Bible Verse of the Day

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Blog Prompts

I found the wireless generation's answer to journal prompts, thanks to what she said too! This looks like fun...might get me blogging a bit more ;-) Check out mindbump in your spare minutes, and then make sure you blog one of their prompts ;-)
mindbump suggested by Gemma Wiseman's Greyscale Territory ~ Poetic songlines

"If you were a tree, what would you be and why?"
I would without a doubt be a sugar maple tree. Just look at this gorgeous tree. Full, leafy, colorful, very shady, and best of all, it bears a sweet secret. I love maple trees all year.

In the spring...well actually starting in the winter...as the leaf buds turn red and begin to swell, my backyard becomes better than Bath & Body Works! My dad taps sugar maples all around our properties, as well as at friends' homes, and makes his own maple syrup. I wake up in the morning with my house infused with that smoky, sweet scent savored by maple syrup aficiondos. All year long, my 4-Grain Pancakes are topped with REAL syrup. Syrup finds its way into lots of other things in my kitchen...cappucino, baked goods, and even our fingers and hair ;-)

In the summer, our sugar maples (and other maples too) are leafy and provide wonderful shade. You'll find us enjoying the cool respite as we read together or have a picnic lunch.

Fall is my other favorite season, when those same maples turn gorgeous shades of red, yellow, and orange before dropping their leaves. I love fall colors, particularly those of the maple.

Winter for the maples is a time of preparation for the upcoming "active" season. Even while bare, those maples are still beautiful when they're coated with snow and ice. Their branches provide roosts for birds (including wild turkeys) and animals.
The maple tree is useful year-round. I want to be like the maple. I want to be useful, comforting, sweet, and pleasant to be around. I want people to look forward to my presence, no matter when that may be. I want to be steady and consistent for those whom I love.

Blog for Sale!


My blog is worth $2,822.70.
How much is your blog worth?

Anybody wanna buy it? LOL, j/k...I'm keeping it!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Slippery.....Sticky.......Who?

Our yard is yielding an abundant crop of Suillus luteus and Suillus granulatus this fall. The easier to pronounce moniker is slippery Jack mushrooms. They are one of the last edible fungi to be found in the fall, along with Calvatia gigantea, the giant puffball. (This one pales in comparison with the size of the one we're trying to nibble our way thru right now, LOL.)

Anyway, a couple of days ago, ds6 came running in the house hollering for me to come look. He'd found a smallish cluster of slippery Jacks but he couldn't remember the name, so he wanted me to come see the "Sticky Joes" he'd found! ROFL, well, he was close! Now every time he's out in the yard, he has to pick the ones he finds and bring them in. Really, I'm tired of eating them darling. You may leave them in the yard, LOL.


Thursday, September 18, 2008

Vacation Favorites

Here are a few of my favorite pictures (not already blogged, that is!) from our recent camping trip:

Yep, that's me. On a zip line. Awesome!

Nope, that's not me on the climbing wall. I chose the inside steps to ascend the 40' tower for a gorgeous view of the Straits of Mackinac, as pictured below (except this photo was taken from the lighthouse!) DD11 made it to the top, tho!


Old Mackinaw Point Lighthouse

Oh no, don't run in to each other!!!! Yikes! Whew, they're just going to pass in the St. Mary's River, but it sure looks close, doesn't it?



Me 'n my Honey

Breakfast in the camper. We never starve on vacation ;-)


Our favorite ship, the Edwin H. Gott, 1005 feet long. I don't know why, but somehow this ship has become our signature ship. Vacation is always better when we see our ship!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Trip to the Agawa Pictograph Site

We took an afternoon trip to view the Agawa Pictograph Site, which is about 110 km northwest of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. DH and I have circled Lake Superior, probably 15 years ago, and we had visited this site at that time. I'd forgotten how rugged the northern Ontario wilderness becomes as soon as you leave the city. It's a gorgeous drive...a mixture of Lake Superior vistas, rocky gorges, sand flats, and just plain wilderness. The colors are starting to change...some reds and purples but no oranges, yellows, or browns yet. The scenery was worth the drive, even if we hadn't had an interesting destination!

Anyway, this was where we were headed. Yes, that is Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. Yes, it's cold. No, we didn't get our feet wet. This time! Yes, that is a very narrow rocky ledge that we had to walk out on in order to see the pictographs. Yes, it was scary. Yes, it was windy. Yes, the wind made you feel like you had to hug the rock cliff!



Interestingly enough, when we last visited the pictographs, we were not up close and personal. We walked out on these rocks and because we were farther away, the pictographs were pretty hard to see! I like the "up close and personal" version of 2008 much better. Yay for higher lake levels! But I get ahead of myself a bit.

This was the hike down toward the lakeshore.


Yikes, I really hope these rock walls don't move anytime soon, LOL. The rock wedged across the top is HUGE, and it's hard to see in the pic, but Lake Superior's waves are crashing into the opening and there is wave action up into the canyon.


Along the way, I noticed this moss-covered rock, with a blanket of ferns growing out of the moss! Interesting!


