A Spooky Spring Road Trip

Spring came very early in our neck of the woods but it still keeps snowing. The weather seems to be crazy everywhere lately! Some days we have had the pleasure of experiencing all the seasons at once. The daffodils are unfazed by the freezing temps and I can't believe how nice the magnolia still looks after being snowed on so many times, ha! 

It seems like forever since we've been anywhere but now that we are fully vaccinated, along with most of our friends and family, it was time for a road trip. Here we are, gleefully waiting the fifteen minutes after our second shot. I was so excited about getting it that I forgot my mask! Luckily, I had a couple of disposables in the car. We both had some side effects, mine were worse that HM's, but it's definitely worth it for the peace of mind. 

Since this year marks the 50th anniversary of 4/20 (although it can always be celebrated daily at 4:20 pm, ha!) we decided to reminisce with old school friends and hit the road. The day started out promisingly enough but the further west we traveled the more overcast and gloomier it got. It was great to see our friends again and I also brought back a very special addition to my hoard of Halloween decor because it's getting very close to Half-O-Ween! 

So, how did His Madness and I end up in this extremely uncomfortable backseat of a police car?

A wild turkey. Turns out THEY CAN FLY, but not very well.

The damage didn't look that bad from the outside but the view from the inside was pretty restricted. Since we were two hours from home and at least an hour anyway from our friends, the officer offered to give us a lift to the nearest car rental. It was a very long thirty minute drive and we tried not to act too suspicious. I did feel bad about hitting the poor turkey but there are 349,999 of them left in the state and I'm so glad it wasn't a deer!   

After a couple of days our windshield was replaced and we were back on the road on another overcast day. On the plus side, it didn't snow much. Insurance companies choose where your car gets towed and repaired and ours ended up in Colby, where the cheese by the same name was developed. It's way too bland for my taste and has a weird, rubbery texture so we didn't bother to do any shopping. Too bad the turkey incident didn't happen further down the road near one of the gouda or cheddar cheese makers.

On the dashboard there was this button that the repairman must have found when he replaced the windshield. As it turns out, it was the source of an intermittent but annoying rattle, ha! It was ironic to think of it sitting there for everyone to see in a place where so many were still flying their Trump flags but it's doubtful anyone even noticed it.  

Back home it was snowing - again, but that's okay.

Warmer weather will arrive eventually but while we wait, there's Half-O-Ween!

Thanks for stopping by. See you soon.

Baking from Books

We don't need bad weather or a virus to mess up our holidays, we are pretty capable of doing that all on our own, but just because we've had to spend them all alone, it doesn't mean we can't have a good time. Back in December, His Madness renamed Christmas, The Yule Fortnight because during the pandemic we needed more than twelve days to party. So two weeks ago, when Easter rolled around, we decided to dedicate the rest of the month (and probably May) to a celebration of Spring. It's not like there's much else to do! Since nearly all of the chocolate left by Easter Bunny is gone, Ivy decided a fancy dessert was just the thing to keep the party going . . . and she knew where to look for a recipe!

In a cookbook! Yes, Ivy chose to go old school and follow a recipe on a page that doesn't disappear or have annoying pop-up ads. Not that technology isn't wonderful, I don't know if I ever would have learned to cook if Julia Child had never made cooking shows and public television station hadn't decided to air the reruns. Getting a meal on the table was just another household chore to me until she came along and made it look like fun! Anyway, for something special, complicated, time-consuming but always worth the effort, a great recipe can usually be found in her cookbooks. Not surprisingly, they're all still easily available online, even for kindle, ha!

Ivy decided to make the Los Gatos Gateau from Julia Child and Company. She started on this epic journey one evening by soaking the apricots overnight in vermouth. The next day she simmered them with cinnamon and orange zest before whizzing it into a puree in the blender. At this point she realized a cup and a half of nuts needed to be toasted and then ground, so there wouldn't be time to finish it that afternoon.

On day two (or is it three now?) Ivy had been wise enough to get an early start and got to work on producing those daunting meringue layers.    

Using a pastry bag to pipe on the meringue mixture probably would've produced a more uniform look but to quote Julia Child herself, "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell-attitude." Okay, guess they're just fine!

It's basically layers of meringue separated by buttercream frosting (probably to waterproof the meringue) and apricot puree. Then the whole thing gets covered in frosting and the sides are coated with slivered almonds. Definitely not a health conscience choice, ha! 

His Madness was happy to finish what was left of the apricot filling.

Finally, it's finished. So how can Ivy possibly top this effort? She came across a few interesting possibilities while searching for Julia's quote, maybe she will try Matcha Tiramisu or a Forest Moss Cake next.

In the meantime we will enjoy the Los Gatos Gateau.

It may have taken a little longer to make than expected but it was worth it.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Spring Stuff

It seems like springtime weather is fairly unpredictable everywhere. When April arrives here, we never know what Mother Nature will have in store for us. One day it's 80°F. and sunny and the next day it snows. So far, we've had quite a few beautiful days in a row so flowers are popping up everywhere!

This premature explosion of spring inspired Ivy to make some new plans for the garden.

Burt had a plan too.

It was such a beautiful day but there were some problems to fix so it was time to go shopping.

 Avoiding the giant, home improvement retailers is always a priority for us but sometimes you just have no other option when the shop lights over your washer and drying quit working and need to be replaced. Fortunately, Lowes had placed a huge display of beautiful hydrangeas right by the main entrance so it felt like walking into a wonderland, ha! 

After perusing the flowering plants and patio furniture, the whole experience of picking up shop lights wasn't quite so boring after all. We even stumbled upon a stand that might work to keep Elwood, our make-shift, bunny fountain, from falling into his pond.

It's still too early for us to do any outdoor planting but who could pass up a kalanchoe in a cute bunny planter, or a couple pots of herbs, some seeds and a lot of dahlia tubers? Now, if I can just remember to plant all this stuff in May. 

This fall, when it's time to plant the bulbs for next spring, I need to remember to buy more crocuses. I've been neglecting them for years and now they're refusing to come up, except for this one lonely survivor. What will the poor bunnies eat?

After all the shopping, there was just enough time to put out the Easter decorations and be on the lookout for a visit from the Easter Bunny.  

Fortunately, she arrived on schedule and everyone was very happy to see her. Looks like someone had a few complaints about his egg from last year being filled with dental floss and cough drops. 

Let's just say this year there was lots of chocolate . . .

. . . but not a lot of ears.

Happy Spring and a belated Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope the Easter Bunny brought you lots of goodies, too!