dark days of November...

The grey month of November is about over.

It has been especially dark around here lately...

with storms, and winds and power outages.

We had dinner by candlelight...

cooked on a little propane burner the other night.

Across the fields...

over at the farmyard...

it was business as usual once they got the generator hooked up.

Our extension cords don't reach that far!

Last Saturday afternoon...

the lights went out during afternoon milking.

It wasn't long before I saw the lights back on at the barn

...and knew the generator must have kicked in.

Awhile later...all was dark again.

It seems the generator only works until the tractor runs out of diesel.

Oh dear!

And getting a diesel tractor going again requires more than just adding fuel...

so I have discovered.

And while that whole process is happening...

the cows are having a 'hay day' in the dark barn!

I'm glad I wasn't there.

This I know...

there is not much that can be done without power around here.

I spent my 'dark time' writing a Christmas letter on my battery-powered laptop.

I'm hoping the lights burn brightly throughout December!

But just in case...

I have my candles, lanterns and flashlights handy.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

seeing is believing...or is it?

If we see something that works just as slick as can be on TV...

it must be 'just as slick as can be'!  

Right?

I don't think I have ever ordered anything from an infomercial before.

But I somehow fell for this one.

And the best part was that if I ordered immediately...

I would get two for the price of one.

Two arrived.

I unpacked one of the boxes...

and found it to be much more complicated than a knife!

 I packed it away until I have time to read the instructions.

Whether it really is 'slick'...

I have no idea, as yet!

I'll have at least one 'slice-o-matic' to give away as a stocking stuffer.

Maybe two.

But when I see two of my good friends on Global B.C. News...

showing how easy it is to whip up a hazelnut log for Christmas...

I believe it to be so!

I already knew it was a winner of a recipe...

as I had sampled it in Marg's kitchen on several occasions.

Anneliese and Lovella did a fabulous cooking segment on Saturday's noon news.

If you didn't see it...

just believe it!
Or check out the video right here.

And if you want to whip up a hazelnut log for your holiday table...

you will find it featured on page 154 of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook cookbook.

Seeing is believing.

Sometimes.

lions pride...

We discovered earlier this year that the lion is the pride of Kenya.

The Kenyan lions are a pretty laid back lot!

Yesterday we watched the B.C. Lions in action...
our NFL football team playing in the championship game on home turf.

Not so laid back...

when the coveted Grey Cup is on the line.

We watched from the comfort of our couch...

while we snacked on oranges (the right colour) and nuts.

The plan had been to join a group of friends at a 'grey cup party'.

However, hubby came down with a bad case of 'orange eye'...

(otherwise known as pink eye)...

which we think the grands shared with him.

So we stayed home...

and ate the hot taco dip all by ourselves...

and cheered on the home team.

I'm not that informed when it comes to football...
but there was no doubt as to who won the game.

After starting the season with a dismal record...
the B.C. Lions came out on top!

I think there is a lesson here for all of us.

It's not how we start that matters most...
it's how we finish!

Have a wonderful Monday...

uncle ben comes of age...

My Uncle Ben is celebrating his 80th birthday this weekend.  

That celebration is happening far away from here...

in Alberta.

He will be surrounded by his wife...

his children and his grandchildren.

He deserves to be celebrated...

big time!

I vaguely recall a time when Uncle Ben was still single...

and I was a wee thing...

and he liked to horse around with his nieces.

Of his wedding...

I have no memory.

Maybe I never attended.

But visiting him in the logging camp near Lac La Hache...

that I recall.

And later...

he moved to southern Alberta to farm...
becoming a potato farmer extraordinaire.
Over the years we had several occasions to find our way to his farm...

located near the hamlet of Hays...

where roads had no names.
And where the wind never ceases to blow!

We were always welcomed with open arms...

and treated to a good dose of southern Alberta hospitality.

Uncle Ben has always made a point of staying in touch with his nieces and nephews...

and usually gives us a call when he passes by our way.

Often...they stop by for coffee.

Turning eighty is a big deal.

But I know he will find himself in good company!

Uncle Ben was one of the Baerg boys.
There were enough of them to field their own ball team.
Nine brothers.

One brother is missing from this photo taken in the sixties.

Uncle Neil has lived in Florida most of his adult life...

and wasn't able to make every gathering of the clan.

Uncle Ben is the one in the center of the back row.

My dad is immediately to his right.

Dad was telling me the other day that with Ben turning 80...

there would be five brothers in their eighties.

Really?

Are there any other families out there with five brothers in their eighties?

Not likely.

