Boiling maple syrup 20150315

Boiling first sap of the season! Too warm for much flow, so we only have about 12 gallons, but it is an excuse to fire up the sap stove! And sit around stoking the fire on this lovely day.  The foot you see in the foreground is that of my lovely sister-in-law.  The hat sits atop the head of adorable hubbie.

A fine time was had by all.

First taps of the season!

Here are the first taps of our maple sugar season. This is a big old tree. Isn't it great?  We have about 25 sugar maple trees, but we have never tapped them all at once. 

This year we don't have much wood, so we are only going to  tap 3 or 4 trees and just make a couple gallons for adorable hubbie's sister and ourselves.

The other big tree next to the sugar maple is an ash tree. So far it has resisted the emerald ash borer. I hope it survives.

Maple syrup season is starting 20150308

The weather is finally cooperating, so we pulled out our maple syrup tapping supplies. We have five gallon buckets, tubing to run from the taps to the buckets, and the handy taps we got from a great place that supplies the maple syrup industry, Leader Evaporator.

Unfortunately, the right size drill bit has run away, as those pesky drill bits have a habit of doing, so we need to go get another one that is the right size, and then we will get some trees tapped.  I'll post a picture of our setup when we have it going.

I love this time of year, when everything is starting to wake up from winter slumbers.

Guerlain Attrape-Coeur Perfume 20150306

This perfume is discontinued, but I read some glowing reviews and bought a small decant, so I am delighted I can experience this extraordinary perfume, and totally bummed that I can't buy enough of it for it to be my signature scent.

To me this is like the archetypal perfume, rich but not heavy, consistent but not linear, floral enough, green enough, musky enough, woody enough, but not too much of any one thing.  I don't really distinguish individual notes, but just a flow of good smells.

Mathilde Laurent made this for Guerlain, and then almost immediately moved to Cartier, where she has made several great perfumes, most recently Le Panthere, but I think Attrape-Coeur is her masterpiece up to this point in her career.  It certainly is my favorite perfume at the moment!  Wish I could have one of these classic Guerlain bottles of it on my dressing table.

Dharma Song

We are all love.

Know that we are one thing,
and that thing is love.

Compassion is love in action.
Let your intention be love.

Suffering is only love gone awry.
Let your actions be love.

Breathe in love.
Breathe out love.
Breathe in love.
Breathe out love.
Breathe in suffering.
Breathe out love.

Let go of all things and rest in love.

Love is the idea from which all things arise.

But ideas are just things.

And love is not a thing.

Before all things, love.
Beyond all things, love.
Inside of all things, love.

Love is no thing.
Love is, and is not.
Rest in this.

Oriza L Legrand Muguet Fleuri 20150305

Oriza L. Legrand Muguet Fleuri is a classic Lily of the Valley perfume.  It goes on rich and fresh.

This morning this opening reminded me of what I think Diorissimo used to smell like. Then my allergy nose clamped down and I couldn't smell anything for a while. After a big cup of tea I can smell again, and it is still the same nice mellow LOTV with no screechy bits. But it seems to be already fading a little, or this is just my malfunctioning nose.

Not looking good for this. Delrae Debut was far nicer yesterday, at this point in the test.

UPDATE : 4.5 hours later, Muguet Fleuri is still around, and very pleasant and mellow. I am thinking better of it now.  But I will do another test on another day before I make a final judgement.

Best Chunky Granola Recipe

This chunky granola recipe is simple and infinitely customizable!

Basic ingredients I like (with a few options.)

3 c. Organic rolled oats (NOT quick oats)
1 c. Sliced almonds (peanuts, pepitas, etc.)
1/2 c. Unsweetened coconut (optional)
2 TBS flax seed (sesame, sunflower, etc)
3 TBS Brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger (optional)
Pinch of nutmeg or allspice (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c. Honey (maple syrup, molasses, etc.)
2 TBS peanut oil plus 1 tsp oil (olive, etc.)
1 egg white, slightly beaten
Dried cherries, raisins, mango, etc.(optional)

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Rub a large rimmed baking pan with 1 tsp oil.

At this point start preheating the oven to 300 degrees.

Pour the honey into a glass measuring cup. Add 2 TBS oil and heat in microwave 1 minute or so just until it starts to bubble.

Stir the honey and oil together and pour over the oats.  Careful it is hot! Use a wooden spoon.

Mix well, scraping any sugar that might stick to the bowl back in to the oats.

Pour the beaten egg white into the oats and mix well. The egg white helps it stick together and makes it chunky, good for trail mix. If you don't want it chunky, skip this step.

Pour the oats onto the baking pan and spread evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Then rotate the pan turn the heat down to 250 degrees and bake 15 minutes. Rotate once more, and bake 10 more minutes. If you skipped the egg white you can stir the granola to ensure even browning.

Let cool completely.  Add dried fruit before storing in an air tight container, so it stays crispy.