Though the Weather Outside is Frightful

The Fire is SO Delightful !!

Our fireplace needed some work, so rather than put the money in a old setup that mostly sucks warm air up the chimney, we bought a fireplace insert.

We can set the thermostat at 55, and the house is still in the mid-60's with the fireplace going. So far, we're happy with the Quadrafire brand. It puts out a lot of heat, but the house doesn't smell like smoke at all. And, we get a $1500 tax credit for heating the house with renewable fuel.

Thanksgiving 2009

The Steckbecks and Baxters celebrated Thanksgiving this year at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois. What a cool park - and who would believe such beautiful country could be in the middle of the Illinois cornfields! Take a look here for pictures of all of us, enjoying the traditional present game and hiking in the huge canyons. All are welcome to join us in 2010 at McCormick's Creek State Park or in 2011 at Pokagon State Park. Ummmmmmm, turkey !

It's a Camping Thing

Lots of campers hang signs in front of their camp sites, giving their names and home town. Yes, it's kind of hokey. But last camping trip someone who knew my brother Joe and wife Lori saw their sign, realized friends were in the campground, and stopped in to say "hi." Okay, it's still hokey, but can be helpful.









So, now we have a sign, too. Thanks to Joe for cutting out the cool Indiana-shaped piece of wood !








Here we all are, camping in mid-August at Mounds State Park. It was Kevin and Tammy's maiden voyage with their new T@b camper. The crazy-looking thing we are standing on in the picture is a set of benches built on a trail, overlooking the White River.

(I love camping.)

Colorado Cool

It's always nice to leave the heat and humidity of an Indiana summer for the cool mountain weather. Just look at that clear, blue sky!



This year we were joined by Jerry's brother Kevin and his family, Tammy and Wyatt. And the Cranes (Carolyn, Barry, Jake, Ely, Dulce, and grandma MaryAnn) camped with us, too.

We took lots of adventures. Here are the highlights. You can click on the link after each listing to see more pictures! Don't forget to float your mouse over the pictures if you want to see titles.



Jake, the Wrangler, couldn't take us to West Tennessee Lakes (12,000 feet) because they were still snow covered. (6 to 8 feet of snow!). So, we drove to Homestake Reservoir, also about 12,000 feet, but snow-free. The fishing wasn't too good, but the scenery was beautiful! More pix here.






Barry Crane set up a rafting trip for us with Buffalo Joe's on the Arkansas River. Wow. Here are the awesome pix, taken by the rafting company as we passed their photo booth along side one of the rapids.






Sara, Carolyn, Dulce and grandma MaryAnn went horseback riding while the rest of the group rode ATV's. Dulce's horse decided he didn't want to go anymore, so she got on with Carolyn. I'm glad no one was around to see the wrangler leading a riderless horse back to the corral! Dulce recommended no treats for her mount, and a long time-out in the corner! Check out the pix.






Most of the spring wildflowers were up, although it was a late Spring this year in the mountains. Tammy was especially excited to see this pair of Lady's Slippers. Here's more.








Barry brought his boat, and everyone made the most of it. The fishing trophy goes to the youngest angler - Jacob Crane! Here's pix of water play.






Colorado hiking is always breath-taking, in more ways than one! This year we tried to make it to Missouri Lakes. Why is it the trailhead sign always gives a do-able distance, like, "2.8 miles," but we can never seem to reach the goal? After 3 hours, we just KNEW we were close, but the time, the deep snow, and a stream with a tricky crossing stopped us.



Pix are here.




The historic Leadville, Evergreen Cemetery is fascinating. A few pix.










Before you leave "Colorado 2009," take a look at some beautiful scenery.







Hey, guess what?! The next time we go to Colorado, in 2011, we won't have to come home after only one week. We'll be retired! All the time we want, but not so much money! Happy Trails!

Amish Country

What beautiful country north-central Ohio is! We camped for a long weekend with brother Joe and sister-in-law Lori at Mohican State Park, and toured the surrounding area. We drove to Wooster where the Rubbermaid factory used to be located. The factory has moved out, but there is still a huge store that sells just Rubbermaid products - everything from toys to trash cans. Wooster also has a used and historic book store that was very interesting. We continued on to Orrville where Smuckers has a plant and visitors center. Got free ice cream and our picture taken as if we were in a big bowl of ice cream with a cherry on top! We didn't spoil our dinner, though - a delicious buffet at an Amish restaurant. Check out the pictures. Hover your mouse over the sliding pictures to see titles.

Wrapped around Her Finger

She's the queen of her household, at only 3 weeks old ! Eliza is sleeping in 3- and 4-hour stretches at night, so parents are a bit tired, but happy. Everything has been going very well with one small health issue -- After this picture was taken, she developed a mild case of thrush (yeast infection in the mouth - yuck). The nurse suggested a homopathic remedy rather than antibiotics, so now Eliza's tongue and lips are a deep, but bright purple. Thankfully, the taste doesn't seem to bother her between doses, and the treatment can stop in a couple days.

Yummy Granola

I was able to stay with Lynne, Kirk and new baby, Eliza, for a week after she was born. While looking for some new and interesting dishes to cook for them, I found a really good granola recipe on-line at the TasteOfHome.com website.

The recipe takes about an hour to make, but it is definitely worth the time.

4 c old-fashioned oats

---place in a jelly-roll pan

---toast at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes

1c chopped nuts

3/4 c bran cereal, like All Bran

1 c coconut

---add to oats and stir together, leaving all in the baking pan

1/3 c honey (or substitute molassas for part or all)

1/4 c vegetable oil
---heat, but do not boil
1 t vanilla - add to honey mixture

---pour honey mixture over the oats and mix well

---return to the oven

---bake 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, golden brown

1c raisins (or yellow raisin/cranberry mixture)

1c chopped dates

---add to baked mixture

---cool and store in an airtight container

---freeze part of it, if you think any will be left after about a week !

Welcome Eliza

Just look at this little sweetheart! Baby Eliza Kathryn Smiley was born at 10:31 am Monday, 4/13/09. (Yes, everyone is saying she will have birthdays on Friday the 13th.) She weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces and measured 19.5 inches long. Although the doctors had planned to induce the birth, it was not necessary; and Lynne was blessed with an easy and quick delivery.

Check out these pictures at the hospital, about an hour after Eliza's birth.

Shower the Baby with Gifts Galore

Only a month until we can meet the new Miss Smiley!

Baby received beautiful and practical gifts at her shower on Sunday 3/1. Lynne's grade-school friend, Karen Bodach, helped Sara arrange the shower.

We played silly baby shower games; but most of all, the guests seemed to enjoy sharing when and how they each met Lynne.

Here are a few pictures.

Soft Pretzels

Who knew? You can make pretzels at home. Mine didn't turn out very pretty, but they sure taste good. We're going to use them (among other foods) with a chocolate fountain at Lynne's baby shower coming up on March 1.
Here's the recipe and some pictures.









Mixing the dough in the indestructable, 30-year-old, Harvest Gold Oster.










Boiling the dough.







Out of the oven.

Lots of pans and dishes to clean up, though.

Happy 2009 !

Close friends and family joined Jerry and Sara at their 11th annual New Year's Eve / Anniversary party. Click here for some photos.

A four-hour domino game probably broke some sort of record. Joe recommends duct taping everyone's mouth to speed up future games! But I would miss the color commentary.

We enjoyed fireworks at midnight (although some of the neighbors did not). And a big smooch for Jerry and Sara at 12:01 on their anniversary!