oscar week
To help you get in the mood for the Academy Awards this Sunday, here’s the marvelous short film, “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” created by Moonbot Studios of Shreveport, La. and nominated for Best Animated Short. Loved it so much, I even downloaded the way-cool iPad app and read the ebook on our way out West.
Good luck, Mr. Lessmore. We’ll be rooting for ya!
high country snows
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Few things soothe our souls as much as the Rocky Mountains.
What are your soul-soothers?
romancing the barn
Efforts started to photograph, preserve old barns
Associated Press, February 19, 2012
“There is a feeling that losing those kinds of structures means we are losing a connection to a really important part of our country’s heritage. You would be hard pressed to find a more iconic symbol of rural America.”
– James Lindberg, National Trust for Historic Preservation
the very best banana bread
We’ve been making this banana bread for years and everyone always raves about it. Add walnuts or pecans if you like, but we like it just perfectly plain.
The Very Best Banana Bread
What you’ll need:
¼ lb unsalted butter (one stick, very soft)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2-3 bananas)
½ cup lowfat or non fat sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
To make:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease with butter 9x5x3 inch loaf pan or a few small aluminum pans.
Cream butter, sugar with electric mixer until light n’ fluffy. Add eggs, beating well. Sift dry ingredients together and combine with butter mixture. Blend well. Add bananas, sour cream and vanilla. Stir well. Pour into pan(s). Bake 45-50 minutes if using large loaf pan, or about 25-30 minutes if using small pans. Place pans on slightly higher rack in oven so bottom of bread doesn’t bake too fast and be sure not to over-bake so the bread stays extra-moist. Enjoy!
dane takes a vacay
Recently, Dane, our 18-year-old Warmblood, decided to take an extended break from work. Now, he didn’t put in for vacation (or “PTO” as it’s now often called), we certainly didn’t receive any email requests, and it wasn’t on my Outlook calendar either. But for 45 days — yes, 45 days — that punky Hanoverian would not let himself be caught. Trainers tried, cowboys tried, even cute little kids in pink cowgirl boots got in on the action, but the horse was officially ON VACATION.
Yesterday, Michelle and her friend Amanda got a rope around Dane’s neck as he devoured a bucket of sweet feed. But who are we kidding? The horse knew exactly what he was doing and surrendered quietly — as if deciding he had had enough time off and knew it was time to get back to work, or at least enjoy some treats. Today, everyone is happy, including Dane. And he even got a bath.
Thanks, MB, for catching our horse at last. We owe you some treats!
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