Life in the Bristolwood

was that I would try to post an entry each day here on my blog.

Phooey! I have no photos today! 

The kids and I went out early this  morning to deal with the snow so Mark could plow with the ATV.  While shoveling,  I must have pulled something in my back, or twisted funny, as my back grumbled a great deal the rest of the day.

I was able to find another fun activity, though…..namely, going through what seems like zillions of receipts for items bought this year. I checked them with the statements issued by the credit card company, as well as our bank statements.  I worked on these until I thought my eyeballs would spin out of their sockets.  I had just leaned back and thought how comforting my bed would be when Ben came to the rescue, offering to further help me.  We worked together for a couple more hours, sorting and filing until we both vowed we were going to open the window and just let them sail away in the bitter winds~

I also made some hot dog buns today.  I had bought some Kosher hotdogs that I like, but they are incredibly large.  No matter what kind of buns I have bought, they always seem to come up short.  So,  I actually made the buns from scratch, even kneading them by hand!  I made up a batch of eight, and when I removed them from the oven,  Ben and Michelle were both razzle-bedazzled by their beautiful golden color.  I made eight and we each had one.  Ben and Michelle said they were good, but Mark didn’t comment….he had spent some time in the garage today, working on a wood project with Michelle.  I had made a fire in the little Jotul out there so they were relatively warm,  but they both came in and went almost immediately to bed!

The weather is the big news here….seems snow is in the forecast….over and over! Hopefully, my back will straighten back out by tomorrow! As an aside, we only got about 6 inches of the fluff, whereas my parents saw nearly 36 inches! How I miss living in the snowbelt….

After hearing rain pounding on the rooftop the past couple of nights,  it was refreshing to awaken to a less damp start to the day! Yes, I generally grumble too much because of our lack of snow, but this morning,  the temperature had dropped after the deluge of rain and the results were quite pretty!

I walked about the yard, enjoying all the scenery….

But I just loved what Jack Frost painted on the hood of the Explorer!

The sun was brilliant and the skies a crystal sapphire blue!

As I walked the wooded path behind the house,  I couldn’t help but think how springlike everything was looking…and feeling, as the temperature rose!

In all my euphoria, I noticed a ziplock bag lying on the ground behind the house.  I walked down and snatched it up, only to realize what it was.  You might remember me mentioning here that a beautiful bluebird had met an untimely death trapped in our woodstove.  I had taken a ziplock bag and placed it inside, then placed it inside another bag.  Well, the winds apparently whipped the thing about and it ended up behind the house. (not sure where the outer bag ended up!)  Anyway,  I thought since not everyone has seen an Eastern Bluebird up close,  I would show the beautiful coloration of the bird before I took it to the dump today.

Kudos to Nikon for lenses that are spot on! The color of this bird is perfect…I did nothing to “doctor” the photo.  I am sorry if the photo is disturbing…I know Mark and the kids would probably balk if they knew I showed this. These birds are fairly hard to find.  Their natural habitation is open fields and orchards.  Their population had fallen so that people were encouraged to build Bluebird nesting boxes.  The last I heard, their population had been increasing because of the boxes people placed on fences and poles.

I will leave you with something far more pleasing!

Yes,  I baked a small army of Gingerbread Boys!  I have never made these before and it was fun! Ben looked at them and asked if I was really going to let people *eat* them!  He must have thought they looked more complex than they really were….thank heaven for the wonderful tubes of Wilton’s icing for decorating!

This morning,  after bounding out of bed and doing my daily chores,  I decided to use some of the grapes I picked up yesterday.  Concord Grapes are one of my favorites!

I love the purply-blue skins on the Concords.  I also have a lot of fantastic memories of going to Lake Erie vineyards and orchards as a youngster….My parents would take us to pick bunches of the sugary treats fresh from the vines.  If I close my eyes and breathe in deeply,  I can smell the luscious seasonal bunches!  We usually picked a bushel or two of Cortland Apples first, then we would head to the vineyards.  We were handed sharp clippers to make short work of snipping bunches into our waiting baskets.  We would fill the baskets as full as possible, then set them on a huge scale to be weighed….Oh, what memories!

So, in honor of my childhood memories,  I created four quart-sized jars of grape pie filling…..

And baked a fresh crumb-topped grape pie.  I cannot wait to taste the pie as I added a few litle “extras” into both the pie as well as the topping.

Memories….the stuff we are made of… Memories are so fabulous so long as they don’t trip us up!

