From my recliner

 comfortably ensconced in my recliner, I happened to look out at our tenacious maple trees (you know, the ones that refuse to shed their leaves until there's snow on the ground and they make a horrendous mess) and winking at me was this slash of green amidst the gold.

Intrigued, I went to the tv stand where my camera was supposed to be stored...and it was there!  Braving the typhoon like weather (slight breeze with three-four raindrops) I snapped the picture.  Of course, I immediately thought of the rule of thirds and knew my photography mentor would roil, so I took several more photos...none of which I liked as well.  Frustrated and somewhat disheartened, I headed back inside, and on a whim, changed the settings and took one more.  I like it!

No prizes, I'm sure, but like those leaves, a little tenacity made me feel better!  Hang in there, and remember you are loved!

Sometimes a walk is just a walk.

Today's was a little over five (!) miles, and existed for no other purpose than to wear off the breakfast/brunch we were going to have on our way home.  Of course, other than being the precipitor and the reward for the agony, um, er, energy exerted, we spent it with friends (it was at this point that I was going to try and describe these friends, but simply couldn't come up with apt descriptors) getting caught up on their latest travels, the state of the world, the political climate, and our amazing luck at having been raised by unique parental units.  I would gladly have walked five more miles for the opportunity to spend time with them.  With a full heart, a full stomach, and a full realization how blessed we are, we walked the last mile home and now are preparing for the rest of the day.  Pick up pheasants for chowder.  Pick up the repotted plant.  Enjoy a piece of pie with aunt Edith.  Dine and play bridge.  Come to think of it, my "walk" is pretty darn enjoyable, and will NEVER be considered just a walk!  Enjoy the amazing things in your life, and know you are loved!

Pie

It's been a while since I've talked food!  Let me fix that.  With Thanksgiving just around the corner, is it pumpkin or pecan?  Pumpkin?  Pecan?  The answer is yes!  This is the best of both worlds, and what a nice way to say "I love you" to your guests!  And by the way, I do love you!  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pecan Pie(Preheat oven to 350 degrees)

Crust:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup butter flavored Crisco
3 Tbs. cold vodka

In a food processor, combine the first six ingredients.  Add the cold butter and the crisco and pulse until well blended.  Transfer into another bowl.  Add the vodka and stir until you can form a ball.  Roll out on a floured surface and transfer to a 9" pie plate.  Arrange so it looks the way it should look, trim where necessary, and flute the edges.

Filling:
Pumpkin layer
one egg
1 cup pumpkin
1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
dash of salt

Mix together and pour into prepared crust.

Pecan layer2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup dark corn syrup
2 Tbs. melted butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Mix together and carefully pour over pumpkin layer.  Place on a baking sheet to catch the spills and bake 50 - 60 minutes until filling is set around edge.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

Ps...if you really want to make it special, add some finely chopped pecans to the crust.  Just blend them in with the flour!

For God and Country

Walking is good for the body.  Walking is good for the soul.  Walking is good for the thought processes, and, as we passed this juxtaposition of God and Country this morning, my processes kicked in.  The brilliance of the blue sky shining through the orange and yellow leaves was to me, breathtaking.  Then, there was the flag.  Truly one of my favorite "colors".  The mind started working.  What an amazing dyad of similar imagery.  The underpinning of each?  Care for those around you.  Each teaches us (well, some of us) to accept the equality of inequalities.  Acceptance for and agreement with are not the same.  Both, however, teach us that differences (and the right to celebrate them) are the things that make us unique.  Tolerance is the thing that makes us human.  Or would that be humane?  In the name of God and Country, amazing atrocities have been committed and continue to be committed.  Your God is different than my God.  Your country is worse than my country.  And we justify our actions thumping our chests and averring, it's our God and our Country!  Do NOT misunderstand.  I recognize there is evil in the world.  I recognize and appreciate the need to protect our rights.  And I admire and love the men and women who do that.  What I don't understand is how concepts of peace and joy and love can instigate war, despair and hate.  Maybe everyone needs to take a walk!  Know you are loved!

If I were a tree

it was in our walk today that I formulated this game.  As winter nears, the trees in the area prepare for its onslaught.  Some are completely naked.  Some have quit producing their chlorophyll and are displaying their underlying colors.  Some seem unwilling to yield, and retain both their green color and their raiment.  And of course there are the evergreens.  It struck me that we humans are much like the trees.  As we approach the winter of our existence, some of us just give up and accept the inevitable.  Some of us become a lot more colorful in both our mien and our apparel.  Some just refuse to change, waiting for the ultimate freeze to take everything we have.  Like most things in life, there are certain genetic situations over which we have no control.  The length of our growth season, for the most part, is out of our hands.  Oh, we can tend to it, fertilize it, water it, and get as much growth as we can, but in the end....  Thankfully, like the rest of life, we are also given choices that can impact the quality of our growth period.  And my move in the game?  This will come as no surprise.  I'm going for as much vibrant color as I can produce, and believe me, my leaves will hang on as long as they can.  What tree are you?  Whatever is chosen for you, and whatever you choose, know that  you will be loved!

Happy Birthday, David

As I was attempting to find the bottom of the top of my computer desk, I came across a photograph.  Really.  A printed photograph.  Memory served me well, and I immediately recognized it for what it was.  I was impressed.  I was even more impressed when I discovered it was actually a photo of me.  I had dark hair.  Two surprises there!  I was amazingly thin.  (My memory doesn't go back that far.)  I still had my coke bottle glasses.  And I am holding a cake I had just made and decorated in the shape of a guitar.  It was, (insert drum roll here) for David.  (See, the titles do actually mean something!)  I turned the picture over and discovered it was from 1988.  David was 8.  I wasn't.  Oh, the memories that came flooding back.  The 60+ cake pans I had.  Butter cream icing everywhere.  Worse, powdered sugar everywhere.  But the cakes were good.  The decorations were good.  The times were good!  And those cakes resulted in my very own kitchen in the basement...with running water and everything.  And there's another memory.  My mother-in-law, slyly smiling and saying "Isn't running water wonderful?"  Then it was the joke about the Dairy Queen, the first time (only time?) I ever heard my father-in-law swear, the wedding when the candles "plopped" onto the plastic, the "just put it all in your mouth at once" exhortation about the little pepper that I was hesitant to try, the 14000 wonderful children, the amazingly supportive family, and the friends who have and continue to change my life!  Tears in the eyes.  Tears of thankfulness, of loss, of love.  All from one photograph.  David is a happy and successful adult.  He still has birthdays.  Maybe next year, I'll bake him a cake!  Know you are loved!

There's no place like

The plan was to visit a beautiful state park and enjoy the leaves and a short hike.  1 1/2 hours to get there.  30 minutes to hike.  1 1/2 hours to get home.  Plan B.  Take the car out to The Prop (an iconic Watertown location!), park, and look at all the beautiful homes along the lake.  We walked.  We gaped.  We were impressed.  Note--I did stop walking when I gaped, so no injuries to report!)  It was a gorgeous morning, and the work that has been done at the inlet blew our socks off.  Then of course, there were the trees in many hues, the white capped waters, and my best friend with whom to enjoy it.  We earned it, and we did it!  Lunch at the Prop.  If you have not had one of their garlic burgers, you need to do that.  Pair it with an ice cold Chilada, and the day is complete.  Too often, we just forget how beautiful home can be!  Enjoy your home, get out and see it, and know you are loved!