The Perfect Cup

I finally roasted a batch of coffee that doesn't taste like sh*t! Wahoo! I am so pleased with myself! Now if only I remembered the kind of beans I used and how long I roasted them for...

Blue Water

The Blue Water Bridges

I made this painting for my Dad. It's of the Blue Water Bridges that connect Port Huron Michigan with Sarnia Canada. (The photo I painted it from is behind.)

I Scream You Scream

Green Tea Ice Cream

I bought an ice cream maker. To those of you who know me, it's a really...non-intuitive purchase because I am lactose intolerant, and because my last real serving of ice cream was consumed during the decade when Paula Abdul was still popular. Anyway, I guess you could say I was half talked into it, and half intrigued by the idea of making my own recipes. It's similar to how I feel about cookies. I like to make them, but hardly ever eat them. Anyway, ice cream surprisingly easy to make, just a few ingredients, mostly heavy cream and sugar (what did you expect?!?) and then whatever you want to add. I made green tea ice cream for a dinner party I went to last week, and yesterday I made white chocolate with hazelnuts and caramel. My next experimental flavor is going to  incorporate fresh figs somehow. They are just coming into season here, and I like the idea of using seasonal fruits from the market to flavor my ice cream. I have no idea if it will taste good, but it only costs about 4.00 to make two pints, so I don't have much to loose. If you could invent your own ice cream flavor what would it be?

Christmas Countdown

This is the best news I've heard all week! Woo hoo! And I think it helps that it says "only" because then 177 days doesn't seem nearly as long as it would otherwise. This groovy website is called xmasclock.com.

Yosemite in Black and White

Fort in a Yurt!

Our yurt

Last weekend was my first experience staying in a yurt . Ha ha, I love that word...it's fun to say and funnier to type! I didn't even know what one was until about a year ago when my mom sent me a link to an ad on Craigslist sh found that was offering a yurt for $500 a month, as an alternative to apartment living. As an added incentive it was located within a "clothing optional" community in the mountains. (I have often wondered if anyone ever signed a lease on that place.) But I digress.

Cute, but SO HOT inside!

Anyway, the yurt I stayed in was within a "clothing required" campground about an hour outside Yosemite National Park. And I thought I write a quick blog about my yurt-ing experience just in case any of you should someday find yourselves in a position to possibly reserve one for a weekend, or lease one in a nudest colony for six months.

I thought a yurt was a cylindrical shaped cabin. But that isn't true. A yurt is more like a cylindrical tent. And by tent I mean that it has a wood frame, but only a canvas (or nylon) shell, as opposed to a cabin that has insulated (or not) solid wood walls. A yurt, therefore behaves like a tent. Scorching hot during the day, and pretty freezing at night. (So probably not a great investment for those folks who prefer to go about their business in the buff). The things that make it superior to a tent are 1.) You don't have to put it up. 2.) It's tall enough to stand in (or even put bunk beds like my yurt had) 3.) It has a door you don't have to zip. 4.) They usually come furnished with a real bed. 5.) They are less likely to blow down in a strong gust of wind. Besides that through, I don't see much advantage over tent camping. I probably wouldn't do it again, especially because they charge a lot to rent them, almost as much as a cheap hotel room in some places! And they don't have a bathroom. But as a once in a lifetime experience I would rate them as OK to good.
They are too hot to occupy during the day, so even though they look comfortable and homey you essentially have to be outside, and can't even enjoy it. And at night it's almost the opposite.

Our fort in a yurt!

I thought it was going to be warmer than it was so we were unprepared clothing wise. To solve our predicament of not having brought warm enough pj's we ended up (and this was totally my idea by the way) making a fort out of the bottom bunk with the blankets from the top bunk, and sleeping in there.It was like a little cave, and had to be at least ten degrees warmer than the area outside the fort, but still inside. It was a fort in a yurt! It turned out to be pretty fun, especially since I haven't built a fort in...oh at least a couple years:) And it was a pretty good one too. So I am glad to know I haven't lost my touch. But spending 70.00 a night and having to make my own shelter is a little steep for me.It was a fun adventure for my birthday weekend, but next year if I go hiking I'm staying in a hotel!

Totally Nautical

Nautilus in Stained Glass

Just to be clear it's a painting of stained glass, not actual stained glass.