Sunday, December 8, 2024

Merry Christmas 2024!




  •  My 2024 Christmas tree!

A few holiday vignettes are displayed throughout my home.



I participated in a fun Christmas wreath-making class, and my wreath is now hanging on my front door.



The Grinch and Santa Claus made a surprise appearance on horseback in my neighborhood!



Santa Claus returned a week later for photos at a community holiday party. The event featured music, hot chocolate, cookies, crafts, games, and a horse-drawn sleigh ride!


Our grandchildren kept us busy with fun holiday events--an elementary choir performance, a Middle School Seussical Jr. Musical performance, a basketball game, and a high school "Holiday Collage" program with choir, band, and orchestra entertaining us with beautiful music for over two hours!


Remembering the true "Reason for the Season" is the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.
Alleluia!



I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while. I'm not sure when I'll be back because my husband is going to be scheduled for surgery soon, and I want to focus on caring for him completely. 

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!


Wishing all my blog readers a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2025!


I can also be found on


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Sunday, December 1, 2024

Circle of Light Photo Project


 In September I was invited to a reception at the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank located at the University of Colorado Hospital campus for a reception for photographers, as one of the photos I submitted for their annual "Circle of Light" photo project had been selected for display.

The Circle of Light Photo Project, hosted by the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank, is an annual art exhibit of photographs taken by people whose sight was restored through cornea transplants. Cornea transplant recipients take photos of things they are grateful to see after receiving the gift of sight from an eye tissue donor.




The photo that was chosen out of a sampling I submitted this year was the one above-- a view in the San Juan Mountains in SW Colorado of the Durango to Silverton Train ride my husband and I took last fall--click here--to see that post.

I was a cornea transplant recipient in 2015--you can read my story in this blog post. Every day since I have been so grateful that a donor's cornea has restored my gift of sight! I was legally blind because of cornea dystrophy in my right eye before the transplant and now having 20/40 vision and normal depth perception has been such a blessing. 

My transplant cornea came from the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank, an organization that yearly provides about 2,000 corneas for transplants in Colorado and Wyoming and to locales beyond--even around the world--if there is no local recipient on the waiting list. 
The Lions Clubs have long been active in service to the blind and visually impaired and began providing support for eye banks more than 60 years ago. Today there are over 60 Lions eye banks in nine countries that provide the "Gift of Sight" to thousands of men, women, and children. If you are looking for an excellent charity to contribute to this holiday season, donate to your local Lions Club or the Lions Club International, to help them continue their work in alleviating blindness.





Approximately 90 photo entries were submitted by cornea recipients for this year's Circle of Light show. “We invited our staff to vote for their favorites,” said Jenn Venerable, the community and professional relations manager at the Aurora eye bank, and 19 images were ultimately chosen to be in a traveling exhibition in both large poster-size reproductions.



The photos were also reproduced in smaller framed and matted 8 X 12  photos.

It was so nice to meet some fellow photographers at the eye bank reception, including the mother of a cornea transplant donor. She told us that although she suffered from losing a young son in an accident, she was comforted by the knowledge that two other people had their sight restored through her son's donated corneas.



In November,  I volunteered to be present for a day during one of the traveling Circle of Light photo exhibits, this time at St. Joseph Hospital in Denver, where I represented the photographers by speaking with staff and visitors who stopped by the exhibit display located near the hospital cafeteria. 

If you want to learn more about becoming an organ donor and giving the gift of sight or life, please visit this link. 

As I learned at a past seminar about donation, giving a part of yourself upon death is ending your life with a comma, and not a period. You can help someone else to see, or survive with a vital organ. What better way to honor life?

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Monday, November 25, 2024

Apple Frangipane Tart


I'm sure almost everyone in America is busy this week preparing for Thanksgiving dinner!

 One of my favorite desserts to make on Thanksgiving, to go along with the traditional pumpkin pie, is an Apple Frangipane Tart. It begins with a shortcrust pastry, then a layer of frangipane, which is an almond custard-like filling, and then thinly sliced apples placed on top.

 I first learned to make frangipane from participating in an old blog challenge called "Daring Bakers" in 2009 where each month a baking challenge would be posted and participating blogs would make the suggested product and post their results on their blog. Two British bakers challenged us to make a delicious Strawberry Bakewell Tart. I really liked the frangipane layer and felt it was a wonderfully elegant addition to a fruit tart.