The kids are having their friends over late this afternoon for some fun in the pool (probably hot tub as well) and dinner.  Michelle had thought about hotdogs for dinner, but  we talked about it and decided upon grilled chicken,  potato salad,  rolls, and chocolate cake for dessert.

No problem with the potato salad.  I prepared it before eight this morning and it has been in the refrigerator since.  I baked a chocolate cake from scratch.  This one is a killer!!! I really am not fond of chocolate, but this cake is more like a moist, chewy, delicious chocolate brownie with lots of walnuts in it!  The only problem was,  I didn’t have any shortening to grease my bundt pan.  I thought perhaps a little oil with a light coating of flour might work, but I thought wrong.  The “top” of the cake still remains in the pan. ARGH!!! It’s okay….I am sure the kids won’t mind.

So…..

That leaves the chicken.  I got the chicken out to thaw.  I put just a bit of teriyaki sauce on it, because that seems to give it a good flavor.  Then, I got out my Kickin’ Chicken grinder bottle by Weber.  My family adores this seasoning. We all know that freshly-ground spices always tase better, no?

I had a ten-pound bag of chicken to season.  Have you *any* idea how PAINFUL it becomes to one’s wrists to repeat a grinding action over….and over…..and over again?  So, I am sitting on the couch now, complaining because “this is just taking far too long”!

Enter Ben.

Ben takes said bottle of seasoning and reassures me he will grind up as much as I need.  While he is swinging.  Reluctantly, I hand over the bottle, aware he really has helped me with this task previously. Ben walks to his room, then comes back through the living room with a smile on his face and a roll of duck tape in his hand. 

“I’ll be back”! 

Several minutes later, the door bursts open and in comes Ben, grinning ear to ear! I look and see Mark’s unmistakable green cordless drill in Ben’s hot little (well, not so little) hands.

Remember, Mark went to college for Mechanical Engineering!  When I saw this, my mind flashed the thought that this must have been the kind of thing my mother-in-law dealt with when Mark was a lad! Ben placed the grinder directly above the bowl the chicken was in, revved the motor, and….

Within seconds, the chicken was coated in the delightful seasoning.  Not sure how Mark might take this, I took the “modified” drill to him and I suddenly recognized the SAME silly grin Ben had on his face just a while before!  Thus, Michelle took her turn with the contraption.   And, Mark took his turn, calling out all sorts of wild claims about this new invention.  He sounded *just like* Billy Mays!  It was so funny, I nearly fell down laughing!

A  while later,  I got my computer and went to my Twitter account.  I noticed Billy Mays’s name come up.  How funny! It was then that I read of his untimely death and felt so bad.  When I told Mark and Ben, they both looked as though they had lost a dear friend….they said watching his show was one of their highlights! 

Rest in peace, Billy Mays!

Yeah, I thought so…

As Mark was going through bills and such today, he discovered that we had a rebate check for $30 that needed to be depostited today or it was VOID!  Argh!!  He asked me if I would mind running to Canandaigua to do “a few errands”. 

I went and got ready and was out the door shortly after one.  I got to the bank well before two, then drove over to Wegman’s to return an ocean full of soda bottles and cans.  I had two large trash bags full of bottles and cans that had been sitting in the garage for a very long time…Mark *gently* remarked that perhaps they needed to be recycled!

After feeding nearly ten dollars worth of recyclables into the hungry machines,  I grabbed a shopping cart and headed inside the store.  I love, love, love Wegman’s produce.  Their fruits and veggies far surpass any other grocers in the area.  I shopped around for awhile, then realized I was hungry.  I  hopped on over to the Chinese food and swooped up some Hot and Spicy Chicken, along with some Fried Green Beans. 

I hurried to the register to pay for my goodies, paper in hand from the bottle machine.  When it came time to pay, I completely forgot the paper and paid.  It was as I looked down for my keys that I realized I needed to redeem the slip of paper.  The cashier laughed and said she does the same thing all the time….she said she is always buying some stupid new item only because there is a coupon and then she forgets to redeem the coupon! Boy, did I feel better!

I rushed to the City Pier and ate my Chinese, watching the Coots, Mallards, and *suddenly* Bufflehead Ducks.  I shot a couple of photos of the ducks.   The water was so choppy and the wind so chilly, I decided to just stay inside the Explorer.

After lunch, I headed to the other side of Canandaigua to have two propane tanks for the grill filled.  Due to a case of daydreaming,  I way overshot my destination, so I took a few photos….

 Old barn (circa 1880) in color…..

And sepia…..

