Autumn Equinox

This is the moment when day (light) is equal to night (dark) and balance is created between them.................and the rain coming tumbling down!

In the language of science, an equinox is either of two points on the celestial sphere where the ecliptic and the celestial equator intersect. Good thing pictures were taken a few days early!
For the rest of us, it's one of two times a year when the Sun crosses the equator, and the day and night are of approximately equal length. At the autumnal equinox (Sept 22, 2008; 11:44:18 A.M. EDT), the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator, from north to south; this marks the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.

Jason asked me a few days ago about how long I could balance....so I guess finding your balance on this day would be a good tradition. Our Halie can balance perfectly.

Does your family have traditions you celebrate on this day?

I'm always looking for ideas. Here are a couple that I might be able to do.

Find Your Balance
1. Stand quietly with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees flexed, and your eyes closed. What is your body doing? Is it still and rooted, or does it need to sway or adjust in order to be fully balanced? Give yourself a moment to come into balance.
2. Now raise your arms and try to hold them open, stretched out to the sides, for a few moments. Feel how difficult it is. Now begin a gentle movement, bringing your hands in toward your chest, then out again to the sides, a rhythmic motion of opening and closing like the beating of a bird’s wings. Feel what a relief it is to have the balance of both motions, both open and closed. Now give some deep thought to the beauty of the balance between day and night, activity and rest. How can you honor your own need for balance?

Food...........always looking for something good.

1.Roasted squash soup – Use butternut or acorn squash as the base of your soup to get the best sweet and savory flavor balance.

2. Apple tarts – Apples are a fall equinox celebration staple. Think mini apple pies, torts or turnovers.

Decorations........

The turning of the leaves from green to golds, burgundies and reds is stunning in the fall. Decorate your table with burgundy tablecloths with centerpieces that contain plants flourishing in the fall like marigolds and chrysanthemum.

Traditions.......

FALL, it's something to celebrate. It means warm nights by the fire or cuddling up on the couch, listening to the wind howl outside, and reading a great book.

It's also a great time to reflect and be thankful for the people in your life. Thanksgiving, after all, shouldn't be delegated to only Thanksgiving day.
Whether you decide to have a small get-together or a large gathering, fall equinox celebrations sound like lots of fun and what a great way to bring family together.

Fresh Scallops

Wait.....I can't say they are really Fresh (they are as fresh as you can get in Utah)...but, can't you just hear me say "Mmmmmm" "Oh Wow" "Yummie"? You should, and it didn't even take a cooking genius to do it.........just little old me. All together there is a very intense concentration of the garden fresh yellow tomatoes which I roasted with EVOO and fresh basil(Thank you Robyn), along with the sweet and slightly smoky flavor of the grilled scallops (a Costco special...next best thing to fresh) brushed with EVOO - salt and pepper, added to it, are those thin organic french beans (from Costco - of course)that still have a little bite to them, I can't begin to tell you how delicious it actually was. No recipe that's it....roast the tomatoes, boil the beans....put them both in a frying pan with a little olive oil and garlic....just until the scallops are grilled. Toss it in a bowl and enjoy!

Fall Cooking

It was indeed a day for cooking . The rain came down in buckets and the sky turned to shades of grey. This weekend gave us a preview of what's to come in the months ahead and rained for most of the afternoon.

Fortunately for me, lots of time spent indoors out of the rain means lots of time for cooking! I took full advantage of the opportunities the rain provided. I had some very ripe bananas and plenty of left over veggies which provided the base for two new recipes:
Primavera Pasta Pie
Banana Cake------Yummy

Primavera Pasta Pie was a quick put together.....but the banana cake took forever to cook (but worth every minute of it).

You won't be disappointed if you love veggies and spaghetti, cream cheese and bananas.

PRIMAVERA PASTA PIE

8 oz. spaghetti.... I had left over spaghetti with sauce already on it..Loved it

1 egg

1/3 c. cheese - your favorite

1 tbsp. butter
Cook spaghetti and drain. Mix egg, cheese and butter with spaghetti noodles. Press into a greased, 9-inch pie pan.
FILLING:
2 c. broccoli - DD would like this to be something else next time.

