapped pictures of the grapes. I hope you enjoy them. Please do not eat them as the grapes are not ripe.

Here I go again

Last night I packed for the Bahamas....the suit case weighs 38.6 lbs....so I am good to go at the airport. I have my camera bag ready, batteries are all charged, Ipod and head phones in one of the pockets, two books in the front flap, charger for cell phone and Ipod. My handbag is packed with passport, two pair of sunglasses, lipstick, hand cream, cell phone, aleve, small jewelry case, reading glasses and wallet.

Good thing I am writing this I need to pack underwear, an extra disk thing for the camera, and money. How could I forget these. Hopefully the ATM still has some cash in it or else G man and I go with no money.

Read you all when I get back.

PS: in case of an emergency I will be at the Atlantis Resort

The kitchen Sink

Yesterday while G man was washing the Thanksgiving pots and pans he heard a sucking sound. The kitchen sink gave way and fell from under the counter with the water and a pan still in the well of the sink.

We had the sink installed in 2004 along with granite counter tops. This morning I called the company that did the work. They are closed due to the holiday. So I have mega dirty dishes, pots and pans, and am leaving for the Bahamas on Sunday. G man is on his way to Home Depot to talk to the "experts" there to get information as to how to re-install the sink.

Needless to say he and I argued about him re-installing the sink. But what do I know, he fancies himself a Mr. Fix it and that is that. My concern is he will crack the granite while drilling holes for the clips. He says he won't if he has the correct tools. Exactly. The correct tools are needed.

Oh well. If one does not take chances in life how will one know what one is capable of. Good Luck G man. I 'll be upstairs in the office kitchen washing the dishes.

Thanksgiving

This year G man's cousins are not coming for dinner. They decided to stay home with the baby and cook for their family. This will be Cousin Laura's first Thanksgiving dinner to cook by herself. I know she will do well and have alot of fun. Our table will be a little quieter and dinner a little smaller, the cousins will be missed.

My two brothers and their families, my mom, Veggass, and my cousin Andrea will be here. Jenny G and I have invited a few of her friends to come over. Some of them have families out of town and some of them just like to be here. I am not sure how many will show up, but the more the merry. I really love having people over for the holiday.

Becasue I am not working outside the house my time to plan and prepare for the day is my own. Having this time is fabulous, a luxury. Almost frivolous. For years I worked and could not get the time to plan and prepare. Then when I stopped working to stay at home with the kids my time was theirs not mine. But now I am free of work and kids activities. I never knew having time to myself could be so luxurious.

This freedom feels like selfishness. Sometimes I look around and hope the kids or G man will ask me to do something for them just so I don't feel so selfish. They do once in awhile but for the most part the novelty of me being able to run errands, make lunch, or switch loads of laundry for them has worn off. ( When I closed the store everyone wanted me to do for them, not so much now)

So now I am able to do what I want. My list of 2009 New Year resolutions could become a list with many check marks to indicate.......finished that.

At the Thanksgiving dinner table I will be able to say I am thankful for time and all that time allows me to do. Time is truly a luxury and one I will not squander.

FYI

I'm making cranberry mustard and pumpkin butter for Thanksgiving.
Just thought you would like to know what I am doing.

2009 New Year resoultions

1. Doctor visit...complete physical

2. Brush dogs at least once a week....now they are lucky if it is once a month.....

3. Volunteer on a regular basis

4. Have my camera with me at all times....well at least when feasible

5. organize all my recipes, cookbooks, and cooking magazines

6. get more archival storage boxes for my photos

7. photograph and document all my family heirlooms......( I have half of this done all ready)

8. frame my favorite photos

9. steal all the pictures and pedestal cakes plate I can from my mother.....ok I'll ask if I can have a few of them, if she says no I will steal them for safe keeping

10. start to declutter my house

I have to make the list now so I can prepare for the tasks and goals ( resolutions) I have decided upon.

Does anyone else have a list yet?

Images of my part of the Erie Canal

Icons

I went to the art gallery last Thursday night with Jenny G.......the show was for Icons from the Romanov period of Russian history (300 years). I am fascinated with last of the Romanov's and secretly hoped that Anastasia and Alexi did escape the massacre ordered by Lenin of the their family in 1917. Sadly the two children did perish and the end of a hoped for happy ending died too. But the show was not focused on just Nicholas and Alexandra, there was 300 years of Icons represented.



