More Christmas

 Got out my favorite Christmas decor for the table this year (on Sunday). It may not have been out since 2013. Is that possible? Hmmm, I think it was used the year that Dead Mule Swamp Mistletoe came out (2018), but I can't verify that. Anyway... here it is (there are various parts that I switch out, but the candle holders and the bears are always central).

I made some bars (on Monday) for gifts. Do you remember the Morning Glory muffins that were popular a couple of decades ago? These are essentially the same flavors. However, these bars have no flour and no sugar. They are pretty yummy. I was thinking they might travel well for hiking, but they are probably too moist for anything longer than a weekend. However, you could probably dry them (bake at a low temp) more and crumble it up for granola. Actually, that sounds really good. Anyway, I'm keeping the recipe.

Did I mention that I really like my polar bears? When I was younger, I had delusions of changing out seasonal decor almost every month. Quickly learned I was not motivated enough to do that. But I still like to play with it once in a while.

I don't know where today went. I did quite a bit of editing and formatting. I worked some on my own books-- not writing of words, but other things that need to be done. I got the snowblower going, but one of the drive axles is not engaging, so there's another small engine hospital visit. I emptied three buckets of compost! I went to the store since we are getting a big storm tonight. I didn't feel like going but was low on coffee. Then I thought of a couple other things, and I knew I'd be unhappy with myself if I didn't go when the going was easy.

The kitchen is a raging mess. The pie is gone. Well, tomorrow will come and the dishes will still be there and the pie will still be gone. C'est la vie. I would be sad about the pie, but this was far and away the best pie I've had in quite a long time. The memory will sustain me!

Perhaps a good snow day will provide kitchen cleanup motivation. They've already called off most of the schools.

See It Just Keeps Coming

Slice of Pie, Slice of Sky

 This isn't fruits of the forest pie. Although there are different recipes, most of them also have rhubarb. I didn't have any, not even in the freezer. So this is an apple-berry pie. Apples, blueberries, red raspberries and cranberries.

I'm here to tell you that although I like pumpkin pie, I LOVE this pie.

I just used an apple pie recipe and cut the sugar and threw in the berries. It needed a little more flour-- the berries have a lot of liquid. But that doesn't affect the taste.

And now for a slice of sky-- tonight's sunset.

In other news: I edited, I cleaned up the kitchen and made something else. I solved 2 of the 3 problems with trying to get my mystery series listed with IngramSpark. I did my other piece of the Christmas decor. Stay tuned.

See Pie Day

Pie Day

 Is it possible that I haven't made a pie for four years? Apparently.

We love pie. I make good pie. But the number of desserts Om and I should be eating is approaching zero. And real pie is impossible to resist, so the only way to avoid temptation is never to allow more than a piece of pie at a time, and the only way to limit pie to that is to buy a slice at a restaurant.

And I'm a pie snob. I know good crust. I will eat other crusts, but they don't make me happy. OK, so this one got a little too done one one edge... it's because I eked out enough scraps to put a little crust in the small pan.

Anyway, I shopped for tomorrow. I made a real pumpkin pie. The little baby one was to go with dinner tonight, and Om ate his half as soon as it came out of the oven. Mine is now gone down the pie hole as well.

I wrote a little bit, but my motivation was low. Oh, and Om and I sorted some Christmas decoration boxes. I guess that counts for something.

See Dinnerpieme

Birthday Fun

 My usual birthday treat to myself is a hike. But this year I deferred that to another day. Maybe tomorrow, we'll see. I'm kind of on a roll with the book and want to work while I'm highly motivated.

But I was eating my lunch and someone called and asked me if I wanted to go out. Um... I was full. But there's always room for dessert, right? Especially pie.

Do you know who it was? It was Sue! With a friend of hers, Jan.

They had Jan's car, so I wasn't sure if I'd get to see my little buddies. But they had come too. Sophie and Annabelle are always good for smiles and licks.

And Omer got me some treat foods I'd been wanting. Some chips and pop.

And I've been inhaling broccoli. Just in the mood. Here it is with cottage cheese for breakfast. But last night for dinner I just ate a huge bowl of broccoli with butter. Yummers

Sue brought me another fun item. But I'm not going to share that until I decide where to put it. I thought I knew the answer to that when she gave it to me, but I need to rethink it. Stay tuned.

I did my editing, and then my 100 new miles of campsites, and some more formatting fixes. I may try to get more done this evening so that I'll feel good about going out to play tomorrow.

Oh yeah. What year is it? Most of you know. Finishing trip 76 around the blazing ball of gasses.

See Surprises and Blessings

Happy Birthday to Me!

  We started right out on a hike on my favorite trail with two friends, Marie and Cathy! We did 6 miles, going across the Big Sable River on the Vince Smith Bridge and back.

The hole in the ground from yesterday? We recovered my old fire pit, which was new for my 50th birthday. Built a fire and cooked up a batch of hamburgers to enjoy now and later.

Instead of cake, I made a cherry pie! Yum, yum.

Then Marie and I played a new card game she just learned this year.

The trees in back of my house are in full spring coler. I love them at this stage!

