Snowshoe hike

Due to last winter's lack of snow, we did not get to snowshoe at all last year; we were, in a word, disappointed. After the foot or so that we received on Thursday night plus the few inches more since, we were excited to see that there is now enough snow on the ground to go for a snowshoe hike. Yay!

We drove out to Beaver Lake Nature Center this morning and chose the Southern Exposure trail, which is about 2.3 miles in length. It wasn't long before we got our snowshoe "legs" back and started moving quickly and easily down the trail:

The snow was falling and the temperature was cold but not biting - perfect conditions.

James and Aidan found a little shelter made by a tree. Here is the photo taken before they shook the snow-laden branches:

And here is the "while they were shaking the snow-laden branches" photo:

Avalanche!

Holiday food

It is probably no surprise that one of my favorite aspects of the holidays - and any holiday - is the food. What better way to celebrate anything than with yummy food?

I made our traditional favorite goodies: chocolate fudge, peanut butter Buckeyes, Chex party mix and sugar cookies. The Buckeyes are time consuming and a bit of a pain to make, but they are so delicious and so much a part of my heritage that I can't imagine not making them; besides, it's the one time a year that I use my double boiler and the only reason I justify keeping it. The Buckeyes are gorgeous, as always:

 
The fudge makes a large amount and I can't figure out a good way of halving the recipe, so we gave away some of the extra fudge to friends and neighbors, along with a few Buckeyes. The components in the Chex mix vary from year to year; the 2012 version contains Rice Chex, almonds, cashews, pecans, Cheese Its and sesame sticks. And although I do like chocolate, it's the salty Chex mix that sings my name like a siren every hour of the day.

James suggested a new treat this year and when I saw that it combined chocolate and salt, I was in. It is a simple dark chocolate bark with potato chips, pretzels and peanuts - it sounds so wrong but it tastes so right. What's not to like about dark chocolate with potato chips?

We don't have traditional Christmas Eve or Christmas dinner menus at our house and this year we are trying some different items. Tonight's Christmas Eve meal will consist of all snack foods: summer sausage, cheese and crackers; chips and dip; sausage twirls, which is biscuit dough spread with sausage, rolled up, sliced and baked: hot Buffalo chicken dip; and party pizza bread. The last two items are new recipes to us and are both from one of my favorite food bloggers, Foodie with Family - girl knows her food. I have made a version of the Buffalo chicken dip previously but her recipe sounds so much better.

For dinner tomorrow, I am making Beef Wellington for the first time. Why? Why not! As I said, we don't have a set menu that we replicate each year and we wanted to try something new, and how can beef tenderloin encased in puff pastry not be delicious? I am not using just one recipe, but an amalgamation of a recipe sent to me by cooking mentor, Jennifer, along with various Food Network versions. It will certainly be a bit of a challenge and new cooking territory for me.

The one holiday that does always have the same menu is New Year's Day, one of my absolute favorite days of the year. Dinner is always pork roast of some kind, served with Hoppin' John and cornbread. Now that is a delicious way to start the new year!

Through different eyes

We were at Aidan's school this afternoon, looking for his glasses. (He told us yesterday that he had not seen them - no pun intended - since Friday. Although he told us he "thoroughly" searched for the glasses today, we took him back right after school let out and did our own search. The glasses were found by James in the art smock bin in the classroom. So much for being thorough, son.) As soon as we walked into his classroom, I immediately looked around and wondered where he might hide from a gunman. And when I realized what I was doing, it was all I could do not to cry right then and there.

What becomes of the broken hearted?

I have sat down to write about last Friday's shootings in Newtown, CT, several times and only get a few words in before realizing that I simply don't know what to say...and anything I say will have already been said by someone else in a far better manner. I am horrified, I am angry, I am heartsick, I am truly at a loss for words.

I do not know how those parents will endure their loss. I hope that the grieving parents have dear people in their lives who will hold their hands, cry with them, listen to them, ask them how they are doing and sincerely mean it; that they will ask those parents about their deceased children by name and listen to their stories and their memories, and look at the photos of their beautiful children who will forever be six or seven.

A work in charcoal

Elephant in the wild
By Aidan

Deck the halls

Yesterday morning after breakfast (pancakes with Boy Scout Troop 109), we drove out to Potter's Tree Farm in Baldwinsville to get our Christmas tree. We went to Potter's last year and were impressed with the quality and value of their trees, so it was the logical place to get this year's tree.

Potter's is a cut your own place and James enjoys hunting the perfect tree; Aidan, not so much. Here is Aidan's "how many more trees are we going to look at?" face:

Please note the lack of snow on the ground. Hello, it's December - where is our snow? I don't want a blizzard or anything, but a few inches of snow are welcome. The icicle lights on our house are looking absurdly out of place without a backdrop of snow.

Anyway, back to our story. Compared to last year, James didn't take long at all to find a tree he liked:

He does look pleased, doesn't he? Aidan took a turn at cutting through the trunk:

I did not take a turn at sawing - I would have had to put down my cup of coffee and there was no way that was going to happen.

We got the tree home without any mishap or mayhem and started decorating after lunch. Even Spenser got into the decorating spirit:

That is his "you are SO going to pay for this" expression.

We always enjoy going through our boxes of decorations and reacquainting ourselves with favorite ornaments. Ours is not a designer or theme tree, but a joyous gaudy mishmash of memories:

Those with sharp eyes can count five stockings by the fireplace. Although our cat Daphne has been gone for many years, we still hang her stocking each year. And if you check my stocking, you will find a lump of coal that my dad put in my stocking when I was a child!

Our house is decorated - let the holidays begin.