Salt Lake City

From Washington we crossed the Columbia River into Idaho.

 It was one of our longer driving days, crossing into Utah about eight hours later.

Road trips can be entertaining with the ever changing landscape, 

but these days even more so with wifi/bluetooth music and pod casts to log into.

We checked into a hotel in Salt Lake City 

and booked a bus tour for the next day. 

Something we have rarely done.

This really was the best way to spend our time there.

The bus driver was funny and quite entertaining - 

we hopped on and off as he told us stories.

Salt Lake City was founded in 1847 by a group of Mormon pilgrims,

facing the many hardships of pioneering as they began their life there.

Unbeknown to them at the time, 

was that they landed on what today is still the largest copper mine,

making the railroad line a most welcome part of the trasportation needed 

not only for personal benefits, but also for commercial mining.

The Union Pacific Depot was built in 1908 and, if this building looks familiar

it may be because you have seen its replica in CA's Disneyland.

At least, this is what we were told. =)

A prominent and stately building we noticed as we looked for our hotel was the State Capitol,

Of course the bus stopped here for some time.

We walked the grounds and saw some of the amazing architecture inside.

The view from the steps.

The interior of the dome was truly awe inspiring in every detail.

Murals such as we've seen in Europe

but depicting the history of the city. 

The tour bus was to drop us off for a live recital at the Mormon Tabernacle,

but due to a major seismic upgrade taking place we missed out on that. 

The main tabernacle was not even visible for an actual photo

as it was covered by a construction screen.

We passed by other churches, which there are plenty of.

We had to laugh when, at one point, we saw at least six different denominations

of churches all side by side.

We entered this large, ornate Cathedral where there was a wedding in progress. 

When the tour was done, we walked to the City Creek Center Mall.

We had lunch under a canopy of golden trees ...

and enjoyed some shopping time.

No surprise there.

Macy's Department Store was one we had passed on the tour,

being told that Macy's purchased the ZCMI Department store founded in 1886,

known as "America's First Department Store".

We got our car and drove around the city for a while,

just admiring the historic homes.

I'm always amazed at the beauty and the detail that went into buildings,

especially with more limited tools. 

The handiwork is worth admiring. 

It was a wonderful day in Salt Lake City, 

relaxing, informative and fun! 

Escape Across the Border

For some time we have had plans to celebrate retirement with a longer road trip, 

still ending up at our favorite place in the desert.

However, as the land crossing remained closed, we began looking at other options

and booked a flight out of our small local airport to take us across.

The whole preparation was a mixture of  apprehension and excitement - 

finding the carrier, the process of covid testing, dropping off our car to be taken across and

then getting into that small plane!

I couldn't help but think of an old movie that the kids still tease us about,

because we apparently watched it numerous times. 

It was called Night Crossing.

When everything worked out as planned, we were quite relieved! 

It was literally a 12 minute flight.

We landed in Bellingham, where the pilot took us through customs.

An hour after our flight took off at home, we were back in our own car across the border!

The freedom to get on the road and travel was quite surreal.

We spent our first night in Richland,

a beautiful spot on the Columbia River. 

That's where I'll leave it for now. 

Happy Thanksgiving

We celebrated an ealry Thanksgiving this year

because of plans to be away in October.

This is one dinner I wish to make a tradition of eating at one table -

even if it's two tables put together.

I cannot even express the joy and thankfulness ...

to be seated with most of the nearest and dearest to my heart!

And here we have it!

Thanksgiving - summed up by Evy

 

Pumpkin Shaped Bread

 

With Thanksgiving celebrations coming up,

I thought I'd share this version of 

French Bread that I made for our early Thanksgiving.

This is how easy it is!

Follow the recipe, using the full 5 cups of flour to be sure that it hold its shape.

After letting the dough rise, divide it in half and shape it into 2 balls.

Cut four 18 inch pieces of cooking twine for each loaf. (may not be exact - I didn't  measure)

Lay twine criss-crossed on parchment paper lined pan.

