Alice
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Interests: gardening, writing, digital photography, graphic design, cooking, creating webpages, art.


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Member Since: 12/23/2000
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

From my inbox to you...

This is food for thought...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Today we have bigger houses, but smaller families. More conveniences, but less time.
We have more degrees, but less common sense. More knowledge, but less judgment.
We have more experts, but more problems. More medicine, but less wellness.
We spend too recklessly, Laugh too little, Drive too fast, Get angry too quickly,
Stay up too late, Read too little, Watch TV too much, and ponder too little.

We've multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too little, and lie too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.
We've added years to our lives, but not life to our years.
We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers. Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less. We buy more , but enjoy it less.
We've been all the way to the moon and back, But have trouble crossing the street to meet our neighbors.
We've conquered outer space, But not inner space.
We've split the atom, But not our prejudices.
We write more, learn less, plan more, but accomplish less.

We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We have higher incomes, but lower morals.
We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies.
But have less communication. We are long on quantity, But short on Quality.

These are the times of fast food and slow digestion. Tall people, and short character.
More leisure, but less fun. More kinds of foods, but less nutrition.
Two incomes, but more divorce. Fancier houses, but more broken homes.

That's why I propose that, as of today, you do not keep anything for special occasions,
because every day you live is a special occasion.
Search for knowledge, read more, sit on your front porch and admire the view without paying attention to the time.
Spend more time with your family and friends, eat your favorite foods, and visit the places you love.
Use your crystal goblets, do not save your best perfume for last, throw a party for no good reason.

Life isn't only about survival. It's about joy.
Do not delay anything that adds laughter and joy to your life.
Remove from your vocabulary phrases like "one of these days" and "someday."
Let's write that letter we thought of writing "one of these days."
Let's tell our families and friends how much we love them.

                                                                                 author unknown 


Monday, December 28, 2009

Christmas Eve snow

IMG_4336

It has been a good 4 days since our Christmas Eve blizzard, and even with sunny days since then, we still have a lot of snow on the ground. I took this out the back window today.


Thursday, November 12, 2009

Pardon Me

Pardon Me is the name of the daylily below. I took the picture TODAY... yes, in November. What a great daylily!

IMG_3891



Sunday, November 08, 2009

Lemon Pie Recipe (including perfect pie crust)

This pie is related to a dessert called Lemon Squares, which is delicious, but always seems to stick to the pan for me. I've put the filling of that dessert (with slight differences) in a pie, which makes it much easier to serve. Besides, pie crust is my favorite part of a pie -- that is, if it is a good flaky crust (detailed directions below). All in all, this is a yummy lemon pie.

17

First you'll make the pie crust. Please don't give me credit if you decide to use a store bought crust.
A wonderful crust is so easy to make.

1

Put in a bowl:
1 cup flour (not sifted)
Slightly rounded 1/3 cup crisco (or lard) I used butter flavored crisco here
1/2 teaspoon of salt

2

Cut the shortening into the flour either with a pastry blender or a fork.

3

You've done it enough when the pieces of shortening are rice to pea size.
I cut shortening into flour for 30 years with a fork before I got a pastry blender... just takes a bit longer.

4

Add 2 TBS of ice cold water and mix with hands or a specula until it all clings together.

5

Put ball of pie crust dough onto floured surface and roll out.
I always use a pastry cloth and sleeve for the rolling pin, but it is not necessary.

6

Don't worry if there are rips or the circle of dough is not neat.  It can be patched easily and an overworked dough will be tough.
 By the time the pie is baked, the patches will not show. 

 7

Carefully roll the dough around the rolling pin for easy transport to the pan.
Unroll the pie crust dough onto the pie pan.

8

Trim off the pieces that extend more than an inch over the edge and use those to patch the tears.
Use a drop of water as glue to patch the crust.

9

Fold under the pie crust dough and crimp the edges with your fingers.
Set the unbaked pie crust aside while you mix the filling.

 11

You will need:

1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large or 5 medium eggs
6 TBS fresh lemon juice (that's about 3 lemons)
dash of salt
4 TBS flour
1 tsp baking powder

12

Whisk the eggs and sugar together.

13

Then add the lemon juice, salt, flour, and baking powder.

14

Whisk really well, then pour into the pie shell.

15

Bake in a preheated oven at 350° for approximately 35 minutes or until the filling is set and golden brown.

16

Immediately after you take the pie out of the oven, dust with powdered sugar and let cool on a rack.

17
No need to refrigerate the pie unless it takes you several days to eat it.
In my opinion, pie is better if served at room temperature.



 


Friday, October 30, 2009

Sister Trip Travelogue Uploaded



This the Landscape Arch in Arches National Park in Utah. Chris and I hiked a mile to see it -- and a mile back.
I've finished the travelogue for our latest sister trip to the grand canyon and other wonderful places in Utah and Arizona.
Here is the link if you are interested.

Canyon Sister Trip 2009





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