Life in the Bristolwood

It just seems like life keeps getting busier and busier lately! Yikes!

The kids had a Superbowl party tonight with six of their friends coming over.  It was a nice little gathering…Michelle made four different kinds of dips to serve with Nacho Chips.  The biggest hit must have been the Hamburger Dip she made, as that one disappeared quickly!  There were also chicken wings, Buffalo style, and Italian sausage in sauce with peppers and onions that could be made into sandwiches on rolls.  All in all, the party was a success.

I have a hard time sitting still and since I am pretty clueless when it comes to football,  I went upstairs at one point, and fell sound asleep.  Now, I am not a schlep!  Mark and I were out late last night…the kids went to see a few bands play in Canandaigua, and since they were out late, we drove them.  We picked them up at 11, so we didn’t get home til nearly midnight.  I was up this morning before the sun rose, so I didn’t get a lot of sleep.  So, a Superbowl nap was in order!

Here is a photo of a beautiful Orchid Mark got me the other day.  I have never had an Orchid before, so we will see how it grows.  (haha…pun intended!)

This plant is so pretty!  I love the streaks in the blossoms.

Well, we still have no snow on the ground.  This is so bizarre for February.  And the temperature is supposed to be 40 or more tomorrow.  I think we are supposed to get some snow later in the week.  I just wish we could get in a month or two of snowmobiling.   Even the traditional trails in the Adirondacks and Tug Hill are a mess with the fluctuating temperatures and precipitation we have had this year.  We read a couple days ago that the trails are icy and just a general mess.  I wouldn’t mind if it didn’t get frigidly cold, but just snow a couple of feet!  If it would just stay a tad below freezing with snow, we would finally have some snowmobiling weather!!  I really feel sorry for the folks selling snowmobiles and parts and such….what a BAD year!

Well, I had better get to bed.  Even though I snoozed some during the big game, I will be up and at it, bright and early tomorrow!

The Bruschetta Chicken was terrific! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the giftcard!

I was feeling pretty chipper this morning.  Nearly restless!  So, I made a Blueberry Pie. 

Thinking that the guys would be working outside later, I decided to make up a batch of  Tomato Soup. Carly had told me the recipe in the book I have mentioned here (Slow Cooker Revolution) previously was delicious.  As a little aside….that book disappeared from its “home” for several days.  I searched everywhere…through drawers, dirty laundry,  under mattresses, all over the floors, and even the basement and garage.  The book was nowhere to be found.  Totally disappeared.

I was bemoaning the fact that I no longer have a BJ’s Wholesale Club membership as I had let it run out.  I had seriously begun to think that I would have to rejoin so I could buy another book.  Yes, THAT book is THAT important!

Well, as I sat in my favorite chair (rocking) the day before yesterday, there on the floor, next to the chair…..was my book! I immediately asked the kids if they had found it and placed it there.  Both of them got perturbed by my nagging and said they absolutely, positively did NOT put it there.  Nor did they find it.  So, I am now left with the explanation that the Lord knows just how important that book is…important enough to send an angel to place it where I would find it!

Phew…anyway, I made the tomato soup up in the Crockpot and let it cook.  Of course, what goes better with soup than a tasty loaf of bread?  I pulled out my bread machine book.  I never, ever use the machine anymore as I have found there is something therapeutic in kneading bread by hand!   I searched around and found a recipe for Carmelized Onion Bread. 

I love onions!  Mmmm…..Or maybe not! The recipe called for two onions.  The instructions were to cook the onions in butter until they were golden.  Then the liquid from the mix was to be placed in the mixing bowl.  I got quite a bit of thick, almost syrupy-looking liquid.  I mixed up the bread and then after it was almost finished being kneaded,  I added the (mostly dry) onions.  In working them into the dough,  I thought there were far too many onions.  I had used a huge onion instead of two smaller ones and it seemed there was just too much!

Well……let’s just say those onions cooked in butter sure were yummy! Here is how the bread turned out.