Place ball of dough in the center and tie up the twine, coming to the top.

Tie "just to fit" not tight. Insert a piece of cinnamon stick in the center.

Cover loosly with tea towel and plastic. 

Let rise about 30 minutes and you will see the indentations.

Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake at 400 F for about 20 minutes, until golden.

Cut twine and pull out. 

Cool on wire rack.

Pouring boiling water into a baking pan (not glass) on bottom rack right after placing bread in oven, and closing the door as quickly as possible, may help create steam and a longer lasting crispy crust. 

Apple Season

Our two little apple trees are loaded with fruit this year and

we have looked forward to the harvest.

Yesterday the girls came over for what we hope will become an annual event.

Jack is in part-time pre-school so he got to help as well.

We peeled and chopped for 9 pies.

Maybe 60 - 70 apples.

We began with mixing a single recipe just to get the feel of it. 

Kari had never made a pie,

and Kristal wanted to get her pies to look better. 

Recipe for one double crust 9 inch pie:

1 2/3 cups flour

2/3 cup Tenderflake lard

1 teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoons cold water

Filling:

6 - 7 peeled and sliced apples

3 Tablespoons sour cream

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 generous Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

After our warm up drill, the girls each mixed a multiple size recipe: 

1 pound Tenderflake lard

5 1/2 cups flour

3 teaspoons salt 

3/4 cup cold water mixed with 1 egg yolk and 1 Tablespoon vinegar 

for egg wash - whisk 3 egg whites

• In an extra large mixing bowl, cut room temperature lard into dry ingredients with pastry blender until all the flour is incorporated and pastry is crumbly looking. Larger chunks are good. 
• Sprinkle with cold water
• Stir with fork in a circular motion until it comes together to easily shape into a ball. Do not knead
• Divide into 6 (if making 3 large deep dish pies) or 8 (if making 4 medium 9 inch pies) even pieces. (Cover unused portions and refrigerate to repeat the following instructions)
• Roll out bottom half big enough to stand a bit taller  than the side of the pie plate. (This is a key thing to do in order to be able to flip the top pastry over it.) Brush bottom with egg wash and fill with fruit. 
• Cover with top pastry, tucking it over "standing proud" bottom and pinch (crimp) top and bottom crust together.
• Brush top with egg wash and cut slits before baking.
• Bake in lower third of oven at 375 F  for 15 minutes. Turn down to 350 F  and bake until filling  bubbles out, about 45 minutes more. (put a sheet of aluminum foil in bottom of oven to catch drippings) 

This makes 4 medium (8 - 9 inch pies) or 3 large deep dish pies that can be frozen raw and baked from frozen. Will take about 75 - 90 minutes to bake.

It was fun to observe how quickly they became experts! 

The chatter that happens around a kitchen island makes it feel like the peeling, cutting, mixing and rolling is no work at all!  And seeing my girls not only desire to keep learning but then have fun with it, fills my heart with joy! 

These Two

This afternoon date began with Papa picking them up.

It was the first time this school year, 

so he had received a video message from Jade before school

with clear instructions on where to pick up.

I have a sneaking suspicion that anyone she talked to that day

knew everything about her after school plans.

That's just Jade.

Evy, on the other hand is quiet,

but those smiling blue eyes tell all too. 

He took them out for sprinkle donuts at Tim Horton's

and delivered them to our front door.

There has never been such a thing as personal space between these two.

So, at our house we play with real play dough

and I'm still surprised, after all these years,

that every grandchild loves the feel of dough,

the squishing, the shaping, the rolling ...

and the tasting.

Even just the name, sugar cookies, 

sounds like something a fairy made up.

Serious fun!

Papa came in just as we began icing.

I had a bit of a plan ...

and then just had to let them have fun 

trying to draw with piped icing.

Definitely not as easy as it looks, but they were undeterred.

In the end two very proud girls left 

with two sheets of the best tasting cookies on the block,

leaving their home delivery to my imagination.