These are some of the small (and not-so-small, one of them has several houses on it) islands in Lake Superior, adjacent to the pictographs site. Some of the rocky outcroppings were believed by the First Nation People to be the shape of the spirit of the devils that controlled the lake.


And finally, the pictographs. We Had to climb down to the rocks at the base of the cliff, and then hug the cliff wall as we inched our way along to see the paintings. The paint was made from a mixture of ochre (from iron-rich rocks found on an island about 30 km away from the cliff) and animal fat. Sometimes it's hard to tell where a pictograph ends and the rock's natural red coloring begins. There are some non-descript red markings that look as tho once upon a time they may have been pictographs, but they have faded too much to know or sure.

DS6 sits next to two snake pictographs.


Pictograph of four canoes, probably commemorating a battle expedition in the late 1600s.


Another canoe.


Misshepezhieu, the devil spirit of the lake.


Horse and rider above a canoe and 4 discs, which are variously believed to be 4 suns, or that the chief who drew that pictograph belonged to the 4th order of the Midewiwin Lodge.


This was the path back out of the site. You didn't think the climb UP was going to be any easier than the climb DOWN, did you, LOL?

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Shipwatching on the St. Mary's River

DS6 and I (wearing our hospital logo wear so we can submit the picture for the employee newsletter ;-) with the lake carrier Montrealais in the background.


Mist on the river...Mission Point, looking over toward Sugar Island.

The Kamistigua (spelling error!) emerging from the mist, upbound at Mission Point.
Vacation is great, especially camped on the river, and especially this morning when the campground emptied out and we have a better view of the river. I'm sure that'll change later today ;-)


Friday, September 05, 2008

Couldn't Resist Trying the Omnivore's List...

Since there are foods on here that I have eaten, and they didn't appear on the vegetarian list! I've eaten 32 of the foods on this list.

Here’s what you do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Thursday, September 04, 2008

One Hundred Foods to Try

Vegetarian Version
Non-Vegetarian Version

Take your pick and give it a whirl. I've had 59 of these foods...so far. Be sure to leave me a comment so I can come and look at your list!

1 Fresh young coconut
2 Dolmas (stuffed grape leaves)

3 Truffle oil
4 Pomelo
5 Kalamata olives
6 Saffron

7 Inari sushi
8 Huckleberries
9 Cashew nut butter

10 Vegetarian black pudding
11 Banana roti
12 Laotian coffee
13 Chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter milkshakes (in Chicago!)
14 Poutine (you can find a vegan version in Brooklyn)
15 Gnocchi
16 Roasted chestnuts
17 Baba ganoush

18 Wheatgrass juice
19 Soy cheese pizza
20 Yucca or taro root
21 Fresh grilled corn on the cob
22 Sangria
23 Macaroni and cheese
24 Persimmons

25 Indian barfi
26 Mangosteen
27 Vegetarian caviar
28 KFC Vegetarian Chicken Sandwich
29 Vegetarian turducken
30 Steamed edamame with sea salt
31 Saltwater taffy
32 Vegetarian Hot and Sour soup with lotus and woodears

33 Black sapote
34 Vegetarian Chinese steamed buns
35 Navajo tacos
36 McDonald’s Veggie Burger
37 Sake
38 Gulab jamun
39 Fried pickles
40 Chai tea
41 Thai papaya salad (som tum)
42 Pecan pralines
43 Fried green tomatoes
44 Goat cheese
45 Vegetarian s'mores (over a campfire of course!)
46 Stevia
47 Macadamia nuts
48 Nutella
49 Veggie corn dogs

50 Garlic ice cream
51 Jackfruit
52 Vegetarian shu mai
53 Mango
54 Tandoori masala
55 Fennel
56 Fried plantains
57 Horchata
58 Sweet potato fries
59 Sunchokes/Jerusalem artichokes
60 Caramel popcorn
61 French camembert

62 Tofurky
63 BK Veggie Burger
64 Vegetarian gyoza/potstickers
65 Sun dried tomatoes
66 Vegan cheesecake

67 Avocado maki
68 Durian
69 Nutritional yeast
70 Real butterscotch
71 Lemongrass
72 Chartreuse
73 Zapp’s or Tim’s brand potato chips (trust me on this one!)
74 Fortune cookies
75 Cotton candy
76 Salted lime margaritas
77 Vegetarian rice crispy squares
78 Vegetarian prawns or shrimp
79 Balsamic fig reduction sauce
80 Brussels sprouts
81 Passionfruit
82 Marmite
83 Wasabi
84 Vegetarian fluff
85 Honey dijon mustard

86 Bubble tea/boba
87 Blueberry beer
88 Deglet noor dates
89 Chocolate covered espresso beans
90 Chinese or Taiwanese stinky tofu “choh doh-foo”
91 Vegetarian Tom Kha (Thai Coconut Soup)
92 Vegetarian reuben
93 Coconut oil
94 Peanut brittle
95 Creme brulee
96 Vegetarian jerky
97 Crystallized ginger And last but not least, someday.....
98-100 Carl’s Jr, Wendy’s and Jack-in-the-box Veggie Burger (Hey, a girl can hope, can’t she?)