Mt Baldy Part II
Dad: "It's getting dark, Calvin. Time to come in and go to bed!"
Calvin: "But Hobbes and I were catching fireflies. Can't we stay out a little longer?"
Dad: "Ha! First you didn't want to go out, and now you don't want to come in! See, by not watching TV, you had more fun and now you'll have memories of something real you DID, instead of something fake you just WATCHED."
Calvin: "Nothing spoils fun like finding out it builds character."
Yup, that about sums it up. How great does it feel to get out there and do something? Mountain climbing really _is_ a spiritual experience. I got up at 5 AM (for someone on night shift that's pretty rough), drove out to the mountain and then walked straight to the top. It was pretty great. There are two trails to the top of Mount Baldy (well, two main trails from a certain starting point). We were going to go up the commonly used one but missed the trailhead and ended up climbing the trail called "Devil's Backbone." There is this part of the trail near the top of the mountain where you walk along a ridge that really looks like the devil's backbone. The wind was incredible and it was cold, but reaching the top felt great. Little did I know that walking down the mountain was, for me, far more tiring. It felt like we were never going to get to the bottom! All in all, I had a fantastic time. Thank you so much, Danny, for making me get off my butt and go out and do something real. I even met some people on the mountain and made friends with an elderly Japanese man.
There is something about sharing a difficult experience with someone that makes you close. You get to the top of the mountain and just start chatting with anyone up there. All types. Middle aged mommies, crazy college girls (wearing shorts and just long sleeve shirts?), old people, packs of 20 somethings.
****
* Etymology of the American slang phrase, "Say uncle!" : http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-say1.htm From the unassailable Michael Quinion.
Last night I baked 3, count 'em, 3 different types of cookies. First we made a sweet, anisette biscotti. This recipe uses some butter so the biscotti have a more crumbly, softer texture to them. I love the anise flavor! The recipe calls for anise seeds OR anise extract, but I use a bit of both for extra kick! Next we made the famous and fun ANZAC biscuits. ANZAC stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corp and, according to the story, they were sent to the boys on the front line during WWII from home in tins. These cookies are so, freaking, good. I can't stop eating them. Last we made Little Italy Pingoli -- those great pine nut cookies. This was the first time I had used this particular recipe. The results were good, but not what I expected. It's a new technique for me. There is no flour, only almonds that are ground up with sugar in a food processor to make the base. You add in egg whites and powdered sugar. This you are supposed to squeeze through a bag (which I do not have) and then sprinkle the pine nuts on top, pushing them in gently with your fingers. I need to get one of those bags -- I think it will help. My cookies turned out too flat and dense. It's all in the repetition with baking! My biscotti always turn out good because I've baked them dozens of times.
Calvin: "But Hobbes and I were catching fireflies. Can't we stay out a little longer?"
Dad: "Ha! First you didn't want to go out, and now you don't want to come in! See, by not watching TV, you had more fun and now you'll have memories of something real you DID, instead of something fake you just WATCHED."
Calvin: "Nothing spoils fun like finding out it builds character."
Yup, that about sums it up. How great does it feel to get out there and do something? Mountain climbing really _is_ a spiritual experience. I got up at 5 AM (for someone on night shift that's pretty rough), drove out to the mountain and then walked straight to the top. It was pretty great. There are two trails to the top of Mount Baldy (well, two main trails from a certain starting point). We were going to go up the commonly used one but missed the trailhead and ended up climbing the trail called "Devil's Backbone." There is this part of the trail near the top of the mountain where you walk along a ridge that really looks like the devil's backbone. The wind was incredible and it was cold, but reaching the top felt great. Little did I know that walking down the mountain was, for me, far more tiring. It felt like we were never going to get to the bottom! All in all, I had a fantastic time. Thank you so much, Danny, for making me get off my butt and go out and do something real. I even met some people on the mountain and made friends with an elderly Japanese man.
There is something about sharing a difficult experience with someone that makes you close. You get to the top of the mountain and just start chatting with anyone up there. All types. Middle aged mommies, crazy college girls (wearing shorts and just long sleeve shirts?), old people, packs of 20 somethings.
****
* Etymology of the American slang phrase, "Say uncle!" : http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-say1.htm From the unassailable Michael Quinion.
Last night I baked 3, count 'em, 3 different types of cookies. First we made a sweet, anisette biscotti. This recipe uses some butter so the biscotti have a more crumbly, softer texture to them. I love the anise flavor! The recipe calls for anise seeds OR anise extract, but I use a bit of both for extra kick! Next we made the famous and fun ANZAC biscuits. ANZAC stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corp and, according to the story, they were sent to the boys on the front line during WWII from home in tins. These cookies are so, freaking, good. I can't stop eating them. Last we made Little Italy Pingoli -- those great pine nut cookies. This was the first time I had used this particular recipe. The results were good, but not what I expected. It's a new technique for me. There is no flour, only almonds that are ground up with sugar in a food processor to make the base. You add in egg whites and powdered sugar. This you are supposed to squeeze through a bag (which I do not have) and then sprinkle the pine nuts on top, pushing them in gently with your fingers. I need to get one of those bags -- I think it will help. My cookies turned out too flat and dense. It's all in the repetition with baking! My biscotti always turn out good because I've baked them dozens of times.