Oatmeal-Raisin-Chocolate Chip Cookies

 I was asking Tom what sweet he wanted this week and he said "cookies are always good".

 "What kind?" I asked.

 That's when he told me his step-mother, Clara, made incredible oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies. I found a recipe that adds raisins (click here) and decided to try it. Quite good ... and easy, too.

 I post these recipe links mostly so that I can go back in the future and make baked goods again without having to keep track of where I put the recipe.

 The batter for this cookie is stiffer than most. I almost figured I had forgotten to add something. But the recipe is perfect as is. It made 46 cookies of the size shown.

 I almost never follow directions. I just melted the butter in a bowl and began adding the ingredients. I saved the flour, oatmeal and chocolate morsels for last (the liquid ingredients mix better that way).

 I always use a small ice cream scoop to place the batter on a cookie sheet. I just adjust the amount I scoop to make larger or smaller cookies.

 I've had friends tell me that this would be a good recipe to substitute butterscotch morsels for the chocolate ones.

Easy Blueberry Muffins

 Fresh blueberries are on sale right now and Tom has been taking advantage of it. Two weekends ago he arrived with two containers. Last Saturday he brought another. I've been topping waffles and French toast with blueberries - not to mention a simple bowl of Cheerios - but I wanted to use up the oldest and also have something different.

 Fresh blueberry muffins fit the bill! And a recipe for Easy Blueberry Muffins on allrecipes.com looked like the perfect recipe.

 They really couldn't be easier. Just seven ingredients.

 Tom likes to watch his intake of salt and this recipe uses none. For myself, I'd prefer salt (though the butter you slather on will likely contain some). How much? I'd guess half a teaspoon but I haven't tested this. Next time, though, I will.

 Also, you're warned that "the secret is in NOT mixing the batter too much". I think that warning is because the blueberries will break up and you'll have a purple batter. I mixed everything but the blueberries into the batter, mixed it very well, and then added the fresh blueberries and just turned them in gently.

 The muffins come out of the oven with the visible blueberries thoroughly cooked and burst open by the heat. It's really a lovely look to the top of each muffin. Why buy blueberry muffin mixes in the store? They surely cost more and the "blueberries" are often artificial and not nearly as good as the real thing.

 I used more than the 1/2 cup of blueberries (more like 3/4 cup) and the muffins are chock full of fruit.

 The only thing you need to add is butter. I ate two while they were warm. Testing is such a necessary part of baking.

My Furry Valentine

 Each year Tom and I consider attending My Furry Valentine, Cincinnati's largest animal adoption event. This year we had to go to Cincinnati anyway and made it a point to stop by.

 It's held at the Sharonville Convention Center. We got there soon after it opened (at noon) and found parking to be at a premium. We had to park across the street and walk to the event.

 Already at noon, the rooms were packed.

 First up, cats! Lots of cats in cages. In fact there were over a thousand animals up for adoption ... mostly cats and dogs but we saw one rabbit, too.

 Retired greyhound racing dogs were available. I'm not sure of this was one but it was certainly lanky enough to have been one. Dogs and cats would be taken from cages so prospective adopters could interact with them and determine how close a  fit they made.

 I really liked the name of this agency. Recycled Doggies is based in Cincinnati. Apparently you got a donut for stopping by.

 This sweet dog was being held by a prospective adopter (or so I assume). He seemed to be in doggie heaven. He was leaned back against the man's chest and watching people pass by. He was so relaxed he seemed almost to be falling to sleep. I hope he found a home.

 Cats apparently will sleep anywhere, even in their litter pan.

 This was Mickey, probably named for his black and white coloration, mimicking the Disney mouse. But a cat named for a mouse? Tom would have brought this one home (he already has two). I'm allergic to cats ... and many dogs, too ... so the suggestion was eventually dropped.

 Tom could have spent the day there. He seems happiest when he's interacting with cats ... or books.
 Occasionally they'd announce an adopted count on the public address system. I heard 135 as the number at about 1 pm. Many of the cages had tags marked "Adopted".

 When we paid our $5 admission fee we had our hands stamped with a paw print.

 It was really a lovely day and time well spent. I'd recommend anyone interested in a pet attend next year's event. Check out their website at the top of this blog and just remember that it's held near Valentine's Day.