Of the nine brothers...

three have passed on.

The youngest still has a few years to enjoy his seventies.

Here's what I can tell you about those brothers.

They know how to tell a good story...

and the stories get better with the passing of time.

They all drive a Ford...and nothing but.

They are easy to pick out in a crowd...

often standing taller than those around them.

They can sing.

They can fix most anything.

They'd still be playing hockey if they could.

They are all great examples of lifelong learning...

reading and learning new skills to this day.

They have something special...

a brotherly bond not many have had the opportunity to share.

Uncle Ben...

best wishes to you as you are inducted into the 'over eighty Baerg brothers club'.

May God bless you on your eightieth birthday...

and go before you as you journey on!

Yosemite National Park

The majestically beautiful Yosemite National Park is one of the most popular parks in the USA.  Late fall was the perfect time to visit...as most of the other 4 million visitors of 2011 had already come and gone over the summer. 

'...the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter.'

~John Muir

 

We arrived almost at the crack of dawn...to be a part of the 'grand tour'.  And grand it was!  It was especially nice to be in a small group...and have the tour guide almost to ourselves.

We crossed the Merced River...which flows wild and free from the Sierra Nevada Mountains for 112 miles into the San Joaquin River...and eventually into the Pacific Ocean.

We noticed water flowing over the sheer granite cliffs as we entered the park.  We had heard that the waterfalls are all dry in autumn...but 2011 was an exception.  With a huge snow pack from last winter...and and early snowstorm in October...the falls were still flowing.  Yosemite Falls is one of the tallest in North America...with a drop of 2425 feet.

We met at the lodge and began our day of Yosemite immersion!

Cathedral Rocks...a prominent collection of pinnacles and spires are located near the entrance to the valley.  These rocks have been the location for some serious rock climbing this past century.

Rivers, falls and granite cliffs...

...and the colours of the fading autumn sun reflecting from every surface.

A photographer's delight! 

This fellow looked lean and hungry to me...but I kept my distance.

From Glacial Point...we had the most awesome views.  At an elevation of 7,214 feet...we were at the top of the world around us!

Those peaks all have names.  One of the most well-known would be Half Dome...on the top left of the above photo.  It calls out to rock climbers from around the world...and was first scaled in 1875.  Now there are thousands of climbers reaching the top every year with the help a pair of post-mounted braided steel cables originally constructed in 1919.

I think someone else loved the view from up here!

We had a fabulous lunch at the historic Wawona Hotel...which happens to be national historic site.  I think it would be a grand old place to stay.  It also looked most lovely at dusk...we noticed as we passed by at the end of the tour.

In the afternoon we wandered about among the giant sequoias in the Mariposa Grove.  The grove contains some 500 mature giant sequoia trees...known to be thousands of years old.

And did I mention...giant?  I took a few photos of this particular tree...and stitched them together in order to have the entire tree n one photo!

The trees pictured here all come with important names as well...from the fallen Monarch to the Grizzly Giant to the Clothespin Tree and the California Tunnel.  One must see them to believe them!

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.

The winds will blow their own freshness into you...

and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

~John Muir 1901

If you ever have the opportunity...experience Yosemite!  It happens to be Thanksgiving Day in the USA today.  I am thankful for all those who had the foresight to set aside some of the country's most beautiful and scenic places for all to enjoy...the U.S. National Parks. 

on-the-road crocheting...

Baby Lucy came to spend the afternoon with Grammy yesterday...

 ...and was quite willing to model the hat I crocheted for her on our recent road trip to California.

Perfect!

Not everything from my crochet-as-we-drive bag turned out quite so good.

 The slippers I attempted may be functional...

but not so pretty!

I've commissioned slipper-making to my sister-in-law.

It's probably better that way.

It is hard to go wrong with dishcloths!

I have enough to last a long while.

Listening to an audio book...

poking through yarn with a hook...

and enjoying the sights along the way.

That's my favorite kind of road trip...

a good way to while away the miles.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

To those who are interested in the 'ruffled rose hat' pattern...
it is available here. 

how to make frozen grapes...

Here it is...

the most effortless method!

Go on vacation in fall...

leaving the grapes a few more weeks to ripen on the vine.

Come home to chilly temperatures.

Allow the deep freeze to envelope the grape crop of 2011.

Pick right off the vine...

and pop into mouth.

Frozen grapes.

They would be most refreshing on a hot summer day!

As a winter treat...

still not bad.

Next year I'm hoping the grapes will be ready for the picking before winter rolls in.

'tis the season...

