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| Olive in deep thought |
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| Olive and Louie are pretty much inseparable |
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| Here you can see Olive's kinky tail end |
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| Lest you think she usually sits still, this is what most of the photos looked like |
Showing posts with label awesomeness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label awesomeness. Show all posts
Gratuitous siamese kitten shots
welcome home!
We are very excited to add Olive to our family! She's currently adjusting to her new surroundings and has a little sanctuary built in my studio. There's been a little bit of hissing from our other siamese, Louie but our rescue cat, Stan Lee is non-plussed. It's a lot to get used to for the little one, especially with a big, goofy dog in your face who makes a ruckus with her feet clicking around on the floors!
C'mon...sign up.
Did you know that I have a newsletter? Would you like to get updates about my artwork, shows and other fascinating stuff? Sometimes I'll even give out discount codes for my shops! I promise it's not spam (both the unwanted mail kind and the unknown meat kind).
There's a little signup box over here on the blog up at the right. Let's see if I can embed it too...YES! I guess I have learned something from blogging for a million years.
esther and whiteface make 46!
in just under eight hours of hiking adam and i finished esther and whiteface bringing us to the finish of our quest to complete all of the 46 adirondack high peaks! i'll be writing the rest of my trip reports and submitting them to my correspondent ASAP in order to officially become an adirondack forty-sixer!
we started from the atmospheric sciences research center. while this trailhead shaves some distance off the total hike it leads you up a less than beautiful first mile of loose rock on a very steep trail up marble mountain. luckily, once you reach the summit of marble the trail becomes much more enjoyable albeit no less steep. the trail was also very wet and muddy. waterproof boots were well appreciated, especially after seeing so many folks on the trail in just running sneakers.
there's not much i can say about esther that hasn't been said before. the herd path to the summit is relatively flat and painless, but is very muddy. while there is no view, there is a plaque which offers some gratification for the walk.
back on the wilmington trail we headed for the summit of whiteface, passing ski trails and a lift, soon coming to the intersection with the scenic highway to the top of the mountain.
undoubtedly this is a strange high peak experience to encounter so much "civilization" on a summit. the final part of the hike is quite steep and you emerge onto the summit (and into a gaggle of tourists) from behind the tower on the peak. it is an interesting mix of folks - lots and lots of them. you can tell who drove up the mountain mainly by their lack of muddy clothing and that they do not sit on the rocks (too dirty).
we certainly underestimated the mighty winds of whiteface and were woefully underdressed. it was cold enough to see your breath. adam had a difficult time "uncorking" our little bottle of champagne. despite the conditions we spent at least a half an hour on the summit. the clouds were below the summit making it feel like you were on top of the world.
a little more than two knee breaking hours of descent and we were back at the car, in disbelief that we had ACTUALLY DONE IT!!!
more photos from this hike are here.
more photos documenting (most of) our 46r trips are here.
we started from the atmospheric sciences research center. while this trailhead shaves some distance off the total hike it leads you up a less than beautiful first mile of loose rock on a very steep trail up marble mountain. luckily, once you reach the summit of marble the trail becomes much more enjoyable albeit no less steep. the trail was also very wet and muddy. waterproof boots were well appreciated, especially after seeing so many folks on the trail in just running sneakers.
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| just one portion of the "trail" |
back on the wilmington trail we headed for the summit of whiteface, passing ski trails and a lift, soon coming to the intersection with the scenic highway to the top of the mountain.
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| encountering whiteface veterans memorial highway |
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| no lack of company on the summit |
we certainly underestimated the mighty winds of whiteface and were woefully underdressed. it was cold enough to see your breath. adam had a difficult time "uncorking" our little bottle of champagne. despite the conditions we spent at least a half an hour on the summit. the clouds were below the summit making it feel like you were on top of the world.
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| the "view" |
more photos from this hike are here.
more photos documenting (most of) our 46r trips are here.
skylight - #44
we are only one dayhike away from becoming 46rs after this weekend's backpacking trip. we spent three days camped at flowed lands and climbed mt skylight. so many people say this is their favorite high peak and after seeing the summit on a clear day i can understand why.
many more pictures here.
many more pictures here.
cerulean.
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| 'hick's orchard' • 7X10" • watercolor on paper |
what an amazing bright, spring weekend, eh? (except, perhaps, if you live in minnesota or wisconsin.)
