It's the little things that count!!!!

When an unexpected gesture of good will comes your way, it makes an ordinary day a great day! This morning while running errands we stopped at Starbucks for a cup of coffee. The line was long and didn't seem like it was moving at all. After grumbling about the time we sat there, it was finally our turn at the window. Gramps had the prepaid card ready for the cashier when she smiled and said the lady in the car in front of us had paid for our coffee. It took us a minute to realize that some lady we didn't know paid for our coffee. Now isn't that a great thing to do. We felt so good that we paid for the coffee for the car behind us. One small gesture can really make you feel GREAT!!!! Grandmother

Funny!!!

At least someone has a sense of humor...I just love the southern accent and miss hearing it after having lived in SC for 8 years! Mom

Easter is coming!!!

I spied the yellow, green, blue, purple and pink marshmallow treats called "Peeps". Not only did I find them but they were on sale, buy one, get one free!!!! Hooray I got my fix and put some in the freezer to last for a couple months. Read in the Denver Post they are having a "Peeps" diorama contest featuring the colorful chick and bunny"Peeps", no I am not going to enter the contest. Don't want to send my "Peeps" off for a contest. Time for another treat. Grandmother

Where are my ear plugs???

Gramps got the sax back, all tuned up and ready to go. The tuner said the sax has good sound for an older sax and was in good condition. When we got it home Gramps looked at the DVD on How to Play a Sax and decided he would try to learn the keys and then try to play the notes. Now that sounded like a cow dying in the living room. I think this is going to take some patience on my part. After talking to some friends about sax practice, one gal told me to place him in front of the closet and have him face into the closet and the clothes will muffle the sound. So if you come by and Gramps is sitting the closet you will know he is practicing. Meanwhile I will find the ear plugs. Grandmother

Heart-Shaped Snowflakes

Look closely and you will see that the snowflakes are heart shaped...they have to be because this was taken on Valentine's Day!
A great day for snowshoeing to and from Bierstadt Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The day was overcast with light snow, but being in the trees we were protected from the wind. It actually was quite comfortable for snowshoeing. Oh yeah...that noise you hear...that's my heart pounding as we tackle the climb uphill. One guy in snowshoes took off past me running...show off!
We had a couple of uninvited guests to lunch when we stopped to dine. The sneaky, feathered intruders were brazen and at one time attempted a snatch and fly trying to get a piece of bread from my husband's hands. They weren't too afraid of getting in close for that extra bite.
This one is trying to act nonchalant, but in reality it is checking out the lunch bag to see what goodies it can grab.
Of course it wouldn't be a trek through the park without seeing the elk. They really look cruddy this time of year, as their hides are pretty rough looking. What a life! Hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day and did something fun. Mom

No extra pieces

We checked and didn't find any extra screws, pads or arms laying around after Grandpa got the saxophone back together. After weeks of pieces sitting on the table and Grandpa scratching his head everything fell into place. This morning I took the re-padded sax down to the repair shop for fine tuning. The gentleman we had been dealing with behind the counter was excited to see that Grandpa got everything together. He also commented that he did a good job but he was delighted to find that we had an older Vito saxophone. He said it was in good shape for its age (due to the lack of anyone playing it, I guess) and took it to tune and make sure there were no leaks. Now Grandpa has to find someone that can teach an old dog new tricks and get a tune out of the sax. Grandmother

Snowy Scenes

Last night Old Man Winter and Jack Frost decided to have a late night party. As parties go one tried to outdo the other in escapades. They pulled out their wintry palettes and strutted their stuff.


Their artistic endeavors left us with a lacy landscape this morning with the trees and shrubs adorned in their finery.


Of course that just leaves most of us here on the front range greeting each other with the refrain, "We really need the moisture." After earlier temps in the 60's and winds howling at 70+ mph our landscape had acquired a parched, dried patina.


A pretty sight...although short-lived as Sun Goddess has decided to put her own touches on the artistic work of Old Man Winter and Jack Frost and hence the melting has begun. Mom

An Old Dog Learns A New Trick

I have been making bread for a long time...like 40 years, but I have always been frustrated with making french bread because I usually had the loaf spreading out over the pan. That is until I read a tutorial about making french bread loaves and learned that it is important to create tension when shaping the loaf...that and adding a rolled towel on each side of the loaf when it is placed on parchment paper. By following those steps I finally got a loaf shaped like french bread.


This wasn't really a french bread recipe but rather a white bread recipe. I was just practicing making a french loaf. I'd offer you some, but it disappeared pretty quickly.

The other thing I learned is how to make a poolish starter, which is just a fermented starter. In other words you just give the yeast a head start (like 1 day) before making the dough. This is a french bread made with poolish. It takes a little more planning because of the time involved for the poolish. I let this one raise a wee bit longer because I wanted to use this bread sliced horizontally for hot beef sandwiches...they were good...really good.

I really like focaccia and found a recipe that was a little different than my usual rosemary and parmesan one. It has sliced red grapes, basil and rosemary and parmesan cheese...it was really good too. Bread...it's good for the soul! Mom