Zucchini Chaffles

 I've been trying to cut down on the carbs for quite a while now. But I love my carbs. I have found a few good substitutes. This is one of them- zucchini chaffles. I made a batch this morning, which is 6 chaffles. That will be 6 breakfasts for me.

Why am I doing this? I have my Granny's body type. This is the grandmother who competed with her brothers in goat cart races, played tennis in bloomers around 1900, rowed boats... Here she is on a horse when she was young and slim.



She climbed Mt. Marcy (highest point in NY state) in 1904.

But here's the thing. She stopped being active before I have any memories of her and became "just another" stout old lady (as to her body shape). Her health took a serious downturn when she was 76. I'm determined to fight off the stoutness. I don't like how I look that way, and more importantly, I don't like how I feel. I'm 78, so I'm already two years up on the loss of health. I weigh what I did in college, although gravity has distributed it a bit differently.

Fun fact- she was still vain enough to lace herself into a corset to try to hold the flab at bay. I remember being allowed to help with all the hooks and strings when I was a small girl. I thought that was fun. But I sure can't imagine wearing one of those contraptions!

My solution? Eat chaffles and salad and rabbit food. Cut down on sugar (I usually crave salt, not sugar anyway).

I'm in a dead heat obsession mode with the maps. Still 11 days of maps to go, but I can't make myself work on other important things until I have these done. Back at it now!

Miles walked in 2026: 296.9
Walked to the library and back.

See True Blue Gumby II

Look Where I Am!

It's been WAY too long since I've had a chance to see Ester!

And see the white flowers behind us? New plant for me, and actually a new plant fact that I had no idea about. This is Clematis recta, a shrubby clematis that is not a climbing vine. I didn't even know there was such a thing.

Here is a cluster of the flowers, closer. It has a lovely sweet scent. It's a garden plant, not native.

We went out to eat at Ester's favorite restaurant. It's way out in the country, but it has a pretty good clientele because of the quality and the atmosphere. Here's our food. I had Hawaiian chicken and Ester had sirloin.

They have this landscaped pond with little waterfalls outside the windows. I've showed you this before. But the other times we've been have been earlier in the year, so not quite as pretty as today.

There are purple martin houses and hummingbird feeders. Also, an oriole came in to get a snack while we were there.

I'm going a little bit farther south tomorrow. Stay tuned. A very fun day. It's been about 5 years since we've managed to get together.

See Not a Day Over 70

Hot Cross Buns!

I modified the healthier recipe that I used at Christmas for cinnamon rolls and made hot cross buns for Easter.

Rolls like these have been associated with the Christian tradition of Easter at least since the 12th Century. They are basically just a sweet roll recipe with spices and usually fruit included with a cross of icing on the top. The symbolism of the cross is obvious. The spices are to represent the spices associated with Jesus' burial. The rolls were a treat associated with breaking the fast of Lent.

This time, I included currants and a little cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

The nursery rhyme: "Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns" has, like most folk rhymes, had many other words added over the centuries.

One really unusual fact is that under the reigns of both Elizabeth I and James I of England it was illegal to sell hot cross buns except at Easter, Christmas, or for funerals. The penalty was that the breads were seized and given to the poor! Consequently, the treats were usually made in domestic kitchens.

They are a nice treat! We each had one tonight and will have our other two each tomorrow along with a ham.

I've made them in the past, but not for a while. We always made them at Easter when I was growing up.

It was pretty nasty outside. I edited a lot and did watch a movie in the afternoon.

See Christmas 2025

Camping Theme Ornaments

I did post once before about these in 2010, but since then I've been given a lot more ornaments for the collection. I now have so many that I didn't even put them all out. There are tents, hiking boots, paddles, canoes, skis, snowshoes, skiing and snowshoeing bears and moose, canoeing/skiing/showshoeing Santas, all kinds of camping gear, leaves, campfires. I really love the collection. Most of them have been gifts from friends. Some are hamdmade.

Over the past year I found both the green cloth and the set with the little girl and tent. That was a birthday present from Marie a lot of years ago- maybe 2007ish. I could look it up, but who cares? Anyway, I thought I lost it somewhere (not a quality event), and was really happy when I found it.

