Eggnog Custard Pie

I love egg custard pie and this is a great holiday version of a classic custard pie. The first time I made the pie, I used a refrigerated pie crust and the results were good. I made it again for Christmas and used a prepared graham cracker crust and thought the crust was very complimentary to the eggnog custard pie. If you like egg custard pie, you will definitely like this recipe.

Ingredients

Crust:

Use either a refrigerated pie crust, make your own, or  use a graham cracker crust. Softened refrigerated pie crust as directed on package. If using homemade crust or graham cracker crust, pre preparation is not necessary.

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups eggnog

4eggs
Freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

• (If using  a pie crust, heat oven to 425°F. Place pie crust in 9-inch pie pan as directed on package for one-crust filled pie. Do not prick crust. Bake at 425°F. for 7 to 9 minutes or until light golden brown. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F).
• Heat over to 350°F
• In large bowl, combine sugar, eggnog and eggs; blend well. Pour into crust of choice. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
• Bake at 350°F. for 30 to 40 minutes or until almost set. (Center of filling will be soft.) Cover edge of crust with strips of foil after 15 to 20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. Cool 2 hours or until completely cooled. Store in refrigerator.

Closed for the Winter

The beehives are closed for the winter. Honeybees head to the hive when temperatures drop into the 50s.

A hive wrap is added to help protect the bees from the winter elements. The bees have one main job in the winter — to take care of the queen bee to ensure survival of the hive.

The honeybees have gathered in a central area of the hive to form a “winter cluster.” On warmer days, the bees will leave the cluster briefly for a “cleansing” flight outside the hive.

Dancing at Disney

As a members of the Snappy Tappers, I was thrilled to perform "One", "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", "Shine on Your Shoes", and "42nd Street" with Sharon’s School of Dance at the Downtown Disney Waterside Stage in Disney World. What a wonderful experience to be able to dance at Disney World.

"Shine on Your Shoes"

"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"

Hemingway Home and Museum

The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum is home to approximately 40-50 polydactyl (six-toed) cats.  Polydactyly is a congenital physical anomaly that causes the cat to be born with more than the usual number of toes on one or more of its paws. 

Hemingway was a cat lover and admired them for their spirit and independence.  The Hemingway cats as they are know as are free to roam the home and museum. They can be found sleeping anywhere around the grounds or house as the cat above stretched out on the couch in the living room.

Sometimes it looks as if they are wearing mittens because they appear to have a thumb on their paw.

Hemingway was given his first cat six-toed cat, Snowball,  from a sea captain who visited him in Key West. This fluffy white cat carried the polydactyl gene in DNA that has been passed down.

The cats are still given whimsical names of movie stars or characters or famous people just as Hemingway did such as Marilyn Monroe or Bubba.

The Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory

I enjoyed my visit to the The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory strolling thru the magical world of butterflies in October.  How delightful to find that a Rusty-tipped Page, a tropical habitat butterfly, had landed on my hat. The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory houses an impressive collection of butterflies, birds, flowers,  waterfalls, and trees.

Here's some other photos of these amazing butterflies and flowers.

Key West - Sunset Cruise

A sunset cruise is the end of another perfect day in Key West watching the sun slowly disappear beyond the horizon.  I loved seeing the fabulous views of the Key West area from the boat on the sunset cruise. A Key West sunset is incredibly beautiful yet fleeting offering the promise of another beginning of a wonderful day in paradise. 

Key West - Blue Heaven

I just had to try the KEY LIME PIE at Blue Heaven on my trip to Key West in October. The pie was topped with meringue on a graham cracker crust with freshly squeezed lime juice. Talk about yummy and heavenly!

Just look at that mile-high Meringue! Who could ask for anything more?

Harvesting First Honey

It takes honeybee workers ten million foraging trips to gather enough nectar to make one pound of honey. The bees have been very busy in the new hive.

This is the first run of honey harvested from new hive.  The nectar flow wasn't enough for the older hive of bees to make honey. They uncapped the honey they had made to eat not leaving any honey for  us to harvest.

"Shaggy Dog" - My Disney Side

I'm showing my Disney side with my "Shaggy Dog" costume for the "Disney After Dark" birthday party. I was planning to dress as Crewella DeVille but that Disney character had already been taken so I had to come up with something else. The "Shaggy Dog" seemed to work for me. How'd I do?