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i got my hands in the dirt and wrangled some early weeds. adam mowed the lawn for the first time this year. we grilled our saturday night dinner and i finally think i (may have) mastered a vegetarian "meat" sauce for loaded veggie dogs. we finally watched '7 psychopaths' which i think is my current favorite movie. it reminded me of 'reservoir dogs' although not quite as violent.
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we have a very exciting vacation planned for the end of this month. i plan to take full advantage of the time to relax as i have a couple big projects planned for june.
more on june to come!
fingers crossed for strawberries.
i got a new camera this week. it's completely tiny; smaller than my phone. it takes bigger pictures than my dslr-over 16 mega pixels. the best part is that it takes photos underwater! yup, it's completely waterproof!
happy april!
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| lake george from shelving rock |
i hope you all recharged over the weekend!
finally, right?!?
i know!
you have been WANTING a shirt/hoodie/pullover with my giant bee on it!!?!!
now you can finally go to my society6 shop to buy it!
spiced whole wheat oatmeal cookies.
perhaps it's time to revisit and share one of my most popular recipes. i still follow the the ingredient list closely but tend to add a bit more of one thing, and change up the fruit or chips each time i make it. sometimes i add some extra spices like ginger or cayenne.
1¾ cups whole wheat flour
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
½ lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
2 large eggs
2½ tsp vanilla extract (definitely NOT the imitation kind)
1 cup dried cranberries, blueberries or other fruit
1 cup white chocolate, cinnamon or butterscotch chips
3½ cups old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. lightly grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
½ lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
2 large eggs
2½ tsp vanilla extract (definitely NOT the imitation kind)
1 cup dried cranberries, blueberries or other fruit
1 cup white chocolate, cinnamon or butterscotch chips
3½ cups old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
whisk together all dry ingredients except the oats.
beat butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until well blended.
stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended and smooth.
stir in dried fruit and oats (and get a great shoulder workout).
keep dough chilled until ready to bake.
drop the dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. bake about 14 minutes, one sheet at a time, until cookies are lightly browned and just barely firm when lightly pressed in the center. rotate sheet halfway through cooking time for even browning.
remove sheet from oven and let stand until firmed slightly, about 2 minutes. transfer cookies to racks to cool.
(the recipe makes about two dozen cookies.)
a favorite adirondack walk.
the short trip up to the summit of shelving rock mountain is one of our favorite, no-brainer local hikes. a brisk 1.7 mile walk will reward you in under an hour with amazing views of lake george and the surrounding mountains. we even found a new vista on our trip up yesterday, perfect for watching the turkey vultures soar on thermal air currents.
(more photos here)
a perfect autumn day.
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| a hearty brunch to start the day, home made by my awesome husband. that rockhill bakehouse marble rye is so delicious. |
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| checking out the foliage while making our annual trip to hick's orchard in granville, ny. |
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| we picked a half bushel of perfect jonagold and northern spy apples, then went to the cider house for cinnamon sugar donuts and a bottle of apple wine. |
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| a hearty, spicy vegetarian chili in the slow cooker to be enjoyed with a sparkling apple wine and a scary movie! |
a lot of laughing.
you know, the following pictures might not accurately capture all of this past weekend's camping trip to lake harris. scratch that-they definitely don't.
how could you encapsulate a gigantic amount of awesome laughter, abundant food, positive energy, and fireside banter into a handful of photos?
we were surrounded by amazing people all with the same brash sense of humor and an excellent recall for eighties movies. it made for conversations that always ended in brays of laughter that were so intense your cheeks hurt from the effort.
we considered who our doppelgangers would be and tried to determine their names.
we debated whether that streak across the crystal clear night sky was actually the milky way or just a "bunch of clouds". (it's definitely the milky way.)
there were bald eagles and a roving bunch of very large raccoons who pillaged our food on the second night.
did i mention there was a lot of laughing?
how could you encapsulate a gigantic amount of awesome laughter, abundant food, positive energy, and fireside banter into a handful of photos?
we were surrounded by amazing people all with the same brash sense of humor and an excellent recall for eighties movies. it made for conversations that always ended in brays of laughter that were so intense your cheeks hurt from the effort.
we considered who our doppelgangers would be and tried to determine their names.
we debated whether that streak across the crystal clear night sky was actually the milky way or just a "bunch of clouds". (it's definitely the milky way.)
there were bald eagles and a roving bunch of very large raccoons who pillaged our food on the second night.