'Tis the season...
for warm winter woolies and a fire on the hearth!

Winter rolled into our valley like a freight train over the weekend...

ready or not!

'Tis the season for Christmas craft fairs and such.

The one I had the pleasure of attending over the weekend...

was sponsored by Ten Thousand Villages.

We shopped...

for products from around the world whose sales benefit the needy.

That's guilt-free Christmas shopping!

We noticed our favorite cookbook on display...

and we came prepared to add our signature.

We were also invited to stop by the Village Coffee House...

where local bakers had prepared a variety of treats and sweets...

all MGCC recipes.

How fun is that? 

'Tis the season to cook up a pot of chicken chowder...

bake a batch of  bread...

and invite the neighbours to the table on a Saturday night.

'Tis also the season for football...

and cheering on the home team!

'Tis the season for picking up our cousins friends on a Sunday night...

and driving to the home of other cousins friends...

for some fun, frivolity, fellowship...

and fabulous food, of course!

'Tis a season I like!

of comfort stations along the way...

Comfort stations...it was a new term to me.  I've heard them called a lot of things...but this tops the list.  It seems a more appropriate moniker than 'rest room'.  We visited many comfort stations along the route of our most recent travels.

Here is what you can expect from a comfort station at Yosemite National Park.

And if you go out for Mexican food...

this is what the comfort station looks like.

After a fabulous meal at Jackalope Ranch ...

I stopped by the comfort station before leaving.

Interesting!  I still have not figured out how the 'magic taps' worked.  They really were TAPS.  Just tap on the copper pipe and the water would flow.  If you are ever in the Palm Springs area...you might want to check out Jackalope Ranch...for the food and the comfort stations.

As you can imagine...we stopped by a few comfort stations along the road on our 23 hour drive home.  Some were at rest areas, others at service stations...but my favorite place to stop was McDonald's.  A visit to the comfort station and a quick cup of coffee for the road...and we were good to go.

On the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year...we were in good company at McDonald's.  The troops were there as well...having their Veteran's Day rations.  We were there solely for comfort and coffee.  

So there you have it...a frivolous Friday post about looking for comfort in all the right places. 

the wonders of the Indian Canyons...

Since it feels like winter here today...

I'll take you back to the desert canyons in Palm Springs...

where one can warm up quite nicely while hiking some of the trails.

We drove to the Trading Post at Palm Canyon...

where a ranger met us and told us all we needed to know about hiking in the area. 

He looked us over and decided we were good to go. 

As for the couple from London that arrived at the same time as we did...

he suggested they might just want to stay at the viewpoint. 

She was wearing high-heeled sandals...

not so good for trekking the trail or warding off rattlesnakes!

Palm Canyon is a fifteen mile long gorge...

...with an abundant water supply that gives life to lush green undergrowth growth and healthy palms trees within a barren desert.

We chose the easy trail down into the canyon...
one the high heels could have almost negotiated.

We met another couple along the trail...

fellow Canadians.

They were from Alberta...

and it never took us long to connect the dots. 

Our former neighbours were their current neighbours...

and his uncle was well-known in the dairy industry in BC.
A business associate of ours...
was a former associate of theirs.

By the time we were done chatting...

we were 'almost' related.

It's surprising what you learn when you talk to the strangers you meet along the way!

From the bottom of the canyon we worked our way up...

and returned along the ridge trail (the Victor Trail).

Sunny and warm...with magnificent views.

Secluded beauty!

We kept an eye out for prickly things and rattlesnakes...

and never had any close encounters.

We saw butterflies galore...

who seemed to be having their lunch while we had ours.

The loop was about 3 miles in total...

and more like a walk than a hike.



Before leaving Palm Canyon...

I observed the hummingbirds next to the Trading Post.

They were in a feeding frenzy!

Sweet.

A short distance from Palm Canyon...

is Andreas Canyon...

another lush oasis in the desert.

We followed the scenic foot trail along Andreas Creek...

...and spotted a few abandoned stone buildings on the hill overlooking the canyon. 

They belong to the 'Andreas Canyon Club' and are situated on property purchased from the the Southern Pacific Railway in 1923...

and still owned by the original family. 

We passed the bedrock mortars and mestates used by the Agua Caliente Cahuilla peoples to prepare their food centuries ago.

We gathered the Cahuilla Indians were not into inukshuks...

...so we left them one down by the river.

We enjoyed walking in the footsteps of the 'Kaw-we-ah'...

if only for a few hours.

If you are ever in Palm Springs...

check out the Indian Canyons.

Oh...and leave the high heels at home!