The tomato soup was a BIG thumbs up.  The bread was astronomical!  Yes!!! A winner, indeed.  Usually when I make bread, it gets too heavy.  This time, it was light, airy, and delish! I ate a tiny bowl of soup and a slice of bread.  Afterwards, I had a piece of pie.

By about four this afternoon,  my stomach looked like someone had pumped it up!  It was so bloated and let’s just say my “gastrointestinals” were revolting!  Apparently the probably quarter cup of onions I had demolished were now playing with my digestive system.  I am still experiencing some discomfort.  My stomach is making so much noise, it is ridiculous.

Wow….I cannot believe I just wrote about this whole situation….for awhile, I felt genuinely ill!  From now on,  I think I will not use giant onions….they might be just a tad upsetting to the stomach when “overdone”! 

So, tonight, I am so thankful we are “fearfully and wonderfully made”.  It is so incredible that we were designed to recuperate from our over-indulgings!

Wow!  This hardly seems like October.  With temperatures pressing near 80 degrees, it hardly seems like fall!  Well, the thing is, we all know this isn’t going to last, right?

This morning, I awakened to a chorus of tree frogs screeching out their raspy song.  I got up with the Soctties and was pleasntly surprised at the mild temperature as we stepped out the door!  The sun just poured out all day today and it was so incredible with the vivid colors of fall, lighting up the sky against a backdrop of sapphire blue skies.  Oh, so beautiful!

We had dinner a bit on the late side.  I made Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings. It was after 6:30 by the time everyone sat down.  I had set the table on the front porch….hy should we eat inside when it is so mild after all?  I lit a candle and we just enjoyed the entire experience.  Apparently, eating outside makes everyone a bit more hungry than usual.  Although my BIG Crockpot was nearly full when I placed it on a small side table, there were hardly any leftovers!

We topped dinner off with Indoor S’mores! Okay, you twisted my arm….here is the recipe.

Indoor S’mores

8 cups Golden Grahams Cereal

1 12 ounce bag Milk Chocolate Chips

4 Tablespoons butter

1 bag mini-marshmallows

1 teaspoon Vanilla

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter,  chips, and mini-marshmallows.  Stir constantly and do not leave pan unattended!  After butter, chips and marshmallows are melted, add vanilla, then add cereal and mix well.  Place in 9 x 13 inch pan and refrigerate until cool.  Cut into bars and enjoy!

Mark says these are SICK!  (as in delicious!)  This is an awesome little treat to have on hand if company is coming and you don’t have lots of time to spend making goodies.  I think most everyone would like these!

Here are a few more photos I took on Friday afternoon. (I was too lazy to get the card from my Nikon camera!

I wish I would have taken a drive to see all the pretty leaves today, but Michelle and I did some cleaning in the camper.  Yes, it seems like we were just getting the camper ready for spring, and now it is time to store it away once again until next year’s adventures!

This is just a potpouri of photos with no continuity but I thought I would share.

Yeah….while Angus is “all about business”, Murphy is ridiculously clueless about his surroundings!  Little fellow just wants to be our baby!

On a little diversion to Salamanca on Monday, I walked around the town a little.  Coming into the town on Main Street,  one passes over a bridge and sees this pretty mural on the side of a building.  Salamanca is located on Indian (Native American) territory.  It is a pretty little city which was also the home of Ray Evans, the man who wrote the lyrics for the Christmas song,  Silver Bells.

On Monday, I took a brief walk around the park to see what I could see.  It is fun to walk as one sees things that would never be seen from the car.

Tadpoles or pollywogs? I don’t know!  There were many of them in a stream I saw while crossing over a little foot bridge.

These pines along the road were so pretty against the sky of blue!

This was my find of the day, though!

Later in the day, I was hungry so we stopped by the Administration Building at Redhouse.  I got a menu and ordered a sub. It was a toasted turkey sub. Very good and it came with a pickle and fries! Wow.  The price was good, too.  I had to run upstairs to the restaurant to grab it.  I had never been up there and what a surprise. It is a pretty little place!

