It seems Ciro is gaining popularity in the wild world outside, because this is the second feathery visitor we've had in the last month.
This little birdy flew into my house through an open door. Trying to get out, she slammed into windows couple of times and then tumbled behind blinds. She was so shocked that she let me handle her in my hands. But after I took her out and patted her for a few moments, she realized she was free again and flew away.
No idea what kind of bird this is, but it kinda looks like miniature mockingbird.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Camping at Garner State Park
Last weekend I had an amazingly great time camping.
Here are some photos.
Four of us were from Austin. The Zadrozna sisters got all the food, and I met them after work to help make the sandwiches for that evening. After (over)loading the suv, we were on the road around 4.30 pm. Not a good time to leave on a Friday. The traffic was pretty bad coming out of Austin, and we hit the slowdowns in San Antonio, too. But, it was fine. It was nice company, and it gave us time to unwind from the work week. Well, at least for us who were not driving. :) We even prayed the rosary, in 4 different language. We were that kind of group.
We arrived to the camp site close to 8 pm. Another group of 5 from San Antonio, and one lady from Corpus Christi met us there. The guys quickly set up four tents, while the girls gathered some wood and setup up the "food table".
This trip was originally supposed to be to Mustang Island camp grounds, but just a few days earlier we had to change the plans because of the red tide problems on the beach. I was disappointed because the beach camp allowed the camp fires while most of Texas was under fire ban. But, to our great surprise, the Garner park lifted the ban just recently. So, we were able to have the camp fire, the center of every camp trip evening! So, after we all settled in, we lit the fire (with some challenges) and set around it. I only knew the Austin folks, so it was nice to start getting to know the rest of the group. There were 4 guys and 6 gals, within 10-year age range. After dinner, the before-mentioned sandwiches, we started playing games, catch-phrase. It was so much fun! We got so much into it, that until someone yelled (we assume at us) we didn't notice that we were the only ones making. quite a bit of, noise after midnight! It was time to call it a night.
The night was quite chilly. Low 50s, if even. The guys forgot to put the rain tarp, so all the moisture, and cold air, were freely flowing into the tent. I kept adding the layers on me during the night, and was still constantly cold. And barely got any sleep on the hard ground. So, it wasn't hard to get up when I wasn't really asleep. This campsite was really nice. We had electricity and water, and there were bathrooms, even showers, with hot water! Nice.
For breakfast - egg and bacon tacos. With grilled tortillas on an electric grill! This was certainly not a primitive camping. Once we were all awake and fed, the guys led us in daily prayers. And not just lets recite some prayers. No, this was lets take our Bibles, liturgy of the hours, and Magnificats out type of prayers. We went around the circle to read daily reading, and then had a discussion on them! How awesome is that! A mini bible study right there. Loved it!
By 11am we were ready for some hiking. The park is beautiful. Our side was just bellow a hill, so we went up. And up we went! Some of those trails were really steep. I just kept thinking I was glad we were going down on those most steep ones. Several people in that group were avid runners/body builders, so I had some trouble keeping up with them. Someone then suggested we pray the rosary while we walk. Um, really, while we walk people? Again, I was glad we were almost at the top, which meant it will get easier soon. This time we prayed in 5 languages, one for each decade: Spanish, Polish, Bosnian, Filipino, and English. Perfect combination of people for that number.
When we got back to the camp after two ours, I could hardly wait to lay down. But, we first made hamburgers for lunch, which took a while with charcoal. But we all needed that boost of energy. Then we all got our bags out on the grass and had a nap. The weather was just perfect that weekend! Actually, everything about that weekend was perfect.
After that good rest, few of us headed to the other side of the park, where the river was. Yes, even though we didn't go to the beach, we got to swim on the trip! In Frio River. It was supposed to be called (frio) but it was just fine. No colder than the Adriatic Sea. And oh so clean! It had all rocky bottom, so you could see all the way down. Fantastic. It was such a fun time.
After HOT showers, we gathered for dinner. On the menu, pasta with spinach-parmesan dip as sauce, and grilled chicken legs. Grilled on our camp fire. Another treat from the camp fire - s'mores! Gotta have the s'mores. That was yet another highlight of the trip. Oh, and here is another one: karaoke and dancing! These guys thought of everything! They brought the karaoke machine on a camp trip. Yup, nothing primitive about this site. The guys started amusing us with their singing, but since others were not taking their turns, they just started dancing with us. Salsa, swing, waltz, two step,...all that right on our camp grounds. Loved it!