The images at the gallery were beautiful yet primitive. What I found most intriguing were the Icons prior to the Western influence of Icon art. The pre Peter the Great, he was the one that ordered Russian artists to learn from western artists how to paint, Icons show images of people with dark skin, very tight curly dark hair, flat broad noses and most with brown eyes. The Icons with obvious Western influence show people with light skin, blond hair, blue eyes with long slender noses.



One other tidbit I found fascinating. The Russians believed that the Icons were windows to heaven. That a glimpse of what comes after death can be seen by honoring the images presented in the Icons.

Peace

Thank you Sans P

....go here to learn more

Got this from Dave

ALmost Home made

Is it me or does the hostess for the Semi Homemade cooking show have an annoying voice and mannerisms? Her name is annoying too....Sandra Lee

New friends

Yesterday I made a few new friends. There are a couple of minor problems with continuing the friendship tho.....most of them are in a form of jail and they like to eat alot of fiberish foods.......pee u! And they haven't bathed in awhile....I think that might be due to the jail they are in. But they sure are cute to look at......

Autumn Compote.....eeeeewwwwww

I made it, I tasted it and NEVER will make it again.....eeeewwwwww

Autumn Compote

Today I will be making Autumn compote. Pumpkin, pineapple, apricots, golden raisins, Cinnamon and other spices. I am not sure why the recipe calls for pineapple ( is that an autumn fruit?) but I will follow the recipe and add the tangy yellow fruit. MMMMMMM.....any recipe that has cinnamon in it is worth a try. I love cinnamon!

If I have time my plan is to make triple ginger cookies later this afternoon. Hopefully the neighbors will like them. If the cookies stay in my house I will eat them all.... the other G's in the family do not like ginger cookies. It's the smell of the ginger I really like....ok the taste too! I admit it.

Does anyone know of a way to ship cookies across the country so that the cookies will not end up as crumbs during transit?

What has happened to homemade

I went to the Hilton Apple Festival over the weekend expecting homemade pies, jams, jellies, apple sausage, candied and Carmel apples and fresh from the farm picked apples of all varieties. What was there was pre-made and packaged store bought crap! Hot canned apples from Sysco to put over the Wegmans brand vanilla ice cream, freaking candied apples from Canada, apples dipped in canned Carmel sauce, cold boxed pizza from local pizza shops, apples in pre packaged plastic bags, ridiculous flavored fudge...... like hot pepper and mint....oh that is a delicious flavor. Apple bread that was $10.75 for a loaf, packaged in a PLASTIC bag.

This part of New York is apple country. So it is really disappointing to have non homemade items available to purchase. Where is the pride? And there wasn't even any applesauce!

Needless to say I will not go next year. I want homemade!!!

PS: I do make my own applesauce, hot apple slices, apple pie, apple kugel, etc. all from fresh local apples.

Water for Sudan

2 nights ago Jenny G and I went to a presentation about Salva Dut and his efforts to raise money for drilling water wells in the Sudan. The program, movie, and brief speeches from Salva Dut and 2 other Sudanese men were so inspirational that I have decided to spread the word about this worth while effort.

Salva Dut is one of the surviving Lost Boys of the Sudan, ( see this website http://www.lostboysfilm.com/ ) He and his team have been able to drill 29 wells in the Sudan to provide clean water for about 80,000 people. The availability of clean water has allowed villages to provide schools, markets, and stability to thousands of people. The people of the villages participate in the drilling and maintaining of the well once it is drilled.

I can not do this justice. Seeing the movie, available on DVD, and listening to Slava Dut are the best ways to understand how important the wells are to the Sudanese. How clean water can change the lives of thousands for the better.

Please go to the website http://waterforsudan.org/, the words there can better explain what I am trying to convey here.

some minor stuff...........

I closed my store August 30 and with that,,,,, thought I would have some time to do what has been neglected for 3 years...yard work, house cleaning, closet, cupboards and drawer organizing, all the mundane things that make a messy home not so messy. HA! G man, Double G and Jenny G all have a list of things for me to do for them. All of a sudden no one can do for themselves.....It's nice to be needed!!!!