Amazing how cozy this restaurant is…it has dormers on the front of the building, facing the lake.  The only downside is that the restaurant doesn’t have an elevator, so Mark cannot go upstairs.  Downstairs, though, there is a lodge area with chairs and huge windows overlooking the lake.  One of the waitresses told me that if we were to stop by when it wasn’t too busy, one of the waitresses would run a meal down!  The lodge is located down a few stairs from the main level, but there is a little lift there so wheelchairs can access that area.

After our busy day of exploring the park a little (believe me, there is TONS more to see and do there!) we stopped by the Quaker Lake gift store.  I found a real treasure there!  I am always, always uploading photos off the SD cards and forgetting to put the cards BACK into the camera.  Oops! 

Yes, this awesome brightly-colored little pouch (necklace) is perfect for storing an SD card in its case!  AND, it also gets compliments!

On Tuesday morning, we left the park shortly after ten in the morning to go visit my parents. On the way, Mark stopped at the Butterfly Field (yes, it is designated as such) so I could see if any butterflies were around.  Apparently, they are late sleepers because I only saw one as we were leaving!

This field is huge and I walked a trail that covers its perimeter.  I was so disappointed.  It was pretty hot in the sun, too!

I think I felt how this spent Thistle looks after all my traipsing about!  Although I didn’t see butterflies, the entire field was absolutely buzzing with bumblebees and honey bees, working in the Goldenrod!

I already mentioned that we went to my parents’ to visit on Tuesday.  While we were there, my older brother, Bob, came by. Bob lives in the country and has quite the garden.  He really loves gardening and has always had a garden, even when he lived in the city.

Bob brought along some zucchini squash, yellow tomatoes, red tomatoes, and corn.  Well, my dad decided to deck himself out!

Uh huh.  Now we know where my sense of humor came from, right?

Yesterday was my birthday and Carly had asked if we wanted to “continue our tradition”  of attending the Old Time Fiddler’s Fair at Genesee Country Village and Museum.  The fair is always held around the time of my birthday.   I asked Mark and he was happy to do this, as he loves the music.  It is always a fun day and one well spent.

We got to the museum and entered.  I looked at the venue and was a little disappointed as it seemed there weren’t as many fiddlers attending this year.  Perhaps I am wrong, but it seemed like there were fewer groups listed.  When I mentioned this to Mark, he said he thought the venue seemed a bit more sparse than in the past as well.

We listened to some music and then walked around the village.  This is one of my favorite things about visiting the museum. I never tire of seeing the people, animals, and buildings!  There is always something interesting there. Along the way, there are tents here and there with people teaching others a little, as well as “jam tents” like the one below.

We entered the village near the barn. In a large field, this little one was enjoying munching and walking around.

Off in the distance, a man in the blacksmith shop was giving a talk.

Behind the barn was a pair of oxen. They both refused to turn around so I could see their faces!

I really liked this photo of one of the men that was in the barn. There were all sorts of antique tools there that visitors could inquire about.  This was taken during a lull….I thought he was looking rather pensive.

Outside the front of the barn was a small space where some ducks and geese gathered around a small pond, a wooden tub filled with water, and a small puddle where they seemed to like diving their heads into! (must have been some good eats under the water?)

I really liked that black and white duck!  It was enjoying the little pond. Carly’s huband, Jeff, and the girls, had gone into a mercantile to look at goods sold there.  They caught up with Carly, my family, and I, back at the barn.  We went out back again to see the oxen.  This time, they were “hiding” behind some bramble.  This was one of my very favorite photos of the day…

We walked on up a hill to the village green. It was quite hot and I think we were all getting tired from the heat and bright sunshine on us!  The green was lush with places to sit and rest and just observe.  It is a fun spot, as it is interesting looking at folks from the past and today, mingling together.

