PASTA PASTA PASTA PASTA

Well - a couple of times a year - on a lazy day like today - we make pasta. The deal was - YEARS AGO - that David would be involved in this. So he is. Here are Ingrid and David rolling out the dough after it has been made, kneeded and rested a bit.
Then after it is rolled into sheets - it has to dry for about an hour. This is no meal for the impatient!

Meanwhile - Gretchen to the rescue - I make the filling. Tonight it will be tri-cheese with vegetables. The cheeses are true Italian Gargonzola (a MUST), Belgiorno Parmesan (Loredana will have my &$$ for not using Riggiano), and good ole american ricotta! Then I added sizzled carrots and shallot, and diced roasted red pepper. We've come up with this over the years after having Vege Ravioli at a favorite Italian restaurant (now defunct of course) while we were dating.

Finally the moment of truth is here. The sheets are placed in an archaic "mold", pressed for pocket to fill, filled, wet a tad to promote sticking, and the 2nd layer of pasta put on top.

A quick roll of the pin, and voila - Mortono Ravioli!

This batch yielded approximately 56 pockets (not all are shown here!) from 5 of our home-grown chicken eggs and about 2-1/2 cups of flour!

Let me have it Lore - what can we improve?

Other Late 2008 News

Here is Ingrid. She has mastered basic knitting and is moving on to fitted garments. Here she is working on a pair of gauntlets (fingerless mittens) for a friend. Ribbing is tough, and the thumb still takes a bit of Mommy-aid! That is fine with me. It is awesome to see the concentration, stick-to-itiveness, and pride in a project completed.




The chickens are doing great. Everyone keeps asking about them. They have NO heat, the water container has a heated base that keeps the water JUST above freezing, they continue to lay and we get 3-4 eggs a day (when Turkey isn't brooding - which she is now for the 3rd time). Here is David last week shoveling off their roof. The coop, after all, wasn't designed for a full snow load! NOTE EXASPERATION on my part here!!






David spent a goodly part of yesterday and Sunday working on this great shelf. It resides in teh basement stairwell. It relieves a lot of congestion in the pantry from my canned fruits, jellys, veggies and relishes.. YUM. OH - and there is room left over (for now) for Chef Boyardee and Campbells! A friend is going to start finishing the basement shortly. We are excited for more space for the kids and their friends. Bring on the carpenters!





Normie sent the girls clock kits. Using some cool softward and color printer, David was able to make unique clock faces for them. Here is Grace with, you guessed it, a doggie. Ingrid's has a more teenage theme - the Bengal Tiger - the mascot of Tamarac Elementary/Hi!






Santa, for once, really really came thru for Grace. She specifically requested pom-pom animals. SOMEHOW, Santa found a kit with SIX of them. Mommy burned her finger but good with hot glue yesterday on Mr. Monkey. Today was much less riskier - and no blood was shed creating the bear and the lion. Only 3 more to go!

THANKS for SUPER Presents!

Thanks to everyone for the magnificent gifts.
My friend Heather made me these truly AWESOME quilled snowflakes. They'll adorn my dining room chandelier for many a winter to come.








Grace got this new dog from Normie. Her name is SILKIE.

Here is Ingrid in a fancy gold dress I made LAST YEAR. She finally christened it on X-mas eve with these SMASHING purple shoes from Aunt Sugar. Imagine - PURPLE shoes!

My brother Richard cruised in Scandinavia last year. He got these awesome hats in Norway. We are ready for Nordic Bliss - BRING ON THE SNOW!

A Christmas Wonderland

Well - a great blizzard has hit the Northeast - and a goodly part of the rest of the country too I've heard. We're positively GLEEFUL here! We just got back from a nice late evening (9pm) walk to the mailbox to post a letter to New Jersey! We have about 9" since noon, and it is 12 degrees! Whoopie. Can't wait to ski tomorrow!
David finished up work today until 2009! Yes, that's right - not laid off, no furlough, just vacation until January 5th. Here he is giving praise to Allah - - - and drying his pants from working out in the snow. HE HE HE!! He put the plow on the truck after work for the first time this season! We'll need it tomorrow to clear things out! It's kind of a wet and messy job after snow is already on the ground.

Last night was the Winter Concert at school. All of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Graders (about 270 in all) were great. Grace sang, Ingrid sang, and also had her flute debut with the band. About 60 of the 5th Graders are in the band - and doing a great job of learning their new instruments. Grace is in the back row directly under the right-most overhung star. Ingrid is 3rd from the FAR right in the back row.

