Quality Time

Amidst unpacking, Christmas carding, flu recovering and overall holiday cheering, I felt the need to spend some quality time...some down time, in the snow at the higher elevations 'round our parts.

Since I had to drive both ways, uphill, in blizzards...to and from Montana last week, I may as well take a moment to enjoy the fluff while it's still here.

Spending time with two of my best friends in the Red Cliffs Reserve is always my idea of quality time.

When there's....

Love is Spoken Here

All are safely gathered in...

'ere the winter storms begin.

We arrived in the arctic tundra...er, I mean, Montana safely in spite of icy, snow packed roads and sub-zero temps.

And when I revive from the Thanksgiving Coma, I will update our travails and successes.

Driving in a winter wonderland

Unbelievable as it may be, we are heading out this afternoon on the first leg of our journey to Montana for Thanksgiving.

Here's what we have to look forward to:

High Wind Warning in Effect from 11 Am This Morning to 8 Pm This Evening...Blizzard Warning In Effect From 3 Pm This Afternoon to 8 Am Mst Wednesday...

Tonight:  Windy...Snow. Blowing snow. Much colder. Accumulation 4 to 8 inches valley floor...And 6 to 12 inches on the benches. Lows 5 to 10 above. Northwest winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts to around 55 mph Decreasing to 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow near 100 percent.


Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Bitterly cold. Highs 5 below to zero. Wind chill readings 10 below to 20 below zero.


Nice.

Hope we don't see this guy on the way...

If you have prayers to spare....we could probably use them.  

My mantra for the next two days:

Enjoy the journey, Enjoy the journey, Enjoy the journey......

I (HART) Snow Canyon

My sister, the Hart Family, came to visit us in Dixie for the weekend. Because they didn't get here until Friday night and had to leave this morning, we crammed as much as we could into our Saturday.

Our mayhem commenced in Snow Canyon, where we explored the Pioneer Names Trail and the Petrified Dunes.  We managed to get in a few hours of climbing through rocks resembling Mars ahead of a wintry rain storm.

Girl Power!

Snow Canyon is a marvel.  There is so much to do and see. Too bad we didn't have more time to play with the Harts.  I guess we'll have to leave something to do for their next visit!  So much of Dixie, so little time.

From Marshmallows to Baubles

There's not a day that doesn't go by that I don't benefit from the resources available on the Internet.

Because I can't follow a recipe, pattern or instructions to save my life, I rely on online tutorials.  I don't know that I would have made a good pioneer.  I would have been the one the old ladies gave up on trying to teach because I take forever to learn a new skill.

I had fun with two, almost perfect tutorials in particular this week.  I say almost, because generally smart people leave out obvious instruction that most people should understand...but not me.  I need very specific step-by-step...to the last detail, with pictures, instructions.  But these two ladies came pretty darn near close to perfection.

I won't even attempt to give you the instructions to these two projects, I will just add some pointers...for those who don't get the obvious...like me.

Homemade Chocolate Covered Marshmallows.

Go here for the best tutorial ever.  Follow her directions exactly.  I would add:  be sure to let the marshmallows set overnight, she was right. I was wrong.  Mine don't look as pretty because of that but they were yummy!  Thank you Hungry Mouse, for your "visual guide to food and cooking".

Start by bringing your trusty laptop right to the kitchen.  You will need to follow it as you go.

This recipe calls for unflavored gelatin.  You can buy it in the envelopes but I preferred to buy it in a small bulk canister from a local kitchen/cooking store.  It is way easier to measure and I don't think you waste as much.

Yes, you may die of shock...I used my candy thermometer!  Not so scary. The Hungry Mouse gal made it much easier. 

 Just doing exactly what she tells me...and so far so good.  

If you use a 9 x 13 pan and a 11 x 7 pan like I did, and cut 50 pieces....then your finished, chocolate covered product will be 3 points a piece.  Aren't you glad I told you that?  That being said...I might have preferred them to be bigger marshmallows.  I would have poured the entire batch into the 9 x 13.  