That was such a great group of people. We didn't want to rush leaving the last day, so we pretended it's not gonna happen for the entire Sunday morning. The guys went on another hike early in the morning, and the girls prepared omelets for breakfast. And then, like we really have the entire day, we walked again over to the river side of the camp, where some of use played some volleyball. Then those who didn't get to get in the water the day before decided we all should get in, even if we didn't have the swim suits on. There was some tag-o-war, some girls lost and got wet, some won and stayed in the shade (me!). All fun.
We finally started tearing down the camp site around 2 and were on the road just after 3pm. This time it took us much faster to get back home, about 3 hours with little speeding. :)
Such fun memories of this trip. So glad I went. We should do it again. Soon!
fter two hours
Here are some photos.
Four of us were from Austin. The Zadrozna sisters got all the food, and I met them after work to help make the sandwiches for that evening. After (over)loading the suv, we were on the road around 4.30 pm. Not a good time to leave on a Friday. The traffic was pretty bad coming out of Austin, and we hit the slowdowns in San Antonio, too. But, it was fine. It was nice company, and it gave us time to unwind from the work week. Well, at least for us who were not driving. :) We even prayed the rosary, in 4 different language. We were that kind of group.
We arrived to the camp site close to 8 pm. Another group of 5 from San Antonio, and one lady from Corpus Christi met us there. The guys quickly set up four tents, while the girls gathered some wood and setup up the "food table".
This trip was originally supposed to be to Mustang Island camp grounds, but just a few days earlier we had to change the plans because of the red tide problems on the beach. I was disappointed because the beach camp allowed the camp fires while most of Texas was under fire ban. But, to our great surprise, the Garner park lifted the ban just recently. So, we were able to have the camp fire, the center of every camp trip evening! So, after we all settled in, we lit the fire (with some challenges) and set around it. I only knew the Austin folks, so it was nice to start getting to know the rest of the group. There were 4 guys and 6 gals, within 10-year age range. After dinner, the before-mentioned sandwiches, we started playing games, catch-phrase. It was so much fun! We got so much into it, that until someone yelled (we assume at us) we didn't notice that we were the only ones making. quite a bit of, noise after midnight! It was time to call it a night.
The night was quite chilly. Low 50s, if even. The guys forgot to put the rain tarp, so all the moisture, and cold air, were freely flowing into the tent. I kept adding the layers on me during the night, and was still constantly cold. And barely got any sleep on the hard ground. So, it wasn't hard to get up when I wasn't really asleep. This campsite was really nice. We had electricity and water, and there were bathrooms, even showers, with hot water! Nice.
For breakfast - egg and bacon tacos. With grilled tortillas on an electric grill! This was certainly not a primitive camping. Once we were all awake and fed, the guys led us in daily prayers. And not just lets recite some prayers. No, this was lets take our Bibles, liturgy of the hours, and Magnificats out type of prayers. We went around the circle to read daily reading, and then had a discussion on them! How awesome is that! A mini bible study right there. Loved it!
By 11am we were ready for some hiking. The park is beautiful. Our side was just bellow a hill, so we went up. And up we went! Some of those trails were really steep. I just kept thinking I was glad we were going down on those most steep ones. Several people in that group were avid runners/body builders, so I had some trouble keeping up with them. Someone then suggested we pray the rosary while we walk. Um, really, while we walk people? Again, I was glad we were almost at the top, which meant it will get easier soon. This time we prayed in 5 languages, one for each decade: Spanish, Polish, Bosnian, Filipino, and English. Perfect combination of people for that number.
When we got back to the camp after two ours, I could hardly wait to lay down. But, we first made hamburgers for lunch, which took a while with charcoal. But we all needed that boost of energy. Then we all got our bags out on the grass and had a nap. The weather was just perfect that weekend! Actually, everything about that weekend was perfect.
