It's 10:15 PM ...

... and I'm tired and WAY past any serious thinking today. But here are a few pictures of our trip to Brevard, NC on Monday-Wednesday. We did encounter some snow:
The mountains are always stunning, but seeing them draped in white was a new and pleasing view.
We also dropped into Bracken Mountain Bakery in downtown Brevard. If you ever have a chance, GO!! This is just their window display:
Their selection is mesmerizing, and certainly the reason the service is slow (I'm just kidding) -- because all the customers stand staring at the luscious bread and CANNOT decide what they want to eat. I think everyone says to himself, "Do I only get to pick ONE?"
We visited dear friends also, and enjoyed a delicious lunch, and enjoyed time together. Adam made a new friend:
That's little Tessa, and she is a doll.

Sandy

I haven't posted a picture of our Sweet Sandy in a while, so here she is:
She is adorable, fun and lively, as a Sheltie puppy should be! She and Julia are best buddies and spend lots of time outside playing. However, Sandy is an Alpha Dog, meaning she believes she should be in charge of her pack, and of course this cannot be allowed. So she's usually a bit frustrated that she must come, sit, stay, wait, and generally obey. Doggie Sigh.

Fingertips of Spring

A bloggie friend, Gretchen Joanna, who lives out west somewhere, posted pictures of FLOWERS -- flowers, I tell you!! -- and this is the best I can do:
Tiny fingertips of Miss Springtime, tentatively testing the frigid air. I wouldn't be half surprised if she pulled them back in again! Still, it is encouraging, don't you think? I'm hoping actual blossoms will be here in a few weeks.

For the Real Men out there:

Today was a FIRST for me! I made quiche!

This recipe is from my dear sister-in-law, Anne. I called and asked her for it because we all loved it at her house.

In a large bowl:
3 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
sliced green onion (I used 3 of them -- use as many as you like. This is where this quiche gets its GREAT flavor.)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
a dash of nutmeg
3/4 cup meat -- crispy bacon, ham, chicken, even crab
1 1/2 cup grated cheese (use Swiss, Cheddar, Monterey Jack or Havarti -- I used a combination of Swiss, Cheddar & Havarti b/c I had all three in the frig.)
1 T flour

Save out the cheese and flour, and add them right before you put it in the pie crust.
Heat your oven to 450, prick the bottom of the crust, and bake your pie crust (pick a recipe you like) for 5 minutes. Turn the oven down to 325 and bake another 5-7 minutes. Remove, and pour cheese mixture into the crust.
Bake for 40 minutes. This was a big hit with my family. Adam is not wild about quiche, but the rest of us love it. Since it had bacon and green onion, and cheeses they like, the flavor was well-received. I'd never put broccoli in it, for instance.
I will say, I truly botched the crust on this one. Do you notice that you can't even SEE the crust? I decided to use the crust from the apple pandowdy recipe -- so easy, and I love making it. But it did NOT hold up; it slid right down the side of the pie dish, and resisted all attempts by me to make it climb back up that dish! And it was soggy and not crispy, in this recipe. Ah well. Live and learn. In the pandowdy, it only has to lie there like a slug and turn glisteny. Here, I need something heartier -- crust with an attitude! I'll try a different crust recipe next time.

Crawling Back

Hi all. Last Thursday my dear husband gave me a present. He gave he his cold. Well, "cold" could be a modest term. All that to say, I've been under the weather, behind the gun, in a bind ... any more prepositional phrases out there? I'm just barely keeping ahead of the absolute essentials. In other words, laundry, schooling, sleep, cooking-- all these things are getting accomplished only in the most marginal sense.

And today Anna got sick.

So, forgive me for not posting much. We did successfully do church on Sunday, and have Bible study here at the house last night.

But I'm so ready for a break. Our spring break comes in a couple of weeks, and not a moment too soon, I'm sure! As a friend said today, I just want to check myself in somewhere, my "happy place," and stay there until life gets back to normal. February is the hardest month. A general malaise casts itself over life. Christmas is long gone. Spring is definitely not here yet. School seems to last forever. And, we all want to nothing but sleep.

Be back later.

Latin, Ice & Honey

Some random shots from lately:
Julia has made flashcards for all the Latin words she's learned so far -- all 142. Latin is her favorite subject, and she's doing very well.
Adam saw a bag of key limes at the grocery and decided he needed to make Key Lime Granita -- an Italian ice. He's been babying it all day long, visiting the freezer and fluffing it repeatedly. This is an early shot. By this evening, it filled the bowl.
And it is BURSTING with flavor -- oh, so good!
I'm sick with a head cold, so Adam cooked this evening (dear thing that he is!) and made a Honey Puff Pancake. We acquired this recipe from the Hancock House, a B&B where we stayed many years ago in Iowa. Isn't it yummy?

When the hubby goes shopping...

...he comes home with the most surprising things!
Adam stopped in at the grocery recently and brought home a leg of lamb. On Monday he deboned it, rolled it up with rosemary, garlic, onion, and coarse sea salt, and bound it with twine.
After browning in a skillet, he cooked it in a 235 oven, until the meat was 160 degrees inside.
We enjoyed it with slightly mashed red potatoes with green onions & sour cream mixed in, and corn. He also made pitas. We had company and it was a fine time.