1 sm. pepper (red or green), cut into strips

1 red onion, cut into rings

8 oz of fresh mushrooms

2 tbsp. butter

1/4 c. Romano, grated

3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp. natural sea salt
In skillet, cook broccoli, pepper and onion in butter until crisp and tender. Stir in, cheese, Italian seasoning and salt. Spoon into pasta crust.
TOPPING:
3 eggs

1/2 c. half and half cream

2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
Mix cheese and whipping cream, and pour over veggies and spaghetti mixture.

Bake, covered, for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake 10 more minutes.

Let stand 10 minutes.

Cut into wedges .................it's a keeper and so vegetarian!

Banana Cake Supreme

1 1/2 cups bananas mashed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/8 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Frosting
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
Add powdered sugar to make a smooth icing
Garnish
chopped walnuts or pecans
Directions:
Preheat oven to 275°............seems low but slow cooking is a good thing
Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla.

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.

Stir in banana mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth.

Spread on cooled cake.

Sprinkle chopped walnuts/pecans over top of the frosting, if desired.

OMG....I have already had a wedge of the pasta and 2 pieces of cake....I'll be seriously dieting on MONDAY!

Legacy Parkway

Legacy Parkway Opens to Traffic September 13, 2008.............but not until 5:00 PM..............but we got close!

The state of Utah celebrated a significant transportation milestone September 13, 2008 with the opening of Legacy Parkway in south Davis County.

On the morning of Saturday, September 13th, the Hess Cancer Foundation hosted a walk/run/bike event on the roadway..........my friends Coral and Eileen completed the bike event.......with sore butts to prove it! Following that event, Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. and other dignitaries officially opened Legacy Parkway to traffic.

Now BFF and I both know why we couldn't go way out of our way to drive on this new fang dang road Saturday at 3:30. All we could do was get close to the sign that said Legacy Pkwy.........there will be many more opportunities for us to drive this beautiful portion of highway from Farmington to North Salt Lake.

Cabin Update

The cabin now has a front door...............with a welcome sign! My DIL is amazing....she is a one in a million kind of girl. Take a look at these pictures and you will see all the hard work she has put in. My BFF Nancy drove me down to the cabin Saturday morning to pick up the GKs. We stopped off at my parent's home then on up to the cabin site.
Great room viewed from the loft.
Jack and Jason ...taking a break while we tour the place.
View from the loft to the kitchen dining area.
South west driveway view.
Entrance to the mudroom, kitchen and the front door by the clump of trees.

This will eventually be the backyard.....all natural...No Grass...that's what I've been told....unless I want to go mow it!
Bedroom to Bedroom in the loft.
Post are now all stained. This cabin has a covered porch on 3 sides.
I must like this view I take a lot of pictures from the Southwest corner.
They're getting it done! Should be all closed in before the snow comes this winter....next year the inside!

Off to PC for BC

Our annual BC to PC was Friday night.....oh what a night it was. Only 5 of us were able to make the trip and we really did miss Nina, Debbie, and Joy.
Our club has been together for going on 8 years now. We have enjoyed many great books and a few not so great. This month's book was Gone Baby Gone....ooops I watched the movie and decided this book was not going to take up my time.

After a great dinner provided by Lisa (Chicken Salad, garlic bread, banana splits....and tons of CHOCOLATE!) We settled in for the night. The news headlines were of course Hurricane Ike. We couldn't get enough of our favorite CNN Reports..... Gary Tuchman....(I'm sure he is a close relative of Chevy Chase) Anderson Cooper and Rick Sanchez....who lost his hat! There was a girl on their team....but dang I can't remember her name! They kept us entertained until the wee hours of the morning. Hurricanes are not entertaining, but watching the reporters certainly was!

When the morning light dawned I looked out my bedroom window to see this beautiful fall mountain side. PC is truly beautiful winter, spring, summer and fall.

I'm so excited that I now have my very own timeshare at this resort. When we arrived early Friday afternoon we were a little disappointed that the pool and hot tub were under renovation, but it will soon be all fixed up and ready for our next visit.


I'm so fortune to have a group of women who are so much like sisters to me after 8 years. I know that I could call on any one of them to help me at any time of the day or night. Vickie had to leave us early because the family is on their way to Disney World with Shannon. Doesn't she look so cute with her bottle of water and diet coke tucked under her arm. Hope the rain in Florida doesn't ruin the fun......Nah....it will be a blast!

