Captured Moments

It had just quit raining, and we were headed for the edge of the storm...  toward the setting sun, just blazing between the storm clouds and the horizon.  I love this picture - the sun as it's setting, the open road, and the remnants of a storm passing.

This picture seems to mimic my life over the last year...  For me personally, there's been sadness and loss, and joy from good memories and friends.  Hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and accidents -- none of which have taken anything from me, but some of which have caused clouds and rain in my heart and mind.  There's been lot of busy-ness of various kinds, and yet the road stretches empty, toward the sun, beckoning toward joy, life, light. 

"Fortify yourself with contentment, for this is an impregnable fortress." -- Epictetus

I think for myself, I could replace "contentment" with "thankfulness."

How often do we stop and appreciate - where we are, what we've made it through, and best of all, what's ahead?

Journeys

So...  where does the road go?

Since we were on the way to a funeral, thinking about our journey through life has been on my mind.

Here's another question...  "Where will you be when you get where you're going?"  The late Jerry Clower asked that question in one of his stories...  but when you quit laughing about his experience that went along with the question, it's quite a thought.  Maybe it is time for some spring cleaning in my "habits closet."  The ones I'm using every day might be taking me step by step down a road that ends up somewhere I don't want to go. 

Are you lost yet?  :-)

Happy Trails!

What do you see?

So, after hurricane-force winds and blinding snow...  what's next? 

How 'bout a plain ol' sunset?  (It's sure a lot easier drivin' than the other two)

Not too much "plain" about this one, though. 



Why is it that natural beauty reminds us of all that there is to be thankful for in every aspect of our lives? 

From a little earlier in the day....

What do you see in these clouds?

I see a smiley face!  Can you find it?

Happy Trails...



Whiteout

Nope, not the stuff in the little bottle.

We started out this morning to see family a few hours east of here, at Point B.  About 80 miles out, we ran into snow...  not accumulating, just blowing enough that visibility wasn't great.  About 10 miles later, we called the folks at Point B to say -- we're going home and we'll try again another time. 

Here's some video of a genu-ine western blizzard with occasional whiteout conditions. 

It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to where we turned around.  It took almost 2 hours to get back home.

The visibility went from bad:

See this video at YouTube (it is bigger there!)

to absolutely horrid: 

See this video at YouTube (it is bigger there!)

Interstate driving was almost as bad, probably worse in ways, with more traffic and slushy overpasses.  

 

We followed a semi for quite a ways...  he was nice enough to warn us about some vehicles on the side of the road on a bridge -- so we could get around them.  Hope he gets somewhere safe and warm today.  The hills and trees look kinda eerie comin' out of the snow and fog, don't they? 

See this video at YouTube (it is bigger there!)

Well, even the sign will tell ya:  "Next stop, SNOW!"

See this video at YouTube (it is bigger there!)

It's a few hours early, but Happy New Year!



Avocado salad

I started some seeds 1 week ago.  I have been carefully checking them all week.  Last night, nothing.  This morning - 4 baby tomato plants!  Just thinkin' about summer and warm, juicy tomatoes makes me hungry - and slightly jealous of my brother and his Southern garden that's growing already while we're still having hard frosts!

So, with high hopes of homegrown tomatoes later this summer - here's a recipe for a yummy salad!

Avocado Salad:

     1 can black beans, drained
     1 c. fresh tomato, cubed
     1 c. fresh avocado, cubed
     vinaigrette dressing, to taste (optional)

Stir all the ingredients together and serve!  I like this salad best when it's chilled.  I prefer salt and pepper to vinaigrette dressing, also.  And if you rinse your canned black beans, your salad might be prettier than mine - the black bean juice gets all over the avocado. 

This salad is great but doesn't store very well for more than a day or two in the fridge.  If I'm not going to use it all right away, I keep the ingredients separate and mix them when it's time to eat.

Enjoy!

What's Blowin' in the Wind?

The answer is...
Couches.
Yep, couches.




This upside down couch leaning against the fence used to sit next to a building 60 ft away on the OTHER side of the railroad tracks (where I am).

 

And 18-wheeler trailers, dirt, and anything else light enough to blow to the next county in 70 mph winds.



