Debra LaValley's Blog

My June 13, 2013 ART Concord Exhibit

Thank you to all my friends and family that came to my first photo exhibit. It was part of ART Concord and held at
the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center. It was great fun! I have 15 photos (I am going to bring them one more in a week or two) on display until the beginning of October.

Stop by the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center! It is a great place.

Below is a self-portrait of me in a “Fun House” mirror there. I look like a bowling pin person 🙂

Star Flower

Photo Exhibit at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center

Recently, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center contacted me and asked if I would be interested in being a featured artist for an Art Concord exhibit. The Discovery Center participates in Art Concord which is coordinated, etc. by the Concord Chamber. I am a member of the Discover Center and have volunteered there – so I was thrilled.

I will have 15 photos on display at the Discovery Center. The open house is Thursday, June 13th from
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM. It is FREE and open to the public. There will be snacks. It is casual dress. If you are interested in dropping by to see my exhibit and the awesome Discovery Center – please do!

I am very excited.

Have a great day!
Debbie 🙂

Coffee Jello

Coffee Jello – Yum!

Today at work, my department had a luncheon, and one of my friends brought in a jello cake (that will be a recipe for another day). I started talking about coffee jello that my mom used to make. It was delicious. I love coffee and drink it black. My mom told me that Nana made it often. I remember my mom’s saying her dad loved coffee jello.

It is easy to make, delicious, and low calorie! There are quite a few recipes on line for coffee jello. Below is one that I copied and slightly edited. Click here to see the original recipe that I copied.

Ingredients
2 (1/4 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold coffee
3 cups hot coffee
1/4 cup sugar ( or up to 3/4 cup according to desired sweetness)
1 pinch salt

Directions
In a large bowl combine gelatin and cold coffee.
Allow to sit 10 minutes to soften.
Add hot coffee, sugar and salt; stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is clear.
Pour into individual serving dishes and chill till set.
Serve with sweetened whipped cream. (My mom always served it with milk poured over it and some sugar sprinkled on top.)

My mom also had a simpler recipe written down that she just gave me over the phone:

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 1/4 cups leftover strong coffee
1/3 cup sugar

The directions would be similar to the first recipe.

Now I am hungry for coffee Jello! I don’t have any unflavored gelatin – so I guess I will just make myself a cup of instant decaf (disgusting – I know) – but any port in a storm.

Enjoy your evening!
Debbie 🙂

Albino Squirrel

Yesterday – I saw the albino squirrel running around in a yard on Lilac Street.(I saw it a couple weeks ago too). I never tire of seeing one. I have heard there may be two in the neighborhood. I would love to take a photo of two of them together. We first saw an albino squirrel at my folks’ house in 2003. It came around all summer. In 2011, another albino was seen at my folks’. We also saw it down the road and last year also saw on off and on. 2013 – it appears at least one is still around.

Click here for Albino Squirrel Video that I took.

Waxing Gibbous Moon 🙂

I love the moon! Tonight, there was a waxing gibbous moon. It was beautiful. I took my new camera out (Nikon D5200) and my Sigma 150-500mm lens and snapped some shots. I was too lazy to get out the tripod -so the shots were hand held. Not bad at all.

Have a great evening everyone!

Debbie 🙂

How Sweet it Is!

Ledge Top Sugar House – Open House

This weekend is Maple Sugar House Weekend and many of the state’s sugar shacks are holding open houses. Ledge Top Sugar House is just one street over from me and has the BEST maple syrup. I went there today with my mom, Ken, and Dorothy. We had homemade donuts, Maple syrup samples, and real Sugar on Snow. There is nothing like syrup that has been boiled until it is thick and poured over cold snow. It is like maple “caramel” … YUM!

Real March Madness 🙂

Dippy-Doodle

Delicious!

If you live in the area – I believe they are open tomorrow to! They are on Oak Street (street next to the old fire station – up the hill on the left)!

