Hope this brings a smile . . .

It is being a long wait until spring...

Beyond the unofficial start, when the geese return...
Past the official start, when the calendar decrees...
Gray skies, gray landscape,
Gray thoughts...

With no color in sight or in the forecast.
Instead, a city's Christmas decorations still hang
And the winter's detritus reveals itself as snowpiles slowly melt;
Those same piles now fuzzy with dried grass, leftover sand and shredded garbage
All pushed together and aside in the name of safe travel.

Sometimes, we can joke about it.
Sometimes, the gray swirls too close and a smile is painful.
And sometimes a kind, kind soul with nothing to gain
Brings a gift with the salad dressing to the table at lunch.
Just a simple sugar cookie, perfectly round and soft,
Not ordered, not requested. Just pure gift.
And one woman says to another, "Hope this brings a smile."
And both women do, and the gray retreats behind the edges of hope again.

No camera along to capture that precious cookie (I must learn to carry it always)
But I had these cookies back at the office (my latest attempts at the quest).
Hope this brings a smile.

Spring break, of the best sort . . .

I've been away from the blog...mostly for district and regional basketball tournaments, with the state Class B girls tournament yet to cover (Go, Kenmare Honkers!), but I also took time for a little jaunt south...

to North Platte, Nebraska....

680 miles one way....

and changed our lives here....

for the better.

I thought I should document the trip in photos--see what you think.

Sunrise in North Dakota, March 4, 2011  --  ready to leave.

Lovely view of the Missouri River north of Washburn, ND, on U.S. Highway 83.

Lewis & Clark Interpretative Center, Washburn, ND.
GREAT museum.
Also, one of the best rest areas in the state.

Brief drive east on I-94, looking to pick up U.S. 83 again.

Aaah, back on U.S. 83, headed south, hardly need a map.

Road signs all along the route; not that a road is necessarily there.

Tourist attraction, Strasburg, ND.

U.S. 83 into South Dakota (stay with me now).

Notice odometer reading and trip distance at this point in my 1999 Bonneville,
south of Pierre, SD (also notice full tank of gas), still on U.S. 83.

View at 196,000 miles (we're getting closer).

Two hours later, on U.S. 83 (stay with me).

Sunset south of Valentine, NE, U.S. 83.
(Still two hours of driving to destination.)
No color adjustments made.
Also, essentially no snow!!!!

Sunrise, North Platte, NE, March 5th.

Best sunrise ever, named Morgan.

Headed north into South Dakota.

South Dakota border on U.S. 83.

Lunch on the Missouri River at the Oahe Dam near Pierre, SD....

Tourists' view of the dam
(Morgan, look at the Canada geese in the open water)....

Morgan's view of the dam...and first experience in snow.

Bald eagles might carry away 49-day-old puppies,
BUT no eagles were to be seen here.
On the other hand, 1 bald eagle and 5 golden eagles were tallied
NORTH of Pierre, directly along U.S. 83, waiting to scoop up
one of the thousands of ring-necked pheasants feeding
in corn and sunflower stubble fields.
(Maybe nobody told the eagles about their roosting area!)

Selby, SD, cemetery. Yes, that's what you think it is...

...Easily visible from the roadway.

Crossing back into North Dakota.

Crossing back into North Dakota.
(Not to be confused with the earlier crossing into South Dakota.)

Absolutely worth every mile.

Thanks for coming along on my little road trip...could be the best "spring break" ever.

Note for travelers who may now be interested in duplicating this route: you drive straight down the center of the Great Plains.  Get out your road atlas and check the route.  You can pick up NPR radio stations all along the way; also local high school sports coverage.  In Nebraska, you have to prepay your fuel, which is most inconvenient as a lone traveler.  The only Starbucks available were in Minot and Bismarck, ND, although the other towns and cities along the way had their local coffee shops--and in Pierre, SD, I saw two real life 2010 National Finals Rodeo saddle bronc contestants acting like normal people at Hardee's!

The quest, continued . . .

The quest continues, with batch number two....

As a former biology major and science teacher, I am familiar with the scientific method, and I shamefully disregarded it as I experimented with three variables, instead of one.



Variable #1 -- Dark brown sugar, and even less white sugar.
Deemed successfull!!



Variable #2 -- Flour -- used two types,
but I'm not ready to reveal the new formula yet--
still working on this!

Variable #3 -- Refrigeration -- a suggestion
that came from even more research.
Who knew the New York Times could be so helpful??

Photo experiment --
did not actually impact the cookie taste, color or shape.
I'm just trying for a different look here.
Which cookie says, "Pick me, pick me!!!" most loudly to YOU?



These were actually baked earlier in the week, and already consumed--shared with two of the stalwart volunteers at the Class B District 12 and Region 6 boys and girls basketball tournaments (more about that to come later).

