Apple Roses

My first bouquet of Apple Roses 

My Romanian blogger friend Marta, recently posted this idea for a beautiful and delicious dessert, Apple Roses in Puff Pastry. Even though I'm especially busy with Estes Park Duck Race activities, I just had to try this out. It's quite simple ... only a few easily obtainable ingredients and about 30 minutes to get it ready for the oven where they are now baking, creating an enticing aroma. I plan to share them at Duck Central this afternoon. They'll be ready in about 15 minutes.

............... tick-tock tick-tock tick tock ...............

The apple roses are out of the oven, dusted with powdered sugar and looking lovely! 

Thank you, Marta!

Feeling Discombobulated?

Feeling "discombobulated" is not something I enjoy but I do love the word and I laughed out loud when a friend posted this photo taken in the Milwaukee Airport. As a woman who occasionally finds herself in airports and airplanes, I can appreciate the person who had the foresight to add this area to an airport, one of  the many places it's really needed. I am reminded of a series of flights home from Italy when I was nearly desperate for a Recombobulation Area. I nominate JFK and I suspect that my friends, Linda and Wally, would agree.

Of the many synonyms, including addled, baffled, bamboozled, befogged, befuddled, bewildered, confused, muddled, perplexed, and disoriented, discombobulated is my favorite.

Beautiful Textile Mystery

A friend recently told me about an old "quilt" she and her husband had discovered among some items belonging to his grandmother. Because they know I am a quilt maker, they thought I could give them some information and advice. They said it had a date, 1843, on it and a name and town. When I saw it, I discovered it wasn't a quilt but a double-woven coverlet. I have shown it to some others and one friend, who is a weaver, said it looked like it might actually date from 1843 because of the pattern, colors, fiber content, etc. The pattern is a complicated one woven in two sections each the width of the loom and stitched together. The colors are pale tan and deep indigo (common in the 1800's). The fiber content appears to be linen and wool. She said it could have been made by an itinerant weaver for a family or individual. The name "BEDY.ANN.CHAMPNEY" and "OSWEGO.N.Y." are also woven into the coverlet. She thought it was in remarkably good shape for a textile that old.

I've passed this information along to the owners and have urged them to take it to an expert on woven coverlets for advice and an appraisal. They have no information about it and hope they can find out more about it.

It's a beautiful mystery and I hope the owners can get some answers.

Spring Snow

Sunrise from our deck

Those of us who live in Estes Park, or anywhere in Colorado, like spring snow. It's beautiful, full of welcome moisture, and it doesn't stick around for very long. We had a foot of snow overnight and a beautiful bright sunny day which has caused sudden snow cascades to fall from the ponderosa pines in our yard. I know there are pasque flowers blooming under that blanket of white but they are a hearty species which will still be there when the snow melts. The eaves are dripping and water is running down the gullies. It will re-freeze overnight and start thawing again when the sun rises tomorrow.

A perplexed little bird ponders her white world.

My bluebird house wearing a whimsical cap.

Snow cascade #1

Snow cascade #2

Snow cascade #3