I panicked here a bit on this step.  You are supposed to whip it for 20 minutes.  After 15 minutes I was worried that it would be too stiff to pour so I stopped.  I think it would be better to go the entire 20 minutes, but pour it very quickly into your pans or molds because it sets up very fast.  

The other suggestion I might make is to use clear vanilla.  The dark vanilla only barely discolored the marshmallow fluff but wouldn't it make sense to want to have it as white as possible?  Just my thoughts.

Here's where I messed up big time.  The instructions say to let the marshmallow sit overnight.  I waited all of two hours...couldn't stand the suspense or see why another 8 hours would make a difference.  Well, I dealt with a sticky mess.  They were harder to cut.  So, mine don't look quite as pretty.  

I used dark Guittard Chocolate baking discs for the coating. I have a handy dandy melting pot, that works swell.  But you can use whatever method or chocolate you choose to dip your marshmallows in.  By this point I was so impatient to just have them done so I could eat them, I threw beautifying out the window.  Patience in making candy is not my forte.  

Seriously...I never thought I could make these.  Go see The Hungry Mouse and make them for yourself.

The second project I tackled this week was for Christmas.

Baubles.

Meet me at Mikes, is a very sweet blog with an easy tutorial for making these darling crochet baubles.  I used what yarn I had, so they aren't the normal Christmasy colors.  However, the demo tree on her blog, shows them in all different and bright colors.  Very cute.

If I can make these, anyone can.  Suggestion:  Be sure to slip stitch after each round.  I know that may be a given to everyone else, but I had to figure it out for myself because she doesn't always tell you to do it. Also, use a double-crochet or dc stitch, not an actual treble crochet. Otherwise your first ornament will actually be an oval, like mine was. Which is okay...if you are using an oval ball!
And, be sure that the 4 pack of glass balls that you buy are all round. These actually had a flat side.  I don't know what purpose that serves, but you can see there is a flat side on my ornaments.

Thank you Hungry Mouse and Meet Me at Mikes for your tutorials!  Saved a slow learner like me.

Here's to marshmallows and baubles! Happy homemaking this week everyone!

Overwhelming Gratitude

I experienced a moment of profound gratitude this morning.

Why was I blessed to be born in this time and place?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS8euwO4o8k
or go here.  Knowing how other women live and suffer throughout the world, I don't know how I could ever be discouraged in my circumstances.

I'm just so humbled.  Truly, I can't offer anything else for this gift I've been given other then my humble gratitude and thankfulness.

Graphic by Graphic Fairy, altered by me

What are you giving thanks for, this day?

I've made myself a spokesman, unofficially

Went on a hike with the four-legged gal this morning.  Today we explored the Red Cliff's Reserve, specifically the Paradise Rim and Turtle Wall trails at the entrance of "The Gap".  I really think this system of trails is so undervalued here.  I rarely hear anyone ever even mention them and they are truly vast with so many options.

I never get tired of seeing the landscape and terrain around here.

I took a few photos...of course...and then played with them a bit.  Maybe to some, photos of the hikes in this region all look alike.  When you play with colors, levels and layers a bit...then you get a different perspective in each photo.

Yep, that's me...

Yes, I found a seashell on my hike today...

Other then my own wire fox terror...I never saw any other wildlife but I did find a seashell.  Wonder how or when that got there. 

I've decided I should be a local spokesman for hiking around here.  So, I'm labeling all my hiking posts from here on out.  Like how I dubbed myself spokesman?

What else can I be the spokesman of?  Unofficially, or officially?

Project: Gratitude

Our mission:  To remember to be grateful for our many blessings.

image by:  www.sprik.blogspot.com

This little project inspired by Becky Higgins, reminded my little family of all the ways we are so richly blessed.

Project Supplies:
Frame
Sheet of Canson art paper
Black card stock letters cut with CriCut
Glue pen
Sharpie Marker

It just goes to show, that we may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

And we are Grateful.