Nancy is our energizer bunny......REALLY.......she has prepared herself for a marathon that she will be running next weekend. I hope that I can make it in the car........ to watch her come cross the finish line!
Lisa is our beautiful red head.....and I'm so jealous of all that hair! We are forever giving her our advice and counsel...must be a generation thing....I'm old and she's young!
Jill is the baby of the group and is trying very hard to add a baby to her family! She is drinking dirt water....that the dirt dr. gave her. We all gave it a try..........No thank you, glad I'm to old to have more babies. Jill also does my nails every other week....what would I ever do without your talents girlfriend!
When we parted Saturday morning Nancy so kindly volunteered to drive me to Loafer Canyon.....and mere 1 1/2 our of our way......no 3 hours out of our way.......to pick up my grandkids. We wanted to drive on the new Legacy highway so we started off towards SLC.....that is when we got sidetracked and ended up in Salem! Oh my.........thanks Nancy you are the best!

Can't wait until next month for another round of laughs, tears, and hugs!

My Last Quilting Day 2008

Here it is...the very last quilting day I will have with 3rd graders. For about 7 years my BFF Nancy has actually done most of the quilting. I have helped put the quilt on the frames and supervised the students while she teaches them how to quilt the beautiful thing. The quilting day started after I first read the story "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Palaco. We spend the week talking about traditions and many of the students bring quilts that grandmas and moms have made for them. Thursday night Nancy and a few other helpers put the quilt on the frames.......all ready for the kids on Friday morning.
This year we had about a dozen volunteer helpers....including a very young grandma and 2 dads. How fun is that! This is Cameron and Helen. Helen is my #1 substitute teacher! She can do anything I ask her to!
We can only have so many kids around the quilt at a time.....a few years ago we broke Nancy's frames.....so sorry girlfriend. Anyway while a few of us quilt the rest of us are doing paper pattern quilts. They always turn out wonderful.
Mrs. Pitcher, our librarian, is so kind to let us take up the whole library!
It takes us about 3 hours to get the project all finished. That of course doesn't include the binding......BFF takes the quilt home and finishes it off!

Climbing under the quilt is almost more fun than being on the top side.

Here are the 2 dads that showed us their talents. Jonah's dad really does know how to quilt. Jill's dad is a good sport and did a great job. He even took care of bandaging up a little guy who had had a bike accident on Thursday night.


TA - DAH ALL FINISHED!
Here is my cute class with the many volunteers and my BFF forever right in front. I love this project. I'll miss this part of teaching school when I'm retired!

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

9 - 11

It’s hard to believe that seven years ago today, the world was critically changed forever. We all remember exactly where we were when we learned that America had been attacked and thousands of our brothers and sisters had perished.

On 9/11 we were united as one American family. Are we united today?

Today in my 3rd grade classroom we discussed 9-11. They were just babies when this terrible event happened....just one-year-olds! I talked with them about how emotional and sad all of America was on that day. And today we watched a video of pictures from that fateful day. Some of them got just as tearful as I did.

We talked about how today is our day to remember, to pray, and to hope for the future. One little girl wondered if today was a holiday, because flags were flying all through the neighborhood. As I drove to work this morning I thought maybe this should be a holiday, our day to give reverence to the promise we made seven years ago, that we will never forget. God Bless America

Happy Birthday Ali

Today is my girl's birthday.....I probably shouldn't tell you how old she is because that would make me feel way old but 30 it is! One of the very good things about Ali is..........she works hard at keeping me young and on the go and I love her for it too!

Ali is an amazing girl.....loves her job, family and friends. Best of all she has added the Technicolor to our lives from the day she was born.....It still sends a chill down my spine and I feel those butterflies all over again, not just a fluttering, but a strong loud beating of my heart for this dark haired green eyed child that was sent straight from heaven into my life. Thanks Ali for being not only a daughter but a best friend.

Watching you from a child to a woman grow,

You’ve come so far and one thing I know,

A bright future is waiting for you,

God bless you dear with all you do,

I’ll love you until the end of time,

And I thank God that you are mine.