November 3, 2019- Reality sets in

We flew home on Tuesday, not Monday.
It was not a smooth return trip.
Some of the more gruesome details appear in the Odds and Ends section down below.



We arrived back in Iowa to clear blue skies and the remnants of a snowfall the night before.

The blue skies made it not quite so bad.












Then on Thursday there was another 2-4 inches of the white stuff.
You wanted to go outside and shout "it is only October."
It was not the best evening for trick or treating.
There were cute children at our door, but they looked a little cold.










But rather than dwell on the unpleasant present, let me share a few warmer moments from time at the beach.


Art is where you find it.
This was at the beach.






More beach.







Many millions of dollars art work. (It was not at the beach.)






At the beach we have always loved what we refer to as the skittering birds. They were still there for our visit.

Here is some color from the road.
As I mentioned last week there are wonderful roses in Chincoteague. These are really the best, at a local  motel.
They are nicer than any I have seen at any of the botanical gardens I have visited.



I almost makes you want to grow roses.
I then remember that they want lots of sun, and attention.


The indoor plants are brightening up the inside. Of course they are also everywhere.

Julia's recipe

 Custard

As I have said, I like pudding and custard, the distinction being one of method more than ingredients. By and large, puddings are cooked on the top of the stove and custards are baked. It has gotten cold here suddenly so turning the oven on is a fine thing as is having a warm dessert. Once again, I turned to Betty Crocker who, as I have also said, knows her way (mythical figure though she is) around the basics, especially in the world of sweets.  This is a very simple recipe, but it does require some time in the oven.




Here are the ingredients and the set-up for baking: 3 eggs; 1/3 cup white sugar; a bit (maybe 1/8 teaspoon) of salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2-1/2 cups of whole milk. Plus nutmeg and/or unsweetened coconut to garnish. The rig at the right of the picture is 6 1-cup ramekins in a big pan that is about 1" - 1-1/2" deep.

Note on milk: I always use whole milk. I think 2% would be fine. I would not use skim.







First I cracked the eggs and put them in a big bowl, followed by the salt, sugar and vanilla. I whisked them together then added the milk slowly whisking all the while.

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees.












When the mixture was smooth, I used a ladle to portion it into the ramekins: 1 ladle-ful per ramekin and then 1/2 ladle-ful to go around again. Using that method, the cups came out pretty even.

By the way, no need to lube the ramekins.











Next, I grated nutmeg over 3 of the ramekins. I sprinkled about 1 teaspoon of unsweetened coconut over each of the other 3.

Adornment is up to you. A sprinkle of cinnamon (or mace) would be nice. Maybe a bit of finely grated semi-sweet chocolate. Or see the berry possibility below.









I put the pan in the preheated oven. Then I ran the hot water in the sink and put 4 cups into a kind of pitcher (very old, I think it was part of a set of kitchen things we got as a wedding present - a kind of measuring cup on a large scale). I poured the water into the pan, taking care not to splash any into the ramekins.







It took about 45 minutes for the custards to get done.
"Done" is when you can stick a knife into the custard and it comes out clean (no goop). Custard is good warm or cold. If you don't adorn at the pre-baking stage, you can serve the custard chilled, sprinkled with berries (raspberries come to mind).

Leftovers keep well and are very nice for breakfast.
Nutritious too.

Odds and Ends

For those of you who liked the Where is Waldo, cormorant style, here is another such picture.
One thing about cormorants is that they appear and then disappear, diving down for whatever they dive for.
Once again the bird is about in the center of the picture. (I would not show you a picture when it was under the water.)







I have several pictures taken in Washington DC. We had not intended to visit Washington. We were to fly out of Baltimore, but there was a questionable plane in Baltimore.
You have perhaps been in an airport and seen that list of all the departures on the big board where  everything is delayed.
Well, in our case our flight was the only flight delayed, and delayed.
Finally they offered to let us take a cab to Washington and catch a different plane from there. We could stay and take a chance on the plane never leaving. Given the uncertainty, we chose a cab to Washington.




We left Washington for Chicago after it was dark.
That would still be in plenty of time to make out connection in Chicago.


This was taken out the window in the airplane.









Somehow I managed this picture about the same time. I wish I understood how I did this. I would try it more often.




Let me briefly complete our sad travel tale.
We got to Chicago to find our flight from Chicago to Cedar Rapids delayed.
Well it turned out that the same questionable plane from Baltimore had gotten to Chicago after all. But it still had problems.
When we arrived the plane was to leave about 11pm, but had not yet arrived.
The plane got to O'Hare finally, but then they had to change the tires. What?
OK- I do not want to think about what happens if a plane has a flat tire.
So it was delayed until midnight. Finally at midnight the flight was cancelled.
Actually it was rescheduled for 6:30 the next morning.
That had the advantage of not having to book seats on already full planes.
So they gave us a hotel room nearby. We got there about 1:30.
We had to be on the shuttle back to the airport at 4:30. Do the math: not much sleep.
So we made the plane and it left, close to on time.

Then there was fog in Cedar Rapids and the pilot said we needed to refuel.
So we flew to Des Moines. We got off the plane while the plane got some more gas.
Finally we got to Cedar Rapids by 10:30. Or maybe 11.

We got home to the blue skies and snow on the ground.

With all these pleasant travel memories we are going to turn around in a week and go to Maine for a week.

We wonder why were are tired.



I am here to report that the straw flower can take a freeze with the best of them.













I should mention that we got the extra hour last night. I certainly used the extra sleep.
I was carrying plants up and down the stairs most of the morning. The back garage can no longer be a temporary holding area. There is a 16 degree temperature in the forecast.

Date countdown 
So today, November 3, what are some landmark dates, and how far away are they?

December 21, 2019- 48 days- the winter solstice- the days will start getting longer-

February 3, 2020- 92 days- the Iowa caucuses

March 21, 2020- 139 days- by some calculations this is the first day of Spring 160 days

November 3, 2020- 366 days- election day

Philip