Making Tollhouse Cookies

 Tom found a good deal on Nestle chocolate morsels and asked whether we might make chocolate chip cookies when he visited yesterday. He arrived with two sticks of butter, too. We supplied the other ingredients.

 We used the original Nestle Tollhouse Cookie recipe as posted on Allrecipes.com. Click here for a copy of the recipe.

 I gathered the ingredients and poured them into the bowl. Tom serves as mixer ...

 He dropped the dough onto our non-stick cookie sheet. The recipe made four dozen (not the five dozen promised).

 They bake very quickly ... just ten minutes per pan.

 We ate a couple to test them (delicious!) and after they cooled we put a few in a container for him to take home, saved some here for Mom and put the rest into a tin for Coulter Buhler who is attended college in Sheridan, Wyoming. They'll be mailed tomorrow.
 There's nothing like cookies to make a Saturday afternoon special.

What is it?

 When I was digging a spot for the Northside Bur Oak a few days ago (see that blog entry here), I came across an unusual metal object buried there. When I first pulled it from the ground and brushed it off, I thought it was the top of an old kerosene lamp. A rectangular hole, I thought, held the wick. But there was no hole in the bottom, nor a hole for an adjustment wheel for the wick.

 So that's clearly not what it is. So what is it?

Top View - about 2" in diameter 

Bottom View - there are no openings on the "knob"

 I posted these pictures on my Facebook account and guesses include: a door knob, a wheel cap, part of the handle of a utensil, flag pole holder, part of a door bell, part of an old weed wacker, a holder for a curtain rod, an old cap tap, something that covers the end of a screw or nut, or part of an unidentified toy.

 I'm leaning towards toy. It's very lightweight. And though it's dirty from all the years underground, it is not corroded or rusty. Thus it is not steel. Instead, it is some lightweight metal, probably brass.

 This house has been occupied since the late 19th century, so I am sure many children have lived and played here. I wonder how many years ago it was lost at that spot?

 Your opinion is welcome. How about leaving your guess as a comment?

Bonsai Show at Krohn Conservatory

 Our timing is often spot-on. My weekend at Tom's seems to often coincide with something going on that we both truly want to see. Yesterday we attended the annual bonsai show at the Krohn Conservatory.

 Sponsored by the Bonsai Society of Greater Cincinnati, there's plenty more to see here than a "tree in a pot".

Krohn Conservatory -  Eden Park - Built 1933

Built in the Art Deco style, the Conservatory is described as "aluminum and glass" 

It costs $4 admission but you've hit it lucky ...

Jump aboard my camera and join Tom and I for a complimentary tour

First, the Bonsai Show

... "a living sculpture never quite finished." [BSGC] 

"Bonsai is a dynamic art, constantly changing." [BSGC] 

"There is nothing mysterious about bonsai. It only requires

a sense of design, basic horticultural knowledge about your tree,

and a healthy dose of patience." {BSCG]

And now to the rest of the Conservatory ...

Near the entrance is a vendor selling rocks and minerals ... popular with the kids

Tom and I turn left and walk down the first corridor at the Krohn 

A papaya holds three fruit high above our heads

Staghorm - or Elkhorn - Fern

Return to the main entrance, and then directly back ... 

In nature we first learned the meaning of corrugation 

Bamboo?

Perhaps a banana tree? 

Rainforest Waterfall

A restful 15 seconds at the waterfall ...

Just looking up produces a marvelous view 

Now, to the right of the main entrance

Yeah, that's what it looks like to me, too 

The carnivorous Pitcher Plant 

A Bromeliad 

And now to the orchid room

Beauty is often in point of view 

Even the cacti are beautiful here

Back outside, as we left, a Monarch gathers nectar

 The Krohn is a beautiful stop on a summer afternoon. I imagine it would be even more marvelous on a snowy winter's day. In any case, it is worth every minute we spent there.