Yep, 70+ mph winds...  see, I wasn't kidding!




Now for the tractor trailer wrecks...  this 5 mile stretch of interstate can look like a trailer graveyard.  We passed 4 trailers blown off the road within 5 miles today. 



That's a refridgerated semi trailer dead center in the picture (and in the interstate median).  The windsock is at it's normal condition....  straight out. 


There were all kinds of flashing lights around this one as we drove past... the towing folks are earning their paychecks today.
 


This guy's trailer went off the side of the road and took out the guard rail too.


This last trailer picture is double trouble...  a semi trailer on the right and an enclosed pickup trailer on the left (the bent reflector post points to it nicely).  I think we saw this pickup headed in the opposite direction on our way down...  we both commented that we hoped he had plenty of weight in his trailer.  Guess not.

And just to show you where Nebraska gets all its fine soil....




Kinda makes the Dust Bowl a little more real.

  I didn't think too much about wind till I moved to this part of the country...  other than the odd tornado or hurricane, the worst we got where I grew up was a 30-mph thunderstorm.

Things are different here... here's what 30 - 40 mph winds do after we've had a few inches of snow:



Can you find the road?



Nature's art



Locally know as a whiteout...  and this one is not too bad.




Looking over the rim.



Dunno about findin' "answers" in the wind, but keep a firm hand on your hat and your pickup door till it quiets down out there!

Update: Allergen free "pumpkin" bread with sweet potatoes

Well, a while ago I posted the recipe for Pumpkin Bread, gluten free and low sugar.   In that post, I mentioned that you can substitute mashed sweet potatoes for the pumpkin in the recipe, and the bread turns out even better!  However, there's a bit of a caveat to that substitution that I'll share in this post.  The previous pumpkin bread recipe works great for fresh or frozen pumpkin - in other words, kinda watery!  If you use canned pumpkin or mashed sweet potatoes with a liquid content that is considerably less... the recipe needs extra moisture to turn out right.  I'll note that in the other recipe as well as a heads up.  Meanwhile, here's the original link: 
http://tuckaluckyridge.blogspot.com/2010/12/allergen-free-pumpkin-bread.html

and here's the "new and improved" recipe.  Note that I used a mixture of flours...  because I ran out of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour Mixture, which I usually use!

Ingredients:
     4 c. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour Mix
    3 tsp. cinnamon
    1 tsp. ginger
    1/8 tsp. cloves
    1/8 tsp. nutmeg
    4 tbsp. baking powder
    1 tsp. baking soda
    2 tsp. salt
    1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
    4 eggs
    1 1/2 c. milk or rice milk
    3 c. cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
    2 tbsp. vegetable or grapeseed oil
    1/3 c. honey
    3 tbsp. molasses
    1/2 c. coconut (optional) (thanks, Mo!)
    1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
    1 1/4 c. chocolate chips (optional)

Mix liquid ingredients with pumpkin in large mixing bowl.  Stir together dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Then add the dry to the wet ingredients and stir until moistened.  Then add the optional ingredients (chocolate chips, nuts, etc).  Scrape 1/2 of batter into each of 2 greased, glass 9"x13" baking dishes, bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until toothpick comes out almost clean and sides are pulling away from the baking dish.  Don't forget that the glass dish will continue to bake the bread even after you take it out of the oven....  that's a reminder I'm hoping I'll read on my mental sticky note before I make this again!  :-)

Note 1:  The coconut, walnuts, and chocolate chips are all optional....  but yummy additions to this recipe.  The coconut suggestion came from a friend, Mo, and it really adds texture to this scrumptious snack. 

Note 2:  Yep, I freeze at least 1 of these pans of bread.  They'll only keep about 4-5 days without molding unless refrigerated (about 6-10, then) and when refrigerated, they have a tendency to dry out.  So freezing is great for my small household.

Note 3:  I mentioned I ran out of Bob's Red Mill GF flour mix the last time I made this recipe...  so here's my improvisation.  It worked just fine!
Instead of 4 c. of BRM GF flour mix, I used:
   2 1/4 c. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free flour mix
   1 1/4 c. + 3 tbsp. buckwheat flour
   1/4 c. tapioca starch
   2 tbsp. arrowroot starch