did i mention there was a lot of laughing?
successful none the less.
perhaps it was the amount of time since our last backpack. perhaps it was the declining frequency of our gym visits. perhaps it was an over ambitious plan. perhaps it is the nature of aging. i don't recall when post-trip expectation switched from muscle aches to joint pain.
regardless, our backpacking trip was shortened by one day and one mountain peak. (poor skylight, we just keep shirking you! this time it was due to a trail-less behemoth named allen mountain-trip report to follow in a separate post).
we started from the upper works trailhead outside of newcomb on independence day. it's the first time we have hiked this trail in a few years and the re-routing caused by hurricane irene is obvious. the calamity brook trail, some of which is newly cut, now follows the north side of the brook for the beginning portion. one of my favorite suspension bridges was washed away. i feel fortunate to have gotten some pictures of it to refer back to.
we headed for a campsite off of flowed lands that is new to us and a bit out of the way. it turns out that the livingston point campsite was the highlight of the trip. livingston point is on the east shore of flowed lands, 0.6 miles from the junction of the calamity brook and hanging spear falls trails. it initially climbs up above flowed lands only to descend back to water level. it seemed clear that the trail and the camping areas saw much less use than other sites in the vicinity.
just prior to arriving at the camp area, we passed a fresh pile of bear scat in the trail. it seems this was nature's foreshadowing as that bear, apparently a mama with three cubs, visited our bear-proof food canisters early on the second morning of our adventure. our food was safe but our neighbors across flowed lands were not so lucky. we heard them banging pots and calling, 'hey bear' for quite some time around dusk. crossing paths with a DEC officer on the trail out, we learned that that group had left juice and cooking dishes out, a big no-no in the eastern high peaks.
we chose to take the campsite rather than the leanto due to its proximity to the water and also because of the view. much of the time not on the trail was spent staring out over flowed lands towards mt marshall, iroquois peak, algonquin and mt colden. there was orange hawkweed growing throughout the campsite. we were visited by all types of birds and a brave little chipmunk. there were also tons of little, tiny baby frogs hopping around.
no one else came through the livingston point camps the entire time we were there and the leanto remained vacant. we enjoyed two nights without the need for a rainfly, caught the sunset and saw the stars.
despite the aching hips and knees, we covered 27 miles and had one of the most memorable adirondack backpacks in recent memory.
regardless, our backpacking trip was shortened by one day and one mountain peak. (poor skylight, we just keep shirking you! this time it was due to a trail-less behemoth named allen mountain-trip report to follow in a separate post).we started from the upper works trailhead outside of newcomb on independence day. it's the first time we have hiked this trail in a few years and the re-routing caused by hurricane irene is obvious. the calamity brook trail, some of which is newly cut, now follows the north side of the brook for the beginning portion. one of my favorite suspension bridges was washed away. i feel fortunate to have gotten some pictures of it to refer back to.
we headed for a campsite off of flowed lands that is new to us and a bit out of the way. it turns out that the livingston point campsite was the highlight of the trip. livingston point is on the east shore of flowed lands, 0.6 miles from the junction of the calamity brook and hanging spear falls trails. it initially climbs up above flowed lands only to descend back to water level. it seemed clear that the trail and the camping areas saw much less use than other sites in the vicinity.
just prior to arriving at the camp area, we passed a fresh pile of bear scat in the trail. it seems this was nature's foreshadowing as that bear, apparently a mama with three cubs, visited our bear-proof food canisters early on the second morning of our adventure. our food was safe but our neighbors across flowed lands were not so lucky. we heard them banging pots and calling, 'hey bear' for quite some time around dusk. crossing paths with a DEC officer on the trail out, we learned that that group had left juice and cooking dishes out, a big no-no in the eastern high peaks.
we chose to take the campsite rather than the leanto due to its proximity to the water and also because of the view. much of the time not on the trail was spent staring out over flowed lands towards mt marshall, iroquois peak, algonquin and mt colden. there was orange hawkweed growing throughout the campsite. we were visited by all types of birds and a brave little chipmunk. there were also tons of little, tiny baby frogs hopping around.
no one else came through the livingston point camps the entire time we were there and the leanto remained vacant. we enjoyed two nights without the need for a rainfly, caught the sunset and saw the stars.despite the aching hips and knees, we covered 27 miles and had one of the most memorable adirondack backpacks in recent memory.
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