By the way, I'm staying with REAL BUTTER at this point.  Fortunately, this recipe only makes about two dozen small cookies or 18 big ones--easy disposal!!  (Notice the chocolate chip font color? Nice touch, eh?)

Round three of the cookie quest was completed this evening, with one variable.  Most of those cookies also have a designated recipient.

Your turn will come.

Still have work to do, but I'm getting closer. 

Much closer.  In fact, I bought two specialty bakery cookies earlier this week on a trip to the big city in NW North Dakota and for the first time ever, wished I had one of mine instead.

More to come...keep following your own quests, by the way.  Success may be closer than you realize.

And don't be afraid to mix up your variables!

The cookie quest . . .

As if the days are not full enough, I have started a cookie quest,

and you can read more about it here.

Blame it on a bad sinus infection and even worse daytime television.

I turned to the Internet and started searching.

A cookie lover has to do what a cookie lover has to do.

I'm not getting any younger, and this is the year to discover

--or develop--

the chocolate chip cookie recipe of my dreams.

Presented here are the results of my first attempt

with a new recipe.
Click on any photo for a mouth-watering, actual size image.

It holds promise.

But not perfection.

The quest continues....

Recipe suggestions are MOST welcome!!  I also share cookies very willingly.

What is your quest this month, of the serious or silly variety?

Turkey pen . . .

 Early February 2011

Turkey pen . . .

For your reference...Top board of pen stands closes to seven feet high.

Turkey patience . . .

So, how are you faring this winter?



A Handmade 2011 . . .

My Alaskan friend

 Marie Bell

introduced me to this concept--

A Handmade 2011:

I promise to send something handmade

to the first 5 people who leave a comment.
They must in turn post

this (where they wish)

and send something they made

to the first 5 people who comment on their status.

The rules are that it must be handmade by you

and it must be sent to your 5 people sometime...in 2011.
Let's all work toward a more handmade life!

  

Please join in.

Your handmade "something" need not be

fancy

or

glorious.

It needs only to be

handmade.

(And cookies definitely COUNT!!)

(P.S. The gorgeous beads are by ginnovations on Etsy.

Respond soon!!) 

Even if you DON'T choose to participate, what's your favorite sort of handmade?

As a child, it was cookies from one grandmother and quilts by the other.

Today (not that I do all these myself),

still quilts....

And beadwork,

drawings,

paintings,

mixed media and collage,

canned sunshine in the form of jams, jellies, relishes and salsas,

art crafted of silver and stone,

crocheted dishclothes in a rainbow of colors,

yarns knit together,

 embroidery, cross-stitch

and stories and poems.

Always stories and poems.

Snowshoeing at the Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge . . .

Let's go snowshoeing on the Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge...

a fine way to spend a Saturday.

Temperature -- about 7 or 8 degrees F, wind NNW <15mph (nonexistent by ND standards)

70 people signed up for two sessions,

with beginning, intermediate and advanced trails for each group.

(Guess who started on the beginner's trail?)

The bindings fit over my boots!

Morning group on the Boat Dock Road -- beginners looking good!



Morning view looking east across
the Middle Des Lacs Lake, framed so well.



Young beginners try a "hill" -- some of us just concentrated
on keeping our tips straight and visible.
Hills were for later!

Berry delights for the wildlife....

Porcupines prefer tree bark, leave a mess.
(This tree will probably live, just be trimmed a bit!)

Snowbirds left their nest for the winter.



Intermediate group on afternoon trek
at the lower end of Tasker's Coulee.

Mostly beginners here, but we tried
bushwhacking through the trees.



Nothing like the taste of winter bark....

Paint by lichen....



Deer bed, freshly made the previous night.

Creek bed at the lower end of the coulee.
We found safe places to cross.

Surprise! Open water running through the creek, delicate frost on top.

Looking back at the coulee....

Let's go snowshoeing again sometime!
The Des Lacs NWR hopes to host similar programs in the future.
(No bones or snowshoes were harmed in the making of this blogpost, although
heretofore unknown muscle groups were taxed and many cookies were consumed.

And now, I officially love snowshoeing--add a pair to my Christmas list, Santa!!  Oh my gosh, there's no better way to see the winter activity on the refuge...our morning group witnessed a standoff between several whitetails and four coyotes...three of the coyotes headed for cover, but one tried his luck against a group of three deer, only to discover he was hopelessly outnumbered!

I think my cheek muscles hurt as much from grinning all day as my thigh muscles did from trekking (and falling and getting up again...gotta watch those tips under the crusty snow layer!!).
Thanks for reading--come visit the refuge sometime!!!
(And many thanks to this lovely woman for inspiration for the snowshadow photo--I just had to try it, Ro!!)