It's officially summer when you make ice cream

June 20, 2009

Pouring in the milk in the same ice cream maker we used when I was a kid. If you're serious about ice cream, go to a flea market or somewhere and locate an old hand-crank one with a heavy metal cannister inside. Avoid the modern, plug-in plastic crap.

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On Sunday, we'll celebrate Hannah birthday a little early before we go on vacation. Strawberry ice cream was our test run Friday night. We'll do it again on Sunday with all the other kids and chocolate and butter pecan is on the menu.

We used this same ice cream maker when I was a kid. Yeah you have to hand crank it, but that's the point. The kids tend to tire out a little early, but when I take over to finish it off, I think back when my dad did this same thing with us. Our electric maker just collects dust. They make things so shitty now days. Plastic and thin metal for the canister. This ice cream maker has a solid, heavy metal canister with a lid. The point is so the ice and slat can cool it so cold, that the ice cream actually sets up. It gets harder to crank and you know, it's almost time. We added in the fresh cut strawberries and cranked it somemore.

Finally, on a sultry, sweaty hot night, the whole family about busted in to song as each of us felt the essence of summer.

Thinkin' this thing is going to come out a lot this year!

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Images of Spring 2009

May 26, 2009

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For us, spring is a busy time of the year, not just with all the work and school stuff going on, but the needs of the garden, grapes and other horticultural rituals we love to do. There is grape pruning, garden tilling, seed planting and bringing out the bananna trees. I have a habit of propagating anything I prune off my grapvines and jade plants even if it is to hand out to friends. I'm not yet sure of the significance to me of why I do it, but maybe it's just a friendship thing... from our house to yours. If that grapevine takes off and becomes something significant, someone might say, "we got that from the Morgan's back in the spring of 2009."

Hannah did her school play "Jack and the Beanstalk" and we've already been down to Louisville the weekend of the Kentucky Derby to make derby pie with Andy and Debbie... who by the way, made it up the very next weekend to do the canoe and camp trip.

Between the wildlife and floral and fauna in our back yard... to the images of all things renewed, Spring just rocks.

Tags: home , nature

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Morgan's Ft. Ancient Canoe and Cabin Trip

May 13, 2009

Deb and Andy led the way when we put into the Little Miami river for a scenic day of paddlin'.

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We shook it up a little this year for Susan's birthday. She usually likes to canoe and camp on her birthday and we usually go to the Brookville location. This year, we tried the Ft. Ancient location since it has been so long since we visited there. We also wanted to pay our visit to the June Morgan River Sanctuary.

It was good to see all my cousins and my uncle Bob who I usually only see during the holidays or other significant gatherings. We stayed in the cabins at Riverside Campground and the place looked beautiful. Upon arrival Lori was weeding the flower beds and Dirk was making picnic tables. It's clear the Morgans go out of their way to provide a fun-filled experience with the grounds pleasing to the eye and hospitality equal to down south.

We were driven up the river to put in at the Livery. Cousin Randy opened the door of the van and greeted us while Gary gave us a tour of the livery and the upstairs museum. I'm so glad my family are the chief proprietors around these parts. They have collected knowledge of the area and responsibly documented it as well as organized fossils, points, stones and other artifacts for display and education. The Morgans truly are the keepers of this land and river.

The canoe trip was as scenic as ever. We stopped at Junes Sanctuary and talked about her pioneering the efforts to clean up this once polluted river. The weather was beautiful and we soaked in the scenery and even caught some turtles basking in the sun on a log (see pictures).

After the trip, I ran into my uncle Bob at Riverside campground and got to catch up and update him on my dad. Then, Dirk showed us a tree that was leaning over a little too far so he jumped on the tractor and pulled it straight. Sunday morning, I watched (with some guilt) Dirk pounding rocks and dirt around the planter to stabilize the tree that we straightened the day before.

Later in the evening on Saturday, Dirk and Lori gave us a tour of their home and we finally got our glimpse of the famed turtle rock as well as the other awesome artifacts in Dirk's personal collection. Later, they set up a corn-hole tournament at the campground that thoroughly entertained us and our guests. It's been a long time since I've been able to slow down and forget about work and responsibility and I want to thank my family for welcoming us and our visiting friends from Louisville and helping us forget about things for a while. For those of us over-worked and under-paid, it really goes a long way and means a lot. After our friends Andy and Debbie were stuck on I-71 for an hour and a half on their commute up on Saturday morning, it really meant a lot to them as well.

These pictures should capture the trip just fine. Enjoy, and we really want to go back soon!

Thanks and much love, Jason and Susan

Tags: family , canoe , ft. ancient , nature

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Cincinnati Wine Festival 2009

March 14, 2009

Only a portion of the silent auction table. Just a beautiful display for a wine lover.

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This was the 19th annual Cincinnati Wine Festival. It's grown to be one of the largest ones in the country. This year, over 600 wines and 130 wineries were present. If you are a wine enthusiast, this is the opportunity to sample hundreds of wines in one place.

Since I am always on the hunt to find wines I like, I've found it is very difficult without doing the tastings. The alternative is to buy full bottles which can get real expensive, real fast.

The admission for the event is pretty steep at $70 for the grand tastings... and another $35 if you wan to attend the master tastings. While it makes it a little less a attrative for the person only getting into wine, it's w ell worth it if you ar going for the reasons I do. You also get to bring home a couple $20 Riedel glasses after the event. Much of the funds go to several big charities so that too makes it worth it for me.

The food is gourmet. The Cincinnati State Midwest Culinary Institute was present with some amazing food and desserts. I got a few pics. I have a lot of respect for this school and the emerging chefs that come from it. I've attended several events that were served by the students and it makes me want to go back to school.

Overall, another great event. My wife and I were able to escape for the first time in a long time, and we had transportation to and from... so we we did it right.

Tags: wine , trips

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Canoe & hike trip, turned bald eagle sighting

March 09, 2009

100+ year old beech tree.

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Met up with the guys for a Sunday morning canoe and hike. The typical type. We get together as often as possible just to catch up and air out the brain once a week. They mentioned to me in the past about some local eagles, but you know how you never really think much into it until you actually see one? Sunday, I was not expecting to see one. Between it and the other really awesome features of this planet that you don't get to see on the beaten path each day, it was a pretty potent visual experience.

Of course, pics do it no liberty, but I was running on dying batteries and I can't complain. It was kind of windy when we put in. The idea was to canoe up a tributary and then hike around the ridge on foot. As we approached the bank we would start the hike, the guys in the kayaks up front spotted the eagles in the trees. One took off immediately.

We were pretty far up the river at this point. We were very quiet and let the water float us down stream. Being reasonably still and quiet, let the bird get used to our presence. I was certain it would take flight, but, it sat there and even allowed us to pass.

I caught some acceptable pics. Also on the hike, we saw some large trees that in relation to the rest of the forest, escaped the logging industry. To see these giants nestled between all the smaller trees around them was beautifully insane. All in all, just another journal entry for a Sunday outing, but this is the kind of stuff that makes you happy to be alive.

Tags: canoe , friends

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