Yoga Score

Friday morning Emmi and I were out early for our walk–I had places to go.  Look what you see when out walking that early in the morning!  The photos aren’t the greatest as they were taken directly into the morning sun but it was so exciting to see the deer herd again and this is the first time I’ve seen a buck.  There were about six to seven deer total.

Last year a young woman started a yoga class at the community center only a mile from my house.  I attended this yoga class for a while before giving up–it just wasn’t the right fit for me–we are so spoiled having Julia as our instructor in Montana.  Yoga is so good for my body and I need the structure of a class to attend, otherwise I don’t practice.  I searched the internet for “yoga classes near me” and came up with one in Elfrida–24 miles from us.  I spoke on the phone with the instructor and liked her voice and attitude.  Friday I attended my first class and it was a great fit!!–a little long on the breathing exercises but the class is one and a half hours long so there is also lots of good stretching.

We usually forget several items when we leave Montana and this year was no different–the Cowboy forgot to bring a two inch ball for the trailer hitch–thus we couldn’t move the trailer which is loaded with lumber from the garage. The Cowboy borrowed a ball from Dan and we were successful in getting the trailer out of the garage–don’t you like the Cowboy’s “marker” he places on the corner of the trailer so he can see it when backing into the darker garage?? It’s a retractable magnet and a yellow cloth.

Friday evening we were invited to dinner at the home of our caretaker and his wife, Milton and Lucy.  There were two other couples and a single lady, Pat–we had a delightful evening getting to know these people better.

Saturday I made this:

Apple Sharlotka from Smitten Kitchen

Butter or non-stick spray for greasing pan

6 large tart apples such as Granny Smiths

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

Ground cinnamon and powdered sugar to finish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper and the sides of the pan. Peel, halve and core your apples, then chop them into medium-sized chunks. (I cut each half into four “strips” then sliced them fairly thinly — about 1/4-inch — in the other direction.) Pile the cut apples directly in the prepared pan. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer or whisk, beat eggs with sugar until thick and ribbons form on the surface of the beaten eggs. Beat in vanilla, then stir in flour with a spoon until just combined. The batter will be very thick.

Pour over apples in pan, using a spoon or spatula to spread the batter so that it covers all exposed apples. (Updated to clarify: Spread the batter and press it down into the apple pile. The top of the batter should end up level with the top of the apples.) Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a tester comes out free of batter. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on rack, then flip out onto another rack, peel off the parchment paper, and flip it back onto a serving platter. Dust lightly with ground cinnamon.

Serve warm or cooled, dusted with powdered sugar.

We were invited to Dan and Louanne’s for dinner Saturday night and I volunteered to bring dessert.  This is a not too sweet cake which is also good for breakfast!  We had another delightful evening visiting with this couple and have more adventures planned!

It was hard to describe that hallway between our two houses where the Cowboy is currently working so I took photos–

Looking from the guest house back door into the hallway.

Still looking from the guest house down the hallway, the laundry room door is visible on the right.

Getting closer to the back door of the main house–see the pipes we were having to avoid while walking between the two houses?  The electric panel is hanging on what was an outside wall of the main house–that panel will be hung on the outside of the new hallway.  The Cowboy is screwing down the floor plywood so he can easily remove it for doing the plumbing underneath the floor.

Turning the corner and looking into the main house–he took the outside door off the main house and installed it in this new addition/hallway. Clear as mud, right??

I continue to wage war with the tumbleweeds and even had some assistance from the Cowboy Sunday morning.  We attended church today and the after church Thanksgiving potluck–it was great to see everyone again.  We took it easy today and did very little–the Cowboy did get the CanAm ready–we are off on an ATV adventure tomorrow.