Randomness from the "edge" of my realm
“It’s too early. It’s not time.”
I hadn’t gotten the words out of my mouth before Jake, the chow hound, decided that he would climb in the bed to make sure that he got his breakfast. It is always a battle with him. He thinks I should be on his stomach’s schedule and I think his stomach should be on my sleep schedule. Needless to say, I think he won this battle.
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As I made my way through the living room to the back porch, it was apparent that “the monsters” helped themselves to the garbage. Ugh. I forgot to put the trash bin up. I also left the bedroom door open.
While I was making quick work of retrieving the trash, the rotten monsters inhaled their breakfast and completed their morning rituals. Then they came back to the bedroom , went back to bed and promptly went to sleep. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as lucky. Listening to them snore, I sipped my coffee, deciding on what I needed to accomplish.
After a quick trip into town, to deposit my checks and other errands, I decided that I needed some shutter therapy. Since it was raining I decided to review some of the shots I had taken earlier in the week when my brother, his son and grandchildren came to visit and enjoy some of the fall colors.
I was out hiking and walking Max, rotten monster # 1 when they came by.They waited until I got back with rotten monster #1. We all went on another hike. We took Jake, rotten monster # 2 with us. Jake was well behaved
Curious Greyson was determined that he was going to walk the whole way. He refused to let anyone pick him up and carry him.
A great time was has by all. Having some Fall fun. NOTE: I started this post back in November. I am just now getting back to it.
The official start of Fall maybe in September but here on Lookout Mountain, it is just now showing its splendor.
These photos were taken by the Lady of the Manor. She has a good eye for color and composition.
A beautiful sunrise
After a long hiatus… Where has the time gone? I haven’t posted anything since mid summer. I just didn’t find or make the time to do it. Life seems to get in the way of some things.
These are some photos of our recent trip to San Antonio and the Alamo. I had never had the opportunity to visit this shrine until this fall. It is well worth the trip.
July started out with a bang. We celebrated the Fourth of July at the Stone Cottage on the Sunday following.. Not only did we celebrate summer, we also celebrated a few July birthdays. Mine, Leslie’s, Carla (SIL) and Uncle Bills are in the first two weeks of July. Here are a few photos from the day. Parker, Riley Clair and Curious Greyson seemed to enjoy the water fountain.
Curious Greyson is growing so fast. He is funny too. I love to hear him say “ball” Here he is playing follow the leader and the leader is Jake the snake.
We have been enjoying fresh blackberries. They taste awesome and so worth the scratches and bug bites. I have been lucky not to meet a snake during my blackberry gathering. Blackberry cobbler anyone?
So last night, Jake the Snake started barking his alarm bark and I went to investigate. Jake was on the terrace, pacing, barking and generally being excited. He had cornered a toad. He is such a goober. He was trying to catch it. I grabbed the camera. Here are a few of Jake. When he finally gets a chance to taste the toad, he starts shaking his head and running in circles. The toad tasted bitter I am sure. Silly Jake, Toads are for snakes to eat. Fortunately, Jake didn’t have a reaction to the toad. He did drink a lot of water though.
I will post more later.
Hi Everyone! This is Leslie pretending to be George. I don’t have a blog, so I thought I could hijack his for a little while.
Several people this weekend asked me for the recipe for low-carb (no sugar) cheese cake. There are a couple of things you need and need to know:
Low-Carb Cheesecake
Prepare your pan by assembling it with the flat bottom. Wrap the bottom and at least halfway up the outside of the pan with tin/aluminum foil. If your foil isn’t wide enough, fold two pieces together along one long side and press firmly to make a seal. Spray the inside of your pan with cooking spray.
CRUST
2 cups Hazelnut meal
2 tbsp Splenda-type sweetener
½ tsp Pumpkin pie spice or Apple pie spice mix
4 – 6 tbsp Butter, melted
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, add melted butter, starting at the low end, and stir. The mix should clump together when squeezed in your hand. If it is too dry, add the remaining two tbsp butter. Dump your mixture into the pan, and press it firmly into the bottom and about ¼-½inch up the side of the pan, enough to seal the seam at the bottom. Use a measuring scoop or flat bottomed glass or similar to smooth and seal the crust evenly across the pan.
FILLING
3 lbs Cream cheese – room temperature
1½ cups Splenda-type sweetener
1 cup Sour cream – not light or fat free
7 Egg
2 Egg Yolks
¼ tsp Salt
2 tbsp Lemon zest
Preheat oven to 325°F. In the stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add Splenda and mix again until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add sour cream and mix thoroughly, scraping down sides of bowl to ensure an even mixture. Add eggs and then yolks, one at a time, mixing thoroughly on low speed, scraping sides of mixer often. Add remaining ingredients and mix on low until well combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan, tapping lightly on counter a few times to release air bubbles. Place pan into casserole dish and set on center rack in oven. Add water to casserole, at least 1 inch (2 inches if possible). Bake for 75mins and start to check. Eggs are cooked at 160°F. When the center of your cheesecake is between 150°-155°F, remove it from the oven and water bath, setting on a rack to cool. It usually takes between 90-100 mins in my oven, but sometimes longer. It will continue to rise for a few minutes after removing from the oven, and this will ensure it doesn’t come out overcooked.
Cool on the counter for 30mins, and then run a thin knife around the outside edge of the pan. Release the catch on the spring-form pan and pull it away, leaving the cheesecake on the base on the rack to continue to cool. Let rest another hour or so on the counter, then move to the refrigerator to chill thoroughly before cutting.
Awesome as it is, but for the carb-eaters in your group can be topped with chocolate sauce, any jams/jellies or fruit syrups of their choice.
They say that the super moon occurs once every 18 years. Leslie and I took this opportunity to do some star gazing or more correctly, moon gazing. Viewing the moon through Blair’s ( Leslie’s father) telescope, I halfway expected to see the American flags left behind from the Apollo space mission, except they are all white now. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/american-flags-moon-still-standing-now-blank-172859221.html The views were amazing. I took the opportunity to take some pictures with the camera, through the telescope lens and was fascinated. Here are some of the better snaps. Some are out of focus but I got better.
On the second night, I didn’t take the telescope out, I just grabbed the camera. I like the way the clouds reflect the light of the moon.
Leslie and I spent most of the afternoon and evening on the patio. We have four butterfly bushes in the view and we watched the butterflies, bees and other insects visit. We also watched a few hummingbirds enjoy the feeder.
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We enjoyed a nice dinner alfresco. Leslie tried a new recipe. Stuffed zucchini.
Definitely worth a second try.
After a long shift at work, I didn’t manage to stay awake to see the Super Moon last night. If the weather holds, we will try to enjoy the moon tonight.
Hope you have a great week. We plan to enjoy ours here at the Stone Cottage in Cloudland on Lookout Mountain.
The Stone Cottage on Lookout Mountain 