 Apple Frangipane Tart

 
I use my favorite shortcrust pastry as it can easily be made in a food processor:

Pasta Frolla (Tender Crostata Pastry)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

Grated zest of 1 lemon or 1 small orange—or a little of both (about 1 tablespoon)

1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons total) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and zest in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse briefly to combine. Distribute the butter around the bowl and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Add the egg and egg yolk and process until the dough begins to clump together.

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and gather it together into a ball. Form the dough into two disks, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap each disk tightly in reusable or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until well chilled (overnight is fine). Remove the dough from the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before rolling it out

Roll out the dough and place in well greased tart pan that has a removable bottom. Line the tart shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake the tart shell in a 400-degree oven until the edges are beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment and weights and continue baking until the center is golden, about 10 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let the tart shell cool completely.

Frangipane layer:

6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1 cup (96g) Almond flour

3 tablespoons (23g) all-purpose flour

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 teaspoons almond extract

In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute on medium speed.

Stir in the two flours, egg, and almond flavoring. Mix until just combined.

Apple Layer:

3 to 4 tart firm apples  I like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith
2 Tablespoons sugar

Peel, core, and slice the apples into thin half-rounds, and toss with a tablespoon of lemon juice. 

Assemble the Tart:

Make the crust, blind bake, and cool as described above. Then lower the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the frangipane filling and spread it into the cooled crust.

Place the sliced apples over the frangipane filling in a circular design overlapping to fill the entire top of the tart pan. Sprinkle sugar over the apples.

Place tart in a 350-degree oven and bake until apples are soft and edges are slightly browned -- 45 minutes to an hour.

Remove and allow the tart to cool. Shake powdered sugar on top or brush with heated apricot jam for a glazed appearance.

Store the tart in the refrigerator between servings.



Some scenes of Thanksgiving at my house from the past!


Enjoy the preparations and your family gathering on Thursday and give thanks with a happy heart!


"To make a glorious day complete,

To make each hour full and sweet,

To thank the Lord for a life worth living--

That is the real and true Thanksgiving."

~ Abigail Falk



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Sunday, November 17, 2024

Clash of Seasons

The first snowfall usually comes early every fall in Colorado. This fall, Denver’s September weather was the warmest recorded since 1872, according to an analysis from the National Weather Service in Boulder, and Southern Colorado hit new heat records in early October. The biggest factor for early-season snow is elevation, with the high Rocky Mountains and towns receiving their first snow earlier than the lower Colorado Front Range. 

We finally had our first light snowfall on November 4th; the latest I remember having since I moved West 11 years ago! It made all the fall foliage look even prettier with a mantle of white.

Our next snowfall on November 6th  almost broke a record! Denver International Airport and the southeast metro, including Highlands Ranch and parts of Aurora, saw around 20 inches of snow over 36 hours, almost tripling the November average of 7.3 inches. 



We measured 24 inches of snow in our backyard, but the air temperatures soon rose and it began to melt very quickly. The moisture was very welcomed, as we had been in drought for most of September and October.


My husband and I had fun watching a squirrel forage for food in one of our trees. He found some tree seeds and spent the morning devouring them.

Our neighborhood mule deer are still in their rut season and there have been more bucks than usual roaming around our yards, undeterred by the snow.



Something exciting in our area is that a few large elk have settled in our neighborhood during their fall migration. All the photos above are neighbors' photos shared on our neighborhood Facebook page. I haven't personally seen them yet, but hope to!


"When I no longer thrill to the first snow of the season, I'll know I'm growing old."
~ Lady Bird Johnson

We hope for more snow this week--how has your weather been?


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Monday, November 11, 2024

Cycling Without Age


Last  week my husband and I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a "trishaw" bicycle ride in Hudson Gardens in Littleton, Colorado with volunteers in an organization called "Cycling Without Age Littleton."  They provide free rides locally by appointment. We signed up through a neighborhood senior resourse called "Aging and Unstoppable," which we attend once a month, hosted by a Senior Real Estate Specialist, Kali Hepker.