A few years ago….when our kids (now 16 and 18) were small,  I remember a photo I took of a woman with a callilope.  When we heard similar music yesterday, we had to get up from our resting spot and take a look!  This man said he and his wife have differing opinions on music, so I wondered if the woman I saw all those years ago was his wife!  (Will have to see if I can find that photo…did not have a digital camera then!)

This man had a great face to photograph!

After this, we all headed back out to the parking lot….we had coolers of food for a picnic!  We sat in the shade of a pine tree and ate.  Afterwards, we headed back into the park but I left my Nikon camera behind.  Now, I wish I would have taken it!  I just had not taken many photos, so I thought I would only take the little Canon.  I will look at the photos from that and perhaps post one more Genesee Country Village and Museum entry! 

We had a very nice day. A nice day, indeed!

I am still trying to recouperate from our little vacation.  We weren’t gone that long, but it was a bit of a touch and go trip home on Sunday. 

We had a wheel bearing go on the front right wheel on Saturday. Mark thought about going to a Chevy garage that was open until 6pm on Saturday, but decided he would like to try to do the job himself.  Ben was willing to help out and Mark thought it would be doable.

We hitched up on Sunday morning and went to the Sabres Development Camp. We really enjoyed watching the young prospects drill and then scrimmage on Saturday and Sunday.  We have been attending these camps for a few years now and have seen several players become Buffalo Sabres. 

After the camp, we began our very slow way home.  We would drive about 30 miles or so, then stop to allow the wheel to cool off.  It took hours to get home, but we were so thankful to arrive safely. 

Yesterday, the temperatures soared into the 90′s, making me totally miserable. Mark’s mother had a doctor’s appointment in Rochester at 9:30am, so Mark and I were off early in the morning, once again praying the wheel wouldn’t let loose. We took my mother-in-law to her appointment, then picked up the parts and tools we needed to fix the wheel bearing.  Thankfully, our faithful truck brought us safely home once again.

At this point, I must add that the Explorer is at the Ford garage, getting nearly $1500. in repairs.  I am of the mindset that we should put it up for sale right away and get something with good gas efficiency.  We will see.  The Explorer is a 2002 model and although it has low milage, it is getting old.  We will be doing some driving when Michelle begins RIT, so it would be good to have a sipping versus guzzling vehicle.

Today was another blazing hot day, although tonight, it is beginning to cool to the point that it is getting comfortable. Mark and Ben began working on the hub today, but parts seem quite fused together.  Mark cannot work for long periods of time, so they worked for just a few hours and quit.  Mark is searching for info on how to remove the hub and I just pray he finds a good answer.  With all this vehicle mess,  it would be quite pricey to have two vehicles getting repaired!

Well, enough of that.  I am not going to stress over things that I cannot control!

So, let me tell you about Lewiston!

As we were leaving our campground on Sunday, we realized we were really early, so Mark took the Lewiston exit.  I was happy to poke around, as the last time we were there, it was raining. A lot! 

Lewiston is referred to as “Historic Lewiston”.  It is a beautiful little community with beautiful little shops lining the main street.  Flowers adorn the lamp posts and there is a sense of a very old community. The buildings have a look of antiquity and were it not an early Sunday morning,  I would have gladly slipped inside the shops to have a look….they are quite inviting! Why I didn’t take a photo is beyond me, except for the fact that we were pulling the trailer behind us and together, the truck and trailer are about 50 feet long…makes for some interesting parking!

Mark drove around and stopped in a large parking area….right near one of my favorite statues…the Freedom Crossing Memorial. I blogged about this previously.

Just beyond this memorial was a set of stairs.  Well, curiosity got the better of me, and I hopped off in that direction.  I went down….and down….and down some more!  When I arrived at the bottom,  I was on a driveway/walkway just above the level of the lower Niagara River.  Oh, this was beautiful!

I walked along, meeting up with the Harbor Manager (I know that is the wrong name…I just cannot remember what the title was that was embroidered on his shirt.) What drew me was this…

This is The Black Pearl and cruises are available! I would love to go there and spend the day….the price of a one hour cruise is $35 per person…three hours is $75 per person.  The boat has diesel engines to get it moving up and down the river, but I was told that once it hits the lake,  it becomes full sails, a beautiful replica of a 1600′s ship. Wow, the directions my mind could go with that!!!

