Thank you Guardian Angels

It is Christmas Season so many of the various local towns have parades, local home-made item sales, etc. Went to one in Watkins Glens tonight. Missed the parade - dinner came first! Wildflower has really good blue cheese burgers. Nice fireworks afterwards and even the weather cooperated; it was not below 30F this time.

Almost did not make it to the parade! I had been waiting to turn left. As the light turned green, I dropped something in the floorboard and decided to pick it up. The car that was going straight did not want to block the intersection so they waited also. Suddenly, after having a red light for almost a minute, a car ran the light going at least 40 MPH! All I can say is 'Thank You' to my guardian angels who made me drop something and not turn and for causing traffic so the oncoming car delayed proceeding also!!

So next time you think about complaining about a delay, just remember that it may have occurred to save your life.

Amy's Taiwanese - Kaohsiung Taiwan

Over the two and a half weeks of vacation and holidays, I made time to test a recipe that I received from my favorite restaurant in Taiwan. During my last visit to Taiwan, I begged the chef to give me her recipe for "Clams in Spicy Sauce"; then one of my friends in Tainan translated it to English for me. Over the holidays, I set out to purchase all the ingredients and to create the wonderful dish that I enjoyed in Taiwan.

A few things that I discovered during my purchasing adventure: Buying clams in December in New York was difficult/impossible, mussels are not the same, and mussels need to be kept alive not wrapped in the plastic bag in the refrigerator. Preparation was just as eye-opening: Instructions to wear gloves when handling the peppers should be obeyed! Pots with no oil will still catch on fire. (This happened due to the hot peppers to be honest. The 15 minutes of scrubbing my hands raw to remove the burning left the new wok on the stove too long unattended!) Throwing a pan off a balcony into the snow is a great way to put out a fire!

Eventually, the meal was prepared. Although the canned clams tasted okay in the dish, they did not look as good. The photos are of the 'Clams in Spicy Sauce' at "Amy's". She also makes a very good Pina Colada with ice cream! Or, honey and kumquat juice is always good!!

Modified Plans - Keeping an Open Heart

Developing plans may change ---- And sometimes the new ones turn out to give you more satisfaction than you would have expected! My original thought was to have some friends over this weekend, either Friday or Saturday, for dinner. Food, wine, and interesting conversation. That did not work out - in Florida, still in New Hampshire, at Penn State football game, and lastly - wanting to see kids that had been out of town over the holidays.

Instead on Friday, I completed most of the living room, which included hanging the kimono that was purchased in June. Funny how some things look fantastic on the hanger. They even seem to fit in the shop with the perfect lights and the compliments of the shopkeeper. Reality can be quite different. In this case, my memory and expectation of the kimono in 2008 was not the same as seeing it on the wall in 2009. However, it will still be another reminder of my personal times in Japan.

Today was spent on the ski slopes with three of my favorite people. A very early morning leaving at 6 am, not quite as early as the 4:30 am last January in Japan though, and returning as dusk arrived. The snow began on the way to the slopes and continued until noon. We started out slowly with a couple of beginner slopes. I needed to make sure my knees worked, bindings on my 19 year old skis and boots did not break, and that I could remember how to stop! Surprisingly even after skiing 4 hours (excluding breaks for lunch, purchase of hand-warmers, and for coffee) my knees are not hurting and I only have one new bruise on my shin. Great group to ski and board with; hopefully we'll be able to go again before late February! And too bad the ski trip to Utah originally planned for January 16th just did not work out for any of this small group or the larger group. Now I am back home, have had a long hot shower, and shortly will enjoy something to drink before I turn in early!

Taughannock Falls in December

Christmas Day skiing? Made it to the ski slope but did not go; first - did not have the "discount" first-timer coupon so would need to pay a higher price and second - people in the parking lot said the conditions were very icy. Decided it would not be the best condition to ski (or snowboard as I had been told it was not as demanding on quad muscles - Thanks J) for the first time of the year. Now that the weather will get in the low 50's/high 40's this weekend, the next ski opportunity may be in 2009.

So off to photo the waterfalls that I had missed on Sunday. Hiking at
Buttermilk Falls was possible - advise using the ski poles to avoid falling on the way down! The photos at Taughannock Falls were much better though! The trails on the north and south rim had been closed but you could hike the "river" path. Bad news was that the park facilities were closed and being Christmas not many other places open either. (Luckily one of the Chinese restaurants was having a Celebration Day! Xie xie ni!!)

Sorry Y.F. and T.N. - Have not made it South during December so no new photos or travel stories of driving adventures! Tentatively planning camping in NY mountains soon so maybe photos from there.

Second Official Day of Winter 2008

Last year in early December, I was seeing the Fall foliage in Japan. Now the second official day of winter 2008, I took photos of frozen waterfalls. With the windchill, I was advised that it would be much colder outside than I had thought. (Thanks J - I stayed quite warm!) So rather than driving to the Ithaca area, I went to waterfalls near Watkins Glen. Three locations were photoed and each was beautiful. Found out that there is zero tolerance from police for stepping over gates/fences to hike --- hundreds of dollars in fines. So hiking to get closer or different angles of the falls was not something that I tried.

After being an amateur photographer and test driving my car on the "seasonal road" along the East side of the lake, we went to the Watkins Glen Pier restaurant, sorry did not catch the actual name. Burger was good, but not as good as the bleu-cheese burger at the Wildflower; however, the view of the blue sky and blue water was nice.

Can also say that my car handled great on the seasonal and unploughed mountain/lake road. Learned how to use the auto-manual drive as we climbed the mountain road over ice and to not to go off the road into the marsh and creek! Thanks Pam for the advice as I drove the one lane seasonal road. We stayed out of the lake!

"First" Day of Winter - Still Looking at Houses

Yesterday was the first day of snow for 2008; snow flurries from early morning thru the night. Of course with the temperatures, there is no accumulation except in the shade. Realizing winter is basically here has made me go back to see the two houses that are still on my list. (Looking at houses has been an on-going thing most of the fall but in mid-October started ramping up the effort.) One of them has lots of entrances/exits to the neighborhood but the other one really only has one access road. (Okay a second access road but it adds almost 40 minutes.) A few more houses to look at today!

When I walked in the second place, I just wanted to curl up in front of the fire. I could see myself in the dual-headed shower looking out at the woods. The single access to the main roads is a concern. Small kitchen. Above ground pool. Beautiful 4 acres of woods with a creek on the far side. Guess I need to see the houses today! One of them, at least in the photos, was gorgeous but it is high on a hill and may be a problem in winter with snow.

With the economy, sometimes I wonder if I should be buying now or not. However, I also feel that part of the issue with the economy is that people, in general, have lost the positive feelings about life and the world. Rather than focusing on everything that is good, they focus on what is bad. People do not feel they can do anything! I guess my philosophy is to live in the moment even as I save/plan for the future. And then again, I feel that there will be a sign when I find the right place and "I will just know" that it is okay to buy.