Mountain Pine Beetle

Pete and I had a great weekend in Colorado. We spent time with all of my Denver cousins and their little ones and Pete's cousin, Danilo. I only managed to snowboard one day b/c I was such a wimp but had fun tubing instead on the second day! It was great to be in the Mountains again and to get out of the dirty city for a few days. While driving through the mountains, I was made aware of the reddish color of the pine trees. I guess there is an epidemic of mountain pine beetles that are killing thousands of trees. Here is a little more about it:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/15/beetle-infestation-get-much-worse/

Pickles

I just saw this recipe for pickles. I have wanted to make them for such a long time. I don't even know if I can find the right kind of cucumbers but I might give it a shot!

Dill Pickles

2 quarts water (1.9 liters)
1 quart cider vinegar (.95 liters)
3/4 cup canning salt (220g)
10 wide-mouth, pint mason jars
Approximately 25 pickles
2 bunches dill
tools: mandoline

1.Thoroughly wash jars and lids in hot water to sterilize.
2. Combine water, cider vinegar and salt in stockpot and bring to boil, stirring well.
3. Wash and trim ends from pickles.
4. Using a mandolin, carefully slice each pickle lengthwise. Stack pieces neatly in order, removing the two ends and place pickle in jar. Trim height of pickle as needed to fit. You should be able to get about 2 1/2 pickles in each pint jar. Place several pieces of dill in jar with pickles.
5. Pour hot vinegar/water solution over pickles filling jar to top. Screw lid down tightly.

You can find the link to this recipe here:

Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » in the kitchen with: sharon spain

Inspired

I am feeling inspired today. I wrote an email to my sister telling her what I've been up to and I really feel good about all of the things I am doing. I'm off to a good start this year so I thought I'd try to keep track of my progress! I have started my second quilting project and came across this woman's blog. I was moved by all of the peaceful projects she is working on http://mamaurchin.com/. I was also inspired to start this blog again. So off I go trying my hand at being crafty.