I spent considerable time looking around and talking to the Harbor man and another man.  They told me the fishing for Muskies is excellent there.  They said folks who fish there never divulge how big their fish caught were nor where they were fishing.  Hmm….They also said hardly anyone fishes there as they just don’t even know about this.

I suddenly became aware that I had many, many stairs to climb to get back to my family who might just be wondering where I was!  There was no way I was going to race up those stairs and I did notice a little addition off to one side with a bench…I thought perhaps they kindly put it there for folks who felt like they were going to drop from all that stair-climbing!

Since the family didn’t seem to be paying any attention to my winded self, I walked on over to see a restaurant that overlooks the water below.  It is an interesting shape and I just wanted a closer look.

As I snapped a photo of the restaurant menu, (wow! Who ever would have mounted their menu on a story board in front!!! What an awesome idea!) the man who founded the restaurant came over and talked my ear off!

I learned the history of the restaurant as well as how it came into being!  The restaurant was actually a coal silo that held coal for the steamships that used to travel the river.  After steam engines were replaced, the silo sat vacant for years and years.  While relatives from Minnesota were visiting with the man I spoke to,  they observed the silo from the Canadian side of the river.  They commented what a perfect day it was and the man said the only way it could be better was with an ice cream.  The relative pointed to the silo and told the man he should consider turning it into an ice cream parlor. And that is the condensed version.

The silo is leased from the town of Lewiston and the man’s son now operates the business.  He added a patio and outdoor picnic tables along with flowers and pretty landscaping.  ( I was told the view here in the autumn is absolutlely breathtaking…umm….one would NOT have to sway me…I believe it!)

The ice cream parlor (proper) was moved from the silo to an 1860′s Canadian Railway caboose.  The man explained that it took years to convince the town to approve the addition of the caboose.

Oh, by the way…that white house across the river?  It was owned by Tom Selleck at one time.

Wow, I learned so much from listening to this fellow! He was like a walking encyclopedia!  Oh, and by the way…the shape of the restaurant resembles a minaret mosque…the man lived in Istanbul, Turkey, for some 15 years!

I can’t believe I remembered so much of the conversation, but I do want to visit this restaurant.  It was given a high rating by a Buffalo food critic (the fellow chuckled, saying she critiqued the atmosphere, the owner and his wife, the setting…everything, but never once mentioned the FOOD!).  It also was featured on the show Man vs Food.

When Mark looked at the pricing, he was impressed.  He said too bad we were leaving town….this would have been an awesome place to take the kids for lunch!

Okay, so that’s it for Lewiston. (I think I oughta get paid for this! Or, at least get ONE of the vehicles fixed for free!!!)

I have no idea why I am so enamored with the eagle down in Woodville.  I think about it all the time and every time I see an eagle (there is probably more than one that roosts in that tree, I would think) it is as though I have never seen one before.

Yesterday, Michelle and I went kayaking in the morning.  The sky was a tad dark…almost “colorless”,  and I hoped we could paddle awhile any rain might come. Michelle hadn’t tried out the new kayak yet, and we wanted her opinion.  My own opinion is that the new kayak is much easier to paddle. It goes through the water much smoother and faster. When Ben tried the kayak the night before,  he also was sold!

Michelle convinced me to inflate the little yellow kayak Iwould be using (believe me, it was hard going back to the inflatable!!!) before we left home.  One yellow kayak and the new one easily fit into the back of the pickup truck with only about three feet hanging over the tailgate.  We arrived at the launch and there was an eagle…sitting in the tree once again!

I was so happy to paddle over to the eagle…unfortunately,  the lighting was miserable, but I took  lots of photos anyway!

Michelle and I decided to cross the lake over to the other side where there is a lagoon.  We paddled over the mouth of the west river and to the lagoon where the water was so calm!