I FINALLY finished making their sweaters - my first for them. I started them in April. Thanks to Lore for inspiring me to try lace (Grace's) and a sweater-in-the-round for Ingrid (it's truly a giant circle with sleeves). They love them and I'm so grateful for that.....they'll actually wear them! Here they are before we left for the concert in the new sweaters and Christmas skirts.

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LOOK what we found

OMG: This was all over the front yard.... We're not sure waht it is. BIG Dog, Bobcat, Bear... What do you think? This is a 6" steel rule. Definately big toe nails. We're looking thru the Mammal Book....

Bobcat = 2" accross. Hmmmm...
Coyote = 2" accross, with toes... ummmm
Gray Wolf = 4" accross
Couger - 4" accross, but doesn't look quite right...

OMG: This was all over the front yard.... We're not sure waht it is. BIG Dog, Bobcat, Bear... What do you think?

Ice Storm

And so - finally I am updating the BLOG. We have our first SNOW DAY of the year! The girls are having a blast with Emma! THey are teaching her all there is to know about sledding! It is a bit wet - we had 1/2" of ice last night - so the trees are taking a beating... More later, I need to load some Halloween and stuff from the Fall.

Halloween Party 2008

We, are ready for the Halloween Party. Introducing "Dobby" the house elf from Harry Potter, and Grace the most WINNING JOCKEY EVER with her horse Butterscotch!

A Budding Blues Musician

Well, 3 years of piano lessons has gotten us "somewhere". Enjoy this - I do. She even has a bit of the uneven swing of it! LOVE this...

Eggs

OMG - We got our first little egg today... Not THE best picture in the world - but it is early yet toay! Grace is holding it - it is very cute and small. Ingrid is holding a STORE egg... What a fun find in the coop this morning! Oh - what to DO with IT!

Success at Schaghticoke Fair!

Well - we were all very very very happy with our successes at the County Fair! Here is Grace with her bunch of ribbons. She also got a 4H Cloverbud Rainbow ribbon for her Bird Journal.
Husky Picture - Blue
Knitted Littlest Petshop Rug - Blue
Cape Cod Beaded Necklace - Blue
Macreme Book Mark - Blue
Fawn Eating Apples Pen & Pencil Drawing - Red
Ingrid, also reaped the rewards of her labors.
Hummingbird Feeder (4H Project)- Red
Fall Painting - Red
Christmas Cross-stitch - Red
Knitted Scarf - Red
Sugar Cookies (not picutred - the Judges ate them!!) - BLUE
4H Bird Feeder - BLUE
4H Bird Journal - BLUEAnd here are my ribbons - - - the girls INSISTED that I should show off too....
Leprechaun Table Runner - White
Molasses Oatmeal (Mr. Anderson Cookies not picutred) - Red
Christmas Wall Hanging - White
Knitted Childrens Mittens - White
Tomatoe Chutney - BLUE
Knitted Pot Holder Pair - BLUE
Pear Chutney - Red
Pine Cone Wreath - BLUE
Smocked Christmas Ornament - BLUE
Knitted Socks - Red
Oatmeal Pan Rolls (not picutred) - BLUE
The coolest thing by far - and I didn't even notice this AT the fair. My Oatmeal Pan rolls, entered in an open category - won BEST BREAD CHAMPION BLUE RIBBON! I was stunned today when we picked up our entries, ribbons and cash awards. They are good - but WOW - I had no idea they were THAT good!

Grace is Ready for the Schaghticoke Fair!

Here is Grace with all her "creations: for the fair. We're hoping for at least one BLUE RIBBON!
You can see her first knitting project over her shoulder. She uses it for a rug in her Littlest Petshop House. She is holdinig her Cape Cod Beaded Chocker Necklace. It has a little silver whale we got 2 years ago on Cape Cod after going on a Whale Watch. She just re-made it for th 3rd time (the plastic elastic thread keeps breaking). She wore it EVERY DAY of 2nd grade - really LOVES it. In her other hand is an acrylic painting she did with her best friends' Grandma. It is a husky and her puppy in the snow. There are paw-prints all over! Then, kind of draped over the picture is her first macreme project - a bookmark. The top of it has a little silver angel pendant that her Grandma Engel gave her. She is very proud of this bookmark. Later this afternoon she will do one more project - a pencil drawing - another "animal study". So she has five things to enter in the fair... Ingrid is working on Grandma Engel's HUGE Sugar Cookies (ala Kansas City Star). She as a number of crafts and 4H entries too. I have a bunch of crafts, preserves and baked items to enter as well. More "RESULTS" to be "posted" later in the week.