Information about the organaztion from the CWA Littleton website:

"Cycling Without Age is a movement started in 2012 by Ole Kassow, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ole wanted to help the elders get back on their bicycles, but he had to find a solution to their limited mobility. The answer was a trishaw--and electric three wheel and cart bicycle --and he started offering free bike rides to the local nursing home residents. Ole felt everyonre should feel the wind in their hair/'

He then got in touch with a civil society consultant from the City of Copenhagen, Dorthe Pedersen, who was intrigued by the idea and together they bought five trishaws and launched Cycling Without Age, which has now spread to all corners of Denmark, and since 2015 to another 50 countries around the world." www.cyclingwithoutage.org



Our driver, Lisa, ensured we were comfortably settled in our trishaw, making sure our seatbelts were fastened and covering us with a blanket. Lisa is a retired school teacher from Iowa who moved to Colorado two years ago to be closer to her two daughters. We enjoyed a delightful conversation with her as she skillfully navigated the streets.

My husband and I are in our early 70s and are still able to ride bicycles ourselves. However, it was enjoyable to sit back and take in the sights this way. I want to use my blog to encourage everyone who reads this to check if there is a local chapter of Cycling Without Age. Consider signing someone up who would enjoy a ride, or perhaps even volunteer as a driver yourself.



From Hudson Gardens, we enjoyed a beautiful view of the foothills. As shown in this photo, our neighborhood, situated in those foothills, experienced its first snowfall of the fall season the day before.



Hudson Gardens is always a favorite place for us to walk, and it was beautiful in its autumn splendor.

If you'd like to view the garden in its summer glory, click on this link which will show two posts about the garden from earlier times.

 
Workers were taking down the Halloween displays from the annual " "Magic of the Jack O'Lanterns" event.  We enjoyed attending this a few years ago with our grandchildren.


Next, Lisa went outside Hudson Gardens to ride the bicycle path along the South Platte River Park. South Platte Park protects two-and-a-half miles of the South Platte River along with the surrounding riparian (streamside) habitat of cottonwood forests and wetlands



We had views of the river as we rode beside it.


Lisa explained to us that this metal sculpture depicts the height of the South Platte River during the disastrous flood of 1965!  Informational placards tell the story, which you can read on this website. The Chatfield Reservoir and Dam was built between 1967 and 1975 to help prevent flooding of the river in this area ever again.


We followed another Cycling Without Age volunteer driver, Blaine, back to the Hudson Gardens Parking lot.  We really enjoyed our comfortable trishaw ride and all the pretty views we saw.  

The Littleton Cycling Without Age volunteers provide almost 1,000 rides a year. To view a short PBS video about the Littleton Cycling Without Age Organization -- click here.

If you live in the Littleton, Colorado, area, and would like to schedule a ride for yourself or someone you know, click here.

To donate to this wonderful 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization click here for further information.

Thank you, Kali, for arranging this wonderful outing, and to, Lisa, at CWA for a very enjoyable ride!
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Monday, November 4, 2024

Happy November!


 Happy November! 

Our fall season has been warmer than usual and I have enjoyed the autumn beauty in our area.


Our unusually warm summer and extended mild fall meant our potted fig tree produced the most figs we've had since moving to Colorado eleven years ago!

When fall arrives, we move the tree into our garage, where it goes dormant until spring. We water it about once a month to prevent the roots from drying out, and it thrives.



Even my wild cosmos flowers did well this year!


One of our favorite activities this fall has been watching our grandson play on his high school soccer team. 

They had a very good season!

We always see many deer outside our windows

. They often decorate our lawn!


One day a buck who unfortunately had a wrapped rope swing around his antlers showed up in my backyard.  I called our neighborhood open space ranger who told me they were aware and that Colorado Parks and Wildlife came out twice to try to free him, but every time he ran away. The decision had been made that as long as he could eat and walk it was best he was left alone.




A week later he showed up again, and it seemed the rope had unwound quite a bit and was dragging...


...and when he got up I could see it was wound around a hoove!

He could walk, but he had to keep his head lowered to do so. I called the ranger, who said he would contact Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). Thankfully, the rope was eventually cut, and he could walk freely again! There is still some rope on his antlers, but that will fall off when he sheds his antlers in early spring. 

Overall, we had a wonderful October, and now I look forward to the possibility of welcoming our first snow this week!


Please join me again on my blog next week.

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