Meet Toby – My Parents’ New Puppy

My parents went to a Canine Commitment Foster Home today in Manchester and picked Palmer (now known as Toby) to go home with them. Toby was born 6/13/2012 and is from Mississippi originally. He is a Pug/Mystery mix. Toby is very friendly and seldom barks. He loves people and loves to snuggle! I think he is the perfect addition to the family and for my folks. He is about 13 pounds.

More photos:

Toby w/ his new mom

Toby w/ his new dad

Hi!

He has a deformed front paw (only 3 toes) but walks fine.

Comfy or what?

Another snowstorm is heading up the East Coast. If we are lucky – the bulk of the snow will just miss us. The southern areas of the Northeast are not going to be so lucky.

It is always a great worry that we will lose power when there is a storm. Most of us are very dependent on electricity. If the power goes out most of us do not have heat, and houses lose heat quickly (They are not made like they use to be). We have to light candles, lamps, or carry flashlights. Once the batteries in our laptops and phones die – we are cut off from the Internet – which is a catastrophe to most. What are we to do with no internet, phone, or cable television! It is a very scary place for those of us addicted to technology.

Just think – back a couple hundreds of years ago – snow storms came and the houses had fireplaces to keep off the chill. Folks weren’t running to the local stores to buy milk, bread, and toilet paper for fear of being stuck in the house for a day or two. The stoves were run by coal or wood – so hot meals were still available. If you had to go out somewhere – you jumped in the sleigh and traveled over the snow (but most of the time – there was no need for you to go anywhere – so you just stayed home). You didn’t have to wait for the plow to come.

It seems like it is getting harder and harder for modern humans to deal with mother nature. Even the slight mention of a few snow flakes heading our way – seems to rile folks up into a frenzy. Heaven forbid you may have to spend a few hours at home in quite meditation, or reading, or talking (not texting) the person sitting next to you.

So – whether or not you get an inch or a foot of snow in the next day or so – remember the snow will melt. Break out a board game and enjoy each other’s company or start up a conversation. Spring will be here before you know it.

My First Sleigh Ride

Sleigh Ride

I have ALWAYS wanted to go on a sleigh ride – but never had until today. I remember Pepe (my Grandfather LaValley) telling us when he took a sleigh from Vermont to New Hampshire – back in the day when that was the winter transportation. I also love the Christmas Carol – SLEIGH RIDE. I have thought about it a few times and even looked into it – but something always came up or there was no one to go with. The rides were also very expensive.

Recently, I saw that there are sleigh rides available about 5 minutes from me on Corn Hill Road in Boscawen (Painted Blessing Ranch/Pustizzi Fruit Farm)! Even better – the price was only $20.00! I knew that the weather was going to be mild today, and we had plenty of snow cover for the horses to pull a sleigh. I asked around to see if anyone was interested – but no one was available – so I decided to go myself. I am not usually one to do activities by myself – but I decided to go for it. (I have gone to movies by myself – that took a little getting used to – but it isn’t bad at all – especially since you don’t “visit” while the movie is playing.) I was out of my comfort zone at first – being by myself – but once I arrived at the location. I was fine. Everyone was very friendly, and the driver of the sleigh was someone I went to high school with that I hadn’t seen in about 35 years.

The horses pulling the wagon-sleigh were two Belgian horses. They were HUGE horses and very handsome.

I am glad that I went. There was just a couple from Pittsfield and me on the sleigh – plus the driver and copilot. I would like to go on a real old-fashioned 2-4 seat sleigh . . . but until that time . . . I am happy that I had a sleigh ride on a beautiful March day.

“It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together . . .”

Sleigh & Belgian Team

The Day After

It is a beautiful sunny day! The snow is all cleared away. It is a good thing because tomorrow we are going to get a little snow and then rain. The rain will make a real mess and make the snow heavy. Everyone is out clearing roof tops and driveways today.

Have a great Sunday!