Here's Hoping

I have no news yet, but here's hoping, having faith, and keeping a prayer in our hearts today.

P.S. I'll be away for a few days.

Worth The Search

I came across an awesome discovery last week. Have you ever flown on Delta Airlines? Chances are good that you have. Did you ever get their cookies instead of peanuts or pretzels? Okay, maybe they don't even give snacks anymore, I don't know. But back in the day, they did. The cookie was a Biscoff cookie and it is divinely good, in my opinion. I have been seeing a few blogs as of late incorporating these cookies into their recipes. I wasn't even aware that the cookies were on the market. They are, and they are good!


Not only are there cookies, but there is a Biscoff spread that looks a lot like peanut butter, but oh no- it tastes nothing like peanut butter. I made sure of that as soon as I opened the jar and stuck in my spoon!
For comparison, here's a small jar of peanut butter. I don't normally buy creamy, but this time I did. The Biscoff is a 14 oz jar, so it's little, and it comes with a $5 price tag. I guess I won't be buying it on every shopping trip, now that I'm on a retired person's budget!
I found my stash of Biscoff at Maceys, but you can search Biscoff's website for a store in your area that sells what you need.
Thanks to Jenny over at Picky Palate, my kitchen smelled like heaven (if heaven doesn't smell like this, don't tell me because I don't want to hear it). The downside to these cookies is that they are pretty expensive to make. One package of Biscoff's cost me $3.49 at Maceys and I needed two packages to make these as directed (there are 32 cookies in a package, you need 40 for this recipe; good news is there are a few left-over for you to snack on).

Biscoff Crunch White Chocolate Chip Cookies
by Picky Palate (directions slightly adapted)
Makes 3 dozen cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
20 finely ground Biscoff Cookies (break out the food processor)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
20 crushed Biscoff Cookies (coarsely chopped for an added crunch)
2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a silpat liner or parchment paper.
Cream the butter and sugars until light and creamy. Add eggs, then vanilla until well combined.
Grind the Biscoff cookies in a food processor and then add flour, baking soda and salt to the food processor to combine dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients slowly to wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in coarsely chopped Biscoff cookies and white chips.
With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges start to turn golden brown. Remove and let cool for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
The original recipe said to bake for 12-15 minutes, but I found that even at 12 minutes, once the cookie cooled, it was too crunchy (Wylie, I hope you ate all yours while they were still warm!), so go for less time and you'll have a perfect cookie because the flavor is great.
Good thing I had these on hand. My sister called after I'd finished them, and out of the blue she asked "What do you have over there for dessert?" I said, "Come on over and find out!" She did and she was glad.
Now I just need to find something where I can use that spread...stay tuned.

Shhh...It's A Cecret

Thanks to a nice lady at Tech Support, my computer is happy once again.

Last Friday, Bud and I drove up to the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon. We had heard the flowers were out. A few years ago, I took this picture. Loved it. Framed it. Hung it.

Here is what this year's version looks like. A few less of the yellow, a few more of the pink. I'm thinking the first picture still wins.

But then there's this one! Love it, but it won't replace the first. These next few pictures are all taken from my b-i-l's front yard in the Albion Basin. He's got a cabin there, and to tell you the truth, you can see the very best flowers right from his yard.



But we I wanted to see more, so he obliged. We left the car parked in Joseph's "yard" and trekked our way over to the trail head. It was almost treacherous. Well, okay, so he got his shoe a little wet.

You gotta admit, this picture makes you smile. Doesn't it?
This is the spot of a picture Bud has had for years. It hung in the office until two weeks ago when I brought it home and hung it in the basement bedroom where the Sacred Grove canvas originally hung (yeah, I moved it to the other bedroom). On that same trip when the first picture you saw in this post was taken, I also took this picture (I was so happy when I found the exact spot the other picture was taken from!). My picture was not NEARLY as good as the framed one now downstairs.
This was my picture from last Friday. Still not as good as the pro's picture, but I didn't get to wait for optimum sky and lighting. Oh well. At least it's better than the one above.
I think it is interesting how the snow pattern is almost the same between those two pictures, even though they're taken years apart from one another.

Okay, where was the blue sky when I needed it a few minutes ago?

Here's a good one for Independence Day- red, white and...purple?

This one needs just a touch more of blue sky.

Up close and personal.

Simple and small, but perfect.
We had to cross a few streams to get to our destination.

We could usually find some rocks or logs to help us cross.

Like he's doing here.
While we were in Yellowstone, I joked with Bud that Old Faithful and several other geysers were actually just activated by spigots that some fellow had to turn on and off. When I saw this...
I thought "What?" They're just piping the water to these streams?!?" I dunno, what's this thing doing here anyway?

Then it was time to hike up the hill to find the secret. Bud left me in the dust! He scampered right up that thing!
Come to find out, there was a nice little switch-back trail we could have taken instead of going the hard way, but if I hadn't gone the hard way, I wouldn't have seen this. I'm thinking that thing is not going to melt before winter comes around again (unless we keep having heat like we did today!).

Well, thanks for slowing down, Dear!
Nice views from the top.

Then you go through this place...

and finally you get to see THIS!
This is Cecret Lake (pronounced secret).

I took about 10 more shots, but basically, you get the idea. I'd never been there before.

We started our descent and saw this guy. Hello, Mr. Bullwinkle! Way over there is a moose.
But I thought I could get a better shot. I kept looking for him as I came down the mountain and eventually I saw him again. I took a couple other pictures and decided I could do even better, which is when I got this picture.
Oops, and then he saw me! Bye bye Mr. Moose! No, I don't want to be your new BFF.
We had a marvelous day, and I didn't end up as Mr. Bullwinkle's lunch after all.

Where shall we go next?