Artic blast... Texas style

We are in day 2 of our *Arctic Blast*...  not anything like some of you are experiencing elsewhere... but life has come to a standstill here just the same. It doesn't take much sleet, ice, or snow here in Texas for schools to close and weathermen to warn people to stay at home and off the icy roads. It certainly doesn't take much to convince me. 

Not only did I once experience my car sliding sideways on ice, but I have personal knowledge of at least 3 people who have either slipped in the ice or been in some accident ice-related causing broken bones and injuries - some in their own drive-ways. No, when the weather is like this, we stay inside - only venturing out to feed and water the birds, feral cats, or any other critter who has to suffer the cold. We also provide hay, blankets, and heat lamps.

Luckily for us it never lasts too long. They're predicting the possibility of not sleet again, but snow tomorrow morning which means that the kids will probably have a third day off from school (which will make them deliriously happy). But outside of the days being overcast and dreary the rest of the week, the ice will more than likely be gone. 

Not here... we just close everything down (which is great as it never lasts too long)!

I did get 2 more quilts done - well, I got the pieces sewed together, but haven't done the borders or backing yet. It's rather comfortable to sew in the front room by the fire-place with the cats lounging on the chairs nearby for added support. And DH made *flan* from a recipe he saw on America's test kitchen. It was very good - and very rich.

That's about my news for the last few days. Don't have to cook tonight as I made a chicken broccoli quiche yesterday and we will have the left-overs tonight. 

Stay warm and stay safe!

Back from Alaska...

Ketchikan,  Alaska

Yes, I'm back!  And it was awesome...  beautiful scenery, clean air, true wilderness!  I loved it.  And yes, it was COLD... and yes, I got a bit SEASICK one morning... but was it worth it? Definitely YES.

I want to gather my thoughts and go through my journal before I begin to write about it. And I have to get my pictures from my friend's son who downloaded my camera 3 times because the card only held about 300 pics. He is going to put them all on a flash drive for me. This one I still had on my last batch which was taken on Sunday in Ketchikan, Alaska... which was our last Alaskan stop.

And yes, my camera worked fine on the trip.  Don't know what was the problem the day before. And my Zoom lens got it's first real workout... on Glacial Bay.

And yes, we took the train in Skagway to White Pass.  Because we were the first cruise ship of the season there was still a lot of snow on the mountains. They cancelled the morning train, but we were scheduled for the 12:45 one which left on schedule.  The views were fantastic. We passed the old gold miners trails, cemeteries, etc.

We did hit one snag... we crossed a tall trestle bridge and entered a snow covered mountain, and eventually got to White Pass (which is a little over the Canadian border). There the train stopped for about 30 mins for people to take photos, etc.  You were allowed to go outside between the railroad cars and take pics, but not get off the train. Well... 30 mins passed, then 45... and we didn't start back down. (You go up and down the same route... the seats reverse).  Finally the Brakeman came into our car and explained that there were "2 places where snow had fallen from the mountain top and covered the tracks behind us (didn't use the word "avalanche" - smart, yes?.

So we had to wait until the work train got those spots cleared. Must have happened right after we passed into the tunnel... because when we did get going again the areas where you could see out your window straight down the mountain now had 6 feet of snow on each side where the work train had cleared it.  Exciting, yes?  So... we were scheduled to be back for 3:30.  Didn't get back down the mountain until almost 5:30 and some of the shops (where my friend had merchandise held) were already closing for the day.  And we had to be back on the ship by 7.  So... it was a bit tight, but we made it. And were even able to watch the "run of shame".... which is what they call the last minute run where people are late getting back.  It's kind of funny, really.  The crew and the passengers aboard stand on the deck or on their balconies and heckle the late runners... shouting, "Come on... the ship is waiting on you!"  But it's all done in fun.

And even though it was a bit scary, it was an adventure. People on board our car were kidding around by saying, "Ok, I have 2 candy bars...." or "only one bottle of water per person... we have to ration" (there was a box of bottled water in the car for the passengers). One person even said, "OMG, Carnival has done it again.  I can see the headlines Carnival passengers caught in avalanche on White Pass Route."

All in all, it was a wonderful trip and over the next week or so, I will try to post more pictures... and catch up on reading everyone's blogs from the last 2 weeks!

Our train going into the mountain right before "snow fell to cover the tracks"...

Had to make this picture large so you could see the train.

a brisket and a chocolate pie...

Old photo of house in snow

You know, I planned to take a picture of both the brisket and the pie... and then forgot.  Must be age. Both are totally gone now... and were very good. The brisket was 'fall apart' tender and DH and the boys loved it.  I thought it was a bit salty, but I'm not fond of salt... and I had used a BBQ rub (as well as BBQ sauce, Lea & Perrins, and Soy Sauce recipe - all salty). I will use less of these if I ever cook this again.

The dark chocolate cream pie is one of my favorites. And I don't make it  often. The recipe calls for only dark unsweetened chocolate, but I usually use half unsweetened and half semi-sweet.  Then I use real whipping cream on top. My neighbor when we first moved to Texas made the *best* chocolate pie.  She past away a long time ago and I never knew her recipe (back then I was 27 and had 3 babies and no time to bake). But I've tried several over the years and this one is the closest I've come. Some chocolate pies are more like chocolate pudding in a pie shell, others are like brownies in a pie shell.  This one is the consistency and flavor I like.  I found it in my King Arthur's Flour cookbook a few years back.

Well, we woke up to snow this morning here in Texas. It always surprises me. Luckily we haven't had any long lasting cold so far this year, just a few snowfalls and drops to below freezing days. It will stay cold today, so I suspect the roads will be icy tonight and tomorrow.  Hate that.  But... one of the good things about being retired... I don't have to go out in it!  When the weather is especially cold and nasty, I can stay cozy and warm by the fireplace with the cats and a good book.  THAT is one of the joys of retirement!

And yes, I'm still 'considering' the Alaska trip.  Haven't made any decision. I'm letting it 'ruminate' around in my head for a while.

My mom and a friend in my kitchen taken a few years ago - both deceased now and dearly missed

Just wanted to try this.  I did the 'resize thing' here where I resized the picture in Microsoft office manager and then downloaded it into blogger.   I think you can click on it and it will enlarge... thus keeping my google photo capacity lower... ??

One more 'blogger type' question.  If I should decide to 'change' my template to another form now... will all my old blogs be changed to the new form or will it save the old posts in the old template?  Just curious...