Nevada, early October

Signs of Autumn

Caramel Corn
Pumpkins
Cloudy skies
Beautiful sunsets
And a happy little guy

New bike!

But the back tire is flat... :-( Oh well, easily fixed, right? Can somebody tell me how to fix a flat bike tire?

Melinda!

Mel came over to visit the other evening, and since she is moving soon, I wanted to make sure to get a picture of us together. A bit of cheesiness, like usual!

Grandma's Nut Chopper

One of the things I got to keep from Grandma's kitchen collection was this nut chopper. I chopped up some walnuts to go on top of the banana muffins I made today.

I didn't realize until after 15 minutes of grinding that the walnuts are supposed to go in the top, and grind down into the jar! Next time...

Pumpkin-Pear Cake

This is basically an upside-down cake, where you get that brown sugar goodness on top when you flip it. This recipe is from Better Homes & Gardens New Baking Book. Enjoy!

Pumpkin-Pear Cake

1/3 c. brown sugar

2 Tb. butter, melted

1 Tb. water

2 pears, peeled and sliced

1 1/4 c. flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (I use my own mix)

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3 egg whites

3/4 c. white sugar

3/4 c. pumpkin

1/3 c. oil

2 Tb. water

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Stir the brown sugar, butter and water together and spread across the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan or a pie plate. Spread the pear slices in the pan in a circular pattern.

2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, spice, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar until stiff peaks form. Using low speed, blend in pumpkin, oil, water, and vanilla.

4. Fold flour into pumpkin just until moistened and spoon over pears in pan.

5. Bake at 350* for about 35 minutes (may want to put foil under the pan--my topping bubbled up past the cake batter) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes, then invert. Whipped cream optional. :-)

More Blue Lake!

Looking off the edge at the top:

And turn around and you see this:

Country lane

Neat old red barn on the way out

The view from the bridge

Blue Lake

Blue Lake is a tiny lake just south of Cascade, hidden off to the side of a Forest Service Road. I was expecting fall colors and a nice hike down to the lake, but you'll see it was a bit chilly for that.... :-)

Coming into Emmett:


Highway 55

Fog!

Snow! Slightly eery...

...And the alien station at the top:

to be continued...