down by the canal

Somewhat cooler than usual in Florida, it's a good time for walks down by the canal.

This is the heron that hangs out on the back of the decoy.

An unusual looking bird on the other side of the lake (hard to see because he was so far away) ...

... and neighbor Linda's lovely fence flowers ...

It's all a far cry from the snow and below freezing temperatures that John will face when he heads back North next week.  If all goes well, Jubilee and I should be up there in February, before the winter ends.

Xmas dinner 2012

Our Xmas dinner with the Barans ... without John (but with Jon) below ...

 with John but without Jon below ...

Xmas Eve - Aunt Mil's Homemade Ravioli

Even though it is warm in Florida today, and Aunt Mil would have said that you should make ravioli on a cold day, we made them anyway.

First, we gathered all the supplies.  I know that we haven't used the ravioli machine and forms for more than 10 years.

 I made a pot of "gravy", like Helen Cioffoletti taught me.  (I can remember calling Helen one Christmas to ask her if she was sure that I needed to add 1/2 cup of water to each can of tomatoes.  Yes, that's right.  It cooks down when you leave it on the stove all day.  A little sugar and lots of fresh basil.)

 This is Aunt Mil's recipe:

Aunt Mills
RAVIOLI

Dough

2 C. unbleached flour
1 egg + water to equal 2/3 cups
Mix and knead.  Put in bowl and cover.  Let stand about 5 Min or so.

Filling

1 lb. lean chopped round
2 lbs. Ricotta (Pot Cheese)
2 eggs + 1 yolk
Chopped parsley
1 tsp. salt or less
black pepper (if desired)
1 1/2 Cubs Grated Locatelli or Romano Cheese

Put chop meat into fry pan and keep stirring until redness is removed from meat.  (a few min.)  dran fat if any and cool.  When cool add the remaining ingredients.  Tastes better if mixes a few hrs. earlier or the night before.
----

This is the ravioli machine we used.  We decided that it would be better if we had a wider machine (or narrower form) because the dough we made with this one just barely covered the ravioli form, and if we stretched the dough, it tore (not good).  Anyway, we figured it out and by the 3rd batch the ravioli we made were not falling apart.

 This is our filling.  Yum.  We did without the meat.

 Preparing the dough:

 Running the dough through the machine

 Rolling the ravioli form:

 Perfect ravioli!

This is Aunt Mil in the summer of 2009, probably the last time we saw her.  She died in 2010.  But we remember her so often!

Jubilee's socks

 Jubilee has an itching problem, especially in Florida, so Eric and Dawn bought her some "socks".  They do seem to work.  And unlike the snow boots that I tried on her last winter, she doesn't "freeze" (refusing to move) in these socks.  In fact, she carries on, chasing squirrels et al, as if there is nothing at all on her paws.  Somehow, thought, the skid doesn't stay on the bottom of her paw but works its way around to the top!

Grassy Waters, Xmas 2012

Some photos from Eric and Dawn's visit this last weekend before Xmas, which included a walk at Grassy Waters.  It was a bit cold and almost no one else was there.  I guess everyone was at the mall.  

This is one of our Xmas photo shots, taken with my little camera on a tripod.  My Charlie Brown Xmas tree doesn't show up so well.

gift

These are the stunning abstract calligraphies that were gifted to me from my Montreal friend.  I LOVE them. 

 The one on the left (the swans?) literally dances off the paper.  So much joy.

Mt. Fuji (You can barely see the lines of the ascending mountain in the photo), however, contains so much under the surface activity ... birds?  but also the flipper of a whale, I think.  The very swirl of creation.

I love looking at them.  I am waiting for John to get home before I put them on the wall.  Rest assured that they are well loved, appreciated and cared for!! 

I am so blessed to have such friends who give to me the fruits of their deepest creativity!

The Hello Wellsville Book

While FA was here we put together a little "Hello Wellsville" book that we had been talking about for some time.  It is a child's tour around Wellsville, with photos of the landmark places.

We ordered a few and I am disappointed in them.  Mainly because they are so small.  The photos and story are fine, but the book needs to be larger and probably hardbound.  These were ordered through "Blurb" (which is fine for self publishing), but I think that if we went with one of the more photo oriented book makers, we would get better quality and price.

 

You can preview the whole book below!

Hello Wellsville! | Make Your Own Book

around the house

I went to Costco the other day and got these giant poinsettias.  Even though they are impressive (huge), they don't seem especially sturdy or healthy to me.  The plants are just stuck in the dirt with no root structure.  I hope I can keep them alive ...

Also picked up this little Norfolk pine, which I may (or may not) use as a Xmas tree ...

 Noticed this little frog on my way over to look at the bananas ...

 ... which should be ripe by Xmas.