I asked Michelle what she thought about the new kayak and she said it was “okay”.  When I turned around to talk to her,  Michelle was off in some greenery, trying out the  new kayak’s maneuverability.  Yeah, Michelle….the new kayak is okay, indeed!  Truth be told,  although we loved the inflatables,  their bottom is much flatter than the new kayak.  When we paddled over seaweed and plants,  the yellow kayaks would balk and complain about continuing on.  The new kayak glides right along with each stroke!  One funny thing that happened was that once we were petty far out in the lake,  Michelle said the new kayak was leaking! I looked at her and asked if there was water visibly coming into the boat.  After she said “no”,  I told her that as that new kayak breaks through the water, it makes a noise like running water!  She then confirmed that was the case!

Even though she never said so, I think Michelle was impressed!

Michelle called me over to take a photo of what she called “ a natural bouquet”.  Tiny Forget-Me-Nots seemed to appear from nowhere at the base of some pretty wild irises, mixed in with greenery.  Michelle was right…it was very pretty!

We lingered on a bit, just enjoying the tranqility and nice surroundings. We finallybegan heading back, but before we left, we went over to admire the majestic eagle just one more time. 

When we got home, it was time for Mark, Ben, and I to be off and running on a myriad of errands.  We were out for much of the  day and by the time we got back home, we were all tired!

This morning, the phone rang early and Carly asked if we might want to get together. She and the girls came down and the kids played in the pool until we called them out for a late lunch. I’m not sure if we were starving, or if the food was truly that good, but everything was delicious! Carly cooked chicken on the grill to perfection!  I had made a bean salad and Carly brought down some fresh loaves of bread.  She grilled some asparagus and it was awesome, too! Everyone ate well…the kids must have been very hungry!

I was happy when lunch was done and I could bring out dessert….

I had made a pumpkin roll andit was also a hit! I was happy with how this turned out because Wegman’s sells half  logs for (I think) over $6.00.  This was so easy to make and everyone  liked  it.  Yay for quick and easy desserts!

Ain’t me! hahaha

As I was reading on Facebook this afternoon, a friend of mine posted that she was making up a batch of Buffalo Chicken Wing Soup.  My curiosity piqued!  Our family loves Buffalo Chicken Wings. We have even traveled to Buffalo to buy authentic wings.  With about 10 grams of fat per wing, however, this is not a food we would desire to frequent.

After giving up his love of spicy, hot wings, Mark and I put our heads togther and came up with Buffalo Wing style chicken breasts.  These are good and I make them with boneless skinless breasts, so they really are healthy compared to wings!

I began searching the internet for a Buffalo Chicken Wing Soup recipe and several came up.  I gleaned ingredients from a couple of the most appealing to me recipes. Here is what I came up with.

I sauteed 3/4 cup onion  and 3/4 cup celery in about a tablespoon of butter.  (as soon as the juices from the onion began to come out, I covered the mix and turned the heat to very low so they would remain hot) When I make this again, I will up this to almost double this amount.

Into the Crockpot, I placed:

5 cups milk 

1 cup water

3 cups chicken (I used the leftovers from a WaMart Rotisserie chicken)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup

Franks or your favorite hot sauce to taste

1 cup sour cream

The onion and celery from above. Mix together well.

Turn heat to low and allow to cook about 3 hours.

How easy is that?  The best part is that if some family members want more spicy soup, they can add more hot sauce.  And, speaking of hot sauce,  the Dollar Tree has a nice sauce that is more tasty than just plain Frank’s.  That said, I make my own hot sauce.  The recipe was given to me by a cowboy as he was breathing his last breath…

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

8 ounces Frank’s Hot Sauce (Yes, I buy this stuff at Sam’s Club by the gallon)

2 ounces Tabasco Sauce

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

pinch of sugar

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Dash of Worchestershire Sauce

This is a (very) spicy sauce with a more flavorful “bouquet of hot” and sometimes to make it even spicier, we add a tiny bit of Habanero powder! Weehaw!

