Christmas Cookies

After a good night's sleep and breakfast it's time to make Christmas cookies.

Cathy and Uma start by mixing up the dough.  Uma is standing on a step stool at the kitchen island.

The mixing is done and you can tell that Uma is excited as Cathy gets ready to turn out the dough and roll it out.

Uma is concentrating hard on rolling out her dough.

Some dough gets scraped off the edge of the counter as Uma plays with the dough.  You can see it accumulating on the step.  Even though it's below zero outside by double digits, Uma still likes to be barefoot.  Luckily it's warm and cozy inside.

Cookies are cut out and baked.  Now that they are cool they get decorated.  The Christmas trees are for everyday eating.  Other shapes come later.

Uma is getting ready to decorate her cookies with Joy's help.  Note the other cookie shapes including snowmen, mittens and gift tags with everyone's name.

  Uma doesn't do too well with icing in a pastry bag but instead prefers sprinkles and M&Ms.

All this time Uma's little sister, Ani has been eating, sleeping and playing.  Ani is a very happy little girl.

Here's another photo of Ani as she watches the cookie making process.

That's it for today.  Cookies are made and ready to be eaten as Christmas approaches.

It's Cold

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We have finally made it to Minneapolis after a 16 hour drive. It's -7 and snowing lightly. We traveled through some heavy flurries and very icy conditions for the last 4 hours or so. We must have pasted 3 dozen cars off the side of the road, most from icy roads.

Ralph traveled very well in the back seat. She is such a good dog. Some times she didn't want to get out of the car to pee in the sub zero weather. I don't blame her.

But all that is behind us and we are looking forward to spending Christmas with Uma and Ani.

Time for bed. More later.
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Studio Christmas Party

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Our studio Christmas Party was last Friday evening.  We made a return visit to St. Stanislaus Church to eat and drink in the basement.  In the wine cellar in the basement!  We were there a few years ago and eagerly looked forward to a return visit.

I know what you're thinking, but really, it was a wonderful time.  Lots of good food and wine and singing and gifts.  What more could you want!  This is an amazing Church.  The cornerstone was laid in 1886 and the building was completed in 1891.  It is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever been in.   

We were guests of Father Mike, pastor of the church.  Fr. Mike is a Franciscan Friar of the Assumption Province of Wisconsin.  In another life Fr. Mike must have been a chef because in his spare time he enjoys watching the Food Network and cooking for others.

Here is Fr. Mike welcoming us to his church.

  

Everyone is hanging on his every word, especially the food part.

As we headed to the basement we passed the kitchen and I peeked and saw a glimpse of good things to come.  I caught this quick photo.  More about this later.

This sign on the wall (Pod Wieza Stanistlawa) of the steps to the basement is written in Polish and roughly translated means "Under the Tower of St. Stanislaus."  And we were literally under the bell tower of the church.  The bells were tolling as we headed for the basement!

Candles lit the way down the steps.

We were headed for the Wine Cellar and it truly is a wine cellar.  It is, however, small.  Move in a couple of tables and some chairs and you have cozy seating for eight.  We were nine but were one person short due to Barb's cold but I'm sure with a shoe horn we would have all fit.  You can see what I mean below.

Once seated Fr. Mike offered up a beverage to accompany the appetizers.  It was a Polish vodka that was infused with buffalo grass called Żubrówka.

The bottle comes it it's own fur trimmed "coat" which may be only decorative but the vodka did a good job of warming me up on a snowy evening.

To go with the vodka was a plate of appetizers which featured two kinds of kielbasa (one smoked,) ham, a kind of vinegar based coleslaw, great pickles and a "condiment" for your bread made mostly from lard.  Also check out the separate plate of fresh butter.  There were two kinds of bread on the table as well.

Bob our "Esteemed Leader" and gifted orator offered remarks and a toast.  Then he sat down and enjoyed the food.  Monica wouldn't let him eat any of the lard, however.

The wine rack part of the room appears to be made out of concrete.   Many years ago the Friars actually did make wine for church in this room and stored it here.  Fr. Mike says that the concrete is wonderful for keeping the wine at a steady temperature year round. 

There were candles placed in many of the empty wine bins as well as in the corners of the room.  Otherwise there was no other illumination.