An August day - Canoing on Second Lake

We went up to Grafton Lakes today. Just 12 miles from home with a borrowed canoe. What a deal. It is a beautiful day - we just paddled around awhile - explored - saw wildlife and had a lunch en canoe! Here we are in a little cove having our lunch...

Here is David with his girls - doing their LEVEL best not to tip us over!
A little lily - - - with some cool reflections from the shore...
A view of the lake from the cove. Second Lake is 31 acres - just right for a couple hours of paddling around. I think we went around twice.... There is a beaver dam to the far left - almost by the opening to the big lake.
Ingrid took this picture of a few ducks we saw scooting around....

Grace's Bicycling Adventure

Well - our bike ride got off to a very rocky start. It was.... interesting. The kids took off while David was getting his special bike shoes on. About 30 yards down the path (I wasn't with them) Ingrid stopped in front of Grace who swerved right off the path into the woods - and down a little hill INTO A CREEK! (she forgot about the concept of BRAKES!) I ran to help her - having NO idea what I'd find - and then had to jump in a VERY MUDDY creek to rescue her.. URG - she was fine.

Here is a picture of the mud hole. Good thing I had my TEVA's on - and NOT sneakers. I was actully sinking - had a very hard time yanking my foot out of the muck on the bottom of that cute little "creek". Guess they now understand WHY WE DON"T STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PATH!!!






We convinced her to get back on... It was TOUGH. Her shoes and socks were wet - so were her goucho pants. REAL MESS. I told her, eventually, that if she got on and rode - we'd go get her new sneakers (she needs them for school anyway - whew) on the way home. THAT did the trick. Bribes for girls - new clothes or shoes... She was a pretty good trouper -not injured except for a scrape that was't even bleeding on her shin. Whew. Here she is after our ride - at the "scene of the wreck". Her landing spot was about 2 feet below the path - lovely mud hole. (scroll down - there are more words.....) She got a lot of praise for getting back on and sticking it out. Was SLOWER than USUAL, but she got the job done!

Lake Champlain - Georgeous Place......

We made a couple of trips to Lake Champlain in the last couple of weeks. Our friends Simon & Elise have a family camp there that is very comfy! I went up with the girls for a couple of days - and bought some furniture. So... as luck would have it... David and I HAD to return ALONE after dropping the kids at camp to pick it up. We stayed a couple of days - DARN! The peace and relaxion was supurb!

We have had SO much rain in the NorthEast. This shot is for Elise's benefit - the water level has risen at least 12" in the last 10 days alone. Last week that stump was "on the beach". Good thing we tied off the wooden dock sections last week before we left or they would be far far away by now. His metal dock is submerged with at least 3" of water over the top of the deck.



Here I am writing posty cards to all the kids at camp. This is in the main dining area of the camp - the windows look right out on the water. JUST LOVELY!









Here are Hanieka and Grace in the bow of the boat. We were out crusin' and Simon was skiing. What fun - the girls even got to try tubing - LOVED the SPEED!










Elise is courting a little flock of ducklings. Here she is with the kids feeding them "leftover" pancakes. They are getting quite big on her bread rations!










While visiting with the kids - we took the Essex Ferry over to Vermont and visited Burlington for the day - a good time was had by all. LOTS of sailboats on Lake Champlain. It is a beautiful place. Here are Ingrid, Sawyer, Hanieka and Grace on the ferry.

Hold on to those hats kids!!!

Summer Camp

Well - the kids are at camp this week. It was pretty weird leaving them there. I know they are in good hands and I KNOW for sure they'll have a great time. Ingrid went last year - and could hardly wait to go again. Here is Ingrid with her pal Alyssa. Alyssa's MOM had just left -and she's mustering a GOOD SMILE.







Here is Grace (in yellow hat) in front of her cabin - with all the kids she will be "bunking" with and her counselor. All of the kids are 7-8 years old, the counselor is a Sr. at the kids school - so perhaps they'll see one another during the school year - that would be neat.








