Mutant Tree

Slogging through thigh deep snow out into the woods to get our tree was not high on my to-do list. However the kids would be verily disappointed if we didn't have a tree to decorate. So my husband and I braved the snow and cut down the first one we found. After a day of defrosting in my workshop, the actual tree emerged.



The base was so crooked I had to cut 3 inches off in order to put it in the tree stand. The sides are not even, there is a big gap in the brances, and it has 3 tops! We gave up on the star, so a bow perched in the middle of the "top" is making do.

Needless to say, the kids love it, the kitten is obsessed, and our living room will not grace the cover of House Beautiful this year.

Just a photo

Arctic Blast in Oregon Take 2

Mother Nature got lost. The snow intended for the MidWest and East coasts ended up in our neck of the woods. I'm not complaining, much. It's pretty, it's different, it's festive. The kids have missed 1 week of school which will have to be made up at the end of the school year. At this rate they'll be in classes until end of June.

My malamute puppy really wants to go romp. I'm thinking of harnessing her to my kids' sled and seeing what she can do! She's 6 months old and 55 pounds of fur and energy. My ancient husky/malamute is acting like a puppy as well. Amazing what the instinct brings out in the dogs.

Now I have to get back to holiday preparations. Hopefully my husband's family can make it down from Seattle. I think they got hit even harder with this white fluff than we did!

Yet another meme

I haven't done one of these for awhile, so here goes!

So here is the rules of this Meme...

Bold it -- if you’ve done it.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (in general)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Grandma's Peanut Brittle

I love making candy, especially around this time of year. This recipe was given to me by my father who got it from his mother. My grandma isn't making candy any more, but she knows how much I enjoyed the box of caramels, divinity, seafoam, and peanut brittle from years past.



Peanut Brittle ala Grandma

2 cups white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup hot water

Cook in large saucepan over medium/high heat until you reach hard crack or spin thread stage. I test this by having a glass of cold water on the counter. I drip a little of the sugar mix into the glass. When it makes loud cracking sounds or spins a thread of hard sugar instantly, it's ready.

Add 2 tablespoons butter (real butter) and 2 cups of peanuts

Cook stirring constantly until desired color. I tend to make mine darker than I would like, I think a light tan color would be best. The candy will continue to cook as it's cooling.

Take pan off heat, quickly add 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract and 2 rounded Teaspoons Baking Soda. Stir quickly until it starts to foam. Pour into well greased jelly roll pan. Cool and break into pieces. Enjoy!

Instinct

I am a firm believer in instinct. At least of the canine variety. Today we are having unusual weather, it's about 20F for a high with a lovely windchill. After thawing all of the animals' water dishes, thawing the pipes in the garage so I could do laundry, gathering the eggs only to find out they were frozen, and starting a fire in the fireplace, I decided to take the puppy for a walk.



All I can say is that she is truly a sled dog at heart! I doubt my shoulder will ever be the same (don't tell my physical therapist!) and the walk was more of a pull than a leisurely stroll. At least I don't have to worry about her in her outdoor run, I've read Malamutes run sleds best in -20F. This must be balmy to her!

I'm going to thaw out by the fire, drink my coffee, and knit some mittens.

Snow Day!

Rare snow in the valley, plus extreme (for us) cold. The kids really want to play, but the windchill is 2F.

Battening Down the Hatches

(photos from Oregonphotos.com)

We're preparing for our first winter freeze fest. For those in places where it regularly snows/freezes over the winter, this may seem like old hat to you. On the West Coast, snow is a sometimes happenstance, as are ice storms and deep freezes. However, this weekend, our highs will be in the 20's which is unusual for the winter time, we tend to be in the high 30's or 40's as a norm. My brother is headed up to help me put the snow blade on the ATV, test the generators, load the woodbox, winterize the outdoor pipes. Hard to believe I finished picking the tomatoes last week!

I'm always more prepared than most of my friends. I've lived in this house since I was a small child and have had many hard storms. My mother kept the pantry full and we were ready for power outages and other emergencies. Power outages have been fewer as the hills have become more populated and technology has improved. Unlike our city neighbors, when we lose power, we lose water because we're on a well. Hence the generator to power the pump.

Fingers crossed that the weather people are crying wolf as they tend to do. They claim we'll be in for a possible repeat of 2004. If we do get hit, I have plenty of firewood and lots of knitting to accomplish!