After munching on the appetizers the next course was presented.  A smoked trout filet accompanied with fresh horseradish and (if I remember right) cranberries in a glaze all on a bed of lettuce.

It was WONDERFUL.  (This was what was plated in the kitchen in a previous picture.)  Wine was offered all around.  Talking stopped as everyone enjoyed the delicious flavors of the trout topped with a little horseradish.

That reminds me that I have horseradish in the back garden that could be dug up and ground into horseradish.  Add that to the "To Do' list.  Back to the Christmas party.

After finishing that course some were saying they were approaching full.  Silly people!  There was much more food to come.

Bring on the Borscht!

That's right.  Beet soup.  At least that's what most people would think (me too.)  This was indeed Beet Soup with a full flavored vegetable/chicken based broth with julienned beets.  There was also a traditional accompaniment alongside, which by now I have forgotten the name of.  It was kind of like an egg roll with potatoes and cabbage inside.  Very good.

From my chair I could enjoy the soup and the glow of the candles.

After this, some people thought they were full. (Pace yourself folks, there's more food to come.)

Next up was Pork loin, a potato pancake and pierogi.  Not just any pierogi, but cherry and strawberry filled pierogi.  The Pork loin was topped with a mushroom reduction.

The ravioli added an enjoyable sweet taste that went well with the earthy flavors of the pork.  The potato pancake helped to balance out the other flavors.  Interestingly enough, there was no salt or pepper on the table and I never looked for it until the subject was brought up later.

Enjoy!

After that, several people WERE actually full.  But, there's still more to come!

Next came a Refresher course. Fresh raspberries with a side of a lime flavored liqueur.  I don't remember the name of the liqueur but a few poured their drink over the raspberries and enjoyed it that way.

Following this course it was definitely time for a break.  Time to get up and walk around.  Stretch the legs. 

Sing a little bit!

Well, we weren't in good shape to do any singing.  Everyone was pretty stuffed.  So we went back up stairs and listened to someone else sing.  Specifically the Ohio Boys Choir.

The choir was upstairs performing in the church sanctuary.  We were in time for their final set of the evening.  Fr. Mike had good seats for us up front.

They were absolutely delightful.

We sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful music.  The boys were full of confidence and had a great stage presence in front of a crowd.

Here you can see some of the beauty of the church behind the Choir.  The whole interior of the sanctuary is just as breathtaking.

More singing.

The performance wrapped up with some audience participation.  Just what we needed to bring back our appetites!

We headed back downstairs and settled into our seats and were promptly served another course!

Yes, it's true.  More delicious food.  Fr. Mike really knows how to feed his guests.

This course consisted of a braised duck leg, a stuffed carrot and more pierogies, this time filled with potatoes.  Fr. Mike told us all about his adventures with duck confetti and how he prepares it.

Everything was once again delicious and at this point I was definitely full!

We were finally done eating.  At least done eating downstairs in the wine cellar.

We headed upstairs and relaxed in the living room where a nice fire was blazing away in the fireplace.

And of course, more to eat.  Coffee, tea and pastries.

Fr. Mike relayed more of the history of the church as well as the Franciscans.

More relaxing.

We did manage to perform a bit of singing on our part to express our appreciation to Fr. Mike and his helpers.  We sang a special version of Good King Wenceslas that Barb composed for the occasion.  We did pretty good even though Barb (our best singer) was not with us.

To wrap up the evening we exchanged gifts.  I won't bore you with what everybody got except for Mary who was delighted with a snowman trivet as part of her booty and she asked me to take a picture of it.

Here it is. 

Now you are famous Mary.  Posted on the Internet for all to see.

That concludes the telling of this tale except to once again say "Thanks" to Fr. Mike for the wonderful food and hospitality.  I would be remiss if I didn't also say Thank You to Bob and Monica who arranged this return visit to St. Stanislaus and treated us to another memorable Christmas Party.

Merry Christmas to all.

Nothing Like it in the World

A while ago I finished Stephen E. Ambrose's book;  Nothing Like it in the World: The Men who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869.

 

Like so many of his other books I've read (audio books) I enjoyed it from beginning to end. 