Well, that does it for the fare on our table this evening.  Oh, I did make some Magic Cookie Bars from a recipe on the side of Eagle Brand Condensed Milk.  They turned out YUMMY! I also made some rolls that will go into the oven in a few minutes and I will add a salad as well.

What better meal on a cold winter’s evening?  So glad my friend, Debbie, mentioned this!!

***Will add a photo in a bit***

My kids have been doing the most creative and awesome things lately!

Michelle asked us for a Babycakes cupcake maker for Christmas, but I just could not do it.  Instead, I looked and looked around until I found a nice Wilton cake decorating set.  I thought Michelle might get more use from the set than from the cupcake maker that makes small cupcakes.  I thought perhaps I made a mistake at first,  unsure if she was going to use it.

Michelle is cut from the same cloth as I am.  Obviously, she has trouble getting projects started, or maybe just getting motivated, when there are people around.  So…yesterday, while we were getting new tires installed,  Michelle decided to get creative!

She did much of the decorating today, but as I opened the refrigerator last night, I was greeted by pink roses and a bag of green frosting!

There were little flowers on a tray on the counter!

As if this was not enough, our little baker went to town and made this today, as well. (She said it is a kinda Alice in Wonderland  theme!)

Michelle says that fondant on the cake must be kneaded, then stretched to fit over the cake.  I think she has done a pretty great job for her first two cakes!

Ben has been spending some time in the garage under Mark’s guidance, building a new bed for his room.  Since his room is very tiny by today’s standards,  he must really economize in his room.  The funny part of all this is that when friends come over for a party, they always seem to congregate in Ben’s tiny room.  So, we came up with a fairly slick arrangement!

Ben wavered some between wanting a loft bed and not.  As he worked on planning his room, he soon realized a loft bed would give him some more bang for his buck.  Mark and Ben went to work on building a solid bed that would hold the weight, but not overwhelm the room.

We all helped get the bed up into position so it could be mounted to the walls. Since Mark built the house, he was confident using the studs in the walls for mounting the frame of the bed.  The bed will be taken down and painted soon, but  Mark wanted Ben to give the new bed a whirl tonight.  Also, Mark is going to build a small headboard with shelves and a door for little things he would like to keep up there with him, like his Ipod and speakers for it.

Mark bought the futon under the bed so friends can sit on it to watch videos and such.  Ben is still trying to figure out what color he wants to paint the bad. He originally thought black, but is wondering if a charcoal gray might be better. He wants burgundy highlights, such as the sheets, curtains, and pillows.  I cannot wait until his room is complete. He has been waiting for this project for a long time.

After getting Ben’s bed up late this afternoon, I needed to take a package down to be picked up by UPS.  I thought since I was out, I would try out Mark’s new tires on the truck by going for a little ride.  The sky was glorious with clouds, but patches of blue and sunshine sparkling through.

Canandaigua Lake is just so beautiful, no matter what the season! I decided to take a jaunt to Woodville, so I turned down a little side road.  I have shown this barn before, but I really like the green wreaths and the sled added for Christmas.  It is so pretty!

I stopped briefly at the boat launch and marvelled at the beauty…yet again!  I would love to spend a day down here, as a  fellow from the marina just a stone’s throw away told me that the eagles come down and feed on the ice from time to time.  He said it is an awesome sight.  I have not seen the eagles since fall, but they do overwinter here.

I knew I could spend hours in Woodville, but needed to get back home.  I smiled as I passed by the garden in the side yard.  Everything is pretty buried under a mantle of white!

I looked back as I walked up the ramp behind the house…

The Jotul stove in the garage has a catalytic converter, which means it is smokeless, but some smoke does appear when it is reloaded.  I admired those blushing clouds above.  The moon was out too, playing peekaboo, hiding behind the clouds, then reappearing!

What a nice day this was.  Both of my creative kids are quite well-pleased.  Ah, the sense of satisfaction!