Here is a shot of Ingrid's bunk. SHe declined any help to unpack or get organized. NOT like there is much to do anyway. Her racoon Rascal is there - her sleeping bag and a stuff sack/laundry bag full of other "necessities". The cabin has 4 bunks - but just 5 kids I think and a counselor.








Here is the OUTSIDE of Johnsbrook - Ingrid's cabin. The cabins are all arranted in pairs - usually for a cabin of girls and a cabin of guys. David said that this group will have 2 groups of girls. Each has their own fire pit - and area for group activities - outside of course!!! They are spread quite far apart - Grace's group is near-by. The bath-house - ICK - I don't even want to think it to write - use your imagination!!!












Here is Kessler Hall - a place for getting together, dances and such. There is a separate dining hall, an outdoor chapel and of course, the beach. Hopefully some of the kids pictures from disposable camera's will be worthy - and we can post them later.....

COOL SUMMER FUN

Well - our weather is leaving MUCH to be desired. Rain and thunderstorms proably 4 afternoons a week. BIG ones for us New Yorkers too. David and I are working to put down the decking out back today. We got 4 boards down -and then the thunder and rain came. More pictures of that to come!

Mornings at the beach however, have remained pretty much undistrubed. For those who haven't seen our cute summer haircuts - here they are!! We're ready for a week at Skye Farm!





Our friends Nick & Ben got this COOL SLIDE from their grandparents. WHAT a cool way to spend an afternoon! There are 5 kids in the pic. Grace got a little wounded and was sidelined. Weak stomach - - but she is fine.











The art teacher made a very nice display of all the kids winter bird pictures. Here the kids are - not with their picture - but with Melanie, Brooke & Nicks and some others Ingrid doesn't recognize.










Yesterday we snitched a friends canoe - with his permission. We took it up to Grafton Lakes for a cruise. THe girls are getting to be pretty good paddlers. We hope in a few years to do the Fulton Chain with them. It is a 90 mile trip from Old Forge to Saranac Lake via canoe. MOst on water - but of course a number of portages between small lakes. A VERY COOL journey. I read about it in An Adirondack Passage - - - Check it out.

Early July Happinin's

Well - July is coming along as they say. A good friend of mine reminds me that it's only 46 days until school starts. We're trying to seize each day for all it's worth. Here is Ingrid giving the chickens a little snack. We let them out to roam the yard at dinner time until dusk - when they put themselves to BED! They are pretty low maintenance - and we're awaiting our first egg - probalby in late August!
EVERY morning - we head to the town beach for FREE swimming lessons. We tend to bring our lunch - or get Subway on the way - and spend most of the early afternoon there soaking up the sun and playing with friends. Here is Grace and her pals in a "jacuzzi" they built in the sand!

And - here is Ingrid - surrounded by "her fans" - burried like a mermaid!

Not to be without a project - nooooo - that just would NOT do. We're putting a deck on the back of the house. This is phase I - we hope to add a hot-tub at a bit lower level and then a patio at ground level over the next several years. THis deck is 16'x8' and will "house" the BBQ grill and a table big enough for the 4 of us to eat outside. This is the NE side of the house and nice and shady at dinner time - unlike the front porch!

And - my gardens are still growing - The Spider Flowers and Cosmos (see I finally remembered their name) are doing great in the stone planters.


On Tuesday nights our town has Music-In-The-Park. It is a really great time that many residents enjoy. There are always families w/ kids that we know. They horse around (literally here) there is a bouncy-bounce, and live music by a local band. The venue is always different - from bluegrass to rock - but we enjoy them all. We girls like to meet David there - he brings the PIZZA - yea! No cooking on Tuesdays - YEA!
This past Friday we went to a friends grandparents for a day IN the POOL. Boy did we have FUN! We had lunch - and swam until 4pm. Hey, when it is 90+ here in the Northeast, we call it HOT and seek WATER. Thanks SO MUCH to our friends for a wonderful time!


AND - my summer isn't without knitting - NO WAY. I've now made a dozen of these little doilies. They are cotton - and technically wash clothes. However, NO-ONE that I've given them too says they'll dare to use them as such. So - doilies they are! Thanks Lore for showing me how to do lace. David is just glad (no - call it relieved) that FINALLY the cone of cotton "yarn" is gone and I can now move on to something else! Next update - I promise to put up pics of the completed deck and also of Grace's Birthday - we had 3 mini-parties and will have a full fledged kid-party in August. She is just happy to be 8! Keep in touch - and continue to enjoy your summers!