After filling the tanks, I shopped at WalMart (grabbing two roast chickens and a loaf of delicious French Bread for dinner!)  and then off to Big Lots for a jar of olives imported from Greece for Mark.  It was getting late and I knew I was going to be too tired to prepare dinner.

As I left Big Lots,  Ben called wanting to know if I could get him a “Slushy” from Hess.  I reluctantly headed to Hess and went inside to look for “the machine”.  No Slushy machine there. But, there was a drink called an “Avalanche”.  It comes in two flavors….Pepsi and Mountain Dew.

I  grabbed a cup and filled it up.  I turned to grab a lid for the drink and when I was about to place it on the drink,  I nearly shrieked! The drink had risen up a good two inches above the top of the cup! Argh!!! I began to giggle and “swipe” the excess drink off the top and into the runoff trough on the machine.  Being MUCH wiser, I filled another cup, allowing expansion room for the drink to rise.  I smiled as the lid easily snapped on!

I paid and rushed to the Explorer and headed home….As I drove, I made mental notes on the order of preparation for dinner.  Michelle helped me by heating the chickens  as I took a head of cabbage and grated it and made coleslaw.  Everything was ready to eat in fifteen minutes.

I expressed how tired I was and Mark snickered.  After all, he had already composed a NEW list of errands for tomorrow.  Top of the list?  A trip to Canandaigua!!!

Oh, did I mention that I also baked a loaf of Whole Wheat Walnut Bread this morning?  A very full day,  A very full day, indeed!

Last night, as soon as the kids’ company left,  I raced upstairs to lie down.  I could feel a tightening between my shoulders and a tension headache coming on.  Rather than taking medicine, I thought I would try to sleep.

When I awakened this morning, the headache was still there.  It has remained all day and it is annoying!

This morning, while I was talking to Michelle in her room, Mr. Nosy, aka “Murphy”,  came wandering in to see what we were doing.  I snapped a quick shot, and I really like this photo….

I had mentioned Michelle made Jacob a checkerboard cake.  I forgot to show a picture of the inside! It turned out quite nice, although the batter didn’t stay put!

I am rarely incapacitated by a headache, but I spent the entire day lying about today.  I feel like such a bum! I certainly hope tomorrow brings some energy and strength!

Even though I have decided that I REALLY need to slow things down a bit, with two teens in the house, I guess that just isn’t about to happen any time soon! Thus, Michelle sent me off to Canandaigua yesterday morning with a list of groceries to purchase.  She stayed home to clean, as her friends, Jacob and Jeffrey, were coming over later in the afternoon.

Mark didn’t go in for physical therapy yesterday, because he felt like he was coming down with a cold.  Trying to move about while sneezing and blowing his nose would only cause his efforts to seem worthless, so he cancelled.

I left the house and drove on to Canandaigua. And, you, dear reader, who have any inkling of what I do or am about, know that stopping lakeside was a prerequisite.  I pulled into a small parking lot and thought about getting out to take a few photos.  As soon as I began to open the door of the Explorer, a wicked gust of wind caught it and whipped it out of my hand.  I grabbed hold of the handle and yanked the door shut.  No way I was going out into that! Feeling a bit defeated, I leaned back on my seat and rolled my eyes.

Just then, a group of Canada Geese flew overhead.  I reached for the Panasonic camera at my side as I watched them looking as though they were also struggling against the wind to make headway!  Silly me….I snapped a photo through the glass.

I was about to delete this photo, but just turned the camera off and put it away.  I figured even if I had no pictures to show, I always have *something* to say on my blog, after all!  Now, I am really glad the photo was kept. It is very “artsy”   and I love the dark blue color from the band of dark glass at the top of the windshield!

I scurried off to Wegman’s and made my way through the aisles, picking up all the listed items.

I rushed to get home as quickly as I could.  Michelle had invited her friends to come at 3, and it was going to be after 2 before I got back home. 

As I drove along the road, I spotted some suspicious characters walking about….

I pulled over and took a few pictures and as the turkeys felt a bit threatened, they formed a line, single file, and walked away from me!

I carried all the groceries into the house and Michelle quickly fished out the eggs.  She had planned to bake Jacob a white and chocolate checkerboard cake for his birthday.  She rushed about and had two layers all baked by the time the two boys arrived.  She went to the garage, along with Ben, to play a game of Foosball.  I removed the last layer of cake when it was down.

 Michelle came in the house at about 4:30, and between cooking chicken lo mein for dinner for everyone, she decorated Jacob’s cake….

