Time to start talking about our new destination for the 2011 gathering!

This is a recent culinary work of art Susie created for her workman/friend.

[kb] Did any of you guys watch? I managed to get through the first show with the girls. My favorite was Sioban Magnus. Some of those other “quirky” girls were just too weird for me, and some of the others seemed too mainstream.

What was with that girl who sang “I Want to Hold Your Hand”? Her outfit looked like a nurse.

Woohoo…it’s only 28 days (and counting down) until the first day of spring. And only 21 days until Daylight Savings Time begins.

Yesterday we got new bulbs for the grow light (which hasn’t been used for several years), bought a bunch of seeds and starting mix, and hauled out all of the peat pots and starter flats from the shed.

And we also did something we’ve never done before: We tapped our maple trees for syrup! There are only 2 sugar maples in our yard, but they’re big guys. We got the taps (called “splines”) from the local Agway store and used paint buckets from Lowe’s. When David put the splines in yesterday, nothing came out and we realized he needed to drill a bit deeper. This morning, he drilled again, got the taps in place, and within seconds the sap started dripping. It’s so cool! Here are some pix of the process:

Sugar maple #1

Sugar maple #2

David drills the first hole with 3/8" bit

Putting the second tap in place

Our first drops of sap!

Have you been watching? Here is a list of the current list. Tonight (Wednesday) there will be more cuts.

Do you have any favorites?

Idol Finalists

Tess took a spill on Saturday while getting acquainted with a snowboard in New Hampshire. She’s now sporting a snazzy black cast which she’ll be wearing for the next month (or more).

It’s b-a-c-k! American Idol has launched its new season, with the notable absence of Paula Abdul.

Yeah, it may be turning into a formula show, but what else are we going to watch in the dregs of winter?

Who wants to jump in the Idol watch? I think it would be fun to watch the shows, compare notes (with shamelessly opinionated comments), and try to predict the winner for each episode.

To get things going, here is a poll:

Well, the box arrived this afternoon and we had to hide it…after first having a bite.

Yummmmmmmm! Those cookies are so gooooooood!

Thanks, Terry. (Or should we say “Curse you, Terry Broughton!” instead?)

[kb] Do you have your tree up yet? Take a picture and show us what it looks like.

We’ll put a picture of our tree up tomorrow. It’s too dark and late tonight (Saturday) to do it. If you don’t have a tree, take a picture of something that makes you feel Christmasy.

My mom doesn`t know what to get people so I thought this would be a good way to say what you want. Five dollars and under! Just Kidding!