The Land of Oz (1970-1980)

Just follow the yellow brick road to the Land of Oz in Banner Elk which operated from 1970-1980. Here's a few photos taken in 1975:

Take a balloon ride to Oz

The Tin Man's House

Scarecrow and his house

The Cowardly Lion

The witch

Dorothy, Lion, Timan, and Scarecrow  arrive at the  Emerald City

Dancing Mushrooms at Emerald City

The Tin Man gets his heart

Goldenrod

Fall is certainly in the air when the goldenrod flowers. This is the last major blooming event of the season and provides a late-summer feast for the bees.

Goldenrod is a fall blooming wildflower that honeybees adore. 

Goldenrod is a perennial that blooms July through September. It is a common wildflower that blooms late in the summer.  Goldenrod is source of both nectar and pollen for bees important for the timing of a colony preparing for winter. The botanical name is Solidago, a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae that grows abundantly in meadows and alongside roads and highways. 

Nectar sourced from goldenrod produces a distinct honey, which maybe light to medium amber with a spicy, strong taste, and high in minerals. Goldenrod is a medicinal plant that helps with fungus, especially in urinary tract.

"Jesus Christ Superstar" Sedge Garden UMC offers free musical for the community

Christ Superstar will be held at Sedge Garden Methodist Church (UMC) from August 15-17 at 7:30 p.m. nightly. 

The cast features Brett and Mary Ellen Kitko as Jesus and Mary Magdalene. This couple has performed these roles eight times from Pennsylvania to N.C.

Judas is played by Scott Pattison, who was recently seen in Triad Stage's production of Brother Wolf.

Other cast members include:  David Webster (Pontius Pilate), David Teague (King Herod), Carlo St. James (Simon Zealots), Michael Burke (Caiaphas), Andy Ralstead-Asamundi (Annas), Cole Freeman (Peter) and ensemble members: Karen Agee, Jacob Alley, Holly Bostick, Amanda Burke, Devlin Burke, Patrick Burke, Evan Close, Jayson Crawford, Blaire Edwards, Mary Fries, Angela Hodges, Courtney Holder, Maxwell Kennedy, Meadow Kitko, Parker Kitko, London McCann, Aimee Payne, Emily Piotrowski, Sarah Piotrowski, Austin Propst, Jim Simonds, and TJ Taylor. "The cast is a blend of church and community members who auditioned for the show in early June." said Marie Denig, organist/accompanist at Sedge Garden UMC and director of the upcoming musical.

Jesus Christ Supersar opened on Friday, august 8, and will continue its run through the weekend, with performances on August 15, 16, and 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Jesus Christ Superstar will be held in the Fellowship Hall at Sedge Garden UMC. Church doors open at 6:30 p.m. Doors will open for seating at 7p.m. Admission is free, but a love offering will be accepeted. Free Childcare is available in the church nursery.

Sedge Garden UMC is located at 794 Sedge Garden Road.

Article from Kernersville News, Thursday, August 14, 2014

Chasing Butterflies!

Across my dreams with nets of wonder I chase the bright elusive butterfly… (Bob Lind).” As a child, I loved to chase these butterflies but now am happy to watch them gathering nectar from my butterfly bush.

The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is a quick and strong flier making it difficult to capture a photo. The males are a bright yellow, while the females can exhibit two different color forms.

This Pipevine Swallowtail has a shiny blue body and white spots on the upper side of the hind wings. The blue underneath the hind wings encircle one row of orange colors. These swift fliers are usually low to the ground and do not stay at one flower for a long period of time but this fellow is enjoying my butterfly bush.

The Great Spangled Fritillary is a sparkling beauty and is a medium sized butterfly that can fly very quickly and is easy to see while gathering nectar.

Adventures in Beekeeping - Year Two

Picking up my bee package from Beech Mountain Beekeeping. 

Canning Green Beans

In the past two days my brother and I have canned 54 quarts of Contender bush and 14 quarts of Half Runner green beans for a total of 68 quarts. Not finished yet - have two more rows of green beans to pick and process. Thanks to all the bees for your help in pollinating and increasing our yield.