Hello Deutschland!

The last two weekshave hadsome big numbers (numbers of readers) coming from Germany. I just wanted to thank everyone in Germanyfor the extraordinary support of ColdThistle. Those 6 and 7K page read daysin the weekly graph? Half are from Germany!



Many Thanks!

Alpental Ice ..

So the quest for ice begins. (Earlier this year due to La Nina.) Adam and I were thinking of getting out earlier in the week to check conditions at Alpental. Early reports were not positive, so we delayed. I was hoping to head to Leavenworth this weekend, but that plan fell through, and so a quest for ice at Alpental was planned. I was going with Rod, while Adam, Zach, Steen and Kristy were also coming separately from us.

Rod and I were one of the first cars in the lot and we geared up in what felt like weather that was too warm. We commented that we might be "taking the tools for a hike" as Washington State ice climbers will often say. We donned snowshoes, and hiked into Alpental Falls where we hiked up to the falls.

Hiking up to the falls

Alpental I looked in from the base. There was a bit of a boot track to it, so perhaps it was climbed in previous days. I didn't like the drum like nature of the right side as it seemed not to be bonded to the rock underneath. Right in front of me was a snow gully like feature which I told Rod I'd give a try at. So we geared up and I started climbing. When I got to the first step, I didn't feel comfortable with the thin ice, and down climbed off the route collecting my screw on the way. We decided to head up valley to see if anything else was in to climb.

Around this time our friends showed up and went past us before we regained the trail. Zach and Adam headed back to the car to get their snowshoes for the off trail travel. We joined the women near the base of Alpental IV. Rod and I inspected the possibility of climbing Alpental IV while the other group set up some top ropes in the woods. We eventually joined them as neither of us wanted to lead any of the falls. Way too much running water.

So we all got to top rope three short lines in the woods. A fairly thick line on the right, a mixed (mostly rock) line in the middle, and a mixed (mostly ice/snow) line on the left. After we all tired out and started to get cold we took the top ropes down.

Kristy on the fatter ice

This outing went about how I would have expected it to go. I was happy to use my (new to me) tools and go leashless for the first time. Surprisingly, I did not over grip. But I was very concerned about dropping them as I have yet to build my umbilical. The freedom of going leashless was wonderful, and I was surprised that it did not take much for me. Perhaps because I haven't climbed ice in a while, I forgot about relying on the leashes. I look forward to more leashless climbing.

The luxury of doing without

Remember when it was actually a big deal when watermelons arrived in the stores and farmer's markets in the summers? I can remember being really excited about eating ice-cold slices of sweet watermelon right about the fourth of July- and the anticipation of it was as good (or almost as good) as the watermelon itself. That absence of melons in the fall, winter and spring enhanced the olfactory experience when they came into season. Now, because melons apparently ship well from warm climates (the thick rind and relatively long shelf life assist with this), watermelon tastes pretty good year round. And as a result, it lost some of its magic.
Thankfully, we haven't figured out how make winter tomatoes taste like summer tomatoes. And although I'm all for horticultural innovation, I hope that breeders and growers never figure this out. There's nothing I dream of more than a tomato sandwich on white bread made with tomatoes ripened in the southern summer sun. Tomato sandwiches should only be eaten when you're wearing a short-sleeved shirt while in the shade of a porch. I don't think a tomato sandwich (no matter how good the tomatoes) would taste as good while wearing a sweater sitting by the buck stove.So there's my plea. No good tomatoes in the winter. Keep them mealy and tasteless.
This idea transfers into the landscape as well. I'm tired of azaleas the bloom in the spring and fall. I don't want a garden where every plant blooms all the time. If all plants flowered year round, they'd lose their magic. Just like watermelon did.
I think we've forgotten than doing without can actually be luxurious. The anticipation makes it something to be acknowledged and savored when they come into our worlds, much like a vine-ripened tomato.

Tumbling Tumbleweeds

This is a small tumbleweed. The best known of the weeds we have here. These, too, will grow with no water as do all of the weeds we have. The tumbleweed is called that because in the fall when they dry they come loose from the dirt and 'tumble' across the desert with the least little breeze. A wind can send them for miles. They will then stack up against any thing that gets in their way- fences, houses, cars, (they love to go down the roads and get stuck under moving cars and can even catch on fire from the hot undercarriage of the car). Again we fight them constantly as each tumbling tumbleweed has millions of very tiny seeds on them that fall off as it tumbles and will then sprout where ever it falls off. Again this plant is not native to here and the story I have heard is that it is a Russian thistle brought over from Russia about 200 years ago to be raised as cattle feed and as food for people. I have heard that it is a good 'green' if pulled and cooked like spinach soon after it sprouts. If left to long it gets the stickers on it and isn't good for people eating. Horses, cows, sheep, goats will eat them from the time they sprout until there is nothing left of an old, dried-up weed. My horses beg for them when I am pulling them as weeds. They do cause allergies for lots of people when they bloom. Some blooms are a nice shade of blue and almost big enough to be seen. There are several different kinds of tumbleweeds and we seem to have some of all of them.