Wow! I could get used to someone else doing the cooking here! Michelle did a very nice job and everyone seemed to enjoy the lo mein.

I got a photo of the lit birthday cake before it was blown out….

But no photo of Jacob.  The boys stayed until about 9, and by that time, I was so tired! I thought I felt like I was catching a cold, too, but I guess I was just exhausted!

As I was going through the photos on my cards, I found this one I took last week of my Christmas Cactus. I had said I wasn’t going to take any more photos of it, but I loved this photo…the texture and color of the flower was pretty incredible!

The temperature today is still below freezing, but with no Arctic blasts of northerly winds blowing, it feels downright balmy out there!

I had made a comment that it is difficult to take Chrsitmas light photos, as there ar few lights displayed in the woods!

Last night, as we traveled home from Canandaigua, I took the high (partially dirt) road to our house.  As we drove along, I stopped the Explorer and asked Michelle to photograph the lights our neighbor has draped in the trees in front of her home.  You really need to look hard, as it was SO dark out!!  The camera’s sensor had a bit of trouble seeing in the dark….

We also spotted some really pretty lights at the Wegman’s Organic Farm barn. It is decked out in lots of greenery and white lights.   Again, I think the little camera had a bit of trouble “seeing” in the dark, as it was very, very dark!

We made up four batches of cookies today.  Lots of work, but lots and lots of cookies!!! One batch was sugar cookies in the shape of snowmen. They need to be decorated, but I think we were all very tuckered out after making and baking all those cookies! They will wait until tomorrow!

Carly and her kids came down to visit today, and what a day we had!

I was up and at it at 4:30 this morning.  We had gone shopping at Sam’s Club yesterday, to pick up many of the essentials needed for today’s “Thanksgiving” meal.   I decided to keep my photos to a minimum because:  a. GRRRRRR!!!! If I have one complaint on the Panasonic camera, it is that the mode selector, located on top of the camera,  slips into various modes with little persuasion. Panasonic would do well to lock the mode button in place, using a little slide or button so the camera doesn’t go off into another (UNselected) mode, causing terrible-looking photos! (case in point is below) and b. Carly got a new lens for her birthday and was checking it out. Therefore, I kept my mind on the food preparations!

The first photo features the brand-spanking new roaster pan I bought at Sam’s yesterday….no more mishaps with juices starting the oven on fire!

As you can see, the skin on the turkey has an unsavory yellow-look.  The bird did not appear yellow in person!

The meal consisted of: roast turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato souffle,  homemade cranberry sauce, homemade butter cloverleaf rolls, stuffed mushrooms, green bean casserole, and broccoli cheese casserole. Oh, and I also made two pumpkin pies.  I was finishing up the dishes when Carly and the kids arrived. 

The kids had so much fun playing and just enjoying each other.  We sat down to eat at about 1:30, and Carly and I took the kids over to the park later.

Just as we arrived at the park,  so did a veritable snowstorm!

The winds howled, the snow blew about, and the kids laughed and giggled and had a remarkably fun time! I went down on the sled a few times and it was so fun! The kids reminded me of bear cubs, tumbling about and rolling on the ground.  Kids and snow were made for one another!

When Carly and the kids left, Michelle and Ben chatted on and on about how much they need to get together again!

Cindy, the piemaker, wanted to know if Miss M would come down and fill in for her while she and her husband went to church.  Of course!  I tagged along to observe the young lady, and to say I was impressed is a big understatement!

Within minutes of her arrival, she mixed up three batches (each batch makes about 25 full-sized pies) of dough and began rolling out pie bottoms.  As she rolled, Miss M suddenly decided that she needed to make up some baby pies. These are smaller pies.

Miss M worked so rapidly, my eyeballs began to spin!  Look at these nine baby pies! Five have a piecrust top and four have “crumb” tops…flour, butter and sugar….my favorite!

I watched this young lady work, and it really hit hard at how quickly she has grown up. 

Cindy and her husband arrived back home and Cindy was thrilled by Miss M’s progress. She confided that she rarely has to tell M what to do, as she surveys what is happening and just jumps in. 

Here is her reflection in one of the enormous stainless bowls they use.

My mother always had a distaste for parents bragging blatantly about their children, and truth be told, I guess I do, too.  I must say, however,  I was quite proud of this young lady as I sat quietly across from her, watching her move about with such confidence!

Oh, and I certainly know who can now help ME roll out the crusts for the pumpkin pies this Thanksgiving!