Wordle... totally fun to make!

This was so much fun to make! go to wordle.net and create one!

horses in Virginia

I was lucky enough to visit my friend Sarah, from college. She lives in Virginia about an hour west of Alexandria. It is BEAUTIFUL horse country there. rolling hills, miles of fenced pastures, many horses and barns. heaven.

It was summery weather, and we rode through the trails along the properties, where there is a right of way..... for miles! we galloped and went through streams, swam in the pond with the horses, rode at the 'community barn and rings, and jumping field'. so much fun. I could be there in a heartbeat. I just am so happy when I am around and on horses!

red velvet cake, and a drive

Had the treat of having a fabulous Red Velvet Cake from Magnolia Bakery in New York City! It was Trish's birthday, so we had a feast in the clubhouse at the barn. Tyra, who rides at the barn a few days a week, owns the bakery..... so every now and then we get treats. Trish requested this cake for the party. I couldn't believe how fantastic it looked when she cut into it!


It looked amazing in the sunlight in the kitchen.....


Then Trish drove me all over the place on the way to her house for the night. I love driving with Trish. It is always an adventure. We drove around Dutchess county where the scenery is mind boggling!

pizza adventures

Over vacation with the boys, I wanted to do something fun with them. They were tired of alot of stuff though, since they had just come back from DC visiting Adam's mom with him. We went for pizza the first day back, and I thought it might be fun to go to some fun pizza places... so we decided to have "Pizza Adventures"

Bohemian Pizza in Litchfield...

this kept us busy while waiting...
Emmett wanted to play 'hangman'

amazing pizza at Randy's Wooster Street Pizza....

this one was soooo good!
believe it or not... white pizza with mashed potato, ham, garlic, and olive oil! amazing!

chicken that is so good!

I've been thinking about this recipe lately, and need to make it sometime soon. I've made it for many years, and it is always good. I even used to make it in my dorm room in college using an electric wok, and making the rice in a hot pot!


Chicken Dijon

3 Tbsp butter
4 split chicken breasts, skinned and boned
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup chicken broth (or boullion)
1/2 cup light cream
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

1. Melt butter in a large skillet, add chicken breasts and cook until done and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken to a warm serving plate.
2. Stir flour into drippings in the skillet and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the chicken broth and cream. Stir and cook until the sauce thickens and bubbles.
4. Stir in the mustard.
5. Return the chicken to the skillet, cover and heat for about 10 minutes. Garnish with tomatoes, and serve with rice.

Zulu

I love this horse....

beautiful view

this stunning view is in New York on the way from the barn to the grocery store! simply stunning! I had to pull over.

(click it to see it bigger... it is so beautiful!)

and this is just a little up the road from that!

spring skiing solitude @ sundown

there was hardly anyone at the mountain.....

from the top.....

and from the bottom...


...and Fred and I peacefully basked in the sun while waiting for line-up

Trish's Frog

I am staying at Trish's house ...
and she honored me with reciting her first poem from when she was in 3rd grade (or so)

Apparently it is no longer on paper, so I decided it should be posted here to have others enjoy such wonderful child's prose.

My Frog

my frog is green with spots of brown,
he learned to swim so he would not drown.
to my surprise it is his wish,
to swim around with my goldfish.
in Africa where they are found,
you will not find them on the ground,
but in a pool real deep and cool.
will you stop in and see him soon?
I got him when he was just new,
and if you like him, like he likes you,
you might like him, like I do.

Trish Helmer
1961

tree skiing

I had so much fun skiing in the trees with an old friend from high school!!!
We reconnected on Facebook, and discovering our mutual infatuation with skiing, we planned a girls weekend. We went to Mt. Snow and she got me hooked on skiing in the trees, which I had never done before.

If you look closely at this photo(click on it to enlarge it), you can see the tracks in the snow from people skiing around the trees. Now I am a junkie for skiing in these great glades! and it was so beautiful in there too. The trees looked like meringues! There was less wind, and more fresh powder. Since the temp was -15°F at the base, in the trees, away from the wind was good that day.

Skiing makes me happy.
And the quote of the day from Sheila... "which way is downhill?" duh....
(we laughed alot... and had sooo much fun!!)

lucky food

This was AMAZING!!! the lemon bundt cake from Magnolia. I am lucky that I had the opportunity to have some of this. Tyra brought it to the barn for our lunch. It was the BEST, hands-down, lemon cake I have ever had.

great pie

While the dinner in the restaurant at my parents new place was surprisingly good, the desserts were horrid. They seemed like they came from a huge industrial box, which I am sure they did. The menu at the restaurant was inspired, and it was a disappointing finish to have bad dessert. Bummer.

So I needed to make one of my thanksgiving standards that weekend.
Sour Cream Apple Pie with a Cider Cinnamon Crust. So damned good, and worth making! This pie is a little different, and everyone seems to love it!

Sour Cream Apple Pie with a Cider Cinnamon Crust

from The Silver Palate. I’ve changed it a little bit, but not much. It is really good! The crust is really tasty and really easy if you mix it in the food processor.
Crust: 2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
8 Tbsp cold butter, cut into pieces
4 Tbsp shortening
4-6 Tbsp. apple cider (or apple juice)
Filling: 2/3 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp flour
5-7 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
Topping: 3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1.Mix together dry ingredients for crust in food processor. Add butter and shortening. Pulse until it resembles fine oatmeal. Add cider 1 Tbsp at a time with machine running, just until it all holds together. Then take it out and chill it in the fridge in a baggie for at least 2 hours.
2. Mix together the first 5 ingedients for the filling. Add the apples and toss well.
3. Using about 2/3 of the dough, roll it out and put it into a pie plate. Fill with the apple filling. Mix topping together and sprinkle evenly over apples.
4. Roll out the rest of the dough and cut small decorative shapes (leaves, apples, whatever) and place on top of pie. (There will probably still be extra.)
5. Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes.

Metronome

This is Michelle riding a fabulous horse last week. We had a metronome going to help her keep the pace. This horse moves beautifully and Michelle rides her so well! The arena is a fabulous 200' x 90' area, with shredded rubber in the footing. oh, it is heated too. (spoiled!)

It is Trish's voice you can hear working with her to get this horse moving so nicely. I had my lesson and am sooo lucky to have Trish be my trainer and to get to ride horses like this! Makes me really happy.

herding sheep

I had the opportunity to go watch some sheep herding the other day. I jumped at it! I had never been, and thought it sounded fun. Trish has an Australian Sheep Dog that is about 2 years old. The breeder lives nearby and has a beautiful (and huge) farm with many sheep, fabulous horses, etc. So, the other day after my riding lesson, Trish and I went to the farm, and I watched her practice with her dog to herd the sheep.....


By the time we left, the sun was going down and the sky was glowing behind the trees. It was wonderful fiery fall colors, that the camera did not even come close to doing justice.