Fall Produce

We've been in fresh produce heaven since we arrived in Holley. I can walk across the street to the above produce stand and that's just one of many in this area. I'm taking advantage of the bounty and trying to do some batch cooking to make some home cooked goodness that we can eat now and freeze some for later.



Normally I take time each morning to have some quiet time. I do many different things during this time. It doesn't matter so much what I do, just that I have some quiet time that is good for me and gets me to be a bit more centered before I face the day. The part that is consistent is that I take this time to stop and be mindful of things I am grateful for so I call it my Gratitude Walk, even if I'm not walking while doing it.



With all the prepping I've been doing for the cooking, I've used this as my quiet time. Interestingly enough, it has also been easy for me to do some pondering of things I'm grateful for too while handling all the fresh fruits and veggies. While cooking is not one of my favorite things to do, I do find that I like it so much more when I am using whole foods. It is something that I am in awe of each time I do handle them. I can't help but be aware of the fact that the earth gives us these precious gifts and that whole process is just spectacular in its own way. I think of all of the parts that go into the process in order for food to grow from seed to maturity. Food that nourishes us with its life giving properties and tastes so wonderful to boot. Yesterday I was chopping tomatoes and realized it just feels as if each time I do come in contact with this kind of food in this way, I am literally pulling up a chair to God's table to eat.



So what goodies have I managed to cook up this week? Two batches of bolognese sauce, (Mira gave me her recipe for the Bolognese Sauce which is similar to Pastor Ryan's), two batches of marinara sauce, two batches of chunky vegetable spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, a huge batch of chili, fried apples like Cracker Barrel makes, apple dumplings, apple crisp, apple butter, applesauce and coleslaw. Nathan has made his oh so good salsa and still wants to make another huge batch. I still have butternut squash and pumpkins to use. I'm guessing we'll get some extras to take with us before we leave. I'm going to miss it when we do leave, but we'll soon be back in Florida where we can get year round fresh produce again.



Now if I could just find a way to get someone else to clean up the mess after I cook, I might not mind this cooking stuff at all!



Living the life in New York!

Rio Grande River at Las Cruces

Photo of Sarah and her dog Lobo. Lobo is the brother of a dog I used to have.

I posted photos of the Rio Grande River at Albuquerque, NM a few weeks ago. These are photos of how it looks where it runs near Las Cruces. The dought has hit harder there that it has here. There were only small, murky puddles of water here and there. But it gave a good view of the river bed which I had never seen. This cottonwood in fall colors looked great against the beauty of the stark, gray rock hills. Sarah's dogs Lobo and Ruby loved to chase a stick and bring it back together. The also liked to play in the yucky mudpuddles. There is a photo of me and Lobo. And a photo of the river sand with a few of the tiny, delicate fresh water clams that should live here. All I found were a few shells. I hope that there will be enough of them to survive if the water ever comes back. A lot of the water is used for irrigation by the farmers and a lot is left in Elephant Butte Lake which is north of Las Cruces. I would think it would make more since to take more water out of the lake and send it down river, although I have heard the lake is at it's lowest since it was built. It is a man-made lake. I didn't get any photos of the lake this trip.

Hawker Food Culture in Singapore

In the first leg of my Singapore trip I have only eaten at ‘Hawker’ places. What a delight! I just love these home-grown places. They are the archetypal fast food places in the country, a celebrated and brilliant idea in bringing together and showcasing the different food culture and tradition -- Malay, Chinese, Indian that reflects the country’s colourful history in the now modern day Singapore.



Hawker food centres are very local, very low-key and very affordable, which are the reasons why I fell for these quirky places in the first place.



Tanglin Halt Market & Food Centre



This area is known as the elderly district but don’t let this set you back because they have a yummy hawker centre. Here I ordered the 'Prawn Noodle' at this stall for just S$3. It was delicious.











We also ordered 2 plates of 'Roasted Chicken Rice' at Tong Kee Chicken Rice for Sister J and Myrrh:











Then our drinks / desserts at this place:









The epitome of Singaporean ice dessert - Ice kachang (with mung beans, jelly and pearls), and this is my dessert, just S$1.







This one is a cocktail of fruits, pearl jellies, beans, milk and ice. You squeeze the lemon on top of the pretty cocktail. S$2.



Hawker places are basically a food court, market or a centre. It houses food stalls with a common seating area. They abound in Singapore and each neighbourhood has its own hawker. In the city centre there are many hawker places and I have already been to a few of them.



Singaporeans seldom cook because the food at hawker centres are fast, readily available (hello 24 hours) and cheap. You can have a meal for just S$4 (Singaporean Dollars) which is around 2.30 Euros. Not bad for a lunch or dinner huh?



I’ve also had my fair share of fancy restaurants in the first half of this year in the Netherlands and in my travels around Europe, as well as here in the Philippines where I am currently sitting, so I think I will be continuing my hunt for hawker places in the second leg of my Singapore trip which will happen in a few weeks.



Watch this space in the coming days and weeks as I will be posting the hawker places I have visited in the city.