We got the tail end of IKE....high winds which caused large tree branches to crash down upon the ground missing the hot tub by inches......thankfully that is all. Hopefully our yard guy will remove the debris.

3 of my dogs have diharrea....yuck.....stink ass, poop puddles, and dingleberries abound........the vet gave meds to help with the diarrhea........I caught Sammi eating the remains of a dead bird, which could be the reason the other dogs have been sick....they may have shared in the feast..........ugh, yuck, gross, thinking about it makes me wretch.......

Lucy our yellow lab, the most gentle, happy, kindhearted dogon earth........ was attacked by a German Shepard yesterday........G man was running with Jack and Lucy, the dogs can't keep up with him so he lets go of the leashes and the dogs are usually 10 yards behind. They do not stray and just run behind G man. Which was the routine last night. The damn German Shepard charged out of it's yard and attacked Lucy....she being docile just laid down on her back and didn't fight back.....according to the German Shepard's owner Jack got into the fight and caused a momentary halt to the attack so the owner, whom is 5 months pregnant, could grab her dog.....G man heard the woman scream and raced back to get our dogs..........she blamed everything on G man. The end of the story is the German Shepard owners do no believe in fences, or invisible fences because it makes dogs aggressive.....HAHAHAHAHAHA.... how stupid!!!!!!!..... your dog came out of your yard and bit my dog.......she said well my dog thought your dogs were strays.......what???????????...........Lucy is ok....I took her to the vet...she had a puncture wound that we will watch for infection.........I drove past the German Shepard's house today and threw imaginary eggs at it....I hope the paint peels.

G man sold his Audi convertible and surprised me with a new ( used, 2 year old, we don't buy new cars) car. He is trying to sell my G35x.......I am ok with that.......the new car is not as sporty.....but.......the seats are air conditioned and it has navigation, a back camera, satellite radio, blue tooth phone something or other, and really cool controls for stuff. The controls are hidden in secret panels. I love the color too.....a deep green with gold flecks........the interior is beige...nice.......the only bad thing is the cup holders suck. I guess one has to take the bad with the good. We are trying to down size....... car payments and insurance will be substantially lower because we will only have the new car and G man's car he uses for work.

Vegas was fun. I shopped a little, played slots a little, lost at three card poker, lost at casino war. How do you lose at casino war when you have a king. Well silly,,,, The F'ing casino gets an ACE that's how......three times in a row!!!!!!! I gave up gambling after that. The Beatles LOVE show was beyond fabulously fantastic. Emril's Delmonico restaurant was incredible..........food, service wine, coffee, not one bad thing.......I even saw almost all my boyfriends from across the country. Tony April, Freddie, Mike B, Eddie Tobey, and Eddie Meltzer. 2 of the guys were missing....Texas Tony and Puffy. It was nice to see them and laugh with them. Freddie was really buff too.....he is recently divorced and needs to look good.........he does.......and he feels good when ya hug him........They are all a bunch of sweethearts, hard working, mostly about business, but able to take time to indulge in laughter and fun. I just love those guys and their wives.

I am suppose to be working on our taxes....I have to go....

Big Horn Sheep on the Rocks....Valley of Fire

just in case you were wondering.....

I was at poolside in Las Vegas ALL day.....under an umbrella, on a large round day bed that had multiple positions.....drinking water and 1 $10.00 mojito......reading two books......97 degrees, sunny with a light breeze....the only thing I could ask for was G man next to me...he had to work the show.......poor guy.....


Pictures of big horn sheep to follow in a few days.....

Sunflowers along Clover Street

more from NYC

Time Square

I was amazed at the crane attached to the building and can not figure out how the experts got it up to the top
a sculpture along the walkway of the Hudson River or is it the Harlem River? from Ground Zero to Battery Park
click on the next picture of the plaque and this sculpture from the World Trade Center will be explained.....as I read the plaque I cried

The Empire State building and the original Macy's in Herald Square
Ground Zero view from the Winter Garden

Central Park
Inside FAO Schwartz

coming into the city from JFK
Central Park horse and Carriage

This horse stomped his hoof to let his owner know he wanted his dinner

Central Park again