From a reviewer on Amazon, Gerard Chamorin:

 

In his new book, "Nothing Like It in The World: The Men Who Built The Transcontinental Railroad 1863-69", Stephen E. Ambrose is following the same process he has followed in his World War II books and his "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West": he tries to bring the reader to see things from many angles: from the top ranks (Financiers, politicians, engineers) to the individual workers. He shows the life of the Chinese workers (West side) and Irish and multinational workers (East Side); describes the life of ordinary people during the construction; shows the danger of using black powder; shows the problems with the Native American populations; analyzes the presence of some 500 African Americans after the Civil War (former Slaves from the South), with at the same time the presence of former Union and Confederate veterans IN THEIR UNIFORMS on the workplace!

 

It's interesting to learn about the process and the men who participated.  I was most impressed with the Chinese workers!

Remember Pearl Harbor

 

The Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor and on the airfields of Oahu began at 0755 on December 7, 1941 and ended shortly before 1000. Quickly recovering from the initial shock of surprise, the Americans fought back vigorously with antiaircraft fire. Devastation of the airfields was so quick and thorough that only a few American planes were able to participate in the counterattack. The Japanese were successful in accomplishing their principal mission, which was to cripple the Pacific Fleet.

All together the Japanese sank or severely damaged 18 ships, including the 8 battleships, three light cruisers, and three destroyers. On the airfields the Japanese destroyed 161 American planes (Army 74, Navy 87) and seriously damaged 102 (Army 71, Navy 31).

The Navy and Marine Corps suffered a total of 2,896 casualties of which 2,117 were deaths (Navy 2,008, Marines 109) and 779 wounded (Navy 710, Marines 69). The Army (as of midnight, 10 December) lost 228 killed or died of wounds, 113 seriously wounded and 346 slightly wounded.

Where's Bambi?

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Kind of like "Where's Waldo?"

Over the weekend I was outside working on raking up leaves. Sunday afternoon I saw three deer cross through the backyard. I went in to get my camera. They were in the woods about six feet deep, munching on twigs and leaves.

Can you find Bambi in this photo?

Ok. Maybe you can see one of them, but can you see all three?

I'm sure they are hoping you can't!

Here they are.

Now to be fair, this is not the same frame as above. But it is taken right after the one above and it is cropped in a little but you can see all three. Plus the one in the middle is checking me out.

They ate for awhile then moved deeper into the woods.

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Leaves Everywhere

When you live on the North Coast of Ohio and your house is surrounded by several large mature maple trees, you end up with lots of leaves on the ground at the end of fall. such was the situation again this year. I spent the three days following Thanksgiving working at getting rid of the leaves.

There are many methods of leaf disposal. Our neighbors simply mow the leaves up and leave them on the ground to rot away. This works but it's not the best solution for your grass. It leaves the grass thin and patchy in places. (You got that pun didn't you?) And while our yard is not going to make the cover of any grass catalog, it's better than the neighbors. I like our grass suitable for Uma to walk around in her bare feet, so that means raking up the leaves.

That takes me back to my previous comment about leaf disposal. My preferred method is to mow the leaves up and bag them, then dump them onto a large tarp. Once the tarp is full you drag it off to the dump site which is behind our woods.

This is the back yard before starting the project. Keep in mind this is about 1/4 of the area to clean. There is also the front yard and side yard.

Here I'm stopping to dump the leaves. The tarp will hold about 10 loads of leaves before it needs to be hauled away.

Here's another photo looking back towards the house. It's Friday late afternoon and the sun is just dipping behind the garage. So many leaves to go.

The reason it's so late in the dat at this point is that the garden also needed attention. It's time to clean up for winter.

It's been awhile since we've enjoyed the fresh taste of tomatoes. There is, however, something still thriving in the garden.

Thyme! It is an evergreen type herb. It will still be here in the spring. This plant is 3 years old. The basil on each side is past it's prime, however.

The garden is all cleaned up ready for a rest. I'll dump some leaves on top and work them into the soil next spring.

It's the end of the day and the sun is gong down fast.

It was sunny in the morning and cloudy most of the day, but the sunset is pretty spectacular. It's been a long day of leaf collecting in the back and the front yard awaits for tomorrow.