Winter Tree Hunt

Happy December, folks!

This past weekend, recovering from the delicious food comas from Thanksgiving, Mr. K and I went to get our Christmas tree with some friends in the mountains.

Did I mention it frosted that day?

Of course the drive up to the mountains was like entering a magical world. Be prepared to enter the winter wonderland.
God is so good.

We just missed the icy roads from the night before. Yet seeing these guys on the hairpin turns eased my mind.

Rock on, sanders and plowers.

But seriously. Look at that fog with the frosted trees.

Just beautiful.

As Mrs. C said, "It looks like Narnia!"
Indeed it did. I half expected Mr. Tumnus to pop out from behind a tree.
Perhaps this one?

Or to see the Badgers and the rest having their party in the midst of the snow.

Enter the frostline

From here up, we saw nothing but icing on trees.

It may be that I was quite hungry, for all I could think of was icing on gingerbread.

Come to think of it, I should make some gingerbread.
But that requires the use of a really good wooden spoon.

One of my favorite shots

Then again...I do have a mixer and a dough hook. Hmmm...Methinks I shall do it.
Anyway, back to the drive.

Of course, this shot is just as pretty as a few of my faves.

 I love trees and snow.

Another favorite shot

With the scenery that's around here, it's hard to choose between the photos.

And then we stopped off at the Valles Caldera.
This next shot is what I call the cover of a music cd shot.

And then we had to get a shot.

From there I could get more shots of trees and snow.
Which...you know...I did.
(You know you love it too)

It's so pretty 

 Oh baby.

And the best part is knowing this is where they shot some of Little House on the Prairie.

I can imagine it.

So then we were off again.

 And before we knew it, we made it to the spot we could start looking for trees.
So glad the C family had their Jeep to drive up the mountain. Our Ford Focus would not have made it.

A few times we stepped out and surveyed the trees.

A few duds. But then...

Ahhh. The sweet spot. But the trees had to wait. We needed lunch. A quick bite and some hot chocolate later, we were ready to head out.

Mrs. C is putting saws in Mr. K's backpack here. Very excited to search the trees.

After a bit of searching, we found a tree that was a possibility. Much better than last year's tree.
But it was a little short.

The one in front.

So I decided to take a pic of the place it was in case we wanted to come back to it.

So we traversed a couple fields and scaled some craggy areas.

I heard our friends and climbed the ledge to see them getting their tree.

There are three people there. Mrs. C is currently chopping it down.

Closer look.

But I had to go back and find Mr. K. He'd disappeared.

And we decided we'd rather a fuller shorter tree than a scraggly one. And so decided that the first tree was the best.

Then we loaded up.

Oh yeah. Mrs. C had a fun time coming down the mountain with her tree.

Yay jeans!

Selfies!

Smile Mr. K!

The Jeep got a new hood ornament too...temporarily that is.

Then it was time to hit the road home.

"On the road again..."

Goodbye Narnia!

Hello Mountains!

Black and white makes snowy pictures better.

Don't you agree?

But as we stopped to say goodbye, we discovered the best sight of all: Coyotes.

He's there, running from the loud Jeep.

Closer inspection yielded two lovely coyotes.

And if you look closely, you can see the head of one as they went over the hill.

It was the highlight to our trip.

Trees for both our homes, photos of nature that make my heart sing, and then two coyotes.

I love this land.

Until next time,
Bisous!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi all,

So...I think I must be crazy.

We're hosting Thanksgiving this year and have another couple coming to share it with. Their family can't make it so, here we are.

I'm doing the turkey.

Not that big a deal really.

I mean, it's not like the bird hasn't defrosted in the fridge the last two days...oh wait.

So it's currently on the counter in the hopes it'll defrost in time for it's big debut. Slow goings when the fridge keeps things extra cold, even on the bottom shelf.

FYI: It's been known to freeze the top of my coffee in a mug on the top rack. Gotta love an old fridge.

Anyway...

Made my first cranberry sauce from scratch this year. 

Yes, I bought a can of sauce as a back up in case I failed the recipe.

But...

I didn't. *smile* You can find the recipe I used here. 

Only five ingredients. Can't beat that!

Cranberries

Orange Juice

Cranberry Juice

Orange zest

Maple Syrup

15 minutes later, it thickened and is now delicious and oh so lovely.

Up next, attempting a high altitude pecan pie (p.s. you add another egg and cook a little longer at an average temp). It's a must for the desserts in our house.

And you know what they say:

You can take the girl away from the South but not the South out of the girl. 

(And you better bet your booties I'll succeed in that endeavor.)

BTW, I've always wanted to know who "they" are. We say it all the time in conversation.

Perhaps it's from past Southerners? 

Or maybe philosophical thinkers? 

Celestial Seasonings writers?

Who knows. One day I'll find out. For now it's under lock and key from the commoners. 

Or so they say...

Agh! Stopping now, I promise.

To add to the menu, I'm also making some sweet potato casserole-in a crock pot.

I know, I know. It bucks tradition. 

But hey, it's the 21st century. We have technology and honestly what is a crockpot for but to free up some space in the oven. 

And let me tell you, that's a very good thing on Thanksgiving.

What else...maybe a salad. We have cider. And some wine. Guess that's all I'm doing. 

Our friends are bringing the mashed potatoes and green beans and some other things. 

For that, I am so thankful.

What else has passed since my last entry?

Well we did have a little holiday called Halloween. (Again, sorry for the lack of posting!)

Mr. K and I went as steampunk aviators.
Mochi was a little witch. (the hat lasted just long enough for the picture)

This shot reminds me of those vintage pics with a girl and her dog.

We had 9 trick or treaters. Probably would have had more, but we went to a party. 

All in all, it was fun. 

A week or so ago, I experimented with making biscotti.

White chocolate cranberry biscotti with nuts

It was so delish!

I will be making them again. 

Of course, we also had our first snow.

So pretty. 

Alas it melted just a few hours later.

But then we had another dusting.

And someone refused to come inside.

Saucy little minx.

She loves snow. Must be all that Nordic blood in her.

That was the night before.

In the morning there was a delay (I know, not much snow for a delay- but the roads were icy). 

So Mr. K and myself and a few friends went to the dog park to play.

And the best part was teaching M how to throw a snowball and run away.

And maybe this part too.

Sleepy puppy.

So with that last image, I wish you all a restful and joyful Thanksgiving.

Until next time,

Bisous!