Forcing Hyacinths

 For the past couple of years we've forced hyacinths so we could enjoy their flower and fragrance in winter. All it takes is a forcing glass, fresh hyacinth bulbs, water and a little time.

 Tom bought two bags of nice bulbs last fall ... one white, one purple. I've held them on the enclosed porch and started them at the beginning of January. It's interesting to note that white hyacinths force much more quickly. I've done two batches and each followed the exact same timeline.

 The bulbs were purchased from A.J. Rahn Greenhouses in Cincinnati. Or so Tom seems to remember.

 Here's a photo blog of their progress:

January 6 

 I always start the bulbs on the second floor toilet tank. It's cool and usually somewhat dark. Tap water must be added to the forcing vase whenever it drops below the base of the bulb.

January 20 

 Only two weeks have passed from bag to substantial green tops. The purple one (l) is decidedly slower than the white.

January 27 

 Just three weeks after starting the white hyacinth it's beginning to open its flower. Even in these early stages, the scent is intoxicating.

January 29 

 Now that the flower has begun to bloom I've moved the bulb from the toilet to a south-facing windowsill. That will speed up the blooming.

January 31 

 The low temperature outside has been 07° and -6° but we have springtime inside Pinehaven. Here Tom holds the fully open bloom. The bulb has taken but 25 days to get to this stage.

February 3

 I've moved the purple bulb to the warm windowsill in hopes of speeding its progress. The flower is just now getting ready to open.

 Another five days and the purple is coming into full bloom ...

February 8

Heavy Snow

 We've been watching the forecast develop the past few days, eventually offering up to 8" of snow. That's exactly what we got. Here's the snow event as it unfolded ...

01/12 -  3 pm: The snow is just about 4" deep at this point and seems to be stopping ...

01/12 - 4 pm: I measured just 3" on the top of the picnic table.

 But 4" on our concrete bench.

 Throughout the evening some heavy bands of snow set up across the Dayton area. Overnight snow continued to fall. This morning there was an even 8" where I measured in the grass near my rain gauge.

 A view out my bedroom window looking south shows that our lane was plowed out by DR Coffman  even before there was any light. Clayton Road has been plowed a number of times but remains snow-covered. I have seen little traffic this morning. This snow has brought the area to a standstill. Montgomery County (and several other nearby counties) are on a Level One Snow Emergency. Most people appear to be staying inside.

 Here's some views about the property. See my rain gauge centered in this shot? It's behind deep snow that the plow has deposited. How happy I was to see Coffman plow me out. At least Tom will be able to get as far as the road.

 The back yard is adrift in deep snow. It is a dark, gray day but it is not particularly cold: in the mid to upper 20's. It is blessedly calm so there is no drifting and the risk to power lines is minimal.

 But the pine nearest the driveway looks dangerously weighted down with snow. Yesterday when I shoveled, I found a very wet snow that was incredibly heavy.

 Our driveway is open, at least. No mail today (it is Sunday) and an appointment we had with DirecTV was cancelled. The service technician said he was in a ditch and needed a tow truck. Last I heard he said they were estimating another three hours before he could be pulled out. I suppose I didn't need him dragging snow in the house anyway.

 Speaking of DirecTV, the satellite dish is plastered with snow and is probably not operational. I'll have to dig a path to it and brush it off with a broom. At least it's on the ground and accessible. I see so many dishes mounted on rooftops. Why? Getting twenty feet closer to the satellite doesn't make any difference.

 Mom's picnic table is covered with deep snow.

 A view towards the garden ...

 Another closer look at the picnic table.

 So, today will be a day I don't venture from the house. Tom's going to return to Cincinnati since he has to work. But I'll be marooned until the snow begins to melt. There are worse things to be.

Year Starts on Bad Note

 It started as a typical New Year's Eve for me. I went to bed. About 9:30 pm.

 I had just told Alexa what to play on the Internet radio and I had set a sleep timer for 45 minutes. I lay my head on the pillow and the power went out. The interruption was brief and the power came back on. I again told Alexa what I wanted to hear and turned to begin my night's rest.

 The power went out again. And it stayed out.

In the dark I heard traffic approaching. One truck seemed to be avoiding something in the road. A car was coming from the opposite direction and turned around. The fields were muddy from the day's rain and not to be traveled on with anything less than a truck.