These haven't been out for several years. I decided to make it the table decoration for this year.

Sadly, you can't see the ornaments very well. I put some white lights on the tree and they don't really help the decorations show up. You'll just have to come see them yourself! Here is the left tree.

And the right tree. Can you see that the trail is the NCT? And there is a blue blaze on the tree.

Here's a closeup of the doll set. She has a tent, a sleeping bag, a pack, and a purple squirrel. The squirrel is up in one of the trees. The campfire is an ornament from National Wildlife, and the water bucket and lantern are part of a set, maybe also from NWF. The dog peeking around the corner of the tent is very like Chips. And down in front is Snoopy with his troop of Woodstock and associated campers. I'm a snoopy fan.

But Omer came home today and he plopped an obstruction down right in the trail! We'll need a chainsaw.

I continued to be somewhat lazy today, although when Om came home he got stuck in the driveway, so getting him out was my excercise for the day! Did some more cleaning in the kitchen and finished the turkey soup. Kitchens just get awful.

Back to business tomorrow.

See Camping Christmas Trees

Second Verse, Same as the First

We had a nice calm Thanksgiving.

How many people do you see in this picture? How many people do you think are involved in taking the picture? Total is two, right? Joshua did not show up again.

He called later from someone's house because he won't put minutes on his phone to say that he had fallen asleep. (as he did last year, also without a working phone).

Well, Om and I had a lovely meal. The turkey turned out great! I gave thanks for two things that made this meal possible. Mom's wonderful turkey recipe with sausage stuffing, and Dad's sharp knives and the gift of teaching me how to keep them sharp.

We kept the menu simple. Omer and I are both trying not to gain weight. We had mashed potatoes and roasted butternut squash.

And that dessert? Here's the plating. It was almost worth all the work, it's so good. Low carb and moderately low calories for what it is.

And the turkey? Since I don't do this every holiday any more, yes, it's worth it occasionally. Because of the bacon, to keep that moist, it has to be serviced evvery 15 minutes for the entire cooking time.

I did not do anything but cook and clean the kitchen after every mess until about 3 pm, and play my game a little in the short empty spaces. I think I'm going to chill for the rest of the day too.

But. frankly, this is why, if I'm going to cook, I'd rather it be for 10-plus people. Pretty much the same amount of mess and more people can enjoy it.

See Pre-Thanksgiving Madness

Pre-Thansgiving Madness (aka Food Day)

It's really a problem. I don't like to go out to eat hardly at all any more, preferring the things I fix. But as has been previously mentioned (particularly at every holiday), I am lifetime-sick-to-death of cooking.

No matter, the cooking is required if I want to eat these things. Today was nearly a total food day. I shopped. I cleaned and refilled the salad tray. It always looks so pretty when it's fresh, but I promise not to show it to you over and over.

What I did do is make some cookies for Josh because I know he won't like the dessert I made for Om and me. So, I made him coconut cookies, and they are not in danger from the rest of us. He won't see the blog, so he'll be surprised. Maybe he'll even be happy.

Then I made a dessert for Om and me. It wasn't quite as much work as the one in the link below. But it has four layers, and one of them involves cranberries. You'll see the display view tomorrow.

And then the kitchen had to be cleaned up, because of course, I get to jump right back in tomorrow morning to get the turkey in the oven. I got a small one, but the way I fix it (my mom's way) is a lot of work. That process, however, is SO worth it for the yum factor.

Om brought home a tree. It was bundled, and had been for who knows how long.

Now it gets a chance to stretch it's green wings for a few days before he starts decorating.

And just to remind you. There is now a piano back there. We put the tree out far enough that I cen get to the piano. I'm going to dig out the music and try to play some stuff for Christmas this year.

I did some regular work in the morning, but it was mainly a food day.

See Once in a lifetime pie

All Those Recreated Pictures

This is basically a duplicate of a post from 15 years ago. For some reason, Facebook has been serving me dozens of those pictures where people re-create family pictures from their youth or childhood. I don't have siblings. The few cousins I know of are too scattered and distant, and the pictures too few. But I did make one attempt.