A very, very nice birthday. Thanks to everyone who sent me wishes on Facebook or in email.

Miles on the North Country Trail in 2021 is at 220.

North Country Trail, Lake County, MI, 5 Mile Rd south 3 miles and back

See Cherry Pie II

Dinnerpieme

  What do you do when there are only 2 people, but you want pie? You have pie for dinner, and then there is still plenty for tomorrow too.

Are they good? Meh... I had a can of pumpkin, so the pumpkin filling wasn't made entirely from scratch. I had 2 bags of apples I needed to use, but they weren't good pie apples, so the apple pie is too sweet. I really like Northern Spies for apple pie, but maybe that is an eastern variety. I've only found them in Michigan once. But I do make good crust.

In other news: I cleaned up the house a bit. That and pies took up the whole day. No walking occurred. No writing occurred. Josh is coming over to eat with us tomorrow. There you have it.

My microscope camera toy replacement came, but it doesn't work right either, so I returned it. Not giving that model another chance. The next better one is a whole lot more money, so it's probably not happening.

See Pi(e) is a Relationship

Gems of the Day

 
I'm on the road. Two stops. People at both of them, but well... you get a butterfly and a pie. The first is in a garden dedicated to a young man who died a couple of years ago. Tiger Swallowtail.



And now I'm with Chuck and Sylvia for the night. But you get a picture of the pie. Rhubarb pie. Oh, we are full! Tomorrow I promise to get a shot of the people.



Tomorrow, I'll continue on my way south. Stay tuned.

See Ohio Tiger Swallowtail

Once in a Lifetime Pie

 
This is a chocolate peppermint pie. Take a good look because you'll never see one like this on my blog again.



It's good, there's no doubt about that.



It has chocolate graham cracker crust, chocolate pudding filling, cream cheese and whip topping with red and green chips (which don't show) above that, and real whip cream above that, and peppermint sprinkles on top.



However, for the amount of work and fussing it was, it would need to be drop-dead-absolutely-astoundingly-spectacular, not-to-be-approached-by-any-shortcutting-of-the-steps good. Says the person who made it, who isn't really a kitchen fan any longer, "it's not THAT good." Omer says, "Oh, wow!"

If you are a kitchen masochist and want to try it, the recipe is at No Bake Candy Cane Pie

I went out on snowshoes again today. I LIKE snowshoes. The sky was interesting.



There was blue above the sumac.



A nice ending to 2018. See you next year!

In other news: I wrote chapter 15- DISCOURAGED AND PURPLE, in The Secret Cellar, cleared the driveway again, and worked on the sock. I may go to bed early with a book. Who knows.

	See Time for Friends for the last cream pie I had, which I did not make
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Conclusion to a Wonderful Weekend

 

One of the very best parts of spending time at Doug and Pam's house is the delight of music interwoven through every part of life... and not just on CDs or iTunes. I'm talking about making music.

Pam is currently in love with harps and has several Celtic harps. I had never had a chance to even pluck a string on a harp before (OK, not counting autoharps at camp), and it wasn't even on my list of things I had thought to try. But I love to try new things, and Pam is always urging people to just play with instruments (which you can tell are strewn about in great number). She showed me the correct way to pluck the strings, and gave a few other technique tips. We managed to play one duet before we ran out of time. What fun!



The day actually began with a trip to town for breakfast at the Traverse City Pie Company! You know I love pie (especially for breakfast- I had cherry.) We met one of Pam's friends there who has led an adventurous life in her own way, and we had a lively talk.



Back at the house, this was followed by another snowshoe walk which included a stop at the chicken coop to deliver the compost bucket to the chickens.



On the return to the house we passed by the sauna in progress, being worked on by Doug and son-in-law Joshua.



The rest of the time until I had to leave was filled with music. Pam also has these pentatonic harps. They were invented by and are built by a northern Michigan man. You can't play a wrong note because the strings are all tuned a fifth (penta-) apart, so anything you play just makes nice sounds. Very relaxing sort of non-structured ripples. Pam is also selling these for the builder if you are intrigued enough to want one. I fooled around and played some pretty music for the stuffed lamb. Pam has "games" she plays with people on these harps where she makes a certain kind of sound and then you respond with something similar, or sometimes something different. It was fun.



I left for home just as it was getting dark. These trees are down the road a mile or so from where I stayed, but they were SO pretty with the lights and snow-covered.



Arrived home safely before 9 pm. The weekend was everything that I needed to bring me back into focus at this moment in time. Blessings on you, Doug and Pam!



There was also time for some serious talking, and a lively game of Qwirkle (also new to me, but very fun). Tomorrow it's back to work, but I sure feel refreshed.

	See Concert at St. Joseph's for a concert harpist
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Time for Friends

 
Sometimes, midwinter, you just have to get away. I have fled to Chuck and Sylvia's house! (Secondary Roads)



Chuck and I did a good job of fooling around. Sylvia did the important stuff.



She's making the filling for a lemon meringue pie!



We've done a lot of yakking and joking and enjoying each other's company. More to come.

	See Bounty and Generosity
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