Kitchen Puzzles

Well, I don't have too much to share today. This was the best moment. It wasn't quite truly a LOL moment, but I was so surprised I did grunt and say, "Ha!"

Om bought some chicken salad that was so sloppy with sauce he didn't even want to eat it. We pushed it through this strainer and got it reduced to a much better texture. When I turned it over (not sure why I did this- just to expose that side to water to clean it, I guess), this design became evident. It just tickled me because it was a surprise. Doesn't take much to entertain me, right? It looks like some kind of game maze.

Ignore dirty dishes behind it.

The other kitchen puzzle is that we got a cheap air fryer. We weren't sure, still aren't, how much we'll use it, so we didn't want to spend a lot for features that we don't care about.

I've used it about 5 times so far- trying to get better at understanding it. Pictured on the plate is a low-calorie cinnamon roll. I made a small pan to see if they were edible enough to have for Christmas. As mentioned before, Om and I are both attempting to not turn into blimps over the holidays. And I baked the pan in the new toy. New recipe and new appliance is a real puzzle. Could have been a total disaster.

Anyway, they aren't like wheat flour bread, but they are OK, so we'll have them for Christmas breakfast.

In other news- I worked at all the usual things.

See A New Kitchen Toy

Howard Meade Rowe 1881-1941

I learned a little bit more about my maternal grandfather this week. I actually found his obituary. It told me things I did not know, but also teased me with more tiny snippits of partial info.

I did not know where he and Granny were living when he died. However, they are both buried in Spencer, NY, in the Fisher/Rowe family plot.

Friend Diane was able to look up the 1940 census info and determine that they were living in Hamilton, NY, in 1941. I only knew the year of his death. However, none of the papers in Tioga or Madison County carried an obituary.

So I took my searches in another direction. I knew that he was a lawyer, so I added that to the search. Up came his obituary in the New York Times, of all things! I'm not totally surprised. I knew that was where he practiced law for a number of years, particularly when my mom was in high school. And then I had to find a friend with a NYT subscription to get me a copy of the page.

But the obit tells me that in addition to being a NY City lawyer, he was an official of the Nestle Food Company and also of Fort Schuyler Farms of Utica, NY. I think this is an error, and it should say Fort Schuyler Club, an exclusive private club founded in 1883. I knew that he had quite a lot of prestige, and Granny was very proud of that. Date of death, March 14, 1941.

Here is another picture I've shared before of Howard in 1911 with Jacques on the left and Catherine (Mom) on the right, ages 4 and 2.

He was born in Norway, Maine. I've always known that, but I didn't realize the Rowe family is fairly prominent there. I found a news clipping from 1903 where a Mrs. and Miss Rowe were guests at ex-governor Perham's home. I suspect the Mrs. Rowe was Howard's mother Annie- see link below for a picture of her in her last year of life. The Miss Rowe might have been his sister Helen.

And this suggests a few more explanations. Annie's mother was a Perham. So they were probably related to the governor. And somewhere among my many boxes and trunks is a dress that was supposedly worn by someone to Governor Perham's innaugural ball. So that begins to make some sense.

This search was brought on by my reading a novel where someone finds out, shockingly, that an aunt committed suicide. Since, sadly, that was how Howard died, it made me newly curious.

I went to my appointments today on the correct day! Did errands, tried a new recipe. Didn't sleep much last night. May have to go lie down soon.

See How Far Back Can You Go?

cARTier trail

I can't believe I never shared any of these with you before, but apparently not.

Cartier Park in cooperation with the Ludington Area Center for the Arts has installed three large frames that have art displays that change every few months.

The three currently on display are: "Peace" by Francie Skarritt. She "likes to have fun experimenting with different ways to portray real and abstract images." (part of the text that is displayed below the image)

This one is "Thy Own" by Erin Houghtaling. She "explores the interplay between identity, memory, and myth through the medium of collage."

The third is more traditional "Lincoln Lake Birch" (and the park is on the shore of Lincoln Lake) by Helen Heddens. "Landscapes are her favoirte subject; the natural beauty around this area of Michigan lends itself to many beautiful scenes."

Someone has also decided there should be a little Christmas cheer in the park. I found three trees that had a few decorations hung on them. This is the most showy.

So the day got off on the wrong foot. I have two appointments... tomorrow. But I went to town for them today. Um. That didn't work. So I went to the park and walked instead! That did work.

The biggest project at home was getting 20 inches of packed snow off the trailer roof. I really goofed and didn't get it covered before snow hit this year. I got it pretty well cleaned, but not dry. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I don't think I can cover it then. We are supposed to have three days above freezing next week, so I'm taking a chance on being able to do it then.

Miles hiked in 2025: 472.8

Cartier Park, Ludington, MI. Twice around the loop plus spurs. 2.8 miles

See Photoessay in Black and White

West Shore Concert Choir- Christmas 2025

Tonight was the full concert of the West Shore Choir. This is the choir that sang several songs at St. Joseph's last week, joining with the bells to create a full hour of music.

They had eleven pieces, an ambitious program for only one rehearsal a week! But it was great. Director Becky Sopha always gets mega music out of the group. Of course, quite a few of the members are friends of mine, too.

These young people, Grace and Carson, sang "Baby, It's Cold Outside," "Let it Snow," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

It's really hard to get pictures to focus in the low light. I took lots more, but you are seeing a few of the better ones that show some of the variety.

The final segment of the program featured several selections from Handel's "Messiah." For those there was a live mini-orchestra. I love it when local performances take advantage of local talent. I didn't manage to get all the instruments in the picture- the light wasn't consistent and either one half was too dark or too light. But you get the idea.

And this is the soloist, Neysa, who sang "O Thou that Tellest Good Tidings to Zion."

There was a visit from Santa Claus, more solos, and the ensemble I showed you at St. Joe's that sang "Carol of the Bells."

I skipped a Zoom meeting to attend this. No regrets.

In other news, I was super-good today. I edited and stuff like that. Did several jobs outside since we are going to have a mini thaw and I need to finish up a few tasks, then I took a short snowshoe walk, went to bell practice, and then to this concert. Full day!

Miles hiked in 2025: 470.0

Ludington School Forest- various trails, 1.1 miles.

See Concert at St. Joe- 2025

Two More Snowy Miles

Cathy and I and a third person went and did another two miles on the NCT on snowshoes. We went where others had hiked just before the weekend, so the snow was not completely unbroken.

Even though there was a path (partially filled in from new snow), we were perfectly content to just do a mile in and then back out. That was tough enough. I apparently have less stamina on snowshoes than I used to have.

It was cold, but we bundled up and were plenty warm. Good to be outside!

I had another event this evening, but I'll tell you more about that later.

Miles hiked in 2025: 468.9
Miles hiked on the NCT in 2025: 253.8

North Country Trail, Manistee County, MI. North from Udell TH one mile and back.

See Spirit of the Woods Hike- December