I tried to re-imagine a family classic a long time ago, and it turned out pretty well, so I thought I'd share it again. The first picture is my grandmother, Emily M. Rowe, taken around 1940. She was a very active and athletic woman in her younger days- canoeing, hiking, playing tennis in bloomers (shocking!), riding horses, etc. She is snowshoeing here on snowshoes made in Maine by Native Americans, although she wasn't as active by that time in life.




I still own the same sweater, snowpants and snowshoes. Actually, the boots may be around somewhere, but I didn't try to find them for the re-creation, and I haven't seen them since. But I don't exactly remember throwing them away.




The bulk of my day was taken up with getting a new phone, getting it set up, and getting my apps working on it. I MAY have everything in working order. Probably not, but I can hope. Then, just in case I wasn't irritated enough, I went grocery shopping.

Came home and made a really yummy apple-cranberry coleslaw. That will last me a few days. Picture taken before I mixed it up. The dressing has dijon mustard and a little honey. It's really good!

So, I didn't manage to do much on my work projects today, just a little. Forgot to tell you I actually wrote 218 words in Vacation from Dead Mule Swamp yesterday. I'll see if I can keep that going.

See Can You Go Back Again?

And I'm Home!

Last night, we stayed with Ken and Mary near Chicago, where I visited a year ago January (link at end).

Ken is a fellow author, and Diane bought one of his fantasy books, Eclipse of the Triple Moons, for her granddaughter.

Mary has some nice garden plants.

We concentrated on driving, but had to make a couple of pit stops, of course. This is at the Welcome Center at Berrien Springs, MI. Some very nice gardens there.

We arrived at my house a little after 3 pm. Marie and Diane took on the "big sort," taking everything out of the car and figuring out who it belonged to, tallying up the money and who spent what. I went for groceries, because the fridge was bare here!

We had rhubarb chicken, rice, and corn on the cob for dinner, with Moose Tracks (of course) ice cream for dessert. Not a great picture with the sun in our eyes, but at least we will remember.

We visited a litte bit after that.

Sigh. Diane and Marie have to leave at 7:30 in the morning. They have a really long driving day tomorrow to get back to Diane's house. It would be great to have one more day together that wasn't a total rat race, but we all have lives that require re-entry.

It was a wonderful trip.

See Ice Age Trail See Stop Two - Ken

Welcome to Paradise

Made it through the first day of the Wild Blueberry Festival in Paradise!

I did quite well with sales. That said, these are long, long days of intense marketing.

Jean and I are staying with a Ludington couple who have a cabin here, and who are also vendors. In fact, there is yet another Ludington couple who are also vendors. So we all had dinner together this evening. Steve sells his photography, Bill has artwork of lighthouses, and Shirley has knitted items.

Jean made a sourdough focaccia bread to bring and share. She decorated it with vebetables and herbs to look like flowers. I'm really impressed. I see pictures of this kind of thing, but have never known someone who actually did it. It was delicious!

Lake Superior can have a temper, but it was calm and beautiful this evening.

And, because I've had a running joke on the blog for years with flamingoes, here are more different ones. These are beaded.

And now, I need to get flat and rest up to do it all over again tomorrow. At least it's supposed to be a little cooler than today.

See Festival Fun

Compost and Cole Slaw

What do those two item have in common? They alliterate. Both of them figured prominently in today's activities.

I've been composting for decades, but I rarely seem to get around to using it for anything. Decided to change that today. Look at this beautiful, rich dirt!

Some of the spaces in the rock garden on the far edge have an awful lot of really heavy clay soil. There are pockets of clay in the sand here. It was a terrible problem when they rebuilt the road in front of the house in 1990. It's a pretty bad problem in a garden too.

Can you see the three spaces that are darker? I mixed that compost in with the clay to lighten it up.

That was all the outside time I managed before things heated up.

But I had bought a cabbage yesterday so I could make cole slaw. However, I did not buy an onion because I thought I had one more than I did, so only half of the cabbage got chopped up for now.

Here's another thing this compost and cole slaw have in common- they are both in round containers and they are both made from natural ingredients.

One feeds me, one feeds the plants. What else?

I'm feeling entirely too sedentery, but it was too hot to function. I watched a movie and did computer stuff most of the day.

See Swimming and Slaw