After that good rest, few of us headed to the other side of the park, where the river was. Yes, even though we didn't go to the beach, we got to swim on the trip! In Frio River. It was supposed to be called (frio) but it was just fine. No colder than the Adriatic Sea. And oh so clean! It had all rocky bottom, so you could see all the way down. Fantastic. It was such a fun time.
After HOT showers, we gathered for dinner. On the menu, pasta with spinach-parmesan dip as sauce, and grilled chicken legs. Grilled on our camp fire. Another treat from the camp fire - s'mores! Gotta have the s'mores. That was yet another highlight of the trip. Oh, and here is another one: karaoke and dancing! These guys thought of everything! They brought the karaoke machine on a camp trip. Yup, nothing primitive about this site. The guys started amusing us with their singing, but since others were not taking their turns, they just started dancing with us. Salsa, swing, waltz, two step,...all that right on our camp grounds. Loved it!
That was such a great group of people. We didn't want to rush leaving the last day, so we pretended it's not gonna happen for the entire Sunday morning. The guys went on another hike early in the morning, and the girls prepared omelets for breakfast. And then, like we really have the entire day, we walked again over to the river side of the camp, where some of use played some volleyball. Then those who didn't get to get in the water the day before decided we all should get in, even if we didn't have the swim suits on. There was some tag-o-war, some girls lost and got wet, some won and stayed in the shade (me!). All fun.
We finally started tearing down the camp site around 2 and were on the road just after 3pm. This time it took us much faster to get back home, about 3 hours with little speeding. :)
Such fun memories of this trip. So glad I went. We should do it again. Soon!
fter two hours
Monday, October 10, 2011
Blueberry Ice Cream
I'm not a huge ice cream fan. I would not order it for a desert or buy for myself in a store. But now that I have the ice cream maker I like to try make, and eat, different ice creams that I know exactly what they are made of. My mom loves ice creams, and we always have to have some in the freezer when she is here. So this gives me a good practice for when she comes back this winter.
I am still learning the ins and outs of ice cream making, but I was pleased with this recipe. I combined several recipes I found on-line, and the one I came up bellow is the simplest for me. I got two containers of fresh blueberries, so I'll be making some extra to freeze 'till winter, perhaps. I like tart flavors, and this one goes really well with chocolate. It uses coriander, which supposedly mixes well with blueberries. Enjoy!
Makes 1 quart.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
•1/2 - 1 cup sugar (I found 1/2 cup to be too sour)
•2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
•1 Tbsp. lemon juice
•1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
•1/4 tsp. ground coriander
•Pinch of salt
•1 cup of heavy (whipping) cream
•1 cup of Half and Half cream
Preparation:
1. Dissolve sugar in 1/4 cup water in a medium sauce pan over low heat.
2. When sugar is dissolved, add berries, lemon juice, vanilla extract, coriander, and salt.
3. Bring to boil then cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until berries begin to burst (about 5 minutes).
4. Remove from heat and in blender puree until smooth. You may also want to strain the mash before cooling (it will harden after cooling)
5. Cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator.
6. Thoroughly combine berries and cream. Pour into ice cream maker, and follow manufacturer directions.
I am still learning the ins and outs of ice cream making, but I was pleased with this recipe. I combined several recipes I found on-line, and the one I came up bellow is the simplest for me. I got two containers of fresh blueberries, so I'll be making some extra to freeze 'till winter, perhaps. I like tart flavors, and this one goes really well with chocolate. It uses coriander, which supposedly mixes well with blueberries. Enjoy!
Makes 1 quart.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
•1/2 - 1 cup sugar (I found 1/2 cup to be too sour)
•2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
•1 Tbsp. lemon juice
•1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
•1/4 tsp. ground coriander
•Pinch of salt
•1 cup of heavy (whipping) cream
•1 cup of Half and Half cream
Preparation:
1. Dissolve sugar in 1/4 cup water in a medium sauce pan over low heat.
2. When sugar is dissolved, add berries, lemon juice, vanilla extract, coriander, and salt.
3. Bring to boil then cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until berries begin to burst (about 5 minutes).
4. Remove from heat and in blender puree until smooth. You may also want to strain the mash before cooling (it will harden after cooling)
5. Cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator.
6. Thoroughly combine berries and cream. Pour into ice cream maker, and follow manufacturer directions.
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