All I could see was various lights parked beside the road. A police car approached with flashing blue lights. A fire department vehicle arrived with flashing red. Soon a bulldozer arrived and I could hear them working north of me. It became clear that a tree - else a large branch - had fallen onto the road. It's just good that no one was beneath it.

 It wasn't until about 3 am that DP&L arrived (picture above). I watched a man walk along the power lines with a bright light. He examined every transformer (even driving south of me). Eventually the bucket truck positioned itself north of the house. I heard a chain saw a couple of times.

 Power was restored about 4:45 am. We were out over seven hours.

 My main concern was the basement. The sump requires power. I got up every half an hour to check it but the water level never rose enough to cause any problems. Still, the furnace, well pump and water heater sit on the basement floor and would be damaged by deep water.

 I got up at 7 am to check the rain gauge and send my daily report: 1.17". We had high winds through the early night. Dayton recorded a 46 mph gust about 11 pm. I suppose a gust in the neighborhood of 50 mph is what brought the tree down. Though the temperature fell from 60° to the 40's, it wasn't a typical winter night so there at least was no risk of the pipes freezing. Even so, the house cooled to 59° by the time the power was restored.

 I slept a couple of more hours and then went out to see what had happened ...

 This "log" was lying in front of the house. The tree that fell is well north of Pinehaven and probably just beyond the property line.

 This is apparently what the bulldozer moved off the road. It's an enormous piece of wood. The weight would surely be measured in tons.

 The tree it came from is in the background. The main upright trunk is snapped off. The winds came from the west, directly behind this picture.

 The pampas grass I planted many years ago looks barely missed. That's quite a pile of lumber.

 The tree is naturally "topped". The rest will fall soon. But the rest, at least, is well away from the road and won't pose a danger to either traffic or the power lines.

 So, my New Year's Eve resulted in just four hours sleep. No revelry here. Just the fear of howling winds and the damage they will do.

01/02/19: It's finally dry enough to walk into the meadow and have a closer look at the tree ...

 From the west side, another branch is hung up overhead. But it'll offer no danger since it is entirely above the meadow and far from the road. I'll have to watch any time I'm beneath it, though. I suspect it will fall on its own accord the next time the wind blows.

 And from the east side, the tree can be seen to be rotten within. The wood is reddish and mottled and a large woodpecker hole stands open on the trunk. I wonder if he was in the cavity when the tree snapped and fell? Surely that would be a rude awakening, to find your whole roof gone and no more than the angry sky above your head.

 In any case, the tree is now "safe". There is nothing left to fall on the road and it will do no harm where it stands. I remember how stately and massive this tree was 32 years ago. I've lived to see its end.

PC Repair & Upgrade

 My PC (a Dell Inspiron 20-3052 All-in-One) is barely three years old and already it's been giving me trouble, It'd just hang, head out into the weeds and not respond to anything I typed or clicked. Oddly, if I just walked away - sometimes for half an hour - I'd find it had recovered when I returned. Odd!

 My go-to computer guru is Dan Miller who suggested early on it was a hard drive problem. But after diagnosing it further he became convinced it was a memory problem. I give him plenty of credit: he was right in both cases.

 I ordered memory first. It was the cheaper of the two. I also upgraded from 4G to 8G while I was at it. The Timetek memory was $43.99 through Amazon. Dan stopped by on November 28, opened the case on my bed, removed the old memory and installed the new.

 As I told Dan, I wouldn't have wanted to open the case, yet alone attempt any repair work. But Dan just jumps right in and soon enough the case was lying open on my bed.
 Unfortunately, though things were speeded up by the new memory, the glitches continued. Time to order a solid state drive. Dan suggested I not get another standard hard drive.

 So I ordered a Silicon Power 480G SSD ($58.99 at Amazon). I've had a computer since the days of the Mostek 6502 chip in about 1976, embedded on a bare circuit board and it was fairly large. This solid state drive was shopped in a padded envelope. How things have changed!

  Dan switched out the drive on December 5, Pictured above is the old memory (the Timetec package is new) and the old hard drive. The Toshiba drive was manufactured in September 2015 and I bought the PC during the Christmas holidays that same year.

 I can't think that three years is a very long time for this PC to survive  But Dan was able to get the computer running again for less than $103.

 How is it? Perfect. No hangs and it's much faster than before. A sincere thank you goes out to Dan.